Coming Home
The late afternoon sun fell across a meadow in the middle of a wooded area they had taken cover in. They were trying to determine direction Negan and his Saviors would be coming from when the retaliation began. Because there would be a retaliation. You couldn't just blow up the bad guys minions with an RPG and expect him to turn tail and run. He was coming. No one knew when, just that it was going to happen.
Daryl stood up and stretched his legs. He walked to the tree closest to the meadow and scanned the area again. Behind him in one of the tallest trees, Glenn was perched as lookout. The tree afforded him a wider view of the area. Carol was about 800 yards to Daryl's right scouting the woods for signs of anything. The man who called himself Jesus had drawn them a crude map of the area and the place he and his people believed Negan had based his community. Rick and the group had decided that this was the best course of action while they tried to rebuild Alexandria. They'd watch and wait and catch Negan before he found them. That was the plan anyway. And that was fine with Daryl. He wanted to catch this guy. He needed to protect his family. But so far it had been a lot of sitting, watching and waiting.
Another half a mile east of where Carol was scouting, a young woman maneuvered her way through a barbed wire fence. A gray leather jacket protected her skin from the stray barbed wire that caught on her elbow. She tugged it away and dipped under the last wire. Blonde braids bounced on her back in sharp contrast with the black lace up combat boots she was wearing and the knife at her hip. She stopped and stood up straight. She groaned and let out a shaky breath. She had been moving nonstop for two days. The scar on her cheek did little to mar her beauty. Her blue eyes, one which was ringed with a purple bruise, were clouded not with fear, but anger and resignation. She checked the pistol in her shoulder holster and kept moving forward. She watched the ground, the trees around her, always tracking, but not really sure what she was looking for. A way out of this nightmare would be a start.
Carol finished with her circuit of the trees and headed back to the moving van they had hidden in the woods. It was a makeshift living area for whoever was on scouting duty. She looked up at the tree where Glenn was still on lookout. Daryl couldn't be too far off. They have been on the edge of this meadow since early this morning. In two days they'll move their home base a couple of miles further east unless they find reason or proof that this direction is futile. Sunlight slanted through two trees and a bird sang softly. Sometimes Carol can almost forget why she was here and what she's doing and just get lost in the "normal" things like a bird's song. Reality was evil though, and she's always forced to come back.
There was an opening in the trees ahead and the young woman paused. Without the trees for camouflage she was putting herself at risk of being seen. She negotiated her way over a couple of fallen logs, favoring her left side and tried to ignore the injury there. It was more important that she keep moving, getting as far away as possible from the monsters. A walker stumbled out of the bushes in front of her. This was a monster she could manage. She took her knife from its sheath and moved forward. The walker tripped and forced her beyond the tree line into the meadow.
Daryl saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He raised a hand to his forehead shading his vision and looked across the meadow. There was definitely something or someone over there. He gave a low whistle to signal Glenn. Then he took his crossbow off and raised it to his shoulder. Looking through the scope once, he lowered the bow to look again with his own eyes. There was someone there. He reached for the rifle he'd left leaned against a tree.
She struggled with the walker and was finally able to sink her knife into its temple. She got a prickly feeling in the back of her neck and scanned the meadow. There was someone, possibly a man, standing just outside the trees on the other side. She was sure he'd already seen her. Just as she was about to drop and crawl back into the safety of the trees she saw him raise a crossbow. Her breathing quickened and her heart was suddenly pounding in her chest. She took two steps out into the meadow not thinking of her safety. All she saw was angel wings and sapphire blue eyes.
Small. blonde, and completely disregarding the fact that they'd exposed themselves, the person on the other side of the meadow moved forward. Towards Daryl. Something about that walk and the way they carried themselves froze Daryl in his tracks. He raised the crossbow again and lowered his face to the scope. He had seen a ghost. He'd lost his mind -finally after all the horrors he had witnessed, he was breaking because she came back. Stepping lightly in the meadow, not paying any attention to her surroundings. He used to call her on that constantly. "Beth keep your eyes open!" His voice was an echo in a memory that broke his heart again and again. But that memory had materialized right in front of him. He lowered the bow and quickened his pace.
"Daryl." she whispered. And she moved faster ignoring the fire in her side, intent only on reaching him and making sure she hasn't died or isn't dreaming.
And then he was there, in front of her. Flesh and blood. He was looking at her like she was just another dead girl.
"I'm not dead. I survived." Beth says softly.