Faded
Commonwealth - Present Day
Tell me what did you learn from the Tillamook burn?
Or the Fourth of July?
We're all gonna die
Did you get enough love, my little dove
Why do you cry?
Madison Square was heaving with people.
Some young teens armed with water pistols were chasing each other around the ice cream truck and Josey Kowalski flinched as one nearly ran into her.
"Hey, watch where you're goin' - " Daryl Dixon shouted as they ran off. " - you alright Rabbit?"
"Yeah - I'm fine - it's just hard - getting used to all of this."
A young man walked by with his toddler dressed in a duck costume. There were tables setup with little kids sat with smiling parents watching as someone painted their face like a lion or a butterfly. Pony rides. Families. Couples. It was very uncanny valley. Then there was Daryl, standing in the centre like a time traveller from the future, in his weathered waistcoat with matching wings she had painted on the back, worn over his denim shirt, and the stitched cut that was healing above his eye. She didn't fit in much better, dressed in ripped jeans that were stained with specks of dried blood, black military boots and one of Daryl's old shirts that hung off her slender frame. She looked pale and drawn, her long blonde hair pulled back in a low ponytail. Josey was convinced people were staring at them and Daryl must have sensed her unease as she felt his hand crush over hers tightly. He nodded as her eyes met his and she tried to ignore the pang in her stomach as she thought of Rick Grimes.
Alexandria - 7 Years Ago
Blood. There was blood all over her. The army switch blade in her grasp that belonged to her Grandfather Walt was strictly prohibited under Deanna's rule. The rotter was lying face down in the flowerbeds, its spine visible through the flaps of mottled skin. The sight turned her stomach and the smell hit her in the back of the throat. Josey wretched as she crouched down on the sidewalk, half aware of the small crowd that had begun to form around her and the rotter. Horrified and frightened cries rippled through some of Alexandria's residents. Picket fences and reanimated corpses. Hardly the dream right?
"Alright, alright! Show's over folks. Go home - " Rick Grimes tried to disperse the crowd. " - someone will let you know when it's safe."
"Safe! You've got to be kidding me!"
"How in hell did that thing get in!"
"The gate wasn't shut properly. We'll do a sweep to make sure nothing else got in but everyone please go straight home and lock your doors" ordered Rick, spying the blade and the muscles in his jaw twitched. Deanna had already warned him about the Kowalski's and she had really laid the dislike on thick. He took a couple of steps forward, noting the walkers blood had stained Josey's long blonde hair as she continued to dry heave into the flowers. "Josey - do me a favor and give me the knife. I won't mention this to Deanna - " Rick said in a hushed tone, glancing around him for anyone that could be watching them.
" - you know - you were far more intimidating with the beard" Josey remarked in between continuing to dry heave and Rick stood with his hands on his hips, his head cocked to the side slightly, chewing on the inside of his cheek, a smirk quirking at his lips.
"I've always liked the film Carrie but it's not a good look on you" he clapped back as she got to her feet, one hand clasped over her mouth as if to fight the urge to barf again. She shot him a dirty look and wiped the blade clean against her marked denim jacket, reluctantly handed the weapon over. "See, that wasn't hard" Rick folded the blade into his pocket.
"Those people would be dead if it hadn't been for me" Josey argued.
"Maybe - " Rick moved his head to the side as he studied her. " - maybe not but take a piece of advice from an old man and stop giving Deanna ammunition. From what I heard, a few months ago they found a rifle under your floorboards - "
"That was my Pappy's rifle. They had no right to take it - "
"Jo, you need to respect Deanna's rules if you want to stay here. I can't always be around to save you."
"Oh please - " Josey scoffed. "- I don't need you to save me Rick Grimes."
She drawled out his last name, just like Daryl had that first day in camp. The muscles in Rick's jaw twitched as he watched her turn and cut across the neighbours yard. Josey wasn't fooling him. She was a scared young woman living amongst the Stepford Wives who were used to acting as if the last two years never happened.
Commonwealth - Present Day
Daryl slammed his hand down on the alarm, rubbing his face with the other as he focused on the time. It was half five. It was still dark outside. He wanted nothing more to roll over and fall back asleep for a couple more hours on the cold side of the bed but he had to go to work. Work. It was a still weird concept he was getting used too. Living hand to mouth literally, not knowing if each day was going to be your last was a hard routine to shake off in exchange for a life that resembled the old world. When he first arrived at the Commonwealth, they had interrogated him for hours. What did he do before? Was he married? Has he killed anyone? He told them the truth. He had dropped out of the military and became a drifter. He moved around a lot with this brother Merle and a lot of people were no longer breathing because of him. There were raised eyebrows and more questions that followed. He just kept on repeating those people had wanted to hurt his family. Some time later, he was introduced to Mercer and asked if he would take on a key role in protecting the people in the Commonwealth. It was simple for him. His family needed this place, and he wasn't going to jeopardise that. He was a soldier once more.
