The Middle of the End

Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen: No Easy Way Out

After Dale's funeral (he was buried next to Sophia), Hershel let us move into the house. I wasn't sure if I wanted to, but with Dale being attacked so close to where Daryl had set up our tent, it just might be safer if we stayed with the group. Daryl agreed reluctantly and borrowed a truck to move our things. Hershel led me to the guest room Daryl had stayed in, said for me to make myself at home before leaving Alfie and I to unpack our clothes. Tonight had the potential to be awkward; The only time Daryl have ever shared a bed was back when we were kids, huddled together during the middle of winter to keep warm.

"I'm bored. Can I go an' play with Carl?"

"Nope. Sorry, but you have to stay here and help me." I told him and unzipped his suitcase, showing him where to put his clothes, and did the same with mine. All of Daryl's clothes were dirty and smelled awful so I didn't really even bother putting them away. They would need a wash, which made mad because I knew I washed them all not even five days ago.

"I'm done. Can I play now?" Alfie sighed, obviously bored.

"No, Alfie. You have to wait until I'm done." Three minutes later, he asked again. "What did I just tell you?"

"Wait until you're done." He pouted and crossed his arms. "But I'm bored."

"Okay, let's go. I'll finish this later." I picked up my gun and followed after Alfie, who ran down the stairs and straight out the front door. Daryl and T-Dog were talking but stopped when they saw us, and Daryl jogged over. Shane glared when we hugged and I flipped him off. He walked away, muttering something under his breath.

"Wonder what crawled up his ass and died." Daryl rolled his eyes.

"A walker climbed up Shane's butt and died!" Alfie shrieked and I let out a laugh.

"Kid, yer silly." Daryl smiled and I asked if he knew what Rick planned on doing with Randall. "Drive him eighteen or so miles out, in honour of Dale. Shane ain't gonna be happy."

"Shane's never happy. I'd say he needs to see a shrink, but..." I shrugged. All the psychologists were probably dead, or had turned. "Alfie, go inside and play with Beth."

"Ok, Mommy!" He ran inside, slamming the screen door behind him.

"I'll never get used to him callin' ya that."

"I know, right... And he's callin' you his daddy now too. Funny how things change in such a short amount of time."

-/-/-

"Have either of you seen Shane?" Rick asked Maggie and I; we'd been collecting eggs when Rick ran over, out of breath and worried.

"Not since this mornin', when everyone was movin' into the house." Maggie shook her head and I agreed with her.

"Let me know if you see or hear anything, alright?" Rick said and ran off towards the house. And that's when we heard T-Dog and Andrea hollering for Rick.

"Should we even bother going to check that out?" I rolled my eyes. Andrea probably did something stupid.

"Nah. Could be serious. Come on!" Maggie pulled my sleeve and we made our way to the shed Randall had been kept in. "What's happened?"

"We were goin' to give him lunch but he's gone." T-Dog told us as soon as Rick and Daryl hurried over. "No one is in there."

Daryl told me to stay in the house with Alfie until Randall had been found, as well as my idiot brother. I would have stayed in the house even if he hadn't told me to. It was just common sense to stay in a safe place when bad people (and things) are on the loose. So Carl, Alfie, and I listened to Beth sing. She had a really nice voice, and Carl couldn't keep his eyes off of her. His crush on the blonde girl was pretty cute. We ate lunch, finished a chapter of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone -found in a car by Daryl- and started on a puzzle when Andrea ran in.
Shane was back, claiming Randall somehow overpowered him and took his gun, forcing him into the woods. It was a load of bull, in my opinion. Shane had probably done something, such as led the kid out and and more than likely killed him. The things he now considered right, weren't. There is something seriously wrong with the way he thinks. And quite frankly, I'd prefer to stay well away from him.
Glenn, Daryl, Shane, and Rick split into two groups and left to search for Randall. I had a really bad feeling that something was going to happen and left Alfie with Maggie so I could talk to Lori.

"I know what you mean. There's some sort of tension in the air that I can't seem to explain. But hey, we have to stay strong for the boys and pray for the men to come back safe." Lori said and she was right. "I apologized to Shane today. Right before he disappeared."

"What?! Why?"

"Because of me, he and Rick are at odds. I never should have slept with Shane. Even if I was under the impression that my husband was dead. I feel so...disgusting. Dirty, even."

"As long as it's not a secret, and Rick forgives you, you shouldn't beat yourself up over it." I looked out the window and could barely make out two shapes making their way to the house. It was dark, close to nine o'clock, and I'd told Alfie he could stay up until Daryl had come back. "Hey, do you see that? I think it's Daryl and Glenn."

Lori stood next to me. "Let's go check. Got your gun? In case it's a walker."

"Yep." I took hold of my gun and we stepped out onto the porch. It was indeed Glenn and Daryl. They ran to the house, up the steps, and Daryl pulled me close for a quick hug.

"Quick, let's get inside." Daryl hurried is in, and everyone gathered around him and Glenn. "Rick and Shane ain't back yet, are they?"

"No, they aren't. Did you find the boy?" Hershel asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Yea, we did. And, well..." Glenn trailed off, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "He'd turned."

"I checked 'em all over for bites, didn't see any. But his neck'd been snapped. Somethin' went down out there. Shane lied. The kid never attacked him, never took his gun. He led that boy out and killed him." Daryl revealed and I left to get Alfie from the kitchen, where he was sitting on the counter eating buttered toast. Maggie kept glancing towards the hallway where Glenn stood, and left to hug him or something.

"Is Daddy back?" Alfie wondered. I told him yes and picked him up.

/-/-/

"Stay with Auntie Lori, you understand me?" I hugged Alfie. Things had gone wrong, really fast. Not even ten minutes after Daryl and Glenn had arrived Beth saw a herd of walkers making their way straight for the house. I ran outside with a gun stuffed through my belt loop and another in my hand and shit walker upon walker, but there were too many. Daryl was helping others escape to vehicles, telling them to head towards the highway, that we would meet at the spot where Sophia had gone missing. I watched as T-Dog, Beth, Lori, and Alfie got into a truck and left, thankful they made it out safely.

The barn was on fire.

Andrea was surrounded by walkers. I may hate her but that doesn't exactly mean that I want her to become a midnight snack to a bunch of walkers. So I grabbed my knife, readied my gun, and ran towards her. Killing as many walkers as I could; stabbing them in the head was hard. She screamed, told me to just leave her be. If she didn't want to be saved, who was I to argue? So I turned around and fought my way back to the house, where Hershel stood with Rick and Carl. Everyone else had left.

"Rick! Rick!" I yelled, hoping to catch his attention. Luckily he looked my way and shot several of the walkers stumbling towards me, told Carl to stay with Hershel while he came for me. I almost cried as he led me back to the house and convinced Hershel to come back with us. Only one car remained and was our only way to safety.

He finally agreed and we left.

I didn't know who would make it to the highway, who wouldn't be there. I could just hope that the people I cared most about had made it. Maggie. Glenn. Lori. Alfie. Beth. Carol. Daryl.

But I had a feeling Shane would not be there.

And that did not really bother me all that much.