{ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ: ɴᴏ ꜱʜᴀʀᴋꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴀ ʜᴀʟꜰ-ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴇ}
word count:
3003
trigger warnings ⚠️:
Mention of drowning, physical violence, Shane Walsh
*everything but the knife*
*and it is all soaked*
"RICK! Rick!" Shane began his acting charade as he marched back into the camp's property, everyone's attention turning to him.
"What happened?" Asked a concerned Lori as she analyzed his broken and bleeding nose.
"They're armed! They're armed and they've got my gun!" He yelled as he approached them, everyone looking in disbelief.
"Are you okay?" "Where's Silas?!" Carl and Ezra asked simultaneously.
"I'm fine. Those little bastards just snuck up on me. Jumped me, got me right in the face. Silas broke the prisoner free, said she forgave him. I tried to stop her, talk to her she just swiped me across the face with her nails."
"Alright Hershel, T-dog. Get everybody back to the house. Glenn, Daryl you come with us!" Rick ordered. The two men got ready as they began stepping up. "T, I'm gonna need that gun."
"Just let him, go. That was the plan, wasn't it? To just let him go?" Carol asked, her voice easing in concern. Was her daughter really out with her own tormentor? "The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with Silas and a gun," Rick snapped at her, loading his own gun. "He's got my daughter with him. Don't go out there something bad could happen!"
"Get everybody back to the house. Lock all the doors. And stay put!"
"I followed them as far as I could. They caught onto me, jumped me from behind, I saw them hike it up that way before I blacked out," Shane explained to them as soon as they reached the clearing.
Daryl looked around at the ground, noticing the drag marks and the markings in the ground that indicated there was a struggle right where they stood. He took notice of the blood droplets that veered off opposite to what Shane was telling them. He knew that something wasn't right.
"They couldn't have gotten far. They're both hobbled, exhausted," Rick mentioned before Glenn added. "And armed."
"So are we. Can you track either of em'?" Rick looked to Daryl who was studying the ground big time. He saw a lot, but noticing the small glimpse of deceit in Shane's eyes kept him quiet.
"No, I don't see nothing." "Hey, look there ain't no use in tracking them. They went that way. We need to pair up and spread out, we just chase them down. That's it," Shane suggested, and Daryl threw him a look.
"The boy weighs a buck-25 soaking wet. And the girl is like four feet, and sporting several different injuries. You tryna tell us they got the jump on you?" Daryl accuses. "I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane bit back, ready to step up and fight before Rick deescalated the situation.
"Alright, knock it off. You and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane'll take the left. Remember, Randall and possibly Silas aren't the only threats out there. Keep an eye out for each other."
There's something to be said about floating. To some it is merely an easy task, one that wouldn't require much effort in its track to success. Silas Eve Peletier would heavily disagree, and here's why...
About an hour or three after being tossed into a riverbank halfway to death, Silas woke with a start when she was suddenly sucked under water. Her throat was raw and her head hurt like hell, but she was still determined to fight for her life.
She had to get back to the camp to warn Rick of what Shane had done and was planning to do. She didn't know the full extent of his piss-poor plan but she did know that someone else could die if she wasn't fast enough. However, when the teen had began struggling to keep her head above water, the current seemed to have been picked up which began moving her along faster.
She knew better than to scream, not wanting to draw any undead attention, or to alert any unwanted persons of her possible demise. But screaming sounded so good in that moment, except she was sure that Shane damaged her vocal chords because when the water she was forced to swallow entered her mouth it was like literally trying to eat fire. It was difficult and she hated every moment of it.
Finally, after struggling so bad she was stopped by a rock in the water that made quite the impact on her body. Not even caring about that, she hoisted herself up onto the large boulder, losing her left shoe in the battle.
She flipped herself over onto her butt, watching as her left combat boot flooded away in the water. Exhausted and out of breath, Silas looked up at the night sky, her body leaned back on her elbows. She took a few deep breaths, before she formed her plan. It was probably stupid but so was leaving the house when Maggie told her not to anyway.
After finally catching her breath, Silas knew it was now or never. And she refused to die down there.
She felt behind her head, her hand immediately being coated in a thick dark liquid that didn't take a genius to know it was blood.
Silas was beyond exhausted and she knew that she didn't have much time before she was gone, so this would just have to work. Silas propelled herself off of the rock, landing in the water before she immediately began swimming parallel.
Ezra was frantic, gun in hand as he ran through different scenarios in his head.
"I can't believe after that sob story she told us, she just ran off with him." Ezra halted in his step, a look of irritation on his face. "Oh come on. You don't actually believe that bullshit story do you?"
