Wish I could hug everyone of you who keep reading, reviewing, alerting and liking this story.
It brings a lot of joy, you have no idea! (or maybe some of you do) ;)
Hope you all enjoyed the latest ep. of Walking Dead! Alexandria... safe or is it another dangerous town?
For now enjoy this next chapter of My Salvation!
Chapter 51
It wasn't until a couple of hours later that I saw Rick again. It must have been a long talk he had with Daryl. The former sheriff was walking around beneath the catwalk with his head lowered and his back slightly bent, as if he was looking for something.
After circling the area he halted in front of one of the few piles of rubble. He crouched down and grabbed something. From this angle I couldn't tell what it was that he had found, but whatever it was it took him a while before he'd collected it. I couldn't yell to him for it would attract the Walkers. I shrugged, it was probably nothing.
"Toots!" I jumped at the sudden sound of Merle's voice.
"Holy shit! Merle!" I hissed between my teeth as I looked down to the ground, only to see Merle waving his Captain Hook arm at me.
"You coming?" He asked.
"Coming?" I shook my head with confusion, "Coming where?"
"Rick wants us to do a run. Get some formula and shit for the little tyke."
"A run? Now?" I frowned. This didn't make any sense. I'm sure there was enough formula left.
I guess I was taking too long debating about it for Merle banged his metal arm against the ladder, "Come on, I ain't got all day!"
I rolled my eyes and climbed down and when I reached the ground a dumb smirk was plastered on Merle's face.
"What?"
"Nice ass."
A loud clap sounded as my hand collided with Merle's cheek, "Rude…"
Within five minutes we drove off the perimeter and after a fifteen minute drive we reached the edge of one of the nearby towns.
"This place is empty." I told Merle as he looked out of the window, "We've already raided this town… twice."
"Better keep going then." He replied as he not so accidentally knocked over a Walker with the car.
Only we didn't keep going. If fact we never even made it out of the town. We were halfway when the car started to make a weird noise. A bang erupted and the car stopped as smoke came out from under the hood and the exhaust pipe.
"Oh, no…" I groaned and Merle banged his fist against the steering wheel.
"Son of a bitch!" Merle exclaimed, "Just perfect." He opened the door and stepped out of the car.
"We need to get out of here quickly." I told him as I shut the door on the passenger's side, "Thanks to that loud bang there will be Walkers here in no time."
"Just shut up for a second!" Merle snapped at me. I stepped back at his sudden outburst. The eldest Dixon started to pace around the car.
"A run for baby food is not that important, Merle. We still have some left. I mean it's not enough but we can always go tomorrow."
"I thought I told you to shut up." He kicked the car bumper aggressively. I couldn't understand why he was acting up like this. Why the heck was this run so important for him? Unless… was he hiding something from me?
"Geez, what is your problem today?" I said softly.
Merle rubbed his nose before nodding, "Okay, no problem we will just hotwire one of the cars."
"Hotwire?" I frowned as I made my way to him, "Give it a rest, Merle. We'll go tomorrow, let's go back to the prison. It'll be a long walk but we can manage."
"Can't," Merle replied rather shortly, "Rick needs us to take care of it."
"The formula?" I asked.
Merle's expression suddenly changed, "Not…exactly."
Not exactly?
"Excuse me?" I crossed my arms. Merle didn't answer me. Instead I watched him walk around the car and then he stopped in front of the trunk. He opened it and suddenly emitted a loud yelp. I rushed over just in time to watch Merle getting kicked to the ground. My eyes widened as I stared into Michonne's dark brown eyes. She was gagged and her hands and feet were bound.
"What's going on here?" I looked down at the eldest Dixon brother, who rubbed his stomach.
"Just following the sheriff's orders," He coughed.
I shook my head and untied the cords from Michonne's ankles as Merle explained the situation.
"Daryl came to me earlier as I was busy getting,-" He paused for a moment, "Not important. Anyhow…My little brother tells me sheriff 'no balls' wants to hand over the last samurai to our mutual friend the Governor."
I paused and looked into Michonne's eyes, "Rick wouldn't do that."
Michonne blinked and I removed the gag from her mouth, "You alright?" I asked her. She nodded but kept her eyes on Merle as I focused my attention on her wrists.
"Oh but he did, toots. Only I, Daryl, the old man and Rick were in on it,- Ah, ah!"
He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from Michonne, "Her hands stay tied. We have a job to do, and the moment you set her free she will make a run for it."
I yanked my arm out of his grasp, "Don't be ridiculous and there is no we in this. Philip is not laying a hand on Michonne, even if it was Rick's order."
I returned to Michonne and started fiddling with the phone cord which was tied in a very, very annoying knot. I groaned with frustration and not just because of the difficulty I was experiencing at the moment.
I knew it. The moment Rick told me he had to talk to Daryl, I knew something was up. He knew where I stood regarding Philip's request for Michonne, and yet he went through with it.
"And you were just going to do it?" I turned my head to Merle, "Philip is going to kill us anyway, and God knows what he will do to Michonne."
"I know exactly what he will do to Michonne." Merle countered, "Rick wanted me to do it, cause he didn't have the guts for it. From the moment Rick cuffed me to that pipe on top of that building,-" Merle barked out a laugh as my eyes had widened. I glanced sideways and saw the same look on Michonne's face.
