WHITE FLAG

chapter thirty : unexpected death
{ season two - episode eleven & twelve }

GLENN AND KLOE were sitting side by side on the campsite chairs that were outside. The pair, Lori, Andrea, Carol, Maggie and T-Dog were out there, patiently waiting for Rick to be finished with what he had to do.

He was executing Randall, yet all Kloe did was sit in a chair, letting it happen. She hadn't spoken to anyone since the meeting. She also hadn't seen Dale or Isabelle, so she guessed they were together.

A few twigs snapped and dead leaves crunched under Rick and Carl's feet, making everyone shoot their heads up toward the two. Glenn, Lori, and Maggie all stood up, and Lori walked over to her husband.

Everybody stayed in silence, gesturing to Rick to speak first. Kloe didn't even look up, she just continued staring at the ground. She didn't know why she was acting that way, but she was and no one could change her current emotion.

"We're keeping him in custody, for now," Rick informed, catching Kloe's attention. He darted his eyes across everyone, watching them evidently.

Glenn turned around and faced Kloe, noticing her mood change. Her expression wasn't different, but he could tell by her eyes that she was relieved. Andrea stood up from her chair, smiling widely, "I'm gonna find Dale," she said, looking at Carol before shifting her eyes over to Kloe, "Hopefully I'll find Isabelle on the way, too."

The young woman looked over at Andrea and briefly smiled and nodded. Andrea departed from the group as she went to do what she had just said. Lori stared across at her husband with a stoic expression, not pleased that her son was with his father. "Carl, go inside. Now, please."

The young boy reluctantly and hesitantly walked away, stepping inside his tent that him and his family were staying in. Glenn and Kloe's eyes flicked back and forth between the married couple. The Rhee once again turned back toward Kloe and noticed that she had stood up from her chair.

She signaled him to leave them be so they could chat privately, and so the two left them be. They both walked over to the Greene house, brushing shoulders occasionally. "Are you mad at me?" Glenn questioned, still confused as to why Kloe was so quiet.

She turned her face to the side to face him and furrowed her brows. "No, why?" she replied, scratching the back of her head.

"It's just-" he paused, letting out a breath, "you're very quiet. Like you're never usually this quiet, and it's... I don't know? Different?"

She faced back forward, staring into the air. She knew she had been awfully silent. She shrugged and shook her head, "I- I feel like I've disappointed Isabelle, you know? And Dale. Both of them thought I was better than that. Better than a person that allows someone to kill another. And, honestly, I don't know why I'm not exactly bothered about this whole thing."

"But you were on his side earlier when Rick asked if there was anyone else that was against the idea. Why were you if you're actually not against it?" he questioned, even more confused than before.

She shook her head and parted her lips to speak, only for words to come out with a delay. "I just have one word. Guilt," she answered honestly, flickering her eyes over to Glenn, who began to look at her sympathetically. "Everything they said was true. And we all know it. This group is gradually breaking, and I hate that-"

Glenn grasped onto her hand, stopping her from talking. She turned to him, and when she did he noticed her eyes were glossy, filled with tears. "None of this is your fault. Yes, our group may be on a bumpy ride right now, but you will always have Zayn and I. Always," he said softly, slightly smiling at the girl.

Seeing Glenn's small smile managed to lighten her mood a little bit, but that was soon changed when she heard something loud in the distance. "Dale!" Both Glenn and Kloe shot their heads into the direction where they heard a feminine voice call out the elder man with fear.

Kloe's eyes then widened when she heard screams and yells that were not only coming from one, but two people. And instantly, Kloe knew who they were. Dale and Isabelle.

"What was that?" Glenn rushed out. The pair both turned around to Maggie, who also heard the yells and raced out of the house. "What happened? What happened?"

"I don't know! Go!" she shouted back, pointing toward the field. In an instant, Glenn tightened his grasp around Kloe's hand and immediately began to run over to where everybody else was heading.

Kloe used her other hand to grab onto her knife as they ran faster. She subconsciously let go of Glenn's hand as she pushed through the gate, seeing that nearly everybody else had gotten through and closed the gate.

"Dale! Isabelle!" Andrea called out in the distance. As they got closer to the scene, Kloe could hear growls and Dale's loud yells, along with Isabelle's cries.

Daryl was the first one to spot the three figures, and he made out Dale, Isabelle and a walker. Dale was laid out on the ground, his stomach getting ripped open by the walker. Isabelle had both of her hands on the walker's shoulders, tugging at it off of the elder man.

The Dixon fastened his speed as Isabelle was successful at pulling the walker off of the other man, only to fall backwards along with the walker. The walker was now on top of her, trying its best to bite into her.

