Fear And Loathing Part 3

It was raining heavily when the Grimes family returned from Adam Martin's funeral. There had been too many of those lately, all from walkers. The safety of the sanctuary had been breached too many times of late and had left people shaken. It was evident in the way people remained close to home, fearful of allowing their children to go unattended, or unarmed. They'd allowed themselves to be lulled into a false sense of security in thinking that the sanctuaries were invincible. They were relatively safe, but they could be defeated if a strong force, such as a substantial herd of walkers came by, a major storm blew in, or, Rick thought darkly, a saboteur from the inside worked against them.

The storm that had moved in blackened the sky and hastened the onset of dusk. Though it would mean stifling heat and humidity later, Rick enjoyed the cool temperatures now. He breathed deep of the air, which was fresh with the wet smell of rain, and with the scent of flowers and trees, and summertime.

A golden retriever, Mr. Mee's dog, had gotten loose and was now trotting happily down the street, sniffing at everything, looking for rare evidence that another of his species had been in the area, before marking his territory by peeing on Rick's fence. Domesticated dogs were rare. They'd almost all gone feral after the turn. Mr. Mee emerged from his house with an umbrella and leash in hand. He was still in his robe and slippers.

"Buddy! Get back here, boy!"

Buddy ignored him, moving along as though his owner didn't exist, forcing Mr. Mee to come down his walkway to leash him. It was such a normal thing to see. Society had established itself. It was fragile, but it was real, and Rick thanked whoever may have been listening that Will Swanson had found him and his group that day and brought them in.

Carl came up the walkway under a green and white striped umbrella. His sneakers and the legs of his jeans were soaked but otherwise he was pretty dry. His knife hung at his hip. Rick had hoped one day the boy would put it away. Now he was glad his son hadn't been able to set it down. He shuddered to think what would have happened had he been unarmed that day at the pond. There would have been more than one dead child they would have buried today. One of those may have even been Carl.

Buddy immediately rolled over on his back at Carl's feet, seeking a belly rub, which Carl obliged until Mr. Mee could attach the leash to Buddy's collar and walked him home.

"Evening, Son," Rick said, rocking in his chair. Carl took a seat next to his father, sitting in the chair Michonne usually occupied. "You look kind of dazed. Are you okay?"

Carl nodded. "Something happened," he said.

"Something bad?"

Carl shook his head and grinned sheepishly. "Zoe kissed me. On the mouth. It was a grown-up kiss."

"Ah," Rick said, and smiled with genuine warmth. Something good had happened indeed. He could see a glow in his son's eyes that had never been there before. His boy was in love. "That is a good thing."

"I've never kissed a girl like that. I've never kissed a girl period, but especially like that," he said.

"It was quite an experience, wasn't it?" Rick said knowingly.

Carl nodded. "She wants to be my girl. Dad…I've got a girlfriend. I feel kinda guilty though. I mean, Adam died and…"

"And here you are falling in love and having a life," Rick nodded knowingly. He put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't feel guilty, Carl. Adam's life is over, and that's a tragic thing, but your life is just beginning. Enjoy it. Enjoy this experience. It's well worth it."

His son nodded. "Thanks, Dad."

Rick watched him go into the house. He was happy for his son, having this grand experience with a girl, but he also knew the heartache that was coming when they broke up. Such were the sorrows of first experiences with love.

"Baby, you've got a phone call," Michonne said, handing him the cordless phone. "Dinner will be on the table in twenty."

"Thanks, Honey. I'll be eating inside this evening," he said. He put the phone to his ear. "Grimes."

"Mr. Grimes, this is Peter Martin, Adam's brother."

Rick remembered the young man from the funeral. He felt a stab of sorrow for him. He was only nineteen and had lost his only brother. "Hello, Peter. What can I do for you?"

"I've been speaking with my parents. We've talked it over with the Simmons and Bloom family, as well as some other families in town. We'd like to start a self-defense program for the citizens. Not all of us are as good as Carl at fending off walkers. We'd also like to honor Carl with a plaque for what he did."

