Carol was uncharacteristically absent from the dinner table that night. Apparently she wasn't feeling well. The meal was pleasant and Myka felt a bit more comfortable than usual. Daryl sat beside her and nudged her to join the conversation every so often. The discussion concerned finding any stores or houses that they hadn't made runs to yet. The search for supplies would take them further away from the prison. Daryl and Rick had plans to go on an overnight scouting mission at the end of the week. She listened but didn't hear them talk. She kept pushing her hair over her face; she was still self-conscious about her black eye and bruised cheek. Even after three days it was still noticeable. It constantly reminded her that coming back here hadn't been easy. Part of her felt like a teenager and knew well the rage of loud and scary girls, the games of shallow people and part of her still wanted to leave, but she made herself stay. She was tougher than that. She remembered she'd lived in some hellish foster homes and had done a stint in a homeless shelter mixing with the crackheads and crazies. She could do this. She'd made a choice and given her word to Daryl. She was not a weak, running woman.
"So what do you say Myka?"
"Huh?" She looked up when she heard Maggie mention her name.
"About helping me with the dishes tonight? Since Carol's sick. Unless you have watch or something?"
"Um sure I can do that." Myka was surprised and little self-conscious. None of the women had ever asked her to join them or help with the chores. She stood and began clearing the table with Maggie. She gave her a smile and Maggie returned the gesture.
"Thanks, Maggie."
"For what, piling work on you?" She answered with a good-natured laugh. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as she thought.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..
"Missed you at supper tonight. You okay?" Daryl leaned against the open door of Carol's cell.
"I'm fine. Just needed some time to myself."
"I get that."
"I'm not hiding away if that's what you think."
"Didn't."
"We haven't talked Daryl, really talked."
"I know," he sighed. "Look Carol, I...I care about you. We've been through a lot, we're friends."
"Friends? That's all you believe we are?" Carol's mouth hung open. They had started as friends, but desire had blossomed. Why wasn't he admitting it?
"Yeah. I think you got the wrong idea. I didn't mean for you to."
"I'm better for you than Myka is. I'm a better woman and I'm more capable. I'm willing to do what has to be done. She is a weak, insecure child. She'll screw you over."
Carol was a survivor. She had survived the abuse of her husband, depression, and the loss of her child. She was no longer a victim and she'd be damned if anyone treated her like one or tried to take anything away from her. Only the strongest survived and she had focused on developing her strength and changing her mindset to that of a warrior. She was a tough and capable woman of action. She was as tough as any man. She was a perfect partner for Daryl. His match. She was an inspiration, someone to be admired. Myka? Who was she? Some girl who showed up needing refuge? Carol had never bothered to learn Myka's story about surviving the attack on her former group by a band of savage men. She'd made it alone for months in the woods before she stumbled upon Glenn on a run.
"Carol you're mad. I get that, but I'd never hurt you on purpose you know that. The fact is Myka and me...we're together. That's how it is."
"You are hurting me Daryl. She is making you do this I know she is. After she's done toying with you, she will leave you. Again."
"You don't know what you're talking about. Nobody makes me do a damn thing I don't want to do, " he began to raise his voice. "Myka's with me and I'm with her."
Carol shook her head. "For now maybe but mark my words, she'll let you down."
"Man, Carol I thought maybe you could be happy for me. Something good is happening in my life."
"I'm a good piece of your life. Don't you see? She'll leave just like everybody else leaves you."
"You don't even know her Carol. She's been through shit too. She's fought to make it, you should get to know her."
"I know enough. I know she's only using you. It'll be like your mother, your brother all over again. I'm the only one who never let you down. I'll never leave you Daryl. I am the only one."
The mention of his mother knocked the wind out of him like a sucker punch. Carol knew how hard it had been for him to open up and talk about his mother. Now she was using his emotions again him.
"I gotta get out of here before I say something I don't want to say," he clenched his jaw and turned away. "Something we'll both regret. "
Carol dropped her head in her hands and listened to the echo of his boots stomping away down the down the hall. He spotted Myka as she reached her cell. She smiled and began speaking.
"Clyde and Carl are playing. It's the cutest thing-"
Before she could finish, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into the cell closing the blanket covered door and shoved her into the wall with a hungry kiss.
"Whats wrong? You're mad-" She murmured between his assaults on her lips.
"M' fine...fine now."
He grabbed her ass and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to..." she managed to say as he hoisted her up.
