"How hungry are you on a scale of 1 to 10?" Rick asked Carl as we all gathered around the fire place for breakfast.
"15" Carl answered.
"28." Michonne said.
"Not even gonna ask you." Rick looked to me with a smile. Apparently they had next to no supplies and were rather jealous of the amount that I had accumulated.
I hadn't mentioned Martinez, at least not by a name they knew. I only called him Caesar to avoid an uproar. I'd tell them, but I had the feeling I might have to ease into it. Their reaction to my going back to the prison and then the farm all in one night was bad enough. Carl had smiled and Michonne seemed unsurprised, but Rick had called it "reckless." He didn't complain when I opened a tin of peaches for dinner, though.
"Hey, I offered you soup." I retorted.
"We'll check the traps first, better to use what's there first if there is any."
"Can I go with you?" Carl asked.
"Well, how else are you gonna learn?" Rick replied happily.
We had camped amongst the trees that night, catching each other up on what had been happening. Carl had helped Rick get out, but he was badly beaten and barely able to breathe. They rested up in a house, in the same town I had been in, until he got better and that's where they stumbled across Michonne. Rick also told me that the house they had been in had been found by a group of men. He had been forced to kill one of them before jumping out the window. When he described how they used the word claimed I had to suppress a laugh. Those boys certainly got around.
But nonetheless I told Rick the same thing I told Martinez. We should stay off the tracks, keep hidden and he agreed. They were on their way to Terminus and I was happy to camp with them for a little while, but I was yet to tell them I had no intention in going there.
Michonne went to get up with them, but I caught her hand. "I could actually use you're help."
She looked to Rick and he nodded. "We've got this."
They headed out and Michonne turned to me with a questioning look before I handed her over my medical bag. "There's thread and tweezers in there and a needle. I'd do it myself, but I can only reach with one hand."
He face dropped. "I thought you said you're shoulder was fine."
"It is. It's just where the biggest cut is... keeps opening up, couple of stitches will help it along faster." I explained as I removed my shirt and stood there in a bra before beginning to take off the patch on the back of my shoulder that would be littered in small scars in the future with the evidence of the world's luckiest escape from a buckshot.
"I don't know..." Michonne began to grimace as she looked at it and then the needle in her hand.
"Oh, come on... you hack walkers to death on a daily basis, but this makes you squeamish?"
She wrinkled up her nose, but sucked it up and did as I asked. It had bled through the bandage, but I decided it wasn't worth wasting another on. Once it was stitched it shouldn't bleed as much, and medical supplies were a rarity.
"Can you see which one needs it?"
"Yeah, right on the bone, still bleeding. You said this happened days ago."
"Nearly four. It only needs two, their not that long, just deep. Pinch it together and shove the needle through the skin as close to the wound as you can get with an even spacing for the second one."
I winced when she began, but got used to it by the end. I threw the old dressings into the fire and had Michonne tidy up the dried blood.
"There's a couple more that may need it." She informed.
"Are the dripping blood or just glistening?"
"Glistening."
"Then they'll be fine. Thanks." Once my shirt was back on I got up to go to Nelly, telling Michonne I'd walk her over to the creek. As I was leaving Rick and Carl came back with a rather small rabbit. Taking note of it's size I decided to go out with the recurve bow again.
I found another one down by the creek, but my aim was unfortunately not as good this time. It got away. However, after a few more minutes of patience by the water, a second rabbit came by that was not so lucky.
After breakfast we pulled down the camp and started back on our way. We found our way to a road that ran parallel with the tracks and decided we'd walk along it for a little while for some easy terrain.
No one had brought up my father, which I was thankful for. We all knew, there was no point in discussing it, but what I didn't know and was too afraid to ask was what could have happened to Judith. It was something I had thought about a lot, but tried to distract myself from.
"Hey, look." Carl spoke up as we came across an old ripped apart blue SUV left abandoned on the road.
There were no supplies inside, but rick decided we should camp there. The car would provide some cover and a more comfortable sleep than the ground. I decided I wouldn't sleep in it though. There wasn't too much room and I wanted to stay close to Nelly, so I re-set up the camp just inside the tree line while Rick got a fire going and I laid out my sleeping bag and the saddle inside the rope. When I started to get some food out Rick came over shaking his head.
