FIVE. A GHOST INSIDE A HAUNTED HOUSE

This world was a test. A test on sanity and morality. It casts a dark shadow over you, morphing you into your worst nightmare and leaves you wondering if it's worth it to continue. It turns you into a fighter; a gatekeeper of an endless war where justice and revenge are a dish best served warm. Where the lines between right and wrong don't cross anymore. It made her the weapon that hands out the sentence. But Mia didn't want to be a fighter, she wanted to be free. The world killed whatever softness was left in her and left it rotting inside her body. It was like balancing on a tightrope between heaven and hell and Mia was sure she was on the brink of falling to the dark side. 

Her mind and body were no longer hers. Her subconscious seeped into the bloody cuts the universe slashed into her skin. Her soul disconnected from her body, leaving her a lonely shell. Perhaps the loneliness had finally caught up to her. The weight of the world rested on her shoulders and she was practically sinking to her knees to lift it off. She didn't know who she was anymore.

The sound of Earth surrounded her; the snap of twigs breaking under multiple feet. Mia's light eyes followed the motions of the three adults she encountered just minutes ago. Maggie Rhee was a kind woman. The gentleness of her touch nearly brought Mia to tears. Her hands were calloused and broken from how much they rubbed against the tree bark, desperate to feel anything. Unlike the roughness of wood, Maggie's was soft and light.  She had the touch of a mother or a sister. For a moment, Mia didn't feel like the scared little girl the world turned her in to. She just felt like a person.

Glenn Rhee believed that if his wife saw the good in someone,  that he should too.  His worrisome gaze quickly turned into care when he saw how troubled the young girl actually was. The way she stared at them with those doe like eyes and her shaking body.  He thought of all the kids back at the prison and how they acted when first coming to the camp. They were scared, confused, tired. That's what Mia was. To leave a child alone in a world full of nothingness was almost as sinful as killing.

Daryl Dixon was, indeed, a tough nut to crack. Mia could tell by his surliness that he had been through a lot during the apocalypse, maybe even before then. He didn't trust easy. Mia couldn't blame him. In a world like this, deciding who to trust and to not trust was a gamble. In a way, he scared her, but not like she was used to. He was tough and strong. The world needed more people like him. 

Mia stayed quiet behind the three adults. They'd been walking for what seemed like forever. Then, she saw the openness ahead of her. She felt like she was trapped in a maze and was finally at the end. The closer they got, the more viable the chain fence became and then she saw the prison. It seemed so close was so far away. Mia had never seen anything like it before. She could feel herself wanting to reach her arm out and touch it. Tall stone towers stood at every corner.  Rotten corpses littered the outside, their bodies dragging slowly. "This is it?" She found herself asking.

"This is it." Glenn answered her question, standing behind his wife.

"Wow."

Maggie's hand was put on her shoulder again. She looked down at her and smiled. Mia followed them again around the fence to what looked like the entrance of the gate. She wanted to ask so many questions. They piled in her brain. But she kept quiet. West Georgia Correctional Facility was hold on the rusted building.

The gate to the prison opened and a woman stood on the other side. Like Maggie, Mia automatically thought she was beautiful. Tall. Dark skin. Dark dreadlocks. She felt Maggie grab her arm and gently pull her along with the others. The commotion they created attracted the attention of the undead roaming around. Mia's heart beat increased at how quickly they ran through the entrance to get into the prison.

"About time you all got back." The unknown woman cracked a joke.

"Had a bit of a pit stop." Daryl murmured bitterly.

The adults turned their attention to Mia, who stayed hidden behind Maggie. She poked her head out and her eyes met the woman who opened the gate for them. "Who's this?"

"Michonne, this is Mia. We found her on the run in the woods, by herself." Maggie introduced them, emphasizing the last bit. "Mia, this is Michonne."

The pair stared at one another. The woman, Michonne, seemed to be trying to figure her out. She was young. Obviously frightened. Timid. She looked like she could do no harm. But that didn't mean anything. Mia had her own thoughts. She knew the woman carried herself well. Her body language told her that. The loudness in her voice. The katana attached to her back also told her that.

"It's nice to meet you, Mia." Michonne finally spoke.

Her words seemed to relax her. "Hi." She said back, her voice still small like before.

"Did you ask the questions?"

"Tried to. Mr. and Mrs. Savior stopped me before I could," grumbled Daryl.

