The ride into town was fairly quick. Daryl and I kept quiet as we stalked though a few stores, me grabbing what I needed. I managed to find Shay and Cheyenne a few things as well, clothes seemed to be everywhere. As soon as my duffel bag was packed, Daryl gave me a smirk.
"Ready yet?" He huffed playfully. I gave him a sly grin and began walking back toward the front door of the shop we were in.
"Ready." I said quietly, and I could hear him behind me. Looking out of the door, I stepped outside of the shop. Suddenly, Daryl grabbed my arm, pulling me back inside. Pushing me against the wall, he leaned his face close to mine.
"Where ya goin'?" He whispered, then his mouth was on mine. Putting one hand around his neck, I pulled him closer, welcoming the kiss. Then, just as quickly as it started, he pulled back.
"Let's go." Daryl said gruffly. I nodded and turned back toward the door, my heart racing. Daryl just...kissed me.. Wow..he just...what? My brain was reeling as I tried to focus on my surroundings. Seeing nothing, I walked quickly over to the motorcycle and waited for Daryl. Once he was on, I hopped on behind him and got myself situated. When he glanced back at me, I flashed him a quick thumbs up and he started the bike.
I held on tight as we rode back to the farm. Every now and then, Daryl would speed up, causing me to hold on tighter. Laughing, I snaked my arms all the way around his waist and watched the scenery fly by. Any other time, this would have been a perfect moment. Riding with Daryl, feeling free as the wind whipped through my hair.
Before I knew it, the perfect ride was over. I could see the Greene's mailbox in sight, and Daryl slowed down as he turned down the driveway. I could see, what looked like, T-Dog on top of the RV. Daryl rode up toward his tent area and stopped the motorcycle. Climbing off, I sat my duffel bag down and started to take off his vest jacket.
"Keep it." Daryl grunted. I stopped and looked up at him.
"You love this vest." I said quietly.
"Looks good on you." Daryl smirked. "Jus' keep it for now. Too hot for me out here." Feeling butterflies in my stomach, I nodded.
"Thanks." I shrugged my arm back into the sleeve and picked up my duffel bag. I started to turn away, but stopped. "You goin' out?"
"For a bit." Daryl said. I shifted the duffel bag over my shoulder and walked up to him. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. I smiled lightly at the way he tensed up when I touched him. "Thanks for the ride."
He gave me a grunt, as I turned away and began walking down toward the camp area. Passing by the RV, I saw T-Dog and gave him a wave. He looked in the direction I had been coming from and shook his head. Waving him off, I laughed and walked over to my tent. Peeking inside, I saw no one.
"T?" I looked back at T-Dog. "Where's Shay and Chy?"
"Last I saw, they were walkin' up to the house. Haven't seen 'em since." T-Dog replied. Walking away from the RV, I headed toward the house. Seeing Rick and Lori, I walked up to them, giving Rick a smile.
"Seen Shay or Chy?" I asked, looking at Rick.
"Cheyenne was playing with Carl... I think Shay's inside." Rick said. I gave him a thankful smile and walked up the stairs to the house. Stopping at the door, I almost knocked, but just walked inside instead. When I got to the kitchen, I saw Maggie and Shay sitting at the table talking.
"Hey Spencer." Shay gave me a grin. "We were just talking about you."
"Oh, Lord. What about?" I sat down beside her, plunking my duffel bag to the floor.
"Daryl." Maggie began smiling. I rolled my eyes and laid my head on the table.
"Really, y'all?" I asked, picking my head up with a glare.
"I think y'all are cute together." Maggie cooed.
"We ain't together." I said, feeling my cheeks burn.
"Your face is telling a different story." Shay giggled.
"We ain't! For real." I tried not to smile.
"Yea, right." Maggie laughed. "I know love birds when I see 'em."
"Yea, you and Glenn!" I smiled at her.
"You and Daryl." Shay said. "It's so obvious, I mean, he even let you wear his vest."
"He took me into town. Had to wear somethin' warm." I tried to plead my case.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So what did you two do in town?" Shay raised her eyebrows and Maggie giggled.
"Nothin'! Really! I just got us some clothes. You, Chy, and myself. All I've been doin' is sleepin' in his tent." I gave them a serious face. "Seriously, that's it."
"You got us clothes?" Shay's eyes lit up.
"Yea, gettin' colder out." I unzipped my duffel bag and handed her the clothes I had picked up for her. The three of us sat there talking and laughing until Rick walked through.
"Gonna have a meeting about Randall. I'm going to get the others now." Rick said, and we all looked at each other for a moment before standing up. I walked out onto the porch to see Carl and Cheyenne walking up to the house, both looking dirty. Damn, them kids sure do get dirty quick.
"Let's gather up." Rick announced.
"Come on Carl, I want you to stay with Jimmy." Lori said.
"But, I-I wanna listen." Carl tried.
"Nah, uh. Not this time. Come on." Lori instructed, and Carl followed her.
"Why don't you go with Carl?" I said to Cheyenne.
