From the Shadows

The group talked about leaving the highway. “We can't leave, what about Andrea? She's still out there.” Teagan was adamant to not lose any more people. Her and Andrea didn't exactly get along, but she deserved a chance. Teagan also secretly hoped that since Shane's bad influence was gone, Andrea might warm up and be more pleasant to everyone.

​​“It's not safe to stay here. That horde might come back this way, and we may not have the same luck as last time. We need to siphon gas and head out.” Rick spoke for the group, whether or not all the group agreed with him. No one was willing to argue.

​​“We can't just leave. We need to wait for her or look for her. What if she comes up here and we're gone? She has no supplies... nothing.”

​​“She's right. Maybe we can wait until evening. By then, if she is going to be here, she will be.” Carol's quiet voiced piped in. Carol and Teagan exchanged glances, smiled, and nodded. Rick shifted uncomfortably on his feet. He was anxious to get out of there as soon as possible, but relented.

​​“We'll stay until tomorrow. In the morning, we need to leave.” The time was short, but Teagan appreciated the compromise. Everyone slunked back to their chosen groups. Rick and his family, Glen with Hershel's, and Carol with her daughter and T-Dog. Teagan and Daryl sat by themselves, gathering their thoughts.

​​Teagan: I hope Andrea makes it back... I don't want to leave her. Should we go after her? Rick won't allow that. Would Daryl do it? He'd hate the suggestion. Patricia and Jimmy... I wonder how Hershel and his family are feeling, what they're thinking; they've lost so many already. And Shane... fuck him. I'm glad he's dead... Is that appropriate to think? Have I become that? No. I'm fine. It's his fault. He went crazy. He attacked me and killed Randall... poor kid. He finally thought he was getting away, a second chance. Dale... No. I can't. I can't think about his face. And Daryl? I told myself I wouldn't get attached, but look at me? Do I have feelings for him? No. Of course not. That's silly... or is it? Does he have feeling for me? Stop it! You can't get distracted. Focus. It's safer to keep him away. He can't get distracted either. If he died because of me... I'd never forgive myself.

​​Daryl: That bitch Andrea better hurry up. We ain't got time to wait all damn day. Why's Teagan wan' her back so bad? Andrea treated her like shit. I hope no'un suggests I look fer her. Who else did we lose? Hershel lost more people. So did we.. nah. Fuck that. Fuck Shane. Rotten bastard who calls himself a man, beatin' on women n shit. Am I any better? I beat on tha' kid Randall. Nah. I'm fine. Him an' his group were shit. Don't know if he deserved ta die like tha' though... Wonder how Dale'd feel 'bout it. Nah. Can't think 'bout it. His face... and Teagan's.. she felt so damn guilty? Why? She didn' do nothin' but help. What's with her anyway? Can't get mah mind off her. Never felt this shit before. It's stupid. She ain't interested in no dumb redneck like me. Get off yer fuckin' high horse n move on. I jus hate seein' her hurt. If she died 'cause of me... I'd never forgive mahself.

​​Teagan was lost in thought when a rustling came from the bushes. She stood up quickly, weapon ready. Daryl also ran to her side with his crossbow, aimed at the noise. The rest of the group turned their heads and stood slowly, anticipating the sound. In a second, Andrea burst through the bushes, covered in mud and twigs. Her hair was a mess, but she was alive.
​
​Everyone relaxed and greeted her. Teagan shot a glance over at Rick, and he nodded in appreciation. They gathered around her, talking and chatting. She had no serious injuries that needed attending to. Her smile faded as she peered at familiar faces, missing one. She looked over to Rick.

​​“Where's Shane?” Teagan swallowed hard, and Rick dropped his head.

​​“Where is Shane?” She repeated her question in a harsher tone. Those around her took a few steps back.

​​“He, uh, didn't make it.” He fiddled with his sheriff’s hat in his hands. Teagan looked down, then at Rick. Daryl stood stiff, shoulders square.

​​“What do you mean? Is he... did he...” She couldn't complete her question before choking. She took a step back and ran a hand through her hair. She jerked her head up and glared at Rick.

​​“What the hell happened?” Her voice was angry and sad. She felt Shane was her only real friend since Dale passed.

​​“Shane attacked me last night an-”

​​“Excuse me? He would never do that! He was your best friend!” Her voice was shrill and shaking. She did not want to believe what Rick was saying.

