Chapter Text
The Governor and Martinez have captured Michonne and Hershel. While unconscious they were brought to an RV.
“You all right Michonne?”
“Yes but the governor won't be.”
Just then Martinez walked in from the other room. Hershel talked for a long time about nothing important. Martinez started saying something disgusting to her so she tuned him out. Martinez came at her with a knife and she kicked him in the groin. For a few seconds, she and Hershel had the chance to take him down before he pulled a gun on them. The governor walked in and socked him in the jaw. “What I tell you, not a hair.” He turned back to Michonne and Hershel with that fake southern charm “he doesn't know how to treat guests, my apologies.” Hershel just stared at him and Michonne just sat back down and stared out the window.
“You two comfortable?”
Hershel tried to reason with him. “Brian, we can end this here.”
The governor looked back at Martinez since he must have told them he was going by Brian now. “That's up to your pal Rick.”
“He won't give up the prison Brian. If you let us go now he won't retaliate. I promise you that.” Hershel looked at him sympathetically.
“It's too late for that.”
Hershel kept trying, “It's never too late. Your people you got here, it won't end well for them.”
The governor kept looking at Michonne and it pissed him off how uninterested she looked.
“I can start over at the prison and protect the people. It won’t be like the last time.”
Michonne looked at him “humph” and went back to staring out the window.
“Do your people know what happened to your last group?"
The governor turned and faced Hershel again. “That was in the past, I've learned my lesson.”
The governor put one hand on the gun holstered at his hip and addressed Michonne. “Do you know what’s going on here?”
“Yes, and when this is over I'm going to kill you myself.”
He chuckled, grabbed her, and pulled her to the small room at the back of the RV. He pulled the sliding privacy door. Hershel tried to get up to stop him but Martinez pointed the gun at him. “Sit down old man.”
The room offered no real privacy so he turned on a battery-powered CD player and George Straight blared out its speakers. The bed was ripped out and a few blankets and pillows were there instead.
“You know Michonne it didn’t have to be this way. I offered you and Andrea a home. You could have been a part of my group. I’m not going to kill you right now, just have a little fun first."
He grabbed her by the throat. He took off his holster but kept waving the gun around. She noticed her sword behind him. “A quick death is too good for you.” She watched him unzip his pants and thought of any way to get out of this. She tried to push him to the ground but he just grabbed her neck instead and banged her head against the wall. Her head was now aching and she was somewhat disorientated. She tried to fight him but her hands were tied. He grabbed her neck again and then pulled off her clothes from the waist down. He stood there staring. She felt sick but looked at him defiantly. He pushed her to the floor and rammed a finger inside her. “Not so tough, now are you?”
She could feel the heaviness of him lying on top of her and his rough fingers inside her most private place as he assaulted her. At that moment he broke her and she turned off the small corner of her mind that still held emotions. Before he could penetrate her further, he decided the gun on the floor was too close to her so he went to move it. That was all the time she needed. She kneed him in the groin and when he fell over howling she jumped up stomping and jumping on his groin until there was a pool of blood.
The howling sounded like an animal in excruciating pain. Martinez ran in and saw him on the floor “Shit!”
He was so shocked at the puddle of blood that he started shaking and couldn't aim the gun right. Michonne kicked the legs out from under him and he fell. She grabbed the gun and shot him. Hershel was calling her and tried hopping toward her using the furniture for leverage. She used the sword to cut the ropes and then stabbed the governor in the head. She calmly put her clothes back on before going out to Hershel. By this time Hershel had used the small knife Martinez dropped to free himself. He'd hopped over to his crutches and was making his way to the room.
“We have to go now!”
Luckily the RV had been parked out of the way so no one heard the gunshot. They got into a car and headed home. While they drove back Michonne had a deadpan expression. He tried to engage her in conversation but she wouldn't say anything.
As they were driving through the gates Rick walked up to them. “Where y'all been all day? We were about to start looking” He stopped when he saw the bruise on Michonne and the cut on Hershel's head and arm.
“The governor is dead, he won't be bothering us anymore.” She said that and walked into the courtyard.
“What happened? Rick looked at Hershel.
“The governor found another group of people. He caught us and was going to convince them to attack us just like those poor Woodbury people, but Michonne killed him first.”
Rick was angry and felt foolish but he wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.
“If any of them are still there we need to find them now.” He was already wondering what their plan of attack would be.
“Now hold on Rick, Michonne killed the governor and his number two. Those people aren’t looking for us.”
