WHITE FLAG
chapter twenty-nine : the broken group
{ season two - episode eleven }
"ARE YOU DONE in there?" Kloe questioned from outside the wooden shed where Randall was held up. Daryl had gone in there and got some answers out of him, but it suddenly went silent, which made Kloe confused.
She jumped back as the shed door burst open, revealing the middle aged man. He nodded at the young woman, who pursed her lips and nodded in reply. "C'mon, let's head back to the others," he said as he shook his bloodied hand, except it wasn't just his blood.
"Right," she knelt down, gripping onto her knife that she had placed down and swiftly sliding it into her sheath.
"Would've thought you'd be one that wouldn't like torture," the Dixon man stated, glancing over at Kloe over his shoulder. She shot her head up to the man, raising her eyebrows at him. She ended up just shrugging in response. She didn't know why she wasn't too bothered about it, but she shrugged it off like everything else.
All she did was push everything aside, it was becoming a bad habit. She couldn't help it. There was so much on her hands at that time that she didn't know exactly what to do with herself. But as long as she had her brother and Glenn by her side, she would be okay.
The pair made their way to the group, who were circled around a fire. The seasons were beginning to change. It was getting a lot colder and barely anyone could wear what they would usually wear, meaning soon they would have to go on a run for clothes.
Kloe had one of Zayn's jackets. It was a little bit oversized for her, but she didn't care. It was warm and that's all that mattered. It was a beige color, one of the colors that Kloe had always adored.
They got closer to the group, and soon everyone's attention landed on the pair. Kloe slid her hands in her pockets and pursed her lips as she grew closer. She was never the one to like attention, it would always make her anxious.
"Boy there's got a gang, thirty men," Daryl came to a stop and flickered his eyes across the group. Kloe stepped over to Maggie and Isabelle, and forced a smile to the two before looking back at Daryl. "They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna- they're gonna wish they were."
"What did you do?" Carol asked with curiosity, her eyes flickering between Daryl and Kloe.
Daryl briefly glanced down at his bloodied up knuckles, "Had a little chat."
Everyone then turned their gazes toward Kloe, wondering why she was there too. She furrowed her eyebrows and raised her hands up in defense, "I did not beat up the man, alright? Definitely not my thing."
They all acknowledged by turning away from the young woman and back toward Daryl, who was wiping his knuckles against his black jacket. Everyone stared into space, thinking about what Daryl had done to the man, especially Dale and Isabelle.
"No one goes near this guy," Rick told everyone sternly.
His wife stepped forward, stopping in front of him, "Rick, what are you gonna do?"
Rick clenched his jaw, answering Lori simply, "We have no choice. He's a threat." Isabelle's heart sank into her stomach as she slowly walked up to the man. "We have to eliminate the threat."
"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked in disbelief, noticing the look on the teenage girl's face. The two were alike when it came to life and death situations. Kloe darted her eyes between Rick, Dale and Isabelle.
"It's settled," Rick stated, "I'll do it today." He departed from the group, Dale right on his heel.
Isabelle, who's breath was shaky, snapped her head over to Kloe with an unreadable expression on her face. Although, Kloe could see straight through her. Isabelle didn't want Randall to die, she didn't want anyone to die. From the world that they now lived in, she thought that everyone deserves a second chance.
"I can't believe it," Isabelle muttered, only to be heard by over half of the remaining group. "He didn't even kill anyone, and he's getting a death sentence. How are we any better than them?"
Everyone stood still, glancing down to the ground to avoid any eye contact. In some way, Isabelle was right. Or that's just what they wanted to believe because deep down, they knew that what they were doing was wrong. But there wasn't another choice. Or there was.
Before anyone could speak, not that anyone was going to anyway, Isabelle sighed with sadness and walked away swiftly. Kloe, who was still standing beside Maggie, stepped forward and called out to her, "Isabelle!"
She bit into her bottom lips as she watched the teenage girl walk away quicker than normal. She exhaled heavily before turning around to face the group. "Are you gonna talk to her?" Lori asked, a hand on her hip.
Kloe sighed, "Looks like it." She spun on her heel and began walking over to the Marshel teen.
...
After a chat with Isabelle, Kloe decided to go talk with Randall. Isabelle didn't say much, since she wanted to be alone for the time being. Kloe left her be, she knew she needed to be alone and didn't need Kloe right on her shoulder.
Kloe sat on a stool that was directly opposite the young man, Randall. She had her elbows on her knees and her head in her palms. She stared at the man with a deathly glare that anyone would be afraid of.
Andrea was standing outside of the doorway, guarding it. She had agreed with Dale that she wouldn't let anybody inside. But she knew Kloe wouldn't do anything to the man, she wasn't like that.
"Are you just gonna sit there?" Randall questioned with a shaky voice. His face was beaten up from Daryl, and his hands were still cuffed together from Rick's handcuffs.
