Chapter 18
~Charlotte~
"Where's your hat?" I ask Glenn as we sit on top of the RV.
"Maggie put an egg in it and smashed it on my head. Stained my shirt as well."
"Why would she do that?" I laugh.
"Well, she... we are having some problems. Mainly about the barn."
"Oh, well I am sure it'll get better between you two."
"Ha, of course it will."
"You look strange without your hat." I tell him.
"I know, I feel naked."
I giggle. From the RV we can see almost everything. My eyes mainly stay on Shane as he stays at the barn, fiddling with locks. I don't know if he wants it open or if he is checking to see if it is secure. Glenn holds the rifle in case he sees anything suspicious or if he sees walkers.
I got my book set next to me, but I haven't opened it yet. I keep a look out with Glenn, but I mainly keep on chatting to him.
"What do you think will happen with the barn?" I ask him, pushing back a loose strand of my hair that keeps on being pushed around by the wind.
"I have no idea. But whatever does happen, it won't be good." he mutters.
"Yeah..." I sigh.
The footsteps from Dale's feet crunching on the ground can be heard, getting closer to us. I look over at him as he presses his black binoculars to his eyes, looking through them to get a closer look at Shane at the barn.
"Hey, Dale. Andrea was looking for you not too long ago." I call down to him. He removes his binoculars and looks up at us.
"Thank you, Charlie."
"No problem."
"Any chance you got an extra hat?" Glenn asks Dale.
"Nope." Dale says, removing his own hat and throwing it to Glenn like a Frisbee.
Glenn catches it with his free hand, his other still holding onto the rifle. "Thanks."
And with that, Dale goes inside the RV to see what Andrea wanted to talk to him about.
"You look so sexy wearing that." I tell Glenn jokingly.
"Oh, yeah I bet I looking stunning."
"Of course you do! Ten out of ten."
He laughs. "Now Dale is gonna look weird without his hat."
"It suits you very well."
"Still feels weird without my hat. I miss it."
"You know what I miss?" I ask Glenn.
"What?"
"Peanut butter.
He chuckles. "Yeah, I miss coffee."
"Don't get me started on how much I miss coffee. And tea. I loved tea. I had to have at least four cups of tea a day."
"Didn't like tea all that much."
I give a loud and dramatic gasp. "How can you not love tea?"
We have a brief moment of laughter, stopping when the voices coming from the RV were getting louder.
"Sounds like they are getting into an argument." Glenn whispers.
The murmurs from the RV get quieter again. I can't make out what they are saying. Then Andrea walks out of the RV, a bag swinging over her shoulder.
"You okay?" Glenn calls down to Dale, still in the RV.
"Yeah." he pauses for a bit and in that moment, Glenn and I exchange looks, knowing that something is wrong. "Hey, Glenn, do you mind running and getting me some water? I just - need a second."
"Yeah, sure." Glenn hands me down the rifle. "You'll keep watch?"
I grasp onto the heavy weapon, "Yeah I will." I say, struggling with the weight of the rifle.
Glenn makes his way to the end of the RV and steadily climbs down the ladder. I stand up and start looking around, holding the rifle close to my chest. I hear movements from the RV.
"You sure you all right, Dale?" I ask him.
"Yes, Charlie I am. Is there anyone nearby?" he asks me.
I have a brief moment of confusion as to why he asked me that. I look around and see that most people are by their tents, sitting near the campfire.
"Most of them are at their tents. Why do you ask?"
"You can keep a secret, right?"
"Of course I can."
He chuckles a little. "That's why I sent Glenn away. I knew that if he saw what I was doing he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret."
Dale comes out of the RV cautiously, looking around just in case anyone would spot him. He holds the bag of guns, some of the weaponry poking out of the bag.
"Don't tell anyone Charlie. I'm doing what is best for the group and hiding the guns."
I stare at him, then back at the guns. I ponder for a moment, thinking if this really a good idea.
"I won't tell anyone."
"Good." he smiles. He then starts walking away from the group and to the distant woods.
Glenn comes back after a couple minutes. He makes me jump when he does, because my eyes were so focused on the surroundings, making sure no walkers were going to attack the group.
"Where's Dale?" he asks. I give a short squeal when I hear his voice. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you jump."
