Chapter Thirty Five
I listened intently as Michonne told me her story on her survival over our distance apart. She had gritted through a lot though seemed to have grown accustomed to the lack of human contact. A memory crossed my mind for a moment as Michonne recounted her tale, the memory of when Merle and I caught Michonne talking to herself that time long ago. "Ol' Micky's gone crazy!" I eyed the woman beside me curiously, wondering how much mental damage isolation from human contact had caused but decided that in that moment I didn't care. We could cross any of those bridges when we came to them, for now I was content with having my friend back.
As we neared the prison, a sudden fear about how the group would react became evident within me. Not only had I left without telling anyone, but I would be bringing back a total stranger into our ranks, our home. Though I trusted Michonne with my life, I knew it wouldn't be the same for the others and I couldn't expect it to be easy. But maybe the news of the Governor would occupy their thoughts and concerns when I told them?
"This group of yours," Michonne began slowly. I glanced at the woman, taking in her stern expression. "You sure they're good people?"
"Very much so." I muttered in reply, not liking her harsh reaction towards the group. My group. "Like I said, I've been with them for so long now. We've been through hell and back and I know the group would do anything for each other. They're not like the Governor and his men, I promise." Michonne met my gaze, taking in my defiant expression for a moment before nodding.
"I trust you, Ruby." She told me, slowly. "Though don't expect me to hold the same regard for these people." I nodded with understanding.
"No doubt you'll be met with the same reaction." I told her with a sigh. Michonne didn't seem bothered by this and even shrugged. "A few months ago, we lost a considerable amount of us." I began to tell her. "It was at the hands of people we'd let into the group," Michonne's eyebrows raised at this. "So I don't think they'll be welcoming you so warmly because you're a stranger to them. Potentially a threat. After what happened-" I trailed off, grimacing at the images of Ben's and Billy's massacred little bodies. "These people were sick enough to slaughter two innocent little boys, that's how bad it got."
"And after that you're surethey're good people? They're able to kill their own. Able to kill children." Michonne resumed her suspicion.
"They were inmates, the people that attacked us. Prison inmates. We're holding up in a prison and we found four of them alive while we were clearing it out. They joined us, but didn't take too kindly when a few more came across this place a couple of months back and stayed with us. The prisoners intended to kill off the newcomers, though we snuffed out one of the perpetrators and he was executed." I paused, glancing at Michonne and found a hard but thoughtful expression looking back at me. "We didn't realise the others were involved until they let walkers loose in the prison, intentions of killing us all off for what we'd done to their friend."
"Walkers?" Michonne muttered and I smiled a little, remembering my same question directed at Sophia all that time back.
"That's what they call the dead; I've picked it up." I explained to her. She nodded once.
"What happened to the other inmates? The ones that let the walkers loose on you?" She asked.
"Dead." I replied, bluntly. "Though another three of our own were killed during the overrun and that left a huge chunk in our ranks." I sighed, thinking about the fallen. "Before the prison we were on a farm but the Governor and Laurent launched an attack on us and we were forced out. Another five died that day too."
"Seems you've been through a lot with these people." Michonne observed and I nodded in confirmation. "How did you come across them?"
"A little girl called Sophia." I told her, with a fond smile. "She's part of their group and she had gotten separated from them. I found her being chased by walkers in the forest and helped her. Promised I'd take Sophia back to her group and we tracked them down for the best part of two weeks before we found them. I've been with the group ever since." I paused at this, thinking about who we'd come across after two weeks of looking for Sophia's group, who had taken us back to Sophia's mother and the others. Who also had a very significant relevance to Michonne and I. "Can you remember if Merle ever spoke out a brother?" I blurted out, shocking Michonne for a moment. She frowned before shaking her head.
"I don't think he ever spoke out his family to us." She muttered before narrowing her eyes. "Why?"
"Well," I began. "He had a younger brother, called Daryl." Michonne raised an eyebrow.
"And?" She asked, slowly.
"And! And Daryl Dixonis the very person who found Sophia and I. He's part of my group." I told her, noting the look of surprise on Michonne's face as I told her.
"Well, that's interesting." She muttered. "Is he like his brother?" I shrugged.
"A little, I suppose." I replied. "He's a lot quieter than Merle was and a lot less arrogant. Though Daryl definitely has a short temper and the brute strength, like his older brother. He's a lot more passive too though and definitely cares for the group, seems he'd done anything for everyone. He's a lot more admirable than Merle was, but you can definitely tell their brothers." Michonne studied me for a moment before scoffing.
"Great, just when I'd thought I'd rid myself of Merle Dixon and here I'll be meeting a younger version of the man himself!" She muttered and I smiled.