"Okay." Cheyenne said simply, following Carl. "Carl, what if they-"
"Shhh." I heard Carl whisper, and I saw Cheyenne nod her head as they walked inside. The hell's that all about? I wondered as I watched Carl stop near Daryl. Cheyenne stopped too, waiting on Carl. Lori and Rick looked at the two, and they realized they weren't getting their way this time. As the two kids went to sit with Jimmy, I walked over beside Daryl. We glanced at each other, but said nothing.
"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn broke the silence.
"Does it have to be anonymous?" Andrea asked.
"What about majority rules?" Lori spoke up.
"Well let's, let's just see where everybody stands. Then we can talk through the options.." Rick instructed.
"Hell, the way I see it, there's only one way to move forward." Shane said from across the room.
"Killing him. Right?" Dale's voice was raised. "I mean, why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind is blowing."
"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I wanna know." Rick looked at Dale.
"Well I can tell you it's a small group. Maybe just me and Glenn." Dale said quietly.
"Look, I... I think you're pretty much right about everything." Glenn spoke up, looking at Dale. "All the time, but this-"
"They've got you scared!" Dale's voice rose again.
"He's not one of us." Glenn said, and my eyes immediately darted over to Katherine. "And we, we've lost too many people already." Dale was silent for a moment. Then he looked at Maggie.
"How about you, do you agree with this?" Dale asked.
"Couldn't we continue keepin' him prisoner?" Maggie asked Rick.
"Jus' another mouth to feed." Daryl spoke up, and I glanced at him.
"It may be a lean winter." Hershel caught my attention.
"We could ration better." Lori advised. Nice, comin' from you, preggo. I thought.
"Or he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself." Dale argued.
"Put him to work." Glenn suggested.
"We're not lettin' him walk around." Rick said firmly.
"You could put an escort on him." Maggie said.
"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane sneered slightly.
"I will!" Dale replied.
"I don't think any of us should be walkin' around with this guy." Rick said, his hand held up.
"He's right, I-I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori mumbled.
"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labor." Andrea shook her head.
"Look," Shane spoke again, "say we let 'em join us, right? Maybe, maybe he's helpful. Maybe he's..nice. We let our guard down, maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men." I looked at Shane, but when I heard Dale's voice, my eyes darted back to him.
"So the answer's to kill him to prevent a crime he may never even attempt?" Dale's voice had risen once again. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead, there is no civilization."
"Oh, my God." Shane mumbled, and I shot him a glare.
"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Hershel asked Rick.
"You barely came back this time." Lori said, and I let out an agitated huff. I felt something press against my lower back. I glanced over at Daryl, shaking my head. "There are walkers, you could break down, y-y-you could get lost."
"Get ambushed." Daryl threw in.
"They're right." Glenn agreed. "We should not put our own people at risk."
"If you go through with it.." Patricia looked at Rick. "How would you do it? Will he suffer?"
"Could hang him, right? Jus' snap his neck." Shane's voice was quiet.
"I thought about that." Rick admitted. "Shooting may be more humane."
"And, uh..what about the body? What do we do with-" T-Dog was cut off.
"Wh-wh-whoa, whoa, hold on! Hold on. You're talking about this like it has already been decided." Dale interrupted.
"We been talkin' all day." Daryl's hand slipped from my back. "Goin' 'round in circles, you jus' wanna go 'round circles again?"
"This is a young man's LIFE! And it is worth more than a five minute conversation!" Dale argued. "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with them? You saved him! And now look at us. He's been tortured. He's gonna be executed... How are we any better than those people that we're so afraid of?" I looked over at Maggie, who looked like she might cry. I felt the same way because of Dale's reaction to all of this.
"We all know what needs to be done." Shane said firmly.
"No, Dale is right." Rick said. "We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have responsibilities-"
"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked,
"Let Rick finish." Lori snapped.
"We haven't come up with a single, viable option yet. I wish we could-" Andrea was speaking when Dale snapped again.
"SO LET'S WORK ON IT!" Dale bellowed.
"We are-"
"Stop it! Just stop it. I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting!" Carol looked around. "I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please decide, either of you, both of you. But leave me out." Carol shrugged.
"Not speaking out or killing him yourself. There's no difference." Dale said.
"All right, that's enough." Rick's voice was firm.
"I can take him out somewhere." Sam offered.
"Hell no you're not!" I looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Anybody wants the floor, before we make a final decision, has the chance." Rick said, stepping back. Maggie and Patricia sat down. No one said a word.
"You once said that we don't kill the living." Dale began trying again with Rick.
"Well, that was before the living tried to kill us." Rick mumbled.
"But don't you see? If we do this, th-the people that we were, the world that we knew..is dead! And this new world is ugly... It's harsh. It's," Dale began stuttering, "a survival of the fittest. And that's a world I don't wanna live in. And I-I don't believe that any of you do. I can't! Please... Let's just do what's right." Everyone was silent and I could see tears in Dale's eyes. "Isn't there anyone else that's gonna stand with me?" No one said a word and I couldn't take it.
