Chapter 37: Crossed Swords
Chapter 37: Crossed Swords
The warehouse in front of him stood forebodingly, menacingly, covered in the darkness of the night it seemed like a large blackened void, inviting him in with the promise of supplies, if only he dares. Ben walked forward, the gloom seemed almost palpable, almost suffocatingly strong, the only light offered was the weak moonlight through the windows into the grimy windows, there was no sounds of groaning or moaning of the undead, a blessing to his ears. Yet there was no sense of peace, in fact there was the opposite; something was shifting in the shadows, the feeling he was being watched was overwhelming. Suddenly, a bucket clanked as if it were kicked, Ben instantly stopped and checked his surroundings, nothing moved in the blackness as he drew his M9, quickly checking the mag and chamber, he raised it upwards and waited for a few moments, hearing nothing but his own breaths, he lowered the weapon but didn't holster it.
THUD!
Ben was hurled through the air as a wave of pain coursed from his back to his nervous system after being kicked by an unknown person, his M9 flew from his hand as he sailed through the air, his fall was broken by the hard concrete of the floor, as he rolled to a stop by the wall, he looked over and saw a wraith, black shadows swirling round it as it stood where Ben was previously, a wicked looking demonic blade in its hand, It made no move to continue its attack or any move for that matter as it merely looked at him. Ben shakily got to his feet as his hand drew his katana from his back, he made his way forward slowly, circling all the while, the wraith looked at him and followed suit, matching each step as they circled each other.
The wraith made the first move, it swung its blade downwards at Ben's head, he blocked with the flat and parried it to the right before counter swinging at its ribs, the blade was glanced away at the last moment when his opponent swung his blade in an arc to catch the inevitable counter attack, Ben pressed on as he sent a quick stab at his opponent who leapt back, he took another two steps before launching a flurry of quick strikes at his opponent, all were parried or dodged at the last second, the wraith then went on the offensive, swinging its blade at Ben's arm before rapidly changing its course to his leg, Ben got a nick on his leg but jumped back in time so he didn't lose the leg completely. He landed on the wounded leg and stumbled back slightly, the wraith pounced after him, a jumping stab through the air all the while; Ben regained his balance as he saw the blade flying towards him. He ducked and sent a blind stab towards the wraith.
SHNICK!
Warm liquid trailed down Ben's hand as he looked up to see the wraith standing over him, blade poised over his head where his chest was before he ducked, the blade clattered to the concrete floor as the wraiths hands lost their strength and let go, it looked down at the blade protruding from its body and gave a scream, not a scream of a monster but a scream of a human, it pulled itself free and stumbled back, thrashing arms as it tripped and fell, Ben glanced at his katana, red blood was slicked to about halfway down the length, he cleaned the blade with a cloth quickly and sheathed it, he then walked towards the wraith and knelt down by it, he reached his arm to the wraith, who tried to feebly push it aside, the moonlight seemed to brighten into a spotlight on the two, the shadows swirling around the wraith dissipated and revealed his attacker. Ben fell backwards in shock.
It was him.
It was him dressed all in black, with a pale skin; yellow eyes that seemed to shine were filled with hate as they stared at him in loathing. The apparition of him raised his hand towards him shakily; Ben took its hand as it pulled him closer and whispered in his ear.
"We are Ying and Yang, I am the bad and you are the good, you win this time, but sooner or later… I will emerge"
His hand then lost strength as they slipped from Ben's hand and thudded onto the floor, he stood up and limped out of the warehouse, dawn was rising over the horizon as it engulfed him in the sun's rays.
He awoke to the sound of chattering in the canteen down the hall, he swung his legs over the mattress and raised himself up from the bed, he picked up a black t-shirt and some grey cargo trousers from the foot of the bed, he clipped his holster onto his leg, swung the katana over his shoulder and left the cell, everyone was gathered in the canteen, all the food was now in the room instead of in the canteen for convenience, all the group greeted him as Axel, Oscar and Rick walked in.
"We need to stick together in these times, so Axel and Oscar are gonna be staying with us now" said Rick, the others nodded and continued their various discussions, he sat after getting a helping of some squirrel that Daryl had hunted and some tomato and basil soup that they had scavenged the other day from the town. The cacophony was almost overwhelming as he sat with Carl, Sophia, T-Dog and Glenn, he heard topics ranging from the perfumes and colognes that Carl had scavenged, clearing the prison, ammo count, how Judith was, repairs to the catwalks and…
"Hey Glenn?" Asked Carl
"Yeah man?" Replied Glenn
"What was going on with you and Maggie in the guard tower yesterday?" Asked Carl
The silence became deafening as all heads turned to either of the two.
