Ch. 5 Well…….

About an hour after the funerals Maggie brings a map and lays it out on the hood of a yellow car. They decide to look for the little girl Sophia and decide to search in sections. They go int great detail but Michael decides to watch his brother and sister play on the front porch as Carol watches them.

"How old are they?" Carol quietly asks.

"I they are 12 years old this year" Michael responds still looking at the twins. "They're twins. I was an only child for seven years and then I was told I would have a younger sibling. Can you believe my surprise when I had a two for one deal?" Michael chuckles to himself.

"My little Sophia is also 12. I think that the kids would get along" Carol trails off.

"I'm sure they will. As soon as the gang finds her and brings her back safe and sound. Then hopefully Carl will be better so they can all run around the farm while we watch them"

This causes Carol to grab Michael's hand and give it a squeeze as she slightly smiles at him. Then she lets his hand go and returns to watching the kids. Michael can tell that she appreciated him saying that, almost like she needed to hear it.

Michael looked towards the barn and felt his stomach tighten. He's getting a very bad feeling from it but catches himself before anyone else can notice his staring.

Michael decides that he should change into his back up clothes in his duffle bag. He asks Carol to watch the twins and she agrees. He then tells the twins to listen to the nice lady and stay safe and in her sights.

He went to the bags and took out a new white tshirt and a new pair of socks. He also grabbed a pair of blue jeans that weren't dark.

He went behind the tree and changed quickly, luckily he noticed Glenn and Maggie talking on the other side of the tree a little bit away. Unluckily he was currently pantsless.

Maggie talks to Glenn and asks if he wants to tag along on a 'Pharmacy run'. Michael quickly pulls up his pants and quietly puts a belt on to keep them up.

Before he walks out from behind the tree Dale and Tdog ask about the water situation and Maggie points them in the right direction and starts walking away to get horses for her and Glenn.

Michael then pops out from behind the tree a few feet away and shouts: "Can I tag along?! I need to pick up a few things as well!"

"Three horses it is then!" Maggie shouts without turning around.

The guys that were left behind look at Michael bare chested and without shoes. "Don't look at me like that! I wasn't the one who invited everyone over to watch me change!"

Glenn looks at Michael: "Did she say…'Horse'?"

Michael just nods his head.

Michael gets dressed and ready. He tells the twins he will be going into town. They complain but he is able to settle a deal with them. He just has to give them some candy, easy peasy.

He sits on the porch and looks out at the farm and sees everyone go about their day. Dale collects the weapons but he tells Briana to keep hers hidden. Daryl goes off looking for Sophia on her own. Then Hershel exits the house and talks to Rick.

Michael hasn't talked to Rick about joining his group but he will say it when the time comes. Hershel tells him that it's better for them to stay by the house than the barn which makes Michael's feelings towards the barn increase.

Hershel also says that Ricks people shouldn't get comfy because this isn't permanent. He says that he doesn't usually take in strangers and looks at Michael and the twins and then back to Rick. He says that after the girl is found and the boy is fit for travel he expects Ricks group off his land and to move on.

Michael scoffs and kicks a rock. Then he remembers his jacket and other clothes on the porch. He takes them over to the trees by his bags and catches Glenn sneaking a peak at Maggie through binoculars.

"Hello….Farmers daughter". Michael near face plants into a tree hearing Glenn whisper to himself. It luckily he catches himself and doesn't disturb Glenn's peeping session.

Then Lori steps in front of Glenn blocking his view. This nearly makes him jump out of his skin.

Lori greets Glenn and hands him a list for the supply run. Michael puts his old clothes next to his bags and listens to the conversation behind the same tree.

Maybe he can make an invisibility cloak out of it or something because apparently nobody notices him standing behind it.

Then she asks about a very personal item that needs to be discreet. Which Glenn immediately asks what it is. Lori complains that that's not very discreet and Glenn asks where to find it and says he will do it.

That's around the time when Michael hears about a walker in a well or something.

Apparently there is no such thing as a zombie before the apocalypse. So they are calling them walkers. This causes Michael to have an 'ohhhh yeahhhh' moment and remembers that's what they called them in the show.

A bunch of people gather around the well where groans can be heard coming from.

Looking into it there is a very bloated walker. Glenn asks how long people think it has been down there and Maggie replies "Long enough to grow some gills".

Michael can't help but laugh hard. Everybody turns to look at him as he stands up straight. "Ahem, it's funny cause fish and gills….. Yknow what? Not so funny now. Very serious talk. Got it"

Michael decides to stay quiet as they talk about why they have to take it out sooner rather than later and why they can't just kill it then bring it out.

They want to throw Glenn and tie a rope around it to drag it out. Michael offers some better rope than the flimsy farm rope.

Michael went to grab the rope from his bags and heard Hershel ask Rick if he felt Gods hand in him when he woke up from a coma and found his family. "I'm sure he felt more than Gods hand inside of him" and chuckles to himself as he runs back to the group before he misses something else hilarious.

Once Michael gets back to the well he sees a brick of spam off to the side. Apparently even the walker didn't want to eat it and Michael doesn't blame the bloated guy.