Just as the walker was about to bite into the girl's neck, Daryl lunged at it and pushed it off of her. He pulled out his knife and instantly drove it through the walker's skull, falling back onto the grass lifelessly.

Daryl turned back over to Isabelle and ran over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Are you bit?" he quickly asked as she sat up, her hands trembling with fear and her breathing speeding up as she looked over at Dale.

The Dixon followed her eyes, spotting the older man getting drenched in his own blood and his intestines piling out of his stomach. He instantly left the girl's side and rushed over to him. He stood up, looking over at the rest of the group who were racing towards them.

"Help! Over here!" he yelled at the top of his voice. The more Isabelle looked at Dale, the more she grew scared. She brought her knees to her chest and threw her hands up to her ears, tears streaming down her face. Daryl knelt down beside the older man, "Hang in there, buddy."

The group finally caught up, looking down at Dale and their faces began to fill with unreadable things. Kloe took a few steps back, shocked at what she was seeing. Glenn came to a stop beside her, considering she had overtaken him and his eyes widened.

Rick knelt down beside Dale, placing his hands on the man's shoulders. "Alright, just listen to my voice. Listen to me, alright? Just listen to me," he softly said, his face scrunching up at the sight of the man.

Kloe felt sick to her stomach as her bottom lip began to quiver. Dale only grunted in response, unable to speak from the unbearable pain. "Okay, hold on now. Get Hershel!" Rick yelled, standing up. "He needs blood. We got to operate now."

Andrea fell to her knees, wrapping her hand with Dale's, "Hold on, Dale. Hang on."

While everyone paid attention to Dale, Kloe quickly searched around for Isabelle. The second she spotted the teenage girl, who still had her ears covered and tears staining her face, she quickly rushed over to her.

Kloe wrapped her arms around the younger girl, but she only held on for a split second. She lifted Isabelle up off the ground, who let out a sob. They both looked over at Dale, and Isabelle instantly turned around, unable to look at the man and cried quietly.

Kloe, who began shaking her head, telling herself that it's just a nightmare, stepped forward so she stood next to Glenn and Zayn. "What happened?" a new voice appeared, and without looking, everyone knew it was Hershel.

Rick looked up at the elderly man, "What can we do?"

"Dale, it's gonna be okay."

Hershel leaned on one knee and examined the man. "Can we move him?" Rick asked, raising his voice as he became more worried.

Hershel shook his head, "He won't make the trip."

Kloe felt a tear run down her face as she stared at the man, who was gurgling since his own blood was rising in his throat. "You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house," Rick stood up, gesturing toward the house.

"Rick," Hershel placed a hand on Rick's shoulder and shook his head.

The Grimes man shook his head profusely and scrunched up his face, "No!"

Isabelle, who was still crying, wrapped her arms around Kloe. Kloe felt a single tear drop from her eye, that tear slowly gliding down her cheek. Zayn turned away from the man, his own tears falling out of his eyes.

Andrea and Lori were crying loudly as they kneeled against the grass. Glenn let out shaky breaths and his eyes were also filled with tears. Everyone had teary eyes, that was a fact.

The man who was laid up on the grass, his blood spilling out of him, winced with pain. He was suffering, and the group were the ones that could end it for him.

"He's suffering," Andrea choked out, watching the older man with sorrow. "Do something!"

Rick, who shook his head as he tried his best to hold back the tears that were now filling up his eyes, pulled out his gun from his belt and hesitantly pointed it at the man's head. Everyone looked away, not wanting to witness the man get shot in the head.

Dale had always been the one that protected the group, staying up late at nights to keep watch while the rest slept. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve death or pain.

Rick continued to point the gun at Dale's head, but he couldn't do it. Daryl noticed the look on Rick's face and placed his own hand on top of the gun that Rick was gripping on to. Rick slightly nodded his head, taking a few steps back as Daryl kneeled down on one knee.

The gun cocked, meaning Daryl was ready to shoot. Kloe looked back one last time, actually letting out a sob as she watched Dale slightly raise his head, wanting Daryl to do it.

"Sorry, brother."

Bang.

...

Kloe sat with Isabelle all morning, before and after the funeral that the group had hosted for the man that had lost his life the night before. Everyone was devastated by what had happened to Dale. It wasn't expected.

Kloe had liked Dale, since he was the one that protected the group in the camp outside of Atlanta. Both Kloe and Isabelle stared into space as they continued to sit on the couch in the living room.

Everybody else was outside, doing their own thing. It had only been around fifteen minutes since they finished the funeral. Winter was rolling in, and it wasn't nice. Even though Kloe had gotten frustrated with the continuous heat, she was now wishing for it since it was freezing.

