The Third Eye

By: Sophie5

Summary: Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its affiliated series/games/etc. All characters, except my own originals, are property of AMC, Frank Darabont and all respective owners. This is simply an alternate universe story I have written to focus solely on the lives of Daryl and Merle Dixon before the zombie apocalypse based on what we know of what is revealed in the show and in the video game, "Survival Instinct."

Notes: This is my interpretation of what the Dixon brothers' lives were like before they leave for Atlanta and meet up with Rick for the first time. We all know that story well enough so I will not be continuing the story once I reach the point of leading into the game, "Survival Instinct." If you have never played the game, I suggest you read the Wikipedia page on it. This story will mostly focus on Daryl's child, teen and young adulthood years before the outbreak.

Chapter 1: Not Your Shield

Title: The Third Eye
Fandom: The Walking Dead
Genre: Drama/Angst/Romance/Action
Rating: Teen+
Status: In Progress (Chapter 1 of ?)
Soundtrack: "XOXO" by huts

35 Years before the Global Outbreak
Somewhere in the mountains of North Georgia

Daryl Dixon's life was anything but rainbows and roses. It was something he and his older brother, Merle, had gotten used to and just accepted it as a normal part of their lives. They lived with their father who had decided before Daryl was even born that they would leave the loud, crowded cities and set their roots in quieter regions. Just a set of nameless peaks that he and his brother often climbed out of sheer boredom; longing for adventure and something greater beyond the grassy hills, whispering winds and the warmth of the sun beating down on their skins.

Merle had been too young to remember what it was like in the city so there wasn't much for them to really miss – Daryl having known the rustic life for as far back as he could remember. Their whole lives had been nothing but wide open fields, craggy mountain peaks, and skidding around on frozen lake water during the cold seasons. Time was all but lost in that place and they didn't mind it so much. Years passed and it almost seemed like the world around them held no place in what was going on with their lives.

It was during one of these said cold seasons that the story really begins. Like any other time before, Daryl waited waited for the lake to freeze over enough that he could slide around on the ice. His mother had hated when he and Merle pulled stunts like that. But she was dead and Merle was holed up at the juvenile detention center so who was really there to stop him except for his drunkard of a dad?

"Daryl!"

Daryl looked up through his scraggly, dark brown hair where he sat near the edge of the lake, frozen from the cold as he re-laced his boots. Grinning up at the young black girl as she approached, he pulled the wool hat down further to cover his ears. "Over here, Connie!"

Connie trotted through the snow toward him – doing her best to not sink into the powder. He had always told her to make sure not to go trouncing through the snow like she owned the mountain. Even though she was ten, she liked to believe she was an adult; at least when it was just the two of them. Daryl couldn't say anything, really. He was ten also and thought he was awesome.

She finally caught up to him, catching her breath as she looked behind her – keeping an eye out for any adults. Namely Daryl's dad. "Yo daddy's gonna kill us."

"Nah," was all he said, grinning a bit more as he stood up.

"He's gonna kill us."

"Relax."

She made a disapproving sound. He just continued to grin. "I am tellin' you, we gonna die."

"And I'm tellin' you that we are gonna be just fine, girl." Daryl could see the eye roll without even having to look up at Connie.

"There you go again."

He stood up, chuckling a bit as he held his hand out to her. Her gloved hand grasped his and he pulled her up to where he was situated. Daryl gave Connie a sidelong glance as she took the time to really admire the frozen landscape that he had promised to show her.

"Now ain't that site worth all that hillside you climbed, girl?"

She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, folding her arms across her chest and giving him her infamous "side eye" through umber hues. "I don't know about all that, D."

"Psh, whatever, Connie. You love my mountain."

"Oh, so it's yours now, is it?"

He laughed easily, nudging her with his elbow some. "Hell yeah. I was lost out here for nine whole days once and didn't nobody help me get back home! I'm the king of this place."

She shook her head. "You just keep tellin' yoself that, D. Whateva helps you sleep out here in these woods."

Connie Phillips was a city girl who had recently moved to the countryside with her folks. Her dad was some sort of small business owner – the local convenient story and her mom was a pediatrician. They made ends meet and Connie was a little spoiled, being the only child of her parents. But they raised her right and made sure that she never took advantage of people and always did her best in everything that she did. She also didn't take any crap from anyone – especially not from the likes of Daryl Dixon.

Maybe that's why, in the first month of her moving to his hometown, they were able to form a solid friendship fairly quickly. Daryl was just shooting some dice with some of the local kids just around the corner of the bus stop. They had spied Connie running to catch her bus and had just missed it, fussing at herself for letting it happen. His friends immediately had ugly things to say – calling her those racial slurs most were familiar with in the area.

She had pointedly ignored all of them until Benny had taken things too far. Connie wasted no time. She didn't bother saying anything. Instead, she opened up the biggest can of whoop ass he had ever seen a girl dish out on another person. Needless to say, Daryl wanted to get to know her better from that day forward and for the past three months he had done just that.

