Chapter 3
It's been over two weeks since I arrived at the prison. I've met the other members of the main group and other survivors, such as all the children here. They've all gotten to like me and are glad to have another member who can help the group. I still receive thanks of gratitude for sharing my supplies with them. They are all such humble people…it's great to see that we're all together, looking out for one another.
I've been put to help check the weapons supplies. I have to do it at least once a week to keep track of all our weapons and ammo, keeping it ready at hand in case we need it at any time. I also take it upon myself to help Carol read to the children whenever I can; it's nice to be able to help these kids learn. It's important to help keep at least some of their child qualities in them. I even spend some time with Rick's daughter, Judith. Because of my wound still having to fully heal, I haven't been sent out for an errand, and no else really. I had brought in sufficient supplies that can last us a good while. To keep myself busy when I'm not doing anything or when I want to think and relax, I help Rick out with the farm. I occasionally joke around with Daryl; he's taken the opportunity to start teaching me how to use a crossbow. We place some targets on the empty grass fields within the prison gates, away from the others for safety, and practice there. He was so surprised when I told him about my sun allergy; he keeps teasing me about it, and has started calling me a vampire. Luckily, overtime, I've gotten used to the sun, especially when being in the military. My skin still gets pink and itchy after being exposed for too long, but it's not too bad. As long as I wear a long sleeve shirt, I'm good.
It's some time in the morning. The sun shines down with slightly warm rays. I'm walking along the first set of prison gates, inspecting them and the area around to see if there's anything unusual or in need of fixing. My right hand rests on my gun in its holster strapped around my waist. I have a steel rod in my left hand, holding it down next to my thigh as I glance around outside the gates. A few walkers are gathered by the fence, and they snarl upon seeing me, smelling my aroma of fresh flesh. I walk over toward where they are and glance at the ground at something that's caught my attention. There's a mangled body of a dead mouse right by the gate in front of where the walkers are standing. I examine the mouse carcass and see that it's practically been eaten.
"Probably a late night snack," I say to myself as I glance over at the snarling biters.
I pull the long sleeves of my dark green shirt up to my elbows and take my steel rod, aim it at one of the walker's heads with both my arms, and ram it into its skull through the openings of the gate, blood gushing out of the hole. I aim it at the second walker's head, ram it through its skull and repeat the process with the third walker, making them collapse lifeless to the ground nearly on top of one another. I stare at the corpses in deep thought, studying the decaying that's happened to their body. Their noses aren't intact; their lips are missing, revealing rotting teeth; their eyes are foggy white. It's unbelievable to think that these rotting corpses, these things…were once living people. I continue to study them in thought, but suddenly have a flashback. I see Elena lying on a carpet floor, her body facing down on its side.
"Michelle," I hear someone call from behind, interrupting my thoughts.
I turn around and see Rick walking toward me. Not wanting to let him see my teary eyes, I gaze away past the gates. He notices my odd behavior.
"Are you all right?" he asks with concern. "What's wrong?"
I try to avoid his gaze as I feel my lips trembling a bit, slapping my hand against my thigh. Clenching my fist, I sigh and march past him.
"I'm fine," I say, trying to control the shake in my voice.
"It sure doesn't look like it," Rick retorts as he follows after me.
"I'll be fine…don't worry about me, really," I say as I stop and turn to him, forcing a small smile. "Have you seen Daryl?"
"He's out in the field. He sent me to get you…I'll take gate inspection duty from here so you can go practice using his crossbow…" he responds, studying my face.
"Thanks…I won't keep him waiting any longer, then…"
I hand him the steel rod and walk away, not turning back to look at him. Rick stares at me with concern and thought. I head toward the opening of the second gate, pushing it wider and pass through it into the field. Daryl is standing just some twenty feet away, preparing the crossbow; he's already set up the three targets about twenty-five feet in front of him. I calm myself down and continue to walk toward him.
"Sup, Daryl?" I say with a smile as I approach him.
"Ready for some intense practice?" he asks as he continues to prepare his crossbow.
"You know it."
"Alright, then," he says handing me the crossbow. "Show me what ya got today. How's your wound doin'?"
"Everyone acts like I'm dying or something," I smile with a scoff. "It really is no big deal; it's almost fully healed."
"Pardon me for carin'," he jokingly responds. "You vampire."
I laugh at his remark as I take aim with the crossbow. I close my left eye, peering at the first target on the left with my right eye. Once I feel it's right, I take the shot. The arrow lands just a few inches from the bull's eye.
"Close…" Daryl comments as he studies the arrow imbedded in the target. "You've come a long way in a short amount of time."
"I know how to shoot a gun," I say as I reload the crossbow with another arrow. "It makes it easier…All I need to do is practice to get used to this thing."
