Chapter 16

I'm strolling down the stone pathway of a park. The bright sun shines down as the light breeze blows my long dark curls to my face.

"Hurry, mommy! We have to catch the swings before someone else!" Elena calls out as she hurries some ten feet ahead, her pink dress fluttering in the breeze.

"Go on. Your dad and I will catch up," I wave at her.

"She's got so much energy," John states as he holds my right hand. "So eager and fierce like her mother."

"Damn right."

John chuckles as we watch Elena skip on the pathway.

"It'd be nice if she had another sibling to play with…" John murmurs as he lowers his head.

"Yeah, I know…" I reply as I gaze up ahead.

I glance over at John and see his thoughtful eyes at the ground. Stopping in my tracks, I turn to my right and face him.

"I don't know if I can do another leave from the military," I explain. "Either I leave permanently or we wait it out until I'm done with my service."

"And when will that be?" he looks at me sadly.

My eyes lower to the ground as I sigh.

"Just one more year," I finally say as I caress his arm. "Elena will be three next month, so it'd be a good gap if we wait until after she's four."

He turns his head away in thought. I place my hand on his left cheek and make him look at me.

"Once I'm done with this one year, I won't be going away so much. I promise," I whisper with a warm smile.

He stares at me in thought before nodding slowly and returning the smile.

"Eso es mi guero," I brush his dirty blonde hair back with my hand.

"Hurry up!" we hear Elena shout ahead of us.

"Okay, we're coming!" I call back with a laugh.

"Oh, you go ahead. I'm going to tie my shoe," John says as he kneels down.

I nod and begin to walk ahead. My eyes glance over at an immense murder of crows speedily flying out from a tree to my left. I'm startled and cover my face as they race past me, nearly colliding with me. Letting out a deep breath, I watch as the crows soar further away.

"Did you see that?" I ask as I turn back to John.

To my surprise, he isn't there.

"John?" I scan around and find no sight of him. "John!"

Suddenly, I hear Elena scream from behind me.

"Elena?" I question as I dart around. "Elena!" I shout as spot her laying on the stone pathway ahead, panic consuming me.

I sprint toward her and drop to my knees next to her as she is laying face down.

"Baby, what's wro-…" my voice trembles but I stop as I gaze down at Elena after turning her around.

Her torn up face is pale and dark circles rest under her now yellow eyes. Her left jawline is decayed, exposing her rotting teeth. Her dark curls are tangled and brittle, and her pink dress is torn and covered in blood.

"E-Elena?!" I stutter as I examine her with wide eyes.

She growls and moves forward to bite me, but I push her away.

"No! No! Nooo!" I shriek as I crawl back away from her. "John! John! Please, where are you?!"

I shoot my eyes wide open as I breathe quickly.

"Michelle, hey!" Rick whispers to me as he has a hold of my shoulders.

I glance around through the dark forest as I sit up slightly, still breathing hard.

"You were squirmin' and whimperin' in your sleep," Rick says in worry.

I sit up as I rub my face and let out a deep sigh. Rick watches me as I bury my face on my knees.

"You okay?" he asks.

I lift my head up and scan the area, seeing Carl and Michonne sleeping on the leafy ground a few feet away. The chirping of crickets echoes throughout the forest.

"I…I was just having a bad dream," I finally whisper.

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Sure…Now that I'm awake, I can stay up with you to keep watch…"

I rub my left, wounded shoulder as I stare down at the leaf covered ground. Rick sits beside me on my right, patiently waiting.

"I dreamt about John and Elena…" I begin. "It was going fine until…he disappeared and Elena turned into a walker…"

"Sounds like you dreamt what happened to them," Rick observes.

"I've had similar dreams…"

"It's horrible to dream that stuff…it's like you're reliving it over and over again…"

"You have dreams like that with Lori and Carl?"

"Yeah…"

I stare up at a tree some feet away.

"It's like some big joke," I continue. "Being mocked with what was and then being tortured with what happened…A reminder that it won't ever be like that again…"

Rick rubs my back gently. I let out a small sigh as I brush my long curls back.