He carried her to the bunk. He pulled back. "I do. I want you. Bad." As he laid her down he asked, "You ain't going anywhere right? This is-"
"This is real Daryl, I'm not leaving you. I'm in. All in."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .
"Faster please."
It's just what Daryl needed to hear, and pretty soon their bodies were moving together in a perfect rhythm.
Straightening his arms, he looked down at her. His eyes fastened on her heaving breasts which were now covered with a light sheen of sweat. Her thighs were pressed against his and her fingers were digging into his shoulders. Even as Myka's hips were moving in perfect rhythm with his and as good as it felt, he couldn't help thinking about what it would feel like to do it in other positions. He had waited so long for this and Myka made him feel comfortable so he wanted to enjoy it in every way he could.
"Can we move?" He rasped in her ear.
"M..move?"
"Yeah. Can we, you know?" He grunted, "try a different way?"
Myka frowned. For a moment, she looked upset and he thought he'd somehow screwed up, but she quickly smiled and said, "Anything you want Daryl. But, I want to finish like this, okay?"
"Sure," he lowered his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth, causing her to moan and asked, "Can we...uh...?"
"I know what you want." She winked. "Sit up."
He forced himself to slide from inside her and sat back on his knees, watching as Myka drew her legs up and rolled over onto her hands and knees.
"Goddamn," he breathed as he took in the sight of Myka from behind.
Her firm ass looked even better pushed up in the air with her slickness waiting between soft thighs. Kneeling behind her, he grabbed her hips and placed his cock on the cheek of her ass.
Myka tossed her head, sending her long black hair across the smooth skin of her back. "You going to take me or just look at me?"
Take her. The way she said that caused him to push his cock down between her legs and enter her with one long thrust.
"Oh fuck!" Myka cried out. "Damn, that's deep!"
"Sorry." Daryl began to pull out, but she surprised him.
"I didn't say stop. Just said you were deep. Now go ahead and give it to me."
Holding her hips, he started fucking her with long, hard strokes. Each one ended with her releasing a soft grunt and Daryl moaning at how good she felt.
This was even better than the first time they'd fucked. Not just sex, but with a girl who sure as hell wasn't shy about it and who was not only damn sexy, but one he trusted. Myka sounded as if she were enjoying it as well. That opinion was driven home when she started rocking back and forth, shoving her ass back into his driving cock.
"Oh, fuck, this feels good..." Myka sighed and couldn't suppress a giggle. After a minute, she said, "Stop."
"I ... am I doing something wrong?"
"No, but I want my favorite. Lay on your back."
Daryl withdrew and fell back on the mattress. Mika swung her leg over his hips and straddled him. Reaching back, she guided him into her pussy and let her weight go. They both moaned as she sank down on him and started rocking her hips back and forth.
She braced her hands on his chest and leaned over, sliding her tits back and forth, her nipples grazing his lips. Moving faster and harder, she slammed herself up and down, and it was his turn to start making whimpering sounds while she rode him. He was breathing hard and his legs were trembling beneath her as she moved even faster.
"Shit," he moaned, "Myka, I..."
"Not yet," she gasped, immediately slowing down.
He groaned in frustration as the feeling he was going to come faded, but Myka made up for it. Rocking her hips gently, she sat straight up and lifted her arms over her head, making a show of slowly and sensually riding him.
"Look at you," he whispered, staring at her gorgeous tits and shapely body as she teased herself across his cock. "Jesus, you look..."
"Glad you think so," she whispered as she cupped her tits and stroked her nipples.
He put his hands on her hips and began to push and pull, guiding her. In this position, she was teasing, but he didn't mind. The longer this lasted, the better. Myka was sweating, her face was flushed and her nipples looked as hard as he felt.
She smiled down at him. "How about we go back to where we started?"
She rolled off him and no sooner was she on her back than he was back between her legs and sinking slowly into her.
"Come down here," she ordered gently as he slowly moved inside her.
He slid his arms under hers so their bodies were pressed together. As her lips found his, Myka wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him deeper into her warm embrace. He began moving a little faster but was still taking his time, finding that he was enjoying it as much as he had going harder when she was on her knees.
"Daryl, you feel so good. Please don't go faster. Just keep it like this."
Looking down at her, he smiled at the sight of her lips slightly parted and her face flushed with passion. Her long hair was fanned across the pillow and her eyes were closed as they made love in the soft glow of the candles.
Making love. He wasn't sure if that's what they were doing when they started, but right now there was no doubt that this was more than just fucking. They were making love.
