Malevolent. The Walking Dead

[ 021 ] we're safe, for now

021: we're safe, for now

Joey didn't sleep much during the night. It was hard to sleep in a new place—so she stared at the ceiling and listened to Finn softly snore beside her. She had to close her eyes at one point when Rick got up and walked to the kitchen, after throwing a blanket over her and Carl. She wasn't cold. In fact, she was sweating and had to tie her hair up. Part of her believed it was just the temperature, while the other more rational side of her knew it was because she was scared. Joey hated new things and Alexandria was so shiny, sparkly new that she wanted to die.

It seemed as though once one person got up, everyone did. Joey believed she got a total of two hours of sleep. She woke up hugging herself and drool crusted on her chin. Pretty much everyone had gotten up by that point. Her stomach growled viciously and she had to move awkwardly on the ground to quell the noise. Her mouth was dry and she walked over to the kitchen after stretching. Joey was still surprised by the fact that she was able to pour herself a glass of water without thinking much about it. When she looked out to the porch, she saw Bill and Finn sitting down with Daryl. They were talking among themselves. Joey didn't know where Carl was and felt slightly insulted that he left without saying anything to her.

The wind was warm when she stepped outside. Finn and Bill looked up at her, however Daryl kept his eyes down. He hadn't showered yet despite them all doing so—and being in an environment that encouraged it again. Joey knew he was just trying to protest, or show that he wasn't keen on where they were. Joey agreed with him, but didn't say anything. She was so over being the stubborn one that she wanted to let someone else give it a try.

"Mornin'," Bill greeted. He was trimming his beard with a pair of scissors. Joey smirked. "Copying Rick again? You gotta crush, old man?" she joked, tickling the underside of his chin. Bill pushed away her hand. "Shut it," he winced, looking in the reflection of his knife to trim his beard to size. Joey looked to Finn who was eating some fruit. She hadn't seen fruit in so long that she thought it was fake. "The fuck did you get that?"

"None of your business,"

Joey scowled. Usually he was kidding but he was so quiet and somber-like that she thought he was serious and it irked her. He didn't budge or even look at her, but kept his eyes on his handful of grapes. She sucked on her teeth and looked around. "Everyone out working already?"

Bill shook his head. "Nah. Deanna told us all to look around,"

"Why aren't you guys doing that?"

"We wanted to wait for you,"

Joey smiled weakly. "How kind of you," she watched intently as Finn finished his grapes. Joey stole one and he slapped her hand. "Get your own, Joey," he mumbled through a mouthful of grapes. She rolled her eyes and slapped his hand back. "Alright you two, stop acting like fucking idiots," Bill grumbled, finished up the trim on his beard and placing the scissors down on the table, and slipping his knife back in his holster. "Let's take a look around, huh?"

The three of them walked the streets, and stared curiously at the homes that seemed to have not been touched since the End. Joey was weary of pretty much everyone they came into contact with. There were old couples sitting on their porch, sipping coffee and watching the weather as if there weren't walking dead people surrounding the outside. They made pancakes, watched television, and even read magazines and newspapers. None of them had a scar, or a touch of distress on their skin. They brushed their hair and wore makeup. They dressed like they were attending work or school, not like they were living in an infected country with no stable government or reality. Joey didn't understand how they could live their lives without caring—without wondering how they were going to live in the first place.