Chapter 25

Lorraine stopped in front of the door and looked at Beth.

"I know what you're planning, you and that lover of yours. You want to leave. But I tell you here and now that is not going to happen. You're not going anywhere, bitch!"

Beth inhaled and tried to stay calm.

"Why do you care about my escape so much? You obviously know the secret passages here and you could have left a long time ago if you wanted to", she noted.

"Yes, I learned the secrets of this place a long ago. I could go, but what would I do outside alone? The walkers would get me at once I'm sure. I don't know how to fight them. I need food and protection, people around me. So it's better for me here. But you...", Lorraine stared at Beth furiously.

"What about me? I've nothing to do with you. I hardly know you, and you obviously hate me. Why is that?" Beth asked quietly.

"You still don't get it, do you? You have everything I've ever wanted. You know how to fight walkers, how to survive on your own. And that boyfriend of yours clearly adores you. He took a huge risk for you by coming here. And he is willing to take another by escaping with you. And I heard you two earlier - you lied! You weren't raped, he's the father of your child and obviously happy about it, isn't he?" Lorraine hissed.

Then she started to speak louder. Her voice was full of anger and bitterness now.

"No man has ever loved me. I've never been special to anyone. Not to mention women. They don't like me either. I never had friends, not even in school."

"See, you and Renee just decided to leave this place and you never thought of me, didn't you? Lorraine is left out as usual, she's not important, she never is", Lorraine started to speak about herself in third-person.

This woman is clearly unbalanced, Beth realized staring at the knife in Lorraine's hand. She held it raised all the time, staring at Beth firmly.

"And there is more. I've never enjoyed sex in my life. Ever. All my life I've been thinking that it's always repulsive for a woman somehow. Living in a place like this reinforced that idea, trust me", Lorraine explained.

"But then I watched you and your lover in bed together. You smiled at him. You laughed together. He was so gentle to you, passionate. He just can't get enough of you, can he?! You cried out for pleasure in his arms, I heard it!"

"Why do you always get everything and I don't? You... you... cunt!" Lorraine was screaming now, and Beth was sure that someone would hear them soon.

"Shut up, shut up!" she said nervously.

"This captivity has clearly been too much for you. I don't blame you for that, Lorraine. Years of slavery and fear - that's a lot to take for anyone. Please let it go and come with us, so you can be free too", Beth suggested.

"To do what? To witness your love again and again every day? No, Beth. I will never see the world outside this castle again - and neither will you", she said with a cruel smile.

Then Lorraine looked at the weapon in her hand.

"Can you see this knife, Beth? It's stainless steel. I stole it from doctor Green's office four months ago. He was too drunk to notice anything", she noted.

Then she sighed and looked around the room nonchalantly.

"Well, Beth. Are you interested to know why I didn't tell about you and your precious lover to the Consultant?" she asked subtly.

"Of course I am", Beth said trying to buy some time.

"Because I knew exactly what he would have done. He would have killed your lover at once and used you again and again in his stupid tournaments. And sooner or later some other guy would fall in love with you and try to rescue you again. That's the way it goes for a girl like you", Lorraine noted.

"And you know what? That's just not enough for me. I want you to die, Beth. After that I will hide your body in these passages, behind these walls. No one will ever find your remains. Your lover will get himself killed trying to find you in vain. This is the end of it, Beth", Lorraine said and took a step closer.

Beth took a step back, next to the bed.

"Please, Lorraine, you don't have to do this", Beth said horrified.

"Oh yes I do", she said and approached with a knife.

At that moment Beth remembered a sunny afternoon a long ago. The hours she spent with Daryl, learning how to use a knife. She could almost hear his voice in her mind.

"Always make sure that yer grip is firm. Aim carefully, since only deep and accurate stabs are lethal for sure." That was what Daryl said back in the days.

Obviously no one had ever taught Lorraine properly.

The blade trembled in her hand. She looked raving, not focused.

But she was close now, very close, and very determined.

Then she attacked.

Beth acted quickly by instinct.

She grabbed a pillow off the bed and got it between them. At the very last second - the blade sank deep into pillow. Lorraine screamed with rage, when Beth pushed her backwards with force. Suddenly they stumbled and fell on the floor together. Beth pulled the pillow aside and managed to get a grip of the knife too. They struggled for a weapon for a while, and suddenly it was in Beth's hand.

Lorraine changed her plan and decided to strangle her instead. Beth felt her fingers around her neck.

Beth could see the madness in her eyes. This woman wouldn't give up, Beth knew it.

It's either me or her, she realized. There was a brief second when she thought of her unborn child and saw Daryl's face in her mind. More than anything else she wanted to live.

It was at that moment when Beth Greene - well-bred, refined southern belle - became a killer. Her grip was firm. She aimed carefully. She didn't hesitate.

The blade sank deep. Directly into Lorraine's throat. Warm blood gushed out of open artery. Lorraine didn't scream anymore. Her rage had disappeared. Her dead body flop heavily down on the floor.

Suddenly there was blood everywhere. It looked like large, red flowers on the floor, on white pillow, on Lorraine's white nightgown. Toxic flowers, Beth thought staring at the stains shocked. There was blood on her hands too.

And then Beth realized that the danger was not over yet. The corpse could rise at any moment now. She needed the knife back. It wasn't easy. The blade was stuck in Lorraine's cervical spine somehow. Beth tried to pull it off, but the bloody handle just slide in her hands.

The body on the floor jerked. The empty eyes opened and the hollow gaze was drawn to Beth at once. Then the walker stood up slowly. The knife stuck grotesquely out of it's neck.

Beth glanced around the room panicky. The bed. The table. The chair. There were no more weapons of any kind in the room.

And the walker approached quickly now.