​​Rick sighed. “Listen Andrea, please. Shane.. he changed. Something was different in him. He came after me with a gun and-”

​​“YOU LIAR!” Andrea screamed. Everyone in the group stepped back, and Carl started to cry.

​​“No, Andrea. He's right. While everyone was inside, Shane took Randall into the forest and killed him. I followed them and Shane attacked me and left me to die. He told me he was going after Rick.” Teagan spoke.

​​“You stupid bitch, shut up! You're both lying!” Andrea had tears in her eyes.

​​“Would I do this to myself?” Teagan angrily pointed to the thick reddish-purple mark on her throat. “Shane lost it. He went crazy.”

​​The group went quiet in disbelief. They all saw Shane missing, but no one had wanted to bring it up.

​​“I-I had to protect dad. Sh-shane turned and I had to...” Carl mumbled through sobs. Everyone in the group knew Carl had to shoot Shane. The single shot. Lori knelt down and cradled her little boy.

​​“Wait... Shane was bit? I thought you said he attacked you. Maybe it was the disease.” Andrea's voice was softer, but firm.

​​“He... he didn't get bit. Shane lunged at me and.... I killed him.” Rick's voice was shaking slightly. He was obviously nervous.

​​“But Carl said...” Lori was couldn't believe what she was hearing.

​​“Yeah, when we found Randall, he was a walker but... no bites.” Glen put his hands on his hips and scrunched his forehead in disbelief.

​​“Died of a broke neck.” Daryl chipped into the conversation. Teagan shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows.

​​“Wait, you guys don't know?” Her voice was calm, but her face was stunned.

​​Everyone instantly stared at Teagan. She was shocked.

​​“Know what, exactly?” Glenn's voice was full of fear.

​​“Everyone's infected. No matter how you die, you turn. Bites only make it faster.” Rick's voice was thick and deep. His eyes were sunken and tired. Guilt streaked his face.

​​“What? Wait, when did you find this out?” Lori held onto Carl tighter than before, and Carol to Sophia. Fear leaked into the eyes of everyone but Teagan.

​​“Jenner. At the CDC, before we left.” Teagan could feel the heaviness in Rick's heart solely by his voice.

​​“And you didn't tell us? What the hell? Did you tell her? Is that why she knows?” Andrea barked and pointed at Teagan.

​​“No, he didn't. I knew long before ever meeting you guys. I thought everyone knew.” Teagan was defensive and dumbfounded.

​​“We've only lost people to bites...” Glenn was sorrowful, and held to Maggie's arm tightly and looked at the ground.

​​“When did you plan on telling us, Rick? When the next person died? We deserved to know!”
​​Lori was bitter and upset, but her eyes were sad for Rick. There was long, silent tension filling the air.

​​“Look, I'm not saying I agree, but would it have been better before now? When Hershel was at the bar, wouldn't you have worried even more? Or with every injury? When Sophia was missing? Or Lori, when you thought Carl was lost last night? Would you have felt better knowing this?” Teagan defended Rick. It felt out of character for her, but she was on his side.

​​“He can't keep information like that from us. It isn't fair!” Andrea piped in again, annoying Teagan even further.

​​“Listen, Rick is your leader, right? Do you know what that responsibility entails? Every decision he makes, he has to think of everyone. Every one of your faces pops up in his mind with every difficult choice he has. The choices you make are immediate to you. You think of your family, or maybe even just yourself. Not everyone. What's done is done, and you all know now. We have other things we need to figure out, not who we're going to blame for what.” Teagan's voice was loud, attention grabbing, and bursting with bitter truth. Everyone's face became guilt-ridden, and almost everyone looked down to their feet, not wanting to look at her. Rick's eyes were wide, surprised and thankful for Teagan's words. He put a hand on her shoulder, and they nodded at each other. He stepped forward.

​​“I'm sorry for keeping this from you, but at the time, I felt it right. Tomorrow, we need to head out and find a new place to stay. It's dangerous staying out here. We'll travel in as few cars as possible to fit every person and all our supplies. Every safe town we hit, we'll grab everything we can.”

​​“Do we have a place to go?” Carol squeaked as always.

​​“No. Fort Benning is not an option anymore. I say we drive in one direction and keep our eyes peeled. Anything to house ourselves in long term.”

