Despite the fact that they decided night driving was okay, Beth and Shane do end up pulling over finally and finding a place to hide the bus and sleep. It's a short night for them, both awake almost as soon as dawn breaks, eating a makeshift breakfast as Shane lets her drive again. She likes the easy way he just assumes her competence once she does something, even though she's about ninety percent certain that he still sees her as a kid.
It's a welcome change from being treated as a child despite being two years beyond legal adult age now. Then again, she remembers him advocating for everyone learning to shoot, all that time ago, even Carl. She glances back when he directs her on the next turn to the location he thinks was the funeral home she and Daryl stayed in.
How insulted would he or Daryl be if they knew she was comparing their similarities? They didn't seem to like each other back before Shane left, but it probably explains why Rick became such good friends with Daryl once Shane was gone.
"This is it," Beth says quietly as she pulls up in front of the once pristine building. "We found a lot of supplies, as if someone were staying here, but Daryl didn't think they had been back recently. Either traveling or something happened while they were out."
"How long did you stay?"
"Not long enough. There was this dog, kind of beat up and one eyed. It came to the door once, but ran away. So when we heard noises again, we thought it was the dog. It was walkers, instead."
Beth remembers the sounds of the dog in distress and flinches, reaching out to pick up a puppy and cuddle it close. Shane studies the building carefully, before looking back to his map. "I figured if Daryl retraced his tracks, looking for you, he would come here first, since it's the last building you were both in."
"Do we go inside?" She can see walkers still, some of which are trying to get past a body in the floor where Daryl must have left it in giving her time to get out that window.
Shane tugs at his beard, eying the entrance. One of the walkers has gotten free of the doorway now by virtue of falling over the speed bump body. It hasn't made it back to its feet yet. "You up to helping take them down?"
The walker that's loose is one of the biggest men Beth's ever seen in her life. Despite her bravado, and working the fence to kill walkers from time to time, taking on one that big that's free to move closer is intimidating. Daryl tried to fill in the blanks for her, but he didn't have long enough to really train her once they were outside the prison. "Will you show me how?"
That gets her a long, serious look, but he nods. Unhooking gear stored near the bus door, he offers her a machete. "Start with this, and we'll work with something ranged later. Maybe a slingshot. You keep up with shooting after the farm?"
Beth shakes her head. "Was never spared the ammo."
"Christ Almighty. Not an issue. We'll fix that," Shane declares, just as the hefty walker makes it to its feet somehow. "Watch how I do this. Short as you are, most walkers are going to be taller and heavier. You gotta fight dirty."
Stepping off the bus, he strides toward the walker, sidestepping it rather than going for the head like Beth is used to seeing loose walkers taken down. She was right that it's a behemoth, because it's at least a head taller than Shane, and he's at least that much taller than she is. With a vicious swing of the machete, Shane hamstrings the walker from behind before it can turn to grab him. It tumbles to the ground, making the second slash of the blade an easy blow to the skull after Shane stomps on the hand closest to him.
Stepping off the bus, Beth latches the door, leaving even Biscuit inside for now. Coming to stand beside Shane, she watches as two walkers win free this time. "Never step in close to their hands even if they're down unless you can pin the hand under your boot," he cautions. "They can trip you, just as easy as you can trip them. But stomping the hand will often crush bones. Makes it harder for them to grab on if you miss the blow to the head."
"Okay." It makes sense, slotting in neatly with half-remembered lessons from Daryl over the last year or so.
Gripping her machete firmly, she approaches the shorter of the two walkers, who is still taller and heavier than she is. The sensation of the blade impacting rotting flesh makes her want to vomit, as it always did when she worked the fence. It goes down with a thud, and Beth is clumsier than Shane in planting a boot on its hand. She's really glad he warned her about why she should do it, because the crunch of bone and slippery squish of flesh startles her enough she almost misses the thing's head.
The 'gross gross gross' mantra in her head was apparently said out loud, because Shane chuckles. Blushing, Beth looks over to see that he's downed the other walker, but he seems as much appreciative as amused, so she doesn't comment. When no more walkers emerge from the building, he starts forward, motioning for her to follow.
"As good as this body was for slowing them down for us, never step over anything into a building until you're sure the brain is destroyed." Shane eyes the bolt in the thing's head and tugs it free. "This is Daryl's, correct?"
Looking at the handmade bolt, Beth nods. "Guess that means he hasn't been back, because he wouldn't leave those behind."
"That's what I would think, anyway. Lot of work goes into making these." She's surprised when he cleans the tip off on the walker's clothes and hands it to her. "Hang onto it. I'm sure he'll appreciate getting it back."
Liking his confidence they'll find the others somehow, Beth takes it while Shane drags the body out of the building. Their search goes as expected, collecting bolts and killing two more walkers still inside the building. She shows him the window she slipped through, and he seems to be making note of the direction.