Michael ties Glenn with the stronger rope as Glenn tries not to freak out. "Have I told you that you have a lot of muscles?" Glenn says trying to delay his inevitable descent into the well.

"No, but if you make it out alive I'll tell you my trick to getting them" Michael says patting Glenn on his shoulder.

"Really?" Glenn asked, a little to excited. Clearly desperate to get some muscles. Can't blame the guy, he's not fat but he's trying y'know.

"Really. Just make it back alive" as Glenn nods his head and looks between his legs and down the well everyone else looks at Michael and silently thanks him for bringing Glenn something to survive for. And he lightened the mood.

"Get me outta this in one living piece please. The living part is important" Glenn doesn't exactly say this to anyone, it more or less him trying to calm himself. And a little bit of pleading the others.

The rope is tied around Glenn and wrapped around the water thingy that you pump water out of from the well above the ground. Isn't that just a water pump? Anyway….

Michael, Tdog, Andrea, Lori and Dale are holding the rope in that order. Maggie is looking over the edge of the well as Glenn gets lowered in.

Maggie asks if Glenn is doing alright and Michael swears he can hear Glenn respond with "Living the dream" which causes Michael to bite his tongue to not burst out laughing. It nearly causes him to forget about the previous night.

The gurgling and growling of the walker gets louder the closer Glenn gets to it. Maggie is spotting Glenn and saying "a little lower" repeatedly.

(LOUD JUMPSCARE NOISE)

All of a sudden the freaking water pump gets unbolted from the ground. But not completely, it just leans at a nasty angle and threatens to let Glenn fall to the blubberfish down the well.

Everyone grabs the rope that was in their hands except for Michael. He goes and grabs the rope close to the well just in case the pump completely falls. Everyone is scared for Glenn for a second before the pump completely breaks.

Luckily Michael was already holding the rope from a better position. Unluckily for Michael, who was holding Glenn entirely on his own with his already sort of injured hands. Luckily they were bandaged but it's the pressure that hurt him as he cursed some words he doesn't want his siblings to hear him say.

Everyone scrambled to pull the rope as Glenn screams to get him outta there.

They are able to slowly drag Glenn up. And Glenn eventually gets pulled out. And nearly kisses the dirt.

Dale thinks it's back to the drawing board which is kinda insensitive since nobody asked if he was injured. But Glenn picks himself up. "Says you" Glenn smiles as he hands Dale the other rope with the walker attached and walks away.

Michael is walking around with his hands to his chest shaking them a bit in an effort to relieve the pain. Maggie approaches him.

"Let me see" Michael stops walking but continues to try and shake the pain away for a few seconds.

He eventually holds his hands palms up and out for Maggie to see. And it doesn't look that good. He's bleeding and there's some almost burn marks from the friction of the rope.

"You reopened your wounds, obviously. Just watch and guide us when we pull it up, alright? I'll re-treat your hands afterwards" Maggie doesn't take the bandages off but inspects his hands.

"I can do that" Michael gives a pained smile that kinda twitches at the corners.

Now we have a horse, Dale, Glenn, Andrea, and Maggie pulling the walker out while Tdog waits with gloves that goes to his elbows to grab its legs. This was Michael's idea since the rocks around the well could slice it open.

They pull it halfway out when the ropes just tears the thing in half. The other half falls back into the well before Tdog can grab it and they are left with the top half outside the well.

Tdog beats it's face in to kill it and says "good thing we didn't do anything crazy like shoot it" which was funny but too soon.

Maggie doesn't look good seeing the walker get beaten and walks away. Glenn and Michael follows her. Glenn looks expectantly at Michael and Michael holds his hands up for Glenn to see. "After I get patched up"

It's a quiet walk back to the house. Michael wants to shout a bit when Maggie cleans the wounds. But he toughs it out.

"Now Glenn. The secret to the muscles is quite easy…." Glenn steps forward paying attention to every word "All it is is working out, eating properly and the most important part is….." Glenn takes another step forward.

"Genetics" Michael flexes his muscles below his T-shirt. This causes Glenn to deflate and Maggie to giggle. Michael sends a wink her way but she ignores it and heads to the door. "Come on you two. We gotta get the supply run over with today"

Michael puts an arm around Glenn as they walk outside towards the horses. "So…..you like what you see?"

Glenn looks at Michael and then stops walking when he looks forward to see Maggie swaying her hips.

Michael walks backwards so he faces Glenn.

"Chicks love confidence. Alright? But don't be a prick. Also, show a little vulnerability. It makes you seem more human and relatable. Like you aren't perfect just like them. And make sure you notice the little things alright? Like shorter hair, different nail color. That sort of things, alright"

Glenn is staring but listening and just nods his head. With that said Michael slaps Glenn's back hard and they both wince and shout ""Ow!""

Michael holds his hand while Glenn leans forward and tries hold his back where he was slapped.

Maggie keeps walking but glanced over her shoulder to see the two funny idiots in pain. She wasn't that far away and Michael talked quietly but apparently not quiet enough.