Chapter Two
When Daryl had accepted this crazy lunch invitation, he didn't know what the hell to think. The woman's voice. Something.
He'd walked into the yuppie restaurant and looked around. The black woman. He. She looked familiar even though he didn't know many black people. And none that looked like this woman. She looked rich. She'd given him a big smile as she waved him over. When he got close, she switched seats. When he sat down, he saw a young black boy. Real young.
The server was a pain in the ass. Fuckin' fifteen dollars for a burger. He guessed he shouldn't have expected much with this bein' a yuppie place.
"You look so goddamn young," had been the first thing out of her mouth. This threw Daryl. He'd never met this woman in his life, and she was actin' like she knew him. He shoulda figured somethin' was up. She knew his name, not the David she'd called for.
Then she started tellin' him some bullshit, after reading a newspaper article about a guy OD'ing and comin' back to life. Right. That shit didn't happen except in movies or TV shows. He didn't know how he knew some guy was a Chinaman or some woman had gray hair. Although he wanted to squirm in his seat when Michonne, and what kinda name was 'Michonne', told him about the woman's daughter.
Daryl was listenin' though. He got pissed when he heard about Merle bein' left on a roof with those…'walkers' runnin' around loose in the city. Like hell that guy, with brown hair, was some kinda cop. He sounded like an asshole. He was tempted to get up and leave. The woman didn't look high, he'd seen all kinds of people high including Merle, but she looked sober as a judge. Damn lawyer. That he could believe.
"Andrea couldn't tell me what happened. She was trying to save her own ass. She'd barricaded herself in the RV bathroom. When she came out, after the herd was gone, you, Rick and Sophia were gone." The woman drank some tea and wiped the boy's face with a smile. She faced him again. "You're so goddamn young," she whispered. "I guess Sophia had gotten scared and ran off. Rick took off after her and left her in a stream."
"What the hell? Is this guy a cop? A real one? 'Cause it sounds like he didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground," he bit out. "Those things runnin' around he fuckin' leaves her?"
'Michonne' shrugged her shoulders. "All I know is what Andrea told me."
Fuckin' hearsay.
"Where the hell were you again?" he asked.
She looked at her son then him again. "Around." She let out a breath. "Somehow you ended up on Hershel's farm."
"White hair," he couldn't help but say. Daryl didn't know why he said that, and it was pissin' him off.
"Yes, Hershel has white hair," Michonne said. "All I know is you were looking for Sophia. When Rick went back to get her, she was gone."
He got a bad feelin' in his stomach when she said that.
"Andrea…she didn't really pay attention. She was learning how to use her gun. I guess Carl got shot when you were looking for her. That's how you ended up on the farm." The woman nodded. "That's right. You, Rick, Shane and Carl were out looking for Sophia the next day."
"The girl was out there overnight?" he asked in shock.
"Yep. Anyway, Otis, he was out hunting and shot Carl."
"What the hell?" he gasped.
"Carl was small, and I guess, from what I can remember, he'd been behind a large deer. Otis didn't see him."
"Guy sounds like a moron," he muttered. "What kinda fuckin' hunter? You know what? Never mind. This is all bullshit anyway."
"Days passed and no one ever found Sophia. Carl, he was shot in the chest, got better. One day Andrea heard a commotion by Hershel's barn. When she got there, walkers were coming out of it."
"What the hell?!" Didn't she say walkers were dangerous? They ate living people and animals? Some asshole's got 'em in the barn? Bullshit.
Michonne continued like he didn't say anything. "The last walker out of the barn was Sophia. I guess Carol was there. Rick put her down."
"Put her down?"
"He shot her in the head."
He'd had enough. "This is all bullshit. Did Merle put you up to this?" Daryl was sure Merle didn't know any black people that looked rich. Hell, he hated black people.
The woman scoffed. "Merle?" she asked with a look on her face. "Your asshole racist brother Merle?"
"Watch what the hell you say about Merle," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "Merle is a racist asshole, Daryl."
He stood up. "This is bullshit. You're fuckin' crazy. Don't ever fuckin' call me again!"
Michonne grabbed his hand. "Daryl, I know you don't believe me but believe this: walkers are dangerous. They're attracted to life, blood, sound and shiny. When you find a place put up fences or walls and start growing food. Find people. You need to stab or shoot them in the head to put them down. And stay away from Washington, D.C."
He ripped his hand out of hers. "I don't ever wanna hear from you again, you crazy bitch," he growled and walked out.
Michonne sighed as she watched Daryl stalk out of the restaurant. Andre watched as he left, too. "Well, Peanut," she smiled at her son. She'd done what she could. "It's you and me against the world," she crooned.