“You don't know that.”
“No, but I talked to Martinez before Michonne killed him. His people didn't know anything really and I don't even think Martinez wanted to really attack us. He was just following the governor.”
“We're sitting ducks out here, we've been lax for too long. I knew something like this would happen. Well, things are about to change around here.”
They immediately sent out a group and covertly watched the governor’s people but just like Hershel said they didn’t know anything about the prison. They moved the governor and Martinez’s bodies so his people just thought walkers got them but unlike Woodbury, he didn’t invite them in. He would leave them be for now. If they were still there in a month and seemed like good people he might reconsider.
Hershel came to Rick a few days later. “Rick I'm only telling you this because I think you need to know. When we were being held by the governor Michonne and I were separated for a while. The governor took her into another room and I don't know what happened but I can guess, he was a sick man. He had some dammed music playing so I couldn’t hear much until he started screaming. All she would tell me was he let his guard down and she killed him but she was fine. Now I hope to god she is, but she is acting different now and I’m worried."
Rick wondered why he was telling him of all people this and not Maggie or one of the other women. Sure they had become friendly since she'd been here and she was good with Carl and Judith but they weren’t that close. It was more of mutual respect. He really thought someone else should be handling this.
Hershel understood what he was thinking. “You know how closed off she is. She doesn't really talk to anyone but you and Carl.”
Rick looked down, “Hershel she needs to talk to Maggie, Sasha, or some other woman.”
“Well, maybe you can get her to talk to one of them."
“I can't talk to her about this. ”
“Yes, you can.” Hershel gathered his crutches and turned to leave. Rick thought for a moment and he was right he was the only one she talked to.
Rick nodded and thought Hershel must have assumed he and Michonne were a lot closer. Michonne wasn't close to anyone. He didn't know where to begin. He almost wished he hadn’t banished Carol. He was sure she would have known how to handle this and thought Hershel would have gone to her if she was still around. He thought about getting one of the women anyway but he knew Michonne would just shut down.
Michonne's room was upstairs in the back apart from the rest of the group. He called her and stood outside her cell door which like everyone else had a sheet giving her some privacy. He now noticed it also had an extension cord and tying it off. He can't remember if that was there before. “Hey”
“Hey,” she replied wondering why he was in her room. If he needed something he normally sent Carl or just waited until he saw her outside.
“I was just wondering how you were doing.” The bruise on her eye had changed colors and looked even worse.
She shrugged “I'm fine”
He was fidgeting and running his hand through his beard. It had never occurred to him to ask about the details of how she killed the governor. When someone in the group kills a person it's rarely talked about just another fact of life these days.
“I spoke to Hershel today he's concerned about you.” She turned around and started sharpening her sword with her back to him. He walked further into her room. She was wrapped up in a blanket that dragged the floor.
“He said you were separated from him at one point. Just you and the governor.”
She was silent.
“Did...anything happen Michonne?”
“Nothing happened, he made some threats and I was able to take him down.”
She was so hard to read. He was afraid she was lying and holding back. He knew how men like the governor thought. Glen had hinted at the governor threatening to rape Maggie when they were captured. So he could only imagine what he would do to Michonne since she killed his walker daughter.
He still regretted that he seriously thought of handing over Michonne to the governor in exchange for a possible chance at peace.
Her foot got caught on the blanket and it slipped down her back which she quickly pulled back up. For the first time, he saw a bruise on her neck and arms.
“I'm your friend Michonne.”
“There's nothing to tell.”
“Michonne” this time she looked in his direction but she had a dead expression he'd seen when he was a deputy.
“I’m sorry he hurt you”
“He's dead it doesn't matter anyway.” She mumbled and went back to sharpening her sword.
“It does matter” He stood up and put his hand on her shoulder but she started to lung at him. “YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME.”
He backed away, “I'm sorry.”
She turns her back to him again and he notices she is wiping away a few tears.
He didn't know what to say, the female officers usually dealt with rape victims. “Do you want me to get one of the women?”
She turned around “No Rick, I don't want you to get one of the other women.”
“I'm sorry I just don't know what I'm supposed to do.”
“You aren't supposed to do anything Rick it's not your problem. Please just go.”
“You should take a break from your rotations for a while, come back when you’re ready.” He knew it wasn't the right thing to say even as he was saying it.”
“I don't need any time off.”
“Okay... well if you need anything...” He felt like he was just in the way so he left.
After he left she cried a little more and just curled up on her bed.