"Um- uh, wh- what do you mean?" Asked Glenn in clear embarrassment while most people grinned at his discomfort.
"Me and Sophia were going up there to take over watch and we opened the door and we heard you at the top of the stairs, there were sounds like moans coming from up there, was either of you guys hurt?" Asked Carl innocently
"Uh, well, um- yeah, we uh- Maggie had stomach ache" blurted out Glenn, by now most of the people were shaking with silent laughter at the unfortunate predicament of the Korean man. Hershel looked disapprovingly at them and Sophia tutted at Carl.
"I think Carl needs the talk" said Ben
Rick looked at him in anger, if looks could kill, Ben would be on an express elevator to hell in a hand basket as the room rocked in laughter at the other man's embarrassment.
"We never got around to it" muttered Rick
"Talk about what?" Asked Carl
Rick sighed and motioned to Lori and Carl to follow him, he then jerked his head at Ben.
"What?" Asked Ben
"You got me into this, you're helping" said Rick
"Fine" murmured Ben as he got up and marched into the cell block with the family, they occupied the far cell so not to disturb the others, they were about to start when Carol walked in with Sophia as Sophia never had the talk either. On the whole the experience was bearable and they may need to get the kids therapy but they got the gist and understood the consequences and implications in general. The kids were on the whole OK with it, they got grossed out a bit with some of the details but they carried on.
After the ordeal the kids left the cell block first to reflect and to escape from the situation, the adults just milled around.
"Well… that could have gone much worse" said Ben in an attempt to lighten up the situation
"I'm gonna kill you" said Rick as he rubbed his temples vigorously.
"Hey, you would have had to do it eventually, they are quite close those two" said Ben
"I know but he's just so damn… curious" said Rick as he gripped his head in his hands.
"Well, at least now we don't have to worry about any unforeseen problems between them" said Ben
"They are 13" said Lori
"Judging by how close they are at time, I think now was a good time to do it" said Ben
"I actually agree" said Carol
"Besides I'll make it up to you" said Ben
"How?" Asked Rick sceptically
Ben quickly walked into his cell and went into his personal bag next to his weapon bag, being the group's armourer he had access to all the weapons and could quickly distribute them. He returned with a bottle of clear liquid.
"Here you go" said Ben
Rick looked down at the label, SMIRNOFF GREEN APPLE VODKA
"Where'd you find this?" Asked Rick
"That shop, it's got a long time left on its expiration date so I took it" replied Ben
Rick nodded and grasped it as he left the cell with Lori in tow, Carol next went, leaving Ben alone.
Thank God, I hope that doesn't happen often. Thought Ben as he then left the cell
He walked out to the cafeteria and sat again, the soup had gone cold but the squirrel had some warmth left in it, he gobbled it down quickly and drunk the soup down, T-Dog was still there as the rest went outside to enjoy the weather again, this week had such good weather that most people were just lazing around on the field in the shade.
"So T-Dog my friend, we never asked, what did you do before all of this?" Asked Ben
"Well, I was a locksmith, used to help all kinds of folk with their doors, from the dumb as hell 'left it inside' people to the ones who had broken the key in the damn lock" said T-Dog
"Heh, bet that was fun" said Ben
"It was good work, got to meet a whole bunch of people, earned a nice amount of cash" said T-Dog
"All worthless now though huh?" Asked Ben
"Yep, good times, good times" said T-Dog
"I'm gonna head outside, you coming?" Asked Ben
"Sure, might as well have some fun in the sun" said T-Dog
Ben grinned and led the way out of the cell block into the blinding sunshine, most of the group was sitting on the field, they had a lot of supplies so they could afford a bit of laziness, Glenn and Maggie got up as they approached.
"Where you two love birds goin'?" Asked T-Dog
"Were going to find some more baby formula for Judith, might as well stockpile it so we don't have to keep looking" said Maggie
"Have a nice time you two, try not to get… waylaid while you're out" said Ben cheekily
Glenn flipped the bird as they got into their car, Carl was waiting by the gate and opened it quickly, the car sped out like a bullet as the gate slammed shut behind it, Carl then walked over and sat down with Sophia and Ben by the gate.
