SHELTER | DIXON

|16|

Madison was the last to arrive under the where her family had decided to set up Otis's memorial. Her skin was finally clear of any dirt and blood, clothes clean from where they'd been hanging in her bedroom closet. She joined her sisters without hesitation, helping Beth lift a larger rock and carry it over to the pile of stones that served as Otis's memorial site. They didn't have a body to bury, nor a headstone to set up, so that had been the next best thing. 

"You okay, baby sis?" Madison asked the blonde quietly as they walked back over toward their father.

"Mhm," Beth lied, nodding as she forced a small smile on her face. But Madison wasn't fooled. She never was, really, and Beth had learned that a long time ago. So when her eldest sister slipped an arm around her, Beth leaned into her side and rested her head against Madison's shoulder. Maggie stood on Beth's other side, holding her hand.

"Blessed be God, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ," Hershel began, leading the service as Jimmy walked forward and placed a few stones on the pile as well. "Praise be to Him, for the gift of our brother Otis, for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in Your Embrace. He died as he lived: in grace." Hershel paused and glanced over at Shane, who stood out like a sore thumb with his freshly-shaved head and the large overalls Maggie had given him to wear. They used to be Otis's. Seeing Shane in them didn't feel right to Madison. "Shane? Will you speak for Otis?"

Shane hesitated, then shook his head. "I'm not good at it," he muttered. "I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him," Patricia spoke up as she cried. "And you shared his final moments. Please," she begged. "I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

There was a long moment of silence before Shane finally relented and started to speak, looking at everything other than the people around him. "We were about done, almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then," he recounted. "I was limping. It was bad. Ankle all swollen up. We've got to save the boy... see, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack, he shoved me ahead. Run, he said. He said, I'll take the rear. I'll cover you. And when I looked back..." Shane trailed off, unable to say anything else. He limped forward and grabbed a stone, placing it upon the pile. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too. It was Otis. He saved us both." Shane glanced at Patricia. "If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

Madison scoffed suddenly, the sound causing everyone to glance at her in confusion. She didn't meet any of their gazes as the realization of what truly happened to Otis dawned upon her. Releasing Beth, she raked her fingers through her hair and stormed off by herself. 

Run. I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.

If that were really what Otis had said, how the hell had Shane returned with Otis's gun? Madison had seen it inside, sitting with the rest of the things Shane had brought back with him. If Otis had decided to cover Shane, he would have needed his gun; and if Shane happened to glance back and see that Otis had been overrun by walkers, he would have never ran back into the fray of things just to grab a gun when he already had his own. It would have been suicide to even try it.

No, Otis hadn't sacrificed himself. Shane had done the sacrificing on his own, most likely taking Otis's gun in the scuffle to keep the man from being truly able to fight back.

Run. I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.

The only thing that had been covered was Shane's ass when he made up that story, so that people like Patricia would get some sort of closure and stop asking questions.