Shane and Rick never left Randall 18 miles out. They ended up bringing him back to the farm. None of us knew exactly what to do with him but I know Shane just wanted him gone.
“Watcha gonna do? We’d all feel better if we knew the plan,” Lori said as she leaned over the fire to boil some water. The group was having another meeting to discuss exactly what was going to happen but we were ultimately waiting for Daryl to return from interrogating Randall.
“Is there a plan?” I asked. Shane and Rick looked at each other briefly.
“We will know soon enough,” Rick told us as he nodded to Daryl who was walking up the trail. The first thing I noticed was his right hand was covered in blood and his knuckles were swollen.
“He’s got a gang of about 30 men. They got heavy artillery and they ain’t looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women…” Daryl trailed off for just a moment to look at me. He held eye contact and his eyes were full of worry. “Our women are gonna wish they were,” he finished.
“No one goes near this guy,” Rick announced.
“What are we gonna do?” Shane asked Rick.
“We have no choice. He’s a threat. We have to eliminate the threat,” Rick said harshly. Shane looked proud.
“You’re just gonna kill him?” Dale asked.
“It’s settled. I’ll do it today,” Rick’s eyes were empty. I knew he really didn’t want to go through with this but it’s one of the burdens as the leader. Rick walked off and Dale followed closely behind. We could all see that Dale was desperate to convince Rick otherwise.
“Abby, I need you on guard duty for a few hours,” Shane told me. “I trust you the most to take care of the situation if anything goes wrong. Daryl and Glenn can come with me and we will figure out the best way to take care of this,” Shane finished and we all split up to do our own thing.
I just sat and listened to Randall rattle his chain for what seemed like forever until he realized I was sitting on a barrel outside.
“Hello? Hey. Can I get some water?” Randall asked after his chains went silent. I didn’t answer him. I didn’t even want to acknowledge that he was in there. “Please? I’m very thirsty,” he continued to plea but I stayed silent. I heard his chains again and almost felt him walk as close as he could to the door. “They’re gonna kill me right?” he asked quietly. My neck snapped in his direction and our eyes met through a crack in the door. My heart sank at the sight of his swollen, bloody face. Daryl beat the hell out of this kid. I heard Carl and Shane talking not too far away and apparently Randall did too because he quickly turned away from me. I hopped off the barrel once I noticed Shane was making his way over to me.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked me and I willingly walked over to him and nodded. “What if I just wanted to go in there and take care of this, would you stop me?” I just looked at him for a minute before answering.
“You know I’m with you on this,” I said with full confidence.
“So Dale hasn’t gotten to you yet?” he asked me quietly.
“I don’t think Dale thinks he can convince me to go against you. I’ve stood beside you since the beginning,” I told him, hoping he would show something of the old Shane I once loved but quickly lost hope once he opened his mouth.
“That’s cute,” was all he said. He continued his thought like I never said anything at all. “You see what’s happening, don’t you? These guys ain’t gonna go through with this. They’re gonna pussy out and if they do, we’re gonna have a big problem on our hands.” He grew quiet again but started talking just as quickly as he stopped. “Lemme ask you something else. Every time we have a problem around here, who do you think is behind it?”
“Some might say you,” I said without hesitation. He chuckled a little.
“Nobody listens to me. I say it’s the guys that make the rules, the ones with all the answers, even though they always prove wrong.”
“So what do you wanna do, Shane? Rick is the leader. This is Hershel’s farm,” I said getting a little agitated.
“Maybe we oughta change that,” he said in his oh so familiar creepy tone.
“What? You wanna lock them in a room and take their guns?” Shane just looked at me like I just hit the nail on the head. It freaked me out honestly but I couldn’t tell him that. He’d lose it. “That could get out of hand,” I said softly.
“No, I won’t let it. I don’t want anyone getting hurt, okay? Rick’s my friend and Hershel is alright by me. I just wanna know what it’s like to sleep without keeping one eye open. Ain’t that what we all want? The ball’s in their court. Maybe I’m getting worked up over nothing-”
“Do you hear that?” I asked him before he could finish his thought. Randall was talking and chains were rattling. Shane quickly swung the door open and Carl was inside.
