(I made it so Hershel didn't have Walkers in the barn because he thought they were too dangerous.)

Judge, Jury, Execution

"C'mon on you oversized bottle of glue! Show me whatcha' got!"

The stallion bucked and took off sprinting before he bucked again, trying to throw me off.

It'd been a few weeks since Daryl came back and he was up on his feet again. Unknown to everyone else, Maggie and Glenn were a 'thing' and they used the time they went out on runs to get to know each other better. Things were good on the farm and no trouble had come our way until Rick announced that Lori was pregnant. Everyone who was at the quarry knew that Lori and Shane were together up until Rick showed up and that made me wonder if Shane was the father. With that piece of drama announced, Hershel let us move into the house. Shane and Rick's relationship was wearing thin as Daryl seemed to replace Shane's spot as Rick's right hand. I knew Shane wasn't stupid enough to go against Daryl, but he was becoming more unorthodox and it was probably due to the fact that he was banging Andrea now. The Sheriffs went out on a run, of sorts, this morning and had yet to get back.

He, Hershel, Jimmy, Maggie and Glenn were watching me try to domesticate Hershel's only untamed horse. He was a strong, black stallion with the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen, next to Daryl's of course.

His thick mane and tail were the same color as the rest of his body, but he had a patch of white dotted splatters on his right thigh and boy did he have a bad temper! Hershel said he found him wandering deeper in the fields and he was nice enough to let him bring him back to the farm. He wasn't sure what type he was as his bad temper made it hard to pinpoint a breed. At first, he didn't let anyone get near him and he almost killed Jimmy when he kicked him, but as time passed, he let the people on the farm do everything but ride him. Not even Maggie could stay on him for longer than a minute!

Hershel was about to just let him roam back to where ever he came from, but he still had hope that the horse could be tamed and he just needed the right person to do it; he even offered to let whoever tamed him, keep him. Today, I'd be getting a horse.

"Do yer worst, Hellboy!"

He reared and I cheered as he started galloping again. This horse was as good as mine so I may as well name him and as much as he probably hated me right now, I knew there was a connection here. He only threw me off once and that wasn't happening again. He'd been putting up a fight for a little over an hour now and it was exhilarating! Such a beautiful animal had so much power, but he wouldn't have it forever. He was winding down, but he was milking every drop of adrenaline he had left. He came down to a slow walk before he snorted and stopped; I could feel him panting along with me.

"You had enough? Ready to give up?"

I stroked his neck and he huffed, then the bucking started again. They weren't nearly as powerful as they were in the beginning and I knew there was just one shred of disobedience left.

"That's all you got? Daryl bucks harder than you!"

He kept up his tantrum for another 10 minutes and that was it. He slowed and swayed from side to side before he gave a soft neigh and he started trying to lay down with me still on him. I giggled and got off and he plopped on his side.

"I think I killed it!"

I yelled to the others watching from in back of the fence. I started rubbing him as he caught his breath and calmed.

"You just got tamed boy, betcha feel a whole lot better now."

He huffed and dropped his head on the ground; I liked him, he had sass! I gave him one last pat before I hopped the fence to meet the members of the Green family with shockingly impressed faces. Daryl walked with me back to the house so I could rinse and change. I had dirt all over my jeans and I knew my hair was a mess, but he didn't seem to care.

"I buck harder than a horse, huh?"

"Maybe. Can't remember, it's been awhile."

"Maybe ya' need a refresher."

"You sure you can handle this? Ain't no booze involved this time."

He snorted.

After my shower, I was going through Hershel's book collection for something that wasn't a Bible or any other form of religious text. I found an untitled red book of poetry and sat in the window to read. I'd gotten so lost in the book, that I didn't realize Rick and Shane were back or how much time had passed.

When Dale came in mumbling to himself, I came out of my trance and stretched.

"It's madness, complete pandemonium!"

"What's wrong, Dale?"

"What's wrong? They're turning into asinine ruffians, that's what's wrong!"

"Tone it down with the words, Shakespeare. What are you talkin' about?"

"Where have you been all this time?"

"In here reading, like a civil person, thank you."

"I'm sorry. This whole thing's got my feathers ruffled."

Dale was such a Dad; he always said out dated mottos and wore his fishing a hat. He wasn't anything like my Dad, but he was still a funny, clever old man.

"Rick and Shane just got back with a boy, Randal. They found him at the bar in town when they were looking for Beth."

"Beth? Why was she off the farm?"

"It seems that your confident nature rubbed off on her and she decided she wanted a drink. She slipped into the trunk before they left."

I never told Beth to drink! We bonded in our time here and she was a very sweet girl who'd never break the rules. Maggie could write a book on all the stuff she did as a teen, but not Beth. Beth was the sheltered, innocent child. Everyone, excluding myself, treated her like a child and I encouraged her to still try to have fun as a teenager, well young adult, she was going on 18. I didn't mean sneak out and get wasted! I had to give her props though, that was pretty badass for a little lamb like her.

"But that's not important. Rick's locked him in the shed and sent Daryl to 'talk' to him. Apparently, he was with a group of bad men and now Rick wants to kill the boy. It's insane!"

