DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: Can I just say that This Sorrowful Life… I cried like a baby. Ugh, all the feels. Any who, I have finally finished this chapter. Hooray!
Consequences.
With the walkers closing in, T-Dog and Daryl both released their hold on Shane. When comparing Shane to the approaching herd of walkers, the walkers were the bigger threat. Daryl didn't think anything of Shane trying to attack further without any weapons, having tossed the Glock out of his reach. But as Daryl tried to snatch the pistol back up before Shane could think to make a run for it himself, Daryl realized he hadn't thought that through entirely.
T-Dog had retreated back to everyone else's side to help against the oncoming herd just as Shane decided to take his chances. Shane managed to tackle Daryl to the ground, catching him off guard. Daryl made sure the gun was still out of reach from Shane as the man pinned him down on his back. All he had to do was push Shane off and he'd be in the clear. Only things were never that easy. Shane had grabbed the knife from off of Daryl's belt and in no time at all, brought the blade down over his chest.
Luckily, Daryl was able to catch it. He kept a firm grip on Shane's wrist, keeping the knife at a safe distance yet too close for comfort. Both of them struggled against the other's force. Even though Shane most likely had the upper hand when it came down to hand-to-hand combat, he still fought dirty.
"You think you're just gonna get away?—Just like that? No, you're going down with me…" Shane dug his knee into Daryl's left side. The pain that still shot up from that injury shocked Daryl as his grip on Shane's wrist weakened momentarily, the knife dropping down even more.
Daryl gritted his teeth and forced his way through the pain, his arms almost shaking at this point from the strain of trying to overpower Shane. He could hear the gunshots ring out from the group as the walkers began to surround them. But they had no choice in the matter. They had to resort to using guns.
Since Shane had Daryl pinned to the ground on his back, he couldn't see anything behind him. But Daryl could see everything and he could only watch as a walker had grabbed a hold of Shane and bit into his shoulder.
Shane bucked back at the attack, pain scrolled across his face in that moment. Daryl took that as his opportunity. With the walker gnawing on Shane's shoulder, it had distracted him from Daryl—allowing him the time and strength necessary to pull the knife back from Shane's grasp and slam his elbow into Shane's face. Daryl was able to shove Shane off of him as he quickly jumped back to his feet and drove the blade into the head of a walker that was hovering him.
Since they were a little further from the group, the walkers had actually formed a close knit circle around them. Daryl did his best at shoving walkers back and driving the knife into their heads one at a time. Shane was a goner. He had been bitten a least a couple times now as he made it to his feet and tried to fight the walkers off himself. As long as he didn't try to attack again, Daryl was alright with that.
Daryl was beginning to panic once he realized there was no way he was getting out of this. He couldn't even take a step without running into a walker, doing his best to shove it aside. He had to constantly rip his arms back from out of their grasps. All he had to do was make it to that damn Glock a few feet away…
A few gunshots rang out, closer than they were before. Daryl noticed a handful of walkers that surrounded him dropped to the ground afterwards. He caught a glimpse of T-Dog and Olivia, pistols in hand.
T-Dog gave him a slight smirk, "You saved my ass on that highway—thought I'd returned the favor!"
Daryl breathed a sigh of relief as he shook his head, fighting back the urge to share in a smirk himself. "'Bout time!" he shot back. But he wasn't quite out of danger yet. He finally made his way to the Glock lying on the ground and immediately took the first shot, taking down another walker.
"Go—" Daryl pushed his way through the walkers and waved T-Dog and Olivia on back towards the others.
"What about Shane?" Olivia glanced over towards the man who was still putting up one hell of a fight against the dead. "Should we… put him down?"
"He's bit—that's good enough for me. Leave him." Daryl retorted.
"I agree, now c'mon," T-Dog grabbed Olivia by her arm and tugged her along as the three made it back to the others. They were doing fairly well at keeping the herd at bay but their tactic wasn't going to hold out much longer.
"Daryl—" Leah squeezed her way through everyone, having been encircled by the group with Sophia and Carl for safety. She ran straight for Daryl and hugged him, fighting back tears. The chaos around them was too much for her.
Daryl gave her a quick kiss on top of her head before he grabbed her hand and placed the Glock into her palm, closing her fingers around the grip. "Just like we practiced."
Leah stared at him and nodded, wiping her arm across her face. She kept the pistol pointed down at the ground as she stood in front of him, remembering that she was to never point the gun at anything unless she wanted to shoot it.
"Where's Shane?" Lori called out. She shot a walker down as she quickly glanced over towards Daryl for a response.
"He's taken care of," Daryl replied. He picked his crossbow back up and retreated back to Leah's side. Leah looked worried at his words though. Maybe she was thinking that he had killed Shane. He thought about it but overall, he was glad he didn't go through with it for Leah's sake. Daryl shook his head, "I didn't kill him. The walkers got him."
"We have to go—now!" Maggie yelled over all the commotion.
