Well, thank you for the reviews! You guys totally, unequivocally rock!
A shout out to kimyso, CodeName-M.e, lanie-love09, Love-to-read and Siancore for your recent reviews. They were awesome and so inspirational. If I could hug you I would but I send it via electronically… I guess, LOL
Thanks
_0_
Picking up pieces…
"My…my hand…she took my hand…" Stammered a staggering Keith as he held on to his bleeding stump. The survivor's from Rick's group that remained on the road vanquished all the walkers that approached the stuck bus. Some of Keith's people turned and crawled out of the bus to receive the same fate as other unknown walkers by the hands of the survivors.
Keith fell to the floor and did not receive any assistance. The only one that noticed his dire situation was Mikey. When the young doctor finally could not take in the visual before him of a suffering human being, he tried to approach but was met with an unyielding Sasha in front of him.
"Let him bleed." Sasha said as she looked into Mikey's eyes.
"Sasha… The man needs medical care. He's still a human being!" Mikey exclaimed but with caution knowing that Sasha was in no mood to argue.
"You just don't get it do you? Do you know what he is? What he was planning to do to us?" Sasha got closer to Mikey and made him uncomfortable. "What good can you do, honestly ? Stop being this way for your sake… Goodness, just stop being like Bo…"
"Sasha!" Tyrese yelled as he approached the two. Sasha looked down on the ground and then briefly back at Mikey without calming her stern gaze. "Sasha, please stop we need to do what's right…" Sasha walked away without letting Tyrese finish his point.
Tyrese sighed and shook his head with pity for his younger sibling. "What do you need?" Tyrese inquired from the young doctor as he looked down to the bleeding man.
"I just need something to stop the bleeding, something to tie around the wound." Mikey shared as he squatted next to the man who was in so much pain he no longer yelled out for help.
Tyrese walked away from the two looking for something he can use to assist Mikey.
"I… can tell you are…you are a good man." Keith said. Due to all the blood lost and the pain he sustained, the volume of his voice could not rise above a whisper.
"Look, just stop trying to talk. Just save the little strength you have left and let us try to help you." Mikey countered as he evaluated the extent of the damage.
"We… all started as good people, but this world changes us all. I was just trying to help mine survive and now we are all gone… Don't let this rotted world destroy you… and careful with Mason and…his freaks. They are…" Keith's head flopped to the side and said no more. Mikey reached to check for a pulse and could not find one. He looked down; it was too late to save another person who had fallen victim to the apocalypse, oh yeah, and Michonne's sword.
"Good" or "bad" was a title that was not so easily given in the inhabitants of the new world. A world that twisted everything they knew as absolute only a little over a couple of years ago. All Mikey knew was that another life was lost and the tallying will not cease from rising.
Mikey stood and walked over to Sasha that stood staring with her arms crossed. He walked passed her. "Go ahead; put the bullet in his head." Mikey said without stopping to look at her reaction.
XXXXXXXX
Rick, Glen, Michonne and Daryl checked the dilapidated house they came across where the Miller's met their end. Abraham stood outside with grieving Abbie. He watched for lurking walkers and felt for the young girl that reminded him of his own daughter lost so long ago. Rick took lead and slowly walked in the house with his gun drawn and flashlight. Every room and section of the home was checked. Rick quickly went to the kitchen to check for anything that the group can use. He noticed that the kitchen had been ransacked and the floors were covered with broken china plates, there were pieces everywhere. There was one plate that was perfectly broken down in the middle and remained in two pieces. Rick instinctively picked up the pieces and put them together. The plate almost looked unbroken and perfect. When he lowered the plate from his view he can see through the kitchen window saw a crying Abbie in Abe's arms while her dead family lay on the moist ground. Rick looked down solemnly and allowed the plate to fall from his grasp, hitting the floor becoming many pieces. Michonne entered the kitchen to check on Rick, but he was about to exit.
"Everything all right?" A concerned Michonne asked with her sword drawn.
"The house is cleared." Replied Rick as he slowly walked passed her to exit.
