His Firecracker (Daryl Dixon x reader)

Executed

Y/N's pov:
I woke up to Daryl making noise inside the tent.
Rolling over to look and see he's changing into an actual shirt, along with his vest. I look up at him and begin to sit up, only for him to turn to look at me.
"Hey..." He whispers, I nod my head.
"Mornin'." I say.
"Go back to sleep. You need your rest." Daryl says to me, I chuckle and roll my eyes.
"I don't need anymore rest Daryl. I slept perfectly fine." I tell him, only for him to bring his hand up to his mouth. He bites away at his thumb once again.
I hear footsteps outside of the tent and I look up at Daryl, not knowing what to do. Daryl shoots me a look and I do what I think is best. I lay back down and pretend to be asleep, just in time for the tent to zip open.
"Daryl, I need-" I hear Rick begin, only to stop mid sentence.
"She sleepin'." Daryl mumbles out.
"What happened last night?" Rick asks, I hear movement.
"We was out huntin'. Too far for her to walk back at night." Daryl answers. Silence is heard again.
"You know she can care for herself, right?" Rick asks suddenly, catching my attention.
"I know. What're you here for anyway?" Daryl asks.
"I need you to get some information out of Randall." Rick answers.
"What happened to just givin' him a chance out on the road?" Daryl asks, only for Rick to sigh.
"Didn't go as planned." Rick states, earning a huff from Daryl.
"So what, you want me to roughen 'im up?" Daryl asks.
"Yes, we need to know how many people were in his group, if they had any weapons. Things like that." Says Rick.
"Alright. Lemme finish gettin' dressed and I'll head that way." Daryl states, only for more footsteps to be heard.
"Oh, and Daryl?" Rick asks, earning a grunt from Daryl.
"She needs to work on her acting skills." Rick chuckles out, my eyes shooting open.
I see Rick walk off into the distance and Daryl chuckles at the shocked look on my face. Daryl finishes getting ready and turns to look at me. I get up and begin to unbutton the flannel Daryl let me borrow. Daryl makes a weird noise and I stop what I'm doing to look up at him. I quirk a brow.
"What? Never see a girl undress before?" I tease. Daryl scoffs.
"I 'ave, just don't want to make you uncomfortable." Daryl says earnestly, I smile up at him.
"I don't think I'd begin to undress in front of you if you made me uncomfortable." I state, Daryl nods and brings his thumb back up to his mouth.
"Though I just made you uncomfortable, huh?" I ask, realizing my mistake.
"Naw, takes a lot to make me uncomfortable. Just didn't wan' you feelin' forced or nothin'." He states, making me smile once more.
I take a step towards him and grab his hand, feeling bold. I bring his hand up to one of the buttons of the flannel, beginning to unbutton it slowly, in case he was uncomfortable. His breath hitches in his throat as I unbutton another button, showing a tad bit more of my cleavage. I suddenly stop and let go of his hand, realizing what I've just done. My face flushes with embarrassment and I begin to grab my things. I don't dare look at Daryl, too nervous to see his face. I begin to button back up the flannel he lent me, but I'm stopped when his hand grabs mine.
I look up at Daryl to see him looking down at me, a blush on his face. He moves my hand away from the buttons and down by my side, interlocking our fingers.
"You really are a firecracker." Daryl mumbles out, causing me to slightly chuckle.
"You have no idea." I retort, this time making him chuckle.
He lets go of my hand and moves his hands back to the leftover buttons on the flannel, slowly unbuttoning them. With each button undone, I feel my heartbeat faster than before. With the last button undone, my covered breasts are exposed. He pushes the flannel off my shoulders, it falls to the ground with a noise. He takes a step back and looks down at me, his ears red now too. He lets out a noise and grabs his crossbow, slinging it over his shoulder.
I stand there, utterly confused by his actions. I contemplate if I've done something wrong, that maybe I was too forward. That worry washes away however when he speaks.
"You can keep the flannel. Looks good on ya." Daryl compliments.
I stand there, shirtless, as he unzips his tent.
"Hey, uhm. Daryl?" I ask quietly. He turns to look at me, nodding his head.
"What are we?" I ask, quickly regretting my words as he looks down at the ground.
