The Bargaining Chip

Everyone, except for Shane and Andrea, helped unload the vehicles. One cell was dedicated strictly for hygiene products and cleaning items, another cell was for dried food, a third for guns and ammo. The infirmary was fully stocked with medical equipment and different medications. Noah was introduced and welcomed into the group. He was a few years older than Carl, but they got along well.

When Hershel heard familiar voices, he went out to see who came back, but was worried when Maggie wasn't there. Ty was furious that Michonne went for a run on her own. Rick was livid that Lori left.

"How long ago did they leave?" He asked.

"Hours." Said Daryl, worried about Merle.

"Where'd they go?" Rick demanded.

"Some mall in the other direction." Beth said, worried about her sister.

"We gotta go." said Ty.

"It's dark out. They packed extra stuff. Maybe try in the morning?" Carol asked.

Rick insisted on leaving immediately to go find Lori. Ty started pacing, waiting for his Michonne to get back. She knew better to go. She has precious cargo on board. He ran up to the guard tower and looked around, hoping to see their car come back. Rick got into his car and drove half an hour down the road, and didn't see any signs of the prison vehicle.

If he has gone down the road just a few more minutes, he would have found Merle.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hardly anyone slept that night, worried about their friends. The next morning, Rick and Ty went looking for Lori, Maggie, Michonne, Glenn and Merle, and half an hour down the road they found a familiar SUV by the side of the road. There were no walkers around, so Ty got out and slowly approached the vehicle, opening the door to see Merle, still alive but very weak, his left leg all bloody. Ty went to the driver's door and helped Merle out, asking where the others were. He had lost so much blood that he was fading in and out of consciousness. Ty helped him back to Rick's car, then got into the SUV and followed Rick as they sped back home. Once they cleared the double gates Ty yelled for Daryl, who came out and helped them carry Merle to the infirmary. Bob and Morgan descended upon Merle, and Hershel started to take some of Daryl's blood to start a transfusion.

"Any sign of Maggie?" Hershel asked, with panic in his voice and tears in his eyes. Ty shook his head. Bob and Morgan didn't have any of the equipment to treat a shattered kneecap, so they worked together to fix it the best they could. Merle was sedated for a few days, before he woke up and was able to tell Rick and Daryl what happened. He had no idea where the woman were taken, and Glenn's body was an hour away, if there's anything left.

Weeks went by, and there was no sign of anyone, despite Rick and Ty going out every day to look for their ladies.

A few days later, Abe installed some more solar panels, and got down from the roof of the prison, It was getting dark, and something caught his eye. At the first fence, there was a figure standing. Whoever it was waved her arms over her head. Abe nudged Ty, who ran to get Rick. The three men unlocked the first gate, and walked to this figure. They could soon tell it was a woman, who was dresses only in a tee shirt and boxers. She was filthy, and carried with her just a knife and a broken tree branch. She was whispering "help. Please. Help me."

Rick opened the gate, being covered by the two other men, and let the woman through. He looked at her and saw that she wasn't wearing shoes, and had still deep bruises on her face. He asked her to drop her weapons, which she did. Her shirt was wet and covered in walker guts, so he asked her to lift it up just enough to make sure she didn't have any weapon in her waistband. He asked her to turn around, and saw the still healing wounds on her back. He asked her what her name was, who did that to her, how many walkers she killed and how many people she killed. She said her name was Shannon, and was about to tell him about Joe and his group before she passed out.