Hey all! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Jacob and Zach were helping to feed the younger chickens on the farm by scattering feed around. Patricia came into the chicken coop to tend to the older chickens. Zach looked like he was enjoying himself, but Jacob looked worried, and slightly sad, that his brother was growing up. Zach noticed his look.
"You don't have to look so worried, Jake," he said.
"I'm your brother. It's my job to worry," Jacob said, scattering some more feed.
"No, it's not. You're an old man," Zach said with a smirk. Jacob gave a smirk back and chuckled. Patricia looked at Jacob and chuckled.
"Yeah, smartass? You see any gray hairs on my head? An old man," he said, throwing some feed at Zach who laughed. Jacob sat back in his chair and kept feeding the chickens while Zach did the same. It was quiet for a minute before Zach spoke up.
"The chickens don't have a mother," he said.
"She's probably somewhere else. It's a big farm," Jacob shrugged.
"Maybe she got eaten," Zach said. Jacob gave him a shocked look. "Everything is food for something else. Dinosaurs, walkers, whatever," Jacob was a bit concerned that Zach had said that so carefree. Maybe this world was having more of a negative effect on him after all.
Patricia gave Zach a look and discreetly headed for the barn. Outside the barn, was a cage trap filled with half a dozen or so compies. Patricia grabbed three chicken eggs from her pocket and set them in the cage to distract the compies, while she grabbed them one by one, trying to avoid getting bitten, broke a leg on each of them, and stuffed them into a burlap sack. She then slowly opened the door to the loft of the barn, and dumped the sack full of compies, into the barn to feed the hungry walkers. The compies' pained screeches and chirps can be heard as they are devoured by the walkers…
(Intro)
Away from the rest of the group, Glenn is seen spying in the barn with binoculars; still very concerned over what he saw the night before. Maggie walks up to him carrying a basket full of fruit.
"Could you be more obvious?" She said, setting the basket down. "Here, enjoy," Maggie handed Glenn a few peaches. Glenn scoffed and lowered the binoculars.
"Are you trying to buy my silence with fruit?" He asked quietly.
"Of course not. There's also jerky," Maggie replied softly.
"Will you please tell me why your dad has a secret barn full of walkers? It's creepy!" Glenn said, his voice rising. Maggie shushed him.
"You know that, right?" Glenn said, quieting down. Maggie shushed him again.
"Just trust me on this, okay?" She said, looking him in the eyes.
"But I suck at lying. I can't even play poker. It's too much like lying," Glenn said with a concerned look on his face. He didn't seem to convince Maggie.
"You have to keep this to yourself. You have to. Please," Maggie said. She started to walk away as Glenn headed back to the RV in defeat.
—
RV
Back at the RV, Dale, Wu and T Dog were setting up the RV's awning since it was such a sweltering day on the farm.
"Dale, here's some peaches for you," Glenn said, handing Dale the fruit.
"Mm, thank you," Dale said, cleaning the peach with his shirt. T Dog looked at Glenn, likely hoping for some himself.
"'Sup?," He said, rubbing his eyes.
"Nothing. Nothing's up. Why?" Glenn said in a panic. Wu, T Dog and Dale all just looked at each other with confusion and concern.
—
Daryl's Tent
In Daryl's tent, Andrea was checking up on him, and to apologize for nearly killing him the day before.
"Hey. I'm so sorry," she said. "I feel like shit,"
"Yeah, you and me both," Daryl said, laying back on his sleeping bag.
"I don't expect you to forgive me, but if there's anything I can do—"
"You were trying to protect the group. We're good," Daryl said. Andrea nodded and started to walk out of the tent.
"But hey, shoot me again, and you'd best pray I'm dead," Daryl Joked. Andrea chuckled and walked out of the tent.
—
Main camp: Fire pit
At the main camp, Lori and Glenn were discreetly discussing Lori's pregnancy and her lack of mentioning it to Rick.
"What did Rick say?" Glenn asked. Lori didn't say anything and just looked at him shamefully.
"You didn't tell him? Okay. But you have to. You're pregnant! You need vitamins, medicine, a nice pillow," Glenn said. Lori was organizing things around the fire pit and Glenn tried to give Lori the jerky Maggie had given him earlier
"You can have my share. Pretty sure it's dinosaur jerky, but it tastes fine," he said, his hand still outstretched. Lori shook her head.
"Honey, I don't want your food, okay? Eat," she said, returning to organizing.
"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," Glenn said softly. Lori leered at him and scoffed at the mention of a medical condition.
"I'll make another run into town, just tell me what you need," Glenn said. Lori still wouldn't budge.
"I need you to be quiet about this. All right? Please," Lori begged. They heard a whistle from over by the cars.
"Hey! Peach boy! Got anymore?" Jacob called. Glenn walked away from Lori in frustration. Over by the cars, Shane, Jimmy, Rick and Jacob were going over the search plan for the day.
"The creek flows south, past that farmhouse Daryl and Jacob found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there, the current brought it downstream," Rick said.
"Do you think she could've taken this road here and headed North?" Jacob asked, pointing to a road on the map.
"What's up that way?" Rick asked.
"A housing development. It went in maybe 10 years ago," Jimmy said. Rick looked to Shane.
"Take a run up there after gun practice. I'll hold down the fort here, but take backup. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs," he said.
"I'll take suggestions on a partner," Shane said, as Glenn walked up with the fruit basket.
"See how they do on the range, then take your pick," Rick said, grabbing a peach. Shane, Jacob and Jimmy did too.
"Thanks," Jacob said. Glenn kind of just stood there awkwardly for a few seconds and looked back at Lori. Shane just looked at Glenn.
"My binoculars," Shane said with his mouth full, pointing to the binoculars around Glenn's neck.
