101 Chapter 101

- Narrator -

Philip's face darkened as soon as he heard him mention the name Merle. How could he not know who that was? Merle was his right-hand man, the person who did all the dirty work for him, and also the one who knew him the best among his men. That also meant he knew more than he should since he was involved in almost every shady deal made under Woodbury's name.

Then the question came to his mind: how would Xenon even meet Merle, when the last time he's seen him, he was sent on a mission to secure the solar panels some other group found before them. Then, it all clicked in his mind and the dots finally connected! It was Xenon's group they were fighting, and with such an overwhelming advantage on their side, it makes perfect sense they had no chance against them. It also explains why they found the bodies of everyone involved excluding Merle's. He had assumed he ran away at first, that he'd make his way back home, but now that he knew his brother Daryl was with them... That's the only reason they spared him, and probably the only reason he would betray him.

"Not really." Philip lied through his teeth, knowing that it would be an instant checkmate if things go wrong here. Xenon was acting far too confident for his comfort. And most importantly, Xenon accepted this meeting despite everything he'd probably discovered about them through Merle. Once you factor in his obnoxiously paranoid nature... He saw no version of this meeting that ended well for him should things go south, meaning the only way out of this was through lying.

"That was a rhetorical question, Mr. Blake." Xenon smiled at his poor attempt at lying.

"What on earth are you talking about, Xenon?" Dale was confused at the sudden change of tone between them. They went from building an alliance to Xenon questioning him about something he clearly knew about before.

"Your failures, Dale." Xenon chuckled at the senile old man's words. "You have failed yet again from seeing the danger staring at you in the eyes. You are still blinded by your inability to think that you could be wrong, when everyone else was against your idea, you still went ahead with it regardless of what they thought, believing you knew best." He shook his head, looking at him with pity. "You know, I hate you for that. For forcing my hand like this..." Philip was observing the situation like a hawk, looking for the best moment to draw his gun should things be salvageable, but he was confused the Xenon's gestures. The latter extended his hand, a glass of water in his hands towards him, a gesture that didn't make any sense at all. It looked as if he was holding... a gun!

Philip's eyes went as wide as saucers at the blatant display of magic. Yes, that has to be it. This can only be magic. How on earth does a glass of water disappear only to be replaced by a handgun? Neither he nor Dale understood how it came to existence. They knew their eyes weren't playing tricks on them, he was holding a glass of water moments ago, otherwise they would've noticed it immediately, just as they did when the gun appeared. Their brains froze, unable to process the series of events before they were brought back to reality by the sounds of gunshots from outside. It lasted about four seconds before it ended, signaling how one-sided it was.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Philip already understood what was happening but Dale didn't. He got up, about to physically demand an explanation out of the boy, before another gun appeared in his hand, aimed at him this time.

"Sit down." Xenon was not in the mood to humor him and would shoot him where he stood if he didn't comply. Dale deflated once he realized this and opted to sit down instead, perhaps he would have more luck with words.

"C-can I make a request?" Philip knew he was out of his depth. He was a smart man, smart enough to realize when death was knocking at his door.

"Is this about your daughter?" Xenon asked, making Philip's eyes widen even more. Nobody knew about that, nobody was supposed to know! How on earth does he know?

"Yeah." Philip nodded his head defeated.

"Don't bother then." Xenon shook his head. "She was dead the moment she transformed. I'm afraid nobody can save her."

"Xenon, are you there?" The buzzing of the walkie-talkie interrupted their talks. Xenon dropped the gun previously pointed at Dale, before picking up the communication device.

"Yeah. The situation is under control. Give me some time to clean up the trash." Xenon answered, his eyes never leaving the governor. The latter sighed at his words, understanding he was referring to them, both of them, as the trash to be cleaned up.

"Do what you must." He looked at the gun defiantly, hoping that he would not spend the last seconds of his life a coward.

* BANG *

Xenon watched his body drop to the ground, ignoring the notifications that popped up in favor of turning his eyes to the other man in the room, who had a vacant look on his eyes. He could not wrap his head around everything that happened. He was so close to achieving his goals. Was he only deluding himself all this time? Yet it seemed so feasible...

"Why..." Tears streamed down his cheeks, looking at the dead body of a man that did so much for his people, only to meet such an insignificant death because of HIM...

"The governor and his people survived by killing and looting survivors they found on the road." Xenon explained patiently to him. "They did the same to us. We met his men on the way back home. Had to leave the trucks behind to blend in with a big horde of walkers. Our people came later on and killed every single one of them as they were trying to get our solar panels, except for Merle. He told us everything about their group."

"I see..." Dale whispered, barely finding the words to speak. "Are you going to kill me now?"

"Yes." Xenon nodded, but as much as he tried to be indifferent, he could not. Contrary to all the people he killed before, Dale never tried to kill him intentionally. He was well-meaning, even if the results were often cataclysmic. "You know, it's not like you did nothing in the end." He remarked. "Thanks to you, I won't have to kill the other people at Woodbury, who are probably innocent."

"I see..." That seemed to bring some comfort to him, but it didn't mean he was any less terrified of dying, and at this point, he knew there was no way out of it...

"You forced my hands, you know..." Xenon said, more angrily than he intended. "Don't think it brings me any satisfaction. But time and again you endangered everyone in our community. This is your doing!" Xenon was shouting the last part, distressed at what he was about to commit. His heart rate increased dramatically, he was hyperventilating while his body was visibly shaking, until a cold feeling washed over his body, calming his nerves, bringing his mental faculties back to normal.

"I'm sorry... for everything..."

* BANG *

Dale's body dropped limply to the ground as the bullet went through his skull. Xenon exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. He wasn't sure if he could've gone through with it if he delayed it any longer. He took a moment to calm his mind before he opened the system's notifications. To say they came as a shock would be an understatement...