Author Note: Thanks for the reviews! You guys are amazing. And Merle...Merle will be making his first appearance tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a bit more of Beth not being a total waste of space.


SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL

Chapter Two


Oh no. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. Beth stared up at him, her lips pressed into a flat and trembling line as she shook her head minutely, pleading to him in silence not to say anything. If the Governor found out she was from the prison, she'd be locked up along with Merle…if he didn't just kill her outright.

"What's going on out here?" a deep and commanding voice boomed from behind them, and Beth realised they were surrounded by people, all of them clucking like so many concerned hens. They parted to allow the man through, tall and imposing and dressed all in black with a patch over one eye.

The Governor.

Beth instinctively drew back, almost moulding herself to Tyreese's side, her breath quickening in fear. She prayed to God he wouldn't say anything. Even if she didn't know that this man was a monster, a psychopath who kept severed walker heads as trophies, terrorised her sister and Glenn, plotted to kill her family, Beth would've been afraid of him. She didn't know how the others couldn't feel the menace rolling off him in waves. The Governor made Merle look like a saint by comparison, and he'd been the unnamed bogeyman they'd been frightened of before.

She tried to make herself as small as possible, huddling into the crook of Tyreese's arm, her breaths coming out in small, sobbing pants as she shook with fear and exhaustion. If she'd been acting, Beth would've thought it to be overdone, but she wasn't.

"She was outside the wall," Tyreese explained slowly. "Biters all over the place…I know it ain't the rules but I couldn't let her be got out there." He encouraged her to move forward a little, and she stumbled, knees turning to jelly as she realised he - for whatever reason - had decided not to give her up.

The Governor was the one to catch her this time, and Beth fought to keep herself from panic at having his hands on her, even if he was only holding her by the arms. "Where did you come from, child?" he asked kindly, leaning down to get closer to her level.

"M-my sister and I, we had a camp on the road, got overrun -" Tears welled in her eyes once again, and distantly, Beth marvelled at her ability to produce so many. Michonne had coached her on the story three times over to make sure it was seamless; she was grateful for the reminder. "Those things got her, and I ran…I ran…I've got no bullets left and no food and -" she broke off into choked sobs that shook her thin shoulders, hoping that Tyreese would understand the necessity of the charade, and pass it onto the others in their group before they spilled her secret.

"Shhh," the Governor murmured, rubbing her arms slightly and petting her hair, oblivious to how her stomach curdled. "You're safe now. I'm sorry this happened to you, but you're welcome here. We'll protect you."

Sniffling slightly, Beth forced herself to nod and look appropriately grateful. She'd had one shot left in her revolver, but she'd dropped it somewhere outside the gate when Tyreese snagged her, she realised. The only weapon she had was the knife Daryl had given her concealed inside her boot; Beth hoped the Governor wouldn't order her searched. She might not be able to use the knife with any degree of skill - but if she found Merle, he'd need something weapon-wise. "Thank you," she whispered glancing up at him from beneath her lashes, eyes wide and impossibly blue. Michonne had also been the one to brief her about the Governor, and she'd understood why the older woman had stood up for her - ever the pragmatist, Michonne realised that Beth wasn't so far removed from his daughter. She thought that he'd maybe be more amenable to accepting her if she reminded him of Penny.

Giving her a smile she could only read as sinister, though she was fairly certain it was sincere, the Governor nodded as if he was satisfied. Then he stood up and looked around, lifting one hand off her to point to someone in the crowd. "You -" he rumbled, and Beth wondered if he even knew all their names. "Show the girl to a guest house. Make sure she eats something and check her out for injuries."

Then, just as suddenly as he'd arrived, he was walking away - and Beth found herself standing next to Tyreese's sister.


With no other choice, Beth followed silently after Sasha, trying to decide how to handle this unexpected situation. Rick had all but kicked them out of the prison and that counted against her. On the other hand, Carl had saved their lives in the tombs, and her father had patched them up. She hoped Tyreese wasn't the only one willing to keep her secret; she had no choice but to trust them now.

Sasha ushered her into a cozy looking apartment on the ground floor of a two-storey building. It was a little hokey, but it was worlds away from what they had at the prison. Woodbury might've been a place of nightmares, but it didn't look the part.

