A/N: Thank you for the follows and the favorites!
Chapter 12
She felt the sun on her skin but inside she was cold.
For a second it seemed like the ground had disappeared, but it was there, firmly beneath her feet. She was alive. Sophia was dead, had in fact died twice. By a bite and a bullet. Her bullet.
People were starting to move again. The initial shock was over. A crying Beth ran to her dead mother and hugged her, but her mother wasn't dead enough. With a snarl, she grabbed Beth and the girl's screams snapped Marianne back to reality.
Shane and Rick reached her first and grabbed Beth, trying to pull her away from her mother. Glenn held on to Annette's arms. Beth was successfully taken out of her dead mother's reach and into Hershel's arms. T-Dog angrily stomped on the walker's head to no avail. No one had any weapons on them besides guns, except Marianne who knelt beside Annette, took the knife out of her boot and stabbed Annette's head. The struggle was over.
They didn't need any more surprises so Marianne checked the barn for any walkers that might be hiding there and picked up a horse blanket on her way out. She gently laid it over Sophia's body. Andrea was nearby and kept looking at her. They all looked at her but nobody had spoken to her yet.
Hershel, Maggie, Beth, Patricia, and Glenn started walking to the house with Shane and Rick following. She could hear Shane yelling at Hershel, thinking that he knew about Sophia the whole time. Marianne didn't believe it.
Lori and Carl remained sitting on the ground where they had huddled during the gunfire.
"I think she did the right thing, shooting her like that." The right thing. It echoed in her head.
Marianne didn't know what to do with herself so she just stood there, staring blindly at the woods. She wanted to leave.
Shane and Rick returned. Lori asked Dale to take Carl to the house. A flock of birds burst from the treetops and she wondered what had spooked them. She wanted to kill more walkers.
"You want us to start burying?" T-Dog asked.
A service for Sophia was mentioned. They would bury her next to Annette and Shawn. She should cover them up too. Marianne looked around but someone had already done it.
"And the others?" Jimmy asked. "That's a lot of digging."
"We bury the ones we love and burn the rest," Andrea said. Did she love Sophia? She didn't want to answer that question.
"Let's get to work," Lori said. Everyone began to disperse, but Marianne continued to stand there like she was rooted to the ground.
"Are you alright?" T-Dog asked.
She couldn't lie to him. "No." He was about to say something else but Marianne walked away.
She drifted around the farm and knew she should be helping dig the graves. Another thing to feel guilty about. She was sick and tired of feeling.
Marianne couldn't face Carol. Lori went to tell her they were ready but the grieving mother didn't return with her, only Daryl. He stood next to her and brushed his shoulder against hers. When she looked at him, he was already looking at her. She could see a flicker of worry in his eyes, an unspoken question. Are you okay?
She didn't answer him and looked away, focusing on the graves. For a funeral of three, it was short. Nobody was in a talking mood. After it was over she visited the pond Daryl had showed her and sat on the dock staring into the water. It didn't bring her any comfort.
Marianne was returning from the pond and hadn't planned on what to do for the rest of the day when she saw Lori leave the house with a jacket on.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm going to find Rick and bring Hershel back. Beth needs him."
Marianne stood between Lori and the car. "No. You're not."
"You're not going to stop me."
"I will and I am. When it starts getting dark and they're not back, I'll go. It's either that or I tell the group you're tryin' to leave and we'll see how that turns out." Marianne couldn't let a pregnant Lori leave the relative safety of the farm and get hurt, not if she could stop it.
Lori put her hands on her hips. "That's not much of a choice."
"That's the point. If one of us is goin' to do something dumb, I'd rather it be me. You're responsible for more than yourself now Lori. I don't need to remind you." She was going to help Lori whether either of them liked it or not. Marianne was leaning towards not.
Lori reluctantly agreed. They drove up the gate and sat in the car until it started to get dark. There was still no Rick, Glenn, or Hershel.
"Okay, looks like it's time to hit the road."
"Thank you." Lori left the car and opened the gate. As Marianne drove away she looked in her rear view mirror and saw Lori wave at her. She sighed and shook her head.
Marianne couldn't believe she was going to town in search of three grown men who could take care of themselves. Wasting gas, wasting her time and exposing herself to danger. But it's not like she had anything better to do and she needed to do something, anything to keep her mind off of today.
She arrived in town with only a vague idea of where she could find the bar. She knew it wasn't on the same street as the pharmacy and the first one she searched was a bust. She was about to turn onto a second street when she heard a volley of gunshots. Marianne slammed on the brakes.
