Chapter 11

There had always been a divide between them and the Alexandrians, or least, it had been that way since she'd arrived. But as the sun rose on the Safe Zone and Michelle began humbling her way over to the pantry to help Olivia with inventory, this divide began to feel more like an actual tear in the community than anything else. Most their group had spent part of the night up, waiting on news of Tara's situation, hoping the young woman would not add to the death toll of that run. As of now, there was still no indication of if or when she would be back on her feet and she hoped for everyone's sake that she would make it. Losing her, on top of Noah, would break the group's heart, especially Glenn and Eugene's who had tried their best to get her back here alive.

As she made her way down the street past the Monroe's home, she spotted the casserole Carol had been making when she'd gotten home the night before sitting on the porch, untouched. She frowned at the sight, something about it made her uneasy; if Deanna was reject their group after what happened to her son, she could choose to throw them out of the community and Michelle had the strong feeling that the group would not let that happen. There would be a fight, most likely a slaughter of those foolish enough to take on Rick and the others, and just the thought of it made her hands shake on the handles of the crutches. She stopped in the middle of the street, taking deep breaths to try and collect herself. The idea of witnessing, or worst, having to participate in another bloodbath made her head spin, bringing back horrible images to the forefront of her mind.

"Shelley? Are you alright?"

At the sound of the nickname, she found herself back in the center of the road, panting as the flashbacks faded away and Glenn's worried face came into view. Catching her breath, she nodded, unable to speak just yet but wanting to reassure him that she was, in fact, okay. Being with this group had been a roller coaster ever since she'd spotted Daryl and Beth by that shack, what felt like a lifetime ago; on the one hand, they were part of the reason she'd witnessed so much death, but on the other, as Glenn was showing her now, they were there for each other and cared for them as well... even for one of their newest member, one who had left them without so much as a goodbye.

"I'm okay," she finally managed to say. "I just... I got lost in my thoughts, I guess..."

It didn't explain much in the way of why she'd been standing almost paralyzed there, or why she'd been hyperventilating, but Glenn didn't question her answer, simply looked at her for a moment, as if to make sure she was indeed alright. She could even began to say how thankful she was for that.

"Were you going to see Tara?" He asked, falling into step with her as she began moving again. He had to take smaller steps than usual to stay by her side, but he didn't seem to mind. She realized in that moment that she didn't know much about Glenn, other than him being Maggie's husband and, according to Daryl, the best person to have on a run crew. That realization left her feeling a little ashamed, she'd joined up with them but still kept her distance from actually getting to know the majority of them.

"Not right now," she admitted as they reached the infirmary. "I have to get to the pantry and help Olivia with inventory this morning. I was going to go and see if there were any news after my shift though..."

"I'll come by and let you and the others know if anything has changed," he responded, nodding his head as if he was agreeing with himself, as if he was making it a personal mission.

She thanked him and continued on her way, glancing back over her shoulder to see him disappear inside the building where she'd spent more time than she would have liked upon her arrival. She and the others, that was what he'd said and it felt strange to even think of herself as part of their group, even now, but Glenn obviously thought of her as one of theirs. So did Daryl, of course. He'd even told her as much, she hadn't believed him then, but maybe it was time to start believing this to be true. Maybe she did have her place with this group. With that thought in mind, and a hint of a smile on her lips, she made her way into the pantry, ready for another mind-bogglingly dull inventory.

The incredible ruckus outside alerted Olivia and her that something was very wrong. Dropping their clipboards, the two of them headed toward the commotion as quickly as they could, which in Michelle's case was not nearly as fast as she would have liked. Once again, she silently cursed the crutches she had to rely on until her knee was healed. As she finally reached the main road though, a crowd of people had began assembling in the street and, at first, she wasn't quite sure of what she was seeing. There were people screaming and someone crying, a broken window and balcony and in the center of it all, the doctor, Pete, was strangling a bloodied Rick right there on the pavement.

She watched as Jessie tried to pull her husband away, only to be smacked away, which Rick a chance to get the upper hand. Seeing him like that, with blood all over his face as he was now, brought back terrifying memories from the night she'd first met the man, the night when he tore out Joe's throat with his bare teeth. There was the same crazed look in his eyes then as there was now, she could just tell he was about to kill Pete unless someone stepped in. And then someone did, Carl, Rick's own son, and for the first time, she saw him violently push the boy back.

That was when she arrived, Deanna, shouting at them to stop this, with fire in her eyes and in her voice. The same feeling she'd experienced earlier, that fear caused by the divide in the two factions of the community, came back, stronger than ever. As Rick stood, maniacally waving a gun around and ranting, she just knew this would get them certainly kicked out, there was no way around it. And with that thought, another, deeper panic settled into her; what if Daryl returned only to find them all gone? She couldn't allow that to happen! She wasn't going to let anyone separate them, not after they'd been lucky enough to find each other again. If Deanna chose to throw them out, she would fight along with the group to stay.

Those thoughts raced through her mind, readying herself for what would come next when suddenly Michonne stepped forward, and just like that, Rick was on the ground and the hypothetical slaughter in her head was fading away. This wasn't over, that much was certain, but for now, they were still here and hopefully Daryl would be return before the other shoe dropped.