Note: There are no words that can convey just how sorry I am for leaving all of you hanging with this story. There aren't many chapters left (like 7 maybe) and I am going to try to focus on finishing it as soon as possible. I have a lot of college stuff right now though, but on June 8 I have my last exam for this term and then I'm off on Summer break. Then I'll have much more time to write.
I've been focusing so much on Endurance but I feel like I want to finish this story, especially since the chapters probably won't get very long now towards the end. Either way, I hope you enjoy it! :) xx
A Sharp Intake Of Breath (And A Memory Forgotten)
Chapter 8
Beth held her breath for a second. The man – Aaron – remained standing at a safe distance from them with his hands held high. If she and Daryl killed him, they would be killing a man who wasn't even trying to defend himself and who so far hadn't done anything threatening towards them. Beth didn't like the idea of that, although, she knew that if needed, they would do the necessary thing.
"I've been following you guys for a couple of days now," Aaron said. "I mean, I kept myself at a safe distance since I didn't want you to see my car, but I had to get close enough to get a feel of what kind of people you are."
Beth raised an eyebrow at him, narrowing her eyes. His eyes settled on her face and for a moment, he looked a little paler and took on a more nervous look. "Well, I'm sure if I wasn't freaking you out a moment ago, I certainly am now," he chuckled for a moment. His quiet laughter died out when he saw that neither Beth nor Daryl seemed very amused by his attempted joke.
"You been followin' us," Daryl repeated, his voice rough. "Why?"
Beth could still feel the tension rolling off of him and she knew that he wanted answers just as much as she did.
"I'm a recruiter," Aaron explained.
"A recruiter for what?" Beth wondered.
Aaron still wasn't moving from his spot, but Beth could tell that he too was getting a bit uncomfortable with having weapons pointed at his face.
"It's a safe haven," he replied.
"We've seen our fair share of those," Daryl grunted. "Ain't nowhere safe unless ya make it safe yourself."
Aaron nodded slowly, "I understand that you're weary… But this is real. It's a real Safe Zone, with no dead ones. A community."
"That's somethin' we've heard before," Daryl snapped.
"Look," Aaron said, slowly lowering his hands, "I've got pictures in my backpack. I'll show you, if you'll just let me grab them."
Beth looked at Daryl, but his eyes were still very much set on the possible threat.
"Throw me your bag an' I'll check myself," Daryl said.
"Okay, okay," Aaron agreed. "Just let me remove it from my back. I don't have a gun on me, but I do have one in the bag. I have a knife strapped to my belt for the roamers, but nothing else."
"Why are you tellin' us this?" Beth frowned.
"You're going to want to check me for weapons, right?" Aaron offered her a kind smile that only made her want to run the other way. Kindness was something that she wasn't familiar with when it came to people outside her family. "Figured I might as well be honest."
"It's not gonna win you any brownie points," Beth pointed out. "If we think you're a threat, you're dead."
Aaron eyed her as he removed the backpack from his back, holding it out for her. Beth turned to Daryl, who nodded, giving her the clear to approach the stranger. She held her gun aimed at him before taking a couple of steps closer. She held out her hand and Aaron handed her the bag before Beth moved backward again. Kneeling down next to Daryl, she placed her gun on the ground, close enough to reach and then started looking through the contents of the backpack.
"There are apple trees just outside of our wall," Aaron said when Beth took out a jar and looked at it curiously. "We make our own applesauce."
"Who has time to make applesauce these days?" Beth wondered out loud, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Aaron didn't reply and Daryl only huffed. After taking out a few more cans of food and bottles of water, Beth reached for a big, yellow envelope. She opened it with caution, almost as if she was expecting it to blow up in her face somehow, but soon enough she had a stack of pictures in her hands. Looking through them, she saw a big wall and houses; lots and lots of houses. She lifted her head and looked at Daryl. The man was telling the truth about a safe place, from what she could tell, although that didn't necessarily mean that everything there was fine. Daryl had told Beth about the place called Woodbury and the memories of the attack on the farm just a few months back were still fresh in her memory. Besides, she was remembering more and more every day, so she knew that people weren't always what they seemed.
