▎SAFE HAVEN ▎ 
»»————　act two. on the hunt
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN  ━━ loss

Shane and Rick had brought Randall back and put him in the barn. Daryl was getting information from him as everyone else sat at their camp. "So what you gonna do? We'd all feel better if we knew the plan." Lori said as she poured some hot water into a pan.

"Is there a plan?" Andrea then asked as Josie looked up at her brother and Rick.

"We gonna keep him here?" Glenn added, hands in his pockets as he stood beside Josie.

"We'll know soon enough." Rick said as footsteps approached, making everyone turn to see Daryl walk towards them.

"Boy there's got a gang, thirty men." Daryl told them as he walked closer. "They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends." He told them. "They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna...they're gonna wish they were." Josie lowered her head, knowing exactly what he meant.

"What did you do?" Carol asked, looking at his bloodied hand.

"Had a little chat." Daryl said as he walked past them all.

"No one goes near this guy." Rick then spoke up from beside Shane.

"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked, walking towards her husband.

"We have no choice. He's a threat." Rick sighed, looking at everyone. "We have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked, frown on his face.

"It's settled. I'll do it today." Rick nodded his head before walking off, Dale following him.

Josie breathed out, leaning her head on the chair she was sat on. She didn't know about killing the kid.

Dale had spoken to Josie, trying to get her on his side. And Josie agreed with him. She didn't want a kids blood on her hands.

But most of them didn't agree, that's why they all sat in the Greene house, Carl walking away as his father sent him a look.

"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asked, looking up at everybody as Josie stood beside him, looking over at her brother.

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea then asked, looking over at Rick.

"How about majority rules?" Lori added as Rick stepped forward.

"Well, let's just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick told everybody, Josie fiddling with her hands.

"Well, where I sit...there's only one way to move forward." Shane sighed, looking at everybody.

"Killing him." Dale spoke, shaking his head. "Right? I mean, why bother to even take a vote?" He asked them. "It's clear which way the winds blowing."

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick told him, pointing at himself.

"Well, I can tell you, it's a small group..." Dale breathed out, looking at Josie, Glenn and Tiffany. The youngest three of the group. "Maybe just me, Josephine, Tiffany and Glenn."

Josie nodded her head at Dale, making him send her a smile. "Look, I...I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this—" Glenn started as Dale sighed.

"They've got you scared." Dale shook his head as he looked down at Glenn.

"He's not one of us." Glenn argued as Josie leaned off of the wall.

"He's still human." Josie shrugged her shoulders, avoiding any eye contact with Shane, knowing he'd be disappointed. "He's a kid, a scared kid. He wanted to be safe and that meant joining any group he saw."

Dale nodded his head at her words, patting her shoulder as he looked around at everyone else. "How about you? Do you two agree with this?" He pointed to the Greene sisters, making them both share a look.

"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie asked as she looked over at Rick.

"Just another mouth to feed." Daryl grumbled, leaning on the wall.

"It may be a lean winter." Hershel spoke up.

"We could ration better." Lori suggested.

"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself." Dale argued as he looked at everyone.

"Put him to work?" Tiffany suggested, shrugging her shoulders.

"We're not letting him walk around." Rick shook his head.

"We could put an escort on him." Riley spoke up, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane scoffed, sarcastic grin on his face.

"I would." Josie spoke, looking over at Shane, who shook his head.

"Well, I wouldn't be comfortable with that, JJ." Shane shook his head as Josie let out a defeated sigh.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy." Rick shook his head as he held up his hand.

"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori voiced from the door, leaning on the doorframe.

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor." Andrea then added her opinion.

"Look, say we let him join us, right?" Shane breathed out, looking over at Dale. "Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men."

"So the answer is go kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale scoffed, wanting to keep this kid alive. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Duke of law is dead. There is no civilisation."

"Oh, my god." Shane uttered, looking up at the roof as he ran a hand over his head.

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Hershel suggested, looking up at Rick.

"You barely came back this time." Lori shook her head, turning to her husband. "There are walkers. You could break down. You could get lost.

"Or get ambushed." Daryl added.

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." Glenn shook his head, lowering it as Josie looked down at him.