"Daryl's nice, he's not rude or as spiteful as Merle was." I tried to reason, knowing that Michonne would be expecting another string of racial slurs to come her way when we reached the prison. I was met with a thoughtful expression again as Michonne studied me in silence before she nodded once.
Out ahead, I could make out the ground works of the prison. Home. I didn't know how to bring Michonne to the group without startling and bringing too much tension. They'd all be in the cell block still, no doubt, but surely if Lori was still on the cameras she'd see me approaching the prison with a stranger and alert them all? That would sure cause a great fuss. Though it seemed that there wasn't any way to do this without creating a fuss.
"I passed this prison before." Michonne muttered, suddenly. "I didn't realise there were people inside, though I was curious about the lack of dead in the grounds."
"Yeah, we've not cleared out the whole prison, but we've marked off safe zones." I told her. "I saw you on the CCTV footage that we have working; you were outside the perimeter. That's why I left the grounds, to come find you."
"It's surprising that you would recognise me after so long." Michonne pointed out and I scoffed.
"You're hardly the most subtle of people around." I countered and Michonne smirked.
When we left the cover of the forest, I realised that I was wrong about the group still being inside the cell block. A small part of the group - consisting of Rick, Andrea, Daryl, Glenn, Tyreese and Sasha - were all gathered inside the concrete yard of the prison, seemingly arguing about something. Me, perhaps? I swallowed hard, realising I must have been a lot longer than I intended. Michonne tensed beside me and I saw her hand reach toward the strap that her katana was placed in. I sent her a warning look.
"I don't think getting your God damn sword out will help allow these people to trust you." I pointed out. Michonne raised an eyebrow.
"It's helping me feel safer and that's all I care about." She rounded back and I narrowed my eyes, though refrained from commenting anymore.
As we descended toward the prison, our approach had been noted and the group were moving toward the perimeter to greet us. I led Michonne to the front gates, where there were a few walkers, not too many to handle though. Michonne found use of her katana then, taking the walker's heads clean off with one slice. I observed my friend proudly, meeting her grin when our eyes met. The group within the prison had entered the entrance compound now.
"Where the hell have you been?" Rick demanded, his eyes frantic. I swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, Rick." I tried, glancing around to make sure no walkers would approach us unsuspected. Michonne was facing away from Rick and the others, keeping her eyes out for the both of us. I felt safer then. "I know I should have said something, but I didn't want to worry you all."
"And what do you call this?" Andrea hissed, standing to Rick's side. I glanced at her before turning back to Rick.
"Things got a little complicated." I tried. I noted the suspicious eyes yearn toward Michonne.
"Who's this?" Sasha called, not subtly at all. I suppressed a glare at the woman and Michonne glanced over her shoulder at Sasha with a raised eyebrow at the woman's abruptness. Michonne sneered a little and turned away, muttering to herself as she did.
"This is Michonne." I told them all.
"Michonne?" Rick began. "As in-" He trailed off, eyeing up the woman.
"Yes, Michonne. The one who escaped the other group with me."
"Sorry to interrupt your little discussion, but we have company." Michonne, herself, warned. "You better either hurry the chit chat or get ready to fight, Kid."
I glanced around, noting that more walkers had begun to stumble out the tree line toward us. When I turned back to the group, Rick and Daryl were already at work at undoing the chain. When it was opened, I urged Michonne inside and the gate was secured again, just in time thankfully. The walkers thrashed against the fence but their efforts were very much in vain. I glanced around the group, noting their hesitant distance between themselves and Michonne. I made a point at standing by her side. When Rick and Daryl had finished with the gate, they turned back to Michonne and I, the former of the men stepping forward.
"How'd you find her, Ruby?" He asked, quietly.
"I saw her on the cameras outside the prison and I went to go check." When I hesitantly looked to Daryl, I saw a frustrated look on the man's face and knew I'd get an earful later from the hunter. "I intended to be real quick but things didn't really go the way I planned."
"Do they know?" Michonne asked suddenly, shocking me for a moment. I turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Do they know about them?" I didn't need her to elaborate, I knew exactly who she meant.
"Yes." I nodded. "I told them all about them." Michonne narrowed her eyes.
"Everything?" After a pause, I nodded again.
"Everything." I concluded and Michonne looked satisfied with this. She turned to meet the gaze of Rick.
"The last group we were with," She began, keeping her voice monotone. "Have become a threat to you and your people and you'll no doubt find out soon enough." The news shocked Rick and the others for a moment and no doubt memories of the attack on the farm were brought back.
"How do you know?" Tyreese asked, slowly. Michonne met the man's gaze, eyeing him appreciatively for a moment.
