Chapter 3:
"Good morning Michonne"
Michonne rolled her eyes closed for a moment as she gathered her thoughts, then turned to face the other woman, "Sherry"
"You going out?", the woman walked across the kitchen with a pot in her hand.
"I am", Michonne answered as she took a sip of her lemon and ginger tea.
"Does Negan know?"
She blinked, "He will"
"He doesn't like it when you just disappear like that, you know. He worries"
"He'll get over it"
Sherry turned to look at her, "You two have been together for so long and I would think that with everything that happened between you two-"
"Excuse me?"
The woman's eyes widened a fraction, "Uh, I just meant-"
"What has he told you?", Michonne put her mug down as she eyed her.
"Nothing, just that you've been together for a long time and that you started this place together. That's all"
Michonne watched her for a few moments, before heading out the kitchen, "Enjoy your breakfast Sherry"
She didn't mean to get so defensive with the other woman, but she didn't want anyone to know about her earlier days with Negan. As far as she was concerned, it was none of their business.
Whenever she left on her own she was sure to do it swiftly. Negan would want to know all about her trip and where she was going and she preferred to have her own hidden areas that she could escape to. As proud as she was with what they had accomplished, she couldn't stand being cooped up for too long. It wasn't that she enjoyed the fear of being out in the open, she just found it kept her mind sharp, and her skills at their highest.
With only her sword to hand, she left the compound in one of the jeeps, while the morning sun was still waking the others up. The men at the gate knew better than to question her, though they feared Negan. She didn't intend for her little travels to get them in trouble, but she wasn't going to answer to them anymore than she would their main leader.
The bare streets made driving much more enjoyable. She drove as fast or as slow as she wanted, played music when she wanted and could park anywhere. The solitude was welcomed.
With no real idea of where she was going to go, she stuck to familiar routes, until an idea struck her. She lowered the zip on her form fitting leather jacket and let the breeze caress her chest. She never understood the need for leather, until they discovered that the dead had a hard time tearing through the material. She searched for months for a biker store, and when she finally found one, she made sure to clean the place out.
While she was unsure of how long she was driving for, she was aware that she was quite far from the compound when she noticed a familiar looking RV parked up beside a few residential homes. She slowed down to a stop at the top of the street, watching for any movement. The dead that had spotted her arrival made their way towards her while she posted, so she took her sword from the passenger seat. She beheaded the first as soon as it was close enough, all from the comfort of her seat.
Her eyes narrowed when she saw someone sneak inside the RV, and she immediately noticed that the man didn't seem to be from Alexandria. He looked much too dirty to. She stabbed the next corpse through the forehead when it was in range, but still watched the scene in front of her.
The man hadn't made an appearance and she realised that he could be waiting for their return. She groaned as she got out of the vehicle, knowing she was in a position to help them.
She ran stealthily down the street, ducking behind cars until she was close enough to see the RV up close. There was still no further movement, so she ran along the side it and listened by the door. She could finally hear some kind of shuffling, and what sounded like a sneeze. Her hand found the handle and she opened the door so slowly that it almost didn't seem like she was moving.
The man had his back towards her as he fussed with something. She crept in with her sword raised, ready to strike.
"The fuck is this shit?", He mumbled to himself. He put down the tin and began to turn around when she brought her blade to his neck. He looked at her with wide eyes, "Who the hell are you?"
"This isn't your RV", She replied lightly.
"So?", the man snorted.
"So you should leave"
He looked her over and smirked, "Make me-"
Her blade only moved an inch, but it was enough to break the skin under his chin.
"So you should leave", She repeated.
His hands were still raised in the air as his breathing became shallow. He tried to lower one, but she shook her head at him. The man watched her for a few more seconds before knocking the blade with the back of his hand, slicing himself further, but grabbing a 9mm. off the seat beside him. Michonne didn't lower her sword, but kept her eye on the gun.
"Now look how the tables have turned?", He whipped the blood from his chin with his sleeve, "Fucking bitch, you really caught me there"
Her expression didn't falter.
"So this is what's going to happen, you are going to drop that right there on the floor, and you're going to walk back there to that bedroom"
"No I'm not"
"Oh, yes you are", His eyes scanned her sinisterly, "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Don't worry about that"
He snorted another chuckle, "I'm gonna have some fun with you-"
The sound of a gun going off so close almost made Michonne jump. The intruder fell back on the floor with a thud, his gun still in his hand, a fresh gun wound in his head. She straightened up and turned her weapon to the door, as a hand holding a colt python stepped in to view. Rick kept his eyes on the man as he snatched the gun from his corpse.