Glenn climbs up the RV, a water bottle in his hands.
"He wanted to walk around for a bit. Feels ill." I lie as I hand him back his rifle. I feel a pit in my stomach growing as I say that sentence, guilt immediately filling me because I said the lie.
Glenn sets the water bottle down and I sit down, my legs crossed together.
"You saw nothing?" he asks me.
"Nope, nothing. Even if there were anything, I wouldn't of been able to shoot it."
"You just need a little more practise."
"I bet I still would be crap at it."
"Nah, you'll be great. Just need to kill a couple more walkers and you would be good to go."
"I don't want to kill any more walkers." I tell him sadly.
He looks down at me, concern written all over his face.
"I know I'm gonna have to. But, I don't want to be in that situation. Where I could almost die. Where I probably will die."
"Don't worry. I'll be there to protect you."
I laugh and smile. "My hero."
Glenn laughs back. "Rick and Andrea are going to go out and look for Sophia."
"Maybe today is the day we find her."
"I hope we find her soon. Because I'm starting to fear that what Shane said might be true." Glenn tells me,
"Yeah, me too." I say, my breath getting shaky. The tears in my eyes shock me. They formed so fast that I didn't even register one tear falling down my face.
"Hey, you all right?" He asks me with concern, not being able to see my face properly as I turn my head away from him.
I try nodding my head, but I only shake it.
"No." I sob, placing my hands over my eyes.
"Hey hey hey. C'mon. Charlie, we'll find her." He assures me. He gets up from the chair, placing the rifle down and sits down next to me, resting his hand on my shoulder that's furthest from him.
"I don't think we will." I cry some more and I try to force myself to stop, but the tears keep falling. "She's so young. Too innocent for this. God, this world went to shit in a blink of an eye. We don't deserve this. None of us do. No matter what crappy things we did. No matter what sins we did. We don't deserve this."
"I know." He sighs, his grip tightening in my shoulder. "But it'll fix. One day, we will wake up. And it'll all be a dream."
It'll all be a dream. The words repeat in my head.
"God, that would be fantastic if one day I wake up. In my house. My parents still there." I take in a deep breath. "My dad loved doing barbecues. My mum was a vegetarian, so she wasn't a fan of course. She constantly ate rabbit food, you know? I mean, lettuce, carrots and all that. Just a ton of veg. My dad had his friends come over all lot him when he had barbecues. He had a lot of friends around the country. One of them lived all the way up near Washington. Even though he lived far, he would always try to meet him once a month. They were all friends he made in Uni." I look at Glenn, listening intently to my story. "Sorry, you probably don't care at all."
"No. No, I wanna listen."
I take in a deep breath and continue my story that I somehow got into.
"Because I hated company, I would always stay in my room, if my dad had friends around. I always forgot their names, but my dad will always talk to me about them as if I remembered. I mean, their names would ring some bells. I wouldn't tell him that I couldn't remember who he was talking about. He would of been heartbroken if I said that about his friends. Even though a saw them almost once a month, basically ever since I was born, practically growing up with them being like some sort of relatives - as if they were uncles - I would never remember them. And whenever I saw them, they'd say that thing that all family members do, 'Wow, look how much you've grown. Do you remember me?' I would nod my head, stick around for a bit then head in my room, because I couldn't stand people. I just get so anxious around them. Even with my parents, I would be odd around them, because I never enjoyed being around them. I was shy around my own parents." I sigh. "Wow, I've really gone on."
"No, it's fun to hear you talk. And plus, it made you stop thinking about Sophia. See? You're not crying any more."
"Huh, guess not. It was nice talking about that." I say.
"Yeah, you should talk more often." He jokes.
"Shut up." I say whilst laughing slightly, pushing his arm off me. "I talk to you all the time."
"Only recently."
"Hm, that's true. I've just got to warm up to people before I start talking. I get scared off saying something wrong. I get anxiety at the thought of meeting someone new."
"Nah, you shouldn't. It was good hearing you talk." He says, getting up from the sitting position he was in and sits in the red chair.
"It felt good too." I mutter.
