She was terrified. She had seen these creatures, these dead people kill and eat people, even some people she knew. Most people had fled and she had tried with them. She had gotten stuck in her dorm trying to get some of her stuff so she could get back to the farm. A few narrow escapes and listening to bombs hit different parts of the city later had her on the the run. With a duffel bag and a few weapons she had been barely surviving. She was good at hiding, good at watching, good at seeing people before they saw her so that's what she did. Her family was hopefully on the farm and her boyfriend was on a hunting trip with his brother, which terrified her. Her cell was dead and probably useless anyway and calling Daryl while he was in the woods was usually pointless anyhow.
She had seen the some of the people from the group go into the store and was debating with herself whether or not to go up to them when she saw him, the cop on a horse. Saw what happened to the horse too. She didn't think she would ever get that sight out of her head, not that dead people eating the living was so much better, but her soft spot for animals ran deep. She watched and waited seeing what they would do. Some gunshots and screaming later, she wasn't too sure about them anymore, even if that cop did get himself out of quite the sticky situation.
Deciding to make her way through while that group had been causing chaos seemed like her best option, hopefully safely making her way out of the city, heading to the farm was her goal and she just hoped Daryl and Merle headed there as well. She heard the car before she saw it, and it was bringing the dead to her quickly so she stepped up her pace and then started jogging to put distance between them and her. The car with the alarm going off was getting closer and she was running faster when the car approached. A young Asian man stared at her eyes wide and yelled, "Get in!"
She thought about it for a few seconds before deciding he looked less dangerous than the things trying to eat her, so she ran to the other side of the car and jumped in.
"I'm Beth," she said breathlessly.
"Glenn," the young man said to her while driving like a bat out of hell but he also seemed to be enjoying himself. They arrived at what looked like a large campsite and suddenly there were a lot more people, either yelling at Glenn for the car being loud or staring at her with interest. Before much in the way of introductions could be made, a large truck pulled up and the people started coming out. She watched misty eyed as the cop she had watched had a tearful reunion with his family. It was beautiful to see and she hoped to have the same thing soon.
"Who are you?" she heard a voice say as she watched the scene before her. She turned around to see a young girl looking up at her with curiosity.
"I'm Beth, Glenn found me and gave me a ride. What's your name, sweetie?"
"Sophia," the little girl said and smiled shyly at her. An older woman with cropped hair walked up to her and offered her a bottle of water and said, "You look like you been running for a while, I bet you're thirsty."
"Thanks, I'm Beth," she said as she stuck out her hand to shake the woman's hand.
"Carol," the woman said, giving her a soft smile and shaking her hand. She heard a rushed conversation between a group of men and decided to sit back and watch like Daryl taught her to get the best handle on the situation. Eventually it all calmed down and there was food, actual cooked food and she was so happy for it. Living on what she could find and take with her had gotten old a while ago, but food was food and she was happy just to be eating. There were also introductions, not that she had a hope of remembering everyone's names at that point. Two women she had met earlier, Andrea and Amy offered to let her sleep in their tent which she gratefully accepted, and actual sleep, not broken naps while in a constant state of fear would be nice.
The next morning she went down to the quarry with the other women to clean up but remained fairly quiet, her worry about Daryl and her family eating away at her. She knew Daryl could survive. He was built for it, but she hated being separated from him. She sat lost in thought while the other women laughed amongst themselves, when she heard the sounds of a fight breaking out back at the camp. She and the others rushed back to camp to see the men trying to subdue someone. Someone familiar.
"Daryl!?" she yelled as she saw her boyfriend trying to get out of a chokehold.