"But I know we can make something new," I say as I turn to him with a smile. "I know we can pull through, together."

"Damn right," Rick grins, causing me to chuckle a bit.

I brush a leaf off my dark army pants and a small twig off my olive-green long sleeve shirt.

"You know, if I had ever talked to my parents the way Carl did to you back at the house, I probably wouldn't be here," I joke.

"What do you mean?"

"You see, my parents disciplined me with an ass whooping. It'd normally be with a sandal or it could be with anything: a shoe, a belt, a broom, a book. Some of my cousins and I grew up getting our asses kicked if we ever crossed the line with our parents. Hell, they'd just have to give us a look and we'd get our shit together and knew we'd get a whooping. Called'em una chinga."

"Is that so?"

"Yep. Sounds harsh, but I'll tell, we grow up disciplined. Of course, it wasn't abuse, that's a whole different thing."

"So you suggest I give Carl a whoopin'?" Rick asks with a smile.

"Eh, well, I'm just giving advice," I shrug my shoulders trying to hold back a smile.

Rick and I softly chuckle. My eyes scan the area past some trees and land on the railroad tracks some fifteen ahead.

"You really think this Terminus place is what is claims to be?" I question.

"Can't be too sure," Rick rubs his chin. "But there's a chance our people might've gone there. It's best we find out and see if anyone's made it."

"True."

"What do you think?"

"Well, I don't know…sounds too good to be true…But it would be nice to see if anyone from the prison made it there."

Rick nods slowly. There's a moment of silence between us as we gaze at our surroundings.

"Let's hope for the best," Rick states.

It's sometime in the late afternoon and we're walking on the train tracks, heading toward Terminus. The weather has gotten a bit cooler, which is a break from the heat. Rick and I are some feet ahead of Carl and Michonne.

"I think we got about a day's worth of water left," Rick says. "We're lucky it's cooled off a little bit, but…"

Rick and I stop and turn behind us. Carl and Michonne are walking on the rails of the train tracks, holding out their arms to balance themselves. I place my hands on my hips as I let out a small smile at them.

"What are you doin'?" Rick asks.

"Winning a bet," Carl answers.

"In your dreams," Michonne banters.

"I'm still on," Carl responds, almost losing his balance.

"Spoke too soon, wise guy," Michonne chuckles.

"This might go on a while," Rick says as he and I begin to walk toward them. "Maybe we can speed this up?"

"Yeah, you're right," Michonne answers still walking on the metal beam of the track. "Shouldn't be foolin' around…We should probably—CARL!" she attempts to scare Carl off the beam but instead loses balance herself.

"I win," Carl grins as he steps off the beam. "Pay up."

He holds out his hand to Michonne and she gives him a pouty face. She digs into her bag with a sigh and pulls out two chocolate bars. Rick and I scoff with a smile.

"Betting chocolate?" I ask with a smile. "Some serious business."

"Apparently so," Rick jokes along.

"Is that really the last Big Kat?" Carl asks Michonne.

He gazes down at the two chocolate bars in Michonne's hand while biting his lip. She tries to hide the Big Kat bar in her hand by holding the other chocolate bar further out, but Carl reaches for the one she's hiding.

"Oh, come on!" Michonne pleads.

"Hey, but you said!" Carl shakes his head with smile. "Winner's choice."

"Go ahead, take it," Michonne hands him the Big Kat with a pout. "It's yours. You won it, fair and square."

Rick and I continue to watch them. Carl rips open the chocolate bar, breaks a piece of it, and shares it with Michonne. She gives him a questionable look.

"Come on, we always share," Carl says as he holds the piece of chocolate out to her.

"Bark it over…" Michonne finally says.

Rick and I chortle as we watch Carl hand Michonne the chocolate. We turn and resume our trek. There's a light, chilly breeze, causing me to rub my arms.

"You cold?" Rick asks as he starts to take of the bag over his shoulder. "I can give you my jacket."

"No, no, I'm fine," I say, stopping him from taking the bag off.

"You sure?"

I give him a reassuring look.

"Let me know when you want my jacket, okay?" he reaffirms.

