I do not own The Walking Dead.
Previously:
The boy hugged her a little closer. "I'll keep the nightmare's away, alright? I'll wake you up. Promise."
Humming a reply, Faye allowed herself to relax against him, unconsciousness claiming her minutes later.
Faye walked up to the stand, receiving a few smiles she awkwardly returned, and greeted Carol and Patrick.
"Morning," The woman said. "I'm surprised you're up so early; Heard you were up late reading comic books with Carl. May I ask what time you went to bed?"
"No, you may not." She replied obliviously. The answer wasn't a sane time in the morning. After waking up from a nightmare which luckily hadn't woken Carl, Faye had snuck back to her own cell at whatever early hour it had been. Seamlessly, the girl took over Carol's position over the heat, flipping over a piece of meat to stop it burning. "Anything happening today? I saw all the walkers on my way over here, need me to go down and help?"
Sighing, she leaned against the post. "We'll see. There's supposed to be a run, but we're gonna have to pull a few people off of that. It's getting as bad as last month."
Faye already knew about the run, and she definitely remembered last month. She had only meant to be doing a couple of hours shift, but ended up continuing throughout the day. Crushing the skulls of the undead through a fence had grown tedious. In reply to Carol, she nodded. "Alright. I'll be 'bout if you need me."
"About." Carol corrected, ignoring the raised eyebrow she received from the child. "I'm not having you pick up bad habits."
Her expression must have been amusing to Patrick, who let out a breathy laugh at the girl. She stuck her tongue out at him.
Soon later, Daryl emerged into the courtyard, met with a chorus of greetings. "'Sup Dr S." He said, looking around as others greeted him.
"Morning." Faye said as she put some food into a bowl for him.
The man nodded to her. "Smells good."
"Just so you know," Carol said innocently. "I liked you first."
Had he not been eating, Daryl probably would have scoffed at her. Instead, he put another piece of food in his mouth. "Stop." He chewed a little more. "You know, Rick brought a lot of 'em in too."
Carol gave a little shrug, drying some cutlery as she spoke. "Not recently. Give the strangers sanctuary, keeping people fed – you're gunna have to learn to live with the love." She smiled at the man, almost a smirk.
Daryl shifted on the balls of his feet. He awkwardly looked around a little, and Faye could have sworn he rolled his eyes a little. She didn't question it, though. The older woman continued. "I need you to see something. Patrick, wanna give Faye a hand?"
"Yes, ma'am," He replied as he adjusted his glasses yet again.
"I don't need a hand." Faye grumbled, but knew her protest would fall short.
Carol didn't miss a beat. "Well, you're getting one."
Before he left, the hunter nodded to her. "I'll talk to ya later, alright?"
"Yeah," Faye replied. "See ya."
The two adults began to walk away, a sentence already forming in Carol's mouth, but Patrick stopped them, fidgeting between his feet before standing still to look at the hunter. "Erm, Mr Dixon?"
Faye raised her eyebrows and a hand to her mouth to stop herself laughing, murmuring to herself in amusement. "Mr Dixon?"
Daryl heard her, and, while he seemed mildly entertained, gave her a look to be quiet. Patrick continued. "I just wanted to thank you, for bringing that deer back yesterday. It was a real treat, sir, and I'd be honoured to shake your hand."
The girl pouted – she had helped with the deer, too - as the hunter glanced between her and Carol before sucking on each one of his fingers. Slapping his hand against Patrick's smaller one, he shook it, watching the child's nervous grin with a firm nod. He let go after a moment, and the two adults turned away again as Patrick gave her a triumphant look. Faye merely laughed at him. "Nerd!"
Breakfast was over, and after a few more chores Carol had assigned her with – none of which were helping at the fence – Faye sat on the open end of the truck as the group going on the run prepared themselves. The girl rested her head on one hand. "Can I go with you guys?"
"No." Daryl said, lifting a box onto the truck.
Faye scrunched up her face in annoyance. "But the council cut loads of you guys from going. Can't I go to help out?"
"If ya wanna help out," He passed her his pistol. "Check how many rounds are left in this."
