Prologue

1873

'That sonofabitch shot me!'

It was all Michonne could think of as she hobbled her through the high grass to escape the men she had hidden from for most of the morning. She was upset with herself for falling for the Mad Dog's trap. She had been trained better to see an ambush coming, to pick up the stench of unbathed men from yards away.

'Andrea would be disappointed.' A male voice echoed in her ear.

'Andrea's not here anymore is she?' Michonne answered back in a quick retort. She stumbled and fell, gasping for air, and then got to her feet again. She wasn't going to make it at this speed. They would find her.

A baby's cry broke the silence and Michonne eyes shot towards the horizon. She figured on horses Mad Dog's gang wouldn't have been able to follow her as quickly as they thought across the ravines she has traveled. Was a bounty of $500 worth her life?

'This one is. Don't forget what he did.'

A flash of bloody blonde hair came to her mind and it only made her angrier. She pushed forward, towards the sound of the crying baby as the sun began to set on the prairie. She spied a wooden fence and made her way towards it, her sword steady on her back. She was bleeding pretty badly from her thigh and she hoped it wasn't too bad. Her adrenaline was running out and the pain was catching up.

She turned as she heard a growl behind her and drew her sword as she saw two wolves making some distance behind her. She cursed her luck and knew her blood was attracting them. They paused with curiosity but then growled again with a hunger that made her stomach turn.

"You didn't come all this way to be a meal, Michonne." The male voice echoed and cautioned.

As one wolf approached Michonne swiped at it with her sword. The wolf backed away, a snarl on its face, and Michonne returned the favor with a snarl of her own.

She heard voices approaching the fence as the second wolf charged. Michonne slashed and the wolf yelped in pain, blood covering the pale grass. The other wolf to that moment to jump and slammed into her, her sword falling to the ground. She protected her face and throat from the bites and growls.

"Pa! We got to help her!"

She looked into the wolf's face as it snapped at her, her arms the only thing holding it from its meal. A gunshot rang out and the wolf jumped and whimpered away. Michonne laid down flat on the grass, tired and losing blood. The sun was in her eyes almost blinding until a face came to block it.

He was a white man with hard blue eyes. A brown beard covered his face, which was trimmed, and strands of brown hair covered his forehead. He looked at her curiously, but with a bit of caution and Michonne looked at him with a dazed expression. Was she dead? Was she close?

"Ma'am, are you okay? Ma'am."

This had to be a dream because no strange white man had ever treated her that kindly. Her vision began to fade.

"Imma help you. Just take it easy."

She lost consciousness as soon as he picked her up.