LIGHT A FIRE

{Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who's added to favourites and alerts. I have updated chapter one to better fit in with the story (more Daryl!) Please review if you have time. Enjoy!}

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the characters(s) you don't recognise.
Lyrics: Tears Of An Angel by RyanDan.


I won't let you fly,
I won't say goodbye,
I won't let you slip away from me…


-+-
[THE PRISON]

I was numb.
Once again my world was crashing down around me.
Everything that we had done to protect ourselves from the outside threats now had found their way inside.

For as long as I live, there will always be some memories that stay with me and never leave.
One is having to end my own Father's life, another is what happened to Caleb and me, the last one now always being Karen and David's burnt corpses that didn't even resemble actual human remains.
An intense feeling of loss and nausea rose within me as I quickly put my head between my legs and started to take deep breaths.

After the discovery, Herschel had insisted that everyone who could be infected needed to be quarantined in a safe place until they catch whoever was responsible.
So, here we all were in Cell Block A, coughing echoing out all around me and the strong feeling of fear and sadness lingering in the air.

Maybe I should prepare for the worse.
Closing my eyes briefly, I blinked back tears and fought to get a grip on my emotions before re-opening them and grabbing onto my journal.
Patrick's paragraph was on a page of it's own, I refused to write on that bit of paper and taint the innocence of his words with what is going on.

Taking my pen, I shakily took in another breath to steady my jumbled up thoughts and put my thoughts to paper.

{JOURNAL MUSINGS}

'I don't really know if I'm prepared to die.
Maybe I'm a coward, but I don't want to die without experiencing some life experiences.
I want to let go of the anger and pain that has held me back.
Mostly, I want to be stronger and heal the pain and suffering of those around me.

I may not have prayed in so long, but right now I'm begging for any kind of help.
Father, Lord…anyone, I need some help because I'm so scared.
The people I can usually lean on and gain strength from aren't here, and I'm struggling to remain positive when people are dying left, right and centre.

If I die, and Daryl is reading this…'

I paused, blinking back tears before forcing myself to write what needed to be written.

'Thank you.
The words may mean nothing to most people, but it means everything to you.
I only wish that I had gotten a chance to heal your pain, the way that you subconsciously healed mine.

I know that you're blaming yourself, but I'm a firm believer in knowing when it's time to let go.
Maybe this is it.
Thank you for giving me the extra time to learn from the mistakes I have made.
You taught me so much and I just want you to know that the supply run you took me on a few weeks back helped so much.
I hadn't let any of the pain go, but you helped me and although the scars may have been there, you understood.

Thank you.
I-'

Suddenly a violent coughing fit came over me as I wasn't quick enough to shield my mouth, instead coughing all over the book and paper.

Sobbing, I clutched onto the journal, trying to regain control of my own body.
Pain tore it's way through me, having me at it's mercy and desperately waiting for the coughing fit to subside.

"Tessa?"

Dr. S had quickly rushed in as he carefully took the journal from me and threw it out onto the bed so that he could check my eyes and communication.
"Breathe, it's going to be okay, just breathe for me…in…out…"
He mimicked along with his words as I strained myself to copy him.

Finally the coughing stilled as my chest felt as though it were on fire with every movement.
"Doctor?" I spoke weakly as I lifted my eyes up to his, noticing the same thin layer of sweat on his forehead too, "Oh God…"

He shook his head, "Don't worry about anyone but yourself Tessa, you need to rest! I'll go and help Glenn-"

"Glenn?! I need to help!"
I shakily gripped onto his arm as I stood up, my legs protesting against the sudden movement by becoming heavy and weighing me down.

"Tessa, you are weak. I can handle the rounds."

"Doctor, with all due respect I know that you're feeling the strain and I need to help! These people are my family and I can't…I can't let Maggie down."

A sympathetic expression crossed his face, causing him to smile lightly and pat my shoulder, "He's in the first cell on this level. Tessa, keep your nose and mouth covered."

I sighed softly, "The damage is already done Doctor, but I'll obey your orders."
Reaching onto the bed behind me, I picked up Daryl's bandana and fitted it around my nose and mouth, securing it tightly as I turned back towards him and nodded.

