"Let's head back," Hershel said in a grim manner. The other men agreed, Rick collecting the guns while Glenn and Noah were still a little bit shocked. Rick and the other three ducked below the bar windows as they heard wheels skidding to a stop and three car doors slam shut.
"Dave! Tony!" a man shouted. The four inside the bar looked back at the two men lying dead on the floor.
"They're probably in the bar," one of the men outside suggested. The porch creaked as the three men went up the stairs and arrived in front of the bar. One man knocked, "Hey Dave! Tony! You in there?"
Rick pressed himself against the door as everyone prepared their weapons. Glenn and Noah shared worried looks while Hershel, who seemed to be taking Rick's advise of sacrificing for the group, readily raised his gun. The knob of the bar door began to twist.
"Shit! Lamebrains!" a panicked voice outside shouted as rounds of gunfire began shooting into a mass of Walkers. The man whose hand held the door cursed and ordered the three to return to the car. Rick sighed in relief, motioning for everyone to find the back exit.
Mica's ears perked up as he heard a car traveling down the dirt road towards the farm house. He yawed and got up, forcing the two who were laying against him to reposition themselves. Roe watched as Mica stretched, wondering why he had gotten up suddenly. She looked down the road and saw headlights. She smiled and she motioned to Carl who was seated beside her. Carl stood and met the car at the front along with everybody else who saw it roll in.
"Mom!" he said as he embraced her and she planted a loving kiss on his head.
"Oh my God! Are you alright? What happened?" Andrea asked as she saw Lori's state. Her hair was thoroughly tousled and blood seeped from her forehead, a result from her car accident before.
"I'm fine," Lori answered, "Where's Rick?"
Everyone looked at her confused since Rick and the others have yet to return. Lori, realizing this, turned angrily to Shane. "You said he would be here!"
"I had to keep you safe. I had to make sure the baby was alright," Shane defended, accidentally revealing to everyone Lori was pregnant.
"You're having a baby?" Carl asked surprised, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Lori stumbled, at a loss for words. Carl looked down sadly.
"Come on," Kathryn said, leading Lori inside as Roe and Mica did the same for Carl. Inside, Lori apologized to her son as her wounds were taken care of. Carl smiled back, "It's okay, I wasn't scared."
"When is Dad getting back?" he added a few moments later.
Lori looked down, "Let's hope soon."
"This way," Hershel led them, peering out the back door, finding it clear of any Walkers. As they made their way through, they heard the other men's car roar back to life.
"No! Hey! Wait for me!" someone yelled, but was too late as the car drove away with the two other occupants.
"Fuck!" the man groaned, his voice cracking. He fired more rounds into Walker heads, backtracking his steps until there was the familiar creak of the porch boards.
Rick turned to his group. "Go! Find a different car and hotwire it!"
Rick went to the other side of the bar and threw open the door, severely startling the man in front who turned his gun on him. Rick pushed the gun away from his head and wrapped his other hand around the man's mouth to keep his shouts muffled. Rick dragged the younger man into the bar and closed the door as Walkers stumbled up the stairs and began banging on the door and windows.
The man pulled Rick's hand off him and took a few steps back. "Who are you?"
Rick ignored the question and started moving to the other end of the bar. "Follow me."
"What?" he said, but followed anyways until he saw the bodies of his former comrades. "Oh my God! You killed Tony and Dave!"
Rick paused but did not turn back, "They drew on us first."
"Fuck!" the other said exhausted, not having time to even take this into consideration as Rick already began walking ahead again and he preferred that he wasn't left alone again.
"Rick!" Noah called as he saw Rick emerge from the bar with the other in tow. "The car's this way."
Everyone got in silently as Glenn began driving back to the farm. The stranger shifted uncomfortably in-between Noah and Rick. "Where are we going?" he spoke up.
All eyes turned to him, as if just remembering his presence. Glenn turned to Rick, slowing down. "Rick?" he asked unsurely.
Rick looked to Glenn, then at the young man who couldn't even be over twenty. Rick met Hershel's gaze as he went with the first thing that popped in his mind.
"Hershel, give me your tie," Rick ordered. Hershel nodded, understanding what he was going to do. As Hershel undid his tie, Rick pulled out a pair of handcuffs, slapping them on the man's wrist before he could even process what was going on.
