HEART FOR BRAINS • the walking dead

019: blood and guts

Rio heard Michonne making noises as the man dragged her along. That was good. That meant she at least wasn't dead.

"Carl, get a blanket!" Rick ordered as they burst through the door to cell block c. The boy hurried down the stairs, placing the basket on the floor.

"Beth, water and a towel!"

Beth held little ass-kicker in her arms, as they al hurried along. "All right." She replied, dashing off.

Carl grabbed a blanket and Rio held the other end, stretching it out. "Here?" He asked Rick, dropping it on the floor. They stopped in the room before the cells, connected by large locked door.

"She's not coming in the cell block." Rick said sternly. He laid Michonne down on the floor carefully but she slipped out of his grip. "Woah, woah, woah. Steady now."

"All right, all right." Rick sighed as she lay on her back. "Thank you." He said to Beth as she passed him a water bottle and a towel.

Rick opened the waiter bottle and poured the it out over her chest, washing the blood and guts away. She let out a groan, as Rick cleaned her up.

"Shh. It's all right. It's all right." He said.

Rio watched as he stuck a hand out besides her face. "Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me. Who are you?" He asked.

She struggled for breath, gasping.

"Hey, it's all right." Rick said again, voice softening.

Michonne took a quick look to the side and Rick's face changed. She reached out for her katana and Rick kicked it away, grabbing her arm and twisting her back onto her back.

"Hey, no. We're not going to hurt you unless you try something stupid first, all right?" He still held her down, loosening his grip only a bit.

"Wait." Beth said, startling them all, she shuffled the baby in her arms uncomfortably. "Rio, where's Maggie? And Glenn. Why ain't they here?"

"I..." Rio stuttered as Rick looked at him intensely. They all looked at him, Beth, Hershel, Rick and Carl. His words got caught in his throat. "They..."

"Where are they?" Rick asked.

"I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?" He questioned, voice raising. "Was it her?"

The boy shook his head profoundly. "They were outside packing what we'd found and I went in the shop to look around, Glenn told me to, then I came out and they were gone, so was the car." Rio explained, his breath picking up. "Then she was there. Brought me back. She said she thinks she knows where they were taken to."

Rick knelt besides her again. "Do you know where they are?"

Daryl walked in from the cell block shouting "Rick!" as he walked through the door. "Who the hell is this?"

Michonne clung to the caging, helping herself sit up. Rick still knelt besides her, peering over. "You wanna tell us your name?"

She didn't answer so Rick leant closer, whispering this time, "You wanna tell us your name?"

She looked to Rio and the boy didn't know wether to speak up. He knew her name, she'd told him.

"Rio, what's her name." Rick pointed a finger at him.

"Michonne, her name's Michonne." He blurted out.

"There. Now, y'all come on in here." Daryl instructed, gesturing to where he'd come from. 

"We've already got a problem right now." Rick sighed, standing up and turning to him. "Is Everything alright?"

"You're gonna wanna see this." Daryl said, avoiding asking about the problem at hand.