Double Crossbow (Daryl Dixon) [The Walking Dead]

Chapter 40 ↣ Are you coming back soon?

"You finally met your nemesis / disguised as your long lost love."

— Green Day, Jinx

↣ ↢

Kathryn

GUNSHOTS AND SCREAMS woke me from my light sleep. I shot up in bed and scrambled for my bow. I peered out of my cell to see strangers running around with guns, taking aim at members of the group. Throughout the confusion, there was also nice dose of walkers limping about.

Raising my bow, I sent a bolt flying into the back of a stranger's head that was aiming for Rick. His knees crumbled, and he fell to the ground. I was suddenly slammed up against the wall as a walker had gotten a grip on my shirt. My forearm was pressed against its neck, holding it back. I was nowhere near full strength, though, and my arm was starting to shake under the weight.

The bark of a rifle was soon followed by the walker falling limply against me. With a deep breath and a shove, the walker found its place at my feet. My gaze moved upwards, and on the other side of the catwalk stood Daryl. My breath hitched in my throat as his blue eyes softened upon meeting my eyes.

Another shot of a rifle went off, but this time it wasn't a walker that went down— it was Daryl. My heart jumped into my throat, and I rushed to his side. As I knelt next to him, I raised my bow and found the man who had taken the shot. I saw the surprise meet his eyes for a second and then everything drain out of them as my bolt landed in his forehead.

With that taken care of, I quickly looked down to see Daryl had been shot in the side. Placing my hands on the wound, I applied pressure to stall the bleeding. "Hershel! Rick!" I yelled.

Daryl tried to take my hands in his own. "Kath, stop."

"You'll bleed out if I can't stall the bleeding," I snapped. "Let me get help."

His grip tightened on my hands, and he yanked me back down. "Don't go."

A sob was rising in my throat. "You, asshole...you came back."

"Course I came back. Bad timin', but I'm here." He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

"You're gonna be fine," I quickly said, trying to rise to my feet again.

Daryl yanked me back once more, but this time he caught the back of my neck and pressed a kiss to my lips. I melted against his touch as if no time had passed. This kiss was different though. It was filled with so many unsaid things and tied together with the gut wrenching feeling of a finality. As he pulled away, he smiled at me. "I love you."

Tears started to fall down my cheeks. "I love you too," I said between a sobs. They were wracking my body now, and as his chest went still beneath my hand, they only got worse. I crumbled, falling against him. "No! Daryl, please! You can't leave me. Not again."

I woke up with such a start that I nearly fell out of the cot. Grabbing onto the covers with a white-knuckled grip, I was able to regain my balance. Once the fleeting inkling of falling left my stomach, I brought my hands up to cover my eyes only to flinch away as I was met with moisture.

Quickly scrubbing away the tears, my hands then fell back to my side. With a huff, I pulled the thin blanket up over my head, hoping it would act as a shield to the million different emotions trying their damnedest suffocate me.

This was one of the only times I had slept since getting back, and it was a brutal reminder as to why I no longer let my subconscious take the reins. I would sleep when I was dead. That moment seemed just around the corner now. Death was hiding in the dark, waiting for the right moment to pounce. I just wondered which form it would take. Would it be walker, governor, or him?