Beth was wandering the grounds of the prison after having spent the morning with her father; Hershel Greene was still bed-ridden and Beth was trying to spend as much time with him as possible. Being alone and stuck in bed was beginning to drag on him. People still came to him with their problems or queries, but not being able to move about was wearing him thin, and Beth could read this in his pale face. He was an active man and Beth's childhood was full of memories of him farming and although he always seemed happy enough, it felt wrong to see him always in bed. Beth understood his pain and sympathised with him for she was beginning to get cabin fever herself, spending so much time in his cell block with him. It had been a week since herself and Daryl had returned to the prison and whilst it was good to be back with her family and within the safety of the walls, Beth did find herself thinking back to her couple of days alone with Daryl. They were in much more danger out in the open but it had felt so peaceful, relaxing, to be away from the stress and the drama that came with living within a large group, and so freeing to have nothing but the open air and forest at their backs. It was this longing that had led her out into the prison grounds as the day ticked over into afternoon.

Beth enjoyed the feel of the sun on her face as she wandered; she was in no hurry to get anywhere in particular, simply enjoying being outside. As she wandered around the edge of the perimeter, movement to the left of her caught her eye. Squinting against the sun, Beth watched as Carl pulled himself up on to the top of the fencing then drop down on the outside. Beth watched as he quickly stabbed a knife into the skull of an approaching walker, clean it off on his shirt, then hurry towards the forest.

Beth bit her lip. It was none of her business what Carl got up to, even if whatever it was was clearly not with his father's permission if the route of escape was anything to go by. Beth had no reason to worry about him, he was more than capable, yet something gnawed at her stomach as she watched his figure grow smaller. It was an element of her personality she would never be able to rid herself off, the need to care. With a sigh, Beth hurried towards the fence Carl had climbed over and pulled herself up over it, poking the toes of her boots through the lattices of the chain link. She swung her legs over the top, swaying slightly and took a deep breath before dropping down onto the grass the other side. She side-stepped the fallen corpse, wrinkling her nose slightly, then took off after Carl, panting as she reached the trees.

'Carl!' she called, ducking down beneath the low hanging branches, 'Carl! Wait!'

Beth spotted him a little off. He stopped and turned around to look, his brow knotted in confusion beneath the shadow of his hat, knife in hand.

'Carl what are you doing?' Beth asked a little breathless. 'Where are you going? Alone?'

'Why are you following me?' Carl replied.

'I saw you jump the fence. Does your dad know you're out here?' Beth asked.

Carl shook his head.

'You shouldn't be out here alone.'

'I'll be fine. You shouldn't have followed me.' Carl frowned.

'Probably not. But I could hardly just leave you out here – what if you never came back? If something happened?'

'Wouldn't that make you happy?' Carl said sarcastically.

Beth rolled her eyes with a sigh.

'I might not be your biggest fan right now Carl, but I don't want you to get hurt. And what would that do to your dad?' Beth folded her arms across her chest.

Carl just looked at her.

'So what are you doing?' Beth asked again, a little more forceful this time, cocking an eyebrow.

Carl sighed.

'I'm going to the pharmacy' he said. 'I thought – I thought if I got your dad some crutches you would see I was sorry.'

Beth blinked.

'Yeah,' Carl shrugged, taking off his hat to run a hand through his quickly growing hair.

'You're sorry?' Beth asked, unable to refrain from frowning.

'Yeah,' Carl sighed, 'I shouldn't have done that to Daryl – or you. It was stupid and I did it without thinking – I was angry. But I lashed out and put everyone at risk and I am sorry, especially to you. You've always been so kind to me and Judith loves you and – I'm just sorry.' He shrugged, his face appearing crestfallen as he put his hat back on and kept his eyes to the ground.

Beth looked at him, processing everything he had said. She was still angry at the way Carl had acted, the way he had set Daryl up, had tried to turn the prison against him, and something like that didn't sit pretty with her, and she didn't think it was just because of her particular relationship with Daryl – setting anyone up like that was a low blow. But she also understood that he was angry; his mother had only just died and his father was struggling with it all. It was no wonder Carl was lashing out, left alone and frustrated in a hot mess of a world, forced to grow up and harden in what should have been his childhood. It didn't excuse him, but Beth could understand.

