|Taehyung|

Taehyung knew.

He knew that the governor wouldn't let them leave just like that. Not when they knew where the town was, and especially not when their hearts were filled with bitterness and a sense of betrayal.

The sleeves of Taehyung's shirt were rolled up to his elbows, exposing his tan, tattoo covered skin. Splatters of blood rested on his cheeks, hands and black jacket. The knife in his hand dripped with blood before he smeared it off on the walker's clothes and shoved it back into its holster.

Taehyung grabbed the walker's chopped off limbs before rearranging them so that they would make out letters. Michonne grabbed the walker's torso and dragged it over to Taehyung, carefully aligning it so that it would show off the message they were trying to get across.

Taehyung slowly stood up from his crouched position and stepped back, eyeing their work. Tae looked at Michonne, who sent him a silent nod before nodding towards the trees. Sighing, Taehyung pulled his mask over his nose before walking over to one of the sturdy looking trees.

Taehyung eyed the tree, looking for the branches that wouldn't snap under his weight. Once he planned out his path, Taehyung grabbed a hold of a thick branch and hoisted himself up. The tree scratched his palms as he pulled himself up and climbed it, using its branches.

Once he was high enough, Taehyung sat on a thick branch with a huff, his close to the tree trunk. His breathing was slightly unstable and his muscles ached from the strain placed on them.

Taehyung looked at the other trees, squinting his eyes as he tried to find Michonne. He noticed her resting in a tree, a glare on her face and her katana tightly grasped in her hand.

The distant sound of voices and branches snapping under the weight of a person, caused Taehyung to press himself closer to the tree trunk and look down at the ground.

He squinted his eyes, his breathing, along with his movements, going still. Taehyung's dark clothes and motionless body, caused him to blend in with the nature and become a part of the tree he was resting in.

The bushes below rattled before a hand parted them and Kate marched right through them. Taehyung's lips twitched up under the mask as he watched her stop in front of the chopped up walker. Closely following behind Kate, Merle and three other men walked out of the bushes and asked her why she had stopped.

"Look at that," Kate grinned, gesturing down at the chopped up walker, trying to figure out its meaning.

"They did this." An Asian guy, wearing a beige coloured flannel and a machete, stated as he gestured towards the chopped off limbs.

Merle hummed, stepping closer to the  perfectly rearranged limbs, "Well it means something- looking all set up like that."

"The governor was right to send us out." The Asian guy muttered, twisting his head around to try and spot them.

A predatory grin made its way onto Taehyung's face as he allowed himself to sit up straighter and his legs to dangle. His sharp gaze jumped in between them all, while his hand travelled down to his knife and he began to slip out out of its holster.

"Damn straight, Tim!" Taehyung rolled his eyes, his grin crumbling as Kate spoke up with a grin of her own. She stepped closer to Tim, wrapping a hand around his shoulder and looking down at the walker with a smirk, "We're doing our righteous public service here."

"Go back."

Taehyung's eyes immediately snapped towards the kid, that looked around 18. He had curly hair and caramel coloured skin, yet the only thing Tae noticed was the fear covering his features. He eyed the boy before looking at the others, trying to see their reaction to their warning.

"What?" Merle raised a brow, looking at the boy over his shoulder.

The curly haired boy chewed on his bottom lip and shifted on his feet nervously before raising his hand to gesture towards the chopped off arms, "The arms are a G." Taehyung's grin was back on his face as pride swelled up in his stomach at watching the kid get their message, "The legs make an O," He nodded at the legs before looking at the torso, "And that's a back. It says go back."

After a few seconds of silence, the sound of a feminine laugh and a deep chuckle filled the air. Taehyung's expression dropped into a dangerous glare as Merle and Kate began to laugh, Merle even going as far as to clap. Tae ran his tongue over his lips, his grip on his knife tightening before he looked up at Michonne.

Michonne looked back at him, feeling his heavy stare fall onto her. Her expression was cold and hard as she raised her palm, giving him a signal that they're gonna attack.

The result of spending a year together, caused Taehyung and Michonne to create signs and signals that the other understood. They even created plans in case they were captured or surrounded by walkers. These plans and signals helps them communicate, when they aren't able to use their words, or when they need to ensure that at least one of them gets to live, if they're in a dire situation.

"Look at this," Taehyung raised a brow, looking back down at Merle as he grinned and clapped his hands, "They sent us a biter gram y'all!"

Taehyung huffed, clenching his jaw after the message wasn't taken seriously. He hoped that these people would be smart and realise that him and Michonne weren't playing around, but he guessed blood needed to be spilled to get their point across.

Taehyung eyed them all before his eyes stopped at the curly haired kid, who looked petrified, "I can't believe this is happening." He murmured under his breath, causing Tae to beam under his mask. Well, at least not everyone's a complete idiot.

