A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I've actually had this chapter written for a while, but I've been agonizing over it all week, wanting to make sure it was just right. Still not sure if it's exactly the way I'd like it, but it still serves its purpose. So, this is the moment of truth! What fate will befall our hero? What about Shane? Well read and find out! Make sure to leave me a review in that box at the bottom, they make my day! Next chapter we wrap up Season 2 and transition into the winter where I have absolutely NO idea on what to do! Also, next chapter is packed with a surprise! Just like I promised XD
I don't know how long I sat there staring out into the distance, mind reeling and heart breaking. When I finally tuned back into my surroundings, I realized how far the sun had traveled. It would be dark soon and a glance to where the cars were parked showed that Rick and Daryl hadn't left yet. I climbed down numbly and headed over to where I saw them on the porch.
"Hey," I called when I got closer and they both looked up.
"Walsh? Where have you been?" Daryl asked with an arched brow. I unconsciously smoothed my clothes and wiped at my eyes upon his scrutiny.
"Around," I answered vaguely, avoiding his gaze. "Are y'all about to leave?" I asked them, switching topics as smoothly as I could.
"Yeah, Dog just went to get Randall," Rick said and as he did a scream pierced the air.
"Guys!" It was T-Dog and he was running towards us. "Guys! Randall's gone!" He yelled as he approached the porch then doubled over, panting. I jumped off the porch and ran towards the shed and heard Daryl and Rick right behind me.
I made it to the shed and the door was open and no one was inside. Rick and Daryl inspected it as well and I saw Glenn heading over with T-Dog.
"What happened?" I asked him once he got there.
"No idea. The door was locked when I got here but he wasn't in there," he said with a shrug and I started pacing. I heard Lori calling for Rick and he explained what was happening.
"Cuffs are still hooked. He must've slipped 'em," Rick said after looking around inside.
"Is that even possible?" Lori asked, a hysterical edge in her voice.
"It is if you have nothing to lose," Andrea answered.
"Rick! Rick!" Someone yelled from the trees and we all turned to look. It was Shane. My blood ran cold at the sight of him, and then I noticed he was hurt. His face was bloody and it looked like he was limping.
"Shane!" I called and took one step forward but stopped short. I wouldn't.
"What happened?" Lori called and we all walked over to him so he could explain.
"He's armed!" Shane yelled and my heart sped up a notch. "He's got my gun!"
"Are you okay?" I asked him when he stopped in front of us.
"Fine. The little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face," Shane called, still very wound up.
"All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us," Rick rattled off instructions easily. "T, I'm gonna need that gun."
"Just let him go!" A voice called and we all turned to look at Carol. "That was the plan wasn't it, to let him go?" She asked.
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick snapped.
"Don't go out there! Y'all know what can happen!" Carol called as they began to retreat into the trees.
"Get everybody in the house! Lock the doors and stay put," Rick called over his shoulder.
"Dixon!" I called out and he turned towards me, the crossbow in his hands. I walked over to him. "Be careful," I told him and he nodded fiercely, his eyes saying everything that needed to be said. I nodded too and headed back to the others who were going into the house.
We locked all of the doors and Andrea and I made sure our guns were loaded, just in case. We sat in the living room in complete silence. I was too hyped up to sit; my mind was spinning in a hundred different directions. I was pacing in front of the window and saw the last rays of sun give way to darkness and sent up a silent prayer that they all were okay.
"Adeline, please sit down. You're making us all nervous," Hershel said and I glared at him but stopped pacing. I resorted to staring out the window and chewing furiously on my bottom lip. Time seemed to drag out forever, nearly freezing.
After what felt like an eternity, a gunshot went off and we all jumped. No one had spoken since Hershel had asked me to sit so the noise startled us. My heart sped up and I peered out the window, looking for any sign as to what may be happening out there.
"Anything?" Andrea asked me and I shook my head, arms crossed fiercely over my chest.
"I'm going out there," I said after another moment, throwing up my hands and grabbing my gun from the counter and shoving it in my waistband.
"It's too dangerous," Carol called and I looked back at her worried eyes. "It's dark. You will never find them and just end up getting lost…or worse," she whispered and I sighed.
