ACT TWO
(the first attack)

VERONÍCA MADE HER way towards the graves just as Glenn drove away from the prison, he hadn't insisted to Hershel that he needed to go on a run. Which the older man didn't believe but had no luck trying to stop him.

She only stopped as she reached the two graves, smiling fainting at the craving of her friend's name on the wooden cross. "Hey, T." She mumbled, sitting on the grass beside the man's grave as she continued. "I miss you. More than I thought possible. It's been wild without you and I just... I just must've turned into a cliché teen movie character—talking to a headstone—You'd definitely make fun of me for this shit, hermano."

Veroníca laughed lightly at her own words, her eyes catching Hershel talking to Rick through the gate far away from Veroníca. "Rick's changed.. We all have.."

The woman didn't expect a response, she just wanted to get everything off her chest so she'd stop feeling like this. "Rory misses you. He—he's in there with Beth right now—I got him this little pocket knife.. He'd want to show you it, I mean—he's been showing everyone."

Veroníca smiled as her eyes turned back to the large patch of dirt beside her. "I'm gonna make it up to you. Prove that I was worth the sacrifice and—and i'll visit too.." Veroníca trailed off. "I don't know how, but you're gonna be proud of me.. We're all gonna be okay, T-dog. You—you don't need to worry about us."

"Now, if you don't mind.. I'll—i'll have a word with Lori.." The woman then stood up, brushing the dirt off of her jeans as she sent the grave a two-finger salute. Just as she had saluted the man the first time the duo talked.

When she had switched spots, getting ready to sit beside Lori's grave. A sudden gunshot rang through the air.

The woman immediately dropped to the ground at the sound, looking around her in pure shock as she made eye-contact with Hershel. Who was also laying on the ground.

She then began army-crawling towards the older man, breathing heavily when she reached him. "What the fuck was that?"

More gunshots filled the air, making the woman's head shoot up. She glanced towards the gate, not surprised to see a familiar truck there. "It's him." She mumbled, turning her attention back to Hershel. "I'm gonna get you out of here okay?"

Hershel nodded in fear, trusting the woman just as she dug into her pocket. "Fuck." She mumbled again. "My gun.. I—I left it with Carol."

Veroníca then sighed. "Just keep low." She commanded as her and Hershel then ducked impossibly more. The rapid gunfire still filling their ears.

They seemed to be ducking for forever when two extremely loud thuds replaced the gunfire. The duo looked up at this, shocked to see a van had ran through their gate.

The van parked itself in the yard, making Hershel and Veroníca share a worried look.

Just when the duo thought it couldn't get any worse, the back of the van dropped down. Releasing all the walkers it held inside.

"Hershel, Veroníca, get the hell out of there!" Rick yelled from the other side of the gate.

"I have my gun.." Hershel trailed, pulling a gun out of his pocket. "Do you have your knives on you?"

Veroníca nodded, immediately catching on. She then stood up, pulling her knives out as she did.

The walkers immediately saw the woman, making most of them begin to stumble towards her. She didn't hesitate to walk closer to them, stabbing through a walking corpse's eye socket as she did so.

When she got closer to the rest, she threw two of the knives which both found their way into walker's heads.

More gunfire filled the air but the woman didn't duck. Instead she stabbed through another walker's head, wiping the bloody substance onto her already-dirty pants.

The governor's truck then started making it's way out, passing the familiar gray truck as he did so.

The group then entered the yard, making more gunfire fill the air while they helped Veroníca kill the walkers.

Veroníca only stopped her killing spree as she came face to face with Michonne.

Michonne momentarily paused, a small smile coming on her features as she did so. She then began running towards Glenn's truck, watching as Glenn had gotten out to get Hershel.

When the duo reached the truck, they both immediately got in. "Hershel, are you hurt?" Veroníca questioned just as Glenn slammed his own door.

"I'm okay." Glenn then began driving, making his way into the still-gated area of the prison.

When Veroníca got out of the car, she immediately headed for Rory. When reaching him, she grabbed his arms checking for any wounds before picking him up and pulling him into a hug. "You're okay."

"Are you, Mama?"

Veroníca nodded, placing him down softly as she did so. "I am if you are." She replied, making eye contact with Aiden just as the man rushed towards her.

She pulled her brother into a quick hug, pulling away when he spoke. "He's a dick. I'm going to fucking kill him." Aiden insisted, his face red in pure anger.

"I don't doubt that." Veroníca then placed a kiss on the top of Rory's head, brushing his hair away from his eyes.

-

  The group had gathered in the cell, alongside Daryl who happened to come back—with Merle. While the group hated Merle, they also didn't bother discussing it seeing as they were recently attacked.

"We're not leaving." Rick repeated, loading his gun as he did so.

"We can't stay here."

"What if there's another sniper? A wood pallet won't stop one of those rounds." Maggie insisted while she stared at Rick. Beth nodded along with her.

"We can't even go outside!"

"Not in the daylight." Carol corrected the teenager while Glenn butt in as-well.

"If Rick says we're not running, we're not running."

There was a brief pause, unfortunately Merle happened to be the one to end it. "No, better to live like rats."

"Vete a la mierda! You're lucky I don't throw this knife through your—"

"—Veroníca." Rick scolded, shaking his head at the woman as she scoffed at him. He then turned his attention back to Merle. "You got a better idea?"

"Yeah, we should have slid out of here last night and lived to fight another day. We lost that window, didn't we? I'm sure he's got scouts on every road out of this place by now."

"We ain't scared of that prick."

"Y'all should be. That truck through the fence? That's just him ringing the doorbell. We might have some thick walls to hide behind, but he's got the guns and the numbers. If he takes the high ground around this place, shoot, he could just starve us out if he wanted to."

"Let's give him Merle, maybe then he'll calm his tits." Veroníca added, while Aiden quietly laughed at the comment. Daryl shook his head as he looked downwards at her.

"No. He's got a point."

"I don't give a shit—it's his fault! He should be the one sacrificed." Veroníca replied, still glaring at the man who stood at the cell door.

He smirked at the woman, sending her a tiny wave while Beth spoke up. "What's the difference whose fault it is? What should we do?"

"I said we should leave. Now Axel's dead. We can't just sit here!" Hershel raised his voice, standing up when Rick began walking out of the cell block. Before he could fully leave, Hershel yelled at him. "Get back here!"

Rick stopped at the sudden yelling, not bothering turning around as Hershel limped over to him. "You're slipping, Rick. We've all seen it. We understand why, but now is not the time. You once said this isn't a democracy. Now you have to own up to that. I put my family's life in your hands. So, get your head clear and do something!"

The two shared a prolonged look. When Rick suddenly nodded once, Hershel backed down.

He headed back towards his seat on the staircase while Rick exited the cell block, Carl following behind soon after.

The group was silent as a few of them shared worried looks, until Merle suddenly spoke up. "Ain't that just heartwarming. Rick's gonn' keep y'all safe? Ain't that right?"

"Merle, 'nough." Daryl spoke from the second story looking downwards at his brother.

Merle just laughed at this, not seeming phased as Aiden shook his head. "Can you shut the fuck up?" He questioned Merle, making the man raise his hands in false defeat.

"Okay, okay.. Didn't mean to hit any nerves now." Merle smiled again while the group looked at him, disgust filling most of their faces.

-