Here we are, where it all kicks off. But I'm so glad you're all liking it!
Disclaimer I don't own The Walking Dead, just my ocs and plotlines.
Callie's POV
Everyone at camp heard about what happened to Beth, and that Andrea was at fault. It didn't bring any brownie points for Amy, she was not happy with her sister. It resulted in more arguing and Harriett and Tabby escorting Amy away to cool off. Andrea had given up on looking at other people to defend her but no one did.
She was worried about Rick and Shane, they haven't come back yet. They were meant to be back an hour ago. But she had to keep a level head, to not worry the others. She was out looking at the road, this should be where they come back.
Dale walked up to her. "You don't need to worry, I'm sure your brother is fine."
She smiles. "I hope so."
It still felt weird to her that the group knew that they were siblings, but it was nice that it was out in the open. No more secrets. Well only one which could be a lie. But something about the way Jenner had said it, he was terrified, it made her believe it and she was sure Rick believed it too. Why else would he shoot Tony in the head after she had killed him?
Callie looked back at the camp, seeing Glenn playing the guitar while Jeremy taught him, surrounded by Connor, Maya, Carl, Daisy and Richie. Josie was sitting down nearby, with Carol coddling her. Andrea was on top of the RV, technically the new outcast of the group.
"I don't want them to worry just yet." She tells the man and he nods.
"I'm sorry for what you had to do out there." He tells her and she looks at him.
Her throat bobbed, tears were in her eyes. "I still see them." She quickly blinks them away.
She still sees the light leave their eyes, but she has to stay sane, for the group. She is a leader now, she has to maintain herself for them.
He just looks at her with caring eyes and rubs her shoulder.
Just then they hear a car and see the Hyundai approach the farm. Oh, thank god.
However, when the door opens and a beaten up Rick and a bloody and bruised Shane step out. The group looks at them worried and confused.
"What happened?" Callie asks her brother, who just looks at Daryl.
Shane opens the trunk and the group looks at each other. Callie shares a look with Jeremy. Why didn't they get rid of him?
"Take him to the shed and interrogate him." Rick orders him and Daryl immediately goes to Shane and they both drag a tied up Randall out of the car.
Shane doesn't make a move to help him along so Daryl just guides a hobbling Randall to the shed.
"Let's clean you up." Tabby grabs Shane and guides him to the RV while the rest of them look at Rick.
"Come on." Rick moves towards the house while Callie follows.
She notices the group not following, it feels weird being the leader, that everyone knows to leave herself and Rick talk.
They enter the house and see Hershel and Noa at the table. They look up to see a beaten up Rick.
Hershel already knows the drill before they follow him into another room, the room where a few of their people have been in now. Carl, Connor, Daryl, Beth... the list is growing larger by the day.
"What happened?" Hershel asks after Rick sits down.
Rick hisses as the rubbing alcohol touches his face. "Shane." It was the only answer that he gave and both of them understood.
But now they knew they had a choice, and they couldn't trust Shane to be around Randall. But she knew what he did without Rick saying. He must've tried to kill Randall but Rick stopped him. But why and what was said will be just between Rick and Shane.
It was the next day before they were all waiting at the RV, waiting for Daryl to re-emerge from the shed. He's been there a lot yesterday, and majority of the morning.
Shane was sitting quietly by the cars, leaning against them.
Rick was explaining the situation to the group, about what Randall had told them that he knew Maggie and knows where the farm is. But he didn't mention anything about Shane or him getting beaten up, so she could tell everyone was waiting on that information but no one wanted to speak up.
"So, what are you both gonna do?" Tabby asks looking between her and Rick.
"We'd all feel better if we knew the plan." Andrea huffs and everyone could see Amy roll her eyes at her sister's attitude.
"Is there a plan? We gonna keep him here?" Carol asks meekly.
The amount of questions getting fired at them right now was irritating Callie, but she didn't know what they were gonna do until Daryl tells them everything Randall has told him. She knew Randall will tell him everything, he was a kid at the end of the day, plus he told Rick and Shane some stuff out of desperation. So if he was desperate enough to save his own life, he'd sing like a bird.
Rick gives her a look. "We'll know soon enough."
Then they see Daryl approaching the group and everyone falls silent. Waiting for the verdict. Even Shane was standing with the group now. Every single person was here, except the kids. Josie was keeping them away from the discussion much to Carl's annoyance.
"Boy there's got a gang, 40 men. They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women, they're gonna-" he pauses and meets eyes with Callie. "They're gonna wish they were."
"What did you do?" Carol asks him, seeing his split knuckled hand holding his crossbow.
"Had a little chat." Was his only response.
Everyone knew what that meant. She could see Dale look disgusted at Daryl.
"No one goes near this guy." Rick barks at everyone and for once, everyone was on board.
