Film Geeks
"Michonne, where are you going?", Rick asked. He briskly walked up to her and matched her pace as she headed towards the gate.
"To get comics.", said Michonne.
"Comics?", Rick asked.
"Carl's going to need something to distract him while he's at home recovering.", Michonne said as she walked with a pep to her step.
Her katana was on her back and a 9 mm on her side.
"I'll go with you. If you don't mind me coming.", Rick offered.
He had a walkie-talkie, his python and his machete with him.
"You didn't have to ask.", Michonne replied looking at him and gave him a smile.
They walked out the gate and hopped into a car that was parked down the road. The tank was half full, which was more than what they needed for the journey and back. With Michonne behind the wheel, they drove east on Red Herring Street.
"There is a strip mall about five miles on Red Herring. It has a hobby store there. It's listed in the telephone book I found back at the house. It should have comics.", Michonne said.
On the way, Rick radioed Daryl and told him where they were going. They drove past a rusted and broken down sign. It was not evident, but it read, Warning: Flash Flood Area.
"That would make Carl happy. That's thoughtful of you. You know, if it weren't for you, he'd still be in a coma.", Rick said.
"What makes you say that?", Michonne asked.
There was a rumble in the distance.
"You read to him, you gave him massages, and you exercised his limbs. I think all of those things helped.", Rick said. He looked up and noticed there were a couple of gray clouds but the sky was still mostly clear and blue.
"I can't take full credit. Denise did fantastic work. While I was there, others came by. Maybe their presence helped in some way. Enid stopped by and talked to him. While I moved his legs, she massaged his hands. Later on, Father Gabe visited and said a prayer. After that, Carol brought Judith. She was so cute, talking to her brother in her own little language before she fell fast asleep on his chest.", Michonne said.
While she spoke, her face brightened up while she thought about Judith. Rick looked on silently. He smiled and enjoyed her spirit. He glimpsed her gold chain and small pendant. The letter 'M' modestly rested at the base of her slender neck. He wondered if it was a gift from someone close. Maybe it was from a boyfriend, her parents, or a sibling. Her past was something she never spoke of. Who was he to talk. He never spoke about his past either. There were some things he didn't see the point of mentioning.
The skies quickly grew dark, the heavens opened up and heavy sheets of rain came down. Soon, the roads became a river bed and within a few minutes, they found themselves driving in knee deep water and mud.
"Turn here and park. There is too much water on the road. We won't get far in this.", Rick said and pointed to a driveway in front of a house. The driveway was on an incline.
After they parked, they hopped out and ran up to the house. The doors were unlocked. Rick rapped on the door a couple of times. There was no movement inside. So, they let themselves in and barricaded the door shut from the inside. After they did a general walk-through of the entire house to ensure that there weren't any walkers present, they deduced that the house hadn't been occupied since the turn. They searched medicine cabinets, pantries, and, cupboards for anything that they could find useful.
"Michonne. Come. You gotta see this.", Rick said.
He called out from one of the bedrooms and Michonne joined him carrying a small flashlight with her.
"Check this out.", Rick said.
Leaning against the wall were two large bookcases filled with comics. Identically sized, they were about seven feet tall and four feet wide. From top to bottom, the shelves were stacked with comics, all in perfectly good condition.
"Nice find mister Grimes.", Michonne said smiling.
"At least we won't have to go to the strip mall.", Rick said.
"You realize that each shelf has about three hundred comics and there are seven shelves. Well, fourteen between the two bookcases.", Michonne remarked. Her eyes lit up.
"That many. That'll keep Carl busy for a while.", Rick said.
"Well, his birthday is coming up so we don't have to give him all of them at once.", Michonne said. She was smiling from ear to ear at the find.
Rick was impressed that she remembered Carl's birthday. He loved that. He also loved that she always thought ahead. Especially when it came to his kids.
"Looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while.", Rick said while looking out the window.
Michonne took a good long look out the window too and she could tell by the way it looked, the rain was not going to let up any time soon. They sat on the carpet with their backs against the wall.
"Radio home again. Check on things there and let Daryl know we're okay.", Michonne suggested.
Rick did just that. He spoke to Daryl and told him that they are waiting it out until the rain eased up before they head home. He inquired about Carl and Judith. The reception was poor but they managed to hear that everything was fine.
Just as Rick ended his conversation with Daryl, the rain came down twice as hard as before. Thunder and lightening started their song and dance. In close succession, flashes of white light lit up the skies and beamed through the slits of the curtains, intermittently lighting up the room. A mixture of low and heavy rumblings were heard. Sounds of thunder also travelled through the floor, their vibrations could be felt.
"Sounds pretty bad out there. Did you find anything in the kitchen?", Rick asked.
"Yeah, one tin of cat food and a Big Kat.", Michonne said and produced a bar of chocolate. She broke it in two and offered Rick a half and he took it.
"Thanks.", Rick said and he ate the chocolate.
As they sat on the floor, they listened to nature's commotion. Michonne sighed and out of the blue said,
"Deborah Kerr."
