Carolina in my mind

Chapter 64

Michonne woke up to the feeling of Tyreese's broad hand resting on her stomach. She lay still, hoping that if she moved slowly enough, she might be able to hold off her usual morning nausea until she managed to get a few crackers into her empty stomach. As if he sensed what she was thinking, Michonne felt Tyreese's hand slide away from her abdomen. And a moment later he was setting an open package of saltine crackers on top of the blanket near her hip.

"Thanks," she told him as she reached into the crinkly package and pulled out a cracker. They were halfway to stale. But for some gross unexplainable pregnancy reason, that made them taste better to her. Michonne took tiny little bites, chewing slowly until the first cracker was gone and then reaching for another.

"Are you still okay with what we talked about last night?," Tyreese asked, relaxing into his pillow and placing his hand back over her stomach. His hand was so big in comparison to her slender frame that his fingers stretched from her one hip bone all the way to the other. The area between them was still as flat as it was before she discovered that there was a small life growing inside her. If this pregnancy was anything like her last, she wouldn't really start to show for another three or four months.

"Staying here?," Michonne confirmed. She didn't remember being okay with Tyreese's suggestion that she sit this one out last night. And still wasn't now. But Michonne did promise the big man that she would consider his concerns.

Michonne didn't tell Tyreese how close she'd come to being walker chow last week. But he must have heard the details from someone. Glenn and Carolina were both there. And they both liked to run their mouths unnecessarily. So they were equal suspects when it came to who blabbed to Tyreese about how she almost died on that run. And no matter who told, he was now extremely concerned about her safety.

"We have plenty of people going," Tyreese said, a soft hint of pleading in his voice. "There's no reason you need to go. And today is just the dry run anyway…"

Michonne swallowed down the last bits of her second cracker with a knowing smile on her face. According to Carolina, there wasn't going to be any dry run. But Michonne was the only one that knew about that. Because if Daryl found out the shit was about to hit the fan and splatter, Carolina would end up stuck at home right along with Michonne.

"Why in hell are you grinning like that?," Tyreese asked, biting back a smile of his own. As secretive and quiet as she was, he was slowly getting to the point where he could read Michonne's subtle facial expressions. And the look she had on her face at the present moment usually meant that she and Carolina were up to no good. Separately, they were rational mature individuals. But together, they caused more trouble than one might imagine two adult women could be capable of.

"What do you know that you're not telling me?" Tyreese waited a moment, impatiently watching Michonne nibble on another cracker. "Michonne!" He huffed her name, raising his eyebrow at her as his hand flexed slightly against her muscular abdomen.

"The dry run might not turn out to not be so dry after all," Michonne admitted. She shrugged her shoulders as she reached for another cracker.

"That's it. You're staying here," Tyreese said, using the tone he could remember his father using with his mother when he meant business. No one in their family would ever dare question his father when the man's voice went low and harshly final. Not even Tyreese. Not even when he was an adult and paying for all his own bills and his father's bills.

Michonne paused with the cracker in her hand halfway to her mouth. She turned her head, giving Tyreese a look that immediately made him regret both his words and his tone. This was not the get into trouble with Carolina look. This was the you're about to get your fucking ass kicked look. Michonne continued to stare at him as she resumed her snack, nibbling at her cracker as Tyreese squirmed under her intense gaze.

"I meant…," Tyreese stammered. "I thought… I mean… It would be safer here. For you and the baby."

"Safer here?," Michonne repeated. "This town was just attacked. Was I safer here then?"

Tyreese reached for Michonne, pulling her into his arms despite the angry stiffness of her body. He pressed soft kisses into the twisted ropes of her hair and down over her cheeks, saying with his body what he wasn't able to articulate with his words. What they were about to do was stupid and reckless. Someone had to lead the masses of walkers away from town. But he'd rather it wasn't his pregnant girlfriend. Especially when she could barely get out of bed without racing for the bathroom to puke her guts out.