She lowered her katana, but not completely as she stood back.
"Who the hell was that?", a tall ginger haired man asked as he appeared at the door. He looked over at Michonne, still frowning, "Who the hell are you?"
Rick eyed her, his eyes darting all over her face, then dropping to her torso.
She quickly remembered her zip was daringly low, and yanked it up, not taking her eyes off him so save herself the embarrassment. She stepped past him.
"Wait a minute", Rick's hand stuck out in front of her, his finger still on the trigger of his gun.
She frowned at his extended limb.
"What were you doing here?"
Her eyes crept up to his head.
He turned to face her, "You're here alone?"
She didn't answer, just stared at him with a stoic expression.
Rick peered out the windows, "Can't see anyone else with you?"
He received nothing from her.
"How about you take a seat then, we can have a little talk-"
"No.", She took a step forward but his arm blocked her again. She sighed, realising she was in quite the predicament, "What do you want?"
"You heard me. A little talk", He motioned the seat behind her.
She looked from him, to the other male at the door and almost turned to sit, when she was met with some resistance. She realised he held the top part of her katana.
"Just in case"
"Don't. Touch"
"Let. Go"
"I'd do as he said ninja lady", the other man warned, his rifle point at her.
She pursed her lips, highly annoyed, but she let go and stepped over to the seat, "Move the corpse, then I'll talk"
Rick handed her sword to the other man as he watched her, then put away his own gun and the intruders, before grabbing the dead man's feet and dragging it out the RV. She was beginning to wish she had just kept driving earlier on.
Once the body was moved, Rick took his weapon out again and held it as he sat opposite her. She was sat back with her arms folded, legs crossed and brow furrowed.
"Now, you gonna tell me why you're out here?"
"No. Next?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, "You're not in any position to dismiss questions"
"But I will"
His gun was aimed at her on his knee, "Are you sure about that?"
She looked at it, then up at him, "Why does it matter?"
"Where you following us?"
Her face pinched, "No. I was not following you"
"Then what were you doing out here?"
Her eyes rolled, "Going for a drive"
"Going for a drive? Out here?"
"You heard me, didn't you?", She mocked coldly.
His jaw clenched at her attitude, "Does Negan know where you are?"
She exhaled as she prepared to lie, but found herself telling the truth, "No."
He raised an eyebrow at her, "I thought you were his right hand woman?"
"Are you done?"
"No. In fact, I think you should come with us"
She didn't like the sound of that, "What for?"
Rick shrugged, "We can just go on a little drive"
She straightened up.
He looked her over again before standing, "Don't worry, just do as you're told and everything will be fine. Is that your jeep up there?"
She felt panic rising within her but made sure to not let it register on her face. Instead she just raised an eyebrow at him.
"We'll take good care of that for you too"
It was becoming more apparent to her that the man in front of her could just as easily as she had heard. His eyes were almost lifeless, and his tone consistently low and intimidating. She wished she'd at least have her Katana close by, so she didn't feel as vulnerable.
Another dark haired man appeared, wearing a leather vest and carrying a crossbow. She recognised him, as well as a black woman followed after him, eyeing her suspiciously, and finally another dark haired male, with long hair and a beard that she knew was named Jesus, and who attempted to give her some little smile as he stepped on the RV. She winced as she tried to figure out where they were all coming from.
They hovered around for a while, hardly saying anything around her, when finally the ginger haired man got behind the wheel. They were spread out around the vehicle, while she sat in the middle, her eyes discreetly searching for her sword. She was in the middle of figuring out how to get herself out the situation when the idea sprung to her.
She waited for the ride to get especially bumpy before she inched across her seat. She would tut and sigh as if it bothered her, hoping no one would catch on that she moved.
It was when they were driving through a heavily wooded area that she stretched her legs in front of her, as if she were getting comfortable. Rick was sat at the front, looking out the windshield, while Jesus and the woman called Sasha spoke to each other in hushed tones. She was sure the man in the leather vest was driving her jeep in front of them.
