Beth rolled the dead man over. He had a small knife in a holster on his hip. She unsheathed the knife and shoved it through his forehead. "Thank you, I'm sorry." She whispered while she shut his empty brown eyes. The door creaked as she shut it. She wanted to see if the man had anything else on him. Her stomach reminded her, she wanted to check the contents of the supposed food he threw. It was her intention to do these things uninterrupted by anyone, dead or not. She took off the holster, putting it on her own right thigh.
As perverse as she would have thought, she took the stranger's clothing. The torn fabric she wore around her body had become shredded in most parts. Being the same size as her, his t-shirt and shorts combo fit her just fine. To her delight, she found one piece of mint chewing gum in his pocket but nothing else.
The bag had landed between her and the mirror. Her stomach demanded she rip it open, scattering the contents all over the floor. Beth didn't care. Her mouth couldn't distinguish between the crumbs of dust and the apple. The girl took a moment to silently thank God and ate quickly. Stepping out into the hallway, Beth realized she stood in an abandoned hospital. The weak man stood no chance against her; she doubted he could handle a walker alone. Turning around she discovered a staircase. "So everyone else must be on the bottom floor." She thought aloud while searching for anything of use among the scattered pieces of rubble.
A window opened in the room next to her. "Stan, you had direct orders from the Captain to leave the girl alone." Beth could see an African American women warning. The woman walked through the room and into the hallway. The door to the bathroom hung wide open. "You just couldn't control yourself could you?" Without hesitation, Beth took another life. Sobs overtook her.
Not because the woman's story just ended, but because at Beth's feet, an angel lay; an angel with automatic weapons. Riot gear- she had seen it once before at the prison. A few hours had passed and the sun flew high in the sky. She felt the weight of the gear on her shoulders. Beth felt weak, but determined. She climbed through the open window. The fire escape creaked under her weight. "Well, no sense of going to the roof unless I want to burn alive." She said taking her first step down the rusty emergency exit. Her eyes became clouded- she couldn't see. The sweat poured down her forehead like the condensation of a cool glass of lemonade on the same hot summer day.
She paused at an open window about half way down. An older voice screeched "I heard something hit the floor I swear!" Some heavy footsteps followed and another voice, this time a man's, "Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!" All the commotion in the room allowed her to walk right by. The final descent to the ground ended in a 10 foot drop to the concrete. Rolling with her shoulder forward just like her sister Maggie taught her, she expertly maneuvered herself into a standing position, ready to attack. Instead, she found nothing. Strangely, she stood in a silent alleyway. Two cars sat abandoned, but no walkers in her sight. The first car sat in a heap of twisted metal. She took a quick peek inside but came upon nothing of value. "What's behind curtain number 2?"
Flash- the car that took her the last night she had seen Daryl. She didn't remember until she saw it. A broom handle snapped near her. She could feel the bullet pierce her. Her arm fell limply to her side. Her finger held the trigger down firmly, unloading her clip in the direction of the crack. Ducking behind the car with the cross, she reloaded the gun. Hearing nothing, she sprinted in the direction of the gunfire. "Oh come on, come on. It's my lucky day, right?" She pleaded as she searched the shooter's pockets. She had to get out of there, a set of cold metal keys found her fingers. The dark car with the cross appeared to be the only working vehicle in the alley. She stuck the key into the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Beth couldn't help but thrusting her fist in the air, celebrating the success of her escape.
