The continuation of Fade to Black, a Daryl Dixon fan fiction.
-
"I never thought I'd see you again. I thought i lost you."
"And here I thought, you've found someone else and moved on."
"I'd never move on from you, Natalia."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
****
The family had found themselves again without a home and were now on the mercy of the open road. A couple of days had passed and Natalia hadn't spoken ever since murdering Althea in cold blood.
Tyreese and Glenn were worried of Natalia's quietness which did not suit her at all. Tyreese's calm words would usually have an effect on Natalia but this time, it didn't impact her at all— the man was now struggling by with caring for his friend and sister, Sasha.
Eugene and Gabriel, however, were now terrified of Natalia and not knowing what had happened to her, left a lot to the imagination as both men began to create scenarios of what horror Natalia got herself into.
Traveling in pick ups and SUVs eased their journey but it would soon end. As they drove to a neighborhood that Rick had planned to check, Carol managed to find a first aid kit through the garbage, untouched.
Carol sewed Natalia jaw that had a deep cut and through it, Natalia was silent— even to Carol, Natalia's silence was odd.
In the distance, Rick was watching his sister with concern, his arms crossed on his chest.
Michonne approached Rick and leaned on the table beside him.
"Is she okay?" It seemed that Natalia's quietness and being drawn to herself, alerted everyone who was close to her.
Rick turned to Michonne once he heard her soft voice and shook his head.
"I thought so." Michonne sighed silently. "She's never been this drawn."
"Is Daryl okay?" Rick now asked.
Michonne shook her head.
"Thought so." Rick let out a defeated sigh as he leaned closer to Michonne.
"Listen— I know that I'm throwing a lot on you...asking you to be Carl's best friend and looking out for him—"
Before Rick could continue, Michonne stopped him as she softly and reassuringly gripped his bicep.
"I'll look out for Natalia, too. She's my friend, Rick. It's not a burden if that's what you're thinking."
"Thank you."
"You never have to thank me."
———
The neighborhood they stayed in for the night was the safe— many walkers were passing by but the family needed their rest.
Because Natalia couldn't sleep, Natalia volunteered to keep watch with Carol.
Everyone, out of exhaustion slept, but a simple creak of the house would wake them.
Natalia and Carol sat opposite of each other; while Natalia was looking out the window, Carol watched her curiously. Carol's eyes drifted to the diamond bracelet around Natalia's wrist that she didn't have before.
"Pretty bracelet." Carol said loud enough for Natalia to hear and low enough to not disturb the ones who were asleep.
"I don't remember you wearing it before." Natalia's fingers touched the bracelet and as she looked closely, there were dried blood in the crevices.
"Where'd you get it?" Carol's question triggered a flashback for Natalia.
After Natalia stabbed Althea's abdomen with the buck's horn, Natalia's attention was diverted to Althea's bracelet. Before grabbing the chainsaw, Natalia snatched Althea's pretty bracelet and wore it around her own wrist.
"I think I snatched it off the ground." Natalia lied as she avoided Carol's eyes by looking out the window.
"Nat, what happened—"
"You think Maggie and Daryl are gonna be okay?" Natalia did not want Carol to protrude; Natalia was afraid that if anyone else knew what had happened, they'd think she was a monster who lost their mind, just like Shane had.
"They gotta be." Carol replied.
"No one told me how Merle..."
"He took Colman down with a grenade. Merle sacrificed himself. The bomb that went off and set fire to the place...it was his doing."
Carol had managed to reach Daryl just in time when Merle achieved his plan he plotted for a while— Daryl screamed in tears at his brother's corpse, trying to reach for it but Carol was there to stop him, pulling him away from the fire that began to spread.
Merle, however, was unfortunate, he wasn't buried like Beth.
At the mention of his sacrifice from Carol, Natalia let out a whimper she couldn't control as tears streamed down her face.
Natalia had faith in Merle's survival— she really believed that he was going to be one of the ones who live, leaving a legacy that was going to be told by survivors.
Nearing the end of their time at the prison, Natalia grew to bear Merle and after the prison, in a couple of weeks, had grown close to Merle. Natalia even considered Merle a friend.
She was saddened that Merle couldn't show his soft and caring side for everyone to see; in her eyes, Merle was a diamond in the rough.
"What happened to you there?" Carol asked what was on everyone's mind after giving Natalia a moment. "You came out of there a different person, Nat."
Natalia's blood-shot eyes drifted to Carol and shook her head, indicating that she was unable to talk about Agatha's tortures in the cell and Althea's mind-games that Natalia had to endure.
In understanding, Carol nodded, and for the rest of the night, Carol and Natalia drifted into silence.
——
A/N: Guys, Shane had his downfall and Rick had a deep character development, Natalia is literally on her way there. Its gonna be an intense one :o I also really didnt want to kill off Merle but it had to be done:c maybe in another universe/fanfic he'll be one of my mains, I truly love Merle ;')