"If you go through with it, how would you do it?" Patricia asked, looking over at Rick. "Would he suffer?"

"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck." Shane suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"I thought about that." Rick nodded his head, running a hand through his hair. "Shooting may be more humane."

"And what about the body? Do we bury him?" T-dog asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hold on, hold on." Dale shook his hands, looking at T-dog. "You're talking about this like it's already decided."

"You've been talking all day, going around in circles." Daryl told him, shaking his head. "You just wanna go around in circles again?"

"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation!" Dale told them, pointing down as Josie breathed out. "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed." He breathed out. "How are we any better than those people that were so afraid of?" He asked as Josie lowered her head.

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane then said.

"No, Dale is right." Rick shook his head at Shane. "We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked as Josie rolled her eyes.

"Let Rick finish." Josie told her, her eyes narrowing as Andrea closed her mouth.

"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet." Andrea continued, ignoring Josie. "I wish we could."

"So let's work on it!" Dale exclaimed, looking over at Andrea.

"We are!" Rick told him.

"Stop it. Just stop it!" Carol spoke up as everyone turned to her. "I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide...either of you, both of you...but leave me out." Carol said to them, shrugging her shoulders.

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself, there's no difference." Dale shook his head and hands, as he looked at Carol.

"All right, that's enough." Rick held out his hand, his other on his hip. "Anybody that wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."

Everybody stood in silence, Josie looking over at Dale as she breathed out. "I agree with Dale. He may not be one of us, but he's still a person. And we are talking about throwing his life away because he was with the wrong crowd." Josie said as she nodded at Rick, letting him know that what she wanted to say, she said.

"You once said that we don't kill the living." Dale then spoke up, pointing at Rick with hope.

"That was before the living tried to kill us." Rick shrugged his shoulders, looking at Dale.

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were...the world that we knew is dead! And this new world is ugly. It's..." Dale breathed out as he shook his head. "Harsh. It's...it's survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't wanna live in, and I don't believe that any of you do!" He pointed to them all. "I can't. Please." His voice broke as he looked around with hope. "Let's just do what's right."

Everybody stayed silent, sharing looks as Dale let out a defeated sigh. "Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me except Josephine?" Dale asked as everybody remained silent.

"He's right." Andrea then spoke up as Dale turned to her. "We should try to find another way." Josie gave her a nod, a thankful nod.

"Anybody else?" Rick asked as he looked around. But nobody else spoke up, they stayed silent. They all turned to Dale, who let out a scoff.

"Are ya'll gonna watch too?" He said sarcastically, tears in his eyes as he looked at everyone. "No, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. Woah." He shook his head. "I won't be a party to it." He said, squeezing Josie's shoulder. "You're to good for this world." He uttered to her before leaving the house, not before looking at Daryl. "This group is broken."

Josie lowered her head, running her hands over her face as she sat down beside Glenn, letting out a defeated sigh as Glenn squeezed her leg. They were going to kill the kid, and nobody else could stop it... not even her or Dale.

Josie laid in her tent, looking up at the roof of it. Rick didn't kill Randal because Carl had walked in on them.

She knew Dale would be happy with Ricks decision, seen as though Andrea had gone to find him.

Josie sat up as her tent opened, sending Glenn a smile as he walked in. "Hey." She spoke, making room for him to sit down beside her. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Glenn breathed out as he moved beside her, letting out a sigh as he laid down.

"You know, Tiff will drag you out of this tent." Josie chuckled, looking down at him. "By your feet." She added as Glenn grinned.

"It's comfy in here. Shane gave you the best tent." Glenn said as Josie rolled her eyes. 

"Because I am the best person ever." Josie hummed, grin on her face as Glenn leaned in his side. "My tent is cosy, but it's mine and Tiffs."

"Kick her out." Glenn said sarcastically, leaning his arms on Josie's lap, chin laid on his arms.

"Oh, really? Where she gonna go, idiot?" Josie shook her head, grin on her face as she ran a hand through his hair.

"My tent." Glenn suggested, shrugging his shoulders as Josie rolled her eyes. "Have you told her yet?"

