As they got closer to the cabin it was obvious it wasn't what was on fire. Whatever was burning was on the other side of the cabin. Daryl ran through the back gate and up the stairs. Carol and Eugene were sitting on the couch with Judith. There were wet towels and buckets on the table. Rosita and Maggie grabbed towels, Glenn took a bucket and they followed Abraham back outside.
"What the hell happened?" Daryl asked.
"There was a short in the wiring on the fire truck and that's what initially started the fire. They've been down there fighting it since early this morning." Carol said.
"Everyone?" Daryl asked looking around the room.
"Yes. Except us and the baby." Eugene said. That meant that Beth was down there.
"I'm going to help." Daryl said.
"Here take these." Carol handed him wet bandannas for their faces. Daryl took them and headed out the back door. From the look of it the fire was mainly contained to one area. But it continued to burn brush and foliage away from the cabin because of the direction of the wind. Glenn and Maggie had taken over for Tyreese to give him a break. Using shovels, they were attempting to use dirt to put out a few small fires. Carl and Tara were going back and forth to the stream bringing what little water they could back in buckets. Daryl ran around the side of the truck. Abraham had a shovel and was taking care of the fires there. Sasha and Rosita were dealing with a few stray walkers that had been drawn through the woods to the fire. Michonne came up to Daryl. He handed her a wet bandana and tied one over his face.
"I can't find Rick." she said.
"Beth's out there somewhere too." Daryl said.
"Sasha! Where are the others?" Michonne yelled out to the other girl. The smoke made her cough and she tied the bandanna Daryl had given her around her face. Sasha pointed towards the back of the truck.
"Rick headed back that way." she called back. "Beth was with him." There was a wall of thick black smoke between them and the back of the truck. Daryl pulled out his knife and headed into it followed by Michonne. The fire must have started underneath the back end of the truck. The ground here was charred black. Michonne noticed a figure slumped over by a tree. She motioned to Daryl and they ran over to find Rick his face blackened by smoke. Michonne knelt beside him. He was coughing weakly. She pulled a water bottle from her bag and made him drink.
"The wind, it was… The truck, it's out." he coughed and wheezed. "We got the worst of it, the smoke." he tried to sit up. "She's that way." Rick waved his hand. She. Beth.
"Get him out of the smoke if you can." Daryl yelled as he headed further back into the trees looking for Beth. He saw her ponytail. She was lying on the ground facing away from him. His heart stopped and flashbacks slammed into his memory. Gunshots, Beth falling. Her limp body in a pool of blood on the hospital floor. Daryl knelt on the ground and turned her over towards him. She had a bandanna covering the bottom half of her face. Like Rick, the part of her face that wasn't covered was blackened by smoke. Her clothes and arms were covered in soot too. She had a ragged bandage wrapped around her right bicep. Daryl didn't take the time to check her pulse. He just picked her up and headed back towards the truck and around it in the opposite direction of the smoke. He encountered Maggie and Glenn.
"Rick's down. Michonne needs help. Around back." His throat was beginning to burn from the smoke. Glenn took off. Tyreese took Maggie's shovel.
"Go with them." he told her. Maggie followed Daryl through the trees and back towards the cabin. Daryl bit his lip until he tasted blood. He didn't look at Beth. They went through the back door and Daryl laid Beth on the couch.
"They're coming back with Rick." Maggie said. Daryl knelt beside Beth. He lifted her head and took off the bandanna. Her lips were pink and her throat was warm. He felt for a pulse and found one. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Maggie brought a pillow and blanket over and his hands shook and he lifted Beth's head up. She started coughing weakly. Glenn and Abraham came through the back door carrying Rick.