Both me and Glenn stayed up on the RV for ages, keeping on guard. If that's what you called it. We mainly talked and joked for the whole time we were up there. Glenn kept his eyes on the woods and I mainly looked around our camp at all the people working, doing their jobs or relaxing. Lori was cutting carrots, Rick and Andrea were by the car with a map in front of them, planning where to go to look for Sophia. Carl was by the big tree with a book out in front of him, I couldn't tell what type of book, if it was a comic book or even a colouring in book.
Hershel at one point went up to Rick and Andrea, taking Rick with him to do what I presume to be a job. Shane was walking around the place. He went from talking to Lori and then talking to Carl. When Carl was talking to Shane, Lori had called him over. You can see the obvious tension that is going on between Shane and Lori, that makes me wonder if the baby is Rick's or if it is Shane's.
"Angry Shane at nine o'clock." I whisper to Glenn. He snaps his head around and looks at the furious looking Shane who is walking to the RV.
"'Sup?" Glenn calls down to him, but he is completely blanked. Shane walks inside the RV, makig it jolt a little from his weight and fear suddenly courses through me.
The guns. Dale took the guns, what if Shane is looking for him. Glenn looks at me, his head tilts as if he is about to ask what is wrong.
I shrug my shoulders, but I jump at the sounds of objects clashing around in the RV. It sounds like stuff is falling, being pushed away, thrown across the place. Glenn looks like he has a face of fear as well.
"Son of a bitch." I hear Shane mutter from the RV before he comes storming out. I look away before he can make eye contact with me and Glenn does the same.
"You see where he went?" Shane asks us.
Dale. I immediately think of him.
"Who?" Glenn asks.
"Don't even try to shit me, okay?"
"What?" Glenn asks in confusion. I don't bother saying a thing, I have fear clogged in my throat, unable to get a word out. Not that I would want to anyways.
"Dale. You see where Dale went?" Shane, looks away from us at sets his eyes on the camp to see if he can find him. In that moment, Glenn glances over at me and I look back. I shake my head before Shane can turn back around.
"Yeah, he asked me and Charlie to run and get him some water and peaches, said he'd cover us on watch."
"The both of you?" Shane asks.
"Yeah..."
"And he was gone when you got back, huh?"
"Yeah. Do you think he is okay?" Glenn asks him.
"Oh, he's fine."
"Well, why'd he bail then?"
"So you wouldn't tell which way he went."
"I don't get it." Glenn mutters.
"Nah, man. You don't." Shane replies before walking off in almost the same direction that Dale was walking off to.
"Do you wanna tell me what that was about?" Glenn asks me when Shane gets far enough.
"Nah. I'm good."
"Charlie..."
"Erm, well Dale went out with the guns." I mutter, sounding slightly embarrassed by the fact I had to keep a secret from Glenn.
"The guns?" Glenn asks shocked.
"Keep your voice down." I tell him, looking around to see if anyone nearby heard.
"And you didn't say anything?" he asks me, more quietly.
"He asked me to keep a secret. And how can I say no to that man. Plus, I was doing well at keeping it a secret, before Shane came stomping over. Don't tell anyone, please Glenn. He's doing it for the group."
"I was keeping the barn a secret, for the group."
"But walkers in the barn is a risk for our safety."
"So is this!" he exclaimed.
"Hm, walkers in the barn that's a stones throw away from our camp or hiding guns that we haven't had to really use here yet. What sounds more dangerous, because to me - and excuse me if I sound like an idiot - the dozen killing machines in the barn sound more like a threat." I tell him, trying to keep my voice as quiet as it can.
His eyes widen, slightly in shock. "Fine. I won't tell anyone. Shane knows any way that Dale took the guns. He will come back and probably tell everyone."
"That's true. But who knows? Anything can happen in those woods."
Almost half an hour pasts when Maggie comes walking towards the RV. I'm in the middle of applying sun cream on when Glenn stands up from the red chair, setting the rifle down as he does so.
Glenn pulls off Dale's hat and calls out for her. "Maggie?"
I can just make out her face. She stares at him with an almost disgusted look on her face. She holds a basket full of green vegetables and completely blanks Glenn.
I continue to smother in the sun cream when he calls out for her again. Again, he gets no answer.
He jumps down from the RV and walks over to her. I know they are about to talk about something quite personal, but my ears can't help but listen in to what they are going ot say to each other.
