Chapter 8
Beth awoke with a horrible ache in her ribs. She almost screamed when she bent to sit up, but she bit down hard on her bottom lip to keep it in. She felt hands on her waist and jumped. She whipped her head to the side to see Daryl sitting right next to her and was up against the car. She sat back against it, too. He was still holding her.
She noticed he had a black eye and bruises on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked her. He was very concerned. She looked shocked. "Am I okay? Daryl, you have bruises all over you." He shrugged. "It's no big deal." She was taken aback by his lack of care for himself, but decided to let it go. She sighed, and was shocked by how much her stomach hurt.
She instinctively pressed her hands to her stomach, right where Daryl's were resting as she hissed through her teeth. She quickly removed them as soon as she realized what she had done. Daryl did, too, but he still stayed sitting right next to her.
To answer his question, she replied, "I'm fine." He knew she was lying. "Then what was that?" She shrugged and gritted her teeth together when the pain came back, but this time it was in her shoulder blades. She didn't remember getting kicked in the ribs or back, though.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Though, I do want to know what happened after one of those guys hit my head." Beth's head was throbbing and it felt like a hammer was banging against it. She tried to ignore it, but the pain was too severe to ignore.
Daryl's jaw clenched as he recalled the previous events. "One of the guys knocked you out, then they started kickin' and beatin' you, too." Beth puts her hand on his elbow, silently telling him he didn't have to say anything else. He still continued. "And I couldn't do anything. I just let myself get beaten while all my... friends were dying."
Beth interrupted him. "Daryl." she said sternly. Then a little softer she said, "You couldn't do anything. Nobody's blaming you. Are Rick and Michonne okay? I didn't see what happened to them..." Daryl nodded. "Carl's here, too." Beth felt a little swell of hope in her chest. If they had all survived, Maggie probably had, too.
"Are you sure yer' okay, Beth?" She nodded once, but decided against it when the throbbing got worse. "I'm fine." She lied through clenched teeth. Daryl frowned. She knew he didn't believe her, but it was worth a shot. Giving in, she tells him, "It's just that my head hurts a little. No big deal." He nodded, but still looked unconvinced.
"Where were Michonne, Rick, and Carl headed?" Beth asked. "Same place we are. Terminus." She smiled at that. Beth figured most of the group would go there. "Are we still goin' there," she questioned him, hopeful.
She knew she would choose staying with Daryl if she had to choose between that and going to Terminus, but she still wanted to at least check out the place. Especially if Maggie really is there. Even if Maggie wasn't there, she still wanted to figure out if it really was a sanctuary.
Daryl nodded. "That's still the plan. 'Cept we'll have more people with us." Daryl wasn't exactly sure if he wanted more people with them. He'd seen Rick bite out Joe's neck last night, but he wouldn't tell her that. Somewhere deep inside of him though, he knew he would probably do the same for Beth, if he had to. The thought made him shudder.
"Is Joe's group dead?" Beth asked quietly. Daryl grabbed and squeezed her hand. "Yeah. They're dead." Beth didn't know what to say to this. She was relieved that they were safe from their once allies, but she was upset because of how this world had changed. She always was when things like this happened.
"Where are the others?" "Carl and Michonne are sleeping in the car, and Rick's on the other side of the car." Daryl replied. "How long was I out for?" It was dawn now. "Since last night." Beth just nodded.
"We're gonna start walking to Terminus again in the afternoon. We're almost there." Almost to safety, Beth thought. But, she didn't know if that thought was true or not.
