Inside the supermarket, Maggie was leading the way as she searched for supplies when another walker suddenly appeared. After Glenn dealt with it, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
Calista and Leah quietly stepped back, pretending to rummage through nearby shelves, but in truth, they were giving the young couple some space.
Still, both of them kept their ears tuned to what was happening over there.
When she realized she had moved too far back and could barely hear anything, Calista's eyes flickered with mischief. She tiptoed forward by two shelves.
Her hands looked busy, but Leah noticed she hadn't actually put anything into her backpack. She was even stretching her neck to sneak a peek.
Leah: …
She crept forward as well, then helplessly pressed Calista's head back behind the shelf and whispered, "Can you try not to be so obvious?"
Calista shot back, "Don't whisper right next to me, you're giving us away!!!"
...
"It's okay! Maggie, it's okay, I'm right here!" Glenn's voice was gentle as he reassured her again and again, his hand softly patting her back.
Maggie buried her face against his neck. After a long moment, she finally lifted her head. Her face was still pale, her eyes filled with lingering fear and a deeper confusion.
"It… it just now…" Her voice was hoarse, and she couldn't go on.
"I know," Glenn said for her. "It wanted to hurt you! But they're all like that, Maggie. Every single one!"
He gathered his courage, meeting her eyes, and decided to say what he had been holding back.
He knew it would hurt her, but staying silent could lead to something far worse.
At last, they were about to confront the words they had both been avoiding.
"Glenn," Maggie said, looking at him with mixed emotions, "you promised me last night you wouldn't tell anyone!"
She was talking about the barn.
Glenn's face tightened with pain and guilt.
"I know, Maggie! I promised, but I broke that promise. I'm sorry, I really am!" He took a deep breath, his voice firming. "But I can't stay silent anymore. Being with you every day, I almost forgot how dangerous they are."
Maggie's tone sharpened. "Then why did you go down the well to pull out walkers?"
"Listen to me. I forgot, or maybe I just didn't think it through. Life on the farm felt so good. I let them lower me into the well, like it was fun, like I was playing Portal."
Maggie frowned. "That's a game."
"I know it's a game," Glenn said, "but what happened at the pharmacy yesterday woke me up!"
[After failing to pull the walker from the well, Glenn and Maggie went to a pharmacy in town for antibiotics. Glenn saved Maggie from a walker attack and, at Lori's request, picked up a pregnancy test. When Maggie saw him grabbing women's products, she thought he meant birth control, and the two shared their first sweet moment together.]
He held her shoulders, making her look at him. "I don't care what Hershel says, or who they used to be. Right now, they're dangerous! They kill people! Just like that one just now! If it weren't for…"
His voice caught, unable to finish the thought.
"But Dad said…" Maggie started, instinctively defending what she had always believed.
Beth still firmly believed their mother was just "sick."
"Hershel has been through too much. He can't accept reality," Glenn cut in.
"He locked them up, thinking he was protecting 'them,' but he's actually putting all of us in danger!
The barn isn't foolproof! What if one day, Carl, Sophia… or you, Maggie…"
His voice trembled slightly. "I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt!"
Maggie stared at him, stunned. The fear in Glenn's eyes was so real it shook the foundation of everything she believed.
"Secrets can kill, Maggie."
His voice dropped, heavy with raw sincerity. "I'd rather you be angry with me, even hate me, for telling the truth.
Than have you get hurt one day because I kept this secret. Or worse, lose you.
If I knew the danger and stayed silent, and something really happened to you, I'd never forgive myself. It's better for you to hate me while you're alive than to love me after you're dead."
Those words hit Maggie like a hammer.
She thought of her father's sorrowful yet stubborn gaze when he looked at the barn. Then she remembered the pure, vicious intent in the walkers that had attacked them today, and the way Leah and Glenn had killed them without hesitation.
The two images clashed violently in her mind.
She had always tried to understand and defend her father's worldview. In that world, there was still some order left. The walkers were "sick" family members who needed to be isolated and waited on for hope.
But Glenn's words, along with the brutal reality, were tearing that illusion apart.
Not far away, Calista and Leah appeared to be sorting supplies, but they had heard every word.
Calista nodded to herself.
Glenn might be young, but in this moment, he showed a level of clarity and responsibility beyond his years.
Leah's gaze shifted slightly, clearly struck by his words about being hated while alive rather than loved after death.
Maggie stayed silent for a long time. She lowered her head, staring at the hem of her clothes, stained with walker blood from when Glenn killed it.
Glenn didn't rush her. He simply stayed with her.
At last, she looked up again. The struggle and pain were still there, but now there was also a trace of resolve.
She gently pushed him back a little and straightened up.
"I… I need time to think, Glenn." Her voice was still soft, but no longer shaking. "You're right. Just now, they really were trying to kill me. They only stopped because you and Leah killed them."
She glanced at the motionless walker on the ground, then quickly looked away. "It… doesn't look any different from the ones in the barn."
She didn't deny her father outright, but something inside her had begun to shift.
For the first time, she was starting to accept that walkers were dead and dangerous, not just "sick people."
Seeing this change, Glenn felt both heartache and relief.
He knew how hard this was, but it was a step Maggie had to take.
The people on the farm had never truly faced the horrors of the outside world since everything fell apart.
The farm was large and isolated. The walkers they encountered were only a few family members, some neighbors, and farmhands.
It might have been manageable if things stayed that way, but Glenn knew that wasn't possible. Lately, walkers had been appearing more and more often.
If Maggie and the others kept believing walkers were just "sick people," it would only lead to disaster.
"Mm." He gently took her hand. "I'll think it through with you. No matter what you decide, I'll stay by your side."
Maggie didn't pull away. Instead, she lightly squeezed his hand.
That small gesture warmed Glenn's heart.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (45 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.