This is a new (slow burn) Bethyl story that takes place after 5.08 and is based on
some of the Beth theories circulating the internet with, of course, my own take on Beth's return.
Enjoy.
Song: I Found by Amber Run
Ch. One
"I found love where it wasn't supposed to be
Right in front of me
Talk some sense to me..."
She looked into her pale eyes through the dirty, cracked mirror, gazing at her battle scars; one above her right brow, one on her cheek, and the biggest one of all, the bullet wound on her forehead that was off to the left side of her face in a painful memory of what had happened two months back. She was shot, as the inhabitants of Grady explained, a real miracle when she survived. There was a huge backlash, however, and their own was killed in spite of what had happened. Dawn deserved it, she thought as her hand fell limp at her side at the thought of their once deranged leader. She did shoot me...and push me around. But then again, the reason for being shot was because of Beth's own stupidity, believing that a pair of safety scissors would manage to wound a trained police officer in a bulletproof vest. At least Beth had confidence. And it never faded since.
"Beth," a hurried voice came through the room with a shuffling of feet to follow.
The girl looked behind her to see a tall lady with dark chestnut curls that ended at her shoulders standing on the threshold of her doorway. She was wide eyed, and Beth knew exactly what had happened.
"Be right there," she assured, pushing herself away from the mirror on the wall and towards the doorway.
The past two months have been nothing but work for Beth. She didn't want to seem like a charity case, yet she wished to have a break. It was the same routine; wake up, tend to patients in the hospital, do chores, eat lunch, do more chores, and have a small helping of food for dinner. Then the night ended with Beth clutching her pillow close to her face as she felt tears form behind her eyes at the gnawing feeling in her heart that told her she shouldn't be there.
No matter how much she fussed, Beth could never get anyone at Grady to let her go. She wanted to search for her group, or at least find herself somehow. She didn't know anything, remember anyone, but nobody cared. They never budged, causing Beth to contemplate the possibilities of sliding down the elevator shaft once and for all. It was just there, in the west wing, tempting her with each time she walked past the double doors that led into the corridor. An older woman who worked in the cafeteria was the one who shared a little scrap of information with her - that Beth had once escaped that way with a kid named Noah. That name didn't sound familiar at all. It picked at her brain, though, as if leading her to find some piece of the puzzle that her thoughts were dismembered of.
Beth walked passed the said corridor and stared through the glass windows that could make or break her fate. An officer now patrolled the elevator; last week a new member of Grady felt brave and just jumped. They didn't even think about the possibility of death, or becoming walker bait. It was this tragic loss that became the gossip everyone lived and breathed off of that week.
Lowering her head after being caught by the officer, Beth walked towards the patient's room, A-98, as stated by the black card bolted to door frame, and could already hear the gnarls and screaming coming within. The victim of the vicious walker bite was one of the newbies. She wasn't much older than Beth, probably nineteen or twenty, and already had a baby girl that Beth had become close to during their time at Grady. To think that someone who had grown to become a friend was one of them, those things, killed her.
The door swung open before Beth could even blink, staring straight into Steven Edwards face. Blood covered his once white lab coat and dotted his face and glasses. A cringe appeared on Beth's face automatically.
"Beth, we don't need you," he said, blocking Beth's view.
Beth stood on her tiptoes to try to get a good look at her friend, Regan, only to see the blonde being held down by five of their workers. They were all screaming commands at one another and trying to keep from getting bitten by Regan's snapping mouth.
Gulping, Beth tried pushing him aside. "I can do it."
Edwards shook his head. "You can't, Beth."
"Yes, I can! Just let me through - " that's when everybody heard a gun go off, a shiver running down Beth's spine, and her blood running ice cold.
The moans disappeared into a silent sigh, the staff's screams no longer echoing off the walls. Beth felt the tears rise up through her eyes and shoved herself away from Edwards with a look of disgust on her face.
"It had to be done," he said sadly.
Beth sucked in her lips and wiped away the tears running down her cheeks. "I know that."
Suddenly, one of the workers appeared in front of Beth with a mop in one hand. "Clean up duty," he said, pushing the object into Beth's shaky grasp.
Edwards stepped to the side to allow the workers through with Regan's lifeless body in their hands, the bloody white blanket forming a seal around her body. They were taking her to the elevator shaft where all the other bodies went. Not even a proper burial for someone that once graced these halls with nothing more than happiness and cheer in a gloomy, death-ridden world.
The double doors slammed shut, and Beth could hear the body as it fell on top of all the other rotting corpses.
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