Thank you to everyone who has left reviews, followed or favorite this story. This is my first fanfiction, and I am trying to make sure I don't mess this up. I want to send a shout out to TheBaeTide for listening to me rant about my fears of doing something like this and telling me to just go for it. I hope you enjoy this chapter. I will try and have Chapter 5 up by Friday. Just so everyone knows Ila is not a bad person she is just rough around the edges, so please be easy on her. Updated: 04/22/2017 Punctuation and grammar corrections
Updated: 04/22/2017 Punctuation and grammar corrections made
Michonne and Ila entered the house from the back yard to avoid anyone seeing them. Once inside they checked that all the doors and windows were locked and secure.
Luna came down the stairs and found her sisters sitting in the kitchen speaking in hushed tones drinking water.
"Hey, how did it go? Did you find his dad?" she asked anxiously
"No" Ila sighed "when we got there the whole place was abandoned, and we went to his room, and it was empty" her expression was fixed, so it was hard for Luna to read what her sister was feeling at that moment.
Luna scrunched up her face in confusion "Damn so now what are we going to do? Are we going to stay here?" Luna needed her sisters to take the lead, but they both continued sitting at the table neither saying anything but both in deep thought.
Just as Michonne was about to answer the sound of a single gunshot could be heard outside.
"That was close." They all looked wide-eyed at each other then jumped up and ambled up the stairs to peer out the front window that overlooked the street.
"What the hell is going on out there?"
As they peered out the window, they could see down the street a man with a gun and a young boy standing over another man on the ground. They couldn't hear what they were saying, but they could hear the distinct sound of the dead coming down the road.
Ila turned to her sisters grim –faced "See people are losing their damn minds we need to get the hell out of this crazy ass town."
"Chonne" Luna placed her hand on her shoulder "I have to agree with Ila on this one we need to leave like now"
"Well, we can't thanks to our neighborhood shooter. He will draw every damn dead thing for miles to here" Ila continued to look at the scene playing out on the street. The shot did indeed draw more of the dead out, and they began to slowly come from everywhere. All drawn towards the sound and the possibility of a meal.
Still surveying the scene outside Luna worriedly exhaled "Shit, so we are going to be stuck here for a few more days during that time we need to get Carl ready to move."
As they continued to peer out the window they saw the shooter and the young boy help the man on the ground up and start walking away.
"Hey isn't that the person we saw leaving the hospital Chonne?"
"Yeah, it does look like the same person."
"Well, at least now we know they weren't dead" That peculiar feeling came over Michonne again like there was something about the individual in the hospital gown. She continued to stare in the direction that the small group went. She shook her head to try and shake the feeling.
"Come on we have to go talk to Carl" She turned away from the window and followed her sisters out the room.
Michonne began to mentally and emotionally prepare herself to deliver the bad news to Carl.
Carl was quietly crying with his head in Michonne lap. She gently caressed his head as he continued to cry. "It may be a good thing that he wasn't there. It means he could have been taken to somewhere else safe" he nodded his head as if acknowledging what was said but continued shedding his tears quietly.
Carl began to sit up and wipe his tears away "I couldn't help em. I was useless to both of em" he sniffled.
"You are not useless never say that" Michonne scolded him at the same time trying to comfort him.
"... but I am my mom is dead because of me, and my dad is probably also dead" as new tears began to roll down his face. Michonne tried to keep her emotions under control, but she could feel his pain slowly chipping away at her heart. She just wants to hold him tightly and tell him everything will be ok, and things will get better, but she knew that would be a lie. Right now as they all sit in this room trying to offer some type of hope to him the world outside was going down in flames… and fast.
Ila and Luna both were fighting back the tears. Understanding the pain, he was feeling about not being able to help his parents. Both moved to stand around Michonne and help comfort Carl. Luna tapped his shoulder to get his attention to what she was holding for him.
