40 - Woodbury (3)

'' Thank you, thank you!'' Jonathan, the person with plenty of ammunition but no food, thanked the guard deeply.

''Don't worry about it. I will take you straight to my leader so you can discuss the best possible outcome for both of our groups.'' John started to walk and Jonathan followed him.

Jonathan nodded, "No problem.''

John took out his radio and started to talk, "Anybody listening?''

A few seconds later someone answered, "John? Go ahead.''

''I found an outsider who brought ammunition and wants to trade it for food. Pass this information to the Governor. Also, let him know it is a LOT of ammunition.''

When the person on the other end of the radio heard the word outsider, he knew that he was not supposed to say anything to alert the person, who could be close to John, "Leave it to me.''

John put the radio away and kept walking.

The duo passed through the city, in front of the residents on the street. No one paid much attention to the stranger, but those who did, looked at Jonathan with pity, because they knew his fate. But, they also liked the coliseum, so this feeling of guilt went away quickly, replaced with anticipation of what will happen.

And while they were watching Jonathan, he was doing the same. He looked around the place, to see possible escape routes if he needed to escape, the best form of attack, some kind of mistake in the protection of the city. But it all ended in speculation, as he couldn't test anything at the moment.

Jonathan knew of the tank's existence, so he focused more on finding the place where it was parked, but so far nothing, 'But it makes sense. No one would leave the tank out in the open.'

Looking around, Jonathan saw some sort of stand in an area, and from what little he remembered, the place must have been some sort of fighting ring between humans and zombies. Going past this place, he saw more houses.

The layouts were simple, with a two-lane street and houses on both sides. By quick count, Jonathan estimated that at least 50 people were living here. And that was just from what he could see, so there could be many more. The only street led to what appeared to be some sort of city hall, but before Jonathan and John could get there, John suddenly changed paths and went to a 4-story building.

Jonathan followed him and prepared to contact the Governor, the firs- second, if you count Gareth, villain of this universe history he would find, 'Although I have a plan, anything can happen when facing a crazy person.'

Mentally preparing himself to confront the psychopath, Jonathan entered the building.

WITH GOVERNOR

Although this building was the same as where his apartment was located, the place where he was now was not his. It was exclusively to deal with outsiders, and the kill count in this place was over 10 humans. And while the Governor didn't care if they found out about Penny, who was hiding in his closet, it would mean that he would have to kill the person and he knew that finding a replacement for a person was complicated, so he just used this apartment.

In this apartment, it was just him and his right-hand man, Merle. Governor didn't ask much about his past and Merle didn't say much either. Both knew that their relationship was one of supply and demand, and would continue to be so.

But, the Governor trusted Merle enough to have the man accompanying him to this meeting, and all others. Of course, this was only to give a sense of security to the stranger who was arriving. There were several other men scattered around the floor, just waiting for a signal to capture the outsider.

Both were sitting at a table, waiting for John and the stranger to arrive.

Merle's radio came on, '' We're coming up the stairs.''

Merle looked at the Governor, who heard and nodded, '' Let's try to gain his sympathy and see if he is part of a larger group or if he knows of any groups nearby.''

''What if he doesn't know about any of this?'' Although Merle knew the answer, he still asked.

Governor answered calmly, '' We send him to the coliseum... Well, we will already do that, but this conversation will see if he will suffer in the last days of his life or not.''

Just as the Governor finished speaking, someone knocked on the door of his apartment. Merle shouted, '' You may come in. The door is open.''

Someone opened the doorknob, and Merle and the Governor saw John, the guard, and the new stranger.

' Hmmm, he seems ... weak.' That was the Governor and Merle's first impression. They knew they could be wrong, but usually, the first impression is the one that stays.

Yes, the way Jonathan was behaving and acting was that of a helpless and weak person. And it seems that it was working since Merle and the Governor lowered their attention a little as soon as they saw him.

''This is the stranger. He says he wants to trade ammunition for food.'' Although he knew it was all theater to make them look like good people, John still did his part.

The nodded Governor, "Good work. You can leave us alone now.''

John knew that this was his time to step up and that's just what he did, leaving the trio alone in the apartment.

Merle could see that the stranger was clearly uncomfortable, even more so after he saw him, something Merle found strange.

Seeing how silent it was, the Governor decided to start the conversation, '' Good morning to..?

WITH JONATHAN

'' Jonathan. You can call me Jonathan.''

And this Jonathan was mentally swearing. He totally forgot about Merle's existence. 'This... changes things a little.'

Knowing he couldn't just simply kill Daryl's brother, Jonathan quickly thought of some adjustments he could make to ensure the best outcome for him.

