When they smelled the smoke, while walking back to the prison block, they all immediately shared the same thought; The Governor. Convinced that he had come for revenge and set the prison on fire, they took off in a mad dash.
Opening the locked door which led to the cell block, they were surprised to see that the smoke had died down and was merely hanging in the air around their knees now. Confused, they quickly made their way to the sleeping area but found no one. Rushing outside, they found part of the group.
"Is everyone all right?" Rick asked, rushed and intense.
"We lost Beth on the way out here and Katelyn went back in after her." Hershel responded, setting Daryl's hair on end.
Immediately, he had a bad feeling.
Not wasting a second of time, Daryl turned and dove back into the prison, storming through the smoky cloud. Shouting for her and frantically searching every inch of the main area, but he found nothing. That's when he heard a bloodcurdling scream followed by what sounded like a snarling animal.
Bolting in that direction, Daryl came to the small hallway but the only thing there was the locked storage area. That's when he heard something again;
Crack!
When the door came flying open, he was completely unprepared as something flew out, running smack into him.
He recognized the copper hair right away and his arms instinctively wrapped around her.
Katelyn.
Daryl didn't know what was going on until he glanced over her shoulder and saw Axel standing in the middle of the room. His mouth covered in blood with a trail running down his chin from where Katelyn had knocked her teeth out.
Axel's eyes grew wide when he saw Daryl and he began to back up.
Daryl suddenly went cold. He glanced down at Katelyn for a mere second and saw the absolute terror on her face and fury shot through him. Looking around the room for a brief second confirmed his suspicion. There, on the ground, behind the table, was Beth. Her eyes were open and sightless, and her arms lay askew.
"You son of a bitch!" Daryl growled.
Hearing Rick and the others coming up behind him, he handed Katelyn off to Rick without saying a word and pulled his knife. Advancing into the room, he began to stalk his prey.
Axel had been afraid of the redneck since he first laid eyes on Daryl Dixon. There was something feral and untamed, like a panther waiting to strike, about him. He had watched him kill walkers with a fearlessness that Axel had never known. He envied him. Admired him. In some ways, he wanted to be him. He had seen him hunt as well, with precision and skill, but now he was the prey. The intensity of his eyes was mesmerizing and he couldn't look away.
Daryl passed by Beth's poor broken body, but he didn't even glance. He was locked onto his target and Axel knew that this would be a death match he would likely lose. Fearing for his life, Axel turned to run, but there wasn't anywhere to go. He was locked in a room with a ferocious predator and the only exit was through it.
Axel saw Rick, holding Katelyn, as he stood in the doorway watching the scene unfold and he tried to appeal to Rick to save him.
"Please Rick! Make him stop. I've been good to you. I've helped your group." He groveled, putting the table between he and the murderous Daryl.
Blood and drool ran down his chin, making him look like one of the walkers, as he begged for his life, but Rick said nothing. He merely clamped his jaw down tight in anger, staring Axel in the eyes with hatred. Axel burst out crying as bubbles of drool erupted from his mouth.
Daryl felt no pity.
He waited for Axel to get to the other side of the table before he pretended to lunge to the right, knowing that Axel would run to the left. When Axel bolted that way, Daryl leapt onto the table, and dove straight for the squealing Axel.
Hitting him square in the chest, Daryl took him to the ground and plunged the knife straight into his throat. Axel's hands frantically grabbed at Daryl's hand trying to dislodge it, but Daryl merely pressed down harder on it, watching the blood pour down the side of Axel's neck.
Growling in anger, Daryl ripped the blade sideways and out of Axel's neck, causing the artery to sever. The gurgling in Axel's throat was followed by choking as his mouth gaped and he gasped for air.
Axel drowned in his own blood.
Daryl waited, crouched on top of him, until the last life left Axel's eyes. When his chest stopped moving, he drew the blade back and plunged it into his skull, making sure that Axel couldn't do any damage in death either.
It wasn't until he heard the outcry of Maggie, upon seeing her sister, that he moved.
Looking back at Katelyn, who now stood, wide-eyed, in the doorway, he motioned for her to come to him. Opening his arms, she didn't even hesitate, and flew into them.
That's when he knew that she loved him too.
Without a word.
Without a doubt.
Katelyn loved him.
Reaching his hand up, he stroked her beautiful hair and laid his cheek on her head, before setting her back a little to look at her. He raised a gentle hand to her face and lifted her chin to look him in the eye.
"You hurt?" He asked softly.
"I'm okay. Just a headache…" she paused, a sob catching in her throat as she remembered, "…Beth…".
"I know." He said sadly, looking over toward where Maggie sat, holding her sister's head in her lap, rocking back and forth and crying.
Tilting Katelyn's head back, he looked into her eyes.
"I'm sorry." He said, but what he really wanted to say was, I love you.
Looking into his eyes, she heard it anyways, and replied, "I'm sorry too."
Daryl knew what she meant and smiled a little before kissing her on the forehead.
"Poor Beth." She mumbled sadly into his neck as she lay her head down on his shoulder. It just felt so comfortable being there…so safe.
"She was a good kid." He stated sadly.
Looking over at Rick, Daryl motioned with his eyes toward Beth. Daryl knew that any minute now, Beth was going to turn and one of them had to take care of that.
"I'm gonna have Rick take you and Maggie out of here for a minute. I need to take care of something important." He said softly, looking her in the eye.
She could see sadness there and knew immediately what he was talking about. Tears filled her eyes with sorrow, but she nodded and Daryl handed her off to Rick.
Glen tugged on Maggie's shoulders, practically lifting her up to take her out of the room. Daryl watched as everyone but Tyreese left before walking over to Beth's body. Crouching down next to her, he lowered his head and let out a breath sadly. He thought of Amy and Sophia and how cruel this world is to the innocent. It broke his heart and he swore that would never happen to Katelyn.
"I'm sorry sweetheart. This shouldn't have happened." He said quietly, before standing up and unslinging his crossbow.
Aiming it at her head, Daryl closed his eyes for a second, then pulled the trigger.