Chapter 2

The Distance

Rick's body rocked as the vessel swayed back and forth from the forceful waves of the ocean. Water sprayed against his face causing him to squint his eyes and eventually open them. A loud rolling thunder crackled in the sky. His eyes narrowed as the dark gray clouds above him came into focus. He sat up and quickly noticed he was handcuffed to a metal bar that ran along an inner wall. Rick jerked hard on it but the bar wouldn't budge.

The wind whistled and whipped wet air on his face. That's when he saw it, dark blue waves as far as the eye could see. He was on the ocean and even as the ship swayed from the growing surfs he couldn't believe what he was seeing. His mouth opened and he shook his head at the sight.

"Rick." He heard a familiar voice call and turned to see Michonne cuffed to the ship beside him.

He focused his eyes on her but still felt dizzy.

"Michonne, where are we?" Rick asked between heavy breaths.

His eyes went from her wet face to the strange men shuffling around the midsized ship. It felt like a dream. Rick closed his eyes and wiped his face on his shoulder. His curly wet hair slung across his face and again he started to feel dizzy. He leaned back against the brown cushioned walls of the white ship and looked to Michonne.

"Michonne?" He called again.

"They put my sword and your gun in that crate over there." She whispered nodding her head at a large crate near a bunch of other crates and barrels.

Rick looked over at them and shook his head.

"Where the hell are we?" He persisted.

"I don't know, Rick. That guy hit you on the head and they put us on this boat."

Michonne saw his eyes float, she could see that he was still out of it. She took a deep breath and wiped her face on her shoulder. She leaned in as close as she could and bumped him with her knee to get him to focus.

While Rick was knocked out, she'd been watching the men grow increasingly agitated about the storm. They were speaking in a language she didn't understand but their body language spoke volumes and she quietly watching them communicate. The older man, the one in charge called Vitor had walked passed her with a few men in tow.

They were going back and forth examining what looked like a book but she suspected it was some sort of map. It appeared that a decision was made as they turned and looked in Rick and Michonne's direction. At first, she thought they were talking about them but realized that they were looking passed her at whatever was in that direction. Michonne turned to look but saw nothing but continuous waves.

The old man pointed and nodded confirming her hunch. Finally, when he walked toward her, his callous eyes glowered at her and he spoke and made a gesture at her and the unconscious Rick. Mateus, the guy she couldn't wait to get her hands on, nodded and repeated Vitor's words to the other men. As he passed her he smooched his lips together making a kissing noise at her. She cut her eyes at him and looked at the younger man that promptly began to search his own pocket.

With all that she saw, it appeared they were planning to uncuff the two but Michonne couldn't be sure. Even if they did, she couldn't take more than two of them on her own, not with her bare hands. That's when she saw a groggy Rick begin to wake.

"Rick, I think they are going to move us. They have to uncuff us and if we can…" Rick listened to her when the ship was violently jolted launching both of them from their seats.

A large wave had slammed into the ship and ocean water poured over the side and into the stern. Rick and Michonne watched as the water swished onto the deck and splashed their boots. Rick saw three of the men nearly fall from the sudden jerk. Three bolts of lightning struck the ocean and another thunderous roar bellowed from the menacing clouds above. They all looked at the large waves that began to form and a mechanical horn from the ship rang out.

Heavy rain began to pound the ship and two thunders collided with each other as the sky grew darker. Again, the ship rocked from a tall wave, this time the ship turned into the wave causing Michonne's body to slide into Rick's.

The younger man hurried towards them while searching through a ring of keys.

"Be ready." Michonne said as the wind and rain blustered against her face and hair.

The questions swirling in Rick's mind were overcome by the single desire to get control of the situation. He could see in her eyes that the only option was to fight their way out of this. And although they were in the middle of the ocean with no apparent place to escape to, he agreed that now might be their only chance.

Rick nodded at her to let her know he was with her. He would fight beside her even if for the last time. He took a deep breath and readied himself as the young guy tripped trying to get to them.

Michonne watched as Rick nodded and saw the look on his face change. She saw the muscles in his jaw tense and lock in place. His eyes didn't look confused or worried, they were deadly focused on the guy with the keys. His chest swelled beneath his wet shirt and he looked like a man ready for a fight. In all her time, before and after the turn, she'd never met a man like him.

Rain continued to stream down her face and into her mouth as she stared at him. His intense glare went from the man fumbling around with the keys to Michonne who had a strange look on her face.

