A Glimmer of Hope

Unfinished Business

Daryl POV:

I got back to Athena's tent and peeked my head in to find her fast asleep. She must have needed it, so I let her be. 

I went back to camp to find Rick to discuss what we were going to do about our hostage. 

Back at the farm that we were at before we were on the run, we had another hostage situation. This was a kid named Randall. Nothing ever set right about this guy when they brought him back. He himself wasn't a threat, but the crew he was with was the problem. I'm still not sure if we did the right thing with him. 

Rick, Hershel and Glenn had brought him back from the town near the farm after Hershel decided to go to visit his old favorite bar to drown his sorrows of this cold, dead world. Glenn and Rick wanted to bring him back, so they took a drive into town to find the bar that Maggie had told them he used to frequent in his drinking days. Some of this crew found our guys in the bar and after Rick told them that they couldn't go back to the farm, and they reacted violently, so Rick killed them. The rest of their gang had been outside waiting, when Rick blew their cover as he tried to de-escalate the situation, they started shooting at our guys.

Apparently the gunfire brough on  a small herd of walkers. 

In all of the midst of all the shooting, everyone decided to bail because of the walkers. This kid, Randall, who had been shooting at our guys, jumped off of a roof in an attempt to escape with his buddies, and his stupid ass somehow landed on top of an iron fence post. Damn thing shot straight through his thigh. His buddies left him for dead, yelling, "I'm sorry!" as they drove off.

Rick, being the man he was, couldn't leave him. He didn't look much older than about 18. Rick insisted that he couldn't know better. So they brought him along.

Shane and Rick decided to put me in charge of interrogation. This meant ask him questions and rough him up if he didn't give me straight answers. I have always had this ability to tell the good people from the bad, I can tell when people are lying. Everyone has a tell. I can just find them rather quickly.

I didn't enjoy being the interrogation person, but I was really good at it. The kid never, ever shot me a straight answer. Tried to get Carl to let him go at one point. 

Trying to manipulate a kid? Hell, no. Especially not Carl.

I finally got to hear about his crew, honestly.

A bunch of guys, that like to rough up women. They gang up on her. They violate her in ways unimaginable for their own sick enjoyment. 

After I heard this, I didn't mind being the interrogation guy. I let him have it for this one. He tried to justify himself by saying he was one of the guys that watched and didn't participate. Which did not help him whatsoever, in my eyes it's almost worse because he didn't do anything to stop it; probably enjoyed himself.

Rick and Shane tried to let him go about 18 miles out, but there was a situation between the two of them. They had been best friends in the old world, partners as police officers. Some serious shit went down between them on this trip. I think that Rick always knew about Shane and his wife; the baby she carried wasn't biologically his. Rick had only been 'dead' a couple of weeks when Shane got Lori into bed. Great friend he turned out to be.

They bring Randall back, long story short, Shane kills him in the woods and things carried on from there in the worst ways. That was the night we lost the farm. The night Shane died. It wasn't a total loss though; it was same night we escaped the farm and made camp that Athena found us. 

That night would change a lot for me, I didn't even realize it then what she would mean to me, not until I looked into her eyes.

I finally found Rick, he was off alone trying to get some think time in.