Here's a story I wrote last summer. I know beth has been killed off in the show but I hope there are still some fans out there wanting to read a bethyl fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it!

Prologue

Just when things had started to fall into place, her entire world had been turned upside down.

Call it faith if you will, or maybe even bad luck, but she had been at wrong place at the wrong time and now things had been set into motion.

Things that went far beyond her understanding.

She could never go back to her old life; she could never get back what she once had. She was trapped, chained to this new dangerous world, and lost in dark blue eyes.

After all, don't they say that bad things happen to good people?

Chapter 1

"Beth! Are you even listening to me?"

Her phone was balanced between her shoulder and the crook of her neck; she was intently reading her files, completely oblivious to the angry huff that sounded from across the other line.

"Just putt the damn files away for two minutes!"

Beth let out a soft sigh, and obliged.

"Sorry Maggie! I'm just completely buried in work."

"Well you're the one who wanted to do that high class internship; did you expect it to be a walk in the park? "

She ran her fingers tiredly through her blonde locks. "No, but I didn't expect it to be this hectic. Maybe this was a mistake. "

Her older sister's voice immediately took on a softer edge. "Don't you even think of giving up, Bethy. It'll all pay off in the end, you'll be the best journalist there is in all of New York City! Now enough talk about giving up! Tell me what the big city is like! "

A smile immediately played along her lips as she thought about her new home. Only two weeks ago she had been back home, back at the farm, finishing her first year at a local college. She had been dreaming of a different life, an exciting life, where she worked as a journalist in a big firm in a big city. She couldn't say that she was exactly living the dream, but this, her new hectic life, it was a start.

"Everything is so different, Meg! It's just full of life! I can't even describe it; you need to come see it for yourself! "

"I promise I will as soon as I can! But please be careful, Beth, don't forget that it's dangerous out there. "

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Don't worry! Nothing bad is going to happen to me. "

The wind whipped through his hair as he approached the city, the motor of his bike groaned in protest as he continuously pushed to go faster.

He needed to find his brother and he needed to find him now.

Word on the street was that Merle was getting involved with a gang in New York City. It could be useless gossip but knowing his reckless brother he had a feeling it wasn't.

He had tried several times to get a hold of Merle without success, which meant that if he wanted to talk to his older brother, he would have to find him.

He needed to talk to Merle into dropping the gang now. He knew that Merle hadn't most likely joined yet which meant he could still walk away. But there wasn't much time, once a gang claimed someone as their own, you were trapped for life. And his brother was not one to commit to anything, sooner rather than later he would get himself killed.

Daryl only hoped he would find him alive.

Beth dug into the pile of cloths beside her bed, once she finally found her favourite running shorts; she grabbed a t-shirt at random and exited her rather small bedroom. She slipped both articles of clothing on while walking towards the main living area ,which consisted of a big room that contained the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room.

The walls were painted an odd shade of yellow, she had thought of repainting them at first but had later changed her mind, she rather liked the yellow now, besides she figured that there really was no point in repainted her apartment now, since she wouldn't be here long.

She sat down on her kitchen counter and put both running shoes on. Her evening run had become a daily activity since arriving in New York. She desperately needed a time to clear her head after a day at the firm. She loved to feel the wind across her hair as she ran, to see the lively city, it was quite therapeutic.

And today, she needed to go on a very long run. Her day had gone from bad to absolutely terrible. She went from misplacing files to spilling bowling coffee all over her white blouse. To make matters worse she had been asked to go home early because she had not thought of bringing an extra change of clothing. Her boss had referred to her as being "unprofessional".

She had only been here for two weeks and already she was making a bad name for herself.

She tied her hair in a high pony tail and left the apartment.

He made his first stop at a small bar.

It was located between what was known as "a safe neighborhood" and "a dangerous neighborhood" a borderline between the two if you will.

It was also a hot spot for gang activity. The ideal place to look for his ass of a brother.

It was still light outside, he had arrived much earlier than anticipated, which meant that the bar would most likely be deserted but he figured he could look around quickly and come back later when the streets grew dark, and everyone came out to play.

He climbed off of his large black bike and walked towards the bar.

Just like he had thought, the inside was mostly empty safe from a few old drunkards. He left as quickly as he arrived and started walking back towards his bike. He stopped short as he heard a furious growl followed by noises of a struggle.

A loud gunshot followed suit and he cautiously went to observe the scene.

There in the alley beside the bar, lay a dead man drenched in his own blood.