He doesn't answer, nor does he say anything as he walks out the tent. I sit down on the cot and let out a heavy sigh. I pull my still semi-wet shirt from last night and pull it on and over my head. I pull on my shoes and tie them up quickly, soon leaving Daryl's tent once I've grabbed my weapons.
The walk back to the farm is silent, all except for the thoughts in my head.
'Maybe he's scared of commitment, though It's not like I asked him to marry me or somethin'. He's so confusing...one second he's helping me unbutton his flannel and acting all nice, and the next he gives me the cold shoulder.' I think, kicking pebbles down the road.
By the time I reach the small campsite the others have made, I stand beside Maggie as she talks to Glenn. They're talking about nothing interesting in the slightest. I let out a bored sigh and look over at Carol. She looks sad, like she needs someone to talk to. I walk over towards her and crouch down.
"Hey Carol." I say, gaining her attention.
"Oh, hey Y/N. What's wrong?" Carol asks, I shake my head and offer a small smile.
"Nothin' wrong Carol. Though I did have a question." I state, catching Carol's attention.
"Can we talk here or do we need to go somewhere private?" She asks, I ponder this.
"Let's go somewhere private. Away from this group for a few minutes." I say, Carol just nods and stands up.
I lead her a few feet away from the makeshift campsite her friends have made and towards the barn Shane bashed open. I stop before we can reach the grave her daughter is in, just so she doesn't have to think about it. I stop and Carol stops as well, looking at me expectantly.
"How well would you say you know Daryl?" I ask her, earning a tilt of her head.
"Uhm...probably about the same as you. Just that he's standoffish and doesn't let anyone close. That man is scared of gettin' close to anyone, he's scared he'll have to deal with another death. You see, he lost his brother before we came here, all that was left was his brothers severed hand. His brother, Merle, wasn't the nicest man in the world. He was rude, racist, and downright sexist. But oh were they close." Carol explains, I nod my head.
"Yeah, Daryl mentioned a brother, the one you're speaking of. I didn't know that Merle was a bad guy, I mean...Daryl's nice enough. Sounds completely different from his brother." I say, Carol just shrugs.
"Why did you really pull me over here Y/N? I know it wasn't just to gossip." Carol laughs, I just chuckle at her as I scratch the back of my neck.
"Well...Daryl is so confusing. I thought maybe since you talk to him the most, you'd know why." I explain.
"If I'm being honest, I don't know why he's so confusing. Maybe he's just confused himself." Carol shrugs and turns to her right. I follow her gaze and see Daryl is walking back over to his friends.
"C'mon. Let's head back." Carol says, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the group.
By the time we reach them, people are spewing out questions to Rick, that is until Daryl reaches the camp.
"Boy's there got a gang. They have heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women-" Daryl pauses and looks over at me and Carol, a sad look on his face. "They're gonna wish they were." He finishes. I notice the blood along his knuckles, and I think Carol does too.
"What did you do?" Carol asks, motioning to his hands.
"Had a little chat." Daryl states.
What happens next are questions being thrown at Rick, questions about what they should do.
"We have to eliminate the threat." Rick ends up saying. I shake my head at this, so does Dale.
"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asks, looking at Rick in shock.
"It's settled. I'll do it today." Rick states, looking over at Dale as he turns around to walk off.
Dale follows after Rick, as do I.
"You can't do this. You don't wanna do this. I know you don't." Dale tries, but Rick shakes his head.
"I thought about it all night. Knowing what we know now, I don't see a way out of it." Rick explains, I shake my head.
"So you're just gonna kill 'im? A boy who might never commit a crime? Do you really want that blood on your hands?" I ask, stopping when Rick turns to look at me and Dale.
"The group seemed supportive." Rick says.
"What, because they didn't speak back? You didn't let 'em. There's gotta be a-a process." Dale tries again, but Rick shakes his head.
"And what would that be? We can't call witnesses, go before a judge." Rick states, now it's Dale's turn to shake his head.
"So he's automatically guilty by association and sentenced to death? He's just a kid. Gimme some time to talk to everyone." Dale begins, but Rick talks over him.
"We can't-"
"Try to figure out another way." Finishes Dale, Rick shakes his head angrily.
"No, we can't drag this out! People are scared." Rick tries, but Dale interjects. "Which is why they need time to discuss this."
"No, no, no, they need to be safe. I owe 'em that." Rick says.
"Think about Carl, Rick. The message you're sending out to that boy. Shoot first, talk later." I state, catching Rick's attention.
