Mercy on Me

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Gaaah, I'm alive! I feel horrible, really. You wonderful people who have this on your Favorites list are gonna be like, "What is this? I don't remember this story". I have been super, super busy. Two jobs, lots of school, I just haven't had the time to sit down and really focus on Mercy On Me like I've been wanting to. But have no fear! I pushed one out today, FINALLY. I also went to New York Comic Con and saw the Walking Dead panel, which I was FRONT ROW for. It was insannnne. Needless to say, I died a little inside when Norman came out. Not gonna lie.

Anywho, thanks to everyone who is still sticking with me at this point, especially since I've made you wait, what? At least 5 months? Y'all are awesome.

A lot of my reviews have said that they enjoy the way I change up the storyline yet follow the storyline at the same time (if that makes sense). This chapter is a MAJOR culprit of this. The ending kind of just happened, so no skipping to the end! Read it all of the way through!

How are y'all enjoying Season 4, btw? It's pure REEDUS, which I adore.<3

I hope this chapter makes up for my long long vacay that was definitely not necessary. I've missed you all.

I don't own Walking Dead, but damn, that Norman Reedus..

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TheCrimsonRose; Glad to hear you're enjoying my story so much! Thanks for the review and, of course, thanks for just reading!(:

xXSad_GurlXx; Girl, don't worry, I had a boat load of work that I should've been doing during the marathon too (didn't get it done).. Luckily, after that last sunburn I didn't get any burns that were too bad, praise the Lord. Guess you could say I got lucky. I totally agree with you though, especially since it's Daryl DIXON. I would've fought with him and punched him and then broke down crying because, COME ON, it's Norman freaking Reedus. The man is just perfect. Thanks for the review!(:

HotRanger69; Hey there! I'm SOOO sorry that I went MIA for a while.. Super busy with my stalking of Norman Reedus and such. I went to my first Comic Con, and now, well.. I'm obsessed. I'm going to Philly in June next year with VIP tickets to meet Norman and in September I'm driving down to Virginia to meet Reedus, Flanery, and Rocco.. It's a bad problem I have, but it's totally worth it! Reading through your comment again, I saw the words 'cow crap', and I just have to say that cows are my absolute favorite animal, they're sooo adorable.! And yes, oreo mcflurries! Speaking of, I think that that was the last time I had one</3 I need one of those, like, asap! If you thought Shane was an ass last chapter, just WAIT. Thanks for your awesome reviews, as per usual!(:

TBPFelton18; Glad to hear it! I apologize for the long wait.. I didn't stop writing, which is what everyone assumes.. The way I see it, even if they don't want to admit it, both Daryl and Harper both know that they care about each other, and are willing to at least TRY and fix things. Thanks for the review!(:

Driven To Drift; Writer's block SUCKS. Since I've been so busy, I haven't been able to write, which didn't help either. I knew where I wanted to go with this chapter, but how to get there was a different story. When I want to write but just CAN'T, I pop in those headphones and just listen to music for literally hours until an idea hits me, which is what happened with this chapter! All I'm going to say is that Shane will be getting more than one beat down (obviously all deserved).. Daryl (as well as Merle) have been holding back for a while now, and shit's about to hit the fan. Thanks for the review and for sticking with me!(:

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"There's.. What?".

"You know.. Dead, saggy flesh-eating monsters in the—,".

"Not helpin', Short Round," Daryl growled, wrapping a protective arm around my waist.

Letting out a sigh, I ran a hand down my face which was tingling with shock. Hershel was keeping walkers in the barn? Did his family know about this? We have kids living on this farm!

"Who else knows?" I asked quietly to make sure nobody else overhead us.

"Nobody else from our group knows.. As for Hershel's family, Hershel knows, probably all of the men, Maggie, and that's all I know about," Glenn, shrugged, tugging on his shirt.

My eyebrows raised out of curiosity. How would he know about Maggie?

"Maggie knows? How?" I asked, hands on my hips.

Glenn began to speak, but stopped when he started blushing a deep red.

"Aww, c'mon man!" Daryl bellowed, rolling his eyes.

"What?" I looked back and forth between the two men, not getting the hidden message.