“What the hell are you doing in here? What did you say to him?” Shane immediately pushed Carl behind him as he yelled at Randall. What did you say to him, huh?”
“I didn’t say nothing,” Randall pleaded and I drew my gun, not knowing exactly what was gonna happen. Carl rushed to my side and I kept him close. Shane grabbed Randall and held a gun in his face.
“I will shoot you where you sit.”
“Shane, not now,” I yelled at him to calm down.
“You like talking man?” Shane kept talking big to the little guy.
“Shane, back off!” He finally heard me. He dropped his gun and grabbed Carl.
“Get your ass out this door. What the hell are you doing,” Shane asked Carl as I closed the door behind us.
“Please don’t tell my parents,” Carl put his hands up like Shane was about to beat him.
“Carl that ain’t cool. You could’ve gotten hurt,” I told him, standing beside Shane.
“I can handle myself,” he snapped. Shane didn’t appreciate his attitude.
“Let me tell you something. Don’t talk to her like that. And don’t you go near him,” Shane said walking past him, away from the shed.
“You won’t tell my parents, will you?” Carl asked me.
“It ain’t about getting in trouble. A guy like that will say anything to you. Go find your moma, okay?” I told him calmly. I watched Carl run off but it wasn’t long before Dale showed up looking for some support.
“What’s up, Dale?” I asked him. He sighed heavily, telling me he was having a hard time convincing everyone to look at the situation his way.
“I wanna know where you stand here. I know it’s usually with Shane but there is a life hanging in the balance here.” Dale was sweating and was already showing hints of desperation.
“He’s a threat, Dale. I’m not sure if you heard what Daryl said but if he gets out and finds his people, he could easily bring them back here. Then that’s all our lives, not just one.”
“So, you want him dead?” Dale asked me.
“I want us safe,” I told him confidently. “I completely understand what you’re trying to do, Dale, but that’s just how I feel. Whether Shane feels the same way or not has nothing to do with it.” Dale stayed silent knowing there was no changing my mind. “It’s almost dark. I better get going,” was the last thing I said to Dale before walking up to the house. I noticed Rick standing on the porch silently. “It’s almost time,” I said as I approached him. “I know this isn’t easy for you.”
“It isn’t easy for any of us. But I thought it through. I made the call. I’m ready to do this.”
“You know you don’t have to do it. Shane or Daryl can,” I told him.
“No it has to be me,” he said after a moment. “I brought him back here. Maybe I shouldn’t have. I have to keep these people safe. That is what I’m gonna do.”
“What about Dale?” I asked.
“He’s got an uphill battle.” I nodded and we were both quiet for just another moment. “Do you support me?” I was shocked by the question. Why would it matter if I supported him?
“Of course I do,” I said after recovering from the shock. He half smiled and waved me inside.
“Let’s gather up.” Everyone was already in the living room. The atmosphere was so tense it almost choked me as I went to Shane’s side. He reached out and rubbed my back and I could see Daryl watching from the corner of the room. Dale looked like he was about to pass out.
“How do we do this? Take a vote?” Glenn asked.
“Does it have to be unanimous?” Andrea asked.
“I like majority rules,” I said.
“Let’s just see where everybody stands. Then we can talk through the options,” Rick said.
“The way I see it, there’s only one way to move forward,” Shane said.
“Killing him, right?” Dale spoke up. He was already emotional. “Why even bother taking a vote? It’s clear which way the wind is blowing.”
“If people believe we should spare him, I want to know.” Rick tried to comfort Dale as much as he could.
“It’s a small group. Probably just me and Glenn,” Dale said. Glenn looked up at him and you could physically see Dale’s heart sink.
“Look, I pretty much think you’re right about everything, all the time but this-”
“They’ve got you scared!” Dale cut Glenn off.
“He’s not one of us and we’ve lost too many already,” Glenn said. Dale shrugged in frustration.
“How about you?” He asked the Greenes.
“Couldn’t we continue to keep him prisoner?” Maggie said.
“That’s just another mouth to feed,” I told her.
“It may be a lean winter,” Hershel said.
“We can ration better,” Lori told us.
