Living On A Prayer (Daryl Dixon/ TWD)

Chapter 18

Ashlynn

I covered Sophia's body up as gently as I could with an old blanket, feeling like I would be sick. This was all my fault. I wasn't able to protect her and look what happened. She was bit, she turned. Her life was gone and her blood was on my hands.

"Want us to start burying?" I heard T ask.

I stood to my feet, taking a deep breath to try and steady my voice. "We need a service. Carol would want that."

"Yeah, we all want that." T agreed.

"Let's dig a grave for Sophia - and Annette and Shawn..over by those trees," Lori said. "And we'll need a truck to move the bodies."

"I'll get the keys," Jimmy announced. Shane stuck his arm out in front of him. "No. I got the truck."

"And the others?" Jimmy asked. "That's a lot of digging."

"We bury the ones we love," I announced. "We burn the rest."

••

"What's wrong with her?" Maggie asked as I bust into the room. I got one good look at her and I knew the answer.

"It looks like she's in shock. Where's your dad?"

"We can't find him anywhere," Glenn announced from the other side of the room.

Adasyn

"This your step mothers things?" Rick asked digging through a box that was sat open on Herschel's bed. Maggie nodded. "He was so sure she'd recover, that they'd pick up where they left off."

"Looks like he found an old friend," Shane said, waving around a flask that he picked up from the top of Herschel's dresser.

"That belonged to my grandfather. He gave it to Dad when he died."

"I didn't take Herschel for a drinker," Rick said.

"No," Maggie replied, confusion all over her face. "He gave it up on the day I was born. He didn't even allow liquor in the house."

"What's the bar in town?" I asked.

"Hatlin's," Maggie answered. "He practically lived there in his drinking days."

"That's where you'll find him," I replied.

"How can you be so sure?"

"No offense but your family in that barn has been dead for some time. Herschel didn't let himself believe that. Instead of dealing with the grief of loosing them the first time he came up with the idea that there was a cure, he just had to wait it out. Like you said, he was sure that his wife would get better and things would go back to normal. After believing something for so long no matter how ridiculous, your brain starts to ..feed off of it. It becomes all you really know. He forget about the harsh truth he once knew. Today, in his eyes, he just watched the love of his life, along with anyone else in there he loved be murdered in what he thinks was cold blood."

"I don't exactly see the point you're trying to make here," Shane all but growled, glaring at me.

"The point," I said, resisting the urge to snap on him, "is that he just witnessed the worst possible tragedy that anyone could go through. He's grieving. And, everyone has their own way of doing it. Some lash out," I said, throwing a pointed glare in Shane's direction,"some shut down and some may pick up on old habits that they used to use to help with their problems. I'm telling you, your dad is gonna be at Hatlin's."

"She's right," Rick agreed. "I'll go and get him."

"I've seen the place, I'll take you." Glenn added.

Daryl

I sat silently around a fire Adasyn had built before heading inside her tent for a nap. Today's events weighed heavy on the both of us. Everybody thought we'd find her, alive. Knowing she was up under our noses the whole time...man, I was just angry. I had so much faith we'd find her. I was going to prove everyone who doubted it wrong..but in the end they were right.

I was sitting on the edge of a log we used as a chair of some sort, sharpening my knife when I heard my name be called by someone other than Ady.

"Moving to the suburbs?"

I looked up and was met by Lori as she emerged from the shadow of the tree line, her hands shoved in her pocket.

"Listen," she sighed. "Beth's in some sort of catatonic shock, we need Herschel."

"Yeah? So what?"

"So I need you to run into town real quick and bring him and Rick back." I continued to ignore her and she continued to pester me. "Daryl?"

"Your bitch went window shoppin'. You want him? Fetch him yerself. I got better thangs ta do."

"What's the matter with you? How could you be so selfish?"

"Selfish?" I snapped, jumping to my feet. "Listen to me, Olive Oyl. I's out there lookin for that little girl every damn day! Took an arrow and a bullet in tha process. Don't you tell me bout gettin my hands dirty! You want those two idiots? Have a nice ride. I'm done lookin' for people."

Lori stalked off without another word, and I shook my head, plopping back down to continue my work.

"Olive Oyl?"

I looked up and saw Adasyn emerging from the tent with tired eyes, messy hair and a smirk. Immediately my anger faded.

"Get any sleep?"

"No," she sighed, sitting down beside me. "I can't..I can't erase those images from earlier outta my head."

I shook my head in agreement, completely understanding where she was coming from.

"You did everything you could, you know that right? Like you just said, you were out there every day looking for her. Nobody fought for that girl like you and Ashlynn did, Daryl."

"Not like it did any good," I mumbled.

"You may not have been able to save her, but you almost died trying. That says a lot in my book, and I'm sure it does in Carol's too."

"You hungry?" I asked, changing the subject. "Got that fish I caught at the lake earlier. Just enough for us, and your sister if she wants any."

She smiled, "sounds good. I'll go snag some vegetables from the kitchen, I need to check on Ash again anyways. Need anything while I'm up there?"

"Just be careful," I mumbled. "Hurry back."

A/N

Guysss! 6. MORE. FREAKING. DAYS.

Q:

Should Ash feel guilty about what happened to Sophia?

Do you think Daryl will help her get through it?

Is anyone good at photo shop? Message me!

Any ideas for the next chapter!?