You and your brothers had been through hell itself after the world ended and the Wildfire Virus consumed everything. But then again, you'd been living a kind of hell for years before anyway. A dirt-poor, trailer living hell - and your father was the worst part of it. But the old drunk was dead now and you were all free. There were no more little baggies for your brothers to sell to make ends meet. The law was gone. The world you'd known was gone.

But life went on.

You'd lost Merle once before - on the rooftop. He'd come back later with a missing hand and a dislike for 'Officer Friendly' leaving him cuffed to the roof in the first place. But there was a sort of truce for a time. Until the Governor got worse. And then Merle almost died fighting him. If it hadn't been for you trailing along after him secretly - always following him like a puppy, like when you were a kid - he'd have died for certain.

One good shot from you at the Governor and he'd fled - and Merle had lived, albeit with a few more scars and missing fingers.

But the Governor was nothing compared to the Saviors. They'd hunted you through the woods, Negan killing Glenn and Abraham. But not only that -

Negan had taken Daryl with him.

With Daryl as Negan's prisoner, Merle was now obsessed with keeping you out of sight of Negan. He was dangerous and Merle didn't want his little sister near him. So when Merle barged into the house and warned that Negan was in the settlement, you listened.

"Saviors are here. Negan too."

Merle grimaced. He was still as tough as ever, but with a missing hand and a few missing fingers from the fight with the Governor, he'd lost some of his edge - though he'd never admit it. Even with the knife for his prosthetic, he'd struggle to ever even hold a simple handgun again.

"You know the drill. Get." He glanced over at you, gesturing with a nod for you to head out and stay out of sight. "Don't want my baby sister anywhere near that man. Run along now - and don't you be bitchin'."