The Exit • TWD. [✓]

𝟎𝟑𝟖, back together!

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT !

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THE GROUP HAD FINALLY reunited. rick was back with judith and isabella after thinking that the two of them were dead for so long. it was so relieving when they found them again; all thanks to tyreese who had saved their lives when he found them alone outside of the prison. sasha and tyreese were together again. carol had returned, and they had new members of the group, abraham, eugene, rosita, and tara. they were all safe and together once more.

no one missed the look of despair on daryl's face when he realized that estella wasn't at terminus. all the hope he had left vanished, and he knew in his heart that she was gone. in some way, he had expected her to be at terminus, but she wasn't. when he had to watch everybody reunite with their family, that was the part that hurt the most. he didn't have any family to reunite with.

daryl didn't say a word. he stood beside maggie, who was also waiting for beth who never came back. glenn and maggie were both distraught about estella, and issy had broken down, losing another best friend. she was a huge loss to the group. if estella was there and could see them all, she'd finally know how much she actually meant to them. how much they all cared about her. how broken down and beaten they were about her death.

despite the danger they had faced at terminus, they had escaped thanks to carol. daryl was relieved to see her again, and he needed her more than he ever admitted. with estella gone, carol comforted him and kept asking him if he was okay. she knew how it felt to lose a child. not like it was the same pain - carol had literally given birth to sophia, but she still understood the hurt.

"we've gotta leave. we're too close to terminus, they find us? we're dead and eaten, no thought about it." abraham said.

"i've got to find the damn weapons i hid, then we leave." rick said, shovelling up random bits where he'd buried the bag.

"dad, being eaten by walkers is one thing, but being eaten by humans is worse. where did you leave the damn weapons?" issy asked, helping him dig.

"i could've sworn i left them around here, sweetheart. go check near the other tree." rick said, pointing her in the direction of where to look.

daryl was completely silent, standing in the corner with his hand in his pocket, fiddling with the ariel. he didn't even try to help anyone. the frustration and guilt were eating him up inside. he just wanted to take the ariel out and smash it all over the floor. he couldn't believe how stupid he had been to let estella get killed. the weight of his mistake was heavy on his shoulders, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

he had taken on the responsibility of keeping her safe, but she died under his watch. he couldn't shake off the guilt and regret that was consuming him. so many thoughts were floating around in his head, but he couldn't escape the image of her. it was all he could see. he felt terrible for letting her down, and he couldn't forgive himself for what had happened. the weight of his responsibility was crushing him, and he didn't know how to cope with the pain of losing her.