A/N: Miss you, sis.
You're Not Alone –
Chapter One – The Fire is Coming, So I Think We Should Run
The ground shook with another explosion, making dust and rubble pelt Beth as she raced through the cellblocks of the prison. Blue eyes hurried from cell to cell, names of the youth that used to occupy the cells spilling in terrified cries from the blonde Greene daughter. Mika and Lizzie, gone. Beth pushed herself to run further, faster, her hands white with her tight grip on her gun.
One of her hands shot out in front of her and she slammed the cell block door open, her legs skipping steps down and flying toward the cellblock she had called home for the past year or so, her free hand flying out to rip the door open. Her wide blue eyes fell on a man standing in the center of their living quarters, his eyes wide as he takes in the blonde. He's not one of theirs, one of her family. Beth's gun is at her shoulder and her finger is pulling the trigger before she even realizes what she is doing. The man stops in shock before falling backwards, blood beginning to dribble from the hole in his forehead. The world stops for Beth as she realizes what has happened.
She killed a man. The gun drops to her side as the blonde approaches the body. A pain and numbness simultaneously fill her chest as she stares at the body of a stranger. A stranger who may have a wife or kids. The world falls silent to Beth as she feels terror creep into her bloodstream. A shiver that snakes through her extremities almost makes her vomit. Truth be told, she would have if her terror and shock had not been interrupted by another explosion and the wail of a baby.
Judith.
Concern and adrenaline course through Beth's body in a blink as she races up the stairs to her cell, the last place she had seen the babe. She freezes when her blue eyes fall on Judith's car seat sitting outside her cell. Someone had been preparing to move Judith before her. Beth's eyes searched the open and empty cell block for Rick, Carl, Daryl, or anyone else from her family who may have been in here before her but finds nothing and nobody.
Her wide eyes fill with tears at the sight of Judith sitting in the car seat, her small face red and scrunched up in her crying. Judith's eyes meet Beth's and her wails grow louder, her arms raising for Beth to pick her up as another explosion rocks the cellblock. The blonde throws her body into her cell and under her bed where a diaper bag is prepared for an emergency exit. Beth had hoped to never have to use it when she had made it but now she is glad she did.
She pulls the strap of the diaper bag over her shoulder and picks up the car seat carrier. Judith gives a mixed cry and hiccup and kicks her legs unhappily at still being stuck in the seat, making Beth sigh.
"Sorry, Judy, I just need a minute. Soon, okay?" Beth picks her gun up and adjusts the diaper bag and carrier. Carrying the gun is awkward and Beth realizes that she will be greatly slowed down with the extra weight and the awkwardness of the diaper bag and car seat but supplies for Judith were getting harder to find and she could not afford to go without them right now. The car seat might have to go but it would be necessary for Judith's safety on the bus.
Beth does her best to run down the stairs and out of the cellblock with her heavy load and heaves a great sigh when she manages to get back outside. Her relief is shortened when she sees that the bus is no longer parked where it had been when she ran to get the other kids.
"No, no…shit," the blonde curses as she sets down the carrier and diaper bag. "Okay, Judy, it's just us. Hang on, baby girl. We'll go find your daddy, Carl, and Daryl and get out of here, okay?" Her hands make quick work of digging through Judith's diaper bag, pulling out a gray carrier that she straps on to her body so that Judith will sit across her chest. She then quickly unbuckles the buckles of the car seat and lifts Judith out of the seat and into the cloth carrier on her chest.
"There we go. It's okay, Judy," Beth coos as she adjusts the diaper bag and gun again, turning her body to face the yard of the prison. Her blue eyes widen at the sight of the walker in front of her and Beth gasps as the walker tries to grab her and Judith. Her gun clatters to the ground as she dodges away from the walker, her hand flying to her pocketknife. The blade is in the walker's skull before Beth even registers moving her arm and blood pours out and onto Beth's shoes and Judith's car seat. Judith whimpers against Beth's neck and the blonde gives a small "hmm" in response.
"We're okay, baby girl." Beth bends awkwardly and picks her gun back up and jogs to the yard of the prison, her blue eyes searching for any of her family members. She spots the tank and is happy to see smoke billowing from the inside. She determines one of her family must have dropped a grenade or something into it. Her eyes then find one of the Governor's men laying in front of it with a green feathered bolt in his chest.
Her heart skips a beat and she jogs around the tank hoping to see the archer still nearby.
Her heart lifts when she catches sight of the angel wing vest and her eyes tear up slightly at the sight of him still fighting to keep their home. Walkers are spilling into their yard and clambering to get to the archer, and now Beth, and Beth can tell that it's time to leave.
"Da!" Judith cries out happily and Daryl pauses, his head whipping around to see Beth stab a walker in the head, Judith strapped to her chest.
"Beth!" he hollers as he fights the small herd of walkers that are now surrounding the two. Beth's head whips to meet his gaze and relief fills his heart at the sight of her brief smile. At least two of his family is still alive and determination fills him to keep it that way.
But the number of walkers around them continues to double and he can see exhaustion in Beth's movements and fights to ignore his own exhaustion as he continues to struggle to get to her and Judith, who is now crying loudly and attracting more attention to Beth.
"Beth! Run!" he yells to the blonde and she stops for just a moment, her eyes wide. She shakes her head furiously.
"No, I'm not leavin' you!"
"Run! I will find you, I swear! Run, girl!" Beth's eyes meet Daryl's and he sees a mixture of emotions in her eyes, some of them he doesn't understand but he figures they might be similar to the very unpleasant and terrifying feelings he has in his chest and stomach. Beth nods as she stabs another walker and Daryl swallows a lump in his chest as she turns and runs.
Daryl kills a few more walkers that are between him and the exit of the prison and runs, determined to find what he figures are the only two surviving members of his family.