The Middle of the End

Fifteen

I'd noticed Daryl stepping out of the shed Randall was being kept in, and curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to know what Randall had told him, and judging by Daryl's bloodied knuckles, not much had been said. "Hey."

"I was hopin' you'd still be asleep." He kissed my forehead, "Where's Alfie?"

"In the house. So how'd it go in there?"

"His group's bad news. Go eat somethin'. I gotta talk to Rick." Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder, gave me a quick hug, and made his way towards the group. I went inside and ate fried eggs with Alfie.

From what Daryl had found out about Randall and his group, Rick knew he couldn't just be left somewhere like we'd originally planned in case he found his group and led them to the farm. Randall couldn't become a member of our group. Daryl wanted him gone, and so did Hershel, Andrea, and Lori. And to be completely honest so did I. We couldn't keep him locked up in that shed; Rick said the only option was to execute him. He'd just be another mouth to feed and that was something we couldn't afford. Not with winter coming soon.

Dale pleaded with Rick, practically begging him not to kill Randall. Rick told Dale he had until sunset to convince the group to vote against Randall's... Execution. He came to me first.

"He gives me the creeps. I don't want him around Alfie, or Carl. Or me. Killing him may be the wrong thing to do, but our options are limited. It's not like any of us would be comfortable with him joining the group. I'm sorry, Dale. I do t really want him to die, but maybe it's best for the safety of the group."

"I understand where you're coming from, Callie. I really do." He shook his head, clearly disappointed. I would have continued the conversation, if I hadn't seen Shane yelling at Carl and Alfie. They stood right outside the shed, heads hanging in shame and guilt.

"What's goin' on here, Shane?" I glared as Carl ran off. Alfie's chin quivered as he blinked back tears and hid behind me, hugging my leg.

"They somehow snuck in the shed. They were talkin' to that punk!" She was struggling to keep his voice down. He turned to leave, "You best keep an eye on that boy, Cal. Or he'll end up like Sophia."

We found Daryl in the stables, mucking out a stall. I told him what Carl and Alfie had been up to this morning and how Shane had handled the situation Daryl was not impressed but agreed with me that it could have been much worse. We sat down with Alfie and talked to him.

"Did he say anything to you and Carl?" I asked and he slowly shook his head, as if he was scared something bad would happen if he told the truth.

"S'ok, you can tell us. We ain't gonna hurt us for tellin' the truth." Daryl said.

"He said we could go back to his group with 'em if we got 'em outta the shed." mumbled Alfie, hie eyes darting from stall to stall. "I ain't in trouble, am I?"

"No. But I want you to stay away from that shed. I don't care if Carl says it's ok. You don't go anywhere near the shed unless we're with you, understand?" I said.

"Maybe he should just stay with you, not wanderin' off with Carl. Think ya can do that, Alfie?" Daryl stood up and Alfie nodded. We waited for him to finish putting the horses back in their stalls and went back to the house for supper.

Rick wanted to hold a group meeting, to vote on what we would do with Randall. I wanted no part in the decision, and so I sat it out with Beth, Jimmy, and the boys. Carl was annoyed his parents didn't want him to be present for the decision, and sulked on the front steps. We'd only been sitting on the playing a game of Go Fish for twenty minutes when Dale walked out with a look of pure disappointment and I asked if he was ok. Dale shook his head and left. Glenn and Andrea followed after him, and Rick came out to tell us that they were finished. Shane was pleased with the outcome; Randall would be hung tonight, in the barn.

"I'm gonna help Rick. You wanna go back to the tent, or stay in the RV till it's over?" Daryl asked me.

"Well, I'm tired. Alfie's fightin' to stay awake, and the RV is crowded. So I'd rather stay in the tent." I yawned and picked Alfie up. When we first brought him to the farm, he was so thin you could see his ribs and backbone poking through his scarred pale skin. But now he'd filled out, thanks to Hershel's family, and Alfie looked more like a healthy little boy. Maggie told me he would be five in November, less than two months from now.

"'Kay. Let's go." he held the screen door open for me and taking out his knife, led us through a field to our little camp. I put Alfie to bed and sat out with Daryl until he had to leave. "I'll be back once it's taken care of."

"Be careful." I hugged him tight, watching him walk to the barn where Randall was going to die.

"Mommy! Tell me about Hogwarts!" Alfie called impatiently from inside the tent.

xxxxx

I woke up to screams. At first I thought I was just trapped in some really intense nightmare, when I looked over and saw Alfie sitting on his cot frozen in fear. I wrapped my arms around him, told him everything was ok. We heard two gunshots, one right after the other, and his grip on me tightened. "Are we gonna be eated?"

"No, of course not. We're gonna be fine. Daryl'll come for us." I whispered, hoping I was right. Praying Carl and Lori were safe.

And there we sat for who knows how long, huddled together, scared and crying silently.

"Lemme in!" Daryl's voice shook, coming from outside. I reached over and fumbled for the zipper, pulling it up awkwardly. Alfie wouldn't let go of me. "Ya okay?"

"What do you think?!" I snapped, then apologized and asked what had happened.

"Rick couldn't do it, not after we found Carl hiding behind a haystack. Said he wanted to watch. So I took Randall back to the shed, and that's when Andrea started screamin'." Daryl told me after he'd kicked off his boots and sat next to us. "Dale got bit. Walker tore his stomach clean open; there was nothin' any of us coulda done to save him. So I ended his sufferin'."

"Grampie's DEAD?!" Alfie choked out in horror and flung himself onto his cot, crying, when Daryl nodded.

"He'll be okay." I reassured Daryl and straightened out my sleeping bag. Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep. I was too shocked to cry, to really feel anything but numb. Alfie cried himself to sleep.

"Do... you wanna talk?"

"Not really." I shook my head. "Hey, can you pass me my bag?"

"Here ya go." he placed it in front of me, and I dumped its contents on my sleeping bag, not caring about making a mess. Picking up the small purple brush I tugged it through my knotted hair and didn't fight the tears when they came, didn't push Daryl away when he wrapped his arms around me and held me as I cried.