"Yeah yeah," Glenn said, handing them to Shane. "Okay, bye," Glenn picked up the basket and awkwardly walked away. Jacob, Shane and Rick looked at each other and laughed. Suddenly, Patricia, Beth and Billy came up to the car.
"We'd like to join you for gun training today," Beth said. Rick just shook his head.
"Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay," he said, finishing his peach.
"He doesn't like it, but he consented," Beth said.
"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 said.
"I've got some experience but it's been a while. I'm a little rusty and could use the practice," Billy said.
"No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself," Rick said, throwing his peach pit on the ground. Zach overhearing the conversation walked up to Jacob.
"Jake? Can I learn to shoot too?" Zach asked. Rick gave Jacob a look and walked to the fire pit.
"I—I don't know buddy. After what happened with Carl, not sure I'm ready for you to handle a gun," Jacob said, crossing his arms.
"But you said Sophia needs everyone's help. I could help a lot better if I could defend myself," Zach added. Jacob sighed and was quiet for a minute.
"I'll think about it, ok? It's a big responsibility," he said, putting his hand on Zach's shoulder.
"But—"
"Zach. I said I'll think about it, ok? Don't ask me again. Please," Jacob cut Zach off.
"What about you?" Zach asked. Jacob sighed.
"My mom's dad taught me to shoot. I've been keeping up practicing so there's nothing you need to worry about, Zach," he said. The two of them then noticed Shane bringing Carl over to the fire pit. Shane had a revolver in one hand. Jacob and Zach walked over to see what was going on.
"How the hell did this happen?" Lori asked with an angry look on her
"Well, it's my fault. I let him into the RV. He said he wanted a walkie, that you sent him for one," Dale shrugged. Lori gave Carl a disappointed look.
"So on top of everything else, he lied," she said. "What's he thinking?" She whispered to Rick.
"He wants to learn how to shoot," Shane said. Zach looked up at Jacob but Jacob put his hand up slightly telling Zach to not get involved.
"He asked me to teach him. Now it's none of my business, but I'm happy to do it. It's your call," Shane added.
"I'm not comfortable with it," Lori said. She looked at Rick, who then looked at Shane but neither of them said anything.
"Oh, don't make me out to be the unreasonable one here. Rick?" Lori asked.
"I know. I have my concerns too, but—" Lori cut Rick off.
"There's no but. He was just shot. He's just back on his feet and he wants a gun?" Lori asked.
"Better than him being afraid of 'em. There are guns in camp for a reason. He should learn to handle them safely," Rick said.
"I don't want my kid walking around with a gun," Lori said.
"But how can you defend that? You can't let him go around without protection," Rick said. This whole time, Jacob was listening, and a lot of what Rick was saying made sense to him. He looked down at Zach.
"He's as safe as he'll ever be right here. 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," Lori said with a concerned look.
"He's growing up, thank God. We've got to start treating him more like an adult," Rick added.
"Then he needs to act like one. He's not mature enough to handle a gun," Lori said. Carl stood up and walked to his parents.
"I'm not gonna play with it, mom. It's not a toy. I'm sorry I disappointed you, but I want to look for Sophia and I want to defend our camp. I can't do that without a gun," Carl said.
"Shane's the best instructor I know. I've seen him teach kids younger than Carl," Rick said. Lori looked like she was considering what he had said.
"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- " Lori said, before Rick finished for her.
"He won't let you down," Rick said.
"Wait," Jacob cut in. "Can you take Zach too?" Zach looked at Jacob with excitement and Jacob nodded. Shane nodded as well.
—
Later
After the gun discussion, Shane had one of the cars loaded up with guns for the training, while several other cars were loaded for the trip to the practice range. Rick, Lori, Carl, Jacob and Zach were headed to the cars.
"Now if you're gonna do this, you listen to Shane," Rick said.
"Okay, dad," Carl said.
"You too Zach. You do whatever he says, alright?" Jacob said.
"I will Jake," said Zach, nodding.
"All right? You two be careful," Rick said. Rick pulled Jacob aside.
"What changed your mind? Thought you didn't want Zach to shoot?" He asked. Jacob just shrugged.
"You did," he said with smile, putting his hand on Ricks shoulder. Lori looked at Rick and smiled and Jacob walked away.
"You coming?" Shane called to Glenn.
"I gotta help Dale clean the spark plugs on the RV. He said he's gonna teach me mechanics, I should probably go look for him," Glenn said nervously. Dale was next to him, not ten feet from him.
"You found me," he said. Shane looked confused.
"He's a good learner," Dale said. Shane just looked back and shook his head as he climbed into the car and drove off to the range. Dale put his hands on his hips and looked at Glenn.
"Spark plugs, huh? Want to tell me what's going on?" He asked
"You're 're- You know things," Dale gave him a somewhat offended look.
"So- - So what if somebody told you something that somebody else should know—?" Glenn was cut off by Dale.
"Glenn, stop being dramatic. Spit it out," Dale said. Glenn was quiet for a second before spilling the details.
"There's- there's walkers in the barn and Lori's pregnant,"
—
Shooting Range
At the shooting range, most of the group were practicing their marksmanship skills by shooting down bottles. Jimmy was holding his gun sideways and T Dog didn't look impressed.
"Hey, come on, man. Don't give me that gangsta shit," he said. Jimmy readjusted his gun and fired normally. Shane and Rick walked over to Andrea who didn't appear to hit a single bottle.
"Don't be discouraged. You'll hit the target eventually," Shane said. Andrea gave a smirk.
"Who says I didn't hit my target?" She said, gesturing to a "no trespassing sign" with several holes in the letter "O" on the sign. Shane handed her his handgun.