"Ezra," Lori warned but the boy ignored his mother. "So you're saying Shane is lying? What could he gain from that?" Andrea countered and the curly haired boy scoffed. "Wouldn't be his first time lying to us." He was talking to Andrea but he held intense eye contact with his mother.
"Ezra, calm down—" "Don't you tell me to calm down. My girlfriend is out there, only god knows in what condition with that freak who tormented her. So no, Lori. I will not calm down until Silas is back here and safe." Ezra jogged up the house stairs, into the bedroom Carl had been sent up to. Just as he had entered the door, Carl had been halfway out the window. The brothers locked eyes, fear flashing in Carls.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ezra questioned his little brother as he softly closed the bedroom door. "Dad and Shane have been gone too long. I'm going to go find them and help them look for Silas and Randall." He explained his plan to the eldest Grimes son. Thinking he had been busted, Carl lowered his head in shame not deviating from his plan.
"Look I'm going, and you can't stop me." "I wasn't planning on it. Let's go." Ezra jogged up to the window, tucking his gun into his waistband before crawling out of the window next to his brother.
"You say she got you with a rock?" Rick asked Shane who was right behind him. "That's what I said."
"Inside the shed... The shed door was shut when T-dog rolled up," Rick told Shane as he continued to lead the pair further out into the clearing. "I saw that too. Must've slipped through the rafters in the roof," Shane suggested, keeping up his innocence façade.
When Rick took notice of the distance in Shane's voice and the sound of the man stopping behind him, he came to a conclusion on what happened and what was about to happen.
Rick Grimes knew that Shane killed Randall, and possibly Silas too. While Randall's death could've been justified especially for what he did before the turn, killing Silas just could not go unpunished. He knew what he had to do.
Rick stood about a yard from Shane with his back to him as he holstered his weapon, a sigh leaving his mouth.
"So this is where you planned to do it." Shane stood behind Rick, breathing heavily at what he was about to do. "As good a place as any," Shane falsely assured.
"At least have the balls to call this what it is. Murder." Rick turned to look at Shane, when his suspicions were confirmed when Shane still had his gun in his hand. His hand raised slightly, warning rick to stay back and not to approach. Rick didn't care though as he and Shane began to circle each other slowly.
"You really believe that if you walk back onto that farm, No me, no Randall, no Silas."
"I want you to hush up," Shane told the man but Rick continued on. "That they're really gonna believe whatever bullshit story you cook up? I can tell you now, Ezra won't. He'll find out. And he'll kill you" Rick told his friend.
"See that's just it. It ain't no story. I saw that prisoner shoot you down, Silas swiped your gun. I ran after them, snapped the boys neck. And Silas, I choked her to death. Wrestled her into a ravine. It ain't gone be easy. But Lori and Carl they'll get over you. Ezra's just gonna have to learn how to live without you or his little girlfriend. They've done it before. They're all just gonna have to." Shane raised his gun, taking the safety off of it and pointing it at Rick.
"Why? Why now? I thought we worked this all out."
"We tried to kill each other man. What you think, we was gonna forget about it all. We was just gonna ride off into the sunset together?" Shane laughed as Rick inched closer.
"You gonna kill me in cold blood? Screw my wife. Have my children... My children call you daddy? Is that what you want? That life won't be worth a damn. I know you. You won't be able to live with this."
Silas laid on her side, her left elbow propping her upper body up as she laid on land. She was taking deep and shallow breaths as she coughed and puked up the water that managed to encase her lungs.
She moved back from it coughing even as she forced herself to stand. She began tracking back to the farm as fast as she could. With her leg getting better everyday she was becoming faster and faster each day, but due to Shane and his selfishness it was almost like her progress was wiped a week. Her limp was definitely more noticeable, and she was pretty sure she gained a concussion from when he threw that big ass rock at the back of her head.
"Argh!" Her legs had buckled underneath her but that would not stop her from getting to her group. She stood up and hobbled her way back to camp, as fast as her small and bruised legs could.
"Wait, man look." Glenn shone the light onto the flowing riverbank, a black boot coming into their view.
The two men looked at each other, realization hitting them immediately. "Silas." "Silas." They said in unison. The sound of tree branches snapping caused Daryl to swipe Glenn's flashlight down and the Asian guy turned it off.
The bowman raised his weapon as he started walking in the direction he heard the snap. Usually by now they would've heard a snarl, or something but they didn't. And that's when they heard the thud, a couple years away.
Glenn took off running, passing daryl who immediately tried pulling him back. "Glenn. Glenn!" He whisper-yelled, but the younger guy didn't listen. He almost scowled, almost, until he saw the figure laying down in Glenn's arms.
