Chapter 36-Escaping The School
Michonne holds Andre as Merle looks around. "We would pick the one room that if we jump, we'll break our legs," Merle says as he looks out the window.
"We wouldn't be able to jump anyway. We have Andre," Michonne says. Merle nods. Merle looks up and goes over to a chair. He grabs the yardstick off the board and pushes the ceiling out of place.
"Come here," Merle says to Michonne, who nods as she sets Andre down and comes over. Merle bends down. "Get on my shoulders. We need to see what is up there," Merle says. Michonne nods as she climbs on Merle's shoulder. Merle lets out a grunt and lifts himself back up.
"I can't see anything," Michonne says.
"Andre, go to my bag and grab the flashlight," Merle tells the child, who nods. Andre goes over to Merle's bag and opens the bag. Andre grabs the flashlight and comes back over to Merle. He holds the flashlight up to Merle, who takes one hand off Michonne's leg and grabs it. He holds it up to Michonne, who grabs it and shines it into the roof.
"It's clear," Michonne says. Merle nods.
"Climb up," Merle tells her. Michonne nods as she pulls herself into the roof.
"It won't hold a lot of weight, Merle," Michonne says. Merle nods as he goes up to Andre and picks him up. He walks back over to the roof and holds him up to Michonne, who grabs him.
"Okay, now you," Michonne says as she holds her hand down to Merle.
"Nah, the ceiling will give. This was about making sure you two were safe," Merle says as he goes back over to the window. "There's a chance I could get down there with only a sprained ankle or foot," Merle says.
"Merle, no," Michonne says.
"It's the only other way. Stay close and get as close as you can to the others," Merle says as he throws Michonne's katana up to her and grabs their bags. He gives her a bag and puts the other on. "Now go, Michonne," Merle says as he goes to the window. Michonne looks at him for a moment before she goes forward. "Take care of your momma boy," Merle says to Andre, who looks at him sadly before he starts to follow Michonne. Merle opens the window and throws his bag to the ground. "What the hell," Merle says as he climbs out of the window and holds onto the other side as he sets his feet down. Merle lets go and falls to the bottom. He hits the ground, his ankle twisting as he falls to the ground. "Fuck," Merle says as He sees walkers looking at him. He slowly stands up and grabs his crossbow by his bag. He shoots one of the walkers in the head. He pulls out his knife as one of the walkers gets close. He stabs it in the eye and throws it to the ground. He looks at the small herd making their way towards him. "Son of a bitch," Merle says. He looks at the gate and sees walkers on the other side clawing at him. Merle goes to his bag and grabs the Uzi out of it. He aims the gun and shows the first one in the head. He moves the gun hitting the walkers in the head. He sighs when he hears the gun click and still sees walkers coming. Merle pulls his handgun out as he hears a pop behind him. He turns and sees the fence was coming loose. He could see at least ten walkers and knew his handgun had seven rounds. He raises the gun and shoots 7 of them. All of them fall to the ground as Merle walks up to another and cuts its head off with his machete. The other one comes at him, and Merle kicks it. He sees an SUV ahead of him. He kills the last one and runs for the car. He opens the back door and climbs in as walkers from the other side of the car start to surround it, and the fence that was behind him falls to the ground. Merle's breathing could be heard in the car as he locks the door and sees no keys. "Fuck you," Merle says as he lays his head back and the walkers hit the car.
Daniel, Carol, Duane, Morgan, and Sophia were in the music room near the back of the school. Daniel looks at the front of the door. "Most of the walkers moved towards those gunshots. If we stay quiet, we should be able to get to the doors in the back and get out," Daniel says before he turns and looks at Morgan, Carol, Daune, and Sophia.
"Our people could be trapped," Morgan says.
"Then you go after them. But going that way will only get you killed," Daniel says as he picks his bag up and puts it on. He grabs his knife and goes to the door. "Make up your mind. I will not die here. My daughter needs me," Daniel says.
"Okay, but we come back," Carol says. Daniel nods as he opens the door. He stabs the first walker as Morgan goes in front of him and stabs the other. Daniel motions Carol, Duane, and Sophia forwards. Daniel stays in the back as Morgan leads them with Carol, Duane, and Sophia in the middle. Morgan stabs a walker and kicks it to the ground. Carol and Duane jump over the walker, and when Sophia tries to go over it, she falls to the ground. Daniel grabs her as they are cut off by walkers coming down a wall blocking them from Carol, Duane, and Morgan. "Sophia," Carol says. The walkers look at her.
