Crossbows and Tomahawks
Prologue
The town of Barbourville, Georgia was at one time quaint. Antique malls lined Main Street with hole-in-the-wall restaurants scattered here and there. A local coffee shop brewed a unique roasted blend, and the line to get a cup of it would be out the door and down the sidewalk every morning.
Larger retailers and chain stores hadn't pushed their way into the town just yet. Everything was localized with a farmer's market and a family-run grocery store. There were three schools: an elementary, middle, and high school, each without a neighboring rival. Sports took a backseat to the farming community. Hunting and fishing were leisurely activities and if you were old enough, a drink or two at the local pub marked the end to a hard day's work.
Barbourville was poor. Middle class was hard to come by and each family struggled with income. The closest college was in Atlanta, two hours away. Most people in Barbourville were lucky to receive their high school diploma, let alone a college education.
Daryl Dixon was one of those people.
He sat in a booth at the local pub, absentmindedly sipping from his warm beer as he watched a college basketball game. Georgia was playing whoever. It didn't matter. It was all an illusion anyway-he wasn't really paying attention to anything on television. Daryl kept a young woman in his peripheral-a Sadie Wagner. She was a bartender on the weekends at the pub.
Every Saturday night, he'd come in and sit at the same booth. Sadie would flash him a smile and go about her business. Daryl had the nerve at one time to say something-anything-to the woman, but the wedding band on her ring finger stopped him from acting on such an impulse.
But still, he couldn't stop himself from watching her. She moved with grace, as if the very ground she walked on was a cloud and she floated about. Her steps were light. Daryl didn't know why, but he had to watch her. She was a magnet drawing him in.
There were times when the crowd got rowdy, or a drunkard would push Sadie's buttons one time too many. Daryl had half a mind to grab those men by the throat and haul their asses into the middle of the street, but Sadie...Sadie could handle herself. She was a sweet talker. Flashing that gold band on her finger didn't shut up their come-ons, but when they heard who she was married to...that certainly made everyone go quiet.
Daryl couldn't claim to know who Tommy Wagner was, but his reputation preceded him: a violent man who was convicted of manslaughter. He was recently released from prison and had returned to Barbourville on probation.
But something about Sadie stood out today. A wall was lifted. She was different. Sadie stood a little taller and walked a little peppier. It took him nearly the entire night to figure it out, but once he did, he sighed with relief. The wedding band was gone.
"You doin' all right, Daryl?" He snapped out of his silent reverie. It was her. Sadie was standing next to him.
"Yeah." He couldn't muster the words.
"You've only had the one drink tonight. It's probably warm by now. Last call is in 5 mins...you want me to getcha somethin?"
"Sure." She smiles softly at him and walked back to the bar, fetching him a beer.
The door chimed open and two men walked in. "Hey boys-we're closin' down so if you want something to drink, ya gotta make it quick."
A third man walked in. Daryl instantly pegged him as Tommy. He glanced to Sadie, her happy demeanor turning sour, but only for a moment. She covered it up almost instantly.
Tommy walked up to the bar and sat down on a stool across from Sadie. "I told you we'd talk about all this tomorrow, Tommy."
"Don't see why it's such a big deal. We can talk now."
"No, we can't. I'm closin shop. If you want me to be a real bitch about it, I'll tell you to speak to my lawyer." Sadie stepped from behind the bar and headed over to Daryl's booth. She placed the beer in front of him. "Here ya go."
Daryl watched the altercation between Sadie and her husband...or maybe her ex-husband. Either way, there wasn't a chance he'd be leaving anytime soon. The other bartender hadn't returned from his smoke break, and there was no way he would leave Sadie alone with a murderer.
"Why don't you just get on outta here? Huh? I've done made up my mind and I don't need you to-"
"God, woman. You never give it a rest, do ya? The joke's over."
"No joke, Tommy. Take your lackeys and go home."
"Where are you stayin tonight?"
"It don't matter. I'm leavin Monday."
Tommy laughed. "The hell you are." His laugh quickly faded when he looked at her hand...her bare hand. "Where's your ring?"
"It's gone. You're lucky I didn't pawn the damn thing off."