"Try this one. It's heavy. You get better balance, twice the rounds," he said. Andrea looked to Rick and he nodded with an impressed look on his face. Andrea lined up a shot and knocked a large tin can right off the fence post. She gave a boasting smile. Rick and Shane looked at each other impressed.
"I'd say she's got the hang of it," Shane said.
"I'd say she's ready for the advanced class," Rick said chuckling. Andrea reloaded the gun.
"It might be worth your while after the rest of us head back to camp," Rick said.
"Sure, Why not?" Andrea said, smiling.
"How's it feeling?" Shane said, referring to the gun.
"I like the weight," Andrea replied. She quickly changed the subject. "So you decided not to leave us. Something change your mind?" Shane didn't say anything but looked over as Carl landed a shot on one of the cans.
"Got it!" He said with a happy smile.
"That's a great shot," Rick said smiling at his son. Zach looked over to Carl with defeat. He hadn't manage to hit a can yet. He tried to line up a shot, but ended up missing the can and hitting the fence post.
"Ergh! I can't hit anything. I'm so bad at this," Zach said with a frustrated grunt. Rick noticed this and went over to him.
"Everything alright, Zach?" He asked.
"Yeah. I guess I'm just not good at shooting," Zach said, hanging his head.
"That's alright. You just need a little more practice is all. Let me help," Rick said. Zach nodded as Rick stood behind him and gently grabbed his arms to help him line up the shot.
"Now, you wanna squeeze the trigger. Not jerk it. I find it helps to breathe out as you squeeze too," Rick said.
"Right, okay," Zach said, closing one eye to aim better.
"Now, ready your stance, aim, squeeze and…" Zach's gun fired with a quick bang, followed by the sound of a bullet hitting the tin can on the fence in front of him.
"I did it!" He said with excitement. Rick nodded and smiled at him. So did Carl.
"Good shot!" Carl said.
"Wanna see who can hit the most cans?" Zach asked. Carl smirked and nodded.
"You're on!"
—
Hershel's Farm: Field
While Zach was away at the shooting range, Jacob had some time to himself, for the first time in a long time. He was taking a walk through the fields of the farm, watching as the triceratopses continued to graze with the cattle. He also noticed some apatosaurs off in the distance in the woods. It had also been a while since he had seen dinosaurs just behaving like animals. They spent so much time running from them and gunning them down, he hadn't been able to appreciate them in a long time. He saw one of the trikes stop eating for a minute and walk closer to him. Jacob cautiously backed up, and grabbed a handful of grass and outstretched his arm, offering the animal some food. The triceratops gave a relaxed grunt as it moved closer to him and happily obliged him by eating the grass right out of Jacob's hand. Jacob chuckled and cautiously put his hand on the massive animal's head, just above its beak. The trike didn't seem to mind, seeing as Jacob had just fed it. After it had finished chewing, the trike closed its eyes, seemingly liking being pet. Jacob smiled some more and got a good look at the rest of the animal. Looking down at its feet, however, he saw what almost looked like lettering, like the triceratops had been tagged. The letters BSN were tattooed on its leg. Albeit small letters, but just big enough for him to see. The trike backed away with a guttural grunt and rejoined the cattle and other triceratopses grazing in the field. Jacob suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He was worried it might be a walker. Or a raptor. He was in the long grass, after all. His fears dissipated when he saw Wu.
"I had forgotten just how good with dinosaurs you were," he said. Jacob smiled at him, remembering what Zach had said the other night.
"I didn't used to be. It took me a while to get used to the real thing after working with fossils for four years," he said.
"You know I saw your application come in. Double major in geomorphology and paleontology. I was quite impressed," Wu said. Jacob gave an awkward smile.
"All I ever wanted to be when I was a kid was a paleontologist. Then InGen brought dinosaurs back from the dead and made everything I wanted to do obsolete. Had to find some way to keep my dream alive I guess. Not sure how me digging up fossils helps us now," Jacob said with a shrug. The two of them watched as one triceratops playfully nudged another with its horn and continued eating.
"I would say you've helped more than you think. You recognized the Tyrannosaur on the highway even before I did. Your knowledge of the animals is keeping this group alive," Wu said, watching the Trikes.
"Thanks Wu. Listen. I know I've been pretty harsh since we left the CDC. Especially regarding the Indominus. I know you didn't make it for the express purpose of killing people. You were a victim of manipulation by Masrani," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. Wu sighed and was quiet for a moment.
"I have thought a lot about what you said, and the things I did, and you were right. We made a terrible mistake. Masrani, Myself. Everyone. If I could—I would take it all back," he said.
"Truth is," Jacob sighed. "Masrani probably would've made it without you anyway," he said darkly.
Wu just nodded and the two of them watched in silence as the trikes grazed with the cattle. They heard the peaceful somber cries of the apatosaurs in the forest.
"Anyway, you're alright in my eyes. You're helping us find Sophia. And that's good enough for me," Jacob said.
"It's a start. There's a long road ahead to make amends," Wu said. Jacob looked at Wu and smiled slightly. Suddenly, they heard the sound of cars pulling back into the driveway.
"C'mon. Let's go see how much ammo they wasted," Jacob said. Wu nodded and chuckled and the two of them walked back to the fire pit.
—
Hershel's Farm: Stables
Back on the farm, Dale had made his way to the stables where Hershel was caring for his horses. What Glenn had told Dale was still in the back of his mind.
"Nervous Nelly? She find her way home?" Dale asked, walking into the stables.
"Found her in her stall this morning," Hershel said, petting the horse.
I love your fields. Took a long walk this morning. I ended up, by the barn. I heard the moans," Dale said with a less than thrilled look on his face. Hershel was quiet for a minute.
"That's unfortunate," he simply said.