"Go, I'll get her out," Daniel says as he starts to head back. Daniel picks Sophia. He starts to run down the hall with the girl in hand. He sees that walkers are coming from the hall. "Damn it," Daniel says as he goes into the janitor's closet. He sets Sophia down and pulls out his flashlight. He looks at the blond. "You okay?" Daniel asks the blond, who nods. They hear a noise, and Daniel turns his flashlight and sees a walker tied to a pipe. Daniel pulls out his knife and stabs it in the head as walkers hit the door. He goes to the walker and holds the flashlight out to Sophia, who grabs it. Daniel stabs the walker in the chest and pulls the knife down the torso to the bottom of the stomach. He pulls the walker's stomach open, and he could hear Sophia gag. "Okay, sweetheart, you're going to have to be strong for me. Can you do that?" Daniel asks Sophia, who nods.
"Yes," Sophia says. Daniel nods as he starts to spread blood on her. Carol, Morgan, and Duane run through the halls. Duane was holding Carol's hand as they ran through the halls. Morgan runs past a hall. He runs to the door, and as Carol runs past, a walker grabs Duane and bites into his shoulder.
"No!" Morgan yells as Carol pulls out her knife and stabs the walker in the head. She pulls Duane away as Morgan goes through the door and outside. Duane falls to the ground as Morgan falls down by his son "Duane, hey, you're going to be okay," Morgan says as he covers the missing piece of flesh. Carol holds her hands up to her mouth as Duane grasps for breath.
"I... love...you...Dad," Duane says in between breaths before he takes his last breath and his eyes close. Morgan stares at his dead son in shock.
"Duane, hey buddy, wake up. Duane," Morgan says as she shakes him. "Duane," Morgan says. "Please, Duane," Morgan says as he shakes his son. Tears go down Morgan's face. "Duane," Morgan says as he lays his head on his son's chest. Carol tries to lay her hand on Morgan's shoulder, but he turns around and hits her hand away. "Leave us alone!" Morgan yells at her. Carol backs up into the door as Morgan looks back at Duane. Nick, Beth, Sam, and Andrea run around the school and see the car. They run towards them when a gunshot goes off, hitting Andrea in the shoulder. Andrea yells as Sam and Nick pull her back to the other side of the school.
"Stay back!" Mason yells. "I'll blow Eugene's head off!" Mason yells.
"Mason, this was you!?" Nick asks.
"They will pay! Otis has already paid. Bring me Shane, and Andrea will get the treatment she needs!" Mason yells. Sam pulls off his coat and presses it against Andrea's shoulder. He leans her up a little.
"The bullet went through good," Sam says. Nick pulls the bag off his shoulder and pulls out a few bandages.
"Here," Nick says.
"He said Otis paid," Beth says. "He killed Otis," Beth says. Nick nods as he hugs her.
"We need to figure something out," Sam says. Nick nods as he looks at the cars.
Derek, Hotch, and Jimmy were in a room together. "What the hell is going on!?" Jimmy asks.
"Shh," Derek says to Jimmy, who nods. Derek pulls the door open a little and sees the walkers in the hall shambling around the halls. "Someone let the walkers out of the cafeteria," Derek says.
"Who the hell would do that?" Jimmy asks.
"Mason," Hotch says. "He is a very unstable man. Anybody can tell that from a mile away," Hotch says.
"Well, how do we get out?" Jimmy asks. Derek goes to the widow and sees the walkers surrounding the SUV.
"Walkers are surrounding that SUV. Someone must be in there," Derek says. Jimmy looks out the window and sees Merle's crossbow on the ground.
"It's Merle," Jimmy says. Derek looks at him and sees the crossbow. Derek opens the window and sees a sunroof.
"Merle!" Derek yells. Merle opens the sunroof and peaks his head out. "You okay?" Derek asks.
"Peachy," Merle says back.
"Where are Michonne and Andre?" Hotch asks.
"In the ceiling. They are safe," Merle says back.
"We'll get you out," Jimmy says. Merle nods as he climbs up on the top of the SUV and looks at the walkers at the bottom.
"Do we have a plan?" Merle asks them.
"Not really," Derek says.
"Not really? Not really? Derek, I am surrounded by walkers," Merle says to Derek.
"I can distract them," Jimmy says.
"How?" Hotch says.
"I'll climb out and get their attention. You guys shoot them," Jimmy says. The other two nod as Jimmy climbs out of the window and jumps down. He rolls as he hits the ground. The walkers look at him, and as Hotch and Derek start to shoot, the walkers.
"Merle, climb out the other side when they are to come after us," Hotch says to Merle, who nods as he climbs back in the car. Hotch and Derek shoot the walkers. Neither of them pays attention to Jimmy on the bottom. Jimmy shoots a walker, and when the gun clicks, he unlocks the clip and grabs another out of his coat, and loads it in. He raises his gun as a walker grabs him from behind ad bites into his side.
"Ahh," Jimmy says as he turns to the walker and shoots it in the head.
"Jimmy," Hotch says.
