stone cold |twd|

chapter 30

"No." Shane pushed past Rick, "Let me tell you something."

Maggie stepped down and slapped Shane across the face, "Don't touch him!" He became quiet and backed away, "Haven't you done enough?"

Hershel followed his daughter up the steps, pausing at the door, "I mean it... Off my land."

Glenn followed soon behind and Rick turned to stare at Shane, "What are you doing?" Shane turned way, "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Daryl almost died looking for her, Rick. Any one of us could have. I'm gonna tell you right now..." He pointed towards the front door, "That son of a bitch, he knew."

Vivian shook her head, "Oh, come one, he didn't know, Shane. He opened his home to us."

He turned towards her, "He put us all in danger. He kept a barn full of walkers. "

"So you just start an insurrection, hand out guns and massacre his family?" Vivian argued,

"His family's dead" He snapped at her,

"Well, he doesn't believe that." Rick stepped forward, "He thinks you just murdered them in cold blood."

Shane shook his head, "No, man, I don't care what he thinks."

"I was handling it, brother. I was handling it and you just-"

"You had us out in those woods looking for a little girl that every single one of us knew was dead! That's what you did. Rick, you're just as delusional as that guy." Shane scoffed before walking away, "You handling it, huh?"

Vivian and Rick watched as Shane left, "You're not delusional, Rick. You were just doing your best with a shit situation." She told the sheriff before going back to the tents with Liam.

Marcie grunted as she dragged one of the bodies off to the side, looking for Hershel's step son.

"I'm sorry." Andrea spoke as she dug one of the holes,

"For what?"

"You and Daryl were both out looking for her more than the rest of us." She reasoned, "Hell, Daryl got hurt looking for her."

"I was only out there because Daryl still believed." Marcie stated and they both lifted a walker, moving it off to the side.

They both dropped it at the same time and Andrea sighed, "So you didn't think-"

"I thought she died of dehydration or she fell and hit her head or was ripped apart by walkers. I didn't think she was in a barn rotting away." Marcie cleared her throat, "But I wasn't going to be the one to tell Daryl it was hopeless. I was gonna stay out there, even after he had lost hope, because it's important, hope, and as long as someone still had it, we would keep looking." Marcie ranted, tears filling her eyes, blurring her vision,

"And now, we've found her, but there's still no hope. Everyone's lost hope." She stopped and took a deep breath, "Our hope died with Sophia." She whispered.

She glanced over in time to see Shane and Rick approaching. Rick glanced at the bodies, his face turning white.

"We need a service." Marcie told him,

He nodded, "Carol... Carol would want that."

"We were gonna dig some graves for Sophia, Annette, and Shawn. Anyone else?" Marcie asked,

Rick took a moment to look at every body that laid on the ground, "No... no that's good."

"We'll need a truck to move the bodies." T-Dog commented,

"I'll get the keys." Jimmy moved to head back towards the house but Shane stopped him,

"No no. I got the truck." He said before leaving,

"And the others?" Jimmy asked, "That's a lot of digging."

"We bury the ones we love and burn the rest." Andrea stated,

"Just like we've always done." Marcie mumbled, remembering the quarry. She cleared her throat, "Let's get back to work."

They covered the bodies in blankets before moving them under some trees and began digging the graves. Marcie wiped the sweat from her forehead, ignoring the blisters forming on her hands.

T-Dog reached over and patted her shoulder, "That's it. C'mon." 

The group of them climbed out of the graves and together, gently lowered the bodies of Sophia, Annette, and Shawn into the ground.

Marcie gripped the shovel tight as she dumped dirt onto Sophia's covered corpse. It wasn't right, but this was the reality of the world they now lived in.

Kids get shot. Kids get bit and die.

The innocent don't make it.

Once they were done covering the bodies, Marcie went to her tent and found the flower that Daryl had given her. The Cherokee Rose.

She stepped into the RV, where Daryl was sitting with the mourning mother,

Marcie cleared her throat, "They're ready." She told them,

"C'mon." Daryl urged her,

"Why?" Carol asked, her voice cracking,

"'Cause that's your little girl." He answered softly,

Carol shook her head, staring out the wind, "That's not my little girl. That's some other thing." She sniffled, "My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought... She didn't cry herself to sleep. She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago."

Daryl moved from his spot on the counter and shoved his way past Marcie, leaving the RV. She quickly followed him out a few steps, "Daryl!" He paused, waiting for her to speak,

"I'm sorry about what I said... about Sophia."

"Why? Ya were right, weren' ya?" Daryl grumbled,

"I didn't want to be." She replied before he began to walk away once more,

She watched him go before going back inside,  placing the flower on the table in front of her, "When you're ready... it's for her grave. I thought it would be better coming from you." 

Carol stared at the flower for moment before turning to Marcie, "Did you think she was alive out there?"

Marcie sighed, "Honestly? No, I didn't."

"Then why did you go out there looking for her?" Carol asked,

"Because you thought she was out there. And Rick, and Daryl. You all thought she was still in the woods. I saw the look on your face every time someone doubted Sophia's survival. I couldn't handle that look." Marcie sat down across from her, "I lost my family, too. I don't know where they are, or if they're alive. And people kept telling me that there's no chance they're out there. I didn't want to listen so.... I didn't listen to Shane. I kept looking for Sophia because deep down...."

Deep down, she knew her parents weren't out there. 

But she needed to hold onto that hope. Just like how Daryl held onto hope that Sophia was out in the woods.