"Because I know where they are." Michonne replied. This was news to me and I glanced briefly at her with a frown. "They've got themselves a town called Woodbury, it's heavily secured and they've got a substantial amount of people residing inside. One of mine and Ruby's old friends runs the show, calls himself 'The Governor'. Just now, we spotted a small proportion of them. They were investigating a helicopter crash nearby but they're on their way home now, if not already there." She eyed the prison over the group. "It's a wonder how they've not found you guys before though to be honest."
"How close are they?" Rick asked after a long moment of startled silence.
"An hour driving then another mile hiking, that's for sure." She replied. "Though that wouldn't exactly stop them passing by here." The group resumed silence again and everyone seemed to linger over this new threat against the group. Suddenly a darkened look passed over Rick's face and he stepped forward.
"How do we know you're not part of that group?" He hissed at Michonne.
"Rick." I warned, not liking the accusations against my friend. He didn't understand what we had gone through with those people. He didn't understand that there wasn't a hope in hell that Michonne would be part of their ranks, or even a chance that the Governor would allow her. He'd much rather have her head as a trophy!
"Don't you dare consider me as part of those people." Michonne muttered back, her tone dangerous. The standoff between the pair was tense and even though Rick backed out of her face, there was still heavy dislike between them.
"I trust her, Rick." I urged, hoping that my word meant something. Rick met my gaze and I noticed his expression soften a little. When he turned back to Michonne though, the stern resumed.
"So, you just wandered past us by chance?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She scoffed.
"I didn't know anyone was in here, I was just passing by. I didn't even attempt to get in, I just kept going." She told me. "The only reason I'm here is because of Ruby. I was making my way to the helicopter crash site and found her there." A pause.
"Rick, shouldn't we be more concerned 'bout this Governor?" Daryl piped up suddenly, taking Rick's attention. Rick observed his second-in-command. "Look what happened last time those bastards got involved. Shouldn't we been tryin' think 'bout that rather than argue 'bout this?" Rick seemed to see logic in Daryl's suggestion and nodded firmly.
"We'll head back to the cell block, we'll talk about this with the rest of the group." Rick announced, glancing at Michonne. "We can make the formal introductions then."
"Can't wait." Michonne muttered, just as bitterly as Rick was. The leader sneered a little before walking off, making his way back toward the main building with a meaningful stomp. Michonne lingered behind and I felt obliged to stay with her. I wasn't surprised either when Daryl remained behind too. He eyed Michonne for a moment before turning his attention to me. His gaze then fell hard and I shied away slightly.
"Ya lied to me." Was the first thing Daryl said. This was a thousand times worse than any bellowing the man could have done. A slight hurt tone tinged the sentence and I swallowed hard.
"Daryl, I'm sorry-"
"Ya could 'ave told me what ya were doin'!" Daryl cut in. "I would 'ave understood."
"Would you?" I countered. "You probably wouldn't have let me go at all!"
"I could have come with ya."
"Why? I'm fine, aren't I? I can handle myself, remember?" I tried to keep my tone light, not wanting a full blown argument with the man. Especially not with Michonne observing on the sidelines.
"Ain't the point." He muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Group were worried sick 'bout ya. Sophia was nearly in God damn tears! Ya should have told someone." I nodded with a sigh. "Ya should have told me!"
"I know I should have, but I wasn't thinking right." I tried to explain. "I really am sorry, Daryl." The hunter eyed me for a moment and I knew he was far from happy. Though the awkward glances towards the woman beside me was enough to tell me that Daryl wasn't comfortable keeping this up with Michonne staring him down. Instead, the man dropped the conversation, for the time being, and took up a new one.
"You're Michonne?" He muttered. Michonne raised an eyebrow.
"And you must be Merle's brother." She countered before glancing at me. "I can see the resemblance." Really? Daryl was startled by this for a moment before his gaze hardened.
"Where's my brother?" He demanded, harshly.
"I don't know." Michonne shrugged, carelessly. "Lost him a while back." I didn't like the throw-away tone that my friend was using and noted how Daryl began to seethe with anger.
"What happened to my brother? What did ya do?" Michonne scoffed at his accusation.
"We got separated, your brother wasn't the easiest of people to keep on a leash." She muttered, only causing Daryl to glare harder.
I studied the man's reaction, taking in his anger but also noting the hurt behind the wall. The first news of his brother in a long time and he'd reached a dead end again. I couldn't imagine the turbulence going through the hunter's mind at the moment. All his worries and doubts about his brother's state must have been intensified by the knowledge that yet again, his brother had vanished from contact.
"We'll find him, Daryl." I tried to reassure the man, taking the brave leap by reaching forward and gripping the man's hand in mine. His harsh gaze turned to me, softening considerably. He eyed me for a moment, trying to work out where he stood and taking in my comment all in one. I took in the emotions behind his eyes, and I saw that he was trying to convince himself of my remark, trying to convince himself that everything would be alright and that he would find his brother one day.
