Chapter 22: I'll Be There

"We have to help him!" Carol shouted as she watched Beta move away from Negan's lifeless body. "He'll die otherwise and I promised him I wouldn't just..."

"Help Negan?" Michonne asked narrowing her eyes. "No Carol. He's already dead. We need to take more of them out from up here. The more we take out from up here, the less we have to fight off hand to hand when we go down to get Connie and Lydia back." Michonne looked away from Carol and took another shot.

"He held up his end and I'm going to hold up mine," Carol said as she stood from where she was shooting her bow.

"We're still outnumbered," Michonne argued, "outnumbered by a lot."

"My mom is right," Henry exclaimed. "Lydia's down there!"

"Connie too," Daryl stated adamantly. "And I ain't waitin' another second to go get her. We need to get to her and Lydia before they decide they're gonna try and use 'em as leverage."

Michonne looked up from her targets to Daryl. "It's still too dangerous."

"Well what the hell did we come out her for then?" Daryl barked at his friend.

"I was hoping that reinforcements would be here sooner than later," Michonne replied pragmatically.

"Look," Daryl stated, "you stay here with Henry and keep taking out who you can. Carol and me will go down by ourselves."

"Daryl, there's at least 80 of them down there," Michonne argued. I'm not interested in any of us going on any suicide missions."

"You ain't talkin' me out of it," Daryl stated, resolved in his position.

"Fine," Michonne replied in exasperation as she shook her head. "Are you still going to try and get masks?"

"It's the best way for us to be able to move through their camp," Carol said.

Michonne laid her rifle down and started to search through her pack. She pulled out two bandanas – a red one and a yellow one. "Tie these around your wrists so Henry and I know who not to shoot."

"Good call," Daryl replied as he grabbed the two pieces of cloth. He quickly tied one around Carol's wrist then handed her the other to tie around his.

"Be careful," Michonne said as she picked up her rifle and turned her eyes back to the camp below.

Daryl and Carol took off down the hill. Daryl turned to her as they ran. "Once were down there, I'll find Connie and you look for Lydia."

"Beta took her into the tent with Negan but only he came out. She's probably still in there."

"Probably."

Carol studied Daryl, reading the anxiety and worry all over his face. "What's wrong?"

"I looked everywhere for Connie while we were up there but I didn't see her anywhere."

"We're going to find her," Carol stated, trying to reassure him.

As they moved closer to the Whisperer camp. Daryl stopped and turned to Carol. "Hey, I know you think you gotta get to Negan, like you owe him somethin' but..." Daryl stopped.

"What?" Carol asked expectantly.

"I need you right now," Daryl said, pleading with his eyes. "I need you to help me get her back. I need to know you're gonna be there for me first. Alright?"

Carol looked into Daryl's eyes. She knew exactly what it took from him to ask her for help...with such need and desperation. She nodded her head. "Of course. Once I find Lydia, I'll help you get Connie back. I promise."

Daryl nodded, grateful that she understood.

Once they reached the camp, they took cover in some bushes near a row of tents.

"Those two, right there," Daryl said in a hushed tone as he pointed to two Whisperers hiding near the outskirts of the camp. Carol nodded and they both raised their bows. Daryl counted to three and they simultaneously fired arrows into the two of them. They came out and quickly pulled the two dead bodies back to the cover of the bushes.

They wasted no time removing the over shirts from the two bodies then the masks. Daryl and Carol put the shirts on over their own clothes making sure the bandanas were visible.

Daryl pulled the mask over his face and looked over at Carol. She stared down at the mask in her hands with a look of anguish. "What are you waitin' for? Put it on."

Carol shook her head and looked from the mask towards Daryl. "I...I can't."

"They treat the skin so that it's safe. They don't even really smell bad."

"That's not it," Carol replied.

"Well what the hell is it?" Daryl asked impatiently.

"I don't know. I just can't."

"Sure ya can. You can do anything. You can do this too." Daryl looked into Carol's eyes. She looked like she wanted to cry. He didn't understand. He'd seen her do battle with men twice her size. She rescued her entire group of friends when they were seconds away from being butchered. She had even worn the mask of a killer when the Wolves penetrated the walls of Alexandria. She wore it and saved God only knows how many of them. But now she couldn't do the one thing that would likely keep her safe when they entered the battlefield.