"Leave it. We've already eaten today. It's not pleasant, but we need to ration. We don't even know if this Terminus is still standing and if it's not we're going to need that." He nodded to my food.
"Yeah," I whispered, seeing the sense in it, but deciding now was the time I should tell him. "Rick, listen. I don't know if I'm going to go to Terminus."
"What do you mean? Of course you are. We're all going."
"No." I shook my head. "If I was going to go I would have taken Luke and Molly."
"I get it." He nodded. "I do, but we can't split up, not now. Not without any guarantee of finding anyone else. Come to Terminus, if there's nothing there or we don't like it then we'll come back here, keep looking for a while. But if it's legit... then it's safe. And we'll have a place to go out searching properly."
"It's a long way from the prison." I said as I slowly shook my head. "Long searching parties, not day trips."
"If that's how it has to be then so be it."
Rick and Michonne had settled down around the fire with Carl drifting off to sleep in the car. I stood with Nelly brushing her down.
"Have you noticed that's all we ever talk about anymore." I heard Rick say. "Food. Forgot what this feels like."
"Me too. Hope we're able to forget again soon." Michonne said back.
"We're close. We just gotta make do another day. The folks there, taking people in, they have to be strong." Rick was saying as he began to put out the fire for the night. "They have to have a system."
"I wonder if the whole thing is legit?"
A twig snapped and if it had come from the direction I stood with Nelly no one would have flinched. But it didn't. It came from the other side of the SUV. Michonne reached for her Katana while Rick began to stand.
I reached for my machete and the action made Nelly uneasy, she knew what that weapon meant.
"Easy girl."
We all remained silent, expecting walkers to come out of the bush, but they never did. Could have been a rabbit or deer. Rick sat back down.
"We let people in." Rick restarted their conversation as I began to move over to them.
"We did." Michonne nodded.
"But so did the Governor." I added quietly before taking up a seat next to Rick.
"Yeah, just how things go... don't get to know until we know." He nodded. "Maybe this place isn't even there anymo..." Rick word was cut off when a gun was pressed to his head, the man having come up quick and quietly in the dark without being noticed no doubt aided by the fire that was now put out. Michonne had been looking down and Rick and I had our backs to it. He moved just as quiet as Daryl did on a hunt.
"Oh dear me." He grinned.
Michonne went for her sword, but another man popped up and kicked it away almost in sync with a third guy who knocked my machete out of my hand and slid it further with his foot.
"You screwed up, asshole." The apparent leader said. "You hear me?"
Two more men had come out from the other side of the road and a third over by the car, moving up to the window and peering in, knocking on the glass with a knife to wake Carl up.
"Today's the day of reckoning, sir. Restitution." I didn't need to see their faces to guess which group this was.
The man who stood behind me, slowly began to move around the front, his smile broadening when he saw me. "Hey, Joe." He said to the leader. "Look at this one."
My jaw clenched. "Well, well, well... if it ain't our little Warrior Princess. Shit, and I was thinking of turning in for the night on New Years Eve."
New Years Eve. The words nearly made me choke on air. This rag tag bunch of thugs kept better track of the world than we did. My father would have known. Looking to the sky I saw it wasn't midnight yet, a few hours off. The world fell apart in mid 2010, that would make this night the turn over into 2012... and the grin on this mans face said he had no intention of letting us see it.
He laughed. "Now who's gonna count down the ball drop with me, huh? Ten Mississippi!" He began.
I went to make a move, what move I couldn't tell you. A stupid one no doubt, but a hand latched on to my right shoulder and squeezed as a slight yell of pain escaped me.
"How's that shoulder, darlin'?" My 'guard' asked, crouching down in front to be at eye level as this Joe continued his count. "Have to admit, my aim was a little off." He smirked. "You move fast. I think we'll get along just fine. I don't think the others will mind if I claim first helpings, do you? Something tells me you'll keep kicking till morning." His hand reached up to stroke my cheek, but I whipped my head away from it to avoid the touch, although it didn't do much, he still found a strand of hair to brush back, giving me goosebumps. Not the good kind.
"Six Mississippi."
"Joe!" Another new voice called to the leader as the man crouched in front of me stood and turned to see what the interruption was, taking a step back behind me and allowing me to see the final figure step into view out of the darkness.
