Archie was still asleep on the roof when suddenly he heard a noise. It sounded like someone was running up the stairs. He sat up quickly, . Just then, Glen, Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl burst through the door, shouting, "Merle! Merle!"
Daryl ran over to Merle, grabbing him by the neck.
"Where is he? Where's my brother?" Daryl screams, his voice shaking with desperation.
"He left me! He opened the damn door and left!" Archie yells back, shoving Daryl's hands away.
Glen and the others stare at the empty handcuffs, realizing that Merle had escaped.
Suddenly, Daryl spots Merle's hand lying on the ground, and his heart sinks.
"No! No!" Daryl yells
At the time, T-Dog, Daryl, Glenn and Rick are all still in shock at seeing Merle's severed hand. Suddenly, Daryl grabs his crossbow and points it at T-Dog, But before he can pull the trigger, Rick takes his Python out, aiming it straight at Daryl.
"I won't hesitate," Rick says, his voice calm and steady. "I don't care if every walker in the city hears it."
Realizing that Rick is serious, Daryl lowers his crossbow, his body shaking
"You got a do-rag or something?" Daryl asks T-Dog, gesturing towards Merle's decaying hand. Without hesitation, T-Dog pulls out a do-rag, offering it to Daryl.
Daryl quickly wraps the decaying hand in the do-rag, then carefully places it inside Glenn's backpack.
"He must have used a tourniquet... maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't," Daryl says, his voice low and serious, as he observes the scene.
"So someone gonna fucking get this handcuff off me?" Archie asks, his irritation obvious.
Daryl turns to Rick, his expression angry and determined. "Yeah, get my damn nephew off those cuffs," Daryl snarls, his eyes fixed on Rick.
Rick nods, taking a deep breath before crouching down beside Archie.
"All right," Rick says, his voice low and calm. "Might hurt a bit," he warns Archie in a whisper.
"Don't give a shit! Now get me out," Archie yells, squirming inside the handcuffs.
Rick nods, his hand shaking with nerves as he holds the blade up to the handcuff on the pole. Taking a deep breath, he brings the blade down, severing the handcuff in one swift movement.
Archie, fueled by anger and frustration, quickly clenches his fist and delivers a powerful punch to Rick's face. T-Dog's hand reflexively goes for his gun, prepared to shoot
Rick signals to him to back down.
"No! No, it's fine," Rick says, his voice calm and firm.
As the group follows the blood trail, Daryl takes the lead, his crossbow at the ready. T-Dog collects the tools scattered on the roof, keeping them close at hand as they descend the stairs.
"Merle? You in here?" Daryl calls out, his voice reverberating through the empty rooms.
Without warning, Daryl spots a Walker in an office and immediately shoots it with his crossbow, his aim true. The group rushes into the room, weapons ready to deal with any other threats. Once they're sure the coast is clear, they regroup and continue to follow the blood trail.
The group searches for Merle, Daryl shouting his name as they move through the abandoned building.
"Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Toughest asshole I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails," Daryl says, his voice filled with reverence for his departed brother. Archie looks at the dead walkers, his expression skeptical.
