Upon seeing this, Michonne didn't have time to inspect the inside of the helicopter cabin. Her first reaction was to run back immediately the way she had come, but then she heard the sound of an engine not too far from her position, approaching at high speed.
She approached cautiously, and from a distance, she saw several cars parking inside the woods, trying to hide among the trees. Alarmed, Michonne quickly ran toward her companion, who wasn't far away, and they both crouched down in the grass to hide.
"What's going on?" Janet asked upon seeing the urgent expression on Michonne's face.
Michonne motioned for her to stay quiet while, instinctively, her right hand rested on the hilt of her sword. Her eyes were fixed on the clearing not far away, and as the sound grew closer, she hid herself.
After a brief pause, she thought she should say something to calm her companion's uncertainty.
"I only saw two dead people at the site, someone else was here… But it looks like more people are coming now. Don't make a sound, they must not discover us." Michonne didn't want to reveal too much right now. It wasn't the right time, and if they kept moving too much, they risked being discovered. That's why she decided not to say anything else.
No need to mention all the dangers women face in the end of the world. The most beautiful ones might be lucky, but those just trying to survive will be used by stronger groups to satisfy their needs.
Michonne had unfortunately seen many such incidents.
As they remained motionless, they watched as a jeep entered the woods and stopped. Five people got out of the vehicle.
"Let's go!" Ordered a firm voice from the distance.
The speaker was none other than the Governor, the leader of this group, and the one Jason was too cautious about. With an authoritative tone, he commanded his men to disperse and eliminate the nearby walkers.
After surveying the surroundings, the Governor walked toward the downed helicopter. The first thing he saw was the split body on the ground.
"Governor!" Shouted Martínez, one of his most loyal men, pointing to the scattered bodies around and saying, "Looks like someone's been here. There are walkers taken out all over the area."
The Governor's face hardened even more. He leaned forward and looked inside the helicopter cabin without saying a word.
"Damn it…" The Governor murmured as he saw something that confirmed his suspicions.
The same wound in the eye socket of one of the corpses he had seen earlier, that wound must have been made by an allied and very long knife…
The Governor narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, as if expecting to find something hidden among the vegetation.
"Someone's been here… Or maybe one of the wounded managed to escape."
With that in mind, the Governor turned to his men and ordered, "Search the surroundings. They can't have gone far."
"Understood!"
All the subordinates responded to the command and began moving, searching the ground for traces left by the fugitives.
"They went this way!" A dark-skinned man shouted, pointing to a line of tracks in the dirt.
That was the same direction where Jason and the others had retreated. Martínez was the first to arrive and carefully examined them.
After a few moments, he looked up at the Governor with a tense expression.
"These are the footprints of many people… Should we still pursue them?" Martínez confirmed that these were military boots, there were definitely survivors.
The Governor squinted his eyes, his gaze growing colder. Then, he looked down at the soldier's corpse beside him and suddenly stomped on the face with force.
Once.
Twice.
He kept doing it without stopping, crushing the soldier's face into a bloody mess, as if venting his pent-up rage.
The rest of the group watched in silence. Martínez, though shocked by the brutality, said nothing.
"Who are you?! Don't move!"
Suddenly, a shout rang through the forest.
Everyone quickly turned toward the sound and saw one of their men with his weapon raised, aiming at a spot between the trees.
The Governor made a motion with his eyes, and his men began to slowly surround the area.
Knowing they had been discovered, Michonne grabbed the woman beside her and ran toward the bushes. Her companion, gripped by panic, reacted too late but tried to follow her.
However, her weakened body didn't respond as expected. She felt a sudden dizziness, and before she could take more than a few steps, she collapsed to the ground.
Michonne stopped immediately to help her, but it was already too late. The Governor's men had surrounded them on all sides.
With no other choice, Michonne slid her hand to the hilt of her sword, but she found multiple guns pointing at her from every angle.
"What do you think you'll do with a sword?" Martínez's voice sounded calm but with a clear warning. "Don't do anything stupid. Our bullets are much faster than your blade."
Michonne looked around. There was no escape. With a frown, she slowly crouched and dropped her sword to the ground. The woman beside her did the same with her gun before raising her hands in surrender.
The Governor approached slowly and confidently. His cold expression had softened a bit, although his eyes still held the same intensity and brutality as before.
When he was in front of them, he observed them silently for a moment before speaking in a measured voice: "Do you know what happened to the pilot of this helicopter? I'm quite surprised he disappeared before we arrived. Isn't that right?"
Michonne kept her expression firm and responded coldly, "I don't know."
The Governor shrugged and smiled enigmatically. "Well… I understand. But still, you'll have to come with me. And I'm sorry to say, but my methods might seem a bit… offensive."
…
When the Governor returned to the vehicle and started heading back to his refuge, Michonne and the other woman had their eyes blindfolded. They could only vaguely see the outside through the small gaps in the cloth.
Through the blindfold, Michonne could distinguish trees passing quickly by the window, ruined houses, and walkers wandering among the debris. Everything looked dark, filtered through the cloth covering their eyes. All she could do was curse her bad luck in this situation.
Suddenly, the intercom sound activated from the first row of the vehicle, followed by the Governor's voice:
"Zz… Prepare the infirmary!"
"How many people?" A male voice asked on the other side of the intercom.
"Two. Both women. One of them is not in good condition. Probably too scared and dehydrated from lack of food."
"Understood, Governor!"
"We'll reach the refuge in five minutes. Although this trip didn't yield much profit, at least we managed to rescue two lovely ladies." The Governor said in an overly kind tone.
"What happened?"
"Well, Milton, I think now's not the best time to talk about that, don't you think?" The Governor turned off the radio impatiently.
Michonne soon noticed the vehicle slowing down as they approached the refuge. Through the blindfold, she could make out human figures standing on an improvised wall made of tires.
"Michonne?" A familiar female voice sounded beside her.
Michonne turned her head and responded softly, "I'm here, Janet."
They were taken directly to the infirmary, where a doctor examined them. After a while, he breathed a sigh of relief and said in a relaxed tone:
"They're just malnourished. They'll recover with good nutrition."
Janet was the first to speak, covering her arm after the medical examination. "Doctor, why are we locked up here? What is this place?"
The doctor looked at them with a complicated expression. Then he glanced at the two people posted at the door. He hesitated for a moment before responding:
"I shouldn't answer that question..." With that said, he packed up his instruments and left the room.
Before the Governor could speak upon entering, Michonne interrupted him firmly, "We want our weapons back."
The Governor smiled with apparent satisfaction. "Of course. I'll have your things prepared later."
Janet looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Then why are we locked up in this room?"
The Governor glanced around, inspecting the doors and windows of the infirmary. Then he raised his hands in feigned confusion. "Do you see sealed doors or windows? Since when have they been closed? We're just keeping an eye on you to make sure you don't make a mistake, that's all."
Janet furrowed her brows, very annoyed, and said, "That's the same as saying we're under strict surveillance, right?"
The Governor's face hardened, and his voice became firmer. "Listen! First, I have to think about the safety of my people. To me, you're strangers right now! We don't know you after all."
"We don't know you either!" Janet shot back with the same intensity. "We just want our stuff and to leave here."
Janet stared directly into his eyes, her tone making it clear that she wasn't going to back down.