Surviving The Walking Dead (BOOK ONE IN THE SURVIVING THE WALKING DEAD SERIES)

Death Be Not Proud

RICK'S POV

"Put him there." I ordered Daryl as we reached the barn. It was just Me, Shane, Daryl, and Randall, no one else wanted any part of it.

"It's gonna be over soon." Shane grumbled as he tied a blindfold over Randall's eyes.

"What?" Randall asked nervously. "What's gonna be over soon?"

"Relax."

"Hey- hey. No, no, no, no, no." Randall begged.

"Would ya like to stand or kneel?" I asked.

"Oh, no, please." Randall cried. Shane shoved Randall on to his knees.

"Do ya have any final words?"

"No, please. Please don't. Don't." I slowly raised my gun and aimed it at his head. I cocked my gun and placed my finger on the trigger.

"Do it, dad."

MICHAELA'S POV

"Do it, Dad." Carl smiled as he and I entered the barn.

"Yeah, Rick." I scoffed. "Do it. Show your son what it takes to be a man, what it takes to survive this world." Rick glared at me and Carl before turning back to Randall.

"Are you fuckin' kiddin' me?" Shane grumbled as he stormed up to us. "What did I say to you, Carl?" Shane took Carl by the arm. "What did I say to you?" Shane turned to me. "And you. Ya think you're so fuckin' smart to bring a kid here?"

"Take 'em away." Rick sighed as he lowered his gun. Shane looked back at Rick in shock and released his grip on Carl. "Take 'em away." Daryl nodded and walked over to Randall, picking him up off the ground.

"Get up." Daryl grumbled as he led Randall out of the barn and back to the shed. Rick glared at me and Carl and placed his gun back in its holster before motioning for us to follow him. We followed him back to the camp where everyone was awaiting the verdict.

"We're keepin' 'em in custody for now." Rick growled. "Michaela made sure of that. Brought Carl to the barn to watch."

"I'm gonna find Dale." Andrea smiled and walked away.

"Carl, go inside." Lori said to Carl without looking away from me. "Now, please." Carl sighed and walked towards the house. "Are you fucking kidding me? You brought my son to an execution?"

"I brought 'em to stop an execution." I hissed. "Not a day goes by that I don't think about the shit I did. It haunts me to this day. Their screams, the blood... I don't want that life for you." I let out a sigh. "I dunno, I know it ain't right to make the decisions for ya, but I felt that I had no choice in the matter. If y'all would've went through with it, you'd never be the same ever again. Once ya kill someone, there is no goin' back, it's who you become. Sure you could stop, but it wouldn't change your past."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A loud yell echoed through the property.

"T-Dog, get a shotgun now!" Rick ordered. "Michaela, get-" Rick looked around for me, but I was already gone, sprinting towards the yells with my pistol in hand. "MICHAELA!"

I quickly shoved the gate door open and ran through the field, my heart sunk as I saw a walker on top of someone. "DAD!" Daryl managed to catch up to me and tackled the walker to the ground and pierced it's skull with his knife. "DAD!" I cried as I knelt down on the ground beside him He wasn't bit, but the walker tore his stomach open, shredding his intestines. "No, no, no, no, no!"