"Should we take any of the supplies?" Beth asks as they walk back through the building.
"We don't really need them. Might as well leave them be in case the resident returns from a trip like I took."
He doesn't object when she goes to add to the note she left, though, appending a note for Daryl in case the man finds the funeral home again before anyone else.
Back on the bus after cleaning their weapons and boots, Beth sighs, reaching for Jelly and plopping the hyperactive little girl pup in her lap. Shane studies the map long enough to make her uneasy.
"Are we going to try the country club or the shack?" she asks at last.
"I've got a different idea to check out first." Tapping the map, Shane draws her eyes to the railroad tracks not far away. "There are signs along the tracks about a community further east. They're too open about trying to attract new people for me to be comfortable with them, so I've never even gone up to see if they're open to trade."
"Do you think others would trust them?" Beth can't imagine any community being that trusting, but maybe not all communities had to face someone like the Governor multiple times.
"I think that desperate people will grasp at straws they might not otherwise," he tells her. "I'll take a turn at driving. There's not enough roadway parallel to the tracks to suit me, but I think we can actually get the bus onto the tracks safely. It's worth a try."
What Shane doesn't tell the girl yet is that he's been all the way to this Terminus. His own inability to feel comfortable among people led to caution, and he never ventured to that gate. Watching them from a distance, something just seemed wrong with their willingness to let anyone walk inside and be welcomed. That was back in the spring, and he hasn't been back since.
The train tracks are close enough to the prison to imagine at least some of the residents coming across the signs, and he knows the broadcast is on the radio. As he directs the bus onto the tracks, carefully crunching along to reduce wear and tear on the tires, Shane looks back to where Beth is quietly putting together a lunch even as they travel. All three pups are watching her with intent eyes, making him want to laugh.
Even Muffin is watching, although she's still standoffish with Beth, unlike Biscuit, who Shane is starting to think is going to want to stay with the young blonde. As much as he doesn't like the idea of losing his longtime companion, he might even be okay with the girl having that extra layer of protection that the devoted pit bull would give her… and Judith.
At the first sign, he stops the bus and calls Beth up to take a look.
"Sanctuary for all. Community for all. Those who arrive, survive." The girl's voice sounds disbelieving, which surprises him a little. Then again, she survived seeing her father murdered in front of her, followed by a kidnapping. Having any sort of naivety about human nature after that would be a tall order for even the sweetest natured person.
"There's taking in others, and then there's drawing a map to your location," Shane mutters.
"No kidding." Beth eyes that literal map and all the railways leading to the Terminus location. "It's like painting a target on yourself."
Shane reaches out and turns on the radio, catching her puzzled look. Through the static, the garbled transmission begins, and her eyes widen. "They also broadcast this, although how many people even bother with a radio to hear, I don't know."
"Have you ever gone there?" she asks, looking thoughtfully at him.
"Once. Watched them from the trees a while, but something didn't feel right. That was back in the spring, right after I got back to Georgia. Didn't see anyone I knew." That's what really mattered, looking for any familiar faces.
"Do we really have to follow the tracks, then?"
"No, but it lets us look for others who might be walking. Otherwise, we could outpace them and miss them entirely."
"Alright." Beth returns to the food she prepared and hands him his share. They make short work of the food before getting back underway.
An hour later, passing a few more signs, Shane sees the first altered one. He almost doesn't stop, because the impact of the words hits him quickly, and he suspects Beth won't miss it either. She's curled on the bench seat, puppies in her lap, looking out the window on the side away from where the signs are. He could just keep going.
The idea of being dishonest with her doesn't sit well with him in the end, and he stops the bus. "Beth? Got something you need to see."
Setting each of the puppies down on the floor, she ventures forward. He knows the exact moment she makes the connection he did, because Beth makes this choked noise that sounds like someone kicked her in the gut. Uncertain of what to do for her, Shane snakes a hand out and rests a hand against her back.
There are tears in her blue eyes when she turns to look at him. "She thinks I'm dead. Or too weak to survive or not important enough to leave guidance for."
"I'm sorry, Beth." It's close to his opinion on poor little Sophia, back when she was lost, so he can't exactly condemn Maggie. Shane guesses the sisters don't spend much time together, based on what stories Beth tells him never really featuring Maggie at all. It wouldn't be the first time someone found a romantic partner and abandoned all who came before them. "But at least you know she's alive and made it this far, right?"
It gets him another of those unexpected hugs, except this time, since he's sitting down, the hug involves a lapful of tearful girl. He holds her until the tears ease, offering a clean bandana when she finally lets go enough to lean back as far as the steering wheel allows.
Scrubbing at her face roughly, Beth sighs. "I'm sorry for that."
"Nothing that needs apologizing for," he tells her gruffly.