I raise the crossbow in front of me, close my left eye and aim with my right at the second target. After a few seconds, I shoot, and the arrow lands a few inches to the left of the bull's eye. I scoff as I reach for another arrow.
"Damn it…" I snarl as I place the arrow in the crossbow.
"It's alright, you're doin' fine," Daryl says. "Just be calm. Ya almost got it. Remember to keep the amount of wind in mind before shootin'. All I've told ya to keep in mind should pop into your head when you're about to shoot."
"Yes, Daryl sensei," I joke with a smile as I take aim again.
He chuckles at my remark. I close my left eye and peer through my right at the target once again. After a few seconds, I take the shot. The arrow lands right on the bull's eye.
"Nice shot!" Daryl says as he runs toward the targets to collect the arrows.
"It's about damn time…" I mutter as I lower the crossbow to my side.
"You really are doin' good," Daryl says as he runs back with the arrows in his hand. "Any of those shots would'a been a kill. You're just bein' a perfectionist."
I chuckle at his remark as he hands me the arrows.
"I wanna try somethin' out," he says. "You're gonna shoot the targets while movin'."
"Oh, shit, a challenge," I smirk. "About damn time you challenge me."
"I didn't think you'd be up for it," he teases.
"Let's do this," I laugh as I load an arrow into the crossbow.
"Shoot the targets while walkin' from the left toward the right," he explains as he points.
"Gotcha," I say as I walk to the starting point on the left.
I lift the crossbow up and begin to walk quickly while taking aim. I shoot at the first target, hit a bull's eye. Daryl puts a hand to his mouth in surprise. Still walking quickly, I shoot at the second target and hit another bull's eye. I aim at the third target, shoot, and hit the bull's eye.
"Whoo! That's what I'm takin' about!" Daryl cheers with a clap.
I smile as I give him a high five.
"You kicked ass! Now you're gonna be a badass vampire," he jokes.
"You're such a big brother, Daryl," I say after laughing. "Did you have any siblings before all this?"
Daryl gazes from me to the ground with a serious expression. Here I go again, asking the wrong questions at the wrong time…
"I did…" he finally replies looking up at me. "Merle…he was my older brother. He was such an asshole to me all my life, but that's what big brothers do…He still loved and protected me, though…I'm searchin' for the Governor because he's the son'a bitch who killed him."
I then recall what Rick told me about Daryl and Michonne having some unfinished business to take care of.
"I'm sorry to hear that," I gaze at him with a sad face.
"Nah, it's all right," Daryl says while rubbing his neck. "How about we have ya try shootin' from different angles and positions now?"
"Sounds fun," I smile.
The moon's light shines down on the prison through the darkness. The grass dances with the light breeze. It was a pretty typical day after I had practiced shooting the crossbow with Daryl. Everyone did their duties in the long day and are now ready to rest inside their cells in the prison.
I am sitting in the grass field with my legs crossed. The evening breeze blows lightly through my dark curls, making me feel refreshed. I sit up straight, placing my hands on my thighs and inhale the fresh air. I wait a few seconds, holding in my breath, and then exhale slowly. I gaze up at the starry night sky, a beautiful mixture of blue and grey. The bright, glowing moon was slightly covered by a translucent, dark grey cloud. I gaze up at it, mesmerized by its glow.
"You doin' alright?" I hear a voice ask from behind me.
I turn my head and see Rick walking toward me. He sits down about foot away from me on my left.
"Yeah, I'm just out here, enjoying the beautiful night," I answer, rubbing my thighs lightly. "Is everyone sleeping yet?"
"Majority," he answers as he lifts his left legs up slightly in front of him and rests his arm on his knee, his chest facing in my direction.
"How's Judith? Is she sleeping too?"
"Yeah, she's sound asleep."
"She's such an angel…" I say with a warm smile, looking down at the grass. "It's one of the highlights of my day every time I hold her."
"I'm glad she makes you feel that way," he says in an appreciative tone. "I appreciate your affection toward her and Carl…he really has a liking in you."
"I'm happy he thinks that of me. He's such a bright young man…he's protective of his sister and everyone…He takes after you in that sense," I give Rick a small smile.
Rick gives me a small smile and then looks away in front of him. There's a moment of silence.
"I've wanted to ask you about earlier today…" he finally says in a serious tone. "I wanna make sure you're doin' well…I know you're tryin' to avoid it."
I gaze down in defeat – he's finally come to confront me.
"What's been goin' on?" he asks again.
I close my eyes for a moment, look up and sigh, opening my eyes.
"I'm sorry I haven't been too open," I begin to say. "I guess it's time to reveal a bit about my past…"
Rick gazes at me with his bright blue eyes, waiting patiently for me to continue.
