"Com'n Beth, we gotta go." He paused, his voice low and his tone drained and sad. "We gotta go!" She took only a second to look back; the tank in flames, the walkers moving in fast, and the smell of death…both fresh and old filled the smoke filled air. She tore her gaze away from the shattered prison and forced all thoughts of her father, Maggie, and the children out of her mind as she put her bravest face on. She nodded her head lightly as she clutched the gun she had in her hand, turning sharply on her heels before she followed Daryl, quickly falling into pace with the older man as they fled the scene, running for their lives and praying to find safety. Neither of them knowing what the future would bring whenever they got where they were going…IF they ever got where they were going.

Would it be considered suicide if she simply lay in the warm grass and let the walkers overtake her? Technically it wouldn't have been killing herself…right? I mean, surely it would look like a girl who was ambushed during a moment of exhausted weakness. That would be the story that Daryl could tell Maggie, Glenn, and the rest of them whenever he found them. If she just lay there and waited until she saw the black light, then Daryl could just continue on, probably making it to the rest of the group a hell of a lot quicker than if she stayed with him. Hell, it was probably only a matter of time before he ditched her anyhow; she knew she wasn't exactly the ideal partner to get stuck with while trying to survive in the world that had gone to shit.

Her thoughts filled her head, new thoughts and questions passing through her mind a million miles a second, but her original question still remained unanswered. Would it be considered suicide? She honestly didn't know, and in her heart of hearts she knew she wouldn't find out. Still, laying there in the warm grass with the setting sun beating down on her pale face and the faint sound of one or two walkers in the distant background made her question it all. She was exhausted not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. Her father was dead; killed brutally by a sick bastard…her home was gone; blown up and shot down by an army of men and women, and then overtaken by walkers…her family was torn apart; scattered and forced to flee separately during the madness. All of it was way too much to take in and way too much to handle but for some reason the young blonde just couldn't get herself to cry.

"What're ya doin' out here girl? Have ya lost ya damned mind, layin' in the grass like that? It's like ya just waitin' on a walker to get ya!" Beth was pulled quickly from her thoughts by the sound of an exhausted voice trying to be stern, but somehow failing. "Get your ass up and com'n. I cleared out the house so we just got to secure it down. We'll crash here 'til we figure somethin' else out."

The past few days had been rough not only on Beth but on Daryl as well, and just as bad too. They had managed to flee the prison and had made it back to his bike where they had driven for hours until the bike literally couldn't drive anymore. Of course, luck hadn't been on their side and it was dark when the bike finally gave way, forcing them to spend the entire night running and running, taking down walkers without making a sound, and overall just trying to survive the night. They had managed to rest for a few hours before they had gone right back to running, finding miles and miles of nothing but forest on one side and fields on the other.

Finally, their saving grace had come and they had found a medium sized house on a plot of land, darkness was about to fall and the temperature was slowly dropping. They knew the house was their only hope, but instead of helping Daryl clear it out, Beth had slowly collapsed in the grass, letting the harsh flashbacks fill her sight and her sadistic thoughts fill her mind.

Beth shook away all of her thoughts as she finally stood up. "Sorry." She paused, letting her deep blue eyes look into his as her shoulders slumped heavily, her body exhausted. "Not really too sure what I was doin'"

"T's okay Beth." Daryl met her eyes with a soft gaze, knowing she had just been through a lot. "But we ain't got time to rest in the grass. Only got a few hours of light left, we gotta make sure this place is secure."

Beth nodded her head as she bent down and gathered her things, letting silence take over as she followed him to the house, keeping close behind him.

"Hey Daryl, can I ask ya a question?"

The last few hours of daylight had been spent looting the place for anything and everything that could possibly be useful before gathering everything into the biggest bedroom in the house which they decided to hole up in for the night. They had hung a blanket over the window with an old hammer and rusty nails, and had found some candles and matches too offer them a bit of light throughout the dark night.

Once they had secured everything, they had silently shared an old can of beans…a meal that most would have turned their nose up too before the outbreak, but now the best thing either of them had come across in days. Finally, they had gathered their blankets and pillows and settled down in bed for a restless night, sharing the mattress and blankets, but never laying close enough to touch.

"Mmm?" Daryl moaned slightly in return, keeping his eyes closed as he waited for her voice to fill the air once again.

Beth took a deep breath in and let it out slowly before she began to talk, her voice breaking slightly. "Do ya think we're gon' be okay?" She could feel tears threatening to fall. "Do ya think we're gon' find our family?"

"Go to sleep Beth. We're gonna be jus' fine."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Alright, so this is my first story in a very, very long time. I used to write, but then went through some things that just took me away from it. I've finally decided to get back into writing and figured I'd start here. I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but I have a ton of ideas for this story. Please let me know what you all think. It would be amazing to get feedback since this is my first story in nearly forever. Much Love!

The story is going to be Beth/Daryl centered, but I may bring in other characters later. It is rated M for violence, sexual themes, and also to give myself lots of room for later chapters.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead, the idea behind it, the characters, or the actors involved.