The moment Max declared the prison officially under the Blood Angel Community, a headache settled behind Michonne's eyes like it intended to stay.
Now the four of them Andrea, Molly, Priest, and Michonne had to sit here and actually explain what that meant. The rules. The laws. The whole unglamorous machinery of being absorbed into someone else's empire.
Michonne had drawn the short straw.
Maggie, Carol, and Daryl sat in front of her wearing expressions somewhere between suspicious and openly hostile. The crowd behind them wasn't any better. Nobody wanted to be governed by outsiders she got that, she genuinely did. Fear made people stupid, and distrust of strangers was practically a survival instinct at this point.
But the dissatisfaction on their faces still irritated her.
Look around you, she wanted to say. One pig. A handful of cabbages in a patch barely worth calling a garden. Almost no medicine. Almost no weapons. The prison itself was the only real asset this place had, and its walls couldn't feed anyone.
If this were the Max she remembered, the old one, every person in this room would already be dead, and he'd be setting up his flag in the yard. Instead he'd extended protection. Food supply. Medicine. A seat on the council, with actual voting power a voice.
And they were sitting here looking at her like she was the villain.
She glanced sideways. Priest was writing. Andrea was the only one pulling her weight, helping walk people through the agreements.
Molly was asleep.
Of course she was.
"Molly, can you stop sleeping and help me?" Michonne complained quietly as she shook Molly's shoulder.
Molly lazily opened her eyes and looked at her.
"Why are you waking me up? Let me sleep."
The moment Molly tried to close her eyes again, Michonne slapped her lightly on the shoulder.
"Molly, wake up and explain things to them. You're one of the leaders and a council member. It's your duty."
Still looking sleepy, Molly waved a hand dismissively.
"I have an injury on that shoulder. Don't slap it."
"You injured the other shoulder," Michonne pointed out.
Molly smiled sheepishly.
"Even so, you shouldn't slap people, especially when they're sleeping. This whole thing is so boring."
She turned away and immediately started drifting back to sleep.
"You're one of the leaders, damn it. Act like it. All these people are looking at you, and you have no respect."
Molly looked back at Michonne.
"No respect, you say? Our bald Supreme Leader is enjoying his sleep with Clementine while we work here, and you're telling me I have no respect?"
Behind them, Maggie turned to Andrea.
"If you can give us medicine, can we get some? We're in desperate need of it."
Andrea looked bewildered, unsure how to answer.
From behind her, Molly spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Who said we're going to give you any supplies? Nothing is free, girl. We'll only give you a loan. But first you need BACC/ Blood Angel Community Council approved."
She yawned before continuing.
"If you don't want that hassle, you can ask Max directly. He has a lot of voting power."
Maggie's face immediately brightened. She was about to run off to find Max when Molly quickly stopped her.
"There's no point asking Max right now. All communications are down. I think some motherfucker jammed the radio signals. We can't contact the main headquarters. And even if we somehow manage to contact them, the fastest they could get here would be about a week."
Maggie's excitement vanished instantly. She sank back into her chair and gripped the armrests tightly in frustration.
"That's the only benefit we get for letting you control us. We're dying here...we need help!" one person cried out from the crowd.
Molly looked at the speaker. It was a skinny man.
"Motherfucker, you look like you need help the most right here. Stop complaining. Be thankful you even have any benefit. Most people would've already killed you and eaten you. Well, you're not even worth that… you don't have any meat."
She looked at the skinny man again and smiled mockingly.
"I think a mosquito has more muscle than you."
Molly laughed at her own joke, but Michonne stared at her until she quieted down.
The meeting continued in the dim room, where the only source of light was an oil lamp.
===
As soon as the morning light crept into the cell, Clementine woke up beside Max.
He was still asleep.
The sight made her smile.
Max was a light sleeper. The only time he ever slept this deeply was when he was with someone he trusted completely. Only then would he let his guard down.
Carefully, Clementine tried to slip out of bed without waking him.
Unfortunately, Max had an arm wrapped around her waist like a steel trap.