"Okay, what the hell?" Sasha demanded once she'd shut and locked the door behind them. "Why are you here, Beth? Did Rick turn you out? Is your father -"

"Shh, no," Beth whispered urgently, looking around, afraid someone might overhear them. "No, the Governor…he captured one of our group, he's keeping him locked up here in his little torture chamber."

"What?"

She winced at the volume of Sasha's voice. "Please…please be quiet," she begged. "If he finds out I'm from the prison, he'll kill me."

Sasha opened her mouth as if to dispute it, then shut it abruptly. "Andrea?"

Beth frowned. "What about her? Did something happen?"

"She set off for the prison…she went yesterday, to warn you…she never made it?"

Shaking her head, Beth felt cold settle into her chest and take root there. "Andrea's smart," she whispered. "She's a good fighter. It'd take more than walkers to stop her. The Governor must've found out -"

Sasha didn't say anything for a long moment, dragging her hands over her face as if trying to erase her worry. "I don't know who to trust any more," she admitted. "First Rick turfs us out, now you're saying the Governor's some sort of…crazy…you know he's telling the people here your group are murderers. Just this afternoon they got jumped at the grain depot -"

"It was a trap," Beth said sharply, lowering herself into a chair at the small dining table and laying her shaking hands out on the cool pine. "He tried to make a deal with Rick to hand over Michonne."

"Why?"

"She came here with Andrea; they travelled together since she got separated from our group eight months ago. The Governor's men picked them up…kidnapped them at gunpoint. Andrea got involved with him, but Michonne insisted on leaving. He sent a patrol out to - to kill her," Beth stuttered, wrapping her arms around herself. "She got away and found us, warned us that the Governor had taken my sister and her boyfriend. They tortured them…and that's when you guys showed up. The others were staging a rescue. If we'd known -"

Sasha had dropped into the chair opposite as Beth talked, and she shook her head looking dazed. "Shit," she muttered. "Tyreese…he had a bad feeling about the Governor when we heard about the biters he was rounding up."

He mouth twisted, and her eyes glimmered, and Beth swiped quickly at the corner of her eye. "He already did that to us once," she murmured. "Knocked down the outer gate, flooded the place with them. Daddy and Rick were out in the middle of it."

"Are they -?"

"They're fine. But he killed Axel...shot him in cold blood…he was standing there in the yard, talking to Carol and the Governor just…"

"Jesus," Sasha breathed. She seemed not to know what else to say. Then - "So, this afternoon -?"

"Right. This afternoon," Beth said hesitantly, thinking fast. If she told Sasha what really happened, what Rick did and the part Merle played in it, there was every chance she'd refuse to help at all. She didn't want Sasha to think that the Governor and Rick were as bad as each other. "Our man, the one that's being held, he went to scout the place out, found a whole ambush waiting. And he…" she pressed her lips together, trying to imagine what Merle was thinking as he approached the meeting place. "He just lost it. Tried to take out the Governor then and there, hoping that would stop the war, that we'd be left in peace. But he was got first and now…"

"Wait, you're telling me one guy did all that?"

Beth's mouth curled up slightly at the corner. That sounded like Merle alright. "Yeah. He was fighting for us," she said softly. "His brother is one of ours…he was just trying to give us a chance."

"He killed Ben," Sasha informed her quietly. "So if Allen sees you…"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I wish things hadn't happened this way. When you were with us — Rick just lost his wife…he wasn't thinking straight…now more people are dead."

They sat there in silence for a while, Beth looking at her hands, Sasha staring off into space, each lost in their own thoughts until the older woman suddenly stood up. "Alright, you need to get cleaned up," she said abruptly. "Allen's resting up for tomorrow's battle so he shouldn't be around. I'm going to go let my brother know what's happening."

As she moved towards the door, Beth reached out to touch her arm timidly. "Please -"

Sasha shook her head. "I'm not going to tell the Governor. You and your father were good to us, and that boy saved our lives. Far as I'm concerned, we owe you one."

Licking dry lips, Beth nodded. "Thank you…and Sasha? Sometime past midnight -" she took a deep breath, hoping she was doing the right thing. "Make sure you're not out on the street. No matter what you hear, don't come out."

Her eyes darkened. "Gonna set biters on us?"

"No, not if we can help it. It's just…we're outnumbered and outgunned, and the others want this over. Now. We can't keep living like this, and the Governor wouldn't agree to peace with us. He wants us dead, no matter what."

