Fighter

~215

Isabell woke up the next morning, late and to an empty tent. She jolted up out of her cot, remembering that Rick and Shane had returned with Randall. Isabell groaned, realizing that’s where Daryl was. She was quickly changed clothes and jogged to the shed they were keeping Randall in. Isabell approached, but didn’t go in, hearing them arguing.

Daryl was talking. “Your boys shot at my boys. Tried to take this farm. You just went along for the ride?” Daryl wasn’t buying that. “You’re trying to tell me you’re innocent?”

“Yes!” Randall cried. “Th-these people took me in. Not just guys. There was a whole group of them. Men and women. Kids, too, just like you people. Thought I’d have a better chance with them, you know?” Randall paused. “But…we go out, scavenge. Just the men. One night, w-we found this campsite. A man and his daughters. Teenagers, you know? Real young, real cute. Their daddy had to watch while these guy...they…”

Isabell couldn’t believe what she heard the boy saying. She covered her mouth with her hand to cover her gasp.

“And they didn’t even kill him afterwards. They just… They just made him watch as his daughters…” Randall trailed off. “They ju-just left him there. B-but I d - I didn’t touch those girls. I swear. No, I didn’t to - ”

Daryl cut him off with a grunt.

Isabell assuming Daryl and had kicked him. She took this moment to enter the shed.

Daryl turned his head at the door opening. “Whatchu doin’ here?”

Isabell didn’t acknowledge him, instead taking angry steps towards Randall.

Randall looked to her. “Please, you gotta help me.”

The blonde grabbed Randall by his shirt collar, pulling his face up to be in hers. “You bastard.” Isabell seethed.

“Wait,” Randall argued. “I didn’t do nothin’!”

Isabell slapped him across his face with the back of her hand. “I stuck up for you. I tried to protect you. You and your men were hurting little girls.”

“Please!” Randall cried. “You gotta believe me. It wasn’t me.”

Isabell threw him back to the ground and gave Randall another hard kick to the stomach.

Randall groaned. “I ain’t like that!”

“Jack ass kid.” Isabell spat. “They’re just little girls!”

Daryl grabbed onto Isabell’s arm, pulling her away from the kid who was moaning on the floor.

As Isabell was pulled backwards, she threatened Randall. “You’re gonna wish we’d never fixed you up.” She was quickly pushed out the door before she could say anything else. Isabell stumbled a bit from the push but caught herself.

Daryl didn’t acknowledge her once he’d locked up the shed. He’d just continued to the camp circle the group had formed, Isabell following him. Daryl spoke when he got there. “Boy there’s got a gang. Thirty men.” He stopped walking, making Isabell pause beside him. “They got heavy artillery and they ain’t lookin’ to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead.”

Isabell scoffed. “Yeah, ‘nd the women will wish they were.”

“What did you do?” Carol asked.

Daryl avoided her eyes, not going to tell her the truth. “Had a little chat.” He said, before walking away towards his own camp.

Isabell stayed, though, still avoiding Carol.

Rick stepped into the center of the group. “No one goes near this guy.”

“Rick, what are you gonna do?” Lori asked.

He hesitated a moment. “We have no choice. He’s a threat. We have to eliminate the threat.”

“You’re just gonna kill him?” Dale asked, taking a step closer to Rick, reaching out to him.

“It’s settled. I’ll do it today.” Rick walked away from the group, Dale quickly following after him.

Isabell had decided that there wasn’t much else to be said, so she left for her own tent. She was stopped by Carol.

The woman grabbed Isabell’s arm. “You’re supporting this?”

Isabell stopped, furrowed her brow and looked from her arm where Carol’s hand held it to her face.

Carol quickly withdrew her hand. “You’re okay with killing a kid?”

Isabell nodded once. “You don’t know what those people did.” She left the woman again.

Carol followed after her. “So that makes it okay?”

“He watched it happen.”

“That doesn’t mean he did anything.”

Isabell stopped once more in her trek, turning to face Carol who stopped abruptly because the blonde did. “These men, they hurt little girls. Probably no different than Ed did to Sophia.”

Carol shook her head and looked away from her.

