The Return of Shane Vol 3: #Lori (Re-Edited)

by TheWalkingDeadNegative

Summary:

The events of this Fanfiction take place during Episode 4 of Season 3, “Killer Within”. As Rick looks through the fences at Lori they both have flashbacks of their marriage before everything fell apart. This warm moment would be the last moment Rick will share with his wife. Many miles away in Mississippi, Shane, Austin, and Phillip raid an abandoned Police station. While discussing Lori, Shane finally understands his relationship with Lori. But as soon as one door closes, a new one opens.

When Lori met Rick her life changed. Sometimes a wife must sacrifice her dreams, her hopes, just to be a good wife. #Lori tells the story of Lori Grimes, an often hated character in The Walking Dead. #Lori is divided into three parts:
How Lori viewed Lori.
How Rick viewed Lori.
And how Shane viewed Lori.
She is complicated, misunderstood, strong, self-sacrificing. She is Lori Grimes.

Chapter 1: Timeline Explained...

The Walking Dead: Negative, Timeline Explanation: The purpose of this timeline is to help readers understand where AMC's The Walking Dead and the The Walking Dead: Negative's timeline's intersect. It is designed to guide new readers who may or may not have already read The Return of Shane: Vol 1-3. It is encouraged that everyone read The Return of Shane: Vol especially since new characters were added during that series. Contrary to popular belief, time has not really moved quickly in The Walking Dead, mainly because as of Season 6, Judith still can't walk or talk. At most, only two years has passed since Lori's death.

2010

--- Events of The Walking Dead, Season 1.

| - Rick's group escapes the CDC.

|- Events of The Walking Dead, Season 2.

| - Rick's group meet Hershel and the Greene Family.

|

|

| - Episode - Better Angels (Shane and Rick face off).

| - Events of Return Of Shane Vol 1 (Shane survives). 

| --- Shane meets Phillip and Austin Marco.

| --- Events of The Walking Dead, Season 2, Finale .

| - Events of Return Of Shane Vol 2 (Shane returns to the Farm).

|--- Events of The Walking Dead, Season 3.

|--- Lori gives birth to Judith and dies.

|--- Events of Return Of Shane Vol 3. <<< You are HERE.

| - Rick's group repel The Governor from the prison.

2011 

| - Shane's Group meets the Rockwell Family at K-Mart.

| --- Events of The Walking Dead, Season 4.

| - The Prison is overrun, Rick's group divides.

| - Rick's group and Abraham's group make it to Terminus.

2012

--- Events of The Walking Dead, Season 5.

| - Nancy Rockwell becomes pregnant by Shane. Stu and Jacob are killed.

| - Rick's group meets Aaron.

| - Rick's group arrives at Alexandria.

| - Rick kills Pete and is reunites with Morgan.

|- Austin and Nancy are both killed, Phillip is now the de facto leader.

| - Shane is shot by Saviors.

| - Events of The Walking Dead, Season -6 / Events of The Walking Dead, Season 6

 

Chapter 2: "Rick..."

 

The Return of Shane, Vol 3

Part 1 

Everything was about Rick. Rick's uniform, Rick's mother, Rick's pride—Rick, Rick, RICK! Even after the world was flipped upside-down, and the dead were walking, it was still all about Rick. Lori didn't understand how Rick, his hands covered in death, was still so magnanimous. Even in Rick's darkest moments, he somehow maintained his nobility. That innate goodness was what drew her to him in the beginning.

Lori and Rick were locked in a strong gaze.His face had softened and his blue eyes yearned for his wife again. He missed his Lori. They had been embroiled in an icy standoff throughout the duration of her pregnancy, due to Shane's ghost hovering over their marriage.

In this moment, the husband and wife could only think about each other. Rick was ready to move on.Lori was due to give birth soon, and Rick knew his cold war with her needed to end. But Rick was sensitive; his ego had been injured in a fashion that couldn't just be undone. His hostility towards Lori was justified in his eyes; he figured at the very least, he wanted her to feel the hurt she had delivered to him. It was childish, but Sherriff Grimes felt that it was just.

Lori was amazed by Rick.His development in the last year astonished her. As much as he rejected her, she found herself even more drawn to him. He was nothing like the Sherriff Grimes that had policed Kings County, and he was lightyearsaway from the shy Ricky Grimes she’d met at Georgia State.

Georgia State had been a unique choice for Lori; her family had a level of affluence, but she’d purposely chosen Georgia State for three reasons: it was in Atlanta, it was a cultural melting pot, and there she would finally be away from her ever-watchful father. Lori Madison's family had actually moved from Maine, when she was tenyearsold, to the rural south of Savannah, Georgia.

Lori had been focused on getting the hell away from Donald Madison, and vanishing into the crowd in Atlanta seemed like the perfect plan. Lori's outgoing personality and beauty made her very popular on the campus of GSU. She’d enjoyed the night life, had yearned for the electric lights of Peach Tree Street.

Lori remembered one night when the sun had recently sunk, leaving the sky with traces of mauve and orange. Surrounded by her equally beautiful and anonymous friends, Lori Madison swayed her petite body to Mariah Carey's "Fantasy." The girls were enjoying a break from classes at the high-end tavern located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. It was only 7:54PM, so they were just getting started. After three drinks, the girls had planned to get some quick food to balance out the liquor, then change and head out to the ritzy nightclub, Kisses.

Lori was in her prime.

But hidden by the bar, two baby blues watched her from afar. His face was softer then, free of scruff and the lines of time. His skin was baby soft; in 1996, Rick Grimes had struggled to grow facial hair. His dark hair was low, but soft, boyish locks still sat upon his crown. He was innocent in those days; a complete contrast to the man he was today.

The roundness of his pink lips stretched into a smirk when Lori's eyes met his. He nervously looked away; he knew a girl like Lori would never want a guy like him. No way is she looking at me, thought Rick as he took a small swig from his Bud Light. But Lori was looking at Rick; there was something simple but very beautiful about him. And what made Rick even more sexy was that he had no idea how attractive he was.