"Will do, Mr. Grimes," I smile.

"What have I told you? That sounds so odd to me when you say it," he scoffs with a smile.

"I like messing with you. You know that."

He chuckles as he walks closer to me on my left and takes a hold of my hand. I briefly lean my head on his right shoulder as we continue to walk.

"Look at you two love birds," Michonne teases from behind us. "Get a room, why don't ya?"

Carl lets out a laugh.

"Say, what is your last name, Michelle?" Carl asks curiously. "I know it's Foster, but that's when you were married."

"My maiden name?" I reply as we continue to walk. "Camacho. Michelle Camacho."

"Sounds…interesting," Carl says a bit perplexed.

"Same thing I said," Rick turns to me with a smile.

"Yep. It's a pretty common Mexican last name."

"You don't look like a Camacho…or Mexican," Carl says.

"Due to my light skin. But my hair, brown eyes, and Spanish show it more," I laugh. "If you'd hear me with my family, you'd be nodding your head in understanding."

"Teach me some more Spanish."

"Let me hear what I taught you before."

"Okay, umm…Mi nombre es Carl…Me gusta chocolate."

"Chocoláte. Cho-co-la-te," I explain. "It's spelled the same, but you pronounce it differently.

"Me gusta…chocolate. Me gusta chocolate!" he says confidently.

"Bueno!" I hold my fist up proudly.

Carl smiles proudly. We continue to make our way down the tracks.

"We'll stop for a while there," Rick announces as he points over to a spot in the forest.

After heading a good distance into the forest, we stop.

"Let's setup camp here," Rick says as he sets his bag down and opens it. "We'll put up the string with the cans to setup a perimeter. You know the deal."

We all nod. Rick hands me the thick string with cans attached to it. I continue to pull and hand the rest out to Michonne, who then hands some to Carl. We walk around some trees to setup the perimeter and tie the string up on the trees to hold it about five and a half feet up from the ground.

"I'll go set up the snares to catch some food," Rick says and then turns to Michonne. "Start a fire to help keep us warm."

She nods and motions for Carl to help her. After picking up the firearm, Rick walks over to me and pats me on the shoulder.

"You're comin' with me," he says as he walks off.

I follow after him while looking back at Michonne and Carl.

"If you guys need us, just shout," I say to them.

They both give me a nod. I turn back around and catch up to Rick. We make our way down clear path of a slight slope. I rub my arms as I feel a slight shiver through my body, which Rick takes note of.

"You sure you don't want my jacket?" Rick asks.

"Yes, you need it to help you recover faster," I quickly reply. "I'm also not sure if I want a jacket you took from a guy we killed in the bathroom…"

He chuckles.

"Well, the next jacket we find, it'll be for you," he states.

"Sounds good," I reply.

After about a minute, we reach an area that's far enough away from our campsite. He hands me the firearm to hold.

"You know how to set it up?" Rick asks as he begins to gather some twigs.

"Eh, I vaguely remember…" I sheepishly admit.

"I'll gladly remind you," he says as he gathers some more sticks and leaves.

He walks over to a small, thin tree and kneels down in front of it and begins to stab sticks into the ground in two parallel lines about a foot from one another.

"The basic idea is to create a trail that'll lead the animal into the trap," he explains as he begins to setup. "We'll use the small branch of this tree and tie it like this…this is where the funnel will be leadin' to," he continues to demonstrate as he takes some thick string out of his pocket. "This will tie up the animal once it runs through here."

"Ah, it's all coming back to me. Thank you, professor Grimes."

Rick scoffs with a smile as he shakes his head.

"Then you just hide it well with some leaves and sticks," he finishes.

"I greatly appreciate your knowledge," I smile down at him as I place my hands on my hips.

"Come on, we'll get back," he says as he gets up. "Being close to the camp fire will help you get warm."

He places his right arm around me and pulls me close to him.

"Hopefully we get something good soon…" I say as we make our way up the slight slope.

"Agreed."

After about a minute, we reach the campsite. Michonne and Carl and sitting around the small campfire.

"It'll be a while until we go check the snare," Rick says as we approach them.