"Pardon?", Rick said. He heard what she said clearly but wondered what it meant.
"You're supposed to say the name of the lead actor that acted with the person I just mentioned and then I end by saying the name of the film they both appeared in.", Michonne said.
"In that case, Carey Grant.", Rick said and smiled.
Surprised, she looked at him in silence. It turned out that he was a classic film junkie too.
"And you're supposed to say, An Affair To Remember.", Rick continued, further illustrating his knowledge.
"Oh. Right. You're so right. An Affair To Remember.", Michonne said in amazement. She'd half-expected him not to catch on. But, he did.
"Nice game. Was it something you came up with?", Rick asked.
"Actually it was my sister who did. As kids, she and I loved to watch old classic films. We read up on every movie we watched. Who starred in it, the release date, the actors' bio. Stuff like that.", Michonne said.
"Ah. Film buffs.", Rick remarked. He felt relaxed talking with Michonne.
"Yes, we were.", Michonne replied. She smiled to herself and looked down on the floor.
"She died. Before the turn. Car accident.", Michonne admitted solemnly as she spoke about her sister. It had been a long while since she spoke this freely about her family to anyone. With Rick, she felt just that. Free.
"I'm so sorry. You two sounded close.", Rick remarked. He could hear the sadness in her voice.
"We were. We were only a year apart. She was twenty-one when a drunk driver ran a red light. Anyway, she turned our knowledge of old films into a game. We did this from the time we were in middle school. What started out as a rainy day game, we continued on with it. We would play it at any inopportune moment. While waiting in line, before the start of a baseball game, eating dinner, walking home. You name it. If I was in the bathroom having a shower, she'd be on the other side of the door yelling the name of an actor. Whenever I was feeling down, she'd be right there calling out an actor's name of yesteryear and the silver screen geek in me would join in. We'd go on and on. Eventually, I'd stop thinking about how badly I thought I did on an exam, or, about that fight I had with my boyfriend.", Michonne said.
In the dimly lit room, while the rain poured outside, he listened and watched. He found her voice to be soothing and her face, radiantly beautiful. Being with her made him feel lighter and a bit more carefree. A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time. Not since he was a lad. He hoped he had a similar effect on her. He liked being around her.
"So, how about you, what did you do on a rainy days like this?", Michonne asked.
"My two brothers and me were a tad more roudy indoors, much to our mother's dismay. Boomerangs, balls, shoes.", Rick started.
"Shoes?", Michonne remarked.
"Anything we could throw at each other. When we ran out of things to throw, we'd wrestle.", Rick recalled.
Then, there was a pause. Michonne wondered what was going through his mind at that moment. She thought maybe asking questions about his past was not a good thing and began to regret the whole exercise.
"My brothers, they both worked at oil rigs in Alaska. I don't know if they are alive. I can only hope they are ok.", Rick added.
His voice fell when he said this. Just as Michonne was about to say something encouraging and put his mind at ease, a noise suddenly erupted from clear across the house. It sounded like it came from the kitchen. They stopped talking altogether and got to their feet. Michonne grabbed her katana she'd left leaning up in the corner and followed Rick out the room. Quietly, they went down the hall and into the kitchen. They heard another noise. This time, it came from the broom closet. As they got closer to it, they could smell a bad odour. Could there be a walker inside? Although the closet was small, it was large enough for a child to hide in. If there was someone in there, dead or alive, they had to know. They had to be ready to handle whatever may be on the other side of that door.
Rick looked at Michonne and she nodded at him. Her katana was drawn and ready. He had his python in one hand cocked and with the other, he slowly reached out and took hold of the door knob and turned it. He then flung the door wide open. Nothing sprang out at them. The only thing that stared back was a tiny kitten. Relieved, they lowered their weapons.
"Hey there lil' fella.", Rick said tenderly at the small animal.
He went down on his knees and gently picked up the small bundle of fur. It was mostly black with white feet and it had a white patch on it's chest and chin. It could not have been more than three weeks old. It was on the small side. The poor thing was slightly emaciated. At least it wasn't full of fleas.
"Looks as though he hasn't eaten for days. Where could its mother be?", Michonne wondered outwardly and noticed something else at the back of the closet. It was a dead body of a cat. It looked like it was there for some time.
Michonne remembered the tin of cat food and went to get it. She found a bowl and emptied the can's contents in it and filled another bowl with water from the tap at the sink. While she was there, she looked through the window. It was still raining but not as heavily as before. By this, the lightening and thunder had stopped. She walked over to where Rick was and knelled down in front of him. The kitten was a little weak, but he could still stand. That was a good sign.
"The rain has eased up some. Let's get some food in him.", Michonne said and put the bowls of food and water in front of the little kitten.
"You think we should take him back with us? He won't be able to make it on his own.", Rick said as they watched the kitten eat.
"Olivia did mention seeing rats in the storage rooms. When he is old enough, he could help clear them out.", Michonne offered.
Hungry and thirsty, the kitten ate and drank half of what was put before him. After that, Rick rubbed its tiny belly until he belched. He promptly fell asleep in his arms.
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