Daryl and Sasha were in position on top of the roof of one of the buildings facing the hospital while Rick and Michonne were hidden behind the corner of one of the facilities, accompanied by Noah. Daryl looked down at Rick and addressed him a small nod to confirm everything seemed clear, and the latter nodded back at him.
"There we go...", said Rick to Michonne as he tightly grabbed the grip of his gun.
Daryl and Sasha aimed their gunshots at what seemed to be the main entrance of the hospital. Noah had told them everything he knew about the hospital and the people running it. As two of the members of their group were being held captives by those people, they hadn't really had the time to come up with a great plan. Each minute spent thinking about a plan was one more minute during which the two women could get hurt. They however had some sort of an idea to rescue them both. Noah was the only person who knew – and was known by – the hospital staff, and he was also their only chance to infiltrate the building. The plan was that he was going to appear in front of the hospital, faking an injury. They weren't sure those hospital freaks were going to buy it, but it sounded more credible to send him instead of anyone else. Plus, Noah had clearly told them what they did with the men who looked too strong.
Rick nodded at Noah to give him the signal, and the latter uncertainly stepped out of their hiding place and started hopping, pretending to be hurt.
"Hey!", he shouted as loud as he possibly could.
Rick, Michonne, Daryl and Sasha were on the alert, ready to jump in at any time.
As nothing happened, Noah called again and again. "Help! Please... Help me!"
Even thought he was starting to believe no one would come out, Daryl was more focused than ever. "Come on...", he whispered as he was looking at Noah through his gun sight.
Eventually, two men dressed as nursed ran out of the building and headed towards Noah. Daryl aimed his gun at them and managed to keep them in sight. As the two men were obviously about to knock Noah out, Rick and Michonne stepped off, aiming their guns at them.
"Take one more step and you're dead", Rick threatened while walking up to them.
He put his gun on the right temple of one of the men, grabbed his sleeve and forced him to fall to his knees.
"Now you're gonna-"
"Hey, smartass!"
Rick frowned and turned round to where the voice came from. He froze as he lifted his eyes and saw Beth at gunpoint on the roof.
A shiver went down Daryl's spine as he lowered his weapon to see the scene with his bare eyes.
"Looks like we have some kind of a problem, haven't we?", said the man who was holding Beth in a sarcastic tone.
Rick quickly pulled himself together, his gun still aimed at one of the men while Michonne was taking care of the other one.
"Looks like you're outnumbered", Rick responded, trying to sound confident.
Daryl slowly started to checked the surroundings through his gun sight, and was soon noticed by Sasha.
"What are you doing?!", she said, implying that now wasn't really the right time to let their guard down.
"Carol's somewhere inside that damn building", he mumbled, still searching for a hint that could tell him where exactly they were keeping her.
They didn't notice that the man who was holding Beth took his walkie-talkie off his back pocket.
"Maybe later would be a better time to take care of that, don't you think?", she said, not hiding her irritation.
Daryl suddenly shifted his head to face her. "When she's dead?!"
They were interrupted before they could say or do anything more.
Everything happened so quickly. A deafening sound rose. Fire, smoke...
The building behind which Rick and Michonne had been hiding a couple of minutes ago just blew up in front of them.
Daryl was the first one to react. Beth and her captor were lying on the roof because of the shock of the explosion. Daryl didn't hesitate for a second and grabbed his gun, aimed it at the building right across theirs, right at the man's head, and pulled the trigger before his victim could even make a move. He then turned round to look at Sasha, and as he saw she was okay, he looked down at Rick, Michonne and Noah. All three of them were holding their heads in their hands because of the intensity of the explosion, but they were all fine.
Daryl and Sasha moved quickly and went down to the ground. Beth in the meantime had snapped out of it and was coming down to join them as well.
"Eh, y'all okay?", Daryl shouted so that they could hear him in spite of the momentary post-explosion deafness they were in.
They all nodded at him and managed to get up, still unstable because of what had happened.
"C'mon, we gotta find Carol!", Daryl said as he ran towards the facility.
"Daryl...", a voice came from behind but he didn't hear it.
"Daryl!", Beth said louder this time.
Daryl turned round to face them, questioning her with a look. Beth slowly walked towards him.
"She... She's gone, Daryl."
He frowned and angrily walked up to her, pointing a finger a her.
"What do ya mean she's gone?" he spat.
"I was with her. I saw them put her in there", she said while pointing at the building on fire with her head. Tears started to run down her cheeks as the reality of the situation stroke her.
Daryl froze and frowned as his eyes filled with tears. He took a step back, and one forward again, unable to say a word. His lower lip started to tremble.
"No...", he finally managed to say as his legs were about to let go. "We'll find her, and she's gonna be jus' fine!"
He started to walk up to the building that had just exploded, very determined, when Rick stepped in front of him, holding him back with both of his arms. Their eyes met, and Rick passed the message he couldn't say out loud through his gaze. He was trying hard to hold back his tears. Daryl tried to pull out from Rick's grip, but the latter grabbed him tighter.
"You can't go in there, Daryl", he paused and took a deep breath, "there's nothing left to be found..."
Daryl gasped and choked a sob back.
"She can't be dead... She can't be!" His voice broke as he collapsed on his knees, bursting into tears. Rick followed and gave his arm a gentle squeeze.
They stood there for a while, surrounded by the echo of a world that would no longer be the same.
They were heading back to were they came from in a meaningful silence. None of them could believe it was real. They were just at a couple of minutes away from the hospital when Daryl stopped in front of a house. It had taken him a lot of time before he could stand up again, and he had been behaving like a vegetable ever since. He didn't know himself how he had found enough courage to get up and walk away from that hellish place.
His mind was lost, and so was his gaze. But what he saw made him stop dead. His heart stopped beating as he couldn't keep his eyes away from the Cherokee Rose that had bloomed right in the middle of the garden of that house. He let a weak and shaky breath out and bit his lip very hard to stop his tears from running. He eventually managed to walk up to the flower and knelt down beside it. He gently skimmed its petals before snatching it off the ground. He got up and turned around.
"Where are you going?", Rick gently asked him.
"There's somethin' I need to do. I'll catch up", he mumbled as he past by Rick, his eyes still focused on the Cherokee Rose he was holding in his hand.
Rick didn't ask any more questions. He understood what he was going through, and he new that he needed some time alone. He had been through the same kind of stuff himself.
Daryl was back at the hospital, right in front of the building which was still on fire. He stopped for a few seconds, and then slowly walked up closer. His hands began to shake. He could now feel the heat of the flames on his face, as well as the wetness on his cheeks due to the tears he couldn't hold back anymore. He turned the rose over and over in his hands as he was contemplating it. He couldn't believe it was real. He couldn't believe she was gone. It was impossible.
He knew it was his fault, he knew that she'd still be alive if he hadn't made her come with him in this rescue mission. He should have known it was way too risky and that it wasn't going to end well. He should have been the one in there.
He stayed in front of the flames for God knows how long.
He eventually lifted his head up and faced the fire. He looked at the flower one more time and took a step forward, intending to throw it in the flames.
"It's a beautiful flower...", somebody whispered behind him.
His heart stopped.
"You should keep it." Her voice was weak and low due to the emotion.
He turned round in a heartbeat.
A shaky half-smile appeared on her face.
She was standing right in front of him.
She was alive.