Chapter 26
At the very last moment Beth got a hold of the chair and lifted it between her body and the walker. It hissed and snarled, it was ravenous now. Beth could see red lacquer on it's nails when it tried to reach her. She could sense the mindless hunger of this creature when she pushed it away from her with the chair.
A silly, irrelevant thought flashed through Beth's mind. As a child she loved to listen to the ghost stories that Maggie used to tell her. She listened to those stories wide-eyed and tensed up, but always aware of the safety of her house and her loved ones nearby. Back then she knew that there wasn't real danger.
And now - who would have thought that the most horrible ghost stories will come true one day? No one.
It was at that moment when the door swung open.
Daryl entered the room with a raised crossbow and understood the situation immediately.
Flying arrow ended Lorraine's second life at once.
"Oh, Daryl. You came", Beth sputtered weakly.
Daryl came to her and hugged her tightly.
"Always", he said firmly.
"I had to kill her", she whispered to him.
"You did what you had to do", the hunter said simply.
More people came into the room now. Renee, doctor Green and a huge black man who Beth didn't know. She blushed a little when she suddenly understood that he must have been among the audience at the night of the tournament. But the man smiled at her so warmly that Beth forgot immediately all distracting thoughts.
"Hi. So you're the sweetheart of this badass Dix. I'm Candyman… but you can call me Victor. That's my real name", he said in a friendly tone. He had a big axe in his hand. The weapon was an amusing contrast to his smiling face somehow.
Renee came to hug Beth too.
"I can't believe we are really getting out of this place… oh my God, that's Lorraine", she said horrified, staring at the corpse on the floor.
"How did she…?"
Beth pointed at the opening on the wall.
"Secret door. Some kind of passage I guess", she noted.
"Interesting. I didn't know about that one", doctor Green said surprised.
"I guess this place is like a swiss cheese - there are passages everywhere. But now we have to hurry. The next guard will begin his shift in four hours. Your flight will be revealed then at the latest. By then you have to be far from here", doctor Green said.
"Follow me. I will show you the way out."
Daryl took Beth's hand and they followed the doctor out in the dark. None of them looked at Lorraine's dead body on the floor again.
It was quiet everywhere now. They moved like shadows in the darkness. The doctor went first, Renee and Candyman followed him and then came Daryl and Beth. The corridors seemed endless in Beth's eyes. She was grateful for Daryl's strong, warm hand that was holding her hand tightly now.
Finally they stopped in front of a large, colorful tapestry on the wall.
Doctor Green let his hand slide on the surface of the wall. Suddenly he found some kind of bulge in the wall and pressed it. Part of the wall slid aside.
A new, dark corridor opened in front of them. It went downwards, they could see it.
Daryl inhaled. He could smell the fresh air already. Soon they would be outside. Their small group entered the corridor. Stony walls were damp down here. Beth could hear the sound of dripping water from somewhere far.
At the end of the corridor was a metal gate. They could already see trees and bushes on the other side of it.
"Don't worry, I have a key here", doctor Green mumbled and took it out of his pocket.
"Well well boys, not so fast", said a mocking voice behind them.
Daryl and Candyman spun around simultaneously.
"Don't try anything stupid. I have a gun", Buck Stanton said and stepped out of the shadows. Obviously he had been following them. He lit his flashlight and pointed at them with the cone of light. He was not lying - he had a gun in his other hand, aimed directly at Candyman and Daryl. Clearly he had an upper hand now. Buck Stanton turned his back indifferently on doctor Green and gave two other men a vicious smile.
"You really thought that I didn't see you leave together, boys? Of course I wanted to know what you two were up to, so I followed you here. And look what I found - our own doctor Feelgood and these two lovely caged birds about to fly free."
Daryl cursed. Candyman seemed furious.
Buck Stanton looked from one to another. Then he turned to Beth.
"Tired already of hospitality of our fine Consultant, dear?" he snapped.
Beth stared at him wide-eyed, shocked.
Then Buck Stanton sighed condescendingly.
"This is what we are going to do next. I'll take you all back to the Consultant now. In return he will give me a special reward I'm sure. I will take you to my bed first…", he nodded at Beth.
"... and then you, you black bitch", he smirked at Renee, who started to cry.
Suddenly Buck's expression changed. Derisive look disappeared, he looked amazed, stunned. Then he swayed, made a rattling sound and dropped his gun and the flashlight. Slowly he fell face down on the ground. Doctor Green stood right next to him and stared at his surgeon's knife that stuck out of Buck's back now. The Doc's precision had been murderous. A dark blood stain around the knife expanded rapidly.
"That was for Carol-Ann, you rapist, you asshole", the doc shouted at the dying man. Then he picked the flashlight from the ground and pointed at the gate with it. He stepped to the gate and opened the lock very carefully. Then he bowed at Renee and Beth.
"Ladies - you are free", he noted in a friendly tone.
Beth stopped in front of him and smiled.
"Thank you, doctor Green. You should come with us too, our babies need you", she noted.
"Yes, doctor - join us, please", Renee agreed.
Doctor Green hesitated.
"I don't know… I don't think I can manage outside", he said silently.
Daryl glanced at Buck's corpse on the ground.
"I think ya will do just fine, dear Doc. Come on", he grinned at him.
Doctor Green thought about Carol-Ann. Maybe it was just wind in the trees, but he could almost hear her voice in his ears.
Go, my love! This is your chance to be free again.
The Doc stepped out of the gate very slowly. He inhaled the fresh air deeply.
And the first time in weeks he actually smiled.
xxxx
THE END
AN:
Thank you for reading - please share your final thoughts and reviews!
Special thanks to DarylDixon'sLover, Jessie 33, torijamison and fggt16 - you make me smile.
How did you like my OC characters: Renee, Lorraine, Buck, Candyman, Carol-Ann, the Doc and the Consultant? Were they believable enough?
The WD will continue tomorrow here in snowy Scandinavia and I'm excited to see the rest of the season - like you all I guess. ;-)
One more thing - in this story the first part was kind of
"The Camper"
The second part could have been named
"The Castle"
And the third part (?) could be
"The Child".
Because I must admit this story left some unanswered questions:
How will the Consultant react to the escape? Will they see him again?
Will they find the group & if so, what will the others think about Beth and Daryl being together?
And most of all - what about Beth's pregnancy & childbirth?
Please let me know would you be interested in part 3. If there is enough demand, I might consider it at some point.
Love,
SandyBell