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If you had asked Emmalyn Tate if she believed the Geeks were just sick, she would tell you straight away that the only thing left was the shell of the person they used to be. So when Glenn stood up in front of the group that morning to inform them of the Geeks that were living in the barn just a few meters from their camp, she had been struck with the realisation that some still believed there would be a cure. But she had witnessed the TS-19 Vigil, she had heard Jenner when he said there was no cure for it, they were all infected and they would all die and become those things unless they prevented it with a bullet to the head.

Emmalyn didn't know what to make of the situation at hand but apparently Shane did, he had been fuming about the news and demanded answers for why they had been kept in the dark. His anger only got worse when Dale revealed that he knew about the barn full of dead but respected Hershel's decision to keep it a secret as they were locked in and did not pose any threat to the group so long they stayed away. Rick had taken charge and took the situation to Hershel directly despite Shane's protests about the whole thing. And it was not long until Shane assumed the leadership role and began handing out the banned guns.

Shane stood in front of Emmalyn with a gun in hand, she looked up at him defiantly with Carl watching her. "I'm following Rick, I trust him. He knows what he's doing and you have no right to do this," Emmalyn told him sternly, she crossed her arms and dared Shane to say something. The hatred burning in Shane's eyes made Emmalyn feel small, she felt like he'd strangle her just to feel her die in his hands but she wouldn't let that show. Carl frowned but stood with Emmalyn, even the kid was scared of the look in Shane's eyes. Shane walked away from her with Glenn, Andrea and T-Dog following him holding guns in their hands though Glenn and T-Dog were more hesitant than Andrea and Shane were.

The group were visibly shocked to see Rick walking alongside Hershel and Jimmy with Geeks in front of them held by catch-poles; And Shane was absolutely livid. Emmalyn had pulled Carl behind her as Carol did the same with Sophia, the two women protecting the kids from the sight in front of them. Shane shot the Geek in front of Hershel to prove his point that the person was dead and would only desire to kill them. Rick was shouting at Shane to stop however, he finished the job and fired a single shot into the Geeks head causing Hershel to drop in defeat with the body of the person he once knew.

Rick was shouting at Hershel to take the Geek from his hands while Shane released all of the Geeks from the barn. Everyone holding a gun began shooting them down one by one as Sophia held her mother and cried, Carl holding Emmalyn as he hid his face in her side. Emmalyn's eyes were locked directly on one person, Shane. The crazed glint in his eyes made her mind flash back to the memories of her father and her ex-boyfriend; the men with the need of power and control over others. The moment the Geeks were all down, everyone was frozen in place with no idea what to do next.

Rick and Emmalyn locked gazes as Hershel held his daughters close to him, he screamed for the group to leave his farm and never return. Emmalyn had enough of Shane's behaviour, she needed the others to see what she could and so she lightly nudged Carl in Lori's direction, the boy moving into his mother's arms. Emmalyn unclipped the buckle of her gun's holster and raised it, the aim directly on Shane gaining everyone's attention including Hershel himself. "What are you gonna do?" Shane asked her with a smug smirk, his expression screaming victory despite his actions scaring everyone around him.

Rick went to intervene but Lori shook her head, he stopped and watched closely ready to get involved should he need to. "I was thinking payback for when you tried to force yourself on me back at the CDC as clearly that right hook hadn't been enough," Emmalyn snapped back at him making the bystanders gasp or glare at Shane. "Why would I waste my time going after a whore like you?" Shane asked her with a smirk but she could see the anger in his eyes. She knew better than to snap back involving Lori in the situation, so she simply fired a perfect shot by his head.

"Next time, I won't miss," Emmalyn warned him before lowering her gun and sliding it back into the holster, buckling over the flap to hold it in place. She made her way towards the camp, stopping by Hershel to pass on her condolences before directing her path straight to the camp she had with Daryl, she had laid back in the sleeping bag and focused her attention to the roof of the tent. There was no telling what their next step will be as Hershel will no longer wish for them to stay, he had already demanded they leave. But she was also concerned about Shane, she wanted to put a bullet in his head right there and then but couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger; she had never killed a human before.

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Rick and Glenn had left the farm to find Hershel who had taken off, Beth had gone into shock seeing her family members being gunned down after spending so much time believing her fathers beliefs that they were simply sick and could be cured. Emmalyn had been spending her time packing up things inside the tent, she wanted to be prepared just in case they needed to be. Daryl approached Emmalyn where she was sitting with her back against the tree by their site, he moved to crouch down in front of her with a soft expression on his face. "Are ye a'right?" Daryl asked her, she looked up at him with a small smile.

"Do you think Rick will be able to convince Hershel to let us stay?" Emmalyn asked him, she was worried they'd fail in finding somewhere safe. "Of course he will," Daryl assured her, he cupped the side of her face and kissed her forehead. It was around an hour after Rick and Glenn left that they had returned to the farm with Hershel however, they also had another person with them who was barely a teenager. Emmalyn stood with Lori as they watched Rick lead the teen towards the shed, he seemed to be limping heavily with a leg injury. Once he had been settled, Rick asked Daryl to keep watch as Hershel fixed the kids leg before turning to Emmalyn and explaining everything.

