The Rest of your Life

Chapter 16

"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 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's how we honour Dale."

•••

After Dales funeral and a short discussion with Hershel, they decided it would be best to move everyone into the house. It took a while, but they got everything moved in. They were now working on fortifying the farm, making it more safe.

Rory was on top of a wind tower, hammering in plank of wood with her father. Shane was standing on the metal bars, whereas Rory had a more safe position, sitting cross legged on the wood.

They both worked quietly, occasionally cracking jokes. This was the Shane Rory missed, times like this when he was just completely like the old, normal him. She missed it.

"Wouldn't that be easier if you waited for some help?" Lori called up to the two. Shane stopped hammering as Rory passed him another nail.

"Ain't no use waiting for something that ain't gonna come." Shane called down. "Besides, I got my Rory to help."

"It's just like that time you showed up Rick fixing our sink." Lori vocalised as Shane laughed. Getting yet another nail off of his daughter and then nailing it into the wood.

"Yeah... just so you know, that's not the reason your basement flooded. You can thank Rick for that, using rubber washes with a metal pipe." Shane laughed.

"Please come down?" Lori asked. Shane signed before nodding and making sure Rory wouldn't somehow dramatically fall to her death in the time he wasn't by her side.

Ivory watched as her dad climbed down to speak to Lori, ignoring their obviously private conversation, the girl began adjusting the wooden planks and counting out the correct number of nails that they needed. By the time she was done, she looked down to see Lori walking away and her dad standing still.

"Dad?" Rory called down. "Are you good?"

"Yeah.. yeah baby." Shane spoke, clearing his throat as he made his way back up to his daughter. "Now, let's get back to work, huh?"

•••

Rory was waiting by the truck with Daryl and T-Dog while the two men waited for Rick. Rory just wanted to ask the latter a question.

"Only got so many arrows." T-Dog said to Daryl as he handed him a spare pistol, Daryl took it with ease before checking the ammo and tucking it away.

"Wish I knew where the hell mine is." Daryl sighed as Rory looked away, slightly guilty. She knew where it was.

"Ready?" Rick asked, popping out of nowhere.

"Yeah." T-Dog said as he went off to get Randall. Rory walked over to Rick, who ruffled the girls hair.

"Have you seen my dad?" Rory asked Rick. "I haven't seen him in a while, he said to meet him by the house like an hour ago, but he didn't show up." Rick was about to answer, but got cut off by a frantic T-Dog.

Randall was gone.

•••

Everyone was scared and panicked. Randall was gone and Rory was worried about her dad. She stood by Daryl, finding some sort of comfort with the man. She scanned the tree line and startled when her father emerged, screaming for Rick.

"What happened?"

"He's armed. He's got my gun." Shane snarled as he approached the group. Rory's eyes widened at her fathers face.

"Dad?" She called as she ran to him, hugging him around his waist, he rested an arm across her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Shane continued, making it to the group. "The little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."

"Alright, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house." Rick ordered. Shane tried to get Rory to let go, but she refused. "Glenn, Daryl, you're with us."

"Look, Ivory, you gotta let me go."

"No, dad, he's dangerous, you said so yourself." Rory cried. "If you go, you might not come back."

"Rory, Rory, look at me." Shane mumbled. "No matter what happens, I will always come back to you, okay?"

"You promise?"

"Yeah... yeah, I promise." Shane uttered to his daughter, hugging his child.

"Okay." The girl breathed, squeezing her dad one last time. "I love you, dad. Please be safe."

"I love you too, baby. Now go." Shane breathed out, kissing Rory's curls before directing her to the rest of the group.

•••

Rory sighed, taking the binoculars from Carl and looking out the window. "We should go."

"What?" Carl gasped. They had both been sent upstairs to be safe in case Randall made it back.

"Our dads are out there, we can help." Rory insisted. "We're no use to anybody being stuck here. Come on, Carl... please." The boy looked to his friend... maybe she was right.

•••

She heard a gunshot. Rory had managed to sneak out of the house without anybody noticing, apart from Carl who didn't come with her in the end, in search of their fathers. She was jogging through the field when she heard a gunshot, causing her to sprint in the direction it came from. As she ran up the hill, she came to a stop, Rick was crouched over a body.

"Rick?" Rory called out, looking to the man. Rory looked closer to the body on the ground and wished she hadn't. Her blood ran cold.

She froze. Rick swore he heard the exact moment the girls heart shattered, hell, he felt it. Her head felt like lead, she couldn't feel her hands. It felt like she was floating, like it wasn't real. She struggled to let oxygen into her body, it was like her lungs had stopped working. She felt nothing yet everything all at once.

"You should be back home with Lori." Rick stuttered, walking towards the girl.

He looked to Rory, the girl staring at the man laying dead behind him. Her father. Ricks heart hurt at the situation, he just made a child lose the only family she had left. When he shot, he didn't really mean to hit Shane, just to scare him off a little.

His heart dropped as the girls face turned hard and she loaded her gun and pointed it at him.

"Rory, just... just put the gun down." Rick pleaded, eyes stinging. The girl only let out a wet sob as she held her gun tighter.

"It's not what it seems. Please." Rory only sobbed more, holding in a breath and shooting. Rick flinched, hard, before he heard the thump behind him. Rory had shot a walker behind him.

She put down her gun, and let out a choked cry, Rick walked towards the girl slowly before holding her close, letting her cry. He was surprised when she just... stopped.

Rory took a deep breath and pushed off of Rick, walking towards the body on the ground. Rick furrowed his eyebrows, it was like she just shut off.

One thought played in Ricks mind as he looked to the girl standing over her dead father... What he he done?

•••
Everybody say bye bye Shane!

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