Safe haven, Rick Grimes

017. THIS WAS THE MOMENT

Chapter seventeen

"This was the moment."

The next morning, Daryl, Andrea, T Dog and Shane had gone out around the farm to find any other walker that was left over while they all prepared to bury Dale, where once they came back they all were then standing around the grave "Dale could get understand you 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 to 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." Rick shared, looking at Scarlett who was standing away from him and looking at Dale's grave.

"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 is broken. The best way to honor him is to un break 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 honor Dale." Rick shared, walking over to put another rock on the grave.

Scarlett looked up and when she did, she saw Shane looking at Rick and the way he was made Scarlett's blood run cold, cause she knew that look, he had the same one every time she had mentioned him like he wanted to kill him.

Where when the funeral was over, they all walked over to the camp and began packing it up to move inside the house "gonna be tight, fifteen people to one house." Rick shared "don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up.." Hershel shared "with fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie shared "she's right, we should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel shared "alright, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road." Rick shared.

"Here. I'll take it." Scarlett told Beth, taking the basket and moving it toward's the truck "we'll build a look out in the windmill, and another in the barn loft that should give us sight lines of both sides of the property. T Dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick shared "what about standing guard?" T Dog asked "I need you and Daryl on double duty." Rick shared "gotcha." T Dog told him, as Scarlett was taking the bags from Lori "Scarlett.." Lori told her "you shouldn't be carrying anything heavy." Scarlett told her.

"What patrols?" Andrea asked "let's get this area lockdown first. After that, Shane will assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall off sight and cut him loose." Rick shared, as Scarlett put the bags in the truck "we're back to that now?" Shane asked "it was the right plan first time around. Poor execution." Rick shared, as Scarlett, Lori and Hershel looked at them "that's a slight understatement." Shane told him "you don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it. Move on." Rick told him "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 shared "thank you." Rick told him, turning around and walking off "you got it." Shane said, but Scarlett knew that wasn't true, as Shane turned looking at her, Scarlett quickly turned walking away.

They all then began heading up toward's the house, Scarlett walked in front of Rick and Shane "I see why you're not taking Shane with you just know I've got no more patience where he's concerned." Hershel shared "nah, he's turning over a new leaf." Rick told him, as Scarlett picked up her pace.

Standing by the truck, Scarlett was going to grab one of the bins from the truck but as she did, she saw Carl standing by and looking at her but when she looked at him, he turned to leave, as Scarlett put the box down and stepped toward's him "what's going on?" she asked, as Carl stopped and turned to her "what happened with Randall? I didn't want my parents to know but I told you and..and then you told my dad." he shared "Carl.." Scarlett told him "I know it's cause you wanted me to be safe." Carl told her, moving his sweatshirt aside, he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a gun "I took it from Daryl's motorcycle." he told her.