Every breath felt like a stab to the chest as Beth stumbled through the last of the tree line, branches cutting her face as she fell out onto the clear shoulder of a road. Panting she slipped and fell onto the asphalt, the skin of her palms and knees breaking open as she fell onto them. For a moment she did not move, simply huddled on all fours in the last of the remaining daylight as she struggled to control her breathing.
When she could finally hear other noises than the sound of her own desperate gasps for air Beth struggled to her feet. Her ankle had not healed completely right from the sprain she received when she caught it in the animal trap, what felt like years ago. Darting desperate looks at the woods behind her Beth decided to risk staying on the road. At least here she could see the danger coming at her. In the woods she would be running blind.
As the sun rose before her the fact that she had actually escaped began to sink in. It was over. She was gone.
A dry sob escaped her lips, she clapped her hands over her mouth to keep the sound in. Her captors were not the only dangers out here after all. She was weaponless, having only escaped with the clothes on her back. She never would have gotten away had it not been for that lone loose nail in the floorboards of the room they had kept her and her unwavering patience as she picked open the door. The men had still been sleeping already when she had crept passed them out the door. Her heart had never beat so fast as it had in the crossing of that seemingly endless room.
By the time the sun had risen before her Beth's breathing was back under control. She caught sight of several walkers in the woods and only just managed to outrun them enough for them to get distracted by something else. Her fingers itched for a weapon as she continued on.
She was just deciding to risk the woods to search for something when she caught sight of something on the road before her. Her heart froze in terror as she realized that the two figures before her were walking with more purpose than walkers. Beth turned to fade into the trees when her eyes fell on three walkers heading out towards her. Just she moved to run back the way she had came the roar of a car's engine filled her ears.
Her heart began to pound like a bass drum as she spun in a quick circle, trying to decide which was the least evil to head towards. Deciding she would take her chances with the unknown she began to run towards the two figures in the distance.
The sound of the car approaching drowned out the pounding of her feet against the pavement. Beth could feel the car getting closer and a sudden fear that her captors might be content with simply running her over filled her. With the car only feet from her she suddenly darted to her left and raced through the trees as fast as she could. Bushes tangled around her ankles and branches stung cuts on her arms and face but she pressed on. She heard the sequel of breaks behind her and familiar male voices yelling. Her heart beat so fast she thought she might explode as the sound of car doors slamming reached her ears. The sound of rustling foliage informed her she was no longer alone in the trees and she slide behind a large one to catch her breath and wait for the men to pick a direction to look for her, so she could head the other way.
The sound of one of them whistling filled her ears and she felt her blood boil at them thinking that they could call to her like a dog. Seeing a large rock beside her she picked it up,the weight unfamiliar but strangely comforting in her hand. The footsteps began to fade as they turned a different ways in the trees and Beth held her breath so that she would not breath out the sigh of relief she was feeling.
Trees rustled to the other side of her and she heard a long familiar voice whisper.
"I swear there was a girl running from them."
Heart beating a tattoo against her rib cage Beth struggled to her feet, the rock falling from her suddenly numb hands. "Rick." she breathed.
"You can call me that if you want." a deep voice whispered next to her ear as hands closed around her arms. Beth let out a startled scream before the man moved his hand to cover her mouth. She kicked her feet and struggled against his hold as he lifted her off the ground and began to drag her backwards.
"Hurry up." the voice of one of her other captors hit her ears and Beth began to twist wildly. She would not go back there, she would not be their prisoner again.
The other of her captors, the smaller one moved into her line of sight and twisting in the hold against her Beth managed to slam her boot into the side of his face. He let out a yelp as he went down. In the back of her mind Beth recognized the sound of the foliage being frantically pushed aside but she was focusing to much on getting out of the hold to think about what it meant. She had just managed to get the hand off of her mouth when the man before her, who was in the process of raising back to his feet, suddenly fell forward with a muffled 'oh'. He fell at her feet and Beth stared in shock at the wooden bolt protruding from his head.
The man holding her cursed and just as she moved to struggle again she felt his grip go slack. The man fell to the ground, his arms falling from Beth who barely got her weight on her feet in time to not topple down with him.
For a moment she did not move, simply stared down at the corpses of two of the men who had tormented her for weeks. Slowly she tore her eyes away to look behind her. And there they were.
Rick clutched a bloody knife in his hands as he stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. She felt a smile begin to stretch on her lips at the sight of his familiar face. Her eyes darted then to the man next to him, to the face she never thought she would get to see again.
"Daryl." she whispered. For a moment he simply locked eyes with her, both of them saying without words everything they were thinking in that moment. The smile on her face so wide her face began to hurt, Beth stepped around the corpse before her and stumbled forward into Daryl's waiting arms.