"Well, how ruined are your psyches now?" Asked Ben jokingly
"Not funny" said Carl as his face went from normal to crimson in 3 seconds flat
"I thought it was hilarious" said Ben
"Even when you were embarrassed at the protection question?" Asked Carl scathingly
"Whoa bro, no need to take it so personally" said Ben in a mock hurt expression
"Well, you did go red when I asked how small they went, was that something you were worried about?" Asked Carl
"Bugger off, also; why on Earth did you even need to know that?" Asked Ben
Carl blushed at that and Sophia averted her gaze.
"Oh" said Ben "Never mind, I don't need to know, I don't WANT to know but if you two devils can control yourselves then I might be able to find something"
Carl perked up slightly at that.
"BUT, I don't condone it, you two are two bloody young for this, you two should be waiting until at LEAST 16" said Ben
"Why? We're old enough to kill but not feel good with the one we love?" Asked Carl
Ben opened his mouth to respond but couldn't come up with a response that was adequate.
"Good point, fine but for goodness sake, at least get away from the others first, I have no idea how your parents would react, quite possibly they would go into meltdown" said Ben
"We do know" said Sophia
"And I thought that talk would dissuade you two" groaned Ben as he stood to leave the two lovebirds alone. He next sat next to Dale and T-Dog who were chatting amicably in the shade by the others.
"Hello lads, what are you two talking about?" Asked Ben
"Nothing much just gossip really" said Dale
"Oh? Do tell" said Ben
"Well, not much you don't already know, the couples, food, ammo, the works" said Dale
"And we are also betting how long before Daryl and Carol get together" said T-Dog
"HA! I wager a couple a weeks before he gets the hint" said Ben
"I went with a month" said T-Dog
"I am going to say next week" said Dale
"Betting huh? I'm disappointed in you guys" said Rick as he; Lori who was holding Judith, Beth and Herschel sat next to them in the shade.
"Come on, you have to take this bet" said Ben
"What are you betting?" Asked Rick
"How long before Daryl and Carol hook up" said T-Dog
"About two months" said Rick
"I'm gonna flutter at 3 months" said Lori
"I think a month and a half" said Beth
Judith cooed a little before falling silent as she fell asleep.
"Young gambler, her" said Ben causing a small chuckle
"I don't think they will" said Hershel
"Come on Hershel have you seen them together, if Daryl had his head out of his arse he would see it plain as day" said Ben
"Say that again?" Came a southern drawl behind him.
Oh bollocks
He turned to Daryl giving him a Daryl Death Stare™ as he towered over him.
"Ummm… RUNNING TIME!" Yelled Ben as he sprinted towards the safety of the guard tower and locked it as a mass of flesh hurled into it behind him.
"Get out here and face me like a man!" Shouted Daryl
"Nah, nice and comfy in here" said Ben
"Hope you like it in there, if you come out I'm a rain hell on ya" said Daryl
Ben jogged up the stairs and came out of the tower onto the balcony to see Daryl leaning on the door and the group in hysterics next to him.
"No one gonna help?" Asked Ben to the group below
"Nah, you're fine" said Rick as he doubled over clutching his sides
"Shite, well, good luck getting in Daryl" said Ben as he walked in and grabbed a rifle kept in the tower for watch duty and walked out with it.
"Oi, go back to your picnic ladies, I might as well go on watch" said Ben as he patrolled the balcony, most of them went back to the shade, pausing every so often to smirk at the situation and continued talking. Daryl meanwhile had set up shop by the door to the tower, mattress and all. Ben shook his head and cursed himself for insulting Daryl, one did not simply insult Daryl Dixon unless they wanted a death wish or an arrow shoved up where the sun doesn't shine.
He eyed the area through his scope, the walkers were drawn by the sounds of humans but were unable to do much but stare and snarl. Some were pawing the fence in a vain attempt to break it, new ones joined the old in a failed assault, the fence in itself barely moved and the only fruits of their labour was cut hands, not that it mattered to walkers. Curiously a walker was moving in with a basket in its hand, Ben looked closely at the walker, it was a black woman who had a once purple top on that was now stained red, black jeans and a katana hooked in a similar way to Ben's. Curiously its skin didn't seem pale, and it had a bullet hole in its leg that was leaking red blood. He motioned to Daryl.
"What, you finally giving up?" Asked the hick smugly
"No, look at the walker with a basket but don't shoot... yet" said Ben
Daryl looked at him weird then walked to the fence and checked the walker, he took a step back and called for Rick, Rick ran over with Carl and looked over at the walker, Rick stared at her in shock as a walker sniffed her, it snarled and alerted the others to her presence, she backed up and drew her katana. Ben quickly unscrewed his suppressor and fired at the walker to distract them away from the woman as Rick and Carl undid the gate, Ben noticed the woman was proficient with the katana, she dispatched two and was about to kill a third when she keeled over, probably from blood loss. Ben and Carl shot the walkers that got close to her as Rick went out, Python blazing as he felled a walker with each bullet, by now a small amount, about twenty were milling around and drawing close to them but by now most of the group had joined the fray, the walkers were killed in a matter of minutes.
