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chapter forty-four | the cocky redneck
"HOW CAN YOU be so sure that they are tracking us?" Ethan asked the scary woman in front of him.
He held their bags as she began to place the limbs of the walker she just sliced up with her katana. She ignored his question, nothing new, and stepped back to admire her work.
"What is this— oh. Well, if they are lookin' for us, that'll stop them," Ethan chuckled darkly. He amazed Michonne how he found the humor in that. Her own lips twitched, but she kept her face void of emotion, as always.
Two arms spelled the letter 'G', the two legs spelled the letter 'O', then the torso of the body laid next to the limbs, the back towards the sky.
GO BACK.
Michonne finally explained to him what exactly her plan was. He didn't entirely agree with it, but he trusted her. Something Andrea failed to do. So, Ethan did what he always did, he listened to the woman in charge.
The woods were quiet for a while, birds chirping annoyingly as the sun heated the earth. No one else was here but him. Every passing moment, Ethan began to doubt Michonne a little more, and just as he was about to jump from the tree, above the... sign that Michonne set up, he heard a familiar voice and it sent chills up his spine.
"What the hell is this mess?" Merle asked the three goons that stood behind him.
"She did this," one of the goons pointed the obvious.
"It means something, the way it's all set up like that," Merle stated. He stepped closer, bending over the torso of the body.
"The Governor was right to send us out."
Ethan rolled his eyes as he adjusted his grip on the branch he was crouched on. Ready for the sign that Michonne was supposed to give as he looked down at the men below him, proving that Michonne was indeed right all the time. The Governor's soldiers were following them.
"Damn straight, Tim. We're doing a righteous public service here," Merle was being a drama queen.
"Go back." One of the goons, who was younger than the rest of them, spoke for the first time.
"What?" Tim furrowed his eyebrows as they all looked at the dude who looked out of place.
"The arms are a G, the legs make an O, And that's a back. It says, 'Go back,'" he explained.
Merla laughed, his hand clapping his metal brace. "This is too good. Look at this, they sent us a biter-gram, y'all," he laughed.
Then, his smile dropped. His eyes looked up at the sound of leaves rustling around them. Merle stood straighter, all of the goons pulling out their guns and cocking them as they spun in circles, trying to track the sound.
Ethan knew the plan and knew what was happening, but even he was a little scared. Michonne was circling around them like a shark, watching the big fish freak out.
"What's the deal, Michonne? Hmm? Ethan? You gonna leap out of the woods, two against four, all of us armed to the teeth while u have sticks and stones?"
Ethan saw the blade first, the reflection of the sun bouncing off of it, and flashed his eyes. The signal.
He jumped down, perfectly on top of one of the guys, cutting his neck swiftly just as Michonne jumped out from behind a tree and cut off the head of another. The bodies fell to the floor with a thump, alerting Merle and the other goon.
Merle turned around firing as Ethan ducked behind the trees and Michonne right behind him, easily keeping up with him but then gasping when a bullet knicked her thigh. Ethan grabbed Michonne's hand and helped her run faster as Merle began to chase after them.
Merle came across a clearing, spinning on his heels in circles, looking for the two runners. "We havin' fun yet?" He shouted angrily.
That's when Merle noticed he wasn't the one doing the hunting, he was now the prey. And that's a huge blow to Merle's ego.
➸
Ethan grabbed their stashed belonging from a hollowed tree trunk, willing to carry both bags but Michonne gave him a glare, taking it to heart when he said she couldn't carry it, run and fight with her wound.
After the death stare, Etha sighed, handing the backpack to her with regret as soon she struggled to swing over her shoulder. She couldn't put too much weight on her left leg because of the bullet wound on her thigh.
After the most recent fight with Merle, which ended with both of them getting a few cuts and bruises, also with Michonne covered in walker's guts. Ethan tried to ignore the smell.
Ethan had a bruised cheek, but he gave the goon a good cut on his chest, so he was fine, but Michonne was having a tougher time as she limped forward, wanting to create more distance between them and Merle.
All of a sudden, a few walkers growled from the bushes on their left. Ethan stepped forward, unsheathing his knife as Michonne reach for her katana on her back. Michonne stepped in front of him, using her other hand to push him behind her which he scoffed at but decided to let her learn the hard way because she was so damn stubborn. He would step in to help when she needed it.
But instead, the walkers walked right past her and reached for Ethan, who was quick to defend himself. He pushed the first walker away, stabbing the next one with a quick lunge, dodging its falling body as he let the third one come at him.
Michonne took care of the one that he pushed, who didn't even recognize she was there still. They quickly took out the last two together, both tired already as they breathed heavily.
"What the fuck was that? Why didn't they come for you, at all?" Ethan exclaimed his hands on his hips.
Michonne shrugged before the walker's blood that was still covering her upper body caught her eye, well more like nose as she caught a whiff of it. She looked up at Ethan with a small smirk, "when was the last time you took a shower?"
Ethan's eyes furrowed, but then his features dropped when she gestured to her torso and he put the pieces together. "Fuck you," Ethan huffed.
Michonne sliced one of the dead walkers they just killed, guts and blood pouring out. She cringed, bending down, and grabbed a handful. A squelching sound made her gag as the smell hit, it was worse than what was on her body.
Ethan covered his nose and mouth, raising his other arm as she threw on the gore onto his T-shirt. His once clean shirt. Well, it wasn't clean, but it definitely wasn't covered in walker guts.
She helped cover himself more, before cleaning off her hand on the grass, beckoning him to follow her as they continued walking to wherever they could go that would lose Merle on their heels.
At least now they didn't have to worry about walkers.
