Path to Rodina - English Version

Capítulo 21

(At Hershel's house)

Inside the house, the tension was palpable. Maggie was standing in the kitchen, her fists clenched, while Hershel, sitting at the table, breathed deeply. Both were on the verge of a confrontation that was already beginning in their gazes.

"You don't understand, Dad! If it weren't for him... If it weren't for Alexei, we wouldn't even be here right now!" Maggie said, visibly shaken, her voice trembling with anger.

"I don't want to hear about violence, Maggie. It was never the answer before, and it won't be now," Hershel replied coldly, crossing his arms, rigid in his posture.

"Violence?! This is more than a question of right or wrong! You didn't see what I saw in that pharmacy! You have no idea what's going on out there!" Maggie's voice rose as she stepped toward the table, her eyes sparkling with fury. "Those... Walkers... were everywhere. And we were surrounded. They were going to kill us, Dad. They were going to kill me."

Hershel looked down, clenching his hands in silence for a moment before responding, "But they're not monsters, Maggie. They're sick. They... are... people. They're still human beings."

"They're not people anymore! They have no soul! Do you think you can cure that with faith? With a little compassion? They were going to rip my throat out! If Alexei hadn't done what he did... I'd be dead right now!" Maggie shouted, unable to contain her pain and despair.

"He's no different from the others, Maggie! He's a killer, just with an excuse. That man has brought nothing but violence here. And what do you think that will solve? More death? More blood on our hands?" Hershel stood up, his expression harsh, his eyes fixed on her.

"He saved my life! He had no choice... do you think killing is easy for him? Do you think he feels nothing? He didn't do it for pleasure, he did it because it was necessary!" Maggie's voice cracked, almost crying.

Hershel, frustrated, slammed his hand on the table: "You're defending a man who lives by violence, Maggie! He doesn't belong here! This Alexei... he's going to bring more destruction upon us!"

"No! What will destroy us is your stubbornness! This vision that everything can go back to normal... It can't, Dad! Not anymore! Things have changed... I've changed!" Maggie said, her voice now lower, almost a whisper. "He did what no one here had the courage to do. He protected me when no one else could."

Hershel narrowed his eyes, his breathing heavy: "I won't accept that the world ended just because you all want it to end! And I certainly won't accept that the only solution is to kill! There's another way, Maggie... There's always another way."

Maggie approached him, calmer now but still filled with emotion: "Dad... sometimes, there is no other way. Sometimes, the only choice is to survive, and that's what he did. He's not the villain in this story... He's the one who did what had to be done so I could come home."

Hershel shook his head in denial, his voice faltering a bit: "You're being deceived by him. A man who only knows war can't be the solution, Maggie. I... I don't want to lose you to this world too."

Maggie touched her father's shoulder, affectionately but firmly: "You won't lose me, Dad. But what Alexei did kept us alive. If you can't see that now, then I don't know what else I can say." She paused, looking deep into her father's eyes. "He's not just a soldier.

He's a person. A person who understands what's at stake. And, maybe, if you opened your eyes, you'd see that he just wants the same as us: to survive."

Hershel finally broke, his voice low, filled with pain: "I just... I just don't want you to lose what makes us... human."