"Carol, look at me," Daryl said as he moved closer to her. He put his hand on her arm and looked at her with compassion. "You gotta put it on or your gonna get yourself killed."

Tears fell from Carol's eyes as she looked at her best friend. Daryl didn't understand what was going through her head or why she was upset. But he wasn't going to push her anymore. Daryl snatched the gruesome disguise from her hands and threw it on the ground. "Screw the mask," he exclaimed. He took Carol by the hand and led her farther into the Whisperer camp.

Carol and Daryl both nodded at each other before splitting up and going in different directions. Carol strategically ran behind trees and tents as she made her way to the tent they watched Negan and Lydia enter. Carol drew back the nylon and mesh and walked inside carefully. As soon as she was in the tent, she found Lydia.

The young girl was dead and feeding on someone. Carol drew her knife from her belt and raised it above her head. She plunged it into the top of Lydia's skull. The girl collapsed onto a sleeping bag as Carol stood over her.

Carol stooped down and rolled Lydia's body over. She studied the large cut across her neck. She'd been murdered by someone. Was it Negan who sliced the poor girl's throat? Maybe it was Beta. It couldn't it have been her own mother. What mother could possibly kill her own child? They had all watched Lydia enter the tent with Negan and Beta. Moments later Negan, Alpha and Beta walked out without her.

Carol sighed sadly as she looked at Lydia's raven hair and fair skin, covered with dark blood. Henry loved this sweet girl and he would be devastated by the loss. Guilt swept over Carol as she thought of how they had sent Lydia down here. In this bloody war, she was an innocent. They were sure that if anyone would be safe, it would be were wrong.

Carol was about to leave the tent when she saw the other body stir from the corner. Carol widened her eyes as she realized who it was. She pulled her knife back as she watched Alpha return to life. She took two steps forward and stabbed it through Alpha's eye socket upward into her brain. Alpha's dead body fell over on top of Lydia's. Carol kicked the loathsome woman's body off of Lydia's, then turned to exit the tent.

…..

"I'm out of ammo," Henry said.

"Me too," Michonne replied a few seconds later.

"What do we do?" Henry asked. "Should we go down there?"

"No not yet."

"Well what do we do then? My mom and Lydia are still down there."

"Just give me a second to think Henry, okay!" Michonne replied impatiently.

Michonne pulled a walkie from her belt and held it near her mouth. "This is Daito. Maverick do you copy?" Michonne said trying to reach Aaron. She waited a few seconds for any kind of response before speaking again. "This is Daito. Does anyone copy?" Silence was the only thing coming from the walkie

Michonne stared down the hill into the Whisperer camp. She didn't see Daryl or Carol. She didn't see Connie or Lydia. The truth was she couldn't see anyone other than the dead Whisperers they had taken down and Negan, who still laid lifelessly near a tree.

Most of the Whisperers had fled. They were either hiding in their tents or had left the camp completely. They could have even climbed up the hill where she and Henry were hiding out.

Michonne wiped the sweat from her brow and set her gun down. She blew out through her mouth. She was torn. As much as she wanted to charge into the camp to help her friends, a huge part of her was still in Alexandria.

Thoughts of Judith and R.J. filled the space in her head. There wasn't anything on the planet that scared Michonne other than losing her children or having them lose her.

Michonne became melancholy as she thought back to an event that took place seven years earlier. It was an event that her mind couldn't help but replay nearly every day.

It was a day like most other days. He was wearing his favorite tan button-up shirt, black jeans and worn leather boots that had seen better days. As Michonne thought back to the last kiss they shared, she could almost smell the cypress and grapefruit from the home-made soap he liked. She pictured his crooked lips smiling back at her as he walked out the door. He left to supervise the bridge rebuild and she went on to perform all her duties that kept Alexandria running.

Michonne would never have guessed that would be the last time she would kiss Rick Grimes. If she would have known she would have begged him to stay.

