Inspired by and dedicated to Zeejack.
Never Will I Let Go – Part 7
Rick looked up at the starry skies. This was his first night away from home. Away from Carl and Judith. Away from Michonne. He could've accepted Jesus' invitation and taken one of the guest rooms in the great house. But, he declined. He felt closer to Michonne camping out in the trusty old rust bucket, and with good reason. As he lay on his back on the roof of the RV, fond memories came to fore. On a clear night like this, not too long ago, the stars had come out and shone like gems and the moon was full and seemed closer to the earth. They went for a stroll after the kids had gone to bed. They held hands and gazed into each other's eyes. Then, they kissed. Like crazy teenagers, drunk in love, frisky and spontaneous, they left the compound, walked up the road, climbed up the side of the RV that was parked not far away and made love on the roof.
Now, as he lay on his back looking up at the sky, he took out her headband from out of his pocket and held the soft colorful fabric above his face and looked at it. He imagined seeing her smiling down at him. The bashful way she would look off to one side and giggle. Her hair tumbling over her shoulders and over her face as she slowly rode him with the stars and moon set behind her. And him reaching up and pulling her face to his. The softness of her cheeks in his hands, the plump sweetness of her lips when they kissed. Alas, she wasn't there. Alas, he was alone. The RV was parked inside the compound and he felt safe sleeping out there. Now that the Hilltop guards had real guns with real bullets, guarding their gates with spares was a thing of the past.
The meeting was better than he'd expected. Ezekiel and a handful of his men happened to stop by Hilltop for a visit that day. All three leaders and their representatives from the three communities were together under one roof. Alexandria Safe Zone, Hilltop, and, Kingdom came together in the big meeting hall and even though he already knew that Ezekiel was more than ready to join the fight against Negan, he was glad to have finally met him. The meeting hall was full and as he spoke to the crowd, they all looked to him in apt silence.
The people from Hilltop and Kingdom had grown more confident about the war against the Saviors. They could set aside their spears for now, for they had guns, armor, bullets, and, grenades. For too long these communities has had to bend the knee to Negan. For too long this one man terrorized them and took what was theirs. For too long they have had to do without food, medicine, and, freedom to move about with ease and trade with other communities. They were tired of being oppressed, tired of being in constant fear. They were tired of being beaten and slain because the Saviors simply felt like it. At the end of his speech, the hall erupted with unified cries, "Death to Negan. Death to Saviors."
~~0*ooo*0~~
"Hey man. You alright?", Daryl queried when he climbed up the side of the RV to check on Rick.
He was halfway up the ladder and Rick could only see his face.
"Just taking in the stars.", Rick replied slowly sitting up and pulling his knees up to his chest.
"Yeah. It's nice out. More Hilltop volunteers have signed up. More will be arriving from Kingdom too. So it's gonna be a big day tomorrow.", Daryl said referring to their first day of training.
"I'm ready. Are you?", Rick asked looking at him with his arms resting on his knees.
"You betcha.", Daryl replied.
"It's late. Gotta turn in. You should too. I need you sharp tomorrow.", Rick said.
"Yeah. That lumpy mattress is calling to me. Nice speech by the way.", Daryl said before he climbed back down the ladder.
"Thanks.", Rick replied.
He wondered how it is that Daryl didn't tease him about Odin's outburst. Maybe he was too tired to care. He actually found the whole incident quite funny. In fact, he began to wonder if animals had a sense of humor.
He slowly turned around and slung his legs over to the side. As his legs dangled freely, he looked ahead of him beyond the walls. The moon hung low and peeped just over the tops of the trees. He thought of Michonne and wondered what she was doing at that very moment. He hoped Odin made it back home.
~~0*ooo*0~~
"Eeeee! Eeeee!", Michonne heard Judith's high pitched shrills from down the hall. She had just made it upstairs after checking the doors and windows and turned off the lights. She stood at the doorway of Carl's room and watched them play with Odin.
"Michonne. Come. Come watch this!", Carl said excitedly the moment he saw her appear.
He threw a ping-pong ball to the opposite end of the room over Odin's head. The bird's eyes never leaving the ball, hopped, skipped and ran over to where it landed and like a pro hockey player, used its beak to shuttle the ball back over to where Carl and Judith sat. Of course this thrilled them both, especially Judith for she squealed and laughed with glee.
Michonne thought the bird's antics was a delight to watch too and watched him go at it for a couple more turns. Who would have thought that a raven would bring so much joy to the home. As she watched the three of them play, she couldn't help but regard Odin as a member of the family.
It was getting late and it was time to turn in. There was much to do the following day. She was in charge of the community until Rick returned. With or without him, she had to plan for the possiblity of an attack from Negan or from anyone else. But first, proper rest was needed for clearer minds the next day.
"Okay kids. Its bed time. Odin. That goes for you too young man.", Michonne said and interestingly enough, the bird understood.
He promptly flew up onto Carl's desk, mounted the perch atop it then turned his head right around and tucked his beak between his shoulder blades. Carl put Judith in her crib and she readily put her head to her pillow. He then hopped into his own bed before turning off the light.
The moon shone brightly and the room was filled in its light. Michonne walked up to the windows and closed the curtains tight.
"G'night Michonne.", Carl said as she made her way out.
"Good night Carl. Good night Judith. Good night Odin. Sweet dreams.", Michonne said smiling and left for her room.
As she lay on her side and gazed at Rick's empty side of the bed, she sighed. Her heart felt heavy not having him next to her. She missed his voice and reassuring smiles. She missed the feel of his cool curls between her fingers. She missed the feel of his warm hard body and the taste of his fruity lips. She reached over and grabbed his pillow and pressed it to her face and inhaled deeply taking in whatever remnants of his scent there was. Before she closed her eyes, she hugged the pillow tightly to her chest and said,
"Good night my prince. Come back to me my love. Come home safely."
~***000*ooo*000***~