Hello once again my beautiful readership!

This is just a really short chapter to get me back into it; I've finally decided to come back to Absence even though it's totally wrong according to the TV story cannon now! Ha. It's kind of going to be an alternative story line I guess. Also, plot twist incoming next chapter!

Regarding my period of leave from this story, as those of you who messaged me will know, I suffered a really bad car accident just before Christmas last year which I was lucky to survive and it took me a good few months to get to where I am now, so the inspiration/ability to write happened very little. Regardless, I'm back now and I'm ready to fangirl and get it going just in time for Season 4! I'll probably try and stray a little more towards the canon story but for now just go with me, I'll try not to disappoint! Thank you, thank you for reading and please review! A good review or a bad review, either way it'll still help me improve! Also, thank you for the continued support, you're all wonderful!

Chapter Six; Requiem

(And through it all
We've been thrown into the fire
We've been lost in the flame
But we will rise from the ashes again
Our worlds have been broken
We've been burned by the flame
But we will rise from the ashes again)

For a moment, he thought she was dead. Outside, the blood-red sky sang a requiem in haunting colours for his shattered heart, which he despairingly lay to rest in that very moment, assured by the lifeless coldness of her body that nothing would ever put it back together. The disturbing chorus of a town full of frightened people echoed with its citizen's sorrowful wails, as terrified faces rose to greet the sunset. The last streaks of amber yellow light erupted over the horizon and illuminated a scene of carnage, bearing witness to Daryl's brief explosion of rage which had resulted in the bloody death of a number of Woodbury guards, who lay in the road bleeding from their knife wounds. The Governor had fled, Merle at his side, when things had gotten ugly. Nothing mattered, though. His soul bled and his head span and he couldn't bring himself to believe that this, this was the end of their tale.

She was going to go away with him, leave the group and find somewhere they could start anew and perhaps enjoy a different way of life, together. Perhaps they would make the long journey to the sea and find a little secluded place on the coast near Savannah. She would finally allow herself to shrug off the weight of a world gone to hell, and remove her boots to walk bare-footed in the sand while he followed her along the white beach, his smile growing as a cool breeze brought her dress swirling around her knees and flashing a teasing wink of tanned flesh on her upper legs. She was going to sit in a deep bath tub full of rose petals and sweet perfume while he sat on stone parquet beside her and watched, his tongue flicking across his lips each time he caught a glimpse of her moving delicately around in the water. She was going to surrender herself to days and nights spent tangled between one another's limbs, the heat of the summer dusk causing each powerful, lustful night to drive them to new heights of exotic pleasure.

She was going to marry him, eventually. They would find a way. Perhaps they would run across a vicar, or at the very least he could find a town and take a ring from a store, or steal one from a corpse... That would no doubt be as official and romantic as it got. All through his life, he had looked ahead and seen nothing but a meaningless, swift blur which would spirit him away to death at the hands of some beast or bar fight or zombie. But by her side, he knew exactly what he wanted; he had looked into their future and seen a beautiful world full of open doors and brand new opportunities for a life he never knew he needed, a life of solidity and all-encompassing love. She had given him meaning, a reason to want to live forever, and now that meaning lay bleeding beside her wounds.

He hadn't noticed he had been crying openly in panic and grief though he couldn't bring himself to care. The emotions and vivid daydreams which had tiptoed into his mind each died one after the other as he knelt over Carol's still body, his eyes growing duller with each fading vision. He had opened his heart to someone, finally… And the world had stripped him of his final chance for happiness.

Then, she stirred, gasping for breath. His heart soared. Not only had he found her, but she was alive. He pulled her close and realised, in that instant, he would die for her and he would never let her go again as long as he lived.

"Hello beautiful." He purred. She smiled though she wasn't strong enough to open her eyes. Rick and Glen exchanged equally ecstatic expressions. Carol was carefully lifted to her feet though it became apparent that she was unable to walk. Like she was little more than a feather-weight child, Daryl lifted her upwards to rest on his shoulders and he piggy-backed her out, a smile growing on his face and his two friends in close pursuit.

The trip to their escape point in the fence seemed to take forever. Not only did they have to carry their barely-conscious friend down a number of flights of stairs in the hospital, they also had to cross the street littered with bodies and avoid getting themselves shot in the process. By the time they fled onto the street, the sky had taken an inky cobalt colour and they struggled not to trip on the sidewalk in the waning light.

They stuck to the shadows, aware of a couple of militia on the street rushing around in a blind panic at the sight of their dead companions. Somewhere, someone screamed "WALKER!" and gunshots rang. The bodies were reanimating, the perfect cover for their escape. They squeezed through the gate, Carol's limp body cradled in Daryl's arms…

Here, they were greeted and abruptly halted by the barrel of a gun and a shocking pair of frightened blue eyes.

"Andrea?"