Chapter 74

**- Narrator -**

"How are we going to deal with those two?" Rick asked with a frown. He was very worried about them because of what it could mean for his family and the whole group.

"Give me a day with them, I'll make them talk." Daryl suggested innocently.

"We should fortify the prison first." Shane frowned. "For all we know, the group they mentioned wouldn't be the only one out there. We need to prepare for all threats."

"We can start by setting up the machine guns we have." Xenon proposed. "We can place one at the front gate, and one on each tower. Though that means we have to affect people to each tower. We can't afford that at the moment."

"Let's do it anyway. But keep them hidden." Shane proposed. "In case of attack, we could get on top of the tower and rain bullets from up there."

"Our people are still untrained to use weapons." Rick reminded them. "Maybe we could start by teaching them how to do so?"

"We can't afford the bullets, Rick." Xenon shook his head. "We can teach them to use handguns, perhaps. Show them the correct posture to use rifles, but that's as far as we can go for now. Maybe we could consider it later when we have enough ammo."

"Back to the first problem, how are we going to deal with the moles?" Jim asked.

"I'm sure Daryl and I can make them talk." Xenon shrugged.

"How are you gonna go about that?" Jim frowned, uncomfortable with what he was referring to.

"Do you really want me to spell it out for you?" Xenon raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to torture him." Dale accused.

"I wouldn't call it torture." Xenon shook his head. "We're just gonna break a few bones, and hopefully he'll speak while he's still got a few unbroken bones." Xenon shrugged again, while Daryl was cackling madly in the background.

"Great... Just wonderful..." Dale shook his head. "Is that what we'll become now?"

"You do realize we'll kill them afterward, right?" Shane narrowed his eyes at him.

"Kill them? For what? Their guilt hasn't been proven yet, and you're already thinking of killing them?" Dale looked at him incredulously.

"Exactly." Xenon nodded as if it's the most normal thing in the world. Dale didn't know how to react anymore. The absence of protests told him everything he needed to know. At this point, all he could was talk to the others and hope they had more common sense. Perhaps if enough people disagreed, they could consider looking for a different solution... He turned and left angrily.

"You think he'll try to do something about it?" Daryl asked no one in particular.

"Definitely." Jim nodded grimly. "Dale won't let it go..."

"How about you talk to him, try to make him see reason?" Shane asked him. "You know him the best."

"I'll try." Jim sighed before he followed Dale. He knew it was a lost cause, but he owed it to him to try at the very least. He was still a friend of his.

"Shall we start?" Xenon asked Daryl with a barely visible grin underneath his mask.

**- Randall -**

A feeling of dread settled in Randall's heart as soon as he noticed the group coming his way. He knew they were finally here to interrogate him, especially since Daryl was there. That madman tried to do so for a while but was stopped by the others every time. It seems they have finally decided to do it. He knew it was only a matter of time.

But he could find solace in the knowledge that they can't go too far with him. No, it would be more accurate to say they won't. At least, that's what he thought. As far as they knew, he hadn't wronged them yet, so torture them as they might, it won't go beyond a few slaps. But once they found out he was indeed guilty... things would change dramatically. He had a strategy though: deny. No matter what he did, he had to deny it until the very end. It was the only course of action with the highest probability of success, and he had already made far too many mistakes. He can't afford to make any more.

They took him with them to the guard room at the front gate, most likely because it was the farthest from the main cell block. He was seated and both his hands and legs were bound to the chair. Daryl was giving him a smile that promised a lot of pain, sending chills down his spine, but the knowledge that it wasn't Daryl alone in the room somehow lessened his anxiety. Even Andrea and Amy were there, so the odds were in his favor somehow.

"Why did you join us?" Xenon asked him calmly.

"We've already told you, man." Randall answered, doing his best to adopt an affronted expression on his face. "We were looking for other people that weren't freaks! And you seemed friendl-"

* SLAP *

"I think we've already established that's not true, so stop wasting everybody's time." Xenon shook his head with a smile. "No, you came here for something else."

