The second the car stops, Aiden's friend descends quickly and makes a run for it. Then Eugene steps out, followed by Glenn. Maggie exhales beside Beth. Something's not right though, because if you take a good look at Glenn you can see his eyes are haunted, his clothes are covered in little red splotches, his skin's damp with sweat. Beth feels a shiver running down her spine; he made it back in one piece but someone else might not have. Maggie's already sprinting to Glenn's side but he's not paying too much attention to her, it's like he's somewhere else, too busy helping Eugene carrying someone out of the back of the car. It's Tara, part of her face also covered in blood, lots of it, and she's unconscious. Maggie is asking what happened, Glenn answers coldly that there was an explosion and walkers. Beth can't just stand there any longer and goes to the car. As more people gather around them, Eugene urges a guy to go call the doctor. Beth realizes that no one else is getting out the car. She checks through the windshield and then circles around to the rear but she's right, the SUV is empty. Her heart sinks. Two more people had left in the morning. One was Aiden and the other was Noah. Her knees weaken, she grabs at the vehicle for balance. That damned feeling of tears forming in her eyes is starting to bother her and she wants it to stop. But her mind is racing back to the day they met, to when they came up with a plan to escape from Grady and then to the moment when he ran past the fence, free. She had smiled that day, 'cause even if she couldn't go with him, even when she was forced to the ground she knew that at least one of them had a chance. Maybe he could find his family. Beth blinks several times to keep from letting the tears actually stream down her cheeks and as she does that she leaves that goddamned street. She doesn't need to hear the story of how exactly Noah died.
His real family was gone but they had welcomed him in theirs. Again, he had a chance to start new. She goes to the backyard of the house, to the swings. She seats and holds on to the chains. A million thoughts swarm through her mind, all about Noah and how unfair it is that they lost him too. Time seems to pass her by real slow but when she raises her head to the sky above it's darker, it must be six or seven. She hears steps coming closer. It's probably Maggie, wondering where the hell she is. Only it's not Maggie.
At first he simply stands there without saying anything. They both know what happened. His eyes, veiled by overgrown strands of hair, can't hide the sadness and the anger. They're both feeling the same thing. He joins her to the swing seat next to hers. "He was a good kid" he says sounding beat.
Beth sighs. "Yeah, he was"
Daryl falls silent for a few moments.
"I thought we could have a break now that we're all here. I thought maybe...we'd stop losing people" she says, her voice low like it's a huge confession. "I guess it was too much to ask for."
Daryl waits a minute before answering. From the corner of her eye Beth sees that he's gazing at the grayish sky above. "The dangerous world that we learned to know is still out there. We can never forget."
He doesn't mean to be harsh, he's just stating a fact. Beth knows his words are true. They've been through enough to know that they can never feel safe, not completely. She suddenly remembers what she said to him after the party; they should hope for the best but expect the worst. Well, now something really bad had happened but it wasn't over yet. They'd have to swallow the pain like dozens of times before. Beth takes a deep breath and rests her head against the swing chain. "I'm glad you didn't go with them. I'm glad you're still here."
Daryl's eyes are piercing through her now, she can feel it. She turns to him and the connection between them is undeniable. She is lucky to have him.