Footsteps of the Damned

Chapter 25 - The Great Debate

When we returned we finally returned to the group, we had been greeted by curious, yet expectant looks.

"The boy's got a gang," Daryl started, knowing what they wanted to hear. "Thirty men, heavy artillery, and they're not lookin' to make friends. If they come through here, the men will be dead and the women-" He paused and glanced at me for a second. "- they'll wish they were."

The group exchanged glances, most of them falling on Rick, but Carol's gaze turned towards Daryl's hand.

"What did you do?"

A frown formed on my lips, but Daryl took the question in stride. "We had a little talk."

She knew that wasn't the whole story, but she also knew that's all Daryl was going to give her.

"No one goes near him," Rick ordered, making sure everyone heard him. "Once we discuss it tonight we can deal with him."

Approving nods were shared as Daryl turned heel and walked off. I had nothing that needed to be done so I followed after him silently. If anything, I was more curious about where he's been hiding out.

"Got nothin' better to do?" He questioned, not bothering to turn around.

"Pretty much," I shrugged, stopping beside him as we reached his little camp. "Someone's been busy."

He huffed in amusement and moved over to where his crossbow was laying. "Better off on my own anyway."

I gave him a curious look, ready to question my presence, but he shook his head.

"Not you," he corrected, lifting an arrow to examine it. "The group's broken. We're better off fending for ourselves."

My brows furrowed, "why do you think that...?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but closed it quickly, his gaze focussed behind me.

"We're over here to get away from you people," he grumbled.

"It isn't that easy," Dale replied.

I turned and gave him an apologetic smile for Daryl's cold shoulder.

"Did Carol send you?" Daryl questioned.

"She's not the only one concerned about you-"

Daryl cut him off with a groan. "Not this crap again. You gonna kiss me too?"

My cheeks flushed at his comment, but Dale just chuckled.

"I'm here about Randall," Dale clarified.

"Don't really care what happens to 'im, s'long as I don't hav'ta see his baby face."

Dale stepped closer to Daryl, watching as he sorted through some arrows. "So live or die, you don't care what happens to him?"

Daryl nodded.

"So then help me keep him alive since you don't care either way."

I looked between the two as they spoke, slightly surprised that they were able to keep a civil conversation for so long.

"None of 'em care 'bout my opinion."

"Rick does."

"Rick only looks to Tyreese," Daryl shot back, "and they're too busy buttin' heads. This group is broken."

Dale frowned at his attitude and turned to me hopefully. "You see that killing him is wrong, right Riley?"

I knew that he wanted me to agree, but it wasn't that simple.

"Dale..."

He instantly picked up on my hesitance, the frown returning. "Not you too..."

"I just-" I paused nervously, not wanting to upset Dale. "Just give me some more time to think about it."

It wasn't easy to decide to kill a human, but since it had been the undertone decision of the group, not many felt the need to say anything. Dale was the only one in the group to speak up and give his two cents on the situation. He didn't want Randall to be killed and he was trying his hardest to convince everyone else it was the right thing to do. I'm sure by now everyone knew where he stood on the decision and even though everyone had pretty much brushed him off, he still stood up for the boy's life.

I felt bad for Dale, having to plead his case, to beg for this boy's life, while everyone just sat listening in silence.

"Are you willing to kill a boy for a crime he may never commit?" Dale continued. He pointed to Maggie. "Do you want him killed?"

She was hesitant, but spoke up after a moment. "Couldn't we just keep him as a prisoner?"

"Just another mouth to feed," Daryl dejected.

It surprised me when Lori spoke up. "We can ration better."

"Or he can be an asset," Dale argued. "Give him a chance to prove himself."

"Or to escape and lead his gang to us," Tyreese shot back.

The two men stared each other down, neither willing to back down.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy," Rick intervened.

"So we kill him?" Dale questioned sceptically. "If we do this, we're saying that there is no hope- rule of law is dead- there is no civilization."

Tyreese scoffed and shook his head. The rest of the group wasn't so vocal about it, but I could tell they weren't ready to support Dale. I didn't doubt that some of the people in the group didn't want to kill him, but the lack of options made it difficult to argue.

The defeated look in Dale's eyes broke my heart. It seemed pointless to stand beside him now, but at the same time, what harm would it do to show Dale that someone has his back. I mean, I didn't want to kill Randall, and I'd hope no one else enjoyed the thought of it, so maybe we could find another way. I bit my lip for a moment then stood up suddenly, the group's attention turning to me instantly.

"There's got to be another way..." I started, my voice lacking the confidence I had mustered up. "If we drive him far enough out-"

"We tried that already," Tyreese shot back.