The child raised an eyebrow at him. The gun was full. It was always full. Daryl barely used his gun, as far as Faye knew, and even when he did, he refilled it by himself. They both knew it was loaded. "This is full."
"Unless you've got some sneaky way 'f checkin' it's full by weight, you don't know if it's full or not. Check it."
Faye did so, releasing the magazine and looking inside. The glance given to Daryl was entirely unimpressed. "Full."
"Good to know. Job done." He said nonchalantly. Faye scowled at him. He knew what he was doing. He was probably mocking her internally.
The girl pulled her legs onto the truck, crossing them as she did the same with her arms. "Why can't I go?"
"You've got plenty t' be doin' here. 'S dangerous out there."
"You're kidding, right?" Faye leaned back on her hands. "We go out on hunts all the time, and that's just the two of us. How is it more dangerous with more people?"
The man stopped what he was doing and stood in front of her, his tone as firm as his expression. "Do I need t' repeat myself again? You ain't coming with us today." He stared at her and when she didn't reply, he took it as a sign of her no longer protesting. The sharp edge to his voice stopped when he saw a trace of hurt go across the child's face. "'S not happenin' jus' yet. Plus, you'd have to get all the council's permission with ya bein' little."
"I prefer the term adolescent."
At his half confused, half unsurprised look, the child grinned. Daryl shook his head. "I let you hang 'bout with Michonne too much."
Faye didn't let it show on her face, but hearing Michonne's name sent a pang of worry through her. The woman wasn't currently with them, off on a hunt for the Governor yet again. The last time she was here, she had been sure she had a lead, and was even more determined to follow it. The child could only hope she'd make it back in one piece, without meeting any bad people. God knows how many were out there.
The voice of Sasha interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, kid," She said. Kid. She was always getting called that. "Don't be in a hurry to join us too soon, it's a lot of work. Don't worry, we've got it."
She wasn't worried about Daryl, or any of them really. She was worried about her boredom levels, though. With any luck, Rick would let Carl off early. She had the feeling today would be a boring day. Daryl brought of a red can of fuel onto the truck before Zach arrived from behind him, leaving his gun and backpack with a smile towards the child. It took a moment for him to see Beth approaching, and he quickly walked up to her.
She and Daryl exchanged a look when the two kissed, Faye exaggerating her disgust sticking her tongue out. The two older teenagers exchanged words before Beth sauntered away from the boy, leaving him disappointed. "Okay, are you gonna say goodbye?"
"Nope." The blonde said, popping the 'p' as she left.
The hunter returned with another crate in hand. "'S a damn romance novel."
Zach flung his hands up in exasperation. "Ugh." He gave a smile to the child. Zach might have been a little patronising at times, but Faye had gotten used to the trait in those older than her. Zach was cool. "You'll say bye to me, won't ya, Faye?"
She grinned, holding her hand up as she spoke in a sing-song voice. "Bye, Zach!" He laughed as he hit the high five.
After a small encounter with the newbie of a week, Bob, Faye said her farewells to Daryl and the crew before chasing after the cars – and motorbike – like she usually did. There weren't many time for running. Sometimes, on a hunt, Daryl would send her forward to give her a little practice, and playing football with Carl and Patrick in the field involved a little running, but it wasn't the same. Technically, she could have done laps around the prison. But that was embarrassing. People would look at her!
Suck it up and stop thinking so highly of yourself. They have jobs to do, why would they look at you?
Reaching the gate, the girl puffed out a breath at the random bout of jogging. Hands on hips as she glanced away from the vehicles exiting the path, Faye looked across the field. She frowned in confusion at the sight of Carl leading a familiar horse to the stables.
Horse.
Michonne.
Michonne was back.
The child wasted no time in picking her feet up again. Faye beamed as the woman gave her a little wave before returning her attention back to Daryl. She reached the woman, stood along with Rick, mere moments after Daryl had stopped his bike. The two probably would have hugged had whatever Daryl must have said not put a sour look on Michonne's face. "Is it?"
