There was a voice in the hot summer heat. A whisper that blew in with the dry wind and spoke the truth no one could say out loud to themselves. The dead summer air, as quiet as it was, somehow spoke to every single one of you as you walked along the road miserably.
It taunted you; emphasizing on every bit of pain you felt weighing you down. As though the words added pounds to your back. It kept the sting fresh as the memory of that moment repeated itself with a boisterous presence. You couldn't escape it... none of you could.
Maggie walks a few steps ahead of you, side by side with Glenn. You can see the way she carries her pain. It's faint, kept hidden from all those around her, but you see it. You know how to find it, after years of living with your older sister, you know how to spot her pain and her troubles no matter how well she's learned to hide it from you.
As you trudge along the path, melting underneath the nasty sun, you watch the way Glenn and Maggie interact. You can't hear what they say, or if they are even sharing words at all, but you can see the way Glenn looks at his wife. At your sister. And it unlocks something deep inside of your shattered heart.
He loved Maggie more than anything in this world, and it was obvious. And right now, after the loss that had killed her like she had taken the bullet herself, he has become her strength.
He's held her hand when she needed it held. He's whispered all the words she's needed to hear, no matter the fact that they can't fix anything. He's stepped up when she came crumbling down...
And all you could think, was why couldn't Daryl Dixon do that for you?
He held you that first night. After Daryl had carried Beth's body out of the hospital that horrific day. You crashed into his arms and he held you all that night. Never loosening his grip as sleep fluttered over you.
But as soon as the sun rose in the sky the following day, the man that had kissed your tears as he held you tightly, suddenly vanished.
He still watched out for you, he still protected and provided what he could for you, but he closed himself off. Leaving you completely deprived of the one thing you truly needed to survive... him.
He walks slowly behind you somewhere, trudging along sluggishly just like the rest of you. Worn down from exhaustion and hunger and the heat that threatens to suck everything from you. But also crushed emotionally by the loss experienced just weeks ago.
Beth had been the most innocent of souls. The kindest of hearts. The strongest in ways others didn't know how to be. But more than anything, she was your little sister. Your small blonde haired, tender hearted sister that did nothing but love and believe. And still this world took her away... leaving you all to wonder what the point of all this was.
The night brought in the clouds and a chill that did all it could to break through the humidity, but you still felt the heat of the sun even as the moon had taken its place up in the sky.
The group had stopped for the night, laying in the grass on the side of the road with two staying up to keep watch. You laid flat on your back with your bag beneath your head as a pillow, but no matter how many times you closed your eyes and tried to clear your mind, sleep was no where close to finding you.
Instead, you felt yourself gazing blankly up at the stars that you could spot within the tree branches. They twinkled in a low light, trying to fight the darkness that nearly engulfed them. But just as you felt every single day, they were no match for the darkness that held a power they could never posses.
Releasing a soft sigh, you sit up. Looking over to the left, you look at Carl who sleeps with Judith beside him. And turning your head to the right, Maggie sleeps with Glenn's comforting arm wrapped around her. Keeping her safe even in sleep.
