1 | 𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐄 ➪ 𝔇.𝔇𝔦𝔵𝔬𝔫

F O R T Y - T H R E E

Dead.

They're all dead.

At least some of them are, most of them.

It all happened that night. That night lead to her being dead.

None of them could've changed that, none of them could've stopped it. No one was to blame. Yet she would somehow find a way to blame herself.

Innocent, sweet. But when the time came for her to rejoin her family, one bullet ruined it. One bullet pierced her brain, in doing so causing one sister to lose her other half.

Daryl walked out of that hospital, dead Beth in his arms. His eyes glossed over as he tried not to cry. This wasn't his time, it was Maggies. Her only family was gone. Before she didn't know Beth was dead, but now she truly felt alone. No matter how many times Glenn held her it couldn't make up for the loss she felt.

She fell to her knees sobbing. Her body rocked and her throat grew sore as she screamed. Was there a meaning to life now that her sister was dead? Was there a meaning to life now that her family line would probably end with her?

They took Beth to the truck, they needed to have a proper burial. Samantha knew she should try to comfort Maggie, but going about that was much harder. It would be a lie if they said Beth's death was in vain, that it meant nothing. They found Noah, someone Beth had befriended. Someone she had bonded with, she was the reason he escaped the hospital. 

Once they started down the road Samanthas thoughts couldn't help but race with flashbacks. Reliving that one moment that changed her life, that one moment she lost everything she had.

Samantha looked up across from her at Maggie. She looked dead inside, her face red and tear-stained. Maggie had sat moved away from Glenn. Something about the way his face filled with pity when he looked at her made her feel worse. 

She didn't know how she needed to be comforted. When her father died she didn't have time to grieve so she moved on. And she didn't sleep enough to have nightmares. 

Maggie replayed that moment over and over again. Seein Daryl walk out with her dead sister. And her own screams started to haunt her. She had tensed up without knowledge of it. She continued to look straight ahead. 

Samantha stood up sitting next to Maggie. She gave Maggie some space but wanted the grieving woman to know she wasn't alone. The small gesture didn't go unnoticed. Maggie realized Samantha and Daryl were the only people who could understand. Samantha more so, due to the fact Samantha and her sister had a good relationship and Daryl and Merle's relationship was spent fighting. 

They eventually came to a stop for the night. Samantha wandered off letting the others set up camp. It was public knowledge that if she walked off you should leave her alone. That was the safe option for everyone. It kept them alive. 

She knew it was likely that Maggie would cry and she really didn't want to see that. Plus old wounds were reopening. 

As she wandered she didn't notice her surroundings changing. She continued, walking over burnt logs of wood and ash somehow covering her shoes. She came to a stop when she saw a herd full of burned walkers. 

She quickly hid behind a tree waiting for the herd to pass. 

One walker strayed from the group, its footsteps unusually quiet. It got closer and closer until it grabbed a hold of her arm digging its old rotting teeth into her arm. A scream ripped from her body causing the rest of the herd to steer from their path. 

She fell to the floor as the walker devoured her. Soon the others pile on top of her tearing her flesh from her bones. 

They eventually got distracted and continued back on their course. She crawled away from the spot they left her, but soon she gave into their DNA coursing through her veins.