"Shut up, I'm thinking," she retorted, still glaring at the man.
"Okay, okay. Sorry-" he apologized, only to be hushed by the young woman. She was thinking about everything Isabelle had told her the last few days. About how Randall, or anyone, didn't deserve death as a punishment. She didn't know what to decide. She didn't know if she should be on Rick's side, and let the man get killed so the rest of the group are safe. Or she didn't know if she should be on Isabelle's side, letting the man live and risking something big.
She wanted to believe Isabelle. She didn't want someone young to die over something that they were forced to do. But at the same time, she wanted to make sure that everyone in the group was safe from someone who could still be a threat.
"Alright, I'm done thinking," she stated, stepping up from the stool and brushing down her jeans with her palms. She looked down at the man, only blinking a few times.
The man tried to shift away from the young woman, truly being scared of her after what he had been through the last day. He squinted his eyes shut, expecting her to strike across his face, but instead there was nothing: just air.
He opened his eyes and looked up at Kloe, who was still staring across at him. "Are you gonna beat me up?" he asked with fear, beginning to tremble at how deadly the stare was getting.
She pouted her bottom lip and shook her head, "Nah, not my thing, bud. I just want to ask a few questions that will take around thirty seconds to complete and I want you to answer them honestly otherwise I will get the other dude who I shouldn't name come beat your ass again."
"Okay! You have my word," he rushed his words out, slightly relieved that Kloe wasn't going to hurt him.
"I'm being serious. If you don't answer truthfully, I won't hesitate to maybe punch you myself, I'm good at that. But I'll let the other dude do the rest," she explained, kneeling down slightly to be eye level with the young man. "Considering you have a very unnatural face right now, I'm guessing he can do some damage, yes?"
Instantaneously, the nervous man nodded his head. Now he was more fearful than ever. He had not one but two intimidating people threaten him. Little did he know that the group were planning on executing him later that day.
"So, first question. What do you think of the people you've seen here so far and why?" she questioned, clenching her jaw as she watched the man.
"Uh- well- most of you are pretty scary. And, uh, I- I think you're all good people. Yeah! Nice people!" he answered, a hopeful smile on his face.
"Bullshit," she muttered, loud enough for the man to hear him, making his breath hitch in his throat, "you don't call the people that hook you up to a bench and torture you nice."
"No, no! I'm serious! You're- you're nice people and- and yes you're very, very scary and I want to prove to you guys that I can be like you. A nice person!" he rambled on, shaking more with fear.
"Right," she said simply, not convinced. "Next question, why did you attack our group?"
"Why did you attack ours?" he asked in a low tone, hoping it was quiet enough so the young woman that he didn't know the name of wouldn't hear him and get angry.
She laughed, "Fun fact, I have good hearing. Hate to break it to you, but the answer to your question is because your buddies aren't exactly friendly or mature."
"W- what?" he quizzed, generally confused with what the woman was saying. "Dave and Tony were nice, they were with me. But I know that they aren't anymore! They left me, you know? Screw those guys!"
She grinned sarcastically at the man, before going back to a stoic expression. "You know, you don't really have a survival chance here. And in all honesty, I don't exactly want you walking around here anyway, since you did kind of shoot at some people. One of those people being someone I deeply care about."
"W- what do you mean? No survival chance?" he stuttered, looking at Kloe desperately. She could see in his eyes how scared he was. She felt some remorse deepening in her, but she pushed it away.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out. Good chat, Randie," she sarcastically smiled again, standing up and walking over to the wooden door.
"It's- it's Randall," he corrected, watching the young woman leave the shed.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," she waved at him goodbye before slamming the shed door shut, greeting Andrea.
Kloe still hadn't spoken to Andrea since the whole Beth ordeal. She wasn't exactly in the mood to speak with her either. She knew soon enough she should, but right then, she had other things to worry about.
...
The sun was at its lowest, which meant it was time for the meeting Rick had announced. "Let's gather up," he stated to the group who were standing outside on the porch. The Greene family, Maggie, Glenn, Zayn, Kloe and Isabelle were already inside, waiting.
Lori said a few things to her son about going with Jimmy, but he refused at first and said he wanted to listen, but she said no.
Glenn was sitting on a stool that was for the piano, his connected hands pressed against his chin while he stared at the ground. Kloe and Isabelle stood side by side behind a couch where Maggie was sitting. Zayn was sitting on the other couch and he was leaning back and clearly thinking about something.
Kloe's head shot up to the front door where everyone stumbled inside, watching as they all got into their spots, preparing themselves for the meeting Rick had arranged. Kloe scratched the back of her head, pursing her lips at the awkward tension that was sitting in the air.
"So how do we do this?" Glenn asked, lifting his head up to face everyone, "Just take a vote?"
