Chapter 18 "It Worked"
Days 49 & 50
It was a cold, foggy day, and it would be an even colder, foggier night. It has been four days since the group lost Hershel, and nearly lost Maggie. From an outsider's perspective, things were looking up for her. She had recovered from her wounds as best as one can in four days, the group has considered branching out to nearby houses, and the garden in the back yard has been extended and new winter crops have been planted just in time for autumn.
The group had an election that morning to elect a new leader after Hershel's death. The three candidates were Seth, Shawn, and Selenis.
Robert, Gabriel, Oscar, and Shakira voted for Selenis, as she had proven to them to be a quick-thinking, capable leader. For the people in Selenis's group, they had been around her a very long time, and trust her with their lives. It was a no-brainer. Robert didn't have nearly as much experience and closeness, but he had just as much faith in her. She had saved Maggie's life, and knew a lot about surviving out there. Though she shut down a little bit under pressure, that flaw was not bigger than Seth and Shawn's to him. Seth was very flippant, which could be funny in conversation, but it wasn't great for leader material. He often acted on impulse, and his ideas changed easily and quickly, like how he went from shooting at Xavier and Sierra to shrugging his shoulders and letting them in without protest, or any uneasiness. Of course, Xavier and Sierra proved to be great people, but there was always the chance that they weren't, and if they had been bad people, Robert would have blamed Seth. Shawn was a hothead, and if something set him off, he could be deadly. Under pressure, he would be an awful person to have to turn to for advice, as his mind was always fogged with rage when something set him off.
Jessie, Xavier, Sierra, and Lyrik voted for Seth as leader. Jessie, just like with Selenis's group, trusted her ex-leader with her life. To her, he was great, and was very capable, though he did brush off her son, but who could blame him? That was in the past now. Ron didn't get to vote, as Jessie thought that Ron didn't need to be reminded of the world outside of these walls anymore than he had to when he was away from her. Xavier and Sierra voted for Seth because they saw his potential, and believed that he would make a great leader if he needed to. Lyrik voted for Seth because she thought he was hot. Thanks, Lyrik, Robert thought sarcastically.
Otis, Patricia, Beth, Maggie, and Amanda voted for Shawn. Otis and Patricia had watched Shawn grow up, and being raised by Hershel, they knew that he could lead the group to greatness. Beth and Maggie had a similar point of view. They knew he had a temper, but when it was necessary, their brother could really help the group out and had a good grasp on how to keep them together. Maggie originally didn't want to vote, but decided to give her opinion since otherwise, it would be a three-way tie. The four believed that he was the only appropriate choice, since he was the son of their previous leader, after all. Amanda voted for him because over the past few weeks, ever since she opened up to him, she had developed a crush on him. She thought he was cute and thoughtful, and that if worst came to worst, he could be their best hope.
If you can't count, or just didn't pay attention, Shawn won by one vote. Everyone congratulated him, some giving him hugs or kisses. Maggie gave him the longest, most heartfelt hug, which surprised Shawn a bit. What's got her so emotional about this? he thought. The whole situation just dug a knife deeper into Maggie, a huge reminder of just how gone Hershel was. His absence was so big that they needed a formal election for someone to fill his role. After kissing her brother once more, she went up to her room.
Selenis was moderately relieved that she didn't have to have all of these people's lives on her shoulders as the leader. Seth, however, was actually very jealous of Shawn, and he thought that he would be a much better leader than young, dumb farm boy ever could be. He was even mad at Amanda for not voting for him. I've been nothing but a great leader to you, he thought. So what if you were like the last person to join me? So what if that whiny bitch you called a friend died? I've always protected you. If you think I can't now that there's more people, you're damn wrong.
That afternoon, Maggie waited until everyone was beginning to lie down or get ready for bed, right after dinner. She was upstairs in her room that she used to share with her father. His stuff was still littered about the room. She couldn't bare to move anything around, or to let anyone move in with her. Thankfully, no one had asked her to do any of that.
In her hand, she was holding a rope her father used to use around the farm that he kept in the back of the red truck. She was tying it into a noose, which proved to be very difficult using just one hand. She used to practice making ropes into different knots, including a noose, when she was younger. She compared it to how Shawn used to whittle wood with his father. It was like a child in the scouts, learning how to do things that usually wouldn't prove to be very useful, but were definitely interesting to them.
Looking at her missing hand, she thought of her father. She thought of her sister, too. This was the same hand that Beth had lost fingers off of.
"Now we're kinda like twins," Beth had said the day Maggie woke up.
"Sisters wasn't good enough for you?" Maggie had replied jokingly.