The man finally reached them and started to uncuff Michonne. Suddenly, Mateus came out of the cabin of the ship and yelled at the younger clumsy man. He snatched the keys from him and quickly freed Michonne's hands. She rubbed her sore wrists and patiently waited for them to free Rick.

She looked up and saw Mateus staring down at her. He pulled his curly long hair behind one of his ears, tilted his head and smiled at her. He seemed to be pondering something when he leaned down towards her face.

"Don't worry, I take care of you." He promised and smiled.

Michonne looked down at the man's lip and black coarsey straight hair on his goatee and chin. She saw his bottom lip quiver as he licked it which made her stomach turn.

Rick watched as Michonne leaned back and narrowed her eyes at him. It was obvious by the look on Mateus's face what he meant by that.

"Mateus!" The younger man yelled.

"A tempestade, Mateus. Estamos sem tempo!" The younger man chastised and lost his footing when the ship shifted again.

"Cala-te e destranco!" An irritated Mateus shot back as he turned his head and flung his wet hair in Michonne's face. He glared at the man and shoved the keys into the guys chest.

Michonne watched as the man started to unlock Rick. She looked at Mateus and flicked water at his face to get his attention. She smirked as he looked at her.

"You're going to take care of me?" Her seductive tone brought a big smile to his face.

Before he could answer Rick punched the younger man in the face causing him to fall backward. Mateus turned and looked at his shipmate fall. He reached for his gun when Michonne used all her force to kick him in his crotch. She felt his bulge on her chin which enraged her even more. Mateus curled over in pain and backed away as he grabbed his groin.

"You fucking whore." Mateus shouted through clenched teeth.

Michonne spit the water out of her mouth and started to go for him but the ship jerked again causing both of them to loose their balance. She fell back against the railing and slid down the wet cushioned seat. When she looked back she saw Rick quickly move behind Mateus and wrapped his arm around Mateus's neck.

He fought to get free of Rick's choke hold and went for his gun. Rick felt him reach for it and kneed him hard in his tail bone. Mateus cried out in anguish as Rick jerked him off balance and moved his hands around Mateus's face. He grabbed Mateus's chin with one hand and firmly gripped his hair with the other. Mateus screamed as Rick violently snapped his head to the side breaking his neck. They both watched as he fell to his knees in front of Michonne and plopped face down on the deck.

A shot rang out and a hot bullet tore through Rick's shoulder spinning him around. He fell back against the wall of the ship and grabbed his shoulder. Michonne eyes widened as she watched him fall. Her eyes shot from him to the younger man still lying on the deck floor with his gun now aimed at her. Michonne dove towards Mateus's body as the man shot again, missing her. The ship was hit by another huge wave jolting all of them forward.

Michonne quickly crawled to Mateus, swishing water as she reached him. Her hands frantically searched his dead body for the gun when he fired another shot at her. She felt the gun in Mateus's pocket and started to pull it out when it got caught on something. Michonne looked up and saw the spark from the gun as he fired again. She heard Rick yell her name as her body jerked and warm blood sprayed across her neck and chest. She held her breath and rain beat against her face. It took a few seconds for her to register that it wasn't her blood, he'd missed her and had shot Mateus's body.

Michonne clenched her jaw and yanked the gun free. Aiming it at the man's face, she squeezed, hitting him in the chest. The young man cried out as he fell back. She watched the painful expression on his face as he looked down at the blood washing down his coat and back at her. He lifted his arm to shoot again when Michonne shot twice hitting him in the shoulder and the stomach. The constant rocking of the ship was throwing her aim off. The man squinted his face and frowned but still tried to lift his gun. Michonne carefully aimed and pulled the trigger sending a bullet through his left eye that erupted through the back of his head scattering pieces of his brain across the white walls.

Finally, she took a deep breath of air and spit the water out of her mouth. She looked down at Mateus's body and saw the blood from the bullet wound stream into the pool of water on the deck floor. Rick knelt down in front of her. His eyes scanned over her neck and chest for any wounds. He moved her hair to the side and checked her shoulder. There was a lot of blood but no visible holes.

"Did he hit you?" He asked still holding his wounded shoulder.

"No." She answered looking at the man she'd shot and back at Rick.

Rick sighed in relief. He stood up and looked over at the man with the hole in his face. He started over to get the gun when the cabin door swung open. Two men stepped out and Rick turned to look at them. Their eyes locked before they looked down at Mateus. Rick could see them piecing together what happened and watched as the panic sparked in their eyes.

"Michonne." Rick called alerting her to the men as he lunged for the gun.