"Plus, if Randall comes back, we'll need you here," Lori added and I looked at her. She had never admitted that she needed my help before.
"Andrea can handle anything that happens," I said and walked towards the door that opened once my hand reached for the knob. I jumped back and pulled my gun, ready to kill whoever, or whatever, it was. Daryl. It was Daryl with Glenn. I breathed heavily and put my gun back and stepped away to let them through.
"Rick and Shane a'int back yet?" Daryl asked, looking at me with his bow slung over his shoulder.
"No," Lori said and I shook my head.
"We heard a shot," he said, looking between us now.
"Maybe they found Randall," Lori offered with a shrug but the look on Daryl's face told me everything.
"You found him. Didn't you?" I asked and he nodded solemnly.
"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked naively. Daryl and I didn't break eye contact as he said what I already knew.
"He's a walker."
"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked and Daryl looked to him.
"No. The weird thing is that he wasn't bit," Glenn said and we arched brows.
"His neck was broke," Daryl added, his gaze locked back with mine now. Something was wrong. There was something he wasn't telling us.
"What is it?" I asked him quietly and I saw a flash of remorse in his eyes. My heart was speeding at this point.
"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane a'int no tracker so he didn't come up behind him," he started and my breath caught at the implication. "They were together." Those words broke me. Sure, Shane had been acting strange lately, but no way had he orchestrated some insane plan like this just to kill Randall.
"Would you please just get back out there and find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked Daryl.
"You got it," he said and he and Glenn turned to leave after one last look in my direction.
We all walked out on the porch with them and what we saw made us all freeze.
"Holy shit," I whispered. Hundreds of walkers were shuffling towards the house. The scene was so surreal it took a minute for all of us to process the danger.
"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel whispered and the woman rushed off to do so.
"I'll get the guns," Andrea said and followed Patricia in the house. All I could do for a moment was stare out at the herd making its way towards us. I managed a glance up at Daryl who was standing stiffly beside me.
His blue eyes were blazing and the strong line of his jaw was clenched. I could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he surveyed the situation.
"Maybe they're just passing. Like the herd on the highway. Should we just go inside?" Glenn asked.
"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about. A herd that size would rip the house down," Daryl said somberly. We were trapped.
Finally, my brain started functioning again. Shane. Shane was still out there. Out there with all of those walkers.
"Shane!" I yelled out into the field as loud as I could and took a few steps forward until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Whoa! Hold on girl," Daryl said and held me back firmly.
"I have to find Shane," I said frantically. Between the gunshot and the herd, I was panicking and worrying about his safety.
"You won't make it twenty feet and you a'int doing anyone any good by getting yourself killed," his voice was hard but his eyes were compassionate.
"He's my brother," I whispered, but I had already untensed my muscles, knowing he was right.
"We'll find him, I promise," he whispered back and squeezed my hand quickly before letting go.
"Carl's gone!" Lori screamed, running back onto the porch. I groaned internally. He was supposed to be upstairs.
"What?" Carol screeched, going to her side.
"He-He was upstairs. I can't find him anywhere," she said, her breath coming in shorter gasps and her eyes were wide with fear.
"Maybe he's hiding," Glenn suggested.
"He's supposed to be upstairs," she snapped, running a hand through her hair. "I'm not leaving without my boy."
"We're not. We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him," Carol tried to soothe her and pulled her back inside.
Andrea came back out with the guns and began to distribute them to everyone.
"I got the number, it's no use," Daryl said, shaking his head and I squeezed my eyes shut.
"You can go if you want," Hershel said, looking at us intently.
"You gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl asked skeptically.
"We have guns. We have cars. Kill as many as we can then use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."
"Are you serious?"
"This is my farm. I'll die here," he said, taking the rifle he had loaded and walking down the steps.
"All right," Daryl said. "It's as good a night as any," he said and jumped over the banister with his bow in tow.
I got down too and ran over to Daryl who was mounting his bike. "Here," I said and handed him a gun before climbing on behind him. He nodded and revved the engine before taking off towards the barn, which was now on fire.