I huddle myself closer to the small fire, holding my hands over it. Rick places the firearm down on the ground next to him as he sits beside.

"Anybody know some good stories?" Carl breaks the silence.

"Most of the stories I know are scary. I don't think I should share them when we're in the middle of a forest with it getting dark soon…" I respond, causing everyone to crack a smile.

"How about we share some things we miss…before everything," Carl suggests.

"That's better."

"I'll go first," Carl offers as he begins to think. "Umm…videogames!"

"Which ones did you play?" Michonne asks.

"Mostly adventure stuff…Michonne, you go."

"Ummm…cooking." she replies.

"What dishes did you like to cook most?" I ask.

"Didn't really have a favorite. I liked all kinds."

I nod in approval.

"Dad, your turn," Carl points at Rick.

"Hmm…well. I miss hot showers," he replies.

"Oh! Amen!" I say lowering my head down and raising my arms up. "He has spoken for us all."

They laugh at my reaction.

"It'd be nice to feel clean after all this runnin' and killin' of walkers," Rick continues.

"Okay, Michelle, you go," Carl motions to me.

"Heh…ummm…music," I reply. "I miss my tunes."

"Good one," Michonne compliments. "What type of music did you listen to?"

"Lots of rock, techno, classical…I like a lot of old school stuff. As long as the music makes my body want to move, I'm good."

"Okay, me again…" Carl begins to think. "Cartoons."

"Which ones did you watch?" I ask.

"I liked some Bugs Bunny."

"Ooo, I approve," I hold a thumb up at Carl.

"Let's see…I miss my dining set," Michonne says.

"Oh, you reminded me of my fridge. God, how I miss my fridge!" I playfully say. "All my food…"

"Amen to that," Michonne says.

"I also miss my stash of liquor…" I sheepishly admit while rubbing my neck.

"You really do love liquor," Rick laughs.

"Hey, I'm just keepin' it real. Carl, ignore me and my guilty pleasures!"

"Too late!" he laughs.

"I definitely miss some juicy steak," Rick says.

"Ugh, that sounds so good right about now," Carl sighs.

"Steak, barbecued ribs…chicken wings," Rick continues.

"Stop it, please. I don't think this is helping our situation…" I say playfully slapping Rick on the arm. "Now I miss pineapples…"

"How'd you get pineapples from steak and ribs?" Rick asks me with a confused smile.

"Hey…I have a complicated way of thinking."

A good half hour has passed since Rick setup the snare. He's heating up the can of soup by holding it over the fire with a long stick.

"How hungry are you?" Rick asks. "Scale of one to ten."

"Fifteen," Carl responds.

"Twenty-six…" I respond with a small laugh.

"Twenty-eight…" Michonne says.

Rick chuckles a bit and then begins to pour the heated up canned soup into a larger can.

"Yeah, well…it's been a while," he says after pouring some for Carl. 'I'm gonna go check the snares."

"Can I go with you?" Carl asks after blowing out the bit of fire at the tip of his stick.

"Well, how else are you gonna learn?" he replies with a smile as he stands up.

"I'm comin' with," Michonne stands up.

I watch with a warm smile as Carl is happy and gets to his feet. Rick then kicks dirt on to the small fire to put it out.

"Hey…you too," Rick looks down at me and pats my shoulder.

I nod and slowly get to my feet. Carl continues to kick dirt into the dying fire as white smoke slowly fades away. Rick grabs the firearm and a bag and we follow him. I walk on his right as Carl and Michonne walk on his left.

"We'll stay another day or two. Get some more rest," he says.

"Finish healing up?" Michonne questions.

"I'm almost there," Rick responds.

"I'll make sure of it," I playfully say.

"We're close now…right?" Carl asks.

"To Terminus?" Rick responds.

"Yeah."

"We are."

"When we get there…we gonna tell'em?"

We glance at Carl in confusion.

"Tell'em what?" Michonne asks.

"Everything that's happened to us," Carl responds. "All the stuff we've done…We gonna tell'em the truth?"

"We're gonna tell'em who we are," Rick replies.