Before he could reach it, she'd fired off a couple of shots and the men retreated back inside. Rick turned and aimed his gun but the door was closed. Michonne hurried passed Rick as he waited to see if the door would open again.

"We have to get our weapons." She said walking over towards the crates that she watched them load Rick's colt and her katana in.

She popped the top, reached in and grabbed their weapons. The ship continued to get hammered by the waves and Rick and Michonne could hear the men inside yelling at one another. It was getting darker as the cold rain continued to pour. Michonne handed Rick his colt which he check for bullets before holstering it. She slung her sheathed katana around her shoulder and stood by Rick's side as the two waited for the men inside the cabin to come out, guns undoubtably blazing.

They both understood the dangers stacked against them. First, they didn't know how many were on board and they were nearly out of bullets between the two of them. Second, those men could blast out of the front windows of the cabin making it harder for the them to keep their abductors pinned down. Third, it was getting increasingly dark, with exception of the many lightening strikes. Last, and probably most important, if they had by some miracle been able to overtake the ship they had no idea where they where they were.

Michonne went to the other side and peaked around the corner to make sure they hadn't found another way out. She could barely see but there didn't appear to be anyone out there. She wondered how long they would wait to come out as the ship was hit by another wave causing her to stumble against the wall of the cabin. Lightening rolled through the clouds and shot down from the sky lighting up the ocean in front of the ship. That's when she saw it.

She called Rick, who relunctantly left his point of vantage to see what she wanted. He held his wounded arm close to his chest as he came from around her and aimed his gun. He couldn't see anything and looked over at Michonne with a confused expression.

"Just watch." Michonne advised, her eyes intently focused in the distance beyond the ship.

When the lightening struck Rick saw what was so important. He lowered his weapon and took a couple of steps closer trying to make it out. There on the horizon was what looked to be a sillouette of a small island. The rolls of waves made it disappear as soon as they saw it but he was sure he saw it. He was sure of it and so was she. They looked at each other and back towards the island.

"That's why they haven't come out yet, they're waiting to get to shore." Rick asserted.

Michonne nodded when she noticed Rick's blood stained shirt. Her eye flinched seeing all the blood he'd lost. She hurried to the crate and found a long soaked rag. Rick noted the waves getting larger as they moved closer to the island. Michonne hurried back to him, grabbed his hand and put it ontop her shoulder.

"Those waves are too big." He said realizing what would happen if this ship continued on it's course.

"It'll flip." He said walking over to the edge and looking over the side.

Michonne followed him and lifted his arm onto her shoulder again. She began to tightly wrap his arm with the rag.

Rick looked back towards the island that was getting closer.

"We have to jump when we get closer. We can't be out here when those waves hits this ship." He said ducking his head around the corner to keep an eye out for the sailors.

"Rick!" She called wanting him to be still.

Michonne finished wrapping his arm and looked at Rick. She blew the water off her lips and nodded her head.

"You gotta stay with me." Rick said grabbing Michonne's arm to get her attention.

"That water's gonna be cold, almost freezing. Your muscles, everythang will cramp up. You..." Rick warned before another huge wave hit the ship nearly tipping it over.

Rick and Michonne both grabbed on to the metal bar on the side to hold on as the ship tilted and slammed into the water.

Rick slung his head around to find Michonne. He watched as she stood up and held on to the bar. He knew they were still too far out and the waves were too big but it was there only chance.

"Stay with me." He said pulling the strap on her katana to make it snug around her chest.

"Yeah." Michonne said watching Rick snap his colt into place.

It was completely dark, save for the lightening bolts that lit the sky. Rick and Michonne huddled down and waited on the side of the ship as it screatched and shuddered from the force of the waves. They were just out of view of the cabin windows as the rain continued to shower them. Rick knew he had to time it just right. He wanted to get as close to the island as possible. If they jumped too early they probably wouldn't have the strength to swim to the island. Fighting against the waves would tire them out and they could drown. If they waited too long they could be killed just trying to get away from the ship.

He watched as the waves grew larger, so tall that he couldn't see the island anymore. Michonne waited for Rick to give the signal. She fought back the fear and convinced herself that they'd make it. She was never a strong swimmer and had nearly drowned once when she was younger but there was no other option. She'd have to give her all and they would make it, she told herself.

