Hello again everyone. It has been a while, I know, I know. I personally hate cliff hangers and have no patience for them so I feel horrible for making everyone wait. I have decided that from now on, I am going to get a new chapter out every two weeks. That is my new deadline, so if I don't, feel free to message me or comment and be like "where the next chapter at fool?"
Thank y'all so much for all the support y'all have given me. I am determined to finish this fanfiction, because I love Daryl and Beth and despite their very depressing lives on the TV show, I want to play out their potential. I hope you enjoy this next chapter, I get the feeling more things are going to start happening soon, very soon.
Eugene's POV
Eugene sat across from Abraham and Rosita. They had just finished dinner and Abraham was starting to talk about heading towards Washington.
"We have had time to gather supplies, people have healed. It is time to move out," the large man argued, "it is dangerous here even if we didn't have a mission to accomplish. That other group could be out there anywhere, just waiting to strike. We can't have Eugene in the middle of a huge fight."
"Honey," Rosita said, putting a calming hand on the hot-headed man, "we are going to get there. We just escaped near death and had almost no food or weapons. We needed to take a while to rest and regroup. You are right, this place isn't safe, but where is these days? Besides, Rick seems reasonable. He won't want to stay here much longer if it isn't safe for his group."
Eugene began to fiddle with the batteries in his hands. He hated it when Abraham started talking about "The Mission". It was better when they were on the move. Being on the move meant the army man had something to do, so he wouldn't talk so much. Abraham was the kind of guy that needed to be in constant motion, always getting something done.
However, Eugene had begun to sense that it wasn't just the importance of saving the world that kept Abraham so hyped up. For some unknown reason, the task of getting Eugene to Washington was much more to the army man, it consumed him. That made the fact that the nerd didn't know the first thing about a cure that much more problematic.
At first it had just been a way to save his own skin. He had been all on his own, scared shitless, when he had first seen a muscular, red-headed man taking out walkers like it was a piece of cake. The man had looked like a hero out of the comic books he read, maybe not as clean-shaven or wearing tights, but a hero none-the-less.
Even as Eugene had started walking to him, an idea began to form in his head. He knew that no one would want to take on a dead weight like him. Even before the apocalypse, people ignored him. So, he had come up with a ruse. He worked for the CDC and knew a cure. It was plausible and he had been enough of a nerd to sound like he knew what he was talking about.
However, what had at first just been a small lie to save himself soon became so much more. Never had Eugene imagined that Abraham would start trying to recruit every person that they came across. He kept waiting for the day when they would run into someone who knew enough about diseases to know that he was spouting bullcrap. However, that day never came. Instead, more and more people joined. They looked at him like he was some magical wizard, come to save them from a dismal fate. Soon, he had become an image of hope in the eyes of many, which had only made him feel worse.
Although he hadn't really become friends with any of them, they put up with him and looked up to him like no one had ever done before the apocalypse. As the weight of what he was doing increased, Eugene tried to reason things out in his head. He told himself that while he didn't know the cure, he would still be saving all the people following him. He was sure that if any place was still standing, it would be the capital. Once they got there and were safe, he could calmly explain to them that he had lied and everything would be okay.
That reassurance had made Eugene feel justified in what he was doing, until the first man died that is. The group, which had been about eight large at the time, had been attacked by a group of walkers. Everyone had been fighting, except for him, when a large corpse broke through the defenses and came straight for him. The man, Jake, had just joined recently, but he threw himself in front of Eugene and got bit in the process.
After that, Eugene's lie became so big that there was no way he could ever tell the truth. Some days, he even convinced himself that he knew the cure. Now, all the other members of the group were dead, except for Abraham and Rosita.
Eugene had become very attached to Abraham. He was everything Eugene wished he could be, muscular, assertive, and a good fighter. Rosita had yet to grow on him as much, but she was very pretty to look at, especially when she ran around in boots with short shorts on. Not that Eugene had ever expected anything to happen with her, he was used to girls ignoring him. When she and Abraham got together, he had only been mildly surprised.
"Eugene here has the cure that will save the human race," barked Abraham, breaking through Eugene's thoughts, "people need to start helping. If Rick can't understand that helping him will save the world, then the man's an idiot!"
"Alright, just calm down," Rosita said, "it won't help if Rick hears you."
"Yeah, well maybe he needs to hear a thing or two," muttered Abraham, "as a matter of a fact, I'm going to talk to him right now."
Having said that, the army man stood up and stomped off to find Rick. Rosita rolled her eyes and followed after him. Eugene trailed along behind her, unsure of where else to go. The pair didn't reach Abraham before he found Rick.
"Rick," called Abraham, "I need to talk to you."
"About what," asked Rick in a steely voice that made Eugene falter in his steps. Unlike Abraham, Rick didn't flaunt his strength and confidence, but the leader had something that Abraham just didn't.
"It's about getting Eugene to Washington," Abraham insisted.
"Yes, you have already mentioned that to me," Rick said coolly, "and I said that we would go once we were ready."
"Well," continued Abraham, "I think we are ready. NOW."