"Nah, I want her to find out on her own. I wanna see her reaction." Josie grinned, tilting her head as she imagined her reaction. "That will be funny." She chuckled as she looked at the outside of her tent. "Don't know how I'm gonna tell Shane."

"No, he scares me." Glenn slowly nodded his head as Josie nodded her head, letting out a chuckle.

Their conversation was interrupted by screams, making them both exit the tent and outside, seeing everybody run around. "Rick!" Josie saw the man, jogging towards him. "What's going on?" She quickly asked as Rick turned to her, shrugging his shoulders.

"It came from the field." Rick said as a group go them ran towards the screams, Daryl beating them as he shouted to them all.

"Help! Over here!" Daryl yelled as they all ran towards his yells, "Help! run!"

Josie panted heavily as she ran towards Daryl's screams, coming to a holt as she saw who was on the floor. Dale, with his guts all pulled out of his stomach.

Josie let out a gasp, covering her mouth as she stepped back. Rick crouched down speaking to Dale as Josie moved closer to her brother. "Okay, hold on now. Get Hershel!" Rick yelled to everybody. "He needs blood. We got to operate now!"

Josie squeezed her eyes shut, her ears ringing as she couldn't hear anything anybody was saying.

Shane pulled Josie into a side hug, pulling her away from the scene. "Can we move him?" Rick asked Hershel, who shook his head.

"He won't make the trip." Hershel told Rick as Josie hid her face in Shane's chest.

"You have to do the operation here." Rick continued, wanting to help Dale. "Glenn, get back to the house!" He pointed to Glenn as he stood up.

"Rick." Hershel placed his hand on Ricks arm, shaking his head. Dale wouldn't make it.

"No!" Rick yelled out as he turned around, shaking his head. "No!"

Everyone was sobbing, Josie included as she refused to look down at Dale. She let out a broken sob, Shane pulling her closer towards him.

"He's suffering." Andrea cried out, looking up at Rick. "Do something!" She pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

Rick pulled out his gun as he aimed it at Dale. Josie bit down on her tongue, closing her eyes as she looked away.

Rick couldn't do it, so Daryl took the gun out of his hands, crouching down in front of Dale. "Sorry, Brother." Daryl said before a shot went off, making Josie jump, letting out another cry as she held onto her brother.

They had a funeral for Dale and Rick wanted to honour him, keeping Randall alive. Josie agreed with that.

And Hershel let them stay in the house, instead of outside. And Rick and Daryl were taking Randall out and Rick asked Josie to keep an eye on everything, including Shane.

Josie helped carry everything into the house, Riley had offered Josie and Tiffany to stay in her room, which the two girls accepted.

But when Rick and Daryl went to take Randall, he was gone, and so was Shane. Josie was panicking.

Everybody was outside of the barn, talking about how he could have gotten away. Josie anxiously looked around, bitting the inside of her cheek as she turned to Glenn.

"Rick! Rick!" Josie quickly turned as she heard Shane's yells. Everybody else turned to Shane, seeing the blood all over his face.

"Shane!" Josie breathed out, jogging towards him as she pulled him into a hug. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, JJ." Shane told her, hugging her back as she spoke to everybody else. "He's armed. The bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." He told everyone as Josie pulled out of the hug, looking over at everyone else as they walked towards them.

"All right, Hershel, T-dog, get everybody back in the house." Rick told the two, pointing at them. "Glenn, Daryl, come with us."

Josie sighed as she walked towards Glenn, frown on her face as she pulled him into a hug, Glenn pressing a kiss against her forehead. "T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane told t-dog.

"Just let him go." Carol spoke up from beside Tiffany. "That was the plan, wasn't it, to just let him go?"

"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not in our front step with a gun." Rick told her as Josie pulled out of the hug with Glenn, Glenn squeezing her arm as he followed Rick.

"Don't go out there. Ya'll know what can happen." Carol cried, slightly, shaking her head as they walked away.

"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick told them all as everyone turned back around, running towards the house.

Riley opened the door as everyone walked in, Josie anxiously bitting on her thumb, pacing back and forth as everybody locked the doors from the inside.