Rick imagined the horror that would come over Carl's face at the idea of a plaque and smiled. "I'm sure he'd be honored. As for the training program, I think that's an excellent idea. Even with the walls of the sanctuaries breaches do happen. It would be wise for as many people as possible to have training in how to properly kill a walker."

They made arrangements for a meeting the following week and Rick hung up. It was good that rather than living in fear and self-pity these people wanted to learn to take an active hand in self-defense.

Movement caught his eye and Rick looked up. A woman walked by the deserted house across the street from Rick's. He recognized her at once: It was Christine.

She pretended not to notice him. It was flagrant enough that she would walk past his house while he was investigating her. Her presence was threat enough. She didn't push it by stopping to stare at him, as she probably had been doing without his noticing. How long had she been there, in the shadows, watching him enjoy the rainy evening? It sent a shiver down his spine.

Black hair and a hairband. She was trying to imitate Michonne. He'd been surprised by the changes in her appearance when he'd first gone to question her the day after the breaches. She'd answered the door completely naked, her skin reddened from exposure to the sun, and he knew she was trying to tan.

"Just getting some sun, Sir," she'd said.

"How about you get some clothes on while you're at it?" he'd snapped.

"What's the matter? Tempted?" she'd smirked.

"Not in the least. I'll be downstairs. You have five minutes or I'll send Hank up arrest you for indecent exposure."

"I'm in my house."

"Just do it, Christine!"

She'd cowed and looked down. "Yes, Sir."

He'd questioned her but she said nothing that could incriminate herself and Rick had been forced to let her go.

Christine walked on now, disappearing into the increasing darkness of the stormy night. Rick went inside and made sure the house was securely locked. It did little to make him feel safe.

---

Wednesday morning dawned without incident. The rain had decided to stick around. Michonne was grateful to wake up without nausea. She cooked breakfast and ate without being sick for the first time in four months.

"You don't look sick for once," Carl said, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was dressed and had Judith in his arms.

"I'm not. Thank God," she said, and scraped eggs onto his plate. She put toast down for him and then hurried to answer the phone.

"Grimes residence. Michonne speaking."

Judge Dunn was on the other end of the line. "Michonne, good morning. I know you're due in court today on the Hoskins case, but she's been put on the back burner. There's been a rape/murder in Sanctuary 1. The victim was Jared Broward, a five-year-old boy."

"Oh, my God," Michonne said, closing her eyes.

"Rick's got his hands full with the breach case and solving who let the walkers in that killed Adam Martin. His deputies have been put on watch of the suspect so they can't do it. I wouldn't ask you, Michonne, but another herd has been spotted in the general vicinity of S1 and every man and woman is needed on the wall."

"No, I understand. I'll get the kids situated with Glenn and Maggie Rhee and I'll come straight to the office for the transfer papers."

"Good deal. The train will leave North Station at eleven a.m. on its regular schedule. Thanks, Michonne."

"No problem," she said, and hung up the phone with a sigh. She was going to have to prosecute the rape and murder of a child. What was wrong with people? It wasn't like this sort of thing was new, since it had been happening from the dawn of time. She'd just hoped people would stop victimizing one another in a place as good as the sanctuaries.

"Is that about Dad?" Carl asked, pulling Michonne from her dark thoughts. He had a look of concern on his face. The call had obviously been a bad one, judging from his mother's reactions.

"No, that's work related. He went out to the sight of the Fisherman's Pond breach with Jason," Michonne said. "You'll have to stay with Glenn and Maggie for the day until Rick gets off work. I have a prisoner transport to deal with."

"I can sit Jude until Dad gets home. I'm fifteen."

"Normally I would agree, but with Christine as a threat I don't want to leave you alone. I know you're a capable young man-"

"No, I get it," he said, trying to be mature and not throw a fit, even though he wanted to. He could see it from her perspective. He hoped that meant he was growing up. At least a little. "It's cool."

Michonne looked surprised. "Well…that was easy. You're just growing up fast on me, aren't you? I'll be home tomorrow evening," she said, and ruffled his hair before rushing upstairs to pack a bag for her trip.

