Torn Apart (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 35

Cat's P.O.V
Time freezes and nothing is moving for me, yet the world around me is chaos. There are dead bodies of walkers and humans littering the fields like a battlefield in war. The prison is in flames, the burning remnants of our home. I am alone as I stand in the middle of the field. Before me is the man that destroyed our safety, his one good eye seizing me up. He holds the gun, it pointing directly between my eyes. Memories flood my mind as take my final breathes.

Horrid childhood memories of my father and foster homes. Memories of living on the streets of Chicago. But then comes the good memories, James and me throughout our time together. Our wedding day, our honey moon, buying our first house. The first ultrasound, painting the nursery, the loss of our child.

Then Daryl. Our first encounter when I awoke. Sharing a bed for the first time. Our first kiss. Our first night together. His proposal and my acceptance of becoming his wife. I have no idea where Daryl is, we split up during the fight. My heart longs for me to see him one last time before I die. The Governor stalks forward, eyeing his prey but I feel no fear. My death was inevitable and I know that I will see my loved ones. I take a deep breath and stare into the eyes of the hunter. A smirk appears on his face as he cocks the gun, preparing for the kill.

But it is at this moment fate intervenes. The Governor stumbles to the ground, dropping his gun. I look up and see Rick staring with hatred down at the man at his feet. He swiftly kicks him in the ribs, a sickening crunch being heard. He repeats the process, earning anguished cries. Michonne appears next to Rick and stares down with a triumphant look. Rick turns to her and she nods, Rick stepping aside. Rick looks up at me and runs over.

"We have to go now!" He yells.

He grips my upper arm and leads me away from the execution about to happen. Before I leave, I see the thrust of Michonne's katana through the chest of the Governor, his pain echoing through the fields. I smile in satisfaction and run after Rick. I see Carl fighting off walkers towards the entrance of the prison, Rick and I run to help him. We easily take them down without trouble.

"Where's Judith?" Rick asks.

Carl's face drops with terror, "I don't know, last time I saw her was in our room."

Without hesitation I run into the prison, hearing Rick and Carl's cries behind me. With fierce determination I run through the burning building towards their cell, taking down walkers as I go. I dash into the cell and hear Judith's screams from her crib. I grab her from the crib and before I leave I grab some supplies for her. I bolt out of the prison towards Rick.

"Oh thank God." He cries, grabbing Judith from my arms.

"We have to go!" Carl yells.

"What about Daryl?" I say.

"We can't wait for him." Rick says, beginning to move.

"I can't leave without him!" I cry.

"You have to. Daryl wouldn't want you to stay here." He argues.

"I'm not leaving!".

I can hear them before I see them, their moans filling the already chaotic air. Hundred of walkers are coming towards the prison and panic overwhelms me. I look frantically for Daryl but I can't see him anywhere.

"We have to go Cat!" Carl yells.

"Not without Daryl!" I counter.

"I promise you we will find him but if you stay here you are dead. And I'm not letting you die, so let's go!" Rick commands.

Against my better judgement, I run after them, out of the walker infested prison. As we run, we are greeted by walkers trying to make us their next meal. We kill them and continue running. I have no idea where we are going but I follow Rick without hesitation. After what seems like hours we slow down, the only sound is Judith's cries. Rick attempts to calm her down but fails to do so. I hold my arms out for her. Rick looks confused but hands her over.

This is the first time I've ever held her and it feels so natural despite the hallow ache in my chest. I push through the pain and continue to calm her down. I sing an old song, which soothes her instantly until she is silent. Rick and Carl look at me in wonder.

Carl gives me a reassuring smile, "You would have been a great mom."

I give a small smile at his words, "I guess the instinct never left."

"What?" Rick asks.

"I'll tell you later. Right now we need to find somewhere to settle down for the night and supplies."

Rick nods and we set off again. Judith rests in my arms her eyes drooping as we walk. As we walk along the highway, we find an abandoned diner. We head towards it and inspect the inside.

"Doesn't seem to be any walkers." Carl says.

"Either way, we need to be careful. Cat you wait out here with Judith while Carl and I go in." Rick says.

I nod and watch them leave. I can feel Judith's heavy breathing against my chest as I keep an eye out for walkers. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off the nauseousness returned with a vengeance. I clutch at my stomach, trying to subdue the pain while not waking Judith. I suck in a sharp breath and try to breathe through the pain. The intensity subsides but still remains. Carl emerges and motions for me to come in. The stench hits me first and I can't take it, I quickly hand Judith to Carl and violently throw up. My stomach wrenches in pain as I mercilessly am sick. Once finished, I wipe my mouth and long for water.

"Are you okay?" Carl asks.

"I'm probably not over to illness yet." I say, stumbling to my feet.

"I found some water and food." Rick calls.

I rush into the kitchen and grab one of the water bottles. I took a swig and wash the taste out of my mouth. Then I take a long drink of the water, rehydrating my parched throat. Rick and Carl look around for supplies and I join them. I grab some knives and give them some, finding a couple cans of food but nothing much. We walk out of the diner and the fresh air is welcoming. The sound of a walker interrupts the moment and I look over. A few walkers were stumbling towards us so we head off down the road again.

My feet are beginning to hurt and I am lightheaded from not eating for so long. Rick and Carl push on, Judith still asleep in Carl's arms. Up ahead I can see buildings, the edges of a town. We rush forward and see that it is a neighbourhood. Rick looks around as we walk, passing houses.

"What are you looking for?" I ask.

He ignores me and continues looking and after moment he begins to walk towards one of the houses. It was a fairly large house with a balcony around the whole lower floor of the house. The garden was strangely neat despite the apocalypse. We walk up the stairs and prepare to enter the house. We burst through the door but are met with no walkers, we check the house but it is clear. We all meet back up in the lounge room. Carl has placed Judith on an armchair, she is sound asleep. We all take a seat and relax slightly, but as we sit in silence my thoughts stray to Daryl.

Where is he? Is he alive? Did he make it out? Panic overwhelms me and I can't breathe. Rick and Carl are alarmed at the sight of me and try to help but all I can think about is Daryl and if he was alive.

"Cat, you need to calm down." Rick says, pinning me down.

I thrash against his touch but am unable to move. Even though he was fairly injured in the fight he was still able to hold me down.

"Look me in the eyes and breathe." He commands.

I look into his blue eyes and slowly calm myself down. His eyes are beautiful but they're not the Georgian blues I long to see. I burst into tears and sob uncontrollably. Rick pulls me up and cradles me against his chest, my tears soaking through his shirt. Carl watches our interaction silently, not saying a word. After awhile the exhaustion from crying overtakes me and I drift off.