She opened her eyes and stared up at him, her lips curling into a soft smile.
"Myka, you're so...you...you're beautiful."
"You, you're not just saying that because we're—"
"No, I mean it." He paused and moaned as he felt his body tensing. "You just are."
"I..." Her legs tightened around him and her hips moved faster. "Please don't stop. Please keep going...I want to come with you."
Her words sent a thrill through him. Even as he felt his own orgasm building, he fought to hold on. He was using long, slow strokes and felt Myka's back arch and her hips push into him. She was whimpering in his ear and her thighs were trembling against his sides. He was shaking as well with the effort to hold back as long as possible.
She looked up into Daryl's face and watched as his breathing became faster. Their hips collided one more time and sent her over the edge with him following. She moaned as Daryl put his mouth on hers muffling both their cries of pleasure.
After, she closed her eyes and rested her cheek on Daryl's chest, content. She wasn't lonely and felt amazing to belong with someone. "Thanks," she whispered.
"Welcome..I guess."
"I meant thanks for today, standing up for me, telling Carol about us."
He nodded and stroked her hair. When Daryl's heart rate returned to normal and he felt Myka's head heavier on his chest, he figured she was asleep so he gingerly lifted her head and placed it on the pillow. He dressed silently. As he made his way to the door, her voice stopped him.
"Where are you going?" She asked sleepily.
"Back to my cell."
"Why? Something wrong?" She sat up. "Did I do something?
"Nah, I just figured you'd want me to."
"Why?"
"I know you want to stay independent. Figured you want space..."
"Oh." She looked down. "Do you...want space?"
"I...thought it's what you wanted."
She pushed her hair off her face and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. He thought she looked disappointed.
"Not what I asked you Daryl."
"No." He said almost too quietly for her to hear. "I don't."
"Then come back to bed."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She smiled slightly. "Idiot."
He laughed quietly and sprawled back down beside her.
"You feel good close to me," she murmured.
"Never said that to nobody before. Bout being beautiful. You didn't laugh."
"Of course I didn't, you said I'm... no one ever did."
"Cant believe that."
"Its true. Daryl?"
"Yeah?"
"I love," she paused, "...that you said it."
He closed his eyes and smiled. He couldn't ever remember being this relaxed. He lightly ran his fingers along Myka's shoulder and she cooed softly, nuzzling her face into his neck. He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head, letting his head fall back on the pillow, his mind drifting.
He opened his eyes. A couple of the candles had burned out. He pulled in a deep breath of her sweet scent and let himself indulge in the sensation of her warm, soft body next to his. She had draped her leg across his thigh and the heat of her pussy pressed into him. Her breasts were pushing against his side and she was breathing deeply into his neck.
He lay there amazed at how good this felt. Actually sleeping with someone was something that had never crossed his mind. It had crossed hers though. And he liked that. He liked this.
... ... ... ...
After a week, things settled into a routine. Myka felt more comfortable pitching in and interacting. Tensions had lowered. Still, she took work like watch duty or manning the gate that allowed her to stay on her own. She spent her free time with Daryl and Merle for the most part. Merle turned out to be an interesting character and an unexpected ally. She liked the man despite what she'd heard about him from the other members of the group. He had bad blood with Rick and Glenn, but he was Daryl's brother and Myka could sense the bond and the care there. She suspected part of the reason he even gave her a chance was for Daryl's sake. She and Daryl spent their nights in her cell without question. Falling asleep together after fucking, talking or just enjoying the sound of each others breathing with Clyde keeping watch on his bed of blankets by the door was best home Myka had ever had. They hadn't officially moved in together in one cell, wanting to keep their independence, but every night together felt secure. The unease of feeling she may have forgiven Daryl too easily still cropped up. When she asked him countless times if they were moving too fast he'd say maybe, but that they were making up for lost time.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .
It was a stunning revelation I had while I was fantasizing about you one night back at the farm. I'll never forget it. Carol's mind wandered while she leaned against the fence and watched Daryl as he worked on his motorcycle across the yard. Your attention turned to your crossbow so I kept fantasizing about you. You turned it over and I imagined you turned me around to face you. I watched you focusing on your weapon, oblivious to my overwhelming desire for you. In my fantasy, you inched closer, but you didn't kiss me yet. I wrapped my hands around you and you wrapped yours around my neck. You pulled me gently in and kissed me. The kiss sealed it completely. You wanted to know me as a woman, and I wanted to let you. You had no idea that in my head, you were about to make me come. You had no idea that you were the only one that could do it. I still believe that. You did make me come like you always make me come. You lifted me onto the counter after you did, and you began to fuck me. Like the cherry on top, this part was the best. It was nothing short of bliss. It was not only happiness for me, but you as well. You always fuck me like it's the first time you've been with me. This fantasy is more than just a wish...
