I'll Always Find You (A Daryl Dixon X Reader)

CHAPTER 30: All Hope Is Lost

We all sat there silently. Nothing said except Carol's cries for her dead daughter and my sobs for lost hope.

    "Don't look. Don't look." Daryl attempted to soothe Carol. He pulled the both of us and Carol fought away from him. Running back to the house.

Daryl held me close as he watched Carol run off. I could suddenly hear Beth's sobs and she ran towards her mother's body. Rick tried to stop her but she made it around him. Suddenly the walker of her mother being stuck under another walker, and still alive, began to snarl as Beth tried to grieve over her. Grabbing at her pig tails and trying to pull her down to bite her. We all dashed forward and pulled Beth away and Andrea put the pick axe through the walkers skull.

    "I'm gonna check the barn. Make sure we got them all." Daryl whispered to Rick who nodded.

    "Make sure..."

    "I know." Daryl nodded and I caught the glimpse he had shot my way.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hershel, Patricia, Maggie and Jimmy led Beth back towards their house. I walked up behind them, feeling nothing but numb.

    "We've been out here combing the woods looking for her and she was in there all along?" Shane asked angrily. "You knew."

    "Leave us alone!" Maggie shouted.

    "Hey, Shane, just stop, man." Glenn said while Rick tried to grab Shane to stop him.

    "Get your hands off me." Shane scoffed and ripped himself away from him. "You knew and you kept it from us."

    "I didn't know." Hershel said in a broken voice.

    "That's bullshit! I think ya'll knew."

    "We didn't know!" Maggie argued.

    "Why was she in there then? Let me guess someone probably saw Charlotte too and failed to mention it." Shane spat.

    "Otis put those people in the barn." Hershel stopped and turned around. "Maybe he found her and put her in there before he was killed. As far as I know, we haven't seen no other little kids round these parts, not since you folks and your boy came along."

    "You expect me to believe that?" Shane scoffed. "What do I look like? Do I look like an idiot?"

    "Shane, that enough!" I yelled and shoved his chest backwards. "They didn't know!"

    "I don't care what you believe! Get him off my land!" Hershel yelled from behind me towards Shane angrily.

    "Everybody, just calm down." Rick begged trying to separate us all. "Please."

    "Let me tell you something." Shane moved forward towards me anger filled his eyes. He grabbed my shirt.

    "Hey! You don't touch her!" Maggie yelled and she smacked his face with her hand. "Haven't you done enough?"

    "I mean it, off my land." Hershel said before he walked inside his house with his family... What was left of it.

I moved and sat up on the porch in the rocking chair. Glenn moved up beside me and was looking me over. I brushed him off and away from me. Glenn sighed and walked inside the house to go check on Maggie.

~~~~~~~~~~

Not more than a half hour later, Hershel walked outside the house. He was all dressed up. Ready for a casual outing. He seemed to take a moment and look around before his eyes landed on me.