---

Maggie put Judith down for a nap and decided she'd have a lie down herself. She was always tired and not all of it stemmed from the heat. It felt so good to stretch out on the couch and get off her swollen feet and rest her aching back. The rain was cool and soothing and minutes after her head hit the pillow she was out. It seemed, from her perspective, that she'd just closed her eyes when Glenn shook her awake.

"Glenn, I really don't feel like fooling around. I'm dead tired."

"Where did you put Judy?" he asked. He smelled of motor oil and had some of it smeared on his shirt and the bridge of his nose.

"In the crib in the baby's room," Maggie said, annoyed that he'd awoken her after only thirty minutes.

"She's not in there. I thought I heard her crying so I came to check but she's gone," said Glenn.

"What do you mean she's gone? She couldn't have gotten out of the crib," Maggie said worriedly. She got up and rushed to the room they'd set up in anticipation of their baby's arrival and found it empty.

"I'll take the second floor," said Glenn. "You search the first floor and the garage."

They kept the basement door locked at all times but Maggie took a quick peak there after she finished searching the rooms on the first floor, just in case. She checked the garage, even though it was impossible for Judith to have crawled out there without Maggie seeing her, especially after Glenn had already passed through himself.

"Oh, God," Maggie said, panicking. "Oh, Glenn, where could she have gone?"

"I'm calling Rick," he said, and snatched the phone off the wall receiver. He dialed the police department and waited.

"Sheriff's Office, Rick Grimes-"

"Rick, Judy's missing," Glenn said, cutting him off.

There was a slight pause, then Rick said, "I'm sending Jason to take a report."

He hung up, leaving Glenn and Maggie to stare at one another in confusion. "He's sending Jason. Why isn't he coming over himself?"

---

Rick Grimes sped straight over to Christine Todd's place. Her cart was the only on in the small parking lot in front of the building, since her neighbors were all out at work. Across the street, Deputy Hank Nesbit sat in his patrol cart watching the building, just as he'd been assigned to do.

"Chief?" Hank asked, getting out of his car with his slight paunch preceding him as he hurried across the street. "Something wrong?"

"Some fine job you're doing, Hank," Rick barked. "Christine got out and kidnapped Judy!"

"What? That can't be. I've been here since six a.m., and I never once left my post!" Nesbit answered, angry at the accusation.

Rick stormed up to the second floor and banged hard on Christine's door. She didn't immediately answer. Rick decided he was going to kick his way in and search the place himself but the door opened and Christine stood there in a robe, her hair wet from the shower.

"What's the emergency?" she asked, but Rick pushed past her.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"Who?"

Rick began searching the apartment.

"We have laws, you know. You need a warrant to search my apartment," she said casually, without any real offense at Rick's actions. He looked in the bedroom, found it empty, and then emerged to stare at her with eyes so icy cold that she felt dread in her stomach.

Rick marched across the room and shoved Christine against the wall. He put his forearm against her neck, holding her in place and she began to panic at how difficult it became to breathe.

"Where is she?"

"Who?"

"I'm not playing this game with you, Christine," Rick said. "You know exactly who I'm talking about."

"The Chief's daughter is missing," Hank said, and Rick glared at him.

"Keep outta this!" he shouted. Hank glared back.

"Sir, I'm an officer of the law. I know you got personal beef with Deputy Todd-"

"If anything happens to either of my children, or to Michonne, I'm going to kill you," Rick said, looking Christine in the eye.

"You wouldn't hurt me," she gasped.

"In my time out there, in the wild, I had to cross damn near every line to protect my family. I knifed my best friend and ripped a man's throat out with my bare teeth so don't think for a second I won't do what it takes to protect what's mine. I will kill anyone I deem a threat to my family. You, Christine, have proven yourself to be a threat. I don't know how you did it, how you got around Hank, but you've done something with my daughter."

"I wouldn't hurt a child, Rick."

"Tell that to the Martin family! If I don't find Judith alive and well in the next thirty minutes I will find you and I will gut you like a pig. I'll do it in plain view of everyone in the sanctuary if I have to. If harm has come to my little girl, I swear in the name of God Himself I will hunt you down and I won't stop until you're dead at my hand. Hank, arrest this crazy bitch on suspicion of kidnapping and put her in lockup."