"Is everything alright over here?" Donna asked when she showed up.
Michonne smiled at her again. "It's fine. He had an appointment he forgot about." She pointed to the half a burger and fries Daryl'd left. "Would you bring me a box? I'll take it home. And I'll take the check."
After she'd paid the bill, and left a nice tip, she headed back to the hotel. Andre could nap for a bit; she'd do more shopping and check on her plants that were being delivered and then they'd go to the pool.
Michonne had the music on low while Andre slept. Her plants were due in tomorrow. She'd assured Mike she and Andre were fine, and they were going to take a trip out of town until he was supposed to come back. Mike wholeheartedly agreed with the trip and promised to see them both in a few days. Her smile dropped when she hung up. "Good luck with that, buddy," she muttered.
She sighed as she looked at the article on her laptop. She wasn't sure how she felt about Rick. They'd been involved and had a child. She thought he'd trusted her, but he hadn't. He'd done some shitty things to her, and she'd let him. Sticking a finger in her bullet hole when she'd brought him formula for Judith. He'd had her watch his kids instead of going to Grady Memorial. That stupid ass plan on the bridge. She didn't get the chance to tell him she'd been pregnant, and she supposed it wouldn't have mattered to him. He would've done the same stupid plan. They hadn't been together long. Two years, maybe? She'd been with Mike longer. He'd left her with two kids and no way out.
Michonne sighed again when she thought of RJ. It didn't seem real to her, having another son. It was almost like she'd had him in a dream or read about him in a book. She could remember being pregnant but none of the feelings tied to it. Had she had cramps? She had with Andre, but she couldn't remember how her body felt with RJ. She couldn't remember the pain of giving birth. Maybe the sci-fi nuts were right; he hadn't been born yet so she wouldn't have anything but dispassionate memories.
She was all over the place, feelings wise, she knew, and it wasn't like she could find a book on surviving the walker apocalypse and having to re-live it. What she did know is that Andre was the here and now. The most important person in her life. She wished Rick and Carl well and hoped they never went to Washington, D.C.
Daryl sat on his ratty ass sofa with a beer in hand, not paying attention to what was on the TV. That crazy bitch. She almost had him goin'. He couldn't fuckin' figure out who the hell paid her to drag him to some stupid ass yuppie restaurant and tell him about dead people coming back to life. Walkers. Dumbass name. He didn't have any exes. Merle didn't have the money. He wouldn't do anything like that anyway. He'd tell him himself. Try and get him wound up. Maybe someone else paid her. Someone that wanted to make fun of guys like him. Daryl knew he was a hillbilly. He didn't know no other way to be.
"What the hell you doin', Darylina?" Merle asked as he walked in the door, drunk like usual.
"Nothin'," he muttered. "You hear anything about some drugs that make you look dead?"
Merle frowned. "You know, Daryl, you're not my momma. Stop harpin' on my lifestyle, little brother," he sneered and took off to the room he had in the trailer.
Daryl shook his head, scoffed and finished the beer. The bitch was crazy.
Michonne looked at her cellphone with some surprise. She and Andre were at the zoo, not that he'd remember it. Memories were tricky things. Which was why she was taking as many pictures as she could. The solar panel battery backup for her laptop was going to get a lot of use. She needed to find another way to access the pictures when the laptop finally died.
"Hello?" she answered as she took another picture of her son in front of another animal that wouldn't make it. At least from this zoo. She couldn't believe Ezekiel was able to save Shiva.
"This is Daryl Dixon," he said.
"I know who it is, Daryl. I have caller ID," she said.
"Uh…who's the eyepatch guy?" he asked quietly.
Michonne was kind of mad at herself. Daryl would've done the same things last time if she hadn't interfered. She should've left him alone. He'd been her friend when she'd needed one, not like those people at the prison who'd never trusted her. Including him. He'd trusted her some, she supposed. They all trusted her to watch their backs.
She sighed. "That's a complicated question," she replied. "Why don't you meet me for a late lunch. How does Korean sound?"
"I gotta go to Atlanta?"
"Yes, but I'll give you money for gas."
"I don't need your fuckin' money, Michonne," he hissed.
"I'm." She paused. "I'm asking you to meet me, Daryl. I don't mind and I never once assumed you didn't have the money."
"Give me the address," he grunted.
She hung up a few minutes later and smiled at her son. She could tell he was done with the zoo. Atlanta did have a large zoo and he at least got to go once.