"You can't save me. We have to save Merle," Jimmy says as he raises his gun and starts to shoot the walkers again. "Merle, go!" Jimmy yells. Merle opens the door and goes for his crossbow. He grabs the bow off the ground and reloads it. He shoots the walker coming towards him and grabs his bag. He swings the crossbow around his back, grabs a clip from his bag, and reloads the gun. The four men shoot the rest of the walkers around the car. Derek and Hotch throw their bag down and climb out of the window. Derek goes over to Jimmy, who sits on the ground as Merle and Hotch come over.
"Let me see," Derek says. Jimmy lifts his shirt to reveal the bite on his side. "Damn it," Derek says. Jimmy looks at Merle.
"You okay?" Jimmy asks.
"Kid," Merle says.
"I'm okay, come on, we should find the others," Jimmy says. Merle and Hotch help Jimmy up, and they start to walk. Glenn, Maggie, and Troy put the walker gut on them.
"Sure, this is the best plan?" Troy asks. Glenn nods as he puts the guts on his shoulder. He looks at Glenn and Troy.
"Are we ready?" Glenn asks. They nod as Glenn goes to the door and opens it. The walker comes in and looks at them before they walk past. The three of them walk through the halls with Glenn holding Maggie's hand. He leads them past the front when he hears Maggie let out a small gasp. Glenn looks and sees Otis as a walker. Glenn moves back a little. "We can't do anything for him," Glenn whispers to Maggie, who nods. Glenn looks at Troy, who nods as they go through the halls. They go to the halls until they get to a side entrance. Glenn opens the door, and they go out, Troy shutting the door behind them.
"Glenn," Nick says. Glenn turns and sees Sam, Andrea, Nick, and Beth.
"You made it out. What the hell happened?" Maggie asks as she hugs her sister.
"Mason, he let the walkers out. He has Eugene, and he killed Otis," Sam says. "He shot Andrea," Sam says as he points at the girl who was holding the bandage.
"Have you seen, Shane?" Glenn asks. They shake their heads. "Where the hell is he?" Glenn asks. Michonne and Andre climb through the ceiling and stop when they hear growling below them. Michonne kicks the roof down, making some of it hit the walkers. She sees the walkers hitting a closet door.
"Hello," Michonne says.
"Michonne," Shane says from inside the closet with Madison. Michonne grabs her sword and pulls it out. He pulls out her handgun.
"Shane, how many bullets do you have?" Michonne asks.
"We both have one clip with our handguns. How many are out there?" Shane asks.
"To many," Michonne says as the walkers grab for her. "Can you get into the roof?" Michonne asks. She waits a moment when Shane speaks.
"Yeah," Shane says.
"Climb up. Go slow and stay apart. It can't take too much weight," Michonne says.
"Got it," Shane says. The part of the ceiling comes up as Madison climbs up. She starts to crawl, and Shane comes up a few moments later. Michonne and Andre slowly follow them. They were keeping their distance. They get to a part of the ceiling, and Madison kicks the ceiling and breaks it. Madison looks down.
"What is it?" Shane asks.
"We're clear. We should be able to get out from here," Madison says as she drops down. Shane follows her, and Michonne gives him Andre before she climbs down. She looks around and sees a window. Michonne goes to the window and opens it. She looks around and sees a Carol. Shane and Madison climb out first, followed by Andre and then Michonne. They go over to Carol and stop when they see Morgan hovering over Duane as the door opens and Daniel and Sophia come out.
"Morgan," Shane says. Morgan turns and looks at him. He stands up.
"Who did this!? Who did this?!" Morgan yells at Shane.
"Mason," Shane says. They all look at him. Shane looks past Carol. "Merle," Shane says as he goes past him to Merle, Hotch, Derek, and Jimmy, who was leaning more on Merle.
"A walker got him," Merle says. He looks at Duane. "Morgan," Merle says.
"Don't he will die," Morgan says. He pulls out his knife and slowly stabs Duane in the back of the head. He starts to walk away as Daniel picks the boy up. They follow him until they get to the side of the building where the others were. Shane looks at Andrea.
"Please tell me she ain't bit," Shane says.
"Shot," Sam says as they look at Duane.
"Jimmy," Beth says as she comes over to him. Merle lays him against the wall. Madison goes over to Andrea as Daniel lays Duane down.
Morgan starts to walk to the cars. "He'll kill Eugene," Shane says. Morgan stops.
"How do we kill him?" Morgan asks. They all look at each other.
"We distract him," Shane says.
"How?" Glenn asks. Shane looks at Troy, who had a rifle.
"If I get him out, can you get a shot?" Shane asks Troy, who nods.
"Watch me," Shane says as he walks out into the open. "Mason," Shane says.
"You got out," Mason says.
"My friends are dead," Shane says. ]
"Now you know my pain!" Mason yells.
"I'm unarmed. Why don't we finish this like men? You and I. No weapons, no guns, and no knives," Shane says.