I swallowed hard, realizing how difficult it was to stand up and be the opposition. I glanced around the room, gazing over the passive looks. Most of the group looked as if they didn't want to bother speaking, like they just wanted this over with, while Andrea and Glenn at least looked like they were thinking about what was being said. The last two, Aleah and Daryl, gave me looks telling me I was wasting my time.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, ready to back down when Dale placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me an encouraging nod. I wasn't necessarily doing this for Randall, but for Dale instead. I could tell this decision meant a lot to him, so I wanted to do my best to help him out. I took a deep breath before continuing.

"Who's going to kill him then?" I questioned, looking around as my gaze was avoided. "Carol, are you going to do it? Lori, what about you?"

I hated to call them out like this, but I had a point that needed to get across. When I realized killing the boy was probably our only option, I at least would make sure to be there when it was being followed through with. Neither woman responded as I had suspected.

"So it falls on Rick's shoulders?" My attention then turned to Rick, his features acknowledging that he knew it was his responsibility. "Are you all going to come watch then? It only seems fair that if you make the decision, you should be there to see the outcome."

"Enough of this crap," Tyreese cut in. "We have to kill him and that's that."

My jaw clenched as a few nods spread around the room. Was this seriously going to become a competition of who could be the loudest? Now I just wanted to win the debate for the sake of Tyreese losing. It was terrible motivation, I know, but still. He wasn't being open minded or even considering what was being said. Sure, I was contradicting myself on several occasions and jumping from one side to the other on the decision, but it was a decision that needed a lot of thought.

I looked over to Rick, but the look on his face didn't agree. At that point, I knew our debate was nearing an end. The statement hanging on the tip of my tongue was itching to be blurted out. I could see the look on Dale's face dulling as each second passed and I didn't like it.

"I'll take him a few miles out," I informed, making sure it wasn't a question.

"We already-"

I cut Rick off with a wave of my hand. "I'm not offering and I'm not asking. I'll do it."

It was quiet for a while, before Glenn spoke up.

"We just got you back, Riley-"

"And you'll get me back in a day or two-"

"Are you going to take Daryl with you again?" Tyreese questioned angrily. "Your trips are lowering our defence and wasting supplies!"

Tyreese wasn't a bad man, I knew he had a good heart, but he was pushing buttons that he shouldn't be pushing.

"My trip brought Sophia back and got to the CDC before it blew up!"

Most of the group looked startled by the news, but I ignored it and pressed forward. Now I was just pissed off.

"Most of our supplies and gas was from me anyway, so don't even start!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I took a step back, calming myself down. The group was silent after that, either scared or in thought before Rick spoke up.

"If you've set your mind on it, I can't stop you," he stated, looking a bit relieved, yet worried.

A grin worked it's way to my lips as Tyreese walked out of the room in a huff.

It didn't take long after that for everyone else to leave the farm house and make their way back to their tents. I had offered a spot in my van to Aleah, but she told me there wasn't enough room, before implying what might have happened in the back seat I had denied it, because nothing had happened, but she brought her stuff over to Carol and Sophia's tent anyway.

My next instinct was to go find Daryl, who was most likely off in his new home base, so I whistled Thor over and started the small hike. It was the closest thing to a 'walk' we've had in a while so I was certain he was loving every minute of it- until Dale's scream echoed across the field.

I froze momentarily, unsure of which direction he was in, but as soon as Thor took off across the grass, I chased after him. The farther out we got, the harder my heart pumped. What was he doing out here on his own in the dark?

As soon as the outline of a walker on top of Dale came into sight, Thor bound forward and tackled it to the ground, giving me a chance to check on Dale.

"Are you okay? Did you get bit?"

I was surprised he understood the words flying from my lips.

"You got here just in time," he answered breathlessly.

I gave him a quick nod before looking over to where Thor had the walker pinned down.

"Atta boy."

I took a breath before sliding a blade from its sheath and approaching the walker. I could hardly make out what happened in the next moment. There were shouts from the others as they approached, Dale's panicked voice, and then someone- or something- grabbed me from behind.

I turned to swing my blade at the walker, but I lost my footing and tumbled down the small incline, the walker tangled up with me. Pain shot through each part of my body as we fell, the back of my head being the last that I felt as I hit the ground, the walker over my body. It clawed and snapped at me as I tried to push it away, but it was just dead weight above me and I knew it wouldn't take long for it to overpower me.

Just when I thought it would sink it's teeth into my neck, it was suddenly pulled off of me and Daryl plunged his knife into it's skull.

I didn't move from the spot, opting to just lay there and catch my breath. The cool grass felt nice against my newly forming bruises, but it wasn't long before Daryl was in front of me, pulling me to my feet.

I guess I'd have to add that to the list of times he's saved my ass.

Footnote:

So... I changed a lot in this one, in my opinion, for the better. I'm kind of worried about how everyone will take Riley's decision though. Hopefully I explained enough of what she was thinking.

Oh, and for everyone reading and thinking "Where's the smut? She said there'd be smut!", rest assured, all your cookies are in the mail and there will be smut in the next chapter. :)

And the story has reached over 100 reviews because I have the most awesome readers :D You guys rock!