"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future." - George Bernard Shaw
Shane isn't sure how he ended up with a trio of devoted little ducklings. He's always loved Carl, and it's been a mutual admiration society between them. But Carl is a boy. He understands boys and how their minds work.
The fact that his nephew is now part of what he can only dub the Three Musketeers baffles Shane. Everywhere Carl goes nowadays, he's bookended by two very blonde little girls.
Calling them little girls is a misnomer in a way. Both blondes are older than Carl, although it's only a matter of months or weeks. Sophia is the oldest by nearly three months, with Beth exactly two weeks older than Carl. The significance to Shane is that there are three thirteen year olds asking endless questions as he leads them through exercises designed to strengthen the muscle weakness he's still fighting.
He knows the reality of recovering from being shot, even in a faster healing area like the upper leg, is still weeks of physical therapy. Since he doesn't have a therapist, he's improvising, using exercises for recovering from damaged muscles in football. The kids just make it less boring, and it does help to teach them the kinesthetic reasoning for exercises instead of boring drills alone.
It's why they're all down in the barn, away from prying eyes. Shane doesn't mind the kids seeing when he struggles or even fails, although that's happening less often now. The adults' assessing eyes just piss him off.
The barn still bears a faint stench of decay from its time as a walker jail. That's terrifying by itself to recall, hearing gunshots from inside the barn in the middle of an afternoon two weeks ago. It got worse when his ducklings turned out to be responsible.
Beth Greene's new friends convinced her that her mother and brother were truly gone, and the determined little blonde decided she wasn't waiting on her father to do the right thing. Carl stole a gun and box of ammo from Daryl's saddlebag, and the three of them climbed into the loft of the barn.
When Rick and Daryl reached the loft, Beth was reloading under Carl's instructions, and there were already four walkers down to her inexpert shooting.
The adults helped finish what Beth started, sending Hershel Greene right off the wagon. That trip to town made life more complicated for everyone, resulting in the punk still confined to a shed on the property. No one likes Shane's opinion after Rick and Daryl returned with Randall, so he's in the barn. It's a sad statement about their group that three kids have better sense than all the adults combined.
At least they let him teach all the kids, Carol, and Andrea to shoot after the barn. It's a matter of safety that they at least understand how firearms work. Beth's early foray into sharpshooting turned out to be natural skill. She's a better shot than many of the adults here.
As they finish the last of their cool down stretches, Shane tosses water bottles to each of the kids. They all drink, sprawled on hay bales dragged in here for their comfort. It's nearing time to head back to the farmhouse, because they'll need to clean up before supper.
"Think they're all still fighting about Randall?" Carl asks, looking toward the house through the cracked open barn doors.
Beth snorts. The cynicism she developed after losing faith in her father makes Shane a little sad, remembering the bubbly kid who read aloud to him while he was stuck in bed for two days after Otis accidentally shot him. "What do you expect? Everyone wants to pretend it is still like before."
Sophia scoots over to sit next to Beth. The two girls lace their fingers together. They've been inseparable friends since Sophia's flight through the woods brought her into Otis's hunting range. The farm hand saved her from a pursuing walker and brought her to the farm for safety while he looked for her people.
Having two very outgoing friends is helping the older girl come out of her protective shell. "They'll have to make a decision eventually."
Daryl and Shane have little to say to each other on the best of days, but the redneck went out of his way to make sure Shane doesn't leave either of the girls alone anymore. The ex-deputy doesn't really need Daryl to fill in the blanks for what he's worried about.
But they and Andrea are the only three taking it completely seriously, the threat Randall and his type pose. Everyone else is responding to Dale's speeches about retaining civilized humanity. He wonders, not for the first time, if he should just take care of the problem quietly. Or he could set up an escape. No one would begrudge him shooting the little pedophile bastard then.
"That's weird." Carl's on his feet, venturing toward the doors. "I was sure everyone was at the house."
"Carl, get back from the door." Beth sounds afraid, and Shane responds quickly, snatching the boy back since he's closest.
Beth's blue eyes are wide and frightened. "Walkers."
