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— PART TWO of THREE —
THERE IS NO HOPE ANYWHERE
– HERSHEL WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. It had been two hours since he was last seen. Currently, Emerson was digging through his drawers. She knew exactly what to look for.
And luckily, she found it. "Look's like Hershel Greene wasn't so innocent after all."
She held up a flask to Rick and Silas. She shook it and found that it was empty before tossing it to Rick.
Maggie sighed. "My grandfather gave that to dad before he died. He gave it up the day I was born. He didn't even allow liquor in the house."
"He probably went to the bar in town. If I just watched some asshole wipe out my family, that's where I'd be." Silas suggested.
Rick nodded at him, agreeing. "What's the bar in town?"
"Hatlin's. He practically lived there in his drinking days." Maggie replied.
"Well boys, looks like we're going on a bear hunt." Emerson said, trying to lighten the mood.
Glenn smiled at her failed attempt, while Silas, like always, rolled his eyes and nudged her in the ribcage.
"I don't want you goin'." Rick told her. "Just me, I'll go."
"What? You're not going alone." Emerson argued.
"I'll go. I've seen the place." Glenn said, trying to reassure Emerson.
Silas then said, "And I'll come too. You might need some backup."
"Good thinkin'. Thank you guys."
Emerson huffed, but watched the three of them walk out. "Come on, let's go say see ya later to the Three Stooges." She said to Maggie.
They followed them outside and watched them prepare to leave.
Emerson hugged Silas tightly. "It's a mile there and a mile back. If you guys aren't back before dark, I'm coming to get you."
"Wouldn't blame you if you did." Silas told her, gripping her tightly. "I'll be back soon. Love you."
"Love you too, Si."
After Carl said goodbye to Rick, Emerson walked over to him. "You bring him back in one piece, you hear me? I can't be there to protect him."
"Don't worry. We can handle this." Rick told her. "We'll be in and out, back within the hour."
Emerson looked at the man. She noticed that Lori didn't come out.
"Keep an eye on things while I'm gone, will ya?" Rick asked her, glancing to Shane who stood on the porch. "Make sure he doesn't do anything else that's stupid."
"You know I will." Emerson told him. "What we should do is throw his ass out on the street."
Rick thought about it for a moment. "We'll talk about it when we get back. It's up to Hershel if he wants Shane here or not."
"You're too good, sometimes." Emerson told him. "But if that's what you're deciding, Officer, then I'm with you. Keep Silas safe, will ya? Kid's got a bad habit of getting himself into trouble."
"You know I will." Rick retorted as he backed away from Emerson and into the truck.
"I'm sorry." Shane said to Emerson.
Emerson shook her head, "What's done is done. We can't turn back the clock, ya know?"
"Yeah. Guess so."
With that, Emerson followed Nathan inside. She sat next to him on the couch and could feel the anxiety radiating off of him.
"Silas is a tough son of a bitch, alright? He's gonna be just fine." Emerson tried to reassure him.
Nathan just smiled and grabbed her hand. "Thanks, Emmy. Silas is lucky to have you."
"I think it's more the other way around." Emerson replied. "Mind if I go sit with Maggie and Beth for a bit?"
"Not at all."
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"This place is goin' to hell." Dale told Emerson as the two walked outside together.
"I'm tryin' real hard to prevent that from happening." Emerson replied.
But Dale just shrugged. "You can't. There are people in this group who think what Shane did was justified."
"What Shane did was. . . Awful. But it makes me sleep better at night knowing the Walkers are outta the barn."
"So you're defending him?" Dale asked.
Emerson rolled her eyes. "Not at all. I'm just saying that Shane's thinkin' he's gonna take over his farm. Rick and I aren't gonna let him."
"He's dangerous." Dale commented. "I think he killed Otis."
"What? Okay, I agree that Shane is dangerous, but killing someone? Come on, Dale." Emerson said in a low chuckle.
"Otis knew how to handle Walkers. For God's sake he put them in the barn himself. I think that Shane sacrificed Otis. I can't prove it, but I think he shot him and left him for bait." Dale said once again.
Emerson put her head down.
"Sooner or later, he's gonna kill somebody else." Dale said quietly. "And it's gonna be Rick."
Emerson watched Dale walk away back to the RV. She was in disbelief. Emerson knew first hand what Shane was capable of. She had lived through it.
But murder? If Shane was capable of murder, Emerson had to tell Rick as soon as possible. If Dale was right, Emerson wasn't going to lose Rick Grimes too.
An hour or later, the sky had turned an orange and purple color. Emerson was going to do as promised, and head into town.
"I'm gonna head into town. See what the hold up is and bring them back. Keep an eye on things, alright?" Emerson told Nathan.
"Like hell. I'm coming with you."
"Nathan. . ." Emerson sighed. "I need you here."
"And I need to know that Silas is okay."
Emerson nodded in understanding. "We leave in five, alright?"
Nathan nodded and Emerson went to find Maggie. She let her know where she was headed and Maggie gave her a coat.
"Be safe, alright?"
"Always. Besides, Nathan's coming. I'll have someone to have my back if I need it."
Maggie nodded and gave her a quick hug.
Ten minutes later, the two of them were on the road.
"It's kinda funny." Nathan began. "Everyone says you're a bad driver, but you're not completely awful at driving."
Emerson laughed. "Thanks, Nathan. I truly try my best–"
Emerson was suddenly cut off as she hit a Walker in the road. Her windshield was shattered and she couldn't see anything. She barely remembered to press the brake and instead, they hit the tree's and the car flipped over.
The last thing she remembered was seeing a piece of the shrapnel stuck in Nathan's side before she finally blacked out.
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NOTE:
next couple of chapters are c r a z y