❝ 𝖨'𝖬 𝖬𝖠𝖲𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖠𝖱𝖳 𝖮𝖥 𝖬𝖨𝖱𝖠𝖢𝖫𝖤𝖲
𝖠𝖭𝖣 𝖥𝖫𝖠𝖶𝖫𝖤𝖲𝖲 𝖳𝖱𝖠𝖦𝖤𝖣𝖨𝖤𝖲 . ❞
thirdwheeling is a curse that breaks all differences of generations. he remembers when his mom was bedridden, he watched his father try to hang out with the Grimes' and get caught in the middle of a lively couple. and Ross is dead in the middle of one of the only couples left in the apocalypse.
he sat in the middle of the backseat, laying back after he quickly gave up trying to make any light conversation with glenn and maggie. with the events preceding the supply run, he was left with a healing gash in his side and and even deeper one in his heart. Losing every parental figure around him was a conceivable event in the environment he's living in but it didn't soften the blow.
the Honda they'd taken to town slowed as Glenn spotted a small store with the door blown wide open.
"Not ideal," he grunts as the car rolls to a stop, shifting it into park. "But there's not much better around."
Ross nods in response has he steps out of the car, cautious of his side as he looks around, taking in Glenn's words. The place was truly torn apart, like whoever was here last wanted to make sure no one else could come back.
maggie was insistent that they would cover Ross, letting him guide with the flashlight in the middle because of his injuries- she got her way, of course, because while not only she is stubborn deep down everyone knows she's always right.
they crept into the store carefully, examining the torn apart shelves and other aspects of the store. the run was going smoothly, much to the likings of everyone involved, the trio moving in a quick 'grab and store' rotation of shoving whatever was still good into their empty backpacks, not once doubting if their eyes were more hungry than their stomaches. the lingering awkwardness from the car ride into town had evaporated into thin air as they bickered about whatever they wanted.
"i have been looking for oreos for months. they all disappeared!" ross groans and throws his head back, ignoring the strange look maggie shot him during his faux-fit.
"You've gotta get your priorities straight. you could die any moment," maggie snorts, shaking her head as she tosses a pack of off-brand cookies at ross.
"it's in the little things, maggie. what hope is there without the little things?" ross carefully stands up from his criss-crossed position on the floor. "you're losing out if you think otherwise."
glenn zips up his backpack, walking closer to the middle of the store where ross was. "you're right. i would kill for an oreo right now."
ross tsks, and raises a hand in victory. "i'm always right. i spent 3 months wandering around alone, i became uber-wise."
"weird way to say crazy," maggie mumbles under a smirk, earning a small huff from ross.
with maggie finally emptying any and all medicine and baby-related items from the already bare shelves of the store, they decided to finally head back to the prison. With the baby waiting, they didn't have a lot of time to spare.
as they walked back out to the car, ross rounded the vehicle to entire on the side farthest from the entrance to the store, setting his stuff on the ground for a second once he was out of their sight and leaning against the car in an attempt to catch his breath. getting your torso cut up isn't ideal and it wasn't exactly properly stitched up. he could feel it- now more so that he's been awake for hours. all he could do for now was breathe and pray that the drive back to the prison wasn't long. he closed his eyes for a few seconds, listening to glenn excitedly ramble about how lucky they got with the baby formula.
Just as ross was about to straighten himself out he hears an unfamiliar voice and the cock of a gun- followed by the cocking of two more guns. he immediately ducked behind the car, watching through the dust-covered windows as a bloodied man with a knife for a hand staggered towards the couple.
he couldnt hear much of what they were saying, only briefly hearing that they somehow knew this man. He still didn't know Ross was around, so he slid down under the car because of his severe lack of weapon (other than his switchblade), and the cut on his side he's positive has reopened at this point. Throwing himself into this fight would only get him killed.
He could only hold his breath as he watched the man tackle maggie to the ground, and as they stumbled away together. He was bleeding so much he couldnt tell how long he'd been under the car, even once they'd left his line of sight. he shifted slightly and felt the wetness of blood soaking into his shirt, and sticking into his skin. He was going to die out here unless he got moving.
as he shuffled out from under the car, he saw the supplies had been left behind- meaning ross could at least help the baby if he could get back to the prison. Once he was about to push himself up, he felt the sharp end of what could only be a sword under his chin, his eyes following it up to a woman around Rick's age, with a deep-furrowed brow and covered in guts. fucking guts. As he scans over the woman, he sees her injured leg as well.
they just stared at each other for a solid two minutes, the only sounds being the gasping of ross, contrasting the woman's controlled breathing.
