The End of a New Beginning // Daryl Dixon

Part 91

Daryl

"Nooo! Nooo! No!" I rush off to the sound of Aaron's shouts. I appear around a headstone and see the others fighting off walkers, along with Michonne and some new faces. I see a walker running across the ground, charging for Eugene. I aimed my crossbow and fired the bolt, hitting the running walker.

Everyone teams up and begins taking out all the walkers charging for us. Dog rushes off and jumps on a walker, tackling them down and chewing on their face, causing them to scream and squirm under Dog.

We come to a stop when all the walkers stopped charging. Everyone stood on guard as I turn down to one of the walkers, growing curious. I walk over to the body and kneel down to it, turning it's head.

"Hey." I call to Michonne. "Come here." I wave. She joins my side and kneels down.

"These walkers- what are they?" She asks. I furrow my brows as I noticed a suture line on the back of the head. I grab my knife and cut the string. I pull the opening apart and found it to be a mask. I grab a fistful of the mask and yanked it off, holding it up for the others to see. Everyone stares at the walker mask in disbelief, confusion even. I look down at the body and pull the shoulder, turning it over. The face revealed to be a human, a living human. He wasn't a walker, he wasn't anything, he was just a human being...wearing somebody's dead face.

"They're trapped." We hear a whisper. "Circle 'round. Don't let them slip by. Keep them together." I look around to the others, realizing we were short one person. Fear rushes down my spine.

"Where the hell's Mer?" I question. I turn my head over to Aaron.

"She might've been cut off. She wasn't with us before they appeared." He explains.

"We have to get out of here if we're gonna make it out alive." A woman with long brown hair, a white bandage around her head claims.

"Nah, we ain't leavin' without Mer." I shake my head.

"How are we supposed to find her through all of this?" Aaron asks. "She's probably on her way back to Hilltop by now."

"Not if she's hurt." I argue.

"Daryl, we have to-" Michonne claims, but I quickly cut her off.

"No!" I shout. "We're not leavin' her behind." I shake my head.

"Fine." Michonne claims. "Get back to Hilltop. We'll catch up." She nods to the others.

"Dog!" I call. Dog rushes over to me. I reach down into my backpack and pull out one of Mer's shirts. Yeah, I kept a shirt of hers 'cause it was something that made me feel closer to her, even after we broke up.

"Go find her, boy." I nod at him. Dog trots off through the headstones. Michonne and I follow close behind him.

Meredith

"It's time?" I ask, staring up at the three before me. Harley nods.

"We've been trying to tell you." Lori claims.

"Tell me?" I question. "Not once have any of you told me anything." I frown, wincing in pain from the movement.

"We've been trying to." Harley claims. "It's time, Mom. It's time and I know you know what that means." He nods. He reaches his hand out and I held a stare with it, frowning at him.

"So..." I wheeze. "You're telling me...that it's time. T-That it's time time. T-Time for me to go, right? T-Time for me to just...leave everyone I love behind? Leave Daryl behind? H-He's not gonna make it through this." I shake my head.