Sprouting

Chapter 3: Chase

Michonne drove quickly to town. Carol watched out the window as the trees blurred by. Most of the drive was quiet. The woods reminded her of the camp outside of Atlanta and the time she spent with Sophia there. Her heart ached as she recalled the makeshift classroom. She remembered teaching Sophia about cooking and washing the clothes at the stream. She'd felt the closest to her during the months they spent living out of a tent.

In a way, this disaster was a good thing. She'd spent quality time with her daughter. Her oppressive husband was no longer towering over her with firm correction. Carol was able to get to know herself and was pleasantly surprised at how strong she really was. And of course, there was Daryl. Sweet, Daryl. She knew the softness of a man who wore a strong coat of armor.

"We'll be there in a few minutes," Michonne's voice pulled Carol from her thoughts.

"Already?" She had barely noticed the woods along the road had started to thin out.

"Yes. I think the hardware store off the main square would be a good place start." She was so matter of fact that Carol wondered what had happened in her past to make her that way. Everyone, she's learned, has something in their past.

Michonne slowed and turned into the town. The square was an additional five minute drive. They decided to go to the hardware store first followed by the consignment store. Carol wanted to look for a wedding dress for Maggie. Michonne planned to check out the toy section.

The hardware shopping went quickly. Carol emptied the shelves of all the seeds while Michonne gathered up gardening tools: A few hand tillers, a couple rakes, multiple pairs of gloves, twine, wooden stakes, and a few other miscellaneous items. She wanted to grab a wheelbarrow but there wasn't room in the back of the car. She decided they could come back with a pick-up and grab a couple closer to harvesting.

The town looked dead even to the walking kind but they didn't take any chances, the woman moved the car and parked it in front of the consignment store. The hardware store had only taken about 15 minutes to gather everything there. Michonne hoped Carol would be just as quick looking through the wedding clothes.

Inside the store the two divided up. Michonne went to the back of the store. She was looking for balls, books, dolls, trucks and such. She grabbed a discarded cardboard box as she walked by it. She wanted the kid to have a few things to play. He needed to be more kid-like.

While Michonne picked through the toys, Carol went to the corner of the store and looked at the wedding dresses. There were only three to pick from. She clucked her tongue at the very 80's puffy shouldered dress. The second one was a size 20 which wouldn't work as there would be no way to efficiently take it in enough to fit her. The third dress was perfect. It was a simple white satin dress with a short lace covered train. As she looked to see if by chance the veil was included she heard the pick-up pull-up in front of the car. Instinctively she slid behind a small counter behind the dresses. Her knees pressed up to her chair she held her breath as the door to the consignment store creaked open.

Michonne remained crouched behind a bookshelf in the back of the store. She was in the exact opposite side of the store as Carol. She'd heard the truck before she'd seen it through the large store window. The two mean that entered the store were standing in the front of the store, the older one scanning the store.

"Anyone there?" The older of the two scanned the store for motion.

"Come on Willy, let's go. There's no way anyone is in here." The younger man pleaded with his elder. "You know he won't be happy if we get back late and we've got the rest of the grid to search. " He reached out to touch the other man's arm.

Michonne was certain the younger man had seen her but he was acting as if he hadn't. Her hand hung over the sword's handle.

"Yeah, but it don't make no sense. That car out there. Been through this place two days ago and it wasn't there." Willy started walking through the store. "Come on out now. We won't hurt you." He snickered. He had every intention of hurting them. What Jimmy doesn't know about him is that he had a fondness of hurting people. That's why the man with the patch attracted him. After all, sociopath's tended to attract each other.

Jimmy feared Willy. He didn't know why, but everything in his gut told him that he shouldn't trust that man. He also knew that the woman he saw briefly through the glass window would be in trouble if Willy found her.

"Maybe they're over at the bar across the way? You know. Filling up on alcohol." One thing Jimmy knew for certain about Willy was his love for alcohol. Luckily there was a bar kiddie-corner to this store. If he could get him into there, the woman would have a chance to escape.

The man's footsteps were approaching Michonne's hiding spot. Her hand gripped the sword, one quick movement and he would be down. She doubted the young boy would put up a fight. She and Carol could slip out of town quickly as long as there were no other men.

Willie stopped walking, his voice became menacing, "Now, why would they park the car here and walk over there?" His annoyance with the other man's questions oozed from his very posture. He walked slowly and deliberately back toward the door. His elbows purposely knocked items off their dust covered shelves.

Each time one clanked and fell to the ground, Carol shivered. This man was a bully, he reminded her of her husband. She hated her husband. Her hands naturally clasped together in front her in a praying position. She felt the wetness of her palms and hated how easily she fell back into the intimidated woman she once was.

Despite the constant attempts to redirect Willy, he continued to the rest of the store. He made his way toward the wedding dresses. "Can you believe some fat woman wore this and thought they were pretty?" He spat his words out. "Shit, can you believe some man agreed to marry the sow?"

The lack of response annoyed Willy more. "What's that? You love big ol'sows? The bigger the better?" He wildly made rude gestures, knocking over candlesticks and glass votive. "Ride the wave brother! Ride the fucking wave." He turned abruptly knocking over a wooden unity candle holder over the counter landing on Carol's head.

He heard Carol suck in her breath. He rushed over and pulled her out from behind the counter. She struggled against his firm grip. "Ah-hah! I found you skinny little bitch!" He leaned into her when he called her bitch. Her lower back pressed against the counter ached as he sniffed her.

His breath was rancid and she wanted to vomit. She turned her face to see the other man. He looked more terrified then she felt with this man pressing his genitals into her thigh and smelling her like she was a steak dinner.