'Why didn't you just come and find me and tell me this?' she asked softly.

Carl glanced up.

'I didn't – I didn't know how to.' He said. 'But I thought I could show you.'

Beth sighed; she suddenly felt incredibly tired.

'We should get back,' she said, 'before people notice and worry.'

Carl shook his head.

'I really want to get to the pharmacy. Judith is beginning to teeth and she could do with some of those... cold... gummy things,' Carl said, gesturing a little ring with his hands, 'and I really like your dad and I caused him a lot of trouble, too... I mean it's kind of my fault he lost his leg in the first place.'

Beth's face darkened despite her best efforts to remain passive.

'So if I could get him some crutches,' he shrugged, 'I'd feel better.'

Beth bit her lower lip. Her father regaining his mobility would be a wonderful thing, it would only serve to lighten his mindset, something Beth had begun to worry about more and more each day.

'Okay fine,' she sighed after a while, 'but I'll come with you.'

Carl opened his mouth to protest but Beth shook her head.

'I can't let you go out alone. I'm coming with you. It can give you some time to talk to me, prove you're sorry.'

Carl offered up a weak smile as he nodded, clearly unsure but aware that Beth was not going to back down. Smiling back, only a little more genuinely, Beth waved her arm out in front of them.

'Lead the way.' She said.

The two of them walked on in silence for a while, the atmosphere between them a little tense. Beth kept her knife out as they walked, listening out for any intruding sounds, the slow, dragging pull of a walker or the more quiet, refined step of a human. However they heard no more than the light crunch of their own footfalls, so Beth began to relax.

'So why did you do it?' Beth asked quietly.

Carl was quiet for a while as he walked beside her, head hung low. He sighed.

'I got used to being left behind, but before – it used to be the two of us. Whenever my dad stopped me going out, your dad stopped you too... but then you started getting close with Daryl and suddenly you were allowed to be a part of things, and suddenly I was by myself in that.' Carl sighed, shrugging his shoulders. 'I got frustrated. Angry. Being shut away from everything and seeing you go out – it got to me.'

Beth nodded lightly; she had not thought of it like that. It still didn't excuse him, but it added a new dimension to the situation.

'So have you spoken to Daryl?' Beth asked softly.

Carl shook his head.

'I figured I'd get you on side first,' he admitted with a light flush, 'you seem to be the more reasonable one.'

'I wouldn't be so sure,' Beth said, glancing side ways at him.

Carl nodded, his hand absent-mindedly going up to touch the cheek Beth had slapped a week or so ago.

'I don't know how I would approach Daryl now, though.' He said, and Beth could trace a hint of sadness in his voice. She shrugged.

'It's not all lost,' she said, 'if I can forgive you, he can.'

'You forgive me?' Carl asked.

Beth shrugged again.

'I'm working on it.' She said, but she offered him another smile.

Carl nodded and continued looking ahead as they walked.

'What gave you your change of heart?' Beth asked the back of Carl's head as they stepped over the low lying brambles of the path. She saw him shrug. There was still an anger within him, but it felt different somehow. It was almost like he had aged over night.

'Your dad got hurt and then – then Zach died. It kind of made me realise how much we all needed to stick together. I should never have tried to pit anyone against anyone.' He glanced over his shoulder to look back at Beth. 'We need Daryl at the prison. We're lucky to have him there.'

Beth nodded.

'How are you dealing without Zach?' She asked softly.

Carl shrugged again.

'It's weird, he was a good friend. But you get used to death.'

Beth looked after his back as he walked and felt her own heart sink; death was such a huge part of their lives now. She had struggled to come to terms with the loss of Zach herself. The two of them had grown close and Beth could usually always count on him to make her smile and now the prison did feel a little emptier with him gone, without his jokes or his laughter. He had been a good jamming partner and it was always nice to have someone her own age around. She sighed. They were getting picked off one by one.