My heart pounded and a sudden wave of stupid glee washed over me despite the situation.
Everything went silent. The men waiting for him to say more while he seemed stunned. He looked to Rick and then Michonne and finally to me.
"Hold up." He finally said.
"You're stopping me on six, Daryl..." Joe wanted.
"Just hold up." He nodded as he stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper as my lips parted and I had to fight every fibre in my being to stop from trying to jump up again and run to him.
"This is the guy that killed Lou, so we got nothing to talk about." The man behind me informed.
"The thing about nowadays is we got nothing but time. Say your piece Daryl." Joe offered.
"These people... you're gonna let them go. These are good people."
"Now... I think Lou would disagree with you on that. I'll of course have to speak for him and all because your friend here, strangled him in a bathroom." As he said the word friend, Joe's face seemed to take on some understanding. "Wait a minute. These aren't the people you lost, are they?" Daryl had barely looked away from me and when Joe looked to take in my expression he must have realised and he began to laugh. "Well hell... when you asked me about that woman we saw, I wasn't surprised when you said she didn't sound familiar. I mean... chicks like that don't choose guys like us... not unless you make them." His voice dropped low.
"You want blood. I get it." Daryl began to lay down his weapons, moving slowly and carefully to try and not provoke anyone into doing anything rash. "Take it from me, man." Daryl offered as he held out his arms for Joe to come at him. "Come on."
I began to squirm again, a protest right on my lips, but another squeeze and grimace silenced that thought.
"Look at these love birds, would ya fellas?" He laughed. "What's your name, Princess?" I glared at him but he pressed the gun against Ricks head more firmly as a threat. "I won't ask again." He warned.
"Kat." I gave in, my voice hoarse as his grin spread further and this time his laughed turned to one of actual amusement. Like I had just told him some hilarious joke before he turned back to Daryl.
"I told you I liked cats." He grinned before turning back to face me. "Vicious creatures." There was a hint in his voice that I didn't like. I didn't like anything he had said or how he'd said it but that turned my stomach into a tight knotted coil and Daryl looked like he was about to lunge forward and would have given another second of Joe holding my gaze like that but instead his attention snapped back to Daryl quick as a flash. "This man killed our friend." He continued. "You're little girlfriend over there left us for dead with a pack of those things you call walkers. You say they're good people. See that right there is... is a lie. And not the first you've told. You told me you there wasn't anything familiar in what I told you about the woman on the tracks. You knew.... and that... makes you a liar!" He yelled the last word and that seemed to wake something up in the two men standing closer to Daryl who herd some kind of silent order and jumped him, one of them slamming the but of his gun into his stomach.
"No!" Rick protested.
"Daryl!"
"Teach him fellas, teach him all the way." Joe commanded right before the man by the car finally opened the door and ripped Carl out.
"You leave him be!" Rick yelled in rage as he tried to get to his feet, but Joe shoved him back down to the ground and held him firm.
Michonne went to move as well, but the man with his gun trained on her stopped her. "You'll get yours." He informed. "Just wait you're turn."
Daryl tried to fight back, he was a good fighter. A lifetime of beatings and pub brawls and his brother picking fights had taught him well, but the two men he fought were no different and he was out numbered, thrown to the ground and kicked in the ribs as I forced back another scream of protest and that stinging behind my eyes. My stomach was turning over and over again with every kick and every punch. But I wouldn't let any tears fall, instead it began to turn to anger as my jaw clenched and I readied myself for what I knew we were about to do. What we had to do.
"Listen. It was me. It was just me." Rick tried to reason.
"See, now that's right." Joe nodded, crouching down to speak right near Rick's ear. "It's not some damn lie. If we can settle this, we're reasonable men." Daryls beating continued. "First we're going to beat Daryl to death. Then we'll have the girls. Then the boy. Then I'm gonna shoot you and we'll be square." Joe began to laugh once again. A menacing amused and horrible laugh that was caught short when Ricks head slammed back and nailed him in the nose. He wasn't triggered by the words. Carl has been shoved to the ground as one of the men began to tower over him, pinning his arms down as a disgusting chuckle came from his throat at the same time my captor grabbed my hair and began to drag me back, quite literally kicking and screaming.
