meanstreak
rick grimes 𝘹 fem!𝘰𝘤
© WANDARYEN ──── 2024

After my time with Rick this morning, he seemed to have disappeared along with my father and I had assumed they went off to talk more but in private.

Anything was better than nothing at this point.

I was sitting at a table on the porch with Lori, Carl, Beth, and Patricia, while Glenn and Maggie sat on the porch steps.

Lori was currently teaching Carl school work while Maggie and Glenn spoke softly to one another. I looked over at Carl and smiled gently, happy to know he was regaining his health and getting back on his feet again.

Steven had his shoulder perched against the side of the wall next to the front door. Every now and then I would glance towards his direction — but he wore a silent scowl on his face with his attention focused out yonder on the farm.

Nobody made any interaction with him but I couldn't blame him. He strictly kept to himself and avoided any kind of conversation unless he had to socialize. His comments were mainly directed towards my father, occasionally with Maggie, but never with Beth. It was like he was no longer part of the family — just a stranger sharing a bed with me.

Just as I turned my attention to glance at the barn, Shane suddenly came up to the house in anger — strictly holding the duffel bag full of guns. "You with me?" He asked Daryl before tossing him a shot gun.

I quickly jumped up from my seat with furrowed eyebrows while watching Shane."What do you think you're doing?" I asked sternly.

"Time to grow up." Shane pulled out a hand gun while Daryl clocked his gun, holding it over his shoulder.

"Wheres Rick?" T-Dog asked while taking another gun from Shane.

"Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't." Shane pulled out another gun, handing it towards Glenn who stood beside Maggie with hesitation. "Here, you gonna protect whats yours?" Shane asked, directing towards Maggie. Glenn took the gun slowly and sighed. He then turned to Maggie, "can you shoot?"

The moment I charged across the porch and made my way towards Shane, Steven was behind me instantly and grabbing my bicep. "Stop, right now." I demanded the older man, capturing his hardening stare with his eye twitching slightly. "If you hand these guns out — our father will make you leave by tonight."

"That might not be such a bad idea," Steven whispered in my ear.

Bravely, I shrugged him off and flashed him a brief look of disgust before turning back to Shane. "You said you were going to respect his wishes! We trusted your word — put these guns away and we'll forget this ever happened."

"We cant leave Shane." I glanced over my shoulder, watching Carl walk down the porch steps.

Shane lowered his gaze towards the boy, his facial expression softening before he raised his eyes back to me and they hardened once again. "We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He —" he shook his head, his jaw twitching as he spoke. "Well, he's gonna have to." He pulled out the small pistol from the bag and knelled in front of Carl. "Now we need to find Sophia. I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe." I watched him grab Carl's hand and push the weapon towards the child. "Take it, you know how to use it."

Lori suddenly appeared at my side, pushing her own son behind her while pointing a finger in Shane's direction. "Rick said no guns. This is not your call! This is not your decision to make!"

I hovered my hand over Lori's back with reassurance, "nobody is doing anything until my father comes back with Rick."

I felt Steven grab my arm and force me to turn and face him with a firm tug. "You need to let these people go," he seethed under his breath. "They're not our concern anymore."

"Oh shit!" T-Dog shouted from behind, causing all of us to look towards the direction he was pointing to.

Rick was with Hershel and Jimmy — holding two walkers on poles, leading them into the fields. Shane quickly jumped to his feet, "what the hell is that? What is that?!" Within in a second he was charging towards their direction.

I forcefully shoved my own fiance backwards, removing myself from his death grip, and sprinting after everyone with panic. "Fuck! Wait!"

Shane pushed open the gate, running past the men in anger to stay back. "What the hell are you doing!? Are you kidding me!"

"Shane, stop!" Rick called out to him, struggling to hold the pole with the walker on the other end. It's arms were stretched forward, attention solely focused on Shane now as he paced back and forth.

"Why do your people have guns?!" My father shouted.

I stopped with Maggie beside me, purposely putting distance between us and the walker as Shane pointed. "Are you kidding me? You see?! You see what they're holding onto?"

"I see who i'm holding on to!" Hershel snapped back at the man.