Rick gave a look to the other adults, and their faces masked over again, not giving a clue about what they'd been saying. "Hey, kiddo," Michonne smiled. "Miss me?"
Faye grinned. She knew she'd find out what they'd been discussing later. "How long are you staying?"
"A little while. Don't worry about that now, though." The woman replied, smile remaining wide.
Daryl looked to Rick. "We're gonna check out the Big Spot. The one I was talkin' 'bout? Jus' seein'."
"Yeah," The man nodded. "I'm going t' check the snares, don't wanna lose whatever we catch to the walkers."
Michonne thought for a moment before putting her hands on her hips, moving around the side of the vehicles to get in. "I'll go."
"Hey! You only just got back and now you're going again?" Faye whined.
Not missing a beat, the woman answered her smoothly with a smirk. "And I'll be back!"
The child pouted for a few minutes before Carl coaxed her over with the new comic books Michonne had brought and, of course, the horse, named Flame, which she gladly spent a good while petting. The convoy of cars now gone, Faye sat on the make-shift log fence around the stables, squinting her eyes as she looked up while stroking the horse's head. It was a reasonably sunny day. Although it would probably heat up as the day went on, she revelled in the slightly breeze, for once blowing her bangs away from her eyes.
"You fuss her too much." Carl said, a half grin on his face as he looked up to her. He had hung the saddle over the fence after Faye had removed it. She still thought he looked slightly odd without his hat, like something was missing.
"She's been away for so long," The girl countered airily as she reached down to scratch the horses neck without falling from her spot. "We've got some catching up to do."
The boy folded his arms and leant against the post. "Did you have a horse before?"
"Nah, Dad said they took too much time and work to look after. We went camping though, and sometimes he'd let us go on a ride then." She replied. Faye remembered those trips well. Dad had a picture on the mantelpiece of her and Andy hiking, the two almost framed by the green trees hanging over them. Maybe that was why she enjoyed hunting with Daryl in the woods. Maybe she just liked spending time with the hunter. "We didn't have any animals. Well, we had a gold fish for a while. Andy overfed it though. It died."
Carl laughed.
Of course – you can laugh when the death is of a little animal. When it's a human, though, laughing makes you a psychopath. 'Cause death is completely different for a different species, obviously.
Rick approached the two, smiling as he saw Faye petting the horse. The man never said it, but the girl had an inkling that he had a soft spot for the animal, which was always an entertaining thought. "Going to check the snares?" Carl asked.
"I am. You're not." Rick replied smoothly, cutting Carl off before he could even ask to tag along. "Do your chores, read comics, maybe some books too. Hang out with Patrick, 'n Faye if you can drag her away from the horse."
At this, Faye turned her head towards the man and gave a cheeky grin. Rick merely shook his head at her, expecting the response. He continued to his son. "Maybe go to Story Time."
"Dad," Carl said, his tone border lining a whine. The girl looked to see an equally unimpressed look adorning his face. "That's for kids."
Yes, Faye thought, it was. And kids were what they were. Not that either of the children felt that way. The thing's they'd seen matured them. No, Lizzie and Mika and Luke and Molly were children. They hadn't seen the amount of death and destruction she and Carl had, and they were lucky for it. On the other hand, Faye couldn't see that innocence lasting forever. She couldn't see the prison lasting forever and she couldn't see them lasting forever. Everything wholesome died – if not the person, the purity was ruined. Carl had killed someone – what would Faye's poison be?
"Yeah," Rick's reply was almost a laugh, bringing a sigh from Carl. Leaning over the fence where Faye was sat, the man patted Flame's neck and kissed her head. "You'll brush her down, won't ya, Faye?" When she nodded, he continued to his son. "Give her a hand."
With that, the man moved on to speak to Hershel. Careful not to startle the horse, Faye slid down the fence and wrapped her arms around its neck. "You're just the best," She said adoringly. "Aren't you? Uh huh? Yeah, you are."
"Have I been replaced by the horse?" Carl pouted.
"Absolutely." Faye said. "Your neck is too small for bear hugs."
The girl could only imagine the bewildered look on Carl's face as she stayed nestled into the horse's neck. "That's… a very specific quality."
