Torn Apart (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 36

Daryl's P.O.V

The smoke is billowing through the air, making it near impossible to decipher what is happening. The tank is in flames, attracting dozens of walkers. I fight off the ones I can but know that soon I will have to run. I desperately search for Cat but I don't see anybody at all. A dozen walkers head towards me and I retreat behind one of the buildings. I run and bump into a mass of blonde hair. I look up and see Beth.

"Come on!" I say.

I grab her hand and pull her away from the oncoming threat of walkers. I search for some sort of escape route for us. We run into the bay where the bus was parked to find that it has gone. Hope flutters through me that Cat is on that bus.

"We have to follow the bus!" I say.

We run away from the prison, following the road back to the highway. The tire tracks of the bus giving us a clear indication of where it was heading. Beth is panting with exhaustion, clutching at a cut on her arm. I tear at the bottom of my shirt and stop her. I wrap the cloth around her arm tightly, causing the bleeding to stop.

"Thanks."

We continue walking, killing the occasional walker. As we walk I see the bus parked in the middle of the road up ahead. The hope consumes me and I run towards it, but as I go closer I stop. There is no movement in the bus, yet I can see people. I go to the door at the back and yank at it, but it doesn't budge. I yank at it again, nothing. I kick at the handle and it breaks, the door swinging open. I jump up and enter the bus only to be met with the bodies of our friends.

Everyone on the bus is dead, no one moving. I hear Beth climb in behind me and gasp. I walk forward and begin to inspect the bodies, searching for Cat. Towards the middle sits an older man, cradling an older woman in his arms. I reach forward and move his head back to see the body of Terrance holding his wife. I shake my head and continue forward. I check the rest of the bodies and don't find Cat. I sigh in relief, but then dread washes over me. Where is she?

"Did you see Cat?" I turn to Beth.

She looks at the children and chokes back tears, her hand covering her mouth. She is trembling, shaking with emotion. I approach her and grip her shoulders.

"Beth, did you see Cat?" I repeat.

She looks at me, her eyes brimming with tears, "Did you see Maggie? Glenn?"

"Maggie went back for Glenn. Did you see Cat?" I repeat.

"Why would she do that? Glenn would have gone for the bus. She left me alone, Daddy's dead she left me alone!" She cries, shaking further.

"Beth stop!" I yell.

She stops and looks at me, "Maggie and Glenn will be fine. Glenn won't let anything happen to her or the baby. We'll find them I promise."

She nods and wraps her arms around me and I freeze, unsure of what to do. I haven't held anyone this upset except Cat and even then I struggle to comfort her. I awkwardly pat Beth's back as she sobs. I pull away and look her in the eyes.

"Did you see Cat?"

She nods her head, "The Governor had her at gun point."

My heart stops, "Is she dead?"

She shakes her head, "Rick hit him and Michonne stabbed him. Cat left with Rick, Carl and Judith last I saw them."

I sigh inwardly in relief, she got out. She was alive. She was with Rick. An irrational wave of jealousy comes over me at the thought of them being together but I push it away, it wasn't the time to do this. I could hear the moan of a walker behind me. I turn to see the body of Terrance resurrect and begin to advance towards us.

"We need to go." I say.

Beth and I run towards the exit of the bus and dash into the woods. I lead her through the forest, away from the bus full of awakening walkers. When I feel we are far enough into the forest without a sense of threat I stop and catch my breath. Beth slumps against a tree, her laboured breathing filling the air.

"What are we going to do?" She asks.

"We'll have to hunt, find a water supply. Look for different things we need." I say.

She nods, then stays quiet for a moment, her face full of concentration. She looks up at me, "Do you think we'll find them?"

I look up from the ground into her eyes, "I won't stop lookin' for Cat. Will you stop lookin' for Maggie?"

Her eyes are brimming with tears, but I knew what I needed to do in order for her to survive.

"Maggie wouldn' give up on you, she would not stop lookin' for ya. But here you are, sittin' on your ass cryin'."

Shock plasters her face as she takes in my words, "My dad just died..."

"So did hers! Yet she still went back to help Glenn and everybody else. So you need to toughen up so we can get movin' and find our people."

Her sadness turns to anger and she stands up, wiping her eyes. She storms off into a direction and I know I had gotten through to her.

"Beth!" I call.

She turns and glares at me.

"This way." I say, turning my head in the opposite direction.

She huffs and storms past me and I smirk. We head off further into the woods towards the direction where Cat and Rick left, hoping to find our people and be reunited with them.