As soon as the group approached the gate, Aaron began shaking his head again.
"This is not the place." he said quietly. "There's only a house and a barn here. There was no barn before."
"Well let's check it out anyway," Darryl said, "we could be dealing with more than one Whisperer."
Michonne nodded in agreement.
"Negan and I will take the house. The three of you take the barn." she told them. Michonne then pulled the metal gate back and slipped in, stealth like. She and Negan both looked around, seeing no sign of anything in the open, before they eased up the porch steps. Michonne gently opened the door and she and Negan prepared to face off with walkers.
But when the door pushed back, they were met with total silence. Michonne went in first and noticed complete disarray. It was as if someone, or several people, had fought for their lives in this two story cabin.
Negan slipped off to the kitchen and noticed burnt popcorn. Some of it was still in the pot but much of it had been thrown around. The kitchen window in front of the sink had been smashed open. Frowning, he then eased over to a closet door and opened it. There were supplies inside and they looked fresh.
Negan left the kitchen, just as Michonne was approaching a spiral, metal staircase. There were books all over the place and Michonne could see that the bookcase they had been on, had either fallen over the stair landing or had been pushed there.
"Did you find anything?" Michonne asked.
"Burnt popcorn, a smashed window and supplies we could use." Negan told her. "Something definitely went on here."
Michonne nodded in agreement and she and Negan slowly walked up the staircase. They reached the landing and began to move towards a room, when the sound of the front door down below, opening and closing, got their attention!
"Who the fuck was that?!" Negan asked, pointing his gun over the landing. Michonne's eyes darted around. She saw no one.
"Darryl? Carol? Aaron?" she called out.
No answer.
"Someone came into this fucking house!" Negan hissed softly. Michonne nodded in agreement. They both began to go back down the stairs, when Beta came out of the room they had been headed towards, grabbed Michonne from behind, picked her up and threw her over the balcony!
"SHIT!" Negan yelled but didn't have time to aim his gun and get a good shot off! He hurried down the stairs and saw to Michonne, who looked unhurt but could not stand! Negan began to try and help her but Michonne shied away!
"I just need something to pull myself up with!" she told him.
"There's no time for that, Warrior Princess!" he yelled and pulled her up. He then wrapped a strong arm around Michonne's waist and hauled ass out of that cabin! Darryl, Carol and Aaron came running out of the barn when they heard the screen door to the house slam loudly! Darryl got to Negan and Michonne first, and pulled her away from Negan!
"What happened?!" Darryl asked.
"Beta is alive and in there!" Negan snapped. "I don't fucking see how it's possible!"
Darryl had to agree. He looked at Michonne, who was now holding on to Carol.
"Both of you get to the barn. Negan, Aaron and I will…"
But before another word could be said, Beta burst through the screen door, knocking it off of it's hinges and came running towards the five of them at top speed! Negan pointed his gun and fired at him, Darryl hit him with an arrow and Aaron hurried over to him, once he was on the ground, and stabbed a stick into his head!
Carol left Michonne to lean against a split rail fence and walked over to the men, who were looking down at Beta's body.
"How did he escape being eaten? He doesn't look as if he has any old wounds on him at all." Carol noted.
Darryl's jaw hardened as he stared down at Beta's dead body.
"I once thought he was dead after I threw him down an elevator shaft. This fucker just won't die." Darryl said.
"He's gone now." Aaron said. "So let's get back."
"There are good supplies we could use in that cabin. I don't think we should leave without them." Negan said.
"Show me." Darryl said and he and Negan went back into the house.
"I'll bring the horses over so you can ride in the car, Michonne." Aaron said. Carol tore her eyes off of Beta's body and looked at Michonne.
"Are you alright?" she asked her.
"I'l be fine. I just can't see how he got the jump on us like that. Someone else came in downstairs. Beta attacked us from upstairs. There is someone else here. There has to be." Michonne said.
Carol handed her her gun.
"I'm going to get Aaron and then we're going in the house with Darryl and Negan. There could be more than just this one person you're talking about."
Michonne nodded and took the gun. She watched Carol hurry over to Aaron, then they both ran into the house as well. Michonne could have kicked herself for not being more careful! She began to rethink everything that went wrong in that cabin, when Beta suddenly rose up. He looked around and focused in on her.
"Shit!" Michonne snapped and fired at him.
Carol was the first to hurry back outside as Michonne fired three more shots at Beta, who lurched backwards, but did not stop advancing on her. Carol hurriedly shot a bow at the back of Beta's head! He stopped moving towards Michonne, reached back and pulled the arrow out of his head before now turning on Carol!
Aaron, Darryl and Negan hurried out of the house just as Beta grabbed Carol by the neck and began choking the life out of her! Michonne ran/hopped over and leaped on Beta's back! She reached around to snatch off his Whisperer mask, and gouge out his eyes from behind! That made Beta release Carol, just as Aaron, Darryl and Negan pounced on Beta physically to subdue him!
Michonne, Aaron, Darryl and Negan were thrown off of him, as Beta got up and ran off into the woods! Michonne crawled to Carol, who was unconscious!
"We need to get back! We'll come back here with a bigger group!" she said.
"We don't come back here until we have a firm plan on how to kill that fuck!" Negan said, as if he were in charge. But Darryl had to grudgingly admit he was right.
"We can't come back here and get more of our people hurt. Let's get Carol back home. We hunt this bastard and see how far and wide he's been. Then we set a trap for him." Darryl said.