Daryl looked at the cellphone in his hand. He didn't. He did know why he called her. He'd had some weird ass dreams. Flashes of findin' Merle's hand on a roof. Him and the Chinaman, a black guy and the dark-haired guy with blue eyes runnin' around an empty city, getting into wars. Him and the Chinaman runnin' around the woods at night chasing a coupla assholes. A little girl comin' out of a barn. She'd looked…disgusting. Some woman, gray hair, wailing as the dark haired guy shot her with a gun straight out of a 'Dirty Harry' movie. Some asshole with an eye patch near a tank? Walkin' and findin' people. Assholes was the feelin' he got. Carryin' his crossbow. Getting his ass kicked by some guys. Some little kid. Not Michonne's kid but another kid.
When he woke up this mornin', he did feel like he got his ass kicked by five guys. He'd had a hard time getting out of bed. He looked in Merle's room as he headed to the kitchen to make instant coffee. Merle was spread out over the bed with both hands. Attached to him. He shook his head and made a bowl of cereal before headin' out to finish up the job from yesterday. He didn't pay much attention to Mrs. Johnson's TV until he heard 'Detective'. He felt like he'd been punched in the lungs. He finished the job and did another little job for the old man on the other side of the park. He had enough to cover this month's lot rent and some for next month. He couldn't afford to be goin' down to Atlanta. At least he wasn't paying. He should've taken the burger from yesterday. Hell, maybe he'd take her money.
When he showed up, he saw her right away, sitting facing the door. She smiled at him again. In the flashes he had of her he'd never seen her smile. Not like how she was now.
"You're so goddamn young," she whispered again. "I like your hair short," she said.
"Whatever," he said.
The server showed up right away.
"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked in accented English.
"Yes. My son would like apple juice and I'd like a glass of Coke, please," Michonne ordered.
"So sorry. Deliveries are late. We don't have juice."
Michonne nodded like she wasn't surprised. "In that case he'll have water. Won't you, Peanut?"
"Yeah," the boy practically screamed. The woman just smiled at him.
"You, sir?"
"Coke," he grumbled.
"I'll come back for your order," the server said and left.
Michonne opened the menu and looked at it. "The simplest answer to your question is his name is Philip Blake. And he'll liked to be called 'The Governor'."
Daryl snorted. "He sounds like an asshole."
She looked up from the menu. "Oh, he is. A big asshole. And he'll be crazy. So," she leaned back. "Where were we? Sophia came out of the barn and Rick put her down. In front of Carol. And Carl."
"That's his boy?"
Michonne nodded her head yes. "Andrea wasn't sure how much time after that, but a herd came to the farm, and she was separated from all of you. I guess something caught on fire. That's the last of the hearsay. All of your group; you, Rick, Carl, Lori, Carol, Glenn, T-Dog, Hershel, Maggie and Beth,"
"Blond hair," he muttered pissing himself off again.
"Yes, Beth has blond hair," Michonne confirmed. "Wandered until you ended up in a prison."
"A prison?" he snorted.
"Mmhmm. A prison. Andrea, like I said, was on her own. She didn't know how long she'd been on her own until I found her."
Daryl looked at the boy. "What's his name?"
She smiled. "Almost, Detective."
"What the hell did you just say to me?" he growled and leaned across the table. The server appeared with their drinks and placed them down.
"Detective," she repeated.
"Why?"
She shrugged. "It was an inside joke. If it bothers you, I won't say it anymore." She took a sip.
"Ready to order?"
"Yeah. Sweet and sour chicken," he replied.
"Daryl, this is a Korean restaurant, not Chinese."
"Then the closest thing. Please," he added grudgingly after she looked at him.
After she ordered, a few dishes for her and soup for the boy with her, and where the hell was she puttin' it all? "What happened to the burger?"
She looked at him like he was stupid. "I boxed it and ate it later. I will miss having food cooked and brought to my table. Amongst other things. Now." She took another sip of Coke. "Andrea. I saved her. We wandered for a while. I couldn't tell you how long."
"You…wandered? Where'd you go?" He was interested. He couldn't picture this woman wandering around with a sword. Not in the clothes she was wearing. Some flowery dress and a smile on her face. He couldn't see her wandering around with another woman and her…son? "Is?" He pointed to the boy.
"My son. Yes, he is. Aren't you, Peanut?" she sing-songed before she kissed his head again. The boy was cute when he smiled up at her. "Wherever. Civilization, as it is now, will be dead. So," she said again and took another sip of her drink. "Andrea was sick."
"Did she…" he couldn't say turn into a dead person and come back to life.
"We were found by 'The Governor'," Michonne said instead. "He found us by a helicopter crash. We hid. When he and his goons found it, Blake had everyone still alive shot."
"What the hell?" he almost shouted. A look from her had him looking around the almost empty restaurant.
"It was a military helicopter, and they took all the weapons. They found us not long after. He offered to help Andrea. Woodbury had a doctor."