"All I'm asking is for one day to talk to everybody. You can give us that. Think-think about Carl." Dale says, earning a huff from Rick.
"I am." Says Rick, who then puts his hands on his hips and lets out a sigh. "We reconvene at sunset, then what happens, happens." Rick finishes, then walks off, leaving me with Dale.
Dale turns to me with a grateful look on his face.
"Thank you, Y/N. You really helped me out." Dale says, I smile at him.
"Course. Plus, I don't want a kid being murdered in cold blood. It sucks enough knowin' he's being tortured." I state, earning a nod from Dale.
"I'm gonna go and try to talk some sense into these people. I'll see you at sunset." Dale says, walking off and towards the RV.
I let out a sigh and look out into the distance. I see Daryl at his own campsite, most likely making arrows of sorts to go hunting. It starts to thunder in the distance, memories of last night rushing back to me. I clench my fists together and begin to walk towards his campsite, wanting to know why he was so weird earlier this morning.
It takes a few minutes, but by the time I reach Daryl, his back is to me.
"You saw me comin', huh?" I ask awkwardly.
"What d'you want?" Daryl asks, I shrug.
"To talk." I state, Daryl scoffs.
"Ain't nothin' to talk about." Daryl says.
"Oh but there is." I state, nodding my head.
Daryl turns around and looks at me, an angry look on his face.
"There ain't." Argues Daryl. I take a step forward and poke his chest.
"So then explain something to me, if there's not anythin' to talk about. What's with the cold shoulder? What's with up and leavin' me this mornin'?" I ask, poking him again. Daryl swats my finger away.
"Ain't nothin' going on." Daryl warns, his voice getting deeper with anger.
"Bull shit! I know you're scared of losing people cause of your brother. But you ain't the only one who's lost people in this world. So stop bein' so selfish and talk to me!" I yell out, Daryl glares at me.
"Go the hell away, bitch." Daryl spits out, I scoff.
"Not until you give me answers! I care about you, is that what you're so scared of? You can't be a coward in this world anymore, and you know it." I argue, Daryl rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest.
"Ain't never said I was scared." Daryl mumbles, which slightly catches me off guard.
"Please just explain it to me." I whisper out, Daryl shakes his head.
"Explain what?! That I care 'bout a dumb bitch like you? That I worry whenever I see you with a damn walker on your back? You really are a dumb bitch, y'know that? S'pecially if you can't tell I care about you." Daryl yells, I take a step back as he moves his arms from his chest.
"Daryl...I..." I begin, but he cuts me off.
"So don't go callin' me a 'coward' or 'scared' because I can't show you my feelin's the way you do. I ain't like that." Daryl yells, obviously angry.
I go to touch his arm but he pushes me away, almost knocking me down.
"An' don't get me started on how crazy you made me feel with that crazy stunt of yours from this mornin'. Is that what you want to hear, Firecracker? The fact that no matter what you do drives me crazy?" Daryl screams out, and I can't help the smile that comes out. He looks at me and suddenly stops, his anger washing away once he sees my smile.
The area around us is quiet but heated. I take a step forward, as does Daryl. He grabs my face with his rough hands and leans in to kiss me, his hot breath fanning my face. He looks me in the eyes before quickly shutting his, his chapped lips attaching to mine in an instant. I close my eyes as well, feeling all the feelings I've felt for Daryl be let out through a kiss.
Needing air, I pull away, looking at him, completely startled by his actions.
"I'm sorry, Daryl. For being so mean, it's just, you're so confusing." I chuckle out, earning a smirk from the man.
"It's a'right. I get it." Daryl mumbles.
"So, we don't tell anyone, yeah?" I ask, suddenly becoming embarrassed. Daryl looks at me, almost hurt.
"I just mean that I don't know what my family will say, especially my daddy. I don't want ya'll kicked off the farm, your group is already on thin ice." I say, looking down at my shoes.
Daryl takes a step forward and grabs my chin so I can look him in the eyes.
"Whatever you're comfortable wit'. I'll always back you up." Daryl states, I offer a smile.
"Thank you." I say, giving Daryl a quick peck on the lips.
"Course. Now lemme get back to workin'." He says, turning around and bending over to put his arrows under his crossbow.
