Bethyl: Remember Me

Chapter One: Looking for Beth

"Daryl!"
I heard Rick shouting for me, but I ignored him. I just kept running blindly through the forest. I wasn't even sure if I was going the right way; even if I was, Beth could've been long gone by then. We were about to bury her when the storm came, and we hid in a barn. The next morning, we went out to finish burying her limp body when, to our horror, we realized she was gone. The blanket wrapped around her was gone, too. That's when I started running, trying to find any trace of her.
The thudding of hurried feet came from behind me and I knew Rick was chasing after me. The others probably thought I had gone mad. Who knows, maybe I had? After all, I lost the only girl I ever loved. Really loved. I never admitted it to anyone, but I knew it was true. I knew it was true when I looked at her in the funeral home, wanting nothing more than to grab her by the shoulders and kiss her.
I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't even realize I had stopped running, too exhausted to continue. Except - no, I wasn't exhausted. I could've kept going if I wanted to. Why did I stop? It took me a few seconds to notice the dirty, white blanket sprawled on the ground. I fell to my knees in despair just as Rick caught up to me.
"Daryl..." Rick whispered, as if he was scared of speaking too loudly, "She's gone... She probably turned."
"You don't... You don't know that. If her brain was salvageable enough for her to turn, may-maybe it was salvageable enough for her to live?" I stammered, fighting back tears. I knew every word I said was bullshit. I was just in denial, grasping at straws.
"Maybe if she had medical help. But she doesn't. I'm sorry..." Rick pointed out, clutching my shoulder. I couldn't hold it back anymore. Suddenly, I was sobbing, covering my eyes with my hands. Guilt swarmed my mind as I sat there, struggling to breathe through the tears. I should've done something. I should've stopped her from walking up to Dawn, to her inevitable demise. It was my fault.
"I... I lo-" I began, but Rick stopped me, sparing me from having to speak.
"I know, Daryl. I know..."

Glenn dumped the last pile of dirt onto the grave, sighing. Tyreese's body was under there, bloodied and ripped open by a walker. He and Noah had been searching through Noah's old house when it happened. After Beth disappeared, Noah mentioned that he lived in a fenced-off community called Shirewilt Estates. We all went there, hoping that it was safe.
It wasn't.
Father Gabriel started reading from his bible while the rest of us stood there, under a willow tree. Tara was holding Sasha, who was crying her eyes out. As cruel as it was, I envied her. She knew that her brother was at peace, that he would never turn. I, on the other hand, had to live with the fact that Beth was a walker, and she might never get put down. And if she did, it would be by a total stranger.
Someone who didn't know how strong she was, what she went through. They would never get to hear her beautiful singing voice. They would never know her name:
Beth Greene.