Before Rick could reply, a man came running up. It was the archer, who in Eugene's opinion was often covered in far more dirt and blood than was necessary, even under the present circumstances.
"Rick," yelled the hunter, "have you seen Beth?"
Eugene wasn't used to the new people in his group and had never been good with names, but he assumed that the man was referring to the little blonde girl that followed him around.
"No," replied Rick, "have you checked with Maggie?"
"Yeah," Daryl panted, "I have. She isn't anywhere."
"Okay," said Rick, going into leader mode, "let's get together a couple of groups and send out a search party. When did you last see her?"
"Hey," interrupted Abraham, "have you been listening to me? We need to start heading towards Washington. Time is of the essence."
"Abraham," warned Rosita.
"What did you say," snarled Daryl, turning towards Abraham.
"We are in the middle of the woods," continued the army man, oblivious to the dangerous situation he was getting himself in, "surrounded by walkers and hostile enemies. If someone gets separated from the group, the chances of them staying alive are almost zero. It isn't worth our time to….."
Abraham didn't get to finish because a fist collided with his face.
"You fucking bastard," yelled Daryl, as he struck the man again.
The red-head stumbled back a few feet before regaining his footing. Almost instantly, he headed for the archer.
"That's enough," ordered Rick, but his words were having little effect on the two men.
By now, the whole camp had realized something was going on. Several of the men came to help pull the two fighters apart, but not before a few more fists were thrown. Abraham had the markings of what would be several bruises on his face and his nose was bleeding. Daryl was holding a hand to his stomach, but Eugene couldn't tell which discolorations were new or old wounds. The archer had looked pretty torn up to begin with.
"Alright," Rick said once the fighting had ceased, "Abraham, I understand that this mission is important to you. And we are willing to help you, however, we don't leave our own. If you want to travel with us, you need to learn that. Now, you can either help us look for Beth, or you can pack up right now and head out on your own."
Rick gave Abraham one of the most intense glares Eugene had ever seen. He wanted to hide behind Rosita, but he decided that would be a bit too cowardly, even for him.
After a long pause, Rosita answered.
"I can't speak for Abraham, but I will go help look for this girl," the Hispanic woman said.
Abraham looked like he had been betrayed. Finally, he pushed the guys that had been holding his arms off of him.
"We find this girl, and then we move out," Abraham growled.
"Yes," Rick agreed.
No one moved until Daryl interrupted the peace.
"Well let's get moving people," yelled the gruff redneck, before he grabbed a flashlight and headed off towards the woods.
"Maggie, Michonne, Carol, and Tyreese, go with Daryl," ordered Rick, "Abraham, Rosita, Logan, and Carl, come with me. Glenn, hold down the place till we get back."
With that, everyone set into motion, either gathering flashlights or weapons.
Daryl's POV
Daryl had found Beth's tracks near where they had been sitting for dinner. He wanted to punch the closest tree. She had literally been snatched right under their nose. The tracks indicated that a male had grabbed her and dragged her away from the campsite. Since he had found the trail so quickly, he had called to Rick's group and two search parties had merged into one.
The redneck led the way, his heart pounding in his chest the whole time. This couldn't be happening again. He had literally just gotten Beth back. He was so mad at himself and the world, but he couldn't let that get in the way of his focus. The only thing that kept him from breaking down was knowing that Beth was out there and needed him. That thought pushed him forward and made him determined to find her.
They hadn't gotten very far when they found a freshly dead corpse. It was a stocky brown-haired man with beard. His most prominent feature was a slit throat and a puncture wound in his stomach. Daryl looked around the scene, trying to reconstruct what happened based on the clues. It appeared that Beth had been dragged here, where she put up a fight and managed to slay her capturer. However, several new sets of footprints showed that more people had shown up and had taken Beth with them.
"This way," whispered Daryl, following the new tracks. Michonne put her katana through the corpse's head and they moved on.
The group following him made way too much noise. Without them, Daryl could move faster and quieter, but by himself he could also be outnumbered. His eyes narrowed as he took in the signs. It was fairly easy since Beth had been dragging her feet, presumably to help him find her. There were long drags in the dirt and broken twigs everywhere.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang through the woods and Beth's scream pierced the night air. Without waiting for the others, Daryl took off towards the noise.
Beth's POV (starting from when she was taken)
Beth stopped struggling against her captor when a cold metal was pressed to her throat.
"Don't move girl, it won't end pretty," threatened a male voice, "and I wouldn't want to kill you. There are so many more fun things we could do if you are still alive."
The man's voice came in pants and it made Beth sick. With every breath she took, the knife seemed to press deeper into her throat.
"Put your hands behind your back," ordered her unseen kidnapper, "once I get you tied up nice and good, then the real fun can begin."
"Bullshit," cussed Beth as she rammed her elbow into the stomach of the man.
He let out a grunt of pain and the knife left her neck long enough for her to leap away. Instantly, she pulled out Daryl's knife. Before she could even process what was happening, the man was coming toward her. The blonde jumped out of the way of his blade and plunged her knife into his side. He let out a cry of pain, but turned and stumbled toward her. High on adrenaline, Beth lunged forward and sliced across his neck, causing blood to spurt out and splatter her clothes. The man slumped to the ground. After chocking for a few seconds, he went still.
