It's Over When It's Over

I sat there blankly. Thinking. About what? I’m not sure but I was thinking. I wanted my dad. I was realizing that this is all real. That somewhere out there my dad’s dead body is eating another. That Daniel is here safe, but one day he too will be a dead body eating another. Same with Jack, myself, Daryl, and there is nothing I can do about it. There is nothing I can do to keep my loved ones entirely safe. I don’t think I’ve had this realization that if this was to all end, life wouldn’t be entirely normal ever. The fact that this is all real is unbelievable. Growing up in a world where we are told stuff like vampires and werewolves aren’t real yet now we have monsters just as bad.
“Lora,” I heard Rick call out. I brushed myself off and cleared my mind before I went outside to see what he needed. “Hershel wants you and me to go check something out.” I didn’t question what it was because either way I was going to go. I followed Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy into the woods. Jimmy was holding those poles with the string making a loop at the end that usually animal control has. I can’t think of the name of those but I couldn’t help but to think more about what we were going to use them for.
“Um Hershel,” I said with confusion in my voice, “What we going to use those poles for?”
Hershel sighed deeply, “You’ll see.” We walked some ways going deeper and deeper into the woods. Hershel told me he wanted someone who understands the human body more than himself for a second opinion on something he strongly believes in that’s why he wanted me to come. He hoped if I agreed with him on whatever this was it’d convince others. Of course I’d give him my honest opinion from my understanding but as we got closer to the destination I started to hear the groan of mindless hunger. I started questioning whether it was a good idea to have come knowing walkers were head and this is what Hershel wanted us to see. Hershel started talking about the swamp just head, “The silt on the bottom is like glue. You just sink in.” We walked around a tree and there they were. Walkers reaching out at us, biting at us. They were stuck so we were fine I guess. Hershel knew the women in the night gown, the man he did not but he knew his place of work from his overalls. “How many have you killed?” Hershel asked Rick and I.
“Too many to count.” Rick answered as I agreed with it.
“Can you stop?” Hershel asked.
“What for?” I asked.
“There are people out there,” Hershel said pointing at the walkers, “who haven’t been in their right minds, people who I believe can be restored.”
“You’re not talking about the walkers, are you?” I asked him.
“It doesn’t matter if you see them as human beings anymore. But if you and your people are going to stay here, that’s how you’re gonna have to treat them. My farm, my barn, my say.” Hershel said. “Lora I understand where you would see them different but you have to see the human side to them all, right? They are still human. Living, breathing, people.”
“Hershel I’m sorry but I don’t agree. At the CDC I’ve seen everything that happens to them. The brain dies. Once the brain dies everything else dies. Whatever made them this way turns on the survival mood of the brain, but nothing else. Not the human part. Not the living as a person part.” I explained to him. I knew Hershel stopped paying attention when I told him I didn’t agree. He was disappointed that I didn’t agree but its fact over belief. Once Hershel noticed I was done speaking he handed Rick a pole. There was only two and lucky I didn’t get one. They put the loop from the pole around the walker’s neck pulling them towards us. I took a few steps back to watch how this would play out. Hershel told us Otis would do this and put them in the barn and how he handled them easily. It seems you would have to handle them pretty rough to keep them from grabbing at you. Rick had some struggle getting control of his walker and I laughed at the whole thing but he got control of it and we all started walking back towards the farm. I kept my distance still not comfortable with this whole thing though.
We got to the farm and I walked ahead of the walkers as Jimmy tried to keep their attention on him. Then came Shane. Running at us like a bull yelling as usual. The group was behind him though and I could hear Daryl yelling at me to “get the hell away from them”. Shane was yelling uncontrollably at everyone about the two walkers. I ran towards Daniel and held him close to me; Jack had left him alone to join the men aiming guns at the two walkers and the barn.
“Now if y’all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it!” Shane yelled, “I’m talking about fighting right here, right now.” Shane ran to the barn about to open it to let the walkers out. Rick was begging Hershel to take the poll but Hershel was in shock. He just sat there on his knees tears forming in his eyes. Daryl looked at me sliding a gun on the ground in my direction. I looked at him disappointed that he was taking part in this. Of course I am not okay with this whole thing; this is not our say. This is Hershel’s farm. Those walkers are his people and the fact that my people are about to shoot down Hershel’s friends and family right in front of him broke me. Imagine having almost everyone you know killed right in front of your eyes; dead or live.
The first walker came out. Followed but another and another. Andrea ran beside Shane to shoot the walkers. So did Daryl, Jack, T-Dog, then Glenn.
Daniel sat down in shock as well. I sat down holding him. “Aunt Lora, this isn’t right!” He mumbled over the gun fire.
“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” I cried to him.
“Why is dad and Uncle Daryl doing this?” He said as he grabbed on to my shirt, crying into my shoulder. I didn’t want to lie to him so he could believe more that this is wrong. I told him the truth. Jack and Daryl are doing this to keep us safe and in this world you have to do all kinds of wrong to live but it doesn’t always have to be that way.
The gun fire stopped. It was over. The shootout was done. Daryl and Jack turned around and started walking towards us after they were done staring at the mess they had made. Jack stopped as we all heard another growl coming from the barn. We all stopped and looked and saw something we thought we’d never see. Carol cried at the top of her lungs as Sophia walked out the barn. Every single one of us was in shock. As Carol tried to run towards her only daughter Jack held her back, holding her as she cried. Daniel began to shake as he whispered “Sophia” to himself. I grabbed his head turning him away knowing that someone was going to have to put Sophia down. I didn’t want him to see that. I watched as Sophia stumbled around the walkers that lay in front of her. Everyone just stood there except Rick. He had his gun in hand, ready to do what had to be done.
Bang.