Chapter 4: What lies beyond

When Amber finally opened her eyes it was daytime. At least that was clear to her as she shifted in the small camping chair. Looking down she noticed a soft checkered blanket covering her small body. But she shivered any ways. The days had grown hot but the mornings stayed cold. Amber wasn't so used to the weather in the South just yet. Back home it was always mild. Never to hot but never to cold.

She moved out from it and folded it, placing it down on the chair gently. Daryl had covered her in the night.. She wondered what that meant. Was he nice when no one was looking? Or did he really care? She didn't know. And truthfully it didn't much matter in the moment. Today Rick and Hershel would bring a hostage home and things would go south. As they always did when Shane was involved.

"Amber, you're awake." Carol said, smiling softly at the small girl. The night had been long and now that it was quiet she was glad for it. "Rick and Hershel got back early this morning.. They brought a hostage."

"Oh.. Did they put him in the barn?" She asked, trying to play dumb. But it was clear to anyone that they were guarding something. Shane and Rick stood out front, holding their weapons. Amber rolled her eyes, knowing all this was for nothing. Leaving him behind would have been easier and saved all of them a lot of time and effort. Not to mention the fighting only worsened when Shane and Rick didn't agree.

Carol rambled about the man in the barn as Amber shifted on her feet anxiously. She knew where all this was going.. And if she said anything about it she would look insane to these people. But this wasn't her world, and these were not her people. She wasn't sure just what her next move should be. There was no telling when she would wake up back home on her couch, thunder roaring outside her window. Amber would be once again safe, in a world she knew well. One where she could walk the streets without the thought of walkers or bandits.


One day later:

"This is crazy. We aren't that type of group." Dale said, leaning against the RV next to Amber. Here she was; new to the group. He didn't want her to get scared off. "We don't kill people." They weren't murderers.

"Dale.. I know." Amber muttered as she watched the group putter around the camp. "But I also know that you can't trust people any more."

"We don't know that anything will come of this. I am not so sure his group would ever even find us." He tried to reason with her. He was almost a little shocked to hear the words come from the small girl. But there they were. How could they turn into those people. Skeptical, angry and dangerous. How could he allow them to loose their humanity.

"We don't Dale, you're right. But not knowing puts us in danger. That boy puts us all in danger. I'm sorry.. But I have to agree that maybe it would be best to remove the problem." She shrugged. She liked Dale, but Rick was right. Shane was right.. It was this or they had to leave. And she certainly wasn't ready to tell them about the herd. How would she even explain it?

"I have to try and talk some sense into them.." He said as he pushed himself off his vehicle. "I have to."

Amber watched him walk away and sighed. It would all be for nothing..


"Then it's settled. We can't let the kid live." Shane said, his arms crossed over his chest. "Look at that.. We finally agree on something." He said to Rick. "Letting him go ain't an option."

Glenn dropped his head into his hands and sighed. Normally he didn't agree with most of what Shane had to say. But this time he knew deep down that it had to be done. It didn't make them "The bad guys" it made them careful. At least this way they could be sure that this kid wouldn't hurt anyone in the future. "I'm sorry Dale." He said finally, looking up at the older man.

"Look Dale.. Say we let him join us? Say he's helpful, maybe even nice. But then one day we let our guard down and he runs off, tells his group about us. Where we are. Our women." He let his eyes trail towards Daryl. Only hours before the large redneck had questioned the man in the shed. He had secrets. "What then?"

"So the answer is to just kill him?" Dale asked, his eyes wide in fear of what they would all become after this meeting. "If we do this.. We're saying there's no more hope. Nothing good left out there.. No more civilization."

"There isn't." Amber said, adding to the group's back and forth. "This is all you have now Dale. These people. You can't trust anyone else. Anything you make now has to be with the people you care about."

"We trusted you." He told her, eyes pleading. "We took you in."

"You got lucky. How long you think that luck will last? You think every single person out there will surprise you?" She sighed, "They will.. But it won't be in the ways you hope." It hurt her to hold back information once again. But that was her life now.

"If you go through with it.. How would you do it?" Maggie asked.

"Could just snap his neck, a hanging. Real quick." Shane offered.

Rick was tired. He hadn't slept much the night before. Finding out his wife was pregnant and his friend wanted him dead was a lot. To top it off he had a big decision to make. "I thought about that.. But shooting might be more humane."

"Your talking about this like it's already been decided." Dale snapped, getting closer to Rick.

"We've been talking all day Dale." Shane said grumpily.

"We can't just keep goin in circles. Sorry Dale.." Rick told him.

"This is a young man's life! And it is worth more then a five minute conversation!"

Daryl shifted, watching the old man. But he didn't agree this time. And even if he did he wasn't so sure he wanted to speak up about. He knew the facts. The kid had a large group, about thirty men. They rape and kill. He wasn't alright with that and he wouldn't speak out to help the kid if there was even a little chance that he would bring them back here.

"Is it?" Amber snapped, standing up from the piano bench next to Glenn. "How do you know that?" She ran her hand up through her hair, trying to calm her self. This was nothing, nothing compared to what was coming. "If I am part of this group and I have a say.. Then I say kill him and be done with it." She was sick of talking about it. Soon Dale would be dead and this would all be forgotten. She pushed past him, leaving the group behind to make the choice.

This wasn't her, she knew that. But here she was, in a world where anything goes. Being shy and quiet wouldn't get her much. If she could change anything she would choose what to change carefully, this meant letting things happen the way they were meant to; at least for now.


It was dark and the stars shone brightly down on the farm. Tonight the kid wouldn't die and Dale would get eaten. But she couldn't pull herself up off the tented floor beneath her. No matter how badly she wanted to save Dale and make sure Carl didn't show up at the execution she held herself still. Dale and Shane had to die. The herd would come and they would be on the move. Something she felt nervous about. Being out there.. With those things.

Crickets chirped as she leaned against the small blue hole looking out over the field. Daryl, Rick and Shane stood in the barn right now, wasting time. Amber felt herself close her eyes, she had to get sleep in now, before she didn't have the option.


The screaming woke Amber and she shot up quickly as if she was unsure what was really going on. "DALE! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!" Amber sighed, slouching back. This was it. She tugged her boots on and crawled out of the blue tent. When she spotted the group they stood around Dale. He lay still on the grassy floor. But Amber didn't get close enough to see the blood. Instead she stood back, hands in her pockets. She must have watched this three times over back on her comfy couch with her best friend. She even cried once. But now it was real.

Daryl took the shot, making sure that Rick didn't have to be the bad guy once again. Maybe Carol was right, maybe deep down he could change; become a part of something bigger. "Sorry Brother."

As the crowd dispersed he raised his head, noticing Amber in the distance. She hadn't come running like the rest. Instead she stood there, almost looking calm. At peace with something he wasn't sure of yet. And he couldn't help but wonder once again about the strange girl. He could see she cared, she wanted them all to live. But here was Dale, bleeding out in the grass and she made no effort to run to him. Her eyes were on the grass in front of him where Dale had died and it was as if she knew it was going to happen.. But how was that possible?