The Last Flame

Season 3/Chapter 1

At the prison

The group had just cleared out a field of an abandoned prison. After eight months on the road, moving place to place, rarely having a chance to take a breath, this was a victory they needed.

Most everyone was huddled around a fire in the middle of the field, exhausted from the day, filling their stomachs with what little food they had left. Rick was walking the perimeter of the prison for what looked to be about the third time, while Daryl stood on top of an old prison bus that was turned over on its side.

He was keeping watch, but truth be told he wasn't really paying too much to anything around him, he was thinking about her. She was always on his mind.

He thought about how long it had been, he told himself he was going to go back and look for Bell, and he really meant to, but living on the road made it impossible. 

He was always helping to keep the group safe, going on scouting missions and hunting what he could for the group. But now that they were settled down, for the most part, he wondered if now would be the best chance to go back and look for her.

He knew it was a long shot considering how long it had been, but he had to find out what had happened to her, whether that meant finding her dead or alive. He just hoped it was the latter. She had made a such an impact on him within the short amount of time he'd known the woman.

He looked up to the night sky that was scattered with stars. He thought back to that first night on the highway with her, it felt like a life time ago. He remembered what she had said about the stars. '...they tell stories, help us when we've lost our way, sometimes even provide a sense of peace and hope.' 

 As he looked up towards the vast emptiness, he couldn't help but think about how the stars littered the sky the same way her freckles littered her face. He hoped the stars would help him find his way to her, or she to him.

After all this time apart he was slowly but surely coming to realize what Bell meant to him, more than he had realized back at the farm. He always knew she did, but just not to this extent, he had never felt things like this before and he still didn't know how to handle it. 

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone climbing onto the bus to join him, he looked behind him to see Carol coming up with a plate of food.

"It's not much, but if I don't bring you something you won't eat at all." She handed it to him with a small smile.

He accepted it with a grunt and began to eat. "Guess little Shane over there has quite the appetite." He said, referring to the baby growing in Loris stomach.

Carol gave him a smirk. "Don't be mean. Rick has gotten us a lot farther than I ever thought he would, I'll give him that. Shane could never do that." The man just grunted in response and continued to eat what little food was provided for him.

Carol noticed he seemed to be in thought before she got up to the bus, and she had a strong suspicion she knew what it was. The whole group had become close due to always being on the run together, but the two had become exceptionally close, they considered each other good friends, they may not have said it out loud but they didn't need to.

She also knew Bell getting separated from the group had taken a toll on him. Everyone had seen how close the two were on the farm, and it hurt to see him like this. They had found a bag that had belonged to her, she had left it behind in the truck the night everyone had been run off the farm.

It didn't have much in it, a few crunchy bars, some mints and a bottle of water. Aside from that was her possessions; her tactical green scarf, her black army hat, and a few pictures.