His murderer stood before him, still clenching the weapon in his grasp.

Daryl slowly walked into the alley, so that he was now in plain sight.

Both men locked gazes, and the murderer broke into a large grin.

-Looks like you found me, baby brother.

Daryl crossed the alley, grabbed his brother from the collar and slammed him against the grey brick wall.

"What the hell have you done?" -He growled furiously. As a response the man he had pinned against the wall began to laugh.

"Calm down, baby brother. " -He said in between gasps of laughter- "this ain't just some random killing. Everything is taken care of. "

His eyes continuously darted towards the dead body that lay a few feet away and his brothers grinning facce. It had all been a job-he realized- his brother was now killing for the gang. Merle was already in too deep.

He was too late.

He slowly unclenched his fingers from Merles collar and backed away.

"Now now, no need to get all dramatic on me. You've seen dead bodies before. "

Daryl clenched and unclenched his fists. His eyes stayed fixated on the body. Yes, he had seen dead bodies before. Hell, he had seen more killings then he'd like to remember, done things he wished he hadn't. But in that very moment, as he gazed upon the body, he knew that he had to let go of his brother go once in for all. They had never gotten along, didn't even like each other half the time, but they always had each other's backs. Would die, and have killed for each other.

But Daryl could no longer protect his brother. He had tried to save him, but Merle was now a lost cause. He went riding into waters Daryl had sworn to never cross again.

Without giving his brother another glance, he started walking towards the exit.

"Leaving so soon? "

"I've got nothing to say to you. " -His tone was cold, final- "you're on your own. "

Merle ran up to Daryl, gun still in hand, and blocked his path.

"Don't act as if you're any better than me, Daryl. As if you ain't done no wrong. "

He froze, as Merle laid a hand on his shoulder.

"This is our world; this is what we're good at. Join me; I want my brother by my side again. "

His jaw clenched in anger. Memories of his dark past flashed before his eyes, memories of sufferance of uncontrollable anger, of death, death by his own two hands. He closed his eyes, and slowly relaxed his face. No, he would not think of such things. He was better now. He wanted to be different. He would never fall back into that hell again. He wouldn't let the anger consume him any longer.

"I'm done with that kind of life; I'm trying to be a good person now. "

His brother gave him a mocking grin.

"You can't pretend to be something you're not. "

The faster she went the more she could drown out her own thoughts; she was shocked when she spotted the big familiar building looming in the distance.

She had ran so fast passed her usual running route that she had decided to keep going onward. Of course she should have realized that onward let directly to the firm. The very place she wished to avoid.

Letting out a frustrated sigh she spun around and began running in the opposite direction, bumping into pedestrians as she went.

This stupid city is too crowded. She thought scornfully.

Usually she loved to surround herself with the never ending crowds of people but today it all seemed to overwhelm her, the sensation of claustrophobia began creeping in. She felt as if there wasn't enough oxygen, as if everything was closing in on her.

She needed to get away from all these people.

She turned at random into a small street, and kept doing so until the crowd of people began to lessen and lessen to the point where she was alone on the streets. She passed by a small run down bar and came to an abrupt stop to catch her breath.

As her breathing began to regulate, she stood up straighter and took in her surroundings, trying to figure out exactly where she was. Her heart immediately sank in fear as she realized she was lost in what seemed to be a rougher part of the city.

Her eyes traveled to the alleyway she had halted in front of, and she immediately froze as she took in the scene before her.

Two men we're starring at her, one happened to be holding a gun, and behind them lay a dead man in a puddle of his own blood.

Before she had the chance to react she was being hustled into the alley by the very man holding the gun. She trashed uncontrollably against his hold and began calling desperately for help.

The man swore under his breath and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Quiet" -he growled

She felt the tip of his gun press to the side of her head; she went completely still.

The other man, the younger of the two, advanced upon them.

"What the hell are you doing? Let the girl go. "

"And have her run along to the police? "

Beth whimpered against the man's hand. Tears were now streaming down her face. Through her bleared vision she could see dark blue eyes regarding her sadly.

"She's innocent."

"She'll get us both killed."

Suddenly she was thrown onto the ground in front of both men. Her soft sobbing increased as she saw the older man raise his gun to her head. His light blue orbs were swiped clean of all emotion; there was no doubt that he was really going to do it.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die.

Just when she thought he was going to pull the trigger, the younger man with dark hair, grabbed the gun by the barrel and swung.

For Beth, everything went black.

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