Red River Blue
Chapter 84
"I'm gonna tear that fuckin' bitch apart," River cursed, trying her best to scramble up the wall after Leah before she lost her grip and fell back onto her ass. River winced at the pain that shot through her already sprained wrist as she leaped back onto her feet and hollered out a few more choice words that were meant for Leah in the hopes that the woman could still hear her. "I'm gonna kick you right in yer fuckin' cooter! Fuckin' slut!"
"Jesus Mom!," Wren huffed. "She wasn't even talkin' ta you. She was talkin' ta Aunt Carol."
"I know who she was talkin' to!," River countered.
Despite the precarious situation they'd suddenly found themselves in, Carol couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up. River was by far the best friend she ever had in her life. Since they met all those years ago, there was never a moment when Carol had to worry about whether or not River had her back. The amusement Carol was getting out of River's antics was tempered by the guilt she was still feeling about leaving without a word and making all her friends and family worry about her. That and her annoyance at the little dig Leah decided to get in before she took off with the leader of the whisperers.
"Calm yer ass down," Mika suggested. "She's lying anyway. Dad would never do that."
How certain her daughter sounded made Carol smile again. And whether or not Mika was right, now was not the time to worry about her marital problems. Right now they needed to focus on getting the hell out of this cave.
Wren leaned down, stabbing a walker that was slowly worming its way up over the edge of the platform. She looked up just in time to tuck her knife away and dart forward. She got her hands up in time to break her mother's fall, keeping the woman from tumbling too close to the edge.
"This is fuckin' useless," River groaned, brushing the dirt off her jeans.
Mika was the tallest out of the four of them. Which still wasn't very tall. But it gave them an extra few inches of leverage when she flattened herself against the rock wall so Carol could boost River up onto her shoulders. From there, River would normally be able to monkey stripper climb her way out of this cave in under a minute. But with one only partially functional wrist, she wasn't getting anywhere. Trying to grip anything with that hand was not only making her cry out in pain, her wrist was slowly getting more and more swollen to the point where she could barely make a fist, let alone grip a tiny indent on the face of a rock.
"I think it might be broken," Carol said, mirroring the pained expression on River's face as she tenderly examined the bones of her wrist. "We'll find another way out." River nodded as Carol ripped apart a thin towel she'd found shoved in the bottom of her rapidly packed bag and carefully wrapped it around her wrist to help with the swelling.
Mika flipped on the flashlight she found, tapping her hand on the side of it a few times before the beam appeared. Shining it around the interior of the cave, she began looking for another way off the small platform they were currently stuck on. There was a more wide open area across the cavern from them that looked like it might lead further into the cave. The problem was that there was a literal sea of walkers between them and the rest of the cave.
"I got an idea," Mika announced. And before anyone could stop her, she jumped off the edge of the platform, landing almost soundlessly on a nearby boulder. As her mother and aunt looked on in horror, she jumped to the next closest rock. Stopping only to stab a few walkers in the head that were grabbing at her feet, she continued on her way leapfrogging across the walker moat until she was safely on the side that would lead them out of this cavern and hopefully out of the cave if they kept going.
"Fuck every bit of this," River cursed. Mika was shining the beam of light across the dark space, pointing it at the boulder closest to the platform. River grumbled a few more choice words before she leaped across. She didn't stick her landing as gracefully as Mika did. But she made it. And then she moved as close as she could to the edge of the large rock, encouraging Wren to leap across and into her arms.
"I can't do it," Wren whined, her eyes focused on the sea of dead cannibals near her feet.
"Don't look at them," River coaxed. "Look at me."
Wren nodded her head and jumped, grateful when she felt her mother's hands on her body to steady her. They made the next jump the same way. River went first, then waited for Wren to join her before she moved again.
"Do ya need me ta come back and getcha?," River asked, glancing back at Carol before she moved again.
"No," Carol said, trying to sound less nervous than she was. "But let me throw you my bag and you can toss it over to Mika…"
River quickly agreed as she and Wren switched positions so that Wren was behind her. When River caught the heavy bag, Wren kept her from being pushed off balance. River turned, whipping the bag towards Mika as hard as she could. The young woman cursed as she stumbled backwards, catching the bag before she dropped it on the ground near her feet.
After a few more near death experiences, all four of them managed to make it across to the more open section of the cavern. They searched the area carefully, not wanting to become lost or separated from each other. Mika was the one that spotted footprints on the section of the rock that was covered in dirt.
"If they can find their way in to walk around in here, then we should be able to find our way out," she said.
River nodded, though she was growing concerned about how long that might take. The place was massive inside, with a million tunnels that seemed to lead off into nothing. From the way some of the passages looked, River guessed the space must be an old mine. The idea of that made her concerned about the air quality inside the cavern. Oxygen levels had to be low. And the powerful odor of so many rotting bodies wasn't helping. She found herself gasping for breath a few times when she really wasn't doing that much to exert herself.
Carol ran her finger up the side of a low hanging stalactite, sticking it in her mouth to taste the quality of the water that was dripping down from it in a slow steady stream. The liquid must have passed her inspection, because she propped her canteen under the slow trickle and suggested they all sit down and take a break while it filled. River was more than happy to join her. And they sat down side by side with their backs against a large section of rock while the girls continued to explore the place.
"Don't go far," Carol warned. Mika nodded before she pulled Wren away with her. The occasional flick of a match could be heard in the thick silence of the cavern as the girls checked the different passages for air flow. River shifted her body, wrapping her arm around Carol's shoulders and pulling the other woman against her.
