The herd was enormous, the largest she had seen by far. Within minutes there was a seething mass of bodies moving below them, gurgling and groaning as one. The smell and sound was immense, leaving Beth feeling dazed. She swallowed down her fear and adjusted herself slightly on the branch to take some of her weight off her bad leg, praying they wouldn't be seen. All it would take was one walker to notice them and they would all converge on the tree, not stopping until they had toppled it to the ground. Beth glanced down at the writhing mass and had to fight off a wave of vertigo. She pulled herself in closer to the tree trunk and shut her eyes.

An hour later and the herd was still coming, a relentless stream of bodies. The sun was well and truly risen and it was already beating down hard. It was going to be a scorching day. Beth's arms shook as she adjusted her grip on the branch above her one more time. She felt weak and her head was spinning from fatigue and hunger. It had already been a long night on an empty stomach, and now an hour perched on a branch twenty feet above the ground was taking its toll.

She shifted, wanting to rest her giddy head against the tree for a moment when suddenly she slipped. Her foot slid from the branch and into emptiness. Her stomach dropped at the sensation and she tried to grab at the tree but her arms were too weak and shaky to catch a hold. She was toppling to the side with nothing but air below her feet. She was about to plummet towards the ground when a strong hand hooked under her arm and pulled her upwards.

Daryl hauled her up onto the larger branch he was standing on. She grabbed onto his waist to steady herself, breathing hard. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead into his chest as she tried to calm her racing heart, embarrassed at the few small tears that leaked from her eyes. She had been so close to falling. She would have hit one of the larger branches below her, probably broken an arm or struck her head. If she were lucky, she would have been dead before she hit the ground.

"You alright?" Daryl murmured, one arm around her, one still holding onto the branch above him.

Beth nodded and pulled back, raising her eyes to his. Suddenly conscious of how close they were, she let go of his waist to grab the tree trunk behind her and leaned back against it. She gave a small smile.

"Just sick of having to save your ass all the time," she joked quietly.

Daryl let out a small huff of amusement then glanced down into the throng of bodies, the hand on her shoulder falling to his side. Beth relaxed for a moment, her arms felt like jelly from holding on for so long and her fingers were shaking as she carefully swung her backpack over her shoulder and reached into it.

"We should eat something," she said, rummaging around in her bag for a moment before pulling out a flattened looking chocolate bar she had been saving.

She opened it and broke off half for herself before handing the rest to Daryl. He was just pulling it from the foil when a gust of wind snatched the wrapper from his fingers. He lunged for it, trying to catch it before it flew away but missed. It fluttered out of reach within seconds. They both stood silently and watched as the little piece of silver foil lazily floated its way down to the ground and the mass of walkers below.

It came to rest on the shoulder of a passing walker and caught the attention of his neighbor who seemed to register something unusual. It looked upwards in search of the glinting foil that had caught its attention. Beth stood as still as she could, knowing its eyesight wasn't good but unsure of how visible they really were up here. The walker moved closer to the tree, coming to rest at the base of the trunk. Its jaw snapped into empty air. Beth couldn't breath.

Then suddenly there were shots ringing out in the distance. Beth resisted the urge to turn and look, her eyes still on the walkers below. But they heard them. As one, the pack turned towards the noise and surged forwards, their cries growing louder with bloodlust. The lone walker that had been watching them was lost in the throng.

Beth looked up then but she couldn't make out any signs of humans in the sea of green surrounding them. She hoped whoever had fired those shots would get away in time. Below them, the herd pushed forwards through the trees in the direction of the gunfire and it looked like the mass of bodies might finally be thinning out. She glanced across at Daryl and his eyes flickered over her face looking relieved. Whoever had fired those shot had probably saved their lives.

Gradually, the number of walkers below them grew less and less. Ten minutes later, the last straggling walkers were moving past their tree and away from them. And then finally, it was quiet.

Beth leaned her head back against the tree trunk, watching the dappled sunlight in the leaves above her and enjoying the feeling of the shadows and sun playing across her face. They had survived and Beth felt a surge of happiness. She looked across and caught Daryl watching her. He glanced away quickly and cleared his throat.

"'Feel like a damn bird up here," he said gruffly.

"It's nice now," she replied, "Sort of peaceful, don't you think?"

He gave a noncommittal shrug and glanced around. Now that the threat had passed, they could appreciate the remarkable view they had from this high up. The green of the forest stretched out in front of them, with fields and farming land in the distance. The occasional farmhouse was dotted around, all of them looking peaceful and idyllic. It was easy to forget that the world had gone to shit up here.

"It's not so bad," Daryl agreed with some reluctance.

Beth smiled at him in reply and, with that, the two of them began their slow climb down.

AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks for the reviews/favs/follows! Glad to know people are enjoying it so far :)