"Bang!"
Calista's chest slammed hard into the wall, the impact shaking her so badly it felt like her organs had shifted out of place.
She could even feel the attacker's warm breath against the side of her neck.
In the darkness, Calista could not see their face, nor could she tell whether they were a man or a woman. She could only fight back by touch and instinct.
She jerked her head back, trying to smash it into the attacker's face, but they seemed to have anticipated it. Their head tilted aside, dodging the blow, while the arm locked around her neck tightened even more.
The feeling of suffocation began flooding her head.
A fierce glint flashed through Calista's eyes. Using every bit of strength she had, she planted both feet against the ground and threw herself backward, dragging the person behind her down with her, hoping to use her weight to slam them onto the stairs.
"Clang! Crash!"
The two of them toppled together, tripped by the stairs, and knocked over an empty wooden shelf leaning against the wall.
The sound of the shelf breaking was deafening in the enclosed basement entrance.
"Calista!"
Carver, who was checking the bedrooms, heard the huge commotion, and his heart nearly stopped.
Without the slightest hesitation, he shot out of the corridor like an arrow from a bow, rushing straight toward the source of the noise.
Following the sound down into the basement, Carver saw the two figures locked in a struggle, and his eyes went wide with fury.
He could not see Calista's face. All he saw was her pinned down by a dark figure in a hoodie.
"Let go!" Carver growled, lunging forward in one stride.
He did not fire. The risk of hitting Calista was too high. Instead, he wrapped one powerful arm around the attacker's neck from behind and dragged them backward with all his strength.
The attacker clearly had not expected a second person, much less one who arrived so fast.
With their neck caught, the attacker let out a short, pained gasp, and the grip on Calista loosened by instinct.
Calista seized the chance, sucked in a sharp breath, and broke free.
But the attacker's reaction was faster than expected.
Even through the pain of being choked, she reached back, drew a sharp blade from her waist, and slashed backward without looking.
The move was ruthless and decisive.
"Shhk!"
The blade cut through the sleeve of Carver's combat uniform, leaving a bloody gash across his solid forearm.
Blood welled up at once, soaking into the fabric.
Carver let out a muffled grunt. The pain made the muscles in his arm twitch instinctively, but years of training and sheer will kept him from letting go.
Instead, the cut only sparked his aggression.
He roared, tightened his arm again, and swept his foot out in a hard trip.
"Bang!"
Using his absolute strength and weight, he slammed the attacker hard onto the floor, sending dust flying.
Carver followed through, driving one knee into the attacker's lower back. With his uninjured hand, he clamped down on the attacker's knife hand and smashed the wrist against the ground.
"Clang!"
The blade flew from her hand and slid into the darkness of the corner.
The attacker still tried to struggle, but Carver's strength held an overwhelming advantage.
He forced both of her arms behind her back and pinned her completely to the floor with his body weight, leaving her unable to move.
From the moment Carver intervened to the moment he fully subdued her, barely a dozen seconds had passed.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Calista braced herself against the wall. Her throat felt like it had been scraped with sandpaper, burning with pain.
She coughed twice, spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Fuck..." Calista muttered, shaking her still-dizzy head and forcing herself upright.
She glanced at the attacker Carver had pinned firmly to the floor. The figure in the dark hoodie was still twisting slightly, like a wild beast unwilling to be captured.
Calista quickly tore off the hem of her shirt and rushed over. While Carver held the attacker down, she swiftly tied the attacker's hands behind her back, binding them tight.
Carver was breathing hard. The wound on his arm was still bleeding, but he had no time to care. He looked anxiously at Calista. "You okay?"
There was no time to make a fuss.
Calista shook her head, signaling that she was fine.
She crouched, picked up the high-powered flashlight from the floor, pushed the switch hard with her left thumb, and used her right hand to pull back the attacker's hood.
She wanted to see exactly who this person was, with skills this strong and methods this strange.
"Click!"
A bright white beam struck the face of the attacker pinned under Carver, making her squint instinctively.
Under the light, her face was clear.
She was a Black woman with a head full of dreadlocks and a headband tied across her forehead. Her face was covered in sweat mixed with dust, and a thin cut had split open near her brow bone, beads of blood seeping out.
Calista's gaze swept over the woman's face, then over the katana still hanging in its sheath at her side, and her heart lurched.
Michonne?!
Her mind buzzed.
Wasn't this woman supposed to be near the farm?
In the original storyline, Michonne rescued Andrea after she was separated from the main group by the walker herd, so why was she here alone now?
The hair on the back of Calista's neck stood on end.
A fork in fate had appeared right in front of her without warning.
Carver was panting heavily. Blood from his arm ran down his elbow and dripped onto Michonne's dark coat, spreading into a small dark-red patch.
He could feel the attacker's muscles beneath him tensed like stone. She had not given up struggling at all, and her jaw was clenched even tighter.
Carver looked up at Calista, his brows knotted, his eyes full of questions.
This crazy woman can't be left alive, can she?
"Carver! Don't touch her yet!" Calista's voice was badly hoarse, and she spoke in a rush, afraid Carver might snap Michonne's neck in the next second.
Carver's Adam's apple bobbed. He was clearly not happy.
The cut on his arm was still bleeding.
But looking at Calista's face, he gritted his teeth and slowly loosened his hold.
Still, Carver moved lightning fast, stripping Michonne of the blade and sheath on her body before kicking them into the corner. One small knife that had cut him, and one long katana.
He did not step away. Instead, he took half a step forward, shielding Calista even more firmly.
As soon as the weight lifted from her, Michonne sprang up like a coil, sitting upright with her back slightly arched.
Her hands were still bound behind her. She did not bother looking at the weapons taken from her. First, she shot a wary glance at Carver's bleeding arm. Then her gaze scraped across Carver like a blade before fixing hard on Calista's face.
The basement was terrifyingly quiet, with only the three of them breathing heavily.
The air seemed to have frozen, pressing down on their chests until it felt hard to breathe.
Calista patted Carver on the back, signaling him to move aside a little.
She shifted a small step forward, spread both hands, and raised them to shoulder height.
"Hey." Calista cleared her aching throat. "We were just looking for a place to rest. We weren't trying to start anything."
She tilted her head. "Those two walkers outside. You did that, didn't you?"
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (45 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.