We Meet Again

Chapter 7

Three days of endless walking and little rest were beginning to take a toll on Michonne. She, Tyrese and Sasha had followed the "yellow brick road" only to find that the trail ended a few miles from the prison. Any visual footprints had been washed away by the storm the night before.

Luckily, Sasha had picked up some tracking skills during her two-year tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army. Michonne decided to rely on Sasha's skills, and her own instinct, to lead her to Rick. She did not – could not – doubt that fate would reunite the two of them for a second time. Michonne was finally ready to start living again; and she planned to begin her new life with Rick by her side.

"The sun will set in the next few hours. We should probably camp for the night pretty soon," Sasha said, leading the group through the silent and damp woods. "Preferably not in the open."

The rasp in Sasha's voice attuned Michonne to the fatigue quickly encroaching upon her. The canned food they had scavenged from the prison was quickly running low and would last only another day; two if they rationed it well.

"Is that a church?" Tyrese asked from behind Michonne, his shuffling feet coming to a stop. Of the three, he had to be the most exhausted. Despite his ample body weight, Tyrese had chosen to eat only as much as Michonne and Sasha, who likely weighed less than him combined.

Michonne turned east, the direction Tyrese currently faced. Sasha joined them. Squinting her eyes, Michonne said, "I think I can make out a steeple, although I can't be certain from this distance. What do you think, Sasha?"

"I think east is as good of a direction to follow as any," Sasha said. "The trail has gone completely cold and I'm leading us on instinct at this point."

"Okay, let's set up camp in the cluster of trees up ahead. We head east at dawn," Michonne said.

Tyrese and Sasha had accepted her natural role as leader, and Michonne hoped she would make the right decisions to keep them alive. She did not shy from the responsibility of their lives, nor did she take the role lightly.

Tyrese managed to build a meager fire from the scarcity of dry wood he scavenged from the damp woods. The fire crackled as the flames fed on their dwindling fuel source.

Michonne took inventory of the remaining food stores – one can of peaches, two cans of beans and one can of green beans. Feeling optimistic about the possibility of finding shelter, and the place where Rick was most likely holed up, she decided to give them all a treat. "Let's go crazy tonight and have beans and peaches for dinner."

"I don't know, that's half of our food," Sasha said, frowning in the flickering light. "If we don't make it to the church –"

"We will make it," Michonne said, meeting Sasha's questioning eyes, dilated in the dimness. "Trust me." Though, I question my words more than you do, Michonne thought.

"What I could really go for right now, is a steak," Tyrese said. "But beans and peaches sound like a much deserved feast to me."

Sasha sighed and smiled. "If we're attacked by a mob of walkers and don't make it through the middle of the night, it's not much of a last meal, but my empty stomach won't let me object. Let's do it."

Michonne sliced open the top of the can of beans with her hunting knife, dumping the contents into a small metal pot she had grabbed from the prison kitchen. She stirred the beans with the blade of the knife, the juices in her belly churning violently.

The snap of a branch in the dark, surrounding woods stilled Michonne's movements. Tyrese and Sasha halted their quiet conversation at the sound. The unmistakable sound of dragging footsteps approached from the south and sent them into action. Michonne threw her hunting knife to the ground and withdrew her katana. Tyrese and Sasha grabbed their respective weapons.