Chapter 53
Beth clutched Judith and Sam to her chest and ran. Daryl had shoved her through the hole the governor and blown through the fence, slung an emergency pack to her back and told her to run. He promised to find her. Beth ran as fast as she could with two infants, thankfully all the noise at the prison had distracted any walkers and she only had a to outsmart and dodge the few that hadn't made it towards the noise yet. Judith and Sam were whimpering against her and she knew they'd start screaming if she didn't find a place to stop and feed them soon. She thanked God that the small diaper bag she carried had not only a few diapers, but also a change of clothes, a rain poncho and warm baby blanket in it. She made it a tree that had branches that looked like they grew just to make it easier to climb so she quickly started on her way up. She tied down her two small bags and leaned back against the trunk and pulled down her top. Both babies quickly latched on and started nursing greedily. Beth guessed that she was about 25 minutes from the prison, but she could still smell the smoke. She supported both babies' heads and caught her breath watching the woods. She would not survive if she didn't run into someone from the prison. Not with both babies to take care of. She kept her crying as silent as she could and her eyes wide open. Every time she closed them she saw Michonne's sword swing towards her father's neck. Daryl had pulled her away from watching, but not fast enough. Sam popped her nipple from her mouth and settled against her and Beth quickly settled her back into the sling once she had burped. Judith continued to nurse and Beth opened the bag and dug out a bottle of water and some trail mix and had a small meal herself while waiting for someone to find her.
Daryl worked his way through the woods and kept his eyes on the ground following Beth's footprints. His ears were still ringing from blowing the tank up. He had grabbed another quiver of arrows and backpack of supplies and judging from depth of the footprints he was following Beth was still carrying both babies and the bags. He kept his crossbow trained ahead of him in case he ran into any game or trouble. He had to find Beth. She only had enough food on her for maybe two days. He had to find her and keep her fed so she could feed the babies. Daryl turned and aimed at the woods when he heard a twig snap. Six of the roughest looking men he had ever seen walked out towards him.
"I claim that vest." The tall lanky one said as they circled him.
"Nah, Len. Anything he has on him is his you know that. We don't take what's not ours." The older man said. "Crossbow? Now I know you were made for this world. A man carrying a gun might have been photographer, or hairdresser. 150 pound draw on that crossbow?" Daryl nodded. "Could use a hunter like you."
"My camp got attacked." Daryl said. "I'm looking for my group. My girlfriend and my kids. I can't be joining you." Daryl said keeping his bow on Len.
"She one of the little ones? They don't last." Len said cruelly. Daryl slung his crossbow across his back and pulled out his knife.
"Whoa there son. We're making our way through the woods. If we come across you're family we take them in too. My name is Joe."
"No offense but I don't really want you near my girls." Daryl said shoving his knife back in its sheath.
"You're family is claimed, we won't touch them, unless you want to share." Joe said. "I'm sure you've been judge prematurely too. It's too hard to make it on your own out here." Daryl sighed. He knew it was going to be hard to ditch these guys. "Hell we lost a guy earlier today. We staying in a house not too far from here, some son of a bitch killed Gerry and left him to turn. We had to put him down. Been tracking him. Think he's on the way to Terminus."
"I can't stop you from following me now can I?" Daryl said pulling his crossbow off his back and stalking back into the woods to follow Beth's trail. He was grateful that they at least seemed to understand that they had to move silently through the forest and that gun fire attracted more walkers; each had a silent way to dispatch of any undead they came across. Len had a regular bow, Joe had a bowie knife, and the others had a nightstick, machete and lead pipe respectively.
"So these girls we're looking for, what do they look like?" Joe asked. "Just want to make sure there's no arguments, the boys will understand they're claimed."
"What the fuck do you mean by claimed?"
"Just what it sounds like. You see something along the way you want, you just lay claim to it and it's yours." Joe said catching the way Daryl looked at him. "Don't look at me like that, you said it yourself you're looking for YOUR girls." Daryl continued to walk and aimed his bow, shooting a large squirrel out of a tree.
