Inside the former cafeteria of the prison.
Michael and the rest of the survivors with positions in the community had gathered and are currently in the middle of discussion on the things that happened during their short absence.
"So you're telling me that your brother." Rosita looked at Daryl then turned his gaze to Rick. "and your best friend joined a group led by someone called The Governor and they came here two days ago demanding people to be handed over? it seems to be a problem that wouldn't be easily solved since even family is involved."
Daryl stared at her for a moment before responding in a husky voice. "It's fine. Merle is already working on how to leave that place and join us."
Hearing his words, the people who knew the short history between Merle and Rick glanced at the man, but the latter remained silent. Seemingly deep in his thoughts.
"What do we do about Shane then?" With her arms crossed together, Andrea turned to ask Michael beside her.
Michael closed his eyes for a moment before opening it to look at Rick, whose gaze remained towards the floor. "It pains me to say this after all the things you guys had been through with him, but we'll need to kill him. We can't afford to leave behind an unstable factor such as him alive. It's clear to me that his obsession would continue to haunt us if he remains alive."
Except for the new additions, who just silently watched and listened since they didn't know the said person. Those familiar with Shane all wore the same expression, dejection. Even Hershel who absolutely hated the man's guts couldn't help but feel dejected and at the same time feel pity for the man.
After all, it does not erase the fact that the man was once considered a family and a close friend.
'Life is really unpredictable. Today, we're even deciding on the death of someone who was once close to us.' Andrea thought with a helpless sigh.
Jack, who had been quietly leaning on the pillar suddenly felt the need to voice his thoughts. "Is there no other way besides killing him? He's still your friend no matter what he did, right?"
Michael looked at him and replied. "Was our friend until he led hostile forces at our gate. I didn't care even when I learned that he abandoned his friends while I was away, but what he did a couple of days ago is unacceptable. Especially after I learned of the real motive behind it. It's better that you don't ask about it though, just know that he needs to be eliminated. Everyone is to kill him if you happen to encounter him. That's final."
"No.."
Michael had just ended his words when Rick suddenly chimed the second he finished speaking.
Everyone turned their attention to Rick, who slowly raised his head and stared at Michael with an intense gaze.
"I'll kill him myself."
Michael's lips slowly crept upwards into a grin. "Then let's make it happen. Let's not delay this conflict any longer and immediately take care of them when they least expect it. We will launch on attack to their base three days from now. Any additional thoughts on it?"
"None?"
Michael looked at every single one of them and was surprised to see that no one was objecting at all. Even from the ones he was expecting to say something.
'Dammit, don't tell me that it's going to be a Miketatoship every time I'll be here?' Michael frowned with displeasure.
'This was what I was afraid of and the reason why I kept going away.'
Gritting his teeth in annoyance. "No one? Seriously, no one from any of you at all? Listen here, I know that I am capable of leading you all, but that doesn't mean that you're just gonna blindly follow everything I say. I want people, not robots that do not have a moral compass, self-determination or critical thinking. This place is a community where everyone is trying to survive. We need to help each other, share our ideas with each other for a better tomorrow. So just because I'm strong and that I'm always stepping forward, that doesn't mean you're just gonna sit or stand there and willingly follow whatever I say. If you have ideas or plans, bring it up and we're gonna discuss it and polish it because many heads coming together are better than one. So, are there any thoughts or better ideas you have on how we should approach the problem we have at hand?"
"I'm in agreement with you, so there's nothing from me." Daryl responded with a shrug of his shoulder.
"I have no problems with it either." Andrea smiled, and the way she's looking at Michael is similar to how someone looks at a burger.
One by one, everyone voiced their support since they also know that this is the only way to take care of this problem. After all, everyone also had their fair share of troubles like this before they joined the prison community.
On the other hand, Rosita glanced at Michael from the corner of her eyes and thought.
'Did he think that just because no one was saying anything, he thinks that they are just blindly following him? Hmm..I think in my case, it must be because he knows what he's doing and he always leads by example. Always the first to enter and always the last one to come out. Though from what I've observed so far from most of the people here, they just don't want the mortal burden and the hard decisions that go with being a leader. They don't want to be burdened with guilt or get blamed if a plan fails and people die. Unfortunately, that kind of thinking is only good in the beginning, but would pose a huge disadvantage in the long run if only one person is making the decisions. Especially when the group becomes bigger in the future.' Rosita quickly figured out what Michael was trying to tell them. She's just not sure if the others also understood the message behind it.
Michael slightly smiled and sighed. He was still unsatisfied but he tried to be understanding.
"Alright, three days from now. We will launch a decisive attack on our enemy." At the end of his words, Michael finally noticed Jill at the corner writing something on a notebook.
"Jill, what are you doing?"
Jill glanced at him and finished what she was writing first before responding. "A couple of days ago, I felt the need to document everything that will happen here, be it minor or major events. I want those who come after us to understand that their peace was bought with our struggle, and the life they enjoy grew from the hardships the people here endured. I just started not long ago, so there's still not a lot in there."
Everyone immediately became interested in what she was doing after hearing her words.
"I better sound cool in that." Daryl said with a chuckle while watching Jill hand over the notebook to Michael.
Jill snickered and replied. "Then you better not mess up if you don't want the future generations to speak bad of you."
"Tsk!"
Michael took the notebook from her and just as she said, there's not a lot in it since the first log only started when The Governor came to their base.
"Alright, keep doing that and we'll add them to the library we'll build in the future with the books we have collected." he said, handing the notebook back to its owner.
"Alright, with those things out of the way. Let's discuss the things we have seen and witnessed while we were on the road."