Wings

Waking Up

"All men whilst they are awake are in one common world; but each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own." —Plutarch

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DARYL

Rick got his wake up call. And it all started with a sick pig.

And then Patrick turned. They'd been lucky to contain it the way they had. The coughing started with Karen, Tyreese's squeeze from Woodbury and another man named David. They put them in isolation and tried to contain the outbreak.

The walkers hit at the same time. Someone had been baiting them. Daryl didn't ask why anyone did anything anymore. Fortunately for the prison and unfortunately for Rick, they had pigs to lose. Herschel said he didn't know if they made the pigs sick or if the pigs made them sick, but the best way was to get rid of them. Daryl drove the truck as Rick slit open each piglet, leading the rotters from the gate.

They couldn't catch a break. More people were sick. Then Tyreese found Karen and David. Someone had killed and burned them. He was out for blood, but there was no time. Folks were getting sicker, blood pouring out of their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and Herschel said it was likely a strain of flu, but that the symptoms would be killers.

Everyone who had cleared the block of those that had turned were exposed and that included Daryl but he hadn't had any symptoms.

They hit the Big Spot for cough meds, and lost Zach. A wall of liquor had come down on Bob and then the dead things started falling through the roof.

Daryl had liked Zach. He was a nice kid and Daryl got a kick out of his endless questions, trying to guess what Daryl did Before. His latest guess was homicide cop. Michonne had thought that was too funny.

When he told Beth, she didn't even cry. That's what she told him. "I don't cry anymore, Daryl."  And she ended up consoling him.

Glenn came down with it. That was it. Time for a run. He was afraid to get back out there. To leave when Rick and everyone else was hanging on by a thread.

"It's ok, yunno," Remy said as he placed his bag in the trunk. "I got 'em. Rick too. Just get it done, and y'all get back. We're all counting on you." And then she coughed. It was small. But it was there. And the man felt a chill spread through him.

—-

Daryl took Bob, Tyreese, and Michonne off to the veterinary college Herschel told them about.  The car broke down in a herd and it became clear that Ty wasn't exactly stable. And then Bob....Daryl could have killed him. Their people were dying and he was risking his life and theirs for...bourbon. Daryl reached for the bottle and Bob reached for his gun.

"Don't" he warned.

But Daryl stepped closer. Invading Bob's space, not smelling anything on his breath yet.

"It was for later...when it got quiet. Yunno?"

"You take one sip, before these meds get in our people, I'll stomp you in the ground m'self....YOU SHOULDA KEPT WALKIN'."

—-

By the time they made it back, Dr. S was dead and there had been another rash of people turning. But the medicine did work, and a lot of people lived.

And Carol was gone. Rick said she had killed Karen and David. That she had done it to prevent the spread, but that Rick couldn't have her there.  Rick promised her that they would take care of Lizzie and Mica, her wards. That was cold comfort to Daryl. He couldn't imagine Carol out there on her own.

Remy was still kicking, and she didn't seem to have worsened, but Daryl didn't even have time to be happy about her, or about Glenn's miraculous trip back from the brink.

The fence had been breached. By a tank.

—-

REMY

Remy felt Daryl press a rifle into her hand. She didn't see it because she couldn't take her eyes off Michonne and Herschel. She couldn't hear what Rick was saying.

She wasn't sure who it was that suggested they get the kids and elderly on the bus, but she nodded and tore her eyes away.  She hurried back to the cell block, shouldering her pack and calling Dax to her. She hadn't ever let herself unpack entirely and she was glad of it now. Someone had already come for the kids, but she swept the cells to be sure, and then ran out.

Maggie was helping Glenn onto the bus and Beth had gone to check on the kids. Her eyes were back to Herschel, and the man she could only assume was The Governor.

And then Herschel was gone. And Rick was shooting. And then everyone was.

There was a pop and a sickening creak as the tank rolled through the fences, and the rotters came in after it. Dax took off with the first gunshots, and she had run out of ammo. She'd have to fight her way out to the woods. The bus had pulled out and there was no catching it.

She saw the explosion as someone took out the tank.

She could have cried when she saw Dax at the tree line. He quietly let out a bark when he saw her. They followed Daryl's old hunting trail as far out as they could until it came out onto a road. She couldn't make herself stop. The dead would be right behind. She was alone for the first time since she met the Dixons in the woods all those months ago.

They had been her friends. Her family. Something she never expected to have again. For all she knew, they were gone. But she didn't believe that. Every person in that prison was a survivor. They would survive. She may not see them again, but she was comforted that they would make it. She and Dax were alright before and they would be again.

—-

DARYL

The bus had gone, but Beth wasn't on it. He spared a glance around, but they were alone, and the dead were all around.

"We gotta go, Beth. We gotta go." And he pulled her after him.

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Note:

Well, Olympus has fallen! We knew it couldn't last. I sped things up here for a few reasons. For one, just to get it out of the way and also cuz I just couldn't wait to write Daryl and Beth, or Bethyl, as the fandom has deemed it.

I never actually liked them as a couple, mostly because of the age difference, but I am glad that Daryl was kinda saddled with Beth, cuz he needed her. He helped her figure out how to survive, and she helped him hope.

We won't see very much of Remy for at least one chapter, but know that she and Dax are doing what they did before. They're surviving.

I also planted some lil things along the way in the story that will go along with the original dialogue from the show.

The next chapter will probably take us up to the point where Daryl falls in with the wrong folk.

Live like you're loved!
—S