When I'm Gone

by LMM06

ONE SHOT. When Beth and got drunk on the moonshine, she told him that when she dies he's going to miss her. Daryl looks through Beth's bag and finds not only a letter addressed to him but a song too. He soon realises that was right...

A Walking Dead FanFiction by LMM06

When I'm Gone
Beth

A house stood in front of us. I smiled at Daryl as he got his crossbow ready in case there was someone or something in there and I hung back as we stepped up the steps to the porch. Daryl nodded at me and I knocked on the door to draw out any walkers that might be in there. We listened out for any signs of walkers but we couldn't hear anything so we walked into the house and checked room to room, the place was clear. We barricaded the front door and made sure the back door was barricaded so no walkers or other people can get in and take our stash.

I went up stairs to check out the bedrooms properly and chose the room that I wanted and sat down on the bed testing it out, it was easily the most comfortable bed I had sat on since the prison! I stood up and looked around for some sheets and found some in the bottom of a wardrobe that was in the bedroom and put them on the bed. A tap on the doorframe made me look towards the door and I turned around and seen Daryl standing there with his crossbow slung over his shoulder "Settling in okay?" He asked me.

"Yeah… you found a bed?" I asked him and he nodded "Is it comfortable?" I asked.

"Yeah it's not bad" He stated.

"Good" I said and carried on trying to make the bed.

"Want some help?" He asked.

"Please" I said with a giggle. Daryl came in and stood on the other side of the bed and helped me sort the sheets out.

When the bed was made Daryl said he was going to go downstairs and look through the cupboards to see if there was anything for us to eat. I laid down on the bed and grabbed my pack that was next to it and got out my little notebook and I started writing in it, as I was writing I couldn't help but remember the night me and Daryl drank that moonshine and me telling him how much he was going to miss me when I was dead. A smirk appeared on my lips as I started writing a song and a letter for Daryl when I do die.

I smiled as I closed the notebook and put the notebook back in my back pack before going down the stairs, I got into the living room and seen Daryl laying on the sofa yawning "Tired?" I asked.

He sat up and nodded at me as he yawned again "There isn't a lot of food here so tomorrow after we've rested I'm going to have to go on a supply run" He told me and yawned once again "I found a couple tins of fruit, I've had one and I've left one out there for you. The other two there will do for breakfast and then I'll go out on the run and I'll bring us back something" He said.

"Sounds like a good plan, apart from one thing…" I started and he looked at me waiting for me to continue "I'm sick of sitting here waiting for you to come back, I want to go with you on the run. They always say that two heads are better then one, it'll be an extra pair of eyes and an extra pair of ears" I told him.

"No" He stated.

"No?" I questioned.

"No you're not going… It's safer for you to stay here" He told me.

"Daryl…" I started about to argue.

"Beth you're not going and that's final, I just about get myself out I can't be there worrying about you as well" He said to me.

I knew that there was no point in arguing with him when he's like this so I just sighed and went into the kitchen to grab that tin of fruit that Daryl had mentioned and I grabbed a fork and opened the tin and started eating. When I finished I put the empty tin on the side and walked through the living room and seen Daryl gone from the sofa, I walked up the stairs and looked around and seen Daryl lying on the bed in the room next to mine "Night" I said to him.

"Night" He replied.

As I walked into my room I closed the bedroom door behind me and laid down on the bed. I took a deep breath and turned onto my side as I wrapped the covers around me to keep me warm on the cold night and I was about to drift off into la la land when I heard my bedroom door open, I sat up and looked up to see Daryl standing there leaning against the door frame "What'd ya want?" I asked him thinking he was back to argue some more.

"To apologise" He said.

"What?" I asked in shock.

"I shouldn't have spoken to you like that" He stated.

"No you shouldn't have… but I forgive you. I know that sometimes you just feel frustrated with everything going on" I told him and he smiled softly at me "My bed has space for one more" I said.

He came and slid into the bed next to me and I turned my back to him, I felt him move closer towards me and I could feel his breath against my neck. His arm snaked around my waist and I felt him give me a gentle squeeze "Night Beth" He said.

"Night Daryl" I told him.