"I'm sure you have your reasons for keeping this a secret," Dale said.
"I saw the broadcasts before they stopped, saw the irrational fear, the atrocities, like the incident at my well," Hershel said. Dale had an almost audacious look on his face.
"We put down a walker," he said.
"You killed a person," Hershel said. Dale sighed.
"Well, if you watched the same broadcasts I did, you saw walkers attack, kill. They're dangerous," he said.
"A paranoid schizophrenic is dangerous too. We don't shoot sick people," Hershel said in an accusatory tone.
"With all due respect, you are cut off from the outside world here. But I've seen people that I cared about die and come back, and they're not people," Dale said, looking Hershel right in the eyes.
"My wife and stepson are in that barn. They're people," Hershel said sadly. Dale was quiet for a moment, clearly feeling bad.
"I'm sorry. Let me help. I'll speak to Rick. He's a good man. We can make the barn more secure, keep everybody safe," he said.
"The barn is secure. Keep this to yourself if you want to help. Rick is a man of conscience, but are you so sure about everyone in your group?" Hershel said. He clearly wasn't going to budge on this.
—
Hershel's Farm
Back on the farm, the rest of the group had returned from the shooting range and Hershel was making repairs to his fence.
"Afternoon. I take it your boy did well," Hershel said, looking up from the fence.
"Not bad, actually," Lori said, looking over to Carl at the campfire.
"Be grateful you don't have a daughter. If only things were as simple as wanting to shoot," Hershel chuckled.
"Carl's getting that chance, thanks to you. And I'm eternally grateful for what you did and your hospitality. We'll earn our keep," Lori said. Hershel's smile fell.
"I appreciate that, but with Carl getting better, I imagine you'll be moving on soon- Fort Benning, I hear," Hershel said, resuming hammering. Lori did not look happy and walked away without saying anything.
—
Shooting Range
Back at the shooting range, Andrea was knee deep in her advanced class. She was trying- - and failing, to land a shot on a swinging log. She stopped shooting with a look of frustration as Shane stopped the log from moving.
"Still a virgin," said Shane, looking at the log.
"The target's too small," Andrea said in frustration. Shane just laughed.
"Come on, that's crap. Half-hour ago I saw you nail a bull's-eye at twenty-five feet," he said. Andrea scoffed.
"It wasn't moving," she whined.
"You think a raptor's gonna hold still for you? Focus and reload, go again," Shane said, swinging the log again. Andrea gave him an annoyed look and fired off a shot. Another miss. She looked back at Shane with an angry look.
"Uh-oh, did I piss you off? Come on, girl, you've got walkers all around you. Raptors comin' at you from all sides! They're the woods. They're in the RV. You're gonna need more than a damn screwdriver," Shane said, getting almost in her face. Andrea stopped aiming for a second.
"Stop badgering me!" She said.
"You're too damn emotional. You need to shut it down. Take all that guilt, take that fear, that being pissed off, take it out," Shane said, his voice quieting. Andrea just looked at him and scoffed. Several compies came out of the woods hearing the commotion, but Shane and Andrea ignored them.
"Right, 'cause you're so calm," Andrea said, annoyed. Without another thought, Shane cocked the pistol and blasted a compy on the other side of the fence. The other compies ran away after hearing the gunshot.
"See that? See, I can be pissed off," he handed the gun back to Andrea.
"I could be whistling "Dixie" and I'll always hit the target. But you, God, you shoot like a damn girl. You stand here and you point your weapon. Point like you point your finger. Do not think about it. I'm talking about muscle memory, girl- Muscle memory," Andrea reloaded the gun and aimed at the log again.
"Now go on, shoot that son of a bitch. He's coming for you! He's ten feet away! He's nine feet- He's five feet away!" Shane was yelling at her over the sound of several missed gunshots at the log. He got almost up in Andreas face.
"Right there, that's the raptor that got Amy. Now you shoot that son of a bitch! Shoot him!" Andrea stopped shooting and gave a shocked, hurt expression and just looked at Shane. She started tearing up and walked away in anger…
—
Hershel's Farm: Fire Pit
Back on the farm, Rick was taking inventory of the guns they had, as Lori came up to Rick after having learned that Hershel had planned on kicking them out.
"Hershel expects us to leave? Does anybody else know?" Asked Lori.
"Not yet," Rick said quietly.
"Were you gonna tell me?" Lori asked in an almost accusatory tone.
"Of course," Rick simply said.
"When? How long have you known?" Lori asked again.
"Not long. You don't need to worry about this," Rick said checking over another gun.
"How can you expect me not to worry? We have shelter here and food and water and medical care," Lori said quietly.
"I've been talking with Hershel. It's not carved in stone—"
"He thinks it is. We have to fix this. People are settling in here. They'll be devastated," Lori cut him off.
"I know. I'm working on it," Rick said, looking around to make sure no one could hear them.
"Maybe I can talk to him too and plead our case," Lori said.
"No, things are uneasy. The best thing right now is to give Hershel some space," Rick said, gesturing to the farmhouse. Lori gave him an uneasy look.
"Don't look at me like that," Rick said.
"Like what?" Lori sighed.
"Like you're scared. Like you don't trust me. I can take it from everyone else, but not from you," said Rick, his voice rising.
"I don't understand how you could keep something like this from me. Carl's barely on his feet, and Sophia's missing. And Daryl and T-Dog are hurt. How can we leave?" Lori asked. Rick was silent for a minute, but cradled Lori's head in his hands.
"It's not what I want either, but if we have to go, I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you and Carl are okay. We'll get by. We will," he said, trying to reassure her. Lori didn't look too convinced but sighed.
