Login with:

Facebook

Twitter

Tumblr

Google

Yahoo

Aol.

Mibba

Your info will not be visible on the site. After logging in for the first time you'll be able to choose your display name.

I Will Follow You Into The Dark

Chapter 21

~Author's note: Hey guys, here is your next chapter. Sorry I kept you all waiting! Be aware, there is not really any fluff in this one. This chapter is really weak, I am aware, but it is just a part of the story I had in my mind that I really wanted to tell, so try not to judge me too hard! It mostly contains a contemplative Beth, and even a little loss of reality. I promise the next chapter will be better with more Daryl. Love it...hate it...it's what I have! As always, thanks for reading!~
__________________________________________________________________________
Beth couldn't bear the noise. They just kept coming, falling down the slope, bones crunching, flesh ripping, the snarling, snapping, and moaning. She clenched her eyes tighter together and clapped her hands hard over her ears trying to drown out everything. Her heart was pounding so hard and her breathing was so heavy that she was surprised the walkers couldn't hear her. Maybe this was just another part of her nightmare...but it didn't end. Were they not meant to be happy ever again? They'd started something today, talked about it honestly, and there was the possibility it would be something real...but now Daryl was dead or would be soon...why had she said no today? If she had said yes, at least if Daryl died, she would have a small piece of him, a sweet memory to hold onto. Daryl warned her that he wouldn't say "no" again...if he was alive and came back to her...she would hold him to that.
Beth bit back a sob. Calm down...you have to calm down. She pulled her knees tighter to her chest, trying to make herself smaller under the tree roots.

What if Daryl turned into a walker and he found her? That would be the worst thing she could imagine...no, there was something even worse. With the size of this herd, they would tear Daryl to pieces and eat him alive...there wouldn't even be anything left to bury. She was so alone; everyone was gone. If Daryl didn't come back, she was done. Beth resolved herself that when she wasn't able to wait any longer, she wouldn't go west. West was what she and Daryl had pinned their hopes on...but without Daryl there wasn't any hope. Beth would try to make her way home...if she was going to die alone, she wanted it to be there.

Home was a good thought, calming even though it carried such sadness. There was a Weeping Willow tree near the house, and when she and Maggie were young, it used to be their secret hideaway...there, close to its trunk, under the cascading branches where no one could "see" them. They would sit under there for hours talking and singing and laughing and playing make believe. When Daddy came out looking for them, they would be very quiet, and Daddy would get all worried because he couldn't find them. Then they would call out to him, he would part the branches, crawl under, and sit with them telling them how wonderful their secret hiding place was. When she was little, Beth always thought Daddy was silly and forgetful because whenever they were under the Weeping Willow, he could never find them. Later she realized he was just allowing them to keep something magical and secret in their lives. Long after Maggie outgrew the Weeping Willow and went away to college, Beth would still go there, hiding under the protection of the branches to write or sing or just be. It was still magical to her. If she had ever had the chance, she would've liked to share that magic with Daryl. He liked the outdoors; he would've appreciated it. She'd never shared it with anyone except Maggie and Daddy, but she would've happily shared it with him...but it was too late now.

It was resolved. If she ever made it home, she would make her peace with the world and God. She would go to that magical place under the shelter of the Weeping Willow. Beth couldn't just will herself to die; she probably had the ability and resolve to do just that, but she didn't want to come back as a walker. She would have to do it herself...a clean shot in the head...and it would all be over. Maybe when she got home, she would take some time before the end to write her story...their story...to leave behind. If someone did live, maybe they would find it some day and realize that the dead girl under the Weeping Willow had found hope and love, even for the shortest time, in the most unexpected place. It had to mean something...

