As usual, much gratitude to BelleCelestyn, Wanderlustt, NanamiYatsumaki, sillymommy2010, Destineyrose18, Emma Kellog, and Nicki for their wonderful feedback messages for the last chapter! And a wave of thanks to those who have favorited and followed. Last night, I actually had a dream about this story-sort of-and if I do continue with it and if I ultimately decide to do a sequel (no promises) I had the most epic idea! Anyway, that wouldn't be for a long while so until that point in time, here is the next chapter!
Chapter three:
It was an inferno that one might imagine Hell would be depicted as. Flames rose several feet high, the roar of its blaze thundering as the old wooden boards crackled and crumbled at its mercy. The smoke was thick, black against the burning illumination as Daryl held his forearm to his nose and mouth in an attempt to shield himself from the poisonous gases that leaked from the atmosphere.
"Beth," he shouted, coughing violently as the oxygen thinned. "Beth!"
He was standing now, his previously grip on the girl gone when a beam had fallen between them. He looked around frantically, his heart pounding as debris crashed around him. The heat was unbearable, the hair that covered his arms singed away as the fire drew closer. But he couldn't leave now. Not without Beth.
"Beth," he tried again, pushing towards the back of the barn. "Beth!"
The sound of gunfire was lost, engulfed by the towering flames that licked at every surface. As he drew further into the storm, it was then he caught sight of a figure. She moved towards him, one hand held forward while another cupped her mouth and nose. Beth. Instantly, he too reached forward, grasping her hand tightly before he wrenched her against him.
"We gotta get out," he yelled, his grasp tightening around her frame. "Don't let go."
He moved quickly, his side sweating where Beth's heat mixed with that of the fire's. Faced with a patch of wall that had yet to be touched by the blaze's unrelenting destruction, he kicked viciously, ignoring the searing pain as the wood began to slowly give way to the blows. When he had created a hole just large enough to crawl through, he immediately shoved Beth down, his concerns for being gentle far less important than those of having her survive.
"Go," he called out. "I'm right behind you!"
Stones and sticks dug into the archer's palms as he managed to slide through the opening, tendrils of flame lashing towards his feet as he met the cool earth on the outside. Scrambling to his feet, Daryl caught sight of Beth standing a yard or so away. She looked frightened, in shock, the suddenness of it all catching her more off guard than she had been in awhile. And without much thought to his own injuries, he ran to her, grasping her by the arms as he looked her over.
"You alright?" He panted, his eyes scanning her small frame for any sort of wound. "Beth, say something—"
She swallowed, nodding her head, body trembling against his touch. "You're burned," she exclaimed, eyes fixated on his own arm.
For the first time, Daryl looked down at his own self, finally realizing the extent of his damage. His right forearm was burn, not to any major extreme, but enough that he felt the pain upon his noticing. He inhaled, chewing the inside of his cheek as the ache in his limb seemed to worsen by the second.
"I'm fine," he assured her, his gaze meeting hers. "It's nothin'."
Suddenly from behind, the familiar pops of a rifle caught Daryl's attention. He grabbed Beth, swinging her behind him as he reached for his bow. For a few moments, confusion swarmed into his mind as he felt at the empty space on his shoulder. It was then, after the uncertainty died down, that the horror sank to the bottom of his stomach. His eyes snapped towards the fire, to where the building they were in only seconds before was crumbling. The bow was gone.
"Shit," Daryl hissed, angry at his own recklessness. "Son of a bitch!"
If he didn't have Beth to worry about, he would have been back inside in an instant. Probably a decision he would end up regretting, but that bow had gotten him much farther than he would have gotten alone. Teeth ground together, he squinted towards the sparsely forested area several yards ahead. Figures were moving about, far more agile than any sort of walker could be. He could have sworn one was Rick, a firearm aimed at another who fell moments later. The scene was absolute chaos.
"C'mon," he mumbled, tugging Beth behind him. "We gotta move."
"But the others," she protested, her own gaze fixed on the battle ahead. "We can't leave…"
"We don't got weapons," he stated, pulling her as the moved further from the barn and deeper into the brush. "And the walkers will be comin' soon with all that noise." He could feel Beth resisting his touch, trying to break away from his hold. "We'll come back," he promised, stopping briefly to look her in the eyes. "When it's over, we'll find them. But it ain't just about us anymore. We gotta think of him," he paused, his attention briefly directed to the shadowed swell of Beth's abdomen. "…Like you said."
It seemed like the most logical reason Beth would be willing to abandon her sister and the rest of the group once more. Whoever had attacked, they came prepared. Daryl couldn't risk going into a fight without any sort of protection. He couldn't risk losing Beth again. And though it stuck him like a knife in the chest to run off from Rick and the others, there were other things now that were far more important.
The ground crunched beneath their feet as Daryl and Beth hurried through the woods. The bramble was thick, catching on their clothing the deeper they traveled. His arm ached, chest burning as he pushed further into the woods, his grip never lessening on Beth's hand. He could hear Beth panting, inhaling sharply whenever she momentarily lost her footing. But as the gunfire grew more distant and the smoke became less traceable (except what saturated their apparel) Daryl's pace began to slow.
"An opening should be head," he panted, coughing once to clear his airways. "Think I came this way with Michonne."
Beth closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. It had been awhile since she had to full out sprint. Daryl watched her quietly, waiting until she seemed to gain at least some of her energy back. When her eyes reopened, her stare was wild as she looked past his shoulder.
"Daryl!" she cried, "Look out!"
