Firecracker ➝ Daryl Dixon

Prologue: Found

Author's Note: Hello lovelies and welcome to my first ever story on wattpad. Per title you can see that this is a Daryl Dixon love story and my goal in writing this is to stay as true to Daryl's character as possible. That means this isn't a love at first sight kind of story. There will be relationship building, tension, awkward moments, some heart breaking moments, but most importantly there will be a lot of that stud of a man Daryl Dixon. Enjoy! :)

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"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine."

Rays of light cut up by swaying branches struck her face but did nothing to warm her body as she lay motionless. Was she still shivering? She couldn't tell. Joints ached from a numbness brought upon by inactivity while glossy eyes tried to focus on the blurry sky above. Low hums accompanied the aching of a stomach which hadn't been fed in days. Eyelids slowly closed for a brief moment as she wondered when she last ate, three days? Four? The thought left her mind once pupils met sky once more. The young woman didn't care to give in to the nagging thoughts of hunger since she would save the meager rations for his return.

"You make me happy when skies are grey."

Her throat burned as mumbled words spilled from her dry and cracked lips. Fear of slipping into unconsciousness forced the brunette to continue her singing, a sound that accompanied the low growls of the walker chained to a nearby tree. With a breathy moan the emaciated female turned her head until her check rested against the soil and her eyes looked upon the dead being. Its arms were outstretched and jaw crackling as it tried in vain to free itself of the rusty chain that ran from its neck to the trunk of a tree.

Eyes moved away from the walker and focused on the metal chain keeping the walker at bay. It wouldn't hold forever, but there was nothing she could do about it. The walker was keeping others like it at bay, at least for now. Soon enough one would stumble upon her and with unearthly moans tear through what little life she had left. Insomnia, dehydration, hunger, and anxiety had left her too weak to kill anymore. Head slowly moved back to center as her mind drifted to her missing companion. His goal had been to enter a nearby town and gather up some much needed supplies- that was over a week ago. "He'll be back," she murmured as if begging the universe to make her statement come true, "He'll be back soon."

"You'll never know dear how much I love you."

Rustling of the shrubs and cracking of twigs the speed of which was too quick to be a walker caused hope to rise like a flame, igniting her soul to the point where her bones shook and skin crawled. "God damn it what is all this?" And just like that the flame was extinguished and eyes that were much too dry to form tears squinted before shutting tightly. The male voice was unknown to her and accompanied by a female's questioning tone. The male must have seen the corpses of the walkers she had killed, their decaying bodies scattered around her camp site. Her ears began to ring as the footsteps neared and a sob desperately tried to leave her mouth but was stuck in her throat. Thoughts of a quick death flashed through her mind's eyes, she could only hope that these strangers would take pity on her and end it quickly. Footsteps ceased followed by a quick gasp and the groans of the walker whose eyes had seen the new prey.

"D-Daryl," a stuttering female voice whispered before booming out into the forest, "Daryl! Daryl get over here!"

"Stop screaming. Jesus Christ is she dead or alive?"

Her answer would have been 'both' because although air still filled her lungs her mind had wandered into the great abyss. Her sole focus was on the return of the only family she had left and those thoughts are what kept her alive. How easy it would be to die, she mentally mused as she tried to focus on the voices of the strangers who were looking upon her. The darkness and peace of death would certainly be a comfort right now and she imagined herself floating away from her body and into the clouds. There she would be reunited with her mother and father- both had been victims of the outbreak. Death would not take her though, not while her mind obsessed over him. He was the smartest and strongest person she knew- he had to still be alive and he'd return. She couldn't leave this Earth until she was reunited with her brother, so until then her stomach would remain empty, her eyes would remain dry, and her voice would continue forming the words to a tune that could barely be understood.

"So please don't take my sunshine away."