𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 || 𝘐𝘕𝘏𝘜𝘔𝘈𝘕𝘌
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[ ʜᴏʟᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ, ᴀʏᴇ
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴘʀɪᴅᴇ ᴏʀ ɢʟᴏʀʏ?
ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴏʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴄᴀʀꜱ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ? ]

GROWL'S OF WALKERS was all Roland could hear as he stayed crouched down following Shane and Otis. They had arrived at the school and left the truck back a bit to not draw noise to the location of it. Shane had instructed Roland on using a 12 gauge shotgun since Roland only had his pistol. And with the stakes so high, Shane wasn't risking losing Roland after a friendship they had created.

Roland's beg/vest was buckled tightly across his chest and snug. A tightness that prevented him from being able to breathe correctly, but he'd done 800-metre dashes for most of his life and could find a way to not pass out. He could make do with what he was dealing with because his brother's life was on the line.

The trio quietly moved behind a police car and stayed down. The mass amount of growls was not giving Roland much hope to there just being a few walkers at the school.

Taking cover behind the next police car, Shane looked at the pair behind him. "Okay, let's take a look." He whispered before the three cautiously peeked over the back of the car. Walkers all shambling around in front of the school. That only answered Roland's worst-case scenario as he cursed under his breath before crouching back down.

"What the hell do we do now?" Roland snapped in a whisper, looking between the men. "You see that big mobile medical trailer across the way?" Otis breathed out, the pair looking over again and raising a brow. "That's where we got to get to?" Shane asked and Otis nodded. "Yeah."

Roland nodded, chuckling quietly. "This shit just has to get harder and harder, huh?" He quipped, looking at Shane who smiled and nodded. "Sure does. Let's just check these cruisers and find something." Shane replied as the pair nodded.

So, Shane moved around to the driver's side door cautiously before popping the door open quietly. Roland wasn't expecting the trunk to open and let out a loud squeak making him wave his hands enthusiastically. Scrunching up his face with the hope that none of the walkers heard anything. But when nothing came he let himself relax when no walkers were drawn their way.

Shane made his way back around to the pair and reached into the trunk. Smiling and chuckling as he pulled out a flare and Roland smiled as well, his hope lifting at the fact that they still had a chance.

After going over the plan, the trio was ready to go. Popping a flare, Roland tossed one before grabbing another and doing it again. Shane and Otis did the same and saw that the large red glow from the sticks was drawing the walkers towards them.

Running around the crowd of walkers, Roland followed closely behind Shane and Otis and quickly made their way to the medical trailer. Getting inside and immediately pulling out flashlights and quickly scavenging anything that was what Otis found suitable for them.

Being as cautious as he was, Roland grabbed any type of pills and stuffed them into his pack. Finding sutures and drapes and shoving those in as well. If there was anything else that could help the people at the farm then he'd help the best he could.

"Endotracheal incubator, baby, for my new respirator," Otis said aloud, Roland smiling and patting the man's back. "Atta boy. Come on." Shane whispered before shouldering his pack. Roland clipped the buckle across his chest and held the 12 gauge just as Shane had taught him right when the end of the world happened. The butt of the gun right up against the inside of his shoulder, one hand on the handle and the other on the pump.

They stopped at the door leading outside and opened it. Finding that the walkers had wandered away from the flares and were back to where they were now. One turning in the direction of the door and beginning to stumble towards them and the others joining in. "Goddamnit it." Shane hissed before they took off towards the school.

Roland held the shotgun in one hand with his other arm pumping through the air as he sprinted around the corner, nearly losing his footing and grabbing ahold of the rail beside him to get his stability. "Come on! Stay with me!" Shane yelled at the pair, more specifically Roland as he grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him before they continued running.

The walkers were hot on their heels, their usual walking pace turning into a slight job. "Come on, Otis! Let's go, brother!" Roland yelled, helping the bigger man to keep his pace up the steps along the side of the school.