Merle and Kate shared a look, the girl's lip curling up into a snarl as she nodded at the scared kid. Merle rolled his eyes before marching up to the kid and grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt.

"Hey! Knock it off!" Merle hissed in his face, droplets of spit flying out of his mouth and landing on the guy's face, causing him to flinch back,"The hell's wrong with you? The governor chose you because he thought you were ready," Merle calmed down slightly, his voice lowering into a hushed whisper, "I want you to succeed, I do, but if you keep announcing to the world that you're scared, imma have to smash your teeth in." Taehyung's nose scrunched up at the remark and his hold on the knife tightened as the desire, to sink the blade right through Merle's skull, intensified.

"Now how do you say your name?" Merle asked, releasing his tight hold on the kid's shirt and patting the spot he had grabbed.

The kid swallowed thickly, trying to hide his fear as he looked away from Merle,"Gargiulo."

Taehyung felt Michonne's gaze on him, causing him to immediately look at her. The two made eye contact, Michonne making sure that Tae sees her as she slowly folded and pressed her thumb against her open palm. Taehyung got the message loud and clear, gripping his throwing knife until his fingers turned white.

"I'll call you Neal, alright?"

Taehyung ignored Merle's voice and kept watching Michonne as she lowered her pointer finger.

The sound of branches rattling and guns being pulled out reached Taehyung's ears, but he focused on how Michonne lowered her middle finger.

"What's your deal, guys? You're gonna try to fight us? Five vs two, all of us armed to the teeth?" Kate called out, her words followed by a mocking laugh.

Taehyung shifted on his tree branch, his dark eyes pinned to Michonne's hand. He lifted one of his legs, shifting his body so that he wasn't sitting on the branch like it was a horse anymore.

"Doesn't it get tiring hiding like cockroa-"

Taehyung drowned out Kate's voice as he watched Michonne fold her last finger, forming a perfect fist. Taehyung immediately tilted his body to the side and released his hold on the branch, falling down to the ground.

Taheyung's breath hitched in his throat and his stomach flipped as gravity pulled his body to the ground until his feet landed on the dry leaves- right behind the Asian guy, Tim.  Taehyung grabbed Tim, immediately twirling his knife around and pressing it against the guy's throat. A small gasp left Tim's lips before Taehyung dragged the sharp blade across his throat, cutting it open.

Taehyung could feel the blood oozing out of Tim's throat and coating his hands red. His eyes jumped past Tim's shoulder and he caught a glimpse of Michonne cutting a guy's head off with her sword.

Taehyung kept his hand wrapped around Tim's limp body, using it as a shield while he raised his hand and aimed his throwing knife at Merle's skull. The Male had pulled out his gun and began to shoot at Michonne, who turned around and ran away.

A growl rumbled inside of Taehyung's throat before he aimed the knife and threw it. Just as the knife left his fingertips, Taehyung heard a small whoosh reach his ears, causing him to push Tim's body away from himself and duck down.

The hatchet, that flew straight towards Taehyung's head, whooshed past him and slammed into the tree next to him. Tae's eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder to look at the hatched. His eyes snapped towards Kate, who was smirking at him before pulling her gun out and aimed it at him.

"Shit!" Taehyung hissed, jumping up to his feet and dashing behind the trees. A loud bang rung throughout the air, followed by the sound of a bullet hitting the tree trunk directly next to Tae's head.

Taehyung's breathing became erratic as he ran through the forest, dodging behind trees and bushes, trying to cover himself. Yet Kate was resilient as she dashed after him, firing a shot after shot without a second thought, hoping that one of the bullets hit Taehyung.

The gunshots finally stopped, along with Kate's footsteps behind him, yet Taehyung kept running. His chest rose and fell as he heaved, his hands swinging back and forward, causing him to run faster. A small ache began to build up in his legs and his skin gained a thin layer of sweat, yet Taehyung only slowed down once he reached the edge of the forest.

A medium sized store was in front of him. The store was made out of bricks and looked like it had only one floor. Taehyung ran towards it, his boots hitting the pavement, causing the sound to mix in with his shallow breathing.

Taehyung ran a hand through his hair as he stopped running, pressing his hand against the side of the store and leaning onto it. After a few second, Taehyung straightened out and glanced around, looking at the forest and the parking lot filled with cars.

"Michonne!" Taehyung hissed quietly, hunching over as he shuffled closer to the cars. He kept glancing at the forest behind him as he approached the cars, "Michon-" A hand shot out, grabbing him by his sleeve and pulling behind the cover of a car.

Taehyung yelped, his hand flying to grab his knife, only for the person to grab his wrist and stop him, "Shhh." Tae's head whipped around and he released a breath of relief when he saw Michonne.

He allowed his hand to fall limp and his body to slouch against the car behind him, "You okay?" Taehyung asked, pressing his back against the side of the car.