"Oh, he never mentioned that? Sheriff Rick ain't such a saint, you know. Cut my own arm off to escape from that Walker infested building. That's Rick Grimes…He starts all the mess but he hasn't got the balls to finish the job himself. That's why he needs someone like me. So I can do all the dirty work, cause… hey,-" He patted himself on his chest, "I'm the bad guy. Always was and always will be." With that being said Merle stepped our way and pulled his gun out, "I won't tell you again, you ain't removing those bindings."
I looked at Michonne, who said nothing, but there was a calm look within her eyes. I raised my hands, "Fine."
Merle nodded and walked away, leaving Michonne and I standing at the back of the broken down vehicle.
"You sure about this?" I asked her whilst nodding to her hands.
"That depends," She spoke, "how true are you to your words?"
I shrugged, "You'll know when the moment's there."
I couldn't believe what Merle had told us. Rick wanted to deliver Michonne to Philip and instead of doing it himself he'd given the task to Merle? What if Philip decided on killing Merle on the spot? Then Daryl would never see his brother again. The more I thought about how disturbing it all was, the angrier I got.
Michonne was walking in the front, followed closely by Merle and I closed our small group of three. It gave me time to think as Merle looked around for a good car we could take. If we were to make it to Woodbury, even though I wasn't even sure that was the direction we were heading in, what would I do?
Not to say that I know Philip, but I understood Philip. He will still come after all of us, until every single one of us is gone. It didn't matter if he had Michonne or Merle, he simply wanted them first and then we will be next on his list.
I sighed and rested my eyes on the backs of Michonne and Merle, who were having a bit of small talk from the looks of it.
"This little trip, maybe it'll keep that place standing. By pulling this off maybe all is forgiven." Merle said.
"That's a whole lot of maybes." Michonne replied.
"You gotta play the hand your dealt…and I only got one." He halted for a moment as Michonne kept walking. I stopped next to him.
"You don't have to do this." I said softly. The only reply coming from Merle was the sound of him breathing in and exhaling deeply, after that he continued his pace.
Ten minutes later we stopped in front of a house. One of the last houses on the block, after this there were only roads and trees to encounter.
"I'll check the garage." I said and without waiting headed into the partly closed space. Besides the car I stopped at the workbench in the back, checking if there was a tool I could use.
I've been without my crowbar for a long time, having I gun was alright by now. I didn't fear the feel of a firearm anymore. Aiming one at Philip's head had proven that. But I missed the touch of cold iron within my grasp. It was a trusting feeling and it had saved my ass on numerous occasions.
However the search for it turned out to be fruitless. I didn't find a crowbar, or anything resembling it in the slightest. I made my way to the car to check if it was useable. It wasn't, only three tires were intact. I headed outside and spotted Merle tying Michonne to the porch of the house.
"And what good will this do?" I frowned at Merle.
"In case she decides to run off." He replied, "You know she will."
I stayed beside Michonne as Merle continued his quest of obtaining a car.
"I'm starting to think you have a plan?" I whispered to Michonne.
"You'll see." A small smile crept over her face.
"Knocking him out seems like a pretty good option." I grinned.
"Trust me."
I looked at Michonne's serene face. Every day this woman amazed me more. I wondered what she was like before the breakout. Was she different compared to now? Like most of us were. The breakout had hardened us, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a time Michonne wasn't a rough as she seemed to be now.
I left Michonne tied to the pole as she requested and headed over to the car Merle had just broken into.
"Michonne still tied up?" Merle asked without looking up as he lied underneath the steering wheel.
"She is. You having any luck with the car?"
"Well, its tricky...wouldn't want the alarm to go off."
I agreed with him on that, wouldn't want a loud car alarm to alert the Walkers in the area. I stepped back, and the moment I did the inevitable happened.
The engine started, but not only the engine found its voice. The alarm echoed through the entire street. It was loud incredibly loud. It only took a few seconds before the first Walker appeared from around the corner. Then another followed from the left and then another one. Shit, shit, shit!
"Madison!" Michonne yelled loudly. I turned my head around as Michonne kicked a Walker to the ground and smashed her boot into its skull.
I rushed back to Merle, who was still on his back in the car trying to turn off the alarm, "Where's Michonne's sword!" I shouted as I leaned through door. I spotted it on the driver's seat before Merle had the chance to reply. I crouched forward and grabbed hold of the hilt.
"Duck!" Merle yelled followed by a gurgling noise coming from behind me. Merle's arm missed my face by a couple of inches and a heavy weight fell on top of me.
"Bloody hell," I groaned beneath the Walker, "A little help here!"
Merle used his legs to kick the Walker off of me and I jumped back with Michonne's katana in my hand. I hurried towards her just in time to decapitate one of Walker's. A gun fired and another Walker coming from the house fell to the ground. Merle fired another round and used his own makeshift weapon to cut the rope with which he had tied Michonne to the house.
"Let's go!" he yelled. The three of us got into the car. Merle pressed his foot down on the pedal and we quickly made our way out of the town.
Don't forget to R&R :)