Daryl shot me a look like I was crazy

. "China Man's fucking th' farmer's daught'r,".

My lips pursed, letting out a loud whistle.

"Damn, Glenn, you get around fast!".

"Stop it, guys! It was totally a spur of the moment thing! One moment we were looking for supplies and the next she was taking her shirt off!" Glenn stuttered, throwing his hands up in the air in surrender.

My hands raised to meet his.

"Woah, cowboy, we don't need details.. For now, don't go around blurting out that there's.. Walkers in the barn. ONLY tell Rick and nobody else, got me Glenn?" I told him, crossing my arms.

"I got you, but why can I only tell Rick?".

"Look.. I know that he's my brother and all, but... If Shane finds out about the barn? Shit will hit the fan. We just can't risk it," I explained to both Glenn and Daryl, patting Glenn on the back.

Glenn watched me for a moment before finally nodding and heading back over to the rest of the group. When Glenn was verbally out of earshot, I turned to Daryl and took one of his hands in mine, trying to ignore the fact that he looked around to see if anybody was looking.

"Do we have anything left to discuss?".

"Not right now, don' think so," Daryl shrugged, slipping his hand out of mine.

"Alrighty, then," I nodded, pulling away to get started with my day.

"Wait, Harper," Daryl sighed, jumping forward to grab on to my hand.

"Yeah?" I asked, shooting my eyebrows up in question.

Daryl's mouth opened to speak but he struggled to find any words.

"Come on, Ken, spit it out," I chuckled, slapping him on the cheek lightly.

"Jus' f'get it," Daryl huffed before shrugging and walking off.
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"You still stuck at hunting, Princess," Merle snorted, the rabbit that Merle had had me in pursuit of was quickly scurrying off.

Letting out a growl of frustration, I slammed my knife into its holster at my waist.

"It shouldn't be this damn hard. I mean, come on, you can do it!" I huffed, throwing my arms across my chest.

Merle staggered a few steps back, his hand against his heart.

"Harper, baby, I'm hurt!".

Now it was my turn to let out a snort as I shook my head quickly. Double checking my holster and gun, I ran a hand through my dirty hair while surveying the area for any danger or anything just out of the ordinary.

"You'll get over it, Merle, trust me,".

I didn't blink when Merle stood in front of me with arms crossed, a wide smile plastered on to his face.

"What?".

"A hug or somethin' might make the pain hurt a lil' bit less, Princess.." he muttered, eyeing me carefully.

My eyebrows were raised as my hands fell to my hips.

"Just a hug?" I asked, tapping one foot lightly against the dirt floor.

Sure, Merle and I are quite comfortable with each other, but ninety-nine percent of the time Daryl has been standing behind Merle's back shooting him daggers.

Now it's just the two of us, alone, in the woods.

Merle nodded at my woods and opened his arms wide, making me giggle a little.

"Never thought I'd be hugging a guy with a stump for an arm..." I whispered, leaning in and wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

"Hey! Just for that, you're getting' a lil' more," Merle growled playfully, reaching down with his good hand to squeeze my ass.

"Merle, come on!" I yelped, pulling away from his strong arms.

"Sorry, Sugar, ya asked fer it," Merle shrugged, clearly okay with what he had done.

"Remember last time you tried putting move on me?".

"Not at all, darlin', enlighten me!" Merle chirped, obviously playing dumb.

"Um, how about Daryl punched you right in the nose.. No wonder the thing's looked a little off, lately," I shrugged, turning to gather myself and head back to the farm.

We walked for a few minutes of silence before Merle's curiosity got the better of him.

"So how'er things wit my baby brother?".

"Okay, I guess," I replied simply, adding in a shrug of my shoulders.

"He still the same moody pussy that he's always been?".

"Sure, let's go with that," I replied shortly, rolling my eyes.

"He treatin' ya right after tha' fight?".

His question stopped me dead in my tracks (no pun intended) and left me staring at him with amused eyes.

"You, of all people, cannot ask me that type of question, Merle,".

Merle threw his hands out and let out a loud growl of frustration.

"You know I didn't mean to hit ya, Princess! I fuckin' 'pologized to ya! I don't do that shit on a daily basis!".

"Whatever," I replied, pulling a large branch out of my face.

