Chapter Text
They had long since left Georgia and headed north to Tennessee. They had set up camp at the diamond lake resort a few weeks ago. The group had changed over the years. They lost a lot of people. Only a few from the original Atlanta group were left Glenn, Maggie, Carl, Rick, and Daryl. Michonne was still with them and was like a mother to both Carl and Judith. They had picked up many people along the way north. Judith was no longer the only kid.
They had found some teens whose parents had been ‘end of the world nut jobs’ and had stuck them in their family’s fallout shelter when the dead started to walk. They had only been in the real world for a short time before the Atlanta group had found them. There was a woman named jen that they met in Prentice Cooper State Forest. She had been raped and left for dead but she survived only to die giving birth to twins just before the group made their new camp.
All together the resort was housing 27 people. Not the largest amount that they had seen. Nothing like the prison but they had learned what happens when a group gets too big and when not everyone can pull their own weight.
The group had made a few small scouting and supply runs since setting up camp but they hadn’t been able to find much in the way of baby supplies nearby. Daryl had taken Tara Abraham and Misty, one of the teenagers, on a run to the city.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The girl had been fishing for her dinner when she heard it. This beautiful high pitched sound that made the edges of her mind go fuzzy instead of just white. The sound was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. She knew this was a good thing because the sound would draw the dead but felt sad about the loss of something so sweet.
The girl found the wall long before the sun set but she did not approach the people. The living were to be feared. Many were worse than the dead. She knew that. Like she knew many things without remembering how she had learned.
You never enter a place without knowing what you’re getting into. She found a place hidden by the overgrown hedges free of walkers and out of sight but with a clear view of the way the people would come if they saw her and settled in until dark.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The girl watched the people for a few days before deciding to go talk to them. She stood from her hiding spot gathered her bag and bow checked the placement of her knifes and gun before circling around to the front gate in clear view of the lookout.
She put her hands up as she approached. All sound ended as the children were quickly swept inside and armed men and women came to the gate.
They all took their ques from a young man in a sheriff’s hat and a woman with choppy brown hair. The girl was let inside the wall and asked to tell them what weapons she had on her but told that she could keep them.
They all waited in the yard for a man with graying hair and beard who resembled the man in the hat to appear. She easily marked him as the leader. “I’m rick grimes.” He said offering his hand. The girl switched her bow to rest in her left hand and shook the offered hand. “Dixie”
she met his eyes and the blur was back in her head. She ignored it. The only thing that came from trying to bring clarity to the fuzziness was a debilitating headache. And that was something she couldn’t afford.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“you got a last name Dixie?” rick asked. “not that I know.” She said looking at the others gathering. “it doesn’t matter.” He answered feeling a bit of heartache when he met the girl’s eyes. “the only thing that matters is your answers to my next three questions.”
“okay. Shoot” rick got even more serious if that was possible. “how many walkers have you killed?” “I can’t count that high. She said matching his mood. This was making her head hurt. “how many people?” “I don’t know. A few probably.” He raised an eyebrow “you don’t get scares like mine from the dead and anyone who would do those things deserved to die. Whether I killed them or if someone else did. I don’t know.”
“how do you not know?” the man in the hat asked. She pulled the blond hair from her face revealing a mess of scar tissue. “I know a lot of things but I don’t remember very much.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After rick had deemed her part of the group she was introduced to everyone and showed around the resort. The people inside the wall were nice but Dixie was on edge around them. The only time she had been in walls was by herself. She was the most comfortable in the woods but sometimes circumstances had forced her to take shelter indoors.
This group of people were the first people she had interacted with. Her first night at the resort was her first conversation, her first meal with others to share it, and the first night that she did not fall asleep completely alone.
Dixie knew that she had been with people before. She knew it. She just didn’t remember she dreamed about them though. She would see scenes, memories that were blurred and out of focus. Scenes of an old man leaning on a cane. A girl on a horse. A man holding a baby. She loved that one it came with a gravelly voice calling the baby darlin. Another of a fire larger than life but not frightening.
That night though her first night. That night she dreamed of her angel. She dreamed of the burn of alcohol in her through and the taste of it and the words on her lips. “Dixon” she whispered as the memory went white again.
It was that dream, that memory that always came to her when she needed strength though by the Time she woke all she had left was the last word she said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the girl had fallen asleep everyone else gathered around the fire to talk. “did you see her scars?” Maggie asked “no one who looks like that can be good news.” “she’s been on her own a long time.” Carl said looking at Maggie “and we all have scars.”
Some voiced their concern about her lack of memory or her elution to a darker past with the scars to prove it or the fact that she was so casual when saying that she may have taken a human life but others in the group knew to fight the dead and fear the living.