​​Everyone retreated back to the cars to catch some rest. Without the RV, which was left behind at the farm, sleeping arrangements were cramped and stuffy. Teagan volunteered to keep watch, knowing she'd never get to sleep anyway. Where would she sleep? While the group collaborated and worked as a unit, when it came down to it, the group was essentially subdivided by family. Rick and his family, Hershel and his, Carol and Sophia. Glen tagged along with Hershel and T-Dog hopped between Carol and Rick. Without Shane, Andrea was a lost puppy, but her anger at Rick for killing Shane left her with Carol. Daryl and Teagan had no intentions of imposing their presence into anyone's group; they stuck to themselves.

Teagan found a tall truck to sit on. She inspected the inside to make sure no walker would creep up on her. She sat on the roof and enjoyed the chirping of crickets and twinkling of the stars. She grew up in a small town, and she experienced plenty of starry nights, but nowadays, the night skies were even prettier. There was absolutely no light pollution. Every star seemed to shine brighter since the chaos from the farm. The night brought on an unexpected breeze. Teagan's jacket was left in the car she had escaped with Rick in, and she didn't want to wake them up just for her jacket. Instead, she appreciated the cool air, knowing in the daytime it was blistering hot. The night was quiet and still, but not in an eery way. It actually felt calming, as if the world hadn't ended and the dead were walking. She sighed deeply and shivered. She heard quiet steps approaching from behind her, and aimed her flashlight at the shadowed figure.

“Damnit, can ya not blind me?”

“Daryl?”

“Yeah, it's me. Who ya expectin'?”

“Nobody, that's why I'm surprised. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be asleep?”

Daryl grunted. “Can't sleep. Ya cold? Here.” Daryl offered Teagan his jacket.

Teagan was pleasantly shocked at his gesture. “No, thanks. I'm fine. Keep it.”

“I ain't cold, and even in tha dark I can see ya shiverin'.” He kept his arm outstretched. Teagan playfully sighed and took his jacket, laying it in her lap.

“Tends ta work better if you put it on. It ain't a blanket.” A smirk crept from the corner of his mouth. Just like when ya told me sleeping works better with ya eyes closed.

Teagan laughed to herself, and unconsciously kept the jacket in her lap. She fiddled with her fingers and Daryl hopped onto the truck roof to join her, but kept a comfortable distance between them.

“Don't gotta act tough all tha time ya know.” Daryl's voice was low and gruff. He meant it for the both of them, but aimed it at her.

Teagan chuckled. “Yeah? What about you Mr. Tough Guy?”

Daryl lowered his head and chuckled along with her. It was too dark to see each other's smiles. Both of them felt a strong urge to talk, to say something, anything. They independently wanted to learn more about each other, but both were too introverted and self-conscious to speak first.

Teagan: Has he ever left Georgia? What's Merle like? Did he have any pets? What's his favorite book? Movie? How did he get involved with this group? Where'd he get so good at a crossbow? Tracking? Hunting? Why's he so angry all the time?... Why am I angry?

Daryl: Where she from? Did she have any family? Friends? Was she in a group 'fore this? What were they like? Why'd she leave? How'd she get so good at fightin'? Takin' care of herself? Why's she so distant?... Why am I distant?

The two of them inaudibly and simultaneously sighed.

“Ya gonna try n sleep, er what?” He turned his head towards her and kept his voice hushed.

“I don't think I can. You can, though. We've got a long road ahead of us.” She stretched and cracked her back. “And you'll be riding your bike. Can't be tired while driving.”

“I'll be fine, can't sleep on that thing if I tried...Ya don't seem ta sleep much.” A twinge of worry seeped from his lips.

“I've always been like that. So much more to do in life than sleep.”

“Ya need it, ta keep yer strength up.”

“Nah, I'll be fine. Besides, I'm not even tired.” Teagan struggled to choke down the yawn encompassing her last sentence. Daryl chuckled.

“Whatever ya say.”

Silence fell between Daryl and Teagan, and before she knew it, Teagan had rested against the cool roof of the truck and fallen asleep. Daryl pulled his jacket off her lap and laid it over her upper body and mumbled to himself.

“Now it's a damn blanket.” He shook his head and cracked a weak smile. What is she doin ta me?​​