"H-Hey! Wait!" he protested.
"I'm sorry," Rick apologized, bringing the cloth around his eyes and tying it on the back of his head.
"Keep going," he told Glenn.
"Look, I'm not a threat!"
"We can't take the chance," Rick explained..
"What are you going to do with me?" he whimpered, the day's events taking their toll on him. It started out with a simple 'recover supplies' mission. Dave and Tony went ahead into town while the he and the others took a different part of town. When Dave and Tony missed the rendezvous, they went out looking for him, except Dave and Tony were dead and the town was swarmed with Walkers. And finally, he was left for dead before being saved and then kidnapped by the very men who killed his comrades.
Randall waited for an answer, but was met with only the quiet.
A few days later after the Randall incident, Rick and Shane had gone out to release him while everyone else went through their daily routine.
Kathryn looked up as she heard a cough beside her. Victoria stood nearby, obviously trying to get her attention, however, didn't make eye contact. Kathryn raised an eyebrow at her friend's unusual behavior. She put down the book she was reading and looked up, "Yes?"
Victoria, now having received Kathryn's full attention, grabbed the girl's wrist and led her away to a more secluded area, slumping down against the trunk of a tree. Kathryn, again, raised an eyebrow as she calmly seated herself beside her. "Is something the matter?"
Victoria looked away again, but Kathryn managed to catch a light blush across her cheeks.
"What was it like with you and Zach?" Victoria hesitated. Maybe she should've asked Lori or Maggie, whose lovers were still breathing, but she could barely bring herself to ask Kathryn.
Kathryn flinched at the name, memories of their time together passing through her head. She pushed them away, the sight of him and a genuine smile on her face causing too much pain. She forced her mind to other things, a devilish smirk replaced her frown as she repeated Victoria's question in her head. "I knew it! You like Daryl!"
"Shut up!" Victoria shouted, flashing a heated glare at the brunette. "I don't know yet."
"Well why are you thinking that?"
Victoria hesitated again, "We kissed…"
Kathryn gawked. "That's it?! Jesus, I wouldn't have taken either of you as just a kiss person. Was it at least making out?"
"God!" Victoria groaned, regretting choosing to talk to Kathryn. Maybe this was a bad idea…? She got up from her place, ready to end the conversation.
"No! No! Wait!" Kathryn apologized, pulling her back down. "It's just that both of you are such badasses, I thought when it happened, it would go further."
"When it happened?" Victoria caught.
"Oh please, I saw that coming a mile away," Kathryn teased, making Victoria groan again.
"Would you just tell me if I like him or not?" Victoria asked in irritation, her blushing self long gone.
"Well did it fell good? Like the butterflies and fireworks and shit?" Kathryn asked plainly.
'Better,' Victoria thought.
"It felt nice."
"Well you poor thing. You like him," Kathryn said uncharacteristically, her joyful teasing replaced by a sinking feeling as her last days with Zach resurfaced.
"Great," Victoria said sarcastically. Having gotten her answer, Victoria stood up again. Kathryn gripped her wrist before she could leave. Not looking at her, she expressed her worries. "Maybe it's best you get over him. Before something bad happens."
Kathryn stood up then and left, leaving Victoria to puzzle over things.
Daryl strode up to the Atlanta group's camp stationed outside the Greene home. Eyes turned to him and Daryl quickly hid his bloodied fist which he used as a tool to get information from the captured teenager, who they were unable to free the last time as he was suspected of knowing the location of the farm.
"Boy's got a gang with him and they ain't looking to make friends. If they roll through here, they'll kill the men. And the women," Daryl paused, looking at Victoria who quickly avoided his gaze. "They'll wish they were dead."
"Absolutely no one goes near this guy, understood?" Rick commanded.
"What are you going to do?" Lori asked.
Rick faltered before making up his mind. "We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."
"You're just going to kill him?" Dale immediately stepped in, aghast that this was the conclusion Rick had reached.
"It's settled," Rick dismissed, walking away, although Dale followed closely, determined to change his mind.
"Gather up," Rick said as everyone piled into the Greene living room while Beth and her boyfriend watched the kids in a separate room. The room was tense as everyone knew what this meeting was about.
"So, what? We take a vote?" Kathryn asked nonchalantly.
