A/N: Turning point in the story coming up.

Chapter Six: Arsonist's Lullaby

The bowl in Michonne's hands dropped to the ground with a loud clatter. The contents spilled on the floor but went largely unnoticed. Michonne couldn't think or feel or speak for a full ten seconds. Until finally she managed a whispered...

"Marsai?"

Marsai's hand was hanging limply over the edge of the bed. Her whole body was limp. And there was something about the way her body laid that Michonne just knew...she wasn't just asleep.

~ When I was a child I heard voices

Some would sing and some would scream

You soon find you have few choices

I learned the voices died with me ~

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Rick hurried away from the town that had turned against him and that he was turning against. He needed to get Sabel away from there as quickly as possible. He was pretty certain no one was following them, but he knew Jeb would attempt to act on his threat. Sooner or later. And he was a powerful man who had a lot of reach. So the farther they could get away the better.

He felt Sabel's small body tense behind him, her arms tightening around his waist, and he spoke to reassure her of things he had been pondering. "It's okay," he said. "I don't think anyone's following us."

"It's not that," Sabel whispered. Her voice was anxious. "Something's wrong. Can you go faster?"

Rick's brow furrowed. He didn't know why Sabel was suddenly tense, but her foreboding must have been contagious. Because it immediately infected him as well. He dug his heels into the horse that was carrying them, and they sped forward.

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Michonne sat on the floor in the middle of the room staring at Marsai. She couldn't bring herself to go closer. If she didn't go closer, she could fool herself into believing that she was overthinking. That her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe Marsai was just sleeping. It appeared that way from this angle. If she stared long enough, she could swear to herself that maybe she saw an almost imperceptible breath coming in and out of her lungs.

She was numb. And afraid. There was no way this could happen so suddenly. There was no way the world could change so drastically over the course of just a few minutes.

~ When I was a child, I'd sit for hours

Staring into open flame

Something in it had a power

Could barely tear my eyes away ~

She didn't immediately hear the front door opening. Or the footsteps. But when she heard her mother's voice, "Michonne?" - she hurried to her feet, suddenly feeling as if there was hope for everything to be okay.

"Mama," she said, turning around and going immediately to her forever caregiver. The family's beacon. "Help Marsai."

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Rick knew something was wrong the minute he opened the door. The silence was eerie. The small, humble home seemed darker than usual. When he and Sabel walked farther in and saw the spilled porridge, the feeling increased.

His heart dropped to his stomach when his line of sight landed on Michonne sitting strangely in the middle of the room, almost collapsed. And then his eyes landed on Marsai. Marsai's body. His heart felt immediate pain. And more pain still when Michonne ran to her mother with hope in her eyes. For a moment, she was a scared little girl again who believed her mother had all the answers and could solve anything.

He wanted to hold her in his arms.

Sabel went over to her first daughter on the bed, and Rick would never forget the moment that followed for the rest of his life. He could swear he saw a part of her die as well right then and there, even as she stood. Her shoulders slumped and she moved forward slowly. She laid her hand against her daughter's face. "It's cold," Sabel said, her voice distant as if it was coming up from the depths of a well.

"Can you do something?" Michonne asked.

"We can help her to cross over," Sabel responded.

Rick watched the hope fade from Michonne's eyes. He knew she had been hoping for her mother to perform an impossible miracle. He walked over to offer her a comforting shoulder, but she walked away. It panged his heart, but he didn't have time to dwell on his sadness. Not in the face of their own.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.

"Could you go bring me water and a towel?" Sabel asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Rick responded. He hurriedly went to go do as he was asked, eager to help in any way he could. It was hard to believe that they had escaped death themselves about forty minutes ago, only to find it again in their own home.

On his way back with the bowl of water and a rag, Rick saw Michonne leaving the room. "Are you okay?" he asked. She wasn't crying or panicked; he figured her emotions hadn't had time to catch up with her yet.

"Should I wake the twins or let them sleep?" she asked, not responding to his question.

Rick had almost forgotten about the twins. They were still asleep in their room, unaware of what was happening.

"I would wake them," he answered. "I think they would want to know now."

"Why do you think that?" Michonne asked.

"Hmm?" Rick responded.

"I mean, why would you presume to know anything about what they would want," Michonne said. "You don't know them."

Taken aback, Rick allowed her to brush past him coolly. He carried the asked-for items into the room with Sabel.

Up close, he could see Marsai's peaceful face. It was hard to believe that no consciousness was within her anymore. No voice. No laughter. No sounds. She was gone. "I shouldn't have come to get you," Rick said, his voice raspy. "You could have been with her."

Sabel took the water and rag from him. "Don't start with the could'ves would'ves and should'ves," Sabel said. "Nobody did anything that life hadn't already set out for us." She began to gently wipe the wet towel across Marsai's face, washing her, as Rick was sure she had done many times before when Marsai was a baby. "And don't mind Michonne," Sabel continued quietly. "Her energy is misaligned right now. She doesn't know how to handle all of the emotions she must be feeling. Though she is the most responsible and mature one of my bunch, she's also quite innocent. Sheltered. She's never had to face anything like this before."

"Go help her through it," Sabel said, staring down at Marsai's figure on the bed. "Leave me alone with my eldest for a minute."

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Rick walked out of the room and closed the door gently behind himself. It didn't take him long to find Michonne. She was standing in the middle of the living room staring into the unlit fireplace. Just standing, unmoving, with her arms by her sides.

Rick approached her carefully.

"Did you wake the twins?" he asked softly, so as not to startle her.

She shook her head.

"...Do you want me to do it?" he asked.

She shook her head again.

He slowly made his way around to the front of her so that he could see her face, approaching her as he would an injured kitten. Her eyes didn't move to his face. She continued to stare at the charred wood of the fireplace.

He couldn't even begin to know the sorrow she felt. He had only seen them as a unit a stitch of times, but he knew even from those few instances, that they were a close knit family.

"I don't know what to do," Michonne finally uttered.

"You don't have to do anything," Rick said. "Anything you want, just tell me. I'll do it."

"It's like the whole world has changed," Michonne said. "Moving. What's the point? Speaking. There's nothing to say. Everything feels empty."

Rick had no good words to say. No reassurances he could offer. All he had was an embrace, which he gave to her freely.

Michonne's body was tense. Then she relaxed in his arms. He knew he had no way of salving the depth of her sorrow. But he hoped this small consolation would offer her some small warmth, offer her the knowledge that he was there for her.

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In the bedroom, Sabel's tears finally overflowed and drifted down her cheeks. While she cried, Marsai's eyelids fluttered. And her eyes opened. Glassy, dead eyes.

~ All you have is your fire

And the place you need to reach

Don't you ever tame your demons

Always keep 'em on a leash ~

A/N: So...Yep. This is happening. I've been planning on it since chapter one. Who caught the..."My bones feel like glass" hint in the previous chapter? Marsai said it, and that's what Jim said in the earlier seasons of TWD when he was turning.

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