Reaching the fifth floor entrance the loud popping sound of ammunition clapped in her eardrums. Bracing herself, Michonne held the rifle up and threw the door open. At the end of a long hallway Carol's head popped out from behind a file cabinet, leaning out to fire rapidly. Three cops stood with their backs to Michonne, firing and periodically ducking behind pieces of furniture. Carol hit one of the cops in the chest and he collapsed over a desk he was using for shelter. Michonne quickly drew her katana and hurried towards the remaining officers, meandering through debris and doorways to remain unseen until she was within reach. Slipping out when Carol had retreated back to her corner, Michonne slashed at the remaining two cops. One slumped forward, blood pooling from his abdomen. Her eyes met Carol's, taking her in as she panted heavily as gritted her teeth and swinging out once more from behind the cabinet made a quick headshot to the remaining officer. He splattered across the wall before toppling to the ground.
Carol made a move towards Michonne but faltered, dropping to her knees. Michonne hadn't even heard the gunshot that hit Carol's thigh.
"Stupid bitch," a man's voice reverberated through the hall. Michonne stood and gripped the katana. "You're mine sweet cheeks," he continued, the click of his gun readied.
Struggling to get to her feet, Carol glared with defiance at Joel, the cop that had taken far too much pleasure in abusing her for the past two days. Michonne took off running. He appeared in front of Carol, and punched her jaw with the butt of his glock and blood filled her mouth. He pushed her over, straddling her hips, moving to get his hands on her.
"Go to hell," she spat the blood out in his face and flashed her eyes at Michonne. Joel had been so focused on Carol that he hadn't noticed her raging towards him. He didn't even have the time to glance behind him before Michonne thrust the katana between his shoulder blades. Sputtering, Joel fell to the floor. Carol grabbed his glock and put a round into the already dead man's head before slumping back against the wall. Michonne dropped beside her.
"I didn't see him there, must have been hiding in a storage closet," Carol's panted. A dark red stain was growing on her pant leg. Michonne leaned back towards the cop, ripping a sleeve from his uniform and tying it tightly around Carol's wound.
"C'mon Carol, we gotta go."
The grey-haired woman shook her head, "I won't make it down all those stairs."
"You'll be fine, I got you. Come on!" Michonne gripped at her shoulders, attempting to force her up off the ground.
Carol put a hand on Michonne's arm, "Did you see Beth? Is she okay?"
Nodding, Michonne covered Carol's hand with her own, "She's fine. She found me and Noah and they left. They're probably safe and waiting for us so we have to go. Now."
A smile spread across Carol's face, but she still made no moves to stand, "Mich, you have to go. I'm just gonna slow us down. My leg…"
"What are you doing, Carol? Huh?" she grasped the other woman's shoulders firmly, "You want me to leave you here or something? Cause I'm not going to do that. You're going to get up and I'm going to help you down those stairs. Where's the woman who stormed in on that cannibal camp a few days ago, huh? Where is she?"
Carol snorted, almost laughing before turning away from her, "If you go down the South stairwell I can cover you from here."
"Don't be a dumbass," Michonne stood and with great force pulled Carol to her feet, throwing her arm around her waist to support her.
"Michonne," Carol warned but Michonne began to walk, insistent on dragging Carol along if she didn't help a little. Sticking close to the wall they moved slowly. Getting to the south stairwell would take them right to where Michonne and Noah entered and hopefully away from the fight that clogged the main doors.
They made it halfway down the hallway before they had to stop. Their labored breathing mixing together as the distant stairwell loomed over them. Carol may have been small but she was full of muscle and much heavier than she looked. Shuffling into a hospital room to take a break they sunk to the floor after securing the door. Leaning their backs against a medical cabinet Carol broke the silence between them, "I wasn't going to stay."
Michonne kept her eyes trained down the doorway, "I know. Daryl told us."
A spark flashed across Carol's eyes before she nodded, her heart pulling at the sound of his name and the acknowledgement that he was alive and safe. Michonne continued, "I know you don't feel like you belong, like you're some kind of monster not fit to be around others. But…we're all monsters now. We've all done shit that we never in a million years thought we would do. It's not that world anymore, and you, Carol, you fit in this new way of life. You did what you had to do back at that prison. I would have done it too, if I was around more. But I was too caught up in my own crap."
"You were trying to protect us from the Governor, from a real threat," Carol's voice was hard.