"What could we possibly want to do with you if not to join you? There are only two of us! We could never stand a chance! It's suicide, man! I'm begging you, man! We're onl-"

* SMACK * Daryl had a goofy grin on his face, like a child that had been given his favorite candy. He genuinely hoped he doesn't give in easily so that he could have more fun with him.

"Then why did you lie about your age?" Xenon shook his head. "If you had no other agenda, you would never have lied. Yet you pretended to be at least five years younger."

"It was Dave's idea!" Randall decided to shift the blame for that one on his teammate. "He asked me to do it, and I just did! I didn't see the harm in it, man! I swear, we never meant any-"

* SLAP *

* SMACK *

* SLAP *

* SMACK *

...

Xenon was unhappy about his non-existent progress. Randall's face was a mess by now, yet he haven't said anything. He could see what he playing it, and he had to give him credit. He was smart not to talk. The moment he did so, he would be doomed to die.

"I see." Xenon nodded his head coldly. "You seem to believe nothing bad will happen as long as you don't confirm your guilt. Very smart indeed." Xenon turned to the others. "It's going to get uglier from now on. I suggest you leave if you can't bear with it." His words were targetting Andrea and Amy, but he didn't bother trying to convince them. They can be rather stubborn when they want to. "Get the hammer, Daryl." Randall's eyes widened in fear of what was coming.

"PLEASE PLEASE! I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING TO DESERVE IT! WHY WON'T YOU BELIEVE ME!" Xenon put a piece of cloth on his mouth to silence his cries. He was no longer interested in hearing anything he said.

"One hammer, coming right up!" Daryl chuckled as he played with the hammer in his hand.

"You know... When everything went to shit, I learned early on not to trust anyone. You wanna hear my story?" He didn't wait for his answer. "Of course you do, it's not like you have anything better to do anyway." Xenon chuckled at his lame joke and shook his head. "I was making a run to Atlanta, to look for guns, food, tools, anything really. I spent eight days there, planning to return by the ninth to join the main group... But things never go according to plan, do they?" He shook his head.

"I was stopped by two men, the kind you can tell just by looking at their mean faces they had already committed all kinds of crimes. They held me at gunpoint, took everything I had with me. If only they had stopped at that, maybe they would've lived to see another day... You see, one of them was dead set on raping me..." There were a few gasps behind Xenon. "I know, you'd think that kind of thing only happens to the fairer sex. He never succeeded. They were quite drunk, you see... Never noticed when I took their gun and shot one of them... " Everyone was listening intently, having realized that they didn't know much about their teammate

The rapist though... He didn't go easily. I shot him the dick, left him to bleed out outside... But it's not blood loss that killed him..." Xenon shook his head, uncaring of his reactions. "No, it was a dozen walkers that ate him bit by bit... It was a comical scene, watching a grown man cry for his mommy..." He was silent for a moment, taking the time to catch his breath. "But you wanna know a secret?" He whispered. "I didn't have much time back then... You see, I was afraid I won't be able to catch the others if I delayed any longer, and I was surrounded by hundreds of walkers..." He came closer to him, looking him right in the eye with an evil smile. "But with you? I have aaaall the time in the world." He gave him a chilling smile that only worsened his growing dread.

"We will break you, one tiny bone at a time until we make the tour all over your body... When you have no more unbroken bones, we will slowly cut you up one tiny piece at a time, until you have no limbs left... Then, we will slowly cut your face, until you have no face of your own... by the time we're done, you'll be left this... armless, legless... faceless thing, won't you? Rolling down the street... Like a turd... In the wind..." Xenon was more excited than he should by the end of what he deemed was a rather intimidating speech he had prepared beforehand.

"I won't ask you to talk anymore... And quite frankly, I hope you take your sweet time, the later the better... I'm sure it will be entertaining either way..." Xenon grinned, but there was a glint of madness in his eyes; whether it was intentional or not, he himself wasn't entirely certain.

"Do it." Randall did his best to speak through the cloth covering his mouth, making loud gagging sounds to attract attention, hoping Xenon would get that he was 'willing' to cooperate, yet the latter didn't care in the slightest as he told Daryl, who had been waiting for the signal this whole time.

Daryl didn't delay and brought down the hammer on his pinky finger immediately, promising nothing but pain for the receptor of his gentle treatment.