The chance to escape presented itself. She lunged from her seat and straight out the door, shoving it open with her shoulder and rolling out the vehicle. While the plan seemed like a good one at the time, she was sure she heard something crack as she hit the road. She didn't have time to stop and check as the RV came to a screeching halt only a couple feet away , but she still hoped to her feet and ran as fast as she could into the woods.
She was grateful that they trusted her enough not to restrain her in some way, as she was able to run at optimum speed, despite the searing pain that radiated through her shoulder. Leaves crackling from behind told her someone was hot on her tail but turning around to check would only slow her down. With no weapon, the trees were her new ally, and she darted between them. While it was a little tiring, it created some distance between her and her captor.
The only reason she stopped running was because of the smell. The familiar scent of putrid meat but even more potent. She realised she was uncomfortably close to a sea corpses.
It was impossible to tell which direction they were coming from, so her best bet was to run back in the direction she came. She headed further off the original path, hoping she could go undetected but she soon found out that wasn't the case.
The hand grabbed her arm tight, so she leaned back as she brought her leg up for the highest kick she had ever delivered. Jesus blocked her, his forearm knocking her back by her calf. As soon as her foot returned to the floor, her other foot was up stepping on his thigh so she could bring the other leg up to kick him again. The man was just as quick as her, as he blocked the second attack and moved his leg so she lost her footing. He caught her other arm and pretzel tied her hands behind her back.
She sighed, "I should have just kept driving"
"But you didn't. It was actually pretty nice of you to stop that guy", the man's voice was calm, and actually quite welcoming, "Now let's get out of here"
He frog marched her all the way back to the road, where the others were waiting outside the RV and her jeep. She was in no mood to hear what any of them had to say about her failed plan, and she hoped her face registered that.
Rick was holding up a pair of handcuffs as she approached, and he wasted no time putting them on her. He grabbed her arm and all but threw her back in the RV, but this time he sat her at the table, and he sat down opposite her, his gun in hand.
"You didn't really think that one out did you?"
She pursed her lips at him, "There were corpses and I have no weapon"
He shook his head as the vehicle started up again. She'd wish she told Negan where she was and had way to signal to him that she was in trouble. Her next bet was to try and talk her way out of the man's clutches.
"Why don't we make a deal?", She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her arms over them.
He raised an eyebrow at her.
"You let me go, and I won't tell Negan about this"
His expression didn't change, "I suppose you think not telling Negan about this would be beneficial to us?"
"Very. He won't hurt you or your people then"
"But he doesn't know where you are? So we could keep you and he wouldn't think to check with us?"
"Why would you keep me? How useful would I be to you?"
He shrugged again, "We're gonna find out"
"No, you're not. I'm not going to tell you anything and I'm not going to do anything for you, so how about you raise that gun of yours and put it one between my eyes, and we end this now"
He stared at her, biting the inside of his cheek, "That's the most I've heard you talk.."
She frowned, "What?"
"Nothing", He sniffed, straightening up, "You just sit tight"
She sat back in her seat, her eyes locked on his. She had learnt first time around that something about him made her uncomfortable, and if she could look elsewhere, she would. But there was a little battle going on between the two of them and she wouldn't back down. He stared at her and she stared right back, until she could no longer make out his pupils, just little pools of blue. His head tilted as his jaw clenched, and it was all too invading. She snapped her eyes shut at him as she turned and looked another way, feeling oddly defeated.
He smirked, still continuing to watch her and she refused to look back in his direction for the rest of the journey. She needed to conserve her energy, and she wouldn't allow herself to waste it on staring contests with the calculating leader.
It was late in the afternoon when they arrived at Alexandria. She looked out the window at the little community as they drove through it, and she was still very impressed with it, though she wished she could appreciate it under different circumstances.
"Let's go"
Rick caught her by her arm and she almost screamed, pulling away from him. She realised she did some serious damage to her arm when she jumped out the moving vehicle. He eyed her as she turned in the booth and inched out by herself.
She stepped past him and out the RV, eyeing the town house in front of her.
"Down there"
She trudged down the stairs and into the lower level of the building. She was greeted by what could only be described as, a prison cell. She walked in and looked around feeling even more nervous than before.
Rick pulled the door closed, then signalled for her to step over to him as he held up a smaller set of keys. She obliged when she realised it was for the handcuffs. She stepped away when she was free from her restraints and went straight over to the mattress on the floor.
He watched her for only a second before turning and leaving. Her knee bounced as she gazed around the room, trying to figure out how on earth she was going to get herself out if this predicament.