XXXXXXXX
Rick thought it would be best that the group stayed in the house for the night. The fuel from the cars with the popped tires were taken and put into the bus. The fuel line was fixed by Eugene and it was driven to the house. Rick, Tyrese and Daryl dug holes to bury the Miller family and Father Gabriel presided over the funeral with a few words that brought even less comfort. There stood was a mismatch of individuals that have lost their own in many ways. From far they appeared to be broken pieces themselves, from other whole families and groups. Put together by circumstances designed by an Armageddon. They buried a family that was in all accounts, once represented the typical suburban American dream, but that was before everything happened and the dream dissolved into a nightmare. Now they laid in the ground as broken pieces.
Michonne stood next to Carl who had Judith on his back in her carrier. Next to Michonne stood a stoic Rick. Michonne reached for his hand and brushed it lightly. Rick never looked her way; he simply nodded as he looked forward, clenched his jaw and held her hand tightly.
XXXXXXXX
The group was in the house for the night. The darkness had fallen early; it was quickly accompanied by rain and winds. The house was a large four bedroom home that still had the furniture, which included bed and other essential pieces most homes would have to house a large or growing family. Everything was dusty and dirty, but just having somewhere to rest and get some sleep was a dream come true for the gang.
Two people at a time took watch. Carl, Judith, Beth, Abbie and Noah were all put in the master bedroom to rest. Michonne was walking around the home, checking the windows and doors although they have been checked many times before. She walked into the kitchen and saw Rick looking out the window watching where the funeral had taken place many hours before.
"Hey." Michonne said in a low tone. Rick turned, smiled and then looked out the window again. "What has your attention?" Michonne genuinely questioned, perhaps thinking Rick caught view of oncoming walkers or worst, un-neighborly type of the living kind.
"Don't know." Rick said in a low tone, where it almost sounded like a grunt.
"You don't know what's out there?" Michonne enquired as she stood parallel to Rick and looked out the window as well.
Rick turned his gaze from the window to Michonne. "No… I don't know what else to do."
Michonne looked at Rick and furrowed her glare. She could see that the weight of so much had begun to cause pain and that kind of pain can break anyone into many pieces. Michonne had been there before and knows that Rick had been there too, but she was able to rebuild with their support. Michonne moved towards Rick and can hear the crackling of the broken plates under her boots. The sounds were so clear and haunting during the silent night.
"When were you told this was a solo mission?" Michonne asked as she tilted her head with a warm smile.
"What… The whole DC is bullshit?" Rick answered as he frowned and shook his head with disgust and a hint of anger.
"No… Not DC. This group…this family… All of us…Your family. Rick, you're not alone here, in this. We've all been broken before. In some way or another. We can't go back to who we are or to what we had, but we can form something new with what we have…now." Michonne approached Rick and slowly held his face gently in her hand. Rick closed his eyes in the calming feeling her gentle touch gave him.
"But all we do is run, fight and when the fighting is done… we are picking up pieces of who we are …and… and those that don't make it." Rick countered. When his eyes opened they were filled with tears he desperately did not want to fall down his cheek.
"Rick, when you met me all I did was fight to survive. Now, my purpose has changed. I don't fight to survive…not anymore… I fight to live. I fight for Carl, Judith, the others…I fight for you. Rick, the world did not come to an end, it changed. The rule to move forward from that is… we cannot pick up pieces from what we knew. We can only build on what we have now. I think that is how we can expect to start living… again."
Michonne smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips. She parted and turned to leave. Rick held on to her hand and pulled her close to him.
"Rick, what are you doing?" Michonne asked as he held her tightly against him.
"I'm living." Rick responded as he pressed his lips against hers and kissed her passionately in the still of the night.
_0_
Wow, that MSF was something. I could only imagine how the group will deal with the loss of Beth. She was a symbol of light and innocence that is something that is scarce in a ZA. I wanted to bring that in my story with the Millers. They represent the typical suburban American family and it so happens the majority of the family dies near a home that in its present state also symbolizes that the world has changed. This was a bit of a filler, but the following chapter will have more action and yeah…more romance.