'Over there.' Carl said, pointing ahead of them to a small strip of stores. In the middle was a pharmacy, its front boarded up and derelict. It stood next to a now empty café, the once brightly painted cupcakes on the glass dim and faded, the paint peeling.

The two of them stepped out into the sunshine and headed for the stores, passing down the middle of them like an old wild west film set, the ground covered in dust and fallen leaves, the boards tipped over, their writing no longer discernible beneath the ominously swinging signs of each store front. Beth almost expected tumble-weed to drift past them, but the street remained still. Carl pushed open the door to the pharmacy, flinching slightly as it hit the bell above and tinkled its once welcoming sound throughout the now dark store, alerting only enemies or the undead.

The door swung shut behind them, bathing them in the dreary glow of the now abandoned store front. The two of them stood with their backs to it, looking down past the counter, waiting for anything to emerge from the darkness. But nothing did.

Tightening her grip on her knife, Beth picked her way over the floor, her boots sticking to whatever residue covered the tiles. Carl followed her.

There was not much left within the shop, but the baby aisle had remained fairly untouched – Beth supposed not many people were having babies in the apocalypse. She smiled lightly as she sifted through what was left, her mind wandering to Daryl. Was it really such a bad idea to start a family in this world? After all, Judith was thriving and if they weren't embracing life and living it how it should have been lived, then why were they living? What was the point in surviving if there was nothing to live for? But that was a stupid idea, of course. Daryl would never be open to such a thought, and Beth was unsure she would want to bring a life into a world like this, a life who's eyes would know only horror from the moment they opened – and besides, she was barely nineteen, what was she doing thinking about babies -

'Is this good?' Carl asked, breaking through her thoughts. He held out a teething ring, still attached to its now slightly soggy packaging. Beth blinked slightly as she gazed at the ring, her hands absent-mindedly folding a baby bib as she looked. Then she nodded, her mind catching back up with her surroundings.

'Yeah.' She said. 'It's good. I think we should look in the back for crutches' she added as Carl put the ring into his backpack, 'in storage.'

Carl nodded, so together they made their way to the back of the store and past the desk, whose latched top was already swung up and open for them. The shop was not big, but there were several aisles out the back, most of which had clearly been ransacked, but between them they were able to find a few salvageable items, bandages and pain killers that would always be useful. Beth did not expect them to find any crutches, but she was happily proved wrong as some turned up towards the back of the storage. She was just picking them up from the floor when the sound of the tinkling bell reached her ears.

Herself and Carl turned to look to one another, wide eyed.

'Could be a walker,' Carl said, 'saw us and followed us in.'

'Can a walker push open the door?' Beth asked, feeling her heart rate beginning to rise.

Carl shrugged; Beth could see him processing it, but his eyes were tinged by a clammy white and she understood the fear in that look. He gestured for her to get down, then the two of them crawled across and behind the shelves, as quickly yet as quietly as they could manage. The floor stuck to Beth's palms, causing her to wince with every sound of released suction it created as she lifted each hand back up. Her breathing was too heavy, her hair too thick in her face.

They stopped, huddled together behind the shelf, Beth's teeth sunk into her lower lip whilst she watched Carl's pale face as he listened out.

'Grab what you can' a voice said. It was not only distinctly male, but distinctly human, and it seemed to run its way over Beth's skin in the wrong direction and drag up the hairs behind it. She swallowed. Neither she nor Carl said anything, but they both seemed to understand the danger in the situation. Beth was one for seeing the good in everyone, but she had been in this new world long enough now to know that wasn't always the case, and it was always best to be cautious. Perhaps the men who had entered the store were good and kind like her father, or Daryl, or Rick – but perhaps they weren't. And how safe would Beth really feel if she had never known her father or Daryl or Rick and it had been them who had walked into the store. There was a cold fierceness about all of their eyes now, and Rick seemed to trust people less and less these days. Beth shook her head, thinking like that was not going to help her. It was only causing the panic she was trying so hard to keep at bay to rise up in her throat. The shelves were digging into her back as she pressed herself against them and the floor was sticky and cold beneath the bum of her jeans, but it was her pounding heart, echoing in her ears, that was causing her the most discomfort. It seemed to be screaming at her to move, to get out, that sooner or later the men would inspect the aisle they were hiding in and discover them – and Beth did not want to stick around and see just how friendly they were.