When I woke up the next morning the bed next to me was empty so I got out of the bed and got changed before going downstairs walked through the kitchen where Daryl was leaning against the kitchen counter eating one of the fruit tins, he handed me one and a fork and I began eating as well.

We finished breakfast and I followed Daryl into the living room where he put on his boots and grabbed his crossbow, he reached into his bag and got a gun out and handed it to me "I know you've got your knife but this will make me feel better" He told me and I nodded as I took it from him and put it in the waistband of my jeans "I won't be out too long, a couple hours at most" He said.

"Okay well I'll be here waiting here… as always" I said with a huff. Daryl rolled his eyes and as he was about to leave I grabbed his hand turning him around and I hugged him. I wrapped me arms around his waist and he wrapped his around me too "Please be careful" I told him.

He placed a kiss on my forehead before pulling away "I always am, make sure you barricade the door behind me. When I'm back I'll knock three times" He said. I agreed to what he said and he moved everything out of the way of the door and went out the front door, I closed the door and put the things back in front of it before going over to the sofa and sitting town.

Daryl

In the distance I could see a store so I started walking quicker towards the store and as soon as I turned the corner I seen lots of walkers around and in the store, there must have been at least 40-50 walkers blocking my path and I knew that I couldn't take all of them on my own… maybe I should have let Beth come with me on the run. No, she was safer in the house barricaded in and out of harms way, I can't have her getting hurt.

I studied the area and seen that I could get to the next set of trees and then I could try and lure them away from the store. I got to the next set of trees and seen three bricks sitting on the floor so I picked them up and threw them away from the store making sure they made a lot of noise, a few of the walkers went towards the noise and I threw the next one which drew more walkers away and I then threw the last brick and by that time all of the walkers were following the others that had followed the noise. I ran to the store and seen that there was only a few walkers that I could easily take out with my crossbow which I did.

I grabbed everything that I could and only stayed in the store for ten minutes tops before rushing out of the store and going back towards the house, I didn't like leaving Beth there for too long no matter how much safer it was in there. To be honest nowhere was safe anymore.

I wasn't far from the house when I heard gunshots coming from the direction of the house, I threw my crossbow across my shoulder and started running as fast as I could towards the house, Beth was in trouble.

I should have let her come with me!

Beth

There was a lot of noise coming outside so I looked out of the window but I couldn't see anything, maybe Daryl was in trouble, I moved everything out of the way of the door with my knife ready to be used and the gun easily accessible. I opened the door and stepped out onto the porch and from my left I heard the groan of a walker so I turned to stab it in the head which I did but then behind that one walker there was another four walkers coming towards me so I turned to run inside the house when another one grabbed my arm and I screamed.

I stabbed two in the head and my knife got stuck in the second ones head, I fumbled to get my gun and I started shooting but there was more and more of them coming out of no where. One walker stood above me and I put my arm up to push it away and as I did that I felt the walker sink it's teeth into me.

I screamed louder and tried fighting to get them off me but they went into a rage, like sharks at feeding time, I felt at least five walkers biting me "Daryl!" I screamed as loud as I can knowing that he would be on his way back and praying that he could hear me, I thought of Daryl coming to save me with his crossbow as I lost consciousness.

Daryl

As I ran towards the house I stopped instantly as I seen about six walkers eating something that was laying on the porch, they must have smelled me or seen me because they stopped and looked up at me. I used my crossbow and shot them one by one taking them all down and it was then that I seen Beth's dead body laying on the porch. I rushed over to her and kneeled down next to her, she was covered in blood and bite marks "Beth…" I didn't know what to do or say… what was I supposed to do now? I needed Beth and now she was gone.

I turned to the walker that was laying dead next to me and I booted him out of the way and as I looked around I seen that Beth had tried fighting, some of the ones that were already dead had bullet holes in their head and a couple had knife wounds. There was one that still had her knife sticking out of her skull, I grabbed it and went over to Beth, I wasn't going to let her turn into one of these… monsters.

Taking a deep breath and trying to hold back my tears I lifted the knife above her head and was about to put it through her head when her eyes snapped open. They had that dead and glazed over look and it broke my heart, her hands reached out to grab me so she could eat me and more tears welled up and I couldn't hold them anymore… they started slip down my cheek.