She was hoping that Hershel would allow the group to sleep inside for the Winter, and judging by the way he was talking with Maggie, it sounded like he was going to let that happen.

"Dale didn't deserve this," Isabelle muttered out. She hadn't spoken once since the night before. Witnessing death for the first time traumatized her. Kloe had already seen death all around her, but even then, it still left Kloe with a stack of sadness thrown onto her after seeing the state that Dale was left in.

"I know, he didn't," Kloe agreed, beginning to feel the new warm tears springing to her eyes. "And the last words that all of us, apart from you, heard was this group is broken." She quickly wiped away a tear that managed to leak out of her socket.

"His true last words were the same thing..." Isabelle muttered, her bottom lip quivering as she glanced up at the older girl beside her, "He said, this group has seen many things that they weren't prepared to see, and it changed them. The apocalypse broke us."

It felt like someone had ripped Kloe's heart out right there and then. Everyone, including herself, had disappointed the man, and now they couldn't change that. She made the wrong choice by going against him, and now she was dealing with the karma that she, and everyone else except Isabelle deserved.

Isabelle stared solemnly at the ground, tears rolling down her cheek. Kloe sniffed, wiping away her tears once again before taking in a deep breath. "Okay, okay..." she breathed, "Dale wouldn't want us crying. He'd want us to be happy, so let's try, okay?"

The Marshel teen looked up at Kloe, hesitantly nodding and pressing her fingers against her cheek to wipe away her own tears. "Y- yeah..." she let out a shaky breath before standing up from the couch. "Let's go see what everyone's doing. It'll take our minds off of this."

Kloe instantly nodded and stood up, glancing over at the mirror that was attached to the wall on the other side of the room. She blinked rapidly, attempting to make the redness disappear.

Without having enough time to make sure she looked okay, Isabelle wrapped her fingers around Kloe's wrist and walked towards the front door. "I can walk, you know?" Kloe weakly laughed, still feeling some sadness within her, which was expected.

Isabelle slightly chuckled, but it was barely noticeable and released her grip. The pair stepped outside, catching sight of everyone around a baby blue truck with a cargo bed. Then, behind the two, Hershel stepped outside.

"How're you holding up?" Hershel questioned softly, making the two girls turn to the elderly man.

"We're doing okay, thanks, Hershel," Kloe answered, forcing a smile at the man. "So," Kloe began as the three of them walked down the porch steps, "have you decided if we're going to stay inside?"

Hershel turned to the side to face the young woman, his eyebrows slightly raising at her, "Now, how did you know that I was thinking about that?" he asked with a small smile.

"I have ears," she answered, the same smile growing on her face, "good ones, actually." As the three made their way over to the group, who began to notice them walking over, a big gush of wind pushed against them. "Oh fu- fiddlesticks, that is cold," Kloe shivered, quickly switching her words, remembering Hershel wasn't one to like cuss words.

Isabelle attempted to hide her smile at Kloe's sudden ramble of random words, but failed. As they got closer to the group, they began to huddle around, knowing that Hershel had something to say.

"I've made a decision," Hershel announced. Maggie had walked up to the small crowd, wondering what her father had to announce to the group. Rick and Shane, who were the ones that Hershel wanted to talk to, stayed quiet, gesturing to the elder man to continue talking. "You can all stay inside for the Winter. Start packing."

"Wait, are you sure?" Rick asked, his brows raising.

"Yes, I'm sure. You're all welcome to stay inside."

"Gonna be tight, seventeen people in one house," Rick reminded, placing his hands on his hips.

Hershel shook his head, "Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening up, the creek drying up-"

In the corner of Kloe's eyes, she spotted her brother and Glenn place down trays of supplies into the cargo bed. While Zayn was setting down a basket, Glenn glanced up at the girl, sending her a small smile.

She smiled back at the Korean, butterflies settling into her stomach at his smile. She looked away from him, and turned to Maggie as she started speaking, cutting off her father, "With fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell."

"She's right," Hershel agreed. "We should've moved you in a while ago."

There was a short pause, no one speaking until Rick nodded his head. He lifted his hand up to the rest of the group, "Alright, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road. We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property," he ordered while explaining.

Kloe tapped Isabelle's shoulder, making her look up at the older girl. She motioned her head to the side, motioning her to help out with everyone. She acknowledged by nodding, promptly jogging over to some of the others.

Kloe did the same, walking over to Zayn and Glenn. The two men heard her footsteps, making them simultaneously turn to her. "You okay?" Zayn asked his younger sister.

She nodded, "Yep, for now. You guys?" They both shared a look before turning back to Kloe, both nodding. "That's, uh, good. Oh, I almost said a cuss word in front of Hershel," she whispered, leaning in closer to the two in a humorous manner.