"Maggie. Maggie. Maggie, just stop for a second." He runs up to her, walking by her side.
"Don't." I manage to hear her say. "You tell Dale, fine. I asked you. I told you!" They get further and further away so it gets harder to hear them, but Maggie's gets a slight more louder when she gets angrier. "I just asked you for one thing. One thing!"
Their sounds drown out as they get closer to the Greene house. Now they are just mumbles.
"My dad is gonna kick you guys out, he told me!"
My heart stops when I manage to hear her shout that at Glenn. Kick us out?
Oh, God. Please no.
We gotta stay here. We will never make it out there. I stop rubbing in the sun cream and shakily stand up from the RV. I walk to the red chair and settle myself down in it, picking up the rifle and set it on my lap. I look back over at Glenn and Maggie that stand completely still.
Glenn takes the basket from her hands and sets it down on the dried ground next to them. I definitely can't hear them now. I can only hear my own thoughts. I can't even hear the soft wind blowing or the leaves rustling in the trees.
We can't get sent back out there. Oh, God. Oh, God. I might be sick.
I don't know if I am over exaggerating, but I know that I won't be able to make it out there. I'll die within the first week. The first day. I'll be eaten. Killed in the worst way possible.
I turn back around and Glenn is making his way back to the RV.
Maggie calls him and he stops walking. Maggie then reaches Glenn and presses her lips to his. My heart stops breifly. I turn away, not wanting to look at them. And a small smile hits my lips. I don't know why I am smiling. At first I thought I felt jealousy, now happiness seems to grow inside of me. The sadness and fear of being sent out, that seems to have faded.
"Charlie!" Glenn calls.
"Yeah?" I turn around, waiting for what Glenn has to say.
"You okay to stay on guard for a while?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine!" I shout out to him.
I just manage to see his smile in the sunlight, the rays hitting his white teeth. He turns and walks with Maggie, getting back to the house. I turn back away and look at the edge of the fields, at the forest.
I wonder what is going on with Shane and Dale. If Shane found Dale. If Dale managed to hid the guns.
It's boring sitting out here by myself. The only reason I done it in the first place was because of Glenn was here with me.
Half an hour passes and the majority of the group is on the porch of the Greene house. All except from Rick, Hershel, Jimmy, Dale and Shane. As Daryl and Carol walk up to the porch, I see Shane coming from the side of the house. With the bag of guns. And no sign of Dale.
"Shit." I mutter and climb down the ladder of the RV. I swing the strap of the rifle around my shoulders and start walking to the group. I see Shane and Daryl walk to each other, Shane handing him a shotgun.
Daryl accepts the gun and pumps it. Shane then starts handing guns to the rest of the people.
"It was one thing standing around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But know we know it ain't!" I hear Shane shout at the group. Everyone starts gathering around, even Beth and Patricia.
"How about you man?" Shane asks Glenn, offering him a shotgun. "You gonna protect yours?"
I finally join up with the rest of them. "Can you shoot?" Shane asks Maggie when Glenn takes the gun.
"Can you stop? If you do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight." Maggie snaps at Shane.
"We have to stay, Shane." Carl tells Shane.
"Here," Shane says walking up to me. He takes off the large rifle I got swinging on my shoulders and hands me a pistol. "That's more your size." He says, forcing it in my hands.
"What is this?" Lori questions, walking across the porch to reach our group.
"We ain't going anywhere, okay?" Shane reassures Carl. "Now look, Hershel, he just gotta understand, okay? Well, he's gonna have to. We need to find Sophia, am I right?" Shane bands on one knee in front of Carl, offering him a gun too. "Now, I want you to take this. I want you to take this Carl and keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes, you know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."
Lori steps out in front of Carl, pushing him away from the gun that Shane is offering to him.
"Rick said no guns." Lori says spitefully. "This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."
"Oh, shit." Everyone turns to T-Dog who stares off into the distance. Everyone glares at where he is looking at and the sounds of walkers moaning can be heard.
I can just make out five figures, Jimmy, Hershel then Rick. Hershel and Rick seem to be holding the walkers around the necks, using some sort of stick. I can barely tell what it is.
