Emma's P.O.V
We were all standing around Dale's freshly made grave.
"Anytime I would go to make a decision Dale would be there just giving me this look. Making sure I'd make the right decision. When I went to make this last one he gave me a different more disappointed look. I feel as if we should honor Dale by making sure we make the right decision. We aren't gonna kill Randall, we're gonna keep him alive. Daryl and I will go and try again to take him back out tomorrow." Rick said.
Guilt still burns inside me. I don't know how to live with myself just yet. But I'll learn... eventually.
I was crying yet another time, for all the wrong reasons. Not because I'm sad of Dale dying, just from the guilt. I am sad that Dale is gone I just feel worse that it is my fault that he's gone.
After Rick's speech everyone left. I stayed, just crying. Living with myself after all of this is hard. I really messed up. I was alone so I felt comfortable letting out my tears. I just stood there crouched over crying. I saw Carl walking over but I don't care if he sees me like this. I might like him but he's still my best friend no matter what. He got close and just wrapped me up in his arms. I was numb. I just stood there. I felt like I could crumble to the ground. I loosely wrapped my arms around him and just stood there crying into his shirt.
"Carl, I messed up." I said.
"You didn't do it alone Emma, we messed up." He said reassuring me.
"I had a clear shot, I coulda shot it. I coulda prevented that." I said sobbing.
"Emma, its okay. Theres no way either of us could've known that would happen." He said.
"But still, I could've shot it. Its just like back at the quarry, I coulda prevented it." I said.
"Emma, its not your fault. Theres no way you could've known." He said.
I still stood there trying to sob but I've already cried so much that I'm out of tears.
"C'mon, lets get you inside and get you something to drink." He said.
I nodded and he wrapped his arm around me and helped me walk. I dried my tears as we walked trying to keep my strong image.
We walked into the house and Carl sat me down on the couch. He walked into the kitchen and got me a glass of water.
Daryl walked in, "Hey, kiddo. How ya doing?" He asked.
I shook my head yes with the glass of water to my lips. "Yeah, much better now." I said once I was done drinking.
"Good." He said and began to walk off.
I raised the glass back up and began drinking the rest of the water. I finished the water and cuddled up to Carl.
"If you're like this over someone you hardly knew, I'd hate to see you when I die." Carl said.
I looked up into his eyes, "Carl don't say that, nothings gonna happen to you." I said.
"Less than a week ago I could barely shoot." He said.
"Carl, don't ever doubt yourself. You're gonna beat this world, we're gonna beat this world together, you hear me? No matter what you'll always have me because I'm not going anywhere at all and neither are you. We're in this together." I said.
"Emma, you don't know that." He said.
"Yes I do, as long as we're together we'll survive. I know it. Now stop doubting yourself. You're gonna beat this world, Carl, we're gonna beat this world together." I said.
"I really hit the best friend jackpot." He said with a smile. I smiled back. I don't understand it but with every little thing he does and says I like him more and more. With that comment, I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
For most of the day Carl and I sat on the couch talking and laughing.
We heard someone who sounded like Shane shout something really loud outside. Both of us shot up, I had the gun I promised I'd keep on me for him. Even though he had one of his own already. Carl and I rushed outside to find Shane with a bloody, broken nose and Randall missing from the barn. I adjusted my gun to make it easier for me to grab in a hurry.
"That son of a bitch escaped and took me into the woods and left me lookin' like this." He said.
"We gotta find him, me, Shane, Glenn, and Daryl we're all going out and we're gonna find him. Daryl, Glenn you look over here, Shane and me will look over there." Rick said pointing in different directions.
Everyone else went into the house and was told to stay there. I was given specific instructions by Daryl to stay in the house until he came back.
Its now been about 2 hours I believe and Glenn and Daryl come busting through the front door looking for Rick and Shane.
"Wheres Rick and Shane?" Daryl asked urgently.
"They're not back yet." I said.
"Well we found Randall." Glenn said right as a gun shot went off.
