What Changed Your Mind? [Wattys 2017]

Chapter 21: Tallahassee

[Two days later. . . ]

Daryl:

I knealt down, gently pullin' the sleepin' blonde figure into my arms as she yawned and shifted in my arms. It was early and I knew she'd have wanted me to wake her up but I couldn't bring myself to do just that. I loved how peaceful she looked and I wanted her to sleep as long as she could. She stirred slightly and I loosened my grip to let her move if she wanted to. She slowly inched closer to my body, pressing her face up against my chest. The dim mornin' light illuminated her features as I brought her impossibly closer to me. It was unusually cold, so I wrapped Beth in the thick blanket she'd been asleep under before stepping outside with her. I set her down gently in the truck and shut the door quietly before gettin' in myself as Leigh brought Shawn out. Mai slid in on the other side of Shawn, in the back of the cab, and we set out just behind the other cars. We were off to Tallahassee to end this: the sufferin', the loss, everythin'.

Two hours later, Beth woke up fully. She wiped at her eyes groggily and looked around. Realizing that she was sittin' in the movin' truck, she turned suddenly, to me. "Daryl! Why didn't you wake me up?!" I shot her a half-smile and she slugged my arm playfully, a smirk plastered to her face.

"You were lookin' so peaceful. I couldn't just wake 'ya up!" She smiled at me and glanced back at Shawn before settlin' back into her seat and sighin'.

"How far have we gone?" Beth turned her head to rest on her headrest while she looked out the window.

"Won't be too much longer. Four more hours maybe." She nodded once and closed her eyes again.

Beth:

I shut my eyes, feeling safe surrounded by my family. The fields and old towns passing by my window reminded me of all that had been lost: all that would, in time, hopefully be there again. I hoped that Tallahassee would work out. We needed something to work out. Daryl had turned the radio in the car to the station where we'd first heard the news of the cure. It was comforting to hear the voice, even though it was only droning on and on with the same monotonous words. I stretched out my left arm, my hand finding its way to Daryl's and resting on top of his before he intertwined our fingers.

We found our way to Tallahassee sooner than we thought, pulling up to the CDC less than three hours later. Outside the building looked like a war zone, but there were people pulling up to the center by the truckload, obviously there for the same reason that we were: to help rid the world of the un-dead. I squeezed Daryl's hand and grinned. "We made it."

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My heart sank a little the minute we stepped into the building. The first rooms we walked through looked just like the outside of the building: as if a bomb had gone off. Even so, we plowed on, determined to scope out the whole building before giving up. The next few rooms seemed a little better than the first: cleaner and less. . . broken down. The rooms got continually better and better as we went inward, followed by countless other people. My hopes began to rise again as we reached the research area of the building. Doctors, nurses, and scientists lined the halls, whisking us away as we approached. I held tight to Shawn and Daryl as we entered a small examination room, where we were injected with several different types of medications, none of which I could pronounce the name of. Shawn squirmed but didn't cry when he got his shots: tough like his Daddy, who didn't even flinch. I, on the other hand, let out a surprised squeal when the first needle entered my arm, catching me off guard. I busted into laughter when my eyes locked on Daryl's and I caught his amused expression.

The doctor told us that after everyone had gotten their injections, exactly at midnight, they would set off a radio wave that would connect the drugs and create a barrier from the disease for all of us. They'd also rewired radio towers to not only transmit the message we had received, but also stronger waves, that would put down all or most of the walkers that remained in the world. All that would be left up to us was cleanup duty. We'd no longer be infected, and bites were only a threat to us because of the bloodloss factor, so we'd still have to be careful.

It would be our job to rebuild the world to what it once was, and I knew we could do it.

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Just before midnight, many of the people who'd been cured gathered at the glass wall of the CDC to wait for the waves to go. The countdown started at one minute to midnight and butterflies filled my stomach as we got to the last few numbers.

"THREE!"

"TWO!"

"ONE!"

"GOOOO!!!"

Barely visible waves of energy radiated from towers surrounding the CDC of Tallahassee, dropping every walker in sight. We waited for them to get back up; to not be completely dead. When they didn't though, we celebrated. It was confirmed that all of the towers had functioned according to plan, and the world had been cured. I turned to Daryl, who still held Shawn on an arm, and threw mine around his neck, planting a long kiss on his lips.

"It's finally over." The voice wasn't mine, nor Daryl's. It was one I knew well, but hadn't heard in far too long. I whirled around, pulling the owner of the voice into a tight hug before I had even seen their face.

My sister hugged me back with as much, if not more force than I held her with. She'd survived, and found us back. I'd missed her so much in the year she'd been gone from us. Tears spilled from my eyes as I tried to speak. "Maggie. . ." I choked out. "I missed you."

"I know, Bethy. I missed you too. But it's over now. We're finally safe."

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A/N > That's the end, folks! I really hope you liked it! :D I really enjoyed writing this fanfic and reading all of the wonderful feedback I got. Thank you so much for reading and supporting my work for so long. I love you guys! <3.

P.S. > My other stories aren't quite over yet, so if you're looking for something to read, and you enjoy The 100 or Supernatural, I've got fics from those and I also have another 2-part Bethyl fic "Before You Go" and "Before You Go: Part 2". Thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story.