Chapter 11: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

A cough came from behind me. Startled, I jumped away from Carol.

"Can I borrow her for a minute?" Lori smiled.

Carol was disappointed. It was all over her face. She looked up at me with pleading eyes. I figured Lori saw us kiss already, so I pressed my lips to her forehead and left the room without another word.

What could be so fucking important? I despised Lori in that moment. I stomped into the front room, pissed off. By the time I cooled off, I was secretly thanking her for taking Carol away. I needed time to get my thoughts together. What even happened in there? Did Carol know I'd go in that room? Did she plan this? We kissed! What does it mean? What about Ed? Sophia? My eyes grew wide. Merle.

I'd forgotten all about my brother. What he's gonna do to me if he ever finds out! He used women. Treated them like shit – like they were the dirt under his shoes. Is it so bad to treat a woman like a human being? Is it really so hard? Merle would have my head if he knew. He never even let me be around girls before all this happened. I guess he did it for fear that I would be a half – decent guy and treat her right.

I wandered over to the window. The girl spoke to Rick in between bites of her apple. She said something, chucked the apple core over her shoulder and walked with T-Dog and Rick towards the house. They all snapped their heads to the side as Shane ran up to them yelling and screaming. Dale, Andrea and Glenn were chasing after him. Shane pulled his gun on the girl. His eyes burned with a hatred so strong I didn't think it was possible. He stared at her with his eyes bulging out of his head and his nerves sticking out of his neck. Rick talked him down, and Glenn ripped the gun from his hand. He gestured to the house and everybody went in, excluding Shane and Rick, who remained outside arguing.

The crowd around the basement door was now in the kitchen, except for Maggie and Beth who stayed with their mother. Dale and Andrea were greeted with many hugs and several questions. For a little while, nobody even noticed the girl. Lori was the first one to realize her presence, and when she did, she gasped, grabbed Carl and pushed him behind her. The girl was a bit intimidating, the way she just stood next to the door, looking at everybody. She was tall and she had a very strong look to her, like she'd been through a lot. She spoke before anybody could say anything or ask any questions.

"My name is Michonne," she said, her voice echoing around the room. "I come from a place called Woodbury." She closed her eyes as if she was in pain, and she clenched her jaw.

"She's going to be staying with us," Rick stated.

I hadn't even noticed him come in. For once, nobody argued with his decision. There was something about this girl that made us all feel safe and protected. But a question rang in my mind. Where's Shane?

"The walkers!" Carl bursted suddenly. "Where are they? Did they leave? Are they gone?"

"Walkers? That's what you call 'em?" Michonne laughed. "We called 'em roamers and lurkers. Walkers sound a lot better," She put her hand to the knife in her belt and the smile faded from her face. "I took care of them," She said sternly.

"Alone?" Carol asked in disbelief.

Michonne nodded. She hung her head, like that was something to be ashamed of.

"With that?" Lori asked.

She unsheathed it and held it out for us to see. Carl's mouth fell open like he'd never seen anything like it.

"It's a katana I picked up along the way," she looked at Lori. "My boyfriend stumbled across it before he turned into one of them."

She put it back in her belt. Rick came from behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak, but before anybody had a chance to blink, a loud noise came from outside. Carol rushed to the window. Her eyes were panicked. I pushed through the people now gathering around her.

"He's leaving!" she exclaimed.

I stood next to her at the window, watching him climb into the light blue truck he'd brought around. He looked right at us, with a fire burning in his eyes. He had the bag of guns in the passenger seat. How he got his hands on those, I'll never know. He slammed the door shut and revved the engine. He sped off toward the highway, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and dirt.

That was the last time any of us ever saw Shane Walsh.