Second Chance – Chapter 14 – Co-authored by Remi Savant & Rckyfrk
"Mama?"
Rick's eyes widened as he searched for the source of the surprising sound – the last voice he expected to hear.
Time seemed to slow down as the little girl crept around the corner of the barn. Rick lowered his gun, his muscles going lax in shocked relief. Out of his peripheral vision, Rick noticed everyone else in the now silent firing line was having the same reaction.
The silence was broken by Carol's choked sob. "Sophia?"
Rick looked over as Carol walked in front of the group toward the barn. She sprinted through the fallen walkers, pausing only when she found her path blocked by a mound of twice-dead corpses. She stopped in her tracks, catching herself from falling over the pile of bodies.
Suddenly Carol fell sideways to the ground. She screamed in terror and started kicking at something, her arms trying to crab-walk backward. It was only then that Rick noticed one of the walkers was still moving and was fighting to bring Carol's leg to its snapping jaws. In the next instant, its rotting maw clamped down on Carol's ankle, eliciting a shriek mixed with pain and panic.
Rick realized the small boy walker, momentarily forgotten by the group, had made its way closer to Carol completely unnoticed, and was now standing over the screaming woman.
Rick raised his gun and aimed at the boy. He hesitated, knowing that if he missed or if the bullet went straight through, it could hit Carol or Sophia. Everyone else seemed to have the same reticence because they all had their guns pointed toward the barn, but no one fired a shot, almost as if they were waiting to follow Rick's lead.
Rick made his final decision and took aim, figuring the risk was worth if it saved Carol's life. He squeezed the trigger.
CLICK
'Shit,' Rick thought to himself, mentally kicking himself for not grabbing a backup weapon from the bag. Making a split second decision, Rick broke into a run, heading straight for Carol as the small walker knelt over her. He had a fleeting feeling of relief when he realized there were no shots being fired, momentarily glad that he would not be caught in any crossfire.
That feeling of gladness vanished just as quickly as it had surfaced when he saw the small walker bend over and pull a bloody bite out of Carol's shoulder. Rick used his momentum from running to punt the toe of his boot into the side of the walker's head, following through and crushing its skull under his heel. He turned and grabbed Carol under her arms, dragging her away from the first walker. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Daryl making a run for Sophia, who had also started to cross the barnyard to get closer to her mother.
There was a flurry of motion as the rest of the group joined him in the center of the barnyard. He heard the sickening crunch as someone, he wasn't sure who, dispatched the walker who had bitten Carol's leg. He kneeled behind Carol and pulled her up to his chest, wrapping one arm around her back to support her. He looked down into her panicked eyes and tried to say something reassuring, but words failed him. The wound at the base of her neck was bleeding profusely over his hand, but he found he didn't care. "Carol, I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Carol's eyes wandered around the group; the only word to leave her lips was to call for her daughter, "Sophia," her voice growing weaker by the second.
Rick looked at the rest of the group, "Someone get me a rag, now, before Sophia comes over to see her. She shouldn't see her like this." His eyes were cast back down to Carol's face and watched as someone laid a bandana to cover her wound. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at Daryl.
"Mama?" Sophia's voice was thick with sadness and fear. She stood in front of Rick, whimpering quietly.
Carol weakly reached her hand out toward Sophia, who clasped her mother's hand in hers. She spoke softly between her labored breaths, "My baby girl...I'm so proud of you...for surviving...all alone...I love you...so much...be a good girl...I love you." She looked up at Daryl and shook her head then turned her eyes skyward. Daryl put his hand on Sophia's shoulder and guided her away from the group, the girl protesting the whole way. Once Sophia was out of earshot, Carol whispered, "Take care of my daughter...don't let me turn."
Releasing her last breath, she was gone.
Rick heard the sounds of sniffling and sobbing; he looked around him to find everyone's face grief-stricken, even Hershel and his family. He reached to his hip and unsheathed his knife. With one quick thrust to the back of her head, he guaranteed to honor Carol's last request. He laid her body gently on the ground and slowly stood up. He looked around at the dozens of bodies lying dead around the barnyard and declared, "We bury our family and burn the rest." He gave a pointed look to Hershel, who only nodded solemnly.
The next several hours were spent moving the bodies to their final resting places, whether that was a grave or a funeral pyre. The members of the group worked in near silence, the events of the day hanging heavily over them like a dark cloud.
The sun was starting to sink below the horizon as they finished their heavy task. Rick and Hershel stood at the head of the group as they prepared to lead everyone in saying their final farewells to their family by the light of the funeral pyre.
Everyone had nothing but kind words to say about Annette, Shawn and Carol; they shared stories and memories of their loved ones. Hershel quoted several scriptures from the Bible, still trying to bring hope and comfort to the survivors.
When the memorial concluded, Hershel's family returned to the house, the rest to the camp ground. Dale and Andrea had volunteered to take first night watch. Rick settled closely to Lori and Carl in their tent and fought for every minute of troubled sleep he could muster.
The next morning, after everyone had eaten a silent breakfast, Rick went to Hershel's house, telling the older man he'd like to call a meeting and wanted everyone's attendance and input. Hershel agreed, and Rick returned to retrieve everyone from the campsite.
Once everyone had gathered beneath the large tree in the front yard, Rick walked up on the porch to address everyone. "We have a lot to discuss, and I want everyone to have a chance to be heard...and listened to. Now that the shock of yesterday has worn off a little, we need to decide what to do next."
"What do you mean, 'what to do next'?" Andrea questioned.