"Let's just see where everyone stands," Rick said. As soon as he did, Shane wasted no time in agreeing with the execution, followed by Dale who quickly put up a protest. Benny snarled as Shane continued his accusation of what Randall could do.
"Well since Shane is for execution, I can tell clearly what the wrong choice is," Benny spat, implying that Shane always chose the worst decision. "I'm with Dale."
"Guess all of us are wrong then, huh?" Daryl mocked as he crossed across the room, closer to Shane.
"I can say I'm not surprised by some of your decisions," Benny patronized, looking around the room for Victoria, Kathryn, and Andrea.
Kathryn scoffed, "I'm just choosing the smartest decision."
Benny began a remark but was interrupted by Dale. "Please, is anyone else with us?"
He was met with downcast looks. Eventually, Roe rose from the ground, timidly going to stand beside Benny and Dale while Mica trotted over with his master. Dale gave her a grateful look while Benny patted the girl on her head. He looked up again, his eyes reflecting a small hurt as they met with the most fabulous pair of green he'd ever seen, "Carol?"
She whimpered, "I'm sorry. Any of you, make the decision. But I don't want anything to do with this."
"Not speaking out or killing him yourself, there's no difference," Dale argued.
"Alright, that's enough," Rick raised his hand in a final motion. "Anyone who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."
Once again, everyone looked down again. Roe looked around with the same anguish as Benny and Dale. "No," she said as tears began to form in her eyes.
Her one word seemed to finalize the guilt in everyone as they all sunk further in their seat; however, still none changed their mind.
"Roe, don't you think this is better?" Noah asked. "He's dangerous, especially to you."
"My. Age," Roe's voice wavered as she said this. Noah let out a troubled sigh as he sat back down ashamed of his decision, but sticking with it anyways.
The room continued to be silent, prompting Rick to look at the three who lost. Roe clung to Mica as he walked out the front door with the other two, none of them being able to stand in the room with those who voted against them.
At night, Shane, Daryl and Rick led Randall into the barn to carry out the consensus.
"Wait! Wait, please!" Randall pleaded, knowing his life was going to end soon. Shane moved him to the center of the barn and began blindfolding him, panicking him all the more. Rick prepared his gun, the sound of the safety coming off, making Randall shout louder. "No! No!"
Shane left him be and backed off as Randall began to blubber and cry, begging for mercy. Rick pressed the barrel of the gun against Randall's head as the man let out an agonized, miserable cry.
"Do it Dad. Do it." Carl said appearing in the doorway. Behind him, were Roe and Mica, who were supposed to be babysitting the boy. Roe looked out to the field, too ashamed that she brought Carl to the execution as a last ditch effort to stop it. She wouldn't dare meet Rick's gaze. Shane glared at her angrily.
"What do you think you're doing?!" He stomped past Carl and seized Roe's wrist roughly, making her yelp in pain. Mica roared threateningly, about to bite Shane's leg should he further hurt his master. Shane ignored the large cat next to him, continuing to yell at Roe.
"Shane! Let her go!" Rick shouted, still pressing the gun against Randall's temple. Shane released Roe, who cradled her injured wrist and resumed her penitent gaze to the ground.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as she started back to the farm house.
Rick watched her go before turning back to his son and suddenly, he could no longer bring himself to pull the trigger. "Take him away."
The others in the room froze in shock. Rick repeated himself, louder this time. Daryl huffed as he vehemently pulled Randall up and brought him back to his makeshift cell while Shane stormed out of the barn, leaving Rick and Carl alone. Rick holstered his gun and led Carl back up to the camp, where Maggie and Noah had joined in the meantime. Everyone sat up immediately, looking at him in anticipation to tell the news of if they were safe or not.
"He's in custody, for now," Rick declared. The group shifted nervously, a mix of relief and fear washing over them. Roe scooted farther away from Rick, her head still hung low as she rubbed her wrist. Lori ushered Carl inside a tent upon seeing her husband's troubled look.
"What happened?" she asked. It was meant to be a private conversation, but the two were in the middle of the group and spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Roe led him to the barn. He encouraged me to do it. He wanted to watch…I couldn't," Rick said. Lori took this in, before spinning on her heel towards Roe.
"You did what?!"
Dale, who had overheard, moved beside Roe, putting a protective arm before her. Roe felt regret consume her again, opening her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Lori.
"We trusted you to watch our child!"