"What was that?" Lori said, asking the question we were all wondering.
Everyone got up, went outside, and looked off the porch for answers.
No one saw anything. I turned around to tell something to Carl and he wasn't there. I started to panic, I heard a gunshot. Glenn and Daryl got Randall, Carls still alive. Off goes another gunshot.
Lori realizes Carl isn't here, I continue to panic without showing it. Lori runs all through the house looking for Carl and not finding him. Lori began to panic.
3rd Person P.O.V
*BANG* A gunshot sounds off as Carl puts a reanimated Shane down.
That gunshot did not only get the attention of those back at the house but a gigantic herd of walkers passing by.
Rick walks over to Carl and almost started talking to him but he heard the moans, turned around checked to see if there were actually walkers there, he saw them, turned back to Carl and began leading him back to the house. Walkers started flooding over the yard and kept getting a little too close for comfort.
Rick lead Carl into the barn and shut the door. They established a plan, Carl climbed the ladder with the lighter Rick had given him, Rick wound up the walkers and opened the door. Rick rushed over to the ladder and began climbing it. "Carl, now!" Rick shouted and Carl dropped the lighter.
Emma's P.O.V
The barn went up in flames. Jimmy, Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, Andrea, and T-Dog left with vehicles to go try and make a dent in the huge herd of walkers. Leaving Lori, Carol, Beth, Patricia, and I in the house. Jimmy took the R.V over to the barn which I'm hoping and praying Carl is in the barn.
All I can do is sit here and it's killing me. I told Carl I'll always have his back, be there for him when he needs it and instead I'm sitting in here while he's out there. Him and I are supposed to grow up together, be best friends all our lives.
I sit and I wait, I wait for someone to come around with a ride. Hershel goes out front with one of his shotguns and keeps popping off walkers like there's no tomorrow. Then I remember all the weapons I have in the house. I run inside, grab all of the weapons that Daryl has and start using them resourcefully. With my knives I use twenty out of thirty. I then move to my bow. I use all of my bows that Daryl left with me in the house, he still has a ton on his bike with him. Once all of those are gone T-Dog pulls around with a truck.
All of us girls head for it. Carol and Lori make it successfully, Beth makes it but Patricia gets take by the dead. I decide that it's not my place to run off with them so I try to make it back to Hershel to help him protect the farm. Instead I get pushed in the whole opposite direction. I'm near a random building fighting off walkers trying to find Carl when a red car pulls off of the property. Beth, Lori, Carol, and T-Dog have already left. Jimmy must've got taken down with the R.V because the R.V hasn't moved since the barn. Glenn and Maggie are no where to be found and I can no longer hear Daryl's motorcycle.
I make an executive decision for myself and decide that if I'm gonna survive somehow I better get to the road. I begin my journey down the long driveway and see Daryl on his bike.
"Daryl! Daryl! Don't leave!" I shouted, he heard me and pulled his bike right next to me.
I got on the back and wrapped my arms around him and rode. I could tell we were going back to the cluster of cars back on the highway by the looks of the route we were taking.
Along the way two other cars ended up behind us and I knew the exact occupants of each of those cars.
The line went first Daryl and I on the bike, second Glenn and Maggie in Shane's car, and third T-Dog, Carol, Lori, and Beth in a random truck from the farm.
I got really worried when I didn't see the red car because I knew who must've been in it then I noticed Daryl pulling right up to a red S.U.V. Lori was the first one out and ran to Rick and Carl. Maggie, Beth, and Hershel all ran to one another. I ran over to Glenn gave him a hug and then to T-Dog. Daryl got a hug too even though I was already with him.
I finally walked over to the red vehicle and in the same moment Carl and I saw each other.
We ran towards each other and crashed together in a hug. It felt nice to be with him again. While we were breaking apart from the hug I whispered something in his ear, "I told you, we'll beat this world together."