"Was she bit?" Asked Hershel from behind the fence as he shot another, Rick did a quick once-over of the woman.
"Gunshot" said Rick as he hauled her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift, Carl darted out and grabbed her basket.
"Dad, it's filled with formula" said Carl confusedly
They rushed her back into the prison, they took her katana away and gave it to Ben for safe keeping as they ran into the cell block.
"Carl, fetch a blanket. Beth, water and a towel" ordered Rick as they burst into the foyer of the cell block.
"Here?" called Carl as he laid it down
"She isn't coming into the cell block" said Rick as he laid her down and opened up a water bottle, he let it flow on her head and neck to cool her down, she awoke with a start.
"Hey it's OK" said Rick in an attempt to soothe her "Look at me, look at me, who are you?"
Her reply was to lunge for the katana which Ben held in his hands but she was pushed back down gently by Rick.
"We're not gonna hurt you unless you do something stupid, alright?" Reasoned Rick "You wanna tell us your name?"
She gave the silent treatment as Rick stood and sighed.
"We'll keep the doors locked, you'll be safe then we can take a look at your leg" said Rick
"I didn't ask for your help" said the woman, breaking her silence
"Well, we can't let you leave" said Rick
The woman winced as she clutched her leg.
"We'll help you with that, give you some food and water and send you on your way, but you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why were you carrying formula" said Rick
"Supplies were dropped by a young Asian guy with a pretty girl" everyone stiffened and focused on the woman.
"What happened?" Asked Rick
"Were they attacked?" Asked Herschel
"They were taken" said the woman
"By who?" Asked Rick immediately
"By the same son of a bitch that shot me" said the woman
"These are our people, tell us what happened now" said Rick as he grabbed her wound in a fit of anger
"Don't you ever touch me again!" Yelled the woman while pointing threateningly at him
"Calm it woman or you'll have a bigger problem than a gunshot wound" threatened Daryl with his crossbow raised.
"Fine, find them yourself" said the woman apathetically
"Put it down" said Rick to Daryl then turned back to the woman. "You came here for a reason"
"There's a town, Woodbury, about 75 survivors, I think they were taken there" said the woman
"A whole town?" Asked Rick
"Run by this guy who calls himself The Governor, pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type" said the woman
"He got muscle?" Asked Daryl
"Paramilitary wannabe's but they have armed sentries on every wall" said the woman
"You know a way in?" Asked Rick
"It's too secure for walkers but we could slip our way through" said the woman
"How did you know how to get here?" Asked Rick after a moment
"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, it was a straight shot" said the woman
"Well, this is Herschel, the father of the girl who was taken, he'll take care of that" said Rick as they all filed out except for Ben, Carl and Hershel, Herschel walked forwards and set to work on the woman's wound, Ben and Carl watched carefully with their hands on their holstered weapons in case she tried anything. As Herschel was finishing up his work, she spoke.
"Thank you"
The others entered and stated the plan that Oscar, Daryl, Rick, Ben and the woman, they would sneak in and get them out and get out ASAP. They were packing up the cars when the woman hobbled out into the courtyard and started talking to Beth.
"Wasn't this place overrun?"
"It was" replied Beth
"And you cleared it out all by yourselves, just a few of you?" Asked the woman sceptically
"There's just us, we make a pretty good team" said Beth as she walked off when Ben walked up to her, holding her weapon.
"Here you go" said Ben as he held it out to her
"Thanks" said the woman
Ben held out his hand
"Ben Smith, nice to meet you" said Ben as he waited patiently for a response
She took his hand "Michonne"
"I noticed you use a katana as well, but your handle was slightly shorter" said Ben
"Yeah, I like a short grip, better in close quarters" said Michonne
"True, very true, I like to move my hands up and down the hilt when I fight though, bit of a kleptomaniac like that" said Ben
"Well, we'll see how good you are when we get to Woodbury" said Michonne
"Well if Rick has anything to say 'bout it, no one will die, so long as we get Glenn and Maggie back" said Ben as the car rolled up by them.
"Get in" said Rick from the driver's seat, Ben opened the door and let Michonne in first then got in as the car rolled out towards Woodbury.