A Hard Lesson to Learn

Chapter 20

The next couple of weeks passed quickly for Kali. They made a run to the museums in D.C. to scavenge some much needed equipment to get the bridge started and for the communities. They found a wagon that would be useful hauling the wood to the bridge and easier for a large group to travel at once. It was a miracle that Ezekiel wasn't eaten by the walkers when the glass broke, and he was hanging on for dear life. Also, the found an old plow that would make it easier to get the gardens ready planting, only to have it break when the horses got scared and it fell off the wagon. The Hilltop's blacksmith was charged with getting it fixed.

The bridge was starting to be built. They started the process by cutting down several trees and getting them ready to build. It was a total community effort. To Kali's surprise, Rick was right. The saviors that decided to stay around after they condemned the Sanctuary did pull most of the weight when it came to laying the timber for the bridge. The Hilltop, Kingdom, and Alexandria all helped too.

Rick was staying at the campsite close by to make sure that everything was going peacefully. Sometimes he'd be gone for five or six days before showing his face again in Alexandria, then there were times that he would come home every night to see Judith and Michonne. Rick and Kali haven't really talked since the day the found the bridge. Thoughts of the kiss still haunting them.

Kali was helping Michonne handle things around Alexandria. No, she wasn't a leader, just part of the community. Most the time she was watching Judith or in the garden. Michonne wanted her to start a school for the kids in Alexandria so they would learn the basics of education, but Kali did not really want to go back to teaching. She loved kids, she really did, but Kali wanted to spend more time helping the community thrive.

The one kid that she did not mind reading to or teaching was Judith. That's why she found herself in the Grimes' back yard on a blanket in the grass reading to the little girl. Judith had insisted on The Wizard of Oz, even though Rick and Michonne had read it to her hundreds of times.

They had the back glass door open so they could hear if Michonne called them from inside the house. Judith was stumbling over the words on the page when the gate opened. Kali thought it was Rick since it was about time for him to come home again.

While she was trying to pay attention to Judith's reading, the sound of commotion within the house caught her attention. "Maggie think about this," she barely heard Michonne say.

"He deserves to die. He shouldn't get to live," she heard the other woman say coldly.

"Maggie," Michonne tried again her voice losing hope with each passing second.

"Are you going to stand in my way or let me through? This ends today. One way or another."

Kali turned her heads towards the house. She could see Michonne standing by the table. "I'll be right back Judi. I need to talk to your momma for a minute." Kali peeled herself away from the small girl and stood on the grass. Quickly, she walked across the yard and went up the steps hastily.

Once she's in the house she saw Michonne standing there her katana in hand. The door to the basement was wide open. "Why's Maggie here," she asks the woman in front of her.

Michonne said nothing. Her hand wrapped tightly around the handle of her weapon. She stared at Kali in front of her. She knew that their secret was about to be found out.

She heard a somber laugh float up the stairs. "She just let ya waltz right on by huh? That's a shame. I thought my girl Michonne had my back. It's okay though. You have that fire. I knew it would be you. It was meant to be you. I used to say I didn't enjoy bashing people's heads in, but that night. Your husband, he was different."