Midnight Hour: A Daryl and Beth AU

Prologue:

There were explosions all around her. Bullets whistled past her head, she clutched her side where one of the bullets had grazed her and still she fought. She fought for the only person she had left in her life. Judith. Judith. She had to find Judith.

Beth had watched as the Governor had decapitated her father. She had watched her sister fall to the walkers and Glenn never left her side. He too went down fighting with Maggie. She didn't know where Rick or Carl had escaped to. She didn't know if they were even alive. Carol. Michonne. Tyreese. Sasha. Bob. Lizzie and Mika. Her family. She didn't know if any of them survived, but if they had they knew how to look after each other. The only concern she had now was Judith. Judith was a baby. She couldn't look after herself. Beth would protect her.

Beth heard the crying of the baby as she fought her way through the walkers. She had a gun in one hand and her tanto in the other. She fell to the ground as a walker grabbed at her ankle. Beth wheezed at the hard fall but turned and kicked as hard as she could and she heard the satisfying crunch of the walker's skull. She scrambled to her feet as she felt another bullet whiz by her and then a huge explosion as the tank… a freaking TANK shot at the prison wall behind her raining down rubble and other debris. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!" She slid behind the overturned bleachers and fired at a man with a rifle who had just shot an unarmed woman. The man fell and she took off again in the direction of the baby's cry. "I'm coming Judy. I'm coming"

She rounded the last corner and saw Lizzie fall to a walker as Mika held Judith close to her chest. "Mika!" Beth screamed as she took off at a dead run. She jumped over the fallen Lizzie; it was too late for her, and landed on the walkers back and stabbed it in the skull and then turned and shot another walker at point blank range. Beth looked over at Mika through her blond hair and red rimmed eyes. "Run. I'll be right behind you. Run!" Beth twisted her upper body and rolled out of the way of another walker. "Right here you bastards! Come and get me!" Beth fought two walkers that lunged at her, and then the next two that was right behind them. She was starting to get winded but she was glad that she took it upon her self to exercise daily since they had come to the prison. She had gotten Michonne to teach her to fight and she had even wielded Michonne's katana and gotten some what proficient in its use. She preferred the smaller Tanto katana and that's what she used to stab the last walker in the eye. She had Rick teach her about hand guns and the insistence of her father.

Her father. Her stomach twisted at the memory of Hershel's death at the hands of the governor. The bile rose in her throat at the thought of that evil man getting away with his murder… she wanted to kill him. Kill him with her own hands. Revenge.

Beth shook her head. She took off into the direction Mika had ran, grabbing the back pack that doubled as Judith's diaper bag. It was still a fight as she made her way into the woods and met up with Mika who had hidden by one of the trees. Her face was streaked with tears but she still held Judith tight in her arms. "Come Mika. We have to keep going. We aren't safe out here. We need to find some where to bed down for the night." Beth took Judith from Mika and gave Mika the back pack to carry as well as one of her knives she had strapped to her upper thigh.

She sheathed her tanto blade and gripped the glock in her right hand held Judith against her with her left arm. They ran. Ducking under tree limbs and jumping over logs. She could still here the guns from the prison and the explosions but they sounded distant. The wheezing moans and growls of the walkers were slowly over riding the noise of the prison attack.

Beth came to a grudging halt when she noticed that she didn't hear a second pair of feet behind her. "Mika?" Beth looked over her shoulder and saw that Mika was leaned against a tree trying to catch her breath. Her hands were on her knees and her head hung low.

"Beth, I don't know if I can run anymore. I'm so tired." Mika groaned as she fell to her knees. A sob escaped her frail body. Beth felt sadness overwhelm her but now was not the time to give into her grief. Judith yanked at her hair as if to remind Beth that they couldn't stay there.

Beth kissed Judy on the temple, " I know sweetie," She said to her and then focused her attention on Mika. " I know your tired, I know you are sad beyond anything. This is not the time nor the place to give into your grief Mika. We need to get further away and find somewhere safe to spend the night. We can grieve our loved ones once we are safe. They would want us to be safe."

Mika sucked in her breath and bit back a sob, "I know…" Mika used the tree behind her and walked towards Beth and Judith. "Beth, you're bleeding!"

Beth looked down and saw that blood was running freely down her right side and the whole right side of her jeans were dark red. She grimaced as if now seeing all the blood she felt the sting of where the bullet had grazed her. She grimaced, all though it hadn't penetrated her body it still needed to be treated. "The sooner we get to a safe place, then the sooner we can get it treated. Mika, let's go!" Beth took off at a jog hoping that Mika would be able to keep up with her. She could hear the dead getting closer and her fresh blood was making matters worse.

Daryl sniffed the wind. He smelled nothing but rotting flesh, the natural smell of the woods around him and smoke. He snorted at the smell of the smoke and shook his head back and forth. He hated the smell of smoke, it was acrid and choking. Smoke meant humans. He was surprised that there were any humans left. If they hadn't been destroyed by their dead then they were destroying themselves. He had seen what the humans could do to each other before the end and he had witnessed what they could do to each other after the end. Humans. He heard loud noises and screams coming from the large prison that he usually passed as he hunted.

He knew that there had been some humans who had taken up residence there, guess they had figured they would be safe. In this new world, there wasn't a safe place. He heard something go crashing into the woods not far from where he watched the fighting. He tilted his head, it was more then one something's, it sounded like two separate footsteps. They were moving, and quickly. Daryl let his curiosity get the better of him and took off at an easy lope towards the crashing noise. He dodged the rotter's as they tried to grab a hold of him. They were too clumsy and usually ended up tripping and falling to the ground. He snuffed at that. He found it somewhat humorous. Guess that's why he found his wolf form easier to get around in then his gangly human form.

He sniffed the ground and smelt the fresh blood splattering the ground. He licked his lips, and tasted it. It was fresh. He took off at an easy run deftly tracking the two humans and… his ears flicked forward as he heard a distinct whimper of a baby. He growled. The young was helpless. A child in this cruel dangerous world didn't stand a chance. Who would bring such an innocent life into a world like this?

Daryl sped up his pace and started tracking the two women and the innocent child they had with them. These woods were crawling with the dead. He feared for the little ones life.

Okay… that's it for now. Before I post any more chapters I wanted to know if its even worth my time to write it. The idea just would not leave me alone and so I had to write it. Let me know what you think!

MLD