Or the Walmart version of a Storm Trooper as Josey called him.
He smirked as he reached down under the mattress for the Polaroid Aaron had taken back in Alexandria. Daryl had one arm draped over Josey's shoulder, his crossbow slung over his back and Josey, with those big down turned eyes of hers, was squinting into the lense. He lightly ran his thumb over the faded image, remembering how long that summer felt, right before the hard winter set in that had nearly starved their people to death.
Alexandria - 7 Years Ago
Walt Kowalski was sat in his chair on the porch, one hand scratching behind one of Farrah's ears, the other holding a can of beer. Farrah yawned and lay her head down, the elderly golden Labrador closing her eyes as she settled down to sleep. It was his evening routine after dinner to come out and sit for an hour, sometimes cursing the neighbors that decided to cut across his lawn. The newest strays of Alexandria had moved in across the street and they had a teenage boy with them, who often sat on the front steps of the house, occasionally catching the old man's eye.
"You'd think they'd give Helmet over there a decent haircut" Walt remarked as Josey flopped down on a cushion, her back against the porch rails. "When I was his age, I was out climbing trees and chasing girls. He looks like the type of kid that probably licks rocks."
"Pops, stop it. He'll hear you" Josey raised her eyebrows.
"I don't care if he does" Walt rasped as the screen door behind the kid swung open and an older woman with short silver hair emerged, dressed in a floral shirt and jeans. Josey figured she was Rick's wife as she was always with him. The older woman lingered for a few moments, before waving over at the pair of them.
"Put your goddamned hand down" Walt swatted Josey's hand and she shot him a look. "I don't want them thinkin' they can start comin' around here, especially that pussy that struts about in his uniform staring into people's windows."
"What?" Josey snorted. "Are you talkin' about Rick Grimes?"
"Yeah he's goddamned pussy, that's what he is" Walt set his beer hard down on the table just as Daryl appeared around the side. "And stay away from Lenny the Lion over there, I've already caught him looking at you a few times."
Commonwealth - Present Day
Josey was on her back, her teeth gritted together as the walker gripped onto the bottom of her boot. She kicked hard, striking the roamer in the head as her hand reached around the dirt floor for the knife she dropped. The snarls of another walker approaching filled her ears and she was suddenly aware of raised voices as Daryl rushed in. He drove his hunting blade into the back of one of the walker's skull and dropped to the ground, wrestling the other one like an alligator.
"Now!" he shouted as Josey drove her knife up through the walkers eyeball, into the brain, just as Walt had taught her. She was breathing heavily as Daryl helped her onto her feet, looking around at the bodies of the other walkers she had taken out. Two of which looked like demonic puppets as they were still standing in an upright position being supported by the chains that bound them to the bolts in the wall.
"What the hell was that!" Mercer demanded as he marched in through the doorway, his burnt orange armoured suit a stark contrast to the plain white alternative the others wore. Josey had wanted to impress Mercer, and to prove to herself she was still that woman from before that could fight alongside some of the best but as the Commander's eyes burned into hers, she knew he was pissed. "Kowalski, what was the objective I gave you for this mission?"
" - to retrieve the hostage - the ball - " Josey hesitated, and she felt her heart sink as her eyes rested on the football that had been painted with a sloppy looking smiley face that was still sitting on the shelf.
"So you've demonstrated to me right now that you do listen, you just chose to disobey my orders -"
"I didn't. I just thought taking out the threat was more of a priority - "
" - and now you think you know better than your Commander?"
"Fuck the ball - " Daryl snapped. " - Jo cleared this damned place, that's better than what half of the men here managed to do on their first day - "
"Dixon - " Mercer turned sharply, his tone stern as he warned Daryl. " - I know you feel like it's your place to defend your girlfriend right now but you are on very thin ice. You broke rank just by running in here. This was Jo's test and she failed. Swallow it."
There had been so much riding on this. It was supposed to the beginning of the great reset, where she felt like she was part of something and to not see herself as a burden anymore. She would be one of them again and not an outsider. Stray tears started to run down Josey's cheeks as the seconds ticked by and she found she couldn't look at Daryl as she wiped the tears away with the palm of her hand.
"There's a reason Milton doesn't want defectives - " one of Mercer's men murmured to his fellow comrade. " - because they are a fucking liability."