It was a long while before Rick and Shane got back. They weren't alone, though. They brought Randall back with them. He was out in the shed with Daryl as the group waited on him to get back. "So whatcha gonna do?" Andrea asked. "I'd feel better if there was a plan," Carol mumbled. Then Andrea asked, "Is there a plan?" "We gonna keep him here?" Glenn added. Rick took a deep breath and let it out. "We'll know soon enough," he told them all. He then nodded in the direction of the shed and everyone turned to see Daryl approaching. "Yer boy there's gotta gang," Daryl informed them. "Thirty men. Gotta heavy artillery and ain't lookin' ta make friends. They rolled through here, them boys are dead. And them women, they're gonna wish they were." "What did you do?" Carol asked him, indicating his bloody knuckles. Daryl looked down at it for a moment. "Had a little chat." Rylee smiled to herself at the sight. "Don't look like there was much talkin' on your side," Dean said to him as Daryl walked passed. Rick spoke up. "No one goes near this guy." That was all he said before Lori made her way over to him. "Rick," she said in a low voice. "What are you gonna do?" He exchanged looks with everybody. "We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat." It's about damn time somebody came to their senses, Rylee thought. They couldn't trust this guy and she was sure no one felt safe with him here. Dale's voice broke Rylee's train of thought, though. "You're just gonna kill him?" "It's settled," Rick told him, avoiding eye contact. "We'll do it today." Rick turned and walked of, but Dale followed him.
It was almost sunset when everyone met back inside Hershel's house to discuss Randall's fate. They were all in the living room when Carl came inside. Rick turned and looked at him for a moment, but without saying a word, Carl turned and kept walking. Once he was gone, Glenn asked, "So, how do we do this? Take a vote?" "Does it have to be anonymous?" asked Andrea. "The majority rules," Lori said low. Rick stepped up. "Well, let's just…let's see where everyone stands, then we can talk through the options." Rylee and Dean stood there side by side in the doorway leading to the dining room and listened to Rick. There was a silence, but Shane's voice soon broke it. "Well, the way I see it," he said, "only one way to move forward." "Killing him. Right?" It was Dale who said this. Rylee looked over to him and it was obvious he wasn't very happy. He looked around at everyone before saying, "I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowin'." "Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know," Rick responded. Dale's eyes continued to roam around the room. "Well, I can tell you it's a small group. Maybe just me and Glenn." He and Glenn exchanged looks. "I think you're pretty much right about everything," Glenn told him. "But this-" Dale cut him off. "They got you scared." "He's not one of us," he explained. "And we've…we've lost too many people already." Dale squeezed the hat in his hand as if it were a stress ball. He then pointed it at Maggie. "How 'bout you? Do you agree with this?" She didn't reply right away, but she turned to Rick and asked, "Could we continue keepin' him prisoner?" "Jus' another mouth ta feed," Daryl said from behind Rick. "It may be a lean winter," Hershel added. Lori looked over at him. "We could ration better." "Or he could be an asset," Dale interrupted. "Give him a chance to prove himself." "Put him to work?" Glenn suggested. "We're not lettin' him walk around," Rick said. "We could put an escort on 'im," Maggie suggested. Shane then spoke up. "And who wants to volunteer for that duty?" "I will," Dale said, but was almost cut off by Rick. "I don't think any of us should be walkin' around with this guy." Dean then decided to speak. "Well, if that's what we end up doin', I could escort 'im." "Rick's right," Lori said. "I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." "We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labor," Andrea said matter-of-factly.
