digging graves// rick grimes x OC//

Secrets Part 2

    Rounds of gunfire echo, glass begins to coat the ground. Rick and Shane look through all the trainees, giving nods of approval. Jimmy holds his gun sideways as he shoots, T-Dog groans, "Hey, come on, man. Don't give me that gangsta shit." Once he corrects the form, Jimmy is able to hit the bottle.
    Shane walks up to Andrea, "Don't be discouraged. You'll hit the target eventually."
    "Who says I didn't hit my target," she says cockily.
     Shane lifts the binoculars finding three bullet holes in the "O" of the "No Trespassing" sign. Rick raises his eyebrows in shock. Shane hands over a different handgun, "Try this one. It's heavy. You get better balance, twice the rounds." Andrea looks over at Rick who just nods his head. She aims and fires, knocking the van off the post. "I'd say she's got the hang of it," Shane says."
     "I'd say she's ready for the advanced class," Rick responds. He walks over to Andrea, "It might be worth your while after the rest of us head back to camp."
     "Sure. Why not?"
     "How's it feeling?" Shane asks her.
     "I like the weight," she admits, "So you decided not to leave us. Something change your mind?" She walks away not hearing an answer.
    Shane looks up and stares at Carl as he shoots, "Got it," the boy says proudly.
    Rick pats his back, "That's a great shot." Shane frowns.
——
     Hershel brushes through the coat of the horse. Dale speaks up, "Nervous Nelly? She find her way home?"
     "Found her in her stall this morning," he answers.
     A slightly long silence comes over them, Dale breaking it once again, "I love your fields," Hershel gives a appreciative nod, "Took a long walk this morning. I ended up by the barn," he paused, gauging Hershel's reaction, "I heard the moans."
    "That's unfortunate," is all Hershel responds with.
    "I'm sure you have your reasons for keeping this a secret."
    "I saw the broadcasts before they stopped, saw the irrational fear, the atrocities, like the incident at my well."
    "We put down a walker."
    "You killed a person."
    "Well, if you watched the same broadcasts I did, you saw walkers attack, kill. They're dangerous."
    "A paranoid schizophrenic is dangerous too. We don't shoot sick people."
    "With all due respect, you are cut off from the outside world here. But I've seen people that I care about die and come back, and they're not people."
    "My wife and stepson are in that barn. They're people."
   "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."
   "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 concludes.
——
    Once the group gets back from the makeshift shooting range, Lori walks out to the fence finding Hershel fixing it up, "'Afternoon."
    "I take it your boy did well," he looks on seeing Carl with a large smile animatedly talking to Winona, T-Dog, and Glenn. They watch as the woman bends down to give Carl a high five.
    "Not bad, actually," she chuckles.
    "Be grateful you don't have a daughter," he gives a small laugh, "If only things were as simple as wanting to shoot."
    "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."
    "I appreciate that, but with Carl getting better, I imagine you'll be moving on soon— Fort Benning, I hear."
    Lori says nothing, confusion written across her face, she heads back towards the house.
——
    In the advanced class, Shane ties a log to a rope and pushes it, causing it to sway. It would work as moving target practice. Andrea shoots off a few rounds, frustrated as they had been doing this for a while. Shane stops the log, scanning over it, "Still a virgin."
    "The target's too small," Andrea argues.
    "Come on, that's crap. Half-hour ago I saw you nail a bullseye at twenty five feet."
    "It wasn't moving."
    "You think a walker's gonna hold still for you? Focus and reload, go again," he ends, pushing the log once more. She shoots again. "Uh oh, did I piss you off? Come on, Girl, you've got walkers all around you. They're in the woods. They're in the RV. You're gonna need more than a damn screwdriver."
    "Stop badgering me," she spits back.
    "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."
    "Right, 'cause you're so calm."
    Shane whips out his gun, immediately hitting the swinging log, "See that? See, I can be pissed off. 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," he goes and pushes the log again, "Now go on, shoot that son of a bitch," she starts to fire, "He's coming for you! He's ten feet away! He's nine feet— He's five feet away! Right there, that's the walker that got Amy," she looks at him in disbelief, "Now you shoot that son of a bitch! Shoot him!" Andrea doesn't listen and she walks off, pissed off.
——
    Rick rustles through the duffle bag with all of the guns and ammunition. He looks up, seeing Lori  stomping over, she speaks just above a whisper, "Hershel expects us to leave?" Rick says nothing, "Does anybody else know?"
    "Just Winona."
    She places her hands on her hips, "Were you gonna tell me?"
    "Of course."
    "When? How long have you known? How long has Winona known?"
    "Not long. You don't need to worry about this," Rick states plainly.
    "How can you expect me not to worry? We have shelter here and food and water and medical care."
    "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."
    Rick becomes frustrated, "I know. I'm working on it."
    "Maybe I can talk to him too and plead our case."
    "No, things are uneasy. The best thing right now is to give Hershel some space. Don't look at me like that."
    "Like what?"
    "Like you're scared. Like you don't trust me. I can it take from everyone else, but not from you."
    "What about Winona? You want me to be more like her? Follow you around blindly?"
    "What? No. Come on Lori. She doesn't follow me around blindly."
    "Sure seems like it," she says under her breath, "I don't understand how you could keep something like this from me but tell her," Rick looks away, "Carl's barely on his feet. And Sophia's missing. And Daryl and T-Dog are hurt. How can we leave?"
    "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."
    Lori hesitantly nods, "Okay."
——
    Glancing around the camp, Lori finds the person she's looking for. "Winona, can I talk with you?" Winona, who was gathering some firewood, nods and puts down the sticks and few logs. "Great, come with me," Lori says with a tight smile.
     Once they're away from the group Winona raises a brow, "Everything okay, Lor?"
     "I want you to stay away from Rick. Stay away from Carl. Stay away from me."
    Winona's jaw drops and she backs up, crossing her arms over her chest, "For what reason? I have done nothing but help you and your family. And keep all your secrets."
    "You are not Rick's wife so stop acting like it," she says jabbing her finger in Winona's face.
    "I never said I was?!" she raises her hands confused, "So just like that, huh? No contact? Crush Carl's heart? That's want you want me to do?"
    "It's better this way."
    "Better for who, Lori? Because all I'm seeing is you being jealous and paranoid over something that's not there. Need I remind you who had an affair with my fiancé?" Lori's face falls, "I care about Rick. That doesn't mean I want to jump in his pants any chance I get or to get on his good graces, in hopes he'll choose me over you. News flash! He's in love with you! You're the one he's married to! You're the mother of his child! You're the one he lies next to at night! Not me! Okay? So yeah, I know I'm not his wife, but maybe this should be a wake up call to you for you to realize that maybe you need to start trusting him more. But sure, if this bothers you so much, I'll back off. I don't ruin relationships. I just hope you know, secrets will always be a downfall. And if this is just your hormones talking because of the baby, this is a pretty shitty thing," Winona finishes in a huff, pissed off, and walks back towards the camp. Not letting Lori get another word in.
——
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