"Kat!" I heard Daryl shout as I reached for the hand that had hold of my hair tight, lifting my upper body off the ground as my legs tried desperately to scramble backwards to keep up with the pace he was dragging me back at.
Joe's weaponed had fired right by Rick's ear at the impact and the rest I didn't see. It was chaos and I could vaguely make out Michonne reaching for the man with a gun on her at his distraction and I saw Daryl still on the ground, trying to fight back but at the same time trying to run my way.
I didn't have my machete anymore and all my other weapons had been put down for the night. All but one. In my pocket was the multi-tool pocket knife.
See the thing about pocket knives is that they're called pocket knives for a reason. They're compact. Every tool within them was folded in on its self and kept within a small enclosed frame both for safety and convenience. That convenience, however, was the last thing I needed right then.
I dropped hard onto the ground, probably only five metres away from the camp. Apparently he wasn't all that concerned about privacy. My head spun a little from the impact as he hovered over me and began to undo his belt, but I reacted quickly, kicking up and hard with enough force to earn a painful grunt from him. But he fell forward and recovered quickly, grabbing at my legs as I tried to scramble away and ripped me back to him. Somehow I had managed to make it worse for myself and my legs were now pinned down underneath his.
"Little bitch." He managed to grumble before sitting back far enough to back hand me hard across my left cheek. A hot burning pain ripped through it and there was no doubt a bruise would form on let my cheek bone.
I held one hand on his chest, trying hold him back with it while my free hand fiddled with the pocket knife I kept concealed. He had one hand around my throat holding me firmly down but not squeezing tight enough to cut off my air. But his second one went for his belt again and I knew I had to act fast.
I couldn't get a blade out, not one handed and so my index finger found the one tool I might just able to manage to release. And I did.
I wasted no time in pulling it from my pocket and ramming it up hard, between his ribs and hopefully hitting his heart before twisting it a little for good measure as he screamed out. I used his shock and pain to shove him away and kneel over him before ripping the twisted end of the bottle opener out from between his ribs, tearing more flesh as I did then raising it up and slamming down hard straight through his eye and into his brain, blood splattering up and onto my face.
I turned back to my group and ran for one of the men still pounding on Daryl, but he had gotten the upper hand at whatever distraction Rick had caused. I threw a glance their way as I went for my machete. Rick had taken out the leader, Michonne her man and Rick was now honing in on the last that had Carl. I picked up the machete as I ran past going straight for the second guy that was about to come up behind Daryl who was beating into the other laying on the ground.
He seemed to hear something behind him though and turned, but not fast enough. The tip of the blade went straight through his stomach and out his back and when I pulled it out I ripped up, slicing him open to his sternum before he fell to the ground, still alive, but not going anywhere.
Daryl then stood from the guy that lay motionless at his feet and turned back to face me. He went to take a step, but lost his balance and had to grab the car for support as I quickly ran to him to steady him. His head rested on my shoulder as my arm went around his waist and the other around his neck, my hand resting on the back of his head. He was barely able to support his own body weight but that was only half the reason I held on to him as tightly as I could. His entire body seemed to relax, the beating now over, but his hand that gripped hold of my shirt as tightly as it could or should have been able to after that showed his state was only partly due to the fight but more out of relief.
My chest was pounding and my breath hitching in my throat as more tears threatened but this time out of some stupid victorious glee as the sounds of what Rick was doing behind us didn't let up...
... he was here... he was alive... and that was enough to make me forget all the rest and drown out the last moans of the man I'd left gutted on the ground behind us.
When I finally looked over I saw Rick with blood all around his mouth and Joe lying with a ripped out throat. Michonne sat cradling Carl, nearly rocking him back and forth as he was curled up in her lap. Rick was still hacking and slashing into the larger man that had attacked Carl well beyond the point of the man's death.
When he finally stopped he stood straight and stared down at the body. He couldn't look Carl's way or even Michonne's. He didn't seem able to. Instead Ricks eyes drifted to me and Daryl and all I did was send him an approving nod.
Joe's words rang in my ears as clear as if he had just said them. And not for an instant did I care that they were true.
'Vicious creatures.'
Been looking forward to this chapter. Hope you enjoy 🙃 heading into some darker stuff for a while.