𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑆𝑖𝑥

Soon after Dale left on his walk, everyone started to file out of the house and wander off. I began to head back towards my tent, when Andrea suddenly called my name. I turned around to see her jogging over to me with an eager look on her face.

"Hey, so I was wondering if you could cover my shift and watch Randall for me. I just haven't eaten anything today and I'm starving. It'll be really quick, I promise," she pleaded with me. A part of me wanted to say no, just to spite her for not taking Dale's side. But even I knew that a pissed off, hangry Andrea wouldn't bode well for anyone.

Before I could answer, another voice piped up behind her.

"I'll do it."

I peeked over Andrea's shoulder to see Daryl casually strutting towards us.

"Oh, perfect," Andrea sighed in relief and handed her pistol over to Daryl. "I owe you one," she said to him before hurriedly making her way back to the house. I folded my arms and looked up at Daryl, who had taken Andrea's place and was now standing in front of me.

"Why did you do that?" I questioned him.

"Do what?"

"I'm perfectly capable of babysitting Randall by myself," I suddenly felt myself becoming just as annoyed with him as I was with Shane earlier. Daryl took a step closer and looked me carefully in the eyes. I could feel his warm breath brush against my lips as he peered down at me.

"He's dangerous. I don't want you near him," he warned me. I scoffed and rolled my eyes.

"He's locked up, the worst thing he could do is try to have a conversation with me," I reasoned with irritation clear in my voice.

"Well I don't want you talkin' to him neither."

"Why? You scared he's gonna tell me about your torture session?"

Daryl inhaled deeply and broke his gaze for a moment. The corners of his lips twitched as if he was struggling to contain something he desperately wanted to say.

"He ain't as innocent as you think," he rasped.

"Oh, really?" I pursed my lips and sighed sharply. He ran a hand over his mouth and frowned, seemingly just as frustrated as I was.

"Why the hell do ya think I said the women 'round here were gonna wish they were dead?" Daryl moved his face closer to mine and spoke to me in a low voice.

"You can roll yer eyes and give me attitude all ya want, but you ain't going near that shed," he continued.

"You can't tell me what to do," I scoffed and placed my hands on my hips.

"I just did."

I felt as if I wanted to explode right there in front of him, regardless of how childish I would have looked.

"I never asked you to protect me," I snapped at him.

"That's too damn bad," he shot back. We were both fuming at each other, close enough to almost make our noses touch. Daryl searched my eyes with a hard gaze and backed away from me.

"Go take a nap. Looks like ya need one," he drawled before turning on his heel and taking off towards the shed without another word to me. Once he was out of ear shot, I started to laugh. It was the kind of chuckle that one would let out when they were so angry they just didn't know what else to do.

***

I made a point not to sit next to Glenn that night by the campfire. I was cross with him for abandoning Dale, but I wasn't going to tell him that. Everyone seemed to be on edge, awaiting the final gunshot from inside the barn that would indicate the end of Randall's life. Lori anxiously paced back and forth nearby, which seemed to bother me more than it should have.

Everyone's head jerked up as a pair of incoming footsteps broke the heavy silence of the camp. I saw Carl appear first, with a stone hard look on his face. Rick followed close behind. I stood from my chair and felt my stomach clench in anticipation as I stared at Rick. He glanced at me for a moment before looking out to everyone else.

"We're keeping him in custody for now," he finally announced. I felt a huge sigh of relief escape from my chest and a smile spread across my face.

"I'm gonna go find Dale," I said to Carol before quickly leaving the campsite.

Dale hadn't come back from his walk yet, but I still made a point to check the RV before wandering out farther across the farm. Leaving the warmth of the fire sent a cold chill down my spine. It would've felt refreshing if I didn't soon break out shivering. It served me right for not putting on a jacket before I left.

I began to think it was foolish of me to hope to find him in the dark, especially considering just how big the property was. I just felt so excited about hearing the good news that I wanted to tell him myself. The thought of bringing a flashlight hadn't even crossed my mind.

A sudden array of shouts and yells caught my attention. I whipped around to see a cluster of lights gathering in one spot and several dark figures running towards it. My hand immediately pulled out my knife and I started towards the commotion at a sprint, my heart pounding more intensely with every step I took.

Everyone on the farm was gathered together in a little group. Loud sobs and cries voiced from almost everyone that stood there. I sheathed my blade and struggled to catch my breath as I tried to look past everyone in front of me. I recognized Maggie's short brown hair from behind and gently tapped her shoulder.

"What's going on?!" I urgently said to her. With the help of a nearby flashlight, my eyes caught sight of a light beige fishing hat with several splatters of fresh blood staining the fabric.

"Charlotte, wait," Maggie laid a hand around my arm and I roughly pulled away from her, pushing my way past several people that I didn't bother apologizing to. When I broke through to the front of the crowd, I saw Andrea kneeling down on the floor, wailing loudly as she held the hand of the figure lying on the ground.

It was Dale. He was on his back, facing up at the night sky. His stomach was torn open, exposing everything that rested inside. Long strings of intestines and gore wrapped around each other like a mangled animal, dark blood spilled over his sides and soaked up almost the entirety of his shirt. Dale groaned and whimpered as he struggled to breathe, almost louder than Andrea's cries. At Dale's head stood Rick and Daryl.

I watched in a stunned silence as Daryl raised the pistol in his hand and aimed it at Dale's forehead. The old man on the ground slightly turned his head to look up at Daryl and a quick moment of silence passed where the two simply looked at each other.

"Sorry brother," I heard Daryl say.

My body flinched in surprise as the gun went off, leaving an incessant ringing lingering in my ears. A gaping red hole now stood in the middle of Dale's forehead, a single trail of blood slowly creeping down the side of his face. I could see his eyes were rolled back and his mouth hung slightly open.

It suddenly felt like everyone around me was crying all at once. I couldn't stand it. Everything inside of me felt numb and cold. I didn't feel anything: I wasn't sad or angry. I just wanted to get away from the crying. I bent down and reached over to where Dale's hat was and picked it off the ground. It felt unnaturally heavy in my hands, although I knew it wasn't actually that way.

I began to walk away from Dale's body, and as I passed Glenn, I gently held the fishing hat against his chest. His warm hand rested over mine and I peered up into his tearful eyes.

"He'd want you to have it," I didn't recognize my own voice. It sounded empty and strange as if someone had replaced my voice with a computer while I was asleep. As soon as Glenn quietly took the hat from my hand, I left. I had no particular destination in mind. I just wanted to get away.

✯✯✯

(𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 12/8/20)