Andrea slightly raised her arm, "Does it have to be unanimous?"
"How about majority rules?" Lori suggested, her shoulder leaned against the door frame while her other hand was against her chin.
"Well, let's just see where everybody stands," Rick stepped forward, placing a hand on the frame of a couch, "then we can talk through the options." His eyes scattered across everyone in the room, examining their expressions.
"Well, where I sit," Shane exhaled, making Kloe roll her eyes, "there's only one way to move forward."
Isabelle's breath got caught in her throat at the statement, catching Kloe's attention. Dale stared at Shane with disbelief, "Killing him." He stared across at everyone else, "Right? I mean, why bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing."
"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know," Rick said, eyeing the older man in the corner of his eyes.
"Well, I can tell you, it's a small group..." Dale's eyes flickered between Isabelle and a few others, "maybe just me, Glenn and Isabelle."
Kloe's brows slightly raised at the mention of Glenn's name, but they instantly went back to normal when she looked to the side to face Isabelle. She was staring across at the Korean boy with hopefulness, only to be shut down by his next words.
Glenn's eyes slowly flickered up to the elderly man who was beside him, and Dale's eyes promptly began to fill with disappointment. "Look, I- I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-"
"They've got you scared," Dale said, his voice raising as he pointed to everybody else in the group. Kloe bit into her bottom lip, folding her arms over her chest.
"He's not one of us," Glenn raised his arm, gesturing toward the direction where the shed where Randall was kept hostage was. "And we've- we've lost too many people already."
For a few moments, it went dead silent. Dale's eyes scattered across everyone once again, landing on Isabelle who was still staring at the ground. "What about you, Isabelle? You're also against this, right?"
Isabelle's gaze shot up toward the man, and she laughed sarcastically, "Yes, I am. I am very much against this, Dale." Everyone turned to the teenage girl, freezing slightly at the sadness in her eyes.
Dale nodded his head, then turned to the young woman that was standing beside the teenage girl, Kloe. "How about you, Klo?" he asked, blinking a few times, "You're never usually one to agree with execution. What changed?"
Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out. She shrugged, thinking of words to say, but there was nothing. Her mind was blank. "I don't know," she stated in a low tone, her eyes falling to the ground. She wanted to make herself believe that she didn't know, but she knew deep down why she didn't want the man walking.
Because he was with the group that were trying to kill Rick, Hershel and Glenn. Glenn. The man that she had given her heart to the exact same day when he could've gotten killed by Randall and his buddies.
Maggie, who noticed the look on her best friend's face, stood up from the couch she was sitting on and looked over at Rick, "Couldn't we continue keeping him as prisoner? So then we can have more time to think. 'Cause some of us don't know what to think," she gestured toward herself and Kloe.
"Just another mouth to feed," Daryl shared, pushing himself against the door frame that led to another room.
"It may be a lean to winter," Hershel reminded, his eyes darting between everyone in the room.
"We could ration better," Lori said, looking over at Hershel over her shoulder,
"Well, he could be an asset," Dale suggested, his eyes still filled with anger as he looked at Lori and everyone else. "Give him a chance to prove himself."
"Get him to work?" Glenn then asked, mainly looking at Rick, siding with the elderly man beside him.
"We're not letting him walk around," Rick stated firmly, eyeing the people that were listening to Dale, finally thinking if it would be a good idea to let the man live.
"We could put an escort on him," Maggie suggested. Kloe glanced up at Dale, beginning to finally choose what side she was on.
"That doesn't sound too bad of an idea," Kloe agreed with Maggie, pouting her bottom lip and nodding her head. Isabelle's eyes were no longer filled with sadness but with hopefulness. Maggie, Kloe and Glenn were gradually siding on the correct side in her young mind.
"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane scoffed, furrowing his brows at Kloe and Maggie.
"I will," Dale answered, making Shane roll his eyes.
"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy," Rick stated simply.
"He's right," Lori agreed with her husband. "I- I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." She looked at Rick, who had turned around to face her.
"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor," Andrea shook her head, shifting her eyes over to Maggie who suggested the idea.
"Look," Shane started, "say we let him join us, right?" He swiveled his neck to face Dale, "Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, bring back his thirty men."
Isabelle was never usually the type to grow angry, but at this point, she was working up to that. Dale tilted his head and glared at Shane, "So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?"
"Why don't we just keep someone with him at all times? Like, train to defend ourselves and put someone with him so then if like Shane said and he does attack, we'll know how to defend ourselves and boom," Isabelle explained, rushing her words.
"She's right," Dale agreed, nodding his head. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization."
"Oh my God," Shane muttered out in exasperation, slowly turning away from the man, resting his elbow on the fireplace and rubbing the back of his head.
"Could you drive him out? Leave him like you planned?" Hershel questioned Rick.