"That okay Carol?" Rick asked.
"What?" She answered, snapped out of her reverie. She reluctantly pulled her eyes away from Daryl. She pretended the sun had been obstructing her vision. "What?"
"The busted water pump. I'm gonna have Tyreese take care of it but not for a few days. Too many herds around to take chances outside the gates. We got enough water stored for a few days. No one goes out there. Understand?"
"Of course," she agreed. After Rick headed back inside she walked down to the front gate. Another man is afraid to do what needs to be done.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .
Carl and Myka kept watch at the front gate in silence for the first half hour of their shift. A conversation eventually started when Carl said, "I like having Clyde around. My mom didn't let me have a dog. Always wanted one."
"I'm glad. You are so good playing with him. I love dogs," Myka replied. "I had one before all this walker shit started. Oh, I shouldn't swear in front of you huh?"
"You can. I swear all the time."
"You do? Your dad doesn't care?"
"Shit no."
They smiled, knowing better.
"Daryl is happier you know. Since you've been here."
She looked down at him. "Really? How can you tell?"
"He's talking more. He told me a joke the other day and he let me try his bow."
She smiled a little.
Carl was halfway through all the reasons Daryl was more pleasant to be around lately when movement beyond the fence caught his eye. Carol was on the wooden platform above the water pump. "My dad said nobody's supposed to be outside."
"Maybe she asked him?" Myka suggested.
"No, he was serious he told me to make sure too. Not to let anyone out." Carl unlocked the gate and jogged over to Carol. "You shouldn't be out, my dad said..."
As Carol lifted her head and straightened from her crouched position on the planks, Myka saw a small group of corpses emerging from the treeline. Before she could shout, one walker lurched forward surprisingly quickly and was about to grab Carl. The rotting man's jaw flapped eerily in the wind, dislocated by the look of it. A large deep cut ran down his entire left arm, his clothes were ripped to shreds and were only hanging on by the barest of threads, and he was a waxy pale whitish-green color streaked with aged, crusty dried blood.
All emotion drained from Myka; the warm feelings she'd been entertaining in the pit of her stomach moments ago dissipated quicker than steam from a kettle and she was left shaking and white.
"Carl!" She called out. "Carol! Get him out of there!"
The creature closed in far too quickly for her liking. Time seemed to slow, it was barely six feet from Carl now and she found it almost impossible to believe he and Carol couldn't have noticed it. She took off, sprinting towards them. Suddenly three more walkers set upon Carol and Carl. Now aware of his predicament the boy pulled out his revolver. The kickback slammed the pistol up high into the air as the bullet soared across the short space between himself and the Walker. Myka watched as it passed Carol, missing her head by scant inches, to explode fiercely into the skull of the reanimated corpse.
"Go Carol, run!" He shouted, his voice cracking with stress. "I'll cover you!"
Myka's mind and body froze at the crack of the bullet, torn between running and fighting, she was a rabbit caught in the spotlight. At that moment, a Walker crashed through the bushes and onto her, knocking her to the ground. She grunted as the dirt rose to meet her then immediately freed her knife to impale the thrashing oddity as it gnashed at her face. She crawled out from under the decomposing body just in time to down another as it neared her.
She hastily counted eight more in front of her and removed her gun from her holster. She took down the fastest ones first, leaving the less agile ones staggering towards her slowly. Bashing the head of one with the butt of her gun, she sent her foot flying into the neck of another, sending it sprawling onto the muddy ground with a sick crunch. After taking out the last two in front of her, she looked to her left to find Carl, but couldn't. Carol had made it back inside the fence, but Carl wasn't with her.
A pang of fear shot through her stomach as she ran towards a smaller group of the living dead. She stopped to shoot four rounds into the heads of oncoming walkers, then again began searching for Rick's son. "Carl!" She screamed frantically as she felt the fear rise in her throat. "Carl, where are you?"
She had mowed down a few off to her left before she spotted him on the ground kicking frantically at a shredded menace. He was out of bullets. Horrified, she used all her strength to plunge her knife into its skull and pull it off of Carl. She checked around her to make sure the threat was over and collapsed on the ground next to the boy.
