CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"The Vote"

The six women were engaged in light chatter with one another as they came to the end of the path leading back into camp. Carol glanced up, looking for the kids—or, more specifically, Sophia—and eventually her gaze settled on her daughter, but she wasn't playing. Actually, she noticed . . . none of them were. Well, Darrien and Sahale were passing their ball back and forth with one another, but the others were all sitting on the dirt, a few drawing in the sand. Sophia, however, was just staring blankly into the ground, Carl by her side.

Carol's brow knit in confusion—when they had left, the children all seemed to be getting along well with one another. "I wonder why they aren't playing," Carol said worriedly, and Lori's confused expression softened as she rubbed Carol's shoulder.

"I'm sure it's nothing," she said comfortingly, giving Carol a soft smile. "You know how kids are. They probably played themselves tired and are just regaining a bit of energy before the next round."

Carol flashed Lori a smile. "You're probably right. Let's go see how they're doing."

Amy stretched her hands out to both women. "I can take your bags and we'll go drop them off with the other food," she offered, and both mothers gave her smiles of thanks as Amy took their sacks of berries and apples.

"Just make sure you don't go sneaking off anymore berries, Elsa," Emily said jokingly, although Elsa's face flushed red.

"Oh," she said, a bit flustered, "I didn't eat many, I promise! Only two . . . or maybe three, but I didn't think it'd matter!"

The other women laughed and Amy clapped her new friend on the shoulder. "She's just joking, Elsa," she said, grinning. "We're not a dictatorship. A couple berries going missing won't be the end of the world," she added with a wink, and Elsa let out a light—if relieved—chuckle.

As the three younger women ventured off towards the tent where food was being stockpiled, the three mothers turned their attention to the children and their play area. "Sophia!" Carol called, and immediately her daughter's eyes snapped to her and a smile came to her face.

"Mama!" she called, getting up and running to Carol before throwing her arms around her neck. She buried her face into her shoulder and suddenly began to shake as tears burst free.

"Honey," Carol said, her expression souring as she stroked her daughter's unruly, strawberry blonde hair. "Honey, what's wrong?"

The others had all been so focused upon Sophia's tears that they didn't hear the footsteps coming up behind them. "I'll tell ya what's wrong," Daryl's voice cut in. All the others flicked their eyes up in surprise to see Daryl, Rick, Shane, Morales, Lee, and Sage gathered together. Continuing, Daryl added, "That lowlife piece of filth that you're married to, he hit your little girl and grabbed Carl because he stood up to him."

Carol's face fell, and her jaw dropped. "Ed . . . hit Sophia?"

Almost in an instant, Daryl noticed the look of horror on Carol's face, and he cleared his throat, shooting an uncertain glance at Rick. Not saying a word, Daryl simply nodded instead.

A tear ran down Carol's cheek as she turned to Sophia. "Honey—did your dad hit you?"

Her face still wet with tears, her eyes red, Sophia nodded. Carol brought her daughter in for a tight hug, kissing her head as she broke down into tears too. "Oh my . . . honey, I'm so sorry, I'm so so so sorry."

Lori raised a hand to her mouth as she glanced to Carl, who had misty eyes himself. Realizing her son's emotional state, Lori held an arm out and her son threw himself into her, finally letting his tears out. From the group of men, Rick stepped forward and knelt down beside his son, placing a hand on each shoulder. "Carl—are you okay, son?"

Carl turned to him and wiped his eyes, nodding. "Y-yeah," he said, and Rick sighed, knowing it was a lie. His son had just seen his best friend get hit by her father, and when he stood up to him, he nearly got the same treatment. Rick felt a tinge of pride within him at his son's quickness to stand up for Sophia, but now was not the time to express his feelings to his son.

"You don't have to worry anymore, Carl. We're going to take care of this. Okay?"

Carl nodded as Rick got up to his feet, turning to the others. "Where's Ed now?" he asked Daryl.

"Went back to his tent, I think," Daryl replied, and as soon as he did, Carol shot up to her feet and began to run towards the tent she and her daughter shared with the man—no, the monster—she had been married to . . . now, she realized, for far too long.

