The Purification (From the Ashes We Will Rise: Book One)

Chapter 9

 "Don't look," Daryl cooed as he held Carol in his arms. Lincoln gently pulled away from Lori and rushed over to me. I scooped him up and held him in my arms. I know he doesn't know what's going on, but he also just saw me and everyone else kill a bunch of walkers. Carol shoved Daryl away and stumbled away from the group, her sobs missed by none of us. It wasn't just Carol who was an emotional wreck either. Hershel's whole family was a mess. The older man hadn't left the position he had taken once he fell to his knees, but his youngest daughter, Beth, had to be the worse off of everyone.

She was sobbing and soon shoved away from her boyfriend and tried to rush over to her dead family members. Rick wanted to stop her, but she pushed right past him. She walked directly over to a woman with strawberry-blonde hair and rolled her onto her back.

"Ma," the girl cried as she held the woman's face between her hands. But she wasn't dead. Almost instantly, the walker, who had previously been her mother, lunged up to attack, but Beth was quick enough and held her as far away as possible as the others rushed to her side. Rick and Shane reached her first and pulled Beth away while T-Dog curb-stomped her. But even that didn't put the walker down. Lincoln began shaking and crying again, and I was doing everything I could to comfort him. Glenn held the woman at arm's length away from himself as Andrea drove a scythe straight through her brain.

I don't think anyone knew what to do. To Hershel and his family, we murdered the rest of their family, who they thought were sick. For our group, it was doing what needed to be done to keep everyone safe. I don't know the correct response to the situation, but what Shane did wasn't close to the right way to handle things.

"We've been combing these woods for her for weeks, and she was in there all along? You knew." He shouted as Hershel attempted to escort his family back into their home.

"Leave us alone!" Maggie snapped at him,

"Shane, just stop, man," Glenn sighed beside me.

"Get your hands off me!" Shane shouted as Rick attempted to remove him from the situation. "You knew, and you kept it from us."

"I didn't know," Hershel squeaked.

"That's bullshit," Shane spat, "I think you all knew!"

"We didn't know!" Maggie growled.

"Why was she there—"

"Ottis put those people in the barn," Hershel interrupted, turning to face Shane once he reached his front door. "Maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed."

"You expect me to believe that?" Shane uttered in disgust. "What do I look like, an idiot?"

Rick reached out his arm to try and keep Shane away from the elderly man, "Shane, hey hey hey."

"I don't care what you believe!" Hershel snapped, finally losing his temper.

"Everybody, just calm down," Rick spoke firmly, stepping in between the two men once again."

"Get him off my land!"

"Let me tell you something," Shane growled, taking a step toward the older man.

"Don't you touch him," Maggie cried, slapping Shane across the face. Oh shit. I set Lincoln down before Glenn and I put ourselves between Shane and Maggie.

"Haven't you done enough," Maggie snapped before following her family inside. Hershel hung back momentarily and looked at Rick, "I mean it—off my land."

Glenn shook his head and followed Maggie into the house, and I scooped up Linc. We headed back to my truck, where Tuck patiently awaited us. I dropped the tailgate and helped Lincoln into the back, and Tuck jumped up after him. I should be with the others right now, but my main concern is Lincoln and always will be. I hopped into the back of the truck and wrapped my arm around his shoulders.

"How are you feeling, Linc?" I asked the boy gently.

"I'm scared, Liam. Why did they have all those walkers in the barn?" Lincoln asked timidly, resting his head on my chest.

"Well, bud, you know how the walkers are dangerous, right?" I began, and he nodded his head. "Well, Hershel and his family don't think they are. He thinks they are all sick, which is why they act the way they do. He thought that doctors somewhere out there would find a cure one day and that he would get his wife and stepson back."

"Is that why they were all crying and why Hershel was so mad?"

"Yeah, bud, he was upset because he saw what we did as killing his family. Not us doing what had to be done after Shane let them free."

Lincoln shifted his position, and now I cradled him in my lap. I feel horrible. At least I can remember my childhood and how the world used to be, but for Lincoln...this was all he was ever going to know. This cruel, harsh world that we were all forced into. Once the bodies were buried, Glenn found us so we could all pay our respects. I stood behind my brother with Lincoln by my side. No one said anything. Not a single word. After thirty minutes or so, everyone disbanded. When Maggie started toward the house, Glenn touched my shoulder and nodded after her.

I was thankful that Maggie wasn't holding it against Glenn. The last thing I want is for him to lose her. Our whole lives, I've never seen him this invested in a woman. I was doing my best to stay out of their conversation, but Maggie did bring up a few good points. Would Glenn stay if the group left? If he did, what would that mean for Lincoln and me? I can't lose him again, and I hope he feels the same way. Between my gaze on the back of his head and Maggie's right in front of him, Glenn was sputtering out so many words that I wasn't sure how he felt. That's when Beth collapsed.