"We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them."
- George Orwell, 1984
Wanting to be alone yet productive, Aliya spent her time cleaning some of the bullet casings up from the windows while keeping watch. The prison was still and quiet, making her feel uncomfortable. A rough set of footsteps coming towards her made her look back at the culprit.
Merle looked real shy as he looked at her, scratching his nape in effect. "Keepin' watch, huh?" he nodded, looking outside as well. Aliya just watched him in silence, her heartbeat picking up at the thought of being alone with him. She thought about Daryl, how he just thanked her for tolerating Merle. She didn't want to disappoint.
"It would be great, since we'll be living under the same roof," he cracked a smile, "That we, you know, straighten things up." he chuckled in discomfort. She only looked at him, waiting for him to say anything else. "I didn't know he was gonna do that to you." he confessed, regret etching on his face, "I'm sorry about your boyfriend too." Her jaw ticked as she looked away.
"I'm sorry you had to find out that way."
She blew a breath as she tried to wrack her brain for the words to say. Glenn was right, she was so out of touch with reality that she doesn't even feel much anymore. Fidgeting with her knife, she looked at him, "Can you explain that to me?" her forehead creased in confusion. "He wasn't bitten."
Merle's lips turned into a line as he rubbed his chin, "Uh.." he trailed off. He then rubbed his whole face before leaning towards her, "Bitten or not, once we die, we turn into one of those bastards." he looked at her, gauging her reaction.
It's easy to dismiss Merle and deny his credibility, but he had no further reason to lie to her. And that was what's killing her.
All of it is pointless. Why should she fight to live when in the end, she would still fall into their hell?
Merle found her easy to read, he could see the hopelessness swimming in her eyes. He cleared his throat loudly, pulling her out of her pool of thoughts, "Hey, stop thinkin' 'bout it." he shook his head at her. But when she kept quiet, Merle felt uneasy.
He has been uncomfortable and uneasy being in the same room as the very people who damned him and the very people he damned. But it was especially hard to look at the lady in front of him, all broken and hanging by a thread. She changed so quickly. Declined rapidly.
"What's the point then?" she scoffed before standing up to look out of the windows, "Fighting a battle we already know who'll win?" she rolled her eyes in frustration, finding everything just so tiring. Merle smirked, "That's why we'll fight dirty." he pumped his chest, "Come on, girl! Where was that fire that I saw?"
----
Aliya's eyes were transfixed at the blonde woman on the other end of the stick. The walker in front of her had its arms sliced off and its jaw crushed. Every weapon in sight was aimed at her, and locking eyes with Aliya, she felt betrayed. Why was she being treated like the stranger here?
After Daryl had opened the gates, Andrea was immediately forced to turn around. Rick signalled for Aliya to inspect Andrea for hidden weapons, not bothering to be gentle at all. She remembered her now, back in Woodbury. The governor's chic.
Patting her down for a while, she backed away and nodded at Rick, "Clear." she confirmed. Aliya then forced her to kneel, roughly checking once again before snatching her satchel away from her, throwing it to the ground. She then backed away and allowed Rick to deal with her.
"Welcome back."
Once they came back inside the prison, Aliya immediately settled her weapons down on the table, immediately followed by Daryl. They both nodded at each other before watching the unexpected guest, Daryl sitting on the table while Aliya stayed standing still with her arms crossed.
Andrea was visibly overwhelmed with the discovery of the friends and family that was lost. The hatred in Carl's eyes once she tried to approach the kid really just punched her gut even harder. Not to mention, the fact that he inched closer to the cold stranger next to Daryl.
"I'm not an enemy, Rick."
Her gaze settled on Aliya's face, "I'm no stranger." she gritted out, obviously bothered by the clear distinction of roles in this relationship. Aliya's brow lifted up as her hand slowly inched to touch her weapon on the table. But she didn't get the chance to do so when Daryl pulled it away from her gasp without a word.
Her forehead creased at this as she looked up at him to glare but he stayed looking at Andrea. She gritted her teeth as she reached for it only for him to pull it further away, making her lose her balance on the table. "Stop it." he growled as he held her still.
They both then tuned back into the conversation at hand. Her eyes fell downwards as she thought of Axel, the awkward yet funny man. Daryl sighed as well, "We liked him. Was one of us." he frowned, knowing that Carol was slowly warming up to the man only to witness him with a hole on his head.
It's hard to believe an estranged friend who, just a few days ago, was beside the enemy. Andrea could see it too, the barrier that the others have put up, how they weren't buying her truth. Shaking her head at everybody, "Now I'm the odd man out?" she rasped out, glaring at Aliya's direction for a second.
She knew everybody in here, Michonne included, but not Aliya. Why is she trusted and not her? Why is she in the middle, being interrogated while the real stranger stood in the middle of Daryl and Rick?
Glenn was the one who told Andrea about the governor almost killing Michonne, about the governor massacring Aliya's whole town and the torture that she endured, and about how they would've been killed too. But it was clear that she couldn't give less of a fuck about Aliya, she was too blinded by her idea of co-leading Woodbury, too blinded by pride that she's the outsider now, that she just scoffed at the revelation.
