Crossing The Line Epilogue

Epilogue

Ostensibly she was on watch, but in reality she wanted some solitude. Carol stood over Sophia’s grave and inhaled deeply of the night air. She could smell smoke in her clothes from the house fire. She’d probably have to wash them a couple of times to get the stink of sweat and smoke out of them. She didn’t care. Most of their group had gotten out alive. That was all that mattered.

Inside the church she could hear Maggie and Beth mourning Patricia’s loss. Rick and Michonne were visible inside, sitting on the floor, with Michonne leaning against Rick. Carl was asleep with a pillow in Michonne’s lap and his head resting on it. She stroked his hair lovingly. They were going to make a very strong family, Carol mused. If anyone would beat this world it would be them.

She turned away from her friends and looked back at the grave. She had other business to get on with.

“Do you plan to stand there or are you gonna make a move?” she asked.

Shane emerged from the tree line surrounding the cemetery. “How long you know I was here?”

“Since Rick came in. I saw you come out from under the tarp in the back and dash into the trees.”

“You didn’t say anything?”

Carol shook her head. “I figured you wouldn’t do anything until everyone was asleep.”

She continued to stare at the stone cross that had once stood inside the church but now marked Sophia’s grave.

“How did you get into the truck without Rick seeing you?”

Shane came to stand beside her. “I saw Rick comin’ so I went around the side of the barn. When his back was turned I jumped in and hid under the tarp. Carol, you and me can go. I can keep you and the baby safe. You ain’t gotta love me, at least not at first, but we can build something good. You know I’m made for this world, I can do this.”

He saw the way her eyes lingered on Sophia’s grave.

“I didn’t know walkers would attack that night. I was never gonna hurt Sophia. Carol, look at me.”

She looked up at Shane. She looked into the eyes of the man she hated and she saw, for the first time, how truly pitiable he was. How sick he was. How completely broken from reality he was. He couldn’t fathom the consequences of his actions. He was truly lost. She stood and quietly listened as he rationalized his madness in a twisted apology.

“I messed up, bad. Rick told me to find a woman who could be mine. I should have just let Michonne go. I see that now. I should have done right by you but I got all caught up in my rage. I can do better, Carol. I can keep you and our baby safe. We can find someplace to settle down and be a real family. All you gotta do is forgive. Just give me a chance.”

“You want a family, don’t you? You want to be loved.”

He nodded and Carol could see he was sincere when he said yes.

“You know, I’ve always loved poetry,” she said. “T.S. Eliot is among one of my favorites. I’ve thought a lot about his work since I saw you sneak into the trees this evening. I remember, specifically, the words:

‘Between the conception

and the creation

Between the emotion

and the response

Falls the shadow.’”

Shane stared at her in confusion. “Is that about our baby?”

“Six months ago Daryl went into town on a run with Maggie. He needed crossbow bolts. He found a beautiful wooden box and opened it. Someone had abandoned a pair of Japanese tanto. They’re daggers that look a lot like smaller versions of Michonne’s katana. They’re excellent cutting blades but the fighting style Michonne has been teaching me requires more thrusting than cutting.”

“Carol, what are you--”

Carol turned in one motion so smooth and fluid it didn’t register as an attack to Shane. Michonne had taught her well and Carol had been a damn fine student. He felt very little pain, at first, as the incredibly sharp blade invaded his body, but when it hit, it hit hard. It left him breathless.

“Six months ago you thrust into me. You killed part of my soul. It’s time I returned the gesture.”

Carol withdrew the blade. Shane fell to his knees. He made a small, high-pitched noise of pain in the back of his throat.

“'This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.’”

“Carol…” Shane sighed. His face was filled with the agony of his wound.

“I’m gonna let you turn. Michonne can put you down if she wants. I just want you to know this, Shane Walsh: This baby will never know your name. You will never exist in his world.”

She sliced the dagger across Shane’s throat. Blood spilled from the wound, the flow of which Shane tried to stem with his hand, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Carol watched the life fade from his eyes and he fell forward at her feet.

After she wiped the blade on his shirt, Carol sheathed it and then turned to go back inside. She’d been unaware that she had an audience. Rick, Michonne, Glenn, and Andrea had heard Shane and Carol talking and had come outside. They’d witnessed his end. Michonne nodded to her, and Carol returned it, before moving past them to go back into the church.

Carol lay down on the pew that would be her bed for the night and, for the first time in over six months, Shane didn’t invade her dreams.



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