I hear footsteps behind us, I grab my bow and knock an arrow onto the string. I turn around quickly and pull back the string, only to sigh when I just see Dale. I loosen my grip on the string and aim down at the ground, taking the arrow off the string and back into my holster.
"The whole point of me comin' up here is to get away from you people." Daryl suddenly says, grabbing his crossbow and turning around.
"Gonna take more than that." Dale states, I chuckle.
"Carol send you?" Daryl asks, annoyance clear in his tone.
"Carol's not the only one that's concerned about you, your new role in the group." Dale begins, Daryl shakes his head.
"Oh, man, I don't need my head shrunk. This group's broken. I'm better off fendin' for myself." Daryl argues. I feel my body tense.
"You act like you don't care." Dale says, I look over at Daryl. He avoids my gaze.
"Yeah, it's cause I don't." States Daryl, that's when I'm tempted to leave, but I stay anyways.
"So live or die, you don't care what happens to Randall?" Dale tries, only for Daryl to shake his head.
"Nope." He says, bending back over to continue moving his arrows about.
"Then why not stand with me and Y/N, try to save the kid's life, if it really doesn't matter one way or the other?" Dale asks, catching my attention at the use of my name.
"Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch." Daryl chuckles, standing up to look at Dale.
"Your opinion makes a difference." Dale states, only for Daryl to shake his head.
"Man, ain't nobody lookin' at me for nothin'." Daryl says, and I look down at the ground awkwardly.
"Carol is, Y/N here is, and I am too. Right now. And you obviously-you have Rick's ear." Dale reiterates, trying everything he can to make Daryl join our side.
"Rick looks to Shane. Let 'im." Says Daryl, and I look up and over at him.
"You cared about what happened to that girl, Sofia. You took a bullet and an arrow in the process just to bring that doll back here. You cared enough to do that. But this Daryl? This isn't you, is it? You're a good man. Yet today, seein' the way you've treated that boy, torturing him? Is it really worth losing your humanity over?" I ask now, looking at him, yet he still doesn't meet my gaze.
"Like Y/N said, you're a decent man. So is Rick. Shane-he's different." Dale states, Daryl lets out a scoff.
"Why's that? Cause he killed Otis?" Daryl suddenly says, which catches my attention.
"He tell you that?" Dale and I ask in unison, Daryl just shakes his head.
"Just like Y/N said, told some story, how Otis covered 'im, saved his ass. He showed up with the dead guy's gun. Tried to shoot Y/N when she called 'im out. Rick ain't stupid. If he didn't figure that out, it's cause he didn't wanna. It's like I said-" Daryl begins, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. "Group's broken." He finishes, pushing past Dale and off into the distance.
     I let out a sigh and look over at Dale, who he himself seems shocked.
"Not as dumb as he looks..." Dale mumbles out.
    I chuckle and follow after Dale back to the house. When we reach it, Carol is storming away from Lori, Rick is talking to Carl, and Lori looks disappointed.
"I'll see you at the house at sunset." I tell Dale, following after Carol. He just nods his head and ushers me to go after her.
"H-hey! Carol, you okay?" I ask, going to tap her shoulder. Carol whips around and clutches her hands to her chest, obviously upset about something.
"That boy of theres. How dare he say such a thing about Sofia." Carol mutters, confusing me.
     I grab one of her hands and lead her over to the RV, thinking that'll be a good a spot as any to talk to her. When we reach it, I let her enter first, me not far behind her. She sits down at the table nearest the window, I choose to sit across from her.
"What happened, Carol?" I ask, lending my hand if she wanted to hold it.
"That boy of theres called me an idiot if I believed Sofia was in a better place." Carol explains, I feel my eyes widen.
"Carl said that? The same boy who always looks so helpless?" I ask, shocked.
"The very one. I told Lori and Rick that they needed to have a talk with that boy." Carol states, and I nod my head.
"Well..." I begin, only to not know what to say.
"Lori ended up patronizing me, making me feel like I was the problem, telling me to calm down. How does she expect me to do that? How would she feel if she lost Carl, or even that baby of hers?" Carol gushes out, only to pause when she sees my confused face.
"Lori's pregnant?" I ask, completely shocked.
"I-uh....yeah. She is." Mumbles Carol, who is now fidgeting with her hands.
"Does she know if it's Rick's? Or is it Shane's?" I ask, now it's Carol's turn to look surprised.
