Chapter 4

Beth and Daryl kept their distance from the claimants as they traveled. Daryl was intent on keeping the both of them safe, no matter what. They each other's hands as they walked, occasionally squeezing each other's palms for reassurance. When the group finally came up to a house, they stopped short.

"Well, this is where we'll be stayin' for the night," Joe said. Beth stepped forward. "So, do you guys have anywhere to go… or are you just moving to survive?" Joe looked back at her. "Someone killed one of our friends, Lou, and left him to turn and we've been looking for 'em for a long time. Wanna get even with the guy."

Daryl felt more unease. He wanted to leave these course, he would stay with Beth, but he wanted a large amount of space between him and the blonde, and the brutal group they were temporarily staying with. Beth felt the same way.

As Joe opened the door to the old house, walkers suddenly started piling out of it. Daryl automatically lifted his crossbow up at the herd, and Beth whipped out her pocket knife. She'd tried to look for a better weapon for herself when the group had raided buildings, but she was unlucky when it came to finding anything.

The men in front of them got out their guns and pointed them at the monsters, now most out in the open. Len took out the first one, the gunshot ringing in the air. Beth was the only one to notice walkers stumbling onto the sidewalk, coming up to the walkway where everyone was. Before she could process it, one of them came up to Daryl and opened its jaw, ready to sink it's teeth into the man's neck.

She yelled Daryl's name as she reacted without thinking and with adrenaline and panic. She quickly threw her knife through the air. The knife spun towards the walker and landed in its skull, right above the eyebrow. Daryl glanced at her, a shocked expression on his face as his attacker fell to the ground in front of him. Beth looked back at him, feeling the same way.

After a few more seconds of processing, Daryl saw another walker behind Beth about 10 yards away. He tossed her the crossbow and she caught it flawlessly. Then she spun around, crossbow in her hands, ready to fire at her attacker. As she looked the the scope to take aim, she pulled the trigger on the weapon. The bolt flew out of the device and sunk itself inside of the decaying brain of the walker, a couple of inches away from its eye socket.

After it fell to the ground, everything was quiet. Daryl bent down to yank Beth's knife out of the walker's skull to give it back to her. She was still clutching the crossbow in front of her, muscles so tense she was shaking and she felt as if they were about to snap. Daryl slowly walked up to her from behind her. He placed his hand on her shoulder, startling her, making her jump out of her position to face him.

He kept his hand on her shoulder and he handed her her knife back. He feels more than thankful to her for saving him from getting bit and turning, but he didn't think showing his gratitude right now was a good decision. So he settles for a quick, "Thanks." Beth forces a quick smile on her lips as she gives him his crossbow back.

When she turned to look at the rest of the group, she's faced with a closed door and the discovery of the other men already inside. She doesn't hesitate to quickly walk up the patio steps, opening the front door, wanting to escape the previous scene. Wanting to forget the world.

That night, Beth is the first to fall asleep with Daryl staying awake keeping watch. Sometime during the night, Daryl gently wakes her up. "Is it time for my watch yet?" She murmurs, still tired from sleep. He surprises her by shaking his head. She furrows her eyebrows in confusion. "What is it, then?" She tenses. Did he wake her up because something was happening? Or did he want to talk?

"I wanna leave these people." Daryl explains. She blinks. She didn't expect that. "Why," she breathes, clearly confused. "These people." He shakes his head. "They're bad news. I'm worried they'll try something. I know you can take care of yourself, you proved that today, but I still think we should leave them."

Beth takes this into consideration. She thinks back to when she was almost kidnapped. She would be dead without him. And he would be dead without her. If she wouldn't have had the best case of luck when she flung that knife at the walker… it would have bitten Daryl and he wouldn't be here. She shudders at the thought before she nods, agreeing with his decision to move on.

They gather their things up before sneaking around the house to the door. When they open the door and go outside, they discover the bodies of the killed walkers from earlier that day. Beth shudders at the cold. It's almost winter, and all she has is a polo and tan jeans. They run until their out of view from the house, and away from the gruesome group.