Chapter 37
Although they had been away from Atlanta for several months, they hadn't actually gone very far. By substitution, Rick's house was very close to Atlanta, so it wasn't far from the prison either.
Without any unexpected incidents, everything went smoothly, and the three of them soon returned to the prison.
It seems that Carl and Michonne's relationship has improved a lot, and Lina guesses that it's thanks to that photo.
In addition, there was an unexpected surprise: Rick also brought back Morgan and Dwayne.
As soon as he got out of the car, Dwayne waved happily to Lena, "Lena!"
Lina was stunned for a moment, but she was still very happy to see Dwayne again!
Lena ran over happily and hugged Dwayne, but as she hugged him, she sensed something was wrong. Lena released Dwayne, puzzled, and gestured with her hands—the sky had fallen…
"How come you're the same height as me?!" Although Dwayne looked about the same height as Lina when they first met, it was still possible to say that Lina was taller. But now, Dwayne is visibly taller than her!
Rick and Morgan couldn't help but laugh out loud, but neither of them called out Lena's little lie.
"Because I'm still growing?" Dwayne said smugly. "And I'm already 162 cm tall." His smug look seemed to be telling Lina, "I'm not the same height as you, I'm taller than you!"
Lina snorted unhappily. What's so great about being tall?
Saw off their legs, saw them all off!
"Hehe," Dwayne said, knowing when to stop and not really intending to provoke Lina. He pulled a box out of his backpack. "Look, this is a gift for you!"
Lina took the box with a puzzled look. The bottom was pure white, and she could only see the words and patterns on the top when she turned it over.
"Aaaaaaah!!!! Dwayne, I love you to death!!!" Lina happily grabbed Dwayne, kissing him on his left cheek, right cheek, and forehead!
Daryl, who was not far away, raised an eyebrow.
It's her favorite lollipop!!!
After kissing Dwayne, Lena happily opened the box, but hesitated for a moment. Wait a minute… Lena closed the lid and glanced at the bottom left corner of the top image: Green Apple flavor…
Lina visibly wilted; she hated the green apple flavor!
"Don't you like it?" Dwayne blinked in confusion.
Lina pouted. Something is better than nothing, right? Lina tried to force a smile, but anyone could tell it was a forced one. "No, I like it, I like it..." Lina's lips drooped, looking resentfully at the box in her hand.
"Oh, is that so? I was saying I'd found the grape flavor, but since you like that..." Dwayne mischievously pulled out another box of candy.
"Aaaaaa!!!" Now Lina couldn't tell that he was doing it on purpose.
Morgan ruffled Dwyane's hair, and Dwyane smiled and handed the box to Lena. "Rick said you didn't like green apple flavor, but I didn't believe him. Looks like he's right."
Lena happily hugged the grape-flavored lollipop and handed the green apple-flavored one back to Dwayne.
"Hehe, it's so good to see you guys again!" Lina said to Dwayne and Morgan with a smile.
“We are too,” Morgan patted Lena on the shoulder. “Anyway, thank you.”
Lina paused, staring blankly at Morgan. "No, you're welcome?"
Morgan glanced at Rick, who shrugged. He'd already told him everything. Lena was feeling guilty. If Morgan pretended a little, she might think he was there for revenge.
Morgan smiled helplessly.
After a heartwarming reunion, everyone returned to the tense reality, concerning the governor and the guarding of the prison.
Everyone returned to their cells, and Rick convened a large group meeting.
This is an event that concerns everyone's safety, and he wants to hear everyone's thoughts.
Although he had already made a decision.
Lena sat on the second-floor steps at a distance, watching them. They were standing in twos and threes against the wall, or sitting down on the spot. Looking at them, they now had quite a few people. They had lost Oscar and Axel, but had gained new members such as Tyrsey, Sasha, and the Morgan father and son.
Lina looked around at everyone, her heart growing heavier.
Unexpectedly, Moore and Andrea did not get involved with the governor, but Glenn and his group were arrested, and the sham negotiation continued.
Is this fate... no, the power of the script?
Lena sat on the steps watching quietly. Glenn gave Rick the peace treaty sent by the governor. No one believed the governor could be trusted, and everyone opposed Rick going to the peace talks.
Rick stared at the thin piece of paper in his hand, lost in thought.
Things are certainly not that simple, but if there really is a chance to negotiate... he doesn't want to lose anyone.
"You're not going, are you?" Moore said, almost jumping up and down. He knew this nice old cop would get himself killed sooner or later!
“…Just thinking.” Rick folded the paper, placed his hand on his belt, and tapped his fingers together as he pondered.
