"Face judgment!"
"Face judgment!"
"Face judgment!"
The chant erupted from every corner of the factory floor. Believers and guards alike raised their fists in unison.
The prisoners trembled. Every muscle in Rick's body was coiled tight, straining against the zip ties cutting into his wrists. Around him, he could feel the same fury radiating from the others.
Mercy? These bastards were just afraid their captives would fight back and cause casualties. They had stolen everything and now they had the gall to call it mercy.
The man raised one hand and pressed it downward.
Silence fell instantly.
He looked down at his prisoners. "Now, we will conduct the Trial of the Corpse's Kiss on the one among you whose sins weigh heaviest."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?!" T-Dog spat.
The man clasped his hands behind his back.
"It is quite simple. The sinner will kiss one of the Lost Ones." He gestured vaguely toward the shadows where Rick could see the outline of cages. "If he survives the kiss unharmed, it proves his sin does not merit death. If he dies, or becomes Lost himself, then it means he received exactly what he deserved."
For a moment, nobody spoke. The sheer insanity of what they had just heard seemed to short-circuit everyone's ability to respond.
Then T-Dog exploded.
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?!" He lunged forward against his restraints. "That's just murder! Straight-up execution! Nobody survives a walker bite! You sick fucks!"
A thin man with wire-frame glasses stepped forward.
"The Lost Ones are pure. They have no souls or prejudice. They are the most impartial judges the Lord has placed in our hands."
He looked directly at T-Dog. "If a person is truly innocent, the Lost Ones will not harm them. It is divine providence."
"That's bullshit! That is not providence, that is you murdering people and calling it God's will!"
The thin man's expression did not change. "If you are unwilling to accept judgment, you may also choose death."
Death or choose one person to face that insane "trial."
Rick's mind raced. There had to be a way out. But every option he could think of ended with someone dead.
He slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the decision was made.
"I will do it."
"No!!"
Lori was shaking her head frantically, tears already streaming down her face. "No! You cannot! Carl needs you! I need you!"
"Dad!"
The sound of his son crying nearly undid Rick's resolve.
"Rick, shut the hell up!" Shane's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Rick, and in that moment, every bit of jealousy between them evaporated. "You do not get to die! You hear me? You still have to lead—"
"No," Rick cut him off. He did not look at Shane, Lori, or Carl. He kept his eyes locked on the man. "This is my decision. The responsibility is mine."
"Stop," Jacqui said softly.
She looked at them with a faint, peaceful smile.
"Choose me. I have not wanted to live for a long time."
others immediately began to protest, but the man's laughter silenced them.
"Oh, this is touching," he said, shaking his head. "A leader willing to sacrifice himself, and a weary soul ready to embrace death. Such rare nobility in a world like this. But you have misunderstood something important."
He tilted his head slightly as he studied them. "When did I ever say you had the right to choose?"
He gestured toward the crowd of believers surrounding them. "The person to be judged will be chosen by us. By the Lord's faithful. We will decide who among you carries the greatest sin."
He turned toward the woman. "Who do you believe carries the deepest sin?"
The woman did not hesitate. Her finger shot out, pointing directly at Daryl.
"He shows no remorse! That one is a devil!"
"I choose him too!" Another voice from the crowd. "Look at him! He looks like a criminal!"
"Yes! The violent one!"
"The angry one!"
The votes came fast, piling onto Daryl one after another. He clenched his fists, but he did not argue.
"No..." The word came out quiet. Then something in Merle snapped.
"Fuck all y'all!!"
He thrashed against his restraints. He twisted around to face the woman.
"You goddamn bitch! I ain't just gonna curse you! I am gonna fuckin' kill you! You hear me?! Soon as I get outta these zip ties, first thing I am doin' is rippin' your throat out with my bare hands! Then I am gonna gut you and that little shit-stain kid of yours and feed what is left to the fuckin' walkers!"
He swung his attention to the crowd of believers.
"And all you sheep-fuckin' Bible-thumpers! You brainwashed pieces of shit! You think you are righteous?! You are nothin' but a bunch of cowards hidin' behind some fake-ass prophet! I could take every last one of you down with my bare hands! You hear me?! Every! Single! One!"
Then his eyes locked on the man.
"And especially you. You ain't no prophet. You are just a spineless pussy hidin' behind a bunch of scared people too stupid to think for themselves."
He leaned forward as far as his restraints would allow.
"You ain't fit to lick the dirt off my boots, you hear me? The shit I scrape off my shoes is worth more than you will ever be. You are nothin'. A nobody. A pathetic little man playin' dress-up and pretendin' to be important."
Every believer in the factory was staring at Merle. Apparently, they had never encountered someone quite this eager to sign his own death warrant. For several seconds, they just stood there, unable to process what they had just heard.
Then the shock morphed into fury.
"Judge him!!"
"Yes! Him! He is the evil one!"
"The blasphemer! He must face judgment!"
"Choose him! Choose him!"
Within seconds, every finger that had been pointing at Daryl swung toward Merle instead.
Strangely, the leader did not look angry. If anything, he seemed pleased.
"It appears that we have identified the one whose sins are most grievous."
"No..."
Daryl was staring at the scene unfolding before him like he could not quite believe it was real.
"NO!!"
The scream tore out of him. He lunged forward with everything he had, straining against the zip ties until Rick could see the plastic cutting into his wrists, drawing blood.
"You sons of bitches! Let him go! MERLE!!"
The guards moved in immediately, grabbing Merle under the arms and hauling him to his feet. They dragged him toward the center of the workshop.
Merle did not resist. He allowed them to pull him forward without a struggle. He never looked back at Daryl, not even once.
When they passed Rick, however, he stopped.
The guards tried to force him onward, but Merle planted his feet and refused to move.
"Hold up," he said.
Rick forced himself to lift his head and meet Merle's eyes.
"Listen up, Officer Friendly." Merle's mouth twitched into something that might have been a smile. "I am dyin' in your place right now. You get that?"
Rick opened his mouth, but Merle kept talking.
"That means you owe me big time." He leaned down slightly, getting as close as the guards would allow. "So here is what you are gonna do. You are gonna get my brother out of here. You understand me? You gotta swear it on your kid and your wife. On every goddamn thing you got left in this world. Swear you will get Daryl out."
Rick stared at this man, who had been nothing but a problem since the day they met.
"I swear I will get him out. Whatever it takes."
Merle studied his face for a long moment, then nodded.
"Good."
He straightened up. "Alright, boys! Let us get this show on the road!"
"MERLE!!"
Daryl was still fighting against his restraints, blood running freely from his wrists now.
The others were crying. T-Dog had his eyes squeezed shut. Even Shane could not watch.
Lori was sobbing into Carl's shoulder. The boy was shaking.
The guards dragged Merle to the center of the workshop and forced him to his knees in the spotlight.
The leader raised his hand slowly.
"Begin the judgment."
One of the guards moved to a heavy iron cage at the edge of the light. The guard opened the cage door just wide enough to slide a long metal pole inside. He jabbed at the walker viciously, driving it forward.
The walker stumbled out of the cage. It turned its head, eyes scanning the space until they locked onto Merle.
A low moan bubbled up from its throat, then it started walking.
Step by shuffling step, the walker made its way toward the center of the workshop.