Exit Alexandria: Shane's Escape. #wattys2017 #twd

Beyond The Whispers

"This can't be right," Phillip said before pulling himself away from the three-inch blade.

Blood gushed from the wound, but Phillip was still able to deliver a jaw-crushing kick to the Walker's face.

Buster attacked the Walker, who stabbed Phillip, then the Walker did something Phillip never saw a Walker do before. It screamed: "NO!!!! FUCK!"

All bets were off when Walkers started using weapons and screaming obscenities. Phillip retrieved his two Berettas and began firing. Shane did not witness the stabbing, but he could hear the flying bullets from behind. He had all but disposed of his Walkers, but he could see that Phillip was struggling with his cluster. Even worst, Phillip was wounded.

There were too many to fight, and Phillip was injured. He saw no reason why all three of these souls needed to perish today. Buster could run faster than any Walker. He was trained to never let them surround him, and only fight them if Austin or Phillip was doing the same. This world had gotten darker ever since the dead began to walk again. But this dog may have a better chance than these wounded humans.

"Buster, GO AWAY! RUN! GO! GO AWAY!" demanded Phillip. "RUN! RUN!"

The dog hesitated, but he knew this command as well. It meant to retreat. Buster nervously abandoned his master, the dog's training overriding his canine instincts.

Shane could barely keep up with what was going on and managed his own cluster of Walkers.

"Shit!" Shane hissed before switching the fire axe for his handgun and firing a chain of bullets at the emerging Walkers.

All the bodies fell, including Phillip's. Shane quickly ran over to help his friend,

"Are you bit? Did one of those things get you!" Shane asked, his voice desperate and frantic.

"No, one of them stabbed me, I think?" Phillip replied dryly.

"What stabbed you? How? Just lay back and let me see."

Phillip complied with Shane's request, too drain to argue or to retort sarcastically. Phillip was all out of jokes and hope. Shane inspected the cut. It was quarter of an inch deep and bled heavily.

"It doesn't look that bad. I gotta get it cleaned up," declared Shane.

"How the hell would you know?" Phillip replied, doubting his medical competence.

"Austin didn't just teach you a few things about stitching people up," Shane said as he collected his first aid kit. "Contrary to popular belief, I was actually paying attention."

"Why are you still here, Shane?" Phillip asked again, his voice dripped with gloom. "I'm wounded. We know what happens when people are wounded and they're out here. They either die and kill you, or they slow you down and get you killed. Either way, death is the common denominator."

"Can you do me a solid and pipe fucking down. I get it. You're hurt. So am I. That doesn't give you permission to 'opt out.'"

Thoughts of Dr. Jenner at the CDC entered Shane's mind. He understood the despair that could lead to one giving up and accepting one's "fate" so to speak. But Shane wasn't one to quit, and neither was Phillip.

"Here I am, cleaning your wound, and you are still bitching about me leaving. What kind of an asshole do you take me for, huh? I am going to patch your ungrateful, whiny, Yankee ass up, and then we're going to find some shelter because I'm expecting some scattered showers.

"And I better not hear another fucking peep about me leaving you or you just dying. What the hell is your problem, man? That kid, with his last bit of life, saved ours! You don't just get to give up after someone does that for you. He gave his last for us to keep on going. He didn't just lay down and die. Maybe you could learn something from him."

Phillip surprised Shane again. He didn't argue. He didn't mope. He merely turned his head and conceded. Shane decided not to lay anymore pressure on Phillip. He was more sensitive than Shane had thought all along. Shane understood now why Austin was so protective of Phillip.

Phillip squirmed as Shane finished cleaning and dressing the wound, and then they were on their feet again.

***

"He fired those two shots. They both hit one guy," Shane explained to Phillip, who he helped walk though the forest. Shane wrapped Phillip's left arm around his shoulder and stabilized his waist as he limped though the night. "I took out the second guy with a knife to the neck."

"Always go for the neck," chuckled Phillip.

"I take it you were the one behind the terrorist attack back there?"

"Well, you know, I took an opportunity," confessed Phillip.

"That kid, he saved our lives," Shane reiterated. "I'm missing him already. At least I would have someone else to help me carry your sorry carcass."

The two men shared a quick laugh. They both knew that Henry would be laughing with them, and probably was, wherever he was.

Death didn't define you. It didn't erase who you were or what you meant to people. Death was merely the closing chapter of a book. Most of the interesting stuff happened in the middle anyway.

As the men headed deeper into the forest, they could hear the groaning of Walkers.

"Shit, we've got company."

The pocket of Walkers consisted of about twelve, more than enough to be lethal.

"Oh, bullocks," moaned Phillip.

"Can you fight?" asked Shane.

"Don't have much of a choice, do I? Because they ain't taking me."

"That's what I want to hear," Shane said, pumped.

Shane released Phillip from his arms and retrieved his gun. Phillip retrieved Henry's machete. He may have been injured, but he had Henry's fighting spirit with him.

"Now!" Shane said, preparing to charge.

A chain of rapid-firing silenced bullets popped, drawing Phillip and Shane's attention. The Walkers were mowed down by two chains of bullets. The darkness obscured the faces of the two figures that had fired and saved their lives. Through the darkness, Buster ran over to Phillip.

"Whoa there, daddy got stabbed earlier. No jumping, please," Phillip said, wincing as the dog attempted to jovially pounce him.

"Dogs don't fire guns. Come on out!" Shane demanded, his gun still pointing at the figures covered by shadows.

Slowly the two shadows stepped forward directly into the lunar light. By the light of the the full moon, Carl and Enid's faces became visible.

Shane's face softens when he saw Carl. "Carl, you...you did this?"

Shane and Carl quickly embraced, crying together. Enid, Phillip and Buster watched from the sidelines. The moon's intensity began to fade as the rising sun cracked the night's sky. And a closure to the dark opened with the promise of hope.

"Let's go home," Carl says to Shane. "We need you."

Carl noticed that Henry was missing and that Phillip was using his machete as a makeshift cane. He didn't need to ask what happened. He already knew. Shane and Carl both took one of Phillip's arms, and the five walked towards the breaking day horizon, towards Alexandria.