***WARNING*** this chapter contains explicit content, violence and sexual assault. Please let me know if you feel I should change the rating.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites & reviews (Emberka-2012, .75, Heidi191976, DarylDixon'sLover and Guest)! They make me super happy—even the simplest thing from you readers make a significant difference in my day :)

As for the question of when our two favorite characters will meet…welllllll that is a surprise. I do say in my summary that this is a "very slow burn" so please be patient (see the notes at the end of this chapter for my full rant about why I have my story set up this way). But don't fear Bethylers—they will meet (I already have it written) and it will get gooooood (I already have their first 'exploit' planned and it is nothing like I have ever read on ff). Have faith, I live in Delusional-land just like you. ;)

Companion song: "You Could Be Mine" –Guns n' Roses

Disclaimer: I do not own or have any rights to the characters/plot of TWD series. I am just a fan exploring the marvelous, macabre world Robert Kirkman created.

This chapter picks up right were we left Kyle and Beth, let's see who/what broke in….

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Chapter 6: Disturbance

Beth's breathing was already ragged from adrenaline before she got to the front of the store. At the last second she had the sense to stop in the isle, not wanting to go blazing around the corner to draw attention to herself. She wanted to see if she could gauge the size of the threat before approaching it or before it saw her. If it was only one rotter, they could easily take it down. However, if it was a herd, they would have to try to reach the back door before the dead caught them.

Unfortunately, that was when Kyle came barreling up behind her, axe raised, and he stormed straight into the open space at the front of the store. Beth nearly cursed out loud.

The glass door was shattered.

She expected rotters to be shambling around and growling but there were none to be seen. Kyle was standing frozen, searching for the threat that had busted the door. Beth's stomach seemed to clench and her brain went into overdrive.

There's no growling… it's not walkers. There are people here somewhere.

The thought popped into her head so quickly that she did not have time to analyze where the term "walker" came from.

Without hesitation, she shoved her smaller knife down the front of her jeans. With the storm blocking the midday sun there was not enough light in the store for the strange bulge to be seen. The Glock in her back waistband was too big to hide since she was still only wearing a tight, navy tank top, so she carefully and silently slid it under the shelf closest to her. Beth knew if people were there, they would likely be able to overpower her and would probably strip her of the weapons on her person. The less weapons they found on her, the less weapons they would have to use against her. Clearly, the people were hiding, waiting to trap Beth and Kyle.

Beth was prepared to play dumb and walk into their trap. She didn't know how many people there were or what they would do to them… but if they only saw her as a weak, stupid girl that would be to her advantage. Kyle had taught her that underestimating your opponent was the most dangerous thing you could do in a fight.

Just as she stood up, ready to walk out of the aisle to join Kyle, someone jumped out on his left.

The first blow connected hard with Kyle's temple but he reacted swiftly.

Years of self-defense training kicked in as he began expertly dodging the attacker's punches. For a moment, Beth was mesmerized. The attacker was definitely bigger than Kyle, he was over 6'4" and was probably 80 pounds heavier, but that didn't matter because his technique was sloppy. Kyle was smaller but had considerably more skill.

Beth's eyes scanned the shadows in the store and counted 3 dark shapes. She could tell from the height and figures that all 3 of them were men. She contemplated grabbing her gun. Maybe she could get to it and fire off rounds before their attackers had time to react. One of them had a large knife in his hand, another had a revolver, and the last had a recurve bow with an arrow already nocked, ready to fly. Her survey of the men had only taken a second, but it was one second too long, they were all armed and now they could tell that Kyle was dangerous.

A bolt of lightning illuminated the store for an instant and she realized that the third man's arrow was pointed straight at her. She had no ideas of how they would get out of this. She could run but that would mean leaving Kyle behind.

Beth wouldn't leave anyone behind.

Kyle and the unnamed attacker were still engaged in a dance of deadly punches. The attacker had blood running down his nose and seemed unable to put much weight on his left leg but Kyle appeared uninjured.

The man with the gun shouted, "Jack, help him out! Ned, keep your arrow on blondie, don't let 'er run… She's mine."

His eyes flitted away from the fight and scanned her body in a way that made her wish she were wearing a parka instead of her small tank top.

Just as the man with the knife, evidently named Jack, moved to help his buddy in the assault. However, Kyle's leg shot out and connected with the man's left knee cap. He crumpled over which gave Kyle the opportunity to reach for his ice axe that had fallen to the ground. A sickening crack seemed to echo in the store as Kyle's axe connected with the attacker's temple. This fight ended as the unnamed man slumped to the floor. However, before Kyle could pull the axe from his first attacker's skull, Jack was upon him with the knife pressed to his throat.