He smiled at me. After having our big dramatic hug the group decided we would hold up some where close to hear so we took off on foot. We found a sanctuary type place and stayed there. We lit a fire for everyone to stay warm.
Everyone kept pestering Rick, asking him what our next move was.
"Everyone listen up!" I shouted gathering everyone's attention while I climbed on the wall making myself taller than everyone else. "Let's just take it one night at a time. Right now everyone is safe and we'll deal with it if anything changes. We should just let Rick think and then we'll go off somewhere." I said. Then jumping from the wall down next to Carl.
Nobody listened, everyone just kept pushing him farther and farther until he snapped.
"Haven't you people realized what I've done for you. Who I've become for you. I killed my best friend for you people." He said.
Carl began crying and crashed into me, he wrapped his arms around my waist while I wrapped my arms more around his neck. Lori and Rick went off and talked a little ways away. Carl and I stood there like that for a while and ever so often I would rub his back a little like he does when he calms me down.
"You saw what he was like, he staged the whole Randal thing. Took me out there to stick a knife in my back." Rick continued.
"C'mon Carl, lets go sit down." I whispered then both of us released each other from the hug and we walked over around the fire.
Carl and I sat next to each other and we each leaned back to rest against the wall. He leaned his head on me and I just let it happen. By this point Carl had stopped crying and Rick and Lori came walking back over.
"If any of you think you can survive on your own, lead the group better, feel free to break off on your own. I'm giving you a chance, don't regret it later if you don't take it." Rick said. No one moved but Carol sure had something to say.
"C'mon Daryl, you can lead just as good as he can, why don't me, you, Emma, and anyone else who wants to go break off and go out on our own." She said, this just made my blood boil.
"I'm sorry Carl, I'll be right back, I just have some choice words for Carol." I whispered to him causing him to lift his head from my shoulder.
I stood up and approached her, "Carol, you're gonna listen and you're gonna listen good, you're also gonna keep your mouth shut while I'm talking. You don't make the calls for Daryl, you don't decide what him and I do and you're not gonna try to influence what him or I want to do. Its our lives not yours. I can't speak for him but I'm loyal to Rick and if you want to go off on your own be my guest, just leave him and I out of it. Got it?" I said quite boldly out for everyone to hear.
She looked over to Daryl seeing if he was gonna do anything and he caught her glare. He walked me over away from the group and began.
"What was all of that?" He asked.
"What she deserves, she doesn't make the calls. She has no part in the father-daughter relationship we have." I said over pronouncing the "father-daughter" part to make it more clear as to what I meant.
"I think you owe her an apology." He said.
"An apology? For what? You want to leave don't you? If you do, be my guest just know that I won't be coming with you, there's nothing but the undead out in this world. All my life I've had no one, I finally find some people that I just so happen to enjoy in my life who I care about and who care about me and you want to leave. I just met you. How could you do that?" I asked.
"Woah, woah, woah, kid. Where'd you get the idea of me wanting to leave?" He asked.
"I don't know, it just seems as if you're defending Carol and her idea of leaving." I said.
"I'm loyal to Rick, I trust him with my life. I wouldn't ever leave him and I already told you that I'm never leaving you." He said.
"Then why do I need to give Carol an apology?" I asked.
"Your tone, but I'm not gonna make you, she was out of line, but you were as well. We're gonna have to work on our people skills together." He said.
I laughed at his people skills comment. We walked back and everything was better. I glared at Carol and Daryl told her something although I'm not sure what. When I sat down Carl put his head back on my shoulder. Then Rick began finishing his speech.
"Alright, cool. For those of you who're staying you should know, this is no longer a democracy." Rick said.
——————————————————————————— I hope you all are enjoying my story, I'm really enjoying writing it. I'm finally at the place I've wanted to be for a long time and just so happen to have some really good ideas for this point in the story. If you enjoyed this chapter don't forget to VOTE and if you have anything to say at all don't forget to COMMENT. I read them all.
Much love, the random girl who wrote this book.-<3