"Okay,"
—
Roadway
Andrea was walking down the road in a huff from the shooting range headed back to the farm. Shane drove by in his car and slowed next to her rolling the window down.
"Come on, let me give you a lift," he said.
"My feet work just fine," Andrea said, not even looking at him. Shane sighed and floored the car to stop it in front of her. Andrea stopped and Shane stepped out of the car.
"Look, I'm just trying to get you rattled, give you an idea what it's like when the shit starts to fly," Shane said, walking to her.
"Is that an apology?" She scoffed.
"I crossed the line when I brought Amy into it," Shane said. "Yeah, it's an apology,"
"You're a real dick sometimes," Andrea said finally looking at him.
"Yeah, I acknowledge that. I'll tell you what, I've got a lead on Sophia.
I'm gonna go check it out. Why don't you come with me, be my backup?" Shane said. Andrea looked at him and considered for a minute before nodding. The two of them then headed back to the car.
—
Main Camp: Fire pit
Back at the main camp, Dale, Carol and Jacob were helping set up for breakfast. Dale was cooking spam on a frying pan over the fire. Lori came out of her tent and Dale noticed her cover her nose at the scent of cooking meat as she sat down on a log holding her stomach. He walked over to her and she looked up at him.
"My wife was pregnant once. She miscarried and we didn't try again after that," he said.
"I'm so sorry," Lori said, with a very confused look on her face.
"The thing that I remember most," said Dale, his voice quieting. "…is how nauseated she became at the smell of cooking meat," Lori looked at him. Realizing she had more than likely been caught.
"And she was a meat-eating gal- my wife, but with the pregnancy- that Thanksgiving, the turkey- she couldn't be in the house for two days until it was aired out, poor thing," Dale said. Lori laughed a bit, but then looked concerned.
"Glenn told you?" She said in defeat.
"What did you expect? The boy has no guile," Dale said. Lori looked ashamed.
"I haven't told Rick. I can't," she said. Dale knelt down next to her.
"Because of Shane?" He asked.
"Was it that obvious?" Lori almost chuckled.
"No no, I don't think anyone knew. I didn't, not for sure," Dale said, comforting her.
Look, I thought my husband was dead. And I felt like I died with him. And I- I wanted to feel something- anything. And now I hate myself for it," said Lori crying.
"And the baby?" Dale said, gesturing to her stomach.
"It's Rick's," she said pointedly. "None of the rest of it matters,"
"Then what's your concern?" Dale said smiling at her.
"Memories are what keep me going now. Memories of what life used to be. And I- I've got a deep well to draw on. I still remember joy. But I think Carl's well is already running dry. And this baby- The baby won't have any good memories at all, only fear and pain," Lori said. Dale put his hand on her shoulder.
"You can't think like that. We can still find joy and we can still take strength from each other," Dale said looking up at her.
"Do you really think this baby has a chance, that it could grow up and live a happy life? Look me in the eye and tell me that my baby will grow up to be your age and die happy," Lori said. Dale's smile faded.
"Tell me. Tell me you believe that," Lori got up from the log and walked away, sobbing.
—
Later
Back towards the field, Glenn was chopping wood to get his mind off things and Lori came up to him. He looked panicked as if he knew what she was coming to him for.
"I'm sorry," he said setting the axe down. "I'm— It just came out. And it was Dale," he said
"It's okay. I never should have put you in that position. I've been thinking about what you said about needing help. And you're right that I do," Lori said.
"Name it. Yeah," Glenn said with a smile.
"If you're still willing to make a run into town for me—" Lori asked
"I'm your man," Glenn said smiling again. Lori smiled back and hugged him.
"Thank you," she said.
"It's okay. It's not a big deal really," Glenn said, still embracing her.
—
Town
Later, Glenn and Maggie are taking a ride into town on their horses. Maggie is giving Glenn the cold shoulder.
"You didn't have to come. You could hate me from a distance," Glenn said. Maggie was silent. Glenn looked at her pleading and sighed.
"Please say something. Maggie, I—"
"I asked for your trust and you betrayed it," Maggie cut Glenn off.
"Now my dad's pissed at me. Your turn," Maggie said, looking at Glenn angrily. Glenn was quiet for a minute as they neared the pharmacy.
"So your dad thinks they're sick? You agree with that, even after what you saw at the well?" Glenn asked, as they stepped off the horse.
"I'm not sure what I saw at the well," Maggie said, looking away from Glenn.
"Yes, you are. Look, if you'd seen Atlanta, you would not have a barn full of walkers," Glenn said.
"I wish you'd stop calling them that," Maggie said angrily.
"What do you call them?" Glenn asked, giving her a look. Maggie finished tying up her horse.
Mom, Shawn, Mr. and Mrs. Fischer, Lacey, Duncan," she said. Glenn was silent and the two of them walked into the pharmacy. Glenn was scanning the shelves and Maggie just looked at him.
"What does she want now?" Maggie asked.
"I can't say," Glenn sighed. Maggie just scoffed and looked at him.
"So when one of them asks you to keep your mouth shut—"
"Crawl out of my butt and help me look, please," Glenn cut her off and handed her a list. Maggie just looked at the list and rolled her eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me," she said, walking to the back of the store. Glenn was searching the front racks, while Maggie rummaged through the medicine in the rear of the store behind the cash register. As she was searching, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a beady brown eye staring at her. Before she could react, a raptor pounced out from behind the counter and tackled her. It took every bit of her strength to stop the raptor from biting down on her neck. Hearing the commotion, a walker came out from behind the racks and tried to bite Maggie as well. The raptor clawed at the walker, knocking it down and spilling its intestines all over Maggie's legs as she screamed in disgust and terror. The raptor was still going after her and she was starting to buckle under the its weight.
"No! No! No! Glenn!" Maggie cried.