It was night and nobody had returned, and Josie was growing worried. Glenn, her brother, Rick and Daryl were all out there. And Josie didn't want to lose anyone else.

She walked up the stairs, to check on Carl, opening the door to see Carl at the window, opening it. "Carl." Josie whispered as Carl jumped, turning to Josie with wide eyes. "What are you doing?"

"I want to make sure my dad is okay." Carl said, letting out a defeated sigh. "Don't you want to know if Shane's okay? Or Glenn?" Carl asked as Josie bit down on her tongue, looking over her shoulder. "Please, aunt JJ. I just want to know if he's okay."

Josie breathed out, running a hand through her hair as she looked at Carl. "Fine, but you stay beside me. You don't leave my sight. And after five minutes, we come back."

Carl nodded his head, turning to the window as he opened it fully. "God, I'm so gonna get killed." Josie mumbled, as she walked towards the window, climbing out of first as she helped Carl out.

She let out a sigh as her shoes connected with the ground, looking up at Carl as she raised her hands. "I'll catch you, dude." Josie whispered as Carl carefully climbed down, Josie holding onto him as she placed him down.

Josie was thankful she had her gun on her at this moment in time, incase anything happened. The pair quickly ran into the forest, Josie keeping her hand in Carls.

They kept walking until they heard a gun shot, making Josie and Carl jump. Carl quickly took off in that direction, making Josie follow him.

She could hear distant yells, making her pull out her gun, keeping Carl in eyesight. She jogged towards Carl, who had froze.

Josie moved to stand beside him, her heart dropping as she looked at the scene in front of her. She lowered her arms as her mouth parted.

"Dad?" Carl cried out, making Rick turn to the two, his face dropping as he noticed them.

Josie stepped back, her breaths heavy as she looked down at the floor. Her brother was dead. Rick killed him.

Her ears started to ring as she felt tears prick her eyes. No, he couldn't be dead. "Carl, Josie." Rick stood up as he turned to them, his voice breaking. "You two should be back home." He said as he walked towards them.

Carl raised his gun, but not at his father, but behind him. Josie let out a choked sob as she looked over, seeing Shane...but as a walker.

"Just...just put the gun down." Rick told Carl, his hand reaching out for Carl.

Josie squeezed her gun in her hand, her throat feeling like it was closing up as tears ran down her cheeks. "It's now what it seems. Please." Josie shakily lifted her gun, not pointing it at Rick.

She fired her gun, letting out a deep breath as she dropped the gun from her hands, falling to her knees as she watched her brother die, for the second time.

Josie squeezed her eyes closed, feeling carls little hand on her shoulder as she cried quietly, hands covering her face.

She had lost her brother to her other brother figure. Josie had just lost her older brother. And she didn't know what to do. "Josie." Ricks voice echoed through her head. "Josie, please, you have to understand..." he cried as Josie shook her head.

She slowly stood up, her legs shaking as she looked over at Shane. She wearily made her way towards him, ignoring Rick as he tried to pull her away.

Her breathing was frantic, and she couldn't control it. She lowered herself to the ground, looking down at her brother as her hands shook.

Josie let out a painful cry, lowering her head on his stomach as Rick looked down at her, wiping at his own tears. "Josie, please." Rick placed his hand on her shoulder, making her push it away.

"Just...just give me a minute." Josie breathed in, holding up her hand as she kept her eyes on her brother. She tried to calm her breathing, holding onto Shane's shirt. She had lost her brother. Someone who she had grew up with, someone who had looked out for her all her life.

Now, he was gone.

Josie bit down on her tongue, wiping at her eyes as she looked at the chain around his neck. She pulled it off, placing it into her pocket as she wiped at her eyes once more, carefully standing up.

Rick tried to comfort her, but Josie shrugged him off, walking away from him. She picked up her gun as she placed it in her holder, not looking back once.

Tiffany sat down on the couch, sitting beside Beth and Riley as she looked around the room. "I'm going after them." Andrea stood up, shaking her head.

"Don't. They could be anywhere." Lori told her, sitting in the chair as she sat up. "And if Randall comes back, we're gonna need you here."

Then the door opened, making everyone turn to the door, seeing Glenn and Daryl walk in. "Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked as he looked around the room.