Emmalyn informed Rick about Beth's full condition and Andrea's actions of leaving the teenager alone while she was suicidal, Rick was unimpressed by the woman's actions but decided to leave it be considering Lori and Maggie had it all handled. Emmalyn had walked off to stay with Carl and Sophia, she didn't want to be involved in the situation especially considering Shane was absolutely seething due to the strangers presence. Rick wanted to kill the teen while Dale was pleading for them to take the boy away and let him go, Emmalyn knew that leg injury would only lead into his death anyway.

Daryl had been the one to go and interrogate the teenager after Rick shared his concerns about the boys group and how the other people had been acting. However, upon his return from interrogating the teenager, he was angered and all for the kids death informing Rick, Dale, Hershel, Lori, Shane and Emmalyn that the boys group would raid them and assault the women to their pleasure. Daryl stood close to Emmalyn, the boy had managed to taunt Daryl with threats of harming Emmalyn and it took all of his strength not to kill the kid in that very shed; his respect for Rick was the only reason he hadn't done so.

Despite all of that, Dale was still severely against the murder of the boy which Emmalyn both understood and disagreed with as it was important to remember that the new world had new rules they must deal with and hold responsibility for; if he wasn't a genuine threat to the group then she'd stand with Dale. "I understand your view, Dale, I really do. But you must understand that this kid is a stranger with a group that clearly have impure intentions and a large mass, what do we do if we let him go and he brings them back? We'll be dead and us women and probably Sophia would wish to the Gods we were," Emmalyn expressed to Dale silencing him.

"Obviously killing the kid is not okay and I wish we could do something different but if he openly admitted that he had participated in harming others, I will not let anyone face those monstrous actions," Emmalyn continued before taking in a deep breath, "To the head, quick and efficient. No pain for the kid. Or you could send in the world miles away and he died painfully to a Geek." Dale lowered his eyes in guilt mixed in understanding with Emmalyn's words, the kids leg injury would only result in his death and that was more cruel; not wishing to be further involved, Dale walked away from the gathered council and left them to their own decision.

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Dale's screams had startled everyone, Emmalyn had been the closest and therefore, she had been the one to reach the sight of Dale lying with his stomach torn open and a Geek feasting on him like he was a five course meal. Emmalyn quickly booted the Geek away from Dale and drove her knife into its head twice before she turned to Dale, she grabbed his hand in her her own while the other cupped his face to look at her. The compass necklace she wore was swinging as she leaned to look him in the eyes, "Focus on me, Dad. Look at me." Dale smiled softly through the pain, he fought hard to reach up and cup her cheek.

"M-my girl..." Dale whispered as everyone surrounded them, Andrea dropping to her knees beside him. Emmalyn leaned forward and kissed his head, "Rest, dad. It's time you go see your wife again." Dale's cries turned to whimpers before everyone was startled by a gunshot, tears poured from everyone's eyes. Emmalyn had sat back on her knees and fired the shot, tears falling from her eyes as she came to terms with the fact that she had just killed her first human and it was Dale, the man that had been a father to her, Andrea and Glenn. Andrea looked up at Emmalyn who was crying but her face was blank, the blonde felt immense guilt and pain as Emmalyn got up and walked away.

Daryl had been ready to put Dale out of his misery but seeing his girlfriend fire the bullet into the head of the man she viewed as a father was more painful than him having to do it himself. He turned and walked away, his path taking him directly to Emmalyn who stood by their camp staring at the RV, sniffles could be heard coming from her. "Darling?" Daryl spoke softly so not to startle her. "Why do the good die young?" Emmalyn asked with a deep sniffle, she turned to Daryl with a broken expression. "I wouldn't say he was young but... it's out of our control, Em," Daryl replied as he stepped closer and grabbed her hand in his own.

"I know that but... it still hurts," Emmalyn told him before she let out a sob, Daryl pulled her into his arms and held her as she cried. Dale would be moved by Rick, Daryl and Shane to a grave by Otis and Hershel's family. Emmalyn had rested a piece of wood on his grave that she had carved his name into, she sniffled before spending the rest of the day drawing his picture into her book of lost souls as a reminder of those who they knew and lost to the dead. With Hershel's acceptance, she had added drawings of his late wife and step son with it. They spent the day mourning and out of respect of Dale's wishes, Rick decided to let the kid go. But his return with the kid and bruises covering him and Shane, Emmalyn knew everything would fall apart.

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Rosemary Speaks

Next chapter will be the final one for the first part. I have made many changes to the next part. Those of you who were here before and remember, Emmalyn's fate isn't so pretty.
I've made a few changes...

How do we feel about this chapter?

R.I.P Dale

Thoughts, Suggestions or Questions?

See you in the next chapter!