// Jade //
It was painfully quiet as everyone ate the dinner we had prepared. I was sitting beside Glenn, "Does anybody know how to play guitar?" he said, breaking the silence, "Dale found a cool one. Somebody's gotta know how to play." Glenn said after no one answered, "Otis did." Patricia said, "Yes, and he was very good, too." Hershel agreed. I knew he wasn't too happy about us being here. I rose from my seat and fixed Daryl a plate. I nodded to Carol and walked toward his room. The door creaked open and he turned to see who had entered the room, "How ya feeling?" I ask, sitting the plate of food on the side table, "'Bout as good as I look." he ask, tucking himself inside the sheet, "I brought you some dinner. You must be starving." I smiled, watching him carefully, "Thanks, Jade." he said, sitting up, "I'm gonna go help clean up." I said, planting a kiss on his forehead, "Alright. Be good. Love you, Jay." he said, then stuffed his mouth full.
After washing the dishes, I walked outside and to Daryl's tent. As I was walking I thought I heard a walker. I walked out in the field and saw one wandering towards the barn, I grabbed my machete and walked over to it. I unsheathed my machete and sliced it in half. Then I heard more walkers. A ton of them. They were all in the barn..
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I didn't sleep that night. I sat outside Daryl and I's tent and watched the barn closely. By the time the sun rose, my eyes were dried out. Maggie walked up to me, "Um, why are you looking at the barn?" she ask, sitting down the basket of clothes, "I know about the walkers, Maggie." I said, checking around me for people, "... What?" she hesitated, glancing from me to the barn, "You weren't supposed to see that." she said. I stared at the barn for a moment, "Could you make it more obvious?" she said, knocking me from my gaze. I sighed, "I gotta tell my people." I said, putting my hands on my hips, "Will you please tell me why your dad has a secret barn full of walkers?" I ask, "Shh." she said, putting her fingers to her lips, "Just trust me on this, okay?" she said, looking at me, "I'm not the best at keeping big secrets. I'm already keeping one." I said, chewing on her lip, "You have to keep this to yourself. You have to." Maggie took a good look at me, then left.
I saw Lori walking towards me, and I stopped her, "So, what did Rick say?" I ask her. She was silent, so I knew the answer, "You didn't tell him?!" I said in a low whisper, "Okay, but you have to." I whispered to her quietly, "You're pregnant, Lori. You need vitamins, medicine, a nice pillow!" I said random baby-related things. I reached in my bag and grabbed a share of food, handing it to her, "Honey, I don't want your food, okay? Eat." she said, not taking my offer, "You need to eat! You're too skinny!" I said, trying my best to get her to take the food, "If you're not gonna let Rick take care of you, then someone has to!" I say, but she continues to ignore me and work with the fire, "Lori. " I say, stepping in front of her, "You have a medical condition." I said, making her tilt her head and smile a little, "I'll make another run into town, just tell me what you need." I said, glancing behind me, "I need you to be quiet about this." she said, giving me a stern look. I nodded, then walked away.
"Glenn, I'm gonna tell you something that you can't tell anyone." I said to Glenn. He nodded, sitting beside me on an old fireplace, "The barn is full of walkers, and Lori is pregnant." I said, watching the look on his face as he glanced to the barn, then to Lori. He sighed and took his baseball hat off, ran a hand through his hair, and nodded.
I stood with Rick, Shane, and Jimmy. Glenn had just delivered us peaches and had kissed me goodbye. Beth and Patrica walked up to us, "We would like to join you for gun training today." Beth said sweetly, "Hershel's been very clear. I can't involve any of you in what we do without his okay." Rick said, squinting due to the sun, "He doesn't like it, but he consented." Beth said, "Otis was the only one who knew guns. Now that he's gone, we gotta learn to protect ourselves." Patrica said, not a crack in her voice when she spoke of Otis, "No offense, but I'll ask Hershel myself." Rick said, nodding to the women and walking away.
I was aiming for the 'O' in the no trespassing sign when Rick and Shane walked up to me, "Now, don't get discouraged if you don't hit the target. You'll hit it eventually." Shane said. I smiled, "I hit my target." I said, watching Shane and Rick see the three bullet holes in the middle of the sign. Rick smiled at me and nodded, as did Shane, "Try this one. It's heavy." he handed me a larger gun, "You get better balance, twice the rounds." I flipped it my hands, then looked over at Rick, then back to my target. I raised up slowly, noticing everyone was watching me. I took in a deep breath and let it out, then pulled the trigger. It hit the can, knocking it off the fence post. I smiled to myself, "I'd say she's got the hang of it." Shane said, smiling at Rick, "I'd say she's ready for the advanced class." Rick smiled back, "It might be worth your while after the rest of us head back to camp." Rick walked up to me, "Sure. Why not?" I shrugged. Rick walked off, "How's it feeling?" Shane ask, "I like the weight." I said, holding it in my hand. It dawned on me when I realized who my instructor would be after we left. Shane.
A piece of wood swung from a rope, as I tried my best to shoot it, "Still clean." Shane said, looking at the tree, "C'mon, the target is too small." I said, throwing my hands in the air, "C'mon, that's crap. Half-hour ago I saw you nail a bull's-eye at 25 feet." he said, resting his arm on the log, "It wasn't moving," I said a-matter-of-factly, "You think a walkers gonna hold still for you?" he laughed, "Focus and reload. Go again." he pushed the target and it was moving again. I missed, "Uh oh, did I piss you off. Come on, girl, you've got walkers all around you. They're in the woods. They're in the RV.-" I cut him off, "Stop badgering me!" I said, "You're too damn emotional." Shane scoffed, "You need to shut it down. Take all that guilt, take that fear, take that being pissed off, take it out." he looked me in the eyes, "Right, 'cause you're so calm." I said sarcastically. He pulled his gun and shot the target, "See that? See, I can be pissed off. I could be whistling Dixie and I'll always hit the target. But you, god, you shoot like a damn girl." he pissed me off. I grabbed my gun and shot, the bullet going inside the log, "There you go." Shane yelled a bit. I nodded, putting the gun in his hand and walked off, leaving Shane and the swinging target behind me.
