Merle came around the corner, a fire axe gripped in his good hand, sprinting after the car that had just peeled out with Glenn inside. When he spotted the commotion in the alley, he changed direction without missing a beat.
He rounded the corner and came face to face with Daryl, who was standing there with his crossbow raised, ready to shoot the first thing that moved.
Their eyes met.
"Merle?!" The word came out of Daryl's mouth like he'd been gut-punched.
"Daryl!" Merle's face split into a grin. He spread his arms wide like he was about to give him the biggest hug of his life. "I knew you'd come for me, you sentimental son of a bitch!"
What he got instead was a fist to the shoulder.
The impact sent him staggering back a step. Daryl's knuckles had connected with enough force to bruise, maybe crack something, and his face was twisted.
"You asshole! I should've left you here to rot!"
Merle didn't get angry. Instead, he laughed. He grabbed Daryl by the neck and pulled him into a headlock.
"Wouldn't have mattered if you did! I'm too mean to die!"
Daryl shoved him off. His eyes dropped to Merle's bandaged wrist. "What happened to your hand?"
Merle flexed his arm, the bandages shifting to reveal the wound beneath. "Just a scratch. That kid who pulled my ass out of the fire patched me up real nice. He did a better job than most field medics I've seen."
Before they could say anything else, footsteps pounded from down the alley. Rick and T-Dog came running around the corner.
Rick saw Merle and stopped dead. "Merle?!"
The grin dropped from Merle's face like someone had flipped a switch.
His voice went cold. "If it ain't the two cock-sucking bastards who left me to die on that roof."
He didn't wait for an explanation, he just moved.
Merle lunged forward and threw a haymaker that caught T-Dog in the jaw. The man went down, his gun clattering across the pavement.
"Merle! Stop!" Rick rushed in, trying to grab Merle's arm.
Merle rounded on him, shoving him back. "Don't you fucking touch me!"
The alley erupted into chaos.
He threw another punch at T-Dog, who was trying to get back to his feet. Rick grabbed Merle from behind, trying to restrain him. Daryl jumped into the fray, trying to pull them apart while cursing a blue streak.
Bodies slammed together as fists flew. An elbow caught a nose, and blood sprayed across the floor.
"Stop it! Jesus Christ, stop!"
Everyone froze.
They'd forgotten about the prisoner, the kid they'd knocked down and left lying in the dirt. He was staring past them toward the mouth of the alley.
"Can you idiots let me go?! Those things are coming!"
As one, they turned to look.
A dozen walkers, maybe more, were shuffling toward the alley entrance. The noise of the fight had drawn them in like flies to shit. Now they were converging.
"Fuck!" Daryl didn't hesitate. He grabbed Merle by the arm and started hauling him toward the department store. "Move!"
Merle let himself be dragged, but not before pointing a finger at Rick and T-Dog. "This ain't over! You hear me?! This ain't fucking over!"
They retreated fast. Rick grabbed the prisoner by the collar and hauled him along, while T-Dog brought up the rear, his split lip already swelling.
The walkers pressed forward, moaning, reaching, but the group made it inside the building before they could close the distance. They barricaded the door with whatever furniture they could grab, then kept moving deeper into the building.
They ended up in an abandoned laboratory, same building as before, different floor.
Daryl shoved the prisoner into a chair and started wrapping him with rope they'd scavenged, pulling it tight enough to leave marks. The kid squirmed but didn't fight. He knew when he was outmatched.
Once he was secured, they regrouped in an adjacent room to catch their breath and figure out what the hell was happening.
Merle leaned against the wall, still gripping his fire axe. His bandaged wrist was bleeding again, fresh red seeping through the gauze.
Rick stood across from him, trying to keep his breathing steady. "You were chasing them? Did they took Lucien too?"
"Lucien?" Merle snorted. "Oh, you mean the blond kid. Yeah."
He shifted the axe to his other hand. "See, while you assholes were leaving me to die on that rooftop that kid came back for me. Ge risked his scrawny neck to cut me loose and patch me up. Guess only a dumbass would be stupid enough to save someone who don't matter for shit. That's not why I went after him, though. I couldn't care less if the brat lives or dies. But he's got medicine I need, and I want it back."
