Hello, universe! My name is willievanillie and welcome to my first chapter story! I have been reading fanfiction on this site since 2008 and wrote a few funny oneshots on an old profile years ago, but have yet to do any serious writing.
Anywho! This is a solidly BethxDarryl fic. I was so upset when Beth was first captured, then killed, and have never gotten over her death and what would have become such a wonderful, dynamic relationship between these two. This story picks up right where Beth would have been taken by the Grady Memorial Hospital folks (which never seemed like a very realistic scenario to me).
If you find this fic, please leave a comment and maybe some constructive criticism. I'd love the feedback
Shaking, Beth sits perched high in a thick-limbed willow, doing her best to tune out the small crowd of walkers underneath her. Darryl had told her to run, so that's what she did, amassing a trail of walkers in her wake who diligently followed behind her as she sprinted through the trees. That is, until she came to this tree, realizing amongst her panic that walker could barely walk in a straight line, much less climb a tree.
"TWANG!"
Out of the darkness, the twang of a bow sounded, followed by the sick, wet sound of an arrow spearing soft flesh.
"TWANG!"
Another arrow, accurate as always, hit another walker. Now, Beth could see Darryl's silhouette approaching. Relief hit her like a wave, relaxing her shoulders and softening her tensed eyebrows. She watched him intently as he approached the three remaining walkers for any signs of injury, but none made themselves apparent. He walked his steadily loping walk, bow in hand and vest on shoulders, with no visible blood…at least from her limited view in the dim midnight glow.
In the few seconds it took him to dispatch of the last three walkers, Beth briefly berated herself for the position she had found herself in. Sure, she was proud of Darryl's capabilities as a protector, tracker, and fighter and appreciated his protection of her, but she would die a young death if she didn't become more comfortable facing down the walking dead.
The walkers stood at Darryl's feet, rendered into heaps of guts and bone. Maneuvering herself down the tree, she swung herself down the last few feet to Darryl's side.
"Are you okay?" Beth asked Darryl. Avoiding eye contact as he usually did, he pulled two of his precious arrows from walker flesh. "You're not bitten, are ya?"
"No, no, I'm fine." Darryl answered, straightening back out. Looking to her now, he examined what he could see of her. "You're not hurt, are ya? T'was smart of ya to climb a tree."
"I'm good, I'm good," Beth replied. "How's the house? Do ya reckon it's safe to return?"
"Mmmm," Darryl replied vaguely, tilting his head towards the sky in thought. "I think it'll be okay, but we oughtta wait 'till morning. It'll give 'em enough time for them walkers to leave on their own. Then we can flush out any stragglers by the light of the morning."
Beth nodded, agreeing that they should wait to return to the house which had become their new home. Momentarily, however, she had an inward moment of panic realizing that they would be out in the open until morning, under the open sky and vulnerable to walker attack. Flashes of the weeks they had spent on the move in the Georgia forest hit her like tiny punches to her gut.
"S'pose we could spend the night in this tree, actually," said Darryl, head still tilted to the sky and a small smirk forming on his face. "I don't know why we never did that before. If we sit back-to-back, we should be able to stay upright and keep each other from falling, should one of us fall asleep."
Beth's mouth turned up into a grin. "That sounds a lot better than walking around all night."
They both clambered up the tree, Beth leading Darryl back to her high perch. Hanging the crossbow on a nearby branch and saddling their wide seat, each settled in. Back-to-back, Beth could feel the supple leather of Darryl's vest as his torso expanded and compressed with each breath. He was so much taller than her, she noted. Her shoulders only came to the middle part of his back. He was also very warm.
"Is he normally this warm or has he just heated up from exertion?" Beth inwardly asked herself.
Her thoughts continued to float carelessly as she became sleepy. The night had become late. Feeling his head turn slightly, Darryl's softly asked, "ya wanna rest? I can take watch." Although she couldn't see, he peered around her with the same searching, yet guarded, eyes he had been wearing during that moment in the kitchen earlier that evening.
Too drowsy for pride, Beth let out an affirmative and settling in fully towards his back, she let herself fall asleep.