Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

Carol's Little Girl

Shane, it seemed, wasn't willing to wait for Rick to make his decision, and when Daryl and Parker returned to the house and found everyone waiting for them, Parker's eyebrows furrowed when she didn't see Rick. "What's going on?" Parker asked. "Rick told us he was going out."

"Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously?" Daryl asked. "We've got us a damn trail." When he turned around, he saw Shane approaching. "Oh, here we go." Shane was holding a bag of guns and Parker pointed at him.

"What are all of those for?" Shane handed Daryl a gun.

"You with me, man?" Daryl took the shotgun as Shane walked towards everyone else.

"Yeah."

"Time to grow up. You already got yours?" Andrea nodded.

"Yeah. W-where is Dale?"

"He's on his way," Shane responded, completely brushing off the question.

"I thought we couldn't carry," T-Dog said.

"Yeah, well, we can and we have to," Shane answered, trying to give Parker a gun. "Look, it was one thing sitting here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe, but now we know it ain't."

"Shane, stop," Parker said, trying to take the bag of guns from him. "Let's wait for Rick and Hershel."

"No," Shane replied, turning to Glenn. "How about you man? You going to protect yours?"

"Glenn, don't do it," Parker pleaded, watching as Glenn took the gun.

"Can you shoot?" Shane asked Maggie.

"Can you stop?" Maggie retorted, "You do this and you hand out these guns my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay, Shane," Carl insisted.

"What is this?" Lori asked, walking towards them from the porch.

"We ain't going nowhere, okay" Shane reassured Carl. "Now, look. Hershel, he's just gotta understand, okay? He- well, he's going to have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" When Shane tried to offer Carl a gun, Parker stood between them.

"Rick said no guns."

"This is not your call. This is not your decision to make." Lori added.

"Oh shit," T-Dog breathed out, looking into the distance. As the figures emerged from the trees, Shane cursed and began running towards the barn, bursting through the gate when he realized Rick was holding a walker on a snare pole.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Shane, just back off," Rick demanded.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked, the two pushing walkers ahead of them.

"Are you kidding me?" Shane shouted. "You see? You see what they're holding on to?"

"I see who I'm holding on to," Hershel corrected.

"No, man. You don't see!" Shane yelled, circling them.

"Shane, let us do this!" Rick ordered. "Then we can talk."

"What you want to talk about, Rick?" Shane asked, jumping back to avoid getting bit. "These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead! Aint got to feel nothing for them cause all they do, they kill! These things right here! These the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're going to kill us all!"

"Shane shut up!" Rick roared.

"Hey, Hershel, let me ask you something. Can a living, breathing person, could they walk away from this?"

"No!" Shane pulled out his gun and shot the walker in the stomach once, twice, three times.

"Stop it!" Parker shouted.

"That's three rounds in the chest!" Shane continued. "Could someone who's alive, could they just take that? Why is it still coming?" Shane shot the walker again. "That's its heart, its lungs! Why is it still coming!?"

"Shane, enough!" Rick shouted.

"Yeah, you're right, man," Shane agreed, walking towards the walker. "That is enough." Shane shot the walker in the head and everyone froze. Hershel fell to his knees as Shane headed toward the barn and Parker stepped forward.

"Shane! Stop it!"

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" Shane shouted. "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 y'all want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting here, right now!" Shane had gone crazy, and as he ran towards the barn with the intention of freeing the walkers, Parker ran after him while Rick yelled at Hershel to grab the pole he was currently holding. Parker reached the doors and slammed her hands on them, glaring at Shane as she planted herself between him and the chain.

"Do not do this!" Parker begged him. "Shane seriously, this is not the way! Please!"

"Get out of my way!" Shane demanded. Shane grabbed Parker's arm and, considering that he was bigger than her and considerably stronger than her, turned around and used his momentum to push Parker as far away from him as he could, not even bothering to watch as she stumbled and hit the ground. Her feet couldn't keep up as she fell backward, and her head hit the ground before she could catch herself. The impact caused her vision to blur for a moment, and as she lay on the ground, she felt weak.

"Parker!" Lori shouted.

"I got her!" Daryl yelled, running towards Parker as Shane grabbed a pickaxe and started trying to break the lock. Daryl reached for Parker, seeing how she seemed to be struggling to focus, blinking hard to try to clear her vision, and helped her up. Parker groaned, and Daryl, who had read about concussions in the medical book Lori had brought with her, knew from reading it that if you had a concussion once, then you were more susceptible the second time. Maybe that was what happened? Either way, she didn't look good.  "Come on," Daryl whispered, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her away from the barn doors. "Glenn! Glenn!" Glenn, who was holding his gun to defend their people from the walkers Shane was trying to release, could do nothing, but Maggie ran forward and took Parker from Daryl. Putting her arm around her shoulder, Maggie took a step back, and when the barn doors opened and the walkers came out, Parker lost her balance and fell. She heard the gunshots start, and while she was sitting on the ground feeling her head spinning, she saw the walkers coming out of the barn only to fall with each shot. Lori and Carl knelt next to her, and Carl hugged his aunt tightly while Lori hugged them both.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked Parker over the noise of the gunshots. She nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine, I'm okay." When the shooting stopped, Parker straightened up a little and watched the last walker leave the barn. The moment she saw who it was, she felt her heart break a little more. Tattered clothing, rotting skin, and a bite mark on her shoulder, Sophia Peletier came to light. For a moment, no one moved, and then Carol rushed forward, screaming her daughter's name, Daryl grabbed her around the waist, holding her back. Carl let out a sob next to Parker, who instantly pulled him towards her and hugged him against her while Lori hugged the two tightly.

"Don't watch," Lori said to Carl, who was crying in her arms. Rick stepped forward, raised his gun, and with everyone's eyes on him, shot Sophia in the head.