"I'm just still clinging onto the hope that he isn't as ill as it seems, and you are not…" He trailed off before sighing and shaking his head, "Be careful?"
His words may have sounded innocent, but the way he was indicating to my knife on my belt meant otherwise.

"I will. You too Doctor!" I was once again thankful for the bandana hiding my facial features as I quickly rushed past him and down to where Glenn's cell was.

-+-
[DARYL'S GROUP|SUPPLY RUN]

HAYLEY'S P.O.V.

The look on his face said it all.
I may not be as 'sensitive' as some of the others, but I know when he's worried and trying to hold everything together.

"They'll be okay." I looked over at him seriously.

Daryl nodded quietly in response, obviously not trusting himself to answer me properly.

"How do you know?" Tyreese looked at me, his eyes full of resentment, "They could already be dead! My sister…"

"They ain't dead man, I know Sasha well enough by now to know that she ain't someone who gives up." Bob reached over to place a comforting hand on his arm, "We just need to hold it together."

"And if you really believed that, then you wouldn't of fought so hard to survive back there!" I looked at Tyreese firmly.

Michonne looked concerned as she sighed softly but remained quiet, following Daryl to where an autoshop could be seen up ahead.

An abandoned car was dumped in front of the place, sending Daryl into a quick rush to check if it could still work.
I followed him over to it, leaning on the passenger's side, "It workin'?"

He popped open the hood, inspecting the inner workings before answering gruffly, "Battery's dead…"

"Could be somethin' inside the place?" I watched him closely, wanting to say something but not knowing how he'd react to it.

Bob had come over by that time to hear the verdict on the car as he then asked Daryl, "You okay? Did you get a chance to speak with Tess before you left?"

Daryl stiffened as he shook his head, opting to put a cigarette in between his lips instead of answering him back.

He looked thoughtful-as though he was weighing up his words-before saying, "She wanted me to tell you to be careful. She was worried about us all…" He laughed lightly, "I told her that she didn't need to-"

I cut him off, "Is this helpful to what we're doin?"

Bob gave me a confused look, "I'm just trying to ease the concern that some of us have."

"They are dyin' back in that damn cell block, Bob. So no matter what you say, it ain't gonna help us feel better or move faster!"

"They aren't going to die!" Michonne stared at us in disbelief, "What is wrong with you?!"

I scoffed, "I'm bein' realistic!"

Daryl chewed on his bottom lip as he went over to where the shrubbery had overgrown by the entrance.
I wanted him to back me up and explain what I meant better; but he didn't.

Suddenly the sound of growling and feral snarling filled the air as I swore loudly, aiming my compact bow.
Tyreese had hacked away too much at the shrubbery, not noticing that he'd let out walkers that had been trapped otherwise.

A part of me liked the distraction though, as truthfully, I was getting worried at how angry and bitter I was getting at the mention of Tessa.
Not just that, but thoughts were entering my mind that I didn't want to own up to.
Thoughts of wanting to see her suffer like I have, but mostly thoughts of wanting to see her lose her fight.

I was a monster whose jealousy and resentment was taking over.

-+-
[BACK AT THE PRISON]

TESSA'S P.O.V.

I stayed by Glenn for what seemed like hours.
I could only imagine how hard it was for Maggie to not be able to comfort her husband.

"You don't have to stay with me, you know?" Glenn spoke weakly as he gulped down some water, breathing heavily.

"I'm not leaving you alone when you're like this. Anyway, misery loves company, right?"

He chuckled, coughing straight after before saying, "You think they'll find the meds?"

I sighed softly, this feeling inside of me of doubt threatening to make me voice my fears, as instead I forced a smile on my face.
"I know that they will."

Glenn nodded briefly before looking over to the doorway where Herschel was standing with a flask.

"Herschel?" I looked confused, "What are you doing here? Maggie-"

He held up a hand to stop me as he poured a cup of the liquid before passing it to Glenn, "Caleb can't handle all of this on his own Tessa. I need to help out in any way possible. That includes tending to the sick."