Michonne didn't respond, only looked around them as if Kate and Merle would show up any second. Taehyung's brows furrowed in confusion, his shoulders straightening, "Michonne, are you okay?" Taehyung asked lowly, his voice slow and stern.

Michonne released an unnecessary breath and pursued her lips before warily nodding down to her leg. Taehyung's eyes immediately snapped down to her leg, only to see a long gash on the side of the thigh.

"For fuck sake." Taehyung hissed, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt and ripping it off. His sweaty, tan skin glistened in the hot sun, and the lack of shirt showed off the tattoos sprinkled across his arm.

"Tae." Michonne grumbled, pressing her lips into a thin line, yet she didn't say anything as he wrapped the shirt around her thigh and tied it firmly to slow down the bleeding.

A low rumble filled the air, making them both tense. Taehyung immediately grabbed one of his throwing knives, frowning as he noticed one of them missing. He rolled his eyes at himself, remembering how he had thrown it at Merle so carelessly.

Taehyung and Michonne slowly stood up, still hiding behind the car and looking through its windows. The rumble of a car became louder until they saw a red car pull into the store's parking lot and stop right in front of the exit.

Taehyung's brows knitted together, his curiosity growing as he watched a Korean male climb out of the front seat, followed by a brown haired girl.

The two were radiating happiness, grinning and teasing each other before sharing a kiss. The Asian guy approached the store, ripping the door open, only for a flock of birds to fly out. The couple shared a smile, relieved when they found out it was merely a flock of birds.

Tilting his head to the side, Taehyung eyed the pair carefully. Their clothes had splashed of walker blood on them and sweat soaked into them. Taehyung knew that these people weren't from Woodbury, not with them looking like that and not with them mentioning home and prison in the same sentence.

The distance between them was too large for Taehyung to hear the full extent of their conversations, but he did catch a few words that gave him a hint from where they came from.

The couple entered the store, only to come out a few minutes later with a basket filled with supplies. Taehyung looked at Michonne for guidance, but she ignored him and continued to look at the couple.

"And where is it y'all good people come from?"

Taehyung's face dropped after hearing the familiar voice of Merle. He snapped his head towards the couple, only to see them pointing their guns at Merle and Kate. A dark smirk appeared on Tae's lips when he noticed the gash on the side of Merle's temple- a beautiful kiss left behind by Taehyung's knife.

While Merle wasn't wearing a shirt, Kate looked a bit disheveled, her curly hair falling out of her ponytail and her skin covered with walker guts.

"Merle?" Glenn asked, his voice low and shaky as he stared at what he thought was a dead man.

"Michonne?" Taehyung whispered under his breath, his eyes still focusing on the group of four, who were pointing their guns at each other, "Leave or stay?" He asked, ignoring the group as they began to talk among themselves, instead, he looked at Michonne.

Michonne shook her head and forced her eyes away from the scene. She released a deep sigh before shrugging her shoulders, not knowing what to do either. Her gaze softened for a brief second after noticing Taehyung's troubled features. She raised his hand and ran a finger through his brows, trying to smooth out the creese forming there.

Taehyung frowned and looked down at the pavement. Unfortunately, Michonne didn't help him and he was left conflicted. This unfamiliar couple distracted Merle and Kate from hunting them down, and now they had the perfect opportunity to run and prepare for the second attack.

But it was Taehyung's fault that these people even ran into Merle and Kate. Using them to get away and leaving them behind after causing so much trouble, was heartless and Taehyung couldn't force himself to leave. He thought that the choice was hard, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised that deep down, it had already been made.

Taehyung huffed out a breath before pinching the bridge of his nose and turning to look back at the scene. His face was twisted into a painful grimace as he watched Kate and Merle slowly step closer to the couple with no weapons. Kate looked a bit confused as she followed Merle's lead and allowed him to control the situation.

The couple seemed to be saying something that didn't sit well with Merle, who looked a bit angry but tried to mask it with a smile. Taehyung squinted his eyes and watched their mouths move, being able to only hear small parts of their conversation that didn't make any sense.

Taehyung could feel the tension between the four growing, the result of the unfamiliar couple not lowering their guns and Merle trying to step closer to them. Taehyung's breath hitched in his throat and his eyes widened once he saw Merle's hand inching towards his gun.

Taehyung's lips parted to release a shout of warning and he began to shoot up from his hiding spot, not wanting innocent by passers to get hurt because of them. Before he could do that, Michonne quickly grabbed him, pulling him back down and pressing her hand against his mouth.

Taehyung's mind immediately flashed with unwanted memories and he began to struggle, trying to pry her hand off of him. Michonne loosened her hold on him and began to rock him from side to si-

A loud gunshot rung through the air, followed by the sound of struggling and yelps. Taehyung froze in Michonne's arms, the loud bang ripping him out of his mind and pushing him back into reality. Tae stilled in Michonne's arm, shutting his eyes tightly and exhaling sharply.

