Dead Man Walking | Rick Grimes

|23|

I watched idly as Shane and Rick loaded Randell into the Chevy, throwing any other supplies they may need on their journey behind him. A week has passed since we decided to 'save' Randell – if you can call it that. I still felt uneasy about the whole situation. When we returned from the bar the following day, Shane had made it known that he thought it was idiotic to bring Randell back here. Surprisingly, I agreed with him. We should never have brought him back, but in the past week, it's been proven to me that his crew not only doesn't care but isn't looking for him. We've argued – Shane, Rick, and I – about what to do with Randell, if he should be left somewhere on his own or if we should just put a bullet in his head and be done with it. Ultimately, Rick and I decided it would be best to leave him about eighteen to twenty miles out with some supplies.

So here I stand, watching as they blindfolded and gagged Randell before placing a set of headphones on his ears. Glenn and Maggie had gone out to the neighboring houses a few days ago and brought back a few things; A CD player and some headphones being among the few items they brought back. I watched as Rick closed the trunk and wiped his hands on his pants before looking at the group behind me. I smiled at him and wound my arms around my chest, unsure how I felt about being in charge of the camp. I mean, I can do it... it's just I don't know exactly what to do today; Laundry is done, cleaning around the camp is done, animals are all fed, and the perimeter is clear.

"You sure you don't want me to go with you?" I whispered to Rick as he approached me. He looked at me sternly and sighed. He confided in me the night before that he wasn't up for this today, so maybe I can go with and have this done sooner?

"I'm sure." Rick muttered to me, "We need you here to keep things in order. But it seems like there isn't much to do today, so don't go pissing off Daryl too bad." He smirked as he knew I had every intention of annoying Dixon. Damn, am I that transparent? I smiled at him and shook my head, stuffing my hands in my pockets as I looked at Shane. He was perched against the passenger side of the Chevy, his eyes scanning the lot of us before lingering on a certain someone. He makes it way too obvious. I won't be surprised if tensions grow during this ride or if only one returns.

"Stay safe out there, okay?" I murmured as I brought my eyes back to Rick's face. His beard was starting to grow, the hair black with some specks of grey thrown in. He nodded at me and smiled before walking away to say goodbye to his wife and son. I stayed there, staring at Shane as he looked at me. I made it no secret that he wasn't my favorite person, just like how he made it no secret that he didn't like me. We stood there, staring one another down, the tension building between us.

I must admit, it felt good punching him out the other week. It makes me miss fighting in general. Well, I'm doing another type of fighting now called survival. Once more, Rick passed me, patting my shoulder as he did so and flashing one last smile before climbing into the Chevy with Shane and pulling away from us. I turned towards the group and made eye contact with Lori, giving her a tight smile as I walked forward. Things between her and me this past week have been... strained. I don't know how to explain it; I'm just chalking it up to hormones and fear. She did have a close call last week with a few walkers. I will never know how she crashed a car when the roads were empty. She must be a special case of lousy driver.

I returned to camp, feeling particularly quiet today, and sat by the lowly burning fire. I watched as the embers slowly died, getting lost in the flicks of orange and yellow that desperately tried to get more oxygen. I felt a presence to my left and turned, catching a glimpse of Daryl before returning my gaze to the fire. He sat down next to me and grunted as he dropped down, his crossbow taking its place in front of the two of us. A silence enveloped us, comfortable and long, as we trailed away. This past week hasn't been too bad. In fact, it's been rather pleasant despite Shane's constant glares. If he and I were truly alone, he'd probably try killing me; that's how much I suspect he hates me. I can see it in his eyes every time he looks at me, and it both terrifies me and makes me determined to outlive him, which should be easy since he's rash and makes stupid decisions.