"Maggie!" Glenn frantically looked for something to use as a weapon, and grabbed a shelf and ran towards her.
"Glenn, help me! Help! Glenn! Get it off me!" Glenn quickly swiped at the raptor with the shelf who, in turn, tried to tackle him. With one swipe of the shelf, and a well placed kick, Glenn knocked the raptor on to the ground, and beat its head in with the shelf. After finishing off the raptor, he drove the same shelf into the walker's neck, almost decapitating it. After everything was over, Glenn looked over Maggie holding her.
"Did it get you?! Are you ok?!" He asked as she embraced him. Maggie cried in his arms. To her horror, the walker got back up with its head hanging to one side.
"Glenn!" Maggie called. Glenn ran to the walker and bashed its head in with his knife. After they were sure the danger was over, they embraced once more.
—
Wiltshire Estates
Andrea and Shane arrived in a very well-to-do neighborhood in search of Sophia. Shane stopped the car as he and Andrea got out. There was a rotting carcass of an ankylosaurus in the street. Andrea looked disgusted but the two kept walking.
"We're gonna have to go house to house. We'll start at the far end and we'll work our way back," Shane said.
"If Sophia got this far, she has a real shot, don't you think?" Andrea said. Shane nodded and they kept walking. Little did they know, that several dinosaurs were watching them from afar…
—
Hershel's Farm
Back on the farm, Maggie and Glenn had returned from the pharmacy with the things on Lori's list, and Maggie was livid.
"Hey! We got your stuff," Maggie said, slamming the gate behind her. Glenn opened the gate again and came running.
"Maggie, hang on, please," he pleaded with her. Lori looked shocked but still wanted to keep it on the down-low.
"Come on in here," she said, walking to her tent.
"Why? Nothing to hide. We got your special delivery right here. We got your lotion, got your conditioner, - your Soap Opera Digest," Maggie said, throwing her things to the ground. Lori was dumbfounded.
"Maggie," she tried to say.
"Next time you want something, get it your damn self! We're not your errand boys," Maggie said, fuming.
"Honey, I—" Maggie cut Lori off.
"And here's your abortion pills," Maggie said, thrusting the box of pills into Lori's hands. Lori just looked at Glenn, ashamed as he walked away. Maggie and Glenn then kept walking towards the farmhouse.
"That was not cool," Glenn said as they stopped next to a tree.
"Which part? The part where that bitch almost got us killed?" Maggie asked, still angry.
"I should've gone alone. If you want to blame anybody, blame me," Glenn said softly.
"Right, take the blame. You know, for a smart guy, you're really stupid," Maggie said. Glenn just looked at her not sure what to say.
"Okay, I'm confused, because I think you just paid me a compliment, but you made it sound—" Before Glenn could finish his sentence, Maggie walked up to him and kissed him.
"I've already lost three of the people that I care about most in this world," she said, pulling away.
"Maggie—" she cut him off again.
"Shut up," she said, gently putting a finger to his lips. "You're smart. You're brave. You're a leader. But you don't know it. And your friends don't want to know it. They'd rather have you fetching peaches. There's a dead guy in the well? Send Glenn down. You're walker bait. I can't take you becoming one of them," she said with tears in her eyes. Glenn looked shocked as Maggie walked away.
—
Wiltshire Estates
Back at the Wiltshire estates, Andrea and Shane were still going house to house searching for any signs of Sophia. The two of them entered a house that had furniture stacked up everywhere and in front of the door.
"Sophia? Anyone? Sophia? They walled off the hallway?" Asked Andrea, crawling over the furniture. Shane looked around for a moment.
"They tried to make a stand here," he said darkly. The two of them then continued searching the house, looking for any signs of life. Eventually they entered the garage of the house, finding at least a dozen decaying and half eaten walkers. Something else had been eating their bodies. Andrea covered her nose to stifle the scent.
"She was never here, was she? I don't know how to tell Carol this was another dead end," she said sadly. Suddenly, the two of them heard footsteps approaching, and low pitched roaring outside of the garage. Shane looked under the garage door and saw the feet of no less than four dinosaurs. They weren't velociraptors, but looked a tad bit bigger, and were reddish orange with black stripes all over them. He watched terror as a few of the dinosaurs starting making their way underneath the garage door, snarling at them.
"Come on, let's move," Shane called as he started towards the stairs. Andrea nodded and followed him. When they got outside, they were met with the herrarasauruses and several dozen walkers. Some of the herrarasauruses were distracted by the walkers, even eating some of them, but the others were quickly headed towards Andrea and Shane.
"Cover that street, I'll clear the car," Shane said, drawing his gun. There were walkers surrounding the car, and the herrarasaurs were going to quickly box him in. He gunned down two of the dinosaurs and several more walkers. One of the herrarasaurs was headed straight for Andrea. She aimed her gun and fired, but missed all but one shot on the herrarasaur, just grazing its hip. The dinosaur roared in pain and several more of them came running to assist. Andrea tried to reload to take out the advancing predators, but her pistol jammed. Shane gunned down one of the herrarasaurs while Andrea tried to fix her gun.
"Oh shit.
"Focus now. Clear the jam. Focus," Shane said, as Andrea unloaded a magazine. Seeing that Andrea had cleared the Jam, Shane lowered his gun and stopped aiming at one of the herrarasauruses.
"Are you kidding me?!" Andrea said in terror, as the dinosaur got even closer.
"Come on. I got your back. Go," Shane said. Andrea panicked, but quickly focused. Just as a herrarasaurus was about to pounce on her, she aimed her gun, and shot the dinosaur dead in the head. She quickly focused up again, and proceeded to kill several more walkers and Injuring the remaining two herrarasauruses. It was almost like she was in a trance, but Shane shook her out of it.