"You here alone or is there another one of you here for the kid?" Willie nodded his head toward Jimmie. She didn't respond. Instead she stared at the other man with pleading eyes. "No, that's ok; I'll take my turn first." He'd obviously raped a woman before because he expertly worked on his pants while keeping Carol's struggling body pinned against the counter. The other man stood in shock.

Luckily Willie was too busy working his zipper and drooling on Carol's cheek that he didn't notice Michonne. Most importantly he didn't notice that instead of trying to squirm away, Carol was actually reaching for a knife under her shirt. She managed to release it and stabbed in him the side. He stumbled backward, eyes wide in surprise. Michonne silently came up from behind and easily decapitated him. His headless body slumped on the ground with one of Daryl's hunting knives sticking out of his abdomen.

Carol stared at it for several seconds, kicked the dead man's corpse, and pulled out her knife. The two women turned to the younger man. Blood dripped from the ends of the knife and sword. He took one look at the two of them dropped his gun on the ground and took off running.

"Let's get out of here before he finds any friends." Carol quickly agreed and the two swiftly grabbed their selections and left the store. On the way out, Michonne picked up the revolver the man had dropped, it was fully loaded. She stuffed it in the box of collected toys.

As Michonne drove, she kept looking in her rear view mirror. She couldn't shake the creepy feeling the man had given her. No one was following them. The man from the store never returned. He'd left without much of a fight. She doubted the kid was much of a threat but she didn't trust people these days.

Jimmie ran as fast as he could to get away from what he'd just witnessed. He knew that stupid man would cause nothing but trouble. Unfortunately the one eyed man liked him. That was the worst part of him dying in Jimmie's mind. The one eyed man would want revenge for the death of his favorite. There was no way he was going back to be put to death for Willy. He came to the apartment building on Jones Street. The side door remained slightly ajar just as he left it. Removing a second pistol from its holster, he entered the building letting the door latch behind him. He moved quickly and efficiently to the back of the hallway, to room 106.

He entered the apartment and closed the door. The apartment looked like all the rest with overturned tables and kitchen cupboards open and bare. That was Jimmie's goal when he looked for a place to hide his stash. He walked over the junk laying on the floor through the living into the bedroom. Under the bed he found untouched his military issue green duffle bag complete with the last four of solder Smith's social security number imprinted along the side. A second reach under the bed and he pulled out a shot gun. The rounds for both the shotgun and his pistol were the last things retrieved from their hiding place.

The two arrived right at the 3 hour mark. The men had already started planning a rescue mission. Since they were in the yard, the woman didn't have to wait long to be let into the prison. Michonne gave one last quick look over her shoulder. No one seemed to following them. She pulled quickly into the yard. She was relieved to be home. A feeling she'd not felt in a long time.

Rick greeted Michonne at her window. "How'd it go?" At first glance he'd say it went well, but looking at Michonne's face, he knew there was more to tell.

"We need to talk," was his only answer.

The urgency in Michonne's voice prompted Rick and Daryl to quickly move all vehicles out of sight. The prison yard showed no signs of life as the two woman explained what had happened. Daryl was fit to be tied when he heard about Carol's assault. He was also quite impressed with how she managed herself. She was a woman full of surprises.

"Do you think the second man, Johnnie, is going to be a problem?" Rick was nervous. Where these men working for the governor? What will this young man tell him? Will he come for us?

"Honestly, I don't think so. He seemed scared out of his wits." Carol was pretty certain he wouldn't cause problems.

"I agree. I do think we should keep extra watch. Double check the borders though. If the governor is this close, we can't be too careful." Michonne knew she'd be leaving soon. If he was close, Michonne wanted to be the one to kill him.

Jimmie had made pretty good time on foot. He didn't risk a vehicle or staying on the road. The sun was setting on the horizon and he was certain Willie and his missing would've been noticed by now. The search would be on. Walking through the woods reminded him of his pa. Pa was a hunter and frequently talked about his trips. Pa would take him walking in the woods. He taught Jimmie about tracking and finding his way through the woods.

As he walked he found a small abandoned cabin. The doors and windows still intact made it a good place to call it a night. The sun was almost down and Jimmie didn't want to be in the woods after dark. He bolted the door of the cabin. Feeling secure he sat at the simple wood table and pulled out a can of tuna for his supper. After eating, he squeezed himself and his gear under the cot in the far corner of the cabin. The darkness surrounded him making him invisible to anyone entering the cabin. He fell into a restless sleep.

Carol and Maggie had cleared everyone out of the cell block. It wasn't a hard task since almost everyone was being used to either do parameter checks, guard duty, or sorting the new supplies. It was quiet and Maggie's excitement was palpable in the air. She'd slipped into the white dress and stood holding up the shoulders as Carol zipped her up.

"It's a bit big, but I should be able to take it in. That will take some time though." Carol hoped Maggie liked it. When Maggie didn't respond, Carol continued, "If you don't like it, I can see that I go back. Maybe one of the other stores will have something…." She stopped when Maggie turned around, her eyes red and puffy from tears.

"No. It's perfect and beautiful. And so much more than I could dream of or hope for. Thanks." She hugged Carol her tears running freely down her cheeks and onto Carol's shoulder.

Carol let her embrace go for several minutes. Finally, she pulled away, wiping a lone tear from her own cheek, "Come on now. Let's get this pinned where I need to sew before anyone returns."

She expertly and quickly pinned in the sides and shoulders. This would be a hard task to complete without a machine. It by far wouldn't be perfect; however, she was certain it wouldn't matter if there were imperfections. It was after all, a lovely, white wedding dress.

Thanks so much for reading! Please feel free to leave a comment if you'd like. :)