"Ya know what," Daryl began, suddenly harsh. There was a flip of emotions in his eyes and back was his hard expression. He snatched his hand away from mine, roughly, as if I had wounded him. "I'm done worryin' 'bout Merle! He ain't my problem any more! He ain't done nothin' for me, or tried lookin' for me, so why should I bother?! The bastard might as well be dead for all I care!" With that, Daryl turned on his heels and stalked away. I watched him go, stunned by his outburst and feeling slightly hurt by his tone.
"You were right about his temper." Michonne observed. I glanced back at my friend, prying my eyes away from Daryl, to see her watching me closely.
"What?" I demanded, not liking the sudden imploring gaze that made me feel self conscious.
"You didn't tell me you'd grown close to the younger brother." She muttered and I narrowed my eyes, suddenly not needing her prodding comments.
"C'mon, they'll wonder why we're not coming." I urged Michonne to led the way toward the prison. She hesitated before she did, eyeing me evenly for a moment before moving.
When everyone was inside the cell block, immediate suspicion over Michonne was evident. Rick had already told the others before we'd got there but everyone still looked intently shocked when I entered the cell block with a very strange looking Michonne at my side. Stories were passed and elaborated between the group and Michonne attempted to explain herself. Soon attention was brought onto the Governor and the threat the other group deemed. Fear washed through the group immediately.
"What if they find us, Rick?" Glenn asked, warily. "Look what they did last time."
"I may add that you're seriously lacking in numbers." Michonne noted quietly as she eyed the dog before her lazily. Toby had become quite fascinated with her since she walked through the cell block and I could see that the dog was beginning to recognise her. Michonne didn't fuss over him immediately but allowed him to sniff her before patting his head gently. Glenn eyed her carefully, still looking shocked by the woman's presence. Most had kept their distance from the new arrival and even Sophia hadn't run to greet me like she normally did. Probably due to the fact I was standing right beside the stranger.
"How do you know so much about them?" Andrea demanded through narrowed eyes.
"I re-encountered them recently and have been observing their movements ever since." She explained. "Been trying to figure out a plan to slit that bastard's throat for a while now." I was a little unnerved by this, unnerved that Michonne was taking such an animalistic view on the matter. But I remembered exactly who we were talking about and reconsidered my judgement. "Though it's been quite difficult."
"What do you mean?" Lori asked, holding both Sophia and Carl close to her. I smiled apologetically at the woman, trying to show how sorry I was for lying to her in one look. When she met my gaze her expression softened and she beamed weakly back. Thank God she forgave me. When I looked away, I noted that Michonne had observed the interaction between us with narrowed eyes.
"Woodbury is heavily guarded but it's not just that," Michonne replied. "They've created a small civilisation inside those walls. I think the Governor's trying to impose the safe-haven idea upon the people in Woodbury, make himself seem like the high almighty leader so they will willingly follow him." She snorted meeting my gaze. "Suppose we both know all about his leadership." I nodded in agreement, grimacing.
"What are the numbers like?" Rick asked, folding his arms across his chest. Michonne thought for a moment, glancing around the group.
"Extensively larger than this." She muttered. "Though most of Woodbury seems to be made up of civilians. Though I will add that they have a heavily armed guard." She looked to me again. "What we saw today was the majority of it, though some would have remained to keep watch over the town." I remembered the large number and chewed my lip thoughtfully.
"And what's this about a helicopter?" Sasha piped in. Michonne turned to me, as if she'd had enough of talking now and wanted me to take charge.
"I'm not really sure what happened to it, but a helicopter crash landed a little way off from here." I explained to the group. "I followed its path to the crash site, there were no survivors though the people inside looked to be soldiers - heavily armed and military geared. The Governor and group arrived shortly after I had and must have come to investigate too."
"Where did it come from?" Maggie asked and I shrugged. Silence fell upon the group for a moment. "It could have come from a safe place?" Maggie suggested finally, glancing around the group hopefully.
"If they were soldiers then surely they must have a military base somewhere?" Sasha continued, also looking decidedly hopeful. I immediately regretted mentioning the helicopter after seeing how much hope now filled the group from this particular piece of information. Useless hope?
"Rick?" Lori tried hesitantly. I knew she was wary to speak directly to her husband, considering the tension between the pair of them. Rick visibly started at his wife calling him and looked to her. They merely regarded each other for a long moment, their eyes speaking so many volumes that none could understand but them. Finally, Lori swallowed hard and continued. "What do you think?" She asked softly. Rick thought before answering.