Hank seemed to know better than to argue. He brought out his cuffs and began to read Christine her rights. As soon as she was escorted out Rick grabbed her phone and called Glenn and Maggie. They still hadn't found her.

Carl…Had she tried to do something to him, too? He knew his son was visiting his girlfriend. He dialed the Bloom residence and nearly fainted with relief when he heard Judith crying in the background. He'd recognize her cry anywhere.

"Judy's there?"

"Yeah," Zoe said, sounding confused. "Mr. Grimes, what's going-"

"Tell Carl to stay put, Zoe. I'll be there in ten."

He hung up, tears of relief stinging at his eyes, and ran out to his cart. He drove by the station and saw Hank leading Christine in to be processed. She looked at him with fear and loathing plain in her eyes.

---

Christine didn't protest when Hank took her from her home in handcuffs.

That son of a bitch. He'd threatened to kill her and she knew he'd meant it. She'd thought he had boundaries, that he wouldn't dare threaten harm to someone who obviously loved him so much, especially a woman like her, but there he was, in her home, manhandling her, threatening to kill her, and she knew he meant it.

He'd opened her eyes to what he was: An animal who hated his own kind. He was a man who'd gone completely wild in his years outside of civilization. Rick Grimes, Michonne, and that boy of his, were a threat to good people. He would kill anyone that he deemed a threat. He would do it and expect to get away with it. Her blood boiled at his audacity while at the same time her belly froze with fear at the memory of the sheer hatred in his eyes. She had misread Rick. She'd thought she could be kind, give him a warning by taking Judith but bringing her no harm, to let him see that not only was she capable of great harm but she was also generous and loving. He'd acknowledged her generosity by all but spitting in her face, the ungrateful bastard.

He disgusted her. She wondered, now, how she could have ever thought she could love him. He called her a threat when in fact he was the one who was the threat. So was his nigger whore and his nigger-loving son and his chink-loving white trash friend, Maggie Rhee. They were all useless race traitors who would kill their fellow citizens in the sanctuary without fear of reprisal. After all, he'd said it himself, he's crossed every line out there. He'd admitted to cold-blooded murder. She wouldn't be surprised if they'd all murdered good folk.

They had to be stopped and she was going to be the one to stop them.

---

Rick hugged Judith close and kissed her chubby, ruddy, tear-streaked cheeks. She calmed down once in her father's arms.

"Daddy," she said, her little voice hiccuping in an echo of her earlier cries.

"Daddy's got you. Daddy's got his baby girl now, so don't you be afraid," Rick reassured her. "Carl, you scared us half to death, sneaking Judy out of Maggie's house."

Carl shook his head. "I didn't take Jude."

"What do you mean?"

"I was on the back porch with Zoe and Will. We heard crying and came around front. Jude was there, just inside the gate, wet and crying," Carl explained.

That bitch.

The idea that Christine had put her hands on his daughter sent chills through him while at the same time setting his blood afire with rage. She'd touched his little girl. She'd sent him a threat by proving to him that she could get to his family at any time. Well, he received her message loud and clear. He hoped, for Christine''s sake, she'd received his. He would kill her even if it meant he'd have to face the death penalty, or banishment, for doing so.

"Say goodbye to Zoe. We're going back to Glenn and Maggie's."

"Dad, what's going on?" Carl asked, once they were in his cart.

"Christine kidnapped Judy from Glenn and Maggie's house and brought her here. The thing is I can't prove it. Hank was on duty. He swears Christine never left her apartment. She has an alibi in my own deputy"

"Does that mean you can't hold her?"

"I can hold her twenty-four hours, which is all I need."

"For what?"

"I'm working on that. In the meantime, I want you to strap a gun to your hip when we get to Glenn and Maggie's place. You keep Judy in your line of sight at all times. Somebody comes for her, or you…"

"If that happens I know what to do," Carl said, his voice low and serious.

Rick nodded. Yeah, Carl knew what to do: pull the trigger. Rick continued down the road, knowing that his son would indeed kill anyone who threatened him or his family. Rick just prayed it wouldn't come to that.

Next Chapter