Push and Pull || Maggie Greene

Pretty Much Dead Already

*trigger warning for homophobic slurs*

It was a slow start to the day. Most of us were sitting around the campfire eating breakfast; I was sitting across from Rick, Lori, and Carl. I had already finished my eggs, and I was cleaning my shotgun.

I ran the rag over it, getting rid of any dirt or blood that was on there. It was therapeutic in a sense. It also allowed me time to think about the significant choice I had to make.

It didn't feel right to keep the secret about the barn from the others, but at the same time, I didn't want to betray Maggie's trust. I was in quite the situation.

Speaking of Maggie, I felt eyes burning into the side of my head, and I turned to see Maggie standing on her porch. The moment our eyes locked, she shook her head at me as if she could read my mind.

I bit my lip and glanced at my family; I had to ensure they were safe. I looked back at Maggie, and I tried my best to seem apologetic.

I stood to my feet, gripping my shotgun anxiously before I walked to the center of everyone.

"Hey...." I started, and everyone looked up from their food to pay attention to what I had to say.

"No easy way to say this, so fuck it, there are walkers in the barn," I blurted out before nervously looking around.

Everyone was dead silent as they tried to comprehend what came out of my mouth.

"Now I don't think we should-" I couldn't even get my sentence out before all of them were on their feet, and Shane was muttering curses under his breath as he led everyone to the barn.

I stood back for a moment and chanced a look back towards Maggie, who looked more pissed than I'd ever seen her. She glared harshly at me before storming into her house, slamming the door behind her.

"Ellie, let's go!" Shane yelled, and I groaned before jogging to catch up to them.

We all stopped before the barn doors, and Shane was already peaking inside. The growling increased, and Shane backed up before walking back toward us.

"You cannot tell me you're all right with this," Shane says to Rick as he brushes by him.

"No, I'm not. But we're guests here. This isn't our land," Rick said calmly as he tried to reason with our hot-headed friend.

"This is our lives!" Shane shot back as he started to pace.

"Lower your voice," Glenn cautioned him, the nervousness clear as day in his voice.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug," Andrea voiced, coming to Shane's aid. Something must have happened on their little trip because she has been up Shane's ass ever since. In my opinion, they definitely fucked, but that's a topic for another time.

"It ain't right, not remotely," Shane added.

"Shane, it isn't our home. They have a reason they're doing this," I tell him, but he simply ignores me.

"Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right, or we've just got to go. Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time, " Shane tells us, and I run my hand over my face in frustration.

"We can't fucking leave, Shane," I say to him, my voice raising as I step closer.

"Why, Ellie? Why?" He asks, annoyance creeping into his voice as he narrows his eyes at me.

"Because my daughter is still out there," Carol cuts in, eyes flickering between Shane and me.

"Okay." Shane starts, running his hands over his face as he exhales harshly, "Okay, I think it's time we all start to just consider the other possibility," he tells us.