CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT
"Payback"
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*THIS CHAPTER IS ON JOSLYN'S SIDE OF THE STORY*
Joslyn was walking down the streets of Alexandria waving to Spencer who had just walked away from Rosita. "Joslyn!" Denise calls out, grabbing Joslyn's attention. Joslyn walks over to Denise and Rosita. "I was wondering if you two would do something with me" Denise offers before Joslyn and Rosita look over at each other with a confused look. "I was thinking Daryl could come too" Denise states and Joslyn shrugs her shoulders. "I'm down for anything" Joslyn says as her, Rosita, and Denise walk together to find Daryl walking along the side walk.
"After I got out of DC, I just drove. I remember seeing it right when I realized I had no idea where I was going. Edison's Apothecary and Boutique. It's just this little gift shop in a strip mall, but if it's really an apothecary, they had drugs" Denise explains a run she wants to go with the 3 of them. "Do you know if this place has been looted?" Joslyn asks. "Yeah, How do you know they still got 'em?" Daryl asks backing up Joslyn as he looks over at her but she doesn't look over at him.
"It isn't that far and I just want to check. And you, Joslyn and Rosita are the only ones who aren't out scavenging or pulling shifts. I would ask Jane since she is really beautiful and um.. um very skilled. Sorry— you guys are too but Jane is you know, pregnant" Denise stutters and Joslyn chuckles and shakes her head slowly. "I'll go" Joslyn says and Denise let's out a sigh of relief as Daryl and Rosita agree to go as well.
"I wanted to check. I just wanted to help" Denise says as she looks around at the three of them. "How much time you spend out there?" Daryl asks and Denise swallows a lump in her throat. "Um.. none" Denise answers and Joslyn furrows her eyebrows.
"Then no". "I can ID the meds. I know how to use a machete now. I've seen roamers up close. I'm ready" Denise states and Joslyn tilts her head as she looks at Denise. "My father was a drug addict I think I can identify a couple of drugs when I see them" Joslyn argues and Denise sighs, "I just want to help" Denise demands and Joslyn looks over at Daryl. "She wants to help I say let her help. I don't think she should come but— it is her idea" Joslyn states and Rosita shakes her head. "I'll go alone, if I have to" Denise states and Joslyn scoffs.
"You'll die alone" Daryl states. "That's why Im asking you guys to make sure of that" Denise says and Rosita scoffs, "Well, one of you are coming because I'm not babysitting her by myself" Rosita declares and Joslyn shrugs her shoulders.
The four of them drive down the road in an old truck. Denise mentions that her brother taught her how to drive trucks like this when she was young. "Daryl" Rosita calls out and Joslyn and Daryl look ahead to see a fallen tree ahead of them. Joslyn, Daryl, and Rosita exit the truck, leaving Denise in there alone as they inspect the fallen tree seeing a dead walker under it. "This happened fast" Rosita declares. "Yeah, this tree rotted out" Joslyn says as she looks out, keeping her rifle in hand as Rosita kills the walker with her machete and finds some liquor bottles on the walker.
Joslyn rushes over to the truck and lets Denise out. "All good" Joslyn says as Denise exits the truck. "What'd she find?" Denise asks referring to Rosita who lifts up the bottles of booze she found. "Bottles of booze. Any takers?" Rosita asks and Joslyn chuckles, "Maybe later" Joslyn says. "Later! I'm not bringing these to the pantry" Rosita states and Denise shakes her head. "I'm good. They were kind of my parents thing. Which is why they aren't mine" Denise states.
The group is forced to continue on by foot. Rosita suggests they take a shortcut following some railroad tracks, but Daryl insists on the road, telling her "I ain't taking no tracks." Denise follows Daryl while Rosita and Joslyn take the tracks together.