"Well," Rick began, "yesterday we fired off several dozen rounds of ammo. We know that walkers are attracted to sound. I'm pretty sure every walker in at least a ten-mile radius heard all that gunfire and is more than likely making its way to find what caused it." He paused and let that piece of information sink in before continuing. "We need to decide whether or not we want to stay here to see what happens or get the hell out of Dodge before anything does."
"My family's not leaving," Hershel declared without hesitation. "This farm has been in my family for generations, and I'm not going to give it up without a fight, especially not on the off chance that nothing even comes through this way." Otis stood behind Hershel, nodding in agreement. Beth, Maggie and Patricia looked nervous, but made no effort or gesture to object. Rick noticed Glenn inching his way closer to Maggie.
Dale nodded toward Hershel, "I think, as long as it's alright with Hershel, we need to stay here as long as we can."
Rick looked back at Hershel, seeking his answer. "As far as I'm concerned, you and your group need to find a new place to live." The Atlanta group erupted into protests, demanding to know his reasoning and trying to persuade him to change his mind. He waited for them to quiet down, refusing to yell over the din. "You all decided to deal with everything in the barn without consulting with me. Rick promised we'd have a discussion and you all took it upon yourselves. My land, my decision. You all need to be gone in three days." Having said his peace, he walked back into the house without a look back at the group. Beth and Patricia followed him in; Maggie and Otis stayed for the rest of the group meeting.
Rick sighed heavily, "Alright. Looks like we need to start packing up and figuring out where to go next." The group in front of him looked despondent and started to head back to the camp.
Glenn piped up, "Well, who gets the trailer? And all the food? We risked our asses for all that stuff; we can't just leave it."
"You wouldn't have found all of that if I hadn't taken you there," Otis fought back.
Rick stepped in, staving off the fight before it began. Holding his hands up, he tried quieting the men down, "Alright, alright. Otis we'll leave plenty of supplies and food for everyone staying here. It's only fair." He looked at Glenn, who was scowling, then to Daryl, who only nodded his head slightly, a grim look on his face. "It's settled then. A couple of us bring medical supplies into the house then load some of the food and drinks into the trailer. We'll take the trailer with us...wherever we end up going. The rest of us need to start planning and packing for our departure. Daryl, if you want to spend some time hunting, now would be a good time; stock up on meat while we can."
The group dispersed and Rick stepped off the porch, heading toward the camp. Lori caught up with him and spoke just loud enough for him to hear. "Rick, you've got to talk to Hershel. Talk him out of this, make him let us stay. We can't leave." Her voice sounded anxious.
"Lori, you heard the man; his land, his decision. I'm sorry honey, but we've done plenty of damage here, we need to respect his wishes," Rick explained, a niggling feeling forming at the base of his spine.
Lori stopped in her tracks, grabbing his arm to pull him around to face her. She looked him straight in the eye, "We can't go back out there. Rick, I'm pregnant." His twisted sense of déjà vu hit him with full force. "I just found out yesterday." Rick tried to look as surprised as he could. Memories of losing Lori flooded his brain, and a rattled look crossed his features. Lori must have taken his look as one of shock and continued, "You've got to talk to Hershel and change his mind, make him see reason. Do something, but we can't leave. We just can't."
Rick slumped his shoulders, looked toward the ground and let out a heavy breath. He met her eyes again and said, "I'll see what I can do." Lori hugged him and whispered her "thank you," and headed back toward camp. Rick stayed put for a moment, trying to recall any past conversations, sorting through what worked and what didn't as far as convincing Hershel to let them stay. He slowly turned and walked back to the porch, knocking softly on the screen door.
Maggie answered the door, stepping outside to talk to Rick, "Hey. I'm sorry for my dad. He's still pretty pissed about you proving him wrong," she added with a half a grin. "Plus the whole, you know, barn situation."
"Yeah, I kinda figured. I need to talk to him though. Would you get him for me?"
Maggie held the screen door open for him, "Sure. Come on in."
Rick followed the young woman in and walked through the house with her, looking for her father. Not finding him anywhere downstairs, he, and eventually Glenn, followed Maggie upstairs into his bedroom. Rick noticed a pile of women's clothing on the bed. "Your step-mother's things?"
"Yeah, he was sure she would recover," Maggie shrugged, "and they would pick up right where they left off."
Glenn held up a flask he had found on the dresser, "I never figured your dad as a big drinker."
"He wasn't," Maggie confirmed, "He wouldn't even allow liquor in the house. He gave up drinking the day I was born and hasn't touched a drop since."
Rick's déjà vu kicked in again. "If I were to pick a time to start drinking, now would be it. Where's the nearest bar?"
Maggie didn't even have to think about it, "Hatlin's."
"I remember seeing that place on our run," Glenn volunteered, "I can take you there."
"Alright, let's head out," Rick turned to leave.
"Do you really have to go?" Maggie asked. "Can't we just give him directions?"
Glenn protested, "It's an easy run, Maggie. Besides, everyone agreed no one was to go out alone anymore."
"An easy run?" Maggie countered, "Like our run to the pharmacy? Glenn..."
"Maggie," Rick interrupted, chuckling at first then turning serious, "I'll bring him back. Both of them." Maggie nodded her reluctant assent. Glenn kissed Maggie on the cheek, and the two men headed downstairs and to the squad car to head into town.
Rckyfrk: Please don't hate us. Please remember this is a Walking Dead fanfic, and there will be character deaths...MAIN character deaths. It's unavoidable. Now I know how Kirkman feels killing people off...kind of. Trust me, this way is FAR kinder than the way we had originally planned. I'm going to go hide in a corner now...
Remi Savant: Sorry folks. Nobody lives forever. We've spared some characters, but death in inevitable, especially in the zombie apocalypse...sometimes twice.