Property Of Negan

Chapter Twenty Two: Six years later

"Hey... I know you probably want to hear what's been going so I'll say this... Even though it hasn't gotten any easier the sun keeps rising." 

Daryl woke up in his old tent that was littered with holes and was only held up by sticks and string. He stared out at the opening, taking everything in. It was quiet out in the woods. Him by himself. Searching for the one person that could make everything right. 

"Days keep passing, the world keeps spinning-- Time, it just keeps moving forward"

Daryl stood as still as possible in the rive as he waited for a large fish to swim by his leg so he could catch it. Once one did, he stabbed it with his sharpened stick and lifted it out of the water to take a good look at his breakfast. 

"Weeks, months, even years go by while you try to make sense of it all" 

That's when a Walker rose from the water and growled at Daryl. His shoulders dropped as he broke his stick in two on his knee and stabbed the Walker in the chest before the head. Sadly, he had lost breakfast in the process meaning he'd be in the water for longer than he wanted to. 

"Try to find where you belong. Try to look ahead to a better future" 

Carol woke up with a smile on her face as her one and only King Ezekial laid in bed next to her. Sighing happily, she stood up and walked to the window to stare out at their people who made everything at The Kingdom a thousand times better as everyday they continued to grow bigger and better. 

"But the truth is... The path ahead has only grown darker. It's harder to see." 

Negan stared up at the same gray ceiling he's been stuck in waiting for the person who could put a smile on his face without even trying their hardest. He knew every single crack, line, and path the ceiling made down to the concrete floor with the same shit stains that was made when he threw food back then. The only thing that changed was his bed was an actual mattress and books were given to him as a source of entertainment. 

"You can feel so lost... So alone... So desperate for something, anything that might show you the way."

Klarissa watched from the porch of her shared house as a few children ran past, yelling with joy as played as their father tried his best to keep up. She would never say it out loud but she was jealous of everyone who had someone in their life to keep them going. It took her little sister a full year to allow her to see her children and to let her into their house but she needed more than that. Klarissa wanted her own family. 

"But even now, after all this time, surrounded by darkness... There are still flashes of light"

Carl kneeled next to her daughter at one of the many gardens as she carefully lifted a ladybug off the tomato plant with wonder and happiness shining in her big brown eyes, watching as it crawled around her hand before flying away which caused her to laugh and give him a huge smile. She looked exactly like him but had her mother's skin tone and attitude just like Anthony.

"Tiny beacons that shine out, calling to us. It's not enough to light the way ahead but it's enough to keep going."

As Daryl heard a Walker nearby he quickly pulled out his knife before realizing that it was caught to a tree. Vines had grown all around it enabling it to move as a blue jay landed on its shoulder. The bird plucked a worm from the Walkers and flew up a tree close by, too busy trying to feed her babies to notice that Daryl had been following it the whole time as a small smirk made its way onto his thin lips before walking off.

"Keep trying. Keep fighting... Keep dreaming. So that's what I do... Every second of everyday...For you, for us. I haven't given up... And I never will." Michonne smiled at the makeshift grave they made for Rick at what was once a bridge. She got back onto her horse and let out a little sigh before heading back home.