"I really missed ya," she whispered. Carol turned, hugging her before she slid down and rested her head in River's lap. River stroked her good hand through Carol's hair, twining the long coarse strands around her fingers. "Are you gonna be okay?," River asked. "Rushin' in headfirst like that. It was reckless. That's not like you." River took a shaky breath before she added, "...it's almost like ya want somethin' bad ta happen to ya."
Carol considered River's words. Did she want to die? Not really. But she did feel like she deserved to. For not keeping her children safe. And she was still wondering what she'd spent all her time out on that fishing boat thinking about. Just how much more misery life could have in store for her? Lydia and Mika were both having babies. But once Carol got attached to those children, she was scared that the grim reaper would snatch them away from her. Just like he took Beth. And Sam. And Sophia. And so many others she wasn't even sure if she could name them all anymore.
"I just don't know how much more bullshit I can take," Carol admitted. River let out a soft sad sigh. Carol was the most selfless person she knew. She didn't deserve even one bit of the misery life dished out for her.
"I'm here for ya," River promised. "Whatever you need." Carol nodded, enjoying the gentle tug at the roots of her hair as River brushed her fingers through it. They stayed that way a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts.
"Do you think Daryl really slept with her?," Carol finally asked, tilting her head so she could look up and gauge River's facial expressions.
"I don't think so. I mean, it took him near a damn year ta sleep with you. And y'all are in love. She's just some random hoe," River said. "...But he was tore up when ya left. He got so bad with the drinkin' Merle had ta lock 'im up to keep 'im from hurtin' himself. I guess it's possible he mighta done some dumbass shit when he was starin' at the bottom of a bottle."
When Carol left, Daryl wasn't just torn up, he was totally and completely wrecked. And Leah was just sort of there. Always volunteering to go hunting or on runs with him or with Harley. River assumed at the time that the woman was just trying to earn her place. But now it was clear that Leah was more cunning than she appeared to be. She must have singled Daryl out as the weak link among them. And used his moment of loneliness as an opportunity to weasel in and get information about the inner workings of their community. Information she then passed on to Alpha.
"I know one thing," River announced. "If Daryl fucked her, he sure as shit ain't gonna do it again. 'Cause I'm about ta stab her right in her fuckin' ugly face. And then I'm gonna kick his ass!" Carol couldn't remember the last time she laughed. But she was unable to stop her body from shaking in silent giggles at River's threats. Laughter that only increased in intensity when River began to air her opinion out on Leah's looks, body, and questionable morality. Carol knew most of it was just nonsense that River was spouting to make her feel better. Spy or not, Leah was an attractive woman with a nice figure. But that's sort of what was making it so funny.
When River finally stopped her tirade of insults, Carol heard a loud thump. Both she and River were already on their feet before they heard Wren's shrill scream that followed it. Suddenly, they weren't the only people in the darkened cavern. The other figures looked like walkers. But from the way they were moving, River could tell there were people under the tattered rotting clothes. River stuck her knife through the back of the one that was grabbing at Wren, twisting the blade before she jerked it back out. The man dropped, his body convulsing in pain as his blood leaked into the hard packed dirt. The only light in the cavern was from the beam of Mika's flashlight, which she dropped. It was rolling away, creating a strange strobe effect on the bodies of the men that were attacking them.
River could hear the twang of Mika's bow. And the heavy thuds as the bodies of the men she shot hit the ground. River flattened herself against a rock, waiting for the next skin to charge past the opening towards Wren. When River heard the hard footfalls, she stuck her leg out, tripping the man and stabbing him in the face through his mask as he hit the ground. When she stood up, she felt herself grabbed from behind. Her good wrist was twisted until she released her grip on her knife. She thrashed against the man's grasp, twisting as she tried to bring her boot down on top of his foot.
"River! Stop! It's me!"
The moment River stopped fighting, she felt the man relax his grip on her. She spun in his arms, already quite certain that she knew who he was even before she spotted his dirt streaked face.
"Negan!," she exclaimed, her face lighting up into a smile. Even though River willingly wrapped her arms around the man and hugged him, she was still taken by surprise when he smashed his mouth down against hers. Before she could even think to jerk away, his hand was cupping the back of her head as his tongue flicked between her lips. River parted her lips just slightly before she came to her senses and knocked Negan's hand away. Then she slapped him hard across the side of the head. The thunk her hand made against his skull made her laugh. Undeterred by her obvious refusal of his advances, Negan grabbed her again. This time he snaked his arms around her waist, pulling River's body against his as he leaned down and whispered into her ear.
"You know I like it rough," he teased.
"Oh my god," River huffed, pushing back against his chest. Negan laughed as he released his grip on her. River quickly snatched her knife up off the ground, pointing the sharp end towards him. "One of these days I'm gonna do every woman in this world a favor and cut yer balls right off!"
"You'd be a lot more convincing if you didn't have a big smile on your face," he teased.
River shook her head at him before she turned to check on the rest of her group. Carol took a hit to the side of her face. But it wasn't bleeding enough to be of concern. Once she knew everyone was safe, they took a moment to make sure the men they fought were all dead. And then River turned back to Negan and started asking questions.
"Is Harley okay?"
"She's fine," Negan assured her, flashing a wicked grin. "She's got that big fe fi fo asshole eating outta her damn hand." He laughed when River pushed in, hugging him again despite the fact that she just slapped him silly a moment before.
"Thank gawd," River gushed, feeling a brief moment of relief knowing that her eldest child was safe before she turned her attention to their next problem. "Can ya get us the hell out of this cave?"