“Do you really think that it’s okay for someone to just stand by and watch it happen?” Isabell asked. “If it was done to Harley, I’d want them all dead.” She said fiercely before continuing to the camp. Isabell hurried off. As she came up to Daryl, he looked up at her.

Daryl had shed a couple of his layers as the heat of the day rose and he worked on making bolts for his crossbow.

Isabell stopped a few feet away from him. “He’s gonna do it.”

The hunter looked up to her.

“RIck’s gonna kill him. Today.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Isabell nodded. “I get it. Rick doesn’t do a lot of what he says he will.”

“Exactly.”

The blonde hesitated before speaking again. “I - I know what you were thinking. When Randall told you what his group had done.”

Daryl squinted against the sun. “Oh yeah. What’s that?”

“That maybe it’s a good thing that Harley’s not here, knowing what people now could do to her.”

Daryl paused in his work, but didn’t look to her.

“If things were different and we’d been put in that position you wouldn’t let them do anything to her.”

Daryl shrugged and got back to work. “Ya only knew that ‘cause ‘at’s what you were thinkin’.”

“Maybe.” Isabell guessed. “Doesn’t make it any less true.” She watched him carefully, wishing that he could let his wall down more than he had been lately. “I’m only sayin’ so so you know it’s okay to think about her. To wonder how things would be if she was here.”

“But she ain’t.”

Isabell nodded, biting her lips. “Yeah.” She heard footsteps coming up behind her and turned at the sound. Isabell groaned. “We’ve got company.”

Daryl glanced up seeing Dale headed their way.

The old man had a rifle strapped around one shoulder and a walking stick gripped in his opposite hand.

“Great.” Daryl scoffed as Dale came up to them. “The whole point of us comin’ up here is to get away from you people.”

“Gonna take more than that.” Dale threw the stick into Daryl’s pile.

Isabell rolled her eyes. “Did Carol send you?” She asked.

Daryl looked to her, wondering what those two had gotten into this time.

“Carol’s not the only one that’s concerned about you two. Or Daryl’s new role in the group.”

Daryl stopped his work for a second, studying the guy, before continuing working. “Oh, man, I don’t need my head shrunk. This group’s broken. We’re better off fending for ourselves.”

“You act like you don’t care.”

Daryl reached for his long sleeve shirt and vest, shrugging them on. “Yeah, it’s ‘cause I don’t.”

Dale’s eyes flashed to Isabell, who kept her gaze on Daryl. “So, live or die, you don’t care what happens to Randall?” Dale asked.

“Nope.”

It was obvious to Isabell that Daryl didn’t want to be a part of Dale’s conversation, and honestly, neither did she.

“Then why not stand with me?” Dale asked. “Try to save the kid’s life, if it really doesn’t matter one way or the other.”

“Didn’t peg you for a desperate son of a bitch.”

“Your opinion makes a difference.”

Daryl picked up his crossbow, turning away from Dale and Isabell heading for the trees. “Man, ain’t nobody in that group lookin’ at me for nothin’.”

“Carol is, and I am. Right now.”

Daryl stopped and turned back to Dale.

“And you obviously - you have Rick’s ear.” Dale pointed out.

“If we’re being honest, Rick really only listens to Shane.” Isabell said before Daryl could. “As crazy as it sounds, that’s all he does. Let him.”

Daryl nodded to Isabell in appreciation before turning his back again.

“You cared about what happened to Sophia.”

The hunter was annoyed with Dale’s persistence, but stopped anyway.

“Man, will you just let it go?” Isabell begged.

“You care about what her death meant to the group.”

Daryl walked towards Isabell, standing closely to her.

“Torturing people? This isn’t you. You’re a decent man. So is Rick.” Dale paused. “Shane,” he held up a finger. “He’s different.”

“Why’s that?” Daryl asked. “‘Cause he killed Otis.” Dale was shocked by what Daryl had said. He took a couple steps closer to the pair. “He tell you that?” Dale looked to Isabell.

Isabell shook her head. “It was just some story. How Otis covered him to save his ass. And save Carl’s. Shane came back with the dead guy’s gun. It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Rick ain’t stupid. If he didn’t figure that out, it’s ‘cause he didn’t wanna. It’s like I said…” Daryl took hold of Isabell’s arm and pulled her with him, walking away from Daryl. “Group’s broken.”

!@#$#@!

