3 Weeks later
"How much gas do we have left?" Rick asked.
"Not much, we gotta walk in a few minutes." Abraham said.
"Fuck...I hate walking." Mike said.
"Didn't you say once that germans are the masters of long walks?" Elly teased.
"Yeah, you lied there, right?" Carl said and chuckled.
"Alright, I lied there but many were, like my grandpa or my uncle. I wonder if they're still alive." Mike said.
"Dad, do you think uncle Jeff is still alive?" Carl asked.
"Oh shit, all this time I didn't think about Jeffrey, to answer your question, I have no idea how bad in Spain it is." Rick said.
"Maybe It' better, the doc at the CDC said that It's better in europe." Carl said.
"No I don't think It's better, this shit fucked the world up in weeks." Abraham said.
"True, but the only thing we still have is hope." Glenn said, trying to soften up the mood.
Suddenly, the car stopped. Abraham looked down to see the gas empty.
"We're out." Rick said.
"Guess It's walking then." Mike said.
They stepped out of vehicle, starving, thirsty, demoralized and persued by walkers.
"We could kill them." Sasha suggested.
"No, we have already not much stamina, we shouldn't waste it.
"I'll do it." Sasha said.
"Sasha, listen, I know you're hurt and sad by Tyreese's death but please stay calm, look at Mike, the guy can barely stand." Rick said.
"Mike, can we talk?" Elly asked.
"This never sounds good, fine I guess." Mike said.
"I just wanted to say that I wasn't scared of you or anything when you killed this cannibal."
"Thanks, but It doesn't help how I feel, I feel like a monster. What 15 year old guy kills a man this brutally?" Mike asked.
"The guy I love." Elly said and kissed him on the cheek.
"Aw...Thanks." Mike said.
"Yo dude." Mike heard Carls voice.
"What's up man?" He asked.
"I dunno, guess I want to talk." Carl said.
"Uh...Ok...So..Do you think we'll ever be as safe as we were in the prison?" Mike asked.
"Maybe, but what if not? Would you endure that? Carl asked.
"If I get laid sometime before I die of a bite or torture or bullet, I can die satisfied." Mike stated.
"Still flexing on the "I have a girlfriend" shit again?" Carl asked.
"Yep, and I will till you die." Mike said jokingly.
"Don't foreshadow it!" Carl said and hit him on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, If you're in danger, I'm always there for you." Mike said.
"Except If It's a girl, I don't understand them." Mike added.
Both laughed at this comment, which brought hope for Rick who was already loosing it how he would describe it himself. After a while they rested at the side of the road, Elly had her head on Mike's shoulder. After a while Abraham pulled out a bottle of whisk(e)y.
"Hey big man, pass me the bottle." Mike said.
"Alright." Abraham said and gave the bottle to Mike.
He drank and coughed hard after one sip, "Man, this shit is dry!" Mike said and everyone in the group started laughing.
"Hey Mike, why do you keep drinking if that keeps happening?" Elly asked.
"To hear you laugh." He answered.
She didn't reply, she just rested on his shoulder.
"Do ya'll hear that?" Axel asked.
"Yeah, sounds like animals?" Mike said.
Then wild dogs came out of the woods and barked at the group, nobody moved but then Sasha shot all of them.
"Guess we got food." Daryl muttered.
Daryl and Mike gutted the dogs and the group grilled the meat over the fire and ate it, after that they tried to sleep while Mike together with Carl had first watch.
"It's goddamn cold!" Carl complained.
"Still used to the hot south?" Mike taunted.
"You're not cold?" Carl asked.
"Bitch, I'm north german, this ain't shit to me." Mike said.
"It's that cold there?" Carl asked.
"Imagine siberia, but in a extremely hot summer, for siberia hot of course." Mike explained.
"That's over exaggerating." Carl argued.
"Why is it in summer so cold at night?" Mike asked.
"Ever been to Wisconsin?" He heard a female voice.
"Elly?" Carl asked.
"Yep, It's fucking cold in Wisconsin." Elly explained.
"Why are you even awake?" Mike asked.
"Because you were so loud." Elly said and chuckled.
"Oh sorry." Mike replied.
"Walkers, maybe 6." Carl said and pulled out his gun.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Mike said as he screwed his suppressor on his pistol.
He shot the walkers in the head in quick succession, without waking anyone up.
"Carl, come on, go to sleep I'll cover your shift." Elly suggested.