He looked up, eyes full of fear and shame "Myka thanks, I..."
"Don't thank me, it's what we do. Hey, where's Carol? Is she okay?"
Carl pointed at her now at the head of the path almost at the door to the cell block. Myka shook her head with disbelief. At least she closed the gate, she thought sarcastically.
"Hey, Myka?" Carl interrupted her thoughts. "Can you not tell my dad about this? He'll be pissed at me for going outside."
"Why? You were trying to help Carol."
"But I got into more of a mess, didn't I? Please, don't tell him."
"Hey, you saved Carol's ass. Carl you were fucking brave today you didn't do anything wrong. He might want to know..."
Carl shook his head. "My dad expects a lot of me. Please."
She nodded. "If you don't want me too I won't. It's between us. But you might be surprised at how he reacts if you ever decide to tell him."
Carl shrugged. "Maybe. Hey, can you not tell Daryl either?"
Myka nodded though that would be more difficult. She wanted to confide in Daryl because Carol's actions had freaked her out. It was as if the woman had wanted Carl to be hurt or killed Myka too so it would look as if it was Myka's fault. Unless Carol had just panicked? But she had promised Carl. She remembered being a kid and knew how much her confidence meant to him.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. .. .
The next morning Myka started to believe Carol had just panicked the day before during the walker attack. She couldn't believe that a mom would put any child at risk or not do all she could to save him. If it had been my Myka alone, maybe her actions could be seen as nefarious but she gave Carol the benefit of the doubt.
So..." Myka looked past Daryl at the sun rising over the Eastern fence "Come back okay?"
He was bent over under the hood of a black Dodge Charger checking the engine. He and Rick were taking the vehicle to search for supplies.
Daryl snorted."That's always the plan." He stood up and wiped engine grease from his hands with the rag he kept in his back pocket. He squinted down at her. "Don't need to remind me."
"I know, but I...never had anybody to wait for."
"I never had nobody to come back to."
"Yeah you did." She lightly punched his arm and shifted on her feet. "Merle. The group."
"Nobody I'd ever wanna kiss goodbye though." He pulled her in and covered her mouth with his.
"You got somebody to miss you now..." She gasped, catching her breath and tasting him on her lips.
He pulled away shaking his head with a self-deprecating smile. "You're turning my life into a damn romance novel." He growled and returned his focus to checking the car's oil.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ...
The pavement hummed under the tires of the souped-up sports car and Rick opened his window to feel the breeze as the they sped along the winding back road. Clyde sat up in the back seat and raised his nose into the wind picking up scents from the forest.
"I'm sorry Daryl."
"Huh?" He asked reaching behind the seat to pat his dog's head, keeping his other hand on the wheel.
"About the way I treated Myka. I should have trusted your judgment of her and I'm sorry I didn't."
Daryl nodded and Rick went on. "She saved Carl's life."
"What? When? She didn't say nothing to me about that."
"Me either, Carl asked her not to and she respected that. But he broke down last night and told me that when they were pulling watch at the gate yesterday, he saw Carol out trying to fix the water pump. I told nobody to go out there, but she did...and a couple of Walkers cornered her cut her off from the gate. Carl ran out, helped fight them off and Carol made it inside. Then a bunch more came and surrounded my boy. Well, Carol just left. Daryl, Myka jumped right in risking her own life for Carl. He said she was just there behind him and they fought four dead sons of bitches off by themselves."
"Sounds like Myka." Daryl smiled a little. "But don't sound like Carol. She didn't say nothing?"
"Carl didn't want to tell me she'd been out there against orders or that he'd gotten himself into trouble." Rick shook his head. "He said he's no rat. I haven't asked Carol about it yet." He looked pensive. "You'd think it would be the first thing Myka would go announcing to me especially with all that's been going on with Carol but she didn't. She didn't cause Carl didn't want me to know or you or anyone that Carol had done something so stupid and risky and that he'd almost died because of it. Myka saved my boy's life and she respected him. He told me all this himself though; he said he manned up and admitted it to me because Myka treated him like a man."
"Told you Rick, she's good people."
"Yeah," he drawled."You did and I'm sorry I acted like a jackass before. She's one of us, no doubt."
"Thanks for making it right with me and all but Myka is the one you ought to be saying this to."
.. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .
"Are you a girl with an eye on the past?" Merle asked casually looking at Myka over his fanned hand of cards.
Myka shrugged. After dinner, she and Merle usually played cards with Daryl but tonight they were on their own.