Seeming to read her mind, Carl nodded his head for her to follow him, so with a painful slowness in which Beth felt every pore on her body, every tensed hair, the two of them crawled further around the store, attempting to put distance between their-selves and the deep voices of the men they could hear.

The footsteps of the shoppers echoed around the store, haunting them. As they huddled in their new spot, Beth held her dirty palms to her mouth, stifling her own heavy breathing. She could only catch snippets of the conversation of the men who had unknowingly entered in on their private shopping spree, but something in their deep, gravelly voices felt threatening. Beth was not sure whether it was safer to stay put or keep moving – she felt like sooner or later they would find them, and how kindly would anyone take to finding two kids lurking around a store, undoubtedly listening in to their private conversations? Beth felt herself whimper against her hands.

Carl shook his head at her, his brows set in a deep frown. He seemed calm and steady, but Beth knew he was frightened too. They could hold their own against walkers, but people were a whole different thing.

Carl nodded to her again as the voices drifted back to them, suddenly louder now. Beth had been unable to keep up with the whereabouts of their footsteps, but the close proximity of the voices scared her. She nodded frantically to Carl and followed him, pulling herself along, hand after hand after hand after knees, jumping every time the tip of her boot scraped the floor or a knee hit down too hard.

They'll go soon, she thought to herself, they'll get what they need and they will go soon.

'What's this?'

Beth looked over her shoulder to see a short, wide set man leering down at her through the gap in the shelves. Her heart stopped beating.

'Two young love-birds snuck out for some alone time?' the man grinned through wide, pale, chapped lips.

As he spoke, another man joined him, a man who's eyes were so dazzlingly blue they shone straight through Beth, immobilising her.

Suddenly the first man had rounded on them, grabbing the back of Carl's shirt, and pulling him to his feet. Carl cried out and attempted to throw him off, but he was both bigger and wider than he was, and Carl was shrunk against him, reduced to this kid he really was.

The man with the blue eyes crouched down before Beth, who found she could not move, only remain on her hands and knees, staring into the shockingly light eyes of the man before her. Unlike his friend, this man was leaner, with a crop of dark hair and a hearty grin. But his eyes, so shocking alone, were set in deep, purple rings and his right cheekbone sported a fading yellow bruise. None of these elements gave Beth any faith. She swallowed.

'Get up, girl,' the man drawled, 'you stay on all fours like that y'gonna give me ideas.'

Grimacing, Beth leant back onto her heels and pushed herself up, keeping her eyes on the man before her as best she could. As she righted herself, the man grabbed her arm, pulling her close to him.

'What's a pretty young thing like you doing out alone in a place like this, and scrabbling on the floor as well?' he said softly, his voice laced with amusement. Beth tried to look away from him, but there was something about those eyes that were trapping her.

'Leave her alone!' Carl cried, 'come on just let us go! We'll leave!'

The man turned to look at Carl, tightening his fingers around Beth's upper arm as he did so.

'Go where?' he asked. 'Where do you come from?'

'What's going on?' A voice joined them, and Beth glanced over her shoulder and into the face of a third man, this one partially hidden by a dark green beenie hat. But his dark eyes swept across the scene before him and Beth found no softness in them, only a deep hardness that seemed to strike her. She swallowed again, trying to keep her composure.

'Found more than we bargained for,' the blue eyed man smiled at his friend, 'this one, I think, is a great find.' His fingers tightened around Beth's arm as he spoke, forcing her to bite her lip to keep from wincing. She looked back across to Carl, allowing the third man to drop from her sight. Carl was watching her with a darkened, steady gaze, as the wide man behind him held him fast, locking his arms to his back. There was so much of Rick in Carl's gaze that for a moment, Beth felt a little safer.