The shooting stopped and she got out of the car and cautiously looked around the corner. She saw a white truck and three men standing in front of the bar with the windows blown out. "Well, shit."
In an instant, she knew what she going to do. It was stupid but she'd bet that those men were stupider. She took off her shirt so she only had a tank top on, which she pulled down to lower the neckline. Marianne stepped around the corner.
"Do y'all need some help?" She called out to them. Guns were pointed at her but she smiled. "I heard a whole lotta shots and thought someone must have a hell of a biter problem." She walked closer.
"Stay where you are."
Marianne held up her empty hands. "I'm not here for trouble, boys. My name's Mary. I have a gun tucked in the back of my pants and a knife you can see on my side. That's it. You can pat me down if you want. I'm just here to help. Now, is someone gonna tell me what's happening?"
"Some assholes in that bar killed our friends," the youngest one said.
"Randall, shut up."
"Well, they don't sound too nice. You get 'em?" Marianne had started walking towards them again but stopped before she'd be in the line of fire if Rick, Glenn, or Hershel decided to shoot.
"We don't know," Randall said. He was either stupid or didn't care that he was told to be quiet.
"We're wasting time. How do we know we can trust you?" The one she now considered the leader asked her.
"'Cause you're still breathin'. I coulda snuck up on y'all real easy. A bullet to each head. I'm a great shot, my daddy taught me. But like I said, I'm here to help." They whispered to each other. Their guns were trained at the bar again. Randall kept staring at her so Marianne gave him a smile that was more than friendly. The boy became flustered.
Their leader called her over and she hoped Rick, Glenn, and Hershel wouldn't have the worst timing ever and decide to start shooting. "You say you want to help? We're going to kill these assholes. Randall's going on the roof of that building to cover us. You go with Sean around back and I'll stay here."
"So I shoot to kill?" Their leader nodded. She still didn't know his name. "I'm Nate, by the way."
"Nice to meet you Nate. Let's get this show on the road."
Randall headed across the street to look for roof access. Marianne and Sean jogged to a narrow alley that would lead them to the back of the bar. She kept up with Sean until he turned the corner and then ran back to the front of the alley. Randall was in view and she pointed her gun at his legs. He was lucky she wasn't shooting to kill.
Her aim was perfect. Randall collapsed and screamed in pain. She ran back down the alley to meet up with Sean.
"They shot Randall," she whispered.
"Where were you?"
"I thought I saw biters down the street. False alarm." Sean nodded, believing her bold faced lies.
They quietly walked to the back door. He stood against the wall and reached over to turn the doorknob. Marianne was on the other side of the door. Someone from inside fired and the door's window shattered. Sean retreated but Marianne stayed where she was. He motioned for her to follow but she shook her head.
Instead, she headed in the opposite direction and hid behind a dumpster which she peeked around, waiting for the door to open again. She'd cover them when Sean came out of hiding.
It opened again and she saw Glenn sticking his head out first to look around, then he completely stepped out of the building. He started to slowly walk in her direction and Hershel stood in the doorway looking ready to cover Glenn. She got ready herself and sure enough Sean popped out and took a shot at Glenn, who dove behind the dumpster narrowly avoiding bumping into Marianne.
Marianne and Hershel shot at Sean at the same time. She didn't know whose bullet hit Sean or if both did but it didn't matter because he wasn't trying to kill them anymore. Now all they had to worry about was Nate. She could still hear Randall occasionally moaning in pain. She doubted that he would be in a state of mind to pick up his gun and start shooting.
She turned to Glenn. "Are you hit?" He didn't answer. "Glenn?" She checked him over but didn't see any blood. He was frozen in place and looked a little pale. Sean was crying out in pain even louder than Randall and she wished they'd both shut up.
"What happened?" She heard Rick ask.
"He fired. He must've hit Glenn."
Marianne half stepped out from behind the dumpster. "Rick, Hershel. He's okay."
"Marianne?" Rick began moving towards the dumpster, pointing a gun in each direction.
"Yeah, we need to go. I took out one of them so there's only one left."
Rick reached them. "Glenn's trying to make it to the car."
"I figured. Want me to take a shot at it?" She paused, realizing what she'd just said. "Sorry, wrong choice of words."
"We'll all go." Rick turned to him. "It's all right. The car's right there. We're almost home." Glenn looked freaked out. "You good?"
Glenn nodded and Marianne could see a new resolve set in his face. "I'm good."
