Jinx || Daryl Dixon || The Walking Dead Fanfic

-14-

DARYL

The meeting to decide Randall's fate had started. Daryl stood further back from the group a little way behind Rick not saying a word. He watched everyone else, gaging their reactions to what was being said.

"Why even bother to take a vote? It's clear which way the wind's blowing." Dale had asked.

"Well, if people believe we should spare him, I want to know." Rick said, obviously not entirely at peace with the decision he had made.

"Well, I can tell you, it's a small group..." Dale confirmed, frustrated, "maybe just me, Glenn and Jinx." Daryl's eyes flickered over the girl where she stood on the other side of the room. Her eyes were defiant, but she stayed silent.

Glenn looked up at Dale and Daryl saw the disappointment register in the older man's eyes before the Korean even started speaking, "Look I... I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this..."

"They've got you scared!" Dale interrupted him.

"He's not one of us and we've... we've lost too many people already." Glenn finished. Dale looked to Maggie, whose suggestion was to continue keeping him prisoner. Daryl pointed out he'd just be another mouth to feed and the conversation went around in circles, whether they could put him to work, whether someone could be his escort, which of course Dale volunteered to do.

"Look, say we let him join us, right?" Shane spoke up, "Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. We let our guard down and maybe he runs off, brings back his 30 men." Daryl didn't like to agree with him, but he'd heard the way the kid spoke, they couldn't trust him, Daryl had no doubts that this kid was still at least a little loyal to the people who betrayed him and whether he knew where they were or not, he wasn't willing to risk the lives of everyone in the group to find out.

"So the answer is to kill him to prevent a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale finally began to raise his voice in frustration, "If we do this, we're saying there's no hope. Rule of Law is dead. There is no civilization!"

Hershel suggested they drive him further out, leave him like they originally planned, and Daryl saw Jinx nod at the solution, but Lori began listing the things that could go wrong; "There are walkers, you could break down, you could get lost-"

"Or get ambushed" Daryl interrupted her, thinking out loud, he didn't like the look Jinx gave him for that.

"They're right. We should not put our own people at risk" Glenn's was the last word before they moved onto the how instead of the if and Daryl watched as Jinx silently disappeared from the room and out the back door.

___

JINX

She'd known the conclusion they were going to come to, she could've fought alongside Dale, but she could see in everyone's eyes that they weren't going to change their minds and she couldn't stay and listen to it any longer. She didn't think anyone actually noticed when she left, slipping silently from the room and out the back straight to the stables.

Nelly, the horse that had thrown Daryl, then had the audacity to return a few days later, gave her a whinny and she walked over and stroked the majestic creature. She liked horses, all animals really, the order of the animal kingdom was simple, if they killed it was to survive, there was no need for politics to be involved. As she saw it, if the death needed a conversation before a decision could be made, it was a decision that didn't need to be made.

She stayed in the stables until the sun had set, no one came to look for her and she was glad for it. When she finally stepped out, she saw Daryl, Rick and Shane leading Randall to the barn. She didn't know what drew her towards the execution, but she found herself walking towards them.

She got to the doorway just in time to see Daryl force the boy to his knees and she looked at him in disgust, though he didn't see her behind him. Rick asked the boy if he had any final words and the kid begged for his life.

Jinx said nothing, she didn't move, she was barely breathing, but some part of her screamed that she had to stay, that this boy deserved someone to bear witness to his death who wasn't a part of the firing squad.

She registered Carl was there barely a second before he spoke. "Do it Dad. Do it." Shane quickly walked over and dragged him out, barely acknowledging Jinx's presence as he stepped around her.

Rick lowered the gun, the safety clicked back on, and he looked at Daryl, but motioned to Randall, "Take him away... Take him away."

Daryl grabbed the kid by the back of his shirt and dragged him from the barn back towards the shed, his eyes meeting hers for the first time. The look she gave him made his blood run cold.

___

Jinx moved back to where the rest of the group was around the fire, but she stayed on the periphery, in the shadows, she didn't want to talk, but she wanted to know what would happen next. Rick walked up to group, stating that they'd keep him in custody for now, but then split away to speak with Lori. Andrea said she was going to find Dale and Jinx nodded following after her.

A scream split the night air, instantly Jinx knew it was Dale and she didn't need to look at Andrea beside her to know they'd both begun running at the same time. Andrea called his name as they got close, seeing the walker on top of him, she drew the knife from her belt and threw it on pure instinct. It hit the walker just as Daryl tackled it from the opposite side, stabbing it with his own knife before realising it was already dead. Jinx froze, a millisecond later and that knife would've hit Daryl, not the walker.

Regardless of their efforts, they were still too late. Daryl screamed for help and Jinx snapped out of it, she ran the last few metres to Dale's side and saw the damage. There was nothing she nor Hershel could do, the walker had torn through Dale's skin exposing his organs, the fact he was still breathing was both a miracle and the worst possible thing. Jinx knelt at his side, holding his hand and awkwardly hugged his shoulders as best she could without causing him more pain. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them escape yet.

She sat back as the others caught up to them but kept hold of the older man's hand. Rick screamed for Hershel over and over as everyone began to crowd around. Hershel told them what she already knew, what she'd been unable to say out loud, and she could hear the others begin crying.

It became apparent the initial shock was wearing off and Dale was in excruciating pain. Rick pulled out his gun and aimed it down at their friend on the ground, but he couldn't pull the trigger.

Daryl stepped in, taking the weapon from him, he dropped to one knee and looked the man in the eye.

"Sorry, brother."

The single gunshot rang out into the night.