"Rick and Shane still ain't back?" Daryl asks as we walk into the living room of Hershel's house.
"No," Lori answers.
"We heard a shot."
"Maybe they found Randall," Rick's wife suggests.
"We found him," Daryl replies.
"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie inquires.
"He's a walker."
There's silence for a moment, and Hershel breaks it by saying, "Did you find the walker that bit him?"
"No, the weird thing is, he wasn't bit," Glenn says.
"His neck was broke," Daryl adds.
"So he fought back," Patricia guesses.
"Thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him."
"So they were together," I guess, and receive a nod from Daryl.
Lori approaches Daryl, asking, "Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?"
"You got it," Daryl replies.
"Thank you," Lori says, and Daryl motions for me to follow him. I didn't tell either of them what happened, just that Rick told me to go. When I get outside and see what's down by the barn, I stop in my tracks, Daryl ahead of me. "Oh my god," I breathe.
The barn used to be full of them, but now it's surrounded by walkers.
Hershel, Patricia, Glenn, Maggie, Carol, and Andrea follow me out onto the porch. Hershel takes one look at the walkers, then hisses at Patricia, "Kill the lights."
"I'll get the guns," Andrea says, turning to go back into the house.
"Maybe they'll just pass like the herd on the highway. Should we go inside?" Glenn inquires from behind me.
"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl says after glancing at me. "A herd that size'll rip the house down."
Lori comes out the door, saying, "Carl's gone."
"What?" I ask.
"He was upstairs. I can't find him anymore. He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy."
"We're not," Carol says to Lori, who has panic creeping into her voice. She leads Lori into the house, saying, "We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him."
"Some night," Glenn mutters as Andrea returns with the guns. She and Maggie start handing them out. The farmer's daughter hands a double barrel shot gun to Glenn, who looks at her and says, "Maggie."
"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two," she replies, loading shells into hers and handing some to Glenn.
"I got the number—it's no use," Daryl states.
"You can go if you want," Hershel says. I pick up a clip for my Beretta 92FS my favorite piece, and look at my brother. "You can go," I say, "but I'm stayin'."
"You gonna take 'em all on?" he inquires.
"We have guns. We have cars," Hershel answers.
"Plus one redneck who"—I look at Maggie—"grew up country."
"Kill as many as we can," Andrea says. "We'll use the cars to lead the rest off the farm."
"You serious?" Daryl inquires.
"This is my farm," Hershel says, cocking a rifle. "I'll die here."
Daryl looks at me. "You're staying?"
"Till the end," I say.
"All right," Daryl says, swinging himself over the railing.
"It's a good day to die, ladies and gents," I say, making sure my gun is fully loaded and grabbing a second clip.
"What'd you say?" Glenn asks.
"Don't worry about it. Dixons don't die. We just go to Hell and regroup." I swing myself over the railing as the walkers approach the house. "Lock and load," I say, and fire the first shot.
I stand in the yard next to Hershel, unloading clips into the continuous streams of walkers. Some head for the barn, which caught on fire. Rick must have set it to draw the walkers away from the house. Lori and Carol continue to search for Carl, who never stays in the house like he's told. Daryl on his motorcycle, Jimmy in the RV, Glenn and Maggie in the Hyundai, and Andrea and T-Dog in the blue truck drive around the farm, shooting walkers and trying to corral them. Hershel continues to unload shells into the walker's heads. I look at him, shouting, "You got an unlimited ammo cheat code I don't know 'bout?"
"Duck!" Hershel shouts back, and I drop into a crouch. He fires over my head, and I continue firing at the walkers. I stand back up, still firing at walkers and taking them down with head shots. I hear the sounds of Lori and Carol talking on the porch, and Lori yells, "Carl!"
There's gunfire from behind me; Lori firing at walkers. "Hershel! Clary!" she calls, but we continue firing. "Hershel! Clary! It's time to go!"
I look at Hershel, and he nods. "Go!" he tells me.