Secretly Callie was hoping that Randall would give info that this group was friendly, and just Dave and Tony and the rest were the dick heads of the group. But now all of them were like that? She knew what they had to do, and so did Rick. But the others look clueless apart from very few.
"Rick, what are you gonna do?"
The silence that Rick had was enough, and Callie don't know what to say either.
Rick continues. "We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat."
"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asks, shocked at Rick's words.
"It's settled. I'll do it today."
Rick walks off and Dale follows him.
It was voted, silently, but everyone was on the same page, apart from Dale. Randall will die.
She walked away from the group, she knew her choice in this. She heard someone following her and almost groaned loudly. They followed her to the barn, whoever it was wanted to talk.
"I want to apologise."
She freezes when she heard Josie's voice.
Okay, she wasn't expecting her. But she should've known. She didn't say anything apart from turning her head, she wanted her to know that she was listening.
"I-I shouldn't have called you a monster for killing those men. You did what you had to do. And I'm so so sorry, Callie. Please, can you forgive me?"
She knew then she couldn't hold a grudge against the pregnant woman. She was their leader. If she continued to act childish in this world, it's going to get someone killed.
"I'll try."
It was all she gave her but she knew that Josie would believe her, so she walked away from her, climbing up the ladder to the loft to watch the farm. Not really a watch but more to think about things.
Callie was sharpening her knife when she saw Dale approach from below.
"Mind if I join you?" He asks and she gestures for him to come up.
When he approached her and sat down, they were both sitting in silence for a moment.
"I know why you're here." Callie was the first one to speak out of the pair of them.
"I'm here about Randall." It was all that Dale gave in response.
She stayed silent for a moment. "What do you want to know?"
"Do you want to save him?"
Ahh he went straight to the point.
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but no." She hates that she has to disappoint Dale. He's a good man. Compassionate, stubborn but he always says his opinion even if you don't want to hear it.
"He's a kid-
She interrupts him. "He's my age. I know. But anyone can be capable of anything now.
He narrows his eyes. "How could you think like that?"
"Maybe if I weren't there that night I'd be on your side but -" she pauses and she could see Dale about to argue again but she couldn't. She knew where she stood. "I can't. I heard what they said they'd do to me. I don't want their people attacking ours. I killed three people, Dale, to stop them from finding us because they didn't hesitate to shoot."
"He may not be like the rest of his people." Dale points out to her.
She purses her lips. "Maybe so. But I don't want to take that risk. That's my decision."
Dale finally goes silent at that. "I remember the first time you came into the quarry. Standing up to Shane to fight for the lives of Daryl and Merle. You fought for them to stay. It's a shame you can't do the same for Randall."
That's when he takes his leave and she falls silent.
"Our humanity is a choice that we get to keep. It may be that they forgot theirs, but if we make this choice, we're no better than them."
She listened to him leave the barn and watches him walk away, he must be on a mission to get people on his side to save Randall.
But is he right?
Tabby's POV
She was counting out the medicine in the RV and sees Dale come in.
"Hi, Dale." She greets with a smile before writing down the amount in each pill bottle left over.
"Hi Tabby." He pauses, looking at her curiously before sitting down opposite her. "What are your thoughts on Randall?" He asks her and she stops what she was doing.
"What?"
She had no idea what he meant. She didn't know the guy, she couldn't exactly put an opinion out there.
"Would you stand with me to save him?" Dale presses and she stays silent for a moment.
She never thought about it, it just slipped her mind that she has to make a decision, make her vote.
"I-I don't know. I haven't thought about it."
Dale looks at her like she was insane. "But you're a doctor-"
"I was an intern, Dale. Not a doctor." She corrects him. Was being a key word, now she was learning as she went, using a book on medicine to help her with her training. She wants to help as much as possible.
He leans forward then. "But you swore the same oath."
She purses her lips. He did find a loop hole. She did swore an oath all that time ago. How she could go back to that moment in time, but she didn't want to relive the fall again.
"I did."
Dale frowns at her then. "So you won't stand with me to save a life?"
She closes her eyes. "I know it may seem harsh, Dale. I just don't know where I stand at the minute. But I can think about it?" She offers to him and he sighs before nodding, accepting the answer.
Damien's POV
He knew they had to kill Randall, did he want to, no. But they had to. If those 40 men came, they wouldn't stand a chance. Even if they had the land, they have the numbers and artillery.
He is keeping Daisy and Richie out of the decision tonight. They are all making a vote on what to do with the kid, but he wants his two youngest siblings out of it. They don't want to make that decision. He doesn't want them to make that decision.
"Damien."
He looks at Dale who was standing there, carrying his gun.
"Dale." He greets the older man.
They both stood there, looking at each other, waiting for the other to speak.
"I want to know where you stand about Randall."