Lori didn't cave to social norms back in those days—she went against the grain. Her long, raven locks were teased into curls, and like the enticing maiden she was, Lori shook her beautiful hair invitingly. But Rick stayed seated by the bar and absorbed the sight. He admired the tight jeans and dark halter top that she wore now, but he appreciated the Lori that he saw on campus,during the daytime, as well.

Frustrated with his lack of courage, Lori finally walked over to Rick and grabbed his hand to raise him from his seat. "On your feet, cowboy," she demanded.

Rick quickly sat down the brown bottle. "But I can't dance."

"Well, you can't keep staring at me.Either we are going to dance or you aren’t allowed to look at me anymore. I know it sounds self-centered, but you have totally been staring holes through me, and it's kinda scary when a guy is just staring you down."

"I'm sorry," the pure Rick apologized. "I am so sorry; I really didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"That apology loses its effectiveness if you're smiling through it." Lori placed her hand on her hip, challenging Rick.

"I can't help but smile, because…"

"Because what?Because I'm a girl and you don't think I can beat you up? I had three older brothers, so I know how to beat up boys," teased Lori.

"I can't stop smiling because you're beautiful," replied Rick.

Sure, it was corny; Rick was corny. Lori blushed and couldn't help but smile to herself. "Dance with me, or at least put on some sunglasses if you're going to keep staring bullet holes into me. You decide."

 

"You decide, Rick," Lori demanded.

"Whatever you want to do, Lori." Rick didn't have time to argue with his wife today. There were fifteen pre-teens outside, making an enormous mess for Carl’s twelfth birthday party. Rick had wanted something easy,to just take Carl and perhaps two of his friends to Disney World. It would have been much better than this tween extravaganza that Lori had decided on. And now that the power had been knocked out by the lights and speakers needed for the party, Lori was expecting him to come up with a solution.

"Everyone knows you need a generator for these kinds of things, Lori," Agatha, Rick's mother added. "Who uses their own home to power this mini-Vegas show you have going on out there?"

"I'm sorry, Agatha, I'm not Bob Villa," Lori retorted. "And neither are you."

"Hey, you two," Rick interrupted. Rick always had to play referee when Lori and his mother were brought together. "Now, it's a simple fix.A busted fuse ain't a sign of the apocalypse. But getting a generator at the last minute may not be realistic."

"So what can we do, Rick?" Lori was stressed from the day and the distance that was growing between her and Rick.

"We keep it simple; bring out the cake, sing 'happy birthday,' call it a night. We’re already gonna need a cleanup crew to clean up this disaster." Rick began to look through his kitchen curtains to watch the crowd of kids and parents in his backyard. Even though the power was cut, Shane and a few of the other officers, dressed in full uniform, did their best to entertain the children.

"Is that all you care about, Rick?" Lori shot back. "The most simple, cheapest, route?"

"Don't you talk to my son that way!" Agatha interjected.

Agatha's homely appearance made her even easier to loathe. "Rick, I keep my mother out of my marriage; can you please do the same?"

"You uppity, arrogant little bitch!" Agatha retorted, hostility and bile smothering her words.

Angrily, Lori threw a glass plate, smashing into it shards. "This is my house and you are a guest—actually, wereaguest. You think you can barge in here, making your comments and suggestions about my parenting and me being a good wife? You get out of my house, and you better not even speakto my son as you leave!"

"You gonna let her talk to me—your own mother—like that?"Agatha's deep, Dixie accent exposed her deep disappointment in her son.

"You know what?" Rick began, "I'm not gonna do this. You two are making this about you, and I thought it was Carl's birthday. You two grownups wanna throw fits like children, go head. My son needs me."

Rick rejoined the festivities, disengaging from his wife and mother. Most of the guests heard the noise, but Rick dismissed it, saying he had dropped a dish. Rick was right, in the end; all the kids cared about was ice cream, cake, games, and Carl. Lori stayed inside well after Agatha had left in her 1975 Cadillac, and well after Rick had left for the bar alone.

She sat on her porch alone with a beer as Shane finished cleaning up. "You know you don't have to do that?"

"Yeah, I know," Shane replied, stuffing the dumpster with the oversized, black trash bag. "It's not like you were going to do it."

"I was intending to leave it for Rick."

Shane began to chuckle.He turned around to take a good look at Lori; she wore tight-fitting, acid-washed jeans, pairedwith a soft, purple tank and a sandstone opened flannel shirt. Shane unconsciously licked his bottom lip at the sight of the woman looking utterly edible. She was alone, and her body language screamed that she wanted to be touched. Or that was at least how Shane read things.

"That's pretty spiteful," Officer Walsh responded. "You two still going at it?"

"For us to be 'going at it' we would have to be talking to each other," confessed Lori.

"You know Rick," Shane reminded her. "He's not one to talk about his emotions. He can tell you about his thoughts and philosophies on life, but he shuts down at the mention of his own feelings."

"Is that a copthing?"

"Nah, it’s just a Rickthing." Shane wasn't exactly being honest; he also suffered from an inability to display his feelings. He’d had a chain of girlfriends, but he’d never committed to anyone. He had a bottomless well for a sexual appetite, but he could never find intimate or emotional satisfaction in anything. Shane, more so than Rick, was completely disconnected fromhis feelings. Shane could feel the carnal actions of the moment, but he was completely ill-equipped to deal with the emotions that came after.

"When are you going to get married so I can give you advice?" taunted Lori.

Shane scoffed, "Like hell I would ever get marriage advice from you." Lori playfully shoved Shane, who began to chuckle. She then wrapped her arms around Shane's waist and buried her face into his chest. Shane's heart began to race—was this the momentthat he and Lori had been building up to all this time? The texting, the secret conversations about Rick… would this be the moment?

"Shane?" Lori said, her voice muffled by the fabric and Shane's chest.

"Lori," he replied, his voice low, almost seductive in tone.

