The Fall of the Governor, Part 2 by Robert Kirkman Read Free Book Online

someone who needed him. The Governor has always been kind to Bob—Lilly noticed that almost from day one—and now she sees the logical extension of that kindness. Bob has never looked more alive, more at peace, more comfortable in his own skin.
    â€œHow long, though?” Lilly says at last. “How long do you think he’s gonna be laid up?”
    Bob shakes his head with a sigh. “There’s no telling how long. Even if I was some highfalutin’ trauma surgeon, I wouldn’t be able to give you a timetable.”
    Lilly sighs. “We’re in some deep shit here, Bob. We need fucking leadership. More than ever. We could be attacked at any minute.” She swallows hard, feeling a twinge of nausea ripple up her gorge. Not now, goddamnit, not now, she thinks. “With the Governor out of action, we are screwed . We need to batten down the fucking hatches.”
    Bob shrugs. “All I can do is stay with him, keep watch, and hope for the best.”
    Lilly chews her lip. “What do you think went down between the two of them?”
    â€œWho?”
    â€œThe Governor and that girl.”
    Another shrug from Bob. “I don’t know anything about that.” He thinks about it for a moment. “It doesn’t matter. Whoever did this to him was a nutcase—an animal—and they ought to be put down like a goddamn rabid dog.”
    Lilly shakes her head. “I know he had her locked up; he was probably questioning her. Did Bruce or Gabe say anything about it?”
    â€œI didn’t ask, and I don’t want to know.” Bob rubs his eyes. “All I want is to get him out of these weeds, get him back on his feet … no matter how long it takes.”
    Lilly lets out another sigh. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do without him, Bob. We need somebody keeping these people on their toes.”
    Bob thinks about it some more, and then gives her a wry little smile. “I think you might have already found that person.”
    She looks at him.
    All at once she realizes what he’s getting at and the pressure lands on her like a giant anvil, nearly taking her breath away.… No fucking way, not in a million fucking years is it going to be me .
    *   *   *
    That night, Lilly organizes an emergency meeting in the courthouse, in the community room in the rear, the doors locked down and all the lights off except for a pair of kerosene lanterns flickering on the conference table. She asks each person in attendance to keep the meeting a secret. The five of them arrive after midnight, after the town has quieted down, and they each take a seat at the table, with Lilly sitting at the head, near the broken-down metal stand bearing the faded, threadbare Georgia state flag.
    For Lilly, the room teems with ghosts. Phantoms from her past ooze from the crumbling plaster walls, from the litter-strewn floor, from the overturned folding chairs, from the bullet holes in the front wall, and from the high windows, which are all cracked and boarded up now. A framed portrait of Nathan Deal, the long-forgotten eighty-second governor of Georgia, dangles on the lintel, the glass shattered and stained with rusty blood droplets in the dancing firelight—a fitting testament to the apocalypse.
    The memories wash over Lilly that night. She remembers meeting Philip Blake in this room over a year and a half ago—when she first arrived in Woodbury with Josh, Megan, Bob, and Scott the stoner—and Lilly will never forget the swagger, the creepy impression the Governor initially gave off. Little did she know he would become her lifeline one day, he would be her anchor in this sea of chaos.
    â€œChrist on a cracker, ” Barbara Stern utters after hearing the whole story of the elaborate escape and the condition of the Governor. She sits next to her husband on one side of the table, wringing her slender hands. The gloomy light flickers off her deeply