Trudging along through the humid Georgia air, Beth cursed the world again. She had sqatted away at least a dozen mosquitos and was sure she had a tick or two attached to her body, which was in definite need of a wash, which was why when she found the small stream she had gone to a couple weeks before, she sent a silent thanks up above, just in case anyone was listening. She stripped down to her underwear, knowing it wasn't the safest or smartest thing to do, but not really giving a shit either, considering how filthy she was.

She wished she could find a lake, or even some sort of river, so she could bathe properly, but for now this would have to do. She set her pack to the side, but keeping her knife close, and then dunked her worn out clothes into the water. Without soap, she'd just have to deal with what little friction her exhausted body could provide. When she felt the clothes were about as clean as they were gonna get, she laid them over a conveniently placed rock, allowing them to sit out and dry.

Her options were limited with how she could bathe herself, so she decided to just lay in the running water, allowing it to wash over her as she stared up at the clouds. "Now I know for damn sure I taught ya better than that." Of fucking course he's 'back'. She wasn't sure how she was going to handle this, him coming to her more often was taking a toll on her mind and on her nerves, and especially on her heart."Laying around, pretty much naked, in the middle of the woods, with water pluggin' up your ears."

She reached over, yanking her knife out of the earth, and held her arm straight up. "See? I'm good." She was sure she heard a scoff.

Allowing herself to close her eyes for a moment, she also let herself do something she didn't do often, for fear it would drive her even further into insanity, but found herself doing it more and more lately. She thought of what it would be like, if Daryl were there with her, for real. She knew she definitely wouldn't be in this position, at least not alone. Towards the end, Daryl had been especially handsy, not that she had minded.

"You're smilin'." She hadn't even realized she did in fact have a small grin on her face, until he had brought it up. "Miss seein' that."

"I'm surprised I can still smile, after all that's happened."

She wasn't sure many people would be able to smile in her situation.

"I'm not gonna leave you!" But she had. She was reaching out for him when he had told her they'd meet by the fallen tree, the one they had passed about an hour before, and she ran, like a coward, leaving Daryl to fend off the walkers alone. Her lungs burned with every step, and she thought she could feel her heart literally cracking the further away from him she got. She knew he wasn't stupid, and thought of her to be a little naive, and that's why she knew he would try to lead them away. Trick her into running into the other direction while he tried to play hero.

Before she was even half way to their designated meeting spot, Beth stopped, chest heaving, putting her hands on her knees while desperately drying not to vomit up what little she had left in her stomach. 'What am I doing?' She thought to herself. She had to go back. Had to go back for him. The thought of leaving him there, to very possibly die for her was one that left her feeling nothing but dread.

So she did. She wasn't sure how she had found the energy to sprint back in the direction she had come, her body just seemed to know how important this was, but when she arrived in the clearing where they had separated, she found nothing but a couple dead walkers and a whole lot of footprints. Adrenaline surged through her veins as she studied the tracks, hoping to distinguish Daryl's from the walkers'. When she caught sight of his large boot print, obviously with a more steady gait than the others, she followed the trail, thankful he had taught her some of his skills.

She was utterly exhausted, but pushed herself to continue, knowing she had to get to him. By now their were leaves stuck in her hair, sweat dripping from her body, and scratches all over her skin, but it was only when she came upon his vest, the one with those damn angel wings stitched onto the back, did she allow herself to collapse. She grabbed the fabric between her fingers and frantically glanced around, the panic rising, her breaths coming quicker and shallower, and then her eyes stopped searching. There, few yards away, laid a crossbow surrounded by little puddles of blood. That was when she allowed the tears to fall.

After crying for what seemed like days, but was actually only a matter of minutes, she wiped her face, and tried to be strong. She shouldn't doubt him, he was a survivor. She gathered up the vest and crossbow and began her journey back to their meeting place, knowing that if he could, that was where he would go.

Beth waited at the fallen tree for three days before finally giving in and giving up, because if he had been alive, he would have come to her by then. It wasn't easy for her to accept that he was dead, really gone, because she had been a firm believe that he would make it through all of this, and that he would miss her when she was gone. Oh, how the tables had turned.

She dug a grave at the site, and since she didn't have a body to bury instead, she threw the dirt on top of his crossbow. He had been teaching her to use it, but there was no way she could load it on her own. The thought almost made her laugh, but the feeling was quickly replaced with nausea, scolding herself for even thinking for a second that this was a time to laugh. She was too weak to even handle his bow, but here she was, still alive, while Daryl was just...gone. She used a stick as a grave marker, and tied his bandana onto it, but she knew deep down she wouldn't be returning to the burial site to mourn him, she knew he'd wanna kick her ass for that. So she said her goodbyes then. She wept for him, for what they had, and for what they had lost. "I love you, Daryl." She whispered to the ground and then looked up towards the sky. "I'll miss you."

If Daryl had really sacrificed himself so she could live, then she would. It's not like she could go out and live her life to the fullest, but she would make sure she survived. Because of him, she was going to be the last one standing in all of this. Of that she was sure.

Her silent tears mixed in with the water splashing at her face, but she quickly cleared her throat, not wanting 'Daryl' to question it. She sat up, cupping some of the cold water between her hands and threw it towards her face and began to scrub at her body, trying to get as much dirt and walker guts off of her as possible. Glancing from the corner of her eye, she saw her hallucination of Daryl sitting on a rock opposite her clothes, the crossbow she had buried long ago sitting in his lap, his eyes focused on her, burning holes through her soul.

Voices. There were voices. Her head snapped up and all of her movements stopped, her ears trying to pick up on anything they were saying. She was able to come to the conclusion that there were no females among the group, and that alone was enough to send her running. She shot up out of the water, grabbed her still wet clothes from the rock and hurried to pull them on. "There's still good people, Beth." It was weird how Daryl had become the little angel on her shoulder, herself the devil on the other side, but still, she wasn't going to stick around to see what these people were like. She grabbed her bag and her knife and took off running, which was especially difficult in damp jeans, but she didn't let it slow her down as she made her way back to the shack she was temporarily calling home.

Anyone still interested?