There it is. He knew he came to persuade him.
"He tried to kill Rick, Callie, Hershel and Glenn." He reminds the old man.
Dale nods his head. "He did. But maybe he didn't have a choice." He points out, but it sounded more of a suggestion.
"Neither did our group." Damien retorts back and Dale sighs.
"This kid may have been present, but he's innocent-
"One night I was out scavenging. Trying to get food for my siblings. I saw two kids around his age having an argument. I don't even know what about. But-" he pauses. "I saw one grab a gun and shoot his friend in the head. I have never saw that happen, in the movies it's different. It's less gory. But in person. You see their head split open from the force of it being close range. I saw the lad then pick up a bag and walk away like it was nothing and took off. I remember I walked up to the kid on the floor, and never saw that much brain matter, blood ever in my life. I saw his eye just collapse on the floor." He describes it all to Dale who looked horrified. "That was just one person. Now, we weren't there that night when they were at that bar. But all we know what happened. They shot at them without hesitation and they killed four men. Four. Maybe more. People that are around those kinds are just as bad. They see it happen. They watch it and they like it. But from whatever Randall told Daryl in that shed, it means that he's just like them. But imagine forty of those men. I'm not saying he's guilty, but he's not innocent either. And neither are we. The things that we will have to do to survive and who we are... they are different. That's what separates us from them." He stops and sees Dale sigh and close his eyes in defeat. "My stand? We have to do it."
Callie's POV
She approached the house where many are gathering, well heading inside. She waits outside on the porch with Rick.
"We're gonna do this then?" She asks without looking at him.
"We are." Rick responds.
Callie was nervous. Killing those men at the bar was different, she had to do it. There was no thinking otherwise, it was a kill or be killed situation. But now... they were executing a guy her age. They were making a choice on whether to kill a man or mainly how.
After they watched everyone walk into the house, they entered.
"Come on, Carl. I want you to stay with Jimmy and the others." Lori urges and Carl frowns.
"But I wanna listen." Carl argues.
Lori shakes her head. "Not this time. Come on."
Carl looks ready to bite and looks at Callie for support but she shakes her head at him. This was no place for a kid. He huffs and storms away, past Jimmy who follows after him up the stairs.
The room falls silent and everyone looks at herself and Rick expectantly.
"So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" Glenn breaks the silence.
"Does it have to be unanimous?"
"How about majority rules?"
Callie looks at Rick who nods his head. "Well, let's-let's just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through the options." Rick explains to the group.
"Well..." Shane starts. "... where I sit, there's only one way to move forward."
"Killing him, right?" Dale blurts out, looking at everyone. "I mean, why even bother to even take a vote? It's clear which way the wind is blowing."
Callie was starting to get pissed off. She didn't blame Dale for trying to save Randall, that's what he wanted. But trying to bring others down for their opinion? That's what is pissing her off. Bringing up the fact that she voiced for Daryl and Merle to stay at the quarry, but that was different. They didn't try to kill them before hand, while Randall did.
"It's people's opinions." She retorts back.
Rick steps forward, looking at Dale. "Well, if people believe we should spare him, we wanna know." He gestures between himself and her.
"Well, I can tell you it's a small group- maybe just me, Tabby and Glenn."
At Glenn's name everyone looks at him, who looks skeptical which Dale saw.
"Look, I- I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-
"They've got you scared!" Dale argues at him.
"He's not one of us." Glenn points out to him. "And we've lost too many people already." He adds.
Everyone looks at Tabby who looks pale under everyone's gaze.
"I don't know where I stand. I understand that he's young, but he did try to kill our group." Tabby says and Dale shakes his head unbelievably.
Dale looks at Hershel, who was sitting quietly. "How about you? Do you agree with this?"
Hershel purses his lips together before looking at her and Rick. "Couldn't we continue keeping him prisoner?"
"Just another mouth to feed." Shane mutters and Callie agrees with Shane.
"It may be a lean winter." Damien adds on.
"We could ration better?" T-Dog suggests and Dale looks at him encouragingly, his hat between his hands. He is gripping it like a lifeline at this point.
"Well, he could be an asset. Give him a chance to prove himself."
"Or a threat." Callie reminds Dale and Shane nods his head agreeing with her.
She didn't want to take any chances with Randall. He could get their guard down and hurt one of them before taking off. He could easily wait out his leg to heal before striking.
"Put him to work?" Tabby suggests, clearly she was hoping to get the discussion over with. Or to delay the inevitable.
"We're not letting him walk around." Rick bites back, quickly shutting down the suggestion.
Maggie pipes up. "We could put an escort on him."
Shane huffs. "Who wants to volunteer for that duty?"
"I don't think anyone will." Noa mutters nervously.
"I will." Dale volunteers.
Rick gives him a look. "I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy."