When Shane tried to take a corner, he was cut off by a walker taking him by surprise. Punching it in the face knocked it to the ground and he called the pair in the opposite direction. They ran a bit before that way was flooding with walkers as well. "No, no no no! Come on! Come on! In here!" He yelled at them as they ran to the entrance of the school.

Tugging at the handle, finding the door was locked. When Shane tried to run along the other way, more walkers appeared. Roland took it upon himself to do as his dad told him. 'Keep a clear head and stay hot on your toes.' Those words echoed in his head as he aimed at the glass doors and fired. "Inside!" He yelled at the pair, ignoring the pain in his shoulder from the sudden recoil he was most certainly not expecting.

Rushing inside, Shane waited until Otis was in to pull the metal grate across and put the pin in to lock it. Completely cut off from anyway out, Roland let out a pant as he cocked the shotgun. The shell flying out and being replaced with a new shell as the old one clinked on impact with the ground.

"Damn it." Shane snapped as he stared at the walkers reaching through the cracks of the metal grate. Roland looked behind him at the main entrance door of the school and tapped Shane's shoulder repeatedly. The man's attention switched the doors and he shared a knowing look with Roland as they nodded in understanding.

Soon enough they had bashed their way through the doors and were sprinting through the hallways of the school. Finding anyway out and to safety. The walkers had quickly busted through the metal grating and were once again after their meal.

It was when Shane came to a stretching halt at the doors being chained up locked. Roland stopping beside him and feeling his heart sink. "Fuck." He panted out, glancing behind him at the large number of walkers not stopping until they got the trio.

Turning down another hall, they soon found themselves in a gym on top of bleachers and walkers reaching for them from below. Roland's back was glued to wall as he stared at death in the face. Clenching his jaw as he cracked his neck, knowing that if he died now, he wasn't going to out without a fight. Shane knew that when he glanced at the boy. His eyes never wavering from the walkers snarling at him to fulfill their hunger. Shane knew the type of boy Roland was. Just a bigger reason why he wasn't going to let Roland die. Not on his watch.

"Those windows, what's on the other side?" Shane's question cut through Roland's glare at the walkers as he looked at the two men. Seeing Shane was pointing his flashlight at the windows across the room. "About a 20-foot drop with nothing to catch you, maybe some bushes, then the athletic field." Otis guessed as they shimmed over. "We just need enough time. We just got to get up there. We got to get 'em open and get out" Shane explained to them.

"Not me. Maybe you two." The comment had Roland grab Otis's arm and shake him slightly. "Hey. Look at me, man." He ordered and the man looked at him with a serious look on his face. "Come on, man, look at me. You really think I can squeeze through one of them tiny windows? They'd be all over us." Otis had a point and Roland agreed with him, but Roland wasn't going to give up hope. "Think about Patricia. Your wife, man. I'm not goin' to leave you to die here." Roland promised and the man sighed before nodding.

Otis motioned to the walkers below them as he spoke, "Look, we lay down some fire to get a head start. You two stay here I hop down and draw them away. That gives you two the chance to get up the bleachers and out the window." The man explained. "And where do you go?" Shane asked and Otis took the flashlight and pointed it to a door on the opposite side of the room. "Locker room down those steps." He told them and Roland shook his head slightly. "Seems like a death trap to me," Roland stated and Otis chuckled. "It's got windows too, and more my size. I get out through one, I double back, we meet up out on the field."

"You're a crazy son of a bitch, ain't you?" Shane chuckled as he took Otis's bag and slung it onto his other shoulder. "Just tryna do right by that boy," Otis admitted and Roland butted in. "I'm going with him." He told Shane who was about to protest, but the teen continued. "You have everything needed for Carl. And either way, I'm making sure Otis can apologize to my little brother." He said as he grabbed the drapes and sutures and stuffed them into the side of Otis's bag.

Shane clenched his jaw and nodded. "You take three shots and you go. After that I fire. I'll lay down a cover for you. I'll get you a lead." He told the pair who nodded.

