❛ I'm just a cross-hair, I'm just a shot away from you and if you leave here, you leave me broken, shattered I lie. ❜
SEASON 3, EPISODE 6
hounded
━━━━━━ day 310.
THE OUTSIDE PATROL group hardly involved Cal anymore. Only every once in a while when the Governor needed an extra hand. Typically, there was no wake of carnage left behind them when Cal went, and that was the only way he would keep going. If it was a herd of biters coming for them, Cal could handle it, but people... never again would he take part in murder.
⠀⠀⠀However, just as Cal knew he would, the Governor set up a search and kill order for Michonne, sending out a team. Cal debated for hours if he should release his moral standing and ask the Governor if he could go out with the team, but the Governor surprised him.
⠀⠀⠀"I don't trust Merle," the Governor had said over breakfast. It was only the two of them for the moment, the only time the Governor could relax for a moment. "Not right now. He knows his brother's out there. I worry he's gonna go rogue and try to find him."
⠀⠀⠀"I'm not killing Michonne," Cal said bluntly, setting his teacup down a little too forcefully on the plate.
⠀⠀⠀"I'm not asking you to," the Governor assured him with that syrupy nice Southern accent of his. "I want you there to watch Merle, nothing else."
⠀⠀⠀Cal frowned but felt if he wasn't being asked to kill Michonne, he wouldn't seem like the one to blame when it all came tumbling down.
⠀⠀⠀"However," the Governor continued forcefully. "She attacks you. That nice guy act won't cut it."
⠀⠀⠀A knock slammed against the door, interrupting their conversation. The Governor excused himself, stood, and opened the door. Merle and Milton stood behind it, scowling, likely from the other's presence. Milton took a seat at the table while Merle waited at the door.
⠀⠀⠀"Foster's on your team," the Governor stated, waving his hand back. "We've been livin' in this town for a long time. I want him to get some experience in all aspects of the town," he lied with ease. Watching it from the other side made it simpler to understand how well the Governor was at getting away with things.
⠀⠀⠀Merle frowned, not thrilled to have Cal with him, but he wasn't about to argue with his boss.
⠀⠀⠀"Fine," was what Merle managed to grumble.
⠀⠀⠀Within the hour, the search and kill team was sent out. Merle and Cal, along with Tim, Crowley, and a new recruit, Garguilo. They got through a few miles on foot through the woods until Merle stopped them. Resting in the middle of a clearing were torn apart biter parts. The smell was pungent as they approached, and Cal had to take a step back to try and sway the need to throw up.
⠀⠀⠀"What the hell is this mess?" Merle asked, shaking his head at the brutal art.
⠀⠀⠀"She did this," Tim stated, pointing his machete at the piece of work.
⠀⠀⠀"It means somethin'," Merle muttered, studying what Michonne had left for them. "The way it's all set up like that."
⠀⠀⠀"The Governor was right to send us out," Tim said, his words full of disgust and malice. He didn't know they'd done this time and time before he was asked to go out with them.
⠀⠀⠀"Damn straight, Tim," Merle praised him for realizing, nodding his head. "We're doing alright. Just public service here."
⠀⠀⠀"Go back," Garguilo said softly from the back, his voice shaking.
⠀⠀⠀"What?" Merle asked, turning to him.
⠀⠀⠀"The arms are a G. The legs make an O, and that's aback," Garguilo continued, pointing at each as he explained them. "It says, 'Go back.'"
⠀⠀⠀"This is too good," Merle chuckled, standing back to his feet as he stared down at the message. A broad smile curled up Merle's face making Cal sick to his stomach. "She sent us a biter-gram, y'all."
⠀⠀⠀"I don't believe this is happening," Garguilo said under his breath. When Cal looked at him, he was turning sickly green.
⠀⠀⠀"Hey, hey! You knock it off," Merle hissed, crossing the space between them and getting in Gargulio's face. "What the hell's wrong with you? Now, the Governor chose you 'cause he thought you were ready. I want you to succeed. I do. But if you keep announcin' to the world that you're pissin' your pants, I'm gonna have to smash your teeth in."
⠀⠀⠀Garguilo flinched back, and Cal couldn't blame him. Merle was terrifying just to look at. His ugly mug haunted Cal in his nightmares often. But, at least with Cal's rank, Merle had never been on the receiving end of his bite in reality.
⠀⠀⠀"Now, how do you say your last name?" Merle asked, feigning kindness. Something Cal recognized as a ploy his mother used to do to him.
⠀⠀⠀"Gar-ju-lee-oh."
⠀⠀⠀Merle nodded slowly, acting like he was memorizing the phonetics, before finally saying, "Well, I'm gonna keep callin' you, Neil, alright?"