"Where'd you get the idea that it was Shane's?" Carol asks, and now it's my turn to be flustered.
"Well, it's a bit obvious, isn't it? The way she made me miss my shot, the way she strings 'em both along.  I notice the way Shane looks at that woman, and it is not in a friend way." I explain, Carol just nods her head, piecing it all together.
"You mean the way you look at Daryl?" Carol suddenly asks, catching my attention. My face flushes and I look over at her.
"How d'you mean?" I ask, Carol just smiles over at me.
"I know that you asked me those questions earlier because you care about that man. Call me optimistic, but I think he looks at you that way too. Those glances he steals to look at you. He always did, even when we first met you and Maggie." Carol explains, which makes me quirk a brow.
"That's not possible. He aimed his crossbow at my head." I say, Carol just chuckles.
"I think that was his way of keeping you at a distance, don't you agree?" She asks, I just shake my head.
"Maybe he steals glances now, but there's no way he looked at me like that two weeks ago." I state, refusing to believe her. Carol just smiles and stands up, going to walk out the RV.
"Hey! Where you goin'?" I ask, Carol just moves her head in the direction towards the house.
     I nod my head and follow after her, only to realize the sun has already started to set.
"Do you actually think they'll kill that boy?" I hear Carol asks, a sad tone in her voice.
"I sure as hell hope not. Dale went around today, tryin' to talk some sense into your group, even tried it on Daryl." I explain, only for Carol to nod her head.
     We reach the house and walk into the living room where a few people are already stood. I choose to sit by Maggie, Patricia, and daddy, knowing that Maggie would be upset otherwise. I leave Carol by the side door and I plop onto the couch beside Maggie. Maggie shoots me a weird look.
"Yes, Maggie?" I ask, chuckling.
"Where've you been all day?" She whispers, I shrug.
"I was with the group, talkin' to a few people." I state, only for Maggie to nod her head.
"Do you agree with them?" I suddenly ask, more people filing in.
"Not really, though it's not our place to say." She answers, I shake my head.
"This is our farm, without it, these people wouldn't even be here. We welcomed them into our home, the least they can do is welcome us. Besides, Glenn welcomed you." I offer, and Maggie just nods her head.
    Everyone is in the living room by now. The room silent, as no one knows what to say or how to start. I look to my left and see Carl standing in the dining room, mud all over his pants and shoes. Rick shoots Carl a look, and Carl just walks off and upstairs.
"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn asks, trying to clear the air.
"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea asks, looking across at Rick.
"How about majority rules?" Lori asks, I chuckle at the awkward air.
"Well let's-let's just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick begins, but Shane cuts him off.
"Well, where I sit, there's only one way to move forward."
"So, killing him?" I ask, earning a glare from him.
"I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowin'." Dale says, shaking his head.
"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick states, I nod at this.
"Well, I can tell you it's a small group. Maybe just me, Y/N, and Glenn." Dale says, I give him an encouraging look.
"Look, I-I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-" Glenn tries to get it out, but Dale cuts him off.
"They've got you scared."
"He's not one of us." Glenn says.
"Well Maggie wasn't either, but you and her are pretty close." I state, only for Glenn to look at me sadly.
"And we've-we've lost too many people." Glenn tries again.
"How about you? Do you agree with this?" Dale asks dad, daddy doesn't say anything. Dale looks at Maggie next, she just crosses her arms over her chest.
"Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?" Maggie asks from beside me.
"Just another mouth to feed." Daryls gruff voice speaks.
"It may be a lean winter." Daddy says.
"We could ration better." Lori tries.
"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself." States Dale.
"Put him to work?" Lori asks, Dale nods.
"We're not letting him walk around." Rick says, holding out his arms.
"We could put an escort on him." Offers Maggie, Shane just scoffs.
"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane asks.
"I will." I state, Rick shakes his head.
"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy." Rick says.
"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori chimes in.
"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor." Andrea says sarcastically, I roll my eyes at this.
"Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men." Shane argues.
"So we kill a kid for something he may never even do? Shouldn't we at least give him a chance? I can be his escort. No matter the distance, I never miss." I say, glaring over at Lori. She looks down sadly.
"An' what if he knocks you down? Over powers you?" Daryl asks, I look over at him.
"Why do you care? I can handle myself." I say snottily. Daryl scoffs and rolls his eyes.