"I think, for the time being, we need to forget about this helicopter." He replied slowly. "We have more important issues to consider." After a pause, he turned to Michonne. "Do you remember where this Woodbury is?"
"Yes." The woman nodded slowly, after a pause.
"Then you'll be leading us there."
I think the group were quite shocked at Rick's intention to head to Woodbury and many nervous glances were shared amongst them. Though Rick's word was final and he deemed Herschel and Tyreese in charge of the group while he, Daryl, Andrea, Michonne and myself headed to Woodbury under my strange friend's direction.
The five of us left the cell block without the others, not needing any sort of send off today. After weapons were gathered, Rick distributed orders for Tyreese and Herschel to abide by under any situation while we were gone. He bided goodbye to his son, as I did Sophia and Toby, and I noted the brief smile that he passed to Lori before he left. The tearful smile in return from his wife made my heart ache at the scene.
We filed out the prison grounds without effort in the safey of the green Hyundai and Michonne immediately took up shot gun, along side Rick in the driver's seat, leading us the way to Woodbury. The drive was mostly in silence, other than some more clarification from Michonne about Woodbury. The air was most certainly tense between us. After an hour of driving - just like Michonne had said - my friend told us to pull over and said that we better walk the remainder of the way as the Woodbury group sometimes had patrols through this part of the forest. We carried on our march with rapid speed.
I held back from the others, walking at the rear of the procession and observing everything. Rick and Michonne were discussing things intently, about the Governor and all Michonne knew on Woodbury. Andrea lagged a little behind them and occasional put her input into their conversation. Daryl was a distance to the right of the group, his eyes intently stalking the forest for any movement or threat.
The day's events had happened so quickly, alarmingly so. This morning, I would have never considered that I would reunite with an old friend or that the almost peace of our life would be startled again by monsters from our past. What we'd find at Woodbury, I didn't know. I didn't expect a lot. All that passed through my mind was the intensifying threat that was imposed on the group now. Our sanctity had been disrupted.
My gaze wandered toward the stray member of our small group. Daryl's movements remained vigilant and he was therefore unaware of my scrutiny. I observed the man with painful thoughts. He had given up. Given up on his brother, the only remaining family he had left. After long of raised hopes, it had all be shattered with Daryl's frustrated revelation. He didn't care about Merle hand that he had snatched his own away from still burnt from the rejection. I debated whether to talk to the man, try and reason that he should keep hope for his brother. Though suddenly Daryl looked my way, meeting my gaze. I attempted to smile at him, though was greeted by a hardened stare and narrowed eyes. He looked away immediately and continued to scower the area with a scowl on his face. My heart fell. The idea of talking to the man flew right out of the window.
It seemed that Daryl wasn't so forgiving of me for lying to him.
We continued on for some time, stopping a few times for short breaks. There were a few occasions were a group of walkers passed by though they were taken out easily. Michonne would urge us on, telling us that we'd be there soon. Though it seemed, after a while, that it was almost as if we were chasing nothing. Finally though we reached an abandoned train (an odd sight) and Michonne's pace slowed. She glanced over her shoulder at us all with a guarded expression.
"We better keep our voices at low volumes, they'll have scouts on the wall." She climbed inside on of the carriage containers and crept through. The rest of us followed and she gestured for us to crouch down low as we approached the exit of the container on the other side. Meeting our gazes, she pointed outside the carriage and we all took a look.
Abandoned cars and scattered debris covered the overgrown ground. Some bodies lay dotted about too - all walkers already dispatched. Taking in the surroundings, I noted a few rusted houses that looked like they hadn't been lived in in a long time. What immediately drew my attention was a high wall that strung around a cluster town-like place, made from upturned trucks and impenetrable looking materials. People patrolled the top of the wall and I noticed a large double-doored gate that led into whatever the wall sectioned off from the outside wall. The people on top were heavily armed and worryingly so.
"This is Woodbury." Michonne muttered as we all stared in awe.
"It's just a small town?" Andrea asked, Michonne nodded.
"They've built a wall all the way around with guards in every direction." She told us. "Pretty much impenetrable."
"Are they military?" Rick asked, eyeing up the people cautiously. "Their weapons suggest that they are."
"I don't think so." Michonne admitted. "I think they've scavenged a lot of their weapons from around the area. Like I said, it's a real wonder how they've not come across your prison yet."
"Small miracles." Andrea said, nodding. "They look well stocked. You say there's civilians living in there?"
"Got themselves their own little community." Michonne muttered with a sneer. I observed the thoughtful look on Andrea's face, suddenly not liking the way she seemed to mull over something in her head.
"And you're sure they're a threat?" Andrea asked, suddenly. Michonne and I rounded on her, eyes both identical in heavy shock. "Because this," She gestured to the town. "Doesn't seem that much like a threat. It looks like a life. It seems all this Governor is doing is trying to build somewhere safe for his people."