There was a short silence before Lori finally said, "Please, bring my husband home."

 

 

 

Chapter 3: "The Eye of the Hurricane"

The Return of Shane, Vol 3

Part 2

 

It was a good night for Rick.The campus was quiet, his roommate had left for Christmas break already, and he had the dorm all to himself. He decided to celebrate with his best friend, Shane Walsh. Shane, dressed in a GSU tank top, sat next to Rick, whowas dressed in a large, GSU hoodie and dark pajama pants. The twenty-year-old Shane, a known hell raiser, had decided to ignore the Georgia State University policy on alcohol consumption. Between Shane and Rick, theirtwelve-pack was now down to only three.

"I met a girl last night," confessed Rick. He was bashful by nature, so it was unlike him to even have a date. Rick's cerulean eyes were darkened by the shadows of the night, but Shane could make out the blue, even through the gloom. The two men sat alone, finishing the beer Rick had purchased since he’d turned twenty-one before Shane.

"Is she hot?" asked Shane. "Nice tits? How's the ass?"

Rick was taken aback by how lusty Shane seemed. "Man, is that all you care about? Tits and ass?"

"Duh!Of course, man!" Shane was surprised Rick would even ask him that.

"Well, she happens to be very petite and sweet," replied Grimes. "Just like how I like 'em."

Shane preferred a little more va-va-voom to his women, as did most men from the South. "I don't like ‘em too boney." But who was Shane fooling?He was game for anyone willing to bed him.

"Well, she ain't for you," teased Rick.

"She got a name?"

"Lori." Rick took a quick swig of his Bud Light. "She goes to GSU too, but I met her at the Toga Tavern. I recognized her from the campus, but she ain't remember me."

"Ugh, Toga?" wined Shane, "that's air-head central, man. Isn't that where all the fraternity assholes meetup with empty-headed sorority bitches?" Shane really disliked anything Greek-related, since he’dbeen rejected by Alpha Epsilon Pi. He now held a bitter grudge against all fraternities or sororities. "You know those sorority chicks are only good for one thing." Shane playfully bit his bottom lip.

"And what’s that, Mr. Walsh?" Rick said, an alcohol-induced grin etched on his youthful face.

"You know what I'm talking about, man," said Shane, grabbing himself in a vulgar manner.

Rick let out an echoing laugh before colliding his beer bottle with Shane's. Rick loved Shane's dirty talk, as it was a deep contrast to his own overtly moral attitude. Though Rick wasn't as vulgar as Shane, he did enjoy the idea of it. Rick lacked the confidence that Shane had, but made up for it with his morality. Rick may not have had as many girlfriends as Shane, but his relationships tended to last longer.

Rick admired Shane's ability to pick up girls, though. Shane could just stick out his chest, drop an assholish line, and he’dget laid. Rick had to actually be polite, charming, and respectful. Shane may have had the looks and the bad boy persona, but Rick was the gentleman that you could actually take home to your mother.

Shane attempted to stand, but his knees were too weak due to the excessive amount of alcohol he hadconsumed. "Whoa, if you bust your ass, expect me to remind you about it every day for the rest of the semester."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shane said before carefully stepping over the cooler containing the remaining three beers.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Rick called out as Shane exited.

"I gotta get back to my dorm; I've got a chem test at 9:30," replied Shane. "I'm going to shoot for a ninety percent, but I would be totally content withseventy-two."

"A 'C'?" teased Rick. "You’re shooting for the bottom, Shane Walsh?"

"If I was shooting for the bottom I would have said sixty-five," clarified Shane. "Catch you on the flipside, Grimes."

Shane headed rather sloppily back to the Olympic Village, and Rick watched his friend with a smirk. He noticed how Shane walked with his chest stuck out, like a proud peacock. He had a pompous strut, but there was something about Shane's walk that tickled Rick. Many people would just see a jerk when they looked at Shane Walsh, but Rick knew that under the thin veneer of arrogance was a good man—even if no one else thought so.

 

Rick watched Lori through the gates of West Georgia Correctional Facility. The wind caught a lock of her dark hair and playfully toyed with its strands. Lori rubbed her protruding stomach as she silently watched her husband. She reminisced wordlessly about the day she met Rick, remembering how shy he was and how he was afraid to even dance with her. But she had made him, kicking and screaming the entire time.

Sherriff Grimes, however, was focused on a darker memory of his wife. In his mind, Rick traveled almost thirteen years before, to a time when the world was easier. The Grimes’ were only married two years before Lori gave birth to Carl. The three had just moved into the family home located in Kings County, Georgia, and Lori was having adjustment issues.

She sat at her dining room table, looking blankly at her plate of brussels sprouts and grilled salmon. Rick was busy moving boxes deeper into the home. But the rookie Deputy noticed an emptiness in his wife; Lori had given birth two weeks earlier, and ever since then she’d been different. Watching his wife from across the room, Rick observed the trancelike state she seemed to be in.

"Lori?" he asked.He attempted to shake his wife into sanity, but Lori remained silent. "Lori!"

Her brown eyes fluttered to life. "Rick?Oh, I'm sorry, babe. I just kinda dozed off."

"Yeah, I noticed that," Rick said as he placed a tan box in the living room. "You really need to eat something, missy. Didn't you just give birth not too long ago?" Rick walked over to his wife and laid his strong hands on her waiflike shoulders.

Lori let out a small moan as she melted into his massage. "You need to eat something; you need your strength."

"What will I need my strength for, Deputy Grimes?" Lori replied coyly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Rick said before pelting his wife's shoulder with a smoldering kiss. He then hissed nastily, "Carl's asleep."

"Finally," remarked Lori.

The kisses led to Lori's neck: her weak spot. But Rick noticed that Lori's body did not react warmly to his advances. She body remained stiff and unwavering, her bones felt fused in place. Her depression had paused her life, and her screams were muted by her forced smiles. Rick felt the frostbite from Lori's resistance, and his hands travelled back to her shoulders as he delivered one final peck from his lips. "Eat up."