⠀⠀⠀Gargulio's annoyance was cut short by a rustle in the woods. The four trained soldiers pulled their guns out while Gargulio froze. Cal kept his cool because he knew it still wouldn't be his fault if he messed up the whole mission. The Governor gave him his task, and he would see it through even if Merle started screaming and yelling in his face.
⠀⠀⠀However, Michonne was a warrior. She'd clear them all out before they realized they were split in two. Cal bet on it. When he stepped outside of Woodbury, he knew he'd never be coming back. Either dead in Michonne's ruins or running far, far away in the other direction.
⠀⠀⠀"What's the deal, Michonne? Hm?" Merle called, waiting for her to appear as he raised his gun tauntingly. "You gonna leap out of the woods, one against five, all of us armed to the teeth and you with your little pig-sticker? No, no, no, Michonne."
⠀⠀⠀Merle was quick to eat his words as Michonne leaped out of the trees on Cal's opposite side of the clearing. She swung her sword, the muscles in her arms straining then Crowley's head was swiped clean off. Then, she spun and speared Tim through the stomach. Michonne didn't stick around. She wasn't stupid, running as Merle turned.
⠀⠀⠀Cal felt as green as Gargulio looked, staring at the bodies of the two men he'd known. Despite hating Woodbury, not all of the men and women knew what was going on in its entirety.
⠀⠀⠀Merle had no sympathy, running through the woods for Michonne as adrenaline pumped through his veins. Cal had to keep up the act, at least to stay close enough to Merle. Cal would do what he needed to do if worse came to worse. Maybe he couldn't save himself from all the shit he'd allowed himself to be put through. And if he made it out, the last man standing against Michonne, he could ask for a peace offering between them for trying to keep her alive in Woodbury. Maybe she would spare him.
MERLE SPRINTED BACK to where Tim and Crowley had fallen. The intensity of it all had overwhelmed Garguilo, who rested on his knees and sobbed over the two men. Cal had seen enough to understand the pain and force it back into the recesses of his mind.
⠀⠀⠀"Let's go. She's hit! Slowed her down," Merle snapped at them, reloading his gun easily despite being one-handed.
⠀⠀⠀"Tim and Crowley, they—"
⠀⠀⠀"We're close to the red zone," Merle continued, interrupting Gargulio without any concern. "Them shots just pulled every biter in this area our way. Let's go. Get up."
⠀⠀⠀Neil ignored him, continuing to sob, and Merle had none of it.
⠀⠀⠀"Neil!" Merle shouted, pushing the newbie onto his back and sinking his boot down into Gargulio's chest. "Now, you're gonna rise to the occasion, son! Some serious shits goin' down. I need you here. You read me, amigo? I don't want you to die."
⠀⠀⠀"Yes, yes," Garguilo whispered, nodding softly.
⠀⠀⠀"Get up," Merle demanded, lifting his foot and stepping away. "Now, y'know, we don't ever let our own turn. Never."
⠀⠀⠀Merle pulled out a knife, handing it to Cal with narrowed eyes like he had sensed the shift within him. Like this knife balanced within Cal's hand was a chest. Cal cinched it between his fingers, knuckles turning white, and walked over to Tim. The numbness had fallen over him, and he sunk the knife with ease through Tim's forehead.
⠀⠀⠀His actions didn't seem to convince Merle of whatever thought he had decided, but he dismissed it and turned back to Garguilo.
⠀⠀⠀"C'mon. Just do it," Merle said to him.
⠀⠀⠀Garguilo stabbed his knife through Crowley's head and then back out.
⠀⠀⠀"Atta boy," Merle praised, nodding his head. "C'mon, let's get goin'. She ain't runnin'. She's huntin'. So are we. There we go."
⠀⠀⠀Merle led Gargulio to move further into the woods, allowing Cal to lead, keeping him insight.
⠀⠀⠀They made it into another clearing as they slowed down. Cal had his gun raised out in front of him with Merle flanked beside him and Gargulio a step behind. They waited a moment, then a branch snapped, and Michonne darted out behind them.
⠀⠀⠀Cal turned, but Michonne was at him in her blaze of glory, searing his side with her sword. Her boot was in his chest, and he fell to the ground in pain. Then, she turned to Garguilo, ready to cut through him, but Merle had tackled her, forcing them both into the ground.
⠀⠀⠀Cal couldn't do anything then, lying in the dirt as he pressed his side into the warm blood soaking through his shirt. Michonne had approached him and cut him. It wasn't like how she had killed Crowley and Tim. How she looked about to kill Garguilo. She had hit him enough to keep him out of the way.