"Let go of her! LET GO OF HER!"

"Put the gun in the car, asshole. Put it in the car!"

Taehyung could hear the voice of the Asian Male, his voice cutting through the air like a knife through butter. It dropped with raw anger and caused more shame to bubble up in Tae's stomach. He relaxed in Michonne's arms, not doing anything except listening to Kate order him to put the gun away.

"Now we're gonna go for a little drive."

"We're not going back to our camp."

"Oh, we're going somewhere else," Taehyung exhaled softly, pressing a hand against his face and dragging it down, "Get in the car, Glenn!"

Kate's voice cut through the air before Taehyung heard the car's doors being pulled open, "Get in, you're driving! Place the girl in the back, I'll watch her, you sit next to the Korean."

"How'd you know he's Korean?" Taehyung could hear Merle ask Kate lowly, followed by the car rumbling back to life.

Taehyung could almost see Kate rolling her eyes and frown before muttering, "A friend of mine came from Korea." The quiet mutter was followed by a low hiss and the slam of the door.

Taehyung's leg bounced up and down as he listened to the car driving away. Michonne gently placed a hand on his back, running it over his spine in a comforting manner, "Ta-"

Before Michonne could even finish, Tae pushed off of the ground and walked out of their hiding spot. He ignored Michonne's low grumbles as he marched towards the abandoned shopping basket in front of the store.

Taehyung bent down in front of it, immediately grabbing one of the containers in it. He turned it around, his breath stilling and his eyes going wide as he saw that the container was actually baby formula.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit." The curses fell from Taehyung's plump lips as he looked down at two more containers of baby formula. Taehyung placed the container back into the shopping basket before grabbing the basket by the handle and standing up.

"Taehyung." Michonne hissed, grabbing his exposed bicep to stop him from walking any further. She looked into Taehyung's eyes with a glare and pursued lips. The two silently stared at each other, Taehyung's face softening after a moment as he allowed Michonne to see all the guilt and pain he felt for how this situation turned out.

"We have to." He whispered lowly, his deep voice cutting through the air and filling Michonne's heart with fondness. She opened her mouth, already shaking her head, only for Tae's eyes to widen and his lips to turn down into a pout.

Michonne huffed with an eye roll, already turning around to head to the direction of the prison, "Fine."

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

Taehyug's arm was wrapped around Michonne's waist to help her walk- the gash on her thigh aching as she shuffled forward. A red basket, filled with baby powder, rested in Tae's right hand- swinging from side to side with each step he took.

Tae and Michonne walked forward, dry grass crunching under their feet and mixing with the sound of walkers growling. Taehyung ignored the sound, his eyes set on the prison in front of him- the fences and concrete walls immediately capturing his attention.

The faint pinks and oranges, that swirled and twirled in the sky, ran across Taehyung's blood covered skin. Tae's mask was pulled up to his nose, yet the walker blood was splattered across his face and some even rested in his hair, causing it to stick together.

Tae and Michonne shuffled forward, both of them wary as they slowly walked past the growling walkers. Thankfully, Taehyung and Michonne had killed some walkers along the way, getting covered in their blood and causing them to blend in with them. The walking corpses didn't even spare them a glance, only grabbed at the fence and tried to push themselves through it.

Taehyung tilted his head to the side, noticing a figure in the distance, slowly making its way over to them. The grip on the basket and Michonne's waist tightened as the person came closer to the fence.

Taehyung's ears were filled with snarls and his vision was filled with walkers pressing up against each other as they tried to reach for the male behind the fence. His heart pounded against his ribcage, the fear of the walkers suddenly turning on him and the fear of being in yet another group, causing him to silently panic. Yet Taehyung masked the fear and anxiety with a sharp glare.

The male stopped in front of the fence, staring right back at Tae and Michonne. Taehyung's head began to tilt in curiosity, his lips parting behind the mask as he exhaled softly. He squinted his eyes, leaning forward to catch a better glimpse of the guy's face and that's when he saw it.

Taehyung's whole world crashed down as he saw the familiar face staring back at him. He couldn't stop himself as his grip on the shopping basket loosened, allowing it to fall from his grasp just like the gasp fell from his lips,

"Rick."

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

I was originally planning on stuffing everything in this chapter, but I already reached 4000k words and it felt fitting to end the chapter here and not push it further.

Anyway, what do you think would be Rick's reaction to Taehyung?

Oh, and I'm sorry if this chapter has grammar mistakes or any other mistakes and bad sentences, I'm honestly falling asleep as I'm trying to edit this and I want to go to sleeeep. I feel like I'm turning into Min Yoongi.

~Benikru