"Never heard of it. Woodbury."
She shrugged. "He took over part of a town."
"People can…do that?"
"Yep." Michonne watched as her son drank his water from the sippy cup she'd poured it into. "Andrea and I were invited to stay." Daryl didn't like the way she said 'invited'. "There was someone she knew in Woodbury. He was missing a hand."
Daryl felt his eyes get wide and he sat back against the booth.
"His name was Merle. And he was a racist asshole." Another drink. "I'm not sure what conversation they had about you, but she must've told him something. The Governor, well, he didn't like people leaving Woodbury. I…didn't like being told what to do. And when I left, Merle, that bastard, shot me," she said quietly as she narrowed her eyes at him. Daryl could see this woman carrying a sword. And using it.
"Here," the server interrupted by putting down their plates. Michonne immediately turned to her son and poured the soup into another sippy cup. Daryl was happy when their food appeared. He ate whatever was the closest, in Korean, to sweet and sour chicken. It wasn't bad and it gave him time to…hell, he didn't even know.
After it seemed like she'd inhaled half her plate she continued talking. "I found a small town not far from Woodbury and not far from the prison. Merle was sent after me. He found the town. And he found two people in that town. One was Glenn and the other was Maggie. They had a conversation about you. I didn't hear all of it, but Glenn was shocked to see Merle. Merle, the charmer he is, took Glenn and Maggie back to Woodbury. They were in that town for baby formula. I needed medical attention and I heard Glenn mention the prison, so I took the formula there. After I got there, I passed out from blood loss. When I woke up, I was inside. And being interrogated by Rick. You were there. I didn't answer any of his questions. The man was crazy. You stuck your crossbow in my face. It wasn't until Rick stuck his finger in my bullet hole I answered. I told you and him about Woodbury."
She stopped, checked on her son, ate some more, it seemed like the rest of the plate. "Damn. I will miss this," she muttered again before finishing her drink. The server appeared again.
"Everything all right?"
Michonne smiled at her. "Everything's excellent. Can I have a re-fill?" she asked.
"Of course. Sir?"
"Yeah. Everything's fine. I'm good."
"You look so goddamn young," she sighed. "I took you and Rick and a prisoner that'd still been alive to Woodbury and I left you."
"You left us?" he whisper-yelled.
"I had business with The Governor," she said softly. Sword woman was back. "After our business was concluded he was missing an eye," she smirked for a second. "Andrea, that bitch, I almost had his head, busted into the room we were fighting in and threatened to kill me. I left and found the rest of you. You and Merle took off for a bit, but you came back to the prison." She checked on her son and smiled before turning back to him and picking at her second dish.
"Andrea. I'm not sure what the hell with her. I guess she considered herself some sort of… peace maker. The Governor didn't like people in his back yard."
Daryl snorted. "Sounds like an asshole," he repeated.
"Yep," she popped the 'p'. "She arranged for Rick and Blake to meet. The upshot of that meeting was Blake wanted me and if Rick gave me up, he'd leave the prison alone."
He snorted again. "Right," he drawled.
"Rick seemed to think he wouldn't do anything to the prison if The Governor got me. He asked Merle to take me to him," she finished with a sneer.
Daryl's eyes got wide. "Merle?"
"The one and only. Merle and I 'talked' on the way to Woodbury. Oh, I was tied up. It wasn't like I could do anything but talk," she said at the narrowing of his eyes. "Merle…let me go. But not before the asshole tied me up to a hotel pole that had walkers in the rooms. And the idiot had loud music playing in the car. I tried yelling at him. Moron," she scoffed and shook her head from those memories. They. This shit had happened what seemed like eons ago. Like it had happened to someone else. "I got free and saw you. You were going to find Merle. You must've found him. You came back. Alone. And your eyes were red."
Daryl froze.
"To make a long story short, although I think I've failed, The Governor came back to the prison. You and Rick tricked him into leaving."
"How?"
"We made it look like we'd left and when The Governor showed up, he went to the Tombs."
"The Tombs?"
"I think it was solitary confinement. I don't know who, but someone turned on the generator and lights and sirens down there went off. I think. I wasn't there."
"Where those…things down there?" Daryl practically whispered.
"Yep. They left in a hurry. We followed. We found all The Governor's people, except one, dead on the side of the road. He'd shot them."
He left the restaurant.
She looked at Andre. "I'm not sure what to do, Andre. Should I take his food back to the hotel?"
"Everything okay?" the server asked as soon as she appeared.
"Everything was great," she grinned at the woman. "Can you please bring me a box? I want to take this home."
"Of course," the woman answered and put down the bill.