Unearthed ↦ Daryl Dixon

1.02

Later that night, you sat around the campfire with your family and other members of the camp. Rick was recounting his journey here, but you couldn't quite seem to focus on anything he was saying.

You couldn't get that look on Shane's face out of your head; the one when he saw your brother. No matter how hard you tried, you just couldn't explain it away. That feeling twisting in your stomach, making you question what Shane had told you that night. Had he simply made a mistake or was there something more to the story?

It killed you to question him; he had saved your life, after all. He had saved the life of your entire family. Rick had been his best friend their entire lives and you had to believe Shane would never just lie about something like that.

"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else." Rick spoke. "For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever."

Carl's response finally grabbed your full attention. "Mom said you died."

You looked at Shane, his face white as a ghost as his eyes were fixed on your brother.

Rick nodded, his voice soft. "She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt that."

"When things started getting really bad, they told us at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and other patients to Atlanta, but it never happened." Lori spoke up.

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." Rick responded. "From the look of that hospital, it got overrun."

"Yeah, looks don't deceive." Shane finally spoke up. "I barely got them out, you know?"

Rick looked at you, his lips curled downwards. "Were you there when-"

You shook your head. "I had a shift that evening, but I hadn't stayed there that night."

This was the first time since the fall that you wished you had been there. Rick was alive all this time; you kept thinking about how if you'd stayed, maybe you could have felt a pulse that Shane didn't. Maybe you could have gotten your brother out of there. Maybe, just maybe, you would've never left to begin with.

Rick's eyes shifted to Shane, a small smile forming across his face. "I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it."

Dale smiled, leaning back in his seat. "There go those words falling short again. Paltry things."

The sound of a log being dropped into a nearby fire caught your attention. You glanced over at the Peletiers, Ed sitting back down in his seat. Every night since you'd all arrived here, he had insisted that his family have their own fire. He wanted to keep Carol and their daughter Sophia as far away from the rest of you as possible, and you knew why. It made your blood boil.

"Hey, Ed," Shane spoke up. "You want to rethink that log?"

"It's cold, man." Ed responded.

"The cold don't change the rules, does it?" Shane huffed. "Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once."

Clenching your fists, you went to stand up but stopped as Shane gave you a knowing look. Instead, he stood and walked over to Ed.

"Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?" Shane asked, his eyes darting towards Carol and then back at Ed.

Ed thought for a moment, finally giving in. "Go on. Pull the damn thing out."

Carol nodded, standing from her seat and quickly pulling the log from the fire. Shane shook his head, mumbling under his breath as he stomped the flames out. Finally, he knelt down in front of Carol and Sophia.