A/N: I have been writing awhile and I decided it's time to change fandom, and what better fandom then The Walking Dead. My grammar can fail me at times so don't be afraid to point out any mistakes. I am a huge fan and plan on intertwining the TV series, comic books, and my own imagination into my writing here. The rating is due to violence mostly for now and I would probably want to be caught up in season 4 before you read too much of this fic. Hoping for your feedback.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or 'Survival' by Eminem. Sad days.
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He took me, took me from the only person I had left in this world. Just as I became comfortable with the truth of only having that one person, I was torn away from him. And now… now I had to come to grips with losing him too because the reality was that the chances of us ever seeing each other again alive were slim to none. I wouldn't cry, not this time… I had cried for my father, my sister, Judith, Rick, Carl; I had already cried for them. But he wouldn't want me to cry for him, he wouldn't want me to give this creep the satisfaction. I would be tough, not because I had to be but because it was the only way he'd continue to remain in my life.
I was in a trunk and it would have been more frightening if I hadn't already spent the night in one, there was more room but thinking about why that was, wasn't something I'd allow myself to do. There wasn't much room to move around but my hands started searching, almost automatically for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. Someone who kidnapped girls in this kind of world wasn't someone that needed an introduction or even deserved one. There was nothing.
What scared me most wasn't the small space, the dark, or the fact that I was completely and utterly alone. It was the calm breaths that filled the small space, there wasn't any fear as to what would happen next, just an eerie calm. Somehow, I just knew that one way or another I would get out of this; coming out alive would just be a bonus. The car jerked to a halt and every muscle, even muscles I didn't know existed tensed. This was the moment of truth, there wasn't going to be a fight, I was going to play it smart. Underestimating someone is one of the worst things a person can do, all I could hope for was that whoever had me believed I was just a dumb, weak, little blonde girl.
When my eyes finally adjusted to the sunlight when the trunk opened there was a priest standing above me with a smile that I couldn't help but find deceiving. He outstretched his hand toward me, telling me that I was safe now and his name was Father Lucas. I hid my emotions of concern, doubt, and fear and took his hand. Showing resistance would definitely make the wrong impression, I was just going remain as calm as possible and assess the situation before making a plan.
"I'm Beth," I said with a steady breath. His face broke into a grin; seemingly happy with the response I was giving him.
"You're safe now, Beth," he said again, leading me away from the car toward a small house. "We have a good community here."
I took in as much of my surrounding as I could without it being too obvious that I was looking for somewhere, anywhere to run. Trees surrounded us, I wasn't sure how big the forest was but if I could get there I knew I would be able to survive, Daryl had taught me that much.
He led me inside the cabin into a room full of four bunk beds, telling me that I would earn my weapon back with trust. I looked around the room; there were three other girls there, all around my age. They looked scared but relief fell on their faces almost instantly when they realized who was entering the room.
"Ladies, this is Beth, she's new to our community. Welcome her with open arms," he said in an overly joyful voice before turning around and leaving. The click of the door locking behind him was all that was heard before his heavy footsteps fell along the old cabin floors.
The three girls were on their own separate beds, with wide eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence before the brunette spoke up.
"That bed there is open," she said meekly, pointing to a bottom bunk furthest from her.
"What is this place?" I asked, making my way over to the thin and worn out mattress. The girls looked at me briefly before glancing away. The small Asian girl shook her head and let out a sad chuckle.
"Welcome to hell, Beth," she said as the other two tried to quiet her. "They will break you down until you end up like these two submissive, sorry excuses of women… I'm Hannah, that is Cora," she said pointing to the brunette. "And that's Christine," she pointed at girl with short red hair.
I could only assume that the people she was talking about were the people that wanted us locked in this room. Thinking about what made this place hell gave me duck bumps, I scratched the back of my head in frustration before getting up and searching around the room, again for anything I could use to defend myself. I would rather die before I let any of these people do anything to me against my will.
"You can't say that Hannah," Cora said in a hushed tone. "We are still alive."
"Yeah," said Hannah, rolling her eyes. "We can't say much more about Christine's sister."
