Later that day I was down at the lake with Carl and the woman who were washing the clothes.
I was going to play with Carl for a bit and help take his mind off his father leaving once again.
Sometimes you just gotta help a friend out. Plus he didn't mind hanging out with Carl and teaching him a few things.
" I'm not getting anything." Carl said showing his empty net
" Yeah. Being all wily, staying submerged. Little suckers, they know something's up. That's what's going on. Just going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. All right, little man, look. You are the… you are the key in all this, okay? All I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go after one of them, all right, scare the rest of them off. They're all gonna scatter. I'm gonna drive 'em your way, okay?"
"All right." Carl said with a smile
"What you need to do is you need to round up every bad boy you see, all right? Are you with me?" I asked
"Yeah. Yeah." Carl nodded
"Hells yeah. Give me your mean face. Yes sir. Are you ready?
"Yeah!" Carl starts laughing
"Are you ready? Here we go, boy. Here we go."
Carl laughs as he splashes around in the water.
"All right, they're coming your way. They're coming your way. Go on, get 'em, get 'em. They're coming your way, come on. Catch them frogs. Catch them frogs. They're coming, little man! Get 'em! Get that net in there and get 'em!
"They're coming, little man! Get 'em! Get that net in there and get 'em! What have you got, bad boy? What do you got? What do you got?"
"Dirt." Carl says with a sad smirk
"Oh boy. All right, we've got to start over. Come on, let's find this bucket." I said and Carl smiled once again.
A little while later Carl, Lori and I were relaxing at the lake when we saw Ed hit Carol.
I went over there and punched him three times before telling him to stay in his tent before the rest of us left and went back to camp.
I would deal with Ed later tonight. I couldn't allow a loose cannon like Ed to stay in the camp.
A few hours later both Amy and Andrea came back with a boat load of fish and we were all laughing and relaxing.
"Shane, here's your jacket back." Carol came up and gave me back the jacket I had let Sophia use.
"Thanks Carol, and I'm sorry about earlier."
"Don't be. It's not your fault." Carol said before walking off.
"Are you ready to eat tonight?" Amy came over and sat next to me with a smile.
"Of course I am. Don't worry. I'll let you have a few bites." I smirked
"Chh!" Amy rolled her eyes.
While we were all relaxing Dale came and told me Jim had been digging in the heat without taking any breaks so I made him take a break and drink some water.
Luckily it seemed like Jim was fine and that the stress might have been messing with his head.
Finally it was night time and everyone was around the fire and passing around the fish.
I was sitting next to Amy and Carl while everyone was laughing and talking.
"I've got to ask you, man. It's been driving me crazy." Morales says to Dale
"What?" Dale ask
"That watch." Morales points at Dales watch.
"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale rubs his watch.
"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."
"I've wondered this myself." Jacqui says
"I'm missing the point." Dale puts his hands up confused.
"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while."
"But there's you every day winding that stupid watch."
"Time… it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here. I like… I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, "I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it."
"You are so weird." Amy said
Everyone laughed
"It's not me. It's Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing." Dale says
Amy gets up from the campfire causing me to stand up as well.
"Where are you going?" Andrea asks Amy
"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…" Amy shakes her head
"Hahahaha!" Everyone laughed
Amy starts walking to the RV and I follow her making her look at me weird.
"What are you doing Shane?" Amy stops and looks at me.
"Just making sure you're safe." I chuckle
"I can go to the bathroom without hurting myself Shane." Amy rolls her eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"I will hurt you." Amy says threateningly
"Oh? I don't think you can." I look at her.
"I'm going to the bathroom and if you're still out here you're in big trouble." Amy says before walking into the RV bathroom while I take a seat.
A second later I here Amy's voice.
"Shane! Where is the toilet paper!" She asks
I don't respond
"Shane, I know you're out there!"
I don't respond.
The bathroom door creaks open.
"Shane." Amy peeks her head out.
"Ahh!" I appear in front of her screaming and she starts screaming as well.
"Hahahaha!" I bend over laughing seeing Amy's pouting face looking at me like I'm evil.
Bang!
Bang!
Banging noises start to sound around the RV causing me to freeze before putting my finger to my lips.
"Sh! Stay here."
I help Amy sit down before I step outside the RV doors and see a small hoard of walkers marching toward the people at the fire who were oblivious.
Aiming my shotgun at the nearest walker I started letting off shots back to back causing the other survivors to start to panic while some grabbed the nearest weapon and started taking out walkers.