"I'm a very specific person." She said, releasing her arms from Flame's neck and stroking her nose again, finishing with a kiss on the white mark of her head. "Let's brush you, shall we?"
The boy opened the gate and walked in, picking up a brush beside Faye. Taking one side each, the two children could only see the top of each other's heads. Carl stood on his toes as he spoke again, glancing over the horse's back. "Since when did you like animals so much, anyway? Seems pretty sudden."
"I just figured out that animals are easier to get along with than humans are." She said, brushing the coat gently. "You never saw a pig try to eat ya brains. Or a dog shoot you. Or a-"
"I get it, I get it." He said, smiling, but it almost looked as if it was missing something. He probably knew she wasn't really joking.
Faye paused for a moment before reached her head over Flame's body. "Hey, we aren't really going to Story Time, are we?"
"Not if we can help it."
"Good."
Faye could see Patrick and Carl ambling in the field, without much to do as they headed in the direction of the fences. Throwing the soccer ball in her hands up and down, the child grinned before jogging down to greet them. "Think fast!" She shouted as soon as she was close enough, raising the ball over her head before she threw it as hard as she could.
Carl whipped his head round in time, jumping out of the way while Patrick froze, the ball hitting him in the leg as he yelped in surprise. The two children burst out laughing at his annoyed expression. "Seriously? Why would you do that?"
"'Cause it's fun!" Faye smirked, falling into place between the two boys. "You need better reaction times, Patty Cake."
Patrick pushed her shoulder as he spoke. The girl didn't notice Carl's smile falter at the nickname. "Don't call me that."
"Don't call me Miss! What am I, your maid?"
"Actually," He began. "The servants called their employers Miss, not the other way round-"
Faye threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "Don't care!"
Leaning his head around, Carl brought the attention back to him with a smirk. "I'll race you to the ball." Faye looked back to the boy with a grin, eyes almost twinkling with the prospect of a challenge. She didn't wait for a signal from him to start, instead choosing to shout 'go' and shot out down the field without warning either of the two boys. Carl protested, Faye heard his footsteps not far behind her and Patrick hadn't even tried. He wasn't very athletic.
Arms swinging are she brought herself to a stop, the girl hopped behind the ball again and kicked it up to Carl, who caught it by his stomach. "No fair!"
"Come on," She teased, nudging their shoulders together as he held the ball under his arm. "You know I would have beaten you anyway." While Carl watched and waited for Patrick, who was refusing to run, Faye turned towards the sounds of the children crying out happily with laughter. The girl had assumed Lizzie, Mika, and their friends were just playing a game together, but upon closer inspection found the children reaching though the fence, calling out to the walkers. With a frown, Faye didn't give Carl a chance to question her soured expression as she walked down to face the children, the two boys quickly following by her sides. "What do you think you're doing? Why are you naming them?"
Lizzie turned to face them first, the other kids after her, but it was Mika who addressed them, a wide smile on her face. "Well, one of them has a name tag, so we thought all of them should!"
Her cheery tone made Faye feel sick. Carl cut in. "They had names when they were alive. They're dead now."
"No, they're not," Lizzie said with a shrug of one shoulder, as if the two of them were stupid. "They're just different."
Faye could feel her patience slipping away quickly. How could Lizzie possibly think this? "Are you kidding me? Yes, they are! They died. Their lives are over, all they are now are some diseased creatures whose only instinct is to kill you."
"Exactly! They're diseased, they're sick. You don't take away someone's name just 'cause they have a cold." The blonde retorted.
Faye's eyebrows shot up in disbelief and anger at the younger girl's words, and Carl glanced to her and cut in before his friend said anything rash. Although, his words weren't perfect either. "What the hell are you talking about? Okay, they don't talk, they don't think, they eat people. Kill people."
The way Lizzie looked so arrogant and pleased with herself, as though she knew the real truth and they were beneath her, made Faye's blood curl. "People kill people. They still have names."
"People don't rip each other's flesh apart with their teeth-"
Carl put a hand on Faye's arm with a firm glance, stopping her from letting any other words fly from her mouth. He continued. "Have you seen what happens? Have you seen someone die like that?"
