Hershel, Jimmy, and Rick

“I’ll stay downstairs with you three.” I walked closer to Hershel and Jimmy who were standing together. “You’ll need as much help as you can get.”

As soon as I had made my decision Andrea and Glenn climbed the stairs. I waved at them which was a pretty casual gesture for someone who wasn’t sure they’d ever see them again. But Andrea waved back just as casually and Glenn managed a smile.

Daryl and T-Dog were discussing their plan near the screen door. It only took them a minute, but they left the house in a hurry. They were brave to go out there; they hadn’t seen the horde like Rick, Carl and I had. I just hoped they’d survive.

As I watched them I heard something heavy being dragged across the wooden floor. I turned around and saw Jimmy and Rick pushing a bookshelf in front of a window. I noticed the other windows had been boarded up. I figured they must’ve done that while we were out searching for Randall.

I wandered into the kitchen and found that the group had taken almost all of the guns and ammunition. However, there was an extra shotgun I was sure Andrea must’ve left there for me. I grabbed it and checked the bag to see if there was any ammo left. I found a box of shells that also seemed to be left there intentionally.

I didn’t have too much practice with shotguns, but I’d had enough. I loaded in the shells one after another and pumped the action. I took the box and emptied it into my pockets which bulged them out.

I took a deep breath and exhaled through my nose. I was ready to face the undead. I went back into the living room and saw that all of the windows had been successfully covered. I could still see dark shapes moving in between the cracks as I stepped up to a window. The walkers were approaching quickly.

I heard a gunshot from upstairs, but couldn’t see the walker that’d been taken down. More gunshots accompanied it; I saw walkers go down left and right, and smirked. Maybe we could get through this after all. After about two or three minutes, however, walkers were beginning to approach the house. It was time to fight.

I stuck the barrel of my gun between the nailed up boards and aimed at a walker that was coming up the stairs. I pulled the trigger and almost fell back from the blast.

“Woah!” Jimmy exclaimed.

I looked at him; he was at a different window, but had seen me.

“Sorry… it’s just been a while…” I muttered, blowing hair out of my eyes.

I went back to my post and planted my feet more firmly on the floor. I aimed and took another shot, blowing a walker’s face off that was also trying to climb the stairs.

Hershel was also firing off his shotgun to my far left. He had obviously had more practice with them since he wasn’t falling on his ass every time he pulled the trigger. Rick was on my right and Jimmy was next to him by the window they had barricaded with the bookshelf. They had both begun to fire out the boarded windows as well. It was going pretty steady for a couple of minutes with us reloading when necessary, and being helped out by Andrea and Glenn upstairs.

That was until the window right next to Rick smashed inward. Glass shattered across the floor in shards and the boards that were nailed to it were being slammed against. Rick rushed to that window and began to shoot with a Colt automatic from the gun bag. I hesitated to help because I had problems of my own near my window. Walkers were stumbling onto the patio in packs and I was doing my best to stop them all. There were definitely more than I had thought there would be.

“I… I need more ammo!!!” Rick yelled. “Lin, check if there’s any more in the gun bag, please!!!”

"Which kind?!" I yelled, not knowing what type of gun he was using.

".45 cal!"

Without thinking, I sprinted to the kitchen and ripped open the gun bag. Searching every crevasse, and even under the table, I could find nothing. The gunshots that vibrated in my ear and Rick’s shaky voice still yelling at me from the living room told me that no matter how hard we fought, it wouldn’t be enough. We were outnumbered.

I treaded back into the living room with that thought still bouncing in my mind. One after another, the thought of being eaten alive tore through my mind and I shuddered. I pulled out the pistol from my back pocket and hit the ejector. The magazine slid down enough to see that there was still ammunition inside. I shoved it back in, prepared to keep fighting until the end.

That’s when I remembered Rick’s words as Andrea was handing me the pistol.

I don’t trust her with a gun!

The idea of getting torn to pieces by walkers and the gun I had in my hand mixed together, and before I knew it I was pointing the gun at Rick’s back. I was prepared to fire. I wanted him gone the way he had killed Shane. I wanted him to think his last thoughts as he lay on the ground motionless. I wanted him to experience the pain and regret about what he’d done to Shane, and to me.

I closed my eyes, the gunshots and shouting getting louder, and…

Shot Him

Got Distracted