I must've let go of the branch too soon, since it snapped back and hit Merle square in the face.

"T'fuck!" he yelled, stumbling backwards in pain.

"Shit, Merle, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, my hands cupping my mouth in surprise.

In all of the surprise, Merle had dropped his large bag, its contents spilling to the floor.

"Merle, I'm so sorry, let me get that for you," I told him quickly, bending down to retrieve his dropped items.

"No no, I got it, it's fine," Merle told me in hurry before picking me up under the arms.

Shooting him a weird look, I went to bend down again to reach for his belongings.

"It's really not a problem, Merle, I can get it. It's my fault, anyway,".

"I said it's fine, Harper," he replied with that typical Dixon hiss.

He was starting to get pissed. Two can play at that game.

"Why? Should I be worried that you'll hit me again?".

Merle's lips were set in a thin line as he debated whether or not he should let me get his stuff. While he was thinking, I bent down and snatched up the bag, tearing out the contents.

"Hope you don't mind, I made the decision for you," my voice told him as I shot him an obnoxious smile.

"Harper, jus'.. Jus' don't..." he began to say, but I stopped him.

"Don't what?".

I would've said more, but I had to stop and gag a little when I pulled out some kind of rotten meal that the man had never finished.

"Guess you'll find out," he sighed begrudgingly.

My manners were forgotten as I threw the items out of his bag until there was nothing left.

"Keep lookin'," he muttered, jutting his chin out over to his bag when I shot him a confused look.

All the way at the bottom of his bag, under a flap that was apparently built into the bag, was a tiny bag of white powder.

"Dammit, Merle!" I bellowed, throwing his sack to the forest floor.

"Was hopin' ya wouldn't freak out too much,".

My head started to shake at his words.

"How do you expect me not to freak out over this? I thought you ran out of drugs, Merle!".

"I found some, a'right? Couldn't help the cravings so I went out at night and looked," he told me, reaching out to grab the baggie away from me, but for once, I was too quick for him.

"You left camp and never said anything? What would've happened if you got hurt? Nobody would have known! Did you ever once stop to think about your brother in all of this?" I growled, stomping my foot down.

"Now you're just playin' favorites, Princess," Merle tried telling me, but I really wasn't.

"No, Merle, this is about your health and you staying alive. Daryl would lose it if you died! Don't you get it?".

One of my hands reached up to pull at my hair, frustration getting the better of me. Why couldn't he just put this stuff behind him?

"He don't have ta know, Barbie, we don't have to tell him," Merle suggested, shooting me a smile.

Letting out a laugh, I rolled my eyes.

"I've told you before, don't call me Barbie. Now clean this shit up,".

As soon as Merle bent down to pick up his stuff, I turned on my heels and took off in a sprint towards camp.
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Merle wasn't far behind me when I came bursting through Daryl's tent.

"The hell's wrong wit you, Barbie?" Daryl asked, jumping up in surprise.

"Merle is what's wrong," I told him through big breaths.

Daryl's eyes immediately shot out of the tent to search for Merle and tensed when he saw Merle booking it for the tent.

"He lay hands on ya?" he growled, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Not the point,".

"So he did?" Daryl asked in surprise, his eyebrows raising.

"Daryl, please,".

"No, you 'please'. I'm gon' fucking kill 'em,".

"Daryl, stop! That's not the problem. His drug addiction is the problem," I hushed him, hands rushing to his shoulders to calm him down.

Daryl's eyes zoned in on mine as he spoke.

"Boy hasn't touched that shit for since we got here,".

Knowing proof was better than words, I grabbed the baggie out of my pocket and tossed it onto his mattress. Daryl stared at it for a moment before running his hands through his hair.

"Fuck.." he whispered, bending down to rest his elbows on his knees.

"'Fuck' is right,".

Before we could say any more, Merle pushed through the tent, breathing heavy gasps of air.

"Fastest fuckin' runner I've ever met," he gasped, coughing a couple of times before Daryl spun around and punched him square in the jaw.

"That's for layin' hands on Harper," Daryl spat, turning around again to grab the bag of drugs. "And what the fuck's this, huh?".

"None of yer damn business, boy," Merle growled.