They come across a couple walkers but together they kill them one by one. "I didn't like you when I first met you. Thought you were a bitch" Rosita states as she removes her machete out of the dead walkers head and continues walking. "What am I now?" Joslyn asks as she wipes her bloody blade off on her jeans. "Still a bitch just a bit more tolerable" Rosita answers and Joslyn burst out into laughter before slipping her blade back into her pocket. "Thanks, never knew I'd like such a rude compliment" Joslyn states as her and Rosita continue to walk down the rest of the tracks until they have met up with Daryl and Denise.
Daryl walks right past Rosita and Joslyn not even acknowledging them. "I didn't mean to pick him over you guys back there. It's just..." Denise says and Joslyn smiles and shakes her head. "No worries. He's being a baby anyway" Joslyn says as she leaves Rosita and Denise so she can rush over to Daryl and walk beside him.
"Are you upset we took a shorter way?" Joslyn asks as she walks beside Daryl but Daryl doesn't respond. "Not a talker, huh?. Even better" Joslyn jokes and Daryl looks over at Joslyn, "Stop it" Daryl warns making Joslyn burst out into laughter. "You gotta admit. I'm actually funny" Joslyn states and Daryl scoffs, "Not even close" Daryl declares as the four of them arrive at the apothecary and Daryl jimmies the door open.
Inside the apothecary, Daryl and Rosita raid the pharmacy shelves. Meanwhile, Denise finds a keychain with the name "Dennis" on it. Joslyn comes up behind her and reads the necklace. "You know that says Dennis, right?" Joslyn asks and Denise smiles as she pockets the necklace. "It sounds close to my name" Denise determines and Joslyn chuckles. "Mhmm" Joslyn says before she leaves Denise alone and goes to check the pharmacy shelves with Rosita and Daryl.
Joslyn hears glass break in the distance and runs to the counter seeing Denise has ran into something. "What are you doing?" Rosita asks and Denise shakes her head. "Nothing" Denise answers before she rushes outside. "I'll go check on her" Joslyn says as she hops the counter rushes outside after Denise, seeing her sitting down against the boutique.
"Are you alright?" Joslyn asks as Denise looks over at her and nods her head. "You didn't look like it" Joslyn breathes as she looks Denise up and down and bends down to her level. "I went into that back room and— I saw the walker but—" Denise stutters as she recalls the memory in her head. "It was a child I think— It had little kid shoes— and it was trapped I couldn't—" Denise rants and Joslyn places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. I understand" Joslyn assures as she looks over to Denise and smiles at her.
"I don't want to cry though because— it's a stupid roamer" Denise says as she tries to hide her tears. "Just because we're in this messed up world. With messed up walkers roaming around doesn't mean we have to hide our feelings. You can cry, that's life. Just because we are taught to be tough to survive doesn't mean we have to be because frankly not all of us and that's... okay" Joslyn explains and Denise looks over at her as a tear slides down her cheek. "Thank you" Denise whispers and Joslyn smiles nodding her head. "Anytime" Joslyn replies before Daryl and Rosita walk outside the boutique and Rosita hands Joslyn her book bag filled with medicine.
"Everything alright?" Daryl asks and Joslyn sighs as she stands to her feet and puts her backpack on. "Hey," Daryl calls out to Denise and Denise finds the courage to turn her head to face him. "You did good finding this place" Daryl gently praises and Denise nods her head and stands to her feet. "Tried to tell you you weren't ready. We both did" Rosita states and Denise nods her head. "I know. I guess I just needed to know myself" Denise says as she puts away her machete.
The four of them begin to walk back towards the truck so they can get home and on the way Daryl guesses that Dennis was Denise's brother and she notes that he was actually her twin. She says Dennis was brave, but also angry. It was a dangerous combination. "Sounds like we had the same brother," Daryl replies. "Merle.. he was definitely a character. Not one you would like but one you could tolerate" Joslyn says as she remembers Merle pretty well from when she ran woodbury with the Governor. Thinking about him just made her sick to her stomach.
