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ACT ONE
(sorry, brother)
VERONÍCA SILENTLY sat beside Glenn. The execution was currently taking place, so it didn't feel right for anyone to talk. That's why everyone was silent.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable, yet it wasn't comfortable either. It was uncomfortable enough for Veroníca to want to get far away from the group.
So as she stood up, she glanced around for a moment looking for Rory. A frown came over her face as he realized he wasn't anywhere in sight.
She continued looking around, eventually catching the attention of Glenn. He looked up at the woman from his spot as he whispered. "What's wrong, Ronnie?"
"Nothing.. Have you seen Rory?"
Glenn shook his head, also glancing around before ultimately standing up. "I'll look over there, you can look inside?" Glenn suggested, pointing to his left as he did so.
Veroníca nodded, patting her friend's shoulder before going inside.
As Veroníca walked up the stairs, Glenn walked towards to the barn. "Rory? Rory?"
His hushed yells came to a halt as he saw Rory walking with Carl and Rick. A smile came onto the man's face as he walked up to the trio.
When he reached them, he ignored the tension between Rick and the kids as he ruffled Rory's hair. "Your mom's been looking for you. She's inside."
Rory nodded at this, quickly running inside as Glenn began walking alongside Carl and Rick. "So.. How'd it go?"
Rick just shook his head, not answering the man's question til they had reached a few more members of the group. "We're keeping him in custody. For now."
At Rick's answer Glenn furrowed his eyebrows just as Andrea stood up. "I'm gonna find Dale."
Andrea had a smile on her face as she left the group, Lori had a deep frown as she looked at Rick.
Glenn took a step back from the leader, sensing the tension between the couple. Instead he went and stood beside T-dog who was currently eavesdropping on the couple.
"Him and his friend followed us. Carl wanted to watch.. I couldn't."
"That's okay.. That's okay." Lori cooed, placing a hand onto Rick's cheek. She then pulled the man in for a hug just as T-dog made eye contact with Glenn.
"Imma go tell Ron."
Glenn nodded at T-dog's words, watching as his friend walked towards the house.
Veroníca smiled at T-dog as he walked towards her, he looked between the woman and Rory before speaking up. "Lil man. Can I talk to your mom real quick?"
Rory looked at his mother, who nodded making the boy stand up. On his way out he fist bumped T-dog before leaving the house.
When the man was sure he was gone, he spoke again. "Carl and Rory followed Rick.. To the execution. Don't know much m—"
T-dog was cut off as a faint screaming filled their ears. They shared a look before running out of the house, Veroníca slipping her throwing knives out her pocket while T-dog ran empty-handed.
The pair ran after the rest of the group, who happened to be running right towards the field.
When they reached the grassy area, the screams grew louder making the group run impossibly faster.
"Dale!" Andrea screamed, still running alongside the group.
The group finally got a full picture as they got closer, Dale was laying on the ground as a walker sat on top of him. The walker had its hands on his stomach as the older man screamed.
His screams of fear turned into screams of agony as the walker pushed its fingers into the man's stomach.
Just as blood began pooling out of the man's stomach, Daryl tackled the walker.
The man didn't hesitate to stab the walker through it's skull just as the rest of the group reached the scene. "Hang in there, buddy."
The group watched Dale suffer with worried faces as Rick kneeled down beside the man. "Alright, just listen to my voice. Listen to me, okay? Hold on.."
Rick then stood up, now yelling towards the house. "Get Hershel!"
His spot beside Dale had now been taken over by Andrea who cupped the older man's face. "Hang on, Dale. Just hang on."
Dale continued groaning, his pain becoming more and more evident in each huff.
"Listen to me. Okay? Listen to my voice—Hershel! We need Hershel!—Dale we're gonna help were here."
Veroníca eyes began watering as she sat on the other side of the man, she examined his gaping stomach wound with a deep frown.
"What happened?" Hershel said as he ran up next to Rick.
"Can we move him?" Rick asked, making Hershel softly shake his head. His next words he mumbled to Rick.
"He won't make the trip."
"You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house!"
"No, Rick.." Hershel placed a hand on Rick's shoulder as he shook his head. Rick knew what this meant, the whole group knew what this meant. Dale wouldn't survive this.
Andrea's sobbing filled the air while Veroníca rubbed Dale's shoulder, trying to give him a tiny bit of comfort.
It didn't work seeing as the man continued groaning, this time Andrea spoke to Rick. "He's suffering. Do something! Come on!"
At her pleas. Rick wiped his teary eyes while he held up his gun, he aimed it for Dale's head.
Dale stared at the gun, still panting at the pain he was in. At the sight, Veroníca turned Dale's face towards him.
She then spoke softly, only talking to the man as she did so. "Dale... The prisoner is okay. He's not going to die." She lied, forcing a smile as tears dropped down her face.
Daryl took the gun from Rick as he watched, he knew his brother wouldn't be able to kill Dale. So as he held the gun, he pointed it at the back of Dale's head.
He spoke quietly to Dale as he turned the gun's safety off. "Sorry, brother."
"We love—"
A gunshot rang through the air, cutting off Veroníca as she tightly closed her eyes. She couldn't bare to look at Dale's cold body, so she kept her eyes tightly closed.
Even when Aiden forced the woman up, her eyes were still closed when he pulled her into a hug.
A wave of sobbing crowded her ears, while it was mostly from Andrea, she heard sniffles from Daryl and Rick as well.
Veroníca didn't want to think about it, instead she continued hugging Aiden. Waiting for her eyes to stop watering.
The group stood around the newly filled grave, frowns evident in everyone's faces. They stared at the dirt which now encased their friend as Rick spoke.
"Dale could—could get under your skin. He sure got under mine. Because he wasn't afraid to say exacttyl what he thought, How he felt. That kind of honesty is rare.. and brave. Whenever i'd make a decision, i'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us—The truth, who we really are. In the ende, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him js to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves, take control of our lives.. Our safety. Our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on, we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."
Rick then placed a small rock on the grave, standing back up just as Lori rubbed his back.
Although the group hated losing Dale. This was a new chapter for them, one with communication, one with connections.
So as Veroníca placed her head onto T-dog's shoulder, still staring at the grave. She felt a sense of hope.
This was the moment she knew she was an actual part of the group. Not someone who would be eventually leaving, she was one of them. She just hated that it took losing Dale to see this.
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