"He's right. I wouldn't feel safe unless he was tied up." Lori adds, supporting her husband.
Andrea rolls her eyes. "We can't exactly put chains around his ankles, sentence him to hard labour."
Shane stands up from leaning against the fireplace. "Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his 40 men."
After he painted that picture, the whole room fell silent. That was what she was afraid of.
"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale asks, his voice raising. His eyes were wildly bouncing around the room to each of them. "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilisation."
"Oh, my god." Shane moans and Rick gives him a pointed look that shuts him up.
"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?" Patricia asks Rick.
Lori shakes her head. "You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down, y-you could get lost."
The group quietens down at that, thinking of Sophia.
"Or get ambushed." Amy adds on.
"They're right." Callie says, looking at Rick who has understanding in his eyes. It looks like he's already made his decision about killing Randall, but is delaying it as much as possible. The old Rick from before the apocalypse coming out.
"We should not put our own people at risk." Shane mutters and Dale is looking around ashamed.
"If you go through with it, how would you do it? Would he suffer?" Patricia asks, and the room stays silent, awaiting Rick or her answer.
"No. we'll do it quick." Callie answers and Patricia looks thankful for the answer.
Shane looks like he had an idea. "We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck?"
Some members of the group looked horrified, Carol and Josie were looking disgusted by Shane's words.
"I thought about that. But Callie's right, it needs to be quick. Shooting him will be more humane." Rick voices and the group was thinking about his words.
"And what about the body?" T-Dog asks, looking between the pair of them.
"Do we bury him?" Harriett asks, looking slightly confused.
That was Dale's last straw. "Hold on, hold on!" The group falls silent and looks at him. "You're talking about this like it's already decided."
"You've been talking all day, going around in circles." Daryl gestures wildly. "You just wanna go in circles again?"
"This is a young man's life!" Dale shouts. "And it is worth more than a five minute conversation!" He snaps, looking wildly at the group. "Is this what it's come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with him? You saved him!" Dale points to Rick. He gestures to the group. "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?"
"Because we've hesitated." Callie mutters and Dale looks at her with tears in his eyes.
"We all know what needs to be done." Shane mutters.
"No, Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-
Andrea interrupts Rick. "So what's the other solution?"
Lori snaps at her. "Let Rick finish."
"We haven't come up with a single viable option yet." Andrea continues like Lori didn't interrupt her.
"I wish we could." ?
"So let's work on it!" Dale pleads.
Rick grits his teeth. "We are."
"Stop it. Just stop it." Carol whines and everyone looks at her. "I'm sick of everybody arguing and fighting." She looks at her and Rick. "I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. As leaders you both should decide. But please decide- either of you, both of you- but leave me out of it."
"Not speaking out or killing him yourself. There is no difference." Dale tells Carol who looks hurt at that statement.
"Alright, that's enough." He tells the man, before looking at the rest. "Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."
The group stays silent and Callie knew it was time.
Dale was looking around desperately before looking at Rick. "You once said that we don't kill the living."
"Well that was before the living tried to kill us." Rick argues back.
It wasn't even a discussion anymore, it was Dale trying to keep it going back and forth.
"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew is dead. And this world is ugly, it's... harsh. It's- it's survival of the fittest! And that's a world that I don't want to live in, and I don't- and I don't believe that any of you do. I can't. Please." He begs and there were tears in his eyes. "Let's just do what's right. Isn't there anybody else who's gonna stand with me?"
Callie stays silent. She didn't think of it that way. But what are they suppose to do with him?
"He's right." Andrea speaks up and Dale looks at her in shock. "We should try to find another way."
"Anybody else?" Rick asks and Callie knew then what she needed to do.
"I don't want to end up like them." Callie speaks and Dale looks at her. "Killing those men out there, I had no choice. But now, we have a choice. I want to save him."
Dale smiles at her, and she nods back. They have to be different then those men.
When no one else speaks up Dale nods his head.
It was decided. Randall will die. Even though she didn't want him to. She'll do it. It has to be either her or Rick. They have to carry that burden. Because Carol was right, they can't ask them to decide on it or carry it through, it has to be them. It has to be the leaders.
"Are y'all gonna watch too?" He speaks out with disgust, tears flowing down his face. Dale huffs. "No, you'll go hide in 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."
He walks past herself and Rick but she hears him stop.
"This group is broken."
Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, a bit longer but wanted to get through the debate before it goes into chaos. I won't be doing much of winter, just a couple of moments that I have come up with before we jump to season 3. I didn't want to do too many character povs on their discussion about Randall. But wanted Callie, Tabby, and Damien, the three who have different views. One being a doctor, Callie being attacked by them, but Damien living out there for a bit of time. But Callie won't always be like this, she will change her mind eventually. People are a threat.