Virgil saw to Michonne's leg and told her to stay off of it for a few days. Nothing was broken but she did have a sprain.
Carol was still unconscious in the infirmary. Darryl, Aaron and Maggie were keeping vigil.
Michonne returned home and told Judith the truth about what happened at the campsite. RJ was off playing with Gracie and some of the other children in the stronghold.
"I want to help hunt Beta too. Mama, I can do it! I've helped Uncle Darryl before."
These were the moments that Michonne didn't know how to deal with exactly. It would do no good to coddle Judith or RJ in this God forsaken world of the undead. But Beta was ten times more dangerous than any walker. Michonne just didn't think it was a good idea to send Judith off with Darryl. She didn't have time to tell her that though, because their door opened and Negan walked in, uninvited, though Judith didn't mind.
"Hi!" she chirped.
"Hi there yourself, sweetheart. What do you say you let your mama and I talk alone for a bit? Darryl is planning a hunt for Beta and you might want in on it."
Judith looked at Michonne triumphantly before grabbing her telltale hat and running out of the house! Michonne stared at Negan with unvarnished disgust!
"What in the hell is the matter with you?! Judith is not going with Darryl to hunt down Beta!"
"Why not? Darryl isn't going to let anything happen to her." Negan shrugged before making himself comfortable in a chair, opposite her.
Michonne realized that now was the perfect time to tell him he needed to leave Alexandria. She too made herself comfortable on the couch she was on.
"I'm actually glad you're here." she said.
"Really? Good. I have some things I want to say."
Michonne raised a brow.
"You have some things? Are they about your leaving? Because that really would be best." Michonne told him.
Negan grinned!
"No. That isn't happening."
"And why do you think that?" Michonne asked sarcastically.
"Because I've put down roots here. WE'VE put down roots." he said solemnly. Michonne felt a pang of uneasiness. He was staring at her in an odd way that she could not read. She actually did not want to read it!
"What are you talking about?" she asked. Negan's response was to pull a piece of green cloth from inside of his leather jacket. He set it down on the coffee table in front of her.
"What is that?" Michonne asked but Negan did not answer. He just kept staring intently at her. Michonne sighed and reached for the cloth…then realized it was more than cloth. It was silk. She inspected it further and realized it was a pair of thong panties! Michonne peered at them. They were hers!
They had been Rick's favorite! What the hell was this piece of lowlife dirt doing with her underwear?
Michonne was about to go off about this bastard rifling through her underwear drawer, when something about them began to knaw at her. But she couldn't think what…
Negan provided the answer.
"When was the last time you wore those? Tell me."
Michonne's eyes flitted from the underwear to Negan.
"What is this? Why would you break in here and steal my underwear?"
Negan burst out laughing!
"There was no breaking in, Warrior Princess! You came to me wearing these! I'm not surprised you don't remember. Rick had died that afternoon, Siddiq gave you something to sleep and you were drunk so…"
Michonne slowly made an effort to stand.
"So…what?" she asked carefully, not liking where this conversation was going!
"You came to me, drunk and on whatever pills our late doctor gave to you. I urged you to open up my cell door. I recall telling you that you might feel better if you went on a 'horsey ride' with me."
Michonne squinted!
"What the hell are you talking about?! I went horseback riding with you after Rick died? Is that what you're trying to get me to believe?"
"Well," Negan drawled, "technically the 'horse' was in my pants…"
"Get out! You get out of my house and you get out of Alexandria!" Michonne seethed, unable to believe Negan would have the nerve to lie about something like this! And why would he begin telling a story like this now?
"Siddiq was the one that broke us apart…as if I had raped you or something! He knew and chances are he probably told Rosita…"
"Get. Out." Michonne repeated.
"You haven't seen that underwear in years, have you? I have. I slept with them every night in my cell. Hell, Michonne, that pair of underwear got me through rough times."
Michonne hopped over to her sword! This fucker was going to lose his head right now!
But Negan's next words stopped her.
"We fucked in my cell the night, of the day Rick was blown to pieces on that bridge. Next thing I know, you're pregnant. You give birth to a boy and named MY son after that dead fuck!"
Michonne slowly turned around, sword now in hand.
"Excuse me?" she whispered.
"You heard me." Negan said in a hard tone. "MY son. RJ who I plan to begin calling 'NJ'. I couldn't do anything about it all of these years because I was in no position to do so. I am now. I'm free and I have a son. And since I can't get the memory of our raw fucking out of my head, I'll expect marital privileges from you."
Michonne set her katana down and hopped over to table! Judith's gun was on it. But Negan beat her to it!
"Now, now! There's no need to be testy! I wouldn't expect you to fuck me without our actually being married. But my son isn't going to be illegitimate! And I want to tell him the truth."
"You're lying. I would have never…even drunk and on pills…which I was not. And it's very convenient that the only person that you claim can corroborate this story is dead. Oh and Rick and I were trying for a baby before he went missing. RJ is RICK'S now you GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! NOW!" she screamed.
But Negan smiled calmly at her.
"I realize this whole thing is a shock to you. I'm going to leave you to think really hard about what I told you. I know you'll do the right thing on your own. And if you don't, then I'll do it for you. I'm going to go see how Carol is now. Good night and sweet dreams." Negan grinned, blowing her a kiss before backing away, setting Judith's gun down on another table and leaving the house.
Michonne stared at the door Negan walked through for another 30 seconds, before hopping over to the couch and collapsing on it. She had to think! She to think about what happened after that bridge explosion! She had been devastated and…
And Maggie had Siddiq give her something to sleep.