“Carl is right.” Michonne said “the girls been on her own a long time. She may not adjust right away but she can pull her own weight. She deserves the same chance as everyone else here.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The first day Dixie woke before the sun and before most of the people. She met up with rick and the man in the sheriff’s hat. Carl, she reminded herself the man’s name was Carl. “morning.” Carl said beaming at her.
“good morning.” She said quietly. She wasn’t used to using her voice very often. The men made small talk and Dixie listened content with not contributing to the conversation until rick asked if she had any special skills.
“I can hunt. I don’t know why but things like tracking and shootin come natural to me. I can use a knife and gun but I prefer my bow.” She said going quiet again.
“that’s good.” Rick said “we could use another experienced hunter. A handful of us are good or at least decent at hunting but Daryl’s the only one here who’s really good.”
The girl bit her lip and shifted her feet to a sturdier position. Her head was throbbing and bile was rising in her throat. “you okay Dixie?” Carl asked putting a hand on her arm to steady her. She flinched away so violently that she nearly fell on her ass.
“sorry.” She said giving the men a small smile. “I don’t know why I did that.” “it’s instinct.” The voice behind her made her jump hand flying to her knife. Michonne came to stand next to rick with the brunette, Maggie, standing next to her.
“you stay on your own to long you forget how to be around people. You learn to survive alone and then when you find good people you have to unlearn being alone to make room for being people again.” The girl knew that she was going to have to learn to be one of these people with their walls and their words but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to unlearn being alone because these new people could be gone just as fast and easy as the others. As the faceless people she knew had lost.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was the third day that Dixie had been at the resort and she was finally starting to let her guard down. She sat in the grass on the front lawn skinning the rabbit and the snake that she had got when wandering around the wall. Her bow was just within reach and she grabbed it and sprung to her feet when she heard the cars.
Kam was on look our duty and called out for rose to take over coming down to explain what he saw to the people standing in the yard looking ready for a fight. The kids had already been moved inside.
“it’s them.” Kam said “they picked up another car. A really shitty one but they both look full.” The gate had been opened as soon as the cars pulled up and rose gave the all clear for walkers.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been a really successful trip. They had found and untouched baby store. They had enough formula and canned food to last the twins. They had grabbed disposable diapers that they could use for first aid since that babies used fabric. There was a bag of just vitamins and meds for new born to little kids. There were cloths and bottles light up toys and batteries. As well as the food from in front of the check out. It was mostly candy.
They had also picked over the remains of a strip mall and found some canned and dried food, box of Twinkies and slim jims, some matches and bottles water, there was a sporting goods store so one of the trunks was filled with bats, hockey sticks, some other sports weapons, and some first aid things like braces and KT tape.
Everyone helped to unload the supplies even the children. Everyone was in a good mood. It was rare to get a good run and this was better that any of them had even dared to dream of.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After everything had settled down Carl came and dragged Dixie over to introduce her to everyone who had been gone when she came. Her head was killing her. She had an extremely high tolerance to pain so she never paid attention to her near constant headaches. Now though they were worse. She blamed it on not being used to hearing anything but herself and nature.
Carl introduced her and she smiled knowing she would not remember any of them later. She stopped listening all together when she saw a familiar shape. So much clearer than her dreams. The man had shaggy brown hair and a leather vest with wings. Angel wings. He was getting closer but he wasn’t moving he was staring. Like he’d seen a ghost she thought. Do I look as if I’ve seen an angle he lips quirked at that idea.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Daryl thought back trying to remember if he had been hit over the head or when he would have felt safe enough to drift deep enough into sleep to dream. He was dreaming obviously because there was no way that a dead girl was standing in front of him. He didn’t move hell he didn’t even breath to afraid that even that slight gesture would destroy this beautiful fragile dream.
She was moving closer and he wished that she would stop he knew that if she touched him he would wake up.
“Daryl this is Dixie.” Carl said “Dixie this is Daryl.” “Dixon.” She whispered. Daryl hadn’t looked away from her at all. His hand came up to her face as if to check of she was real. His callused fingers tucked her hair behind her ear. He didn’t flinch at her scars. It seemed to her that time stood still and flew past the throbbing in her head faded. It was like on a hunt where your focus shrinks and your world becomes just you your prey and the tracks that connect you.
Her world had shrunk down to just him and her and the small space connecting them that she knew was safe because she knew that he was safe. Finally, she had stopped dreaming. Stopped living on fuzzy memories of a man who was her everything because he was right here. She was awake and he was real.
“you were right.” Daryl said his voice sounding like he was struggling to hold back his emotions. She didn’t have that problem with tears running down her face. She didn’t know what she was right about but was happy to hear that voice that reminded her of fire and moon shine and letting go.
“I missed you so bad when you were gone.”