Fanfic Lost, not Alone Chapter 1 /you're going to be the last man standing, Daryl Dixon/ Beth's words echoed darkly through my mind. I watched her holding my crossbow /you're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone.../ She wouldn't be gone. I wasn't about to let that happen. Maybe it was selfish of me, not wanting to be the last man standing. Selfish to want to die before the others, to let them deal with living alone. I was a follower, it was all I'd ever been;following Merle or Shane or Rick. "what are we trackin' anyways?" she asked, my crossbow set ready in her arms. "you wanted to learn" I responded, biting at the skin around my thumbs, "you're the one who wanted to learn" "it's a zigzag pattern" she said quietly, looking to the ground as we walked over the leaves, "a walker!" she concurred brightly, looking back earnestly to me. I nodded, glancing over tracks. "or a drunk" I added, wondering if Bob was still alive. Bob and the booze he'd risked his life for. I followed her soundlessly, watching each of the careful steps she took. An almost silent cry of delight escaped her lips as we reached a clearing where a walker knelt on the ground, its back towards us. It was feeding "he's got a gun" she whispered, inching towards it, swift and almost silent. She shouted out wordlessly, suddenly falling to the ground. The walker stood up. Its dead eyes were set upon her, stumbling towards her. She shot the crossbow, only hitting its arm. The second bolt hit its chest. In a moment, I sprinted next to her, grabbing the weapon. I knocked the walker back before shooting it right through the eye, to its brain. As soon as it wasn't moving, I went back to Beth's side. With a quick hand, I made the trap that had caught her foot let go. I lifted the injured leg by her calf, inspecting the hurt. The trap's teeth hadn't bitten too deep, but it looked like she had rolled her weight onto her ankle. "can you move it?" I asked "yeah" she wiggled her foot to prove it. Sprained, I guessed. I stood up, bending over to pull her up by the elbow. Hooking my crossbow around my neck, I wrapped my arm around her slim waist, supporting her. "thanks" she mumbled, leaning into me to keep her weight off her foot. She grunted in pain quietly. She was trying to keep me from noticing her pain. That was something I could respect. I made no mention. It took some time for us to make it out of the wooded area. Where we arrived made me groan inwardly. As if there wasn't enough death around us, we had to come to a graveyard too. "can we stop?" Beth asked, pulling from the grip I'd held round her waist before adding almost sheepishly, "I need to sit down" My eyes were set ahead as she made her stumbling way towards a headstone. No more than fifty meters forward there was a funeral home. A good place to sleep, if nothing else. It might have something for her ankle too. I positioned myself in front of her, crouching down. "jump up" I said. When she didn't hop onto my back, I looked over my shoulder to her. "really?" she asked skeptically. "yeah" I grunted, "redneck piggy back" I swear, I almost heard her giggle at that. She climbed unsteadily onto my back and I held onto her thighs, walking along towards the house. We were almost halfway there when she slipped off my back. I turned around, a scolding on how we needed to get to the house on my tongue when I saw what she was staring at. 'Beloved Father' it read on the tombstone, the date of birth and death both well over a hundred years ago. Tears formed in Beth's eyes. I tried to keep my thoughts from Hershel, looking around. A flowering weed grew next to another grave. I bent over, picking it from the ground and placing it in front of the man's tombstone. As I stepped back, Beth took my hand in hers. I looked over to her as she was dashing away tears. I intwined my fingers with hers, squeezing her hand gently. "c'mon" I said, crouching to pick her up again, "you're heavier than you look" "hey!" she smacked his arm as he carried her. He couldn't stop the grin from passing lips. She squirmed uncomfortably, but my grip around her legs didn't loosen until we were at the house's doorway. I set her down gently, turning to watch for any flinch of pain from her eyes. She stared at me, electric blue eyes determined not to show anything. Even as she stood tall, my hand was wresting against her waist, my eyes watching hers warily. I wasn't a leader, I thought again, but for her I would one.