Shane is the first to run to the commotion. One by one the group start running behind him, me being one of the last. Maggie calls out to Shane who is not stopping. He continues to sprint forward, cutting through the wind.
He pushes open the gate like it was nothing so he can reach Rick and the other two as they contain walkers.
"What the hell are you doing?" I can hear Shane yell at Rick as I continue to run. It feels like the weight of the gun in my hands is holding me down, no matter how small it is.
"Shane, just back off." Rick warns Shane.
"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asks.
"Are you kidding me?" Shane questions him. I slowly stop running when we reach the men. "You see? You see what they are holding on to?"
"I see who I am holding on to!" Hershel says as he struggles to control the walker. Rick and Hershel walk towards the barn, with the rest of the walkers.
"No, man. You don't."
"Shane, just let us do this." Rick tells him. "Then we can talk."
I stand far away from the snapping and groaning walkers. One tries to take a swing at Jimmy and I see Beth tense up. Everyone stands in a position, ready to strike. I stand near Patricia and Beth, everyone else is close by the walkers.
"What you wanna talk about, Rick?" Shane yells over the moans and groans, walking by Rick as they head for the barn. "These things ain't sick. They're not people!" Shane steps ahead of the men directing the walkers, wanting to get them to stop. "They're dead! Ain't gotta feel nothing for them, because all they do? They kill! These things, right here! They're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're gonna kill all of us!"
My heart races faster at the mention of Amy, the tears start to threaten, but they do not fall. I start walking more towards what is going on, the men getting further away as they get closer to the barn.
"Shane, shut up!" Rick shouts at him. The walkers get more erratic over the noises of the grown men shouting.
"Hey, Hershel, man, let me ask you something. Could a living, breathing person," Shane sounds like he has calmed down. He stands in front of the barn doors and pulls out his gun. "Could they walk away from this?"
He aims and fires it at the female walkers chest. Everyone reacts is some way when the gun fires. Glenn starts aiming his gun, Maggie bends close to the ground, her hands over her ears. I flinch as he fires several more times and my heart beats even quicker, like it is about to burst.
"Stop it!" Rick shouts at him. I walk over near T-Dog, my hands sweaty, the gun almost slipping from my fingers.
"That's three rounds in the chest! Could someone who's alive, could they just take that? Why is it still coming?"
Two more shots and my shoulders tense even more, my fingers wrap around the gun more tightly.
"That's it's heart, it's lungs! Why is it still coming?"
Three more shots and I no longer flinch, like my ears got use to the noise. I stare at the rest of the group. Glenn and Daryl have their shotguns aimed and ready, Beth has tears trickling down her face and so does Maggie. Patricia stands there, not knowing what to do. No one knows what to do. We just let the men play it out.
"Shane, enough!" Rick orders him.
"Yeah, you're right, man." Shane snaps, heading towards the walker that tries to get free. "That is enough."
Bang. He shots the walker at point blank range. The bullet goes through the walkers skull and it's head goes flinging backwards before the body topples to the ground. Everything seems to freeze. Hershel is on his knees, next to the body of his fallen friend. People have their hands over their mouths, not knowing how to react.
"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" Shane yells at us. "Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before. Now, if y'all wanna live, if you wanna survive, you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fighting here, right now!" He screams at us before sprinting to the barn doors.
Everyone shouts at him to stop, even I yell at him to stop what he is doing.
"Hershel, take the snare pole!" Rick tells him, but Hershel sits on the ground in disbelief. Not moving. Rick wants to run after Shane, but he can't without letting go of the walker. "Hershel, listen to me, man, please!"
He continues to shout at Hershel to take the pole, but stops when he hears the sound of Shane grunting and hitting the lock of the barn doors with a pick axe.
"No, Shane. Do not do this, brother! Please!" Rick begs him to stop.
"Don't do it!" We all shout at him.
But he doesn't stop.
He breaks the lock. Removes the wood board that holds the doors close. He bangs on the doors, the thumping echoes throughout the whole farm.
Shane takes several steps back, near Rick and the walker that he still holds.
The first walker pushes through. Then one after another, they come out. Shane takes the first shot and takes one down. Andrea and T-Dog race near the front with Shane to shoot them all down. Daryl comes forward with his shotgun and Glenn stays back with Maggie.