"Yeah, I have."
Carl's scowl remained on his face but stayed silent for a moment, as if being respectful for whoever it was Lizzie lost. Faye didn't give her the same curtesy. "Then you should know they aren't human anymore."
"They're not people, and they're not pets." Carl finished. Probably so Faye wouldn't end the conversation on something harsh. "Don't name them."
Apparently giving up, Lizzie told the three other children to leave. "We're supposed to go read. Come on."
Faye couldn't say she was sad to see the girl leave. Mika, however, stayed a moment longer and looked to Patrick. "You coming to story time tonight?"
What was she doing, asking him out on a date?
"Uh," He sent a wary glance to the Faye and Carl before giving a nervous smile. "Yeah."
Mika, again, beamed. "See ya then!"
Once the blonde skipped away, Faye rocked back and forth on her heels with a smirk, folding her arms. "I have lost any respect I ever had for you."
"What? Come on," Patrick replied sheepishly as the others laughed quietly. "I go sometimes, I'm immature! You wouldn't dig it, it's for kids." He looked around a little before returning his gaze to the two younger children. "I'm gunna head up there too. I'll catch you later, young Sir, Miss."
Carl sighed. "Yup."
"Later, nerd." Faye called to him, but he knew by know that there was no real malice in the insult. When he was gone, Faye let herself fall backwards onto the ground, legs splayed out in front of her. "Well, that was eventful."
The boy sat next to her, their shoulders brushing. "You certainly added some… spice to your words. A little graphic for ten year olds, don't you think?"
"They're ten year olds who are comfortable with walkers. We can't just let that be okay." She lay back, now completely flat against the grass with her hair splayed out behind her. The girl sighed. "It's not okay. I'll talk to her later."
Carl swivelled his head around, bangs ever so slightly covering his blue eyes as he looked down at her. The light from the sun shone behind him, framing his face and leaving a shadow over hers so she didn't have to squint at him. After a long moment of him just looking down over her face, he let out a smile, giving her a glimpse of his teeth, before sliding down to lay next to her. Faye liked that smile. It beat his smirk any day. "I just think it shows you care."
"I care? About Lizzie?" Faye frowned lightly to herself. She supposed she did care about Lizzie. "I guess."
You're lying to yourself.
"I'd rather she not die 'cause she can't figure out walkers, which I guess counts as caring."
You couldn't care less. She isn't one of your 'people'.
"Let's go to story time tonight." Carl said after a minute of comfortable silence, turning to look at her face rather than straight up to the sky.
The girl quirked an eyebrow. "You what?"
"Let's just check it out, we don't have to stay." He continued. "It'll make my Dad happy that I tried."
Exaggerating a surprised look, Faye threw her hands in the air. "Oh, I've gotten it all wrong! I thought you wanted to be cool, but what you really want is to be a Daddy's Boy. I understand now."
He chuckled, but elbowed her in the side. "No! And isn't it supposed to be Daddy's Girl?"
"Sure, whatever way you want it to be, Daddy's Girl."
"Faye!"
"Carl!"
Libraries always seemed to be musty. In books, in movies, they always seemed to have that dusty smell. Apart from the fancy modern ones her Dad told her about in universities and stuff, but Faye didn't count those because she'd never been to university. The prison library was no different, that odd aroma that must have been from old books filling their noses.
Somehow, visiting story time had developed into Carl and Faye sneaking in and hiding behind a bookshelf. A man, whom Faye recalled to be Lizzie and Mika's father, left the room as the two children ducked behind a book shelf closer to the group of kids listening to Carol read. "…linger at its top a moment and then-"
There was no and then. Carol closed the book with a thump before a little boy spoke up. "Ma'am, should I take watch now?"
Keep watch from what? Were parents going to be mad about a book for 10+ being read to seven year olds?
"Yes, Luke, you do that." The woman confirmed.