The smile she gives him is a weak imitation of the ones he's getting used to as she stands. "She's alive. I guess we best go prove her wrong about me, huh?"
Putting the bus back in gear, Shane nods. "It'll make one hell of a reunion."
"Stop it! All of you, just stop it!"
Sophia starts shaking, whether from nerves or anger, she can't really say. Everyone's eyes are riveted on her right now after she shouted at them. She draws confidence from the fact that Carl nudges close to her, the boy's hand finding hers and squeezing while he holds Judith on his opposite hip.
The adults have descended into nearly brawling, or Rick and the new man, Abraham, have. It's what Sophia's late, unlamented father called dick wagging, she thinks. She would have to ask Daryl to be sure.
"You're a coward," she says, and from the puzzled looks, no one is sure who she is aiming that insult toward. "Things get scary, and you're running away?"
Abraham jerks back as if she slapped him. "I have a mission, girl. You're not old enough to understand it."
Sophia scoffs, shaking her head. "I'm old enough to understand when someone wants to run away because they don't like the odds. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining." Daryl says that all the time, and it just fits all this stupidity of adults telling her she's not old enough to understand. Bunch of damned idiots.
"Sophia," Glenn says softly, using that sweet tone he always adopts when he's trying to calm down arguing people. "It's his right to keep his people safe. He doesn't owe us anything."
Cutting her eyes back to the big redhead, Sophia shakes her head again. "Bargaining with people's lives. 'I'll help if I keep Glenn and Maggie,'" she mocks, trying for a deep voice and probably failing. "It's bullshit! It's what my daddy would have done, and Glenn, you remember what kind of monster Ed was. My mama saved you, and you just leave and run away while she's missing."
Because it's dark now. Her mama and Daryl aren't back, and no one has wanted to risk searching yet. Sophia didn't argue that, because if anyone can conquer obstacles out there, it's Daryl and her mama, and maybe they found a lead for where Beth is. But now there are bad men outside, Bob is maimed and dying, and this asshole is running away. If the adults won't say it, she will.
The other new man is watching her intently, head tilted to one side. "The little girl is quite correct, Abraham. It is most cowardly of us to abandon a woman with such ingenuity that she engineered an escape from that rat trap we wandered into so thoughtlessly." Looking away from Sophia at last, Eugene stares down Abraham. "Wouldn't a woman of her skills be invaluable to our mission? Why save the world if we become worse than the monsters we defeat in the process, abandoning children to such unknown fates?"
Abraham looks baffled for a moment, gaze going from Eugene to Sophia to Rick and Glenn. Something seems to settle in him, because he takes a deep breath, blinking rapidly. "We need a plan," he says at last.
When Glenn smiles that tricky smile of his, Sophia knows they'll survive, somehow, because outside of her own mama, Glenn's the best at figuring out things like this. If her mama could take on Terminus all by herself, she knows that Glenn can figure out a way to take down a handful of leftovers her mama's attack missed. He's smart, and he won't see anyone as expendable to protect one person like the army sergeant will.
Carol knows they shouldn't have left the others with no warning at all, but when Daryl spotted the car with the markings like the one that took Beth, there was no other choice. The inaction of following them is getting to Carol, though, even if she did reluctantly agree with Daryl that running them off the road wasn't the best plan. Instead, they're getting closer and closer to Atlanta, further from the children they also need to be protecting.
Losing the assholes in cop uniforms isn't part of the plan, but running out of fuel just seems to suit the run of on again, off again luck they seem to have.
"We gotta find a place to sleep for the night," Daryl says, voice soft with regret, like he somehow caused all this to happen. "Start looking again in the morning."
Swallowing hard, Carol agrees. This close to a clue about where Beth is? The kids will never forgive her if she returns without doing her best to track it down. Losing the time to find a car and return to convince the others they can find Beth could be time the girl doesn't have. There is no situation Carol can imagine where a pretty blond girl being snatched up turns out well for the girl in question.
She trusts that Michonne, Tyreese, and Glenn will look after Sophia. Hell, Sophia already proved she's capable of looking after herself. Instead, Carol leads Daryl to a place that haunts her nightmares, hoping that tonight it'll be the sanctuary it wasn't before.
A/N: The timeline is a little screwy right now, but it's mostly on purpose. Granted, by the time Sophia is yelling at Abraham, Shane and Beth would have arrived at Terminus, but that's going to be a complex chapter on its own.
Obviously, Eugene is using doing the right thing to cover his own backside a bit longer... but I suspect there's a lot of admiration for a child being braver than he is. He always seemed to have a thing for bravery. :)
Side Note: someone made a comment on 'Time to Walk' on Ao3 about Shane's looks, and I'm passing on a visual for anyone curious about what I imagine for him in both this story and that one... Google Jon Bernthal and the movie Sweet Virginia. That's what Shane would look like by this time.