"If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization." Dale buts in, clearing the air between me and Daryl.
"Oh my god." Shane mumbles, turning his head away from Dale.
"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Dad asks.
"You barely came back this time. There are walkers. Y-you could break down. You could get lost. You could get ambushed." Lori lists off.
"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk." Glenn chimes in.
"If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" Patricia mumbles out, rubbing her collarbone.
"We could hang 'im, right? Just snap his neck." Shane offers, I shake my head.
"I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane." Rick says.
"And uh-what about the body? Do we bury him?"
T-dog asks, Dale looks shocked and holds up a hand.
"Hold on, hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided." Says Dale, who I can tell is starting to give up hope.
"You've been talkin' all day, goin' round in circles. You wanna go around in circles again?" Daryl asks, which seems to set Dale off.
"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five minute conversation!" Dale pauses, "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him, and now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people we're so afraid of?" Dale yells out, causing a few people to look down, while others think.
"We all know what needs to be done." Shane states, I scoff at him.
"No, Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-" Begins Rick, only for Andrea to cut him off.
"So what's the other solution?" She yells.
"Let Rick finish." Lori says, defending her husband.
"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could." Andrea tries again.
"So let's work on it!" Dale yells again.
"Stop it. Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide-either of you-both of you. But leave me out." Carol demands, raising her voice at the men.
"Not speaking out or killing him yourself-there's no difference!" Dale says to Carol, I shoot Dale a look.
"Dale-" I begin, only for Rick to interject.
"Alright, that's enough. Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance." Only for no one to say anything. Dale grips his hat nervously as people start to sit down.
"You once said we don't kill the living." Dale tries.
"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us." Rick retorts.
"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were-the world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's...harsh. It's-it's survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't want to live in, and I don't-and I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please...let's just do what is right." Dale begs, I feel my chest tighten.
"Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?" Dale mumbles, only for me to stand up. A few eyes are on me, but I just walk over to Dale and grab his hand with mine.
"He's right. We need to try and find another way. Otherwise, we're no better than those people." I state, smiling over at Dale.
"They're right. And as much as I don't want to agree with her, we need to try and find another way." Andrea states, looking over at me and Dale, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Anybody else?" Rick asks, only to be met with silence. Dale lets go of my hand and brushes tears from his eye.
"Are ya'll gonna watch to? No, you'll hide your heads in your tents and try to forget we're slaughtering a human being." Dale begins, shaking his head and walking off.
"I won't be a party to it." Dale states, walking over to Daryl. Dale touches Daryl's shoulder, catching the man's attention.
"This group is broken." Dale mumbles, letting go of Daryl's shoulder, walking off and out of the house.
    I walk back over to the couch I was sitting on and plop onto it once more, suddenly feeling done with this day. People eventually file out, one by one until it's just me and my family. I let out a sigh and look over at Maggie who has her face in her hands. Patricia is going to the kitchen to make supper, while daddy goes upstairs to most likely see Beth.
    I pat Maggie's back as she holds her face. Only when I let out a sigh does she pull away from her hands.
"What's wrong Maggie?" I ask, moving my hand up and down her back.
"How can you just not care about leaving us?" She whispers out.
"When did I say I didn't care?" I ask, looking at her, eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.
"You were so willing to help that boy. Didn't even care what he might do to you if he were to knock you down." Maggie says, I sigh.
"Maggie, I can take care of myself, you know that. I just don't think that they should kill this guy, yes he shot at Rick, Glenn, and daddy, but if he were alone, with no group? Do you honestly think that boy would do that?" I ask, Maggie shakes her head.
"No, he wouldn't. Because he'd know he was overpowered." Maggie says simply, I roll my eyes.
"They wouldn't kill him if he were alone. Just cause he was with a group, prolly felt like he had people to protect, just like you feel, doesn't mean we should kill him. He's innocent until proven guilty." I state, Maggie looks over at me sadly.
"How can you be so optimistic in a world like this?" Maggie asks, slightly catching me off guard.
"Dale's right when he says we hafta keep our humanity. Once we give up that, we're as good as those walkers." I confidently say, a small smiling tugging at my lips.
"Thank you for listening." She says, a smile on her face.
"Course. What else are big sisters for?" I ask, chuckling.
"Where were you last night?" Maggie suddenly asks as I begin to stand. I just sit back down.