"Jesus," Sasha growled again, unlocking the door. "I'll be back."


There was something perverse about enjoying a warm shower whilst somewhere in this creepy little township Merle was being tortured by a sadistic monster. Andrea too, possibly, though Beth acknowledged that was the best possible outcome in this situation. As she scrubbed the blood and dirt from her skin and watched it circling down the drain, Beth reflected on how far beyond her maturity level all of this was. With the added variables of Sasha and Tyreese, and the undoubtedly vengeful Allen, she wasn't certain if she was going to make it out of Woodbury alive, never mind saving anyone along the way.

When the last of the strawberry scented shampoo had been rinsed from her hair - Now almost to her waist and badly in need of a trim, she noticed - Beth turned off the shower and stepped out, mournfully wondering if she'd ever get another one like it. Showers at the prison were freezing cold and unpleasant. They simply didn't have the knowhow to change things.

Tyreese and Sasha were both waiting outside in the living room when she'd dressed in the fresh clothes that had been found for her. The jeans were a little long, but she tucked them into her cowboy boots - looking dapper now they were cleaned of their grimy coating - and at least the pink t-shirt fitted well. She'd hidden Daryl's knife behind a book on one of the shelves, retrieving it before she went through.

Beth stopped in front of them nervously, looking from brother to sister and back again.

"Sasha told me -" Tyreese began, closing his eyes for a moment as if pained. "The Governor really did all that?"

She nodded, desolation in her face. "I've lost count of all the people we've had to bury since this thing started," she whispered. "My daddy, my sister — they're all I've got left. Them and the rest of our group, and the Governor's been out to destroy us since he found out about the prison. I know Rick would move us on if he could, but with the baby -" Beth shook her head. "We barely survived the last winter...there's just no way."

Tyreese blew out a breath, glanced at Sasha. She shook her head meaningfully.

"Okay," he said, seemingly to ignore his sister. "How can we help?"

From the irritated look on Sasha's face, she wasn't pleased about his offer, but she didn't say anything.

"The others told me where he - he held my sister. It's the second building on the right from the gate…under there somewhere, there's a kind of basement, I guess."

"I know the building you mean," Tyreese agreed. "we'll go with you."

Beth shook her head quickly. "No," she protested. "If things go wrong…if I'm captured or killed, you can't be implicated."

"We're implicated anyway," Sasha pointed out, her tone resigned. "We didn't say you were from the prison when we saw you. Whether you succeed or not, we're implicated. We've got no choice in the matter."

"You really wanna stay here?" Tyreese demanded. "After all you know now?"

Sasha pursed her lips and didn't reply.

Beth felt exhausted. She guessed it was already around eleven, and she felt as stretched taut as piano wire with the stress of what she'd undertaken. "What about Allen?" she asked Tyreese tentatively, and was surprised to see him bite his lip, looking guilty.

"Best if he doesn't know about any of this," he rumbled, shifting his weight. "When we were at the prison…before Rick and the others came back…he suggested we should - you know -"

She blinked, feeling stupid. "No, I don't know."

"Kill you," Sasha blurted out. "He thought we should kill you all and take the prison for ourselves, since you were weak. He thought the story about the others was a lie to make us behave."

Beth sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like she'd taken a punch to the gut. Her lower lip trembled and she fought the urge to just curl up and cry. Was it always going to be like this? Were they going to spend the rest of their lives at the mercy of others, knowing at any moment someone may come along and try to kill them? The prison was horrible, dark and dingy and tomblike; it was mostly safe but at the price of living behind iron bars. They were starving and surrounded by the dead, and still there were people out there wanting to take from them what little they'd managed to scrape together. If that was all they had to look forward to, what was the point?

"Why didn't you?" she asked dully, twisting her fingers in the hem of her t-shirt.

"Allen doesn't speak for all of us," Tyreese said. "He's not…a good man. And his son was going the same way before he was killed. We're better off without him. That is, if you think Rick will let us come back."

They were both looking at her intently, and Beth realised she was being asked to make a decision. "He will," she she told them, resolving to do what she could to convince him. He wasn't unreasonable, and two extra bodies could only be to their advantage. "It's not a life like this one," Beth warned. "You've seen how things are for us. But if you want it, you're welcome to come back with us. Rick won't turn you away again."