"Daryl." Glenn warned, only earning a grunt in response.

"Well, if we don't want to face the wrath of Rick then I suggest we get her inside." Michonne suggested.

Rick. Mia repeated that name over and over again in her head wondering who he might be. She allowed Maggie to guide her forward to the prison. She looked around in awe, taking it all in. She had been living in an open space for so many years but it was nothing like this. She was only seeing a small part of it so she couldn't imagine how the rest was. For the first time in what seemed like her entire life, walking between the two women, Mia felt safe.

Her blood and dirt encrusted nails tapped against the metal table, the noise making her cringe slightly. Mia was slumped over in a wooden chair in the presence of four stone walls. The room was small and dark with a simple light hanging above her head. She felt intimidated and cold. Uncomfortable. This must be how criminals feel, she thought.

The door opened and Mia quickly sat upright in the chair. Under the dim lighting of the small room, a man entered. It wasn't until he sat across from her that she could make out his features. Dark hair that was greying ever so slightly. Tan skin. Stubbles face. But his blue eyes stuck out. They were like hers only brighter in color.

Mia felt more intimidated under his cold stare. There was a toughness in his eyes. He'd seen a lot. Been through a lot. Haven't they all? His large hands rested on the metal table, locked together, and she saw that his skin was smudged with dirt just like hers.

"Your name is Mia?"

His rustic voice made her wince. She tried her best to not seem terrorized. "Y-Yes. Amelia, but, people call me Mia. Yes."She stammered and cleared her throat. Get it together, idiot.

"My name is Rick Grimes. I'm going to ask you three questions. They're easy, nothing too bad. Think you can handle that?"

The way he handled himself led Mia to believe he was the leader. The man that ran the show. It only made her feel more terrorized. This was the man who determined whether she stayed or not. He had the power to throw her back to the wolves. She blinked rapidly. "Um, I think so."

He hummed in approval and sat up straight, leaning his body forward and more into the light. "Great. First question: how many walkers have you killed?"

Walkers. He was referring to the rotting things roaming outside. She never heard that before. Since she was twelve years old she had referred to them as corpses because that's what they were. They were the undead. The walking dead. But walkers. It made more sense in a way. Mia wondered how many other names people had for them.

It was a painful question to answer. She almost didn't. But she knew the consequences if she didn't. She'd be thrown back into the forest like trash. Like she didn't mean anything. "Um, I'm not sure. I lost count a while ago." She answered truthfully.

Rick seemed satisfied with the answer. His tongue pressed against his cheek. "How many people have killed?"

The question was a stab to the heart. A punch to the ribs. The aching in her body came back leaving her shoulders to a stabbing pain. She smelled blood and felt torture. She immediately looked down at her bandaged wrists. Oh, how she wished to forget the awful memories of her dead family and be taken in. The blood stained on her skin became more visible and she opened her calloused palms and stared at them. 

She saw her twin's face in her mind. She felt the weight of his body in her arms. No matter how hard she tried to forget and move on, Mia was never able to rid the regret and sorrow that permanently latched itself onto her.

She didn't realize how long she'd been quiet until Rick leaned forward again. "Are you alright?" His voice was still rough but he sounded concerned.

The walls of Mia's throat burned like somebody was sticking a branding iron in her mouth. Her eyes watered painfully but she sucked in a deep and shaky breath. What was she doing confessing her sins to a man she just met? These people didn't know her or the things she had been through. They had each other. She had no one. She was worried that he wouldn't understand her decision to end her brother's life. Would he think she was evil? Would be turn her away for taking an innocent life? She had no way of knowing. "One. Only one."

"Why?" Rick immediately asked again.

It made her skin crawl. There was only one answer. Lucas asked her to. He was dying in her arms. He didn't want to suffer. He didn't want to turn into one of them. Mia loved her brother. She'd never go against his wishes. But it was so damn painful to say it out loud. It drew knots in her stomach and bile in her throat. 

Darkness was the hands that wrapped itself around her throat and suffocated her. It was a constant reminder that she was a killer. A dinner. She killed her brother. His blood was on her hands.

Rick took the silence as a chance to really study her. She was just a kid. His son's age. What damage could she have done? He watched her fidget nervously and he eyed her wrapped up wrists. He didn't say anything about them. But he understood more. "Why?" He asked again, more gentle this time. 