"You barely came back this time," Lori said in a soft tone, rubbing the bottom of her neck while shaking her head. "There are walkers. You could break down. You- you could get lost."
"Or get ambushed," Daryl added.
Glenn nodded in agreement, "They're right. We should not put our own people at risk."
"This is a hard one," Zayn spoke up, "because, as things stand, if we kill him then we're technically murdering from an accusation. Or, if we let him live, then we're risking it. Both are equally as bad."
"If you go through with it," Patricia looked away from the wooden flooring and over to Rick, "how would you do it? Would he suffer?"
Rick stayed still, beginning to think deeply to find the right answer. Isabelle rubbed her temples to contain her anger, knowing full well that they were gonna say a stupid answer.
"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck," Shane then suggested, acting as if the decision had already been decided.
"I thought about that," Rick exhaled. "Shooting may be more humane."
What about the body?" T-Dog asked, looking over at Shane. "Do we bury him-"
"Oh my God," Isabelle cut the man off, gritting her teeth as she threw her hands to her ears. Kloe looked up at the teenage girl and was gonna comfort her, but before she could, the Marshel teen instantly walked out of the room. She hastily budged past Lori, who was standing right next to the door and left the house.
Everyone stared at the door the girl had just slammed, and Kloe continued to stare down at the floor with remorse. "Can you really blame her for doing that?" Dale spoke up once again, catching everyone's attention. "You're talking about this like it's already decided."
Daryl stepped forward, "You've been talking all day, going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?"
"This is a young man's life, and it is worth more than a five-minute conversation!" the man bellowed, making Kloe slightly jump at the sudden loud noise. "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. Isabelle was right when I spoke to her earlier. How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?"
Kloe sat herself down on the arm of the couch that Maggie was previously sitting on, staring down at the floor with more guilt than ever. Dale was right, and everyone in that room knew it.
"We all know what needs to be done," Shane stated.
"No, Dale is right," Rick instantly replied, catching everyone's attention, even Kloe's. "We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"
"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked with slight annoyance, cutting the man off.
"Let Rick finish," Lori said firmly, earning a disbelieving glare from the blonde woman.
Just as Rick was about to speak again, the woman bluntly cut him off again, "We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could-"
"So let's work on it!" Dale stated simply, throwing his hands up in desperation.
"We are," Rick said.
"Stop it," Carol spoke up, who had stayed silent the entire time. "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," she looked at Rick with sadness before turning over to Dale, "Please decide, either of you, both of you... but leave me out."
"Not speaking out or killing him yourself," Dale pointed at Carol, "there's no difference." Carol stared at the man, her eyes getting glossy.
"Alright, that's enough," Rick stopped Dale, raising his hand. "Anybody that wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance.
Patricia and Maggie sat back down on their seats. The Greene woman glanced up at her best friend and looked at her sympathetically. Kloe returned the sympathetic look, watching everyone else in the room.
"You once said that we don't kill the living," Dale reasoned, motioning over to the Grimes man.
"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us," Rick stepped forward, eyeing the elder man out of the corner of his eyes.
"But don't you see? That if we do this, the people that we were... the- the world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It's-" he paused, shaking his head, "harsh. It's- it's survival of the fittest. And that's the world I don't want to live in, and judging by Isabelle's reaction, it looks like she doesn't either." Kloe glanced up at the man at the mention of the girl's name. "I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please. Let's just do what's right."
Tears began to fill the man's eyes in disappointment. He never expected his own group to act that way. He believed that they were all good and would never do anything as cruel as this. But he obviously thought wrong.
"Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me other than Isabelle?" he questioned, his voice beginning to break as more tears began to appear.
Everyone stayed silent, meaning they weren't on his side. Kloe debated for a few seconds if she should or not. After not even a second, she stood up from the couch, everyone's attention falling on her. Dale looked at her with hopefulness, and all she did was nod.
Mostly everyone in the room stared at her, especially Glenn, Zayn and Maggie. Andrea then nodded, "He's right." Dale looked away from Kloe and turned to the blonde woman. "We should try to find another way."
"Anybody else?" Rick asked, patiently waiting for anybody else to stand up, but no one did. Kloe looked down at the ground again. She was at least expecting either her own brother or Glenn to stand up, but they never did.
Dale shook his head as a tear fell down his face, "Are y'all gonna watch too? No you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it."
He then walked over to the other side of the room, only to stop beside Daryl and place a hand on his shoulder, "This group is broken."
Those words smashed into Kloe's chest that caused a pain she had never felt before. She had never felt so much guilt in her life. Although, Dale was right.
The group was very much broken.
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words: 4125
1st june 2022
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THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR OVER 10K READS ILYSM!! also this season is almost done! i'm generally excited for this season to end, because i cannot wait to write season 3 since it's one of my fav seasons :))