~Rebel's POV~

"Piper." I whispered, a painful feeling crept into my stomach and it felt like someone had ripped my heart out.

Piper's body was sprawled on the ground, her hand covering a tear in her cotton shirt. Blood was seeping through the light-colored shirt and a chunk of her hair was torn out. Her hand was smeared with a deep red color, like she had been trying to suppress her wound.

Her eyes were open, but they were blank and emotionless. Her breathing was ragged and I could tell she was barely alive. Her head moved toward the side and her drained blue eyes fell on me. I crouched by her side and moved her hand away from her wound, trying to see what had happened.

What I revealed was the thing I feared the worst. A large bite mark was marring her flat stomach and several of her insides were trying to escape. I examined the mark and I could feel the bile rising in my throat.

Various teeth were lodged in her tanned skin. One tooth was above her bellybutton while another was just below her left ribcage. Blood was trickling from the gash and I could see tears leaking from her eyes. Her usual golden hair was now a dull, tan color. Her usual bronze color was now a ghastly pale.

"Rebel..." Piper gasped between battered gasps.

"Piper. Piper, stay with me. Please." I could feel tears stinging the back of my eyes and I knew I couldn't hold them back for long.

I could see the sapphire in her eyes fading and I could tell that she wouldn't be here much longer. She would die and then in a few hours, she would wake up. She would try to kill us and I would have to shoot her. I didn't want anyone else to do it.

"I-I hate you." she stuttered. Piper's eyes fluttered before widening. Her eyes were large and detached, her emotions fading from the world. I could feel her warmth fading and her hand was going cold. Her blood wasn't flowing from her laceration and her eyes were clouding over.

At her words, my heart broke. I knew she disliked me and that she didn't want anything to do with me, but I never imagined her last words would be so harsh. Piper had always been a very blunt, honest person, so I knew her words were true.

"You don't mean that." I whispered, even though she could no longer hear me. She couldn't hear anyone anymore. No one could hear her either.

Lori stooped beside me and I could see tears falling down her face. How she could care for someone she didn't know was beyond me. She had met Piper only days ago, and she was already weeping for her loss.

Lori swiped her hand over Piper's face, closing her eyelids in the process, cutting off her vision of the cruel world. I saw a single tear slide down Piper's deceased face and I felt a lump forming in my throat.

I stood up abruptly and walked back towards the RV. Peter reached out a hand, trying to comfort me in some way or another, but I just ignored him. I stomped up the steps and started rummaging through the wooden drawers.

Daryl hadn't left the RV and you could see the surprise written across his face. He stood up straighter and tried to reach for my arm. I brushed off his hand a few times, but he continued to stop my frantic searching.

"Rebel. Rebel. Hey, hey, hey. Rebel. What're ye' lookin' for? Lemme help ye'." Daryl pleaded with me quietly.

"Matches. Where are the matches?" I muttered. Daryl opened a cabinet near the ceiling and pulled down a woven basket, pulling out a book of matches and handing it to me.

"Thanks." I muttered before jumping out of the RV. Daryl followed me out, staying only steps behind me. I moved towards Piper's body and I could feel Daryl tense behind me seeing the gruesome body lying motionless on the ground.

I fumbled with the book of matches, trying to light one. The object fell out of my grasp and slipped to the ground, making the dust cloud around our feet. I moved towards the ground but Dary wrapped a hand around my waist, keeping me upright.

"Do ye' want my help?" Daryl asked me in a hushed voice. I nodded my head, a small sob escaping my lips in the process. Daryl leaned down and grabbed the book of matches.

He flipped the cover and pulled a match out, striking it on the rough surface of the cardboard, igniting a bright flame. He moved the match towards my hand, but instead of taking it, I wrapped my hand around his, giving us both access to the flame.

"Ye' sure?" Daryl whispered in my ear.

"Yes." I choked out.

He tightened his grip around my hand and moved it over Piper's extinct body. He squeezed my hand and loosened his grip on the match. I followed his actions and released the match fully. Piper's carcass ignited as soon as the match caught surface.

I watched as her flesh burned away bit-by-bit. The skin turned a pinkish color before morphing to a charred black. After awhile, Piper's bones started to peep through the skin and I felt the tears of damage seeping through.

All through the while, Daryl stayed by my side. His arm remained around my waist, even when he fended off the others. He could tell I didn't really want anyone around, with the exception of himself, and he respected that.

The sky started to darken and I could tell that a storm was brewing behind the obscured clouds. The first drops of rain started falling and the fire started to sizzle. Smoke began to rise and the fire grew brighter before dimming greatly.

Soon enough, the fire ceased and the scorched bones showed through the ashes that once made up the body of my somewhat beloved sister. My heart squeezed together and I refused to cry anymore than I had. I turned my face into Daryl's shoulder and I felt his lips press against my forehead in a comforting manner.

It was official. Everyone I had ever loved had died. This wasn't the first time someone had ripped my heart out and stomped on it, and I knew it also wasn't the last. I wanted to hold on to Daryl as long as I could.

Eventually, I knew he would leave. He would leave or die, it didn't matter. Either thing that happened would break my heart, yet again. It felt like every time I fell in love, something was bound to go wrong.

The only way I could avoid being heartbroken was avoiding my heart. I had to push Daryl away, not lure him in. I couldn't be destroyed again, not anymore.

I wouldn't fall in love again. I couldn't.

I refuse.

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Picture to the side is Piper.

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