A/N: Here you go, a little update. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers! You have no idea how happy and bouncy I get when I see those emails in my inbox =]
As always, proofread by my husband, any mistakes are his ;]
Luckily the cut wasn't deep. Though even if it had been, he wasn't certain he would have even noticed it. He was too shocked by the girl standing in front of him. He had been certain she was dead.
"I looked for you." Was all he had to say before she snapped into action.
"We need to get out of here. I don't know when he'll be back, but he'll be furious when he sees I'm gone. He'll hunt me. We need to put as many miles between us as we can." She moved towards the opening of the tent when he reached out to stop her. She thought he was saying no and prepared herself for rejection.
"You're not taking me with you?" there was a hint of desperation in her voice.
"What?" he was confused for a second, "of course I am. But we shouldn't go out the front. Too risky. Give me the knife."
Moving swiftly, he used the knife to slit the tent in one smooth motion and slid out the gap without hesitation. She followed quietly and followed him as he made his way into the tree line.
They quietly made their way towards the road. He was surprised she had the sense to keep quiet. Many girls would have started asking endless questions about how he'd found her or about how her family were doing. Doing that whilst trying to make a stealthy and swift getaway would have been suicide. He was slightly impressed that she had some survival instincts. He had never thought of Beth as a survivor. He figured she had only lasted on the farm because of her overprotective father.
They made it back to the truck without passing anyone, living or dead.
"What's with the lack of walkers round here? It's creepy." He was aware of the irony of his statement, but he had become accustomed to the world they now lived in. He had thrived in the apocalypse where other people had died.
Beth let out a hollow laugh.
"He collects them. He uses them for entertainment."
"Sick fuck." Was all he said. He started the engine and before Beth knew it she was being taken away. Taken home. She hardly dared believe it.
She jumped a little when Daryl threw a blanket at her.
"Sleep. We got a long drive ahead of us."
Daryl had told Beth to sleep simply to avoid the awkwardness of the situation he now found himself in. He had never been close to Beth. Back at the prison she mainly looked after baby Judith and cooked meals. He had never had much call to spend time with her.
After she went missing he had scoured the woods for her, cursing himself for not taking the time to make sure she was properly trained or armed. If he had she may have been able to delay whatever had happened long enough for someone to realise she was in trouble. As it was, they hadn't realised she was gone until it was far too late. The trail was already cold by the time he started looking and he hated the fact that he had failed to bring another person back.
It had been hard facing Carol after losing Sofia, telling Hershel and Maggie that Beth was lost was possibly even harder. Sofia had been tough, she had dealt with her abusive father and had grown up a little with the threat of the walkers. Beth was a different kind of girl. She had been sheltered and protected by her father. The thought of her out there without anyone looking out for her had been horrendous.
Neither Maggie nor Hershel had been the same since, and not knowing if Beth had been taken or bitten had made everything tougher. As the months passed they became less hopeful. Less determined to find her. After three months they had agreed to hold a memorial service, and Hershel had buried his beloved Bible in place of his daughter. He had effectively buried his faith. Losing his baby had almost destroyed him, and Daryl had found it hard to watch the changes.
He saw his regular break point coming up and swung the truck onto the driveway of the old house. It was a modest structure. A single story, brick built house that was pretty solid. It had a front and back door, with all the windows boarded shut. He had secured it himself when he realised he couldn't drive all day and all night without a break. There may not be any traffic to crash into anymore, but wrecking his ride this far away from home would be too dangerous, even for him.
Cutting the engine, he reached out to shake Beth. As soon as he touched her she jolted awake with a look of pure terror in her eyes. As soon as she saw it was Daryl, the fear was replaced with a glazed look. She glanced around and saw they weren't at the prison. If she was confused about their location, she didn't say a word. She silently followed him from the truck into the house.
He moved from room to room checking everything was still secure. Once he was satisfied he made his way back to the front room, and was surprised to find Beth hadn't moved since entering the house.
"I'll take first watch. I'll wake you in around four hours. There's a bed out back."
She didn't respond, just followed his instruction and went through to the other room. He gave her half an hour before he went through to check on her.
She was sleeping in the bed, curled in a foetal position. She looked so vulnerable. He was seriously worried about her. He didn't know what had happened over her year away but he could guess that it was nothing good going by her behaviour so far. She was broken. He could tell.
How was he supposed to take her back to her family like this?
A/N: Thoughts?
