And here we go! A little bit recap, a little bit moving the plot! Please let me know what you think! Again... just playing in the sandbox!
Daryl and Hershel had made some headway into the walkers that were ambling towards the farmhouse when they both realized that there were too many to control or stop.
Hershel was pointing out the car and RV being used to clear the walkers and the truck and a smaller car being readied for their escape when Daryl grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tugged him into the shadows at the corner of the house.
"Where's that Walsh dude? He said he'd meet us up by the house." A medium height man with dark hair was talking to a larger guy with a beer gut.
"Who cares, Dave? You seen any women around here? Thought there was women."
The dark haired guy frowned at the other one. "Tony shut it. Walsh said there were chicks, and lookie there. I do believe that is the one I was looking for."
Daryl watched as the man pointed to where he could see Beth running towards Maggie who was waving her arms. He held tight to Hershel and slapped a hand over his mouth to quiet him. Hershel realized then that there were two more men, one coming at an angle from the woods and the other stepping from behind Maggie's car. There was no way they could take them all on without surprise on their side. What neither Hershel nor Daryl ever suspected was what happened next.
As Beth reached Maggie and Glenn, the first two men reached them. They couldn't hear what was said, but it was obvious that it was bad. Beth tried to make a move back towards the house but Tony intercepted her and held her as Dave approached the car. He spoke for a few minutes then turned away and walked up to Beth while Maggie and Glenn drove away. He ran his hand down the side of her face then down the center of her chest, only to grab and pinch. Beth spit in his face and Dave backhanded her. That was the final straw for Hershel. Before Daryl could stop him, he was charging across the yard towards where the men were now dragging his baby towards the house. All he could see was her blond hair and all he could hear was her screams. He never saw Maggie's car stop and then back up, he never heard Maggie yelling for him to stop, to come to the car, to leave with her. Suddenly Beth's screams stopped, and then he heard nothing.
Daryl watched Hershel go down and then Maggie got back into the car and they drove away. This time for good. He then watched the men as they finally got Beth up on the porch, she was using everything he had taught her to try to get away, but even he could see that he hadn't taught her enough, he had assumed, like the others had, that Beth would always be safe with one of them.
There were walkers beginning to make their way back into the yard, so Daryl crouched down and silently made his way through the darkest shadows over to the front of the house. He had seen four men and noted that there was one on the front door and one around back. Picking up a stick, he threw it into the bushes near the corner of the house. Sure enough, the man at the back door stepped off the porch to check things out. Daryl shook his head at how easy it was to trick these idiots and to take them out. A hand over the mouth and a knife blade to the throat was all he needed to remove the threat of the guards. Now was the hard part. Daryl slid into tracking mode and made his way up to the porch. Knowing the screen door would make too much noise, he was banking on the dining room window to be open and screen free. For some reason, no one had realized that was how Carl had been escaping the house. Out the dining room window and onto the porch, then the drop over the rail and freedom. Daryl was now glad he hadn't mentioned what the little shit had been doing.
Easing into the dark room, he crept to the door listening intently to determine where Beth had been taken. It didn't take long to hear her crying and the two men laughing and talking, taunting her with the things they planned to do. Thinking that they were safe, the idiots hadn't shut the bedroom door, so when Daryl got to the master bedroom what he saw filled him a rage that eclipsed any rage he had ever felt in his life. Beth was lying across the bed, naked, her hands being held above her head. There was blood on her face and angry red marks that would bruise all over her chest. Some of them looked like they had been made by teeth. At this point, she was no longer fighting and the dark haired man, Dave had undone his pants and pulled Beth to where her hips were at the edge of the bed. She flinched at his touch and when Dave slapped Beth's thigh causing her to cry out, Daryl lost what was left of his control. He put a bolt through Tony's face and before he had even hit the ground, Daryl was on Dave. The man never even had a chance to make a sound when Daryl wrapped both hands around his throat squeezing tighter and tighter. Dave's eyes bulged as he struggles to draw a breath.
"You shoulda never touched her."
The dark-haired man's mouth moved in a parody of speaking and then he was gone. Daryl turned him loose and used his knife to make sure he didn't come back. He fell back on his butt panting from the adrenaline rush and the fear and rage that roiled inside him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before feeling the slight weight of Beth collapsing against him.
"Beth... " He breathed. "God, I thought I's too late."
Beth just buried herself in Daryl's arms and cried.
They stayed that way until he heard the footsteps in the hallway. In one smooth move, Daryl had Beth wrapped in the quilt that had been knocked off the bed and had pushed her behind him. He got quickly to his feet and had his knife in one hand and a gun that he assumed belonged to either Tony or Dave in the other.