"That man is a monster." Michonne hissed. "You have no idea what he's done."
"What he's doing now is what I'm interested in." Andrea countered. "We've all made mistakes in the past, I suppose it's reasonable that this man may just be trying to do what we've been doing. Surviving." She paused, eyeing the town carefully before nodding. "And he seems to be doing a better job at it than us. This could be exactly what we've been looking for; a safe place to live again."
"You've got to be kidding me!" I muttered, glaring at the blonde. "Have you just completely ignored everything that we've told you about these people? Was the attack on the farm not enough to clarify everything? This manis the reason Dale and many more that we cared about are dead!" Andrea's expression hardened and she returned my glare will full force.
"Enough!" Rick hissed, eyeing us both harshly.
"Think about it though, Rick." Andrea tried again. "You've got a pregnant wife who is going to be giving birth any day now and we're not ready for that. At all. Do you really want you child to be born in some dingy prison with little medical supplies or would you not rather your child be born somewhere safe and sanitary?"
"You don't want help from these people." Michonne muttered darkly. She paused, her face thoughtful. She glanced at me meaningfully before sighing. "Though if you're worried about supplies I could direct you to a town nearby? I came across it a few weeks back. There's a drug store there that is pretty much left untouched, looks like no one's found it yet." Her suggestion was met with a few suspicious stares but she ignored them all. "You do not need to ask for their help!"
"We're not discussing this now." Rick shook his head. "We'll head back to the prison, discuss with the others about this." He led the way out of the carriage and the rest of us followed. After a few paces away from Woodbury, I paused with a thought.
"Rick, why not head to this drug store?" I suggested. "Andrea's right; we're running far too low on supplies for Lori and as she's due any day now-"
"We need to get back." Rick urged and I knew his eagerness could possibly be a mixture of fear of leaving the group alone with this new 'threat' out there and the idea that his wife could be giving birth right this moment, or very soon. He didn't want to waste time loitering.
"It's not too far out of your way." Michonne muttered, folding her arms. Rick paused and glared at her.
"Why are you so eager to take us there?" He hissed and Michonne suddenly got defensive.
"I'm not planning anything if that's what you're suggesting." She replied, harshly. "I'm just trying to help. Though I understand if you don't want to accept it-"
"How about just I go then?" I tried. "Michonne can take me there and we'll head back to the prison once we're done. You three carry on ahead?" Rick eyed me carefully, taking in my suggestion.
"I don't like letting you go alone."
"I won't be alone, I'll have Michonne." I reminded him, though Rick's eyes narrowed as he glanced at my friend. I sighed. "Look, I know you don't trust her but I do. And you trust me, right? Nothing will happen, we'll be gone a little while and we'll be back with more supplies." Rick shook his head for a moment. "Rick, your wife needs this. This birth is going to be hard enough for her disregarding the lack of essentials. I want to make this easier for her as I know how difficult this is going to be for Lori." I paused, taking in Rick's expression. "Michonne and I will get the supplies, you return back to Lori and the others. We'll be back before you know it."
"Without the car though, it'll be a longer trip back." Andrea pointed out. Michonne thought a little before humming in agreement with the woman.
"I reckon Ruby and I could make it back in time before nightfall." She said. "It shouldn't be a problem." She shrugged carelessly and the verdict fell to the leader.
Rick remained thoughtful, his eyes displaying the range of emotions he was going through as he considered my idea. Behind him, Andrea waited with her arms folded and an expectant expression. Daryl was a little way away, though seemed displeased by the interaction between Rick and I. His expression was harsh still and I tried not to keep my gaze on the hunter's for too long as his eyes just oozed with anger. Not my favourite side of Daryl's. Finally, Rick nodded slowly, glancing between the two of us.
"Fine." He sighed. "But be careful."
I nodded, firmly, allowing Rick to grasp my shoulder and give it one final squeeze before he turned away. Not without sending a harsh glare in Michonne's direction, a warning. Andrea paused before following him, smiling at me and mouthed 'good luck'. Daryl was the last to leave. He eyed me with an unfathomable expression and he seemed to be trying to say something. The displeasure was written all over his face and I urged him to say something, anything, to me. I didn't want to part with these bad feelings between us. I was disheartened though when Daryl spared one final glance between Michonne and I before turning away and trailing after Rick and Andrea. Deflating, I watched his retreating form and suppressed any emotion from gracing my face. Beside me, Michonne cleared her throat.