They started to make a run for the car but stopped as a white truck appeared. They retreated back to the dumpster.
"Let's get out of here! Roamers all over the place! Hurry up!" Nate was yelling to Randall but it didn't seem like the younger guy could stand up, let alone walk.
"Help me!"
"I gotta go." Nate started driving away. "I'm sorry!"
Randall was yelling at Nate for help even as the truck disappeared around the corner.
"Get Hershel," Rick told Glenn. "Marianne, come with me."
Marianne followed Rick. They headed across the street towards Randall. "We gotta help him."
"Why?"
"Because walkers are coming. We can't just leave him here."
They reached Randall and stood over him. He was still begging for help.
"Mary! Please, help me!"
"I'm the one that shot you, idiot. Now shut your mouth."
Hershel and Glenn came up beside Rick and Marianne.
"We have to go now," Hershel said.
"No, don't leave me please. Mary, don't leave me."
"We have to go," Hershel said again.
"We're taking him with us," Rick said.
"He was just shooting at us," Glenn said, outraged.
"He's a kid," Rick said. "Hershel, get the car running. Glenn, help me get him up." Glenn sighed in frustration but helped Rick anyways.
"Walkers are coming," Hershel called out and they turned around to see a group of them heading their way.
"Come on let's hurry," Rick said as he and Glenn hobbled along with Randall between them while Marianne began shooting at walkers.
They made it to the car and they shoved Randall into the back. He still wouldn't shut up but this time he was thanking them. Hershel was already in the driver's seat ready to go. Rick and Glenn quickly got into the Chevy but Marianne shut the door without getting in.
"My car's just around the corner. I'll follow you." Before any of them could protest she ran off. The walkers were still far enough away for her to make it and she did. She honked to signal she was ready. Hershel starting driving and Marianne followed, leaving the walkers behind.
They were a safe distance from town when Hershel pulled off to the side of the road and Marianne pulled up behind him. She got out of the car, as did the three men.
"We'll rest here 'til morning," Rick said. "It's not safe to drive at night."
Marianne nodded. "Who's on Randall watch? We need to tie him up. Put a blindfold on him."
"We've got that covered," Rick said. "I want to talk to you." He pulled her aside.
Rick opened his mouth to say something and she had a pretty good idea what it was going to be. "Lori was going to look for you so I did instead."
Rick blinked and looked like that wasn't what he was expecting. "Lori was going to go out by herself?"
"Yeah, without tellin' anyone. Lucky I saw her before she could."
Rick sighed. "This isn't the first time you've helped my family when you didn't have to."
Marianne looked away. "It's nothin'."
"It's not noth—"
"I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Today's been a trial. Wake me if you need me to keep an eye on Randall."
Marianne walked back to her car and got in. She cracked the windows, reclined the driver's seat and shut her eyes, not really expecting to fall asleep but before she knew it, there was a knock on her window and she opened her eyes to see dawn had arrived.
They made good time to the farm and when they pulled up to the house, most of the group greeted them. Lori, Carl, and Maggie looked happy and relieved that Rick and Glenn were back but when Marianne looked at Daryl she could tell that he was definitely mad at her.
"Who the hell is that?" T-Dog pointed to Hershel's car and everyone looked.
"That's Randall," Glenn said and people started to walk towards the car, including Daryl, who passed right by her without even giving her a glance. Marianne closed her eyes and sighed. This wasn't going to be fun.
Daryl and Marianne didn't get a chance to talk until after the group meeting about Randall. Marianne was packing up her things to move next to Daryl when he finally walked up to her.
"You left without tellin' me. I thought we weren't supposed to do that."
"I know, go ahead, call me a hypocrite." She stuffed her clothes haphazardly into a bag.
"Why'd you go? You owe them nothing."
She stood up and looked at him. "Because Lori was going to go by herself."
"Then you should've let her," he said gruffly. Marianne put the last of her things outside her tent and started to take it down. Daryl began helping her.
She shook her head. "I couldn't." Marianne was tired of keeping Lori's secret. Rick knew now and the group would find out soon enough so what did it matter? "She's pregnant."
For a moment Daryl stopped what he was doing. "That's Rick's problem, or Shane's, not yours."
"Rick wasn't around."
"It's still not your problem."
She stopped messing with her tent. When had she started to care about these people? That's exactly what gets a person in trouble. That's what did get her in trouble. "I know that. Don't worry, I'm not makin' a habit of it."
A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been sick and busy, a super awesome combination, but here it is. I hope you like it.
