Always (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 20 - Better Angels

I look down at the mound of dirt before me, tears silently streaming down my face. My arms are wrapped around me, almost holding me together. A heavy feeling has overcome me and I feel guilty, saddened and defeated.

"Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine." Rick sighs bitterly.

"Because he sure wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought. How he felt...that kind of honestly is rare. And brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale and he'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another." He smiles sadly.

"I couldn't always read him but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us, the truth and who we really are. In the end he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honour him is to unbreak it, set aside our differences and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety, our future." He says.

"We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on, we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honour Dale." He finishes, putting dirt on his grave.

I wipe at my face as Hershel steps forward and says a final prayer over the grave before its all over. We all stare at the grave quietly, all of us still in shock about the whole thing. Dale had so much life, so much passion that I thought he would out live all of us. It just comes to show how quickly life comes and goes. One minute everything could be fine and the next minute everything is ripped away from you.

My eyes glance up from the grave and meet the Georgian blues which look back intently at mine. I see the pain in his eyes, the tiredness of losing people. I want to go over and speak to him, to talk to him and let everything be okay. But instead I turn on my feet and follow after everybody as we walk back to the campsite. We're all packing up and moving into the house today. Hershel and his family decided that it was time we all moved in, that it would be safer.

We reach our campsite and I walk to my tent and step in. I look around for a moment before I kneel down and proceed to pack up all my belonging and placing them in the bag. It doesn't take too long and I hear the sounds of everyone else packing up around me. I step out and begin to disassemble my tent, Shane coming over and helping me out. I smile at him gratefully and it becomes packed up in no time.

I walk over and place the tent in the back of the truck before I grab my backpack and sleeping bag and walk to the house. I walk up the steps and Patricia walks out, "Just set up anywhere." She smiles at me.

I nod and step into the house, walking into the living room where people are placing their stuff. I walk over to a corner and dump stuff down, claiming it as my area before I walk back out and help the others pack up. I see Rick, Shane and Daryl talking to the Greene's as I walk over to T-Dog and help him pack up his tent. He packs it up and I walk over to help Carol as well, everyone else packing things away into the cars.

Soon enough, the campsite is packed up and people drive the cars to the house. I hear the sound of the motorbike, bringing back a million memories. I reach the house and begin to unload the cars, bringing everything inside. The house is louder with fifteen people coming in and out, everyone stepping over each other and all of the stuff. It's completely hectic but hopefully everything will be sorted out once everything is inside. I lift up something up when I realise it's heavier then it looked. I feel a pain in my side and I drop it to the ground, clutching at my side in pain and wrist.

"Are you okay?" Jimmy asks, placing a hand on my back as he looks down at me.

I nod my head as I grit my teeth, "Yeah, it was just heavy is all."