"You didn't tell me how much you'd grown close to the younger brother either." She muttered and I refrained from saying anything to my friend about her comment. "C'mon, it's this way." Without another word, she trundled away, heading in a different direction of the others. I paused to stare after Daryl and the other two before following Michonne at a quick pace, trying to ignore the sadness within me at Daryl's darkened mood towards me right now.
Nothing was spoken for a while and I merely followed Michonne's lead as she continued to take me toward this town that she spoke of. After a short time though, Michonne sighed and glanced back at me.
"I take back what I said before," She began. "You've changed a lot since last time I saw you." When I raised an eyebrow, she elaborated. "You were never this quiet." I scoffed.
"You never pried this much." I retorted. "Guess we've both changed, huh?" Michonne paused.
"So, that was your group." I eyed the woman curiously, expecting a snide remark and I was all but ready to jump at Rick and the other's defence. "They weren't what I was expecting, I'll give you that."
"Is that a good or bad thing?" I asked, slowly. Michonne shrugged.
"Not decided yet." She replied, honestly. "You still kept Toby, I noticed." I smiled a little.
"You remembered his name?" I asked, a little shocked that she had done. Michonne smiled back.
"Hard to forget the animal. Smartest dog I've ever seen." She nodded. "I'm glad that he found you, after the crash he just vanished. Was worried for him, though he obviously was just waiting for you." A pause. "Now about Merle's brother." Immediately I tensed and narrowed my eyes at the woman.
"What about him?" I questioned. Michonne glanced at me.
"Whatever that is that's there between you both, I'm just going to warn you to be careful." She told me and I scoffed at the woman.
"Thanks for the advice." I muttered, sarcastically. Michonne glared at my tone.
"I'm being serious." She hissed. "If he's anything like his brother then I'd steer well clear of that side of your relationship."
"If he's anything like his brother? What exactly was Merle like then? And I didn't think this was any of your business to be honest." I asked, frowning. Michonne smirked.
"It never is my business." She pointed out and I remembered our initial meetings and how disregarding I was of all of her advice. Not much had changed. "I'm just trying to be helpful. Merle wasn't the good guy, Ruby, you know that. I know that we went through a lot with him and I know you cared for him, but that doesn't take anything away from who he is. I've known men like him before and they're not people you want to get involved in."
"Merle did a lot for us, for the both of us. You can't just keep selling him out like that." I muttered. "And Daryl isn't Merle. They're two completely different people. You're far too quick to judge, Michonne." She shrugged, eyeing me carefully.
"Like I said, just trying to be helpful." She told me again, before sighing. "The town should be up ahead."
Just as Michonne said, the town came into view and we headed toward it with trepidation. The streets looked very much deserted though, so that was mildly comforting. Though we remained on alert, just in case. It was a small looking town, that didn't seem to have been hit with the apocalyptic destruction, but rather rusted abandonment. Comforting? We made our way up the empty street before Michonne nodded to one of the small buildings on the right.
"In there." She said, leading the way towards the drug store.
Michonne and I spent a good hour or so packing all we could manage into bags that we found in the abandoned shops. After we'd gathered all we could from the drug store, we moved onto different shops and took everything that seemed useful. The bags we found were surely filling up and I knew this would please the others when we returned back to the prison. Perhaps earn Michonne some brownie points too?
"Thank you for this." I said, suddenly, eyeing my friend across the aisle of the small supermarket. Michonne glanced up and met my gaze. "I know things are hard right now with them, but the group will warm to you. They will trust you one day and I think this will help." This being Michonne's suggestion to come to this town. The supplies we had gathered would pile nicely with the ones we already had and I knew Herschel would most definitely be pleased with what we'd bring back to them.
"Suppose I understand where they're coming from." She shrugged. "To them I'm just a total stranger that you picked out of the woods. Gotta respect them for being cautious." I heard the ruffling sounds as Michonne continued to shove various items in the bags she had been supplying. We carried on in silence for a good while and I dulled out the sounds of Michonne's murmuring as I continued to pack things in my bag. "Ol' Micky's gone crazy!" With a sigh, I glanced across the small shop towards where my friend had her back to me.
"Did you mourn?" I called to her. She glanced over her shoulder at my question. "When you thought I was dead; did you mourn?" Michonne smiled sadly.
"We both did." She nodded. "I think that's what pulled us both apart the most, knowing that we'd been influential for your death. Merle blamed me for driving away and I blamed him for not communicating properly. I knew things would never work out between us both without your medium. Things went down hill for us both after the day you'd died." I didn't know whether to be happy or sad by the news. Happy because the pair of them cared enough to mourn for me, though sad that things had fallen apart between them both because of me. It was a nasty balance.
Once our bags were pretty much stuffed full, we left the shop and began our journey back to the prison. Though we hadn't made it very fair down the street when Michonne stopped walking, her expression suddenly tense. I observed my friend as she frowned and looked around. I suddenly felt nervous.