As they continue to walk back, Daryl suggests they take the railroad tracks instead of the road. Joslyn looks over at Rosita with a smile on her face and her and Rosita share a high five knowing they won't have to walk as far now. Near the tracks, Denise spots a cooler inside a car inhabited by a walker. "There's a cooler in here! Might be something we can use inside!" Denise shouts out making Rosita, Joslyn and Daryl stop in their tracks and turn to face
Denise. "Why— Who let her get that far away?" Joslyn asks as she scoffs. "It ain't worth it, come on" Daryl advises and spite his warning she goes after the cooler. "Shit! She went for the damn cooler!" Joslyn shouts as she taps Daryl, grabbing both his and Rosita's attention before all three of them rush over to Denise who's struggling to kill a walker. After an intense struggle, Denise ends up killing the walker by herself and proudly displays a can of orange soda that was in the cooler.
"Soda? You risked you life for some damn soda?" Joslyn asks as she pushes her hair behind her ears. "No, seriously. What the hell was that? You could've died right there, you know that?" Daryl questions as Denise lets out a sigh. "Yeah, I do" Denise states and Joslyn scoffs. "Oh my goodness" Joslyn mumbles.
"Who gives a shit? You could've died killing those Saviors. All of you but you didn't. You wanna live, you take chances. That's how it works. That's what I did" Denise argues and Joslyn and Rosita shake their heads. "You are completely right. That's what you do but not for a couple of sodas!" Joslyn defends. "Whatever. I got the orange soda, anyway" Denise states as she pushes past the three of them confidently.
"Are you seriously that stupid?" Rosita asks as the three of them go back on the tracks to follow Denise. "Are you?" Denise asks and Joslyn raises her eyebrows looking between Rosita and Denise. "No, I mean it. Are you? Do you have any clue what that was to me, what this whole thing is to me? See, I have training in this shit. I'm not making it up as I go along" Denise rants as she looks to the three of them. "I asked you to come with me because you're brave like my brother and sometimes you actually make me feel safe" Denise states as she looks to Daryl then over at Rosita.
"I wanted you here because you're alone. Probably for the first time in your life. And because you're stronger than you think you are, which gives me hope that maybe I can be, too" Denise states and Rosita begins to feel bad for yelling at her and calling her stupid. "And you..." Denise calls out as she looks over at Joslyn. "You— I wanted you to come because you know what it feels like to be left out. All everyone ever cares about is Jane, am I right or wrong?" Denise asks and Joslyn looks down at her feet knowing deep down that Denise's statement is right. "I know that you always wonder what people would think if you died. I think you're a role model and a great person and deserve to be seen. That's why I chose you to come!" Denise argues and Joslyn looks up and locks eyes with her.
"I could've gone with Tara. I could've told her I loved her, but I didn't because I was afraid. That's what's stupid. Not coming out here, not facing my shit. And it makes me sick that you guys aren't even trying because you're strong and you're smart and you're both really god people, and if you don't wake..."Mid-sentence, a crossbow bolt strikes Denise through the right eye from behind, "up" Denise finishes her sentence even with an arrow in her eye. Joslyn widens her eyes and looks at Denise who tries to finish her sentence but falls to the ground but Joslyn and Daryl catch her dropping her down gracefully.
"Denise? Denise!" Joslyn calls out before she pulls out her gun and points it at whoever shot the crossbow but sees someone emerge out of the woods with Daryl's crossbow and a group of 12 armed Saviors at his side. "Drop em now!" He shouts and Joslyn breathes heavily as she continues to point her weapon at the men in front of her who also have Eugene hostage.
