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— PART TWO of THREE —
THERE IS NO HOPE ANYWHERE
– THAT SAME DAY, THE GROUP SAT AROUND ON THE PORCH, awaiting the arrival of Hershel Greene and Rick Grimes.
"You've got to be kidding me. I don't know how you win every time!" Carl exclaimed.
Carol just chuckled and set her final Uno card down. "You-You're like a wizard." Carl told her.
Emerson looked up from her book to see that Carol had laid down a draw four wild card.
"That's a hard play to beat, kid." Nathan told Carl. "Deal me in this time."
Nathan had been nothing but an asset to the group. He helped out where he could and when he could. Mostly, it was looking for Sophia with Silas or Daryl. Sometimes it was taking watch for Dale. Either way, Nathan had earned his place with the group.
As for him and Silas, everyone had their speculation that the two of them were together, but none of them ever mentioned it.
It wasn't their place, nor their right.
And as Shane began walking up to the rest of the group with a bag of guns, it was clear that what was about to happen, wasn't their place or right either.
"What's all this?" Daryl asked Shane.
"You with me, man?" Shane retorted. Daryl just nodded and took the gun from him. "It's time to grow up."
"I thought we couldn't carry?" T-Dog asked Shane as he began handing out guns.
"We know this place ain't safe now. . ." Shane said walking over to Glenn, "What about you? You gonna protect what's yours?"
Glenn took the gun. Then he turned to Emerson. She refused the gun, but Nathan and Silas took theirs.
"Can you stop?" Maggie asked, anger in her tone. "You do this, you hand out these guns, and my dad will make you leave tonight."
"We're not gonna leave. Hershel's just gonna have to understand."
"No, I don't think he will. I think we're gonna get our asses kicked off this damn farm." Emerson commented. "This is not our land. We can't just go guns 'ablazing all over the place."
"We can, and we will. Now take the damn gun, Scott." Shane angrily spoke. When she didn't, he turned to Carl.
"You take this gun and you protect your mom with it, alright? You know how to use it. Go on, take it."
"Rick said no guns. That means, no guns. This is not your decision to make, Shane." Emerson said, standing in front of Carl. Lori stood with her, looking to Emerson to say she agreed.
Before Shane could reply, T-Dog saw Rick and Hershel before the rest of them did.
"Oh shit."
And in the field, by the barn, stood Hershel, Jimmy, and Rick with two Walkers held by poles.
"Give me that damn gun before Rick gets himself killed." Emerson mumbled.
"That's what I thought." Shane told her, handing her the Smith & Wesson.
This would be the only time Emerson second guessed Rick's judgement. She had trusted the man this far and she even trusted him with her life, but this time. . . This time it seemed as if he went too far.
The group began to sprint towards Rick, most of them filled with anger at their leader.
"Rick?" Emerson questioned. "What the hell are you doing?"
Rick didn't say anything. He just looked at Emerson with pleading eyes.
"Emmy?" Carl asked quietly, grabbing ahold of her hand, along with his mother's.
"What the hell, man?!" Shane exclaimed.
"Shane, just back off!" Rick replied.
Emerson was confused and as she looked around at the rest of the group, so where they.
"Are you kiddin' me? You see what they're holdin' onto?" Shane cried.
"I see who I'm holding onto!" Hershel replied with a loud voice.
"Can we just talk about this?" Emerson asked. "Forget the Walker's, forget all of this. Let's just talk!"
"There's nothin' to talk about." Shane spat. "These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gotta feel nothin' for 'em because ya know what they do? They kill! These things right here, they killed Amy. They killed Otis and they're gonna kill all of us!"
"Shane, shut up!" Rick yelled.
Silas stepped forward. "Just stop it, Walsh!"
Shane Walsh ignored them both and began to speak again. This time to Hershel directly.
"Hershel, let me ask you somethin'. Could a living, breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane then shot the Walker Hershel was holding onto. He shot three rounds to her chest.
"That's three rounds to the chest. Could someone who's alive survive that? Why's it still comin'?"
He shot once again. "That's its heart, its lungs, why's it still comin'?"
Emerson let go of Carl's hand and stalked forward to Shane. Her hand was placed tightly on her gun.
"You need to stop this. You wanna stay here? You wanna protect the farm? This is not the way to do that." Shane just pushed her out of the way and she fell to the ground.
That just pissed her off even more. Before she could get up and knock Shane to the ground, he walked to Hershel and shot the Walker dead.
"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone!" Shane began.
Emerson tuned him out. She didn't care to hear what he had to say. She was finished.
She got up from the ground and watched Shane walk to the barn to tear off the chain.
Rick began begging Hershel to take the pole, but he wasn't listening.
The barn was open and the Greene family was in clear agony.
"Oh god." Emerson mumbled. Silas and Nathan went up first.
Emerson quickly followed and held her gun up. There were at least three dozen of them that came out of the barn. Emerson shot what she could, just like the rest of them.
When it was over, Emerson held her gun to her side. She was in disbelief.
After a few seconds, another Walker came out. But this time, no one raised their gun. They kept their guns low and instead, wiped the tears from their eyes as Sophia Pelletier walked out of the barn.
"S-Sophia?" Carol asked quietly. "Sophia?!" She said once more, louder this time. She started to run towards her daughter, but was stopped by Daryl.
They all stood in a line, watching her walk out.
Rick walked up to Emerson and grabbed her gun.
And with a final gunshot, Sophia fell to the ground.
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