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"Blessed be God, Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ." The words spoken by Hershel were sent down a guilty spiral inside of Adelines mind - caramel eyes locked onto the gathering of rocks that resembled a grave. Guilt washed over her features, head turned down to the ground to hide her truth from the Greene family. The space between the murderers hadn't went unnoticed, the two of the always standing together in any given situation besides this one. Adeline avoided his constant stares, her body stuck between Glenn and Daryl - occasionally having to lean on the redneck in order to put her weight off of her ankle.
Holding a small bible, Hershel watched as his daughter Beth stepped up to place a rock on the gravesite. "Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis," The sound of his name caused the Grimes sister to involuntarily tighten her grip around the stick she used to steady herself. "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." He continued, two eyes boring holes into the body of the guilty. Shanes.
"We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace."
Flashes of memories caused Adeline to stumble in her step, dark skies and screams for help ringing in her ears as Daryl shifted on his feet and steadied her by curling his hand around her upper arm. "Shane, Adeline, will you speak for Otis?" Hershel requested, setting his kind eyes on the couple.
"I'm not good at it," Shane denied - tearing his stare away from his wife and moving to the elder. "I'm sorry." He apologized, looking back to Adeline who only turned her head to the ground and remained quiet.
Patricia let out a choked sob, "You two were the last ones with him. You shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear, I need to know his death had meaning." she begged in a cracked voice. At the sound of her grief, Adeline held back the tears of guilt that threatened to pour out of her eyes - hands turning white at the tight grip she held on the wooden stick, splinters harshly digging into her skin.
Taking notice of this, Shane took the burden away from her and reluctantly nodded, limping closer to the gravesite. "Okay." He started, his wife letting out a breath of relief at his voice. "We were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols, by then. I was limping, so was Addy. It was bad. Ankles all swollen up." The words he spoke were full of truth.
Then, the lies flooded in. "We've got to save the boy. See, that's what he said."
A breath of shock was caught in her throat, body flinching back and away from Shane as he fired his last bullet into Otis's knee - sending him to the ground. "No!" The scream left her lips, fear of her husband confronting her with cold arms as she felt the wet blood against her face - resembling her new found fear.