"No." Lori shook her head as Glenn looked around, looking for Josie.

"We heard a shot." Daryl added as Tiffany looked up at him.

"Maybe they found Randall." Lori suggested as Daryl shook his head.

"We found him." Daryl told her.

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie questioned, frown on her face as Daryl shook his head.

"He's a walker." Daryl then told Maggie.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel then asked.

"No, the weird thing is he wasn't bit." Glenn breathed out as everybody frowned.

"His neck was broke." Daryl added. "The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker." Daryl told them as Tiffany frowned, confused. "So he didn't come up behind him. They were together.

"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori asked as she stood up, walking towards Shane as she pleaded with him.

"You got it." Daryl nodded his head.

"Thank you." She patted his arm as he walked out of the room.

"Where's Josie?" Glenn asked Tiffany, making Tiff sigh.

"Upstairs with Carl." Tiffany told him, making Glenn nod.

Josie walked a head of Carl and Rick, in her own mind. Her ears were still ringing, the pairs muffled voices blending into one.

She kept her eyes on the ground, squeezing her hands into a ball to stop them from shaking, but nothing was working.

But she jumped, feeling an arm on her shoulder. "Come on." Rick said as Josie looked over her shoulder, seeing a herd of walkers.

Rick pulled Carl and Josie behind a tree, looking around at the walkers coming from every direction. "We...we got get to the house, tell the others." Carl whispered as he suggested the idea to his father.

"We'll never get through that." Rick replied back as Josie looked around, looking at the barn. "Cant go around. Carl, Josie, stay close. Go!" He told them as they ran towards the barn, dodging the walkers.

Josie opened the barn door, letting Carl run in first before following him in, Rick closing the barn door behind him.

Josie panted heavily as she heard the walkers bang on the barn doors. They were trapped. Josie swallowed thickly as she looked around, seeing some oil barrels. "Rick." She called him over, pointing to them as he nodded.

The three grabbed one oil barrel each, pouring it on the floor. "Up there. Hurry." Rick told them, pointing up to the wooden ladder, as he dropped the barrels and Josie helped Carl up the ladder, turning to Rick.

"Come on." She urged Rick to follow them, but he pulled out his lighter and handing it to her.

"Drop the lighter when I say. We'll stop some of them from reaching the house and distract the other, so at least we'll have a chance." Rick told her as she looked up at Carl.

Josie slowly nodded her head, Rick squeezing her shoulder before she climbed up the ladder, joining Carl as Rick opened the barn, urging the walkers in before climbing up the stairs, yelling at the walkers. "Josie, now!" Rick yelled as Josie opened the lighter, turning it on as she dropped it on the walkers.

Josie pulled Carl back, watching as Rick climbed up. The bark erupted into flames, as did the walkers.

Shots were fired from the outside, making Josie turn to the window. "Come on." She told Rick and Carl, waking towards the window.

Josie sighed as she saw the RV drive towards the barn, making Rick yell out for them to hear.

The RV stopped in front of them, Rick helping Carl and Josie across. Josie looked down at the walkers, breathing in and out.

Rick shot at the walkers before calling Carl and Josie down off of the RV. Josie kept a grip on Carl, not letting him go as they ran away from the walkers, Josie firing at ones that got too close.

The three ran towards the woods, Josie holding onto Carl as Rick kept his eyes on both of them, making sure they were okay.

They moved towards the house, seeing Hershel firing at the walkers. One snuck behind him, making Rick fire at the walker.

"Where's Lori? Did you see lori?" Rick asked him as josie looked at the walkers, swelling thickly. She didn't know where Glenn was. And she was worried. She hoped him and tiff had gotten out, safe.

"I don't know what happened, Rick. They just keep coming." Hershel said as he reloaded his gun. "It's like a plague. They're everywhere!"

"Lori! Did you see her?" Rick asked once more as Hershel shook his head. "We have to go." He turned to Carl. "Find mom and the others." He said as they ran towards the car, Rick grabbing Hershel as house opened the door, letting Carl get in first before the rest got in.

