Wow, the day of everything happening- Effie Trinket outfit sorted for tomorrow, Daddy is playing poker and had a tangled-frozen sing-along movie watch for kicks. Special thanks to my reviewers and followers and the dare I say it favouriters?!

Beth was waiting in the dark for her captor to come, the blank nothingness of anything but a small strip of fading light from under the door. At the same time Daryl had arrived about a mile from Terminus. He was agitated, inner fights with himself made it all feel like he was being totally torn apart. They were going to sit around in the silence, and then they were spreading out, approaching the place and attacking on the signal of a single firework being set off. And then another sanctuary would fall, only Daryl wouldn't be on the inside waiting to grab a blonde and run.

He thought back to the prison again, it had been a while since he had thought about it in depth. It was too painful, particularly to relive the fear he felt. He was inflicting that onto others. He was inflicting that on his brethren. People died, a hell of a lot of innocent people. Well as innocent as this world could supply. And the human part of him, that par that sounded like Beth was wanting to cry at the idea of humans attacking humans.

It felt like nowadays they were all drifters, walkers and humans had destroyed it for them too. And everyone expanded outwards in this huge growing circle, to cluster with whoever they met. The clusters grew, expanded, lessened and reformed. Each time different groups, each time something lesser being there. That hope the victims brought with them. The last standing are the ruthless survivors. Men like him, Michonne and Gary- yes, they'd all live to a ripe old age. They were built for isolate continuance in away humans aren't meant to be. He might try to change his nature, but his family were left behind because they hadn't had to train for this. His father's beatings were at last a gift.

But he still wasn't strong enough to save Beth, not to keep her out of harm's way. Not this time, nor any time before that. He couldn't vouch for her the ways she would for him, so wholeheartedly, beaus his luck wouldn't allow it. Her luck was no better, throwing her into this world of obscenities with a heart of china. And sometimes he felt like the bull in her shop, waiting to break it into little pieces. But no, that wasn't true. Beth's heart was more resilient than its appearance, fall after fall she caught it and put on a brave face. She wouldn't stop going before she got back to ass-kicker, she wouldn't stop until she got to him.

He sat down against a heavy tree, crossbow in hand, eyes cold and scanning. He had to put his faith into the little girl he watched grow into this delicate fighter, hoping she knew enough to adapt and breathe. She would, because she had to.

Back where his thoughts were, Beth had curled up against the door, head there listening to hear any noise. Her head still throbbed, pounding painfully against her temples so that she kept thinking if there were footsteps she'd miss them. After throwing up she had felt better, but the dizziness hadn't allayed at all. Diagnosing herself with concussion, Beth cursed her lack of weapons and options. She had no choice but to wait, and after waiting was done she had no idea what the plan was going to be.

Eventually they came for her. He came for her. She had no idea who he was, but the long scratches down his arms told her he was the one who forced her back earlier. His footsteps were heavy, the light that he turned on made her blinded to everything for a few moments, making her vulnerable. But he didn't react, he stood there and waited.

''You're the one trying to kill Mellissa?'' he asked it like it was a question, with the same accent they all had around these parts, the lack of travel intensifying the deepness. But it wasn't at all a question. He had pulled her off.

Mellissa must be the girls name, it seemed weird that she knew so little but he did. She had that uneasy feeling again. The one that told her a group of these people knew more than the rest but acted like they didn't to promote the idea of silent compliance. She wasn't having it, glaring slightly because she had nothing to say anyway.

''Got more in you than you look. Think we all guessed crossbow-guy kept you around,'' he moved around her, teasingly leaving the door open and sitting on the bed. He knew she couldn't outrun him, besides it was an enclosed space- where would she go? Weaponless and injured, Beth wasn't making it twenty miles after the next town.

''I wasn't trying to kill her.'' Her voice was soft, needing to justify herself, and also wanting to avoid any Daryl discussions so she didn't inadvertently frame him. She knew her weakness was trusting people, but he sat down and her mouth started talking. Seriously Beth, you have to expect them to try tactics on you- but she wanted to believe he was in this for his own curiosity and not as a punishment, he hadn't hurt her yet right?

''What?'' he looked at her, obvious not expecting the openness she provided.

''I needed answers, and I got them,'' she shrugged, feeling that disgusting feral side of her riling up again. There was no alternative, she told herself.