"Andrea, Andrea, let's go. Come on!" He called. She quickly ran to the car with Shane but stopped in front of the hood and aimed her pistol.
"Andrea, come on!" Shane called again. Andrea fired one more shot…
—
Hershel's Farm: Lori's tent
Back on the farm, Lori was sitting down at a table in her tent, clearly distraught over what went down with Maggie, when Glenn walked in.
"The blood on Maggie's shirt—" Lori was about to say.
"She was attacked," Glenn said plainly. Lori had a guilty look on her face.
"Are you guys all right? How bad was it?" She asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
"It was pretty close," Glenn said softly.
"I'm so sorry. I should never have asked you to go," Lori said.
"I offered," Glenn shrugged.
"I thought the town was safe, but if you hadn't come back—" Lori cried.
"But we did. I always do," Glen said, smiling at her. Lori grabbed a box of plan B and just looked at it with remorse.
"The morning-after pills- Will they even work?" Glenn asked.
"I don't know. And I don't know if I want them to," Lori said shamefully.
"Then I got these too, just in case," Glenn said, handing her a bag. She opened it and saw Jurassic World themed dinosaur gummy prenatal vitamins.
"Prenatal vitamins," she said. "That's a hell of a choice,"
"I'm glad it's not mine," Glenn said. He was quiet for a moment before starting again.
"Lori, we're friends, aren't we?" He asked.
"With everything we've been through- Yeah," Lori said with a smile.
"I can't tell you what to do. I could never tell you something like that. But your choice- Maybe you shouldn't make it alone," Glenn said. He gave her another smile before leaving the tent.
—
Hershel's Farm: Field
Zach was walking along the fence line that Hershel had repaired a few days earlier. He discreetly pulled a piece of spam out of his pocket. He tapped the fence near a hole in the ground.
"Psst! Squeakers? Where are you?" He called softly. A few seconds later, he heard the playful chirp of a compy and watched as squeakers came out from behind a fence post. He knelt down next to the small dinosaur, looking around to make sure no one could see him, and broke off a piece of spam and fed it to him. Squeakers quickly snatched it out of Zach's hand and chewed it quickly. Zach smiled but was startled when he heard footsteps behind him. He hid the rest of the spam in his pocket.
"Zachary! What the hell are you doing out here? Ive been looking for you for twenty minutes!" Jacob said worriedly.
"I was just going for a walk. No big deal," Zach said. Jacob shook his head.
"What did I tell you about wandering off? You need to tell me where you're going. It's not safe!" Jacob said, his voice rising. Zach just scoffed and said nothing.
"Well?" Jacob said, throwing his hands up.
"Stop treating me like a little kid. I know where I'm going and the house is right there," Zach said, not even looking at Jacob.
"Newsflash: You are a little kid. I really don't like this shitty new attitude of yours," Jacob said, frustrated.
"Well I don't like—" Before Zach could finish his sentence, Squeakers came running out from behind the fence again, and stole the rest of the spam in Zach's pocket. Jacob was stunned.
"You—You've been feeding it?" Jacob said, dumbfounded.
"You said I could," Zach said, crossing his arms.
"Like hell I did! I said you could keep him outside. Not feed him our goddamn food! We barely have enough to go around as it is!"
"We'll have enough soon. They won't find Sophia anyway. She's probably dead, so one less mouth to feed," Zach said. Jacob stood there was his jaw wide opened, not believing that those words came out of Zach's mouth. Jacob simply walked up to Zach and grabbed his arm, practically dragging him back to the house.
"What are you doing?!" Zach yelled.
"You and I clearly need to have a little chat," Jacob said.
"Let go of me! I'm just saying what everyone is thinking!" Zach said. Jacob stopped dragging him for a second.
"No. You're being an inconsiderate, snot nosed little shit. And I won't have it any more! You hear me?" Jacob said in a loud voice, pointing his finger at Zach's face.
"You're not dad! I don't have to listen to you!" Zach said, already regretting the words.
"I didn't ask to be your dad! You think I wanted this? I just wanted to be your big brother, but guess what: the apocalypse hit and you're fucking stuck with me! So you either listen to me, and realize I am trying to keep you alive, or you die without me!" Jacob yelled. Zach broke free of Jacob's grasp.
"I hate you!" He yelled.
"Yeah, well, I'm not too crazy about you right now either," Jacob said angrily. Zach cried and ran off back towards the fire pit. Jacob just fell to his knees, sighed, and put his face in his hands.
—
Hershel's Farm: Fire Pit
Later, Back at the main camp, Shane and Andrea were returning from their search. Their car had claw marks on the back bumper. Zach was sitting on a log by himself twiddling with a stick and Jacob just looked at him and sighed, shaking his head. Carol came out of the RV to the sound of the car pulling up.
"Anything?" Carol asked.
"Not today," said Shane, defeated.
"I'm so sorry. We'll cover more ground tomorrow," Andrea said. Carol looked as sad as ever.
"What happened out there?" Dale asked.
"Um, I—" Andrea struggled to find the words.
"The place was overrun. Some new dinosaurs too," Shane said, gesturing to the claw marks on the car.
"Yeah," Andrea said. Carol walked over to her and put her hand on her shoulder.
"Let's go get you cleaned up," she said, taking Andrea into the RV. Shane was about to head back into his tent but Dale stopped him. Jacob was a good distance away from them, sitting on a log, so he decided to eavesdrop a little bit while still looking busy. He had come to find the group's bickering a bit entertaining.
"Shane, Shane, I was thinking, you've got that nice new ride of yours, plenty of fuel, more than enough for you to get far from here," Dale said in a hostile manner.
"What, you telling me to leave?" Shane asked with a chuckle.
