When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 1 - Alexandria's finest

Disclaimer*. this story is currently in the middle of editing as I started writing it when I was just out of high school so some parts of questionable at best and definitely need fixing!

Warning - explicit language through this story.

Just like she did every morning, Louise watched silently from her bedroom window as the community below her continued to pretend that everything was normal. Each step they took was another footprint in a past that was completely insignificant and yet, they still insisted on their façade. Smiles clung to their faces, their freshly washed clothes blowing in the air that carried particle upon particle of the dead that came before them. To some people, it would be refreshing to see a glimmer of happiness in the world that they were trapped in but to her, it was nothing but a reminder that things would never be the same. She didn't understand how people could still be smiling when the only real thing surrounding them was pure chaos.

The town was encased in a twenty foot high perimeter of large metal slats, enforced with thick wooden planks that pushed against them, keeping them stood upright with no excess pressure from the other side. The only way in was one large gate that was situated at the front of the town, barely guarded and almost never locked. At the start of the outbreak, the community was used as the 'Alexandria military safe-zone' and was home to a multitude of refugees that had been directed there with the expectation that they would be rescued...but almost a year and a half later, they were still there. Nobody had made a move to leave - they were too comfortable...too under-educated for the outside.

Louise sighed and pushed herself away from the widow. There wasn't much point in 'people watching' when she could be outside, practicing to defend herself. As much as she wanted too, she couldn't let herself forget the horrors lurking meters away from her. Before Alexandria, she had spent a long time outside of the walls, surviving with the smallest of groups and fighting for her life against the dead and she wasn't going to convince herself that life could be any different now.

Though she didn't say it often, she was incredibly grateful for the hospitality of the town she had been welcomed into. Being given the opportunity have a house, a semi-comfortable bed and warm meals was something she never thought she would get again - even if she did have to share it was another couple (Whom she had grown quite accustomed too). However, that didn't mean to say that she was happy there.

"Are you gonna stay in there all day?" her brother asked as she pushed open her bedroom door. The second she heard his voice, her demeanor changed. His mere presence infuriated her. Shaun had long blonde hair that stopped just past his shoulders; usually it was tied in a knot on the top of his head, keeping it out of his face and tucked away neatly. He was a fair bit taller than his sister, measuring at 6ft 2, just a foot taller than herself and a constant smirk played on his face, matching the inflated ego he was also proudly throwing around. The two hadn't shared a house since they were little. Even in the confined town, the siblings had different abodes and though she tried continuously to escape his presence but the man was relentless. Louise turned towards him, eyes dark and cold and without a word, she climbed to her feet, brushed past him and walked out of her temporary home.

Families watched her and smiled awkwardly as she sat down on the wooden porch steps. She had only been a part of their community for six months and yet everyone still welcomed her fondly - another fact that Louise herself couldn't understand.

Deanna, the leader of their community, confidently walked towards her before resting her arm on the wooden bannister and ignoring the not-so-subtle eyeroll that Louise threw her way. The young woman could smell the washing powder and mint toothpaste that danced across her body and she couldn't help but hate how she put-together she looked.

"I need you lookin' for supplies today" Deanna stated, fingers tapping the dry, charred oak beneath her.

"Get someone else to do it. I'm not a survival instincts guide" Lou grumbled in response before pushing herself away from the steps and marching away towards the gates. She took a quick glance to the man on patrol and whistled loudly, signaling for them to pull it open before she pulled the bow from her back and took off into the 'real world'. More often than not, she would bump into countless 'walkers' on her travels so ensuring she had stolen her weapon back from the community lock-up was something she never failed to do. The bow in her hand was her prize position. Since she was ten years old, archery had been her passion and she loved nothing more than to aim and shoot at targets...although, she had never expected the targets she used as adults to be moving dead-people.

The archer trod carefully, using the trees as cover as she made her way through the dimly lit forest and towards her last scavenging location. She hated wasting time, so she always searched somewhere new. Places were growing far and few between however and the further away from Alexandria she went, the more accustomed she grew to being on her own.

The view from the top of the clearing was the best map she could use. It gave her full view of the surrounding areas and an easy way to guarantee that her path was clear. As if on schedule, she hoisted herself up the largest Oaktree and perched on the thickest branch to her right - hell, even if the world had gone to sit, at least she had that view.

Her track to the market looked unusually empty and Louise was grateful to get what seemed to be an easy route today. She whistled to the 'walker' who stalked around beneath her, his eyes suddenly glowing at the fresh meat above him that he had been struggling to find. He thrusted his arms up at her, his best attempt to retrieve the meal he'd been waiting for failing immensely due to the sheer distance between them. The shining silver blade she had retrieved from her boot just as eagerly awaited its prey and a soft laugh escaped her lips before she slid off the branch and moved towards the dead.

Without an inch of thought, she automatically thrusted her knife towards the corpse and sliced through it's decaying skull, sending part of its face to the leaves below before she went back in for another hit. The cold metal dug into it's temple, halting the final growl that he produced and silencing him. With a grunt, Louise yanked the knife out and kicked the body down. The 'walker's' back hit the tree trunk and he slouched down, finally, truly, dead.

The walk to her desired store was short, barely scratching the surface of her energy and she made it back to Alexandria before the sun had even began to set. Gates squealed open as she was welcomed back and she once again whistled at the same person from this morning, signaling her return. When she entered however, a group of unfamiliar faces surrounded the entrance, shouting over each other and arguing loudly. Multiple conversations were happening at the same time, each revolving around the same subject of a new group joining their ranks but nobody could settle on an answer. Her eyebrows pulled together and shook her head, no matter how interested she was, she wasn't about to get involved with the towns affairs.

"I want everyone to hear me okay? Rick and his people are part of this community now!" Deanna shouted at the growing crowd around her. "Understood?"

"Understood" Aiden - the man who had been stood on guard at the entrance - repeated with a smirk on his face. He seemed overly proud of himself, like some previous event had made him seem more manly that he actually was (Louise guessed the slight marks of fresh blood on his knuckles had something to do with it).

"All of you hand in your weapons, including you Miss Wainwright, I see you stole your bow back...again" she stated, nodding towards Louise as she walked past. Lou sighed, pursed her lips, pulled the varnished wood over her shoulders and dropped it on the concrete next to Deanna.

"Merry fuckin' Christmas" she sarcastically, having given her back the 'gift' she had asked for.