Steering the blame onto Merle and stopping to glare at Aliya.
But Aliya was just human, her patience can only go so far. "Stop bullshitting around and say what you really wanna say." she ground out, her knuckled turning white. Andrea wasn't one to back down either, "And who the hell are you?" she sneered, marching towards her.
Aliya only looked at her in her eyes, "I said, say what you really wanna say." she challenged, making Andrea's jaw tick. A flash of recognition swept across Andrea's face, "I know who you are." she smiled sarcastically. "You killed Ezekiel, stole from Woodbury." Aliya's eyes darkened.
Of course she would believe every single bullshit coming out of the governor's mouth. In her eyes, Philip could do no wrong.
"Ezekiel got himself killed." she corrected, "Your governor got his story all the way around." The conviction in her voice made Andrea back down, looking around the others. Frowning after seeing the amused smirk that Merle was shooting in Aliya's direction, she shook her head.
"Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done. But I am here trying to bring us together." she exhausted out, making Aliya roll her eyes.
Bringing them together will be like trying to mix oil with water.
It just ain't gonna happen.
And the fact that she's forcing them to compromise and submit themselves to him was just a huge slap on the face. "There are innocent people." she pleaded with Rick, but Rick is not budging.
There are innocent people here too, but did they care?
The Camellia was full of innocent people, but did that stop him?
Daryl could hear everything that Aliya was saying under her breath, and he didn't miss the way her entire body relaxed when Andrea went out of the prison with Michonne.
==+==
Like Michonne, Aliya stayed far away from Andrea even when she was already leaving. In some sort of politeness and show of decency, Aliya and Andrea shared a nod of farewell with each other. When Andrea was far enough, Merle and Daryl turned towards the prison.
"Let's go." he gruffly called for Aliya who sighed and pushed herself off of the brick wall. Walking side by side, Daryl broke the ice, "Don't do that shit again." he barked, annoying Aliya. "What?" she glared at him but he knows better, she's putting up a wall so her pieces won't spill out.
He stopped walking and faced her, "Only reach your weapon when you intend to use it." he scolded. Aliya scoffed a laugh as she looked up at him, "And I did." she answered coldly as she walked around him, marching towards the prison. Merle chuckled at that as he shook his head at Daryl.
Everyone has settled in inside the prison while Carl kept guard outside. The night was cold and weary but Beth's honey-like voice warmed the whole place. Aliya's eyes fluttered shut as she took it in.
The calm before the storm.
----
Quietly going down the vehicle, Aliya nodded at Hershel who nodded back at her. The meeting has been set up in a neutral ground, an industrial plant of some sort. Daryl lead the way, sweeping the surroundings with his crossbow while Aliya swept the back with Rick in the middle.
Arriving at a barn, Rick signalled the two to sweep the perimeter, Aliya to the left while Daryl went towards the right. It didn't take long for Hershel to catch up with the three, being greeted by Daryl with the information that the two is already in talks.
A rumbling and creaking noise alerted them, their gazes focusing on the approaching vehicle. Daryl and Aliya had their weapons raised as Martinez, Milton and Andrea spill out of it. Milton's eyes widened at the sight of Aliya, not expecting to see her again at all.
Daryl squinted his eyes at them, "Why's your boy already in there?" he questioned gruffly. Andrea was evidently ignorant of all of this, as observed by Aliya. Martinez glanced at Andrea with a smug look on his face. Andrea shook her head in disdain and stormed inside the barn.
Inside the barn, Rick looked the Governor in his face, "I know about the raids, the heads, Maggie and Aliya." he listed. The governor almost shrugged at that, "Merle did that." he looked up at him. Rick was in no mood to bullshit, "No, you know what I'm talking about." he stated coldly.
Feigning stupidity wasn't hard for the governor. Feigning innocence is.
Noticing that Rick wasn't buying his fallacy, the governor decided to approach him differently, "We're here to move forward." he smiled. With the information sucked from Andrea, the governor knows that Rick is a sucker for hope and peace. He'll just have to handle him and his group differently.
The stand off outside is fairly uneventful. Boring even the most patient man in the group, "Maybe I should go inside." Hershel suggested but was immediately turned down by Milton. Aliya raised her brow at Milton who tried his best to avoid her stare.
"Great. He bought his buttler." Daryl muttered more to the air than anything. This made Martinez and Aliya chuckle to themselves as Milton tried to defend himself indirectly. Milton might be puny but he is sassy and not one to let others trample on his dignity.
"Uh, you know, I'm sorry," Milton sighed sarcastically, "I don't feel the need to explain myself to the henchman." he smiled pointedly. The sides of Aliya's lips turned up at the amusement towards the newfound backbone Milton had, "Better watch ya mouth." Daryl warned him.
Milton was finding all of this amusing but it was starting to be repetitive, "Do me a favour," he nodded at Daryl, "Shut your mouth."
Daryl stalked towards him, looming over his figure in challenge. Aliya was just a few steps from them in a heartbeat as she watched Martinez with hawk-like focus. One twitch of his arm and she'll shoot and won't miss.