The girl is right. They haven't been noticed yet, but those at the house have. Shane thinks the lingering walker scent might be hiding him and the kids, but nothing shields the farmhouse and the fucking gas grill they have going in the yard to cook up venison from the deer Daryl and Glenn brought back today.
Instinct tells him to call out a warning when one walker becomes three, then six, then a dozen. But shouting or shooting would draw attention to the barn and the children he has to protect. They're more important than the inattentive adults.
"Who the fuck is on watch?" he mutters. There's no one atop the RV.
It's a rhetorical question, but Sophia answers quietly. "Dale's supposed to be."
The damned old busybody is probably off trying to make sure the folks on the fence about Randall, like Glenn and Maggie, don't shift opinions. But he's left them vulnerable.
"Beth, can you lead the others to that little back door and peek to see if they're behind the barn, too?"
She nods solemnly. Once the kids are near the back, Shane tries to think of how to warn the others. Before he can just risk firing a shot, finally, someone comes out of the house. He hears the distinctive sound of a crossbow firing and knows that Daryl's going to raise the alarm.
"It's clear back here." Beth's voice is hidden under the sound of gunfire erupting from the direction of the house.
Shane hesitates, watching as defending the house draws more walkers. But the part that makes his blood run cold is Maggie Greene's panicked scream as her pale face comes under the porch light when she can't make it to the barn due to the mass of dead in the way.
"Shane! Take the kids and run!"
He doesn't hesitate. Normally, his place would be among the fighters trying to defend their safe haven. Tonight? It's getting the kids away from the herd swarming the place.
Keeping the three teens in his sight, they scurry across the open field behind the barn. They're ignored by the walkers in favor of the noise and smells further down. When they reach the treeline, he risks a look back.
The herd on the highway was so large he lost count in his estimate as he lay under the vehicle. What is advancing toward the defenders now in cars and on the porch makes that herd look small. Knowing there's no way he can help, he meets the scared yet trusting eyes of the kids.
They turn away from the swarm and run.
The uneven ground is complete hell on his not fully healed leg. Shane is limping even before they're out of range of hearing the bone chilling sounds of the biggest herd he's ever seen. Then exactly what he would fear most in trying to run across unfamiliar terrain in the dark happens.
Sophia stumbles and goes down hard. The distressed cry she makes scares him, and he kneels by her checking for injuries. There's a jagged gash in her arm, which is bleeding heavily. Shane tugs off his overshirt, folding the material and using it to apply pressure.
"Beth, keep pressure on this," he directs. The younger girl complies, adapting to the crisis well. He suspects she's helped her father in his practice from time to time. "Carl, keep watch."
As the boy draws his gun and stands protectively over them, he turns back to the injured girl. "Sophia? Is anything else hurt?"
To her credit, scared and in pain, she isn't crying or panicking. "My ankle. I stepped on something rotten."
Shane is gentle as he examines her ankle. She's correct that her foot went through a mostly buried and rotten log, something she couldn't have seen to avoid in the near dark. It doesn't help that the poor kid is still wearing some canvas shoe that barely qualifies as footwear.
Her ankle is bleeding sluggishly from multiple scrapes and starting to swell. He hates to do it, but the torn shoe is going to harm her foot, so he discards it. Sophia won't be walking, and the shoes are nearly useless anyway.
"Carl. Your overshirt, please?"
The boy holsters his gun long enough to strip off the red overshirt and hand it to Shane. He rips off a sleeve and uses it to bind Sophia's ankle, feeling like their time is running out. He uses the other sleeve to tie off the pressure bandage on her arm.
"Alright, kiddo, we gotta get moving. Wrap your good arm around my shoulders when I lift you."
"You shouldn't carry me," she protests. "It'll hurt your leg."
It would be easier with her weight in his back, but he doesn't want her injuring her arm further. He doesn't give her the choice, lifting her into his arms.
She flings her good arm around his shoulders with a squeak, giving in to the inevitable that she will be carried.
"C'mon, kids. We need to find somewhere that isn't out in the open. Beth? Do you know of anywhere?"