She had this plan in mind for a while now, and tonight cemented it. Everyone else would be fine without me. They have a leader now, and no one would really care too much, she thought. Of course, Beth and Shawn will. But they're family. They have to care. Beth is growing up, becoming strong. She'll understand. She'll move on and be okay… God, I feel so alone. I'm sorry, Daddy.
The night was perfect. Foggy and cold. No one would notice, and they'd have no reason to just be going outside with how cold it was. They wouldn't have to know. Plus, she had said her goodbyes. Sort of. She gave Shawn his congratulations and a kiss. When Ron was playing with Robert and Lyrik, she had told them to take care of themselves, and to look out for each other. She told Beth how much she loved her just a few moments ago. Se wished Otis and Patricia a great marriage and to never lose one another, and thanked them for always being there for her, basically being aunt and uncle to her.
Once the noose was secure, she knew it was time. She grabbed the rope and shoved it down into her pants, hoping it wouldn't look too obvious. She exited her room, and was upset to see Jessie talking in the hall with her son. Clearly, he wasn't ready to go to bed just yet. Maggie smiled to Jessie and made her way downstairs and sighed. Thank you, Ron, she thought to herself.
She made her way downstairs and noticed that Shakira and Oscar were in the living room, talking to each other inaudibly. She pulled back the sliding door slowly and went outside, silently closing the door behind her. She sighed once more, relieved that no one had noticed her go outside. She made her way to the small barn and began to shiver, clutching herself.
The barn was ajar, and she slightly slid it open enough to where she could squeeze through without it being too blatant from the backdoor. She peaked to it, and could barely see anything through it from the fog. She turned back around and peered into the darkness, which was only getting darker as time passed. She looked around for the beam nearest to a hay stack or other thing of easy elevation. One had nothing beneath it, and she would need to stack up many things in order to reach it, which would just waste time. The other had a few too many haystacks underneath it. She took the lesser of two evils and went with the too-high one, doing her best to kick down a few levels of hay. Finally, after what felt like ages, she managed to get enough down to where she could only reach the beam if she raised her arms all the way up.
She pulled the rope out of her pants and noticed that it had slightly burned her leg. No matter, she thought, and she tossed the rope over them beam and fastened it as tightly as she could. She stuck her head through and let go. She let go of her pain. Let go of her anguish. Let go of her mourning. Let go of her suffering. Of this cruel world. Of her loneliness. Of this miserable existence she now was forced to call life.
It was painful, the air being forced out of her in such a painful, neck breaking way. She almost regretted it. Almost wanted to take it all back. Almost felt foolish, regretful. But it was too late.
The next morning, no one could find her. Shawn, being the leader, took charge of the situation. He called the group together for a meeting, and Jessie and Ron mentioned that they last saw her going downstairs, looking a little bit nervous. None of her stuff was missing at first glance, so it could be assumed that she hadn't ran away. Shawn took Seth, Xavier, and Sierra and headed out with them to search the areas she could be at. The river, the road to Bunker, and the edges of the woods. When they returned to the house, the group was back in the living room. If he hadn't seen them get up when he had left, Shawn would have assumed that they had never moved. Many people were in tears.
"What happened?" Shawn asked.
Patricia was hugging Beth, who was bawling. Patricia looked up to Shawn. "She's in the barn," she said darkly. Shawn smiled for a half-second, and Patricia shook her head. She wasn't in there doing chores. "Otis found her when he was going to tend to the garden."
Beth looked to her hand, her missing fingers. At first, she thought it would always remind her of the love she and Maggie had. Of Maggie herself. But now, she feared that it would just haunt her. That it would be an inescapable reminder of the family she had lost.
Shawn wanted to ask what had happened to Maggie, but decided it best that he saw for himself. He took the same group he had left with to the barn, their weapons at the ready. He slowly opened the door and heard a familiar groaning sound. An unhuman, awful noise that only one thing made. He braced himself as he swung the door the rest of the way open. There, Maggie was turned, suspended in the air by a rope, snapping and clawing for him. He needed no more proof that you turn no matter how you die.
Beginning to shed tears, Shawn raised his gun and fired it. Stunned, he missed. "Fuck," he whispered to himself. Xavier stepped forward, ready to put her down in case Shawn couldn't do it. Shawn fired it once more, and got her right in the head. Instantly, she fell lifeless, no longer scratching and clawing at the group, and blood began to trickle down her face through the bullet wound.
Too upset, Shawn left the barn and went inside to his room. He just wanted to be alone now. The other three took down Maggie's body and dragged her out to the area they had arranged for burials. They had a funeral for her immediately, putting her in the ground right next to her father.