"What are you running from darlin'?" Merle asked with a curious gleam in his eye.
She smiled. "Nothing. Not anymore. "You?"
He nodded. "Heard that. If you keep running you bound to lose your way, that it? "
"Something like that. You just stay lost."
"My brother's slowing you down though, ain't he?"
"Yeah. I'm staying put."
"Good. You're good for him."
She didn't know what to say.
"He'll be back by tomorrow. Don't you worry about him." Merle said as he laid down a five card straight.
"Fuck a duck!" Myka dropped her cards. "How do you do it? That's four games in a row."
The serene smile he showed only to a privileged few spread across his face. "I think I'm beating you by about a hundred points here. Will we be forfeiting the game, girlie?"
Myka wasn't really frustrated, but she played it up for laughs as Merle went through his ashtray and picked out all the butts with an inch or more left on them. Into his pocket, they went, to be dissected and rolled up into homemades.
"Here come the leeches," Merle said as he finished up.
It was his term for some of the women in the group. It had seeped into her self-talk, but she was doing her best to rise above and engage the others. "They're not so bad." She smiled as he walked out. After a short chat with Maggie and Beth Myka decided to turn in.
... ... .. ... .. .. .. .. .. .
Myka woke with a start, as had become her norm since the dead had stopped dying. Slivers of silver moonlight from the window across the cell block softly lit the room giving her some kind of an idea what time it was. Very late or very early. She cast a glance to her side, mildly lonely remembering that Daryl wasn't there. He wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Sighing, she sat up and stretched. She was restless, so she decided to walk downstairs to the kitchen area. She was surprised to see Carol sitting in the shadows.
"Whoa scared me for a second."
"I have insomnia," Carol explained. "I'm usually here this time of night." After a pause, she added, "Come on and let me make you some tea." She turned her back and began to boil water on the camp stove. "I have a special calming brew I like to make."
Myka looked skeptical and thought of leaving but changed her mind. She was making an effort to get along with everyone. Maybe Carol was too? Alone with Carol in the commissary, Myka sat on the kitchen counter and accepted the cup, hoping it would be a gesture of good will. She took a sip, then said, "I really think we should talk. If we are going to live together like this, I think we should clear the air. "
Carol pursed her lips and waited for Myka to continue. "Carol, want to ask you about the other day. What happened? If you were scared, I get it, but-"
"Scared?" Carol laughed. "I wasn't scared. I was testing you. I'd never let anything happen to Carl. I wanted to see how you'd handle it."
"You're kidding?"
"No, I'm very serious. You handled yourself adequately. Actually, I'd respect it if you hadn't hesitated. That one moment I saw the panic in your eyes, how you faltered. You're the one who was scared. Being scared gets people killed. I would never have hesitated for one second."
"Nothing wrong with a little fear. It's what keeps us human." Myka countered taking a large sip of tea. She pushed herself off the counter to her feet.
Carol shrugged off the comment refusing to acknowledge any positivity in fear. "You made it and saved Carl, I'm giving you credit. You know I've been through a lot," Carol began.
"We all have."
"True enough. I know you think I'm an evil bitch."
"You did threaten to kill me. Twice."
"And yet you did nothing about trying to kill me first."
Myka narrowed her eyes wondering what Carol was getting at. The older woman went on, "I would have. If the tables were turned and you threatened my life, I'd have attacked first. It's not personal. I'm not evil, I am a survivor. I am strong, strong enough to do what has to be done. There is no room for sentimentality anymore. No room for hesitation. Hesitate you lose; hesitate you die."
"In some cases sure, but..."
"No, in all cases. I don't hate you Myka. I don't hate anyone, I just refuse to lose anything else. The way the world is now, you are either a victim or a victor. I know what I am. If you're still alive, you've obviously fought hard, so don't think this is personal. I am a warrior with a job to do."
Myka felt dizzy and it wasn't just from Carol's words.
"Are you okay dear?" Carol asked as a knowing smile played on her thin, terse lips.
I'm fine. Just a little..." Myka replied as she swayed, unsteady on her feet.
"I just hope you understand that nothing happening to you now is personal."
"Happening to me? What do you mean..."
"This isn't something I want to do. It's something I have to do. You took Daryl away from me. It's fair play."
"Took Daryl?" Myka slurred. Her head was heavy and everything was slowing down. She grabbed the counter for balance.
Carol took her arm and steadied her. "Let's get you somewhere you can rest, hmm?"
It was the last thing Myka remembered.