He looked at Rick. "You suddenly grow a conscience? Want to play hero again?"
Rick met his gaze without flinching. "Lucien's my son."
The room went silent.
Merle blinked. Then a slow, nasty smile spread across his face.
"Your son." He drew the words out. "That's funny. Real funny."
He pushed off the wall, moving closer. "See, that kid told me himself his folks were dead. He said those ratty old books in his trunk were all he had left of his 'dead parents.'"
The smile widened, showing teeth. "What'd you do, Officer Friendly? Crawl out of a grave to claim him?"
T-Dog looked confused, glancing between Rick and Merle like he was watching a tennis match. Daryl just looked tired.
"Shut up, Merle," Daryl said.
Merle ignored him. "Or is this one of them walker things? You bite him? He bite you? What's the story here?"
"Enough." Rick's tone shut him down. "I don't care what you think happened. What matters is getting both of them."
"Both?" Merle raised an eyebrow.
"Glenn's with them too," T-Dog added quietly. "They grabbed him at the same time."
Merle let out a low whistle. "Well, ain't that a kick in the ass."
Rick turned to the others, forcing himself to stay calm. "Daryl's right. We need to figure out how to get them back. If this was a misunderstanding, we might be able to negotiate."
"Oh, brilliant! Why don't we throw a tea party while we're at it? Bake some cookies, sit down with the kidnappers, and have a nice little chat about feelings?"
Merle slammed the fire axe down on a nearby table. The blade bit into the wood.
"Maybe they'll be so touched by our sincerity they'll just hand everyone over with a bow on top!"
"Merle—" Daryl started.
"Or," Merle continued, "you give me all those guns you got, and I go over there alone. Blow every one of those motherfuckers' brains out. Problem solved."
"No," T-Dog said immediately.
"We're not doing that," Rick agreed.
Merle made a disgusted sound and turned away. "Course not. Can't have Officer Friendly getting his hands dirty."
Daryl shot his brother a look. "You done?"
"For now." Merle shifted, wincing slightly. The adrenaline was wearing off, and he was starting to feel every injury. "But you better move fast, whatever you're planning. That kid was in bad shape when I saw him last. Fever, out of his head. Probably infection setting in."
Rick's stomach dropped. "Sick? How sick?"
"Sick enough he was talking nonsense. The kid needs proper medicine, not whatever scraps I've got left." Merle's expression was unreadable. "So yeah, tick-tock, Officer Friendly. Clock's running."
---
A few minutes later, they stood around the prisoner.
The kid glared up at them with defiant eyes, trying to look tough despite being tied to a chair.
Rick crouched down to eye level. "Where did your friends take them?"
"I'm not telling you shit."
"Jesus," T-Dog muttered. "This kid really hates us."
Daryl crossed his arms. "I told you what happened. This asshole and his buddies jumped me out of nowhere. Beat the hell out of me for no goddamn reason."
"You started it!" The kid's voice cracked with indignation. "You were lurking in that alley like some psycho, pointing a crossbow at me! What was I supposed to think?!"
"You were supposed to shut your mouth and not draw every walker in Atlanta!"
"I thought you were gonna kill me!"
"Well, I'm thinking about it now!"
The argument was going nowhere fast. Rick could feel the situation spiraling, time wasting while Lucien and Glenn were God knows where.
Then Merle laughed. Everyone turned to look at him.
He was still leaning against the wall, but his posture had changed. The way he pushed off and walked toward the prisoner made it clear he was no longer relaxed.
"See, this is what I'm talking about. Kid don't wanna cooperate. Thinks he's tough. Thinks he can wait us out."
He hefted the fire axe, letting it swing in his hand.
"Me? I got a simpler approach."
He stopped in front of the chair. The kid tried to lean back, but there was nowhere to go.
"We break both his legs, nice and slow. Then we toss him out on the street for the walkers. I guarantee you, won't take ten seconds before he's crying for his mama and spilling everything. Hell, he'll tell us his whole life story if we ask nice."
He brought the axe up, holding it in front of the kid's face. The blade was still stained with old blood.
"So I'm gonna ask one more time, and you're gonna think real careful about your answer. Where. Did. They. Take. The blond kid and the other guy?"