Solitary: The Walking Dead

Chapter Ten.

That Is How We Honour Dale.

"Dale could- could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because 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 one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us- The truth... Who we really are."

"In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honour 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 gonna prove him wrong. From now on... We're gonna do it his way. That is how we honour Dale."

...

"How are you feelin' about bein' a big brother?" I ask Carl as I show him how to sharpen his knife, "I don't know... what is they don't like me? Or I'm not a good big brother?" He asks, "did your dad ever tell you I have a sister?" i ask, he looks over to me confused, "no" he says "her name was Juniper. When my mama told me that i was gonna be a big sister, i was around your age, and i was so scared. I thought that she wasnt gonna like me, and i was scared that i wasnt going to be able to protect her" i say, i take a moment to breathe before continuing.

"But do you know what happened? As soon as she was born all of the fear went away, we were best friends. Your going to be a great big brother" i say, "why has no one ever told me about her?" Carl asks, "i- uh i dont really like talking about it" i say, we go back to silence for a few minutes before Carl speaks up again.

"What happened to her?" he asks, i stop sharpening the knife and stare down at my hands for a moment, "my daddy wasnt a nice man, he would hit my mama and me, one day i woke up and my mom had taken Juniper and ran away. I was the only one left for my dad to take his anger out, he spent the next eight years training me" i explain.

I feel his arms wrap around me, i look down surprised and i slowly hug him back. I quickley look to my left when a twig snaps and i see Daryl stood a couple steps behind him, his face the same neutral expression, except theres something else in his eyes, sorrow.

"Rick needs you" he says "okay, Carl why dont you go and find your mom" i say and we both stand, i hand him his knife back and he runs off.

"It'll be tight, 15 people in one house." Rick says "Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..." hershal says "With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie adds "She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershal says.

"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, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property. T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick orders.

"What about standing guard?" T-dog asks "I need you and Daryl on double duty." Rick says "Gotcha." "I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be." Hershal says.

"What about patrols?" Andrea asks "Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose." Rick explains "We're back to that now?" Shane questions "It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution." Rick says

"That's a slight understatement" Shane mumbles, "you don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it- Move on." Rick says "what do you think about this?" Shane asks me "i think its the right decision" i say "last night you had your gun to his head about to pull the triger, and now your just gonna let him go" he asks.

"Yes i am" I say, "You know that Dale's death and the prisoner- that's two separate things, right? You wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest." Shane says, "thank you" Rick says and walks away with me following behind.

"I see why you're not taking Shane with you. Just know I've got no more patience where he's concerned." Hershal says as we carry stuff to the house, "same here" I say, his attitude lately has definitely gotten under my skin.

"He's turning over a new leaf." Rick says trying to convince us to give him a chance, "Andrea." he says getting the women in front of us to turn around "When I'm out with Daryl, help Hershel keep an eye on things around here." "Me?" she asks "Shane's got a way of letting things get out of hand, especially when he's all torqued up." Rick adds.

"I think we're all a bit torqued up at this point." she says "If you're staying here permanently, he's got to understand that it's what Rick and I say, not whatever he wants." Herschel says.

"You've become close." Rick says "We talk." "Then you know he's not a bad guy. He's just his own worst enemy." Rick explains "You want me to babysit Shane?" she asks "I need to make sure every time I leave the farm all hell doesn't break loose." "Then maybe you should stop leaving." she says, and walks off. "Will you keep an eye on things?" Rick asks, turning to me, "Of course, whatever you need me to do Rick" i say.

"Right im gonna do a quick walk around check everything is okay" i say "Alright, take this with you" Rick says handing me back my Colt M4A1, "thanks" i say taking it from him, "Bear follow" I order and he comes running over to me.

I walk around the fencing making sure there are no gaps in it, "hey we're heading off" Rick says coming over to me with Daryl behind him "alright" i say "hows it all looking?" he asks "its good" i say, they head off and i continue walking around.

"Hey shane" I say coming up to him, "hey" he says focusing on building, "how you settlin in?" he asks "im fine" I say he doesnt say anything else and just focuses on the work he's doing, "have i done somethin?" i ask, but again he doesnt say anything.

I let out a sigh and look down at my feet, im starting to really not like the new shane, i hear him sigh behind me as i start to walk away, "why do you always pick his side?" he asks. I stop walking and turn to look at him, "i aint picking sides" i say "yes you are, i asked for your help the other day with the barn and you didnt help me you helped him" shane says, his words are coming out laced with anger and his face is showing disgust.

"I was listening to orders not just from rick but from Hershal, this is his land." I say and start to walk away again, "Iris!" he shouts, trying to get me to come back but i chose to give him a taste of his own medicine and i ignore him.