Zayn chuckled, "Woah, that is actually so brave! I could never do that," he replied sarcastically, a wide grin on his face.

"That's not the worst part," she instantly said. "I switched it into a cringey word: fiddlesticks-"

Zayn snorted, "Fiddlesticks? Are you shitting me-?"

"Hey! No cussing!" Kloe cut off her brother, pointing firmly at him. Glenn watched the two in amusement before laughing at the two. Kloe turned to him, a smirk growing on her face as she nudged his arm with her elbow. "No laughing because I feel like if I swear in front of him I will be kicked off of this farm."

"Gotta start practicing then, Klo," Zayn stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "We all know for a fact that you can't go a day without swearing."

She groaned, "I'm not that bad. Besides, even if we weren't here, I would have to cut down anyway."

"How so?" Zayn asked, raising his eyebrows at his sister.

"Uh, hello? Lori's pregnant," she reminded, whacking the back of his head with her palm. "Did you seriously forget already? The group literally talked about it like an hour ago."

"Oops."

...

"Need help with that?" Kloe asked Isabelle, who had a backpack full of people's belongings as she stopped at the bottom of the porch steps to breathe. Everyone was bringing their things inside, and since Isabelle hadn't had that many items, she offered to help.

The Marshel teen looked up at the older girl, standing straight as she stood up the steps. "Nope. I got it," she assured, finally getting up the steps and stepping inside where everyone was. Kloe pursed her lips before following the teen inside.

Kloe had her own backpack on her shoulder. She was more than ready to sleep in a house and not a tent. The last time she hadn't slept in a comfy place was at the CDC, and she barely remembered it. That wasn't the only thing she didn't remember though.

She began to think about that night. So much had happened, that it took effect on everyone. It even changed relationships with people. Lori and Shane. Zayn and the unknown man in the photograph. Dale and Andrea. Glenn and Kloe.

Ever since that night at the CDC, the relationship between Glenn and Kloe had changed drastically. The day before, they were the chaotic duo that everyone in the group knew. They were the ones that always joked and laughed with stupid jokes. The day after, on the other hand, neither of them could even look at each other without getting an unfamiliar feeling that neither were used to.

Kloe bit into her bottom lip as she broke out of her thoughts, stumbling over into the living room, which is where she would be staying. She let her backpack gently fall freely onto the ground.

As the backpack fell, she noticed that the front zipper was open and had a small photograph inside. She knelt down to have a closer look and lifted the photograph out of the pocket. It was a picture that made Kloe's heart fall into her stomach.

She gulped as she stared at the picture. It was a photograph of her and Zayn when they were kids. Zayn was twelve years old and Kloe was ten years old. The photo had been taken with the camera their father had gotten for Christmas in 1997.

Kloe stared at it for a little while longer before flipping it over, looking at the back. Zayn & Kloe '99.

Kloe subconsciously smiled at the writing that belonged to her father. She turned the photograph back over and continued to stare at it.

"Is that a photo of you and Zayn?" a sudden voice asked over Kloe's shoulder. Her head shot up to the person who had spoken, and it was Glenn. He was slightly knelt down, and judging by the way Kloe looked, he guessed he had startled her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I thought you would hear me anyway."

"It's- it's okay. Don't apologize. It's my fault for being distracted with an old photograph," she folded the photograph, shoving it back inside of the pocket that she didn't even know existed until then. However, the photograph missed the pocket and fell onto the dark wooden flooring and revealed the picture clearly to Glenn.

He stared at the photo, his eyes switching between the two happy younger siblings. Both of them had wide smiles that he had only ever seen probably twice. Neither of them looked different, they looked the same.

"Woah, you're so small there," he muttered out, setting his guitar down on the ground.

"Zayn would probably want this. I'll give it to him later," she said, swiftly picking up the photograph and sliding it in the back pocket of her jeans.

"Why don't you keep it? It's a nice photo," Glenn questioned, confused as to why Kloe didn't want the memorable photograph.

She hesitated for a moment, before shrugging and standing up. Glenn copied her actions and rose to his feet so he was eye level with her. She shrugged, "I don't know. I know that Zayn would want it more than me."

Before Glenn could respond, Kloe wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest. Glenn instantly knew why she was doing that. He knew that she had gotten emotional from the photo. The only way she could calm herself down was to be in the arms of the person she loved.

The person she loved more than anything.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

words: 3801
11th june 2022
--------------------
BRO IM SO READY FOR THIS SEASON TO BE OVER ALREADY LIKE SEASON 3 IS MY FAV SEASON- anyways hope you enjoyed my lovelies😻