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[ season three, episode three ]
The smell of burning flesh was ripe in the air as Theo, Andrea and Michonne trudged through the smoking forest.
A great plume of thick, black smoke looming over the amalgamation of trees like a veil had brought them this far. Curiosity. Theo had been reluctant at first, afraid it would prove to be a trap inducted by wastrels seeking the equipment and weapons on their backs, ultimately ending in their deaths. But Michonne had impeccably good judgment when it came to approaching precarious predicaments, so Theo followed after her, just as he had been for months.
They ducked behind brambles and bushes, staring pensively at the scene of devastation splayed out before them.
A broken helicopter, twisted and mangled, smoking and flaming. Evidently, the aircraft had recently fallen from the sky, crushing the congregation of trees as it toppled down, down, down into the earth like some falling meteor, littering debris across the forest floor in its wake. Everything surrounding it was broken. The people, especially.
Theo found he had a morbid sense of curiosity when it came to the dead man beside the mangled helicopter.
His body had been ripped completely in half, entrails spilling across the grass, lifeless eyes staring up at the cloudless tapestry above. He was wearing military gear; even this long after the outbreak, he was still clinging to hope and devotion, serving a cause that had been long forgotten. Theo had no idea what type of person the dead man had been before . . . this, but for the sake of positive memorial, he assumed it to be pleasant. Perhaps the military's last combatants had been seeking survivors to assist when the helicopter went down. Perhaps not.
He would never know.
Michonne scurried back into their concealment of overgrown shrubbery as the low rumble of approaching vehicles echoed in the distance, gradually growing louder and closer. Instinctively, Theo reached for the tawdry bow on his back, and slipped an arrow from the quiver.
"Did you see how many?" the young boy inquired in a hushed voice.
Michonne shook her head, "Couldn't tell. Two, three ─ there could be more."
Soon enough, the vehicles were upon them. Parked about thirty metres or so from their hiding spot, the people who fanned out from the cars and into the clearing were armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry. It was safe to say Theo had begun to grow relatively anxious.