"I'm going after them." Andrea stopped her pacing, reaching for a gun when Lori's voice stopped her. "Don't. They're not back yet, and if Randall comes back we're gonna need you," Lori explained, just as Daryl and Glenn walked in.
"Hershel, we need your help!" Glenn shouted as he carried a limp Silas in his arms. "Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl questioned as Beth and Patricia stood from the couch they were sat on, as Glenn laid the unconscious girl down. "No."
"We heard a shot," Daryl told them, as he watched Hershel scrounge around for his medical supplies. "Maybe they found Randall?" Someone suggested but Daryl shot that theory down. "We found him."
"Is he back in the shed?" Patricia questioned. "He was a walker."
"Did you find the Walker that bit him? And why is she soaked?" Hershel asked as he directed Maggie and T-dog to help him. Maggie sat on the couch, her hands and upper body locking Silas' underneath her as T-dog held her legs and feet down.
"The weird thing is. He wasn't bit," "His neck was broke. And we found Silas washed up near the riverbank."
"So they fought back." Patricia suggested but she couldn't have been more wrong. "The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other's. And Silas' didn't come in until about halfway from where we found Randall, which would mean she was never with him to begin with. Shane lied about that. And he ain't no tracker, so he ain't just sneak up behind him. They were together," Daryl explained to the group.
"Would you please get back out there and find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori begged Daryl and the man nodded. "You got it. What about the girl, Doc? She gonna be okay?"
Hershel didn't answer him as something else had caught his attention. "Dear Lord."
Visibly on her neck, were bright blue and purple handprints.
"Find Shane. Now," Maggie snapped angrily. Hershel began stitching the girls head, struggling whenever she would unconsciously flinch.
Most of the group led the two men outside where they froze. Dozens and dozens and dozens and dozens of walkers scattered the yard as they slowly made their way towards the house.
"Patricia kill the lights," Andrea whisper yelled to the woman just as Hershel finished up. "Daddy, how is she?" Maggie asked her father and he looked up at her, with a small smile. "She's gonna be fine. Silas just needs to wake up."
They left the girl on the couch as they devised a plan to lead the walkers off of the farm. Maggie was against it completely at first, wanting to argue down Glenn about it, before he eventually persuaded her that it'd be okay to leave her for the time being— promising her that they'd come back.
Maggie pressed a quick kiss to the teens head, covering up her body with a blanket.
"Hershel said she's still in there." Rick pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm his son down. "Ezra, look. You don't know that. I'm sure Maggie nor Glenn would've just left her," He tried to reason. "Dad, I'm not leaving without Silas. I'm going back for her, and you're not gonna stop me." Ezra took off running down the highway, back from the way they came. When Hershel told them that Silas might have been left behind, he sprung into protective mode.
"Baby. Baby, wake up. Babe you've gotta wake up, please."
Ezra shook the girl, slapping her cheek lightly in hopes of it helping her gain consciousness, but it was to no avail. Frantically, he put his head to her chest, sighing contently when he heard her faint but noticeable heartbeat. He lugged her up over his shoulder, keeping the blanket wrapped around her.
He rushed out of the house, shooting walkers out of his way as he ran down the porch steps. He saw Dale a few feet away fighting off a few walkers with his shotgun. Yelling out to the older man, Ezra continued fighting towards his jeep.
"Dale, over here!" The older man began running as fast as he could to catch up with Ezra. The boy had already loaded the girls body up into the passenger seat of his truck, running around the other side to start his truck. "Dale come on!"
"I'm not leaving the RV! Just go!" Dale screamed out in pain as a Walker took a chunk from his side, followed by three others who sneak attacked him. "Go! Go to the Highway! Go!"
Ezra slammed on the gas, as he hauled ass off the farm. The sight of the barn in flames in his rear view, as he drove with his right hand holding Silas' left.
His heart was racing a million miles a minute, but he was happy he got his girl out safely. He pulled over, putting the car in park before unbuckling his seatbelt. He reached over a still unconscious Silas before leaning her seat back some. He adjusted her headrest, putting his jacket underneath her head.
Her chest was still slowly rising and falling which was a good sign. He pressed a kiss to her temple, putting her seatbelt on for her and putting the strap behind the seat.
"S-staring is rude. Y'know?" Ezra jumped in slight surprise at the sound of her voice. "Oh thank God. You're awake." She groaned, moving her hand up to her head. "Where are we? What happened?"
"The farm. It's gone. We're going to the Highway, everyone's gonna be happy to see you." She rubbed her head softly, reaching back to touch her head which was still bleeding, just not as much. "My head and throat hurt."
"I know baby. I know." He brings their intertwined hands to his lips, kissing her hand softly.