"Look," Shane started. "Say we let 'im join us, right? Maybe…maybe he's helpful. Maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and he runs off and maybe brings back his thirty men." There was a moment of hesitation and Dale spoke again. "So, the answer is to kill him, to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Everyone was silent. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization." "Could you drive him further out?" Hershel asked Rick. "Leave him like you planned?" "You barely came back this time," Lori told her husband. "There are walkers you could bring down. Y-you could get lost." "Could get ambushed," Daryl added. Dean nodded. "Who knows? Randall's men migh' be out there waitin' on ya." It was this time that Patricia asked, "If you went through with it…how would you do it?" Everyone looked to Rick, but it was Shane who spoke. "We could hang him, right? Snap his neck?" "I thought about that," Rick replied. "Shooting may be more humane." Silence fell across the group again. It seemed like there was no end to this conversation and Rylee was ready to storm out again. She even thought about just going on out to the barn and taking care of it herself. "What about the body-" T-Dog began to talk, but Dale interrupted. "Hold on! Hold on! You're talking about this like it's already decided." "We been talkin' all day," Daryl told him. "Goin' 'round in circles. Jus' wanna go 'round in circles again?" "Daryl's righ'. We need ta make a decision," Rylee announced. "This is a young man's life," Dale said, raising his voice. "And it is worth more than a five minute conversation. 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 tortured, he's gonna be executed." There was a look on Rick's face that Rylee had never seen before. Was it shame? She couldn't quite tell. "How are we any different than those people we're so afraid of?" "We all know what needs to be done," Shane said softly. "No, Dale is right," Rick said. "We can't leave any stone unturned here." Then suddenly everyone tried to talk over one another. Rylee's patience was wearing thin. "Hey!" Everyone stopped and looked at her. "Let me jus' say somethin'." They waited for her to continue. "Things ain't like they used to be, alrigh'? We don't handle things tha same way. Now, I don't give a damn about that kid. And I know it ain't my place to tell you what you need to do, but hell, we keep talkin' like 'is, we'll be talkin' 'til sunrise. We need ta stop talkin' and make a choice. We ain't done nothin' but chase our tails this entire conversation." There was a moment before Rick lifted his hand. "Alright. That's enough. Anyone who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance." Rick waited, but no one said a word. They were all quiet. "You once said that we don't kill the living," Dale said to Rick. "Well, that was before the living tried to kill us," Rick replied. Rylee rolled her eyes, but Dale spoke back to Rick. "But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew, is dead. And this new world, it's ugly. It's harsh. It's a survival of the fittest! And that's a world I don't wanna live in. And I don't believe that any of you do. I can't." He looked around at everyone as tears built up in his eyes. "Please," he begged. "Let's just do what's right." Once again, he waited for someone to say something. "Isn't there anyone else who's gonna stand with me?" Everyone just looked at him before Andrea spoke up. "He's right. We should try to find another way." Rick looked around. "Anyone else?" But his question was answered with a quiet moment. He then turned back to Dale. "Are ya'll gonna watch too?" Dale asked with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "Nah, you'll all go hide in your tents and try to forget we're slaughtering a human being. I won't be a party to it." He then turned and went to walk out, but when he reached Daryl, he stopped. "This group is broken," he told him, and with that, he was gone.
It was nighttime when Rick, Shane, and Daryl took Randall to the barn for his execution. Dean and Rylee stayed there near the house and sat on the porch as the others sat around the camp fire. They just sat there, not saying a word to each other. Rylee observed the firelight that shone on the barks of the trees until Dean's voice filled the air. "That discussion we had earlier 'bout had me ready to blow a damn hole in my head." Rylee brayed. "I hear that," she mumbled to him. He looked over to the barn and waited for the sound of the gunshot. But there was still no noise. "Wonder what's goin' on in there," he said. Rylee looked down and spotted a small pebble sitting on the step. She grabbed it and tossed it, then sighed. "Kid's probably beggin' for his life. Won't be surprised if Rick spares him." "Yeah, me neither," Dean told her, then looked down. "I guess it's jus' easy for us. We've already killed livin' people before." Then Rylee looked over to him. "Yeah. And we need ta keep that ta ourselves if we wanna stay here. They obviously ain't got much of an idea what it's like out there. Tha parts we seen anyway."
