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

Chapter 20

The shovel rubbed against my skin, leaving it burning as if blisters were beginning to appear. I sighed, pausing to use the back of my hand to wipe at the sweat starting to bead up from the sun's heat. The others had insisted that they be the ones to dig Dale's grave, but I put up enough of an argument to get them to drop it. Despite the warm weather making it hardly bearable, I knew it was right to do. Dale deserved a proper burial, and I was the one to shoot him. It only felt right. My motions stopped as I drove the shovel downwards, looking at my brother.

"You don't have to babysit, you know," I sighed. "I'm okay."

"You're not okay," Glenn sighed. "You can stop if you want to. I can finish this up."

The sun was tempting me, but I decided not to, knowing there wasn't much else to do. For what seemed like forever, I continued piling more dirt onto the grave until it was finished and Dale was properly buried. Then, Glenn and I hiked back to the house together so I could clean up before we had Dale's official funeral. We waited until Dale's favorite time of day before we gathered to say our last goodbyes. As the sun set, I stood beside Glenn and Maggie while resting my hand on Lincoln's shoulder.

"Dale...Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine," Rick smiled sadly. "He wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it at one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could always read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us—the truth—who we are." Rick paused a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing on, "in the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives...our safety...our future. We're not broken. We're going to prove him wrong. From now on, we're going to do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

After the funeral, Andrea, Shane, T-Dog, and Daryl left to tighten up the fences and kill any walkers they stumbled upon on the way. I tried to argue why I should go with them, but no one listened. Finally, Hershel said if I tore the stitches again, he wouldn't repair them anymore. I knew he was joking, but still, I wanted to be helpful. How can I be useful if I'm stuck on house duty? Everyone says I've done more than enough to pull my weight, but something changed after Dale. We all knew what had to be done...even Dale knew. Since everything happened last night, everyone's been walking on eggshells around me. Like I'm some fragile doll that's about to break. I'm fine. I don't know how many times I have to say it. All I did was what needed to be done. The argument for keeping me at camp was valid, too, though. Winter was coming, and everyone knew it. Hershel and Rick came to an agreement. Everyone would be moving into the house now.

"I'll be tight, 14 people in one house," Rick sighed, but Hershel waved him off.

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..." he shook his head.

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell," Maggie added.

"She's right," Hershel nodded. "We should've moved you in a while ago."

Rick nodded before clapping his hands, "all right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road. We'll build a lookout in the windmill and the barn loft. That should give us sightlines to both sides of the property. T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going."

"What about standing guard?" He asked.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty," Rick nodded.

"Gotcha," he nodded before heading off.

"I'll stock the basement with food and water," Hershel announced with an armful of crates. "Enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be."

"What about patrols?" Andrea inquired.

"Let's get this area locked down first," Rick responded. "After that, Shane'll assign shifts. While Liam and I take Randall offsite and cut him loose."

My head snapped up, and I looked his way. Rick gave me a curt nod before I put my head down and continued loading stuff into the truck.

"We're back to that now?" Shane argued, standing around while everyone else was loading all the vehicles. My trusty sidekick was already waiting for me in the front seat of the truck while Glenn and I packed some tents onto the bed.

"It was the right plan the first time around. Poor execution," Rick smiled.

"That's a slight understatement," Shane snarked back.

"You don't agree, but that's what's happening," Rick spoke lowly. "Swallow it. Move on."

I rolled my eyes before jumping into the driver's seat while Glenn hopped onto the tailgate. Once I heard him tap the side, I took off towards the house. I knew I was driving faster than I should have, but the scream that erupted from my brother and the giggles that sprouted in Lincoln was totally worth it. Glenn slapped up upside the head as the three of us walked inside. Glenn was bringing his stuff toward Maggie's room when Lori guided us to the dining room. Lincoln and I already have a room, but it looks like Glenn's stuck down here.