"No man, no you don't." Shane continued to pace across the dirt. "These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do is kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy. They killed Otis! They're gonna kill all of us!"

"Shane just shut up!" Rick screamed in anger.

I touched my sister's arm to keep her in her spot as I decided to put myself between Shane and my father. "You're not in the position to making orders around here!"

Shane laughed with a slow shake of his head, purposely ignoring my comment. "Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person — could they walk away from this?" He pulled out his own hand gun, shooting the walker my father was holding onto in the stomach. Then repeated the method by shooting it in the chest. "That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming? That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?"

"Just put the gun down!" I shouted out again, wanting to jump in front of my father for his protection if Shane kept going further. My head was pounding and my heart felt like it was going to fall out of my chest. By now everyone was surrounding the front of the barn, watching as the scene unfolds.

"Shane that's enough!" Rick shouted.

"Yeah, you're right, man. That is enough." Shane took a step closer before pointing his gun directly at the walker and shooting it in the head.

Its body falling limp and dropped to the ground. My father stared down at the walker in shock, his hands slipping from the pole while he slowly knelled down to the ground. I quickly ran to his side with Maggie following right behind me.

I kneeled down in front of him, gently placing my hands on his face, but the initial shock was too much for him to bear. I watched him blink repeatedly and shake his head — pushing my hands away from his face as his focus was purely on the dead body lying before him.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl who's gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us."

Maggie knelt down beside our father while I stood back up beside him, my hands holding his shoulders. I felt tears forming on my bottom lash line but I quickly wiped them away with my arm.

"Rick, it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now." Without hesitation, Shane ran over to the barn and started banging onto the barn doors.

Rick gripped the pole tighter as he watched my father, yelling for him. "Take the snare pole. Hershel, take the snare pole!"

Shane grabbed an axe from off the ground and started banging the barn with it, while my father sat there in silence. Shocked with his mouth slightly open. "Hershel, listen to me, man, please. Take it now. Hershel! Take it!"

I looked from Shane to Rick, chills gliding up my arms as tears started to swell in my eyes, blurring my vision. Everything was happening too fast. Too fast for me to react as Shane grabbed an axe and pushed it down onto the chains, crushing it open.

He tossed the axe to the side and pulled the plank of wood off the barn doors that helped keep it sealed. "Please don't," I muttered, watching as Shane started to step back after making whistles to gather up the walkers inside.

As one walker appeared from behind the doors, pushing them open and stepping out, Andrea and T-Dog rushed to Shane's side with their guns, shooting at the few walkers that started pouring out from inside.

Pops after pops after pops went off as Daryl joined in, shooting down the walkers that came out. Glenn shifted on his feet from behind Hershel, stepping over to Maggie and asking for her permission to help.

She looked at him with tears and nodded her head agreeing while holding our father.

I looked around the area, not sure who in particular I was seeking solace from, but when my gaze settled on Steven -- my fiance, the man who was supposed to hold me during these times, all he did was stand in the distance. Arms firmly crossed over his chest and his strong gaze centered on the barn, slowly shaking his head.

As if to say 'I told you so.'

I wanted to scream. I wanted to kick the dirt or at least kick the shit out of Shane but I didn't want to leave my fathers side. I brought my hand up to cover my mouth, tears stinging my eyes as I watched everything fall apart.

Shane turned to Rick, staring at him with anger before shooting the walker that Rick had against the pole, watching its body fall limp before turning back to the fight.

Slowly, one by one, walkers stopped coming and the popping sound from the guns came to a halt.

My insides were boiling with hot anger towards Shane and sadness for my father, as I looked to Ricks friend with piercing eyes. I clenched my teeth together as the tears rolled down my cheeks.

Dale was right, Shane couldn't be trusted.

He was dangerous -- probably more dangerous than the very things we tried to keep locked away.

Everything fell silent besides the panicked breathing from my father and the silent sobs from Maggie and Beth who stood behind with Jimmy holding my youngest sibling close.

I glanced at Rick, noticing the pained expression on his face like he failed his entire group. I started to breathe from my nose, trying to regain any composure that was lost while holding back the tears threatening to continue spilling.