Michonne looked at her, "It wouldn't have mattered if we all died from the fucking flu. You made the decision that any one of us should have made, would have made, if we were being rational. Daryl and I were set on revenge; Sasha would have done it if it wasn't her brother's girlfriend. Rick had his head buried in dirt. If he pulled it out of the mud long enough to take a fucking look around, he would have killed Karen and David too. They weren't going to make it, they were dead already."
Carol bit her tongue, consenting to what Michonne was saying. She took in a deep inhale before laying a hand on Carol's shoulder, "We need you. I need you. I need to know that there is a pillar there when Rick decides to bury himself again. Lord knows I love and respect that man, but he sometimes he tries so hard to hold on to who he used to be. He's always going to struggle with that. And it's going to be our demise. I need to be able to look at you and know that at least one other person is thinking clearly. You see the world of how it is, Carol, and you've figured out how to live in it. We need you."
Michonne leaned forward, touching her forehead to Carol's. Pushing her back slightly, but keeping a firm grip on Michonne's dark shoulders Carol nodded, the resignation gone from her face, a hopeful resolved settled in. After a moment, Carol wiped some blood that was already drying from her lip, "I didn't just kill Karen and David."
Her voice was quiet and Michonne had to strain to hear her. She kept her attentive silence as Carol continued, "I came back to the prison, just at the end of the attack. I saw Tyreese running out with Judith…and with Mika and Lizzie. When I caught up with them, we found this house. It was perfect really, settled in a pecan grove and it had everything we'd ever need. Tyreese wanted to stay, and I agreed. It was a safe place to…to raise the girls," she swallowed and pulled in a breath, "But Lizzie…she couldn't handle walkers. She didn't want to kill them, didn't understand. She, um…she killed Mika to prove…to show to Ty and me that we were wrong about walkers. They weren't bad. She was going to do the same to Judith." Carol paused allowing the horror in Michonne's eyes to pass. Michonne had to steady herself against the floor trying to desperately comprehend how a little girl—a child could commit such atrocities.
"We decided that Lizzie couldn't be around others. Judith wasn't safe. It's not like we had a choice there wasn't someplace we could bring her and hope she'd get better with time and care and…so we had to—I had to. I killed her," her words became rampant before she choked out her final charge.
Michonne shook her head feeling her own eyes prickle as Carol began to cry, and she grabbed Carol's hand.
"You saved her," Michonne didn't let go of her, "She would never had made it in this world, and when she grew up who knew what kind of corruption she would turn to. You kept her from that fate. You did the right thing Carol."
Blinking through bleary eyes Carol furiously brushed away the tears that persisted to flow, "I just don't know how many more of them I can lose."
"I had a son," Michonne confessed, "He was only about one when this whole…thing happened. I lost him after a few months. Left him at the base I was at with his father while I went on a supply run. When I came back, he was dead. I know that shadow Carol that follows you everywhere you go. We're supposed to protect them and we couldn't. They're gone and we're here and that's not how it should be. I was a wreck after that. Withdrawn and alone and just moving forward to survive. I was barely human…until I found Andrea."
"I never knew…I'm sorry Michonne. I shouldn't have told you all that. I didn't mean—"
She shook her head cutting Carol off, "I understand. I understand you. We're strong, stronger than a lot of them. If anything ever happened to Carl, or Judith, Rick'd never make it. He wouldn't be able to pull himself out of that, like we did, like you've done over and over again."
Michonne gravitated towards Carol, who opened her arms, and Michonne settled herself against her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around Carol's small waist and in turn, Carol encircled her dark shoulders. Inclining her chin on Michonne's forehead the pair allowed themselves to forget their surroundings. For just a minute or two they sat settled into each other, while remaining alert and keeping an ear out for danger. This was a rescue of the soul as they reminded each other that they weren't so alone. All the pain and confusion and loss was shared between them like a calculated balance. They were still mothers, and their hearts were still full of tenderness and unconditional love, even if it seemed lost amongst the dimness of the new bitter world. They were fighters and they were lovers and they were needed.
"He won't, you know," Carol said after a beat, Michonne's eyes narrowing in confusion as they withdrew from each other, "Rick. He won't bury himself. You keep him straight…you're good for him." Letting out a relieved sigh Carol pushed off from the cabinet.
Michonne stood and reached down to help Carol up. "C'mon," she said, a smile pulling at her lips, "Let's go be badass and show these fuckers that they don't mess with mama bears."
Carol chuckled as they readied their weapons, leaned against each other and hurried off again down the hallway.