"It is when you're putting our people in danger, 'specially Harper!".

"We've got a lot more than just me 'round here puttin' people at risk, asshole," Merle shot back, wiping away the blood that was dripping from his nose.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" I asked the older Dixon, taking a step closer to ensure that Daryl didn't hit him again.

"Y'all know about the walkers in the barn?"
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"I should tell Shane,".

"Fuck no, you shouldn't!".

"Daryl, if Merle knows about the walkers in the barn, who else can know?" I asked him heatedly, throwing my arms up.

"Not th' point," Daryl muttered, shaking his head.

"Yes, it is the point. Say we all find out and Shane's the last to know? He'd freak!" I groaned, leaning my head back against Daryl's chest.

"Jus'.. Don't say anything, Harper. Nothing good will come out of it," Daryl tried to tell me, but I was still conflicted.

"I really can't run through the camp shouting, 'Hey guys, there's walkers in the barn'?" I chuckled, running a hand over Daryl's thigh.

"No, ya can't. And stop doing that shit, too," he growled, slapping my hand away.

"Why?" I muttered, leaning up to face him.

"'Cause I know I'll end up taking yer shirt off and then somethin'll happen where you push me away, which'll lead to us fighting," Daryl rambled on, making me laugh.

Okay, laugh a lot.

"It ain't funny, Harper; I can't kiss ya without getting rocks thrown at the back of my head!".

Wrapping a hand around the back of his head, I pulled him down against my lips, still laughing lightly against his kiss.

"See? No rocks," I told him when we pulled apart.

"Shut up and go ta sleep," Daryl muttered, resting his chin on the top of my head lightly.
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"Checkmate!".

"Daaamn, girl, you're getting good!".

Sophia plucked my king off of the chess board triumphantly, not before doing a little happy dance in her chair.

"Should've never taught you how to play this game.." I told her, sighing.

Sophia had approached me with the chess board after I bid Daryl a farewell, since he and Merle were out for the day hunting (even though it was most likely a day for them to beat the crap out of each other over the whole drug ordeal).

"You girls busy?" a voice called out from behind us.

"Yes, Shane, we're busy," I replied as I watched Sophia begin to set up the board again.

"Harper, I only need you for a minute," Shane tried again, standing behind me with his hands folded.

"Busy," was my short response.

The next voice surprised me.

"Too busy to talk to me? It's important, Harper,".

Spinning around in my chair, I faced Rick—a not-too-happy Rick.

"Sorry, Soph. This should only take a minute," my hand reached out and patted the girl on the shoulder as I apologized.

Not bothering to glance over at Shane as I made my way over to Rick, Rick led me away from the two and over to a somewhat private area. I wasn't surprised when Rick cut right to the chase.

"The barn, what's in it?".

"Rick—,".

"Don't lie to me, Harper. I trust you too much for that," Rick told me, his hands on his hips in an authoritative stance.

I wanted to tell him—I really, really, did—but all I could think about what Daryl and how he told me not to tell a soul. But now, looking into my best friend's eyes, all I wanted to do was tell the truth. So that's what I did.

"Walkers,".
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Rick had almost decided to tell everyone about the barn situation, including Shane, but after enough convincing, Rick had agreed with me and Daryl that it was just too risky. Even though Rick didn't want to accept Shane's deteriorating mental state (neither did I), he had to admit that it was much too dangerous.

Rick also said something about trying to convince Hershel into letting us stay at the farm a bit longer, but I wasn't really listening at that point.

I would've asked Rick how he had figured it out, but I already knew. Too much had gone on in the last twenty four hours to not know how Rick had figured it out.

I went through my normal daily routine, but as the sun began to set, I grew antsier and antsier, biting on my nails more and more. I just needed the confrontation to be over with.

After dinner, I plopped my butt into one of Daryl's lawn chairs in front of his tent and waited, just waited, until the Dixons arrived.
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"Damn, boy, you've got this girl trained right! I like m'self a pretty little welcoming committee!" Merle laughed raucously as he dropped his bag of game by the fire pit.

When I didn't answer him, Daryl, automatically knew something was up.

"What's wrong, Harper?".

"Why'd you tell him?".