"Claimed!" Len said scooping it up. Daryl looked at Joe. He grabbed the squirrel from Len and hacked it in half.
"Don't be a bitch Len. Those are the rules from now on though Daryl. Just shooting it ain't enough."
"You guys don't make any noise I can catch enough for all of us, that's what I do." Daryl grunted stuffing the mangled body into a plastic bag and shoving it into his bag.
"If you want to share that's up to you. Just claim anything before it falls." Joe said. Daryl notched his bow and reloaded the arrow.
"I can't be claiming before I shoot. I'll be scaring away more than I catch." Daryl grumbled. "Let me go on a head a bit, as long as I catch enough we all get fed. I don't catch enough Beth eats first once I find her."
"We need the fuel and strength first." Joe stated. "Think back to ancient times. The men, the protectors and providers ate first, then the women and children."
"Beth's nursing 2 babies. The pack she has maybe has enough for 2 days. She eats before me. She's really good at making the food stretch to feed everyone. Knows what roots and wild veggies look like. We find a pot, Beth will have us eating soup by nightfall."
"We got to find this Beth first now don't we?" Len taunted and shot an arrow; missing a rabbit Daryl had been tracking and scaring it away.
"Christ man was your head up your ass? I said let me get the meat!" Daryl said menacingly but quietly. He turned and started back on Beth's trail and stopped suddenly and looked around. He thought he heard a baby whimpering. "Claimed that baby and anyone else with it. Claimed." Daryl said swinging his cross bow across his back and taking off in a jog following Beth's footprints.
"Daryl?" She said softly from her spot up in the tree. Daryl held a hand up stopping her from climbing down. Joe and his boys caught up with Daryl and looked around.
"Beth, both babies and all her stuff is claimed." Daryl said hoisting himself up to the branch with her. He quickly kissed the top of Sam and Judith's head and loaded anything heavy from Beth's bags into his and helped her down from the tree but kept her and the babies behind him. "Don't even fucking look her." He spat out to Len. Beth pulled the small knit hats she had from her bag and pulled them over both babies' heads and eyed their new "friends."
"I didn't see anyone else yet." She said to Daryl as he clutched at her arm and trailed behind the group. "We need to find a car or somewhere secure to rest in. I need to change the babies."
"Another few miles, there's a cabin I hid out in with Michonne when we were on a run." Daryl said. "It was a smart move climbing up the tree." He added pulling her hand up and kissing her hand.
"I had to feed the babies." Beth said pulling the half eaten bag of trail mix from her pocket and offering some to Daryl. He took a bit and popped it into his mouth. "It's a good thing we had a big breakfast today." Beth said shifting Sam and Judith so they were lying in the sling.
"I got half a squirrel in my bag, some wild chives. The cabin has a wood stove and pots. Water pump." Daryl said. "Or at least it had them a few weeks ago."
"This cabin have enough room for all of us?" Joe called back. "If not you better get there first and claim it." Daryl quickly explained the claim thing to Beth. She kept her eyes open and pointed to a bush full of ripe berries.
"Claimed." Daryl grumbled pulling a bandana from his pocket and halting the trek while Beth picked the berries. "Joe the cabin has 2 bedrooms, a living area with a futon and small kitchen area. One bedroom has 2 bunk beds in it and the other has a king size bed. There's room for all of us to spend the night."
"Let me guess you want the king size bed?" Len said.
"Nah, we'll take the futon in the living room. It'll be warmer once I get the stove going if that's all right with the rest of you. "I'm going to keep watch tonight anyway." Daryl said bending down and collecting another empty can. "I'm going set up alarms around the perimeter." Daryl added knowing that Glenn and Rick would recognize his alarms and know where to find them."
