protected || book 2 of 'she's a dixon'

chapter 10

they put randall in the barn right before he woke up.

"hey rae, go stay with dale. i have some things i need to do" dad said as we walked towards our camp. "alright?" i said in a questionable tone. i climbed up the rv ladder with my bow on my back.

"hey kiddo" dale said smiling. i sat on the seat that was placed next to his. we just sat in silence staring at the field.

"hey, rae? why's your dad going to the barn?" dale asked. i quickly turned my head towards the barn. "oh god" i whispered. "he didn't tell you why?" he asked burrowing his bushy eyebrows together. i shook my head no and looked at dad in confusion.

"this can't be good" i said quietly. "nope" dale said agreeing with me.

i watched as dad entered the barn. once he closed the barn door shut behind him i sighed.

our group gathered around the camp fire to discuss the randall situation. i left dale to go join the conversation. we started asking rick questions as dad approached. he had bruised and bloody knuckles. he had blood all over his hands. he clearly beat the hell out of the guy.

"boys there gotta gang. 30 men. they have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. they roll through here, our boys are dead. our women, they're gonna- they're gonna wish they are." dad said. this guy is dangerous. really dangerous.

dad then put his hand on my back and started walking. i walked with him. "ok listen 'ere. you ain't to go anywhere near that barn unless i'm right next to you. and if he gets anywhere near you, put an arrow in his head. no hesitation." dad said looking me dead in the eye. i know he was completely serious about this. "alright" i said nodding my head. he nodded his back. "come on, let's get you cleaned up" i said grabbing his arm.

i drug him towards our tent. i grabbed a rag and put some water on it. i then gently cleaned the blood off his hand. "you should let me wrap your knuckles" i said observing them. "nah, i'm alright" dad and taking his hand away from mine. we then exited our tent.

"oh, i know you usually do, but keep your bow on you at all times. never take it off." dad said looking at my bow that was currently on my back. "ok" i said holding onto the strap.

dad and i went back up to our spot. the stone fireplace. i helped my dad, and we managed to make ourself some new arrows for our bows. we try to save as many as we can, but we're starting to run low.

dale came over to check in on dad. "there's more than carol that's concerned about you in the group. she may not let you know, but reagan is too" dale said pointing to me. dad looked at me.

"when she's not with you she's with me. i hear all about it. she worries about you daryl. and there's concern about you, your new role in the group." dale said. dad looked at him and i and sighed.

"oh man, i don't need my head shrunk. this groups broken. i'm better off fending for myself." dad said handing me an arrow to attach to my holder.

dad then put back on his jacket and vest. "you're acting like you don't care" dale said. "i don't" dad stated.

"so you don't care what happens to him?" dale asked. "nope. as long as he ain't anywhere near my daughter." dad said finally making eye contact with dale.

i got closer to dad and stood by his side. dale said that dad should stand with him on not killing randall.

"your opinion matters daryl. and yours definitely does reagan. rick listens and trusts you whether you realize it or not" dale said. now that i think about it that is true. i am pretty important in ricks mind. dad started walking away so i followed him.

nothing much really happened until evening approached us. i spent the day just clinging to dad like usual, checking up on dale, and having my daily lesson with hershel. but once evening approached, we had a meeting in hershel's living room on what to do with randall once again.

i stood in the corner with my dad. some of hershel's family thinks it's insane that i have a say in situations like this. yes, i'm a kid. but i play a major part in this group.

it was basically dale against the entire group on this. we talked about killing him, dropping him off somewhere, putting him to labor. dad and i just stayed silent in the background. neither of us really had an opinion on this. deep down i think he does, but he just doesn't want to voice it.

andrea eventually sided with dale, but it wasn't enough to tie rick over. dale left. but not before coming over to dad and agreeing with him that this group is broken.

once night time approached, dad told me to stay with hershel. dale went off and dad knew i didn't want to bother him. so hershel just gave me a little bit of an extra lesson today. it was small. he just went over some common diseases that could happen and how we can prevent them.

shane, rick, and dad went off with randall towards the main barn. they were going to deal with him. dad left his crossbow with me. he didn't think he would need it.

i eventually went back to the camp since it was getting really late. i just sat by glenn. "we're keeping him in custody for now" rick said. i wonder what changed. dad must be moving him back cause he isn't back yet. andrea went off to find dale. but a few minutes later we heard him scream.

i sprinted towards the sound of dale screaming along side of rick. i had my bow ready with an arrow. dad then started screaming for help. i bolted as fast as i could. i stopped once i was about 3 feet away from him. "no" i whispered with a tear running down my cheek.

dales stomach was completely torn into. i stood there in shock. dad came over and wrapped his arms around me. i buried my face into his chest and held onto his shirt. "it's ok, it's ok" he whispered running his fingers through my hair.

i moved my head and layed my cheek on dad's chest so i could still see what was happening.

hershel came over and told us that there is nothing he can do.

dad continued to run his fingers through my hair in attempts to calm me down. rick couldn't bring himself to shoot dale. dad let go of me and started walking towards rick. "daddy no" i said quietly while crying. "baby i have to" he whispered.

he grabbed the gun from rick. "i'm sorry, brother" dad said raising the gun to dales head. he then pulled the trigger.