Reconnecting With Your Past In Hell

Chapter 21

Song – Possibility – By Lyke Li

There's a Possibility,
There's a Possibility,
All that I had was all I'm gonn' get.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

There's a Possibility,
There's a Possibility,
All I'm gonna get is gone with your stare
All I'm gonna get is gone with your stare

So tell me when you hear my heart stop
You're the only one that knows
Tell me when you hear my silence
There's a possibility I wouldn't know."

Naomi ran towards her aunt and uncle, her heart pounding in her chest as she ran to the last two members of her family.

Her aunt Lily looked at her then and Naomi saw that her aunt was wearing a black summer dress with embroidered flowers on the bottom of her dress and her long blonde wavy hair blew gently in the wind and her cornflower blue eyes stared at her with hunger and Naomi saw that a huge chunk of flesh was missing from her aunt's arm, her aunt snarled at her while her uncle Harold stumbled towards her growling his face grey and ashen , his once friendly dark blue eyes now filled with hunger and like her aunt , there was bite mark on his left thigh.

"NO DON'T SHOOT THEM DON'T" she screamed agony rushing through her.

Daryl quickly turned around and realised with horror it was Naomi's aunt and uncle and someone else came stumbling out behind them.

Daryl saw the look on Naomi's face she was wearing the same expression when he had found her cutting her wrists when they were fifteen years old when her mom had miscarried her second child after a car crash.

Daryl dropped his gun and grabbed Naomi before she could get any closer and felt the kids hurry over to them huddling into them.

Before Daryl could do anything Andrea shot Naomi's aunt repeatedly while Shane and T-Dog shot her uncle.

"Aunt Lily" Naomi choked out literally breaking into pieces in front of everyone.

"Aunt Lily, Uncle Harold" Naomi sobbed into Daryl's chest and he pulled his arms tighter around her.

A loud gunshot rang out and they all looked up too see Andrea had shot Naomi's aunt in the head for a final time.

Lily and Harold's bodies hit the floor making a dull thump , Naomi watched as her aunt's beautiful blonde hair fanned out behind as her aunt and uncle's hands landed on each others.

Naomi began to shake in Daryl's arms, he pulled her tightly against him stroking her hair, Eliza, Sophia and Louis were crying too and Daryl did his best to comfort his family, when he saw Lori kneeling down next to Naomi putting an arm around her friend, as if sensing his eyes on her, Lori gave him a sad smile and Carl put an arm around Sophia.

Then Daryl heard it growling, he looked up along with Naomi to see someone he had hoped he would never see as a walker.

Andrea gasped behind him, and he heard someone murmur "Oh my god". He looked back at the assembled group, but they were all staring at the barn. When he, finally looked at the barn, his breath caught in his throat.

"Merle..." He whispered to himself but Naomi and the kids heard him.

His older brother was standing in the doorway of the barn, blinking in the bright sunlight. His right arm ended at the wrist, dirty bandages soaked with old blood wrapped around the stump. But when Daryl's eyes fell on Merle's left thigh, he tasted bile in the back of his throat.

Merle's jeans were torn, and beneath that was an unmistakable bite. The walker had torn a chunk out of his brother's leg, and judging by the amount of blood that stained his pants, turning them a dark brown; the bite had hit the femoral artery.

Daryl's brother had bled out in seconds.

He swallowed a sob that rose in his throat. "Merle," he cried, and Naomi looked to see that Merle was also a walker.

"Merle!" Daryl screamed, the word tearing through his throat.

The echoes of his voice were drowned out by three gunshots by T-Dog and Shane, sharp and unmistakable. Daryl jerked as if he'd been shot along with his brother. Merle dropped soundlessly into a heap, and was finally terribly still. Rick watched the blood drain from Daryl's already pale face and his blue eyes go glassy with unshed tears.

"No..." Daryl whispered breathlessly, all the strength gone from his voice.

"Daryl, I-"

"NO!" Daryl tried to lunge forward, break free from Rick's grasp, but he still had Naomi in his arms, his teeth gritted so hard his jaw ached.

"No, no, no." He murmured like a broken record, tears sliding freely down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry." Naomi whispered around the lump in her throat, her head bowing, forehead pressing into Daryl's neck.

Rick felt guilt roll in his gut, knowing that he was responsible for Merle's fate.

"It had to be done," Rick looked up at Shane, mouth agape. "He would've killed us all. It's better this way."

"What is wrong with you?" Rick finally found his words. Shane blinked, taken aback by the venom in his best friend's voice. "That was his damn brother, show some respect."

Shane snorted. "Please. Merle Dixon? I did the world a favour."

Lori suddenly stood and walked up to Shane, slapping him across the face. He took a step back, eyes widening briefly before his expression went hard with anger.

"What the hell-" he snarled at Lori.

"You, bastard! You fucking bastard!" Lori screamed at Shane as she approached him her hands clinched into painful fists.

"Lori I was protecting the group" he yelled angrily.

"By what Shane by slaughtering Hershel's family and friends and Daryl's brother and Naomi's aunt and uncle?" she screamed at him.

Naomi was completely oblivious to the argument, her mind kept showing her images of Harold, Lily Annette, Shawn and Merle being shot repeatedly.

Naomi felt numbness slowly slip inside her and she welcomed it.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Know that when you leave,
Know that when you leave,
By blood and by me, you walk like a thief,
By blood and by me, and I fall when you leave.

So tell me when you hear my heart stop,
You're the only one that knows.
Tell me when you hear my silence,
There's a possibility I wouldn't know.

So tell me when my sorrow's over,
You're the reason why I'm closed.
Tell me when you hear me falling,
There's a possibility it wouldn't show.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

By blood and by me, and I'll fall when you leave.
By blood and by me, I follow your lead.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...