Shaylee's POV
Ace and I have been on the move since this morning. I heard some gunfire coming from Terminus a little while ago so I decided it was best to go in through the woods
I limp over to the fence before I see Bob, my dad, Daryl, and Glenn pulled from a train car before I lose my balance and fall into the fence
"Gah!" I groan in pain before I see a herd of walkers headed straight for Terminus and a big smile forms on my face before I pull my rifle off my shoulder and aim it at a large propane tank inside the fence surrounding Terminus
"Start prayin', Acey." I mutter before shooting the propane take
I reach into my duffel bag and pull out one of the bottle rockets I scavenged before sticking it in my rifle
I aim for the propane tank again before fire causing a loud explosion to fill my ears
I hear a twig snap from behind me causing me to spin around and I see a walker shuffling towards me
I sling my rifle back around on my shoulder before pulling my bow from my shoulder and pulling an arrow from my quiver
I send the arrow through the walker's skull before slinging my bow back over my shoulder and pulling my knife from its holster
I pull a blanket and an old t-shirt from my duffel bag
I cut a hole in the blanket before sticking my head through the hole
"Here, Ace." I say before putting the shirt on him
"Now for the gross part." I mutter before stabbing the walker in the gut and slicing its abdomen open
I slip my knife back in its holster before slathering Ace and myself in its guts
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Ace and I blend in with the herd as we enter Terminus
I pear down the scope of my rifle and take out the guy on the roof before slipping into a building
I turn around and my eyes fall on Carol covered in walker guts
"Carol?" I ask with a big smile
"Shay?" She asks before hurrying over and engulfing me in a tight hug
"That was you? The explosion?" She asks
"It was, yeah." I tell her
"Okay, we split up take out as many of these people as we can." I tell her
"Okay, there's a cabin about a mile north of here. Follow the road outta here it'll lead you right to it. That's where we'll meet." She says
"Got it." I say before giving her one last quick hug and Ace and I part ways from her
I walk into a room filled with weapons, watches, toys, clothes, and other things before my eyes fall on Daryl's crossbow
I hurry over and sling it over my shoulder before running out of the building with Ace following me
"Time to get the hell outta here." I mutter as we blend back in with the crowd
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My leg wobbles before my tree branch snaps in half causing me to fall to my knees before Ace begins barking
"Ace...Ace, shh." I mutter, weakly
"Ace, stop." I say before he takes off running up the hill
"Ace!" I call out as I slowly get up from the ground
"Ace!" I call out again as I limp after him
"Ace!" I hear a familiar voice call out as I reach the top of the hill
"Ace!" I shout before my eyes fall on a few familiar faces
"I'm telling you it wasn't me. It was someone you all are gonna love to see." Carol says
"It was me." I say with a weak smile before everyone's eyes fall on me and I drop my bags, rifle, and bow on the ground
"S! S!" Glenn exclaims as he races over and engulfs me in a tight hug
"Ah! Easy, killer." I say before he grips my face in his hands and presses his forehead to mine
"You're alive." He says with tear-filled eyes
"I followed your breadcrumbs, G." I say with a weak smile as tears fall from my eyes
"Let the rest of us have a turn." Maggie says with a big smile as she pushes Glenn away from me causing a weak laugh to escape my lips
"Come here, Shay." She says before she pulls me into her warm embrace
"I'm so glad you're okay." She says
"Okay is a bit of a stretch." I say as she releases me and my dad and Carl rush over to me with Judith in Carl's arm
"Oh." I say as tears pour from my eyes before they engulf me in a group hug
"Jude." I say softly before pecking the top of her head and they release me
"Corp?" A familiar voice asks before my eyes fall on Espinosa
"Espinosa?" I ask, astonished
"Wa-wa-wa-wait. Lemme see if I still got it." She says with a big smile
"Corporal." She says as she salutes me
"Oh, it has been a long time so don't judge me if I'm a little rusty." I say with a small laugh
"Specialist." I say with a big smile as I salute her
"At ease, soldier." I say with a small laugh before she launches herself into my embrace
"You're alive!" She exclaims excitedly
"God, look at you." She says as she releases me
"You look like shit." She says causing a small laugh to escape my lips
"Thanks." I say before her eyes fall on Ace
"Ace!" She says excitedly as she squats down in front of him and pets him
"Who's a good boy?" She asks as Ace licks her face and my eyes fall on Daryl
"Glad you're okay." He says as I step over to him
"You gonna hug me?" I ask with a soft smile
"Oh, Shay. I want you to meet some people." Glenn says as a tall red-headed man, a guy with a mullet, and a woman around my age step over to me with Glenn
"This is Abraham." Glenn says as he points to the red-headed man who extends his hand to me
"Abraham, this is Shaylee." Glenn says as I shake Abraham's hand
"Nice to meet you." I say with a soft smile
"This is Eugene." Glenn says as he points to the guy with the mullet