The leader had begun to creep closer towards Beth and she gripped the machete harder. She was torn, she wanted to fight until her dying breath but her instincts were telling her that acting weak was going to save her. She needed them to underestimate her, to let their guards down.

As she saw Jack draw blood from Kyle's neck, she started to run towards them, ready to fight alongside Kyle. She heard an arrow whoosh by, but it didn't touch her. The archer would need to reload, which meant she had a few more seconds.

An ear-splitting bang echoed around the store.

Beth watched in horror as Kyle howled in pain and doubled over.

"Freeze blondie. Or the next one goes in his heart." The man with the gun was poised with his back to the door now. His black hair rustled in the wind coming in from the shattered door behind him. This man was clearly the leader and he was definitely not stupid. It was clear that he knew that pointing the gun at her would not have been a deterrent but threatening her sole companion had made her halt.

"Well, at least we know she can follow orders real good, huh boys? She'll make a good little slave," he gave a chuckle at his joke and the man behind Kyle let out loud laugh. She noted that Ned did not seem to find amusement in this.

Everyone stood still, taking each other in.

Beth studied their assailants. The archer, Ned, had gotten another arrow from his quiver but the bow was pointed lazily at the ground… he was unprepared, or he had believed she wasn't a threat. Jack was still holding the knife to Kyle's throat but he had loosened his grip slightly as he stood with his eyes on their unnamed leader, it was clear that Jack was only doing as he told. The leader was the one who made her skin crawl. His eyes were hard and menacing so dark that she couldn't tell where his pupils ended and his iris began, but his mouth was pulled into a huge, sinister smile.

Beth knew that they were checking her out, sizing her up too. So she did her best to appear weak, she slumped her shoulders and forced her eyes tear up.

She glanced briefly at Kyle who seemed confused at first, but then it clicked. Beth could see the understanding in his eyes… she was following his advice after all. He had been the one who told her that it could be an advantage if her enemies underestimated her.

Looking at Kyle, she took in the extent of his injuries. There was some red dripping from the slice in his neck and swelling on his face. The blood was pouring out of the bullet wound down his right leg, which was the part that worried Beth. He wouldn't be able to run. In this perilous world, running was essential. That just meant that they would have to take these intruders down the hard way.

They couldn't run so they would have to fight.

The leader still had his gun pointed at Kyle as he started to amble towards her, looking at her like she was a choice cut of steak that he was ready to sink his teeth into.

"What're we gonna do with tha' pair of ya now? I decided when I saw ya, soakin' wet on that roof, that I was gonna take you, blondie. I was going to take him down quick, put 'im out of his misery… but then he went and killed Danny." The leader's dark, menacing eyes never left her. He was talking about Kyle like he wasn't even there. "Now I think he has to suffer." And with this, a venomous smile stretched across his face.

Beth could not imagine that anyone had ever been this happy about making another human being suffer.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the leader asked this in a mocking, singsong voice. "Maybe we can watch 'im give ya one more porkin' before we finish him off."

Beth didn't know what to say. Kyle was not her boyfriend; this thought had never even crossed her mind. If she lied and said he was, would the stranger show mercy or not?

As she looked into his eyes, cold as marbles, she knew he was incapable of mercy, regardless of what her answers were. He didn't care about her answers, he was just entertaining himself by tormenting her.

He was a cat playing with his prey before the kill.

"No. He's my brother." She lied. She managed to make her voice sound timid and scared in order to keep up her façade of weakness. It was the closest thing she could use to describe their relationship—Kyle had taught her and taken care of her like she imagined an older brother would. Plus, she was hoping that this would end any of the leader's sexual suggestions.

She glanced at Kyle then. He looked very pale, the bullet wound in his leg was still bleeding profusely. He was trying to stand, to stay strong but he looked like he was sinking on his feet. Jack had stripped Kyle of all his weapons, which had been discarded on the floor a few feet away, and he stood with the knifepoint pressing against Kyle's neck. But what caught her attention was the look in his eyes. He seemed slightly shocked, but proud.

He's proud that I consider him a brother, she realized. And with this thought, of saving her new brother—the only one she had as far as she remembered—her resolve hardened.

"Even better! He can watch me take his precious baby sister, right 'ere on tha' dirty floor," the leader was circling her now.

"What's yer name?" he asked politely, like he was meeting someone at a casual dinner party.

