HI, Athlete Girl here! Yes I should be finishing up one of my multichapter stories but I got the chance to do this one so I took it.
TRIGGER WARNING: A pet is killed by walkers.
SLEEP
ONE WEEK BEFORE
"Beth, I was put on this Earth to protect you and to guide you," lectured Hershel. "And I can't in good conscience let you go with that man. He's a heathen, a bully, a racist, and a womanizer. Trust in me that I know of what I speak, he will use you and move on, it's better not to get involved at all than to go through that misery. Merle Dixon is not a good man. I'll not have my most precious possession abused and thrown to the side like a forgotten toy. He'll take advantage of your innocence and I won't allow it."
Beth sat next to Hershel on his prison cot, grasping her father's forearm with both hands. Her eyes were brimming with tears as she pleaded. "Daddy he's been nothing but a gentleman. I know you don't believe me, but we've been together for months and he hasn't done anything awful." Beth stopped as Hershel's head snapped to the side in shock. "Months?", he sputtered. "You've been hiding this for months?! From me?!" Beth shook her head abruptly and said, "No Daddy, it's not like that. It started out just as talking. We just talked Daddy. Neither of us could sleep because he has nightmares and I take care of Judith. But then, well, we started realizing that we had feelings for each other. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work Daddy? Love, I mean?"
"Love?" spluttered Hershel. "Elizabeth you're 18 years old, you don't know anything about love. He might have pulled the wool over your eyes but I'm certainly not fooled. A man his age only wants one thing from a woman your age, and it's not talking." Beth shook her head in disbelief. This was a complete failure. How could it sound so right when she rehearsed it in her head but go so wrong now? She was sure that if she just told her feelings to her father that they'd pray on it and seek God's wisdom, and that God would want her to be happy. Merle had told her things she was sure he'd never told anyone else, like being haunted by the murder of the National Guard troop, something that he as a former Marine could never forgive himself for. He had let down his shields with her, he had confided in her, just as she had with him. They had sat long hours with her curled into his side, silent, needing nothing else. Wasn't this what life was supposed to be about? Why couldn't people be happy that they wanted to be a couple?
"Not to mention that there are several young men here that are more than willing to curry your favor," continued Hershel. Beth sat up, pushing herself away from her father, and replied. "And you don't think they just want one thing from me Daddy? You obviously haven't heard the awful things they say to each other about all the women here, including me." Hershel raised is eyebrows and blinked at his youngest daughter, who was the very picture of his dear gentle Annette. He grunted and said, "Those are just young lads sowing their oats, daughter. Once they get married and settle down with families they'll be fine young men."
Beth was not so sure of this. The young men from Woodbury had been quiet and sullen when the buses came rolling into the prison, and it wasn't long before they had started packing up into a gang and being involved with small acts of cruelty. Who could blame them, mused Beth, when their role model was the Governor? She was polite to them but she had heard their sexually charged comments and vicious mockery of women in the camp. She wanted nothing to do with them.
"Daddy please, just listen to me," she pleaded, but Hershel's mind was made up. "I'm sorry Beth," he said, leaning on his crutch to stand up. "Someone better than Merle Dixon will come along and you'll see that I was right." Beth looked up in despair. "No Daddy, please don't," she whispered, but Hershel's stride was unbroken as he made his way to the kitchen to tell one Mr. Dixon that his advances on Beth were not appreciated.
THE NIGHT BEFORE
Beth was sure she couldn't cry any more. She tried to hide her pain from everyone but life in the prison afforded no privacy. Carol had come into Beth's cell a couple times in the last week to stroke Beth's hair as her body racked with sobs. Carol loved the Greene family to no end, and while she knew that Hershel was doing his best to protect his daughter, she didn't think that the decision was good for either Beth or Merle. She bit back her comments and supported them both as much as she could. Merle, who was usually the loudest mouth in the compound, had been uncharacteristically silent and distant in the last week. He avoided the prison and opted to take night watch and sleep in the guard tower. Carol knew that Daryl was concerned too. Daryl's attempts to rouse Merle with offers of hunting or drinking had been met with detached grunts. Daryl couldn't read Merle's eyes anymore. It was as if someone had turned Merle Dixon off. Daryl had never seen Merle like this. As he and Carol lay in bed, he warned "some shit's goin' to go down and it's goin' to be bad." Carol closed her eyes and prayed that happiness would come for these two people. Always a light sleeper, she had been aware of the relationship because she had walked in on Merle and Beth several times as they shared body warmth and whispered to each other. She shook her head mutely as she drifted off to sleep. What is Hershel thinking?
TODAY
The kitten had turned up a couple days ago and Judith was fascinated with him. The toddler chased him with toys and, when he allowed himself to be caught by an adult, she was allowed to pat him and play with his fluffy tail. "Gentle," cooed the adults as she patted the purring kitten with great enthusiasm. Judith, who had just started talking, mimicked their speech and said 'jentoo' whenever she saw him. "Well, I guess Jentoo is his name,' laughed Rick this morning as he held the baby in one arm and the kitten in the other. The adults laughed as the kitten climbed up his arm, to the back of his neck, then jumped to a table and started cleaning himself.