Daryl kept Leah close as he just now took the time to look at the damage that had been done. Hershel, Carol, and Lucas were all still surrounding Amy. She was covered in blood and seemed to be unconscious as Hershel did his best to help her. With the circumstances that they were stuck in and with the condition that Amy was in, it didn't look good. Even though Daryl was trying to remain positive he knew Amy wasn't going to make it. They'd lost Shane, they'd lost Amy, and they were still stuck in this mess. They couldn't lose anyone else.
Everyone lost all orderly fashion in no time at all, and the fact that it was night didn't help. They couldn't stand around and wait any longer. They couldn't keep killing walkers when they just kept coming. Lori forced Rick to make a run for it so that he couldn't play the hero, grabbing Carl's hand and leading her family back to the RV. Glenn followed in tow, grabbing Maggie. They made it to the RV as well.
Daryl cursed under his breath as everything began to fall apart in record time. Beth was tugging her dad along, telling him that they had to leave. Carol wrapped Sophia up in her arms and made a run for the Hyundai. Lucas stayed with Amy, still hoping that she'd wake up and be okay. Andrew, Skyler, and Olivia were still shooting at walkers with T-Dog.
That was the last image that Daryl had in his mind before he grabbed Skyler's hand and pulled her along with him. He didn't say a word and really, he didn't even think about it. He just knew he needed her and Leah to be safe. Andrew had once again come through for him as he made sure to keep an eye on Leah.
"Tell everyone to follow my lead! Olivia and I found a house we can hole up in just a few miles out," Daryl yelled to Andrew over the few remaining gunshots and growls from the walkers.
"Got it!" Andrew nodded, ushering Leah back to the Hyundai with him.
Daryl kept an eye on the side mirrors as they traveled down the road, making sure everyone stayed close behind. He could feel Skyler's arms wrapped around him with her head rested against his back. He knew that once they made it to this house and things began to settle down he'd have to talk to her. He couldn't keep pushing her away, no matter how easy or convenient it was. He cared about her and she was pretty much family—as close to family as anyone could get. He'd just have to face the facts, face his apparent fear, and talk to her. There was no avoiding it forever.
After a few miles they had finally come upon the dirt road that led back to the old two-story. Daryl was relieved that they had found it, and just in time too. He brought the bike to a halt and killed the engine just as the others pulled up beside him and parked.
Skyler slid off the bike and Daryl followed her lead as the others slowly emerged from their vehicles. Leah once again made her way straight to them, a look of pure exhaustion on her face. All of the running and fighting to survive was taking a toll on everyone.
Leah hugged Skyler before she moved to Daryl. She wrapped her arms around him, her voice seemingly lifeless as she spoke: "Amy didn't make it."
Daryl glanced over at Skyler before he switched his gaze to the others—specifically Hershel. The man only bowed his head giving Daryl all the knowledge he needed. He figured as much. Since Amy had been shot in the chest, it was already a death sentence.
"And Lucas?" Skyler's eyes were searching among the group. Daryl noticed he was missing once she spoke up.
Nobody said a word. They only thing they could do was hug their family closer, thankful that it wasn't them. It sounded selfish to think like that but there were no other options. They had done all that they could do and somehow it never seemed like it was enough. They had lost yet another two from their group, three including Shane. They still hadn't fully gotten over their losses from the farm.
"Let's just head inside and try to get some sleep. We can talk things over in the morning," Rick tried. He looked like he wanted to say more but he must have bit his tongue on that. In fact, he still hadn't quite come clean about the news he had learned at the CDC. Daryl recalled Rick saying there was never the right time but it was beginning to feel like there would never be the right time. If someone wanted something done, then they had to do it right there on the spot.
Daryl grabbed his crossbow from off the motorcycle and allowed Skyler and Leah to go before him, everyone entering into the dark house. Morning would be nice just to have some source of light, having not memorized the layout of where anything was at. But everyone split up into smaller groups once again and claimed their rooms. The Grimes family took what appeared to be the master bedroom upstairs while Daryl took the room next to it with Leah and Skyler. There was one more bedroom on the upstairs level that Olivia, Andrew, and T-Dog claimed. There was one last bedroom in total, residing on the main floor that Glenn and Maggie took while the others—Hershel, Beth, Carol, and Sophia—took the living room. It would work for now and it certainly gave everyone enough space.
No one was willing to even talk about what they had just experienced with Shane's return. It seemed to be a forbidden topic at the time but Daryl figured it would be revisited in the morning. They had all been taken by shock. There were no words that could soothe anyone's mind. After all, only time could heal all wounds.
Daryl pulled Leah into a hug before settling down for the rest of the night. His eyes burned, telling him that he needed to get some sleep. But he was thankful for Leah, and Skyler. He wouldn't know what to do if he lost either of them. Losing Elena and Merle was bad enough—at the time, the worst. He kissed Leah on the forehead and took a step back, releasing her from the hug.
There were things that he figured he'd have to discuss with them eventually. If nothing else, to get it off his chest. They deserved to know what happened to Elena. He had to get over the fear of rejection. He just had a feeling it wouldn't go over well when the time came. As long as they could possibly forgive him…