⠀⠀⠀Merle and Michonne were struggling, but it was hard to see anything in the blurring vision coming from the blood loss. The most Cal could make out was Gargulio beginning to sit up, his side sticky with blood.
⠀⠀⠀Then, the biters approached the clearing, and Cal was on his own to protect himself. Cal pulled himself up, swaying on his feet but forced himself upright and shot the biter heading toward him. The others were focused more on the other three, and Cal scrambled to hide in the brush.
⠀⠀⠀He noticed Michonne pinned to the ground by a biter, but it wasn't long until she used her sword to cut its stomach open. Its innards spilled on top of her, making Cal want to gag, but he used the rest of his energy to make his way back to her. He helped Michonne push the biter slumped on top of her off, and she stood immediately.
⠀⠀⠀"If you want to walk away from this alive, come with me," Michonne whispered darkly.
⠀⠀⠀Cal nodded, not taking any chances to screw this up. They were both beaten down to nothing. Cal with a dizzying cut on his side and Michonne with a bullet wound in her leg. His arm wrapped around her waist, and hers rested on his back, supporting each other as they limped through the trees.
MICHONNE DIRECTED CAL to a tree not far from the clearing where they had left Merle and Garguilo. They had stayed within earshot long enough to hear Merle say they were heading back to Woodbury. Merle was scared of Michonne, even if he wouldn't admit it. The claim also brought some relief to Cal, knowing that if Merle went back to Woodbury, he'd have to tell the Governor that he killed Michonne and that Cal was dead. If the Governor knew not only was Michonne alive, but his right-hand man had run away with the enemy, Merle would be fed to the biters without hesitation.
⠀⠀⠀Michonne collected her bag from the tree she had taken Cal to. She rested against the base, keeping her foot off the ground. Then, she returned to Cal's side, and they held one another up again.
⠀⠀⠀As they moved, a group of biters headed their way. Cal brought out his knife and Michonne her sword as they stopped, waiting for them to attack. However, nothing happened. The biters just walked past them as if they weren't even there.
⠀⠀⠀When they were far enough, Michonne turned to Cal and whispered, "It's the guts."
⠀⠀⠀Cal looked down where the innards had stained her shirt and coated his side. He grimaced, and they moved on.
MICHONNE AND CAL made it to a little town, but not without hang-ups. Michonne had cut deeper into Cal's side than she originally intended. They had to stop along the way for her to look and realize Cal was losing blood and fast. His head was dizzy, and he could hardly walk with Michonne carrying most of the weight between them.
⠀⠀⠀Michonne perched him up on the side of a building, inching his head to scout for any coming biters. She took a couple deep breaths, regaining her own strength and balance before pulling Cal back up and continuing their journey.
⠀⠀⠀They had made it as far as the car straight ahead when an engine signaled their attention. Michonne paused and looked through the glass. She waited a second before turning so that she could rest Cal on the ground. He rested his head against the car door, his mind fogging as he tried to listen to the commotion. It came out muffled and strange, like a weird dream.
⠀⠀⠀A smile crossed his face between the muffled words and the pain in his side and how everything went to shit. As the world around him filled with tiny black dots, he could hear her in the back of his mind. Sometimes, it felt like she was right there, standing beside him on his darkest days. He and Bianca danced in his dreams, despite neither liking to dance, and then they would kiss and stare at the stars and were happy.
"CAL, WAKE UP," Michonne's voice interrupted Cal's sweet dreams. He opened his eyes slowly, the sun hurting his eyes and forcing him to shut them again. "We have to go."
⠀⠀⠀"Go where," Cal muttered, disappointed that his dream hadn't been a reality once again. "Just leave me. I'll be dead soon anyway."
⠀⠀⠀"I didn't save your ass just to leave you behind," Michonne hissed at him, forcing him to sit up more. She wrapped gauze around his torso. He wasn't sure where she had found it, probably one of the buildings around them. "Come on, only a little bit more."
⠀⠀⠀"Fine," Cal sighed, pushing himself up to his feet. He stumbled, and Michonne caught him. "Where are we headed?" he asked, looking down at the basket in Michonne's other hand. "And why do you have formula?"
⠀⠀⠀"Because Merle came through and took two people who said there was a prison nearby with a baby and others," Michonne explained.
⠀⠀⠀"What does that mean exactly," Cal asked, confused.
⠀⠀⠀"It means we might just make it, and I have an in," Michonne stated, finality in her tone, and then they kept moving.
AUTHOR'S NOTE ━
To the prison Cal and Michonne go :)
SONG: Take Me Out by Franz Ferdinand
Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like. However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So even if you ghost read or comment every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come into this fic ♡ I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one.