The two had returned to their camp when the sun was setting. They had to stop off to rid themselves of what they did catch as well as their weapons. “Well, that trip proved fruitless.” Isabell furrowed her brow, thinking over what she’d just said. “Or gameless, I guess would be the better way to put it.”

Daryl scoffed a laugh. “You stompin’ ‘round these woods didn’t help none.”

“I didn’t stomp!” Isabell claimed. “I’d walked normally.”

“Yeah, that’s your problem.” Daryl informed. “You gotta walk softly.”

“Well, I guess I forgot since it’s been so long since I’ve been huntin’. You never take me with you anymore.” Isabell recalled as they reached their tent. “So why’d you take me this time?”

Daryl shrugged, leaning his crossbow against his bike. He dug through the luggage bags seemingly in search of something.

“Oh, come on.” Isabell begged.

“There was a gun in here. Did you take it?”

“I don’t know. Probably.” Isabell guessed. “Why’d you take me?”

Daryl stood up straight, giving her his full attention. “Didn’t think you’d want to be in that conversation anymore. Old man was crossing some boundaries.”

Isabell smiled. “You know me so well, Daryl Dixon.”

“Yeah, well, I love ya.” Daryl shrugged, “So I guess I should.”

The two remained quiet after that, making their way to the house for a meeting regarding Randall. Everyone else had already been there, apart from the Grimeses, who entered shortly after Daryl and Isabell had. Carl followed behind his parents, stopping at the circle, wanting to be a part of the conversation. His mother stared at him until he continued upstairs.

Isabell and Daryl stood more on the outer edge of the circle. The two weren’t keen on being included in the first place.

The room was silent for a long minute before Glenn spoke. “So, how do we do this? Just take a vote?” he asked.

“Does it have to be unanimous?” Andrea asked.

“How about majority rules?” Lori offered.

Rick steps into the center of the circle. “Well, l-let’s just see where everybody stands, then we can talk through options.”

“Well, the way I see it,” Shane pondered. “There’s only one way to move forward.”

“Killing him.” Dale clarified, angrily. “Right? I mean why bother to even take a vote? It’s clear which way the wind’s blowing.”

“If people believe we should spare him, I wanna know.” Rick insisted.

“Well, I can tell you it’s a small group. Maybe just me and Glenn.”

Glenn looked up at Dale, it written on his face that his loyalty wasn’t the case. “Look, I - I think you’re pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this - ”

“They’ve got you scared!” Dale realized.

“He’s not one of us. And w-we’ve lost too many people already.”

Maggie stood, gaining Dale’s attention.

Dale pointed to her. “How about you? Do you agree with this?”

Maggie thought about it for a moment before looking to Rick. “Couldn’t we continue keeping him prisoner?”

Daryl spoke quietly next to Isabell. “Just another mouth to feed.”

Hershel agreed. “It may be a lean winter.”

“We could ration better.” Lori said.

“He could be an asset.” Dale said. “Give him a chance to prove himself.”

“Put him to work?” Glenn asked.

Rick wasn’t sure. “We’re not letting him walk around.”

“We could put an escort on him.” Maggie suggested.

Shane shook his head. “Who wants to volunteer for that duty?”

“Somehow I am siding with Shane.” Isabell half-laughed. “No one wants to play babysitter to this kid.”

“I will.” Dale volunteered.

“I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy.” Rick admitted, scratching his head.

“He’s right.” Lori agreed. “I wouldn’t feel safe unless he was tied up.”

“We can’t exactly put chains around his ankles.” Andrea said. “Or sentence him to hard labor.”

Shane glanced up. “Look, say we let him join us, right? Maybe he’s helpful. Maybe he’s nice.” The deputy said like it wouldn’t happen. “We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his thirty men.”

Isabell automatically looked to Daryl, seeing that he wasn’t liking that idea.

Dale shook his head. “So, the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt? If we do this, we’re saying there’s no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilization.”

“Oh, my God.” Shane breathed, thinking Dale was overreacting.

Hershel spoke next. “Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned?”

Lori disagreed, looking to her husband. “You barely came back this time. There are walkers. You could break down. Y-you could get lost.”

“Or ambushed.” Daryl added.

“They’re right.” Glenn said. “We should not put our own people at risk.”

