Chapter Twenty One
Down With The Worms
From Maggie's quaint little house on the end of the street, the commotion from the front gate was apparent. Beth leaned over the porch balcony and watched her sister sprint to pull Glenn from one of the Alexandria lot again. There was a ball of confusion rolling around on the road tarmac and again, nothing felt new. It was like being on the outside. As Maggie dragged Glenn to his feet and away from the man, Beth returned to her seat on the porch. The book beside her was carelessly over turned. It didn't interest her any more than the rest of the books did. It wasn't right to be enjoying all of this with half of the group dead. Of course, it had been four long, quiet weeks since Tyreese was laid down. So five now without Daryl. The days creeped past Beth, and she knew they done that to everybody else. They tried to sweep it away from them. But Beth understood. They had new, cleaner lives to live. She tried to not let it anger her that they had forgotten. But even sometimes, she herself would wake up in the morning and not remember until lunch that her best friend wasn't around anymore. He wasn't going to come through their front door with the catch of the day hanging on his belt and ask to borrow a book. It was just a strange, terribly thought out fantasy now. When she would remember, she'd almost always stop whatever she was doing and make room somewhere within her for him.
But the days went on. Day turned to night and back again. Rick patrolled every morning at precisely seven and in the evenings at nine. Nobody knew if he done it for his own peace of mind or for the benefit of everybody else but it seemed to calm him in the morning and give him something to look forward to at night. Michonne would often accompany him and they would talk over everything from the prison to losing Tyreese. They'd remind themselves of where they came from and it wasn't something they were ready to give up. Beth found herself as the baby-sitter of Alexandria. Surrounded almost 24/7 with frightened babies and toddlers. She had hoped for a quieter position like working in the pantry or even a housekeeper but, some days, Maggie would help out and it wouldn't be as stressful.
A particular night in the dead of December, frost seemed to cover the roofs of the houses and glitter the paths around Alexandria. Beth was leaving Mrs Bristow's two bed-roomed bungalow after caring for her seven month old the whole day. Her jeans were pulled up tighter around her waist and her cardigan was buttoned as much as it would go. Careful steps traced down the paths towards Rick's home for the evening. Michonne and Eugene had prepared a meal for the entire family for Thanksgiving and New Year combined. They knew it was nearer one of the two holidays. She walked steadily across the quiet road, meeting the eight thirty curfew in a clean sweep. Beth slipped her bag from her shoulders as she stepped up the porch stairs. An incessant rattling from the other side of the tall wall made her look to the entrance. The entire wall shook with the force of this one source. Without thinking more on it, Beth poked her head in the front door and called Rick out to the porch to let him hear the noise,
"I know it's curfew but can we check it out? I don't know how long it's been going on-"
"Yeah, c'mon. Drop your stuff." Rick calmly instructed and he hopped callously down the steps. He lead the way and Beth sheepishly followed behind. His light came closer to the iron wall and he waited for the sound to happen again.
A thud vibrated across the wall after careful moments of silence between them. Beth turned to notice some faces appearing in the windows of the dormant homes. "Who's there?!" hissed Rick through a tall gap in the wall. There was just huffing and sighing followed by a forceful push to the wall. "I'm gonna have to ask you t' calm down. What is your name?"
"It could just be a walker, Rick..." Beth whispered but Rick shook his head,
"They ain't that strong... I'm gon' ask you again, what is your name?" Rick lowered his gun and handed his torch backwards to Beth, "Keep it on the lock..." He instructed. Beth nodded and done as Rick told. Her steady hand illuminated Rick's handiwork on the padlocks and chains. He cocked his gun before sliding open the gargantuan gate in front of him.
Like a sack of potatoes, the body fell from the gate to the hard, icy ground, bound completely in rope and cloth. Thin and worn; completely destroyed and used. Crossbow laden over his back he pushed himself further into the walls of Alexandria. A trembling whimper came to Rick and the gate was immediately brought over and re-locked. The flashlight never moved. He disturbed the silence, exuding howls of agony and torment which burned him.
"Get Glenn and Abraham." Rick's voice found itself in the air, his brain startled and body rigid in fear. Beth placed the flashlight by the crossbow, turned, and grew into a sprint. Rick stood over the churning body and frantically looked around at the houses. Lights were on and the eyes watched every move of the body. He could've sworn by looking to the ground, he was now definitely insane. This man was in a field, really, in a make-shift box and dead. But Rick knelt down and attempted to tear at the rope which connected his wrists and ankles. He quickly worked at tugging and yanking in one way or another to free the soul from his restraints. The pace picked up as it started to dawn on him the disasterous mistake he had made. Rick hummed nervously.
The footsteps hurtled down the cold cement and he was lifted, the crossbow clattering to the ground. Over Glenn and Abraham's shoulder he was carried. Rick swiped the flashlight from the ground and Beth pulled the crossbow up into her arms. They followed the fraying rope and calls of pain in complete horror.
(AN/ Thank you so much for reading this fic! I really appreciate all the support and followers and alerts etc etc! Thank you so much! I love you all! Read and Review xx)