I keep firing as I back away, and suddenly hear screams. I glance over my shoulder to see walkers tearing into Patricia's neck, and Lori trying to pull Beth away. I look back ahead of me, and curse as walkers get closer. I fire at a few, then turn and run as the truck that Andrea and T-Dog are in arrives. Andrea climbs out, and Lori says, "Get Carol." She points in a direction. "She ran that way."
Andrea and I run towards Carol, who holds a piece of board as a weapon. About three or four walkers stumble to her, and Andrea and I take them out. "Look out!" Carol screams, backing up.
Andrea and I turn just as two walkers reach us. We fire, killing them, but they fall onto us, causing us to fall back. We push the walkers off of us, but everyone has gone. About this time, I see Hershel, Rick, and Carl piling into the red truck, and taking off. Andrea and I run after them, waving our arms and shouting, but they don't see us. "Andrea," I say, looking at her. "We're on our own. We've gotta go."
Andrea picks up the gun bag, and we take off running, still firing at the walkers. I have two full clips, one in the gun. Suddenly there's walkers, separating Andrea and I. We take off running in separate directions, and my heart pounds. Okay, I think as I run off the farm. The herd came from the direction of the highway, so it should be clear of walkers. That's where my group would go, so I might run across someone on the way there. I have my crossbow, a knife, a full clip and one half empty. Or half full. I'm more of a half empty kind of person, though. I keep running for my life, all night, killing walkers as I make my way off the farm and to the highway. Up ahead, I see a clearing in the trees; a road. One that leads to the highway. I make it out onto the road, and see the familiar green Hyundai, now smeared with blood, coming down it. Glenn's behind the wheel, and immediately stops the SUV when he sees me. The Hyundai stops about fifteen feet from me, and Glenn climbs out of the driver's seat. "Clary?" he asks.
"Glenn," I say, and feel myself swaying on my feet. I'm exhausted after running for my life all night and zero sleep.
"Clary!" Glenn cries, alarm in his voice, as I fall, and I'm out before I hit the ground.
When I wake, there's a familiar face with jade green eyes and chestnut hair cut in a bob leaning over me. I gasp, starting to sit up, but hands push me back down. "Easy," Maggie says, then looks up front. "Glenn, she's awake."
"Daryl," I say, my voice coming out in a whisper. I try again, and my voice is a little louder this time. "Don't tell Daryl this happened."
"That's not gonna happen," Glenn says from the front seat. "And, uh, too late. He found us driving to the highway, and I had to explain what happened while his crossbow was at my head. He's protective, you know."
"Yeah, I've noticed, Short Round," I say. "He's my big brother. It's what they do."
"Sort of," Glenn says.
"Sort of," I confirm, thinking of Merle abandoning Daryl and I. I start to sit up again, and when Maggie moves to push me back down, I say, "I can sit up, Maggie." She allows me to sit up, so I lean against the seat and look up front to where Glenn sits. "Where's Daryl?"
"Ahead of us," Glenn answers, and when silence falls this time, I hear the familiar rumble of the motorcycle's engine.
"Where's Carl? Did he make it out?" I ask.
"I don't know," Glenn says after a moment. "I'm sorry."
I sigh, wondering if Carl made it out or ended up like Patricia. I look out the window, wishing for Carl's safety. For all I know, walkers could have surrounded the truck and everyone inside could be dead. I notice we're on the highway, and I see the too-familiar stretch of road from where we broke down and lost Sophia. We pull in next to the old red truck, Carol climbing off the back of Daryl's motorcycle. Lori climbs out of the blue truck, running to Rick and—thank God—Carl. Beth climbs out after Lori, running to Hershel. Maggie climbs out of the Hyundai, running to her father and sister. I climb out, running to Daryl. I put my arms around him, resting my forehead on his chest. Daryl lets out an audible sigh of relief, putting his arms around me. "Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asks my brother.
"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road. Figured he had to be Asian, driving like that," Daryl jokingly says.