“He could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself,” Dale was bleeding desperation.
“Like put him to work?” Glenn asked.
“We’re not letting him walk around,” I said with a hand on my chin. Shane’s grip on me tightened then loosened like he was praising me.
“We can put an escort on him,” Maggie said.
“Who wants to volunteer for that duty?” Shane said sarcastically.
“I will,” Dale volunteered.
“I don’t think any of us should be walking around with this guy,” I said.
“She’s right. I wouldn’t feel comfortable unless he was tied up,” Lori told us but keeping her eyes on Rick’s reactions to all our comments.
“We can’t exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labor,” Andrea told her.
“Look, say we let him join us. Maybe he’s helpful and nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off and brings back his 30 men,” Shane said. Daryl was starring intensely just studying what all was said and who was saying it. He tended to linger on Shane and me often.
“So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?” Dale said. “If we do this, we’re saying there’s no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization.” Shane let go of me all together and mumbled under his breath.
“Can’t you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?” Hershel suggested.
“You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down. You could get lost,” Lori said holding her chest.
“Or get ambushed,” Daryl added.
“They’re right. We should not put our own people at risk,” Glenn said.
“If you did go through with it, would he suffer?” Patricia asked us.
“We could hang him. Just snap his neck,” Shane said.
“I thought about that but I think shooting is more humane,” Rick told him with one hand on his hip.
“What about the body?” T-Dog asked.
“Whoa you are talking about this like it’s already decided,” Dale held his arms out.
“You’ve been talking all day, going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?” Daryl asked the old man.
“This is a young man’s life and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation!” Dale was fed up but not giving up. “Is this what it’s come to? We kill someone because we can’t decide what else to do with him? You saved him! Now look at us. He’s been tortures. He’s gonna be executed.” The room was silent and Rick was pale. “How are we any different than those people we’re so afraid of?”
“We all know what needs to be done,” Shane said.
“No Dale is right. We can’t leave any stone unturned here,” Rick told him.
“So what’s the other solution?” I asked them. “We haven’t come up with a single option yet.”
“So let’s work on it!” Dale’s temper had erupted.
“Stop it. Please, 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 said fed up with us all yelling at each other.
“Not speaking out or killing him yourself, there’s no difference,” Dale told her.
“That’s enough. Anybody who wants the floor before we make our final decision has the chance,” Rick announced. The room was completely silent until Dale spoke up again.
“You once said we don’t kill the living,” Dale told Rick.
“Well that was before the living tried to kill us.”
“But don’t you see if we do this the people we were and the world we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It’s harsh. It’s survival of the fittest. And that’s a world I don’t want to live in. I don’t believe any of you do. Isn’t there anybody else who’s gonna stand with me?” The room staying silent for a while and Dale finally lost all hope. His eyes turned red and watered as his voice broke. “Are y’all gonna watch too? No, you’ll go hide in your tents and try to forget we’re slaughtering a human being.” Dale started walking out the door but stopped long enough to talk to Daryl. “You’re right. This group is broken.”
*****
We all sat in silence around the fire waiting for Shane, Rick, and Daryl to come tell us it was done. As soon as we saw them approaching us, we all stood.
“We are keeping him in custody for now.” Rick was tense and he was clutching onto Carl. Shane stomped past them and entered our tent and I was quick to follow him.
“What happened?” I asked once we were both inside.
“Carl followed us and wanted to watch. Rick chickened out,” his voice was full of hate. I shook my head with my arms crossed.
“So what’s the plan?” He opened his mouth but before he could say anything we heard screaming. We rushed outside and the entire camp was sprinting to the general direction they were coming from. Daryl was already leaning over Dale, who was holding his intestines. A walker had ripped into his stomach and there was nothing any of us could do.
“He’s suffering Andrea said after we all panicked. “Do something!” Rick pulled out his python and looked him in the eyes. It took him a while to actually get his grip right but Daryl reached over and took it from him. Daryl was much quicker at holding the gun into position, he knelt, knowing he was helping Dale. Dale leaned forward to let Daryl know it was okay and Daryl whispered softly before pulling the trigger.
“Sorry, brother.”