"Tell Troy to throw that rifle," Mason says.
"Stand down, Troy. Everybody stand down. This is between us," Shane says. Troy throws the rifle, and Mason gets out of the truck. He walks up to Shane and throws his gun to the ground.
"I'm going to enjoy watching you bleed," Mason says as he takes his knife out and throws it. Mason swings at Shane, who ducks and punches Mason in the face. Mason falls to the ground and grabs the knife off the ground, and swings it up at Shane cutting his left eye. Shane screams in pain as Mason tries to stab him again. Shane moves and kicks Mason in the leg. He punches him in the face. Mason falls to the ground, and Shane kicks the knife away and climbs on top of Mason before he starts punching Mason in the face. He brings his first against Mason's face and doesn't stop as he hears the others. He punches Mason again and again. He couldn't feel his hand and could see the blood. All Shane felt was rage as Mason coughed blood. He wraps his hand around Mason's throat and grips his throat. Mason tries to grab his hands as Shane tightens his grip on Mason's throat. Mason's eyes go wide as he stops breathing. The last thing he sees is Shane's face. Shane lets Mason go when he stops struggling. He fell back and could hear Madison but only stared at Mason.
"Shane," Madison says. "Shane," Madison says. Shane looks at her as Madison looks at his eye. "Can you see out of this eye?" Madison asks. Shane shakes his head. Madison looks at his eye. "He cut the eye. Shane, I don't think you'll ever see out of that eye again," Madison says. Shane nods as Madison starts cleaning the blood. Morgan comes over and kicks Mason's body. "We need three graves," Shane says. "One for Otis, Jimmy, and Duane," Shane says. Derek and Hotch walk away to let Eugene out and dig the graves. Merle walks over to Jimmy after Beth had said her goodbyes. He bends down by Jimmy, who was pale and sweating. He lays his hand on Jimmy's knee. Merle moves his hand up and grabs Jimmy's hand, and holds it.
"I wish we had more time," Merle says to Jimmy, who smiles.
"We had plenty of time, plenty of time, Merle. I wouldn't change a thing," Jimmy says. Merle tightens his grip on Jimmy's hand. Jimmy looks away from Merle and over to Beth, who was hugging Maggie. "Take care of her," Jimmy says.
"I will, kid," Merle says to Jimmy, who nods. Jimmy reaches into his pocket and pulls out a necklace with a bullet casing on it. "This was the first shot my grandpa shot. He passed it down to my dad, who gave it to me. Now I'm giving it to you," Jimmy says. Merle grabs the necklace and holds it.
"I'll take care of it," Merle tells Jimmy, who nods.
"Stay with me," Jimmy says to Merle, who nods.
"I'll be here the whole time," Merle says as he holds Jimmy's hand. Jimmy lays his head back and closes his eyes. Merle holds Jimmy's hand for minutes when he feels Jimmy's grip loosen. Merle looks at Jimmy and sees that he had stopped breathing. Merle lets out a trembling breath as he lets Jimmy's hand go and wipes the tears off his face.
Merle pulls out his knife and brings Jimmy's head forward, and stabs him in the head. Merle picks Jimmy up and takes him over to Duane, who was already covered up. Troy throws a blanket over Jimmy, and Merle goes over to Shane.
"How do we get Otis out?" Maggie asks. Shane looks at the building. He could see Otis was pressed up against the door.
"Otis would be the first walker to come out. Maggie and Glenn open the door, and when we get Otis out. We shut it again," Shane says. They nod as they load their guns, and Maggie and Glenn go to the door and pull the bolt cutters out. They open the door, and Otis falls out and goes down the stairs. Merle and Troy shoot the closet walkers, and Maggie and Glenn close the door. Eugene goes up to the door and locks it with the handcuffs. Beth goes up to Otis and stabs him in the head. Merle and Troy carry Otis over to the graves, and two hours later, they put the last of the dirt over Duane's grave. The group stayed for a few moments and could see the sun was coming up. About fifteen minutes later, Shane pours gas on Mason's body and lights a match. He throws it down on Mason, and the body goes up in flame, and Shane watches with no remorse on his face. Once the body was burned. The group gets back in the cars and leaves the school. They were leaving their families' bodies behind as the head for Jackson. Nothing would ever be the same, and they all had something to work through after the worst night some of them have had since the start.
Thanks for reading. This chapter had a lot in it. So in case, you missed anything. Duane and Jimmy are dead. Andrea is hurt, and Shane lost one of his eyes. Also, Mason was beaten to death. This was a fun chapter to make, and being dead honest, this could happen again with the other group, but who knows. I should mention that Morales and his family are with Daryl. I don't remember if I mentioned that. I want to say thank you to everybody who has supported this story. We just hit 50 reviews so thank you so much. I don't have much more to stay. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.