A scowl on her face, Faye was about to stand up and question the situation before Carl grabbed her hand, squeezing it firmly to stop her from moving. He turned his attention back to the scene, but the girl's eyes lingered on their joined hands a little longer before moving on. "Today," Carol began again. "We are talking about knives. How to use them, how to be safe with them. And how they could save your life."
Patrick, someone Faye had only just realised the presence of, quickly excused himself from the group with a stomach ache. The girl made a mental note to check if he was alright or faking it to get away from training with weapons later that day.
Despite wanting to step in herself, Faye waited for Carl to make the move. She knew he would, the growing anger on his face and pressure on her hand told her so. Just as suddenly as he had grabbed it, Carl released her hand and stood up, Faye quickly following behind him. They were just in time to see Carol raise the knife and swipe it around in front of the kids.
Be honest with yourself. You aren't horrified to see this.
The boy looked her up and down with an ever-so-subtle shake of his head. Carol barely looked guilty. "Please, don't tell your father." She looked to her. "Or Daryl."
'Cause you've done all those moves and more without her even offering you a knife.
Grabbing the sleeve of Faye's hoodie, Carl dragged the two of them out the room before storming ahead without her. As they got further down the corridor, away from the library, the child called to him. "Carl!" When she got no reply, Faye jogged forward to catch up with him. "Carl! Talk to me."
He stopped, not facing her at first. Her hand on his shoulder seemed to jog the boy into life again as he spun around, knocking her hand away in the process. "You- you realise how much bullshit this is? Why does it have to be just me? They let you have your gun, they teach the kids to fight, but the moment I do something I get it taken away from me, I get all these chores, it's like I'm a damn criminal. It's not fair!"
"Wait, do the others all know about this?" Faye asked tentatively, although she expected the reply to be snappy.
"I don't know! Does it even matter?" He threw his arms in the air. The boy was too busy ranting to notice her flinching when his hands got a little too close. "How can they just let them go and have fun with walkers and teach them to use knives? Who is that teaching them to attack? Humans? Only, when I did that, I get treated like I'm a monster! I did the right thing!"
"Carl," She said as calmly as she could, trying to make eye contact with him. "I know you're not a monster, of course I do. You did what you had to do at the time."
His reply almost grew to a growl. "Then, why?!"
"I don't know!" Faye finally shouted back, meeting his tone and volume easily. When he blinked in surprise but said nothing, she continued. "It's unfair and it sucks but we have to deal with that! Will you stop shouting at me now?!"
Your patience is pathetic.
The two children stood silently for a few moments as they regained their normal breathing after barking at each other. It was Faye who broke the silence. After all, she didn't want Carl to think she was genuinely annoyed at him. He had every right to be upset, and the way the adults were treating him wasn't right and she'd change it if it was in her power, but it wasn't. Faye just couldn't stand him shouting anymore. It wasn't him. "You are a good person, Carl. I know that, your Dad knows that, everyone knows that. They just need some more time to get over that you and me know exactly what the world is."
His blue eyes meeting the floor, the girl tilted her head to get a better view of his fallen expression. Bringing what she thought was a hopeful smile to her face, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder once more. "Hey, look at me." Reluctantly, he did, their gazes meeting. "We'll work it out. It'll just take some more time."
Carl nodded slowly.
"Okay?" At another nod, she patted his shoulder encouragingly. "Let's go then."
The two began walking out the building, Faye choosing to match the plodding pace of her friend, when Carl spoke again. "You and I."
"Huh?"
"It's 'you and I'." He turned his head towards her with a smirk lighting up his face. That meant he was trying, at least. "You said 'you and me'. It's 'you and I'-"
Faye raised her eyebrows and hit his shoulder playfully as she interrupted him. "Shut up!"
It was dinner now, and Faye had been meaning to speak to Lizzie, but Patrick looked awful. Pale, sickly, shaky, everything. Whether she made fun of him or not, she couldn't just let him go without checking up on him. He was her friend. Friends did that.
"Hey there, Faye." He said with a cough, covering his mouth as she stopped in front of the boy. "Listen, it's not your cooking that's making me go early, I just feel real bad and don't wanna give anyone something."
She frowned. "What's up with you?"
