Red River Blue
Chapter 11
Tyreese stepped back from the cornhole board. Kelly hit the board with her first bag. Her second hit the corner and slid to the ground. But she managed to sink the first one through the hole in the center of the board. Mika jumped up and down, celebrating like she was the one that scored the point for her team instead of Kelly. But it wasn't her Tyreese was laughing at. Connie was waving her hands around and pointing at her sister's feet, repeating the gesture that Tyreese guessed meant something close to you're a cheater that keeps stepping over the line when you throw. Kelly laughed at her, gesturing back that Connie was the one cheating because she had a giant for her partner. Tyreese pulled out the small pad of paper he had recently taken to keeping in his back pocket. After scribbling down a hasty note, he held it up for Connie to read.
Let them cheat
We'll still beat them!
Connie's eyes scanned over the note, her face lighting up into a beautiful smile before she started to laugh. She had the most amazing smile of anyone Tyreese had met since the turn. And maybe even before that. When Connie smiled, it was like all the goodness inside of her shined out. It had been a long time since he met anyone with that type of positive energy. The thought of going back to Alexandria without her had Tyreese tossing and turning in his bed all night. He knew Glenn would be happy to make a place for him at Hilltop. But that would mean leaving his preschool back at home a teacher short. And he loved all his little students like they were his own. They would be sad and confused if he suddenly just didn't return.
Tyreese tossed his beanbags, sinking all three of them one after the other and winning the game for him and Connie. Kelly groaned. And then the two sisters started whipping their hands around, talking while they laughed at each other. Watching them together made Tyreese miss his own sister. Sasha died a hero. But that didn't make losing her any easier.
"Good aim, Uncle T," Mika said, bumping her hip into his. Tyreese smiled and wrapped his arm around the girl. He didn't see what happened the night before outside the barn party. But he heard about it. He was glad to see Mika was acting like her usually sunny self and didn't seem to be suffering any negative effects from her questionable choice in men.
"Got a favor to ask you," Tyreese said, keeping his voice low. He knew Connie couldn't hear him. But her sister could. Mika perked up. The favor was sounding more like a secret. And she loved to hear secrets. "If I was to sponsor Connie and her sister, would you second me?"
"Of course I would," Mika chirped, smiling as she looked back and forth between Tyreese and the petite black woman he seemed to have his sights set on. The way Tyreese kept looking at Connie was just the way Mika imagined men in the romance novels she stole from her mom looked at the women they loved. Since she was thirteen, Mika had been waiting for a boy to look at her like that. And Tyreese was really one of the sweetest people she knew. She thought Connie was very lucky to have caught his eye.
"Holy crap!," Mika hollered, pointing up at the sky. A flare had been shot off. It was sailing above the trees in the woods outside Hilltop. Tyreese shaded his eyes, trying to follow the fading trail of smoke and see where it came from. Light and noise attracted the dead. If someone fired their flare gun, it meant they were desperate for help. Mika was already swinging her quiver of arrows onto her back. Tyreese's knife was already attached to his belt. But he quickly retrieved his large machete from the grass near where Mika tossed her bow.
"You two go back and tell Merle and River where we went," Tyreese suggested, pointing Kelly and Connie back towards town. Connie shook her head and thrust a note at him.
I'm coming with you!
Tyreese shook his head and pointed again. Kelly was only armed with a slingshot. And Connie didn't even have that. Only her knife. He didn't think they were armed properly. And even if they were, he would rather Connie stay here and not put herself in danger. But she shook her head and pointed to her note again.
"Just let them come," Mika said, "...we're wasting time!" Tyreese nodded reluctantly. Mika was a much more experienced hunter and tracker than him. Her father made sure of that. So he let her take the lead as they headed into the woods at a brisk pace. Kelly shouldered up next to her with her slingshot out. Between the two of them, they took down the few walkers that stumbled into their path quickly and quietly.
"Over there!," Tyreese hissed, trying not to talk too loudly. He didn't see a person. But he saw a familiar backpack lying on the ground next to a tree. He hurried towards the bright orange pack, looking up into the tree it was leaning against. "Harley!," he called out. "You alright up there?" He could see the girl's long legs dangling down on either side of a sturdy branch. She pulled one leg up and swung it over the branch, clearly preparing to jump or climb down. But as she was lowering herself down, her body went limp. Tyreese was already standing directly under Harley and he caught her in his arms, lowering her gently to the ground. Mika shoved a half full water canteen at her. Harley twisted the cap off and tipped it back, chugging the entire contents down in a few large gulps.
"Walkers," Harley croaked. "A big herd. Eugene twisted his ankle. I left him in a barn and led them away." With that Harley's eyes rolled back in her head and her body slumped against the tree. Tyreese lifted her into his arms.
"We better get her back to town," he said, "...let the doctor take a look at her." Harley hated being doctored. But she was just going to have to deal with it. She was severely dehydrated at the very least.
"I'm going after Eugene," Mika announced. Tyreese shook his head. He thought they should all go back to town together. Merle and Sam could organize a search party. Or whatever they hell they did to find lost people. It certainly wasn't in Tyreese's skill set. "If I follow her tracks from here, I can figure out where she came from and find him," Mika argued. "If we go back to town we might not be able to pick the trail back up." Tyreese sighed. Mika was right. And he knew both Daryl's kids were experienced trackers. He taught them well. But Tyreese still didn't like the idea of Mika running off into the woods alone.
"I'll go with you," Kelly offered. She and Connie exchanged a few words in sign language. "Connie'll help you get her back to town," Kelly explained, gesturing to Harley as Connie retrieved Harley's pack and her bow from the ground near the tree. I'll go with Mika."
"Hell!," Tyreese cursed. "At least take my machete," he instructed, swinging the weapon off his back so Kelly could grab it. Tyrese also made Mika take the small handgun gun he kept in his boot.
"Be careful," he warned. Mika nodded, waving him off as she started circling the tree and searching for signs that would tell her which way Harley came from. Tyreese glanced back over his shoulder at the girls one more time. Then he hoisted Harley's limp body higher into his arms and headed for town.