My feet are rooted to the ground. I don't move. I stay still and watch the massacre, a weapon I can use to help them, in my hands.
Glenn then runs to the people in the group who are shooting.
"Fuck." I mutter as I run forward. I stand in between Daryl and T-Dog, using both of my hands to keep the pistol steady. The gun shots ring through my ears and they don't stop. More walkers keep on coming out.
I aim at a female walker who sets its yellow eyes on me. I shoot it once in the shoulder then again in the side of its head. When the walker slumps down, I gulp. My hands were thrown back with each shot, not use to the recoil of the pistol.
"Stay back!" I hear Rick shout at Carl.
As walkers appear they go down almost straight away. I have the sound of Daryl pumping the shotgun in my left ear, T-Dog shooting erratically in my right ear. Walkers moaning and flesh being pierced by bullets mix in with the horrible noise.
I don't bother shooting at the rest of the walkers. I can't. When the one I shot at went down, I slowly started backing away. My mouth wide open. I still had my gun in right hand and I used the other one to cover my mouth, too in shock from what is going on. As I back away, I make a glance at Rick, who is not shooting. He looks back at me and he shakes his head. A tear slowly falls down and runs across my hand, which remains placed over my mouth.
Lori clutches onto Carl as the guns keep on shooting. The Greene girls are by their father, still in shock of what just happened and what is still happening.
Then the shooting stops. No more walkers come out of the barn. Everyone stops aiming at the doors.
Everyone looks at each other, taking note of everyone's facial expressions. Shane still has the hardened look on his face. Rick looks upset and shocked. Hershel is in disbelief. Beth is in tears with Jimmy clutching onto her. She just witnessed her mom die for a second time. And her brother. I make my way over to her and see Dale coming over. Relief washes over me when I see that he is alive.
It's all done. I remove my hand from my mouth and I feel like I can breath properly now.
I grasp onto Beth's arm to let her know I am by her side. She sobs into Jimmy's shirt, her tears staining his shirt.
I take in a shaky breath and push a loose stand of hair behind my ears. It's all done. It's all over.
Suddenly, soft groaning comes from the barn.
One more left.
Everyone stands and waits for the last walker to come out. No one takes aim, knowing that this one walker won't cause a problem.
But when the walker appears, it causes one woman's life to come crashing down. And it makes everyone lose hope. If you could hear a heartbreaking, the sound of mine would echo through the whole farm. The sight makes me want to collapse.
The walker, the young and familiar girl steps into the light, its eyes hungry. It's flesh rotting. The bite mark can clearly be seen at the young walkers shoulder.
I can't help but drop my gun and raise both hands to my mouth.
"Oh. Oh, God." I hear Carol say from the back of the group. She starts sprinting forwards and calls out her daughter name. "Sophia!" she sobs.
Before she can run at her reanimated daughter, Daryl catches him in her arms. They both fall to the ground.
Sophia slowly steps forward, almost tripping over the dead walkers at her feet.
I muffle my sob in my hands. I see the bite mark in her left shoulder. Keep the sun on your left. I remember Rick told us what he had her what to do to get back to the group.
Sophia keeps coming forwards, several people crying, me included.
Beth hears me sob and lets go of Jimmy. She pulls me in for a hug, squeezing me tightly. Her arms around my shoulders and we both rest our foreheads on each other shoulders. I feel my tears dampen her shirt and she does the same with mine. I raise up my head so I can catch a glimpse of what is happening around me, but she keeps hers down on my shoulder. Jimmy places his hand on Beth's back as she continue to cry onto me.
I glance over at walker Sophia as she groans at us.
"Don't watch." Lori tells Carl as he cries at the sight of his friend, the only person his age is taken from him.
Beth shakily lets go of me and once again goes into Jimmy's embrace. He wraps an arm around her and clings on tightly.
Before Sophia can get close, Rick steps forward, bringing out his gun. He aims at Sophia's forehead. It takes him a moment, but he fires.
And the young girl collapses onto the ground, with the rest of the dead.
Author Note:
Happy one year anniversary. It's been a great year and I hope the next year Is awesome as well.
May not be back for a while. Got a ton of tests coming up and I should probably start revising for them.
Wish me luck.
I'll see you in the next chapter xx