We returned to our shared room and started on getting ready for bed.
Maggie was brushing her hair by the mirror while I was sitting at the edge of the bed, taking my boots and clothes off.
A few minutes later, I was on my back on the mattress with Maggie snuggling close to my side.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief, feeling the tension slowly drain out of my body, then closed my eyes.
Barely a minute passed before Maggie spoke softly.
"Zephyr, are you still awake?"
"Yeah," I said without opening my eyes, my voice rough from exhaustion.
Maggie snuggled deeper next to me, her breath warm against my chest, and asked, "What are you gonna do about this Woodbury situation?"
I didn't answer instantly.
My mind spun rapidly, recalling everything I knew about Woodbury.
My meta-knowledge seriously came in clutch at moments like this, giving me the full picture while everyone else was taking wild guesses in the dark.
"I don't know, Maggie," I said tiredly, opening my eyes to stare up at the wood-beamed ceiling.
"The picture Michonne painted for us is not pretty—not by a long shot. We certainly can't face them head-on, that would be suicide."
I paused for a moment, listening to the crickets chirping outside our window before I continued.
"Daryl and Merle are out there right now, making sure to do whatever they could to tilt the situation to our side, but it's gonna be hard."
I paused again, slowly turned onto my side, and faced Maggie.
She was looking at me worriedly, her green eyes searching my face in the dim lamp light.
"If we want to have any chance at coming out of this as the victors—or at least without any significant losses," I said, keeping my voice low, "then we will have to muddy the water and play dirty. It sucks, I know, but that's the only option we have if we wish to minimize the casualties."
"Play dirty?" Maggie said, her brow furrowing a bit. "As in...?"
"We'll have to wear them down bit by bit," I said bluntly. "Take away their advantages before they even realize we're coming."
Maggie's eyes widened a bit as the full weight of what I was saying hit her. "You're not planning on offering them the option to surrender, are you?"
"Not at first we won't," I said, shaking my head. "We won't have the luxury to. Not until we take the Governor and his cronies down first. Once the head of the snake is chopped off, then we can offer the rest of them surrender after we expose what that leader of theirs has been doing."
Maggie fell silent for a long minute, staring at my chest, processing the grim reality of what was about to happen.
Then she whispered, "I hate what has become of this world."
"Me too, Maggie," I said, pulling her closer. "Me too."
Next morning came in a flash.
Pale morning light was cutting through the blinds.
Maggie was still snuggled next to me, her arms wrapped tight around my torso and her head resting on my shoulder.
For the first day in weeks, I wasn't in a hurry to get out of bed early.
I just stayed still, listening to the steady breathing of Maggie and enjoying this rare moment of peace.
It wasn't until half an hour later that Maggie stirred awake.
She blinked lazily once, twice, looking straight up at me as if making sure I wasn't just a dream.
"Mornin'," she said, her voice thick with sleep.
"Morning," I replied, cracking a small smile.
"You're still here," she muttered, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
"Yup," I said with a hint of amusement.
Maggie snorted softly. "I thought you would have gotten up by now. Usually you're out the door before I even wake up."
"Didn't need to." I shrugged. "Everything that needed to be done was already finished. The trenches are dug, the containers are laid and welded, and the gate is locked tight. Training's the only thing left, and that's Rick and Shane's job."
Maggie let out a quiet laugh, running a hand through her messy morning hair.
"Well, look at that. The great Zephyr taking a break. Even if everything that needed doing was already done, I figured you still would've found something to do and gotten up early to do it anyway."
I chuckled. "Don't get used to it."
After that, we finally got out of bed, had a quick shower to wash off the leftover dust from yesterday, and headed down the hallway to the kitchen.
The room was already full by the time we arrived.
The morning air was filled with the smell of scrambled eggs, toasted bread, bacon, and hot coffee.
The guys were sitting around the long table having breakfast while chatting about target practice.
Over by the counters, the girls—Lori, Lydia, Andrea, Amy, and Jacqui, along with the rest—were standing around chatting with Carol and Jenny while helping plate the food.
When we entered, the kitchen fell into a brief, sudden silence.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over at us.
Then the noise resumed, louder than before.
"Well, look who decided to join the living!" Shane called out from his spot at the table, a grin plastered across his face.
"Holy hell, Zephyr," Glenn chimed in, pointing a fork at me. "Is the sky falling? Did you actually sleep past dawn?"
"We were about to send a search party down the hall," T-Dog joked, shaking his head as he poured himself a fresh cup of coffee.
I just shrugged off their teasing, walking over to grab a mug off the rack. "Hey, with the perimeter secured, I can afford to relax for a day or two. Cut me some slack."
"You earned it, boss," Morales said, raising his coffee cup in a mock toast.
While the guys were ribbing me at the head of the table, the girls pulled Maggie away with teasing looks on their faces.
Andrea bumped her shoulder against Maggie's, whispering something that made Maggie blush and laugh before grabbing a plate of hot food.
I sat down in my usual chair, poured myself a hot cup of coffee, and looked around the room.
The house was warm, the food was hot, and that was enough.
We still had a war coming with Woodbury, but for today, we were alive, fed, and ready for whatever came next.
(To be continued...)