Torn Apart • TWD

Chapter 30 - Michonne

The woman stares at the child with scepticism while Tessa's attention is on the blood coating under her nostrils, clearly having taken a hell of a punch for that to result.

She is standing by the doorway as the two scan each other over, she notes that there are cuts over the prisoner's skin and that her clothing is bloody, dishevelled and dirty but overall she seems relatively fine. The woman sees how the child is keeping one hand close to her body and that it looks damaged, along with how the girl is putting all her weight on one leg and the left is most likely the injured one with how stiff she is holding it.

Neither is saying anything and since Tessa doubts she will talk first, the child takes the lead in sparking up the conversation, "What's your name?"

The woman is quiet for a moment, trying to understand what is happening right now, "Michonne."

With her curt response, the child bobs her head, feeling awkward as she looks around the room that the woman is trapped in. "I'm Lola," she casually informs with a slight smile while leaning against the wall in exhaustion. Like hell was she going to tell this random woman her real name, but she also didn't want to tell her the fake name she has now.

"Where are your parents?" Michonne questions in a smooth voice, trying to find some way to have this interaction make sense.

"Dead," she distractedly shrugs as she checks the corners of the walls for any spider webs before passing the threshold to enter the room.

Michonne narrows her eyes and watches the girl walk around with a limp that is currently too hard to conceal as she is just trying her hardest not to find a comfortable surface to collapse on for the next month.

"Why are you here?" Michonne bluntly asks as Tessa examines the chains holding the woman down as she circles her.

"You first," the child tugs at the chains to test their strength then finishes the lap around the room to stand in front of the woman again.

"I tried to leave," she begins, "They didn't let me." Michonne plainly states, hiding the frustration at her failure then nodding at the girl, "Now you."

Tessa isn't sure how to start or even what to tell her, it's possible that Michonne could be loyal to Woodbury and is just temporarily imprisoned, like an adult version of a time-out.

"They kidnapped me two days ago," the child looks around the room in an attempt to escape the woman's stare which is pinned on her every move. "Did you bite off a guy's nose?" She glances at the prisoner who has raised a brow at the unexpected question.

The corner of Michonne's lip quirks up in amusement at how excitedly the girl had asked about the violent incident, along with the impatience she is emitting as she eagerly looks at the prisoner for an answer.

"Yes," the woman responds without offering any further explanation as Tessa's tiny mind bursts with enthusiasm. With so many questions she wants to ask on the subject, it's hard to remember the reason she originally snuck in, and with the chance to ask about a nose being removed from a man's face by only using teeth, it takes a great deal of self-restraint to distance herself from those thoughts since this probably isn't the best time.

"Awesome," the child unconsciously mutters as her nose twitches. She quickly shakes her head in attempt to get back on track, "Do you want to leave?"

Michonne tilts her head at the question but otherwise remains expressionless much to the girl's annoyance, it causes an uncomfortable feeling when she doesn't know what's going on in someone's head.

"Look," she huffs, "I'm leaving now, do you want to come with me?" It's natural for Michonne to worry this is a trap, Tessa would feel the same if the tables were turned, but people are sure to of noticed her absence by now so she cannot waste time trying to convince the woman of her authenticity.