Home...home is where the heart is...right? She might make it home, but maybe there was something better after. Maybe if Daryl's heart was with her, they would find each other in the place that came next...and Daddy would be there too, and maybe even Merle. Merle was a horrible person, but he died trying to save them all. And Daryl loved him, despite their past. Beth had to look forward now, even if forward meant the end.
______________________________________________________________________
Daryl was spent. He'd been running for what seemed like hours. and the herd kept coming. This had to be far enough...it had to be if he was going to make it back to Beth by sunrise. He would never forgive himself if something happened to her. If Beth left that hiding spot and was bit in the woods trying to get back to the road...there was no way it was going to happen like that...history was not going to repeat itself this time around. Fuck fate. He was going to make his own destiny now, and fuck anyone or anything that got in his way!

Daryl sped up with his last burst of adrenaline to put more distance between himself and the herd, then climbed the side of the ditch he and Beth had fallen down. He did a slow 360 to see if there were any immediate threats, then he went flat on his stomach to catch his breath and watch the herd pass. They were closer behind him than he'd thought, but the sooner they passed by the sooner he could make his way back to Beth. The steady stream of walkers kept moving mindlessly forward, chasing their invisible prey at a faster pace than usual. That had to be why he could still barely breathe.

The end of the walker train finally came, and he carefully watched them disappear into the distance. As soon as the last was out of his sight, he caught his second wind and started his journey back to Beth. She was worth it.
________________________________________________________________________

It was so beautiful. Beth was under her Weeping Willow tree and all the gracefully cascading branches were encased in ice, the sun shining on them and turning the branches into strands of iridescent diamonds. She reached out to touch them, and one broke in her hand, small shards of sparkling ice spilling to the ground. Everything possessed such an ethereal quality...she wasn't cold, but she wondered if she'd somehow died, and this was her place in between.

But she wasn't alone. The branches were parted, and four little blonde angels spilled into her secret world. They looked at her with shock, like she was the stranger in her own magical place. Three little boys and one little girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes stared at her as if waiting for an explanation.

"What're you doin' here?" The oldest, a fierce little boy questioned her.

"I used to always come here...when I was younger...I lived here," She explained, staring at them in wonder...there was something about them, something she should realize.

The smallest, the little girl, reached out and took a strand of Beth's hair in her tiny hand. Their hair was so much alike.

"We know..." said one of the younger boys, just as fierce and assertive as the older.

"How do you know?" How could they know...there was no way these children knew her. They'd never met.

"You told us silly...and you said Granddaddy could never find you when you hid here," the youngest of the boys explained.

"What? Who?"

"Granddaddy Hershel silly..." the little girl spoke in a melodic voice. "You say you miss your daddy lots, and he loves us from heaven."

Beth felt dizzy. What was this? What was happening?

"Mama, are you okay?" The eldest boy who had been so fierce knelt down next to her and took her hand.

Mama?...the little boys, they looked so much like...

"Shhh...he's comin'...be quiet or he'll find us..." the youngest boy whispered frantically.

Beth was flooded with fear as the four children huddled behind her. But they were giggling between their frantic "shhhs" as the willow branches parted and a figure crawled into their sanctuary.

Daryl...she wanted to hug him and kiss him, hold him and never let go...but she wasn't sure this was real.

"I thought I said it was time for y'all to go to bed?" His tone was gruff, but there was happiness in his eyes.

"But Daddy...it's still light out," the biggest boy came forward to challenge.

"Yeah...well...were leavin' at first light to go hunting. You need to be sharp and rested if you wanna get your prey," he asserted.

"But Daddy...I'm a girl...I don't go huntin'..." the little girl protested as Daryl drew her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

Beth felt happy and sad in a very confusing moment. She could feel tears falling down her cheeks, and Daryl looked at her with concern.

Could this be real?

"No, you don't hunt now, but maybe when you're older. Your Mama's pretty good with a crossbow, and I taught her everything she knows." He smiled her way but was still concerned.

"Daddy, how'd you find us here? Mama always said that Granddaddy Hershel could never find her here when she was little," the eldest boy questioned.

"You see son, Granddaddy Hershel was a great man. He was a doctor who helped save lots of people during the hard time after the Turn."

"You mean when you and Mama met and fell in love?" The middle boy asked.

"In love..." the little girl in Daryl's arms mimicked in a sing-songy voice.

