This is it guys! The final chapter. I needed to wrap it up before it went on too long and lost its meaning. It's my first fic and I can definitely see my growth as a writer. The I read "She Is The Sunlight" and I really see how I have grown. I love writing in this universe. I love Beth and Daryl. I have more stories in the works. And I just want to thank all of you who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this fic as well as my others! You are all awesome! So here it is.. I hope I did it justice.
When Rick found out he immediately sent out people to see if they could contain them even though Daryl had been pretty clear about the fact that this was not just a regular horde, this was a more walkers than they'd ever seen in one place before. Shortly after the group left Daryl and Aaron followed behind with the RV and more ammo and weapons. Daryl just wanted to vehicle big enough to bring them all back. He doubted they'd be able to do anything out there.
When they group began radioing back that they couldn't contain the walkers Rick called them in. All of them. Aaron and Daryl too. He received a 10-4 from Daryl and Beth felt herself breath again. He promised he'd come back. And even though those kinds of promises weren't supposed to be made, he had. With his hand on her stomach, he promised and she was holding him to it. He hadn't wanted to go without her, but in her condition she was safer here. She knew that. So she just refused to think about anything other than him returning.
The other group that had gone out first never responded. Rick'd been preparing to go out himself, but plans changed and everyone was called together to decided how to fortify the safe zone for as long as possible as well as kill off the vast amount of walkers coming their way. They needed lookouts on the walls, they needed a way to start fires in the woods further out. They needed a miracle.
Beth noticed Maggie lingering by the front door holding tight to one of the radios. Glenn was out there with the first group that had tried to contain the threat. Regardless of the fact that her and Maggie had just gotten into an argument, she knew her sister needed her support. They were both in the same boat right now.
"Maggie?" Her big sister's face was pale and etched with fear. Beth took the radio from her hands.
"He's not answering my calls… He's been responding to them since they left, but he hasn't.." Maggie's eyes were filled with tears even as she tried to swallow them back.
Beth rested her hand on Maggie's arm.
"They're running Maggie, back here. They're coming home. Daryl promised he'd turn around if it got called them in." Beth ducked her head to catch her sister's eye.
"Can't make those kinds of promises Beth." She breathed.
Beth bit her lip and squared her shoulders. She knew that. But sometimes that didn't matter. Sometimes just the fact that it was made was more important.
"Well he did and he'll come back. Daryl has never broke a promise to me and he doesn't make them lightly." The need to defend this promise burned like fire in Beth. He was coming back. Daryl was coming back to her. "Come on. Someone needs to man the gate. Rick didn't send anyone out there and we're gonna need to move fast."
The sister's, already armed with their weapons headed out towards the main gate, the way the others would be coming back in. They ran and Beth felt a stitch in her side but she didn't let it slow her down. She just kept pressing forward and didn't think about anything beyond getting to the gate.
Daryl made a promise to Beth. He said he'd come back. He scanned the roads through the windows as Aaron navigated through the sparse groups of walkers that kept appearing out of the trees. They were coming from that quarry. It should have been contained. Now it was too late. Up ahead Daryl spotted a group on the side of the road, it wasn't walkers and as the got closer he saw Glenn waving them down.
"That's them, pull over and be ready." Daryl raised his bow and opened the RV door. The group made their way over. Abraham and Spencer were carrying someone. Daryl sent bolt after bolt over there heads keeping the walkers behind them at bay. Rosita made eye contact with Daryl and he nodded.
"Tobin. He's bit. It's bad." She climbed in and cleared a place in the back for the men to lay Tobin down. Daryl took out a couple more walkers and followed them into the RV.
"Turn it 'round. We gotta beat this first wave an be ready to take 'em down." He glanced at Aaron who was already maneuvering the huge vehicle to go back the direction they'd come. It was the shortest route and they needed to get back as fast as possible. Glenn joined the two of them at the front of the RV, Daryl saw the look in the man's eyes that meant they'd taken care of Tobin. That haunted look that was there in each of their eyes anytime they had to do this to one of their own. Tobin may not have been with them on the outside before, but he'd been here and he had tried.
"I lost my radio back there. You got one." Daryl handed his to Glenn. "They know we're coming back?" Daryl nodded.
"Let 'em know yer with us." Daryl knew Maggie had a radio and was trying to contact her husband, he'd heard her frantic calls. He also knew that Beth was probably right there too. "Tell 'em we're coming home."
"Maggie.. Maggie. It's ok. I'm with Daryl. We're headed back. Have someone at the gate ready to let us in. We've got a horde behind us." Glenn's voice shook and for some reason that made Daryl feel good. This fucking world sucked but damned if it could rob them of the ability to love each other.
"Ok. We're here already. Daryl's there?" Glenn handed over the radio. A small smile on his face.
"Your turn." He smiled at Daryl.
" 'M here. On the way back." He let go of the talk button and it was her voice that followed.
"10-4." He bit his lip, trying to bite back a smile and he felt Glenn clap him on the shoulder.
"Fuckin' women.." But he smirked a little and he knew Glenn saw it.
Beth scrubbed at her eyes and reached for her knife and readjusted it. Maggie's hand on her arm elicited the sob she was trying to hold back. Her sister wrapped her arms around her and they leaned against the gate waiting for the RV.
"He's keeping that promise Beth, you said.. I'm sorry, 'bout before. I shouldn't have said.." Maggie whispered.
