TWD: Just Another Reason to Hold On (Daryl x Reader)

~29~

You jolt. Someone was shaking you. They stop. You freeze. It was someone you thought was dead. She laughs her usual sweet laugh. It rings, echoing. You calm down. It soothes you, hearing that sound again. It can't be. Your mom is alive.
"You're looking at me as if you've never seen me before," she chuckles.
You throw your blankets on to the floor and hug her. It couldn't be helped although you weren't weak anymore. You were crying. Dad must be alive too. You let go of your grip and run downstairs. You were home. With your real family. Your dad was sitting at his usual place near the coffee table. He was reading the newspaper.
"Dad?" you call and he glances up, smiling.
"How was The Walkers Arise?" he questions. Something wasn't right, but you decide to ignore it. "I heard you almost pulled an all nighter playing that game"
"The Walkers Arise?" you respond.
That's when you remember. It was a new game. The same one you pre-ordered. All of that. It was a dream. Daryl. He was a dream. It was all fake- what you went through. Just a dream. Daryl's gone. He's not coming back.
"You okay sugarcube?" your dad's voice breaks your thoughts. You just nod in reply.
"Honey, you know she hates being called sugarcube," your mom walks in to the kitchen. The smell hits you. It was familiar. The smell of pancakes. "Here you go, fresh pancakes for breakfast"
"Thanks," you respond.
It all seems to good to be true. Almost as if- a memory comes flooding back. Carl. Pancakes. Everything felt too real for it to be a dream. You try to shrug it off, but you couldn't. Can't. You can't forget it. You sit down and start to eat the pancake. As soon as you take a bite, you remember. You remember you were bit. You drop your fork and knife, making a loud noise as it crashes in to the plate. This is what it's like in your afterlife.
"Sweetie?" your mom asks, concerned. "Are you okay?"
"She's probably just tired," your dad replies. No, your dad never feels. He doesn't talk. Nothing here is normal. "After all, she did try to pull an all nighter"
No, it was all a dream. You weren't bit.
"The walkers. They're coming," you state.
"No, they're not sweetie. You've just been playing too much of that silly game," your mother responds, giggling.
"No, you don't understand. Jenna's dad. He-" you start.
"Enough about Jenna and her dad. Finish your breakfast," your dad snaps.
"The TV. Turn it on," you command. "Channel number 26"
Your mom sighs and does what you say. She flicks the TV on and changes it to the news. You watch carefully.
"Is it true The Walkers Arise has taken most of our nation?" the male reporter asks a man dressed in a tuxedo.
"Yes," he replies.
"I've been told that people have been claiming to dream of the future regarding the game. What do you think of the subject?" he questions professionally.
"Ignore them. The best thing to do is to contact the Syndicate immediately," he says and smirks.
"Alright folks and that's a wrap with our President, Maricus Scene. Pleasure meeting you," he says and shakes his hand.
Maricus?