“No, no, you can’t go,” Glenn objected just as strongly. “Those people are a bunch of crazy lunatics. They’re just lying to you. You can’t go!”
“That would be a foolish decision,” Daryl said, frowning.
“We can’t let you take such risks,” Carroll said worriedly, distrusting those guys.
“He wants me,” Michonne said, “and this prison, and they’re raiders.” Michonne had witnessed their cruelty firsthand; they were not trustworthy. Of course, she wasn’t without her worries that they might hand her over in exchange for mercy.
But she could tell that Rick wasn't that kind of person.
"Ha, old Moore has a great idea! Hand over this black girl, and we'll call it even and everyone's happy!"
That guy is definitely that kind of person.
Michonne rolled her eyes.
Moore's words silenced everyone. In fact, it was inevitable that everyone would have such thoughts, after all, the other party was not easy to deal with, and it would indeed be a good thing if it could be resolved easily.
"Um, what exactly did you do?" Tyrsey knew that as a newcomer, his words probably didn't carry much weight. He was someone who didn't even know the cause and effect. On the contrary, he had lost two companions because of the governor's people. He couldn't say that he was avenging those two people, but he wanted to know why this group had gotten into such trouble with such a troublesome person.
Prison was a safe place, and he didn't want to keep running away with Sasha.
“I saw them at an accident site. They kidnapped me and took me to that small town, promising me a peaceful and happy life,” Michonne sneered. “They were just a bunch of bandits, the most despicable kind. As soon as I left, they sent men to kill me. Later that night, I was looking for revenge, but I didn’t expect that he had a little zombie in his house, maybe his daughter.”
"You killed that walker?" Rick asked.
“Yes, and one of his eyes,” Michonne said cheerfully. “It’s a pity we didn’t kill him.”
“They can’t trust Rick, so I think it might be wise for us to leave now,” Carroll said.
"Leave? Where can we go?" Maggie asked helplessly.
“Just like we’ve always done, we’re looking for the next farm,” Herschel said.
“They won’t be the first band of robbers we encounter. Are we going to have to run away every time? Where are we going to find so many empty farms for us?” Lina said. “There’s a saying in our country, ‘How can we tolerate others snoring under our own beds?’ He won’t let us go. It’s either them or us who die.”
"We have to fight."
Rick pondered, finding it difficult to make a decision. Either path was an adventure, and he wanted to make the perfect choice, but there are no perfect choices in the world.
“We have the advantage of terrain, we might not be unable to hold the prison,” Glenn reassured Rick. “We can’t just wait to die, and we won’t give it up.”
“Their weapons must not be as plentiful as we think, otherwise they would have stormed in last time instead of using walkers to wear us down, and there would be no peace talks,” Moore said confidently. “This is our territory, and we should teach those sons of bitches a lesson.”
Rick sighed. "Yes, we're going to fight." He looked firmly at everyone. "This is our home, and we have to protect it. We won't cause trouble, but we're not afraid of any provocation, no matter who it is. We can take this prison, and we can take them down too."
Daryl received the first task assigned by Rick, which was also the most suitable one for him: to deliver the paper back.
In their reply to the governor's letter of negotiation, they wrote a sentence, to put it more politely:
[Bullshit!]
This note was generously sponsored by Lina and Moore.
Immediately following was a tense preparation for battle. The worst thing about the prison was that it was too bright from the outside, so Rick had everyone use wooden planks, tables, chairs, and the like to block the surrounding fence again, and also locked all the nearest watchtower doors with iron chains. Last time these guys occupied the high ground, it caused a lot of casualties.
Of course, there was a reason why Rick didn't choose to let his men take over the watchtower; they weren't planning on a head-on confrontation in this battle.
This is their territory; they're opening the door to play the empty city ploy, or rather, inviting you into a trap.
Besides these busy preparations, Patricia was also extremely busy. Everyone had to carry some dry food with them, as well as a simple first-aid kit, which everyone also had to be equipped with. If it weren't for Amy and Beth's help, she would have been overwhelmed.
Lina and Moore met Daryl outside and went hunting to prepare a meal for everyone.
Once she got busy, Lina seemed to forget all her fears and focused only on what she had to do.
As night deepened, Moore heard the agreed-upon whistle and signaled Lina to follow. Daryl had successfully completed his mission and returned safely.
“They’re preparing too,” Daryl said. He had been watching inside for a while, but it wasn’t easy to sneak in; the guards were much tighter.
“I didn’t see any heavy weapons, but there was a lot of ammunition,” Daryl said.
“It’s okay, I got a car,” Moore pointed to the other side of the woods, “If all else fails, we’ll just run away.”
Lina rolled her eyes, never forgetting her original intention, and cried her eyes out.
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