ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ɪɪ ᴍᴀɢɢɪᴇ ɢʀᴇᴇɴᴇ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀ

Harley woke up feeling refreshed. It had been a while since she felt clean and surprisingly well rested. It felt good to feel a moment of safety. Thankfully, Hersel had agreed to let them stay, no one knows if it's permanent or not but it's not like it mattered at the time being. Everyone was happy. Carl was making a full recovery, thanks to Otis. The man had sacrificed his life to save his.Soon enough, everyone was outside watching the remaining members of the group drive up. Daryl's motorcycle rolled up followed by Dale's RV. Each member started settling in, placing down tents and anything they needed. Well, everyone but Harley. Harley sat, lent against a tree, sharpening her arrows. She was growing restless with not doing anything and the only thing she needed to do was to find Sophia.

When it came to picking a place for her tent, she chose a spot slightly away from the group. It wasn't that she didn't like them. It was that she couldn't trust them. Sure there was Glenn and of course Carl and maybe Rick but everyone else was on the outskirts. Harley always found trust hard and now considering trust meant placing her life in the hands of others. It was harder.

So ultimately, she kept away from the group. Glenn had dragged his tent next to hers when he noticed. He understood why, he grew up witnessing it. The pair always felt safer with each other anyways.

Dale walked up to Rick and Lori, ''How is he?''

''He'll pull through.'' A relieved breath escaped his mouth. Lori looked around at the Greene's, 

''Thanks to these people.''

''And Shane.'' Rick added, ''We'd have lost Carl if not for him.''

Dale searched for the group for Shane and his eyes locked onto his figure in the distance. He stood off to the side looking down at his shoes. Harley was disgusted when she saw him wearing Otis's overalls. How dare he kill the man and then wear his clothes.

Dale went and embraced Rick as Carol copied his actions with Lori.

''How'd it happen?'' Dale questioned when he pulled away. That was the million-dollar question. How did a boy get shot?

''Hunting accident.'' The sheriff replied shaking his head. ''That's all - just a stupid accident.''

Placing the now sharpened arrows on the ground, Harley pulled her knees to her chest and stared off in the distance. The sleeves of her black plaid flannel were rolled up to her elbows and she placed them on top of her knees. The leaves on the tree built a small ring of shade protecting her from the scorching sun. The only other thing protecting her eyes was Glenn's hat. Harley still had it sat on her head, she refused to take it off. She knew how much the stupid hat meant to him so she held on to it with care.

                                                            ---

Later that day, the Greenes held a funeral for Otis, and out of respect, the group attended. They had built a small rock hill as a memorial for Otis. Harley stood in between Glenn and Daryl as Beth placed a rock before Hershel began his prayers. ''Blessed be god, father of our lord Jesus christ. praise to be him for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child, now more than ever, our more precious asset. we thank you, god, for the peace he enjoys in our embrace. he died as he lived, in grace.'' There was a minute of silence before Hershel turned towards Shane, ''Shane will you speak for Otis?''

''Im not good at it.'' Shane shook his head, avoiding any eye contact. ''I'm sorry'' Harley rolled her eyes, not buying his act.

A pleading voice spoke up from beside Maggie, ''You were the last one with him.'' Patricia cried, leaning on the woman next to her for comfort. ''You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know if his death had meaning.