"Daryl? It's Carol, are you ok?"
Daryl slumped in relief. "Carol, I need ya in here now."
He heard a moan from Beth turned and picked her up just as she passed out, cradling her tightly to his chest. Carol stepped through the door and gasped at the sight she saw. "I saw you sneak in. What happened? Was she... "
"Nah, they almost did, but I killed the fuckers before they could rape her. Beat her up somethin' awful though. She's gonna need ya, Carol."
Carol nodded and told Daryl to bring her through to the living room. He was shocked to see Hershel propped in the recliner in the corner. The man was snoring but appeared to be ok.
"I thought they'd killed him, s'why I didn't check him. Had ta get ta Beth."
Carol nodded. "You did the right thing. I got to him just as he came around. One of those guys shot him in the leg. I don't know if the bone is broken or what, but it looks bad. And he hit his head on a rock. That's why you thought he was dead."
"A'ight, let's hunker down here for a couple of hours." Daryl moved to peer out the window. Looks like Beth's ma's car and my bike are ok. We'll load up what we can and head to the meetin' place by dawn. M'hopin' the others got away. I know Maggie and Glenn did."
"I'll go get Beth some clothes and we'll clean her up while she's asleep. Hershel should be out for a while. Then we can take turns getting a little sleep."
Daryl looked at Carol. "Sounds good. Sooner we get to the meetin' place and away from here the better I like it. Walsh was behind it. Heard them guys tell Beth we'd been set up. Y'all were the prize. He might still be around and I don't know how many others were with 'em."
After Daryl and Carol had each had an hour of rest they decided to move out. Sunrise was coming on and they had some leeway with the meeting time, but Daryl wanted to get there as soon as they could. They loaded Hershel into the backseat of the car, and Carol opened the passenger door for Beth. The blond just clung to Daryl and wouldn't let him go. Carol nodded and shut the door before going to the driver's side.
"S'gonna be cold on my bike, be better if you went with ya dad and Carol."
Beth shook her head harshly. "Please, I want to stay with you."
"A'ight, just hold tight ta me."
They got to the interstate just after dawn. After several hours it was obvious that any of the others that had made it off the farm had already come and gone. They had been left behind, and the thought of it burned in Daryl's belly like raw moonshine. He could see the pain in Hershel and Carol's eyes, and the wounded acceptance in Beth's. He let them rest for a bit, and they checked Hershel's leg, but then it was time to go. Carol had suggested that they try to follow them, but a large herd of walkers forced the small group to go south, and they really had no idea which way the others had gone. They could only hope that they just ran across each other at some point.
It was starting to get cold, and while Beth had healed physically, she was not the same girl that Daryl had gotten to know. She was much too quiet and way too skittish. Between the assault and their family leaving them for dead, she was not doing well. She wouldn't ride in the car unless Daryl forced her to because of the weather, and every time he woke up, he found her tucked against his back. At first, waking up with Beth made him really uncomfortable. He wasn't used to anyone being so close, and especially not close to his back. He had tried several times to get her to sleep near her dad or Carol, but no matter what he did, she would find her way to his side. Carol finally took him aside and told him to just get used to it. Daryl was the only one who had ever helped her or saw her as an adult and he had saved her from a horrible fate. She knew she could always count on him. So Daryl let it be. Besides, he had gotten used to her slight weight pressing against him while he slept. The only time Beth let him out of her sight was when he went hunting. She would just shake her head no when he asked, and then go sit in the car with her dad. Daryl was seriously getting worried about Beth.
Worse than the situation with Beth, the gunshot wound on Hershel's leg hadn't healed correctly. He thought that maybe the bone had been fractured, but there was no way to tell for sure. He didn't complain, but Hershel had a hard time walking or standing for long periods of time. He and Carol didn't think it was infected, the bullet hole had healed up nicely and it wasn't warm or red, but everyone was worried nonetheless. They spent a few weeks wandering around until they had no more gas for the car. Daryl was able to scavenge enough for the motorcycle, but he couldn't find enough good for the car. They found themselves in the middle of nowhere, so they used the car as shelter and Daryl built a small camp around it. And that was how the National Guard found them.
Daryl was wary of the uniforms, but Carol and Hershel were glad to have more protection and the medicine that the Lieutenant in charge was willing to spare.
Beth refused to be anywhere near any of the strange men, and Daryl found that he once again had a shadow where she had been uninterested in tracking and hunting before. He didn't complain, just started her lessons back up. In exchange for the medicine and extra blankets, Daryl was glad to share any game he and Beth killed on their trips.