They were all immediately talked down by Hershel who reminded them that arguing right now was pointless, it will all go down soon enough. Martinez smirked at Aliya too, nodding at her mockingly. She only smirked back, refusing to give him the reaction that he was looking for.
Aliya stiffened when voices started to raise deep inside the barn. Stepping further away from Milton and Martinez, she looked inside the barn, staring at the three figures. Rick hunched over and sneered at the governor who stayed smugly seated. She backed away from the crack as Andrea emerged from it.
Seeing the defeated look on her face made everybody sigh. It was not going well.
After a while of waiting, Daryl started to pace in anxiety while Aliya's legs bounced up and down in impatience. Milton then approached them, talking about taking this time to talk about the issues themselves which Martinez immediately killed off.
Aliya looked at Milton incredulously when he started feeling excited when interest about his recordings were expressed. But poor Milton, the moment he was finally gonna open up, the walkers had to take the spotlight away.
Daryl looked at Martinez, "After you." he gestured at the walkers. Martinez scoffed as he looked back at him, "No way." he responded. Aliya rolled her eyes at the childishness of the two as she pushed her way through them, sneakily jabbing Martinez' stomach with her elbow. Martinez immediately jumped to attack her only to be roughly pulled back by Daryl.
Hearing Aliya's grunts and groans as she took on 3 walkers, Martinez looked at Daryl, "Pussy." he challenged as he stormed his way towards a walker, bashing its skull in. The two engaged in a show-off battle, trying to one-up one another's kill style which just amused Aliya. Andrea sighed and rolled her eyes before leaving the three.
After the walkers have been taken care of, the three then took a small break. Daryl pulled out a case of cigarettes off of a walker and offered the two some. Aliya gladly took one while Martinez politely declined, saying that he preferred menthols.
It was sad, really. It was obvious that the three didn't like fighting and killing but it is necessary now. Aliya couldn't help but think that Martinez and Daryl would've gotten along if they have met before all of this had happened. What a sad sad thing.
"Tomorrow, next day...they'll give the word."
"I know."
In the end, Martinez took a stick.
----
The air was light in between the two groups outside the barn but the minute the governor and Rick got out, it shifted immediately. Martinez' face turned cold as Milton's turned hesitant. Gone was the mutual tolerance that hung in the air just a few minutes ago.
Rick and the governor never broke eye contact as they all went inside their respective vehicles. Aliya was so tempted to ride the back of Daryl's bike in order to escape the suffocating air in the car.
When they arrive back at the prison, Rick gathered everyone to talk. "So, I met this Governor." he started off, looking at each and everyone of them in the face. Aliya's arms crossed as she listened in on Rick's account of the situation.
When Rick revealed that they sat down alone, Merle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He couldn't believe that he of all people would trust in the Governor's words. He frowned deeply as he looked at Daryl, "Should've gone when we had the chance, bro." he shook his head in disappointment.
They should've just left and never came back. By then, they would've had a better chance at surviving and living a good life.
Seeing Merle hopeless and forlorn was a punch towards their morale. Aliya's jaw clenched as she held onto the cell bars, this is all so nauseating. Daryl glanced her way before looking back at Rick.
"We're going to war." Rick declared.
Daryl and Merle stared at each other with indistinguishable expressions. Some might say it was farewell while some might say it's two brothers looking at each other for support and balance. Maggie and Glenn looked at each other with hopeless love in their eyes, scared to lose each other.
Hershel looked at everybody with despair, quickly memorising each other's faces lest they all perish. Aliya could only stare at the ground, her thoughts in shambles. No matter how many times she has fought for her life before, knowing that people will still die doesn't get easier. Arden's face flashed in her mind, her nails digging on her palm.
Once everybody has cleared the floor, Aliya made her way deep into the cells. There, she saw Daryl adjusting his crossbow and guns. Aliya leaned on the wall and tapped on the bars three times, getting his attention. He groaned as he glanced back at her, "What?" he lifted his brow at her.
"You and Martinez seemed to get along." she teased slightly. Daryl scoffed as he rolled his eyes at her. "The hell you talkin' 'bout?" he asked gruffly, making her smirk. It was easy to tease Daryl which is why it's her favourite past time. Just like it was his.
"How about you and Andrea? Y'all are sweet."
Aliya scoffed, "Still don't know how and why you tolerate her." she shook her head, sighing. Daryl chuckled slightly, amused by her obvious dislike towards her, "She's still one of us." he explained. She snorted at that, "She was." she corrected.
Daryl only shrugged at that, not disagreeing entirely. "But you're one of us now." he turned to face her and reached his hand out, "Give me your gun." he demanded which she obeyed silently.
She watched him clean and inspect it wordlessly, "The war tomorrow," she mumbled, making him look up at her. "Hmm?" he asked.
"It's gonna be messy."
He nodded at her, waiting for her to finish. "Just wanted to tell you not to die." she smiled tightly. Daryl blinked a few times before biting his lip and nod, "Yeah." he blew on the gun before giving it back to her.
"You better not die either."