Daryl and I end our walk by the tree where we're burying our people. The others are already hard at work digging four graves. Andrew, Sophia, Annette, and Shawn are all wrapped in sheets laying beside the tree. The sight of them that way makes me nauseous, but I refuse to let it over take me. I grab a shovel, climbing into the knee deep hole Andrea was working on to help finish. The dirt is hard and the shovel is rough on my hands but I don't care. I find solace in the physical labor. The strain on my body allows my mind to focus on something other than the empty shells lays mere feet from me. Daryl follows my lead, helping with the next grave.
When we're finished we gather everyone for a service. I stand between Daryl and Maggie, staring blankly as Andrew is lowered into one of the holes. Hershel reads a passage from his bible and him and Beth say a few words for Annette and Shawn. Carol refused to join us so everyone that knew Sophia said a few words for her. After they were all finished they looked to me. No one else knew Andrew the way I did. Rick and Shane meet him before the world ended but it didn't seem right for them to speak. So that left me. Maggie takes my hand, giving me the extra strength I needed to find words.
"Andrew was my best friend. He was smart and kind and one of the funniest people I've ever met. No matter what we faced he always had some sort of joke to crack to make me laugh. He never lost hope, not even for a minute. He saved my life more times than I can count, he's the reason I'm even here today and for that I'll forever be grateful." I sniffle back tears as I drop Maggie's hand to pick up a fistful of dirt. "He was too good for this world." I say quietly as I drop the loose dirt on top of his corpse. I swallow hard willing myself not to cry as I walk back to Daryl. He wraps his arm around my shoulders allowing me to lean into him. We all stand in silence as Rick, Shane, T, Andrea, Jimmy, and Glenn shovel the rest of the dirt on top of them all. We all scatter slowly, some us needing more time to say good bye than others. The Greens head inside while the majority of our group gets to work on transporting the rest of the bodies to be burnt. Carl walks up to me.
"I'm really sorry about your friend Hailey." He says quietly. I pull away from Daryl so that I can give him a gentle hug.
"Thank you buddy, I'm sorry about Sophia too. I know that you guys were close." Carl nods.
"I kept hoping I'd find her." He replies.
"We all did." Daryl says quietly.
"No I mean I thought that I would be the one to find her. That she was hidden away in a cave or a tree some where and that she was okay and then I'd bring her back here safe. She would have loved it here." My heart breaks as he speaks, This poor child.
"I'm sure she would have buddy. You did everything you could, you all did." I reply, unsure of what to say to comfort him. He nods again, with a sad little smile.
"So did you." He says, glancing at the graves before heading back to his mother. His words hit me harder than I anticipated, maybe he's right. Maybe the guilt i'm drowning in is unwarranted. I swallow hard, willing myself not to cry again.
"You doin' okay?" Daryl asks me as Carl leaves.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just glad you're here." I say tiredly. Today has taken so much out of me. I'm emotionally and physically exhausted. He takes my hand in his. My palms burn from where the aged shovel had left blisters, but I revel in the pain.
"Come on, let's go back to my tent. You should rest." He says softly.
"What about the rest of the bodies? Shouldn't we help?" I ask, feeling guilty for not helping.
"They've got it handled, it's alright." he says reassuringly, rubbing his thumb across my hand. I nod.
"Okay." I reply. He takes me to his campsite. I sigh in relief, enjoying the quiet away from the rest of the group.
"You hungry?" He asks. "I can cook you up some squirrel if you want." I smile at him, grateful for the gesture.
"I'm okay, thank you though." He nods, leading me into his tent. His musky scent encases me the second I step in. I look around, honestly a little surprised. He's much neater than I expected.
"You can take the 'bed', I'm good here." He says sitting on the floor on the opposite end of the tent. I can't help but smile. I've never seen this gentleman side of Daryl before. The fact that he respects that I may have boundaries and is careful not the cross them only makes me want to hold him closer. I know it's only been a few days, but I don't want the space he's giving.
"Will you lay with me?" I ask sheepishly, unsure he'll even want to. He smirks, nodding his head. I climb into his 'bed', laying on my side allowing him to climb in behind me. He lays down facing the back of my head leaving a space between us. I roll my eyes with a smile, scooting my body back a little. Finally he snuggles into me, wrapping his arm around my waist. He kisses my shoulder, his nose brushing the back of my neck as he rests his head behind mine. The warmth of his body and the gentle rise and fall of his stomach against my back pulls me into a deep comfortable sleep.
YOU ARE READING
Haven (A Walking Dead fanfiction)
Fiksi PenggemarThis is the story of Hailey Ann Walsh, a teenage girl orphaned by the outbreak of an unknown virus that reanimates the dead. Her older brother Shane was no where to be found so she was forced to survive on her own. After the loss of her companion sh...