She still had a knife in her pants and she desperately hoped he couldn't see it as his eyes roamed up and down her body repeatedly.

"Beth," she responded curtly, forcing a hitch into her breath that he read as hesitancy and fear.

He was buying the weak-girl act just as she wanted.

"Well, how pretty…Beth" he mocked. But then the humor slipped from his voice, and his face was serious again. "Yer brother, he has ta' die. But you… Beth… you still have a choice." Her name coming off his tongue made her feel like worms were crawling out of her ears.

"If yer a good girl, ya drop that knife and behave, then we'll take ya in, protect ya and take ya with us." Luckily, he was only referencing the blade in her hand. He hadn't noticed the knife in her jeans still.

Death sounded better than being 'protected' by these sinister men.

She knew exactly what she would do.

Beth dropped the knife to the floor with a clatter, morphing her features into a face that she hoped looked defeated.

"Beth, no!" Kyle shouted from his place, but his captor hit him hard in the temple with the hilt of his knife.

"Shut up! The more you talk, the worse I'll make it on her." The dark haired leader, who still had not said his name, smiled threateningly and began unbuckling his belt.

Kyle looked at Beth with such a feeling of helplessness, his eyes pleaded for her forgiveness—he wanted to save her but he couldn't find a way out of this, a knife to his neck and an arrow pointed straight at him. They were outnumbered, unarmed and he was bleeding out on the floor. But Beth just gave him a small, almost imperceivable nod and she hoped he understood that she had a plan.

The archer, Ned, in the corner looked disgusted, he had turned his head away from where Beth stood waiting her fate. On the other hand, Jack, with the knife still pressed into Kyle's neck, looked intrigued and excited.

She felt eerily calm. As the stranger came within inches of her, she felt no fear. But she continued to pretend she was afraid, he needed to think he was still in control.

That's when she turned and ran.

Beth didn't get very far, she got to the end of the aisle before he grabbed her shoulder and slammed her to the ground with a horrible thud. It was the perfect place, just where she planned to get caught. She heard a clatter and knew he had ditched his gun in order to get to her. Her stomach on the cold floor, she was thrashing, making a show of the struggle. His weight on top of her made it hard to get air into her lungs. Grabbing her hair, he violently rolled her over onto her back and pressed his full weight on her again. His hands went to her thin tank top, ripping it in his attempt to pull it up, and then he began fumbling with her jeans. And as he was focused on that task, her hands slowly reached along the floor, searching for something… She continued her half-hearted attempts to push him off.

As she felt his fat, greedy hands pushing her jeans down her hips, her hands finally reached the cold, hard metal that she was searching for. The gun she had hidden under the shelves earlier. It must have only been a few minutes ago that she had stashed it here but it felt like a lifetime ago. Gripping the gun tight in her right hand, she swung her arm around, pointed the muzzle into his temple and pulled the trigger.

Time was frozen.

There was a ringing in her ears so loud that she lost her sense of what was up or down. The sound made the bullet hole in her own head throb.

His body collapsed onto her, but she was not entirely sure he died for a moment… his weight had already been pressing on her before she had pulled the trigger. But as she looked over at the blank, unmoving face of her attacker, his eyes still open, she knew he was dead.

Beth heard another shot in the background. She heaved the dead man off of her and jumped to her feet, prepared to fight the other two men, hoping to God that Kyle was the one who had fired the gun… not the one it had been pointed at.

When she came back out of the aisle, she saw Jack's body on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood. Kyle was standing with the gun pointed to the archer's head, who was laying flat on the ground, staring up at Kyle in horror. His bow had slid across the tile floor, wet from where the men had tracked in water from the storm still raging outside.

Beth was certain that Kyle would shoot him at any moment. Somehow, this didn't sit right with her and she had to reflect on why she was feeling mercy for this stranger.

She realized that only the leader had spoken since they had entered the store, the two other men had not actually said anything during the entire interaction. Ned had turned away when the leader had been preparing to rape her… it was as if he could not bear it. He hadn't hurt either Kyle or her; the arrow he shot towards her had missed.

"Wait." She murmured to Kyle, stopping him from pulling the trigger.

He turned to her, face filled with rage—not at her but towards the one remaining member of their attackers.

"Why were you with them?" she asked Ned hastily.

He paused. He hesitated, unsure if his answer would make a difference, just as she had wondered only minutes before. Finally he forced out, "I lost… my family. I just… didn't want to be alone… I didn't know what else to do."