As Rick walked away, heading upstairs to the master bedroom, Lori finally said, "Goodnight, love."

Rick usually slept well; therewas still over a decade to go before the horrors of the undead would keep him awake. He slept so comfortably, he didn't feel his wife leave their king-sized plush mattress. But he was naturally a light sleeper, and he was finally awoken by a faint, echoing cry. He slowly flickered his eyelids open to find that his bedroom was lit only by the fullness of the moon. He scanned the mattress and noticed his wife was not beside him.

"Lori," Rick called out groggily.

Silence.

"Lori?" Rick said, becoming more alert and oriented. He rose from his bed rather sharply.Shirtless, barefoot, and dressed only in black, Calvin Klein boxer briefs, Rick quickly began to look for his wife. She wasn't in the adjoining bathroom—he’d looked there first.

"Lori!" Rick growled loudly, trying his best not to disturb a sleeping Carl. Rick was now somewhat frantic, desperately looking for his wife. He stormed into Carl's room, desperate to find his wife,only to encounter something awful: an empty bassinette.

"Carl?" Rick's voice was low and lost as he approached the empty, baby blue bassinette. "Carl?! Lori?!" Rick stormed through his home, calling out his family's names in a desperate attempt to locate them. His face was flustered and red as he searched.

Rick heard it again then, another echoing cry of an infant in the distance. "Carl?" Rick sprinted down the stairs, sure that Carl's cries were coming from outside of home. The officertore through his dining room, tripping over the stray boxes in his way. Every light in the home was off, and Rick struggled with visibility, but he was focused on locating Carl's cry.

When Officer Grimes finally made it to his backdoor, he could already see Lori through the glass windows on the French doors. In the distance, she sat outside on the small swing that she and Rick had built together on the day they’d moved into the home. Wearing only her white nightgown, Lori sat in a trancelike state, holding the small infant, who was poorly covered with a thin, baby-blue blanket.

"Lori!" Rick called out after opening the door, but she didn't acknowledge him. She remained enthralled in her brief psychosis, her back to him.

It was cold, and not just because Rick was in his underwear. It was a balmy October evening, an unforgiving forty-two degrees. The weather was far too cold for an infant, or even for Lori, for that matter. Rick was heavily alarmed by the seemingly quick decline of his wife's mental condition. He walked over to his wife, who was ignoring the desperate cries from her baby.

Rick placed a warm hand on Lori's shoulder, which snapped her back to reality. She was horrified when she realized where she was. "Rick, where… What's happening?"

Lori had never before displayed any behavior that Rick would have deemed as mentally unhinged, so this sudden change scared Rick. "Lori, do you know how you got out here?"

"I…I…I…" Lori struggled to organize her thoughts. "Rick, I just…"

"It's ok, Lori.Let's get you back inside," said Rick. He didn't want to drill Lori, didn't want to add yet another pressure on her. Many of the values that were instilled in Rick came from his father, who had also had a challenging wife.

It would later be discovered that Lori was experiencing Postpartum Depression,a condition that afflicts many women, especially after their first births. But there had always been a darkness in Lori that she hid under her friendly and inviting smile. And Rick would continue to be there for Lori; through the smiles and the tears, Rick swore he would stay with his wife.

But then Shane happened.

 

 

 

Chapter 4: "Replaced"

The Return of Shane, Vol 3

Part 3

 

It had been eight months since Shane had joined Phillip and Austin, and he now found himself quite fond of the couple. Shane had the tendency to be wary of strangers, but his trust in people had been reestablished after meeting the Marco's. Shane liked them both in different ways.He enjoyed Austin's roughness; the Italian was very abbreviated when he spoke, and preferred to let his actions speak for him. He was dark coffee—he didn't need to be overly sweet or smooth. Shane preferred that to Rick's "Can't We All Just Get Along" philosophy. No, we all could not just get along, and Shane and Austin both accepted and understood that.

Initially, Austin was distrustful of the Deputy; he’d found Shane's origin story a little unsettling. Austin figured that if Shane's own best friend wanted him dead, he may have had a good reason. Austin's suspicion had decreased over the months, especially after he’dseen just how efficient Shane was at disposing of the walkers. His experience with the dead, in such a hands-on fashion, was very valuable.

Phillip’s and Shane's relationship was significantly warmer, due to their similar interests. Austin was initially somewhat distrustful by the amount of time Phillip spent with Shane. Shane, though outwardly cool, was an in-the-closet comic-book fan. He’d been too cool to share his secret obsession of Marvel Comics with Rick, because he’dbeen sure it would destroy his macho mystique. But Phillip’s gayness made it easier for Shane to reveal that side of himself. Phillip felt that Shane’s comic-book fetish was a rather boring "dark secret," but it gave the soldier more insight into Shane's psyche.

The two men had many similar likes when it came to music, as well. Both men enjoyed British bands like Oasis, Bush, and Coldplay. Shane was very interested in hand-to-hand combat, and Phillip helped train him in beginner's Jujitsu. Sherriff Walsh appreciated Phillip's openness; for the first time in almost a year, Shane felt like he belonged.

Phillip was done evaluating Shane.He deduced that though Shane had multiple character flaws, he was not a threat to either him or Austin. Moreover, Shane had become quite the asset to their team. With a third, the survivors could raid bigger and more dangerous locations.

One such locationin was Augusta, Georgia. It was a significantly small town, compared to Atlanta, but it was still overrun by the dead. The team sat inside of the large, black, advanced Humvee prototype: The PYTHON. Their voices were muffled by the soundproof exterior of the vehicle, and their faces were obscured by its tinted windows. With the PYTHON’s convenient accommodations, they were completely hidden from the dead.

The vehicle was parked outside of the city on InterstateTwenty as the men inside it finished gearing up. As Austin checked the clip on his UZI-Pro, he asked Phillip, "You see anything on that drone?"