"I-," Roe began, but cowered away. She looked down again. "His idea. Already went. Tried to stop."
"You still shouldn't have led him there!" Lori finished angrily, now upset after learning her son, was in fact the one who went to the barn himself. She was unsure just how much Roe had tried to stop him, but as far as she was concerned, it wasn't enough.
Roe looked up now, seeing Lori walk off to cool down. Her eyes caught Rick's. He nodded at her, himself now also knowing the truth of what happened.
"Noah, could you get her wrist wrapped up?" Rick asked.
Noah looked at Roe, surprised she got hurt. "Yeah."
He put his hand on the small of her back as he led her gently back to the house, Mica lazily following behind. Noah led her into the kitchen where he pulled out a first aid.
"Can you give me your wrist?" he asked. Roe took her hand from behind her back, where she had been hiding it. Noah looked at it in shock. Her wrist was already bruised in the distinct shape of a hand. Noah grit his teeth angrily, knowing only one person who would ever be so violent. 'Shane.'
He glared at her bruises as he wrapped them up, directing his anger into clenching his teeth as his hands were preoccupied and needed to be delicate. He needed to make sure he didn't accidentally create bruises of his own by clenching his fists.
"There," he said when he finished, putting the medical supplies away. "Don't stress it, ok? Be careful."
Roe gave him a small smile as thanks and nodded, turning back and retrieving Mica from the porch and returning to the campfire.
The next day, Carl wandered into the woods with Daryl's gun in his pocket. He trudged through angrily, upset with his father's decision the night before. Ashe kicked a tree, a growl echoed through the trees. Carl immediately froze in fear as he scrambled for his gun. He hid behind a tree and peeked out, spying two Walkers trapped in a swamp. After hesitating, Carl stepped out allowing himself to be seen by one. The Walker growled and swiped for him, despite being meters away.
Carl laughed at its sad attempt and stepped closer until he was right in front of it. The leaner of the two growled and reached for Carl. In turn, Carl only watched as the Walker struggled to get him. The other Walker on the other hand, was facing the other way and had yet to notice the young boy. Carl searched the ground and threw it at the head of that Walker, trying to get its attention.
Carl angrily turned to the other Walker after missing the taller in ripped overalls. "Shut up!" he yelled and hit it in the face with another rock, however, the Walker continued on. Carl grumpily threw another rock, this time succeeding in hitting the larger Walker. Although its body had gotten stuck in the mud facing the opposite direction, it was still able to fully face Carl because of the extreme lack of guts in its abdomen. Carl's eyes widened as he laid eyes upon the Walker. He stared back at its glossy eyes and darted back in the direction of the farm, disgusted and shocked by who he saw.
Carl huffed as he ran back to camp. Roe, Lori, and everyone else sighed in relief as they spotted him.
"There you are! Where did you go? Why did you leave Roe's side?" Lori exclaimed, instinctually checking her son for any cuts as any mother would. She had also forgiven Roe after eventually reaching the conclusion that most of the events were Carl's doing.
Carl continued to breathe heavily. Lori pulled his chin to her, making him face her. "Carl, baby. What happened?"
"The man from the pictures!" Carl said between pants.
"Sweetheart, that doesn't make sense," Lori chided. By now, everyone had gathered around him, in concern for their younger member.
"The man who saved me! Otis!"
A/N: So you know that joke I made last chapter…? It got worse! This is really…such an overdue update…. I'm pretty sorry…
Uhm, so what'd ya think of my cliffy? ;D Yes, I fucking went there. Shane is in such deep shit muahahahaha! And one more chapter before I finish season 2! :)
Comments:
Twisted Mythology: Lol I think I can always tell it's you by the avatar ^^ Raven is the best! Haha, thank you! I'm glad you like your OC ^.^
Stefan's Little Vampire: Thanks for your review! It was nice to see yours again ^.^ Don't worry, Shane has a whole lot of hell coming his way;)
Kol Mikaelsons Girlx: Thank you! :) I'm sorry for the late update:(
Always Dean's Girl: Lol so uh, did this Victoria and Kathryn scene make you upset haha? Because I know you disliked the Merle and Daryl scene, it's almost similar isn't it? ;} And oh, I think I took my time alright:P D:
The Salvatore Winchester: I'm sorry! .
Rose