The third man can into view then, stepping around and out in front of Beth. Beth glared at him.

'Hold her, Pete.' the man said, motioning to the man who had Beth's arm.

Suddenly Beth was pulled around and both of her arms were locked down behind her in an imitation of Carl, with only this new man between them.

He took a step towards her.

'Don't!' Beth cried, trying to move against the man who was holding her, 'don't come near me!'

The man in the hat glanced over Beth's shoulder and she felt the hot breath of the blue-eyed man behind her on her neck as he laughed. Shivers ran down her spine.

The man before her stepped forward and cupped Beth's chin, forcing her head back. She struggled to move away but she was held fast as the man in-front of her twisted her face from side to side, smiling.

'How old are you?' he asked, his breath hot on Beth's face, churning her stomach. 'Aren't you pretty.'

He pushed a strand of her hair back behind her ear and stood back from her, taking her all in.

'We don't see many pretty young things like you out much any more,' he drawled through a half smile, 'I think Pete was right. Are are a good find.'

'Leave me alone,' Beth growled through her gritted teeth.

'We're not going to hurt you,' the man said, 'we just want a bit of fun. We're men, after all, and you're a girl, and a lovely looking one at that.'

'No,' Beth breathed, shaking her head. Her heart was hammering like a trip wire in her throat.

The man reached down to pull up the hem of her shirt. Beth bucked against him as the cold knuckles of his hands caressed the soft skin of her stomach, sending intense shivers through her entire body as repulsion rocked through her, coupled with panic. She wriggled back, bucking her legs to try and drop away form his touch but the man behind her held her tight. He grinned at her protestations, but he just took her knife out from her sheaf. He turned it over in his hands before tossing it aside, where it landed on the floor with a definite clink.

He turned back to her, grinning. His eyes stayed locked on hers as he rubbed his hands together, still grinning. He cupped her chin again, ignoring her squirms and soft groans, and forced her head back, exposing her throat.

'What a beautifully long, pale neck,' he drawled, his breath tickling across her exposed throat. He let her go and Beth snapped her head back down, glaring at him.

'Get off of me!' she cried.

'Hey!' the man snapped, his brows furrowing beneath his beanie. He forcefully shoved his hand to her mouth, effectively covering it and silencing her. Beth breathed heavily through her nose, the warm, dirty smell of his skin nauseating her. He pushed down hard, forcing her head back into the chest of the man behind her. As he pulled his hand away, he roughly ran his thumb across her bottom lip, causing her to wince and his skin was dragged.

Suddenly, he leant in and forced his mouth onto hers. Beth shrieked and tried to pull away, but the man had captured her and held her against the man behind her, locking her in place between two solid objects, both of which held her too tightly to move. He bit down on her lip, dragging it with his teeth before he let her go. Beth gasped in pain as it split, crying out as he let go. The man pressed his thumb to her lips again, smearing the blood across her lips in a cruel imitation of lipstick.

'That's better' he laughed, stepping back to look at his work as Beth winced, 'now you look even more beautiful.'

Glaring, Beth licked her lips, tasting the sting of iron on her tongue.

'Get the fuck away from me,' she growled, and spat at him, a mixture of saliva and blood hitting his cheek.

But the man only laughed, shaking his head in an imitation of sadness.

'Such fight... but that will get you no where. A little fight is fine, but it's always better to... break you in first.' He wiped his cheek on the back of his hand then spun around on the spot, his fist suddenly connecting with Carl's face. Beth cried out in horror as the sound of cracking bone echoed through the air, intermingled with the cry of both pain and shock from Carl.

'You did this!' the man yelled, turning to look at Beth and pointing to her face with a hand covered in Carl's blood. Then he turned back into Carl, his fist connecting with the young boy's face again and again until Carl could do no more than whimper. Beth screamed and kicked out, thrashing against the man holding her, but it was no use.

