The sounds of the gunshots in unison is loud enough to pop my ears. About a half of a dozen bodies fall to the ground from our initial shots. We take down a couple more as they run for cover. They don't seem to have quite figured out where we are yet. Daryl, Pete, Andrea, and myself take out a few more with calculated shots, while the rest of our group fires wildly. "Cease fire!" I shout. I count 16 injured or dead bodies, everyone else is out of sight. Some have hid under cars, others have driven or run away. "There's probly just a couple more left down there. We should--" I'm cut off by the sound of assault rifles firing back up at us. My group starts firing back. "Cease fire, goddamnit! Move away from the edge and they can't hit us. We have to conserve our ammo." I instruct.
We all step back and wait for the sound of gunfire to stop. When it does, I creep forward to look and see a handful of guys running away into the woods. "Looks like they're fleeing." I tell the group. "Should we go after them?" Daryl asks. "Nah. I think they got the message. I don't think we'll have to worry about them any more. C'mon, let's move out." With that we all start to walk back through the tall grass towards the woods leading to Fort Benning. "Do you think we did the right thing?" Glenn asks me quietly. "Can't look at it thay way any more Glenn. You don't do right or wrong, you either do what you gotta do or you put yourself and the people you love in danger. What if they were gearing up to attack US?" I respond. "Yeah.. but what if they weren't?" He retorts. I look at him, trying to find the words, but I can't. "Can't think about that." I dismissively say. He nods and slips to the back of the group.
As we enter into the woods, gunshots are heard and I can see the flames in the barrels of the guns that begin firing at us. "Move for cover!" I yell to my troop as I grab Carl and run behind a large tree. "Stay here." I say before peeking out to see if I can see how many we are dealing with, and where they're positioned. I can see two behind a tree firing in our direction. I line up my glock and fire 3 shots in succesion and drop both of the shooters. There are still gunshots being fired so there must be at least a few more. From where I'm positioned I can't see anyone from our group other than Andrea, who has dropped onto her belly about 15 yards behind me and Carl. She fires a few shots and all I can do is hope she's hitting her mark. I hear screams, from who I think is Belle.
"On my signal I want you to run to Andrea and get behind her. Do as she says, okay?" Carl nods at me and waits. One, two, three. "Go!" I yell out as I start running towards Belle's voice, while firing in the direction of our enemies. As I draw closer to the screams I can see two men running towards Belle, who is sitting in the grass cradling a body, but I can't see who it is. I fire at the two men hitting one in the head, and one in the torso. Carol pops out from behind a tree and puts a bullet through the wounded man's head at point blank range. No more shots are heard after Carol's, so I assume it's over. I run over to Belle and see that she is holding Pete, who has been hit with two shots in the chest. He has blood spilling from his mouth as he tries to talk. He's not going to make it.
As everyone gathers by Pete, his body goes limp in Belle's arms. "No! Pete! Pete!" Belle screams hysterically. "Belle, he's gone. I'm sorry, but we have to go." I explain. "No. We can't just leave him. He saved my life.. he saved my life. Pete!" She lets off another scream. He must've taken the bullets for her. I'm sure his guilt from cowering the first time he could've saved Belle led him to do it. "Than he went out a hero." I tell Belle as I take out my hunting knife. "No. Please don't--" Belle starts. "You know it has to be done belle. You know HE would want it to be done. We can't let him turn, you know that." I tell her. She looks at me with tear filled eyes and nods before climbing to her feet and walking to Carol, who hugs her tightly. "We make sure he gets a burial." I say to the group before sliding my knife through his skull. "Daryl, give me a hand here." I ask. Daryl nods as he and I pick Pete up and carry him back to Fort Benning with us.
As we re-enter the main post, Lori looks spooked at the sight of Pete's body. "Carl!" She calls out. He runs over to her and hugs her, sobbing. "Lor, can you grab us a sheet please." I ask. She nods and heads to the sleeping quarters with Carl. "Glenn, Daryl, and Dale, get the shovels ready." I start to walk back outside. "I knew it. I knew this was gonna be trouble. It's a bad omen." Dale says. "Knock it off Dale. This is no time for your shit. A good man has died." I explain. "EXACTLY. This is the perfect time for 'my shit'. I told--" He begins before being cut off. "That is ENOUGH!" Andrea hollers. Dale looks at her confused. "This is not the time! We did what we had to do and it's unfortunate but Pete died saving Belle's life. Look around! These things are going to happen! Nobody is being forced to stay here. If you think you can do without Shane, than LEAVE! But I am sick and tired of hearing the complaining and bickering about the job he is doing! Without him, you wouldn't be alive to complain! There is no training for this life, we're all learning as we go. Deal with it, or leave and deal with the dead!"
Dale goes quiet before grabbing a shovel and heading outside. Daryl, Glenn, and I arm ourselves with shovels and join him. It isn't long before the four of us finish the hole. Glenn and Daryl go back inside to retrieve the body and everyone gathers around the homemade grave. They gently place the body in the hole and we begin to cover it up. Belle decides she would like to say a few words. "I know we didn't really know Pete, and we weren't his real family, but he was one of us. He was a soldier for our country, and a soldier for us. In the end he was selfless and courageous, and gave his life to protect another." Tears start streaming down Belle's cheeks. "He will be missed." She finishes. I walk over to Belle and hold her closely to console her. "Everybody get some rest. We still have that highway to clear, and now we're a man down. We'll meet in the main post in the morning." I order. I release Belle and head to my sleeping quarters. Lori and Carl follow.
YOU ARE READING
The Walking Dead: The Shane Walsh Alternative (Season 2)
FanfictionWe've followed Shane and his group as they fled the hilltop camp outside of Atlanta. We've followed them as they made their way to the King County Sheriff's Department. We've followed them to what was left of the Center for Disease Control. With lit...