"Carl I found this downstairs with the things your mom brought back." She passed picture to him "I hope it will help you remember how much your parents loved you." She quickly wiped the tears that were once again trying to appear "Don't give up on hope for your dad I'm sure he is just as upset as you are because he doesn't know what happened to you or your mom" Carl fondly stared at the photo. It was him with his parents smiling at one of his birthdays.
"Thank you" Luna nodded as her eyes were now wet with tears.
"So are y'all going to leave me now?" his eyes were downcast to the floor
Ila was the first to speak up "Hell no we aren't going to leave you. You are going to come with us."
He looked keenly at all three woman who was staring at him with sadness in their eyes for him, but all were timidly smiling at him. He didn't want to go. He didn't want to be a burden to them. He would only slow them down he thought.
He began to shake his head "No, I will just slow y'all down."
"No, you won't because we are going to make sure you are 110% ready for whatever is out there" Michonne beamed at him.
"I don't know how to fight or anything. How can I be ready for what is going on out there when I wasn't even ready for what happened in here."
"Hey stop talking like that right now. You are no longer allowed to say things like that especially around us. If we hear it again, we get to punch you in the shoulder and if your flinch you get two hits" Ila tried to lighten the mood in the room.
"And don't worry about not knowing how to fight. We will teach you all you need to know." Luna smirked.
Carl lifted his head after hearing they will teach him how to fight "How can you teach me to fight?"
"Well I don't mean to brag, but we are all black belts in Hapkido. Michonne specialty is the Katana, mine is the "joong bong" which is basically an extended striking stick, and Ila is a beast with the "dan bong" which are short striking sticks. So with the three of us teaching you, you will be a bad ass in no time." Luna's eyes twinkled as she spoke about the sport that she and her sisters love.
"Cool," he was smiling now his sadness forgotten for now.
"But right now we need you to rest and get your strength back because we need to leave here in the next few days" Michonne expression now softer and calmer as she admired how fast his whole demeanor changed from scared, crying child to slightly excited and curious. She shook her head at how easy it was for kids to bounce back sometimes.
"Why do we need to leave?"
"Things are escalating outside" her expression now turned to brooding at what was going on outside now. The sounds of the dead were more noticeable now with the backdrop of glass breaking off in the distance.
Ila was the first to stand and move to the bedroom door "Luna let's check and see if there is anything in this house we will need when we leave" Luna got up and followed her sister out the room.
Michonne was holding Carl's hand as she took this time to quietly speak to him "I know that this is going to be hard to accept at first, but things will get better, it's the law of averages" she tilted her head to the side and smiled "My sisters and I are going to look out for you as one of our own, so you don't have to worry about that " she gently squeezed his hand to convey to him what she was saying was genuine. "But… we will expect you to hold your own."
She could see a hint of fear crossing his face, but she just laughed and pulled him into a gentle hug "I'm not trying to scare you I just want you to be you start training, we will take it slow at first, but will not hold back because that's not what we do."
"Do you understand?" He nodded his head even though he was still kinda scared at the possibility of not measuring up. "Hey look at me" he raised his head and gazed into her dark eyes that were staring intently at him. "You will be fine so don't worry, but I don't want to see you doubting yourself anymore because that will destroy you faster than fear will." He understood what she meant, and by the look in her eyes, he knew she meant business.
"Now come on its time for you to get out of this bed and start walking around, and I want you to walk right into that bathroom and wash up because you are smelling like one of those things outside."
Carl scrunched up his nose at the thought of taking a bath "Do I have to do it today? Can I wait until tomorrow?"
"In your dreams."
"Chonne" Ila called excitedly as she ran back in the room "You have got to come see what we found in the garage."
"I will be right there, but I have to make sure Carl makes it to the bathroom to get cleaned up."
"It's about time you smelled worst than a monkey's ass" Ila eyes lit up as she giggled at him and tousled his hair.