"He's a cop, he wouldn't. He still believes in laws."

"With Shane in his ear, he's already in favor for it. He's making it 'fair' by having a trial for the boy. I'm already opposed to this and I think you are too."

"Damn straight. We don't have the right to kill someone."

The others started piling in the living room and everyone seemed distraught about the whole thing. Daryl was farthest away from the group in a chair, with bandages around his knuckles, and he tucked them under his arms when I sat next to him. He could be such a brute sometimes. No wonder Rick used him to do his dirty work. He was ruthless when he wanted to be.

Everyone settled and the meeting came to order.

"I will not risk the safety of any of us any longer. You all know that we have a…detainee with us and you know his story. As a group, we're going to figure out what to with him. The first, and most constructive option, is simply ending him. Shane, Daryl, and I are already supporting that decision."

I stared at Daryl in disbelief.

Men could be so idiotic sometimes! Whenever the slightest chance of a threat comes around, they go into over protective mode and want to kill the thing with their bare hands like animals! They never use common sense or listen to reason if they can beat the problem until it goes away!

I got up and stood next to Dale as he was the 'leader' of the non-hostile side of this debate. I had to admit that under the circumstances, I seemed like a hypocrite. I was all for Anarchy and fighting, hell I was the definition of a brawler, but this was different.

"I refuse to participate in this."

"Majority rules with or without your say, Zayla. Those opposed to his death should start stating why he should live."

"We have no right, it's as simple as that! What reason could we possibly have to kill him? He's done nothing to us!"

"He could have done something to Beth. That's more than enough evidence to end him."

"So we start killing other people tryin' ta' survive just like us because of assumptions, Shane? We don't know if he's like the rest of his group."

"So you wanna let him run free, so he can snatch one of you up? He's a lair, he's conniving, and he can't be trusted."

"Shane's right. He's not staying here much longer."

"Then take him somewhere else! We've got horses and cars, take your pick!"

"What if he finds his group, Dale? He went to school with Maggie and could know where we are. Then what? We go up against thirty-some odd guys with guns?"

"That's your fault, Rick! You made the call to 'interrogate' him like that! He wouldn't have any grudges against us and he'd still have all his teeth if y'all talked to him instead of beatin' him like a damn dog!"

"You didn't see the guys he was with, what they said they did to girls. They were gonna kill us and who knows what would've happened to Beth. This isn't really a negotiable situation."

"Glenn!"

"They were in town and they would've snatched one of us on a run. They were too close and would've found the farm! I did the right thing!"

"He didn't ask ta' be dragged here! If his friends were so big an' bad, you shoulda left him there! You took it upon yourself to bring him here! You brought this threat to our doorstep!"

"Does he really have to die? That can't be our only option."

Carol's loving voice seemed to let us simmer down for a second and try to think rationally about what was going on. Biting at each other's throats wasn't getting us anywhere, but that's how deliberations work.

"It shouldn't be an option at all! Carol, you just lost your little girl, and thankfully she was brought back to you. What if he has family? Do you want to put another Mother through that?"

"Stop hasslin' her. This ain't the time for a goddamn democracy."

"This is a perfect time for a democracy, Shane."

"Why are we even arguing about this? That kid's a threat, and lives are at risk. Shoot the brat in the head so we can move on."

"Have we really lost so much sanity that we've turned into this, into savages? We may as well kill each other every time we disagree on something!"

"Nobody wants to hear your damn lectures, Dale."

"Stop being a dick, Shane!"

"Oh now I'm being a dick? That's strange coming from the girl who wants to keep a goddamn rapist with us!"

"None of you have the right to play God. This is a person who's done nothing to us, yet you all wanna kill 'em 'cause he's enduring the same hell hole we are. He's a kid! He's surviving the best way he can and you all are gonna kill him for that?"

Everyone fell silent and just looked at one another, really seeing everyone's true colors. We all knew Shane was going crazy because of this baby dilemma and Rick was still getting into his kingpin role, which came with a lot heavy decisions, like this.

"If you think he should live, raise your hand."

Mine and Dale's hands flew up. Carol inched her hand up too and she gave us a hopeful smile.

"Those opposed?"

Rick, Shane, Lori and Glenn's hands went up; I saw Daryl's hand flick up no higher than his knee. Andrea was the tie breaker, but she crossed her arms over her chest. She was a goddamn lawyer before and now she doesn't want to judge? For once, she doesn't have something to say when we need someone to? She picked a hell of a good time to finally take my advice.

"It's decided then."

"This is bullshit."

"This is how a democracy works. It's win or lose."

I felt like I was in a room of strangers because the people I knew, the people back at the quarry, wouldn't ever think like this.

Rick dismissed the meeting and everyone started leaving. Dale gave me an empathetic pat on the shoulder before he left and I sat back in the window. I knew Daryl was still in there, but I didn't want to talk to him or any of the other murders with us.

"…we're just protectin' the group."

"Protecting us by holding a guy hostage, torturing him, possibly provoking a war, and breaking your knuckles? I feel so safe now, thanks a ton."

He started walking away and I heard him mumbled before he left

"I'm protectin' you."