"Carol," Rick said calmly at first, but as she kept running, he shouted her name again as he and the others took off after her.

Sophia began to scramble to her feet before Lori grabbed her, pulling her into a hug. "It's okay, honey, just stay here with us. Your mom will be back in just a second."

Sophia cried into Lori's arm as her eyes followed her mother, running ahead of the men as a prayer flashed through her mind. Don't let Daddy hurt Mama.

Carol snapped open the flap leading into the tent she shared with her family, and Ed turned to look at her. His face, its usual short temperance vanished, looked to be filled with . . . fear? When his eyes took in the angry expression on her face, he frowned. "What's the matter with you?"

"You hit Sophia?"

Ed's mouth twitched as he looked up, away from her. "Listen here—"

"Answer my question," Carol said, her voice short. He turned and looked back at her. Her tone terse, Carol repeated her question. "You hit her?"

Ed groaned. "Look, I called for her and she didn't answer, and whenever I finally found her, that Grimes boy tried to get an attitude and—"

"ENOUGH!" Carol shouted. Ed paused, and his wife continued, "She's just a little girl. He's just a boy. They're trying to get through this . . . this mess the best that they can." Carol paused again, then added, "I thought maybe you could realize that and be a father for at least once. I guess I was wrong."

"Don't talk to me like that," Ed spat, and Carol stiffened, her cheeks glazed with tears.

"No," she replied. "Not anymore." Shaking her head, she reached down and started gathering a few items that were hers and Sophia's. "I'm done with this. All this time that you—you've terrorized me, and even worse, your own daughter." Carol sighed before adding, "I should've left you a long time ago, but I guess I just wasn't strong enough. For me, and for her."

She started to turn, and Ed grabbed her arm. "Don't you walk away from me," he said, and Carol tried to break free. His face full of rage, Ed screamed and, with both hands, shoved Carol with his full force and sent her sprawling from the tent, slamming into the ground. He pushed the flap aside and followed her out but froze when he fully exited the tent.

Daryl was standing down the path, flanked by several other men. Ed recognized them all, knew some better than others, but he didn't really care. What worried him was the looks of anger and rage on their faces, as their gazes swayed from his crying wife on the ground to him, his fists balled.

"I don't have time for this," Ed said before Daryl sprinted forward, bringing a fist back and swinging it forward. It connected with Ed's face as he doubled back, shrieking in pain, and Daryl began to hammer him with punches repeatedly. Ed let out shrieks and cries of pain as Daryl refused to hold back, his punches battering the man unrelentingly.

"Daryl," Rick said, calmly at first, as Carol's body rocked as she cried. Rick looked to the woman, his brain running crazily with wonder as to what exactly was going on in her mind. First, she learned that her husband had hit their daughter, then he had thrown her to the ground, and now Daryl was pummeling his face in. God only knew what other horrors she had experienced in the time she had been married to the man . . .

But she didn't need this . . . not right now. "Daryl," Rick said again, this time more forcefully, but Daryl continued to punch the man. Rick reached out and grabbed Daryl, and the other man started to shove him away before Rick grabbed him. "Hey—that's enough." Daryl paused, and Rick nodded slowly to Carol, her face red from the tears she had cried. "It's over. We'll take care of him."

Daryl inhaled sharply as he shook his hand, now numb with pain. He looked down to Ed, who was lying on the ground, breathing heavily as blood ran down his face. His nose was likely broken, Rick knew, at the very least. Daryl walked to the side, continuing to shake his hand as he looked on in silence.

People had begun to gather around the scene—Lori, Sophia, Carl, and Emily were all standing close to one another, and Sophia ran to her mother, throwing her arms around her as she cried with her. "I'm so sorry, baby," Carol said over and over, her face buried in her daughter's head as they cried.

Rick's eyes went from them to Lori, who was staring back at him. Rick shook his head, almost in disbelief, as he turned to the other men standing near him. "What do we do?" he asked, and Shane shook his head.