As if he felt the doubt in her eyes he chuckled, leaning back completely dropping his guard. He observed her with a fascination, but she would never know why. Abraham Ford had, as of late, seen a lot of twisted things. Humans turning on humans for him started way back in the day, as soon as he was deployed to some god-forsaken place. And he knew human regret when it fought survival instincts. Nowadays very few found it hard to feel bad about doing the immoral actions, this girl was clearly struggling, but she wasn't like those moral ones who stop. Something had made her fit outside the boxes of those who will do the right, and those who will do anything.

''What's your plan?''

''I don't know- the man they're going out to kill, the leader- he's family to us, Daryl and I, we can't let him die.'' She sighed, leaning back against the wall and resigning to holding her painful head in her hands. She was too tired to bother hiding it, besides it was most likely written on her face. Plus she didn't want to be thought of as some psycho with no reason.

''He's a good man?'' he looked up at her and she nodded slowly, he offered a hand and took her outside. Her head was totally in melt down mode. This was delusional right? Maybe concussion wasn't quite right. There was a truck and a willing companion. A suspicious truck and more suspicious companion. Her daddy said not to get in strange men's cars. But she got in anyway, feeling totally vulnerable but pulled on the belt nether less.

Michonne came back for the seventh time, there were still no signs. They had found a trunk of supplies in a shop in the town they thought they had last gone to. From the careful placement of it, it seemed Beth and Daryl knew they weren't coming back. But how was it possible to know that and have time to plan? Unless they ran away together. Michonne had that bitter thoughts a few times.

The noise of a restless ass kicker dissuade the thoughts, Beth wouldn't leave without the child, and Daryl wouldn't leave without Beth. The unity had been destroyed. Because no matter how far they looked or where they went they found nothing, and without Daryl looking was vastly pointless anyway. He was the tracker, but he couldn't track himself. Kenneth had come to sit on the bench they moved nearer to the gate. One of them was out her pretty much form their disappearance. Glenn and Tyreese went to all known communities nearby to scout around or find survivors to ask. They found ruins and dead people as of yet.

Kenneth felt useless, he was left with the baby a lot because he knew how to deal with her and Michonne was a more valuable seeker than he was. He was a new integrated member to the group, but he felt the absence no less significant. Daryl was the first of them he had met, threatening him over a baby. If he was being as protective now, at least Beth was in good hands.

There were obvious scenarios in their head. But no struggling seemed to have happened, and Daryl didn't give himself over easily to new people. There was no blood around there either, they had checked. So where were they?

Daryl had started scouting out, knowing the direction and shrugging off the slower men behind him so he felt less like her was waiting for an ambush. It was too late to turn back, part of him wondered if he could fast enough to warn them. The answer was no, he couldn't risk it. He hated feeling like a pawn in someone else's chest game. And before the night was through he was going to get back at these men. And his steps turned to thoughts.

''Why do you trust me?'' Beth looked at Abraham, they were stood in the circle the men had barely left.

''You said he was a good man, I trust your judgement.'' Abraham got out of the truck, looking at the ground and taking off in a jog toward the thick foliage, she followed behind, holding a singular knife, gun tucked into her belt. They moved through quickly until they got to train tracks, he looked up then and pointed into the distance. She nodded at him, breathing in, knowing it was their last break. And then they started running. And her footsteps turned to him.

And he thought of her. And she thought of him.

They thought of the long nights they spent together in this strange coupling, knowing it was all coming to crash against them and that they'd never catch a break so holding the chance to be sheltered and fed, with spare time with two hands. Opportunities are meant to be taken. He was tanned and rough, no part of him equalling the pale expanse of her. His muscles stood out where her gentle curves did. And somehow his gruffness complimented her pleasant optimism. Her hair hung off the edge of the mattress, chest rattling with small giggles as he only smirked to show the same level of emotion.

Being the antithesis of someone else would most normally lead to small fights between people, and the tensions in zombie land made those tensions into wars. But they didn't fight, they offered an escape of sorts. He hadn't had to be held, and she never learnt to suck up emotion until it was reasonable to express. And both were as important as the other. There was no doubt about that. No matter what either of them did they were prioritising getting back to the other.

Daryl kept moving, each swift footstep in front of another, and then he was stood there staring up at terminus. Beth was fast on his trail, pelting down the train tracks beside her new helper. Michonne and Kenneth both sat outside, staring at the gate in waning hope that they might appear in the darkness like nothing at all happened.

And right above him, in the distance and somewhere miles and miles away a single red burst called into the air. Signalling the beginning.

And so the next war begins…xxxx tell me your thoughts on what should happen