"I don't know. I just don't feel well." He said, holding up his arm to stop her when she reached to touch his shoulder. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I just need to sleep it off."
"Patrick, no offense, but you look like shit-"
"Thanks."
"-and I don't think sleep is gonna fix that."
Patrick held up his hands in defence and began to step past her unsteadily, his feet hitting the ground a little heavier than usual. "It's nothing. Honestly." When Faye opened her mouth and followed him, he continued. "And don't you say 'it doesn't look like nothing'. That is a predictable come back and I expect better than that from you."
Faye chuckled, but the sound died out quickly. "Can I get Dr. S for you? He can just give you some tablets if you're in pain."
"No." The boy continued as they reached the door to the cell block Patrick stayed in. "I'll see you tomorrow, Faye."
She sighed, but nodded. "You got it."
Faye decided it was probably a good idea to wash her hands before she went back to her job. No one had noticed that she'd gone, and no one noticed when she never sat down to eat her own food. After her encounter with Patrick, all her appetite had disappeared. The child didn't know why she worried over Patrick more than she should. He was older, sure, but he was weaker. He didn't know how to fight, how to use a gun; Hell, he barely knew how to handle himself. If she and Daryl hadn't found him and the two adults that day, Faye couldn't honestly believe that they would be alive.
Lost in her thoughts, Faye barely noticed Lizzie and Mika, along with their father, leaving the seating area, and the girl quickly left her place, this time motioning to Carol of her leaving.
"Uh, hey!" She called out as she hurried up behind them. The three turned around, Mika waving happily to her while Lizzie remained blank. It didn't surprise Faye that one sister held a grudge and one forgot without a care.
Their Dad smiled to her. "What can we do for you, Faye?"
Returning the expression, as if it were part of a routine, the girl answered. "Do you mind if I talk to Lizzie for a minute? I won't keep her long and I'll make sure she gets back to her cell."
He agreed, without any suspicion.
Should he be suspicious of you?
Faye nodded in the direction of the field. "Come on. I need to talk to you."
"What about?" She said, half moody and half curious.
"About earlier." The older girl replied. "It can't happen again."
Lizzie looked slightly confused. "Alright?"
"As in, you can't talk to the walkers again. You can't name them again. It cannot happen."
The blonde grew defensive immediately, stopping walking to face Faye. "Why? What's wrong with it? I'm not doing anything bad, they're not doing anything bad! There's nothing-"
Faye leant forward, on eye level with the girl, speaking coldly. "That's exactly what I'm talking about. You think the walkers aren't bad when they are. I don't know how to get it through to you, and I'm sorry, but you can't possibly be more wrong, Lizzie! They aren't reaching to you for help, they aren't reaching to you to play, they're reaching for you because they want to kill you! There's nothing good left in them!"
Looking as if Faye had slapped her, Lizzie's face screwed up in frustration and almost hurt. "But-"
"No, Lizzie. This might make you feel bad but I'm doing it anyway." She replied firmly, a hard tone to her voice. "I'm stopping it right now. If you keep thinking this, you'll get comfortable with them. If you get comfortable with them, you'll let your guard down. If you let your guard down, you are going to die, Lizzie. They aren't gonna hesitate in killing you. People who think this way don't survive. I don't want that to happen to you, you're my friend."
That's funny.
"That's why I'm telling you this. That's why you're going to stop."
Aw, look at that, you've almost brought her to tears!
"Do you hear me?"
"Faye-"
"Do you hear me?"
The child nodded, scrunching up her top in her clenched fists.
Hearing doesn't mean understanding.
Faye sighed. "Come on, I'll walk you back to your cell."
"No," Lizzie shook her head, punctuating each word sharply. The older girl didn't admit that it stung. "I'll go by myself."
Saying nothing as the blonde walked, turning quickly into a run, away, it occurred to Faye that the child may tell her father, and the father would come to scold her. She did, of course, tell his daughter she was going to die. But Faye regretted none of it, she merely said what needed to be said. Lizzie would be better off for it. She didn't like the idea of the girl dying in the arms of a walker.
Liar.
