Author's Note: Here's chapter four! Thanks for all the follows and favorites. I'm trying to stay true to the characters while still developing my own, so there's a bit of a challenge. I'd appreciate some more reviews!
Tyler took a deep breath. The seconds were ticking, and he had the feeling that he wasn't getting through to this guy. Stubborn, Beth had been quick to describe him when they had last talked. He had taken a liking to her in the brief time he'd known her; it was nice to have someone his own age around.
He looked into the eyes of the older man, they were still squinted over the sight of his crossbow. They were at a bit of a standoff. "We don't have the time for this," Tyler said quietly and slowly, putting his hands palms forward in front of him. "We have to go back to my camp, at least I do."
He sighed now and thought of the right words to say to convince the other man. He was going to say what he needed to, and then he was going to run back and hope that he wasn't shot in the process.
"You still ain't said nothin I wanted to hear," Daryl rasped, and took a step closer to the teen. "You tell me you got Beth and then you dummy up. What you got to say, boy?"
He finally had it. He took a step or two back, trying to maintain eye contact even as he prepped his body to run.
"You're gonna miss me so bad when I'm gone, Daryl Dixon," Tyler couldn't help but smile a bit at remembering the line the girl had told him. Hoping it was enough, he turned and ran as fast and quietly as he could, praying he wouldn't get killed from behind.
He could swear he heard footfalls behind him, but didn't focus on it, after all, it could just be wishful thinking. Tyler slowed himself a bit as he came to the tracks, careful not to trip, then picked up speed as he came to the woods on the other side.
He didn't know whether to warn his mom and Beth or not, but as he continued to make his way to where they had set up camp, he realized a warning was unnecessary: He could make out the figures of the two women standing back to back, armed and ready. They had heard him coming.
"Mom," he huffed, his ability to speak impaired by his activity. He made his way to Cate and grabbed her free arm and pulled her along. "C'mon, we gotta go."
"Did you get him?" Beth asked as Cate began to pull the girl along with her.
"Not sure," Tyler replied, never breaking his stride. "He just had me at a standoff for a while."
"I knew this was crazy," Cate huffed in complaint. Suddenly, she began to pull at Tyler as Beth was being pulled away from her. Looking to her left, she noticed a man was pulling the girl away from her grip.
"Hey," she called, worried, not thinking about who this could possibly be. "Who the hell are you?"
"Guess I was the guy you was lookin for," Daryl replied, his expression betraying nothing as Beth looked at him and smiled widely. "Just keep goin."
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The quartet spent most of the day running, taking breaks occasionally to catch their breath and have a drink of water. They didn't speak to each other at all, but they had all somehow came to the mutual agreement that they needed to put as much space between themselves and the gang as possible.
The sun was dipping down in the west when they paused again to breathe and drink. As Cate huffed to catch her breath, bent with her hands on her knees, she spotted a clearing with a house sitting in the middle of it. Without saying a word, she scanned the area, noting a barbed fence enclosing the yard, and what looked like pecan trees scattered throughout.
She reached over and swatted at her son's leg, getting his attention and pointing to what she saw ahead of them. In turn, Tyler snapped his fingers in Beth's direction and pointed it out for her as well. She took the job of alerting her companion.
"Should check it out," Cate said, her voice still impaired from their all day activity. "Might be able to squat here for day or two."
"Can't hurt to look," Beth put in as she noticed the look of doubt on Daryl's face. "We can't run all night."
"Tyler and I are gonna sweep the place." Cate declared, finally catching her breath and standing upright. She wasn't going to wait around forever for someone else to decide what to do. They had rescued the girl and found her friend. If they parted ways after this, so be it. She was going to continue to make what she thought were the best decisions for herself and her son. "You two are welcome to join us."
As mother and son slowly made their way onto the property, Tyler stole a look back at Beth and Daryl. They seemed to be debating their situation without saying much, and what they were saying was in hushed tones.
"What's up with them?" he asked his mother as they walked past a couple of fresh-looking graves.
"I'm not a therapist, Ty. We've done our part. What they wanna do next is entirely up to them."
"Somebody was here recently," he replied, dropping the subject and indicating the graves.