"Maggie he has a pulse, but he isn't breathing!" Glenn yelled. They laid Rick on the floor and Maggie checked his vitals again. Then she began mouth to mouth. Carl and Michonne came in and Carl knelt beside his dad, his face grim. Michonne put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going back out there to help. Eugene we could use you." Abraham told the other man. Beth was still coughing, but she wasn't fully conscious. Daryl held her up and watched Maggie work on Rick. There wasn't time to worry about what could happen. They just had to keep doing what needed to be done right now. Carol brought a cup of water to Daryl and sat on the couch with Judith in her lap. She looked from Daryl to Rick lying on the floor and her eyes were filled with fear. Michonne's face, usually devoid of any emotion mirrored Carol's. On the couch Beth coughed again. She grabbed a hold of Daryl's shirt. He looked at her and her eyes were open. Carol handed him the cup.
"Beth drink a little of this." he said quietly and he held the cup to her lips. She sipped a little and then pushed the cup away. There were tears in her eyes and as they fell they left trails in the soot on her cheeks. He wiped them away with her bandanna. On the floor Rick began coughing. He tried sitting up but Michonne was quick to make him lay back down.
"Take it easy Rick." she said keeping a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm okay. Just couldn't catch my breath in the smoke." Rick said hoarsely.
"Let's get him on the other couch. " Carol said handing Carl the baby. Beth started coughing again and struggled to take a breath.
"It hurts…" she whispered.
"Don't talk. Just rest." Daryl held the cup to her lips again.
"Carl?" Rick called out.
"I'm here dad." he took his dad's hand.
"Where's Beth?" Rick asked.
"She's here. She's gonna be okay. You both are." Maggie said. Carol brought out a blanket and pillow and Maggie and Glenn helped Rick stand up. He looked over at Beth and Daryl.
"Beth?" Rick said. His voice was ragged and his face was covered in black soot, but he smiled when Beth looked up at him. He went and sat beside her. "You okay?" he asked again. Beth nodded. "I couldn't have put out that fire without you. I would have died. Thank you." Beth leaned over and hugged him.
"I was so scared. I couldn't find you and then I just.. I must have passed out." she said.
"That smoke was bad. How's your arm?" he asked. He looked at the ragged bandage, dirty and torn from their fight with the fire. Daryl's attention went back to the mysterious bandage he'd noticed when he found Beth.
"What happened?" Daryl asked.
Beth looked at him her eyes filled with fear. Then she looked at RIck and shook her head and laid back on the pillow. Daryl watched them both.
"Somebody tell what the hell happened!" he said angrily.
"Rick go lay down. "I'll tell him." Carol said. Beth was silently crying now. "She was scratched by a walker two days ago." Carol said calmly.
"What?" Daryl yelled louder than he intended to. On the floor Judith started crying. Maggie took the baby in her arms. Daryl reached for Beth's arm and unwrapped the dirty bandage. Two long, red scratches ran the length of her bicep. Daryl felt the air leave his lungs. He looked at Beth.
"How? You weren't supposed to be out there." he said flatly. Beth jerked her arm away from his hand.
"I'm fine! Carol and Rick cleaned it. We watched it." She saw Daryl's hands ball into fists and his jaw tense and this made her even angrier. "You can't keep me locked up like some china doll!" her voice cracked and her throat burned. But she didn't back down. Daryl stood up. All he wanted to do was walk out the door and go hit something. He stopped pacing when he heard her voice. "Go ahead, run away. You pull me in and then you push me away! You made me strong! Make up your mind Dixon." she took a deep breath. Daryl turned and went back to the couch. "You were already strong. I just made you realize it." He put his arms around her. The tension in the room dissipated. Maggie came and sat beside Beth. "It's been two days? No fever? No infection?" she asked looking at Carol.
"The scratch didn't seem to work like a bite, at least not this one. We kept it clean and gave her antibiotics." Carol said. Michonne came over and knelt next to Maggie and looked too. She shook her head.
"I'll teach you how to use my katana Beth, and the next time anyone treats you like a china doll you can give them a hair cut." She eyed Daryl and then smiled. Daryl looked around the room. They were all that was left of the original group from the prison. Everyone of them had tempted fate, but they'd survived. They were still here. That had to mean something. That had to be what hope was.
