The following chapter is an excerpt from my unfinished story.

Rain is a character I created, and while my story closely follows the Walking Dead tv series I have made minor changes to events and/or characters to suit the course of my fiction.

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Chapter ? : Today We Mourn

From his current vantage point up on the hill Daryl could see down onto the burial grounds of the Kingdom. He could see Rain, she was leaning over Benjamin's grave, arranging flowers that Ezekiel and Henry had brought.

Henry hugged Rain before trailing away with his head down. Ezekiel made to follow, then turned back to Rain and gently laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring nod, then began following Henry towards the gardens, leaving Rain alone at Benjamin's grave.

Once they were far enough away Rain slowly dropped to her knees, one hand placed on Benjamin's wooden gravestone. She hung her head, and from the way her shoulders were shaking Daryl strongly suspected that she was crying.

He felt a stab in his heart as he watched her grieve, he supposed the feeling was empathy. He strangely felt an urge to go to her and comfort her, but he didn't know how. He watched her for a little while longer, as the sun began to sink lower in the hazy sky, then he started slowly down the hill.

Daryl approached the graveyard cautiously. Rain was now taking something out of her pocket. She gently placed it over the wooden cross nailed to the gravestone. Close enough now, Daryl could see it was a patterned blue and yellow friendship bracelet.

Rain glanced sideways at him; he could see tears streaming down her cheeks. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice oddly disconnected.

Daryl bowed his head solemnly. "I came to pay my respects. I'm sorry to hear about Benjamin."

Rain's eyes filled up with fresh tears but she raised her head to meet his gaze. "You hardly knew him."

"Morgan spoke highly of him, said he was eager to learn. I know Carol did, too. He was one of the good guys."

"It's always the same story." When Rain began to speak again her voice cracked. "The good ones are always the ones that die. It's like they're too kind for this world; they don't deserve to live in it."

At these words Daryl felt a similar lump welling up in his throat but he willed the tears away. He turned his head away slightly, fighting the memories threatening to spill out.

Rain noticed his reaction and understood his thoughts. She wiped at the tears on her face with her sleeve. "She was one of the good ones wasn't she?... Beth?"

Daryl swallowed hard, it had been awhile since he had thought about Beth. He nodded. "She was. She was a fighter too, though, in her own way. But still too pure for this life. So was Glenn."

Rain's eyes were still misty. "Ben always wanted to see the good in everything. He had so much potential. And he was so much braver than he gave himself credit for."

Daryl grinned. "Yeah, he seemed like a pretty tough kid. Maybe he just didn't know it."

Now it was Rain's turn to grin. "How can you call him a kid? He was 27."

"My point exactly. He was 27."

Rain chuckled quietly then turned back towards the gravestone. She stood up slowly.

Daryl motioned to the bracelet she had placed on the cross. "What's that for?"

"Ben. He said making friendship bracelets was one of his hidden talents." Rain smiled sadly. "He was a great guitar player too, he was so damn talented. When I first got to the Kingdom, not long after you found me, I was having a lot of trouble... adjusting. After being on my own for so long, I had trouble being around so many people, and I was struggling with everything that happened before. And then I got to know Ben. He made it so easy to open up, after so much time of being alone. I didn't want to admit that maybe I actually did need people in my life."

Daryl was staring intently at Rain as she spoke, and not for the first time did he have the thought that he and Rain were eerily alike.

"Ben told me to keep reminders on me of everybody I cared about. He said they'd help pull me back during the rough times, and remind me there were things worth living for. People worth living for. So he made me bracelets, and told me to wear them as my reminders. 1 for each person I wanted to live for." She smiled and touched a blue and pink bracelet on her wrist. "This is the one he made me to represent him. He placed it on my wrist one night and told me never to take it off, so I'd always have a piece of him with me." She touched the bracelet she had hung on the cross and spoke quietly. "He taught me how to make them. He taught me a lot of things."

Daryl was at a loss for words. He stood there in the fading sunlight, uncomfortably shifting his gaze away from Rain's emotional eyes.

"I never got the chance to tell him that I loved him."

Daryl bowed his head, unable to meet her eyes. "Maybe he knew," he managed to say, albeit awkwardly.

Rain wiped roughly at her eyes and took a deep breath. "I remember now why I spent so much time alone after it all started. Everybody I ever dared to get close to got taken away. Ben was the first person who made me feel happy, and safe." She sighed heavily and with her shoulder length wispy hair falling in her puffy, tear streaked face she suddenly looked a lot older and wearier than her 30 years made her.

Daryl stared at her. "So what now, then?"

Rain turned to look at him, her face a mix of surprise and determination. "Now? We fight."

Daryl held her steely, tear filled gaze. He nodded. "We fight."

She nodded back, firm. She glanced down towards the gardens, where Ezekiel and Henry were planting seeds and flowers. "Today we mourn. Benjamin deserved as much."

Daryl followed her gaze down towards the gardens. Ezekiel had just been joined by Carol.

Rain nodded approvingly. "Good, I'm glad Carol's here. We'll need her. I heard she's a great marksman."

"No," Daryl said sternly.

Rain turned to look at him. "What? I heard that she's a great fighter. Tough as nails."

"She's not going," Daryl said flatly, clearly ending the discussion.

Rain was momentarily taken aback at his almost threatening tone of voice. Then she realized he must have been trying to protect Carol. "You care about her a lot, huh?" Rain said gently, momentarily pulled out of her own despair at Daryl's heavy display of emotion.

Daryl shrugged uncomfortably.

"Are you guys like... you know...?"

Daryl turned his head sharply and fixed her with a reproachful look. "No, it's not like that."

"Sorry," Rain said innocently. "I didn't mean anything by it."

Daryl turned back to gaze down at the gardens.

"Ezekiel also seems quite fond of her," Rain said carefully.

This made Daryl crack a small grin. "I've noticed."

Rain joined him at his side, looking down at the 3 of them, planting solemnly in the gardens side by side. "Look, I said I'd help with the planting before sundown. We could use an extra pair of hands. What do you say?"

"I don't have much of a green thumb," Daryl said hesitantly.

"Is that a no?" Rain countered.

Daryl looked at her, his eyes narrowed. She held his gaze. "Alright," he finally said.

They silently joined Carol, Ezekiel and Henry. Ezekiel greeted them with silent nods as Rain and Daryl picked up a spade and some seeds.

Rain watched quietly as Henry showed Daryl how to plant the seeds. She smiled and gently touched the bracelets on her wrist representing Henry and Daryl. There was a nauseous, scared feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought of her life without Benjamin. She knew though, thanks to him, that there was still people worth living for. And Benjamin, though no longer in this world, was also still worth living for. As long as she was living she would find people worth living for. She was sure of that now. She pulled her sleeve down and picked up a spade to dig a hole for the lettuce seeds.