1. I Found

t h i r t y f o u r

DALE

They had a group meeting, deciding on what to do to Randall.

The group sat in Herschel's front room waiting for someone to start talking.

Theo sat herself between Maggie and Herschel as her dad began the meeting.

"Are we going to vote?" Glenn asked, looking around the room. 

"See where the majority stands" Rick explained looking around the room.

"From where i see it, i only see one way" Shane began, placing his hands on his hips.

"Killing him? Right!" Dale yelled, standing angrily

"If there are people that have another ideas, i need to know now" Rick asked, waiting for someone to talk.

Dale was alone, Maggie wanted to know if we could keep him prisoner, but as Daryl pointed out, it's another mouth to feed.

"If we do this, your saying there is no hope" Dale begged, sadly looking at everyone, praying someone would side with him.

Theo stood up making everyone look at her.

"I think I speak for the majority here when I say that we have no choice. If this was the other way around, let's say I was taken, and the people who did that returned me, are you seriously saying no one here would take revenge?" Theo explained, Daryl tensing at the thought of her being taken. "He wants to take us to his people, he tried to persuade Carl to let him out" Theo guiltily looked at her parent. "He isn't good person."

Her parents looked at Theo frustrated because of Carl, but quickly looked back to Dale

"Neither are we! This is someone's life, it needs more than a five minute conversation!" Dale yelled " How are we any better than those people that we are so afraid of?" Dale asked, making the room fall silent.

"Anyone else against this?" Rick asked

"This world is ugly and harsh but we need to do what is right!" Dale yelled out.

"He's right, we need to find another way," Andrea said.

Theo sat down in frustration.

"Anyone else?" Rick asked

But everyone stayed quiet

"Are you all going to watch too? No, your going to hide your heads in your tents and forget that we are killing a human being" Dale guilted the rest of the group.

"What would you do if someone here was taken?" Daryl spoke up for the first time, everyone surprised to hear his opinion, but since he thought about Theo being hurt or worse from these men, he wasn't going to take that chance "Because I know for a for a fact, I would not just sit back and allow them to get away with it" He looked at Theo quickly before looking back at Dale.

"Dale, you haven't seen what his people can do, one of them, when we wouldn't give them a place to stay drew on my dad, and then the other tried to kill him from behind, making me have to kill a man i didn't know, making me kill a human being, but if i hadn't my dad would be dead, Herschel, might be dead, Glenn too. They knew we had a farm, so he would have bought his people back here, and then killed you all as well. Look at the bigger picture Dale" Theo tried to explain.

"I won't be part of it" Dale snapped walking away before stopping at Daryl "This group is broken" he said

Theo looked at Daryl confused and hurt.

Night fell and the boys headed to do what needed to be done.

Theo waited at the house for them to get back.

"Here" Maggie said handing Theo a jacket "Nights are getting colder and all you have is that hoody" she explained

"Thank you" Theo smiled

She sat next to Theo as they all waited for them to get back.

Rick suddenly walked in the house with Carl

"We are keeping him in custody for now" he began

Andrea went to go and find Dale while Theo headed back to her tent but her journey was cut short by someone screaming.

Theo ran in the direction, sprinting as everyone caught up to her.

"Help over here!" Daryl yelled from across the field.

The group continued to run and eventually made it to Daryl, that's when they noticed Dale, with his body ripped open and his guts outside of his body, him unable to speak, his eyes pleading for help

Theo gasped as she fell to her knees, wishing she knew how to help.

"Dale" Theo cried as he looked at her.

She covered her mouth to hold back her crying, she couldn't even focus on what was happening around her.

"NO!" Theo heard her dad yell

"He is suffering, do something" Andrea cried out, trying to comfort him, but it was impossible.

Rick hesitantly pointed the gun at Dale but couldn't shoot.

Everyone was in shock and everyone was crying.

Dale looked at Rick, he was begging for help.

Theo's heart was breaking, the fear in his eyes was soul crushing.

Daryl walked over to her dad, taking the gun away from him before keenly down to Dale's side

"Sorry brother," Daryl said before shooting the gun, stopping the suffering. The group fell silent for a moment before cries emerged.

Theo cried, harder than she had over anyone. Dale looked after her, he cared about Theo and the last time she spoke to him they argued.

"Come on" Daryl said, picking her up from the ground and walking her away.

The others dealt with the body while she cried the whole way back to her tent

She couldn't say anything, she didn't know what to say.

She laid in her tent sobbing over Dale, knowing that if we had agreed on not killing this boy, there would be no reason for Dale to have been alone and all the way out there.

"Do you need anything?" Daryl asked from the entrance to the tent.

Theo looked up and wiped her eyes.

"Can you lay with me?" asking knowing it was a long shot.

But to her surprise Daryl nodded, he kicked off his shoes and even got under the small blanket she had, Theo laid into his chest.

He stroked her hair, placing a kiss on her head.

"Dale was a good guy," Theo said, sniffing.

"He was, all he wanted was to do good" Daryl agreed

She looked up at Daryl, who was already looking down at her.

He wiped the last of her tears with his thumb.

"Can you stay here for a bit?" She asked, her voice croaking slightly.

"Yeah, you get some sleep, I'm not going anywhere," he told her.

Theo nodded before closing her eyes.

She adjusted herself so she was comfortable. Falling asleep fairly quickly despite the thoughts that crept on her.

Daryl watched her for most of the night making sure she slept okay, realising that this was what he wanted forever, that loved being with the only person that has ever made him feel happy and safe.

Loved...