"Do you think it was Rick and Shane?" I yelled up to him as he stopped next to the gate. Walkers started towards us and we shot at them, the noise deafening.
"Possibly," he called back and I cast a quick glance around to see everyone holding their own.
"There's too many of them! We can't even make a dent!" I called to him, running out of ammo in the handgun quickly. They were descending upon us quickly so Daryl took off. He drove over to the RV. Jimmy was behind the wheel.
"Must've been Rick and Shane to set that fire. They might be trying to get out around back, go on back there," Daryl called to him and Jimmy obeyed. We pulled off and I kept firing at walkers who got too close for comfort, but the pistols weren't the best weapons when it came to this huge herd.
"We've got to get out of here! It's lost!" Daryl yelled and I nodded. My heart was racing and my ears were ringing. We pulled off to the road that led to the farm, the gate broken now. I prayed that Shane was okay, but there was nothing I could do for him now. It was foggy as we drove down the road. Trees lined both sides of the road, making it feel even narrower than it was and they cast eerie shadows on the pavement. Walkers were growling and it was hard to make out exactly where they were coming from.
"Hang on," Daryl muttered and sped up, leaving the walkers behind us. We knew, however, that if one jumped in front of us, it was over. The collision would hurt us a hell of a lot more than them and we would have no transportation if the bike was messed up. I wrapped my arms tighter around him and closed my eyes.
Eventually, the sounds of the death growls grew fainter and fainter until they disappeared all together and Daryl stopped. I opened my eyes to see a patch of road that was completely empty.
"You okay?" He asked, getting off the bike and stretching quickly. I sat there numbly for a second before nodding.
"Y-Y-Yeah," I stuttered, shivering a little in the cold air. "Where do we go now?" I asked, looking up at him.
"The highway where we first broke down. Rick will go there," he said and I nodded again.
"Earlier, when you said Shane and Randall were together. What did you mean?" I asked him the question that had been nagging at the back of my mind all night. And I do mean all night because the darkness was starting to lighten.
"Addie…" he started but I gave him a harsh look. "I think Shane led Randall out into the woods," he said with a sigh. "I don't see any other explanation."
"No, you're wrong. Why would he do that? No way, Shane's not crazy. Let's just go, I'll straighten everything out when I find him. Okay. We can go now," I said and straightened back up in the seat and he climbed back on as well. I hugged him around the waist and he started driving again, heading back to the highway.
We drove in a comfortable silence after that, my head resting on his back, my eyes growing heavy from the long day. Then, we saw headlights through the fog.
"It's Glenn and Maggie!" I cried, recognizing the car instantly. We stopped and then I saw the truck in front of them as well. Everyone in the cars got out.
"Is Shane with you?" I asked and they all shook their heads and my heart fell. He's probably with Rick I told myself. It was Glenn, Maggie, Lori, T-Dog, and Beth.
"We're heading back to the highway," Daryl told them.
"Yeah, figured that's the best spot," Lori agreed and they all went back into the cars. Daryl quickly took the lead of the group and the sun was shining by the time we made it to the familiar stretch of highway.
Everyone started running to their respective families and I scanned for Shane, not seeing him and fear began to creep into my mind. I saw Rick walking over to us and he stood next to Daryl.
"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked Daryl, the two of them doing that ridiculous handshake.
"Well this one's taillights were swerving all over the road. Figured he had to be Asian driving like that," he joked.
"Good one," Glenn said sarcastically.
"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl asked with a glance at me.
"We're the only ones who made it so far," Rick said, looking at the ground.
"Where's Shane?" I asked, heart pounding as I stood taller. Rick wouldn't meet my eyes and a weight crashed into my chest. "Rick? Where is my brother?" I asked again, walking towards him.
He looked up at me then, tears in his eyes and I let out a sob. No. No. No. Shane couldn't be dead. He couldn't. I ran to Rick and hugged him, letting the tears fall. Rick had lost Shane, just like me. His arms wrapped around my waist and hugged me close and I took refuge in the familiarity of one of my oldest friends. I knew how hard it must be, to fight so hard together and then lose him. They were, after all, best friends, brothers even.