𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

20 | JUDGE, JURY, EXECUTIONER

The sky was dull, more cloud than blue as the morning dawned over the farm. Rick and Shane had returned early the previous evening with Randall still in their custody. The plan was to leave the kid far away and let that be the end of the issue, but Randall had yelled something about going to school with Maggie. It meant he knew where the farm was, so the two cops had no choice but to bring him back, leaving him tied and locked up in the barn.

Tori leant against a tree, her back pressed to the dry bark as she stood around with the rest of the group, minus Daryl. There were so many questions that didn't have answers, and Rick was trying to get his own head straight whilst the group fired of their concerns, aiming most of them at him.

"What are we gonna do?" Lori questioned her husband after he explained the situation. "I think we'd all feel better if we knew the plan."

"Is there a plan?" Andrea emphasised.

Glenn added, "Are we gonna keep him here?"

"We'll know soon enough," Rick replied, nodding to the left where Daryl was approaching the group.

When he reached them, the Dixon caught them all up on what information he'd gotten from Randall. "He's got a gang. Thirty men," he explained. "They got heavy artillery and ain't lookin; to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. Our women, they're gonna... they're gonna wish they were."

He didn't need to explain what that meant – it was obvious from his tone and the small pause he took that whatever Randall had said, had disturbed Daryl. His blue eyes scanned the group and landed on Tori, a large part of him wanting to go and stand closer to her when he saw her tense up at his words.

Carol saw some dried red blood on Daryl's knuckles, snapping him from his thoughts as she asked, "What did you do?"

"Had a little chat," Daryl mumbled.

"No one goes near this guy," Rick declared. "He's a threat... We have to eliminate that threat."

The hesitancy in his words had all eyes on him. The group took in what he'd said, completely silent until Dale clocked onto what Rick was implying.

"You're just gonna kill him?" the older man asked in disbelief.

Rick couldn't bring himself to look in Dale's direction. He was firm on his decision, but that didn't mean he didn't feel guilty as he told the others, "It's settled. We'll do it today."

He walked away with Lori following him. The rest of the group were quiet, the weight of the new plan heavy on their shoulders as they went back to whatever they were doing before the gathering.

Tori had been staring off straight ahead, not even realising that everybody else had gone away. A cloud floated across the sky and covered the thin tendril of sunlight that had been beaming down, making everything feel darker. The realisation set in that the group were actually prepared to execute one kid because they weren't sure of what he may or may not do.

In the pit of her stomach, Tori felt uneasy. She was afraid for the consequences of either choice. If they let Randall go, he knew where to find them. If they let him stay, there was always a chance that his other group will come looking. If they kill him... If they killed him, then that would change everything about who they were.

Dale was prepared to advocate for the boy's life. He was still stood in his place after the others had left, and he was about to walk away too, until he saw Tori also hadn't moved. Walking over to her, he called her name, and she looked up at him with a sigh.

"Do you agree with this?" he asked with his eyebrows pinched.

"No," Tori admitted. "No, I don't. But if Rick's made the call, then there's no use arguing. It is what it is."