Daryl watched her for only a moment before he started lowering his crossbow. Beth glanced at Aaron who had let out a small sigh of relief before taking a couple of steps toward Daryl with his hand outstretched.
"I'm glad you decided to hear me out–"
Crack!
Beth's eyes widened as she watched Aaron topple over with the force of Daryl's punch. The man was knocked unconscious immediately and blood began dripping from his nose. Beth looked at Daryl who rubbed his knuckles before looking at her again.
"Was that necessary?" she asked him, not being able to help the exasperated tone.
"Yeah," Daryl smirked. "I might 'ave over-done it a bit."
"Over-done it? You knocked him out cold," Beth pointed out, kneeling down to check if the man was still breathing. "And I'm pretty sure he's gonna have to set his nose when he wakes up."
"Well, we gotta tie him up an' we needed time to figure out what to do with all of this," Daryl said. "Ain't like we could'a just asked him to give us five minutes alone to talk." He rummaged through one of their own packs for some rope.
"Okay, I get it," Beth rolled her eyes. "I still kind of feel bad for him." She held out the pictures for him to take while Daryl handed her the rope and she began tying Aaron up. Daryl flipped through the pictures before pausing. Beth looked over at him and Daryl bit his lip.
"You were right," he finally said. "About there being a place somewhere…"
"It can be too good to be true," Beth said as she finished with the knots around Aaron's wrists. "What do we do?"
"We can't trust him, Beth," Daryl stated. "It ain't just 'bout us. It's 'bout our family. Can't decide on our next move 'til we hear him out."
Beth nodded, looking down at the still unconscious man. "If you hadn't knocked him out," Beth sing-songed, walking over to him. Daryl snorted at her as he took out a cigarette out of his pack and placed it between his lips, but he didn't light it just yet. "You know, I think he interrupted something when he stepped out of those woods," Beth said, reaching up to rest her fingers on the top of Daryl's jacket. Daryl's cheeks turned just a small shade darker and he looked down to Aaron again.
"We can put him in the truck, if it makes you more comfortable, Mr. Dixon," Beth smiled, leaning her forehead forward so that she could rest if against Daryl's chest. His hand came up to rest against her elbow for a moment and he squeezed lightly before leaning down. Beth pulled back and reached up so that she could pull his cigarette away from his lips and then pressed a light kiss against them. He responded immediately, but pressed back against her just barely before pulling away. Beth smiled nonetheless and returned his cigarette to him, brushing her thumb against his stubbly cheek. It was at times like these that he reminded her of just how much she loved him. Just an hour or two ago, they had argued and yelled at one another but when they had been approached by Aaron, they had stood together, just like they were supposed to. It made her feel good that they had gotten some of their issues out, although, she was afraid that this community that Aaron was going to talk to them about, would bring up some other argument. She wanted what was best for their family and not only them. If the place actually was as good as it seemed, it would mean a safe place for Maggie and Glenn's baby to grow up and for Judith as well. Yes, the farm had become a home for them and there weren't many walkers in the area. The problem about it was that it was so remote, that they always had to drive out to warehouses and malls to scavenge supplies and tools for repairing the fences around the land. The food that they had was sufficient for the time being, though, the winter hadn't been the best and the animals seemed to have scattered. There was no way of knowing for sure how much longer they would be able to hold out there until they were forced to move, despite having electricity and running water. The few seeds that they had found had been planted, but some of them didn't look as if they were ever going to grow, even though Carol had put the planted pots inside.
Beth looked down toward Aaron again, hoping that the man would wake up soon enough so that they could talk properly, without having to point weapons at his face.
-§-
It took Aaron about half an hour to wake up. Beth didn't say anything to him as she approached him and set his nose, but Daryl couldn't help but glare at the man. It all sounded too perfect and if Daryl had learned anything with Woodbury and Terminus, he knew that perfect was dangerous.
"Thank you," Aaron groaned after Beth finished cleaning up his face.
Beth didn't say anything to him, but her eyes flickered over to Daryl. He gave her a short nod and then stubbed out his cigarette. Kneeling down in front of Aaron, he stared at his face, not showing any kind of emotion except for annoyance toward the man.