"Sounds fair." Joe said openly eying Beth as she took an empty shopping bag from her pack and started filling it with berries. She mushed a berry between her fingers and let Judith suck them clean.
"Thank you." Beth said quietly as she fixed another berry for Judy as they walked. "If there are any dishtowels and hand towels in there can I claim them for the babies? I don't want to run out of diapers." Beth added. "I'm going to line the inside of their disposable ones with the cloth, I hope that will stretch how long I can use them for."
"We might each want a rag each, the rest can be yours." Joe said as they worked their way further into the forest. "We can always rip apart towels too." Beth forced a tiny grin and then put her eyes back on the ground. She stopped and ripped a few handfuls of clovers into her bag and some edible mushrooms. She had a small pack of instant noodles in her pack that she planed to break apart and use to in the soup. She thought of the garden back and the prison and wiped at her eyes before she could cry. The supplies they had just filled were likely lost in a fire. She had been lucky to get out in a relatively new pair of jeans and the new winter boots. The bag Daryl had tossed her had a hoodie that would keep her warm enough when they had to move and she thought she might be able to zip it over the babies too. She had a few travel size tissue packs that would have to be used for toilet paper.
"You need to rest?" Daryl asked helping her back to her feet. Beth looked down and adjusted her top so Judith could start to nurse.
"I can walk while she eats." Beth said covering herself with her hand. "It's not much further is it?" Beth asked looking down as Sam continued to nap.
"Maybe another 2 miles." Daryl said. "We'll get there right before dark if we keep pace." Daryl said walking in front of her to block her from the leering looks back she kept getting from Len. "We going to try and lose them eventually." Daryl said as he aimed at another squirrel. "Claimed." Daryl grunted as it fell to the ground in front of the group. He picked it up and stopped to notch his bow again.
"I got a can of green beans I can add to the soup in my bag too." Beth said as she followed him. She stopped when he stopped to scoop up the squirrel. "I want to keep the crackers for Judith though. She's going to be teething soon." Daryl shoved the squirrel in with the half he had in his bag. "I got a few other cans in there too. I want to ration them though. I don't want to have nothing when we find Maggie and the others. They might not have gotten out with anything. They'll be hungry."
"We might not find anyone else." Daryl said looking back at her. Beth gave him a dirty look. "Beth you didn't see everything I did." Daryl added.
"Would it kill you to have a little faith?" Beth asked rubbing Judith's back. "Maggie was helping Glenn to the bus. They could of gotten out. I saw them as a ran."
"When I was tracking you I saw the bus. It was tipped on its side and over run with walkers." Daryl said reaching for her hand again. "I didn't see your sister or Glenn."
"Then they got away. What about Carl, Billy, Mika and Lizzie? The other kids?"
"I don't know." Daryl admitted. "I saw a few of the older people. They had turned." Beth closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. "If it's safe we'll stick around the cabin for a few days. Move on to the neighborhoods we were clearing. That's were our people will go." Beth nodded her head and covered up again once Judith had laid her head against Beth's shoulder and settled in for a nap.
"We need to keep our eyes open for baby things again. The bag was pretty Spartan." Beth said resolving herself to keep busy to keep from crying. "About 3 diapers for each. A small pack of wipes, small tube of diaper cream. I got pajamas and socks for them in here. I'm going to need warmer clothes. I only got one warm blanket."
"We'll find more." Daryl promised. "We can wear the pajamas under their clothes if we can't find anything warm right away." Beth nodded her head. "What about you? "
"I'm good. There's a sweater and rain poncho in there." Beth said. "You?"