"I know you've been planning to. Maybe now is a good time," Dale said.
"Is this about Andrea?" Shane asked, rolling his eyes. Dale paused for a second. Jacob was a bit shocked at this, but kept listening.
"I'm looking out for the group," Dale said
"You think the group would be better off without me, Dale? Why don't you tell that to Rick or Lori? Their boy would be dead if I hadn't put my ass on the line," Shane said pointedly.
"And Otis's," Dale said. Shane started to walk away shaking his head.
"You've been vague about that night, about what happened," Dale said.
"Yeah. Something doesn't add up about that whole thing," Jacob thought.
"Otis died a hero," Shane said, pausing for a minute.
"So you've said," Dale said
"A little boy lived because of what went down that night. I think you ought to show some gratitude," Shane said, getting visibly frustrated.
"I wasn't there," Dale said.
"No, man, you weren't," Shane said quietly.
"But I was the time that you raised your gun on Rick," Dale said. Jacob looked over, shocked.
"Come on. Jesus," Shane said.
"You had him in your sights and you held him there," Dale said. Jacob stood up.
"Wait. You what?" He said.
"Stay outta this, Jake," Shane said, pointing to him. Dale looked over to him and back to Shane.
"I know what kind of man you are," Dale said softly. Shane gave him an angry look.
"You think I'd shoot Rick? That is my best friend. That's the man that I love. I love him like he's my a brother. You think that's the kind of man I am?" Shane said angrily.
"That's right," Dale said.
"Well, maybe we ought to just think that through. Say I'm the kind of man who'd gun down his own best friend. What do you think I'd do to some guy that I don't even like when he starts throwing accusations my way? What do you think?" Shane said, getting in Dale's face. Dale just looked at him as Shane walked away. Jacob walked up next to Dale.
"Did—did he really—" Jacob asked, a bit shaken. Dale just nodded darkly.
"You'd do well to keep your brother away from him," Dale said. With that Dale walked away leaving Jacob shocked.
—
Lori's tent
Back at Lori's tent, Rick goes in to change. As he's undressing, he finds the opened box of Plan B and is visibly Shaken. Later, Rick goes to find Lori sitting in the field by the fence where Zach had been feeding squeakers. She stands up when she sees him coming. The triceratopses, now joined by a few apatosauruses were grazing a few hundred feet from them.
"Is there something you need to tell me?" Rick asked, standing back from her.
"We can't leave. I'm pregnant," Lori said so mater-of-factly.
"Are you?" Rick asked, holding up the morning after pills.
"I threw them up. You can yell if you want. You can scream if you have to, but talk to me," Lori said sadly.
"How long have you known?" Rick asked.
"Does it matter?" Lori asked. Rick had an angry look on his face.
"Days? Weeks? And you didn't tell me?" He said.
"I'm telling you now," Lori said.
"No. I found these. So Glenn knows, right? Instead of going to me, you sent him to get pills?" Rick said, his voice breaking.
"I panicked. You tell me we have no roof and no walls—" Lori said.
"Do not put this on me!" Rick yelled. "You tear into me for keeping secrets when you're holding onto this?!"
"You want me to bring a baby into this? To live a short, cruel life?" Lori yelled back.
"How can you think like that?!" Rick asked seething.
"We can't even protect the son we already have," Lori said sadly.
"So this is the solution?" Rick said, throwing the pills to the ground.
Rick, I threw them up. I screwed up. I don't know how we do this," Lori cried. Rick saw how distraught she was and calmed down.
"We can make it work," he said, his voice quieting.
"How? Tell me how," Lori asked, wiping tears away.
"We'll figure it out. Shouldn't we try to figure it out? You threw up the pills.
You want this baby. I know you do," Rick said, trying to comfort her. Lori leaned against the fence. The apatosaurus bellowed over their talk.
"Not like this. Not giving birth in a ditch. Not when its life will hang by a thread from the second it's born. Not when every cry will put it, and Carl, and everyone we care about, in danger. That's not right, Rick," she cried.
"Not even giving it a chance isn't right either," Rick said, getting closer to her.
"Maybe this is why I didn't want to tell you," Lori said sadly.
"I still- I still don't understand why. You really think I'd make you have a baby you don't want?" Rick asked.
"No, so that if I went through with it, it would be on my conscience and not yours," Lori said.
"Maybe that's true, but I can't live like this anymore, Lori. We can't live like this.
Is there anything else I should know about?" Rick asked. Lori was quiet for a minute, before an ashamed look washed over her face.
"Shane and I," Lori said. Rick looked betrayed, but not surprised.
"I know," he said. "Of course I know. You thought I was dead. The world went to shit and you thought I was dead," Lori started sobbing.
"Right?" Rick asked again. Lori was quiet for a long time.
"Yeah," she nodded. The two of them then stood at the fence in silence, with nothing but the somber bellows of the apatosaurus to comfort them…
End.
Wow! This was quite a long chapter! I know it was very text heavy, but I really enjoyed writing this episode. Now Jacob knows about Shane's hostility, and there's more dinosaurs out there! I also wanted to show that Zach is starting to mature a bit more, and is starting to rebel a little bit, hence the confrontation between him and Jacob. They'll mend their relationship at some point, but I wanted to show that their relationship isn't perfect, as what usually happens with siblings. I also dropped an F bomb in this episode, which I may start doing more often. If you've seen the recent episodes of the show, they've been dropping F bombs once per episode, which is a trend I may start doing, but let me know what you think. I'll be adding more dinosaurs soon! I'll also have another interlude chapter before the next episode of the show, so stay tuned! I hope you enjoyed, and as always, thanks for reading!
~JPfan
P.S. How many of you noticed the Biosyn tease ;)