“If you go through with it, how would you do it?” Patricia piped from her corner. “Would he suffer?”

Shane shrugged. “We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck?”

Rick nodded. “I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane.”

“And, uh,” T-Dog stumbled, “what about the body? Do we bury him?”

“Hold on.” Dale chimed in, raising his arms to calm the room. “Hold on! You’re talking about this like it’s already decided.”

Daryl was getting impatient to the point where he started pacing in a small line behind Isabell. “you’ve been talking all day. Going around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?”

“This is a young man’s life and it’s worth more than a five minute conversation!” Dale stressed, talking wildly with his hands. “Is this what we’ve come to? We kill someone because we can’t decide what else to do with him? You saved him.” He said to Rick, then looking to Daryl and Isabell. “He’s been tortured.”

Isabell looked to Daryl from the corner of her eye.

Dale continued. “He’s gonna be executed. How are we any better than those people that we’re so afraid of?”

“We’re just not.” Isabell insisted. “We wouldn’t do what they did.”

“We all know what needs to be done.” Shane said.

“No, Dale is right.” Rick shared. “We can’t leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility - ”

“So, what’s the other solution?” Andrea asked.

“Let Rick finish.” Lori snapped.

Andrea shook her head. “We haven’t come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could…”

“So let’s work on it.” Dale pressed.

“We are!” Rick said.

“Stop it.” Carol begged quietly, gaining all eyes on her. “Just stop it. I’m sick of everybody arguing and fighting. I didn’t ask for this.” She shook her head. “You can’t ask us to decide something like this.” Carol looked to Rick. “Please decide. Either of you. Both of you. But leave me out.”

“Not speaking out or killing him yourself; there is no difference.” Dale claimed.

Isabell took a step forward, glaring angrily at Dale. “Maybe she just doesn’t want that pressure on her shoulders. And it’s understandable.”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Rick interceded. “Anybody who wants the floor before we make a final decision has the chance.”

Patricia and Maggie sat in the chairs they stood in front of. The room went quiet again.

Dale gestured to Rick with his hat. “You once said that we don’t kill the living.”

“That was before the living tried to kill us.” Rick countered.

“But don’t you see?” Dale asked. “If we do this, the people that we were and the world that we know is dead. And this new world is ugly. It’s...harsh. It’s survival of the fittest. And that’s a world I don’t want to live in and I don’t believe that any of you do… I can’t… Please. Let’s just do what’s right.” Dale paused. “Isn’t there anybody who’s gonna stand with me?” He pleaded.

A long moment of silence passed before Andrea answered. “He’s right. We should try to find another way.”

“Anybody else?” Rick asked, turning in a circle, looking at each person individually, even if they just avoided his eye contact.

Isabell stayed quiet, meeting his eyes when Rick turned to her. She shook her head, looking to Daryl.

“Are y’all gonna watch, too?” Dale joked, hoping that a joke was all it was. “Nah, you’ll go hide your heads in your tents and try to forget that we’re slaughtering a human being.” Dale shook his head. “I won’t be a party to it.” He started walking towards the door. The old man stopped at Isabell and Daryl.

Isabell moved closer to Daryl.

Dale put a hand on Daryl’s shoulder. “This group is broken.” He finally agreed. Dale dropped his hand and marched out the door, leaving the entire group in a stunned silence. His exit began the thinning of the group as everyone returned to their own activities.

“Shane. Daryl.” Rick called before they could leave.

Isabell glanced up at the sheriff.

Daryl took a few steps towards Rick.

“After sun down.” Rick announced. “Once it’s dark.”

The hunter nodded, then turned to leave the house.

Isabell quickly chased after him. “I wanna be there.” She said, once she’d caught up to him.

Daryl looked her up and down, continuing to make his way across the field. “You sure?”

The blonde nodded.

Daryl raised his brow, but conceded. “Okay, then.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Author’s Note: Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. It’s been really crazy the past month. So for my birthday present to myself, for you guys, I’m updating all of my active stories today. You should all feel lucky. :)

I’m still considering not posting this story on Mibba anymore and moving strictly to FanFiction. I’m only considering it at this point, I haven’t made a final decision yet, but I'm not getting much response. Let me know if it would be awful for you guys to make the move.
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