"Well, when you kicked me outta the house I wanted to talk to Dale. Andrea was up there with him. But after our talk with Andrea, I didn't wanna talk to her or be near her. So I did what I thought would be best." I begin, but Maggie smiles.
"You went to see Daryl, didn't you?" She asks, looking over at me.
"Y-yeah. I did. Asked if he had any squirrel left. He said no, so I went to go out and hunt some, him not far behind me. We caught some squirrels, got lost for a bit, til I remembered the trick we learned when we were kids. By the time we made it back to his campsite to cook the squirrel, it was dark and raining. Our clothes were soaked, but we sat by the fire anyways. We cooked the squirrel and just talked, to be honest. I ended up staying the night in his tent." I shrug, Maggie just giggles beside me.
We sit alone for what feels like a small eternity. Talking about nothing but everything. With the sun gone and the moon out, I decided I'd go try and find Daryl to talk to him. So, getting off the couch, telling Maggie where I was going, I did just that. Except, once I was outside I don't see him anywhere. I look over to see Rick with Lori and Carl, they're just talking. Their whole group is talking to one another. I enjoy the scene in front of me, feeling slightly happy.
Until I hear someone yell out in pain. Maggie comes outside on the porch behind me, but before she can say anything, I pull my bow off my shoulders and run towards whoever was screaming. I don't have a light, but I see numerous behind me, along with one to my left. I don't know how, but I manage to get in front of the group, my legs carrying me in the right direction. Wails of pain and struggling is all I hear besides the footsteps running behind me. The light to my left is moving quick, towards the direction I was running in. The light moves in a weird way, almost as if whoever it belonged to fell down. The light begins to wave, but by the time I reach it, I notice it's Daryl. A body on the ground beside him.
Upon reaching Daryl, I hear groans of pain from the body on the ground. Looking down, I gasp at who I see. Dale's on the ground, his stomach ripped open with a dead walker a few feet away. One of daddy's cows has its stomach ripped open too, its internal organs spilling out.
"What the hell happened? Dale! Can you hear me?" I ask, kneeling down to apply pressure on his wound.
Dale looks up, completely horrified at what he's going through.
"Hang in there, buddy." I hear Daryl say as he crouches down beside me.
"Who is it?" I hear someone yell, only for the footsteps in the distance to grow louder, the group finally here.
"Rick!" Someone yells out.
I don't move, or look anywhere else beside Dale's face. His face is paling, his body losing a lot of blood at a quick pace.
"Dale, just listen to my voice, alright? Focus on my voice." I try, but tears fall down my face at a fast rate.
"Dale, we're gonna help. We're here." Andrea says, down to mine and Dale's level. Andrea's on her knees, stroking Dale's face. Tears fall from her eyes, sobs escaping her mouth.
"Look at me...look at me Dale." Andrea tries.
"Hershel! We need Hershel!" Rick yells, motioning to someone.
"Dale, we're gonna help." I say, adding even more pressure to his wound.
"We're here. Just-just hold on." Andrea mumbles.
"What happened?" Dad asks.
"What can we do?" Ricks asks daddy.
I don't bother looking up, it's not until I hear a sudden sob do I turn. I see Carl clutching onto Lori's shoulders, his head buried in her chest.
"Can we move him?" Rick asks, but I already know it's too late.
"He won't make the trip." Dad answers, looking between Dale's body and Rick.
"You have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house." Rick commands, Glenns nods and begins to turn, but daddy yells at him.
"Rick!"
"No..." Andrea sobs, caressing Dale's cheek.
"Oh, God." I mutter, Dale's breathing slowing down.
"He's losing too much blood, breath slowin' down. He's suffering." I state, looking up at daddy and Rick.
Daddy nods his head and turns his head away.
"Do something!" Andrea yells out, but no one moves besides Rick.
Rick grabs his magnum and aims it down at Dale's head. Dale looks up at Rick, a scared look in his eyes. Rick goes to pull the trigger.
"Come on." Shane eggs Rick on, yet Rick can't seem to do it.
Daryl moves and reaches down to grab Rick's gun, Rick looks up at him. Daryl nods his head and takes the gun, now taking Rick's place. Daryl squats down and holds the gun a few inches away from Dale's head. I turn to look away, not wanting to watch this.
"I'm sorry, brother." Daryl murmurs.
A loud bang echos throughout the field.