𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐖𝐀𝐘| Beth Greene| Cyndie

xxxix. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭

Rick killed Lamson, leaving the two final cops. "He was a good man. He was attacked by rotters. Saw it go down."

"Huh." Rick exhaled with a single nod. "You're a damn good liar."

"We're hanging by a thread here." she pointed out knowingly. "He was attacked by rotters. That's the story."

"You said the trade was a bad idea." Daryl spoke as he looked down at her. "What changed?"

"Lamson was our shot." she glared slightly, her voice was hurt. "So it's this or you go in guns blazing, right? You don't want that."

"What we want is our girls back." Austin argued.

"If this is some bullshit you're spinning and things go south-" Daryl started to point into her face.

"I know." she cut him off. "I know the good ones from the bad. Let us help you."

Rick looked toward the other cop. "What about you? You wanna live? How much?"

The smirk on his face got until Austin's skin nearly as bad as Shane use to.

"Dawns afraid she'll look bad in front of us." he stared up to him. "Thinks it'll tip things against her. It will. She'll see this trade as a rip-off if she thinks you took out one of our guys. So it's a good thing Lamson got ate by rotters."

Rick looked to Austin.

"You sure you can do this?" Rick held the side of Austin's face, keeping him infront of the hospital. "If someone shows up-"

"I'll take them out." Austin promised him. "I can do it, Dad."

Rick exhaled. "Sasha and Tyreese are right up there."

Austin followed his gaze upwards. "They're gonna cover you if things go badly. Not gonna loose you."

"Not gonna loose me." Austin agreed, holding his dads face. "Just save my girl."

"I will." Rick nodded, letting his face go. "Stay here no matter what."

Rick left, leaving Austin out front with his weapon in hand, keeping an eye out for anything and everything around him. It wasn't long until a fire truck showed, Austin cocked his gun as he walked closer.

"Woah, woah!" Glenn jumped out as he rose his hands. "It's just us."

"Glenn." Austin sighed in relief , running forward to hug him tightly. "I'm so happy you're here."

"I know." he hugged him back.

"Austin!" Maggie smiled as she hurried out of the truck. "Is it true?"

"We found her." he smiled, hugging her tightly. "My dads getting her back right now."

They laughed and hugged, cheering together as Glenn shhed them slightly. They waited near the gates, the remaining of the group walking around the truck to smile at the sight of the happy pair. His girl, her sister. They were so happy, filled with joy and relief. The world was lighting up again, there was a purpose to it all. For her, a little blonde girl that was the light of Austin's little life.

His head turned when the doors opened, the group flooding out of the doors. He walked forward, leaving Maggie behind him. He kept walking, grinning widely as everyone, one by one, stared at him as he walked closer and closer. Rick paused, he was crying, and seeing Austin's joy only made it worse as he took a step to the side.

And suddenly, the world went quiet.

Austin wanted to yell, wanted to shout her name, call for her, beg for her. He wanted to react, he want to scream and cry, to react the way he was suppose to. But, he couldn't, his body went cold and was frozen in shock. He didn't expect it, he didn't expect to see his girlfriend being carried out, dead, with blood smeared into hair beautiful hair, a bullet through her beautiful face

"No!" there it was, there the crushing and over powering pain was. His legs gave out, the feeling in his stomach one of the worst. It was like his entire body was set on fire, being over powered by the slow and torturing pain of death that couldn't get here faster. He cried, his palms digging into the gravel under him. His Beth, his girl, the first girl he'd ever loved, gone. "No!"

Glenn tried to call for him, tried to get to him and hold Maggie at once. But Austin couldn't hear anything, not in those moments. He stood up, walking forward. Daryl shook his head, not wanting him to see her like this, up closer. Austin ignored him, and no one was gonna deny him his dead girlfriend. Austin took her in his arms, sobbing as he kneeled onto the ground to lay her down.

"Beth." he cried out quietly, holding her blood and lifeless face. His forehead pressed onto hers, her blood getting on his face while his tears fell onto hers. "Please don't leave me, please don't leave me, please don't- i'm so sorry."

"Austin." Rick leaned down next to his hysterical son, holding his shoulder. "Austin."

But, like before, he couldn't hear. He held Beth longer, not being able to breath, gasping for a breath that wasn't gonna come. His hands pressed onto her pulse, nothing. "I'm so sorry. Oh my god, i'm so sorry."

Rick held him tightly, Austin finally let Beth go and he fell back into his dads arm, sobbing loudly. It attracted walkers, plenty, but they took care of them. Rick held him tightly, not knowing how to make it better. Austin needed her, he loved her, she was what kept his humanity, what kept his heart the golden it always was.

Now, she was gone. And he was too.

Austin's gaze fell onto the remaining cops and doctors that walked from the building. They were the innocent ones, because he knew not a single person would have let whoever killed Beth go. But, in his head, they were just as guilty. They had to agree, they had to work for her, they had to be the reason she was there, they had to be the reason she was taken in the first place. If Beth hadn't been here, she would she'd never died.

"Austin, no!" Daryl called out quickly when he same him yank away from Rick, standing. But, nothing he said would have shielded the boy from the pain he felt. The innocent, or the guilty, it didn't matter in those seconds.

Austin shot and killed each and every one of them for kidnapping Beth, for standing by and not helping her escape, for all having some little part in him loosing the girl he loved.

•

kylie speaks

i knew it was gonna be painful
but i didn't know it was gonna
be THAT painful