Roland took aim at a walker's head before firing, watching the corpse's head exploded before he cocked it back and took aim at another. Firing again, he watched as Otis hopped down and cried out in pain and attempted to get up. Only having his ankle grabbed by a walker with its legs gone.

Being as quick as possible, Roland hopped down and stomped the walker's head before lifting Otis to his feet. "Come on, let's go!" He yelled as he pushed Otis forward and turned around and shot a walker before rushing down the steps by the locker room and ignoring the growls bouncing off the walls in the narrow stairwell.

Finding the windows Otis was talking about, they busted them open before hopping out. More walkers waiting for them, enabling them to fire some shots to give them some room to run. After that, they ran in the direction of the field. Hearing a gunshot echo out, making the pair glance at each other before running in the direction of the sound.

Coming around a corner and find Shane cornered with three walkers walking towards him. Otis shot one then Roland then finally Shane. With their supplies safe and importantly Shane, he handed their bags off to each other. "Man, I thought I'd lost you," Shane admitted, Roland taking his arm and helping him walking after noticing his limp. "That was my last rifle round," Otis told them "Mine too," Shane added. Roland cocked his shotgun back and catching the shell. "I only got one more shell left and 12 bullets in my M9." He informed them. "Come on." Otis urged Shane forward.

They got away from the walkers but weren't finding any way out of the school grounds. "Come on, man. We need a way out." Shane hissed out in pain as he tried to not put too much weight on his sprained ankle. Otis gasped as he leaned against a fence. "Just let me catch my breath." He breathed out and Roland looked around anxiously. Not liking the spot they were in. "We don't have-"

Before he could finish, the fence they were leaning on pushed them back from the sudden walkers trying to reach out to them. "Come on. Along the side of the fence." Roland told them as he took Shane's other arm and began helping Otis get Shane out of there.

It was a while before they had doubled back to the school. "Oh, shit," Shane muttered before his legs gave out on him, and brought the other two down with him. Roland winced in pain as he rolled onto his back to catch his breath. "Got to get to the street, double back to the truck," Otis explained to the pair as they panted. "Look, we ain't gonna make it, okay?" Shane's words hit Roland in a way they shouldn't have. Roland was comfortable with the idea of death and knew it would only end with a bullet to the head or being eaten alive by a walker. Either way, if he had to, he'd take down as many of those monsters as he could.

"Got to try, man." Otis persisted. "Come on, get up," Roland told Shane as he began shrugging the bag off his shoulder. "You two are gonna take these bags and you're gonna go," Shane told them. "I ain't leaving you behind." Otis protested sharply.

Shane let out a grunt as he punched the ground and nodded. "Okay." He muttered as Roland helped him to his feet and helped get the bag on him. The familiar snarling could be heard from behind them, but Roland was more focused on getting Shane and Otis out of here. "How many rounds you got left?" Shane asked and Otis checked Rick's revolver. "Four. You?" He asked. "Five and one in the pipe," Shane replied before looking in the direction of the walkers.

Roland lifted the man to his feet and they continued on. Occasionally turning and firing a shot to lessen the number of walkers. Roland kept one hand on Shane's arm to keep his friends balance and to get them to continue moving.

"Down to my last," Otis announced the pair. "Me too," Shane replied and Roland let out a huff. "Goddamnit, same here." He added with a grunt.

They suddenly stopped and Roland looked at Shane to see a look in his eyes. One that Roland had never seen before which raised some alarms in his head. "I'm sorry." He muttered looking to Otis, a frown etching on the older man's face. It felt like a hammer hit Roland's face as he realized what Shane was going to do.

It was too late for Roland to react as Shane shot the man's leg, Otis releasing a cry of pain. Shane didn't waste a second to start trying to retrieve the bag from around Otis's body. Watching as the pair wrestle for the bag and it was when Otis grabbed Shane's hair Roland did something about it. Something that would change him for the rest of the time he was alive.

