ᴀɴɢᴜɪsʜ » ᴅᴀʀʏʟ ᴅɪxᴏɴ

{39} Keep Moving.

"Dale could - could get under your skin. He sure got under mine 'cause he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought. How he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale - he'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us - the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves take control of our lives. Our safety. Our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

- Rick Grimes.

____

As life does, it continues to move forward. The group now understood which path mattered, and that meant sticking together. Change the structure of management. Fix things that may be broken.

Willow gave over a small crate to Sophia, patting her head as the girl thanked her. The new plan began as the group gathered their items and supplies.

Any path onto the farm had been reinforced, any Walker a mile or two close to the property had been taken care of, and Dale's funeral seemed brief yet brutal. Still, the group kept pushing forward, remembering Dale as who he was and how to keep his legacy in check. Willow kept his words in mind while giving Glenn his old fishing hat and counseling Andrea.

And during the process, a sense of righteousness washed over the group - a new start, thanks to Dale.

Daryl kept his eye on the fields before placing his gaze on Sophia as she and Legend made their way to the farm home. If things are to change, the group must be more robust and together—united as one.

"Gonna be a tight squeeze with 18 people in one house," Rick turned to Hershel, removing his hand from the back of Otis' blue truck.

"Dont worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..." Hershel began, and Maggie continued.

"...With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing the damn dinner bell."

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago," Hershel shook his head.

Willow picked up her bag of items and handed Jodie her bat. They barely spoke about that night, but both knew Dale's death stunned them. Silence seemed like the best option until the time came to talk about it. Until then, Jodie and Willow kept their grievances to themselves.

"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out towards the road." Rick began to give orders; everyone moved about like a busy colony of bees. "We'll build a lookout on the windmill - another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines on both sides of the property. T-Dog, you take the perimeter around the house - keep track of everyone coming and going."

"What about standing guard?" T-Dog raised his brows.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty."

"Gotcha," T-Dog left to gather the rest of his things.

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there for a few days if need be," Hershel shouts, carrying more items towards the back of the truck.