"It's ok Mags.." Lights flickered in the distance on the road. The sun was setting and the trees cast shadows that stretched reaching towards the gate like fingers. Beth shivered and pulled away from Maggie. "They're here. Get ready. I got the gate." Beth waited and yanked the gate back just as the RV got close. Once the vehicle was through she used all her weight and forced it closed again. Maggie raised the barrel of her gun and before she even fired she was joined by the others. Glenn at her side, Rosita and Abraham followed. Beth backed up and reached for her pistol. Daryls hand cupped her elbow and looking up into his eyes she leaned into him a little and he gave her a half smile before looking up at the gate.
It didn't take long for the rest of the community to come out in full force. Guns manned in the clock tower and the lookouts picked off as many walkers as they could. A group joined Beth and Daryl and the rest at the gate. Flare guns were utilized. And after a couple of tries the flares caught fire in the trees outside the walls luring some of the horde away. But it wasn't enough. The dead were still coming and now they were pushing up against the walls. So far Reg's design was holding.
But it wasn't gonna last. Daryl could see that as easy as if it had already happened.
"Come on.." He took Beth's hand and they ran through the people gathered there. Daryl set his sights on Rick and holding on tight to Beth's hand he called out to him.
"Ain't gonna last. We gotta use our escape plan. Get them vehicles packed." Daryl barked out orders as if he was the boss, but the thing was Rick nodded and took the next step. They worked together. A well oiled machine. That's what would save them, had saved them all along.
They had prepared for this day, expecting it to come along sooner or later. Deanna had been brought on board early on, although some what reluctantly. She's always hoped that this place would withstand the test of walkers and time. But Daryl knew better, nothing lasted. Especially something that had been built by people who could barely call themselves true survivors, at least in the beginning. They were learning and quick. Daryl and Beth made their way to the armory. That was their job. Get the weapons. As many as possible and put them on the cart and get them to the RV. Beth reached below one of the cupboards and pulled out two packs stuffed full. Daryl raised his eyebrows.
"I was always prepared for this. Seems like we always gotta leave." She stood and shouldered one pack and held the other out to Daryl. His eyes fell on the front of her, drifted down over her legs. And he sucked in a breath.
"Beth.." Gruff and full of pain, he felt that pain in his throat and watched as she looked down at her legs. And saw what he saw, a splash of red spreading across her upper thighs. She raised her head and their eyes met. He watched as she bit down on her lip.
"I.. we gotta go, I can't.." She shouldered her pack and Daryl watched his girl take a deep breath and reach for the cart full of weapons.
Rest in peace; now get up and go to war.
Epilogue
It's been five years according to my calendar. I started it the day we left everything behind in Alexandria. Wasn't like we wanted to. We had no choice. We lost that place to the dead. We were lucky to get away with what we did and most of all we were lucky to get away with our lives. I lost the baby I was carrying. After all the cramping and bleeding that happened while we were on the scouting trip, and then fighting our way out of Alexandria, I knew it was too late. Once we were on the road and safe for the moment, I took another pregnancy test. It came back negative. I know that it was probably for the best, but that never made it any easier. We were so preoccupied dealing with what was going on we never dealt with it. We had to wait until we were here and we could breathe again. There's a cross in the cemetery, it reads, 'Our Little One'. We couldn't decide on a name. I don't think either of us wanted to name it. It had been so hard and happened so fast. But we needed to recognize the little life that it had been. For a long time Daryl blamed himself. No matter how much I cried and begged he wouldn't let it go. So I did. Someone had too.
We came here, to this community in Washington DC and we started over. We're basically responsible for ourselves. We were given housing and the possibility of jobs with which we could barter our 'earnings' for the things we needed. We could also plant gardens and hunt and take care of each other. All that was and still is required of us is that we work. The rules were simple in the beginning. And there were people enforcing them and protecting the communities and even though it wasn't always perfect it has slowly developed into the beginning of what civilization looked like before the fall. Actually it's better.
We all stayed together in the same neighborhood. We're neighbors and we continue to watch out for each other and take care of one another. Some of the Alexandrians stayed near too. Aaron, Deanna and Spencer. Daryl and I had a wedding, nothing big, just us and our family in the backyard of our new home. We have a home together. And it's good. It's so good. Daryl has always sold himself short in every way, but he is such a good man. And a wonderful daddy. Emma is 4 and Gage is almost 1. We are rebuilding the world and our children are growing up in it. It's gonna be a better world than the one we left behind. The best thing, the most amazing thing, we found each other out there when the world fell apart and we stuck together.
I know I lost my faith for a long time, but I've been thinking about a lot of things. My daddy and how he always said, 'If you don't have hope, what's the point of living?' And the fact that I came so close to dying in that hospital hallway, but I didn't. Instead the man I love carried me out of there in his arms and everything changed. I coulda died, or I coulda got out with Noah. The story would have been different then, I think. But it was always gonna be me and Daryl. That was written in the stars. Course I don't tell him that. He'd laugh and his ears would turn pink and then he'd just sit there nudging me with his arm like a silly teenage boy with a crush. Maybe I should tell him, it would be kinda cute.
Anyway we're here and we're doing good. We made it. It wasn't easy and we lost so much. But what we do have is precious and we will keep on doing whatever we have to, to hold on to it. We might all be spread out in different houses, but we are a family. We always will be.
Beth Dixon
~fin