That shut Cora up, tears brimming her eyes. I stopped and looked at Hannah for an answer.
"Her name was Tanya, when she tried to fight back and escape," Hannah paused. "They stood her right where you're standing and pulled the trigger. A way to teach us all a lesson, I guess."
Cora was crying now and Christine was pretending not to listen to the story of her sister's death. Shifting my feet before continuing to look for a weapon, I remained silent. Daryl could only look for me for so long, once he lost the trail there was no hope that he'd be able to find me. I wasn't naïve enough to believe he would try and follow a dead trail, how could he? So it was up to me and me alone to get the fuck out of here.
"You won't find anything," Hannah said, her eyes on me. There was almost a sense of humor behind her stare.
"Yes, I will," I said before lifting the mattress. "I have a family and I'm gonna find 'em."
Hannah shook her head. Even in the current situation I wasn't going to lose hope, my Dad would never allow something like that. Before I realized what was happening Cora got up from her bed and pushed me as hard as she could. It didn't result in much, I stumbled forward before turning to face her.
"You'll get us all killed, you stupid bitch," she said in an even weaker voice, attempting to push me again. I grabbed her wrists and pushed back, making her fall onto Christine's bed.
"Don't touch me again," I warned in a voice I could hardly recognize as my own. "I could care less if you want to stay here and let these people have their with you. I don't know you, do whatever you want but I ain't stayin' here because you're too scared to do something about it."
Throwing the mattress off of the bed, I examined the wooden bed frame carefully. Cora was crying silently now as Christine tried to comfort her.
"If… if you work your way up they let you have your own room… even a weapon," Cora said hesitantly as if she were trying to convince me of something. I glanced at her before turning back to the bed frame, thumbing the rusted nails that held the bed together.
"Don't plan on staying here that long," I said before stopping to look at her again. "Are there many girls that have left this room for their own?"
She shook her head slightly before saying there were only two that she knew of. I sighed and looked at Hannah this time.
"How many people are here?"
She shook her head and looked at me as if I were crazy for even thinking about escaping.
"How many?" I said a little louder.
"There are fifteen, including the two other girls," Christine said as comforting hand still resting on Cora's shoulder. "I've been here the longest… it's impossible. Please… please just believe me."
"If we work together, we can run," I said, ignoring her plea.
"And survive out there? With the corpses and no food?" Christine asked skeptically. I rolled my eyes at her as if to say that anywhere is better than here. She was talking as if the walkers were the ones we had to be worried about.
"Where do they keep the weapons, do you know?" I asked her. I wanted my knife back, if I couldn't find Daryl or anyone of the group at least I'd have something to remind me of them; I'd have something to maintain that hope.
"There's a shed out back," she whispered so quietly that I could hardly hear. "They keep it locked though, you won't be able to get into it."
"You won't make it that far," Hannah piped in, nervously glancing at the door. "We need to shut up, they'll hear us."
I looked at the door; there were no signs of anyone on the other side. There were no footsteps, heavy breathing, or shadow of feet seen through the crack separating the floor from the door.
"Who has the keys?" I asked in a quieter voice, just to be safe.
"Father Lucas… he's in charge… he… he won't hurt you, not directly," Christine whispered back.
"I'm leavin'," I confirmed with such authority in my voice that it brought Christine to her feet. She was coming with; I glanced at Hannah and Cora. Cora kept shaking her head and climbed onto a top bunk. Hannah sighed before standing up beside Christine.
"What's your plan?"
Before anything else could be said loud footsteps were approaching. Christine and Hannah quickly lifted the mattress I had thrown onto the ground back onto its frame before scurrying off to their own bunks.
"Sounds like William," Christine observed, in a terrified voice. "He's the worst of them all—he."
"He's coming for you," Hannah interrupted. "He's the one who will take everything you have left and break it into a million pieces. You'll see… you'll come back and be just like us."
The lock of the door clicked open, Father Lucas was smiling brightly. Behind him was a large man, maybe even bigger than Tyreese with grin plastered on his face. He praised the Father for finally finding a blonde before ripping me out of the bunk.
