Between the Thorns
Chapter 23
Michonne hurried to pull the gate open. She was surprised to see just a small convoy of Saviors this time and not the bulk force of their army. While it was possible that more of them were in the back of the box truck they were driving, she could only see two of them in the front. For a moment, Michonne considered trying to overpower the two men. They could take them hostage and use them as some sort of leverage. But she quickly reconsidered. Not only would this probably just get more of her friends killed, since the small group of men was still heavily armed and she wasn't, it was doubtful that she could even pull off such a maneuver.
"We still have a few days until the tribute is due," Michonne said, regarding the man that exited the vehicle with a suspicious glance.
"I'm not picking up," the man responded. "I'm dropping off." There was a small package in his hands that he held up for her inspection. The item looked like something rectangular stuffed in a padded mailing envelope. "Where's Rick?," the man asked. "I've got to give this directly to him."
"He's not here," Michonne said. Rick wasn't out on a run. He was out hunting with Rosita. Michonne was expecting him back later in the afternoon. But she didn't think Rick's exact whereabouts were any of this man's business. "I can make sure he gets it," she offered.
The man looked hesitant. It was obvious that he was instructed to give the package directly to Rick. He didn't consider what he would do if Rick wasn't available. His companion had no such hesitations. The other man leaned out the driver's side window and hollered for his companion to hurry up and give Michonne the tape.
"We're burning daylight man," he yelled, "...just give it to her and let's go." The man hesitated for another moment before shoving the package at Michonne.
"You better make sure Rick gets that," the man threatened. Michonne nodded, relieved when the man simply hurried back to his truck and climbed inside. Once they were gone and the gate was shut, Michonne ripped the large envelope open and looked inside. The package contained an unlabeled VHS tape. She flipped it around in her hands, dumping it from its white cardboard sleeve and checking to see if there was any clue as to what might be on the tape itself. The horrid possibilities were limitless.
"I'll be back in a minute," Michonne said. Tobin was on guard duty with her. He glanced at the tape and nodded. She was sure he would ask her about what she saw on the video. But he clearly had no interest in watching whatever it was for himself. Michonne knocked on the door of Deanna's house. Which was technically Spencer's house now, since he was the only member of that household that was left alive. There was no answer. So Michonne pushed the door open and stepped inside, heading for the large tv in the living room.
Michonne flicked the tv on, fiddling with the buttons on the side of it until she got the blue screen that meant it was ready to play whatever tape was inserted into the old Panasonic VCR. She hesitated, the tape already freed from its cardboard case and in her hand. Michonne was scared of what she might see on the tape. She knew the Saviors took polaroids of the men Negan beat to death with his bat. And her fear was that she was about to see someone she knew and cared about be beaten to death. She racked her brain as to who it might be. Carol and Morgan were missing. The Saviors had Daryl. And they also had several people out on runs, looking for supplies. It could be any one of them. Michonne took a deep breath and shoved the tape into the player. Not knowing was worse torture that whatever she was about to see.
The video playing looked like it was taken with a security type camera. The image was black and white, and the people in it were being filmed from high up and from a stationary spot. The camera wasn't moving. But it was positioned so that Michonne could see the entire room. It was not the jumpy image of someone being brutally beaten that she was expecting and it took her a moment to recognize that she knew the man in the video. He was dressed oddly, especially for him but she could clearly tell that it was Daryl. The woman with him wasn't familiar. Michonne was sure she never saw her before. But from the way they were laughing together on the screen, Daryl clearly knew her. She was very pretty with long dark hair and a friendly smile. Michonne was frozen in terror when Daryl pounded on the door of the small room. She was sure she was about to watch him get beaten to death. And maybe his lady friend too. But nothing of the sort happened. Daryl handed off a box to a man that was out of view and came back, laughing with the woman some more. A woman entered the room and brought them dinner, which they sat down together to eat. Michonne's concern for her friend was slowly giving way to a weird unsettling feeling in her stomach. Why the hell was she watching Daryl have a dinner date? The tape was sent for Rick to watch. But Michonne didn't know why Rick would care either.
It wasn't until the woman on the video rose from her chair and started undressing that Michonne's eyes got wider. In this strange new world, Michonne was never sure exactly what her day was going to bring when she got up in the morning. But she was quite sure that when she rose from her bed a few hours earlier that she did not expect to watch some sort of weird amateur porn video featuring Daryl. Michonne felt like she ought to turn the video off. But it was like watching a traffic accident. She was rooted to the spot, unable to simply not look.
"What the hell are you watching?"
"Negan sent this for you," Michonne explained, turning towards the voice. Rick was standing in the doorway, regarding her with a curious glance. At first he looked like he might start laughing. But then he moved forward into the room.
"Is that Daryl?" Rick's voice was filled with disgust. But like Michonne, he just stared at the images on the screen in disbelief. The man in the video was clearly Daryl. And not only was he clearly not being tortured and held hostage as Rick believed, he was getting his rocks off with a woman that, in Rick's opinion, Daryl would never have had a ghost's chance in hell of even getting near if the turn hadn't happened. While Michonne was still staring at the screen in total confusion, it only took Rick a minute to realize what Negan's intended message was. Negan wasn't torturing Daryl. He was bribing him. Outbidding their group with women and liquor and whatever else he could offer Daryl that Rick couldn't.
"Turn this shit off," Rick hollered, slapping at the buttons on the player until the video finally stopped, turning the screen blue again.
"Don't you want to know what was about to happen?," Michonne asked, glancing towards the tv with concern. She was still scared that the ending of the little love movie might still be Daryl being beaten to death. Rick snorted.
"I think we already saw enough," he told her. Rick knew he just saw more than he ever wanted to see of Daryl. That was certain. But he could tell Michonne was worried for their friend. "Negan's not going to hurt him. He sent that to brag. He's trying to turn Daryl to his side, buying him off with women and who only knows what else." Michonne nodded, grateful that Rick was able to decipher the message he was sent. Because she was at a loss.
"You don't think Daryl would really turn on us?," she asked.
"I don't know," Rick said with a shrug. "Did you see that girl?" Rick raised his eyebrows, clearly indicating that he found the woman on the tape to be just as attractive as Daryl did. Michonne balled up her fist, rabbit punching him hard in the upper arm. Rick yelped and jumped back, rubbing his hand over his arm and trying not to laugh. Whatever else came from what he just watched, at least he knew Daryl wasn't being tortured to death. He grabbed Michonne, pulling her against him and pressing his lips down on hers. Before their kiss could go any further, the door of Deanna's house was pushed open. Tobin was standing in the open doorway, trying to catch his breath.
"Carl's gone," he said. "We can't find him anywhere."