Glenn chuckles, grinning. "Good one," he says sarcastically. "Very funny."
"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl inquires.
"We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick answers.
"Shane?" Lori questions, and Rick shakes his head.
"Andrea?" Glenn inquires.
"I was with her," I say. "Y'all thought the walkers got us. They just fell on us. We were running, walkers separated us. Found Short Round out on the road. I don't know if she made it."
"Patricia?" Hershel inquires.
"They got her, too," Beth says, her voice breaking. "Took her right in front of me. I was–I was holding onto her, Daddy." She leans into Hershel, looking up. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"
I feel Daryl's eyes on me, knowing that Sam was taken from me the same way Patricia was taken from Beth. "He was in the RV," Rick informs her. "It got overrun."
"What about Andrea?" Carol inquires. "Did you see her?"
"We got separated," I say. "She took off one way, me the other. I mean, there were walkers everywhere. They coulda got her, I dunno."
"I'm gonna go back," Daryl declares.
"No," Rick says.
"We can't just leave her."
"We don't even know if she's there," Lori says.
"She isn't there. She isn't," Rick states. "She's either somewhere else or she's dead. There's no way to find her."
"So we're not even gonna look for her?" Glenn inquires.
"We've gotta keep moving. There's been walkers crawling all over here."
"I say head east," T-Dog states.
"Stay off the main roads," Daryl says, picking up his crossbow. "The bigger the road, the more walkers. More assholes like this one. I got him."
Daryl fires his crossbow, hitting the walker in the forehead. We pile into the red truck and the Hyundai, and Daryl and I climb on his motorcycle. We take off, leaving the highway behind, but not the memories it holds.
The truck horn honks, signaling for us to stop. Everyone climbs out of their vehicles, as Rick jogs up to us. "You out?" Daryl inquires.
"Running on fumes," Rick replies.
"We can't stay here," Maggie says.
"We can't all fit in one car," Glenn contradicts.
"We'll make a run for gas in the morning," Rick says.
"Spend the night here?" Maggie inquires.
"I'm freezing," Carl states.
"We'll build a fire," Lori says.
"You go out looking for firewood, stay close," Daryl tells us. "We only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?"
"Not enough," Rick answers.
"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out," Maggie says.
"Watch your mouth," Hershel scolds. "Everyone, stop panicking, and listen to Rick."
"We'll set up a perimeter," Rick states. "In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on."
"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie pipes up.
"No, we stay together. God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."
"Rick, we're stranded now," Glenn says.
"I know it looks bad, we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure—I really wasn't—but we did. We're together. Let's keep it that way. We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."
"Rick, look around," Glenn says. "Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."
"There's gotta be a place," Rick says. "Okay, not just where we hole up, but that we fortify. Hunker down, pull ourselves together. Build a life for each other. I know it's out there. We just have to find it."
"Even if we find a place," Maggie begins, "and we think it's safe. We can never be sure. For how long? Look what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that it was safe."
"We won't make that mistake again," Hershel assures her.
"We'll make camp tonight," Rick says, pointing to a bridge just off the road. "Over there. We'll get on the road at the brink of day."
Carol approaches Daryl and I, asking, "Does this feel right to you?"
"What if walkers come through?" Beth asks Rick. "Or another group like Randall's?"
"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl says. "He had turned, but he wasn't bit."
"How's that possible?" Beth inquires.
"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori questions.
"Shane killed Randall," my brother answers. "Just like he always wanted to."
"And then the herd got him?" Lori continues.
Rick's silent, and I know why. He doesn't want to tell Lori that he killed Shane, the man she was having an affair with. After a moment, the former police officer says, "We're all infected."
We're all infected. The words ring in my ears. It explains why Randall came back to life after getting his neck snapped. The virus that makes you turn, we all carry it. "What?" Daryl asks, incredulous.
"At the CDC, Jenner told me," Rick informs us. Whatever it is, we all carry it."
"And you never said anything?" Carol accuses.
"Would it have made a difference?" Rick replies.
