𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍'𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 - the walking dead

eight

08. PRETTY BONES

Daryl Dixon couldn't believe his eyes. Right in front of him was a large pit filled with more than a dozen walkers. Their dead eyes and decayed arms were onto him. Daryl backtracks his steps, trying to run over the tracks once again, but no matter how many times he does it, it all ends up here. There's no more tracks for him to follow except this one, so this is undoubtedly Jackie's tracks.

But where is she?

She wasn't in the pit, she wasn't a walker. He circled the pit again, making sure to find a track. But he found none. Daryl's eyes landed on a lone walker inside the pit that has its back facing him. He quickly went near it. His skin paled as he saw it.

Shane's knife lodged in its neck.

The walker raised its head, dead eyes staring at Daryl. Its mouth is coated with red, thick blood. Daryl's eyes trailed down to its hand were it held a piece of flesh and a bone.

Daryl's eyes watered again, this time he let it fall. His eyes wandered around again, and how he wished he didn't. His eyes landed on a tattered t-shirt, it was the t-shirt she wore the last time he saw her.

Daryl dropped down to his knees, the pain became too much to bear.

Please be safe.

It felt like Marlon all over again, the stabs of pain in his heart growing numb as if the sun had burned it all, leaving the remnants of feelings behind. He wasn't sure he can keep living like this, after everyone he holds dear was gone. Daryl's eyes haze over, his mind was weighed down under a thick blanket that hinder his senses, legs walked with no coordination, making too many sounds as he stumbled upon many dry leaves and sticks. 

Did Jackie die quick? Had she had the fortunate luck to not feel any pain or did she have to feel every part of her skin teared up by rotten hands and deathly teeth? What did she have to witness before her death? Was it multiple walkers cornering her or just one? Oh poor, poor little girl, she was all alone. No adults backing her up, no one to witness her, and no one to reassure her everything was going to be alright. Daryl sobs as his thoughts run, still unaware of his surroundings. 

It was a matter of time until a few walkers finally found the broken man, heart shattered into fragments, ready to be eaten. 

But the man has a gun.

-+-

When Daryl walked into the camp covered in blood and eyes downcast Rick had to stop himself from screaming. He could only stare in shock as Daryl came up to him and shoved a piece of cloth that used to be Jackie's shirt. He let his body get shoved by Daryl's stiff shoulders. He could see Daryl is too, trying to keep his cool, or is this what Daryl looks like when he lost someone so important to him? He isn't like this when Merle goes missing. 

"Hey!" A gentle slap on his cheek sent Rick back to the real world, he looks down to Jackie's shirt, it was dirty and damp with blood. 

"That's- fuck, i- is that-" Shane's hands trembling as he take a hold of the cloth.

"Jackie's shirt," Rick replies. A dull ache hit his heart, the back of his eyes burned as tears threaten to escape his eyes. "It was white. There's a band logo on the middle, i- i can't remember w- what it is. I- now it's brown," Rick didn't even know what he's saying anymore. "She- did she have a... a ja- jacket on her? i- it was leather, don't- don't- she- she loved them, i- it was a gi- gift for her from- from her f-friend I-"

"Rick! Rick, deep breaths. come on,"

"Where- where's Nellie? She can't-"

"Rick! She's dead!"

A tear escapes his eyes.

-+-

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lori muttered to her husband's hair as she held him close to her chest. Guilt wrapped around her tightly that it's suffocating, the smoke of death reached her mind as she remember the shadowy figure of Jackie running and screaming valiantly, risking her life for people she barely knew, like a true hero. The hero that fiercely swung her bat against walkers that almost got her husband, the hero that drag Rick to safety, the hero that bring him back to her was dead. But the hero was too young, too stupid, and too brave for her own good.

Lori felt shame crawl up from the deep pit of her stomach, remembering how cowardly she acts that night; screaming like a dying cattle, holding her son in a death grip but without any plans to protect him that it's not with her own body.  

A tear escaped her waterline, running down her cheeks until it fell to her husband's hair. A girl just died today, a teenage girl with brown hair and honey eyes that have so, so much courage in her heart, a girl that should've been alive now and with them, with her family and Rick would've adopted her to their family. 

but she's gone now. The little hero is dead. 

-+-

Shane knew he was a coward last night. He just stood there while Jackie was taking the lead with the walkers. Jackie had the quick thinking but poor execution, which is something they can work with, but that's not going to happen ever. 

Shane scoffed as he saw Lori drag Rick back to their tent. Rick had been freaking out, panicking about some jacket that was probably lost and torn apart like the owner. Rick has changed now.

Somehow after being in a coma for 3 months straight got his head all fucked up, now he's a sissy, crying like a little kid over someone he just met two days ago.

Well, some part of Shane feels bad about Jackie, but at the same time feels happy that she died rather than him.

Shane scoffed. A small smile crept up to his face.

-+-

"Dad?" Carl said as he entered the tent. What he saw quite made him regret that he said anything at all. It was his dad, curled up crying in his mother's chest, a sight that he rarely (or never) sees. His father's eyes were red, his face wet with tears and snot, his face contorted ugly. Carl freezes. 

"Oh Honey," Lori let go of Rick and immediately went to Carl, leading him to sit between them. Lori kept her hand on Rick, while stroking Carl's hair. "There's no easy way of saying this, but Jackie has passed away, honey."

"What?" it felt like the air was sucked out of his lungs. the world becomes muted around him, he knows his mom was saying something and his dad was hugging him. But Carl barely felt anything. 

Jackie is dead. 

  

**************

Hi! i know it's been two years or more i guess but life caught up I've been busy with life. I finally got into my dream university, I'm studying film, I've got into a few big Indonesian film production, I got a boyfriend, two cats, gained a few best friends, and working with my favorite actors, and all that shit. and i'm going into a few final years of my uni and it's been... a lot i guess. there's no guarantee that i'll post a regular update but i got a few chapters going ahead. thank you for reading this i appreciate it a lot! 

and sorry for the weird writing. it's been a while to write in english again.