The blonde leads the way, thinking hard. "What direction are we headed?"
Shane glances up, spotting the moon. "Northeast."
Beth grimaces. "That means we're headed into deep woods. Mostly hunting back here, no farms. There might be a cabin or two, but I wouldn't know exactly where."
Shane thinks of the herd coming out of the northwest. He wonders if they should gamble that the cattle will provide a long enough distraction. Normally, he doesn't think cattle are really prey to small numbers of walkers, not uninjured. But that many? They could overwhelm just about anything.
"What about due east?" It brings them closer to the herd if they don't change direction, which is a risk.
"Closest farm past ours is about three miles east. They were in the barn."
Shane winces at that information, but at least they know Otis cleared the house. "Alright. Aim for the moon."
By the time they reach the edge of the trees, Shane's thigh is screaming in pain. He's limping, and all three kids keep giving him worried looks.
"Maybe we can carry her," Carl suggests. "Make a seat of our hands."
"We're almost there. I can make it that far." The bulk of the farmhouse can be seen in the distance, illuminated by moonlight.
Beth makes a happy sound. "They have one of those big wagons they use to haul bushel baskets. I can see it up at the gates."
Her pleading look is amplified by two more sets of puppy eyes, so he sighs and nods. "Guns out and ready."
Carl and Beth both advance down the lane between two fields, already showing a good awareness of their surroundings. Luckily, the odds are low that anything is out there, since the crops aren't tall enough to hide much here. Thank God it's not a corn field.
Beth snags the handle of one of those big farm wagons. Both teens set off at a run, making it back to them in record time. Shane eases Sophia into the wagon. Beth and Carl each fit a hand around the oversized handle and begin to tug.
Now that he's not focused almost completely on staying upright with Sophia's extra weight, Shane needs to plan. "Tell me about this farm."
"They were elderly, keeping the farm going with hired help. They sent the two men away when the sickness started, because their families were back home in Mexico. Otis came to check on them, and they were gone."
Beth sighs, motioning toward the fields. "This is where Maggie's been fetching extra food from. No animals left here, because she and Otis brought all their chickens to our place."
That probably helps explain why they had chickens to spare to feed the walkers in the barn, he guesses. Otis probably gathered poultry from other farms, too.
"What about the house? Did they clear out food? Would they have weapons?" The kids each have the small 22s they were given for learning to shoot, but they only have what ammo is actually in the guns. His own Glock is fully loaded, with an extra magazine next to the holster. He's the only one with a damned knife, because he hasn't convinced the kids' parents they won't slice a finger off yet.
"Maybe. I know Mr. Collins hunted, so maybe he would have a rifle. I don't remember them bringing back canned goods, just fresh produce."
"Alright. We get to the house, and I want Beth and Sophia to stay on the porch. Beth's the best shot if something comes up. Carl and I will clear the house, just to be safe. Then we lock it up and get Sophia treated."
"What about the others?" Carl asks, looking back the way they came.
"We have to count on the fact that they're smart and competent. They'll come looking for us, and if they don't, we'll go looking for them."
"Yeah, we will." Carl grins as they reach the porch.
Now Shane just has to keep them safe until daylight, when the others will track them down, since the Greenes know the area better than anyone. And if not? They'll play search and rescue themselves and find the others.
A/N: Filling a request from my Bunny Farm.
AU Notes: Sophia and Andre live. Age-adjusted Beth to place Beth, Carl, and Sophia as the same age, 13. Shane was shot by Otis instead of Carl. Lori hasn't taken the pregnancy test yet, but Judith is Shane's. Shane and the kids eventually end up in a safe community (one I designed for the Hell series and didn't use) a few months ahead of Rick's group. The crazy wandering has a good reason: three desperate families trying to find their lost ducklings. Expect more of an Uncle Shane theme than the fatherly one of the Hell series. No Woodbury or Governor.
Pairing: Undecided for Shane, probably ultra-rare like Connie, Rosita, or Princess. Teen romance Beth/Carl. Best buddies Sophia & Beth.
