"Could you be any more obvious," Maggie asked as she brought Glenn a bushel of peaches, "Here, enjoy."
" Are you trying to buy my silence with fruit?"
"Of course not. There's also jerky."
" Will you please tell me why your dad has a secret barn full of Walkers? It's creepy."
"Shh."
"You know that, right?"
"Shh. Just trust me on this, okay?"
"But I suck at lying. I can't even play poker. It's too much like lying."
"You have to keep this to yourself. You have to. Please," Maggie begged.
All Glenn could do was nod. He took the bushel of peaches and began handing them out. But Glenn was acting very nervous around everyone. As he continued to hand out the peaches, Glenn came over to Lori to get some peaches. He had been worried about her ever since Glenn had brought Lori the pregnancy test.
"What did Rick say?" Glenn asked.
Lori only gave him a look, Glenn's mouth fell open, "You didn't tell him? Okay. But you have to. You're pregnant. You need vitamins, medicine, a nice pillow. Here, you can have my share. And you need to talk to Kagome."
"Honey, I don't want your food, okay? Eat. And I don't need to talk to Kagome, okay?"
"You need to eat. You're too skinny. And if you're not gonna let Rick take care of you, then someone has to. Lori, you have a medical condition. I'll make another run into town. Just tell me what you need."
" I need you to be quiet about this. All right? Please."
At that moment, Glenn heard Shane whistle, "Hey, Peach Man."
Rick and Shane were talking about where exactly they should hold their target practice when Beth, Jimmy, and Patricia came over to them, "We'd like to join you for gun practice today."
"Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay."
"He doesn't like it, but he consented," Beth explained.
"Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves. Her father saw the sense in that," Patricia added.
"No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself," Rick told them. He was to make sure not to offend their guest.
So, while Rick went to check with Hershel, Carl went to ask Shane to teach him how to shoot as well. But Shane told him that it was a decision that his parents had to make, "Will you talk to them, They'll listen to you."
"We'll see, but are you sure you're feeling up to it, Carl? I mean, you were injured not too long ago."
"Yeah, I feel good. Kagome said that I'm doing well," Carl said with a smile. But as Carl was walking away, Shane her something makes a noise.
"Hey, Let me see what you got there?"
Carl took out a revolver that he had tucked into the front of his pants. Shane shook his head and took it from him, then led him to Lori and Rick.
"How the hell did this happen?"
"Well, it's my fault, I let him into the RV. He said he wanted a walkie, that you sent him for one," Dale said to Lori.
"So, on top of everything else, he lied? What was he thinking?"
"He wants to learn to shoot; He asked me to teach him. Now It's none of my business, but I'm happy to do it. It's your call."
"I'm not comfortable with it. Oh, don't make me out to be the unreasonable one here. Rick?"
" I know. I have my concerns too, but-"
"There's no but. He was just shot. He's just back on his feet, and he wants a gun?"
"Better than him being afraid of 'em. There are guns in camp for a reason. He should learn to handle them safely," Rick told Lori.
" I don't want my kid walking around with a gun."
"But how can you defend that? You can't let him go around without protection."
"He is as safe as he'll ever be right now. Look, everything you're saying makes perfect sense. It feels wrong. I mean, I didn't feel good about him following you out into the woods. And I wish I'd said something. I should've gone with my gut."
"He's growing up, thank god. We've got to start treating him more like an adult."
"Then he needs to act like one. He's not mature enough to handle a gun."
"I'm not gonna play with it, mom. It's not a toy. I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to defend our camp. I can't do that without a gun."
"Shane's the best instructor I know. I've seen him teach kids younger than Carl."
"You will take this seriously, and you will behave responsibly. And if I hear from anyone in this camp that you're not living up to our expectations-"
"He won't let you down."
"Yeah."
"Now, if you're gonna do this, you listen to Shane."
"Okay, Dad."
"All right? You two, be careful."
Carl nodded, then he saw Kagome and Sophia carrying loads of laundry to be hung up, "Kagome, Sophia!" Carl yelled as he ran towards them.
Kagome and Sophia stopped and waited for Carl to catch up, "What's up, Carl," Sophia asked.
"My mom and dad are going to let me learn how to shoot," Carl said proudly.
"Cool," Sophia answered.
"Maybe you should ask your mom and see if she says yes," Carl asked.
Sophia looked at Kagome then at Carl, "Yeah, but I wanted to learn to use the bow like Kagome and Daryl."
"That's okay, Sophia, it's better to learn how to use a gun as well. When you run out of arrows, it's nice to have back up, don't you think?"
Sophia thought for a moment, "Yeah, I guess you're right, Kagome. Let me ask my mom then. Will you becoming to go shoot with us, Kagome," Sophia asked.
"No, I don't think so, I need to finish hanging up this laundry."