It wasn't long before the two spotted Rick walking back to camp with his son. "I didn't hear a gunshot," Rylee said. "Reckon they hung 'im?" Dean just watched for a moment, then nudged Rylee's arm. "Let's go find out." They got up and walked over to the fire where everyone else was. They watched as Rick finally stopped and looked up. "We're keeping him in custody. For now," he informed them. "I'm gonna find Dale," Andrea said with a smile as she got up. Keeping him in custody? Was he serious? "Carl, go inside," Lori instructed her son. "Now, please." Rylee waited until Carl had disappeared before she said something. "What happened ta killin' him?" she asked Rick, then his eyes went to the ground. "We're keeping him alive until further notice." She was about to step towards him, but Dean got in the way. "Come on. Let's go. He's made his choice." "Where's Daryl?" Rylee asked Rick. He looked at her. "Takin' Randall back to the shed." She just nodded and turned, walking away. Once she made it to the shed, she saw Daryl push Randall inside. She followed and went in. "What happened?" she asked him and he turned around and shrugged. "We can't let 'im live," she told him. "Ain't up ta me," Daryl replied. Rylee shook her head. "Whatever." "Look, I don't like it either, but it's Rick's call," he said. She just sighed. "Yeah," she told him. "I know." Rylee stood and watched as he tied Randall back up. But then he stopped and looked at Rylee. "You hear tha'?" he asked. She listened to and her eyes widened. There were cries out in the distance and Daryl grabbed the lantern and bolted passed Rylee. "Move!" He shoved her out of the way and she ran behind him.
The two rushed out into the pasture where they heard the yelling coming from. "Where's he at?" Rylee asked Daryl in a panicked matter. "Sounds like it's over here. Come on!" Daryl lead the way as they dashed through the field. Soon, there was something visible laying in the grass. They both ran as fast as they could when they realized it was a walker hovering over someone. Suddenly, Daryl dove and tackled the walker to the ground and shoved a blade into it's skull. "Dale…" Rylee breathed out. "Dale…oh my god…" She couldn't do anything but stand there and stare at him. It was too late. The walker that had pinned Dale down and ripped his abdomen open and his insides were exposed to the outside air. Daryl made his way over then waved his arms and shouted. "Help! Over here! Help! Run!" They both knelt down beside him and Rylee looked into his eyes. "Hold on, Dale. We're gettin' help. Jus' hang in there." "Hang on there, buddy," Daryl said to him as the others ran over. Rick made it over and got on his knees next to Dale, turning his head towards him. "Dale, just listen to my voice. Just listen to me, alright?" Rylee suddenly felt a pair of strong arms around her. It was Dean. "Don't look, Rylee," he whispered to her. "Get Hershel," she heard Rick call. But after that, all she could hear was Dale's groans of pain. She couldn't stand the sight of him there on the ground helpless. He was just as alive as the rest of them not even a couple hours ago. Now, there he lay, ripped open and bleeding out. "Don't look at him," Dean said to her once again. But she couldn't help it.
It wasn't long before Hershel had made his way over. "What happened?" he asked as he knelt down onto the grass. "Can we move him?" Rick asked, turning to Hershel. "He won't make the trip," he answered. "We have to do the operation here. Glenn, get back to the house," he ordered as he stood. "Rick," Hershel said as he grabbed his shoulder. Rick looked at him and all he did was shake his head. Rick squatted back down and watched as Dale flinched and cried out in pain. "He's suffering," Andrea said. "Do something!" Rick slowly pulled out his gun and aimed it at Dale's head with a shaky hand. He just stood there, aiming it at his head. He couldn't do it. He couldn't shoot Dale. But then someone's hand laid on top of Rick's and it belonged to Daryl. He took the gun from Rick and got down on one knee next to Dale. He looked him right in the eyes as he aimed it. "Sorry, brother," he said softly and kept his hand steady. There was only a second of hesitation before Daryl pulled the trigger. And that was the end of Dale.