Deadland

Chapter 18- Barn

Carol leads me to the house where Maggie and Glenn are sitting on the steps. She squeezes my hand and whispers in my ear, "You need to prove to them and yourself that no man will ever make you view yourself as less." 

"Holy shit." I whisper, smirking. She smiles and I next to Glenn, leaning on the porch.

T-Dog and Andrea walk up to the house, "Do you know what's going on?" T-Dog asks. "Where is everyone?" Andrea asks as well. 

Glenn stands up and questions them. "You haven't seen Rick?" "He went off with Hershel. We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago." Andrea replies. 

"Yeah you were, what the hell?" Daryl asks, finally catching up. "Rick told us he was going out." Carol speaks up from in front of the steps. 

"Damn it! Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail!" Daryl yells. "Oh, here we go." He says, all of us look and see my dad who is carrying the bag of guns, walking up to the house.  

"What's all this?" Daryl asks, pointing at the guns. "You with me, man?" Shane asks. He hands Daryl a gun, so I assume Daryl responded very quietly. 

"Time to grow up." Shane says to everyone. "You already got yours?" He asks Andrea. "Yeah, where's Dale?" She asks him. "He's on his way."

"I thought we couldn't carry." T-Dog acknowledges, being handed a gun and taking it. "Yeah well we can and we have to." Shane approaches me and hands me the black pistol with roses engraved into it, the one I've used for years and the one my dad gifted me. 

I hesitate but, reluctantly, grab the gun and put it in my waistband. 

"Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe but now we know it ain't." He looks at Glenn and the holds out a shotgun. "How 'bout you, man? You gonna protect yours?" Glenn hesitates and looks at Maggie but quickly grabs the shotgun. 

"That's it. Can you shoot?" He asks Maggie. "Can you stop?" She spits. I stand up straight and walk over to her, ready to knock her teeth out if she says anything to my dad. "You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight." 

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl says, coming out of the house. Alyssa and Lori follow. "What is this?" Lori asks. 

"We ain't going anywhere, okay?" Shane reassures Carl. "Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He- well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right?" Shane crouches in front of Carl and holds out a revolver. "Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe. You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it." Lori quickly runs up and stands in front of Carl, Alyssa stands next to her.

"Rick said no guns, this is not your call. This is not your decision to make." She says through gritted teeth. Shane sighs and turns to Alyssa. "'Lyss? Do what your daddy tells you and take the gun." Her eyes lock onto mine and onto the gun in my waistband. She sighs and takes the revolver. "Good girl." Shane whispers. 

"Oh shit." T-Dog exclaims. All of our eyes follow his gaze and we see Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy coming out of the woods. Hershel and Rick have two Walkers in snare poles. 

"What is that?" Shane asks, breaking out into a run, as does everybody else. "What is that?!" 

"Shane!" Lori yells. 

We all bolt down the hill and enter the fence around the barn. "What the hell are you doin'?!" My dad yells. "Shane, just back off!" Rick yells. "Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asks, still leading the Walker. 

"Are you kiddin' me?! You see? You see what they're holdin' onto?!" Shane yells to our group. 

"I see who I'm holding onto." Hershel bites back.