A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S4Pt15 - A Sign of Hope

"Kell?"
"Daryl?" I said, shock still overwhelming me.
He fell silent and stared at me. He tried to run up to me, but three guys held him back.
"Let me go!" He yelled. "That's my wife. Let me go." He said and tried to push past him.
"Daryl!" I cried.
I got up but the guy next to me pushed me down.
"Let go. I need to see him." I yelled. "Daryl."
I punched the guy who was holding me back. He grabbed my waist and tackled me to the ground.
"Go for it son." The leader said.
He then straddled me and started laughing as he tried to grab my breasts.
"Let them go!" Rick ordered.
I was struggling underneath the man and couldn't move. He unbuckled his belt and dropped it by my head. He pinned my hands above my head and started to grind on me. I struggled as he kissed my neck, then he lifted my shirt and licked all the way down my stomach.
The other men started cheering him on and whistling at me.
"Hey! She's claimed!" Daryl yelled.
He then punched one guy in the face, but the still held him back. "Stop now. Leave her be!"
Daryl punched another one of the guys and the leader got pissed.
"Teach him fellas. Teach him all the way." He said.
The three men dragged Daryl to the ground and started beating him. I heard him grunting in pain and I started to cry.
"Stop!" I screamed, but a hand covered my mouth.
"Leave them alone!" Rick yelled.
I heard Carl struggling under the man who was now holding a knife to his throat. The leader, Joe, leaned in close to Rick and held a knife up to his face.
"First, we'll beat Daryl to death. Next, the wife and swords woman. Then the boy." He taunted.
Rick was shaking with rage and lost it. I stood up and kicked the gun out of Joe's hand. They started fighting and punching each other. At the same time, with all my strength, I punched the man above me in the gut and pushed him over. I then pulled out my knife and repeatedly stabbed him in the chest. I quickly got covered in his blood, and lastly stabbed his head. Michonne killed the guy next to her and grabbed her sword. I looked over and saw Carl was still trapped. I aimed my knife and threw it at the man. It landed in his side, and Carl pulled it out and stabbed him in the head. Carl gave me my knife back and we watched Rick, who was now holding Joe at gun point. The guys who were beating up Daryl stopped and looked at us. They were about to attack when Michonne ran behind them and cut off all their heads in one swing.
Joe then grabbed Rick's gun and shot it, and the bullet flew past Rick's head. He pulled him close and held Rick face to face.
"What are you gonna do now sport?" He asked.
Rick glared at him, and in one quick move, he bit his neck. Rick spit out a piece of flesh from his mouth and Joe's neck squirted out blood. He fell into Rick's arms and he stabbed him in the stomach with a knife over and over again. Rick then looked him in the eyes before stabbing him in the head.
Joe's limp body fell to the floor and Rick stood still. I stared at him in shock, and so did the rest of us, until I heard a groan.
"Oh, shit." I said.
I ran over to Daryl and saw him leaning against the car in pain. I cried and crouched down in front of him. I was scared to touch him, scared this was just another nightmare.
"Kell." He said and grabbed my hand.
"Oh, Daryl." I cried. "Babe, you're okay. You're gonna be okay. I'm so sorry."
I tried to check him over to see if he was seriously hurt but he grabbed my face. I stared into his eyes and he sighed.
"I found you." He said with relief.
I cried tears of joy and laughed. I grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss. This kiss was much needed.
I then moved his hair out of his face and helped him stand up. I hugged him tight but he didn't care. We stood there embracing each other for minutes, not saying a word, but just touching each other.
Daryl grabbed my face again and smiled when he saw me. I kissed him again and almost couldn't stop.
Then I heard Rick sit down and lean against the car. I looked at him and he was covered in blood. His beard was now stained red, and his hands were shaking uncontrollably. I knelt down in front of him and waved my hand in front of his face. He grabbed my wrist and I froze.
"I'm okay." He said.
"You're okay." I said.
He nodded and let me go.
"Go to bed. We'll take watch." Rick said.
"But I-" I began.
"We got it." Rick said and cut me off.
I nodded and stood back up. I walked over to Daryl who opened the back doors to the van. We climbed inside and I grabbed an old shirt out of my bag. I took off my bloody sweater and Daryl felt my bra straps and caressed my shoulders. I gently pushed him back and put on my shirt.
"We can't right now. People are around." I said.
"We'll have an audience." He seduced.
I scoffed and sat down. He sat down next to me and I cuddled up next to him. I moved my hand up and down his chest. I felt when he breathed in and out, and sighed. A few tears escaped my eyes and he noticed.
"Why are you crying?" He asked.
"I-I thought you were dead, and I'm so sorry. I blamed you for so long and I'm sorry." I cried into his vest.
He rubbed my back, ran his fingers through my hair, and let me cry.
"Blamed me?" He asked.
"I blamed you for leaving. I broke down. Cried and screamed. Broke a lot of furniture... I ruined someone's living room." I said, and remembered back to the house.
"I threw the picture against the wall and it shattered... I ran over to the coffee table and kicked it, knocking it over... I ran up to the couch and kicked it and punched it, eventually flipping it over.
"Why!!" I screamed. "Why did you leave me?!
I pulled the curtains off the wall, including the rod, and used it to beat everything in site. I broke the TV screen and even cracked the window.
"You left me! And now you're dead!... You're DEAD TO ME!" I cried."
"I saw a picture with wedding vows and I lost it." I explained. "Destroyed everything around me."
"Why'd you get mad at wedding vows of all things." He asked.
"Because we got married and I didn't even tell you why I said yes, or why I love you." I said.
Daryl smiled at me and caressed my face.
"You're the most beautiful, strongest, smartest, and perfect woman I've ever met. You're my little badass. That's why I love you. I don't even know the right words to say how much I love you." Daryl said.
He wiped away a tear that was falling down my face. I sniffled and grabbed his hand.
"I love you because you're the one guy who I can trust. You're protective and strong and so kind. I loved you since the very beginning." I said. "I remember when we first met... We were hunting the same deer, but a walker got it. And you threatened to kill Bud." I remembered and chuckled. "And I kicked you on your ass."
Daryl laughed and nodded. He remembered it too.
"I always liked that dog." He slowly said.
I nodded and smiled up at Daryl. I couldn't believe this was happening. He was here, in this moment, and alive. This was real.
Daryl laid us down and I rested my head on his chest. I closed my eyes, thinking that everything would be fine with Daryl back, but I was wrong. I felt too comfortable with him, because I soon fell asleep, and the nightmares came after me once again.

~~~~~~~~~~

What happened tonight is what I dreamt about.
A group of men exited the woods and attacked us. They held us at gun point and tortured us. Then Daryl appeared out of nowhere.
Daryl was getting beaten to death.
I was getting raped.
Carl got his throat sliced open.
Rick was getting stabbed in the stomach, his guts spilling all over the floor.
Michonne was killed with her own sword.
I couldn't do anything about it. I was forced to watch them all die... again... and again... and again.