"Beth I am so sorry" I said as I put the knife in her skull. Her eyes closed and she was finally dead "Beth I am so sorry… I should have let you come with me. Why did I think it was safer to keep you here? Why did you open the door?" I questioned.

Sadness turned to anger and I took the knife out of her skull and started stabbing her repeatedly. How could she leave me? After everything I had done to keep her alive, she opened the door after I told her to wait for me to do my three knocks! I sat back and studied Beth but I couldn't look at her like this, I took a blanket out of my bag and I put it over her body to cover her and give her peace.

I had to bury her properly so I started looking around for a shovel and a nice place to lay her to rest, I found a shovel at the back of the house and a nice place in the garden of the house between to orchid trees, I know she would have liked it so I got her body and carried it to the spot and laid her down on the ground as I dug a hole… she deserved so much more then a hole in the ground.

After digging for what seemed like forever I picked up Beth's body wrapped in the blanket still and I put her in the grave and using the shovel I put the mud over her body. When the hole was filled I made a cross and carved her name, date of birth and date of death on it.

I sat there for a while before going back into the house, I went up the stairs to her bedroom and seen her bag sitting on the floor. I sat on the bed and lifted the bag onto the bed next to me before tipping everything out onto the bed, I seen her little notebook and smiled as I thought about all of the times I caught her writing in there, I always wanted to know what she wrote in there but I never asked her.

I opened the notebook and one page caught my eye, at the top of the page it said 'When I'm Gone' written in her beautiful handwriting.

I got my ticket for the long way round
Two bottles of whiskey for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
And I'm leaving tomorrow
What'd you say

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere
Oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk… oh
You're gonna miss me by my talk
Oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone

I got my ticket for the long way round
The one with the prettiest of views
It's got mountains
It's got rivers
It's got sights to give your shivers
But it sure would be prettier with you

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk
Oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere
Oh, you're sure gonna miss me when I'm gone

When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my walk
You're gonna miss me by my talk
Oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone

The whole song made me think about the time we got drunk on the moonshine and she told me that she was going to die before me and that when she did die I was going to miss her. She was right. I missed her already. Part of me didn't want to believe that she was gone… I was going to wake up and this was all going to be a horrible nightmare and Beth was going to be sleeping next to me and I was going to have my arms wrapped around her.

The other part of me, the realistic part, knew that Beth was dead and there was no chance for her to come back. She told me that she wanted to come with me on the run because she hated sitting around and I told her that she had to stay here, it would have been safer for her to come with me! Why didn't I let her come with me? What the hell was wrong with me? My stupid decisions have cost Beth her beautiful short life.

I turned the page and seen my name at the top of the page which made me stop and read;

Daryl,
If you're reading this then it means that I'm dead. I hope that I didn't turn and I pray that you didn't have to kill a zombie me and if you did then I'm really sorry and I hope I didn't hurt you or kill anyone. I just want to thank you for keeping me alive for as long as you did, I wouldn't have been able to escape the prison if it wasn't for you. Everyone can see what an amazing guy you are apart from yourself, I hope you know how great you are and how many lives you have saved. I know you like to dwell on things, please don't remember me dead I want you to remember all the good times we had together since we have been on the road… burning down the house in a drunken state, spending the comfortable night in the funeral home, giving me a 'serious' piggy back ride, getting me drunk for the first time… we have so many good memories please don't remember all of the bad things. Don't shed any tears please, just be happy that you only have to hunt food for one person now… like I told you the night we got drunk on the moonshine; you're going to be the last man standing. If anyone is going to survive a zombie apocalypse it's going to be your Mr Dixon.

Good Luck
Stay alive
Stay safe
Stay you!

Beth x

I threw the notebook across the room and broke down. I couldn't stop the tears that fell down my face as I thought about all the good times we had and it was only now I realised how much I actually cared about her. I should have told her before she died, I should have told her how much she really did mean to me! I keep making mistake after mistake! The pain in my chest where my heart was kept picking up every time I thought of her smiling at me, she was so young, beautiful, amazing, perfect and now she's dead because of me!

What I wanted to do was grab the gun I had given Beth and put it in my mouth but Beth wanted me to stay alive... I would carry on and fight for my life for as long as I can and for as long as I can for her... not for me... for Beth. Every person I came across was going to know about Beth Greene and how amazing she was.