Josie breathed out heavily, looking out of the window and seeing the barn completely engulfed in flames.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she put her hand into her pocket, pulling out Shane's chain and squeezing it in her hands.

The farm was gone. Her brother was gone.

They had pulled up the where they had left the supplies for Sophia. Josie slowly got out of the car, looking at the car with the writing on.

"Well, where's mom?" Carl asked as he spoke to Rick, looking around. Josie closed the car door behind her, keeping her hands in her pockets. "You said she'd be here. We gotta go back for her."

"Carl..." Rick held out his hand, but Carl shook his head.

"No. Why are we running?" Carl asked, raising a brow. "What are you doing? It's...it is mom. We need to get her and not be safe a mile away."

"Shh. You need to be quiet, all right?" Rick whispered to his son, putting his arm on his shoulder. "Please." Josie bit down on her tongue, looking at Hershel.

"Please..." Carl looked up at Rick. "It's mom." He pleaded.

"Carl, listen—"

"No." Carl shook his head, cutting Rick off as he stormed away, walking towards one of the cars and leaning on the car.

"I'll talk to him." Josie nodded at Rick, walking towards Carl and standing next to him. "Carl...your mom will be okay. They wouldn't have left her. They should be on their way, right now, okay." Carl looked up at her, frown on his face. "They'll be here." She squeezed his shoulder as Carl slowly nodded his head. "Do you trust me?"

"I trust you." Carl nodded his head, looking up at her. "I just hope she's okay."

"She will be." Josie smiled at him. "Your mother is strong. A damn badass." Carl chuckled, dipping his head down.

"I'm sorry about Shane, aunt JJ." Carl suddenly said as Josie's eyes widened, lowering her head.

"It's okay." Josie bit down on her tongue, not wanting to cry again. She breathed out, looking up as she heard cars.

She quickly leaned off of the car, looking over to the road to see Daryl in Carol in Daryl's bike, then a car following behind them. And a blue truck.

Josie breathed out as she and Carl moved towards the cars, as did Rick and Hershel. Everybody started to get out of the cars and Josie felt the weight drop off her shoulders as she saw Glenn and Tiffany get out of the car, as well as Maggie and Riley.

The Greene sisters ran towards their dad, all three of them pulling him into a hug. Josie quickly left Carls side, going towards Glenn and pulling him into a hug, resting her head in between his neck. "Thank god, you're okay." She cried, squeezing him tightly

Glenn buried his head in the crook of her neck, pressing a kiss against her cheek as Tiffany let out a gasp, covering her mouth.

"I called it!" Tiffany uttered as she turned to t-dog. "You owe me money, T." She grinned as T-dog rolled his eyes. "I knew it from day one!" She muttered to herself. "I need a medal."

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked Daryl, pulling out of the hug with his family.

"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road..." Daryl nodded at Glenn, Josie pulling out of the hug as Glenn kept his arm around her. "Figured he had to be Asian, driving like that."

Glenn let out a chuckle, nodding his head. "Good one." He grinned at Daryl, pulling Josie closer to him.

"Where's the rest of us?" Daryl then asked as Josie lowered her head, her free hand in her pocket, holding onto Shane's chain.

"We're the only ones who made it so far." Rick said, looking over at Josie, then back at Daryl.

"Shane?" Lori asked as Josie swallowed thickly, letting out a deep breath. Rick shook his head as Lori turned to Josie, as did everybody else.

Glenn looked down at Josie and he could tell she was trying her hardest not to break down right there and then. He kept his arm around her as he looked back up at Rick. "Andrea?" He quickly changed the subject, wanting everyone to avert their attention from Josie, so she wasn't overwhelmed. She had just lost her brother, and Glenn would do anything to make Josie feel secure—safe.

"She saved me, then I lost her." Carol spoke from beside Daryl.

"We saw her go down." T-dog added, lowering his head.

"Patricia?" Hershel asked as Beth shook her head.

"They got her too, took her right in front of me. I was..." her voice broke as she let out a cry. "I was holdin' onto her, daddy. She just..." she cried as Hershel pulled her into a hug.

Josie blocked out everybody's voices, looking down at the chain in her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing in as Glenn squeezed her arm.

Rick had told everyone that they were infected, with whatever the virus had happened.

