Warning (Sequel to Forfeit) ~Daryl Dixon/OC~

Chapter Twenty Seven

We buried Beth under a willow tree in a vacant field. It was beautiful and peaceful. I could see her dancing in the tall grass and singing one of her songs as Father Gabriel recited some Bible verses for her. Maggie clutched my hand tightly just as she did with Glenn. I think it's because I was the last person in our group to speak to her. I connected with Beth at the prison but she had changed so much in the two short weeks we had lost our home and each other. Her courage and determination to survive had multiplied and I never would've thought she was the same girl I met back on the farm. She had grown drastically. And her death deeply affected all of us.

After Maggie, Daryl was probably the next closest person to Beth who was still alive. They escaped the ruins of the prison together and survived for a week with just each other. Knowing Beth, she pushed Daryl emotionally after the fall of the prison. And he probably pushed her physically. I know he was hurting over the loss of one of our own but I felt that Maggie needed the extra support. She lost her father, Hershel, only two weeks ago and now her little sister was gone. She had lost so much in such a short amount of time. After Beth's funeral service was over, we all piled into a van with four rows of seats. We had some people sitting in the floor while some sat in other's laps. None of us were comfortable. We silently rode overnight, only stopping once to stretch our legs and rotate drivers, and then all day the next day. We stopped for the night by another field, hoping to get a good night's rest and something to eat. The group separated to relieve some of the tension and emotions that were trying to consume us. Daryl walked straight to tree line at the edge on the field and sat in the grass. He sat cross-legged, twirling a piece of grass between his fingers. He sniffled once he noticed I had followed him, but didn't fully acknowledge me. I sat beside him and wrapped my arm under his as I rested my head on his shoulder. We sat in silence, just listening to the wind until he cleared his throat.

"You doing okay?" he asked me. I lifted my head so my eyes could look into his. I only nodded slightly as I pushed some hair from his face. He tried to pull away like Carl does but I still managed to see his face. His eyes were swollen and red and I knew he had been crying. Daryl keeps up with his tough reputation but he's really a sensitive soul. It was one of my favorite things about him. The sun was going down and I knew everyone was physically and emotionally exhausted. I mentally took note of everyone in our group but gasped as I realized something.

"Where's Bob?" I asked Daryl, feeling absolutely horrible that I just realized I hadn't seen him since the big dinner at Gabriel's church. Daryl sighed and thought hard about what to tell me but I had already figured out he was dead.

"He was bit when they went to the food bank," he told me. I accepted his answer and let a tear escape my eye as I laid my head back down.

"I'm sick of losing people," I thought out loud. I felt him nod in agreeance.

"Hey," Rick's rough voice sounded behind us. I quickly stood up and brushed the grass off my jeans. Daryl just stood up, never looked away from the grass between his fingers. "I need to talk to y'all," he told us, awkwardly. He knew none of us really wanted to talk or go out on a run but he wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. He turned on his heels with his hand resting on his python at his waist as Daryl and I followed close behind him. He led us on the side of the only form of transportation we had, a white van. Noah, Tyreese, Glenn, Michonne, and Carol were already there waiting. Rick stood close to Noah, which I thought was odd, considering if we were planning something, he normally stood by the person he most trusted for the job at hand and he had only just met Noah.

"Noah says he has a home," Rick started. "Richmond, Virginia. He says there are about 20 or so people and they have walls. Beth wanted to go with him, to get him there. We should check it out. See if it's a good place for all of us."