Malevolent. The Walking Dead

[ 029 ] a new beginning

029: a new beginning

It took a while for Alexandria to go back to normal.

Not just the walls, or the fire damage, or the homes—the people as well. Everyone was on edge from the attack, and the rotters running the streets. People still didn't trust Rick, and nearly half of the original people were dead. Deanna was dead—Jessie, Ron and Sam were dead. No one had moved into any of the empty houses.

Deanna left plans for Rick to map out the expansion of Alexandria before she died. It included medieval methods of getting water—designated crop fields, more homes. The walls were rebuilt and were going to be built further. Bill was one of the heads of the construction committee, alongside Abraham. Finn helped them as well but mainly stayed around Glenn. Joey noticed that the two of them had gotten particularly closer, especially since they were out alone with each other for so long. As well as Enid. Finn seemed very close to Enid. Joey was trying to read if Carl was jealous, but it didn't look like it.

He was insecure about his eye, especially around her. Joey told him that it looked badass and he reminded her of a pirate. He would laugh for a moment but wouldn't for long. He didn't like looking in the mirror, either. Joey thought he was beautiful, but she would never tell him that.

Joey found a bow with a few arrows one time when she was out on a run with Finn. It made her think of the winter and when they met. Finn said she reminded him of Rambo when he used the compound bow. Joey thought that was funny and reenacted a scene from Rambo 4—which then made Finn scowl and insist that she had awful taste in movies. She then threatened to shoot him.

She had never used a compound bow before—the one before was old and wooden, as if someone had made it with their hands. Joey didn't complain, because it got the job done—but the compound bow was just cool. She felt so cool. Joey had always wanted to use Daryl's crossbow but he would just stare at her like she had three heads. She insisted it was just like shooting a gun—Daryl didn't like that very much.

Joey woke up one morning and decided she wanted to go hunting. She wasn't sure what really possessed her to do it—they had been living in semi-normalcy for so long she craved a tinge of the life they lived before. Hunting—now she could do it for fun, and provide food for the town. Although, she would keep it only for Finn, Bill, Carl and her if she could.

No one ever let her go over the wall by herself, so she had to do it in secret. She placed her bow and arrows underneath the soil outside the east side of the wall, in an area that was a blind spot for the patrols. Enid gave her these climbing spikes that fit perfectly in the holes of the metal, that she used to get to the other side. Enid made her promise not to go too far—Joey almost laughed in her face. She also told her not to tell Carl.

So, Joey got up early—the sun was hardly over the trees—and snuck her way through the house. She knew Bill was probably already awake, but she had snuck past him once, and knew she could do it again. It was starting to get cold out, and Joey knew that meant winter was coming, so she tried her hardest to bundle up with the early morning chill. Her hair was in a braid, long on her back, as her hair had grown a few inches since the invasion. Maggie insisted on keeping it long because it reminded her of Ariel. Joey wanted to cry that Maggie compared her to a princess.

When she grabbed her bag, she slung it over her back quietly and made her way out the back door. Bill and Finn were less likely to hear and see her if she did that. Ever since the invasion, they were able to take up one of the emptied town houses. They didn't need anything big, and it was starting to feel weird and like an invasion of privacy for them all to live in one home. Joey felt too much like Carl was her brother and it was making her sick.