"Alright," Tyreese agreed. "Sasha said you're making a move at midnight. We need to keep you out of sight until then. We may as well eat whilst we wait."


Beth picked at her sandwich, even though she marvelled at the existence of fresh bread in their post-apocalyptic world, her stomach too tied up in knots of anxiety to get much down. Sasha had gone out and returned with a pair of rucksacks containing their clothes and as much food and medicine as they could fit in, along with their weapons and ammunition. It was a good peace offering, Beth told herself, knowing every little would help when it came to Rick.

The minutes crawled by, and she couldn't stop herself from fidgeting, oscillating between the worry that they were going to be caught, to the possibility that they were too late and Merle was already dead. She didn't know what she'd do then. The thought that Daryl could have his brother back, that the whole world hadn't completely gone down in flames, was all that was keeping Beth afloat. She was exhausted and scared, and she just wanted to go back to the time when they weren't the dominant emotions in her repertoire. They all needed some hope.

Eventually, she unfolded herself from the hard wooden chair and turned the lights off. The flat was eerie with only what little light filtered in from the street outside, and the soft sound of three people breathing in tandem. Beth stood by the door, the knife she'd removed from her boot in one hand, the other resting lightly on the door handle waiting for her signal.

They didn't have long to wait. From the north end of the street, there came an almighty explosion, followed shortly after by the sounds of screaming. Beth hurled herself out of the door, glancing back only once to check that Tyreese and Sasha were behind her. People were milling around outside, running in all directions, panicked to insensibility as the guards on duty tried to keep order. Three figures creeping in the shadows were paid no mind, especially once a volley of smoke grenades came hissing over the barricade, plunging the street into disarray.

"This is it," Tyreese hissed, ushering the girls into the building Beth had described. She could hear the Governor's voice bellowing outside, so she figured they were safe to go snooping around, unless…

She rounded the corner and almost ran head first into a dark haired man, letting out a squeak of horror. The Governor had left a guard on duty; of course he had. No one ever said this job was going to be easy.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!" he snarled, raising his gun to point it at her forehead. His eyes were black pits in his face that moved to the knife in her hand before they looked at the rest of her. The corner of a bandage peeked out from the sleeve of his t-shirt. There was every possibility that he'd gotten his vengeance on Merle for that, for it was undoubtedly a piece of his legacy from that afternoon.

Beth gasped, almost falling backwards as cold fear spilled into her chest and constricted her breathing. Thinking he was going to shoot her, she managed just one rasping breath, before bursting into tears.

"Whoa, whoa, what the hell, kid?" the man said after a moment, lowering his weapon a fraction. "Hey, shh, I'm not going to hurt you," he protested, sounding almost sorry. "You can't be down here is all."

"I'm sorry!" Beth wailed. "There's something happening outside, I just ran into the first building I saw! There's walkers everywhere, it's not safe out there, please don't kill me -" If there were still awards ceremonies, she was pretty sure she'd be in for a shot at an Oscar. She hoped Tyreese and Sasha were ready around the corner; they'd been smart enough to stay out of sight, but they wouldn't be able to go back out without making a noise and alerting the guard to their presence.

Around the corner, there came the sound of shuffling steps, and an eerie groan. Beth's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and she let out a whimper. The guard frowned, bringing up his pistol once more, and shunting her behind him, within touching distance of the corrugated iron door behind which she knew they were holding Merle. With cold clarity Beth didn't even know she possessed, she silently picked up the chair he'd been lounging in and turned around. She couldn't risk the guard shooting Tyreese and Sasha; they were the ones providing a distraction, she was sure of it. And if the Governor heard a gun shot he'd be back in here before she could blink.

Steeling herself, Beth brought the chair down on the back of the guard's head with every ounce of strength she possessed, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"Tyreese?" she whispered, watching the guard's gun go skittering across the concrete. If she'd been wrong about the source of the noise, she was now without a weapon except for Daryl's knife, and there was a walker waiting for her.

Fortunately, two familiar faces popped around the corner, both of them wearing expressions of surprise. "That's Martinez," Tyreese told her. "Tough sonofabitch; I can't believe you took him down with a chair."

"Neither can I," Beth admitted, swooping down to grab the pistol, before turning her attention to the torture chamber, carefully unlocking the door and throwing it open.