A/n: Short chapter just to transition into 'farm life' for the characters. Next chapter my fun begins! Please stayed tuned!
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, Daryl is shaking me, telling me to wake up. I opened my eyes and saw the early morning sun peaking through the clouds.
'We gotta get moving," he said and slung his crossbow over his shoulder before climbing down to the ground. I hopped up and stretched, following him down the ladder. Andrea, Carol, and Dale were all awake and getting ready to leave. I looked over to one of the cars and saw they had left a message for Sophia, letting her know we'd be back everyday to check and see if she were here. There were a few supplies on the hood, enough to last her until we got her.
"Alright, Dale, you drive the RV up. Carol, you drive your car and Andrea will take T-Dog's. Addie and I will ride on the motorcycle up front, just to make sure everything's alright," Daryl said and walked over to the bike, gesturing for me to follow.
"You got your gun?" he asked me in a low whisper. I nodded. "Good, I saw some walkers last nigh, heading back the way you said the farm was, I just wanna make sure we're ready if something goes wrong."
"Yeah, Shane gave me some more ammo before I left last night. I'll cover you," I said and he climbed on the motorcycle. I did the same, straddling the bike and wrapping my arms around his waist as he took off.
It had been years since I'd ridden on a motorcycle, and it was just as exhilarating as I remembered. My hair fell down almost immediately, blowing free in the wind after that.
"Make a right up here, you'll come to a gate, we'll have to unlatch it," I called to him, hoping my words weren't drowned out by the wind. He nodded, letting me know he understood and followed my directions without question.
We got to the gate and I hopped off the bike to open it and everyone drove through. I locked it back and ran back to get on with Daryl again. We rode until the farm came into view. Some people were outside working, and I realized it was Shane, Glenn, T-Dog, and some of Hershel's family. I smiled as we pulled up and stopped in the field. T-Dog ran to the house, presumably to get Rick and Lori. Sure enough, just as Daryl was helping me off the bike, they came through the door.
"How is he?" Dale asked.
"He'll pull through. Thanks to Hershel and his people. And Shane," Lori said, looking at my brother.
"We'd have lost Carl if not for him," Rick said and Shane looked a little uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting. Carol and Dale moved to hug the couple and we all spread out.
"Addie!" Shane called, jogging up to me though his ankle still hadn't healed. "You were gone all night?" He asked, irritation on his face.
"Yeah, I went to go tell everyone what was going on, like you asked. I guess I just fell asleep while I was there. Hey, what happened to your hair?" I asked, realizing he had shaved off his curly locks.
"Don't change the subject. I told you to take Glenn with you. It's a good thing I didn't know you were gone, I'd have panicked," he said, still looking a little angry.
"Everything is okay, no problems," I said starting to walk up to the house.
"Problem. Don't be stupid and get yourself killed Adeline," he hissed under his breath and walked away. I rolled my eyes and walked up to the porch where Rick and Lori were sitting.
"I'm glad Carl's going to be okay," I told them, meaning it. Even though they definitely weren't my favorite people, I wished no harm on Carl. They nodded, holding hands and walked back inside.
"Hershel wants to have a service for Otis," Rick said, turning back for a moment. "Spread the word if you don't mind."
I walked around and let people know, and then we all gathered under a cluster of trees and Hershel began to speak. I didn't really listen to him speaking about Otis, not caring to feel sad about his death when I didn't even know him.
"Shane will you speak for Otis?" I heard his question to my brother and looked up.
"I'm not good at it," he said, looking at the ground.
"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning," Patricia was crying, and I understood why she needed to know. I moved closer to Shane and he put his arm around my shoulder.
"Okay," he said. "We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy' that's what he said. He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run" he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear, I'll cover you'. And when I looked back…" he trailed off and looked at everyone. He let go of me and started limping towards the pile of rocks that was going to serve as his memorial.
"If not for Otis, I'd never have made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his," Shane said, looking at Patricia. I was fighting back tears now, thinking about how close Shane had been to dying and silently thinking Otis for saving him. Shane placed a rock on the pile and Hershel dismissed the service, leaving us all to think about how close death really was.