"How do you say it? I mean…Who are we?"

We immediately stop at the sound of a walker growling ahead of us. Michonne quickly takes her katana out of its scabbard. We follow her toward the walker, our guns ready in hand for backup. She quickly cuts through the walker's skull and it collapses to the ground.

"There you go," Rick says as he walks over to the trap.

We follow him as he kneels down in front of the trap and grabs the dead rabbit.

"It's a small one, but it'll do…" he says as he begins to untie the string from around the rabbit's neck. "So…this is just a simple slip knot. Tie one on both ends, and you tie one side to a branch," he begins to demonstrate. "Now you see how the ground here…it's sort of like a funnel shape."

"It's a trail?" Carl asks.

"That's right," Rick nods. "That's where you wanna set the noose…you hide it in the leaves and put sticks all around it, so any animal that's goin' by, they have to run this way," he motions with his hand. "Right into the trap."

There's a sudden yelp of a man. We look around in surprise.

"Help! Somebody help!" we hear the man yell.

Carl immediately gets to his feet and heads in the direction of the yells.

"Carl," Rick calls after him. "Carl! Stop! Carl!"

We runs after him as we continue to hear the yelps of a man.

"Get away! Get back!" the man continues to yell. "Help! Somebody help!"

Carl reaches the side of the forest that leads to a grove. He stops when he sees a man being surrounded by about a dozen walkers. He sees the man trying to fight them off, so he holds his gun up to the walkers. Rick quickly takes a hold of Carl from behind and pulls him back behind some trees. We hide as we watch the man yell and try to fend off the walkers.

"We can't help him," Rick mutters to Carl as he holds him back.

We see the walkers gang up on the man and begin to bite his flesh off. I see one gnaw at his face, tearing away the meat from his cheek and eyes. A walker from the group then turns in our direction, aware of our presence.

"We gotta go…" Rick mutters to Carl.

He pulls Carl away and we make a run for it back where we came from. We head down the tracks as we hear walkers following. Up ahead on the tracks, we see three walkers devouring a body on the tracks, causing us to halt. We take our weapons out, ready in hand, and approach the three walkers. Rick walks forward first with his colt python, and begins to jog toward the walkers. He uses the end of his colt to knock one of the walkers in the skull, smashing its brains out. I quickly sprint after him and head toward another walker. I bash the walker's skull with the butt of my gun and blood gushes out, causing it to fall t the ground. Michonne begins to cut through other walkers' skulls and Carl stays back with the firearm where it's safe in case he needs to back us up.

"Let's go," Rick says.

We continue to run down the tracks away from the group of walkers coming after us.

"We barely managed to get away from that group of walkers…" I say. "We need to find a place secure place to rest."

"Thought there'd maybe be some houses down this way," Michonne says. "Maybe a store. There's gotta be some food around here."

The four of us are breathing quickly. We've just lost the group of walkers a while ago, and we're getting exhausted.

"Hey, look," Carl says as he motions up ahead.

There's an abandoned blue truck on the road. We make our way toward it, and Michonne takes her katana out to deal with any walkers that may be in or near the truck. Rick approaches it on the left while I approach it on the right, our guns ready in our hands. We see that the truck is clear from any walkers and people. Carl walks up to the driver window and reaches inside to unlock the door. Michonne approaches a walker that's crushed in half on the ground and drives her katana through its skull. Carl climbs in the truck and begins to explore it.

"It's not a house," I say as I open the back doors of the truck fully. "But it'll have to do."

"We'll rest here for the night," Rick confirms. "It's gettin' dark. We don't have a better choice."

"I'll go get some stuff for a fire," Michonne says as she walks to the other side of the road.

I watch as Carl climbs to the back of the truck and begins to fix some blankets on the backseat.

"Seems you've found your sleeping spot," I smile at him.

"Yeah," he smiles back.

"Good. You'll get some good rest," Rick says with a nod. "We should reach Terminus by tomorrow."

I lean on the large back door of the pickup and tilt my head back as I drop my right hand with my gun to my side.

"Let's hope it's what we're looking for…" I say after a sigh.