If it weren't for the mood I was in, the look Daryl shot me would've made me laugh it was so comical.

"Tell who what, Barbie?".

"Not you, Daryl," my hand whipped through the air, waving him off.

Merle shot me a masked look before going back to unloading his bag of game.

"Think th' pretty thing's referring to me tipping Officer Friendly off 'bout them walkers in the barn," Merle chirped so nonchalantly it made me ball my fists together.

"You what?!" Daryl yelled, shoving Merle in the shoulder.

Merle shoved Daryl back, but much, much harder.

"That will be the last time you lay a hand on me, boy. Hear me?" Merle spat, pushing Daryl in the chest once more for good measure. "And if y'all are interested in why I did it, it's simple. You two burned my drugs. That was good shit, too," Merle shrugged, sighing along the way.

"All of this over drugs? How low can you get?" I sneered at him, looking the other way.

"I'm a Dixon, sweetheart. That's how low I am," Merle snarled back before stomping off, his fingers twitching the whole way.
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"He's making it really hard for me to want to help him, you know," I whispered into Daryl's ear at lunch the next day.

"He's jus' bein' an asshole on purpose," Daryl shrugged, taking a bite of the deer meat he and Merle were lucky enough to catch.

"Still doesn't make it right.." I went to say as Glenn ran over to the group with a worried look on his face.

"Everything alright, Glenn?" Dale asked from across the clean fire pit.

"No.. Guys, I need to tell you all something," Glenn replied, wringing his hands together.

Shit.

Glancing over at Daryl gave me the same expression. He wouldn't, would he? We all agreed!

"Well? Spit it out, man," Shane said loudly, breaking the awkward silence that was hanging over the group.

"There's—,".

"Glenn.." my voice called in a warning tone.

Glenn looked over at me and nodded as if to say 'it's alright'.

"There's walkers in the barn,".
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"Maggie, right?" I asked nervously, tapping her on the shoulder.

"That's right. Something wrong?" Maggie replied, watching me carefully.

"No—well, yeah. Glenn told everyone about.. Uh, you know," I explained, fiddling nervously with the bottom of my shirt.

Maggie's eyes filled with fear and a bit of shock at my news.

"He did what?".

"Look, I really need to talk to your dad, where is he?".

"No idea," Maggie shrugged, "I think he's out with Rick,".

"Shit, shit, shit..." my voice managed to come out in a whisper as I rubbed at my eyes.

"Why do you need him so bad?".

"Because what you don't realize is that my brother, somewhere down the road, became a ticking time bomb, and is ready to rip your barn to fucking shreds!" I shrieked, pushing my way out the door and into the Georgian sun.

Immediately I ran into Glenn, who was looking around haphazardly.

"What's going on, Glenn?".

"Dale, where's Dale?" Glenn muttered in a panic, lifting his baseball cap up to run his hand through his short black hair.

"I-I don't know, he was at lunch, wasn't he? He couldn't have gone far," I said calmly in an attempt to soothe Glenn, but it did no such thing.

"No, Harper, he was in the RV, with the bag of guns, and now both are gone, and Shane is gone too.. Dammit, I shouldn't have said anything!" Glenn rattled off quickly, kicking the house's porch's steps.

"Glenn, I don't see where you're going with this," my hands were moving through the air with my words, both trying to make sense of the situation.

"Harper, think about it: Dale is gone. Shane is gone. The bag of guns is gone,".

That's when it hit me; Shane had a bag full of loaded guns with a barn full of walkers right around the corner.

It was perfect timing when Shane and Dale emerged from the woods, bag of guns in hand. Somehow I locked eyes with my brother and he began to stomp over, but stopped in his tracks when Rick, Hershel, and Otis emerged from the woods as well, with walkers that had poles around their necks.
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Shane's loud screams and curses really got everyone's attention, but it wasn't until his "Oh, fuck this!", that everyone came running.

"Y'all see what they're doing?!" he growled, his tongue darting out over his bottom lip.

"Shane.." I started to say, but Shane hushed me by thrusting my gun in my face.

"Harper, shut up. Please. Are we gonna take this or are we going to fight?" Shane spat at the ground as he handed out guns.

A handgun for Andrea, a shotgun for Glenn.