"Hell, I'm with Daryl. I've got half a mind to kill the guy."

"Well, we can't do that," Rick said shortly. "He may be a piece of garbage, but he's also a person still."

"Hardly," Shane shot back.

Rick shrugged. "Maybe so, but my point is we can't just kill people . . . just because."

"What do you want then? Let him run free around this place? Around his wife and daughter?" Shane paused, then added, "Around Lori and Carl? You heard Daryl, he grabbed Carl and probably would've hit him too if he didn't come up on them."

Rick nodded. "I know, I know."

"We could banish him," Sage offered. "Tell him to leave the camp, send him on his way. That way we aren't killing him, but he's away from us."

"That does leave a problem though," Shane countered. "He could come back and try to get revenge."

Sage threw up his shoulders. "That could be a possibility. We really don't know. But what other options do we have? Either send him on his way or keep him here. I don't really like that option either."

"We could put it up to a vote," Lee said. "Have everyone in the camp—besides Ed, of course—make up their mind on what they want to do with him."

"Come on now," Shane said with a chuckle. "Do you really think anyone's going to want to keep him around after he's hit his wife and daughter? They're really the only ones who've had any interaction with him, and I doubt they want him here still."

"Maybe," Lee responded, "but we can't make the decisions for everyone. That's not how we should operate. Everyone gets a voice. Not everyone gets their way, but they need to have the opportunity to let their voice be heard."

Rick nodded. "Lee's right. We'll gather everyone up, have a meeting, and we all get to vote. Make our decision tonight, then enact it tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Sage agreed.

"Alright then," Rick said. "Go let the others know. We'll hold the meeting at one o'clock."

"I believe that everything's out in the open." Rick had finally finished addressing the members of the group. Pausing briefly, he let his gaze flow around the faces all watching him or looking off into the forest, mulling over the dilemma that had been placed before them.

To his side, Shane stood, hands on his hips, as he listened to his best friend finish explaining the situation at hand. Rick continued, "We just have to make a decision now how to move forward with all of this."

Ali was seated in a plastic chair, which was making her back hurt particularly bad at the moment. She thought there might've been a stone underneath her tent—when she woke up, she had felt a bit of a stinging pain in her lower back, a few inches above her waist, but thought it might have just been soreness. The pain was still there though.

Silently, Ali cursed herself. How can you be thinking of your own problems at a time like this? Ali pushed her thoughts aside, bringing her focus back to the situation at hand. She had grown to know Carol along with some of the other women in the camp in their trek to collect berries and other fruits, and she couldn't help but feel her heart break for her and her young daughter. She cast a nonchalant glance to them; they were sitting off to the side, next to Lori and Carl. Sophia looked nervous, and likewise shot nervous glances around, as if she was checking to see whether people were staring at her. When her eyes locked with Ali's, Ali felt a tint of red rush to her cheeks before she just gave Sophia a soft, reassuring smile, which the young girl returned.

"I say we off the bastard," Dayana said suddenly, throwing her arms up. Gasps sounded around the group as Rick ran a hand over his face and Elsa snapped at her girlfriend.

To Rick's side, Shane grinned. "I like the way you're thinking."

"Shane, no—no," Rick said firmly. With a sigh, he added, "I know I said I want to hear everyone's thoughts, but . . . I don't think murder is a feasible option." His eyes rested on Dayana, who slunk back into her chair with a cynical smile shadowing across her lips as Elsa's worried eyes shot from her back to Rick.

"I agree," Dale said, the older man rubbing his hands together. "If we start just killing people who make bad decisions, we put ourselves down a road that we really can't turn back from. We begin to lose our humanity."

"But we're not just talking about bad decisions like the guy made some small mistake," Shane said, his tone becoming irritated. "This bastard hit his wife and his little girl. That's not just a mistake, Dale, it's the makings of a damn coward."