Carl was slightly embarrassed at being on the receiving end of their jokes, but Michonne put his mind at ease when she saw the embarrassed look on his face "Oh and one other thing in this family we tease hard but love harder. Never forget that" he nodded his head smiling big. It felt great to know that he was already considered part of the family.
Once Michonne was finished with helping Carl into the bathroom she made her way downstairs to what she thought was the garage portion of the house. She walked through the door and immediately saw what Ila was so excited about.
"Bad ass isn't?!" Michonne could only nod and smirk because for once her sister was right. What she was looking at was bad ass.
Whoever lived here was a bike and 4 wheeler enthusiast. Laying before her eyes was a Harley Davidson Softtail all black with the blue trim, Kawasaki Zx 10R Lime green with black trim and a Can-Am Spyder Trike. All of the bikes were in pristine showroom condition it looked as if they were never taken out on the road.
"I get the Harley!" Ila almost screamed but catching herself at the last minute. The almost boisterous mistake cause Michonne to side-eye her sister and shake her head. "Says who…. crotch rockets are more your taste Ila. I'm riding the Harley."
"It's lime green .. you know I can't stand bright colors like that.
"Too bad" She smirked and raised an eyebrow at her sister daring her to challenge her any further.
"Wait why am I left with the Trike?"
"Simple little sister it's because you don't have a driver license. Plus Carl will be riding with you." Luna rolled her eyes at Michonne. "I don't think that really matters anymore. I know how to ride a motorcycle."
"Yeah but these maybe too much power for you to handle. It requires a woman with some meat on her legs to keep it under control." Ila winked at her sister
"Yeah, you got the meat alright... cellulite meat" Luna stuck her tongue at her sister.
"You little sh…"
Michonne cut in before this little tit for tat got out of hand "Hey, hey….. Luna, you are on the trike because it will be easier for you to handle and you will have Carl joining you."
Luna pouted and cut her eyes at both of her sisters.
"Ok now that we have squashed that let's start getting our gear together and coming up with a plan on where we are going once Carl is healthy enough to leave" Michonne peered at both of her sisters
"We have got to go back to the car and get our weapons. It's only about 3 miles away, and we will be there in no time with the bikes" said Ila. She was all too eager to get a hold of her striking sticks being unarmed like this disturbed her greatly.
Michonne shook her head "I think it will be too much of a risk going back to the main road. We are going to have to find something else to use till we can find more weapons. Let's search this house again because if there are these types of toys here, I'm sure there are other goodies as well. I'm, sure there is a gun or two in here somewhere."
"So when are we leaving," Luna asked while trying to sit on the trike and see how it feels.
"3 days. We will leave in 3 days. In that time we have to have our gear ready and Carl ready. That means we all have to step up to the plate and make sure we are ready" Michonne voice became firm as to drive home the seriousness of what she was saying to her sisters.
"Are we really going to teach him how to fight?" Luna asked while still sitting on the Trike now bouncing up and down on it testing the suspension.
"Yeah we are and Ila I think you will be the best one for him to start working with."
Ila stared at her sister like she sprouted a second head "Why in the hell is that?"
Michonne ignoring the dirty look coming from her sister just continued "It's because your striking sticks are a good starter weapon for him till he is fully recovered. Plus all of the defensive techniques that you know will help him keep those things off of him"
"You know I'm not going to take it easy with him."
"That's the other reason. You will toughen Carl up a lot quicker than Luna or myself."
"Fine, I hope he is ready for this ass whooping I'm going to dish out."
Even though Michonne wasn't too keen on Carl starting with Ila, she knew it was what he needed. Ila would work him hard, but she would be fair to him and make sure he was ready to leave in 3 days.
"Ok ladies let's get in there and get started."
As they all left the garage and entered the house once again, Michonne couldn't help but wonder what they will encounter once they reentered the nightmare that was outside. As the thoughts were running through her head, the moans of the walking dead outside seeped into her mind. She looked towards the door and knew whatever was waiting for them outside it sure as hell wasn't ready for them.
A/N: Comments and feedback are always welcome