Issue 45

Issue 45 is the forty-fifth issue of The Walking Dead and part three of Volume 8: Made to Suffer.

Plot Synopsis
Rick has been shot and has fallen to the ground. Alice says that he must be carried to the operating room. Andrea has been shot in the head and Alice goes to help her. Hershel, Billy, and Glenn carry Rick and Alice says that somebody should warn Lori about the situation. Also, nobody has seen Patricia or the children for a while.

Andrea wakes up. Dale, Ben, and Billy are with her. Dale says that the bullet only scraped her skull. Her hair will not grow back in some places and she will have a big scar, but otherwise she will be okay. Dale says that Andrea is "damn" lucky. Also, Axel has been shot in the arm, and can't move it. Alice says that he won't be able to move it for a while. Axel asks how Rick's feeling, and Alice responds that he has lost a ton of blood and that it doesn't look good for him. Lori, Judith, and Carl sadly watch Rick.

Alice calls a meeting. She says that Rick has taken a bullet to the stomach, and lost too much blood. Alice needs a blood sample from every survivor, but Patricia notes that she has type O-negative blood. Glenn asks what that means, and Alice explains that she can give blood to any blood type; she's compatible with everyone. Alice says that they need to hurry, and tells Patricia to wash her arm while she gets the equipment she needs.

Alice is testing Rick's pulse, and says that it's regular, but not the strongest that she has felt, but that it is way better than before. Alice warns Lori that things could still go bad for Rick. Dale and Andrea are talking about the attack and Dale suggests to take the RV and just leave with Ben and Billy. Andrea disagrees and reminds him about the friends who they would leave behind. Dale notes that the Woodbury people only want the Prison, and he says they should give it to them. He says that he's not denying access to come with them and that anybody that wants to, he'll gladly take. He plans to leave right away.

Meanwhile, Tyreese and Michonne are planning to go to the forest and kill some soldiers before they come back to attack The Prison. Tyreese admits that it is a good idea. Michonne says they could really do some damage to them: slip in, kill a few, and then return without any of the army noticing. Tyreese finally agrees. They take the riot suits and leave.

At the hospital, Dale talks to Lori about leaving. She disagrees, and asks how they could leave them in their time of need. Dale says that, Axel, Hershel, Billy, and Patricia are staying, but he is going to save someone's life. He says that he is taking Sophia, whether Lori agrees or not.

Andrea, Dale, Sophia, Ben, and Billy are walking to the RV. Suddenly, Glenn stops them and says that he and Maggie would like to come with them. Glenn goes to gather up their equipment and Maggie says her goodbyes to her brother and father. Axel, Hershel, and Billy open the gate and they let Dale, Andrea, Ben, Billy, Sophia, Glenn, and Maggie through with the RV. Hershel swears and surprises Billy. Hershel apologizes to him and laments that he'll never see Maggie again. Axel, Hershel, and Billy gather up the grenades. Billy thinks they don't have much manpower. Hershel says that God will be on their side, and Axel says that he hopes God will bring more grenades. In the infirmary, Lori knows that if Rick doesn't wake up, they will not survive.

In the forest, Michonne and Tyreese discover Eric urinating. Michonne jumps from the bushes and slashes his head in half with her katana. Michonne wants Tyreese to help her hide the body but one of the Woodbury survivors, Jim, sees them. He swears loudly and Tyreese silences him, but he was able to fire off a few shots. Michonne and Tyreese have been noticed, and all the soldiers begin shooting at them. Tyreese grabs Michonne and starts to leave (following their original hit-and-run plan), but Michonne insists that the two of them must keep going. They are able to hide and, a little bit later, Michonne surprises Gabe, Daniel, and a few others.

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Lori tells a true story about Rick's brother, Jeff. He hurt his ankle when he was child, and his classmates used to make fun of him. Rick stood up for him but ended up getting beaten up. He didn't care, he only cared that his brother was okay. Lori starts to cry. Rick then wakes up and tells her not to. He says that the wound is just a scratch. Alice walks in, and Rick asks if he could borrow Dale's crutches. Rick hears that a majority of the survivors left while he was unconscious. He admits that before they had a chance at surviving, but now there is little hope that they'll live through the next assault.

In the forest, the Woodbury soldiers have captured Tyreese. Gabe says that he and Michonne have killed Jim, Eric, and Daniel. The Governor asks where Michonne is, and Gabe responds that she started to run away, but he was able to blow her brains out before she escaped.

Credits

 * Rick Grimes
 * Lori Grimes
 * Carl Grimes
 * Judith Grimes
 * Michonne
 * Tyreese
 * Glenn
 * Sophia
 * Andrea
 * Dale
 * Ben
 * Billy
 * Hershel Greene
 * Maggie Greene
 * Billy Greene
 * Patricia
 * Alice
 * Axel
 * Brian Blake
 * Gabe
 * Eric
 * Jim Bridges
 * Daniel
 * Matthew
 * A lot of Woodbury soldiers

Deaths

 * Eric
 * Jim Bridges
 * Daniel

Trivia

 * First appearance of Matthew.
 * First (and last) appearance of Eric.
 * First (and last) appearance of Jim Bridges.
 * First (and last) appearance of Daniel.