And they had no where to go, one of the cars were running out of fuel, who they had to make a camp.

Josie rested her head on Glenn's shoulder, Tiffany's head laid on her lap as Josie stared at the fire, her free hand in her flannel pocket.

Her thumb traced the numbers on the chain, remembering every detail about it. She didn't want to go to sleep, because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was her brother.

A twig snapping made Josie lifted her head up, coming out of her thoughts as everybody turned to the noise. "What was that?" Beth asked as she sat up, leaning off of Riley.

"Could be anything." Daryl grumbled as he stood up. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."

"Or a walker." Glenn suggested as everybody slowly got up, looking around in fear. But Josie stayed sat on the floor, brining her eyes back to the fire.

"We need to leave. What are we waiting for?" Carol asked as she turned to Rick, who as pacing back and forth.

"Which way?" Glenn asked, talking about where the noise had come from.

"It came from over there." Tiffany said, sitting herself up and looking into the direction.

"Back from where we came." Beth added, nodding at Tiffany.

"Yeah." Tiff uttered, looking at Josie.

"The last thing we need is for everyone to be running off in the dark." Rick told them, shaking his head. "We don't have the vehicles. No one's travelling on foot."

"I'm not sitting here, waiting for another herd to blow through." Maggie said, holding the shotgun in her hands. "We need to move, now."

"No one is going anywhere." Rick hissed as he held out his hand.

"Do something." Carol pleaded.

"I am doing something!" Rick told her, pointing at everyone. "I am keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this!" Rick told everybody. "I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!"

Josie stiffened at the mention of Shane, her eyes narrowing, slightly, her eyes burning into the fire as she bit down on her tongue.

"You saw what he was like, how he pushed me, how he comprised us, how he threatened us." Rick told them as Josie squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block his voice. "He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice." He hissed, looking over at Lori. "He was my friend, but he came after me."

Josie turned when she heard Carl crying, Lori holding him in her arms as he cried. Josie breathed out, carefully standing up as she paid no attention to anybody else, walking off. She didn't want to listen to Ricks words. "J." Lori quietly called out, watching the brunette Walsh walk away.

"I'll go to her." Glenn uttered to Lori, who was about to follow the girl, but nodded her head, thankful for Glenn.

Josie wanted to be alone. She couldn't handle what Rick had to say. She knew what Rick was saying was true, how Shane had turned into someone else. But she watched her brother turn into a monster. She saw him die, twice.

Josie ran a shaky hand through her hair, bitting down on her tongue as she squeezed her eyes shut.

She breathed heavily, tears pricking at her eyes. Josie blinked heavily, lifting her head up as she leaned her back against a tree.

She let out a shaky breath, dragging her back against the tree as she lowered herself to the floor.

She placed her hand on her heart as her breaths became uneven and heavy. Shaking her head, she bit down on her tongue as the tears started to drip down her cheek.

She didn't hear the footsteps approach her, but she jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking to see Glenn, a worried look on his face.

Words didn't need to be said as Glenn crouched down, pulling her into a hug, which she immediately melted into.

Josie wrapped her arms around him, crying freely into his chest, muffled by his jacket. Glenn ran his hand through her hair, whispering sweet nothings into her ear—saying she'd be okay.

She would be okay. She'd have to be okay...

— madeleines notes

.... SEASON THREE AYYY..

Long chapter ik but I'm a dedicated woman WHOOOOOOOOOO

Glenn and josie. UGH THEYRE MY BABIES AND MEAN EVERYTHING TO ME.... AHHHHH

I'm dreading season six/seven.

BUT. I HAVE THE LOVE INTEREST FOR MAGGIE EHEHEHE

I know this fanfic is gonna cast out Maggie a lot, and I don't mean to but I'd have to replace a lot of Maggie's scenes for Josie for the plot to work. I LOVE MAGGIE SM DONT WORRY.

Jo and hers friendship is gonna be so precious. Like after Lori....yk.... Jos gonna have Maggie. BC WE LOVE MAGGIE IN THIS HOUSE WHOOOO

I need boy names for Maggie's love interest please 🎀

12 April 2024
6210 words