"It's fight or flight, guys," Andrea exclaimed, checking the barrel of her weapon.

"You can just shut the hell up,", a growl emitting from my throat.

"Now is not the time to get pissy over me shooting Daryl, Harper," Andrea replied, throwing up her hand to silence me, which I slapped down.

"Considering you could've killed him, I think I'll stay pissed," I growled, getting ready to throw a punch if necessary.

"Enough. We have bigger problems, like, like.. Dammit!" Shane shouted before taking off in a full blown sprint towards Rick, Hershel, Otis, and their newly captured walkers.
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"What the hell you doin'?!" Shane bellowed from across the yard, practically the entire camp in tow.

"Shane, just back off.." Rick warned him, clearly busy with the undead monster he was dealing with.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked Rick in a panic, but was automatically drawn back to his own walker as it let out a growl.

"Are you kidding me? You see? You see what you're holding on to?" Shane growled as he circled Rick and Hershel, pointing at the various walkers in our midst.

"I see who I'm holding on to!" Hershel replied, beginning to struggle with the dead man in his hands.

That's when it hit me: Hershel thought that the walkers were still people.

"Hershel.. They're not people anymore.." I tried to say, but Shane was too wired to let me get too many words in.

"Nah, man, you don't see..".

"Let us just do this, then we can talk," Rick struggled in a futile attempt to reason with Shane, but we all knew that it was no use.

"What you wanna talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick; they're not people! They're DEAD!".

"Shane, stop it, this isn't helping!" I pleaded with my brother, taking hold of his shoulder, but he pushed me away violently, making me stumble over my own feet.

"Enough outta you! If you're not on my side, you're against me, Harper, stay out of my way,".

"You better back up man, she doesn't want you doing somethin' you'll regret," Daryl told him, but in a threatening tone.

I was almost surprised when Shane ignored him, but he was obviously too angry to deal with Daryl right now.

"You think puttin' these things in a barn will make them like you more? You ain't got to feel nothing for these things! 'Cause all they do is kill! These things, right. Here!" Shane exploded, spittle flying in every direction.

His rage was uncontrollable now and I was not planning on stopping him.

"They're the things that killed Amy! They're the things that killed all of our people, and they will kill all of us unless we do something about it!".

"Shane, shut up!" Rick shouted back over Shane's words so each other's sentences were basically a jumbled mess.

When Shane turned and began to chuckle, I knew we were in trouble.

When Shane pulled the gun out of the waistband of his pants, I knew we were in deep shit.

"Hey Hershel, man, let me ask you something.. Can a living, breathing, person.. Man, can they walk away from this?".

I think I can say that I speak for the whole group in saying that we all cringed when Shane shot Hershel's walker directly in the heart. The dead man let out a groan of pain but continued trying to drag its body towards Shane, eager to taste his flesh.

Glancing over at Hershel, his quivering lips were parted, unlike the rest of his unresponsive body.

"Stop it!" Rick shouted, but Shane just wouldn't have it.

"Answer this for me, is somebody was alive, could they just take that? Huh? Why is he still coming?" Shane growled, pointing towards the bleeding body.

Lifting his gun, he shot three bullets into the body of Rick's walker, making it stumble but not enough to fall over.

"That's its heart, its lungs, why. Is it. Still coming?!".

"Shane, please!" I reached out to him, but Daryl wrapped his hand around mine to stop me.

My brother ignored me and continued to shoot three more bullets into the walker.

"Shane, that's enough!" Rick 's voice echoed through the camp, almost louder than Shane's bullet.

"Yeah, you're right man, that is enough," Shane replied before finally shooting the walker in the head.

Hershel dropped the stick that had been holding on to the walker and fell to his knees, the shock already setting in.

At that moment, the barn door began to shake, the growls began to grow louder. Shane crossed his arms and let out a low, amused chuckle.

"Y'all listen here.. If you all wanna survive; you gotta fight for it! I'm talking about fight! Right here, right now!".

"Shane, stop!" I barked when Shane ripped the first board off of the barn door.

"Shut up, Harper!" Shane barked back as he banged his fist against the barn door, as if the walkers hadn't heard the first few gunshots.