He had already told her that she was too heavy-handed to field dress game, but she was strong enough to take down walkers, and any live one that might be trying to do her harm. Daryl had decided that there was no way he could leave Beth defenseless ever again. She needed to know how to fight, and fight dirty if need be. He started out having her do some repetitive drills so that if she ever had to fight the living with her knife, it would come as second nature. She was beginning to get the hang of it, and after three complete run-throughs with no mistakes, he moved on to the next lesson. Every day he trained her in hand to hand fighting after he extracted a promise that she wouldn't tell her father. Tracking and hunting were one thing, and even the sleeping arrangements could be explained away, but Daryl didn't think Hershel would approve of his baby grappling with a surly redneck on the regular. Today, though, Daryl had a treat for Beth. She had seen him pin a rattlesnake to the ground with a knife throw and every day she begged him to teach her. Since she had shown a basic understanding of fighting and was pretty good with her knife, he decided it wouldn't hurt to add to her skills. Daryl couldn't or wouldn't admit to himself that he just wanted to see Beth come back out of her shell and smile and sing again. And if it took knife throwing or wrestling to do it, well, he would.
"Bring ya knife, gonna show ya somethin'"
Daryl led Beth to the tree line that edged one of the clearings he and Beth had been hunting. He pulled a red checked bandana out of his pocket and stuck it to an oak tree with a small bladed pocketknife.
Daryl motioned Beth closer and told her to pay attention to how he held his knife and then he went through the motions of throwing so she could observe. Next, he had her show him what she had seen. It only took a few tries before he was satisfied that she could actually begin to throw a knife.
"A'ight, aim for the center of the cloth. Use a light touch, don't squeeze the blade, and throw... "
Beth took a deep breath and aimed for the tree. To her disappointment, even though she hit the cloth, the knife bounced off the tree instead of piercing the bark. After several more tries and Beth getting more frustrated, Daryl stopped her.
"I'm gonna guide ya through one. So just relax and follow my lead."
Daryl stood behind Beth, his chest so close to her back she could feel the heat he radiated. His hand slid along her arm, molding and moving until he got the position she needed to be able to throw her knife. Putting her hand on top of his he showed her how to grasp the knife, and then he let go.
"Draw back and throw." He whispered next to her ear.
Beth took a deep breath and at the end of the exhale, she did just that.
"Oh My God! I did it!" Beth turned and hugged Daryl who made a hasty step back. Beth was so excited she didn't even notice.
"Told ya, all ya had to do was relax."
Beth nodded and retrieved her knife.
"Again?" She asked.
Daryl nodded. "Again."
Beth hit half of her attempts before Daryl announced it was getting late and they needed to head back to camp.
One night, the Lieutenant told everyone his plans for moving out and searching for more survivors. He had access to a helicopter that was fully fueled and he wanted to see what he could find. He didn't care for being in the woods like they were, he wanted an open camp where they could see around them. Daryl scoffed, and several of the soldiers agreed that being in the open was stupid, but of course, they were overruled. The group was invited to stay with the unit, and Daryl didn't say anything when Carol and Hershel suggested that they stay with them for the time being. So they moved, into the open. And when the Lieutenant and several of his men took off in the chopper, Daryl and the two combat experienced soldiers set to work. The vehicles were set into a perimeter that was easily guarded, and weapons were ready to go at all times. Daryl showed them the best way to kill walkers without wasting ammo, so the Sergeant that had been left in charge set patrols to sweep the area.
It had been several days since the chopper had left, and now they were all beginning to think that they were probably dead. So when a small group of cars showed up, they were wary but hopeful. Daryl had taken his patrol out into the woods to the left of the camp while Sgt Lewis had taken another to the right side. It had taken less than ten minutes to erupt into a gunfight. Sgt. Johnson had died when he approached the man who claimed to have the Lieutenant back at his town. Sgt. Lewis had only lost two of his six men when they stumbled on a group trying to flank the camp. Daryl and his men made it around and fired on the vehicles while the Guardsmen used their heavy weapons and scattered the encroachers. Only two of the trucks made it out, they had been completely surprised by the military counter-attack. In the gunfight, some shrapnel had hit Hershel in the barely healed leg, this time shattering the bone below his knee. It didn't take long for infection to set in, and Daryl knew they had no choice but to find a real doctor somewhere. They no longer had their medic, he had been on the chopper when it crashed. The decision was made to head towards Atlanta. Daryl, Beth, Carol, and Hershel would be taken there by several of the Guardsmen who would then meet up with the rest of their group at the armory near Canton. The trip took a lot longer than hoped or planned, and by the time they came across a couple of police officers from Grady Memorial, Hershel was on the verge of death.