Phillip had used the six-propeller drone to scan the area. "We got a few stragglers surrounding the building, but nothing we can't handle." The silver drone buzzed mutely above the Kmart located on Gordon Highway in Augusta. Kmart, though not one of Phillip's favorite places prior to the apocalypse, had everything they needed now. Kmart sold not only food, water, and clothes, but also ammunition.

"Good, we can just pull up, take out those few hanging out in the parking lot, and grab a shopping cart," Walsh concluded.

"Maybe," chimed Austin. "We can only see how many are outside; for all we know, that place could be full of them."

"Like in Palm Coast," Phillip reminded Austin.

"Palm Coast?" asked Shane.

"Florida," Phillip answered as he guided the drone back to the PYTHON. "Right after Miami became a little too dangerous, Austin and I headed to Palm Coast. We had a friend who owned a ranch there, and we assumed we could stay there until this entire thing had ended. Long story made short, we tried to make a quick stop at a Target for supplies. Unfortunately, the town's people had decided to store all their walkers inside of the department store. Needless to say, I couldn't get my much-needed hair pomade. I was pissed."

"I heard a lot of places tried to store them," said Shane. "In Atlanta, they tried to put the 'sick' inside of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It didn't end well."

"There's no storing them, there's no saving them—there is only killing them," said Austin. "Had people understood that early on, things may not have slipped so far, so fast."

"Most people’s natural reaction to those who look sick isn't execution, dear," Phillip added. "No one knew where things would go… how dark things would become."

They parked a mile away from the Kmart and traveled the rest of the way on foot. Buster, the large, dark-chocolate-colored Neapolitan Mastiff, traveled with his masters and Shane. The area was somewhat populated by homes with unkempt yards. A few stray, rotted corpses lay on the ground, but interestingly enough, the group spotted very few walkers.

All three men were dressed in their combat uniforms; Austin didn't believe in taking chances when making these kinds of runs. They had even brought their matching black helmets, and stuffed them in their otherwise-empty duffel bags. They were all also armed to the nines, though Austin promoted the use of only melee weapons and silenced firearms. Austin liked to attack quickly and silently, so as not to attract any attention, living or undead.

The team made it to the deserted parking lot, where they noticed that ten walkers stood in close proximity to the entrance. The walkers sloppily banged their hands and slammed their bodies against the doors. Phillip quickly brainstormed, "There must be people in there."

"How you figure that?" asked Shane.

"Simple: those things are drawn to noise and mammals. So unless there is a really big rat in there—"

"—Then there are survivors inside," finished Austin.

"How do we know they're friendly?" asked Shane.

"We don't.But we know they are eating." Phillip collected his two bowie knives. "They could be good guys, they could be bad guys… I don't give a shit which. I do know they probably have lots of food and supplies in there, and I'm taking some.Who's coming with me?"

"Phillip, let's not get impulsive," chastised Austin.

"10, 9, 8…" Phillip began his countdown. He was giving the team the count of ten to get ready, or he was going to force them.

"You know you are the most immature—" replied Austin.

"7, 6, 5…"

"Aww, hell," sighed Shane, as he quickly retrieved the large, red fire axe from his duffel bag. "Let's just do this shit.No need for the NASA countdown."

"See, he gets it," Phillip said.

The three men, as well as Buster the dog, charged at the dead. Buster, being the swiftest of the four, was able to tackle one of the walkers. The zombie fell face-forward and the large dog began to maul at the walkers throat. Shane caught up with Buster and with one sharp stomp, crushed the skull of the walker. Austin and Phillip were not far behind, and Phillip managed to bisect the heads of two walkers simultaneously. Austin, with one mighty swing of his machete, beheaded two more of the walking dead.

The four had been doing this for months, and they had all learned from each other. Phillip was more of a brawler who wasn't afraid to get up close and personal with the walkers, and he was complimented by Austin's ox-like strength. Shane worked well with Buster; while the dog was strong enough to knock down one walker at a time, Shane could deliver the finishing blows and also protect the canine from being overwhelmed. They were quite the team.

When the dust settled, our heroes stood tall over the fallen walkers. The first to gloat was Shane. "That was easy."

"Suspiciously easy," Phillip added. He walked closer to the shopping center’s glass, sliding doors for a closer inspection. He noticed that there was a black tarp covering the glass, making it impossible to look inside the store. He also noticed a thick chain and even-thicker lock securing the doors closed. "Looks like there at least used to be people here."

"So are we going in, or are we just going to sit out here and hypothesize?" asked Shane as he rested his innards-soaked ax on his shoulder.

"We're going to think this through," Austin said, refocusing his team. "We could probably take the roof."

Phillip and Shane both looked at each other after Austin's suggestion. Neither of them was a big fan of the idea of scaling the roof of the shopping center, especially with a huge dog. "Man, fuuuuuuuuuckkkk that. Shane, isn't it axing time?"

"I thought you would never ask." Shane raised his axe to strike.

"Use that axe on that lock, I'm going to use it on your prick," Austin threatened Shane, only half-joking.

Austin approached the doors, and without warning the colossal man began to bang on the glass. He struck hard enough to catch the attention of any potential walkers inside, but gentle enough not to shatter the glass. "The lock is clearly designed to keep the dead out, and the tarp is used to block visibility. Somebody was holed up here;whether or not they’re stillalive is a different question."

"Yeah, no shit, man," added Shane. "We can see that."

"Look!" Austin said as he traced his finger around the rust-stained lock and chain. "Whoever put this lock up hasn't messed with it since. See how the rust is caked around the metal. That means if there are people in here, they must have another way to get in—most likely, the roof."

"Perhaps," argued Phillip. "But chances are, they don't have an enormous dog to lift on their shoulders. Let's pop the lock; we can bolt it on the inside if we need to. You pounded on the door like Fred Flinstone and no one, dead or alive, appeared. If we encounter hostiles, we'll deal. We always do."

"We're gonna have to get our hands dirty, sometimes," Shane said, siding with Phillip.