"What is it?" I asked, slowly, fearing the worst.
"I thought-" She trailed off and continued to frown at the town around us. I eyed the area around us suspiciously, though was unsure what had startled Michonne. Suddenly though, movement caught the corner of my eye and I saw a figure approaching us from down the street.
"Michonne." I nodded in the direction of the approaching figure, which was too far away to recognise. What was evident though, was that they weren't a walker. Their movements were too planned and concise. Michonne turned too and watched the figure approach. Her body tensed again and I noticed the way she glanced at me awkwardly. "What?" I muttered, ready with my weapons. When I turned back to the figure though, I knew why she was looking at me so weirdly.
"Ruby!" My sister cried, quickening her pace towards us. I froze.
Jessica stood before me, her whole countenance a picture of happiness as she gazed at me. She hadn't changed much, her figure had slimmed but otherwise she was still the same. My entire being stopped moving at the sight of her and memories of everything between us rushed back to me and I didn't know what to think anymore. We had parted on bad terms, but that didn't seem to matter anymore. My sister stood before me, alive and well. Today was the day of reunions it seemed.
"You're alive!" Jessica gushed out. "Jesus, I never thought I'd see you again!" She tried to step closer though Michonne had her katana out in an instant and had it aimed at Jessica's throat. Sisterly instincts rushed into action and I shoved Michonne's blade away immediately.
"Don't you dare." I warned the woman, matching her glare.
"You can't be serious?" Michonne hissed, eyeing my sister with suspicion. "She's with them." For some reason, this didn't ring the alarm bells that it should have done. All that I saw before me was my sister. My little sister who I hadn't seen in so long.
"Lay off." I muttered, before turning to my sister. Jessica smiled warmly when I met her gaze but didn't make another attempt forward.
"Oh God, Ruby! I've missed you so much!" Jessica began. "After that night, I've not been able to live with myself for what I did to you. Oh, I'm so sorry for everything I've done." I shook my head.
"It doesn't matter, Jessica." I smiled, suddenly feeling strangely warm about everything. "What matters is that we're both alright. I still love you, regardless of what's happened between us. We're sisters after all."
"Where have you been?" She asked, her face thoughtful. Eerily thoughtful. Almost too theatrical, but I was too caught up to notice. "Have you two honestly been surviving alone all this time?" There was something about her tone that I should have cottoned onto but for some reason my body went into overdrive and I shook my head before I could stop myself. The words vomited from my mouth next.
"No, I've been with another group. A better group." I told her, biting back the words as I did. I saw Michonne tense out of the corner of my eyes and I knew then I'd made a big I couldn't take back.
"Another group?" Jessica muttered, her tone far from ecstatic anymore. "Interesting."
The sounds of a gun clicking sounded and the pressure of a gun barrel touched the back of my head. My body tensed when a sickening smirk graced the features of my sister's pretty face and all too quickly the sisterly love had died and hatred burned within me again. When I glanced at Michonne, I tried to show her how sorry I was, but could only watch in horror as an unnamed man struck her on the back of the head with the butt of his gun. Her body fell to the ground, unconscious.
"I'm a little disappointed in you, Sister." Jessica sighed, her tone hauntingly cold. "I would have thought you'd have learnt from last time." I gritted my teeth.
"And I'd have thought you'd have stop being so weak-willed but I guess you're still the same traitorous bitch as you were before." I spat back at her. Jessica's eyes narrowed and I glared back at her. Sisterly love, huh?
Her scowling face was the last thing I saw before the butt of a gun snapped the back of my head and I felt myself fall to the ground as I was nothing but dead weight now. Everything around me then drifted into black and I entered the dark, dreary world of unconsciousness.
(Author's Note): Wow, another update! I'm truly spoiling you people. ;) Thanks for the response on the last chapter, I'm glad that people are pleased with Michonne's reappearance! I'm very happy to have her back! :) I've been missing her a lot!
Of course, the Woodbury arc is going to be played a little differently in my story, but that's how everything has been from the start of Loginquitas :) I'll be introducing ideas from both comics and the show so hopefully it'll work for you guys. Also my intention is to get another couple of chapters out before the series restarts again - hence the super fast update! And plus I've been watching far too many promos and trailers and reading far too many articles regarding the rest of season 3 - my inspiration is just overflowing!
What do you guys thinks about the latest installment? Have I portrayed the group's reaction to Michonne alright? And the introduction to the Woodbury threat? And what about Jessica's latest stunt? Where do you think this leaves Ruby and Michonne...
Thanks again for the response from the last chapter, please leave a comment about this one. I greatly appreciate everything you guys have to say! :) I'll update soon!