When the barn door opened, Andrea immediately stood by Shane, her gun raised. T-Dog followed in her path, then Glenn, not before sharing an asking glance with Maggie.

I glanced over towards Daryl and Merle, as if daring them to stand with Shane. When the first walker came stumbling out of the barn, Daryl finally looked over at me.

"Need ta protect ya," he muttered before picking up his shotgun and standing in line with Shane.

One walker.

Two walkers.

Three walkers.

The number of walkers that left the barn was never-ending to the point where I couldn't even watch the massacre anymore. It was when the barn doors slammed shut that I finally looked up.

Otis had his back pressed up against the door, holding whatever bodies were left inside the barn.

"Get out of the way, man.." Shane muttered, his voice gone hoarse by now.

Otis shook his head, placing his hands up against the barn doors.

"I can't do that, Shane. These are our friends, our family," Otis insisted, despite the fact that he looked scared shitless.

Shane chuckled slightly, biting down on his bottom lip.

"You know man, I you were lucky the first time, escaping death or whatever.. But if you don't move, I will shoot you,".

It was official. Shane Walsh had snapped.

"Just put the guns down and stop! We don't need all of this violence!" Otis repeated, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

"Last chance, Otis! Move,".

"Shane!" Rick shouted, and in response, Shane shot and killed the walker Rick had been holding on.

While Shane was looking in Rick's direction, I took that as my chance. While Shane was occupied, I bolted and zipped in front of Otis, blocking him from Shane's path.

"So man, what's it gonna—dammit, Harper you need to move, now," Shane told me sadly, the sick smirk falling off of his face.

"Not if you plan on shooting Otis. If you want to shoot him, you have to go through me. Your sister,".

There, I said it. He would never.

I let out a breath when I saw his hand waver and begin to lower his gun.

But then his wrist snapped up, his finger pulled the trigger, and he shot me.
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Numb.

The numbing pain that chilled my body was almost addicting.

The second shot that pierced the air almost didn't register in my brain.

No, my body was just too numb.

Where had I even gotten shot? I felt a body hit the floor beside me, that body being the only thing keeping the barn door shut.

All around me there were shrieks and cries. What was it all for?

My arms began to tingle as my entire body started floating in mid-air. I was dying, I was sure of it. Why did Heaven smell like cigarettes? Maybe God was trying out a new scent.

As soon as my fingertips touched the clouds I plummeted, skydiving towards the ground. My body landed gently but boy, did it hurt like a bitch.

My mouth opened in an attempt to cry, scream, something.

Nothing came out.

Instead, the screams and cries were all around me, and that something was in my ear, repeating something over and over.
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"You son of a bitch, I'll kill you!" Daryl snarled, grabbing Shane by the throat.

Daryl almost faltered in the fact that Shane took it, didn't even fight by.

The look in Shane's eyes was lost; desperate. Shock over the fact that he had just shot his own sister.

It seemed both men snapped back into reality just in time for Daryl to land a fist to Shane's cheek. For once, nobody stopped him; no, everybody agreed with him.

Patricia's cries over Otis' body were drowned out by Daryl's fist, repeatedly connecting with Shane's body. Daryl got a few good hits in before Merle pulled him back by his haunches, despite Daryl's resisting.

"Let me GO, Merle! He shot her! He shot her!".

"I understand that, and he'll get what's comin' to 'im, but Harper is shot, bro. She needs you right now, Shane doesn't," Merle tried to talk him down.

Eventually, Daryl ripped himself from Merle's grasp and made his way over to Harper. Taking matters into his own hands, Rick grabbed a large slab of wood and threw it up against the door, cementing it shut for now.

"Harper? Barbie, wake up," Daryl called out to her, rubbing her cheek lightly.

"Bro, she needs medical, asap," Merle noted, pointing out the bullet wound in Harper left thigh.

"Then get what we need to get that fuckin' thing out, man, I ain't leavin' her," Daryl muttered, resting his head against her stomach.

Merle didn't miss the moment where Daryl's voice cracked, but he walked away nonetheless.

Daryl was able to relax a little by listening to Harper's somewhat steady breathing, but that moment of calm was shattered by a painful scream from Patricia's throat.

Otis had bit Patricia.
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