In Hope Of Falling In Love (A Walking Dead Fanfic)

Chapter 49: Got No Faith, No Hope, No Love

You asked for a new chapter, here it is! Hope I was able to deliver on everything you wanted. Stay tuned for an important, and possibly sad, announcement at the end of the chapter.

 "There's a doubt in me," she wrote, the sound of pen against paper filling her ears. "He can't die. I keep telling myself that, telling everyone that, but maybe it's not true. It's not okay to pretend everything's fine, it kills me. I wanna believe that love will keep him alive; it'll keep him holding on. I'll keep telling everyone that 'I'm okay, really, thanks for asking' until my voice dies. I want one more kiss, one more hug, one more time that he whispers he loves me. I'll wait forever, if forever is what it takes, because he's my first love and he's my last. Since it happened, the days go quicker, the nights are colder, and my hope is slowly diminishing. I'm crazy to believe he's going to stay for me; that Daryl isn't going to choose death. Merle's gone, his mother too, and a lot from our group. Maybe it'd be better if he was gone..."

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The name rung a bell, when the girl by his bedside whispered it to a man.

Beth.

He didn't know where he'd heard it, but for someone reason he knew it. He searched him mind for it, trying to remember. Was it the name of a girl his brother had brought home? Maybe a waitress he'd hitten on? Another one-night stand?

The girl continued to whisper and he caught his name inbetween sentences. 

"We can't just give up on him!" she insisted loudly. 

"I wasn't saying that, Chloe. Look, he's my friend, I love him, but we can't sit here like the world's gonna stop moving, Daryl's taught me that."

Neither said anymore, instead, they left.

Daryl stirred, trying to open his tired eyes. He felt like he hadn't opened them in days but that seemed impossible. His most recent memory was stuck in his mind.

He was cold, much too cold for it to be the same season as it was when they'd arrived. His hair was much past his shoulders, longer than it was when they arrived.

Everything was a blur.

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Daryl stared into the darkness, finally able to open his eyes. He felt like he'd slept for an eternity. 

He stretched out, leaning up carefully while the knot in his joints worked themselves out. His whole body ached as if he'd spent a whole year not moving.

A young blonde girl sat sleeping in a chair beside his bed. Her face was foreign but the jacket held in her hands was not; it was his.

He stared down at his bare chest and gently wrestled the jacket from her hands, doing it up quietly. He needed to find Rick, and fast.

Slipping on his boots, he searched around for his crossbow or hunting knife but they weren't in the room. Sighing, he peeked on last look at the blonde girl and slid out of the room.

Grey surrounded him and the sound of muttered chit-chat filled his ears. He'd never been in a prison before but he recognised it immediately.

Rick's laughter drifted through the air and that of a baby giggling.

Confused, he walked into the room, many eyes looking at him.

"Daryl," a girl gasped, whose voice he recognised as Chloe. "Shit, dude, you're awake."

He nodded slowly in response before talking. "Yeah, where the fuck am I?"

People exchanged looks, obviously confused by the sudden outburst. "What do you mean?" someone asked, their voice filled with concern.

"I mean, who the fuck are all of you and why the fuck are we in a prison?"

Rick handed the baby to Chloe and stepped forward slowly, his eyes widened in a mix of concern and confusion. "Daryl," he said softly to him, "what do you mean?"

He was shaking like a scared child during a thunderstorm as Rick pulled him into a comforting hug.

"You scared me," he muttered into his ear. "Daryl, you scared me. We thought you were all dead. Beth's a wreck-"

"Beth?" he asked as Rick released his grasp and stepped back. "Who's that?"

Chloe inhaled sharply, standing with the baby attached to her hip. "Daryl, do you remember me? Chloe? I'm- I'm your friend. We all are."

"No, I don't remember," he admitted, his voice shaky.

She bit her lip, before screaming out a swear. "Fuck this! Fuck! Fuck everything! I can't fucking- You have to fucking remember, Daryl. Beth will be heart-broken!"

He took a step back, shocked by the sudden outburst.

An elderly man stepped forward, his eyes sad. "Beth is my daughter, my only living daughter. She's your fiance, Daryl."

"I don't-" Daryl tried to argue but it fell short on his lips.

"You really don't remember?" Chloe asked, eyes glossy with tears. "You don't remember all we've been through? Beth loves you. Shit, we all do."

Daryl scanned the small group, eyes trying to find people. "Where are Glenn and Lori? Andrea? Dale?"

He heard Rick let out a groan, sitting down.

"They're all dead. Carol, mum, Glenn, Maggie, Andrea, Dale, T-Dog, Shane, Amy," Carl said sadly, a girl clutching to him.

"Aislynn?" Daryl said, immediately recognising the girl as his cousin. "When? How?"

She looked at him, eyes already filled with tears as Carl held her. "You don't remember that Merle's dead," she sobbed.

"What?" he asked, chest tightening.

"Amnesia," the old man suggested. "He has amnesia. Sharp blow to the head, like that he took falling after being shot. He doesn't remember because he has amnesia."

His cousin kissed Carl gently while he watched, confused.

"Tell me it's alright," he whispered helplessly, trying to restrict the emotions that ate at him.

"It's not alright," a voice muttered from among the faces infront of him.

I write this in about ten minutes and it's almost two in the morning, so hopefully it's not too crappy. I doubt it's great but it's okay. I have big plans for the last few chapters of this fic because sadly I've decided to bring it to an end. There's atleast 3 chapters left plus an epilogue which I've already finished writing.

I've enjoyed my time with you guys and it saddens me to say goodbye so suddenly, especially with all the new followers, readers and fans joining us.

This fanfic has become a very important part of my life and I'll miss it very dearly. I hope I've touched someone with my writing or inspired something great or small.

Lastly, a giant thankyou to all those who've supported me throughout everything and have left comments or messaged me. Please feel free to talk to me or anything, I'd love to get to know all of my lovely fans.

Thank you,

Love, Amy.