Rick woke up feeling rested and ready to begin his late-night patrol. As he cautiously patrolled the quiet streets of Alexandria, he carefully surveyed the perimeter, making sure all the Alexandrians were keeping the lights low and the noise down. He meticulously checked for any weaknesses in the wall structure, thankfully, despite all the chaos, there was none.
Everything seemed to be in order... Except... Where's Michonne?
He looked forward to their causal crossing of paths around this time. He'd tell her to go get some sleep and she'd refuse, patrol with him for a while, but eventually relented and moseyed to their shared home.
"Hey Rosita," Rick called up to the young woman at the top of the lookout post, pulling her from her troubled thoughts.
"Hey, Rick, what's up?" She said, he could tell her mind was occupied, hear it in the sound of her voice, she looked like she'd been crying. He understood her worries, he too hoped for their friends' safe return.
"Have you seen Michonne?"
"Her eyes narrowed as she thought about it, "Yeah, last I saw her, she was headed down towards the edge of town."
Rick's brow crinkled as he pondered. "Who's relieving you from post duty tonight?"
"Carol should be on her way soon." She warily smiled as she looked past him. "There she is..." She climbed down the steps, "Now I can help you find your lady."
Rick blushed and chuckled at Rosita. "Go home, Rosita."
"Yes, you need to sleep," Carol added, noticing the exhausted look in her friend's eyes.
"Easier said than done," the young woman began but was too tired to protest further, so she bid them goodnight and headed home.
"You don't think Michonne snuck out to look for Glenn do you?" Carol pondered, the thought of it made her feel uneasy.
"Nah, she would have told me, I'm sure she's down at the edge of town, likely found another body we missed and digging a grave." Rick rubbed his forehead, he wanted to be sure of it. "I'll head down there and help her."
Carol nodded in agreement. "I'm sure that's what it is." She gave him a slight smile. "I'll check in with you in the morning."
Before Carol got to the top of the stairs Rick was already halfway down the block.
*******
"I'll use your Katana to kill you before you turn. Poetic isn't it?" The look in her eyes matched her expression, her voice had deepened considerably.
"There is nothing poetic about this, this is murder, Jessie."
And just like that, Jessie was on her. She grabbed Michonne by the hair and yanked it. Michonne refused to scream although it hurt like hell.
"I don't understand what he sees in you." She sneered, taking one of Michonne's dreadlocks and slicing it off with the scalpel, she loved the sharpness of the easily handled weapon.
Michonne was thinking the same thing about her, but refrain from saying so. Michonne just couldn't believe what was happening. Out of all people, Jessica Anderson was the last person she ever thought capable of methodical violence.
"I'll make sure Rick finds you, so he won't go out looking for you." Jessie began to cut on Michonne's shirt, "But he's not going to like what he sees." She practically sang that last part as she began cutting off Michonne's blouse. Jessie started at the collar, to her cleavage, down to her belly, the scalpel was so sharp it nicked Michonne a few times. The sharp cuts stung like a bite, she could feel the warm blood mixed with her sweat slowly trickle down her chest.
Michonne moved again, using shivering as a disguise. Jessie was too preoccupied to notice, and Michonne was finally able to loosen her hands and wrist just enough to dig into her back pocket. She desperately grasped at her small Swiss Army knife, but it was just out of reach. Her wrist was bleeding now, they were so raw from her frantic struggles.
"Jessie," Michonne spoke softly, temporarily pulling the blonde woman from her despicable thoughts of torture, "You don't have to do this. You can walk away right now."
"I can walk away..." she repeated staring blankly at the rise and fall of Michonne's chest.
"Yes, no one has to know what happened here."
For a split second Michonne thought the disturbed woman had come to her senses, that was until Jessica kneeled in front of her with that eerie far off look in her eyes and all of a sudden her face had completely transformed - she looked more beastly and deranged than ever before.
She swiftly drew back her arm that firmly gripped the scalpel and thrust forward, stabbing Michonne in her thigh, hitting a large vein. It punctured her flesh with a sickening squish.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh," Michonne wailed in agony. She jerked violently, wincing at the pain from. It felt like lava with teeth inside her skin, her muscle and the blood poured violently down her leg.
She was shivering and sweating, and the black waves closed in on her, but she fought them hard. She moved again, managing to flip her knife open. Her vision blurred...but she shook it off...she was leaning over her now. Michonne willed her hands to steady and began cutting at the ropes. Jessie was whistling again. Poking at the wound she'd created, cutting at her pants with the sharp instrument, grinning nefariously.
Michonne wasted no time, she wrenched her arm free, straining her shoulder socket badly and lunged at her. There was just time enough for her to witness Jessie's flaming eyes widen with the nasty shock of her sudden attack. The dark skinned woman swung hard, stabbing the blonde in the jaw with the Swiss army knife.
"Arggggghhhhh..." Jessie bellowed in pain, dropping the scalpel, staggering back, her hands flying to her face. "You fucking bitch!" The knife remained embedded in her cheek as she stumbled further backward. Jessie caught her footing and came back at Michonne tackling her. They fell to the floor hard, Jessie growled ferociously and wrapped her hands around her throat, squeezing tight.
Michonne yanked the blood-soaked knife out of Jessie's jaw causing her attacker to cry out and loosen her grip on her neck, she reached for the knife in Michonne's hands.
They rolled, hit the wall... They rolled again, and in the scuffle, Michonne scooped up the knife and swiped at her, this time slicing into her collarbone. She seemed dazed, clawing at her new wound and her at the same time.
To Be Continued...