Everything settled into an odd kind of quiet after that.
Hershel had retreated back behind the metal gate, disappearing into one of the cells with the young blonde I figured was his daughter and the box-baby. At first, Merle had made a disrespectful comment, remarking on the blonde’s idiocy for bringing a baby into a world like this.
I’d smacked him across the back of his balding head and informed him that; “One, that baby is very obviously not hers, moron. And two, even if it was, do you really think she would have had much of a choice elsewise? Or that she got pregnant all on her own? Do you know how biology works?”
He opened his mouth to make what I knew was going to be a dirty comment, but I lifted my hand to cut him off with a simply, “Don’t answer that.”
Hours passed.
None of the conversations going on around us were of any particular interest, though I had learnt a few titbits of information from eavesdropping. Mostly, it was names. For instance, I now knew that the timid-looking, silver haired woman was named Carol and the young boy that couldn’t have been older than twelve was named Carl. He was Rick’s son.
Merle and I had still been sitting on the uncomfortable bench within the cell, struggling to properly secure that stupid piece of metal, when Michonne came in. Wordlessly and without even glancing in our direction, she walked to the centre of the room and lowered herself down onto the concrete floor. For a moment, my expression contorted into a confused frown as I wondered what the hell she was doing, but the moment she began to tense her core and lift her knees toward her face, the understanding dawned.
Merle, the perverted asshole, stood from the bench and slowly walked out and into the main room. His eyes remained on her as he lowered himself down onto the edge of one of the circular metal tables, lifting a foot to rest atop the seat beneath it. With the duct-tape still in my hand, I followed him and took a seat on the tabletop beside him, snatching his handless arm back so I could continue fixing the mess he’d made of it.
“Smart to stay fit,” Merle remarked after a silent moment as he leered down at her. “Don’t leave out the cardio.”
I let the duct-tape fall into my lap so that I’d have a spare hand to wack him over the head with.
He flinched with a curse before turning to give me an irritated glare. “Hey! I didn’t mean nothin’ by it!”
“Bullshit,” I snorted.
Silence settled again, filled only by Michonne’s soft grunts as she pulled her knees to her chest and slowly extended them out again. Her control was excellent. She had a strong core, for a human.
“Hey, you know,” Merle began with a slight grin. “If we’re gonna live under the same roof, we should clear the air. This whole hunting you down thing? That was just business. You understand? Carrying out orders. Right, Jacques?”
I glanced at him and then back at Michonne, who gave me a knowing look before returning her focus to her body. Merle still didn’t know I’d let her go that day.
“Like the Gestapo,” she remarked after a brief moment of consideration.
Merle’s grin widened while I cringed. “Yeah. Exactly.”
Was that really what we were? A secret police force dedicated to wiping out the enemies of a regime overseen by a cruel, arrogant dictator – Oh, yeah. Okay. I see it now.
YOU ARE READING
The Monsters Among Us ➳ Daryl Dixon
Fanfiction𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯/𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 Not human. She was not human. They all knew it. Could almost feel it, but couldn't make sense of it. That was why they were afraid. Not because of what she used to be Before. But...