"You knew this whole time?" Glenn asks, and I suddenly think, Shane!
You have to destroy the brain to kill the walker, and Rick stabbed Shane in the heart. Rick would've had to kill Shane twice.
"How could I have known for sure?" Rick counters. "You saw how crazy that mo—"
"That is not your call," Glenn snaps. "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told for the good of everyone."
"I thought it best if people didn't know." With that, Rick turns and stalks off, and Lori follows him after a moment. If there's one thing that I learn from this moment in time, it's that Rick Grimes has a way with words, and that can be a dangerous thing.
That night, I sit next to Daryl around the fire. It's cold, so I have my jacket pulled tight around me. Carol sits on the other side of Daryl, and whispers, "We're not safe with him. Keeping something like that from us. Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down? Both of you."
"No, Rick's done alright by me," Daryl says, and I nod in agreement. Back on the farm, Rick killed Shane because it was either Shane, or Rick and me.
"You're his henchmen, and I'm a burden," Carol replies. "You both deserve better."
"What do you want?" Daryl inquires.
"A man of honor."
"Rick has honor." Daryl throws a branch on the fire, while Maggie, Hershel, and Glenn converse in quiet voices. Leaves suddenly rustle, and we get to our feet. "What was that?" Beth inquires.
"Could be anything," my brother answers. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."
"A walker," Glenn suggests.
"You, sir, are a ray of sunshine," I say.
"We need to leave," Carol says. "What are we waiting for?"
"Which way?" Glenn inquires.
Maggie nods in one direction. "It came from over there."
"Back from where we came?" Beth questions.
"Yeah," Maggie answers.
"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark," Rick says. "We don't have the vehicles. No one's travelling on foot."
A branch snaps, and Hershel says, "Don't panic."
"I'm not," Maggie says. "I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."
"No one is going anywhere," Rick says, rather harshly.
"Do something," Carol tells him.
"I am doing something!" he snaps. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!" Silence falls, and Daryl and Glenn look at me. They are the only people that know that I was with Rick and Shane, but Rick and I are the only ones that know that I was there when Shane was killed. I think Daryl put the pieces together, because he knows when something bad happens, I barely say anything about it. Rick continues, "You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me and Clary out to put bullets in our backs." Shit, I think as everyone glances at me before turning their attention back to Rick. "He gave me no choice. He was my best friend, but he came after me and Clary. My hands are clean. Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get."
No one gets up to leave. Rick continues, "No takes? Fine. But get one thing straight—you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore."
I sit back down next to Daryl. Carl sobs into Lori's shoulder, who sits still, shocked. Shane was like a second father to Carl, and Rick killed him. I didn't get along with Shane, that much is obvious, but I feel bad for Carl. I know how if feels to lose someone.
I look across the fire to where Hershel sits, Beth beside him. He's not shocked like I thought he would be. He knows now that the walkers are dead, now alive. When he first saw a walker killed, the day we found out Sophia was in the barn, he was shocked. He couldn't believe it. He had thought that Shane had murdered somebody in cold blood, just to prove a point. Of course he thought that, of course he was shocked. He thought that they were sick people, that they're alive. I've seen it, I've seen people become them. I've killed more walkers than I can count in the few months since the beginning of the end. Some people believe that one day, this whole ordeal will be over. But it won't. There isn't a cure. Hell, most of the population has become the real life Night of the Living Dead.Even if there is a cure, some people, they won't be able to come back. Those are the ones that don't get to come back. Those are the people like Shane. The people that are too far gone.
AN: So, the end of The Walking Dead: Sophia. I wrote season 3 first because I had more ideas about it, then went back and wrote season 2. By the way, can anyone find the two Red Dawn quotes in this chapter? I changed them a little, but they're still the same. Also. there's a Doctor Who reference.
Bonus points to anyone that can find the Mark of Athena quote.
I'll see you guys when I upload my next fanfic. Bye for now!
Or should I say...
Mischief managed.
