Spider Monkey

Chapter Three - The Barn

"You haven't seen Rick?" Daryl had returned from hunting with a small buck, and he went over to the group with an excited Hedley at his side. He ruffled the boy's hair, gaining a gleeful shriek.

"He went off with Hershel." T said.

"We were supposed to leave a couple hours ago." Andrea announced.

Daryl huffed, "What the hell? Damn it. Isn't anybody taking this seriously? We got us a damn trail. Oh, here we go. What's all this?"

Shane came over with a bag of guns, handing one out to Daryl, "You with me, man?"

Daryl looked at Hedley - who was now next to Carl - and took the gun, "Yeah."

"Time to grow up. You already got yours?" Shane asked Andrea.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Thought we couldn't carry." T said, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"We can and we have to. Look, it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought this place was supposed to be safe. But now we know it ain't. How about you, man?" Shane offered a gun to Glenn, "You gonna protect yours? That's it." Glenn took it. Shane then looked at Maggie, "Can you shoot?"

She was not having it, "Can you stop? You do this, you hand out these guns, my dad will make you leave tonight."

Carl perked up, "We have to stay, Shane."

"We ain't going anywhere, okay? Now look, Hershel, he's just gotta understand. Okay? He... Well, he's gonna have to. Now we need to find Sophia. Am I right? Huh? Now I want you to take this. You take it, Carl, and you keep your mother safe." Shane tried, "You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on, take the gun and do it."

Lori pushed her son back and away from Shane, "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

Jimmy looked over and gaped, "Oh shit."

Everyone looked to see Hershel and Rick walking walkers on poles. Everyone started to run with Shane yelling out, "What is that?! What is that?!"

"Shane!" Lori warned.

Carl took Hedley's hand as they ran. Daryl beside them.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Shane yelled.

"Shane, just back off!" Rick yelled back.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel asked.

Shane huffed, "Are you kidding me? You see? You see what they're holding onto?"

"I see who I'm holding onto."

"No, man, you don't."

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk." Rick almost pleaded.

"What ya want to talk about, Rick? These things ain't sick. They're not people. They're dead. Ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do, they kill! These things right here, they're the things that killed Amy! They killed Otis! They're gonna kill all of us!"

"Shane, shut up!"

"Hey, Hershel man, let me ask you something. Could a living breathing person, could they walk away from this?" Shane shot the corpse.

The gunshot made Hedley shriek, hands flying to cover his ears.

Another two gunshots rang out. Lori pulled Carl and Hedley towards her in fright.

"No! Stop it!" Maggie screamed.

But Shane continued, "That's three rounds in the chest. Could someone who's alive, could they just take that?! Why is it still coming?" More shots, "That's its heart, its lungs. Why is it still coming?!"