"You sure? I mean, If you insist." Carl said and went back to sleep.
"So...Just us 2 then." Elly said shyly.
"Yep, just us 2 against the world." Mike said.
"It's not only us 2." Elly replied
"It's a metaphor." Mike said.
"I got a question, What is your full name?" Elly asked.
"You mean like a christian name? I'm an atheist." Mike answered.
"No, like last and full name." Elly explained.
"Oh ok, my full name is Micheal Andreas Stefan Peters, but why'd you ask?" Mike said.
"I don't know, guess I want to know that." Elly said.
"Ok...How 'bout you?" Mike asked.
"Me? Oh..um..my full name is Elly Dubroir." Elly said.
"You're french?" Mike asked.
"Yes, I am half french, my grandpa was a US soldier deployed in france, that's where he met my grandma." Elly explained.
Both continued to chat until Rick and Daryl took over and both went to sleep.
The next day
The group just walked for miles, until they encountered something strange.
"Is that, water?" Maggie asked.
"Oh fuck yeah!" Mike said and went to the water.
"What does the sign say?" Rick asked cautious.
"From a friend." Mike answered.
"Is it addressed to us?" Axel asked.
"Doesn't seem to be. Could be a lazy writer too." Mike said.
"Eugene what are you doing?" Abraham asked Eugene as he picked up a bottle.
"Testing the quality." Eugene stated as he tried to drink it but Abraham slapped it out of his hand.
They agreed to not drink it and go on but it was irrelevant because it started to rain heavily moments later.
"Oh finally!" Carl said and put his hat on judith's head.
"Finally, my head can cool down!" Mike said.
"Why did you even grow your hair so long as mine? I mean Michonne can cut hair." Carl asked.
"Solidarity, I guess, I was sorry for Lori's death." Mike said.
"Thanks man." Carl said.
"We gotta get off the road!" Rick shouted as thunders started to appear.
"I saw a barn a few minutes away!" Daryl said.
They hurried into a old barn because of the hurricane forming.
"Cozy, I guess." Elly joked.
"Walker!" Mike said.
"I'll take care of it." Maggie said.
"Let's close the door and wait here for a few days till the weather calmed." Rick said.
"I'm not used to that rapid weather change." Mike sighed.
"Welcome to america, the country of guns, walkers and rapid weather change." Carl joked.
"Yeah, I slowly begin to regret this vacation." Mike said jokingly.
"Really?" Elly asked from the distance.
"I would never!" Mike said.
"Regretting, huh?" Carl said.
"Shut up!" Mike said and punched his soldier jokingly.
While they talked many already went to sleep and the rest gathered around the fire.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What do you want to ask man?" Mike asked.
"How did it feel?"
"Feel what?" Mike asked.
"Cutting off your fingers?" Carl asked.
"Um...Bold question, It was extremely painful, I still got phantom pain, it was more pain than getting shot and...and...I'm sorry, it's painful to talk about." Mike said.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to press you." Carl apologized.
"I'll go to sleep, wake me up when we're moving." Mike said.
"Alright, good night dude." Carl said.
Mike went to sleep just to be waken up hours later with a kick to his back.
"Au! Du dummer wichser!" Mike said half asleep (Ow! You dumb asshole!).
"Mike! Get up! Walkers at the door!" Carl yelled.
"Oh fuck!" Mike said and got up to see everyone at the door holding it closed, he then joined in and alot of time passed of them holding the door shut.
The next day
"So sore..." Mike complained.
"Yeah, me too, ow." Carl said.
"Where'd Maggie and Sasha go?" Elly asked.
"I don't know, all I know that my knees hate me." Carl said tired.
"You 3 doing alright?" Rick asked them.
"Yeah, just sore." Carl answered.
"Ok, just rest for today, we go tomorrow." Rick explained.
"Will do, dad." Carl said.
"Uh..Guys, there's someone who wants to talk with us." Maggie said.
"What?" Rick asked.
"Bring him in." Maggie said.
Sasha came in with a young man, he had brown hair, wore a blue jacket and had a backpack, he also looked very clean so he couldn't been living outside, could he be part of a community? That was what Mike thought.
"I'm not armed, your friends already searched me."
"Who are you?" Rick asked and passed Judith to Carl.
"I'm Aaron, I came to recruit you, for our community." Aaron explained.
Next chapter will be in or moments before Alexandria because I'm too lazy to write all the build up.