Dale held his hands up. "I realize that, Shane—I'm not defending the man at all, I might hate him just as much as you do. All I'm saying is that we can't start just killing whenever it benefits us." He gestures to himself. "What about if the group decides I'm too old and am too much of a burden, huh? Do we decide just to kill the elderly then? Or what about if someone gets sick? Do we pick them to be a lamb led to the slaughter for the good of the others?"

Elsa felt a chill run down her spine and her breath caught in her throat. She ran her tongue over her lips nervously, and Dayana saw her and placed a hand over hers, trying to calm her. Elsa looked into her eyes and Dayana gave her a reassuring nod.

From the middle of the open area, Shane sighed. "Of course not, Dale. These are entirely different cases."

"I know. But someday we might find ourselves in a situation where the question has to be asked, and I'm just afraid that this discussion could set a precedent." Dale glanced around and, seeing all eyes on him, gave a defeated shrug. "That's all."

Silence permeated throughout the group for a bit.

"What about just banishing him? Sending him on his way?" Iago offered up, looking to the others.

Sage nodded. "I was thinking along the same lines. Send him off on his own, so he's away from us and we don't have to deal with the problems that might arise if he's still in the camp with us."

"I do believe that is the right idea," Rick agreed. "Our hands are clean of any bloodshed, but we don't have to keep looking over our shoulders and be afraid of whatever he might do." He paused, then added, "Does anyone else have any ideas they can think of?" When no one responded, Rick nodded. "Alright then. It seems we have our options then." He turned and gestured to Daryl, Glenn, and Sage, who all got up. "We'll hand out a piece of paper to each person here. All you have to do is write on it which option you want." Rick surveyed the group again as he listed the options: "Kill. Banish. Stay. Those are our options."

The three passed out the papers and writing utensils as Rick lifted a box onto a table. "Once you write your choice, you fold the paper and drop it in the box. Then we count up the votes and make our decision." He stepped towards Lori and sat next to her as he began to write on his sheet of paper, then within moments got back to his feet and deposited it in the box and dropped the pen he was holding on the table.

Ali sighed again as she looked down at the sheet of paper in front of her. Pursing her lips, she visualized the different scenarios in her mind. Abusing one's wife and child—that was inexcusable in her mind, so letting him stay was one hundred percent out of the equation. And while her instinctual thing to think was to kill the man, she knew that Dale was right—even though she wouldn't protest him getting the same treatment, which, based on rumors that had swirled throughout camp, he had gotten a taste of.

She shot a sidelong glance to Daryl, who was busy scribbling away at the paper before leaning over to his brother and whispering to Merle, and the two started laughing amongst themselves. Ali felt her heart flutter ever so slightly, picturing Daryl beating the cowardly man after he pried him away from Carl and Sophia. It was such a fairytale-like scene, the brutish looking man having a heart of gold, but it wasn't the most unbelievable thing.

"Dayana, you didn't really write that, did you?"

Ali's eyes snapped to her left, where Elsa was peering onto Dayana's piece of paper as the older woman folded it up, smirking. "Of course I did. He deserves it."

It didn't take a genius to know what Dayana had written. Elsa gnawed at her lip as she looked down at her own piece of paper, and Dayana rested a hand on Elsa's shoulder. "Elsa, listen—this world . . . there are all sorts of people out there, and you're going to see the worst of them when it comes to the end." She paused, then briefly scanned the area around. In a more hushed tone, she added, "We don't know what all these people here are capable of. Shit—we don't even know what we're capable of."

Elsa's eyes fluttered as she narrowed them slightly. "W-what do you mean?"

Dayana sighed, biting her lower lip. "Hopefully you never have to find out, sweetheart."

Before Elsa could move, Dayana got to her feet. "Go on, write it down. I'll take them both to the box." Elsa sighed as she scrawled something on the paper before folding it and handing it to Dayana, and she walked towards the box. Ali sighed as she looked back down at the scrap of paper before her and scrawled down, Banish.

Dahlia, Sahale, Darrien, and Evelyn trudged towards Carl and Sophia, who were sitting with their mothers. Dahlia eyed Sophia with a bit of concern in her eyes, before turning to Carl. "Hey," she said, and Carl glanced at her and offered her a smile.

