𝙴𝙿𝙸𝚂𝙾𝙳𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚈-𝚂𝙴𝚅𝙴𝙽 - 𝚂𝙰𝚈 𝚈𝙴𝚂
Madelyn panted as she and Daryl ran through the woods away from the walkers after them. Madelyn couldn't believe it. Everything was gone. Everyone was gone. Madelyn cried out in anger and pulled her rifle out before killing all the walkers behind the couple. Once they were dead, she collapsed onto the ground in tears.
Daryl felt his heart sink seeing his girlfriend so upset. He went straight to her side and just hugged her as she cried. "We lost everything! Everything we built at the prison, it's all gone! Everyone is gone! Glenn! Rick! Hershel! Maggie! Everyone!" She sobbed.
Daryl sighed as he held her. He didn't want to say that anyone could be alive and bring Madelyn's hopes up. There was a big chance everyone was dead and they were the only two survivors.
"We have to go back, D. We have to-"
"We can't, Maddie. It's over." Daryl said. "The prison is gone."
"No, no, no." Madelyn cried as she covered her face with her hands. "What are we going to do now? What do we do?"
"The only thing we can do right now. Survive." Daryl said.
🧟♀️ 🧟🧟♀️ 🧟
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙽𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚢
It was the next day and Daryl and Madelyn had made it through the night in the woods. As they started walking, Madelyn picked a few berries to eat, keeping some for herself and giving the rest to Daryl. They carried on walking until they made it to a train track and sighed when they saw two walkers feeding on a dead person. As Daryl used his crossbow to kill the walkers, Madelyn looked around and saw a kid's shoe, making her tear up. She turned around and took a deep breath to stay calm. She couldn't imagine how terrified the kids must be to live in a world like this. In some way, she was grateful that her son didn't have to grow up like this.
"I...I can't do this." Madelyn muttered.
"Yes, you can." Daryl said.
"I can't....I can't keep pretending that everything is going to be okay when it's just not, Daryl. It's not." Madelyn mumbled as a tear fell down her cheek.
"We don't know that, Maddie." Daryl said as he wiped her tears. "Before we found the prison, we were on the road all winter, thinking we had no hope. We did. We'll find a new place, a safe place."
Madelyn sighed and took Daryl's hand in hers before they both walked away from the tracks. Daryl knew this situation was breaking Madelyn so he had to do whatever he could to keep her together.
🧟♀️ 🧟🧟♀️ 🧟
𝙰 𝙵𝚎𝚠 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜 𝙻𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛
After walking for a few more hours, the couple found an old country club. After having a look inside and realising it was not safe, they carried on walking. With every step that Madelyn took, she was losing a tiny bit of hope. The world had ended. It had been well over three years since it had. There couldn't be a safe place. It was hard to imagine there was. That was until they found an old cabin.
After sweeping the place and realising there were no walkers, Daryl took the liberty of covering all the doors and windows so they wouldn't be spotted. Madelyn looked though the kitchen cabinets and found a can of sweetcorn.
"Finally." She muttered. After finding a can opener, the couple both ate the sweetcorn before just sitting and looking around at the place. "This place is disgusting."
"Ain't nothing I haven't seen before." Daryl said. "My dad's place pretty much looked like this everyday."
"So, he had shit like this?" Madelyn asked, showing Daryl some container filled with cigarettes that was shaped as a bra.
"Yeah, he was a dumbass. He would set those up on top of the TV set, use them as target practice." Daryl said as he rested his head on Madelyn's shoulder.
"He shot things inside your house?" Madelyn asked with a small laugh.
"It was just a bunch of junk. That's how I knew what this place was. My dad had a place just like this. You got your dumpster chair, that's for sitting in your drawers all summer drinking. You got your fancy buckets. That's for spitting chaw in after your old lady tells you to stop smoking. You got your internet." Daryl said, holding up an old newspaper, making Madelyn laugh. Daryl smiled as he lifted his head. He was making progress of making Madelyn happy, or at least, not sad. "Hey, we're gonna be okay. We're going to be okay."
Madelyn gazed into his eyes and nodded. She had Daryl. She knew everything would be fine as long as she was with him. "Do you ever miss them?" Madelyn asked. "Your parents?"
"They were never really parents. They were never really around. Mom died when I was young, dad was a bastard. I don't miss them." Daryl shrugged.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Madelyn said.
"Don't be. What were your parents like?" Daryl asked.
"They were....everything. They adored my younger brother and I. His name was Miles. I was my dad's favourite and Miles was my mom's favourite but they both loved us the same. I know I'm probably never gonna see them again. I just hope they didn't suffer, you know? My parents were still working when everything started and Miles was in college. He wanted to be an engineer. It was his dream. He would be twenty two right now." Madelyn said. "My parents had big dreams for us. They wanted us to have careers, settle down, get married, have a few kids each. They were itching to be grandparents. I feel terrible that it'll never happen."
"It could." Daryl said. He knew it was time. He had to try.
"No, I-" Madelyn said before stopping when she saw Daryl looking at a diamond ring in his hand. "Wha.....what is that?"
"Marry me, Madelyn. Say yes." Daryl said. Madelyn was completely taken back. She had no idea marriage was even on Daryl's mind. She didn't see him as the kind guy that would want to get married.
"I.....I....." Was all Madelyn could say. She was completely rendered speechless.
"I don't think there are any 'I's in yes or no." Daryl joked, making Madelyn laugh.
"Yes, I'll marry you." Madelyn smiled, making Daryl's heart warm up and he slipped the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit. Daryl made sure to clean it well when he pulled it off the walker. "It's beautiful."
"You're beautiful." Daryl said softly, making Madelyn smile and plant a kiss on his lips. "Where did your wedding ring go?"
"Oh, I gave it to Glenn. I told him to give it a special girl. He used it to propose to Maggie and she said yes." Madelyn said. "I've moved on from Landon. He'll always have a special place in my heart but you're my priority now. I love you."
"And I love you."