I sighed worriedly, watching how Glenn made a face before drinking what was in the cup.
"Is Maggie okay? Beth? Rick? Carl-"

Herschel nodded as he took the cup off Glenn and helped him to sit comfortably, "They are all fine. We are all just doing our part."

Nodding, I looked away briefly before turning back to face him, "You should have your face covered Herschel."

"It wouldn't do a damn bit of difference anymore Tessa. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Like you said, I'm doing my bit-"

I was forced to stop talking so that I could cough once again into the bandana, frustration taking over as I found myself breathing deeply, yanking it down to my neck.
"Doctor S. wanted me to keep this on…" I shook my head softly, "I can't tell you how many people we've had to…"
Sighing, I looked over at him, "I'm sorry. This isn't helping. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Herschel leant over to carefully lift up the material of the bandana, sighing in relief at not seeing blood, "You need to rest. Drink some of this too…"
He poured me a cup of the vile smelling liquid as I forced myself to gulp it down without tasting.

"God, this is gross…"

I could hear Glenn try to laugh, but ending up wheezing instead as he choked out, "I should of warned you."

Herschel placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm going to go and check on some of the others, I'll be back, will you be okay?"

Glenn lifted his head up, wincing in pain, "I can help-"

"No!" Herschel looked firm, "You will rest. I can have Tessa and Sasha help me. Just rest…"

I smiled in sympathetic understanding, rubbing Glenn's back, "Rest or I'll have Maggie kicking my ass for letting you push yourself too far."
Turning to face Herschel, I stood up, stumbling slightly, "I will go and see if Sasha's okay."

He nodded before standing up himself as he steadied me, "You will rest if you feel tired?"

"Don't worry about me." I chose to purposefully not answer his question as I rushed to go and find Sasha.

-+-
[DARYL'S GROUP|SUPPLY RUN]

HAYLEY'S P.O.V.

Finally we reached the veterinary college.
The tension between us all was strained and awkward.

Tyreese was still pre-occupied by his own pain, Daryl was focused on the mission and Bob was trying to keep us all from losing faith.

"Come on!" Daryl looked at us all as he indicated to a room that hadn't been blocked off, "Gotta be somethin' still here…"

I followed him, listening to him ask Bob a question before checking for the right names as I opened up my bag and held it out to him, "Fill it up."

Suddenly banging and crashing could be heard as the sounds of snarling and growling intensified.

"We gotta go!" Daryl grabbed everything that he could as we quickly followed him to a back room, moving furniture to block the door as we all looked around for an escape route.

"Hey! There's a door over here!" I indicated to the back of the room as we ran over there, only to be stopped by walkers pressing up against the door.

"Shit! How many are there?!" I looked over at Daryl as I tried to mentally count them all.

"There could be even more behind them! And they're infected, we can't take the chance!" Michonne chose to answer me back as anxiety was setting in.

Daryl looked conflicted before turning back towards where we had come in and inspecting those walkers, "They ain't infected!"

I sighed, "Great, so that's our escape plan?!"

Not leaving enough time to think things through, we moved the furniture out of the way and fought our way through the walkers, running through the ones who weren't too close to us as Daryl pointed to a window ledge ahead.

Climbing up, I looked over to suddenly see Bob yelling and trying to grab his bag back off a horde of walkers who had clustered below us.
"LET IT GO!"
I yelled at him as I tried to pull him away, confused as to why he was still gripping onto it.

Daryl grabbed onto the bag, managing to yank it from a walker's grasp as the bag ripped.
A look of anger and betrayal took over his face, "This all?!"
He then held up a bottle of alcohol, his eyes narrowed in anger at Bob.

"I need that…" Bob replied weakly as he reached out for it.

Daryl scoffed before making a move to throw it away, freezing at Bob putting his hand on his gun.

All of us stood there looking shocked, as my own hand was on my bow in case Bob made a move.

"Please…" Bob looked desperately at the bottle.

Daryl went over to him in fury, not intimidated by Bob, as he breathed heavily, struggling to contain how angry he was.
"You take one sip of that before my people get this medicine, I'll beat your ass into the ground!"

He then shoved the bottle at him before turning to storm off back towards the car.
"Best hope she survives…"