Austin noticed that Phillip and Shane would often side with each other. Austin didn't know what to make of it just yet, but he was becoming suspicious of Shane's influence. "Fine, Shane.You can do the honors."

With one strike, the locked was popped. "Fellas, night vision goggles," Austin prompted.

Austin chose to take the dog as a partner, and Phillip went with Shane. Even after eight months, Austin had not built very much esteem in Shane, while Phillip, for reasons Austin still didn't understand, trusted Shane. The two walked together now, led by their handguns in the dark, abandoned shopping center. The aisles were in disarray and goods were thrown about all over the Kmart. Phillip suspected the brunt of the mess had probably happened at the beginning of the outbreak.

As Phillip scanned the aisles for useful goods, he noticed Shane in his peripheral vision,staring off. He was transfixed by large, blue teddy bear with the words "It's a boy!" on its stomach. Surrounding the bear were miscellaneous baby items. For months, thoughts of Lori and the baby had never entered Shane's mind, but seeing this bear brought it all back.

"Walsh."

"Yeah."

"Find anything useful?" asked Phillip, joining Shane in the baby section.

The two men were silent. Shane was overwhelmed by emotions, but he did his best to mask them. He may have exposed some his sensitive side to Phillip before, but he wanted to maintain his firm front here. "How old is Cameron, again?"

Thoughts of Cameron emerged.The young boy's bright smile and his friendly personality brought a smile to Phillip's full, pink lips. "Cameron is four.He turns five in November."

"Do you think about him?" asked Shane, his eyes still locked on the large, blue teddy.

"Every day," answered the soldier. "But I think I'm supposed to.It keeps me going, keeps me heading north. It took us eight months, and we are still only in Augusta; we gotta move much faster than this."

"I had a dream about Lori a few nights ago," confessed Shane. "She was alive, holding my son.She was waiting for me."

"You sure it's your son?" countered Phillip.

Shane scoffed, "I'm more than confident."

"You never told me the whole story about Lori."

"How much time do you have?" asked Shane.

 

Lori had been unhinged since Rick was put in the hospital by that bullet, but when it rained, it truly poured. Lori watched with Shane as the US government rained down napalm from the sky in an attempt to cleanse the earth of the dead. The sight was horrifying, and Lori buried her teary eyes into Shane's chest.

"I just don't know what to do, Shane," cried Lori. Shane held her tiny frame close to his, stroking her hair as tears fell from her face.

"Listen to me, Lori," began Shane, "I don't care what happens; I'm not leaving your side. You hear me? I am here for you and Carl. I will die protecting you two. Do you understand me, Lori?"

Lori's eyes met Shane's, the dew of tears still glossing her irises. "We're not your responsibility."

"Yes, you are, Lori," argued Shane. "I'm with you to the end. All the way till the end."

Lori's gaze intensified, and there was a burning in her chest that she couldn't ignore. Impulsively,she kissed Shane on his lips, hungrily desiring the heat of his mouth. Shane was initially surprised; though he had indulged fantasies of being with Lori, he’d always kept them locked in the darkest part of his psyche. But now he shocked—he and Lori were kissing, and what was even more surprising, she had made the first move.

"Lori, what are you—" Before Shane could finish his question, Lori pelted his mouth with more steamy kisses. Shane caressed Lori's tongue with his own, filling her mouth with his.

Hidden by the darkness of night and viewed only by the trees, Lori released the buttons on her dark flannel, exposing her dark, velvet bra. Shane quickly reached for the skin near her belly button, but she retracted from his touch.

"It's ok," Shane reassured her, and with the tips of his fingers, he pulledher closer to his body. "It's ok, Lori. I'm going to take care of you."

She melted into his touch and the two fell to the ground gently. Lori mounted Shane and felt the girth of his manhood expand inside of her, pulsating and thrilling. Shane was rough even when Lori was on top, managing to maintain full control by delivering long, deep strokes.

Spent, the two lay on the grass, alone and nude as the day they were born.

Lori was ashamed. Caught up in the moment, she’dgone as mad as the world had. No Rick, no mom, no dad… all she had now was Carl and Shane. But what upset Lori the most wasn't the fact that she had slept with Shane—the subtext had been there for years. What bothered Lori was how much she’d enjoyed it, how Shane's roughness in bed had made her feel something she hadn't felt in years. Shane's overtly macho persona brought out Lori's most feminine emotions.

As Lori desperately looked for her discarded underwear and bra, Shane could sense her heightened anxiety. He had assumed that the sexual tryst would, if anything, take the edge off.But it appeared to have opened a Pandora's Box, instead. "Lori."

She ignored his calls. "Where the fuck are my underwear?" Lori asked rhetorically.

Lori rarely used profanity, so Shane was somewhat taken aback. With his right, index finger, he lifted up her magenta, petite panties. And in a somewhat taunting fashion,he said breathlessly, "Looking for these?"

Lori angrily cut her eyes at Shane before snatching back her underwear. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself tonight."

"It seemed like something both of us needed," Shane said, still lying nude on the grassy earth, as Lori struggled to get dressed.

"What if Carl saw us? Think of all the questions he would have for me and you."

"Lori, Carl's safe with that family—what's their names, the Pelts?" Shane struggled with the name of that seemingly friendly family.

"The Peletiers, Shane," Lori answered, annoyed at that point by the sheer presence of him.

"Yeah, them. They have Carl; I'm sure he's safe. We can stay here for a little longer." Shane wanted to connect more intimately with Lori. Sex had always been one of Shane's coping skills, and he needed Lori's help to manage their current situation.

"No, Shane, you will never touch me again," Lori promised.

Shane delivered his signature tooth-sucking before finally standing up. "What did you say to me?"

"You heard exactly what I said, Shane Walsh. You will never touch me again."

Shane released a smug chuckle as his eyes sized up Lori. "You think this is all about you? Alright then, Lori. You've got yourself a deal." Shane quickly dressed and the two headed back to the camp separately.