"I got a plaid shirt with sleeves, my vest. I'll be ok." Daryl said. "I'll add layers as I find them. We're almost there!" Daryl called up to Joe. "I'm going to boost you up in a tree again while we clear the cabin alright?" Daryl asked leading her up the dirt road. Beth nodded and followed him to an old oak tree. Beth placed her foot in his hand and reached up for the branch over her head. Daryl boosted her up and she carefully wiggled her way back against the trunk. "You still got your knife and Glock?" Beth nodded and patted her hip and pointed to a small pocket on the outside of the sling. "Keep it on hand." Daryl said as he followed Joe and the boys into the cabin and quickly cleared it. Len and another man lugged 2 bodies of walkers they had found and Daryl got to work securing the area with wire and cans. "Come on girl." He said catching the bags as she dropped them down. Beth slowly lowered herself and the babies to Daryl's waiting arms.
"I got a pot half filled with water and the stove going." Joe said coming out to meet them on the porch. Daryl sat on the steps and quickly skinned and gutted the one and half squirrels he had. Beth waited for him to finish and followed him to the open room that contained the kitchen and living area. She sat at the table and pulled out the can of beans she had and the wild onions, roots and mushrooms and quickly chopped them all up. She crushed the pack of noodles she had and removed the seasoning pack and dumped the veggies and seasoning in as Daryl got the meat off the bones and tossed the bones into the soup.
"I'm going make us some skewers for us to eat with the soup." Daryl explained to Joe as he threaded the meat over some twigs. "We'll roast them." He added. Joe nodded his head and watched as Beth plugged the sink and filled a quarter of it with cool water. She filled another pot and placed it on the stove.
"I'm just going to get some warm water so I can clean the babies up and get them in fresh diapers." Beth said once she noticed the stares. She ignored them and started going through the drawers in the kitchen. "Claimed." She said tossing Daryl a few packs of matches. She tossed one to Joe before puling open the next drawer and shoving most of the dish clothes into her bag. "Here". She said handing over six to Joe. "Soup will be ready in around 2 hours." She added pulling open another drawer and finding a 3 pack of soap. "Anyone want one of the bars?" Beth asked separating the soaps. No one answered her so she shoved the soap bars in her bag as well. She handed Sam and Judy over to Daryl and dumped the smaller pot of water into the sick and tested the water on her wrist before adding a few pumps of cold water, making sure the water wouldn't burned the babies. Joe stalked back into one of the bedrooms and Beth quickly stripped the babies and sat them in the sink supporting Sam as she damped a washcloth and ran it over the soap before quickly washing the babies clean. She used a dishtowel to dry them off and quickly re diapered them and got them into their pajamas and little hats. She laid them down on the futon and used her bags to make sure they wouldn't fall off and covered them with a beach towel she had found and their one warm blanket.
"You rest with the babies." Daryl said handing her one of their bottles of water. "I'll keep an eye on the soup." Daryl said watching as Beth pulled open drawers and hunted around. She found a travel sized pack of tampons and shoved them in her bag. She still hadn't gotten her period, but she didn't really want to be without anything if she did start. She found some first aid items under the futon and a loose board in the floor. Daryl helped her pry it open and pulled out a shotgun and box of shells.
"Claimed." Beth said quickly, hearing a creek as Len made his way back into the living room. He washed his face and hands in the warm soapy water Beth had left in the sink and lifted the lid on the pot.
"You have your own half a squirrel." Daryl said. Joe followed Len into the kitchen. "That' ain't for you." He added. Joe grabbed the lid and placed it back on the pot.
"That's your lesson for being a bitch." Joe said. Len grumbled and slammed his way into the room with the bunk beds and dumped his bag.
"Where the fuck is it?" He asked yelling and walking right up in Daryl's face. Beth scooped up the babies and tried to calm them. They were scared.
"What?" Daryl asked pushing him back hard.
"My half of squirrel." Len said. "It's gone Joe." He said reaching for Daryl's bag. Daryl pulled it back. "I know no one else had any interest in no half a squirrel!" Joe took the bag from Daryl and found the newspaper parcel that held Len's portion of meat.
"You take this Daryl?' He asked. "Beth?"
"No, he's setting me up." Daryl said. "She didn't even know about this half squirrel." Beth looked between the men and was desperately trying to figure out how to draw her gun and hold both babies.