"Get to the RV!" I screamed over the sound of screams and gunshots.
Boom!
I shoot another walker in the head causing its brains to scatter.
Creak!
The RV door opens and I see Amy peeking out.
"Stay inside Amy! It's not safe!"
"My sister!" Amy looks at me.
"Don't worry. I'll keep her safe." I nod before shutting the door and turning back around to see too many walkers for me to kill.
But out of nowhere tens of shots are let loose and see Rick and the others are back with the weapons.
"Fuck, I love this world." I start killing walker after walker while keeping Lori, Carl and Andrea safe from any harm.
Rick managed to make it to Lori and Carl's side but dead bodies are everywhere.
Both human and not.
"Shane, where is she! Where is my sister!" Andrea ran up to me after all of the walkers were killed.
"Relax, she fine." I opened the door and a pale faced Amy walked out and looked around with a face of horror.
"Oh my god." Tears started coming from her eyes while looking at the dead bodies.
"Amy! Thank god your safe! Thank you Shane!" Andrea nods at me while hugging Amy
"No need."
"Rick, let's start cleaning up all the bodies. We're going to have to leave. This place isn't safe anymore." I looked at Rick who was hugging Lori and Carl.
"Agreed, this place is now a death trap." Daryl said while loading his crossbow.
I spent a few minutes calming Amy down before we all started moving the dead bodies to graves and the walkers bodies to burn.
Amy helped out even though I told her she didn't have to but she insisted.
Anyway it would be good for her to get used to death. After all, the world was full of it now.
A lot of the people that died he didn't even know but it still felt like shit seeing the people you've been living with dead.
"Jim's been bit!"
He heard Jacqui screaming while pointing at Jim.
They were able to subdue Jim and put him in the RV away from Daryl who was ready to kill the man already.
Meanwhile the rest of us debated where we should go.
Rick said the CDC and I agreed with him, making the others agree we would leave for the CDC tomorrow at first light.
We started gathering supplies and cleaning up camp and getting ready for bed.
Everyone was tired after not getting any sleep during the night and moving all the bodies during the day.
Both Andrea and Amy were like peas in a pod, they wouldn't leave each other's side.
I think they realized how dangerous it really is, I think everyone did.
Before bed me and Rick did a quick patrol in the forest to make sure it was clear.
"Thanks for backing me up." Rick said while looking around.
"I'll always have your back Rick, even if I don't agree with you." I said
"You know if the CDC doesn't work out I don't want you to give up." I said to Rick knowing the chances of the CDC still being up wasn't to high, but even he had hope that it was.
"I know. I won't. I can't." Rick said and we both nodded.
Finally we went to our tents and I saw both Carol and Sophia without a tent as a walker had eaten Ed in theirs.
My tent was plenty big enough so I let them sleep in mine and they thanked me.
It didn't feel weird sleeping with others in my tent. I had done it many times in my past life and I knew both Carol and Sophia.
In the morning we all packed the rest of our stuff before leaving.
Sadly the morales family and a few others weren't coming with them but they couldn't force them.
I was riding in the Jeep with Amy.
Convincing Andrea to let Amy ride with me was a hassle but I eventually managed to convince her.
Putting my arm around Amy I looked at her beautiful face and her blonde hair that was blowing in the wind.
Her blue eyes stared into mine and it made me feel emotions I had never felt before.
A kind of possessive desire that he felt deep in his bones.
"Something on my face?" Amy asked with a knowing smirk.
"Nope, just a spider in your hair."
"Ahhh!!!" Amy squealed as she put her hands through her hair to try and shake the imaginary spider off.
"Just kidding." I smiled and Amy started hitting my arm.
A few hours later the hose on the RV started to have problems so we stopped on the side of the road.
"It's Jim, he can't make it." Jacqui said and we all looked at eachother.
Rick and I entered the RV, gravely concerned for Jim's condition.
"Jim, are you absolutely certain about not trying to reach the CDC?" Rick inquired, noticing Jim's pallor and profuse sweating.
Jim, gasping for breath, responded, "I'm sure. I can't go on. Please, just help me sit by that tree."
Gently, Rick and I assisted Jim to the base of the tree, and with heavy hearts, we bid our farewells.
As we pulled away in the Jeep, Amy sat next to me, her eyes glistening with tears as she watched Jim recede into the distance.
I called her name softly, "Amy." Her cerulean eyes met mine.
Tenderly, I brushed away her tears with my thumb. Her weeping ceased, and she nestled her head on my shoulder as we continued our journey.