"So what you draggin' me out here for so early in the mornin' on a Saturday for? It can't be just for this view."

Daryl smirked, playing with some of the hair that tickled parts of the inside of his ear. "And what if it was?"

"I would beat the daylights outta you," she replied frankly.

They both shared a laugh. Daryl was getting ready to step out onto the frozen lake, making sure he had chosen the right spot to place his feet. Easing himself down slowly, he felt his foot shift slightly to the right before he quickly righted himself. Turning to look behind him, he saw Connie's wide eyed expression, her hands extended as though to catch him in case he wound up slipping and busting his ass on the ice.

He gestured to her with his arm roughly. "C'mon girl! What you waitin' on?"

She sucked on her teeth, turning her nose up at him as she folded her arms tightly across her chest. "There ain't no way I'm goin' down there. I'm fine keeping my neck intact, thank you very much."

"You chicken. C'mere, Connie!" Daryl reached out and grabbed at her legs, causing her to squeal and just as she slipped on the snow he caught her as her arms and shoulders slammed into his chest. They both fell in a rough heap on the ice, both making groaning noises. Once they got over the initial pain, he looked over at her and watched as the clouds of their breath intermingled with each other. "See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

She sat up on her elbows, ignoring the wetness bleeding through the fabric of her coat. "You're nuts, Daryl Dixon."

"DARYL!"

Instantly, the two youngsters sat up, eyes wide as they tried to ascertain where the screams were coming from. Connie gave Daryl a curious look and he quickly shook his head. He knew that voice very well and it was odd for him to be up this early in the morning in the first place.

"GODDAMMIT DARYL! WHERE YOU AT BOY?!"

Connie nudged Daryl. "Hey, you probably need to go."

He pursed his lips together. "You just got here…" Daryl's mouth formed into an indignant pout. He hated when his dad did this kind of mess. "I had a whole day of exploring I wanted to do with you."

"We can do that anytime," she reassured him, moving to sit up. He did the same. "This mountain ain't goin' nowhere."

"That ain't the point, Connie."

"I know, D. But I don't want you getting' in trouble."

"Too late."

Daryl stood up to his full height, readjusting his coat and tugging his hat further down on his head. When Connie reached out to touch his shoulder, he gently shrugged it off. Any other day he would have appreciated her concern and care; her worries. But not today. Because it was the one dark mark on his life that he didn't want her exposed to. So he had simply chocked it up to his dad being an uptight parent who was probably screaming because he'd forgotten to do some chores. He wouldn't let Connie see the ugly truth of his life. He didn't want whatever image she had of him damaged by the ugliness of his reality.

He knew he had hurt Connie a little by his actions, but she tried her best to play it off and then moved around him to clamber up on the snow. "Well, I'll see you later than D. Just…call me later or whatever."

"Yeah," was all he could manage to utter, watching her maker her way back around the small slope leading her back down the mountain.

"DARYL! YOU SUM'BITCH! C'MERE!"

Sighing, he watched the cloud of his own breath appear before he started trudging through the snow toward his house. He didn't know what this was going to be about today, but he knew that it would involve him probably not having done something "to satisfaction" or something else stupid. Daryl honestly didn't even care for once. His whole day to enjoy was going up in a puff of smoke.

As he made his way toward the front porch, he looked back over his shoulder at the snow - Connie's tracks still visible in the white blanket, before pushing the door open to the house. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind him did Daryl feel a sharp pain to his face. The force of the blow caused him to crash onto the hardwood floor of the living room and he immediately covered his head - the heel of his father's boot smashing into his shoulder.

"What'd I tell you 'bout lettin' them horses out of the barn this mornin', Daryl?! WHAT DID I FUCKIN' TELL YOU BOY!?"

Another blow was dealt to his body, causing the young man to wince in pain. "I just let them out in the pasture like you's told me to, Dad!"

"When did I say that?! WHEN?! I ain't tell you no shit like that! Now they're out there in the snow, liable to catch somethin' and it's all your fault!" He continued to kick and smack Daryl around for good measure, finally taking a moment to swallow a mouthful of the whiskey from the bottle of Southern Comfort grasped tightly in his hand. "Now go'n and round them things back up into the barn! GO'N, GET!"

The pain was a bitter reminder that Daryl was alone in this hell. Merle had gone and landed himself in Juvi again so it was just his dad and him until he was released in four months. Sighing, he got up as fast as he could - ignoring the ache in his shoulders and back - and made his way out the side door to where the barn was. The horses barely acknowledged him. Or maybe it was because he was hardly noticing them? Who knew? Daryl only knew one thing for certain.

This was Hell.

Author's Ramblings: So what did you guys think of this? Did you like it? Hate it? I know I will probably get some negative reviews or something. It's why I made a note to state that this was AU. Anyway, let me know what your thoughts are and what I can do to improve as I go along. Like I said, I don't really know how far I plan on taking this. All I know is that I have been wanting to write this kind of story for a long time and I hope I am starting off on the right foot! Thanks for reading!