"Yeah...exactly...when I met your Mama and my life changed. And even though Granddaddy Hershel was a healer, he couldn't find anyone who was hiding worth a shi...cra...worth nothin'. But your Daddy, you see, he's a tracker, and he will always be able to find you, no matter what, no matter where you are or how far you go in life. I'm a tracker...it's what I do...what I know...what I've always known."

The four children gathered around, hugging him. It was a strange sight, but somehow it seemed to fit Daryl. Everything seemed right.

"Back to the house now, all y'all. Remember, we're leavin' together at first light...at dawn..."
After the children disappeared, laughing and scampering away, Daryl moved close to her, his forehead furrowed in concern.

"You okay Lil' Bit?"

"Yeah...I think..." Beth reached up and brushed away her tears. "You're happy?"
He looked at her like she'd shot a crossbow bolt through his heart.

"How can you ask me that? What's wrong with you?"

"I...nothing...I don't know..." Beth didn't know what to say. She shivered. It was suddenly so cold. Daryl reached out and pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. "The children...I can't seem to remember when they were babies." She couldn't remember anything.

"Is that why you're sad...'cause the kids are gettin' older?" He pulled her tighter. "We should have another."

"You want more?"

"Yeah, why not...it ain't like we can't take care of them. I thought we talked about this...a big family?" He seemed confused now.

"You remember when they were babies?" Beth needed to know something, anything.

"I remember all of them...what it felt like to hold them in my arms the day they were born. My first son...who came before things got better. He was the sign that showed life found a way even when the world was fallin' apart. And my little girl...my only daughter. She stole a part of my heart on the day she came into the world and things were suddenly all bright and beautiful after that..." Daryl choked up a little.

It all sounded so beautiful...she wished she could remember...wished she knew whether this was real or not.

"Do you remember the first time we were together?" Beth felt herself blush when she asked the question which wasn't right. She just needed some sort of trigger...something to signal where reality was...to grasp at something real.

"Umm-hmm...you don't really forget something like that. You remember the best things and try to forget the worst." Daryl hesitated. "What is all this..." His voice became so serious, almost offended, but she just couldn't...

And then she remembered something...something terrible and horrific...she was so scared even though that moment seemed so far removed.

"Daryl...that night in the woods..."

"What night...there've been lots of nights in the woods..." his voice was becoming more withdraw. His emotion was fading.

"That night...with the herd...when you left me to draw them away..." She felt the very real fear well up inside her chest as the words poured out.

"That night..." was his only reply.

It was getting so much colder. Even Daryl's embrace wasn't enough to drive away the chill. And he was getting colder too...his skin against hers was no longer warm.

"Did we make it?"

Then it was all gone. Daryl was gone, the beautiful ice covered Weeping Willow tree of her childhood was gone, she was trapped, being strangled by tree roots, bound to the hard ground where Daryl had left her...it was so cold...

~Author's End Note: The dream...I know, I know...for the story line, I just wanted it to play into Beth's state and her inability to grasp at the reality around her, the reality of what is happening, so she dreams herself into a "fairytale" version of the life she could have in the future until the illusion is shattered. The bigger purpose...the sentimental part of me who wants to see Daryl with a happy family, a good life, and as a father...I really just needed to get that out of my system in a realistic way without totally ruining the integrity of my story! I hope you guys can understand that and look past it if you totally hate it! ~

Notes

Comments

@Smokey85
Awww...thank you so much for coming back to read! You are amazing. I truly appreciate it!

Aireabella Aireabella
3/30/19

I am so happy you are back! I love your stories and always look forward to your updates! Thank you for sharing your work :)

Smokey85 Smokey85
3/26/19

@McDrogoInaNewWorld
So glad that you enjoyed it! It always makes my day when I can make people happy by doing what I love! Thank you so much!

Aireabella Aireabella
6/14/18

Yay!!! Another great chapter on the books, can’t wait to see what happens next!!

@blesdirishangel
Thank you so much for coming back to my fic and for your comment! I am glad that you love the update. You are amazing!

Aireabella Aireabella
6/7/18