Shane was supposed to keep watch, but at some point he could no longer keep his eyes open. Between the bombing of Atlanta and the emotional torrent that was Lori, the officer was spent. Lori and Shane sat in the front of Shane's old swat car, while Carl slept on a make-shift bed consisting of blankets in the back seat. It wasn't comfortable for anyone, but it was the best way to make a quick exit.

Shane initially slept quickly, until he felt a tugging at his body that snapped him to back consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a smiling Lori, as she attempted to unbuckle his pants. Shane was confused by Lori, how she went from one great extreme to the next with no rhyme or reason.

"Woman, what are you doing?" Shane asked with a dry, groggy throat.

"Shhhhh…" Lori hissed. "Don't wake up Carl. Besides, I said you'd never touch me again. I never said I couldn't touch you."

Shane gave a quick smile before closing his eyes as Lori expressed her deepest appreciation for all Sherriff Walsh had done for her.

 

"Wow," Phillip added. "She covered her ass well."

"What are you crowing about?" said Walsh.

"Well, after spending weeks riding her husband's best friend's pole, she was reunited with her husband. Now, if you two were smart, you would have fessed up immediately and apologized. Sounds like our damsel knew that wouldn't go the way she wanted it. So she waited for the perfect time to tell her husband that you two were involved. She perfectly packaged herself as the poor dame and cast you as the jerk who hogtied her to the railroad tracks.

"She totally left out the part about how she waved her vag-steam in your face for the last couple of years. No wonder Rick put that knife in your chest. You were the perfect patsy; you're easily hateable and you already come off like a jerk. Voilà."

"What the hell do you know," Shane countered. "You weren't there. How do you know how we felt? What we meant to each other…"

"Couldn't have meant too much," countered Phillip. "Besides, I know exactly how she felt. Trapped between who she was and who she needed to become,unsure of who was best for her and her son. Having two men, who at one time were as close as family, become bitter enemies because her heart couldn’t make sound decisions. Are you kidding? I’ve been Lori."

"Come again," Shane said, gesturing with his right hand to Phillip from walking further down the aisle. "What do you mean you were Lori?"

The young solider faced Shane and confessed rather openly, "I cheated on Austin."

"What?!" Shane was actually shocked; Phillip always exuded this "holier-than-thou" sense of morality. It made it seem all the more difficult to believe the close couple had dealt with infidelity.

"I'm not perfect, Shane."

"But you cheated on Austin?" echoed Shane.

"Yeah," Phillip replied, his voice lower this time, his tone dripping with shame. "Wasn't exactly my most shining moment, but I did. We were married—what—a year, maybe."

"Why?"

"Why do people cheat, Shane?" asked Phillip. "Because they're not getting what they feel they deserve. Whether you’re cheating on a test or on a spouse, you’re doing so because you feel like you deserve a larger slice of the cake. I was eighteen when I got involved with a thirty-one-year-old man. What the fuck did I know about relationships? One day, I found myselftwenty-two, married to the only guy I’d ever really dated, and then I askedmyself: 'Is this it for me?’"

Thoughts of Lori reentered Shane's mind; Shane rarely thought about his inappropriate relationship with Rick's wife, prior to the outbreak. Even then, Shane had known his actions were improper, but like Phillip said, Shane had believed he deserved a larger slice of the cake. Shane started to wonder if he’d really had feelings for Lori, or if he just was jealous of Rick.

Rick did have it all, didn't he? He had the wife, the kid, the house, and a mom and dad that loved him. Shane didn't have any of that.His father had died when he was a small boy, leaving Shane’s life void of meaningful, male influence. This lack of paternal involvement created a hole in Shane that he would ultimately try to fill with copious amounts of casual sex. But no matter how much sex he had, and no matter how many women he had it with, Shane never could fill that canyon within his heart.

Lori was no exception.Had there not been an outbreak and Shane had still somehow slept with Lori, he probably would have disconnected from her like he did with all the other women he’dbeen with. He was a dog, and that was part of his "charm." But the circumstances of the apocalypse had changed Shane, and he’d bonded with Lori and Carl in a way that was too intense for him. He’d wanted to be the surrogate protector, the new father—the better father.

"When I cheated on Austin, I made a shitload of excuses, which just comes with the territory. We tried to make it work, with mixed results. Cameron was really little at the time, and Austin was always in some God-forsaken country, working on toppling dictators. And I was at home, trying to decide if I wanted to be in ATLAS, and if I even wanted to be someone's husband. Wondering if maybe I just wanted to be me.

"So I decided, after me and Austin were done in Florida, we were going to fly back to Boston, where we got married, and speed through a divorce. I would get sole-custody of Cameron, and he would pay a little child support. I would keep the brownstone in Manhattan, and he would take the beach house in San Diego."

"But then the outbreak happened," added Shane.

"Yup.We didn't exactly work well together in the very beginning. But we knew there wasn't a team on earth badder than Austin and I. We're fucking Ronnie and Clyde, Alexander and Hephaestion…"

"Abbott and Costello?" teased Shane.

"Sometimes," admitted Phillip with a small smile. "Bottomline: no one's perfect. Lori sounds like a complicated woman who was thrust into less-than-ideal circumstances. We're human.We fuck up, and we also gotta learn to forgive. Shane, you gotta forgive her."

Forgive Lori? The concept was foreign to Shane, and he tilted his head in mild confusion. "Forgive her for what?"

"Hurting you," answered Phillip. "You aren't one to tell people you're hurt. You're like me; you let the pain burn until you can't take it anymore, and then you're ready to fuck shit up. You're beating yourself up about Lori, but the real person you should feel bad about is Rick. Wasn't he like your cousin or something?You're really perpetuating that stereotype of incest in the rural south." Phillip noticed a box of whey protein bars and quickly tossed them in the cart.

"Me and Rick wasn't kin," replied Shane, his voice coarse.