"Len?" Joe asked turning around. "You wouldn't be acting like a bitch ass crooked cop would you trying to get Daryl killed so you could take what's his, would you?"
"No way Joe! We gonna teach him a lesson or not?" Joe looked at the other men in his group.
"Yeah, teach him a lesson boys, All the way." He added pointing at Len. Daryl jumped back and the other men started beating Len. "You told the truth. I saw him slip that in your bags while we were clearing the cabin." Joe added ignoring the way Beth sheltered the babies from watching the massacre in front of them. "Don't lie to me. Either of you." Beth watched as Joe aimed Len's own bow at him and shot him through the head, insuring that he wouldn't turn. "String him up in the woods. I don't want him attracting flies." Joe added flopping down on one of the beds. "Thanks for cooking tonight sweetheart." He added before closing his eyes and drifting off. Beth stared at the blood pooled around where Len's body had been. She placed the babies back on the futon and filled another pot with water and poured it over the boards, watching while most of the blood ran through the boards to the ground below. She filled the pot and shaved off some of the bar of soap she had opened and put it on the heat and boil.
"It's alright." Daryl said soothingly rubbing the babies on the back and watching while Beth tidied up. "Beth just leave it."
"No." she said dumping the soapy concoction on the floor and scrubbing at it with a brush she had found beside the sink. "We might be here for a few days. I'm not staring at that the whole time." Beth said getting up and pumping more clear water and rinsing the floor again. She looked down and frowned at the rust colored wet spots on her jeans. "Go check the bedrooms. See if there's any clothes that aren't claimed already." Beth said wishing she could just strip down and wash her jeans. "Please Daryl." She pleaded taking his spot on the futon next to the babies. She placed her bag next to them again and added the noodles and can of beans to the soup. She was glad it was one of their own cans, it wouldn't add more salt. Daryl came back with a pair of sweat pants and another knit blanket. "They were dividing up the stuff Len had claimed. This was on his bed. They let me have it." He said handing her over the sweats and holding up the blanket so she could change behind it.
"I'll put on some more water to wash your jeans." He said taking them from her and putting in the pot. Beth came over and scrubbed at her jeans in cold water and left them to soak in the sink. "You ok?" Beth nodded her head and let him pull her to his chest.
"These aren't good people." She whispered. Daryl nodded against her. "We got to be careful to follow the rules till we can get away and find good people."
"I know." Daryl said letting her slip from his arms so she could go check on the soup. She stirred it up and looked through the cupboards for bowls and mugs. She found enough spoons for everyone and started dishing out the soup. "Guys, it's ready." Daryl said gruffly. The remaining men made their way back to the cabin and Joe roiled out of bed.
"Seeing as Len is not going to be needing his bed anymore, Tony here is going to give up that king size bed he claimed and let you guys have a room to yourselves." Joe said. "I'll take the futon. A thank you for the supper." He added. "Has a door, you'll have some privacy while you sleep."
"Thank you." Beth accepted without hesitation. "I'll wait till you get all your claimed things out of the room before I move in with the girls." Beth said from the futon where she sipped at her mug of soup. Daryl opened the stove door and started roasting the skewers he had made and handing them out.
"We want to get moving soon. I understand you'll need some rest." Joe said taking a bite of the meat. "I can give you another night. After that we all move on."
"What if we aren't ready?" Daryl asked already sensing he knew the answer.
"I teach you a lesson about tardiness." Joe said simply.
"I'll put on some pots to boil the water." Beth said. "We can let it cool for a day before we refill our bottles. There's enough soup for us to all eat again tomorrow." She added recovering the pot. "We should check for more supplies in the morning though." Joe nodded his head.
"Len had a few packs of instant oatmeal in his pack. I'd be willing to make a trade if you needed it for those babies." He said looking at Daryl. Beth knew that she wasn't seen as an equal.