"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Eugene says as he extends his hand to me which I shake
"And this is Tara." Glenn says as he points to the woman around our age
"Hi." She says with a warm smile as she offers me her fist
"Hi." I say with a big smile as I fist-bump her
"Shaylee. Shaylee Grimes." I tell her
"Nice to meet you, Shaylee Shaylee Grimes." She says with a playful smile
"Oh, um..." I say trailing off as I pull my eyes from hers
"I believe this is yours." I say as I hand Daryl his crossbow
"Why thank you, G.I. Jane." He says with a warm smile
"Now, how bout that hug?" I ask before he carefully pulls me into his embrace
"You okay?" I ask as he releases me
"I'm good." He says simply
"You're actin' weird." I say with a small laugh
"No, I'm not. I'm actin' normal." He says
"Okay. Whatever you say." I mutter before walking away from him and over to Michonne
"Hey." She says with a warm smile
"Hey." I say as she pulls me into her embrace
"Can I borrow her?" Glenn asks as Michonne releases me
"Yeah." Michonne says as she nods her head before Glenn pulls me away from the others
"What is it?" I ask
"What's up with you and Daryl? I thought you guys fixed the weirdness with a kiss?" He asks in a hushed tone
"Yeah, I thought so too. He just doesn't seem happy to see me. Am I reading to much into it?" I ask in a hushed tone
"You're definitely not. When we saw Carol in the woods after what just went down he ran to her, Shay. He hugged her like his life depended on it." He says in a hushed tone
"I'm pretty sure I even saw him shed a tear or two." He adds
"Is it me? Am I an idiot? God, I knew it was a bad idea. I feel like I'm fucking eighteen again being jerked around by some asshole who doesn't give a shit about me. Only difference is I can't run away this time. There's no military to enlist in to get away from said asshole." I say as I rub the bridge of my nose
"I can one hundred percent attest to the fact that it is not you, S. You are perfect." He reassures me
"Gosh, why couldn't you have just professed your love for me all those years ago, and then I wouldn't be second-guessing my badassness?" I ask with a playful smile
"We could share him." Maggie says playfully as she steps over to us making me giggle
"Aw, look at your cheeks." I say as I pinch Glenn's red cheeks
"They're brighter than the sun." I add before my eyes wander over to Tara who's already staring at me and she smiles sweetly at me
"She is so into you." Glenn whispers in my ear
"What?" I ask with a small laugh as I push him away from me
"You heard me." He says with a smile
"I don't know if you've realized my dear, sweet, and oldest friend but I am straight." I say
"Are you sure though?" Maggie asks
"Not you, too." I say earning a laugh from both Glenn and Maggie
"I could see you two together." Glenn says
"Straight. Say it with me, guys. Straight." I say
"Yeah, we'll see about that." Glenn says
"She's still looking at you." Maggie says with a big smile
"Oh, knock it off. This is not junior high." I say
"Alright, let me have a look at you." Maggie says
"I'm fine." I tell her
"I don't care. Let me see your leg." She says as she squats down in front of me and unwraps the bandage on my thigh
"I got a first aid kit." Tyreese says as he pulls a first aid kit from his backpack and hands it to Maggie
"Thanks, Ty." I say with a warm smile as Maggie pulls the peroxide from the kit
"This is gonna burn." She says before pouring some peroxide in my gunshot wound
"Motherfucking, cocksucker!" I seethe causing Tara to rush to my side
"Here. Hold my hand, squeeze it when it hurts." She says with a warm smile as she holds her hand out to me
"You sure?" I ask
"Yeah." She says before I take a hold of her hand and Maggie wraps new gauges around my thigh
"This next one's prolly gonna hurt worse." Maggie says with a knowing smirk as she stands up and Glenn pulls my sling off
"Time to get nakey." Glenn teases before carefully helping me pull my left arm from my shirt
"Gah." I groan in pain
"Well, since you've survived this long I'm gonna assume it missed your heart." Maggie says before pouring some peroxide on my other gunshot wound
"Fuck." I seethe as I squeeze Tara's hand and she rubs soothing circles on the top of my hand with her thumb
"Glenn, hand me one of those bandages." Maggie says before Glenn reaches into the first aid kit and pulls out one of the bandages and hands it to her and she presses the bandage over my wound
"All done." Maggie says before Glenn helps me back in my shirt
"Thanks, Mags." I say with a soft smile
"And thank you." I say as I look over at Tara
"Don't mention it." She says as Glenn leans closer to my ear
"You're still holding her hand." He whispers in a singsong voice
"Shut it." I spat through gritted teeth before finally releasing Tara's hand
"I don't know if the fire is still burning." My dad asks as he stares at the smoke off in the distance
"It is." Carol says
"Yeah. We need to go." My dad says
"Yeah, but where?" Daryl asks
"Somewhere far away from there." My dad says before we all gather up our stuff
"Need some help?" Tara asks as I limp over to everyone
"You can lean on me if you need to." She offers with a warm smile
"She would love that." Glenn says as he takes my arm and throws it over her shoulders
"I'm gonna kill you." I whisper yell at him
"Love you." He says with a big smile as he jogs to catch up with Maggie before we all head into the woods