As Carl fell limp in the broad man's arms, the third man turned back to Beth with a grin, wiping his fist on his own shirt.

'That was your fault.' he said pleasantly, smiling at Beth, 'we couldn't let you think you had a chance now, could we?'

Beth looked past the man at Carl, who was attempting to look up at her, his face a mess of blood. Anger welled up in Beth and she kicked out, the toe of her boot connecting forcefully with the man's groin. The smile slid off his face as it paled before he doubled down, grasping at his crotch.

The man holding Beth spun her around until she was staring into his shocking blue eyes. But Beth only got to see them for a second before his head had connected with hers; stars erupted in front of her eyes as her head exploded in pain and her body went weak. The store all around her tipped in a nauseating fashion and then her back felt the cold of the tiles. Gasping, Beth tried to push herself up, but the blue eyed man had his foot on her chest, keeping her down. He moved his foot down to kick her legs open, his own boots thumping into the soft flesh of her inner thighs.

'Stay the fuck where you are!' the third man yelled and Beth looked up through a confused haze of pain to see the man to her left, swimming slightly as her vision rocked, the pain in her head rolling out waves of sickness, but she could see through them enough to see he was pointing a gun at her. She could not see Carl, but she could hear him whimpering.

The blue eyed man stood with his legs spread, each boot firmly planted at her thighs, keeping them apart, as he stared down at her with his dazzling eyes. Beth stared back in horror as he began to pull off his belt.

'You move a muscle and you're dead. Both of you.' The third man growled, and Beth thought she heard him readjust his hand on the barrel of his gun.

Beth shut her eyes tight then, unwilling to stare into those shockingly blue eyes as they leered down at her, the tears squeezing out of her eyes and falling down her face and into her hair, leaving clean track marks through the grime of her face.

Then more shouts erupted throughout the store and Beth felt the pressure at her legs removed. She looked up through fuzzy eyes in time to see an arrow pierce through the shoulder of the man with the gun, but in his gasping pain, he pulled the trigger of his gun.

Beth screamed as her own shoulder erupted in agony, lights flashing before her eyes as her stomach churned in pain, revolting at the sensation in her shoulder which seemed to burn bright hot as her entire side began to tingle before apparently paralysing itself. Beth threw her head back so hard in her screech of pain that she hit the back of it, hard, against the tiles.

'Beth!'

Beth recognised Carl's voice, but she did not recognised the face that appeared before her for it was covered in blood and the nose – the nose was not where a nose should be.

Beth looked past what she assumed was Carl in time to see – Daryl?

Everything was swimming through pain and confusion but it sure looked like Daryl.

Daryl had got the man on the floor and was hitting him, over and over and over, his gun now lay forgotten, and there were others there, too. Glen? Rick? Beth wasn't sure.

But the man with the blue eyes was suddenly in Daryl's hands, Beth was sure of that, and Beth could see through her tears and the red fog of pain as Daryl grabbed the man's head and tore it back, exposing the greying stubble of his throat. She saw the glint of silver as Daryl's knife moved through the air and then the splash of crimson against white as it sliced across the exposed skin of the man's throat. His scream of pain was cut off by a wet choking as he began to grasp for his throat, his fingers pulling at the gaping skin as a deep red river flowed free from it, gushing out in great torrents and bursts and coating his shirt. And Beth saw as Daryl dropped him, saw the blood running over his hands, his shirt, as the man fell to his knees, gasping in goblets of his own blood which was splattering from his wide open mouth, before he finally fell lifeless onto his face, his body becoming still as a pool of deep red began to grow all around him, fanning out around his head like a twisted halo.

Beth locked eyes with Daryl's, eyes she knew and loved so well. She sought out comfort in these blue eyes, so different from the dazzling violence she had been confronted with before, but these eyes swam with an equally intense dark menace and Beth suddenly felt a wave of fear roll over her as her stomach churned violently, threatening to expel whatever was left inside it. Her vision blurred and she saw Daryl swallow, his visage caked with blood and those dark, frightening depths of eyes she thought she knew stared back at her.

Then everything went black.