"Babies nurse right now." Daryl said not wanting to get too chummy. He didn't want to be trading with these guys and relying on them. "Beth only lets the bigger one have mushed up berries once in awhile."
"What do you want?" Beth asked. The oatmeal would last. Eventually Judy would need something more than her milk and berries." Beth regretted just giving him those matches she had found. She should have known better.
"Any booze we might find and that Jerky I saw when Len loaded that squirrel in your bag." He said to Daryl. Daryl walked over and pulled out the large bag of Jerky and tossed it on the table.
"Just the big bag. I'm keeping the smaller one." Daryl said. He tossed over a small bottle of whiskey he had in there. "I was keeping it for first aid, but Beth found a few things." He said. "Fair?" Joe nodded and tossed over the 6 packs of oatmeal and filled the flask from his pocket.
"Remember I get first dibs on any booze the two of you find." He added. Beth nodded her head and waited while Tony moved his pack to the other room before scooping up the babies as they started to fuss and waiting for Daryl to follow her into the bedroom. He lugged all of their things in and dumped them on the floor while Beth settled against the headboard and started to nurse.
"I'm going need a bigger pack." He said as he struggled to pack everything up. Beth settled the babies in a position they were used to and smiled as they both relaxed and started to nurse.
"All the fresh air has exhausted them." Beth said as Daryl took the new shotgun apart and cleaned it. "Once I get them to sleep again I want to go through every drawer and closet in this room. She said looking around. "I bet they missed a thing or two."
"Might be some girly shit they missed." Daryl said as he loaded the gun. "Maybe we luck out and find another loose floorboard." Beth smiled sadly from the bed. "I was pretty scared those few hours we were apart." Daryl said working their things into their various bags. "I was worried they'd be screeching and attracting danger. I didn't know if you had your knife or gun or what you had for supplies."
"The explosions distracted all the walkers I think." Beth said settling the babies against her and burping them. She quickly covered them with their blankets looked through the closet first. She found a winter hat and baseball cap that she tossed the Daryl. She found a scarf and some clothing that would be a bit too big, but better than nothing for herself and a warmer fleece for Daryl. In the nightstand she found a bottle of aspirin, a box of tissues and a travel hairbrush that folded like a knife. Beth quickly popped it open and brushed her hair out and braided it all so it was out of her eyes and off her face.
"See? Girly shit." Daryl said shoving the hats in their bags.
"Hats are a good find. They'll keep the hair out of your eyes and us warm in the winter. I've got a hood, you don't." Beth said going through the dresser. She added a few mismatched socks to her pile. Socks without holes were better than matching socks and they could be used in a pinch of bandages. She found a sewing kit in the bottom drawer and held it up.
"That there is worth more than clean socks." Daryl said approvingly and adding it to their first aid kit. "I got first watch. I want you to sleep. Daryl said pushing the dresser in front of the bedroom door and opening the window and pulling the shutters closed and latching them before locking the window again. Beth looked at him. "I promise when you wake to feed the babies I'll let you take a watch and get some sleep too." Daryl said settling on the floor and leaning back against the bed. Beth settled across the foot of the bed closest to Daryl after arranging pillows on either side of the babies.
"Night Daryl." She said letting her hand hang down over his shoulder. Daryl reached up and let her hold his hand while he laid the shotgun across his lap and kept his bow next to him ready to shoot. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the rings he hand found her.
"I was saving this for your birthday." Daryl said sliding the diamond and band on her left hand. "In case we get separated again, I want you to have it now." Beth looked over her hand and smiled. "You dad, I had asked him if it was ok, before." Daryl said wiping at his eyes. Beth kissed the back of his head. "He said he was thrilled that both his girls found someone and he got to see them happy." Daryl said steeling himself. "I told him I'd keep you safe."
"I know you will." Beth said. "I love you."
"I love you to." Daryl said kissing her hand. "I'll find us a safe place."
