Impregnable {A Walking Dead Fanfiction}

Thirty-Eight

    I excused myself into the bathroom, doing my best not to show Maggie how shocked I was. I turned on the sink, splashing cold water on my face. It was just one time. It couldn't. It could... I looked up, staring at my disoriented reflection. "Hollie?" Maggie asked softly while knocking on the door. "You alright in there?" "Oh, uh...yea. I'm fine. Just a minute," I said, shutting off the water and trying to stop shaking. 

    "Sorry, I just...it's just that Shane and I have slept together. It kinda just hit me that that's something that can still happen." I lied, opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. "Oh...do you need one?" She asked, her voice serious. "Oh no, I'm fine. We've been...ah...careful." I said as we turned and walked back down the hallway, changing the subject as quickly as possible. "Mable, look what your friend Maggie got for you!" I said, loading the DVD into the player before taking a gulp of water, trying to calm my racing heart. I didn't want to tell Shane, he didn't need to feel this stress, not after everything that'd happened. If it was anything, it was Rick's, that was the end of the story. I did my best to push the lingering thoughts out of my head as Glenn and Shane joined us from outside. "So since Maggie and Glenn were kind enough to bring back all this extra ammo, maybe we could all go out and practice our marksmanship later," Shane said as he walked into the kitchen. "We could do that," Glenn said, "Or we could stay here and watch VeggieTales." He said, sitting down on the couch next to Mable.

    "So it's just you and me today then?" Shane asked as we walked outside. "Maybe I wanted to watch VeggieTales too," I said, laughing. "Hah, funny," He said sarcastically, "I've been wanting to take you out and teach you a few things." "Teach me?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. "It's just...I've seen you with your gun tucked into your waistband all this time, but I've never seen you use it," He said. "Guess I've just been lucky, doesn't mean I don't know how to use it," I said, looking over at him and smirking. "That doesn't change the fact that all of us need improvement...c'mon now." He said, wincing as he climbed into the drivers seat of the Wrangler. 

    We drove down the empty roads until we felt like we were far enough away for the gunfire to not draw the walkers back. Shane found and old house with a wooden fence and pulled into the driveway, pulling a bag of cans from the back seat before exiting. "Alright, Hollie, prove me wrong," He said, sitting up three cans on the fence before backing away. I steadied myself and aimed, sending the cans flying off the fence one by one. "Okay, not bad," He said, nodding his head. "I told you I know what I'm doing," I said, smirking at him. "Listen, soup cans are one thing...easy to hit what's not moving. Taking down an assailant, one that's trying to kill you, it's...different. Here," He said, taking another can and glancing at me before tossing it into the air in front of us. I aimed and fired, watching with disappointment as it fell to the ground. "Shit, I guess it's been a few years," I sighed. "Come on," He said, taking another can out of the bag. I aimed and missed again. "The target's too small." I said, wiping sweat from my forehead. "That's crap and you know it, I just watched you hit all three cans without flinching." "They weren't moving." "What, you think a walkers just gonna hold still for you? Reload, go again," He said, his voice commanding. I sighed, pulling loose bullets out of my pocket as I popped the chamber. "Uh-oh, did I piss you off?" Shane asked as another can fell to the ground. "C'mon, Hollie, you got walkers all around you! They're in the woods, they're beating on the windows. How are you getting Mable out of..." "Shane stop!" I yelled. "There is no stop, you said it's kill or be killed, didn't you? You can't shut down like this once the heat turns up." He said, another can fell to the ground. "Dammit!" I yelled, kicking at the dirt. "What happened to that cockiness I saw earlier?" He said, walking back over to me. "I haven't seen you hit one yet," I said bitterly. "Try me." He said, handing me a can. I glanced over at him before tossing it into the air. He aimed and fired, it exploded midair. "You can't crumble under pressure. They say in that kinda situation that things slow down...that's bullshit. The adrenaline makes everything fly at you." He said, chuckling. "It'll cripple you if you let it, but you have to push past it. Somebody's gonna die; you'd better hope that you're the one who's making that decision," He said, taking out another can. "You don't have to hit one today, but we're going to keep trying until you do." "How?" I asked. "Turn off a switch," He said flatly, looking off in to the distance. "The switch. You don't think, you just...you act, 'cause chances are that someone's counting on you." He said, looking over at me. "You're getting better, and you know I'll always have your back. Just...never underestimate the world's ability to kick your ass."  

    I stepped into the Wrangler with my tail between my legs as Shane tossed the empty bag into the backseat. We returned to find most of our group gathered outside. "Daryl and Merle should've been back by now," Carol said anxiously. "I hope they're okay. They probably know the woods better than any of us, maybe they found her trail," I said. "We haven't heard any gunshots, but we lost communication with them through the talkies an hour ago. I feel like something's wrong." Dale said, looking off into the distance. "We'll look for them if they're not back by first light," Rick said, walking towards the house. Dinner had just finished cooking. They'd set up an extra folding table so all of us could eat together, everything was cozy and candlelit. "Thank you so much for planning all of this. Can I help with anything?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. "I think we're alright, could just let Lori know that dinner's ready?" Patricia said, stirring a large pot of fragrant soup. "Of course," I said, spinning on my heel and walking down the hallway. "Baby, what do I do?" I heard Lori whisper as I quietly approached. I knocked on the wall before stepping into the doorway, seeing her startle and let go of Carl's hand to wipe her tears while he slept. "Dinner's ready," I said, smiling weakly at her. "Okay, I'm coming," She said, her voice shaking. "I'm here for you if you need to talk about anything," I said weakly. She smiled at me before looking down and walking past me.