"How many walkers have you killed?" Daryl asked.
"What?" Aaron frowned, looking confused.
"Just answer the questions," Beth said and Daryl didn't have to look at her to know that she was rolling her eyes.
"I don't know," Aaron said, glancing from her to Daryl again. He shook his head slightly, "I've killed quite a few whenever I've been out scouting for people, but usually, I try to avoid them."
"How many people have you killed?" Daryl continued.
Aaron's expression darkened slightly, "One."
Daryl narrowed his eyes, "Why?"
"He was already dying," Aaron said. "His name was Greg and he used to recruit with me. He was bit severely… Gutted, actually. He was just bleeding out and he wanted me to end his suffering. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."
"That jus' means ya ain't been through a lot," Daryl said. "If puttin' down one of yours is the hardest thing you've done."
"Is that supposed to mean that you've done worse?" Aaron wondered. "Is that supposed to make it easier somehow? It's different for everyone, Daryl."
"Didn't say that it wasn't," Daryl said. "Jus' said ya ain't been through the same stuff we've been through."
"Our community has been there since the beginning," Aaron nodded. "Maybe that's why. I was out there for a while too, but I'm guessing not as long as you guys." He looked at them curiously for a moment and Daryl could sense that he was trying to analyze them. "How long have you been out here?"
Daryl stood up and looked at Beth. He wasn't sure just how much he should tell the man, considering the circumstances. From what Daryl could tell, Aaron wasn't necessarily a bad person but that was what was making Daryl uneasy. He had seen the pictures of the community and it all seemed legit so far, but there could be more to it. Daryl knew that Beth wanted to give the man a fair shot, but Daryl wasn't sure he was willing to risk it. Beth had lost her knives in the restaurant and he had lost too many bolts already. They didn't have much fuel left and even fewer options.
"We've been on the road for a few weeks," Beth replied to Aaron's question.
"Did you have a safe place before that?" Aaron questioned, but this time Beth didn't say anything.
Instead, Daryl was the one who spoke, a dangerous growl present in his tone, "That ain't any of your business. We wanna know more 'bout this safe haven. Where is it? How many people to ya have? Women, children?"
"I'm going to answer all of your questions, but first of all, my wrists are a bit sore," Aaron sheepishly replied, lifting his tied up hands.
"We ain't takin' 'em off 'til we get the information we want," Daryl told him.
"Understandable," Aaron said, nodding at him. Daryl glared at him though, because it seemed like that was exactly what Aaron was: too understanding. A part of him wanted to shake the man and tell him about all the horrible things they had done over the years and tell him just how lucky he was that he hadn't come across anyone like the people Daryl and his family had. Aaron seemed to be trying to see the good in everyone, and in Daryl's mind, he had just been fortunate so far not to have come across anyone who could be a threat to him. A community like the one in the picture would without a doubt be a tempting thing for outsiders.
"I can't tell you where the Safe Zone is until you agree to come with me," Aaron said. "That's just a policy we have when recruiting," he was quick to explain when Daryl scowled at him. "We have about eighty people there now. Our oldest is eighty-one and our youngest is eleven months."
"A baby?" Beth asked. "Do you have doctors there?"
"We have a surgeon," Aaron nodded. Daryl could feel Beth's eyes on him and he clenched his jaw again. "Two nurses are there too and we have a psychologist who has finished a year of med-school too."
"What about food an' other resources?" Daryl asked.
"We have a good Winter storage," Aaron told him. "In the beginning, we scavenged what we could find and later used seeds to plant crops and other things. We have chickens and pigs, a cow," he counted. "It's been a good year."
"Sounds too good to believe," Beth stated.
"I know it does," he said. "But I swear that I'm telling the truth."
Daryl could tell too, but it was still too good to be true. He couldn't help but be skeptical about it all, although, he must have been spending too much time with Beth alone because he suddenly found himself hoping that the place was real.
"The two nurses," Beth began slowly. "Does either of them have any knowledge in childbirth?"