Instantly, Daryl wound around, coming nearly face to face with the rotted features of a walker. Its mouth moved, jowls hanging down in thick, decaying sheets of skin. It reached out, boney fingers grabbing towards him as a low growl rumbled from its mouth. Daryl swung at it with his foot, his shoe crunching against the brittle knee as the creature fell forward. It stared up at him, glazed over eyes wide and expressionless as it continued to snarl, only to be silenced when the archer's foot went through its brain.
Daryl glared down at it, his mouth forming into a frown as he shook a piece of scalp from to toe of his shoe. When he glanced back up, Beth was staring at him, her arms wrapped around her stomach as her eyes flickered down once at the unanimated walker. Daryl exhaled, straightening back up as he threw a few quick looks around the area in case there happened to be more lurkers.
"Thanks for that," he mumbled, nodding toward the walker. "Would've made tonight even worse if I'd been bit."
"Yeah," Beth exhaled, her arms unmoving from her frame. "No problem."
They continued to walk briskly, the trees providing some guard against the wind as they moved towards the edge of the woods. Daryl glanced over at Beth every so often, if for any reason, just to make sure she was still there. When they came to a spot where the tree line broke into an empty field, Daryl held his arm out, blocking Beth from going forward.
"Easy," he warned. "Let me go first."
Beth was far too tired to argue with Daryl's insistence, so she merely took a step back. The archer stepped out, feeling naked and vulnerable without his bow as he glanced around. It was dark, the moon just barely breaking through the layers of clouds as he glanced around. The field itself was empty, barely covered by the dominant grass that seemed to go on for acres. It wasn't the way he had originally come with Michonne, that much was clear, but it seemed relatively reasonable to cross. That was, as long as those who hadn't attacked were stalking them.
"Alright," he said, looking back to Beth. "C'mon."
The open air felt good against the burn on his arm as Daryl moved quietly through the pasture with Beth by his side. Eventually, if they came across some water, he made a note to rinse it off. Better not risk infection in this stage of the game. He looked over to Beth, noticing as she seemed to drag herself more than walk with purpose. He knew she was exhausted, especially after a surge of adrenaline from something like that. But she didn't complain or protest to this vigorous activity, something he was grateful for.
"We'll rest soon," he said after awhile. "Just gotta get a good distance away."
"Who do you think did it?" She whispered, glancing over at the bowman. "The fire?"
Daryl shrugged, swiping at his nose with the back of his hand before snorting. "Dunno," he mumbled. "Probably someone we pissed off."
Beth nodded, biting down on her bottom lip as she peered behind her. She didn't need to speak for him to know what she was thinking about. Maggie. Who had and who hadn't made it out of the barn in time, they didn't know. And whether Rick had managed to fight off the intruders was as good as a mystery as any. But they were safe, for now at least. And that to him was far more important than any damn bow.
"You said you had some names," he began, looking toward Beth. "Let's hear 'em."
It was the only conversational topic that seemed to come to the archer's mind now. Something that didn't involve the others or the prospect of impending danger. Perhaps that's what Beth needed right now. A distraction. And if anything, that was what Daryl could give her.
"I don't have too many," Beth admitted, glancing down at her stomach. "Just a few…I just want to have some idea in mind. They don't need to go around nameless for a week like Judith did." She paused, seeming to think for a moment. "Maybe Rose for a girl. Or Abigail… I was thinkin' of all of the cows we used to have when Daddy was involved with dairy production."
"We ain't namin' it after some cow," Daryl commented, giving Beth a look.
"Technically the cows were named after people," Beth said, offering a small smile. "Anyway, they were just suggestions."
Daryl nodded, squinting ahead further than where they stood. In the not too far distance, the field seemed to thin out into a road. Gravel, from how it appeared, not at all smooth like it had been done over in concrete. It would be something to follow, at least. Maybe eventually take them to somewhere where they could rest for a bit. A place that was out of view enough but reasonably close so they could backtrack to the remains of the barn if they so chose to. A task that Daryl would be doing alone, unbeknownst to Beth yet.
"I thought about what you said," Beth continued as they approached the road. "About Kaden? …I don't think I much care for it now." She shrugged, glancing over at him with a small smile. "I prefer Henry anyway."
"Henry?" Daryl mumbled, his eyes still fixated on the area ahead of them. "What inspired that?"
Again she shrugged. "Just came to me," she admitted. "Thought it sounded nice."
"It ain't the worse thing you came up with," Daryl agreed. "Maybe."
As they came to the stretch of road, the archer veered towards the edge of the forest. The trees would shield them from any watchful eyes, offering the only protection either party had at the moment. It wasn't much, but until they came across otherwise, it would have to do.
"Stay close," Daryl mumbled, watching Beth out of the corner of his eye. "Don't want us separating."
It was a strange sort of silence that would make anyone uneasy. The wind was no longer blowing, the air far too cold for any insects to be out. And yet, despite the circumstances, at least the feeling of loneliness had dissipated. Daryl could feel Beth's heat as she brushed against his skin, hear in breathing whenever she took a particularly large inhale. She was there. Right beside him. And as long as it stayed that way, Daryl couldn't ask for much more.
Yay, not a cliff hanger! That's a first. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed. To be honest, I kind of have an idea as to where this is going, but if anyone has any ideas, please do not hesitate to share them in the comments! Advice is always gratefully read and might appear in a future chapter. Anywho, feedback is greatly loved and appreciated! Seriously, it keeps the updates frequent and the story going. Until next chapter! -Jen
