The group wound their way through the woods surrounding the cul-de-sac they called home, worried much less about walkers than about strangers. Judith was told to hide under her bed with Mika and keep the door locked until she heard a familiar voice. Rick hated to leave her, but for a five-year old, it was safer to leave her behind than to drag her through the forest with no real knowledge of what danger may lie ahead. Glenn led the way, Maggie trailing slightly behind, with Beth, Carl, and Rick bringing up the rear. They traveled in silence, trusting Glenn to find the marked tree. It didn't sound like much of a lead to Beth, but she reminded herself that anything that could be a clue to Michonne and Carol's whereabouts had to be thoroughly investigated. Beth trotted along with a hand on her knife, all too aware that danger could still be lurking on the other side of any tree, and might not be as easy to take care of as a walker.
"I think it was somewhere around here," Glenn muttered after about a twenty-minute walk. Beth swallowed hard and took steady breaths as they slowed their pace. She felt much more sluggish than usual.
"There it is," Maggie said, pointing out a tall beech tree just ahead. A diagonal streak marred the light brown bark just above Beth's head. She touched it lightly, tracing the reddish slash.
"Would've had to be a really tall walker to make that," Carl commented, nodding his head towards the tree. "It's gotta be a sign of some kind."
"Directions, maybe?" Rick suggested.
"But to where? We never saw any others," Maggie replied, staring up at the mysterious mark.
On a hunch, Beth lifted her fingers to her nose and sniffed. When the rest of the group stared at her, she explained, "It's blood. Not from a walker, though. It smells…too fresh." She wrinkled her nose at the rusty red substance, contrasted sharply with the paleness of her skin. The coppery scent reminded her of the night she'd tried to cut her wrists. It seemed so very long ago now.
"Wait, if it's fresh enough that you can smell it, then – " Glenn hesitated, turning in a circle on the spot. "There's another!" A similar looking tree about ten yards off had an identical slash down its trunk. "We were looking at a different one," he said wonderingly.
"What if it's from – " Maggie cut herself off, looking around at the familiar faces. But Rick shook his head.
"I used to see this kinda thing every once in a while when I was a sheriff. It's a cult sort of thing – they leave signs with their own blood to lead unwitting new members to the home base." He rubbed at his jaw in anxiety. "It never came to anythin' good."
"I wish Daryl were here," said Glenn, examining the second mark. "He's good with this kind of thing. Where is he, Beth?"
"Um, he wanted to investigate…see if he could find out where the people who took Michonne and Carol are stayin'." Beth felt the urge to look at her wristwatch, but the battery had died long ago. She wore it out of habit. "Daryl didn't know we were gonna be walking through the woods," she realized suddenly. "Rick, I have to go back and see if he's there. I don't want him to think the rest of us are missing too." Beth panicked at the thought of Daryl misreading the empty cul-de-sac and trying to chase after the captors on his own. "I have to go," she repeated. "I'll meet all of you back at the camp."
The others nodded and she retraced their steps into the forest, moving as quickly as she could around gnarled tree trunks and fallen branches. A sound startled her halfway through, but she spotted a fluffy tail racing around a bush and lowered her knife. Could it really be a cult that had taken Michonne and Carol? The idea frightened her. She didn't know much about cults in general, but she remembered learning about Charles Manson and Jim Jones in high school. In fact, the Governor had reminded her slightly of Charles Manson, in the way he was able to convince so many people that taking the prison was their God-given right, and that killing the people who already lived there – her family, her friends – was the best way of going about it. She shuddered. Could it happen again?
She reached the cul-de-sac quickly and crouched behind the shed in Rick, Carl, and Judith's backyard. It never hurt to be extra cautious. Nothing looked amiss, but looks could be deceiving – she crept around the side of the house, staying low to the ground, one hand always hovering above her knife. Beth had just reached the corner closest to the front door when someone grabbed her from behind and clapped a rough hand over her mouth. She let out a strangled yelp and immediately began to struggle.
"Relax, it's me, it's me!"
Beth couldn't help but roll her eyes and elbow Daryl in the ribs as she turned around.
"Jeez, girl, that hurt," he complained, rubbing the spot. "You're bonier 'n you look."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed. "I could've hurt you!" She punched him lightly on the shoulder to get out the last of her aggression, then cupped his face in her hand. "I'm glad you're okay, but never, ever do that to me again."
"I didn't mean to scare you. And lower your voice," he whispered, pulling her down to a crouch next to the fence.
"Is there anyone here?" Beth looked around fearfully, gripping Daryl's arm.
"Not right now, but there was just a few minutes ago. They left again, in that broke-ass car 'a theirs. It's drippin' oil everywhere." He gestured to the road in front of them, where several fresh stains marred the pavement.
"Is Judith okay? And Mika? Did you check?"
Daryl nodded. "They're fine. I told 'em to stay inside."
Beth nodded. "Rick thinks it might be a cult," she muttered.
Daryl grimaced. "That makes sense. I didn't see where they're stayin' – lost 'em pretty quick after they got on the highway – but I heard one of them talking to another. Said somethin' about…" He glanced at Beth. "Well, they used some unkind words, but let's just say I could tell they were talkin' about Carol and Michonne. And they said…'They'll all understand soon.'"
Beth shivered. She hoped it wasn't what they thought, but no matter what, it certainly didn't sound like they'd be understanding something good. "They didn't see you, right?" she asked, concern etched on her pretty face.
"Nah, they never saw a thing." He appeared to deem it safe to emerge, helping Beth to stand and moving to open Rick's door. "The others gonna be back soon?" he asked. "Beth?" He turned and looked at her properly. "Hey, you okay? You're pale as a ghost."
"I'm – I'm fine," Beth stammered, holding a hand to her head. "I must've just got dizzy when we stood up. I'm fine, go ahead," she assured him, waving her free hand forward.
Daryl snorted. "You're not fine. C'mere." Beth was reminded of their short-lived stay at the mortuary as he scooped her up. "I ain't leaving you alone. You can lie down on the couch in here." He shifted her weight to his left side and used his right hand to tap on the door in a pattern that sounded suspiciously like 'Shave and a Haircut.' They waited a moment before the 'two bits' reply sounded from inside. "I taught her that," Daryl proudly told the woman in his arms.
The door opened before them, revealing a safe-and-sound Judith. "Why're you carryin' Beth, Daryl?" she asked, following them to the couch nearby.
"She just needs to lie down for a while. She's all right. Make sure the door's locked up tight behind us, okay?" Daryl replied, propping a pillow behind Beth's head.
"Is she really okay?" asked Mika in a low voice. She had emerged from behind a makeshift barricade. Daryl didn't respond, his gaze trained on Beth's face. The woman herself wasn't sure what to say. A sneaking suspicion had occurred to her a day or two back, but she hadn't allowed it to form completely. Michonne and Carol going missing just pushed it farther back into the recesses of her mind. It came back full force now, but she didn't want to tell Daryl in front of Mika and Judith, so she forced a weak smile.
"I'm fine," she assured the trio surrounding her. "Go make sure the rest of the group's okay," she urged Daryl, giving him a stern look when he hesitated. "I'm fine. They might not be." Knowing she was right, he told Mika to run and get him or another member of the group if anything happened while he was gone.
"I'll be right back," he assured the younger girl, though his gaze was trained on Beth's face as he said it. He frowned slightly, then disappeared out the front door. The three of them sat (or in Beth's case, lay) in silence, all of them listening hard, as if they could hear Daryl reaching everyone else. Instinctively, Beth tried to memorize exactly the way he'd looked at her, his handsome face filled with concern and love, as if she'd never see him again.