"Hey," Carl replied as Sophia nodded to them. Dahlia couldn't help but notice how quiet Sophia had been since the encounter with her father in front of the others. She wondered if she'd even said ten words to Carl since it happened; she certainly hadn't heard that many.

"Have you guys filled out those stupid pieces of paper yet?" Darrien asked wide-eyed, snorting a laugh before Dahlia shot him an icy glare.

"They're not stupid, nitwit," Evelyn said. "They're very important."

"Uh-huh," Darrien replied, almost absentmindedly. "Anyways, do you guys want to finish our game?"

"Um," Carl started, glancing to Sophia, "I don't know about right now." He bit his lip nervously, looking at Dahlia for understanding. "Y'know."

Dahlia understood. "Yeah." She nudged Darrien. "We can go ahead and get started up again. They'll join us later." She looked at Sophia and said, "Right?" trying to prod the older girl into some more interaction.

Sophia gave her a slight smile. "Right," she said softly, her voice barely audible.

"Come on, guys," Dahlia said as she and the other three kids took off towards their designated play area.

Carl turned back to Sophia, looking at her scrap of paper as she scribbled on it. He tried to peer at it, but she had her hand up to block out any outside readers from observing what she had written. "Hey, Sophia, I . . . um . . . I can take your paper and put it in the box for you, if you'd like."

Sophia's head shot up, and she quickly nodded, her strawberry blonde locks bouncing from side to side. "Oh, no, Carl, that's okay. I'll take it there in a second."

Carl sighed as she lowered her head again. He wanted to say something, anything to get his friend back to her normal self, talking and laughing and playing with him like . . . like a kid. Like they were supposed to. But she had been quiet, reserved, almost distant since her father had grabbed him and hit her.

Carl's mind instantly went to the man, sitting alone at his tent. He hadn't been invited to the meeting—as expected—and Carl had really been hoping that the man would've just up and left them entirely while they met. He doubted it would happen, though—Ed Peletier didn't have spine enough to go out on his own when he had others to cower behind.

"Well," Carl started, "I guess I'll go drop this off in the box and go find my dad. I think he's talking with Shane."

"Okay," Sophia said. Carl sighed as he started off before Sophia jumped up. "Wait!" she said suddenly, and Carl spun on his heel. Sophia rubbed her arm nervously before she said, "T-thanks for standing up for me." Sophia flashed him a soft smile. "It . . . it means a lot that you did that for me, Carl."

Carl felt his cheeks redden. "Oh. Um . . . of course." Carl felt stupid as he tried to force out whatever words worked well together. "I . . . I just couldn't let him talk to you like that. I couldn't stand to see you so upset—" Carl paused, and he knew his face had to be as red as a tomato. Did I really just say that? "Well, um—yeah. That's what it was. I—erm—I've gotta go!" Carl quickly turned and jogged off.

Sophia kept rubbing her arm nervously and turned around, only to find her mother and Lori both staring at her, trying to cover the smiles on their faces. "Mom?" Sophia said curiously, her eyes flicking from one woman to the other. "W-why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Carol chuckled, the first time she had since the whole meeting business had begun. "Oh, honey—it's nothing. It's just . . . so good to see that you and Carl are such sweet friends." Lori nodded in agreement as Sophia, as confused as ever, turned away perplexedly and sat back down, looking down at the scrap of paper before her.

As she did, she felt a chill run down her spine as her eyes scanned the one word written down, reading it over repeatedly in her mind.

Kill.

A/N: Hello everyone! As you probably could tell, I took a brief break from working on the story, but my brief hiatus is now over and I am back at work on this story! Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter, and while it wasn't necessarily action-packed, it definitely helped progress the story of this group of characters forward. And yes, I know that the OCs were not particularly front and center of this entire chapter, but the next few will slowly ease the others into their own respective times in the spotlight. As always, I look forward to hearing all of your feedback on this newest chapter! Thank you all for reading and keeping up with this story! Until next time.