"We should find another way." I said, and I saw Daryl glance at me. Dale looked at me with shock in his eyes, and I saw Shane whip his head up to glare. I glared back.
"He's right... Spencer's right. We should try to find another way." Andrea's voice surprised me. I glanced over at her, giving her a thankful look.
"Anybody else?" Rick asked. No one spoke. Rick turned back to Dale.
"Are you all gonna watch, too? Nah, you'll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we're slaughtering a human being... Whoa... I won't be a party to it." Dale walked toward Daryl and I. Resting a hand on Daryl's shoulder he said, "This group is broken.", then he walked out the door.
Frustrated for Dale, I left the room as well, walking outside. I kept walking until I reached the RV and climbed up on top to the roof. Sitting down, I took my gun from my waist band and looked toward the barn. I heard feet coming up the ladder, but I didn't bother looking over to see who it was.
"You mad?" Daryl asked, sitting beside me.
"No, just upset." I admitted.
"Really wanna save that kid?" Daryl looked into my eyes. I sighed.
"Honestly? I dunno. But I damn sure don't wanna see Dale like that." I shook my head. "Shane's a real shit job." I dug in jean pocket to retrieve my cigarettes. Grabbing one from the box, I lit it up. I handed the box to Daryl, who took one as well.
"Gotta run down to the barn. Stay here.. I'll be back." Daryl said, tucking the cigarette behind his ear. I shook my head, taking a hit from my cigarette. Exhaling, I watched him climb down the ladder and trudge toward the house. I looked over to see Daryl, Rick, and Shane leading Randall to the barn.
I looked away, not wanting to hear or see any of it. I knew that was impossible, but I tried to think of something else. Everyone seemed to come to the camp area, just sitting around not saying much. I kept quiet, thinking about Daryl, when I heard footsteps. Looking down, I saw Rick appear with Carl.
"We're keepin' him in custody. For now." Rick announced, and I blew out a breath.
"I'm gonna find Dale." Andrea said with a smile, and I jumped up from the RV.
"Andrea?" I looked down at her. "I wanna come with you."
"Of course." Andrea gave me a sincere smile and I climbed down from the RV. We walked along in silence, looking around for Dale. Surely he hadn't gotten too far.
"Man, where'd he go?" I mumbled, as we walked toward the pond.
"I don't know... I thought maybe he'd have come out this way..." Andrea trailed off as we looked around for any sign of him.
"Think maybe he-" I was cut off by a scream.
"HELLLPAHHHHH!"
"The hell? That Dale?" I looked at Andrea. "The field?"
"I think so, come on!" Andrea and I raced toward the field, yelling.
"DALE? DALE?" We were both calling out to him getting no answer. I heard a blood curdling scream and I could see something ahead. A walker on top of Dale. Daryl reached them first, bulldozing the walker off of Dale and stabbing it in the head.
"HELP! OVER HERE!" I could see Daryl waving his arms. I could hear the groups cries as we reached Dale, blood pouring from his stomach. His insides were visible, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from being sick. Rick was talking to Dale, who was making noises, but couldn't speak.
"GET HERSHEL!" Rick yelled.
"Hang on, Dale. Hang on." Andrea knelt down beside him, and I knelt down with her.
"Dale..." I looked at him with tears in my eyes.
"HERSHEL, WE NEED HERSHEL!" Rick screamed.
"Look at me.." Andrea was talking to Dale, and everyone seemed to be speaking at once.
"What happened?" Hershel was at Dale's side.
"What can we do?" Rick asked. "Can we move him?"
"We can't.." I whispered.
"He won't make the trip." Hershel shook his head.
"We have to do the operation here, Glenn get back to the house-" Rick started, but Hershel put a hand on his arm, stopping him.
"Rick!" Hershel shook his head.
"NOO!" Rick spun around, angry and hurt. Dale was gurgling and gagging, wincing in pain. Rick knelt down beside him, gun in hand.
"He's dyin'!" I was crying now. I looked over to see Carl and Cheyenne standing nearby, staring at the dead walker. Shay grabbed a crying Cheyenne, while Carl cried, running over to Lori.
"He's suffering...DO SOMETHING!" Andrea cried.
"PLEASE!" I yelled, watching Dale wince in pain. Rick stood over Dale, his gun aimed down.
"Oh, God." Andrea moved away crying. Daryl picked me up off the ground.
"I'm sorry." Daryl whispered in my ear, before walking over to Rick. He took the gun from Rick's hand, and looked down at Dale, aiming the gun at his head. Daryl knelt down, and looked up at me, his eyes pleading for me to look away. I kept my eyes on his until he looked back down at Dale. "Sorry brother." The gunshot was loud as it echoed through my ears.
Well, that's ch. 20 ! A bit short, but it had a cute moment in the beginning ! Dale's death was sad :( I hate watching that part... But anyways, the REVIEWS are GREATLY APPRECIATED and I am so happy that you all are enjoying this story ! I will update soon !
~Kaila