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I didn't return to the farm. I was somewhere on a highway, just walking. I was weapon-less, having taken down one walker with my bare hands. I heard a car approaching, not caring who it was. The car slowed down beside me, "C'mon, let me give you a lift." Shane said, his voice now calm, "My feet work just fine."I scoffed and kept going. He revved the engine and pulled the car in front of me, cutting me off. He threw the car in park and opened the door, leaning out the window. I walked around the car, "Look, I was just trying to get you rattled." he said, getting out and slamming the door, "Is that an apology?" I said, glancing at him, "I crossed the line, I know. Yeah, it's an apology." he said, looking at the ground, "You're a real dick sometimes." I said, stopping to face him, "Yeah, I acknowledge that. I'll tell you what: I've got a lead on Sophia. I'm gonna go check it out. Why don't you come with me, be my backup?" he said, crossing his arms in-front of himself, " Remember what happened last time I was along with you?! Back at camp in the RV?!" I said, raising my voice, "That is the second time I got put through that, Shane. Who says I want to go through that again." I snarled, waiting for his answer. Not a word came from his mouth, "Shane. I've been through hell and back for this group. And you doing that to me was a way to thank me?!" I put my hand on my hip. My face burned red as he grabbed me and held me in his arms. I was uncomfortable, expecting something else. But it didn't come. The only thing I got was a hug that lasted an eternity, "C'mon, let's go look for Sophia." he said, releasing me. I nodded, not knowing what to say and followed him to the car.
// Glenn //
I split a piece of wood, then looked up. Lori was walking toward me. Oh great, "I'm sorry. Jade told me and it just came out. And it was Dale--" I stuttered, but she smiled, "It's okay. I shouldn't have put her in that position." she smiled. Truth is, I accidentally told Dale about Lori and the walkers and now Maggie hates the both of us, "Since she is off at gun training, I heard you're the one going with Maggie to town," she looked down and back up, "I've been thinking about what she said, about needing help. And she's right, that I do." I caught on to this, "Name it!" I said, willing to help her any way I could, "If you're still willing to make a run into town for me..." she was looking down, "I'm your man!" I said, smiling a bit at her, "Thank you." she whispered, hugging me, "It's okay, it's not a big deal really." I said after the hug went on for a while. She pulled away then left, leaving me awestruck behind her.
// Jade //
The car pulled up to a neighborhood. I didn't see any walkers, which was a good sign. Garbage cans were overflowing, a black turn was wrecked into a power poll. I loaded the gun Shane handed me and shut the door as quietly as possible, "We're gonna have to go house to house." he said, his voice rough, "We'll start at the far end and we'll work our way back." he said again. I nodded a response, "If Sophia got this far, she has a real shot, don't you think?" I ask him, causing me to get a look of uncertainty.
We burst into a house, "Sophia, anyone?" I called out, attempting to draw out any walkers or Sophia. I pointed my gun in front of me. I crept forward, not a sound coming from the house, "They walled off the hallway?" I said, looking at the plaster piece on the wall, a small hole in the bottom of it. Shane climbed in, and I went after him, "Sophia?" I called again, following Shane down the steps. Shane kicked down a barrier of furniture and into the garage. Walkers were dead, burnt! Flies buzzed around the dead bodies. I covered my mouth with my free hand, "She was never here." I said once I regained myself, "I don't know how to tell Carol this was another dead end." I said, crouching down. The sudden sound of walkers erupted and I looked under the garage door, which was slightly cracked open. Pairs of feet were seen. Dozens of them, "Come on, let's move." Shane whispered as the walkers began to crawl underneath the crack. We made it out the front door and immediately saw walkers. I raised my gun, ready to shoot any that got too close, "Cover that street, I'll clear the car." Shane said, picking off a walker. I aimed down the street and missed my first shot, then I missed the second. The walker with the red hair was dangerously close. Their heads were smaller than the log, and it made it very difficult. I took my time and aimed, then pulled the trigger. The gun clicked, "Shit." I said, reloading as quickly as possible. Before I aimed, Shane shot the red-headed walker without hesitation, "Focus now. Clear the jam. Focus." he said, covering me from the other side. There was a walker a few feet away, and Shane wouldn't shoot it, "Are you kidding me?!" I shouted, looking at Shane, "I got your back. Go." he said. I took in a deep breath and pulled the trigger, the walker falling to the ground. I took another deep breath and aimed at another walker, then pulled the trigger and watched it fall to the ground. I smoothly moved my aim over to another and watched it fall to the ground, lifeless, "Jade. Jade, let's go!" I heard Shane, but I ignored him and kept shooting. One after another, they fell to the ground at the hands of my bullets, "Come on." he said. I listened this time and ran after him. I stopped in front of the car and aimed at the 6 walkers coming at us, "Jade. Let's go!" Shane urged. I pulled the trigger, loving the sound of the bullet escaping the barrel and lodging itself in a walker, ending it's life.
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I didn't plan on updating today, but I saw that I have 1k reads!! that's the coolest thing ever! thank you guys so much. I hope you enjoy this chapter!