"Let me do this so you don't have to," he whispered. "It's my job to take care of you. Both of you. Please let me. I lost Sasha. I can't lose you." Tyreese knew showing his raw emotions like he just did was a gamble. Michonne was equally as likely to run from the room as she was to reciprocate. There was a tense moment of silence. And then he was finally able to breathe. Tyreese let out a sigh of relief as he felt her body go lax against his. Michonne wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back.

"You're gonna make me soft," she accused, smiling into the kiss when his lips met hers.

Tyreese chuckled as he glanced across the front seat of the car. Carolina was happily humming along with the music, digging through the large assortment of CD's and roadtrip snacks that she just happened to have already packed in her bag. Like Michonne said, the dry run turned out to be more of a waterfall. And now Tyreese and Carolina were leading the mega herd away from Alexandria, blasting music from the speakers to keep the dead shuffling along behind them. Daryl was on the bike he'd been tinkering with for the last week. Rick and Abraham checked the path that led away from town two days ago. And it was clear then. But occasionally Daryl would ride ahead and check it again, ensuring that they weren't going to run into any surprises along their way.

"Put that one on," Tyreese said, gesturing to one of the CDs in her bag. Carolina giggled as she pulled the disk from its case. Laughter was the woman's go to response to pretty much everything. Tyreese enjoyed that about her. She brought out a different side of Michonne. One that was funny and quirky and quick to make an offbeat joke that usually only Carolina laughed at. He liked to think it gave him a little glimpse of the woman Michonne was before the dead took everything from her.

Carolina flicked the wheel on her yellow BIC, lighting herself a cigarette as Nineties R&B filled the car. They sang along with the windows down, having fun despite the hundreds of walkers that were shuffling along behind them. Carolina had a terrible singing voice. But the music was loud enough that it didn't matter. She offered him a puff of her cigarette. And Tyreese took it, handing it back as he coughed the foul cloud of smoke back out of his lungs. He was always an athlete. So he never smoked. And after that little taste he got, he was sure he never would. He didn't know how Carolina and Daryl could get enjoyment from such a dirty habit.

Carolina knew they were taking the herd twenty miles out. But no one had really stopped to consider how long it would take them to drive that far if they had to move at walker speed. The dead were following the car, attracted by the music and the loud rumbling of Daryl's bike engine. So they were moving at top walker speed. But that still wasn't very fast. After the first hour, Carolina started getting restless. When she heard Daryl buzzing back on his bike, she turned the music down.

"Hey Dixon!," Carolina hollered, sticking her head out the car window. "Got room for one more on that bike?"

Daryl buzzed ahead on his bike, slowing it to a stop on one side of the road. Catching on to what he was doing, Tyreese accelerated, pulling ahead of the herd and stopping next to Daryl's bike. Carolina hopped out, slamming the car door behind her before she swung her leg over Daryl's bike.

"Light me a smoke," he requested, leaning back and knocking a quick kiss onto her cheek before he got the bike moving again. Carolina obliged him, pulling a cigarette from her pack and lighting it before she held it out for him to take. He kept pace with Tyreese, driving down the abandoned rural highway at a leisurely speed until he finished his cigarette. Then Daryl adjusted his hold on the handlebars and warned her to hold on tight.

Carolina gripped his waist as the wind started whipping past them. She made the mistake of not tying her hair back before she climbed onto the bike behind him. And her long blonde locks became a swirling tornado around her head as he drove the bike faster. She squealed, tucking her head into Daryl's back and tightening her grip. This wasn't her first time riding with him. But this was much faster than he ever drove before. At least with her on the bike. It was sort of like being on a roller coaster. Fun and terrifying at the same time.

"Was that too fast fer ya?," he asked, slowing the bike to a crawl as he circled it around and prepared to head back towards the herd.

"No!," Carolina exclaimed, squeezing in with her thighs against Daryl's hips as she slid one hand up under his shirt. "Do it again!"