Aaron seemed startled, his eyes widening for the fraction of a second, "Are you…?" The man trailed off as his eyes moved down to Beth's stomach and Daryl froze when he realized just what he was thinking.
"Not me," Beth hissed. "Someone I know."
Aaron chuckled sheepishly, "Sorry, I just assumed… So you have more people somewhere?"
"Far away," Daryl said, wanting to shake away Aaron's earlier assumption about Beth. He didn't want to think about it, but for a moment his mind questioned the possibility considering everything that had happened after the restaurant. Once again, he forced the thoughts away, because it wasn't true. "They're too far away for ya to get to. You'd never find 'em on your own anyway."
"I wouldn't go looking for them," Aaron shook his head. "If you two want to bring them back, however, I'd be willing to help drive an RV there and help you all move. That depends on whether you'd want to stay in the Safe Zone."
Daryl looked at Beth and he could see the wheels turning inside her head. He knew what she was thinking, because he was thinking the same thing. Wherever the Safe Zone was, it sounded like a good thing and Aaron seemed to be genuine regarding them having a choice if they want to stay there or not. Still, it worried Daryl that whoever it was that was in charge there wouldn't be the same. The people of Woodbury had been ignorant and naive and they hadn't seen the Governor for what he really was until it had been too late. Aaron was someone who worked for someone else and there was no way for Daryl or Beth to know how that person was or if they could be trusted.
"Who's in charge there?" Daryl finally asked, looking at Aaron once more.
"A woman named Deanna," Aaron said. "She used to be a politician in Ohio, I think."
"A politician knows how to sway people one way or another," Daryl huffed.
"Deanna isn't like that," Aaron argued. "She lets people have their input, but ultimately, she is the one keeping the community together by upholding the rules there. Her husband Reg is the architect who started on the walls when the Outbreak first occurred. They are good people, I promise."
Daryl looked at Beth again and this time, she met his gaze. He sighed to himself because he knew that there was only one way to see if the community that Aaron was talking about really was safe. Besides, what other choice did they have? They would be out of fuel soon enough and Aaron seemed to have plenty stored away somewhere. If the doctors and nurses really were trustworthy, they would eventually be of good help to Maggie and her unborn child. Daryl knew that he and Beth needed to check the place out. It was the only thing they could do so that they wouldn't miss a perfect opportunity like it.
"If we come with ya, we'll drive," Daryl told him. "We get a coupl'a days to look at the place an' consider if we wanna stay there. If we don't ya let us go, deal?"
"Of course," Aaron nodded. "I'll even pack you some supplies for the road. The only thing is that Deanna's going to want to interview you when you get there. It's something she does to everyone, to see where they would be able to fit in the community," he explained when he saw the confusion on Beth and Daryl's faces. "It's like a job interview."
Daryl clenched his jaw but remained silent. His eyes narrowed, though, he tried his best not to give away the fact that he wasn't particularly fond of the idea of being interviewed by a stranger. He had found his place in this new world by protecting his family, but he wasn't sure that he would fit in anywhere else. The thought of once again becoming an outcast made him feel sick and scenarios of being thrown out played in front of his eyes.
The thoughts evaporated when he felt Beth's fingers reaching for his own. She leaned into him, as if sensing that he needed her close and he closed his eyes, turning his face away from Aaron so that he could move closer to Beth. He might not be fond of displaying his affection to her in the public eye, but at the moment, he didn't care. He just knew that he needed to feel her close in order to make sense of the decision that the two of them had already made regarding the Safe Zone.
In the end, he sighed, "Okay. We'll come with ya."
"Excellent," Aaron smiled.
Daryl squeezed Beth's hand tightly, "But you'll be in the back with Beth an' if ya want us to untie ya, you'll have to live with havin' a gun pointed at ya 'til we get to where we're goin'."
Aaron paled slightly but eventually nodded, holding up his tied hands. "I'll be on my best behavior," he told them. "Normally, we don't do things this way, but Deanna is just going to have to deal with me making an exception for the two of you. I really feel like you'll be able to contribute to the community once you get settled."
Daryl only hummed, not offering him another reply as he glanced Beth's way once more. He hoped that Aaron was telling the truth, for both of their sakes and for the sake of their family.
