Hope Lost: A Daryl Dixon Story (The Walking Dead/ Bethyl )

1- Aftermath

WARNING

This is my first and most terrible fanfiction lol. Enter at own risk, or give one of my others a look. 

A bloodthirsty Merle stumbled towards Daryl, reaching out and growling. Unwanted tears sprung into his eyes as he pushed his brother away. The reanimated Merle kept coming at him, hungry for flesh. Daryl pushed him away a couple more times before pushing him over and pinning him to the ground. Daryl lost himself and broke down, stabbing Merle in the head repeatedly. Daryl clearly remembered it, his own brother's blood on his hands. His face unrecognisable, partly due to his reanimation and mostly because of the wounds Daryl inflicted on him. Beth's sniffles snapped him out of his flashback.

"Quit the crying and keep your mouth shut." He snapped. Daryl wondered why he was thinking about his dead brother out of people right now.
This of course just caused Beth to bawl harder after letting out a stifled cry due to Daryl's hostility. Daryl's jaw was set and his eyes were fixed on the road ahead. He changed gears and silently tried to figure out where they were going. Beth's crying softened. She curled her legs up and leaned her head against the window. She closed her eyes and relived the moment of her father's decapitation. Beth and her sister Maggie simultaneously cried out as the Governors blade hit his neck. They both fired shots at the Governor and his small army. The rest seemed automatic. Staying alive, trying to get the children together, and somehow ending up on the road with Daryl. She didn't even know where Maggie was, if she was safe. If she was alive. And Judith? Was Judith safe with the other children? Beth had seen to taking care of Rick's little one, taking on the motherly role after Lori died. She even took a liking to Carl, not that the kid needed it. She truly loved Judy and fresh tears sprung out of her eyes. Beth admitted she had become cold to the new world. She never even shed a tear at the news of Zach's death. Her father's death, the demise of her new home and the split up of the group caused her to become her vulnerable old self. Her old self, the one where she was on the brink of suicide...Where were they headed? Returning to the prison was ruled out. It was burning and overrun by walkers feeding on the dead when they had left. Beth and Daryl never had time to scavenge for any supplies. All they had was the car with limited amounts of gas and Daryl's crossbow. Beth decided to close her eyes and rest, leave the thinking to Daryl. 

Daryl rubbed his left temple and slowed down as he drove around the prison's surroundings. He was hoping he'd be lucky enough to find any members of the group wondering around. He mocked himself for counting on luck. Luck brought him nowhere. Hell, in this world luck meant shit. Surviving had nothing to do with luck. He pulled over to the side of the road and cursed. He had no idea where he was going. He hit the steering wheel with his fist and got out the car before staring down Beth. She was a mess, all huddled up in her corner, wiping tears from her blotchy face. Daryl got out, slammed the door and leaned against the side of the car. He'd kill for a cigarette right about now. Daryl scratched his head and wondered where the hell Rick was. He knew for a fact that Carl would be with him, knowing Rick wouldn't let him out his sight. But right now Daryl had to focus on keeping himself alive before looking for others. He sighed as he remembered Beth in the car feeling sorry for herself. Yeah she lost her dad, but then again he lost his brother and Rick lost his wife. Everyone lost someone in this world left for dead. Daryl noticed this was the same road where the huge herd of walkers were stumbling down a few days ago during the trip for medicine. That means town won't be too far from where they are. For now they'd have to find shelter. Daryl was pretty beat from the day so he imagined how Beth felt. Sympathy for the young girl started to kick in. They formed some kind of bond during their time in the prison but things have changed again. Things always changed and Daryl was used to that so he didn't care much. Surviving was the only thing Daryl could afford to care about.