They rode back towards the car, the wind whipping against them until Daryl slowed the bike to a crawl and waited for Tyreese to catch up with them. Carolina rode with Daryl a while longer, content to have her arms around him and her body pressed against his. But she wasn't used to riding on the bike for any length of time. When her back and thighs started to ache, she signaled for Daryl to pull closer to the slowly moving car.

Carolina darted around the front end of the car, jerking the driver's side door open and hollering a Tyreese to move. "My turn to drive," she demanded, laughing as she climbed behind the wheel. A stray walker pushed slightly ahead of the herd, scraping its fingers along the back window as Carolina pressed down on the gas pedal. Tyreese turned the music back on and adjusted his seat, leaning it back so he could stretch out his long legs. They were on the last leg of their journey. And after about another forty minutes, Tyreese turned the music down and pointed out the road sign that meant they could finally turn the car around and head home.

Carolina took the next left, following Daryl and speeding up enough that the herd of walkers would no longer be able to keep up with them. They drove in that direction for a few miles before they turned again and prepared to make the twenty mile drive back home. Carolina moved to the right side of the road, giving Daryl room to ride his bike next to the car. They were laughing as they hollered back and forth. And over the rumbled of the bike engine, they didn't see the small convoy of vehicles coming at them until it was almost too late.

"Up ahead!," Tyreese warned, grabbing the steering wheel and jerking it roughly to the right. They drove off the road, avoiding a collision with the oncoming cars. Carolina screamed as they bumped and bounced over a small drainage ditch. Neither of them were wearing their seat belts. Carolina was slammed against the wheel and then back against the seat. The sound of gunfire filled the air. Daryl flew past the convoy and was firing at them, trying to draw their attention onto him and away from Carolina and Tyreese.

The car bounced to a stop, half on top of a small sapling tree they'd mowed over. Carolina fumbled for her gun and lowered herself to the ground as she climbed from the car. She wasn't sure who was after them. But since there was only one car left, she assumed they must have gone after Daryl. She squeezed the trigger on her gun, firing at the remaining vehicle. She could hear Tyreese doing the same, using the large rifle he favored to blow out the car's windshield. There was some return fire. But only enough to cover them while they turned the car around and took off down the road.

"They're after Daryl," Carolina gasped.

"Daryl can take care of himself," Tyreese promised. He offered Carolina his hand and she took it, letting him pull her onto her feet. The car was toasted. Even if they could get it off the tree and back onto the road, oil was flowing out from under the front end, making a large puddle in the dirt below. They salvaged what they could from the car's interior and took off, heading through the wooded area and towards the small town they passed a mile or so back. For such an impressive convoy of cars and large trucks, they escaped from the strangers quite easily.

"I think they were after someone else," Carolina said, keeping her gun up as she kicked one of the doors open inside the small office building.

Tyreese nodded, gesturing for her to cover him as he checked behind the next door. "You don't know who they were after?," he asked. Carolina shook her head, humming a negative response to his question. She didn't get far enough on the show to even know who those men were.

"No, I don't even know who they were. But I do know if we wait here, Daryl will find us," she offered.

"Don't need to be psychic to know that," Tyreese teased. Carolina laughed as she checked inside the last closed door.

"Fair enough," she agreed. Even if she didn't 'know', she still knew Daryl would come for her. Just like he came for her at Grady. At least this time, she was stuck with Tyreese instead of a bunch of creepy assholes. He was much better company.

Spotting a large paint marker on top of the desk inside the last abandoned office, Carolina grabbed it. She shook it as she headed for the outer door. Tyreese watched as she left a short message there and closed the door. And as they barricaded the door shut, he noticed that Carolina seemed even gigglier than usual.

"What did you write on that door?," he finally asked, settling down on the floor as Carolina poked through her bag to see what snacks were left inside. Tyreese's question made her laugh harder. He shook his head as he laughed along with her. Carolina had to take a sip of water before she could even manage to tell him what she wrote in red paint on the door in giant bold letters.

"Daryl Dixon is a sex machine!"