She spent nearly a minute prying herself free before finally escaping. Victorious, she fixed her messy hair and headed outside for her morning routine.
The moment the door closed behind her, Max opened his eyes.
He sat up, stretched, and immediately started his morning workout.
---
After washing her face, Clementine stood outside the prison brushing her teeth.
Walkers clawed and groaned against the fences, but beyond them, the morning was peaceful. Sunlight filtered through the trees. People moved around camp doing chores, chopping wood, preparing breakfast, and getting ready for the day.
Near a Humvee, Maggie and Carol unloaded supplies for the trip ahead.
Beside Clementine, Molly and Jane were brushing their teeth as well.
"Do we seriously have to use this expired toothpaste every day?" Molly complained. "It tastes like mint-flavored death."
"If you don't brush, you'll end up toothless," Jane replied. "And since there aren't any dentists left, you'll have to pull them yourself."
Molly grimaced.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to sound happy about that?"
Jane shrugged.
"Occupational hazard, family head."
Molly pointed her toothbrush at her.
"Stop calling me that."
"It is your title."
"We're in the apocalypse. Nobody cares about titles."
"I do."
"Call me Molly."
"I'll think about it, family head."
Clementine sighed.
"Can you two go five minutes without arguing?"
"Probably not," Jane answered.
"Definitely not," Molly agreed.
Before either could continue, a nervous voice spoke up behind them.
"Uh... hi. Can I join you guys?"
They turned.
A blonde girl stood there awkwardly, raising a hand.
"Oh. Hi. I'm Beth."
Clementine smiled.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Clementine. That's Molly, and the grumpy one is Jane."
"I'm not grumpy," Jane said.
Beth looked at her.
Jane stared back.
Beth nodded slowly.
"Okay."
Molly snorted.
"So," Jane said, changing the subject, "where's the bathroom around here?"
Beth pointed toward the prison buildings.
"Most of the old ones don't work anymore. We built replacements, but there's usually a line."
"And if there isn't?"
"The woods."
Jane immediately frowned.
She wasn't worried about privacy.
She hated bugs.
Molly saw the look and grinned.
"What is it? Need to go number one or number two?"
"Shut up, Molly."
"Number two, then."
"Shut. Up."
While the two resumed bickering, Beth turned to Clementine.
"My daddy talked about you a lot."
Clementine blinked.
"Your dad?"
"Hershel Greene."
Recognition immediately crossed Clementine's face.
"Oh."
"He said you and Lee stayed at our farm. I was at school back then, so I never got to meet you."
The mention of Lee made Clementine's chest tighten.
Still, she smiled.
"I'd like to see Hershel. Thank him for everything. And... apologize for what happened to his son."
Beth's expression dimmed.
"My daddy's in quarantine."
"What happened?"
"Some kind of flu is spreading through the prison. People are getting sick. Some are dying."
Clementine's smile disappeared.
"We need medicine badly," Beth continued. "Yesterday Daddy asked me to gather elderberries. We found some, but not enough. I was planning to go get more."
Clementine nodded immediately.
"We'll come with you."
Beth glanced at Clementine's stomach.
"Are you sure?"
"I'm only three months pregnant," Clementine said. "I'm pregnant, not fragile. Besides, we're just picking berries."
She pointed at Molly and Jane.
"And if anything goes wrong, I've got those two."
Beth looked over.
Molly and Jane had been arguing seconds ago.
Now both were paying complete attention.
That was... weird.
"We don't mind coming," Jane said. "I've been sitting around too long anyway. Plus, this gives me an excuse to find a bathroom."
"And I've got nothing better to do," Molly added. "Might as well enjoy a nice morning walk through Walker-infested woods."
"We could ask Michonne too," Clementine suggested.
Molly shook her head.
"Nope. She's heading to the college with Jerry, Chicken, and Andrea to look for medicine and supplies."
"Oh."
"Looks like it's just us girls."
Jane smirked.
"God help the woods."
After finishing their morning routine, the group gathered their gear and prepared to head out in search of more elderberries.