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

Chapter 23

When Glenn and I heard a gunshot, we ran back through the woods. We should have been more careful, quieter, but I was scared, and so was Glenn. Shane murdered Randall. Snapped his neck and then left him there. He killed him in cold blood. How could someone do that? I was running as fast as I could, and I didn't stop until I was knocked back and hit the ground with a grunt. When I looked up, there was a hand outstretched to me. It was Daryl.

"Is Rick back yet?" I grunted as he pulled me from the ground.

"Not sure. They may already be inside," Daryl spoke. "Now, are one of you going to tell me why you were running through the woods like a damn herd of walkers was chasing you?"

"Shane murdered Randall, and then we heard a gunshot!" Glenn blurted.

Daryl didn't look the least bit surprised, "how?"

"Snapped his neck. He was a walker when we found him," I answered. Daryl nodded and began walking towards the house. I had no problem letting him take the lead on this. Glenn and I are way out of our depths here.

"Rick and Shane back yet?" Daryl asked as soon as we got back inside. Lincoln was on me faster than I could blink. I scooped the boy up and briefly held him in my arms before setting him back down.

"No," Lori spoke immediately.

"We heard a shot," Daryl continued.

"Maybe they found Randall," she suggested.

"We found him," I confirmed.

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asked hopefully.

"He's a walker," Daryl revealed.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked.

"No," Glenn sighed. "The weird thing is he wasn't bit. His neck was broken."

"So he fought back?" Patricia suggested.

"That's the thing," I sighed, scratching my head. "Shane and Randall's tracks were too close to each other. That means he didn't come up behind him. They were together."

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what is happening?" Lori asked Daryl. Fair enough, Glenn and I were lucky stumbling on those tracks. It's not like we would have Randall without them and Tuck leading the way.

"You got it," Daryl nodded halfway out the door. Glenn and I were out the door behind him when we were stopped dead in our tracks when we heard a painstakingly familiar yelp. I fell to my knees as my eyes locked on his. They ripped him to pieces in a matter of seconds. A herd of walkers surrounded the farm, and they just killed my dog.

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel spoke calmly. "I'll get the guns."

"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway," Glenn suggested. "Should we just go inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs that I don't know about," Daryl snapped. "A herd that size will rip the house down."

"Carl's gone," Lori cried.

"What?" Daryl asked, shocked.

"He-he was upstairs. I can't find him," she continued.

"Maybe he's hiding?" Glenn suggested.

"He's supposed to be upstairs," Lori snapped. "I'm not leaving without my boy."

"We're not," Carol promised, leading Lori back inside. "We're gonna look again and find him."

"Son of a bitch," Glenn muttered under his breath. I wiped my face and got back to my feet. What am I going to tell Lincoln? The truth, but not right now. Right now, we have a bigger problem. We Hershel returned to the porch with a box of guns. Maggie was with him this time. I still had my rifle from earlier, but Glenn had a shotgun. So did T-Dog and Daryl. When Maggie picked up a gun, Glenn looked utterly shocked.

"What?" She laughed. "You grow up country. You pick up a thing or two."

"They've got the numbers. It's no use," Daryl chimed.

"You can go if you want," Hershel spoke up.

"You gonna take them all on?" Daryl asked, not unkindly.

"We have guns. We have cars," Hershel replied.

"We'll kill as many as we can," Andrea nodded as she loaded up. "And then we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."

"Are you serious?" Daryl asked with a chuckle.

"This is my farm," Hershel stated stubbornly. "I'll die here."

"All right," Daryl nodded, "it's as good a night as any."

No one could be left in the house alone. Not now. So as we loaded up the vehicles, Lincoln was in the truck's front seat with me. I wanted Glenn with me too, but he was shooting while Maggie was driving. Instead, I had Andrea in the passenger seat, firing off round after round as I drove. She was one hell of a shot. I also had T-Dog in the back, holding on for dear life while managing to kill a walker or two. Jimmy was in the RV, and for a kid Hershel didn't allow to have a gun, he was also pretty accurate. Daryl was on his bike, calling the shots and picking off walkers. Maggie and I had a system going now. We were taking alternate swipes while Glenn and Andrea were killing a considerable amount of walkers.

"They're all over the place. There's no corralling them," Andrea announced. "We're gonna run out of ammo before we even make a dent."

"We need a new game plan," I agreed, noting our dwindling supply of bullets Lincoln was holding onto.

"Liam, back to the house now!" Andrea screamed. She was right. The herd was beginning to swarm.