digging graves// rick grimes x OC//

Pretty Much Dead Already Part 4

   On the porch of the farmhouse, Carl plays checkers with Patricia as Beth watches. Winona balances on the railing, trying to whittle. Maggie and Glenn sit together. The woman looks over the man, "You look like you should be in line for the early bird special," she looks over to Winona, "Don't he, Nona?"
   The woman snorts, "Just a bit."
   Maggie smiles, taking the tattered bucket hat off his head, "Go get your cap. I'll wash it for you, okay?"
   Glenn stands up, T-Dog and Andrea approaching the group. "Do you know what's going on?" T-Dog asks.
   "Where is everyone?" Andrea questions.
   "You haven't seen Rick?" Winona pipes in, she couldn't help the concern lacing her voice.
   "He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago," Andrea reveals.
   "Yeah you were," Daryl says walking up, "What the hell?"
   Carol walks beside him, "Rick told us he was going out."
   "Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail," Daryl argues.
   Winona sees Shane waking over with the bag of guns, "Oh, here we go."
   Shane stomps over, Daryl points at the bag, "What's all this?"
   "You with me, man?" is all Shane says.
   "Yeah," Daryl responds taking a gun.
   "Time to grow up," he walks past Andrea, "You already got yours?"
   "Yeah. Where's Dale?" Andrea asks confused.
   "He's on his way," Shane answers.
   "Thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog asks as Shane hands him a pistol.
   "We can and we have to," the others look at Shane, "Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." Looking at Glenn, he steps closer, "How about you, man? You gonna protect yours?" Glenn grabs the shotgun from the man, "That's it," he turns to Maggie, "Can you shoot?"
   "Can you stop?" she spits back, "You do this, hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."
   "We have to stay, Shane," Carl demands.
   Lori walks out, "What is this?"
   "We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He— well, he's gonna have to," he grabs Winona's pistol that laid at the bottom of the bag, "Here, Win. I hope you can still shoot."
   She takes it from him, making sure the safety was on before tucking it in her waistband, "Don't make me want to shoot you," she scoffs.
   Shane smirks, nodding. He grabs out a small revolver, "Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" He squats in front of Carl, "Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."
   Lori pushes Carl behind her, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."
   "Oh shit," T-Dog says suddenly, drawing the attention of everyone. They look over to see Jimmy, Hershel, and Rick leading two walkers out of the woods, presumably to the barn.
   Shane begins to run, "What is that?" everyone runs after, "What is that?"
   "Shane!" Lori calls out.
   Rick sees the group running down. Shane throws open the gate, "What the hell are you doing?!"
   "Shane, just back off," Rick demands, still wrestling with the walker.
   "Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asks.
   "Are you kidding me?" Shane yells, "You see? You see what they're holding onto?"
   "I see who I'm holding onto," Hershel snaps back.
   "No, man, you don't."
   "Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk," Rick tries bargaining.
   "What you want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis. They're gonna kill all of us."
   "Shane, shut up!" Winona yells at the man.
   He ignores her, grabbing his gun, "Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane proceeds to shooting the walker three times in the chest.
   "No!" Rick yells, "Stop it!"
   "That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?!" he shoots three more times, "That's its heart, its lungs. I mean, Win, you're a nurse, can you tell me if that's possible?!" Winona just shakes her head at the man.
   He shoot three more rounds, "Shane, enough," Rick demands.
   "Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough," Shane walks over to the walker, shooting it in the brain, finally killing it. Hershel drops to his knees. He circles, "Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now!"
   Shane runs over to the barn doors. "Take the snare pole," Rick commands Hershel, "Hershel, take the snare pole. Hershel, listen to me, man, please," he begs, "Take it now. Hershel! Take it!" Shane begins to ram the lock, trying to bust the doors of the barn open, "No, Shane. Do not do this, brother. Wait!"
   Shane breaks the lock, Glenn shouts, "Don't do it!"
   "Rick!" Lori yells.
   "Please!" Rick's pleas land on dead ears.
   Shane throws the board off the doors, banging on them, "Come on. Come on, we're out here!"
   "This is not the way!" Rick yells, "Please!"
   Lori pushes Carl behind her, "Get behind me."
   And even though Winona fought with Lori, she steps in front of the mother and son, guarding them, "Stay behind, do not move."
   The first walker pushes through the doors. Andrea and T-Dog running up to stand at Shane's side. Shane shoots it down. They all begin to take down the walkers.
   Glenn stays back, not wanting to upset Maggie, "Maggie."
   "It's okay," she reassures him as he runs up.
   Winona turns around to face Lori and Carl, "I need to help them. If it gets worse get back to the house."
   Lori looks at the woman, "Nona, I'm sorry."
   "Save it," she says, moving up front. She joins Glenn's side, helping take down the stream of walkers flowing out the barn. Shane turns around and shoots the walker that Rick was still holding.
   Carl runs up to Rick, Lori trying to stop him. His father turns around, "Stay back!" The walkers keep piling out, "Stop!" Rick yells again. Hershel cries, Maggie tries to hold her tears back.
   Winona gets a few more walkers down, her aim was rusty so they took a few shots. The walkers stopped flowing out the barn, the group beginning to lower their guns. They all look upon the rotting corpses across the ground. Jimmy holds a sobbing Beth as Dale approaches. Hearing one last walker shuffling towards the doors, Daryl starts raise his gun once more. An undead version of Sophia walks out, growling towards the group. The little girl they had been looking for was here all along, rotting away. Carol sobs, running towards what once was her daughter, "Sophia. Sophia!" Daryl catches her as she falls to her knees, "Oh no. Sophia. Sophia," the mother wails.
   Carl begins to cry, the rest of the group looks upon the decaying girl in shock. Sophia begins to walk towards the group, growling.
   Shane looks down. "Don't watch,"Lori tells Carl.
   Rick begins to walk forward, taking out his gun. He aims it at the shell of a little girl, and fires it. Her body crumbles to the ground, while her mother's sobs get louder.
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