"Because he asked me to. He was bitten. He didn't want to suffer. He was my brother." She said all in one breath. Her kid like blue eyes watered even more.

For the first time in a year she was able to talk about it out loud. The event that haunted her in her sleep. Demonds attacked her from the inside out,  shattering her ribs. She confessed her sins but it wasn't enough. God couldn't save her, if there even was one. What once was a little girl hid in her closet with her twin brother now suffered in misery with her lonesome self.  Misery was her only company. The memories once had struck her to her core. 

Lucas was supposed to be the last one standing. He was stronger than her. He was smarter than her. He was her protector. He promised to always protect her. It was not fair that someone as kind and determined as him was taken so soon. Mia missed him. The bandages on her wrists became heavy and it left her wishing she was no longer in the presents of Rick Grimes, or Maggie, or Michonne, or anyone anymore. 

Mia wiped away the tears that escaped her eyes and she sniffled. 

Rick felt a pang of remorse in his father heart. "I'm sorry that happened to you. That must have been extremely hard. How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

Mia saw his stiff body language soften up. "How long have you been out there?"

"Almost three years. I wasn't alone for the first two.  My family and I left our home at the start and traveled for months, looking for somewhere safe. But, um, it didn't really work out that way." Mia explained. Her voice was low like she was afraid to speak at full volume.

Rick titled his head. "Why's that?"

The ratting of the car crash filled her ears. The sound of the metal slamming against the concrete. Glass shattering everywhere. Her tiny body flying all over the place.

    Her bones rattled inside her.

        The car flipped exactly three times.

Her father and sister flew out of the shattered glass windows.

    Lucas had to keep her from screaming as they watched the walkers eat them.

Mia desperately wanted to cry but there was no tears left. Not just because of the dehydration she'd been subjected to. But she had cried so much already that now she was just tired. She mourned silently in her head, letting the darkness in her mind almost kill her.

Rick's entire demeanor changed. He drank the information she gave him and let it digest within him. She was fourteen. Kids didn't deserve to live in a world like this. Her dirty face was streaked with tears,  mixing with the dirt and blood. She had no light in her eyes. Rick did not know Mia but he cursed the world for changing who she once was. "I'm very sorry, Mia."

All she could do was nod.

"This world has changed so much and it's only going to get worse," he spoke again. She continued to look at her blood stained hands. "And it's not meant for a kid like you to be out there alone." That got her attention. "We have a system here. It's how we've survived. The questions are a precaution."

"That's what Glenn said." She mentioned.

He chuckled softly. "So you've met Glenn?"

"Maggie found me first. Glenn and Daryl were with her. She's very kind. Glenn, too. I'm still working on Daryl." She answered. At the mention of Maggie, she grew comfortable. She even smiled.

Rick laughed again. "Yeah, you'll have fun with that. He's good. I promise. They're all good people. It's my job to protect them so that's why the questions are so important. You never know who you can trust these days,"

Mia nodded. "I understand."

"This prison is a safe place. It can be a home for you. I know you'll never be able to regain what you've lost but this can be a start. These people are good people who will protect and take care of you. You help us and we'll help you."

A home. She had forgotten what a home was. The trees had become her home essentially. Sleeping under them, laying against them, and touching them like they had the same flesh as she did.

"I don't think I could forgive myself I sent you back there," Rick continued after she remained quiet. "That's not who I am and that's not what we're about. We save people. Maggie saved you. This place can be your second chance if you'll allow it to be. There's children here. Kids your age. I have a son. Carl. He's your age. You'll have people to talk to. You won't have to be alone anymore."

You won't have to be alone anymore. Loneliness was a silent killer and boy, was it destroying her. Mia would be lying if she said she wasn't overwhelmed. She had been on her own for so long and suddenly thrown into the mist of people she didn't know. Though that's what she wished for, it was a rough change. The way Rick explained to her and how kind he was being made her think. She didn't know how much longer should would survive on her own if she left right now. She thought of the event that happened in the woods. Moments like those would happen again and again. Her demons would take over her mind once again. But she had a chance.

She remembered the promise she made to Lucas moments before his death. She promised to live for him. He promised her that as long as she lived, he would be there by her side. While she wished he was actually there, the feeling of his presence would be enough. Mia promised she would live for him and her family. With that running through her head, she stared the man in his eyes and nodded, a grin curling on her lips. "Okay, I'll stay."