"Before everything went to hell, I was in the military," I continue. "I entered after I graduated from college. I grew up and lived in Chicago, so I was back and forth from different bases in different states for about a year…When I came back to Chicago, that's when I had met my husband, John. He was finishing up his years to become an officer. We dated for about a year and a half before he proposed…I was surprised we lasted, especially with me leaving every now and then to the military. I continued to do so for about 6 years. We got married after he was promoted to a detective. He was offered a job back in his home city, Atlanta...where we stayed up until this whole mess."
"What happened to him?" Rick asks, a bit hesitant. "Was he…killed by walkers?"
"He died while on duty three years ago," I answer after swallowing a bit of saliva.
"Was the man you shot last at the town…Was he…was he the one who killed your husband?"
"Yeah…it was him…" I say clenching my right fist. "His face and name have been burned into my memory…It's people like him who disgust me. He was the type who just killed people because he could…because it was fun," I echo Jason's words. "John was supposed to come home early that night…we were going to celebrate our daughter's fourth birthday the next day…I had gotten into an argument with him the night before…I didn't get to see him the morning before he went to work because I woke up late after a long night of doing some paperwork…He had called me during the day to apologize for what had happened, but it was cut short because he had an emergency to get to, which was to deal with Jason…That was the last time I talked to my husband…I didn't even get to see him in person…alive."
Rick gazes at me in astonishment, his blue eyes wide. I turn my eyes up into the dark, starry sky with a thoughtful expression.
"Losing two of the people you care about most within four years…" I say gazing at two large bright stars in the sky. "You'd think a person wouldn't want to keep going on with life after going through that…But you just gotta keep moving forward with a hopeful attitude and a strong mind," I turn my gaze and give Rick a small smile.
Rick stares at me in awe, just astonished at my words.
"You're a very strong person, Michelle," he finally says. "It's admirable…you're the type of person we need here, to keep people's hopes up and give them the need to keep on goin'."
"It's what I always want to do for as long as I live," I shrug my shoulders. "What about you, Rick? What's your story? If you don't mind telling me…"
"Well, you shared yours, so it's only fair I share mine," he says as he shifts himself a bit.
I sit patiently, waiting for him to begin. He rubs the stubble along his jaw and sighs.
"Well, like I said before, I'm former police officer of the King County sheriff's deputy," he begins. "I grew up and lived in King County…lived with my wife, Lori, and Carl. Right before this all started, I was shot in the line of duty…I had been pursuing a suspect in a car chase with my then partner and long-time best friend Shane…" he rubs his knee firmly. "I ended up in a coma for some weeks I believe, and woke up in the hospital, which was deserted…No one was in sight, not even when I went outside. Naturally, I had gone to my home to see if Lori and Carl were there…to my dismay, they weren't. I was sure that they were alive and had just fled somewhere to safety…So I put my officer uniform on and set out, determined to find them no matter what."
I watch him with a look of awe as he looks up at the sky.
"I eventually did…they had been under the care and watch of my best friend Shane. They had been together in a group, which Glen, Carol, and Daryl had been in…As time passed by, I noticed that Shane had started to change; he started to become a stranger. It came to the point where he wanted to kill me to be with my wife and become the leader of the group…I had no other choice but to kill him. It hurt…it hurt to have to kill my best friend, but I had to; for the sake of my family. Before I found'em, Lori confessed to me that she and Shane had gotten intimate…I forgave her, but I forbid mention that I might not be the baby's biological father…I see her as my own, no matter what."
His words make me smile in admiration.
"Lori ended up dyin' while giving birth to Judith…Carl was the one who shot her before she turned…" he put his left hand on his face, sighing heavily.
I place my left hand over his right one that's resting on the ground. He turns to see it in surprise, and then looks back up at me, gazing into my dark, brown eyes.
"I'm so sorry for your loss…" I saw with a look of sorrow in my eyes. "But you're doing a fantastic job…you're a great father, a great leader…I admire you for your strength."
Rick continues to gaze into my eyes for a moment and then nods.
"Thank you," he finally says.
I nod with a warm smile at him as I squeeze his hand in mine a bit before I let go. We both gaze up at the starry night sky as we feel the light breeze.
"Michelle…" he breaks the silence. "…you mentioned you had a daughter…"
I feel myself tense up a bit.
"What happened to her?" Rick says slowly, noticing that I have tensed up at the question.
I look down at the grass and sigh, staying quiet for a moment.
"That's another story for another time," I say while forcing a smile. "For now, I think it's time I head to bed…"
With that, I get up on my feet, and stand there, looking away from Rick.
"Good night, Rick," I say in a low voice.
I then walk toward the entrance of where the cell blocks are and head inside. Rick sits there, his gaze toward my direction.
'She's still holdin' somethin' in…' Rick thinks to himself.
After a few moments of contemplation, Rick finally gets up and heads inside.