"You got something to say to me?" The man with a severely burn on the side of his face asks as he looks at Daryl. "You gonna clear the air? Step up on that high horse? No. You don't talk much" The burned man says and Joslyn looks over at Daryl before looking back at the group of armed Saviors as three of them walk up and force Joslyn, Rosita and Daryl to drop their weapons and begin checking them for more and removes any knives they had. "I should've killed you" Daryl confesses as he looks to the man with a burn on his face. "Yeah, you probably should've. So, here we are. Kind of begs the question, right? Who brought this on who? I mean I get that you'll just have to take my word for this but... she wasn't even the one I was aiming for" The man determines and Joslyn pushes one of the men out of the way lunges towards the man with the burns on his face, "Son of a b—" Joslyn shouts but before she can get to him she is kicked in the back and knocked to the ground. "Don't move!" The man above her says as he places a foot on her back and a gun to her head.
"Look, this isn't how we like to start new business arrangements but you pricks kind of set the tone didn't you?" He asks and Rosita rolls her eyes. "What do you want?" Rosita asks. "I'm sorry, darlin, I didn't catch your name. Yours either little miss, I thought I'd attack a man with 12 other ones behind him" He mocks as the men force Joslyn up to her feet. "I'm D or Dwight" Dwight introduces and Joslyn looks him up and down. "Nice burn D, how'd you get it?" Joslyn asks and Dwight chuckles before he points his crossbow at Joslyn's leg and pulls the trigger causing an arrow to go into her thigh. "Ah!" Joslyn cries out as she drops her her knees in pain.
"Now, what's your name?" He asks and Joslyn breathes heavily as she lifts her head up to look at him. "Don't make me put one in the other leg". "Joslyn! What the hell do you want?" Joslyn shouts as she looks down at her leg that bleeds out from the arrow in it. "It's not really what I want. It's what you three are gonna do. You're going to let us into your little complex. It's looks like it's just beautiful in there" Dwight states and Joslyn laughs even though she's in pain. "Too bad you won't get to see it" Joslyn says and Dwight shakes his head. "What is it with you and talking bitch" He asks and Joslyn smirks mischievously at him before turning her attention back to her leg.
"Anyways, you'll let us come in take whatever we want and who ever we want or.. we blow Eugene's brains out. And then yours. And definitely miss talkity over here" Dwight states. "I hope it doesn't come to that though, really. Nobody else has to die. We just try and start with one. You know... maximum impact to get our point across" Dwight explains and Joslyn scoffs as she rolls her eyes and groans in pain.
"So, what's it gonna be? You tell me" Dwight wonders while Eugene breathes heavily in fear. "You wanna kill someone, you start with your companion hiding over there behind the oil barrels" Eugene states and Joslyn lifts her head up and looks at Eugene confusingly while Dwight has someone go check it out. As Dwight sends one of his men to investigate, Eugene bites Dwight in the crotch. Having moved from his position in the woods, Abraham opens fire. Joslyn widens her eyes and crags herself over to her gun grabbing it and shooting two Saviors dead while a shootout ensues, and Eugene is hit in the crossfire. After eight other Saviors are killed, Dwight retreats with his remaining men.
After Dwight and the rest of them left Daryl ran to
Joslyn and helped her to her feet. "You alright?" He asks and Joslyn breathes heavily and nods her head as she roughly pulls the arrow out of her leg. "Mm!" Joslyn groans as rips a piece of her clothing and wraps it around her wound. "I'll be okay" Joslyn states as she looks over at Daryl who puts her arm over his shoulder ready to help her walk back to the truck.
The group returned back to Alexandria and Jane quickly rushed to the infirmary after hearing about Joslyn. "Joslyn! Are you okay?" Jane asks as she rushes to Joslyn's bed as she is getting her leg wrapped. "I'm fine. I promise" Joslyn says before Jane pulls her into a hug. "Thank god" Jane breathes out before she pulls away from the hug.
Later that day, even though Joslyn wasn't fully healed she wanted to help Daryl bury Denise. "You should get home. Heal that leg" Daryl states as she puts some dirt back into the ground where Denise has been placed. "I'm helping and besides, someone has to help me get pay back" Joslyn says before she grabs a shovel and helps Daryl bury Denise in the ground.
WORD COUNT: 3150