Late in the afternoon Beth put Judith down for a nap and decided to take a walk outside. She hadn't been in the sun for days and she knew Merle was out of the compound so there was no chance she'd see him. She walked listlessly in the relentless Georgia heat, hoping that it would warm her cold white skin. She mindlessly followed her usual path, hugging the building then walking a well-worn trail through the grass in front of the prison. As she approached the fence, she heard a commotion and she looked up.
Noah, Jason, and a couple other Woodbury teenaged boys had been poking sticks at the walkers that snapped at the prison fence. "Hey," called Noah. "Here comes the Virgin Mary. Check out the sacred tits on her." The boys laughed raucously as they watched Beth approach. She seemed lost in thought and hadn't noticed them yet. "I'll get her attention," jeered Jason. He pulled Jentoo from his shirt pocket. "Hey kitty," he jeered. "Let's have some fun."
Beth would forever member the boys laughing, holding the kitten by the tail, its legs splayed wide in fear as it dangled above the reaching hands of the walkers. Then she saw the empty space in the sky where the kitten had been, the heard the moans of the walkers as they tore it to shreds. The sounds of her own shrieks filled her ears.
Maggie barreled down the stairs of the watchhouse, hurriedly telling Bob to cover her. She had seen the boys climb up the fence but by the time she figured out what they were doing it was done. In horror she heard the shrieks and saw Beth collapse in the grass. As she approached her sister, she saw that Beth was writhing in the dusty grass, her body racked with spasms. Maggie crouched next to Beth, calling her name and grabbing at her flailing hands. Two of the boys ran to her, one of them apologizing and the other hanging back. Maggie ordered the boys back to their cells, then fixed her attention on Beth. Beth's feet pedaled spasmodically and foam ran out of her gaping mouth. Her jeans darkened with urine stains as she lost control of her bladder. She was tearing out her hair in bloody clumps and her face was marked with bloody grooves left by her fingernails. Her face and mouth were crusted with dirt and her mouth was twisted in a rictus of a soundless scream. Maggie was talking to her but Beth only heard her own shrieks as they echoed and built to an ear-piercing crescendo in her mind. The sound was so painful that Beth was convinced she was dying from it. Then everything went black and the sound blessedly ceased.
Maggie screamed for help when Beth stilled and stared sightlessly at the sky, but it was too late. Beth Greene had gone insane.
THREE HOURS LATER
Tears dripped from Hershel's eyes as he regarded the still white body of his daughter lying on the drab prison sheets. Her open eyes were unfocused and though she blinked periodically, she didn't respond to any stimuli. All the blue color had leached out of her eyes, leaving them flat and gray. It was as if Hershel Greene's beautiful daughter had faded into soulless prison itself. Maggie sat by her side, talking to Beth as if she were conscious and ensuring that the boys were locked away until they could be tried for their crime. Maggie had tried everything to wake Beth, even dragging her into a cold shower to wash the dirt and blood off her, propping her against the wall to wash and comb her hair and get her into her sleeping clothes. Maggie had also grabbed several blankets from other cells and lay them on top of Beth to protect her body against the state of shock. There was nothing else they could do. Maggie looked at her father, whose face had gained ten years of age from this misery. "What are we going to do Daddy?" keened Maggie, crying in frustration. Hershel slowly turned his gaze from Beth to Maggie. "Maggie," he said. "I've been a fool. This is my doing and it may be permanent. But there's one thing that might save her and that responsibility falls on me."
The car returned at nightfall after a supply run in a nearby town. Glen, Daryl, and Merle had found ammo and other supplies and, while they had not come across other living people, Merle had come close to being bitten by a walker as he siphoned gas from a pump. Daryl took the walker down and killed it but he was dismayed by Merle's inattention and subsequent detachment after a close call. Merle had merely nodded at Daryl and kept siphoning. Daryl kept a close eye on him for the rest of the trip. When they pulled into the prison gate Bob came running down from the tower. "Get in there," he said. "Whole lotta shit went down today."
Ten minutes later Merle stood in the kitchen and was approached by a world-weary Hershel who shuffled in painfully like an elderly man. "Merle," started Hershel. "The only thing worse than a fool is an old fool. I hope that you can forgive me when I tell you that asking you to stay away from Beth was one of the worst decisions of my life." Merle's cheek twitched and he crossed his arms, uncertain of what was coming next. Hershel continued, telling Merle of the day's events. "She's catatonic Merle. She's profoundly broken. And that is my fault. I don't know if we'll get her back, but….I think you're the only person on this planet who can do it." Hershel sighed and met Merle's eyes. "Please, go to her Merle. Please save my daughter." Merle dropped his folded arms and he leaned slightly forward to meet Hershel's eyes. "This ain't no one day thing," warned Merle. Hershel nodded slowly and grimaced. "I know what it is Merle. And I welcome it….and you." Merle maintained eye contact with Hershel for several seconds, he could tell the old man was speaking from the heart. He bobbed his head in assent and went to the bathroom to wash up. It was going to be a long night.
