In The Bird Song | TWD

chapter 8 - new beginnings

Pov Harlow

It's been a day since rick announced were going to war, I had to rest the whole day yesterday but today Hershel finally cleared me to attempt to walk again. Carl comes into my temporary cell "you ready to give this a go?" he asks

I smile "fuck yes, help me up will you." As I try stand up, I need to put all my weight on carl, my stomach feels like it's being pulled tightly together but the stabbing pain from yesterday has been replaced with a dull aching one which is a significant improvement.

"You okay" carl asks "I'm fine just a bit sore" I say leaning on his shoulder as we slowly make our way to the court yard "morning birds" I yawn once were outside. Carl guides me over to a bench and I sit down needing to catch my breath "honestly getting shot was not one of my better ideas, this suck."

Carl snorts "yeah when I got shot back at the farm It took a couple days of walking to get back into the swing of things." I honestly forgot carl was shot even though he definitely told me. "We have matching wounds now what goals."

Carl laughs before asking "what do you want to do today nothing's happening around here it's like were just waiting for the governor to attack." I think for a minute "we could go entertain Judith for a while I think Beth has been watching her for like 2 days, we should give her a break."

We go back to the prison and sit with Judith; I take her in my arms and in a ridiculous baby voice start cooing "Jude can you say Harlow Har-low" Judith just babbles back to me in baby gibberish and carl says "she's definitely too young to say anything yet." "Well, she could be a gifted baby carl just because you where a slow child doesn't mean Judith will be." Carl mock glares at me "oi I was an extremely smart baby I will have you know." "Really well then what happened to all that intelligence where you dropped on your head or something."

Carl jokingly punches my arm so I shove I'm off the bed were sitting on. Judith laughs at carl falling "oh do you like watching your idiot brother fall Judy." I coo

Carl groans "you are a bad influence on her." But he doesn't seem to actually be annoyed.

***

Its sunset and ricks gathered everyone together in the court yard except Daryl, merle, and Michonne I'm immediately worried but before I can ask rick where they are he begins speaking.

"When I met with the governor, he offered me a deal. He said--- he said he'd leave us alone if I gave him Michonne, and I was going to do that to keep us safe. I changed my mind but now merle took Michonne to fulfil the deal and Daryl went to stop him but I don't know if it's too late, I was wrong not to tell you, and I'm sorry."

Anger boils inside me, Michonne could be dead and its all Ricks fault. I stand up and angrily say "oh your sorry well that makes it okay then you fucking piece of shit! You were going to hand an innocent woman over to some creep but your sorry so it's all fucking fine."

I walk over to him and without thinking I punch him in the stomach. Rick doesn't seem to be in any pain at all and I'm so angry I just keep punching him, tears streaming down my face.

I'm only snapped out of my rage induced trance by carl pulling me off his dad "Harlow calm down, you're going to burst the stitches in your shoulder if you keep going." I stop and look rick in the eye saying "if Michonne's dead it's your fault, her blood is on your hands." Before I let carl guide me back to the bench.

I run my hand over my rock oldy in my pocket to try calm down. To his credit when I look back to rick, he does seem remorseful. After a minute rick speaks again "Harlow's right. what I said last year, the first night after the farm about this not being a democracy anymore, it can't be like that. It can't. What we do, what we're willing to do, who we are it's not my call. It can't be. I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good. Were the reason were still here, not just me. This is life and death. How you live how you die—it isn't up to me. I'm not your governor. We choose to go or we choose to stay; we vote. We can stand, we can fight or we can go."