Pulling out his gun and shooting Otis in the head and stopping the resistance. Shane glancing at the now dead man and Roland whose chest rose and fell quickly as he stared at Otis's body. His mind going blank as he was beginning to realize what he just did. He just killed another human being. It had always been his mission to keep his humanity, but that was over. He was just another man just trying to survive and keep his family safe.

Then the thought of how his dad would react to finding out. Would Rick disown him for just wanting to see Carl through? Or would he understand why Roland went to the length he did? At this moment, staring directly into Otis's cold eyes, he wasn't sure anymore. He had done the one thing he thought he never would have to do in his life.

Roland felt his heart drop in his stomach as his free hand trembled. His vision began turning blurry as he let out ragged breaths to try and calm his erratic heart. There was no other feeling Roland could compare this to. Never in his life had he ever experienced something so traumatizing. It made him wonder if things were going to get worse from here and how bad it would turn out.

Without warning, Roland's stomach churned before he turned around and vomited. His head becoming dizzy as he wretched out all the contents in his stomach onto the cold pavement below him. This feeling of a knife penetrating the skin of his lower abdomen was all he could feel as he threw up. His entire body trembled as he let out a cry, one hand holding his stomach as he cringed.

He didn't know what to do with himself at this point. The growls belonging to the walkers were nothing to just whispers in the back of Roland's mind. Ringing filled his senses as he felt a tear slip down his pale cheek as he let out a cry. Countless voice's bounced around his head with the ringing as he tried to calm his reactive mind. Trying to ease himself back to normal, but he could only hear Otis's cry of pain before a loud gunshot echoed throughout his head.

A hand grasped Roland's shoulder, knocking him from his thoughts and finding it was Shane with a sympathetic but urgent look. "We have to go." He told the boy and Roland nodded reluctantly, in a slight daze as he stood to his feet. Using the back of his hand and wiping his eyes than the corners of his mouth. Roland quickly slung Shane's arm around his shoulder before getting them out of there. Leaving Otis's body to be feasted on like some kind of animal.

When they arrived back at the truck, they quickly got everything in and took off. As soon as Roland's body hit the cushioned seat, he felt his entire body become numb. His eyes becoming heavy as he let out quiet breaths. Shane glanced at the quiet boy beside him and placing his hand on his shoulder. Giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort as the boy stared out the window blankly. Not being able to hold back the tears that escaped as he let his eyes flicker onto different things in the night sky.

Arriving back at the farm, Roland got out of the truck and saw his dad, mom, Hershel, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog come out at the sight of them. "Carl?" Shane whispered, clearly wondering if what they did was for nothing. "There's still a chance," Rick reassured them as Roland handed the bag on his shoulder off to Glenn. His head lowered as he sniffled lightly.

"Otis?"

The mention of the man's name made Roland feel his stomach churn. The images of how the man's eyes stared directly back at him after he killed him. It was haunting. "He didn't make it." Roland struggled out, feeling the eyes of his father and mother on him. Roland didn't have the strength in him to meet their eyes. Fearful that if he did, they would be able to see what he did just by his eyes. He was a murderer. "We say nothing to Patricia. Not till after. I need her." Hershel told them before rushing inside with the two bags in hand.

Roland felt his legs give out as he fell on his ass and wiped away the sweat from his forehead. Instantly feeling a pair of arms wrap around him recognizing it as his mothers. He leaned into her touch and wrapped one arm around her. Keeping his eyes down and not letting any tears escape.

"They kept blocking us at every turn." Shane breathed. "We had nothing left. We were down to 10 rounds. Then he said- he said he'd cover us and that I should keep going so that's what I did I just..." He trailed off. "I kept going. But I- I looked back and he-" Shane couldn't finish his sentence as Rick placed a hand on his shoulder. "He wanted to make it right," Rick assured him and Shane ran a tired hand down his face.

Glancing at Roland who was back on his feet and hugging his mother. This secret between them, it was something that couldn't get out and Shane wasn't going to let Roland face the consequences. Roland could've just shot Shane and helped Otis, but he didn't. That's what mattered to Shane the most and was willing to cover for the both of them.