She moved away from the bar, recognizing the flash in his eyes as something dangerous. But before Sadie could force too much distance between them, Tommy snatched her wrist and lurched her forward. "Close the bar. Kick this asshole outta here. We're going home and we'll...talk there."
Sadie tried slapping him, but Tommy easily deflected her hand. "Don't be stupid. C'mon."
"Let her go, asshole." Tommy and the two men looked up and saw Daryl now standing. "We won't have a problem here if you just walk your asses out the door."
Tommy glared daggers at him. "And who the hell are you?"
"Don't matter, Sunshine."
"Sunshine?" Tommy laughed. "That's great."
The door chimed again. In walked Sam, the other bartender. "What the hell is goin' on? Tommy?"
"Go on, Sam. This doesn't concern you."
"The hell is doesn't. Take this shit outside. I don't need you boys tearin' up my bar. And if you don't get your hand off Miss Sadie, I'll blow your damn head off myself. I ain't afraid to go back to jail."
"Neither am I." Tommy loosened his grip on Sadie, but never took his eyes off Daryl. Sadie snatched her arm back and retreated next to Sam.
"Go on home. All of ya. No more pissing contests for the night." Tommy didn't move as he continued to watch Daryl, his icy eyes returning the stare.
The two other men made their way to the door. "C'mon, Tommy," one called back. Only then did Tommy's feet begin to move.
The door closed behind them and Sam moved to lock it. "Whew," he said. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Sadie. He's a braying jackass."
Daryl moved to the bar where Sadie had preoccupied herself while Sam entered the back room. Her hands were shaking as she wiped down the countertops with a wet rag. "You okay?"
Sadie looked at Daryl but only briefly as she continued to busy herself. "I'm good. Thanks...for bein' here." Daryl replied with only a nod. "Drinks on me tonight."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, no problem. That's my shit I gotta deal with-not yours. I'm sorry you were witness to it."
"You're leaving him?"
"Finally. I'm headin out to Oklahoma."
Daryl's heart stopped. "What's there?"
"My momma. And a good school. I just finished my undergrad online this year. I'm getting my Master's in Psychology. I'll make a name for myself...one that isn't Sadie Wagner-wife of a murderer."
He just nodded.
"Daryl...Dixon, right? You come from Merle's clan?"
"Yeah."
"You should make a name for yourself, too."
"Merle's a good guy. He's just made some bad decisions."
"We all do." The tremors in her hands began to subside. "God, that man gives me heart palpitations."
"You want me to stay? Walk you to your car?"
She smiled. "If anything, someone should walk you to your car. I think you mighta pissed him off more than me." She laughed at her own words, knowing that there was a bit of truth to them. "Don't you worry about me. I've got Sam, and Sam's got a 12-gauge."
He nodded again, words escaping him. There was a rock sitting in his stomach and he thought he was going to be sick. The woman of his dreams was leaving, and he didn't have the heart to ask her to stay. Or the words.
Daryl swallowed his vulnerability. There wasn't any use crying over this-it just wasn't meant to be. This girl deserved better than Tommy...better than Daryl. She shouldn't have to put up with losers.
But he couldn't leave it like this. He couldn't just walk away from this strange fantasy. "I shoulda had more balls...shoulda talked to you before tonight. I just...I don't know, am stupid, I guess."
Sadie couldn't say anything. She didn't know what to say as the man struggled to find his words.
"You just...you take care of yourself up there."
"I will."
"Maybe...if I'm ever in Oklahoma, I'll look you up."
"That'd...that'd be great."
"Okay." He moved to leave, unlocking the front door and opening it. "Lock this behind me."
"Bye, Daryl."
He nodded.
Daryl still thought about Sadie and their final encounter at the pub, four years later. He thought about her as he sat in the prison cell, lying on the cot, his crossbow lying on the floor next to him.
He thought about her when he was alone, hunting or scavenging. He thought about her when he was among the crowd that now occupied the prison.
Maybe she found safety in Oklahoma. Maybe she and her mother were out on a farm somewhere, just like Herschel's. Maybe she joined a community just like Woodbury's.
He thought about her after Merle died, more than ever. He thought about her when Carol smiled at him.
But he never, ever thought about her when killing the walkers. He couldn't accept the fact that she might've become one of them.
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