"Hopefully that means the place is clean." Cate hesitantly stepped onto the porch and opened the door, banging the handle of her sword against the door frame before making another move.
After a few moments passed with no response from any walkers, the two worked their way methodically through the house, noting evidence that someone had, in fact, been there recently. The kitchen looked used, there was an unfinished jigsaw puzzle on a table in the living room, and a couple of the beds looked slept in.
There had been children in this group, Tyler surmised, noticing the used crib and the rag doll laying abandoned on the floor.
Cate left her son to his exploration, heading back out the front door. She was mildly surprised to see Beth sitting on the porch. As she passed the girl, she handed her her canteen without a word and made her way down the steps.
She was more surprised to see Daryl walk up to her.
"Thanks," he said, gesturing toward Beth.
"We couldn't have left her the way we found her," Cate paused, wondering if she should share more. She decided to forge ahead. "They had her hog tied on the floor, left her there for a while. They didn't . . . abuse her."
"Yeah, she said that. Grounds are clear."
"Good. Beth said you can hunt. Let my son Tyler help you, we don't want to go through too much of the supplies that we have."
"Can do that myself."
"I know that, but if we're gonna group up here for a while, my son is going to do his share. Us girls are gonna set up the house and get some water, I'll send Tyler out."
She waited for him to nod in reluctant assent.
"Man of few words. I respect that," she turned to walk away, then looked back at him. "By the way, it's nice to meet you, Daryl, I'm Cate."
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Night came uneventfully for the group. Cate and Beth had rigged the walker alarms along the porch, pumped water, and double-checked the integrity of the fence. Tyler cooked the two large rabbits that Daryl had skinned. Dinner had been a quiet affair, they had worked up an appetite after their activity that day.
Cate was surprised when she wasn't tired, and offered to take watch for the night. Tyler and Beth were grateful to be able to go to bed, Tyler in the smaller bedroom with the two twin beds, Beth settled into the full bed in what appeared to be the master bedroom.
Cate was content to remain on the front porch with her gas lamp next to her. She spent the time sharpening her and Tyler's hunting knives, honing the points to deadly precision. When the night air, got too cold, she headed back inside to grab a sweatshirt from her pack.
Holding her lamp in front of her, she made her way to the little master bedroom that she had decided to share with Beth and headed for her pack on the floor. She was terrified when she nearly tripped over something solid.
Gaining her footing, she held her lamp up to see Daryl sitting sprawled on the floor next to the bed where the girl slept, crossbow in his lap. He was awake.
"She's okay now," Cate whispered, assessing the situation quickly. "Go to bed, you're probably beat."
He shook his head defiantly. "She wanted me to stay."
"She's asleep. At least come into the next room, you can hear her if she needs you." Cate eyed the man until he reluctantly began to get up. She headed out ahead of him and settled down at the table in the living room, ignoring the puzzle in front of her.
"She barely slept when she was with us," Cate said when she heard him come into the room after her. "You must have taken care of her for a while."
"Did what I had to, until they took her away. I tried to catch up with the car."
"She told me you two were part of a larger group and got separated from the rest when The Governor attacked."
"You a therapist or somethin?"
Cate laughed quietly. "Not in the least. I'm just a mom. I helped a girl close to my son in age, and I feel for what happened to her, for what's happening to her. The way I see it, this is pretty much the first time Tyler and I were able to do something significant for other people since this whole thing started. I spent a lot of time talking to Beth, to get a feel for her, to learn about you to be able to find you." Now she turned to face him. "Bottom line, it's nice to have others around, and we'd be happy to help you find your group."
"How many walkers have you killed? You and your boy?"
"Can't say. Enough to survive."
"How many people you kill?"
"Two, for the both of us. I killed both. Two separate occasions."
"Why?"
"They had been bitten. They asked, begged."
The reward for her confession was a nod. "Beth said you're headin for a place called Terminus."
"She said you guys hadn't seen the signs. Your group probably has. It's as good a shot as any."
Daryl nodded again and looked toward the bedroom where Beth slept. "Her and your boy are getting along."
"Ty hasn't had anyone his age around in a while, it does him good."
"Might get himself a girlfriend."
"Maybe one day. Too bad Beth is taken."
