Daryl's Angel (Book One in the Apocalypse Angel Trilogy)

Chapter 34: Changed

We walk for a while. The sun goes down, and we don't find anything.

"That looks pretty busted," Rick comments on Shane's nose.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," Shane says.

I hold my gun at the ready. We don't run into any walkers either, the only sounds our rhythmic footsteps in the dry leaves.

"This way feel right to you?" Rick asks after walking for a while more.

"As right as any," Shane says, brushing off his question.

"Snatched your gun, huh?" I ask.

"Yeah. My favourite one too," Shane says.

The moonlight coming through the trees illuminates his face in different places, making him look like a walker.

I remember my dream at the CDC for a split second, and a chill runs down my spine.

"Go on," Shane mumbles to Rick, ushering him ahead of us.

We keep travelling through the woods in silence, Rick leads with Shane in the middle and me bringing up the rear. Eventually, we get to an open field.

Rick speaks again, "So he got you with a rock?"

"Yep."

"Shed door was locked when T-dog found it."

"I noticed that too. Must've slipped through the holes in the roof."

That couldn't have happened. I saw Daryl boarding up any holes in the roof before we left. It was completely patched up. This whole situation is fishy.

We keep walking across the field, and Shane stops as Rick walks a little ways ahead. I stop too, my heart rate speeding up.

"So this is where you planned to do it," Rick says, turning to face Shane.

"It's as good a place as any," Shane says.

"At least you've got the balls to call it what it is. Murder," Rick spits. "You really believe that if you walk back onto that farm alone, no me, no Randall, no Hope..."

"Now hold up-" Shane says.

"You really believe they're gonna buy whatever bullshit story you cook up?"

"That's just it. It ain't a story. I saw that prisoner go up behind Hope and shoot her in the head, then I saw him attack and stab you with her knife. I saw you two dead on the ground at my feet. I ran after him, and snapped his neck," Shane's voice is eerie and quiet in the cool night air. "It ain't gonna be easy, but Lori and Carl will get over you. Daryl will get over Hope. They'll just have to."

Something clicks in my mind, and I take a step back, ready to run. Shane notices, grabbing me and pressing the barrel of his gun to my forehead. His arm pins mine down, and I let out a whimper.

"Shane, she didn't do anything," Rick says. "She's probably the most innocent person in our camp."

"She ratted me out. She's not useful to the group," Shane hisses. "She ain't innocent."

The gun clicks, and I jerk against his grip, but it's no use. Years of being a cop have made him prepared for something like this. Rick stares at me, his face angry and worried at the same time.

"Why? Why now? I thought we worked this all out," he says.

Shane laughs. "We tried to kill each other man. What'd you think was gonna happen. All is forgiven? We ride off into the sunset together?"

"You're gonna kill me in cold blood? Screw my wife?"

My eyes widen. I guess it was obvious that Shane and Lori had an affair, but it surprised me that Rick knew. How long had this been going on?

"Have my children call you daddy? Is that what you want?" Rick continues, his voice angry. "That life won't be worth a damn. I know you. You won't be able to live with this."

"You don't know what I can live with. You don't know what I live with. You wanna talk about what I can do, Rick?"

Shane shoves his gun into the waistline of his pants and throws his hands up, shoving me to the ground. I try to scramble away, but he places a foot on my leg, putting his weight on it. I cry out in pain, feeling it twist the wrong way. I remain still, knowing that he could snap my ankle without any trouble and make it even worse. Rick looks down at me as tears appear in my eyes.

"How about what you can do?" Shane asks. "Here I am! Raise your gun, Rick! Go on!"

"No. No. I won't do that," Rick says through gritted teeth.

"What happened man? I thought you said you weren't the good guy anymore! Even right here, right now, you ain't gonna fight for them? I'm a better father than you are, Rick! I'm better for Lori than you are! It's cause I'm a better man than you. I'll fight for it, and you come back and destroy everything! You got a broken woman. You got a weak boy. Raise your gun." He grabs my hair, pulling me up sharply and securing me again. The gun clicks.

His breathing is heavy, his breath hot against my ear. I can smell the blood from his broken nose. I whimper, and the gun presses even harder into my head.

"Struggle again, and this bullet lodges itself in your brain," he whispers in my ear, his hand grabbing my neck and jaw.

He jerks my head sharply to face the front, forcing me to look at Rick. My ankle aches, my scalp still hurts from his harsh tugging on my hair, and my body shakes noticeably. I don't want to die.

"You're gonna have to kill an unarmed man." Rick raises his hands. He reaches slowly into his holster and holds out his gun by his fingertips. "Now listen to me, Shane. There's still a way back from this. Nothing has happened here. We're gonna lay down our guns and we're gonna walk back to the farm with Hope. Back to Lori. Back to Carl."

Rick keeps holding out his gun, getting closer and closer to us. Shane reaches for the gun and Rick lunges forwards.

A shot goes off and I fall back onto the grass, the shot ringing in my ears. Rick lowers Shane to the ground, Shane choking on his own blood.

"Damn you for making me do this, Shane. This was you! Not me! You did this to us! This was you! Not me!" Rick screams.

He pulls my knife from Shane's chest. I check my belt and see that, sure enough, my knife is gone.

Shane moves for a bit more, coughing and choking. Then, he goes still, his eyes wide and unblinking. Rick sobs into the night air. I wince and grab my ankle, prodding it lightly. It's twisted badly, but not broken.

Rick wails some more, and I limp towards him. He looks up at me, his blue eyes drowned in sorrow. I kneel down and pull him into a comforting hug. No one should ever have to kill their best friend.

We sit and stare at Shane's body, and I return my knife to my belt. I don't know how much time passes, but it's silent save for the crickets and the leaves of the trees rustling in the wind.

"Dad? Hope?" a voice rings out.

We jump, and see Carl standing a little ways away.

"Carl..." Rick gasps, getting up and moving towards him.

Carl's cheeks glisten with tears and he raises his gun. I stand, feeling my ankle protest, and hold my hands up. How much did he see?

Rick moves towards Carl, his voice still thick. I hear a groan behind me and Shane's body moves. I yelp in surprise and back away, my ankle screaming. Shane gets up, his eyes white and glassy.

He moans and moves towards me, grabbing my arm. I fumble for my gun, but a gunshot sounds before I can. Shane falls forward as his blood splatters my face. We collapse, my ankle jerking in a different direction and my head hitting the ground hard. I grunt in pain.

"Hope!" Rick and Carl shout in unison, running towards me.

They pull Shane's body off of me, and I groan. Rick pulls me up, and so does Carl. They support me, and we head towards the farm house, which can be seen in the distance.