But of course that's not how life worked. Even in the good old days it didn't work like that. Michonne said goodbye to the love of her life that day. The next and last time she saw him, he was on the bridge, moments before it exploded.

It had been the same thing with Andre and Carl. Michonne remembered the days both of her boys had left her. Those days started out one way and ended another way. They were both cruelly taken from her and she had no choice but to add them to her collection of losses.

Before Michonne left earlier today, she kissed Judith and R.J. goodbye. Could it have been the last time? Her heart raced at just the thought of leaving Judith and R.J. as orphans in a mad world.

"Michonne," Henry said again, his voice immediately pulling her out of her thoughts. "We have to go down there, right?"

Michonne stared back at Henry, speechless. She'd been trying to talk herself out of going into the Whisperer camp but she had to go. Doing nothing went against everything in her nature. She couldn't sit on the sidelines and watch...not when her friends needed help. Even her young children understood that she wasn't built that way.

"Right," Michonne finally replied. "We'll go in but follow my lead, okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

"If we're going to do this, you gotta listen to me," Michonne said putting her hand on the young boy's shoulder. In that moment, with his blue eyes staring back at her, he reminded her so much of Carl. He was about this same age Carl was when he died, seven years ago. She shook her head, ridding herself of the sad and useless thoughts and spoke again to Henry. "If anything goes wrong, or you feel like you're in real danger, run. Don't look back. Don't wait for your mom or Lydia or me or Daryl...just get out of there. Promise me that, okay?"

"Okay," Henry said nodding.

Michonne and Henry gathered their weapons. Henry pulled a sharp, bolo machete out of his backpack while Michonne slid her katana off her back. They were ready for the close combat they'd surely be encountering once they reached the enemy camp.

Michonne crept through the dark woods with Henry closely trailing behind. She heard twigs crackling behind her and turned around quickly, aiming her sword in the direction of the noise. Just a few dim flashlights shined through the trees but she could hear a crowd of people closing in on them.

"Dammit," she said. "Henry, you might have to run sooner than we thought."

"I'm not leaving you."

"You promised me you would."

"I lied," the dauntless teen replied. Michonne couldn't help but chuckle just a little. It was the exact kind of thing Carl would have said to her too.

"Well alright then. We do this," Michonne said stoically as the footsteps came closer. They both raised their weapons ready to take down whoever appeared in front of them.

The group of people was just a few yards away when their flashlights shone right in their faces.

"Henry...Michonne!" Ezekiel called out.

"Dad!" Henry exclaimed with elation. He ran to his father and threw his arms around him.

Michonne thanked God as face after familiar face appeared in front of her. Aaron, Rosita, Eugene, Jerry, Siddiq, Alden, Luke, Yumiko, Magna, Earl, Scott, Laura and at least two dozen others from Alexandria, Hilltop and Oceanside were all there and well-armed.

"Sorry we couldn't reach you on the walkie," Aaron said as he stood in front of his friend. "I tried but..."

"They're shitty walkies," Michonne interrupted casually, with a smile on her face. She closed her eyes and blew a deep breath out. She opened them again and looked at Aaron and the rest of her friends with a sigh of relief. "I'm really glad you guys are here."

...

A/N: Well quarantine has me writing up a storm and I'm thrilled about that! This chapter was getting super long so I decided to split it into two chapters so I'm happy to say that I should be publishing the next chapter in just a few days, after I edit it.

Right now I want to give a special shout-out to Mother Noose. I can't help but share things pertaining to my faith and personal life. I wear my heart on my sleeve and that's just who I am. It can sometimes make me a little nervous though, because this isn't the typical forum to do that. But, all of you have made this such a safe space for me to be myself and share whatever I feel I gotta share. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. Mother Noose, you really made me feel like my fic and my own story are heard and appreciated and that means the world to me. For the record, there's no such thing as comment spam in my book. I love it so keep those comments coming! Thank you to all my readers for reading what I have to say here and taking the time to tell me what you think about it!

Anyhow, I hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and doing well despite all the craziness. I pray God will sustain you through whatever trials you encounter and that you would be able to find gratitude and love everywhere you look. Love and blessings to you friends!