''Okay. Jonathan, I know about the ammunition in your bag. If you don't mind, could you show me the contents?'' The Governor asked after noticing that the stranger was quiet.

Jonathan came back to reality.''But of course!'' He quickly opened the bag and showed the contents.

'There is ammunition for pistols, rifles, and even shotguns... incredible!'The Governor's eyes shone and he could already see what he could do with all this. '' And you want food, right?''

Jonathan nodded, "Yes. As much as you can give me.''

The Governor adjusted his posture, '' Can you tell me why?'' When he asked this question, he noticed that Jonathan was hesitant to speak, '' Don't worry, I'm a good person. If I were a bad person, I would have acted already, wouldn't I?''

After hesitating a little longer, Jonathan spoke about his 'group', ''Ok, I'll trust you.''

Governor smiled internally.

Jonathan then explained his situation, '' I won't tell you the location of my group for now, but although we have a lot of ammunition, we are out of food.'' He then said that there was a member who was pregnant and mixed false details with real ones, to add on the best story.

'' ... I see.'' And the Governor believed it. He could see the desperation in Jonatahn's voice, and the story matched, 'Maybe his group's location is some kind of military base. It would explain the ammunition and the lack of food.'

It had been months since the apocalypse had begun and most of the groups' food supplies were either depleted or at the end.

The Governor looked at Merle and nodded. Merle understood the signal and went into the kitchen of the apartment.'' I understand your situation. And lucky for you, we have food.''

Jonathan's face lit up. '' But, we need more ammunition than what you have now.''

The Governor liked the change on Jonathan's face, '' ... How much more?''

'' 4x more. But don't worry, I will give you some food for now, so that you can feed your group. But, if you want more than that, you need to bring more.''

Jonathan hesitated just for a moment, '' ... No problem.''

Governor smiled, '' Great! Merle, come here.'' He looked at Jonathan, '' I hope you don't mind, but Merle went to grab something for us to drink.''

Jonathan didnt mind, ''Thanks for the generosity.''

Merle soon arrived with drinks for everyone. He did, however, put a drug/remedy to make Jonathan sleep.

The Governor took his cup and smiled seeing Jonathan take his, '' Cheers.''

Jonathan knew something was up, and while he was going to bring the cup up to his mouth, the contents would go towards his INVENTORY, '' Cheers!''

All present drank the cup. They continued to talk like normal, and Merle was waiting for the pill to take effect. It took a while, but it seems to have done the work, as Jonathan said, '' Hey, I'm feeling a little light-headed. Do you mind giving me some water?'' He asked that in hopes the Governor would ask for some water too.

The Governor smiled, '' Sure! Merle bring me some too.''

'It worked!' Jonathan smiled, '' Hey, do you mind if I come with you to the kitchen?''

Merle looked at the Governor, who said, '' No problem.''

So, Merle and Jonathan went to the kitchen and grabbed some cups. Merle, however, didn't see Jonathan putting a SLEEPING PILL he brought from the SHOP. This pill brings you down in seconds, not minutes like the drug Merle and the Governor 'gave' Jonathan.

Soon, both returned to the table and the Governor grabbed his cup. '' Cheers!''

Eveyrone gulped down. Soon after, the Governor didn't even have the time to process what was happening and his head fell down, hitting the table with force.

Merle reached for his gun with his remaining hand, but Jonathan had already pointed his gun at him, '' Don't scream or you are dead.''

Merle could do nothing but raise his hand, '' Kid, don't make a mistake. You can still live if you stop now.''

Jonathan smirked, '' I doubt that... But you see, you're the lucky one today. I was going to kill all of you to not have any trouble, but your presence here changed a few things.''

When Merle saw the nonchalant way Jonathan said he would've killed everyone here, it made a chill go down his spine. He didn't know why, but his instincts, the same ones that helped him in his old way of living, said this person in front of him was dangerous. '' ... What do you mean by that?''

Jonathan sighed. He put a hand in his back pocket, took his phone from the INVENTORY, and pulled it in front of him. He opened it and went to the Galery, '' You're lucky Daryl said about your existence.''

When Merle heard his little brother's name he paused. Before he could think more, Jonathan showed a picture to him. Daryl was in it, alongside Jonathan and a few others he recognized, '' When this picture was taken?''

' I knew photos with the main cast, and the other, would come in handy someday!' Jonathan had, in fact, taken pictures with everyone in the prison, expecting a scenario like this.

'' A few days ago.'' Jonathan could see Merle face changing, '' Now, are you willing to listen?''