"Oh, but you gotta come, Kagome," Amy said as she walked towards the group. She had overheard the discussion the kids were having with Kagome.
"It wouldn't be the same without you. Look, I'll help you hang the clothes up real quick, and then we can go, okay?"
Kagome smiled, "Okay."
The kids cheered then ran off to ask Carol if Sophia could learn to shoot as well. Kagome and Amy picked up the baskets of laundry and headed to the line to hang up. Shane looked around for Carl, "Hey, where did Carl go? We need to get out to the range."
"He and Sophia went to ask Carol if Sophia could go along as well," Kagome said.
"Were you planning on going, Kagome? I know you're good with a bow, but it's a good idea to have back up."
"I wanted to, but Amy and I have to put up these clothes to dry. Unless you all don't mind waiting?"
"Well, we need to get going-"
"No, we don't mind waiting at all, do we, Shane," Rick asked.
Shane sighed, "No, we don't."
"We'll help you too so that you can get done faster," Beth said. Then she and Patricia started hanging up the clothes to dry.
Once Lori found out the Kagome was going, she decided to join too; this was her chance to show up Kagome. Lori had known how to shoot for a long time, and she doubted that the Japanese woman had ever handled a gun before. When the kids came back, Carol was coming with them. Carol had said yes but had decided that she needed to go with Sophia as well. So everyone was going to take shooting lessons except for Dale and Glenn.
They all piled into the cars and headed out to where Rick and Shane had decided to set up the shooting range. Kagome had grabbed her bow and quiver of arrows so that she could show Sophia how to shoot. The longbow that Kagome was going to use was her regular longbow. She decided that she wasn't going to show anyone her bow from Mount Azusa unless it was necessary. Ever since Sophia had shown an interest in learning to use a bow, Kagome had her doing exercises to strengthen her arm muscles so that she would be able to draw the bow. Eventually, they would have to look for a bow that would fit Sophia, or Kagome would have to make her one.
They arrived at the range Rick and Shane had picked out, and the two men began setting up targets for everyone. Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Daryl acted like the instructors for everyone else. Shane taught everyone how to hold their weapons and how to aim. Once they got the basics, everyone broke up into groups and started practicing. Automatically, Daryl, Carol, Amy, Kagome, and Sophia flocked together.
Carol and Amy started shooting at the bottles with Daryl correcting them as they shot. While Kagome showed Sophia how to hold the bow and knock an arrow, "Now you may not be strong enough to draw the bow right now, but in due time you'll get there," Kagome told Sophia.
"Can I try," Sophia asked.
"Of course,"
Sophia used all her strength and was able to draw the string back on Kagome's bow. Kagome smiled at the little girl and clapped her hands, "Very good, now slowly release it."
Sophia did just that; Kagome handed Sophia an arrow then told her to draw the bow again, "Draw it back to your cheek. That's it. Keep both eyes on the target. Breathe normally, now loose."
Sophia followed the instructions and loosed the arrow. The arrow went flying and went over the target. Kagome started cheering and jumping up and down. "You did it; you did it!"
"Kagome, I didn't hit the target."
"No, your arrow flew over the target. When I first tried the bow, I couldn't get it anywhere near the target. It kept falling short. So now all you have to do is practice your aim."
"You have the strength, just be careful where you aim," Daryl added.
Carl ran over and hugged his friend, "That was amazing; I knew you could do it."
"Thanks, Carl," Sophia turned to Kagome, "Will you show me how it's done?"
"Sure."
Kagome took the longbow from Sophia and put the quiver on her shoulder. Kagome pulled out an arrow and knocked it into her bow. she quickly aimed and loosed her arrow. The arrow went whizzing through the air and hit the target dead center. Kagome promptly drew another arrow and fired, hitting the target in the same place. She loosed a third, splitting the first arrow down the middle.
When Kagome put her longbow down and turned and saw that everyone was staring at her in awe, "Damn, girl, how long have you been using that thing," T-dog asked.
"Since I was fifteen," Kagome answered.
Kagome glanced at Rick, who had a strange look in his eyes. A cross between awe and glowing pride. Rick gave her a dazzling smile, causing Kagome to blush. Shane and Lori frowned at her, "Well, too bad; you don't shoot as well as you use that bow," Lori said and took aim and shot the bottle off the fence.
"Who said I don't?"
Kagome walked towards where Rick, Shane, and Lori were. She asked Rick for his gun, then aimed at the sign below the targets and began firing. Kagome shot seven times, putting a bullet in each closed letter in Private Property. She handed Rick's pistol back to him, then turned to Lori, "There isn't much difference in aiming with a bow and aiming with a gun. One's just louder than the other."
Kagome walked away, then went back to her group and began helping Amy with her aim. Rick couldn't help but feel a sense of pride swelling in his chest as he looked at Kagome assisting the others, and something else he couldn't identify while Lori burned with jealousy.