Just when we thought it was over, when I thought we were finally done -- a very low grunting heavy breathing came from the barn. Everyone's eyes averted towards the doors as a small girl slowly stumbled her way out. My lips slowly parted, my hands dropping from my fathers figure.

"Sophia?" Carol's voice croaked out in a cry, watching her now dead daughter come from the barn, a bite mark on her left shoulder and her face sunken in.

Carol quickly darted towards her direction but Daryl caught her just in time, the both of them falling to the ground as she called out for her daughter in cries. Everyone that stood around and watched, thought this little girl was alive.

Part of me wanted to believe it too.

They spent weeks searching and having hope.

The blood drained from Ricks face as he stood there in shock. He was the only one truly believed he could find her alive and unharmed. I looked over at him and watched as his head hung low in regret and disappointment.

My heart ached for him, but I could do nothing. When nobody was deciding to make the move to end her life, Rick pulled out his gun, glancing down at it before slowly walking over to the small girl and pulling the trigger.

I visibly flinched at the sound. The gun shot echoed through my ears like white noise.

Nobody moved and nobody spoke. Carol was having a panic attack in Daryls arms while he tried to hush her softly, lifting her from the ground but she quickly shoved him away. T-Dog reached out to grab her but she stormed past him while crying, her shattered heart was felt by all of us.

Beth's sobs now overcame the silence as she shoved past Jimmy — walking toward the group of bodies that laid on the ground.

Rick went to grab her but she shoved past him as well, searching through the bodies as she found her mothers, turning the body over until suddenly what was assumed to be dead, the walker quickly snapped towards Beth as she screamed out in horror.

I quickly darted towards my sister with everyone following behind, kicking away the hands that were trying to reach for her and grab her as my my own wrapped around her small frame and quickly pulling her away.

Everyone that ran over grabbed Beth as I gently pushed her behind me. Maggie was quick to pull her into her arms, holding her head against her chest. I stood there staring at her mother, my eyes tired and red from all the crying I managed to do.

Her mother reached out for me, her jaw opening and closing shut but I held my foot on her chest to keep her still. Maggie was pulling Beth away as I pulled out a hunting knife from my waistband, leaning down and putting it through her head.

My breathing grew heavier. I got back on my feet and my burning gaze fell upon Shane's. I didn't utter a single word but I was praying he knew exactly what I was thinking.

This was done — over, the entire group. He was done.

My father was holding onto Beth as Maggie held onto our father. I gently pulled Beth into my own arms and lead my family back up to the house without saying another word.

Jimmy and Patrica quietly followed behind us, but it didn't take Shane much long to come storming up.

"We've been combing these woods looking for her and she was in there all along? You knew."

Maggie looked back at the man and growled in anger. "Leave us alone!"

"Shane just stop!" Rick grabbed Shane's arm but he pulled away. "Get your hands off me!" He followed behind Hershel as Rick stood close behind, reaching for his friend again but Shane slapped his hand away. "You knew, and you kept it from us!"

"I didn't know," My father responded weakly.

Shane shook his head as we started walking up the front porch steps, "man that's bullshit! You all knew!"

"We didn't know!" Maggie snapped once more.

I gently pushed Beth up the steps towards Maggie as our father turned around. "Otis put those people in the barn. Maybe -- maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed."

Shane placed his hands on his waist and laughed. "You expect me to believe that? Do I look like an idiot?"

Rick held his arm out to block Shane from getting close. "Hey, hey!"

"I don't care what you believe!" Hershel snapped before turning his gaze towards Rick. "Get him off my land."

I watched Shane shove past his friend, taking a single step on the porch towards my father in a heartbeat. I watched his hand reach for him. "Let me tell you something — "

It didn't take me but a second to quickly step in front of my father in defense before Shane could lay a finger on him, "hey!" My hand collided against Shane's face with a hard clap, causing his head to turn. "Don't you fucking touch him!" I stared at him with wide lingering eyes filled with fire and range. "You ever lay a hand on him and that's the end of it, do you hear me?"

My father reached for me from behind -- my hand quickly finding his as I walked up the porch steps while he followed, but came to a stop to face the group. "I mean it — off my land."