Beth took a moment to consider this. She didn't have time to linger on this decision. Kyle was only running on adrenaline at this point and she didn't know how long he would be able to stay upright. The storm would have distracted the rotters a little, but she was certain that the gunshots would attract them. They needed to get their supplies and get to a safe place before the rotters came; the front door was shattered so this building was useless now. Thinking about the archer's answer, she couldn't help but notice the similarities between his story and Kyle's story from earlier. Doing what you needed to do to survive in this world, staying with bad people because they were your only option. She hated this, but part of her could understand it. Like Kyle said earlier, good people who do bad things…

"Tie him up, put him in the utility room, leave him a knife so he can get out eventually and let's go." Beth's voice was authoritative but Kyle still stared at her skeptically.

Ned looked disbelieving. She was showing him kindness after being exposed to some of the most horrible acts of human cruelty, rape and murder.

"He didn't do us any real harm. Enough blood has been shed tonight. We don't kill the living… as long as we can help it." The mantra tumbled out of her mouth and the words felt familiar—this code was something she lived by even if she couldn't remember where it came from.

"We don't have much time, let's go!" she was shouting now because Kyle was still looking dumbfounded.

Finally, he obeyed. Kyle moved swiftly to tie Ned's hands behind his back while Beth gathered all their belongings from around the store. Beth grabbed his backpack and the small knife out of Ned's belt as Kyle pushed him into the utility room. She dropped his knife and pack on the floor on the other side of the room from Ned.

"Don't follow us. If I see you again, it won't end well for you," threatened Kyle as he turned to close the door.

"Thank you." Ned's voice was awed and sincere as he gaped at Beth.

"I'm sorry for takin' your bow. And I'm sorry that you'll be alone now… find better people next time." Beth was genuinely sorry for these things because they would make it harder for him to survive. She was not completely certain that she was doing the practical thing, but it did feel like the right thing. Who was she to judge him—to decide if his heart was good or bad? She hoped that she was leaving a good person alive... after what she seen and done tonight she knew the world could use more good people. Beth decided to leave the decision of Ned's fate up to a higher power and she closed the door behind her.

She killed a few rotters that had been attracted to the store by the gunshots. They were feasting on the flesh of their three attackers. Beth didn't bother to put a knife through any of their skulls, let the scum wander the earth in perpetual unrest. She held on tight to her knife as she swung her pack, Ned's bow and full quiver, and Kyle's full pack over her shoulders. He held on to his axe in one hand and had their dead attackers' nearly empty packs on his own shoulders. He was limping horribly and Beth knew they had to get somewhere soon because he was fading fast. She wrapped Kyle's arm around her shoulder, helping to carry some of his weight, as the pair headed out into the storm.

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A/N: As always, thanks for reading! Please leave me a review/favorite/follow before you leave, even the simplest comment makes me feel like what I am doing matters to you! Let me know what you thought about how Beth reacted to these new characters, how you feel about the man they left behind, if you think I should change the rating… etc. I hope it wasn't too traumatizing for anyone! Due to my own experiences, it was very hard writing this chapter—I struggled with how much detail to go into and where it should stop...

Next chapter is another Daryl one; it will be a mix of things we saw in the show and BETHYL FLUFF that we never got to see. (I needed a slightly happier chapter after the assault.)

Now for the rant I promised:

I am sorry if you feel like this is too slow of a burn or you are restless for Beth and Daryl to just get together and fuck each other's brains out. If you are looking for a steamy one-shot, this is not it. My story will play out like a more traditional book, with character backstory and more meat to it than a mushy-gushy "goddamn romance novel." I strongly feel that the writers of TWD only used Beth as a means to further Daryl's character development. She allowed the viewers to see a new side of him, gave him a reason to open up to the viewers, gave him something to hope for, gave him something to be sad about, etc… all very Daryl-centric, without any real advancement on Beth's part. This idea was only further solidified when they killed her off in such an out-of-character, sloppily-written manner. It was a tool for shock value; used only to make us hurt for Daryl's loss, instead of Beth's life. Long story short, I am using this story as a way to do justice for Beth's character, to allow her the character growth that was unceremoniously stripped from her by TPTB. For this reason, it is about more than just Beth-and-Daryl as a couple. Don't get me wrong, I WILL build to that and it will be exceptionally hot, but as stated in my summary it is a very slow burn. So be patient, read some sexy one-shots to hold yourself over, and hop on the delusional wagon with me while I follow Beth's journey.

**big breath**

Rant Over.

Thanks for reading! Please review (even if you just want to tell me that I suck, I still appreciate the feedback.) See you again soon, lovelies.