Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

9

"Mama! Mama!" Luke shouted, running to me and jumping into my arms. I held the 7 year old on my hip. "Luke! Luke!" I mocked. He giggled and pulled out a picture frame made of noodles and glitter. A photo of us inside it. The day he was born. Liz took it. I was sitting up in the hospital bed smiling down at him as he gripped onto my pinky finger.

I smiled and hugged Luke. "It's beautiful, baby. I love it." I thanked. There was a small growl in my ear. I pulled away to see him as a walker. I screamed, letting go of him. I backed up until I was against a wall. He stood up and stared at me, flesh hanging from his face, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth.

He groaned. "Why, mama? Why did you leave me? The monsters got me. They turned me into a monster too. This is your fault. Now I'm gonna turn you into a monster." He said, his voice scratchy and dry. He came forward, grabbing my arm, taking out a huge chunk. I cried out in pain.

*End Dream*

"Luke!" I yelled, sitting up quickly. There were hands gripping my shoulders. Through the dark, I spotted Daryl's piercing blue eyes. "It's okay, Charlie. It was just a dream. You're okay now." My breathing slowed slightly as I held fist fulls of his shirt. "Please...Don't let go..." I begged, still out of breath. He nodded hesitantly before laying next to me, holding onto one of my hands with a firm grip.

~*~*~*~

I walked into the cafeteria, nodding at everyone as I sat down. T-dog put a plate of eggs and orange juice in front of me. I picked up a fork and started poking at it, thinking of the dream. Daryl is going to ask about it eventually. And I'm gonna have to tell him. "Charlotte? You okay?" I looked up to see Dale sitting across from me with a concerned look on his face.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache." He nodded and continued eating.

T-dog walked back over. "Eggs. Powdered, but I do em' good. I bet you can't tell. Protein helps the hangover." Glenn groaned, his head resting against his hand. T-dog put some eggs on Glenn's plate. I smiled, nudging his shoulder. Another groan.

I watched as Lori helped Rick open a bottle of medicine and held back a giggle. "Don't ever ever ever let me drink again." Glenn grumbled. I smiled and pat him on the back. More groaning. Shane walked in and sat down. I furrowed my brows, noticing three red scratch marks on his neck.

T-dog noticed too. "What the hell happened to you? Your neck?"

Shane sighed. "I must have done it in my sleep."

Rick raised his eyebrows. "Never seen you do that before."

Shane shrugged. "Me neither. Not like me at all." I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Lori who was avoiding eye contact.

Jenner came in. "Morning." He greeted.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-"

Dale started, being interrupted by Jenner. "but you will anyways."

Andrea joined in. "We didn't come here for the eggs."

We followed Jenner into Zone 5, where he turned on a big screen. "Give me a playback of TS-19." He pressed a few buttons. "Playback of TS-19." Vi's voice echoed throughout the room. A few pictures popped up. "Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." There was one larger picture of someone's head and their brain.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked.

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end." Jenner smiled but it faded quickly. "Take us in for E.I.V.."

"Enhanced internal view." Vi spoke.

The picture of the person got bigger and turned so that we were looking at the side of their face. It zoomed in and went inside the brain, showing blue lights dancing across every inch.