"why didn't you help?" she spoke, low in her throat.
ross slowly raised his hand to show his small switch blade, dropping it on the ground next to him. "i don't have a fucking gun, just my switch blade. and," he pauses, lifting up his bloodied shirt, "i'm kind of fucking bleeding out here."
the woman slowly lowers her sword, her posture defensive. "do you know that man? the one that took your friends?"
"no, i've never-" he pauses, gasping under the pressure and light-headedness of bleeding out and simultaneously being interrogated, "never met him. we live at the prison, but... i just got there, my uh- uncle runs the place basically,"
she puts her sword- katana, now that ross has gotten a good look at it- back in it's holster, and looks down at him again, almost studying him. "What's your name?"
"Ross." He answers, staying as still as possible. the woman had the high ground, both mentally and physically.
She nods, motioning for him to get up. "I'll help you get back, and we'll tell them about merle taking your friends. He's... the place he's taking them is..." she trails off as ross stabilizes himself. "something is very wrong."
ross could only nod, briefly motioning to the bags on the ground. "i need to take them. at least one," he huffs, going to throw one over his shoulder after making sure it had the baby formula in it.
"could you get the car started?" she asks, gesturing to the beat-up vehicle behind them.
ross turns around, tugging the door open and staring at the mess of the car, feeling around in the front seat and coming to the conclusion that the keys were indeed still with glenn.
"no keys," he turns around, his hand still pressed into his bleeding side. "can you hotwire? do we walk? fuck," he hisses, stumbling into the side of the car.
she reaches for him, trying to hold him up, "hey, you need to stay awake and on your feet. we'll find a way to get in a car. My name is michonne, did i tell you that?" she says calmly, supporting him against the car.
he could only nod, keeping himself sane in a series of deep breaths as she tries to start the car, frantically messing with the wires. they'd been standing for who knows how long when walkers began to snarl in the distance.
"michonne, anything?" he watches as she tries various cars, struggling with finding one easy enough to hotwire.
she only shook her head, watching both of their backs for walkers. "we might end up having to walk. not ideal but better than just sitting here."
"I'd just prefer to get going before the dead catch up to us." He mumbles. Michonne approaches him with a grim expression. They were definitely walking.
She pulls him behind a building, into an alleyway with only one open end. "Let me see the wound first. Maybe I can patch it up so you don't completely give out on the way there."
Ross nods and lifts his shirt with a hiss, the gauze over the wound a dark red and folded out of place. "Probably happened when I crawled under the car,"
She only nods and rips a piece of fabric from somewhere off of her outfit, wrapping it around his torso (which was luckily thin enough for such). Ross was still amazed at how much this woman cared. He almost felt as if something was going to go very wrong very soon.
"Don't you need that?" He mumbles, looking at her injured leg. She was trying to act like it wasn't as bad as it looks and wordlessly shakes her head. He helps her walk anyways.
The pair didn't say much else, making off for the prison as Michonne kept an arm close to Ross, in case of emergency. The boy was thin and bleeding heavily, and she was a mother. Of course she's worried.
Ross of course didn't know this, because she was sort of just limping menacingly with a very long sword. The silence between them was broken after a mere twenty or so minutes, when the teenager's curiosity got the best of him.
"Are you gonna kill me?" He says meekly. It makes her head snap up as she catches the boy's eyes.
"No. I wouldn't kill someone for no reason. You're just a kid." Michonne looks over at him with a small glare. "Don't think that means I'll hesitate if you try anything. I don't care if you're sixteen, if you jump at me I will kill you."
"I'm eighteen!" He throws his head back with a groan. Even in the apocalypse he couldn't pass as a normal eighteen year old. "Plus, you're not exactly in good shape either". He motions to her leg.
"You fooled me. Still, I wouldn't kill you. Your friends were just taken to a place called Woodbury."
Ross raises an eyebrow, helping the woman walk. "Woodbury?"
A shake of her head, and her expression completely drops. "I'll explain at the prison, once your people let us in. It's too much."