Phillip picked up the hostile vibes, but that didn’tstop him from poking at Shane some more. One of the things that ATLAS taught Phillip was how to use human psychology to manipulate a target. Phillip knew if continued to put pressure on Shane about Rick and Lori, the officer might be able to finally purge them from his psyche. As long as Rick and Lori were alive in Shane's heart, the more that chapter of his life would influence his actions today. Shane's distractions and panic attacks, in the middle of a herd of walkers, could lead to someone getting killed.

To Phillip, Rick, Lori, and Carl were faceless, dead people. Phillip would not let their memory get Austin, Shane, or Buster killed. Luckily, Shane had yet to have a significant panic attack in months. But Phillip didn't have the free time to babysit him forever.

"He wasn't family, but he might as well have been," Phillip pressed. "You said you were with him when his father died from leukemia, and when his first child was born. You were a part of the most important moments of his life—"

"—You don't think I know that!" Shane finally snapped back, entering Phillip's bubble, only inches from his face. "You swear you know all the answers. You don't know shit."

The officer's eyes burned through the darkness of the shopping center. He wanted to pull out Phillip's trachea, but then who would he have left to talk to? Phillip, however, had played this game with Shane before.Sometimes Shane would swing, and sometimes he wouldn't. Either way, Phillip was more than capable of putting Shane on his ass.

"You need to forgive them.You need to forgive Rick and Lori. And when you’ve honestly and earnestly done that, then you'll be able to forgive yourself."

Shots rang out in the dark of the shopping center, and the two men quickly darted for cover. Phillip grabbedthe Beretta that sat at his left hip. "Austin, is that you?!" Phillip asked, pressing the small button on his earpiece radio. "Austin, do you copy?" More bullets sprayed through the shadows as both Shane and Phillip tried their best to stay covered.

"Austin, do you copy?!" Shane's voice was far more aggressive than Phillip’s.

"Maybe he was hit?" Phillip said, his voice breathless.Beneath his icy surface, he was beginning to panic.

Shane couldn't see the panic build in Phillip, but he knew they needed to come up with a solution and Phillip wasn't providing any proactive thinking. "Phillip, put on your goggles," whispered Shane.

"Get out!" a voice screamed. It was a male voice, but not exactly a man's. It was youthful; Phillip suspected it belonged to a young teen.

"Shane, you hear that?"

"Get out right now! I swear to God I will kill you!" the boyish voice threatened.

"He sounds like he's thirteen," Phillip highlighted.

"Yeah, I hear it. Ever see Children of the Corn? Kids can kill too, and this one just said he would."

Bullets continued to ricochet of the ground and Shane became more and more agitated.He was prepared to end this boy just as he had Randall. "Let me give him a warning first, Shane. If he keeps firing, then we have no choice."

Phillip had had a mission in Sierra Leone for which he’d had to terminate child combatants.It was one of the darkest moments of Phillip's life, and one of the reasons he had wanted to leave ATLAS and Austin behind. He didn’t want to have to kill a child today, only moments after speaking Cameron's name.He would give the boy one chance to surrender,not only for his own soul, but for Cameron.

"Stop—fucking—shooting!" Phillip demanded in a booming voice. "I just want to talk before things get really bloody for me. See, what you don't know is that we just want to get a few canned goods, a couple of cases of bottled water, and lots of Charmin. But otherwise, we have no intentionof taking your pad. And I am sure you have plenty to spare. I would hate to have to put a bullet in you before you get a chance to have your first lap dance, but I won’t hesitate."

Another round was fired, and it was different from the bullets that were fired earlier. Phillip suspected something in the Remington 700family. "We got a sniper on board," Phillip said.

"Get the fuck out of here, now!" this new voice howled through the darkness with a man's ferocity. Two more rounds were fired, one almost grazing Phillip's shoulder.

"Ok, now I'm mad," Phillip concluded. The soldier slid on his crimson-lensed goggles and quickly scanned the room. The military-level, night-vision goggles had heat-signature technology already installed as well. It didn't take Phillip too long to locate the two people through the opaqueness of the room. The boy and man were hiding behind a glass counter that had once held jewelry.

Phillip used deductive reasoning—the large frame had to be the man. Phillip raised his firearm and shot into the darkness. Through the blackness, the bullet met its target and lodged in the man's right shoulder.

"Damn it!" the man hissed upon contact.

Phillip could hear the man's cries. "Damn, I'm good." Shane rolled his eyes at Phillip, somewhat annoyed by the way Phillip enjoyed powdering his own ass. It bothered Shane primarily because it reminded him of himself.

"I take it I shot you in the shoulder; that's where I was aiming. I could have just as easily put one in your brain."

"Dad, stop!" a female voice called out from the shadows,behind Phillip and Austin.Her voice sounded young, but adult.

"Nancy?!" cried the man in desperation.

"I have your daughter, Nancy," Austin said.Though not visible to Shane or Phillip, he had Nancy cuffed with his pistol pressed against her back. "Stu, I know you have Henry and Jason with you. We're not here to hurt you—any of you."

"Fuck you! Nancy, baby, did they touch you?" Stu asked frantically as he tried his best to stop the bleeding.

"No,Dad. I'm cuffed but he didn't hurt me. Dad, you have to stop shooting!”

"Why?! Who are these people?"

"Dad, you don't get it, you have to stop shooting because…"

"Because what?!"

"Because that!" Phillip said with attitude. "Look at the doors."

Stu was reluctant to move from his position.His son, Henry, sat nervously next to his father, his hands desperately holding the nine millimeter. Stu knew he needed to see. Nancy was out there. Stu had lost his wife, Martha, two weeks earlier.He would not lose Nancy as well.

Stu, using his sniper scope, focused on the glass door of the shopping center and realized why his daughter was begging him to stop firing. The dead had begun to pile up at the door.Not ten, not twenty, not fifty—well over a hundred had been drawn by the gunfire.

"Oh… my… God…"Stu said in horror.

"Thanks for ringing the dinner bell, asshole," scolded Shane.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 3 of The Walking Dead: Negative