-Carl-

It was about 7 in the morning, but time had been nothing more than a blur recently, since there was something much more severe on my mind.

When my dad had said that we were going to war yesterday, I wasn't surprised. Blood had been spilled; innocent blood, and that demanded retribution.

None of us had been the same since the attack on Alexandria three days ago. We felt vulnerable and weak following the betrayal of our trust and goodwill, and found ourselves painfully reminded of the lack of kindness and morality in the 'new world' we lived in.

I stood in the armory that was now much emptier than it had been before. A majority of the weapons - particularly the more military-grade, high caliber firearms - were gone. They had been taken by a group of the Governor's men while the rest preoccupied us in a bloody conflict in and around the church.

The armory was also the place in which Riley and I had shared our last kiss, before he, Daryl and I had ventured foolishly out into the woods and only two of us had returned. When I had kissed him, I'd joked that if he died, I would 'die happy' in the knowledge that we had loved one another. But I couldn't have been more wrong.

It was that very love that wrenched my heart so tightly and painfully; it elicited the belief that I should've been there with him, by his side when he died.

I should have heard his last words, felt his heart beat its last, slow beats, and felt his soft, final breaths, instead of watching him simply disappear into the herd of walkers.

But I had to shake those thoughts from my mind now. Because, like it or not, we were about to fight.

Initially, I had scoffed at the idea. It seemed a poor decision; one of overconfidence and foolishness. But thinking more into it, I realized it was probably our best option.

We were weak, there was no denying that. But we could use that weakness to our advantage.

When someone is weak, they become predictable. They are more likely to play the waiting game: stocking up and scavenging for whatever supplies they have, opting for stronger defensive strategies rather than offensive ones, and that is what the Governor and his people would expect of us.

They would expect us to now be grieving over our loved ones and increasing the number of guards on the gates, restocking the armory and parking vehicles up against the walls to use as barricades.

So to counter these expectations, we had to seize the opportunity to do something unexpected. We needed to act as soon as we could, and take our new enemy by surprise.

Our dead were already put down and buried, our guards were now gearing up for nothing short of war, the armory had now been completely emptied, and our vehicles were now fueled up for a 50 mile journey to Woodbury.

I picked up the one last Remington rifle from an otherwise empty metal weapons rack, its woodwork glistening in the ambient light of the dimly lit room, before turning to leave the room with a deep breath.

At 10 o clock tonight, under the cover of darkness, we would attack Woodbury and kill any and all armed occupants.

A full-scale war had began here three days ago, and tonight, we would be the ones to end it.

---

-Riley-

I hadn't slept last night. I had tried to; told myself that I would need sleep in order to concentrate and not do anything stupid, but it didn't work.

How could I sleep in the knowledge that today was the day that I assassinate Woodbury's leader?

The light that streamed through the window was a welcoming sign. It was a sign that I would actually have people to talk to after a day of pacing about my room like an idiot, talking to myself and weighing up the potential outcomes of the situation, as well as the positive and negative aspects of each one.

Hell, I'd even considered what would happen if I didn't do it; if I just stayed in Woodbury and watched Alexandria get destroyed.

I would be safe, and I would be able to start a new life here. But then I realized that Carl would not be part of it, and in an instant I'd dismissed that option.

Today was perhaps one of the most terrifying days of my life. I used to be scared of the unknown; of going to sleep with no idea of what the next day would bring, but I concluded now that knowing what would happen next was potentially even scarier.

A large kitchen knife rested on the table opposite me. I walked over to it and picked it up, feeling its weight in my hand.

This is the weapon I will kill Phillip Blake with...

It was the only real weapon I had access to, since the rest were locked up in the armory.

It seemed like a good choice in many ways; it killed silently, it was easy to conceal, it wouldn't raise as much suspicion as carrying a gun around would. But then I thought about having to drive the blade through him from point-blank range, feeling the the skin tear and muscle rip, hearing his dying breaths and feeling his desperate hands claw at me as it did so. When I thought of it that way, I longed desperately for a gun.

This is just the way things are...

Now, for God's sake, just suck it up, and get it over with. I've done worse before, right? And I'm doing this for Carl.

It's just one man; a murderer, a maniac, and manipulative to boot. He deserves it.

Suddenly, I was awoke by a knock at the door.

I turned around in shock to face the direction of the sound, before relaxing and feeling like an idiot upon realizing it was probably just Jay, coming to check on me. He seemed to have a good understanding of my mentality; he'd probably know that I was absolutely terrified about what I was preparing to do.

I walked over the door and opened it, before jolting in sudden fear and instinctively taking an abrupt step backward.

On the other side of the door stood the Governor himself.

He certainly did carry a sense of menace, especially when he gave what looked like such an innocent smile - as though he had no intention of ever hurting anyone - and yet he was the one who'd essentially threatened to kill me a few days ago

"Governor," I swallowed hard, realizing that I was acting so suspicious it was unbelievable and mentally cursing myself for behaving this way, "hey. Can I-- Can I help you?"

"Just thought I'd check up on you; see how you're getting on. We haven't spoke since that... ill-fated day."

"Yeah," I grimaced.

"But I see you're doing... Just fine," the Governor's voice trailed off as his eyes fell slowly upon the knife that I only now realized I was still clutching in my hand.

"You using that, Riley?"

Oh shit...

I could end it; kill him now. Nobody was outside, no-one would know. I could stab him right now, clean up the scene and hide his body.

But he's not sleeping. He's up and able, and from what I've gathered he's pretty strong...

I need to decide. Now.

Not willing to waste any time and raise Phillip's suspicions even further, since I'd been awkwardly standing in silence for a few seconds now, I spontaneously reached back and hastily placed the knife down.

"Um... Yeah, I was just about to get some breakfast," I stammered awkwardly, taking another careful step back away from the Governor, who eyed me with obvious suspicion.

"Really?"

"Yeah. You want some?"

"No. No thank you," the Governor replied with a chuckle that carried a vague sense of menace.

"O-Okay," I nodded, turning to walk over to the table and placing the knife down, as though avoiding eye contact would somehow will him away.

"See you," I added abruptly to reinforce this point.

"Riley," the Governor spoke up in a firm voice, and with a great reluctance, I turned around to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Remember what I told you before."

"W-What... exactly?"

"You know what."

The Governor then left the room, closing the door gently with a surprising calmness, leaving me stood with shallow breaths and a racing heart, cursing my own stupidity for acting with such obvious suspicion.

I was terrified, there was no denying that, but in a way, I was grateful for this intervention.

Phillip had once again made a threat against my life, which in turn meant a threat against Carl, Rick, Carol, Michonne, Daryl and everyone else I had come to know, care for and love.

And as a result, any reluctance or doubts I had about killing him were now completely gone.