Chapter 8

Daryl blinked sleep out his eyes, running his hands over his face and his hair, stifling a yawn as he sat up. He hadn't been lying when he'd told Beth the casket had been the most comfortable bed he'd had in years, and now he felt more rested than he'd been in a very long time. The early morning light sneaking in between the boards on the window had woken him up, although he honestly couldn't remember even falling asleep. The last memories he had of the previous night were of Beth still at the piano, playing some slow song he didn't know as Michelle was beginning to nod off. He'd obviously done the same, and for the first time since the Governor's attack, he hadn't been woken up at any point of the night to take over watch duty.

That last thought sent his mind and heart racing as he scanned the room, making sure that everyone was safe. Beth was sleeping on her side, facing him from the second row of chairs in front of the casket, with her big eyes closed like that and blond hair falling her face, she looked so calm and peaceful. The same couldn't be said of Michelle who was still in the same position she'd been the night before, legs folded under her and her head resting on her closed fist while her other hand held on to the machete her hip, even asleep she seemed ready to take on whatever came her way.

He got out of the casket as silently as he could before retrieving his crossbow from the front row. Quietly, he moved from window to window making sure there wasn't any unpleasant surprise lurking outside just waiting to ruin yet another place they could potentially call home. This place had a lot offer in that regard, it was well boarded up, had lots of room for them and whoever was to come back to this place and from the second story, they could keep an eye out for walkers and people alike. This could be good. They could happy here.

Happy. That wasn't a word he'd ever expected might reappear in his vocabulary, not after the prison. Not that it had been a word he used very often in his life before that, but the prison had definitely been one of the few places where he'd been happy and after losing it, well, he never thought he'd feel as comfortable somewhere again.

He'd been up for a few hours already when he finally heard the girls starting to stir in the other room. There hadn't been a need to wake them up so he'd chosen not to. Instead, he'd made an effort to prepare something nice for them, setting three spots at the kitchen table, each with its own soda, pigs feet and peanut butter and jelly. He'd also brought in an extra chair so they could all sit and have their meal together. It was a silly thing but it felt good to do it and he had to admit, he was a little bit excited to see the look their faces. This might not be a perfect situation they were stuck in, and the world outside might be a damn mess, but in here, they could have something nice.

Beth had her arm around Michelle's neck, as they hobbled their way toward the kitchen. It was obviously not going quickly enough for Daryl's taste as he casually swooped her up, carrying her in his arms instead. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as he walked her through the swinging door, Michelle on their heels. She knew she was grinning as he sat her down in front of an array of food. This felt right, the three of them enjoying a meal, like normal people.

Of course, that only lasted a second.

Daryl disappeared through the door, leaving the two of them behind. They were on high alert, ready to come to his rescue if he needed it. Not that Daryl often did, but still. As soon as he mentioned a dog though, Michelle was wrapping her arm around her waist and they hurried toward the front door, both them peaking out as he closed back the door.

"I told you to stay back."

"Yeah, but, Daryl, you said there was a dog," she argued, glancing up at Michelle for extra support.

"She's got a point there," the older woman added, her bushy eyebrows raised and a little smile pulling at her lips as if to say that there was simply no arguing with that logic.

Daryl rolled his eyes causing them both to chuckle a little, the sound echoing in the large house as they made their way back to the kitchen.

It was crazy, the sort of changes that could happen in just a day. As someone who'd spent most of her thirty-some years on this Earth observing rather than truly living, Michelle was used to noticing small things that others might miss and right now, it was those small things that made her smile. As she watched Beth beginning to write her thank you note, which was so in character for her, and Daryl eating his jam with a spoon rather than straight out of the jar which she'd never really expected to see, she felt there was something special about this moment. That she should try to anchor it in her memory somehow.

She didn't say a word as Daryl spoke, talking about how maybe they should just stay here a while. He was asking Beth's opinion without really doing so, and it was obvious that their pretty blonde friend wanted to stay. As for her, even if she wasn't being asked, it was easy for anyone to see that she'd go wherever they went. As much as she'd tried to keep herself shielded, those two sitting at the table with her were the first to touch her life in nearly a year and she wasn't ready to let this go, regardless of the pain no doubt appear at some point down the road.

That thought darkened her mood, smile fading as she stared at the flames of the candles. Most likely than not, one day, they'd both be gone and she would be alone again. She would add their ghosts to those of her father and sister. Her breath got caught in her throat and everything around her seemed to fade away. Beth and Daryl were still talking but she couldn't tell what either of them was saying, the thought of someone else dying on her almost too much to bare. Her heart was pounding her chest as her mind screamed at her to run, to just bolt out that door before she had to endure one more death...

The sounds of the cans on the porch got all of their attentions, heads snapping toward the door at the same time. The whines of the dog calmed their frayed nerves slightly as Daryl fished out a pigs foot to, once again, try and coax the animal to come in.

"This will be nice," Beth commented, smiling that soft smile of hers as she looked around the room. "We can start over he-"

Daryl's thundering voice interrupted her hopeful words, yelling for them from the entrance. The snarling of the dead echoed through the building as the women grabbed their bags and ran toward their distressed companion. He screamed at them to run as soon as his crossbow was back in his hands. Neither of them were willing to leave him behind even as he shouted at them that he'd meet them at the road.

"I can help!" Michelle yelled back, one arm still holding on to Beth while the other brandished her sharpened walking stick.

"Get her out here!"

Those were the last words they heard as he lead the walkers away from them. With a frustrated scoff, Michelle did as she was told, prying a window open with her machete and helping Beth get out of the funeral home alive. They ran as best as they could through the graveyard, dispatching of the dead as they went, both of them looked over their shoulders, waiting to see Daryl come out of the building, probably swinging his crossbow in the face of one of the flesh-eating monsters pursuing him. But as they reached the road and caught their breath, he still was nowhere to be seen.

He couldn't help but think that this could very well be the end of the line for him, as he dove under the stretcher. He was nearly out of bolts, armed with just an embalming syringe and crammed in a room quickly filling to the bream with walkers. Still, he wasn't about to go down without a fight and if they planned on eating him, they would have to work for their dinner. In a desperate effort, he pushed the second stretcher onto them, grabbing his crossbow and making a mad dash up the stairs.

Things didn't get any better as he managed to get outside, the last of herd flooding his way as he jumped off the porch, trying to see if the girls had made it to the road yet. He took off running, zigzagging between the headstones, when a walker came at him out of nowhere. Before he shoot it, its head got sliced apart, Michelle appearing as the corpse collapsed to the ground.

"Where's Beth?" Were the first words out of his mouth, shouting them in her face as they took off running again.

"She's alright! She's alright," she replied, panting as she did her best to keep up with his much longer strides. "She sent me back to get you."

As they past the treeline, both of them breathless from the sprinting, they both knew something was not right. Beth's backpack laid open on the asphalt but she was nowhere to be seen. "She was right here!" Michelle assured him, turning every which way as if Beth would suddenly appear out of thin air, as tires squealed against the pavement. The car speed down the dark road as they took off after it, screaming the name of the girl who meant so much to the both of them.