Red River Blue
Chapter 23
When Mika finally slowed her horse to a walk, she turned to check on Henry. She was surprised that he was able to keep up with the fast pace she set. Her brother was the only one in her family that could keep up with her. But then again, the Kingdom was the first of all the communities to begin using horses as their primary form of transportation. Now that gas had pretty much gone the way of twinkies and cable tv, everyone traveled on horseback.
"Do you need a break?," Henry asked, wondering the reason for the sudden change in speed. Mika shook her head, taking a few long swallows from her canteen.
"They've got a checkpoint somewhere around here," she said. While all the communities made safety and keeping watch a priority, Oceanside was a little more vigilant than the rest. They permanently blocked the rest of the roads that led to their community. And they kept scouts out on the only accessible road at all times. Eugene offered to set up some sort of solar powered security camera for them. But Cyndie never took him up on it. Mika wasn't sure why. But she suspected she just didn't like a man coming in and showing her a more efficient way to run her group.
Mika and Henry walked their horses side by side. Most of the people in Oceanside knew her. She and Sam were usually the ones to deliver messages here if there was any pressing information that couldn't wait until the next leaders meeting to be passed on. Like a giant herd of walkers that were being controlled by crazy people disguised as the dead. But there was always a chance that the scouts on duty were new. If they were, the act of riding past them at top speed would be enough to sound an alarm. And Mika didn't want to cause a panic.
They rode along at a leisurely pace for about another ten minutes before Mika heard a wolfish whistle ring out from the treeline. She laughed before she whistled back and swung down off her horse. Cyndie herself was on watch duty. And she emerged from the dense wooded area with two young girls in tow. One looked about twelve. The other was younger. Maybe Monroe's age, but not as tall. Like they did in Alexandria, Oceanside began training their children to fight as soon as they were able to hold a weapon. Mika eagerly wrapped her arms around Cyndie when the other woman snatched her up in a rough hug. Then she shook the hands of the two girls, smiling warmly at them as Cyndie introduced her.
"That's not your brother," Cyndie said, turning her attention to Henry. Not only was he not Sam, he was dressed like he was from the Kingdom in the makeshift sport goods store body armor that they favored. It took her a moment before her eyes lit up in recognition.
"Henry?," she asked. "You've got to be at least a foot taller than you were last time I saw you." Henry smiled, returning Cyndie's hug though he didn't remember her as well as she remembered him.
Cyndie stepped back, her shrewd eyes scanning over the two young people. She couldn't help but notice the way Henry's eyes kept drifting back to the pretty girl at his side. Though they didn't seem to be aware of it, they were quite the little power couple. The Kingdom's prince and the daughter of Alexandria's council leader. Cyndie wondered if this was something their parents cooked up. Or if it was just coincidental. No one was interested in bringing back arranged or forced marriages. But people certainly weren't above trying to encourage their children towards a favorable match, especially those that would strengthen an existing alliance or create one. If things worked out between Sam and Rachel, and Mika ended up with Henry, that would give Alexandria quite the advantage when it came to trade negotiations between the communities. Something Cyndie was quite sure that Carol had considered. The woman did a good job of coming off sweet and motherly. But Cyndie knew from personal experience that the woman was shrewd as a fox and twice as smart. Alexandria didn't elect her their leader because of her cookie baking abilities.
"Well," Cyndie asked, "...we've got a leaders meeting in a few days, what's so important that it couldn't wait until then?" Mika took another swig of water from her canteen, tucking a few strands of her sweaty hair off her forehead and back up into her ball cap.
"There's a new group in the area," she responded. "They're west of Hilltop so probably not a huge concern for you. But they're disguising themselves as the dead and controlling the biggest herd I've seen in years. They killed Jesus." Cyndie gasped a little, her shock hitting her before she could control it. Jesus was one of the most skilled fighters she'd ever seen. He even came to Oceanside a few times to give her girls lessons on hand to hand combat. If he was killed, anyone could be. And that frightened her more than she wanted to admit.
"Jesus?," Cydie repeated, hoping she just heard wrong. But Mika was quick to nod her head, confirming that it was true.
"He didn't see the guy coming because he thought it was a walker," Mika explained. "That's why we thought we better alert everyone. I don't want that happening to anyone else."
"They are that well disguised?," Cyndie asked. When Mika said the group was blending in with the walkers, she just assumed they were temporarily covering themselves in congealed blood. Something almost everyone had done at one time or another. But people doing that would be easy to pick out of a herd.
"They're skinning the walkers and wearing their faces as masks," Henry explained. He didn't see the people as close up as Mika did. But he got a good look at them from the top of the wall at Hilltop. And it was nearly impossible to pick them apart from the dead with the masks on. "...and I think they're either wearing clothes they took off the dead or just not showering. You can't tell them apart from the walkers."
"Whoa," Cyndie said, picturing what Henry described in her mind. She wasn't sure if she was impressed with the resourcefulness of the new group, or just really grossed out. "...And we're sure they're hostile? They can't be bargained with?" They might have killed Jesus. But people dying in skirmishes between unfamiliar groups was par for the course in this new world. It didn't necessarily mean the other group was totally hostile. They might have just felt threatened or been scared.
"They kidnapped me, stripped me naked, and beat me. And when they showed up at Hilltop to trade me back, one of them laid her baby down on the ground for the walkers to eat…" When she saw Cyndie's face start to pale, Mika quickly added, "...don't worry, we've got the baby. I think Rosita and Aiden are taking her in."
"That's really fucked up," Cyndie lamented. "...Thanks for letting me know. We've got people leaving for the fair soon. I'll make sure they travel in larger groups and know that there may be hostiles mixed in with the dead." Traveling between communities always involved some element of risk. And having a hostile new group in the area only increased that risk, even if they had only been spotted near Hilltop. She was genuinely grateful to Mika and Henry for risking their own safety to warn her and her people of the threat.
The small group exchanged a little more small talk before Mika and Henry climbed back on to their horses and headed further into Oceanside's territory. From the warm welcome they received at the gates, it was obvious that Cyndie radioed ahead and alerted her guards of their arrival. Henry was leading his horse through the gates when he noticed a pretty girl with long dark hair rushing in his direction. She stopped short, her face contorting with shock and confusion before she turned to Mika.
"That's not your brother," she said, her voice heavy with disappointment. Henry offered her a friendly smile. He guessed the girl wasn't really disappointed to see him in particular. Rather, she was just expecting Sam. And Henry wondered what the girl's relationship was with Mika's brother. Because he had just seen Sam nearly lose his mind over another girl only the day before. The fair will be interesting this year, Henry thought.
"He's at Hilltop," Mika explained, not elaborating further. Mika took a moment to introduce Henry and Rachel. By the time she shook his hand, Rachel had recovered from her disappointment and remembered her place as Cyndie's second in command. She offered Henry a friendly greeting, shaking his hand and welcoming him to her community.
Rachel joked about how Mika staying with Cyndie while her brother stayed at her place probably wasn't going to work this time as she showed them to one of the guest cabins. When Henry stepped inside and tossed his pack down on the floor, the first thing he noticed was the one full sized bed in the center of the room. He supposed he'd been naive to not realize that these people were automatically going to assume that he and Mika were a couple. Which they weren't. Not even close.
As Rachel led their horses away towards the small pasture where Oceanside kept their livestock, Mika flopped down onto the bed. Her feet were still on the floor, her torso stretched across the bed as she wriggled her body to work out the kinks in her back. Her shirt rucked up with her movements, revealing a sliver of her toned stomach. Henry sighed heavily, trying not to look at her exposed abs or the way her long blonde ponytail flared out around her head as she moved. It was going to be a long night.