Nothing But Dead (The Walking Dead Fanfic) Book 2

Peace

The first words out of Garrett's mouth when they stepped inside the prison yard. "Are Mitchel and Dylan back yet?"

Daryl and Lakota closed the gates behind everyone that came inside. The two of them looked at each other, they were unaware of what to say to Garrett. Maggie stays quite not wanting to tell him.

Mitchel as Daryl's cousin, yet the blood between them as weak, they were still family. With everything that has been going on at the prison lately there was little time to grieve. Now that time was abundant, the pain that Daryl felt in his heart set in. The pain of losing Mitchel. Family was the only thing that mattered anymore and now he is dead. Though his heart was in pain, he would never let it show on the outside.

Lakota didn't know what to say to him. She avoid his eye contact every single time he looked her direction. She was angry at him, angry at him for calling them off. She should be the one to tell him the death of his best friend. She imagines herself smiling as he fell to his knees and began to sob. He would feel the same pain that she went through. But she just couldn't bring herself to do that. After all; she was human.

Too Davie's left, Merle spit on the ground and walked away from the small group and back up towards the prison building. Davie cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. If no one else was going to say it he might as well be the barer of bad news.

Just as he went to open his mouth Dave's voice came from behind. "Garrett!" Davie sighed in relief, he really didn't want to be the one to tell him.

Garrett looks past Davie and sees Dave standing with Rebecca. He turns and looks at Daryl. "These people that came in with me, they live here now." He was referring to Clayton, Lucas, Dr. Stevens and a girl who called herself Rebekah. 

"I'll show 'em around." Daryl said as Garrett and William ran over to see Dave and Rebecca. 

The two watched Garrett and William get closer and closer. Dave wished they were going in the opposite direction. He didn't want to tell him this. He felt Rebecca lean in closer to his ear. "You going to tell him the truth?"

"Somebody has too." Dave sighed as Garrett and William stopped in front of them. He took a deep breath of summer air, usually the air would make him smile, but not now. "We have to talk."

The tone in Dave's voice was hallow. Garrett knew it was bad. "Are they dead?" The situation had to be about Mitchel and Dylan. They were the only two not back yet, and time was running short of them coming back alive. 

"Mitchel is dead." Dave came flat out and said it.

Garrett always believed that he and Mitchel would be the ones to come out of it all when everyone else didn't. He was thought that hearing the death of his best friend would break him. But he was already broken. He felt the stabbing pain at his heart. 

He did everything to keep his friends alive. Everything that was a threat had to be taken care of. That is why he was broken, all the things he did, all the things he saw. Yet, somehow his friends seem to always die. 

They came to the prison so they could start a new life, so that this brokenness that he felt would be healed. Recovery at this point was nearly impossible. The emotional pain he was feeling isn't felt the way a cut or bruise is. This is much different and only you can tell it is there. Sometimes the pain is at the back of your mind like a pulse. Other times it pushes itself forward demanding attention. Cutting your heart and mind in half stinging with every breath you take.

He saw Dave's lips move, but he didn't hear his voice. The pain was almost unbearable. Again, Dave opened his mouth. "Garrett? Can you hear me?" 

Dave continued to get this cold blank stare for several more seconds. "What about Dylan?" Garrett asked.

Dave shook his head, "We figured he was with you. We never saw him." They knew Dylan was also dead. "The Governor rode up to the gates, right out front there." He pointed to where Mitchel was executed. "He had Mitch in front of him, on his knees, arms around his back. Rick went out to take care of the problem, but before Rick could even talk that son of a bitch out of it." Dave stopped. He had to wipe his eyes, remembering the moment was hard for him. "He shot him in the back of the head." 

Garrett said nothing after Dave was finished talking, he just watched Dave wipe his eyes. Then their eyes met. Without another word, Garrett turned towards one of the fences and started to walk in that direction. Nobody stopped him, nobody wanted too.

Dave waited for Garrett to get out of ear range. "We have to get his body in the ground, its disrespectful for it to still be out here."

"I'll do it." William spoke up. 

"I'll help and I'll show you where Rick said we could bury him." Rebecca walked towards the direction of the grave sites with William as Dave was left alone.

Rebecca led him to the grave site. There were already three other graves dug with bodies in them however. One of the wooden crosses read T-Dog, another one Lori and the last one Oscar. Each of the people that were buried here the both of them knew. One of them being a friend of theirs, the other two didn't even know that the two groups paths would cross again, but they did.

William was the first one to pick up a shovel and start digging the grave. Soon, Rebecca joined him. Though the two of them were in the same group from the very beginning, they never really talked. Sure they would defend each other when the time came around and on the outside of the fence that time was nearly all the time.

"What was it like?" Rebecca asked slamming the shovel into the earth and pulling up some dirt with it.

"It was fine." William lied. He didn't want to talk about it, done of it. He just wanted to dig.

"I mean at Woodbury." Rebecca had to correct herself just in case he didn't know what she meant by that. "What was it like there? What were the people like?"

William stopped digging and leaned on his shovel. "You'll find out soon enough. This war is going to continue on, more people are going to die. More of us will be in the ground."

"Why do you say that?" Rebecca asked him. 

"There is no question that most of us would die to protect each other. To keep this place standing. I know I would." He looks off in the distance. Garrett is just standing there, looking at a Walker through the fence. He has been standing there ever since they have started to dig.Then he looks back at Rebecca. "I've already made my peace with the guy above.....Now that Mitchel and Dylan are gone, you are gonna have to step up. I need to know that you made your peace as well."

She took a few more loads of dirt out of the hole. Then she stuck her shovel into the ground for a rest as William continued digging. "Why should I make my peace?"

"Mitchel and Dylan, they made their peace. Garrett has his peace made and so do I. It's important for the way you react to a situation outside these fences. You may second guess something, maybe regarding your safety. But that second, that microsecond you take to second guess is a life or death situation. You cannot hesitate, you just have to do." William stopped as he stood in the hole. 

Emotions flooded him. He just dug a hole for one of his friends. The very thing that make us human, emotions. You can have happiness, pride, excitement, relief. Every emotion is considered good. But what would you be if you didn't feel hurt, or pain, or despair? You can't have the good without the bad. There is no light without darkness. The trick is to balance them, so the bad doesn't seem so terrible, and you can truly appreciate the good.

He took a deep breath. He want to shout out loud,  put his knife into the nearest Walker and watch it fall to the ground and watch the blood ooze out of it's head. He wanted to vent, let it out. It's just so easy to be cruel in a moment like this and then the damage is done.