Rick and Michonne heard noises coming from within the cabin. Between the thunder and over the crashigng waves they could hear the sailors arguing and yelling. Rick and Michonne looked at each other as a flood light shot on from a top the cabin. They both looked up at the light and Rick watched as it focused in front of them. As soon as he saw it his heart sunk. He'd never seen anything like it. They heard the power of the wind being sucked up around the enormous wave as it continued to rise before their eyes. The light quickly swiped from side to side of the titanic wave searching for an end but finding none.

Rick stood up and shook his head in disbelief. Michonne stood beside him but heard yelling coming from behind them. Three sailors had come out of the cabin, ran to the stern of the ship and jumped right off. She looked at them in amazement.

"Rick." She called trying to get his attention when another man hastily dove off the edge.

"Rick!" She yelled.

Rick turned to her and began to unbuckle his belt. He slid it from around his waist as she watched him with a troubled look.

"Keep this on! He said as he doubled it around her wrist and tied it tight.

Michonne was confused and he tied it too tight around her wrist. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the side of the ship urging her to climb up with him.

"Swim for the top. Don't stop swimming!" He yelled looking over at her.

"Stay with me, 'Chonne." He told her and squeezed her hand.

Michonne felt his hand shaking as he held her hand. She could see the distress on his face but she also saw the determination in his eyes. She took several deep breaths and blew the cold rain out of her mouth. They stared at each other for a moment and she squeezed his hand. He nodded and she nodded back. The ship began to tilt again as they hit the wave.

"Now!" Rick yelled and she followed him into the wall of water.

Michonne plummeted deep into the wave and immediately felt the icy coldness grip her body. The salt water stung her eyes as she opened them. She looked up at the rolling water above her and started to swim up when she felt Rick tug on her hand. He began to kick his legs to swim toward the other side of the wave and Michonne kicked her legs in the same direction. The wave began to lift them in it's dark merky body when Michonne saw a light moving in the dark. She glanced back to see the ship tumble as the wave devoured it.

A sudden current of water curled around them and ripped Rick from her hand. His body disappeared into the dark wave as she flipped around and was thrust into more of the wave. She looked around feeling the desperate need for air. She saw the wave collide above her and started to swim. Michonne broke through the water and took a deep breath. Her eyes darted in every direction looking for Rick when another wave swallowed her. She swam with all her might to get back to the surface but as soon as she did she was hit by another wave. Her body was pulled around and hurled into the depths. She was disorientated and her arms and legs were as heavy as lead. Still she fought, using all her strength to get to the surface again. And again the ocean denied her, it swept her under with another current before she ever broke through.

She couldn't stop herself, she opened her mouth and the salty water burned her throat and lungs as she enhaled. Michonne felt pain surging through her body and then she went numb. She lifted her hand to touch her face when it suddenly jerked away. She looked over to see Rick pulling the strap around her wrist before everything got dark and she felt herself fall alseep.

8{

Rick used every ounce of his strength to hold on to Michonne as he crawled onto the muddy beach. He pulled her to the edge of the soapy waves and layed her on her back. Rick could hear himself weezing as he took long breaths of air. He tiredly shook her shoulder but there was no response. He leaned over her face to hear if she was breathing but the noise from the waves were too loud. Her chest wasn't moving and he couldn't feel any air from her against his face.

A sudden panic grew in his exhausted body as he straighted her head and opened her mouth. He enhaled deeply taking as much air into his lungs as he could before pressing his mouth to hers and pushing the air into her. He began to cough as he started to wheeze again. He lifted his head and looked down at her motionless face. Again, he took a deep breath of air and blew it into her mouth, this time squinting his eyes and praying that she'd wake up. Again, she was deathly still.

"Michonne!" He yelled. His voice cracked as he roughly shook her face.

Rick furrowed his brow and clenched his jaw as rain poured down his face. He took another deep breath and blew into her mouth. He enhaled through his nose and breathed another breath and another until he felt her chin move. He lifted his head and saw her frown before her chest began to jerk. Tears stung his eyes as he leaned back. He wasn't sure if she was coming back or turning.

She opened her mouth but nothing came out.

"'Chonne?" Rick called as he fell back on his hands. His arms buckled beneath him causing him to land on his elbows.

He watched her face scrunch as she squeezed her eyelids together. Rick knew if she turned it would be the end of both of them. He had neither the strength nor the will to fight her. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he heard her cough. An anguished and relieved smile formed on his face as his head collapsed on the sand. He used his last bit of energy to grab a handfull of her shirt and push her over to the side.

Michonne began to violently cough as she vomitted the water from her stomach.

"Rick?" Was the last thing he heard her hoarse voice say before he lost consciousness.