-§-
Beth couldn't help but find Aaron a bit amusing. As she sat in the back of the truck with him, they had freed his hands like promised and she held her gun aimed at his foot at all times. The safety was on though, because she didn't really think the man would pull anything. After all, he seemed to want to get back to his home as much as she was looking forward to seeing the place. They had left Aaron's own car behind, but he assured them that he would head back in a day or two to get it. If it was gone by then, they had plenty more at the Safe Zone, which he shared was located in Alexandria.
What Beth found amusing about him wasn't the fact that he was talking to them as if they had been friends for years, but rather the fact that he seemed to be completely genuine. As he told them about Eric, his partner, Beth's eyes connected with Daryl's in the rearview mirror because he spoke of the other man with such affection that it was highly unlikely that he was lying about him. Aaron shared how after Greg, Eric had worked with him a while as a recruiter, but he had gotten injured during their last run and Aaron had been on his own since.
Beth had her reservations about sharing too much about their own family. A part of her wanted to tell Aaron at least a little about them, but she wasn't sure that Daryl would want her to. They hadn't gotten much time to speak after they had put Aaron in the truck and she only had a few glances to go on. Aaron seemed to sense her reservations though because he gladly went on to share about the first time he laid eyes on Eric and how long it had taken for them to admit that they loved each other. It all made Beth think about her and Daryl and how much they had struggled to get to where they were today. From her being shot and presumed dead to her memory loss, they certainly had had a lot of difficult and trying times since they had been reunited. Not to speak of the time it had taken for them to finally confess their feelings for one another and then Beth's doubts on whether Daryl was in love with the person that she had been before or the person that she was now. He had assured her that he loved her for who she was and she knew that her feelings for him were the same. She loved him more than anything and that was exactly why she was tired of fighting.
With the way that her memories were acting up though, giving her headaches and making her think of things that had been in the past, she had become more and more irritable. She loved Daryl for being understanding, but she understood that even he had his limits. She didn't want to push him too far and he had to know that she understood that he was just looking out for her. He was right to worry about the place that Aaron was talking about, but Beth wanted it to be true. She wanted to find a place where Maggie would be able to have her baby and where they would be able to live without constantly having to worry about food and rebuilding fences. If Alexandria proved to be a good place, they could bring their family there and they might be able to live out their days there.
Beth lost track of time as she got lost in her thoughts. Before she knew it, Daryl was pulling the car to a stop and the only thing she could see in front of them was a big wall.
Daryl turned around in his seat, shooting Aaron a look, "If this ends up bein' a trap, you're gonna be sorry."
"You're about to walk into a place where violence isn't permitted," Aaron stated. Beth noticed something in his eyes for a moment, but it was gone before she could analyze it. "There are families in there and old people. There's not going to be any need for violence."
They stepped out of the car and Beth nodded curtly at Daryl, keeping her gun aimed at the wall as they slowly approached it. Aaron was walking between them, Daryl in the front and Beth behind them both. They walked closer to the wall and Beth tensed when she saw how Daryl stopped in his step. She wasn't sure what it was that was going on for a short moment, but then she realized that he was listening. Beth focused and what she heard was quickly drowned out by her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. It had been too long since she had heard children laughing so wholeheartedly and it made her think about little Judith. Enough time had passed for her to miss the little girl. However, hearing children's laughter after weeks of only Daryl as company, Beth couldn't help but start feeling hopeful. If there were children inside Alexandria, there might be a place for Judith there, and also, a place for them all.
Note: I know that some of you might not have wanted for them to go to Alexandria, but this is the route I always planned on going with this sequel. I have, however, taken some liberties with changing some of the things in Alexandria. For example, they have a good food supply and cows, which they clearly do not have on the show (until Daryl negotiated his way to one of them cows). Also, the idea of Aaron having killed one person (Greg is made up too) is something I wanted to have in this story. Remember, I enjoy planting small clues as to where the story is headed. It's all breadcrumbs scattered over the course of the story.
Thank you so much for reading! If you have time for it, a comment would be highly appreciated! Until next time! :) xx