For several minutes, Beth just stared at the corpse. She had done a lot of new things since the apocalypse began, but killing people was not one of them. The young woman slowly untied the cloth around her mouth as tears ran down her face. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably and her knife dropped onto the grass. Before her lay a man, that she had killed with her own hands. The atrocious act wasn't what horrified her the most, it was the fact that she didn't regret it.
"Well well well, what do we have here," came a voice from behind her.
Beth gasped and whirled around to find several men standing behind her. All held guns and wicked grins.
"Looks like the leader is going to get his songbird sooner than he thought," one of the men commented.
"Seth is going to reward us so well, might even let me have that bitch we picked up a few months back," another said with malicious joy.
Beth's blood ran cold at the thought of being taken to Seth. She glanced down at her blade, but it was too far away.
"Why don't you come with us," ordered another man as he pointed his gun at her.
The blonde wanted nothing more than to sprint off into the woods, but she knew her odds. These men would be able to shoot her in a second. She stood still as one of the men stepped forward with a rope.
"Hands behind your back," ordered the man who seemed to be in charge. He had a bald head and various tattoos on his neck.
The man who tied her hands had a pencil thin mustache and slicked back hair.
"You are a pretty little thing, but I don't see why the boss put up such a fuss to find you," said mustache man.
"Hurry up Tony," ordered tattoo guy, "we don't have all day. Doesn't matter why the boss wants her, all that matters is that we get rewarded for bringing her back."
With that, Tony picked up Daryl's knife and pushed her forward. All the men fell in around her. Beth wanted to sob, but she had to be strong. She had to make it back to Daryl and Maggie.
Her mind went into overdrive, thinking of any possible way to escape. None came to mind, all ended in her being shot or overpowered.
"That's okay Beth," she told herself, "If you can't escape, you have to do the next best thing. Slow them down and leave a trail so that you can be found."
The blonde began dragging her feet, making it seem like she was tired. She began letting out long breaths of ragged air. It wasn't hard to act tired because after a long day and being kidnapped twice, she was worn out.
"Hey," commanded a man behind her, "move faster!"
A shove on her back sent Beth forward. Instead of righting herself, Beth went with it and fell to the ground. She lay still and didn't get back up.
"What the hell did you do to her," snarled a voice.
"I didn't do nothin, just gave her a slight push is all," defended her pusher.
"Hey, girl, wake up," demanded a man, who prodded at her shoulder. Beth didn't move, trying to make it look like she had passed out.
"I think she might be unconscious," said one, "if I were that skinny I wouldn't be able to walk a step."
"Well," ordered the leader, "one of you pick her up."
Beth felt hands grab her and hoist her up into the air. It was nothing like when Daryl carried her. His arms always felt so strong, this man felt like he was going to drop her any second. The young woman cracked open her eyes and found her face buried in a man's flannel shirt. It was now or never.
Without warning, Beth kicked the man holding her in the head. Immediately, she fell the ground, causing all the air in her lungs to be pushed out. She didn't have time to recover. Beth grabbed the closest weapon, a large stick, and swung it at her oncoming attackers. She took the first man down easily, but the next one was more wary. He waited for the others and they all surrounded her.
"Put the stick down," instructed the leader, aiming his gun at her head.
Beth stood still for a moment, considering her options. As scared as she was to be shot, she was more afraid of being taken to Seth and never seeing her family again. She had been taken from them once and rescued by Daryl, this time she might not be so lucky. Beth hoped that they had noticed her disappearance, but even if they had, they may not find her in time to help.
"My, my, if it isn't my little songbird, come to see me," came a chilling voice as Seth stepped into view, "I was just checking the perimeter when I thought I heard a commotion."
Beth tightened her grip on the stick, even though the thorns were cutting into her hands.
"We found her in the woods," explained Tony.
"Good work boys," Seth congratulated, "you have done extremely well."
Then, he turned to Beth, a horrible grin distorting his handsome features.
"You on the other hand are in a lot of trouble missy," Seth chastened, "I went through a lot of work to find you and now I am rewarded with such behavior."
He motioned at the stick Beth was holding. She only gritted her teeth and glared at him. The blonde prayed that Daryl would show up, but she couldn't count on it.
"Clothes off," ordered Seth.
The blonde knew that was what he had always wanted from her, but hearing him say it made it feel so much more real. Beth swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to look unintimidated.
"No," she managed to say, in a voice that was much smaller than she wished it would be.
"Beth," Seth said like he was talking to a five year old, "we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."
Beth didn't move. She had always berated characters in horror movies for standing still during crucial moments, but now she knew what it felt like to be frozen with fear.
Suddenly, Seth pulled out a gun with a silencer on the end, just like the one Carl had. He pointed towards Beth, who had nowhere to run. The blonde watched in horror as he pulled the trigger. Sharp pains exploded on the side of her head and on her arms and hands. It took Beth a moment to realize that Seth had shot the branch in her hand. Splinters had become buried in her skin from where the wood had exploded.
In the confusion, Beth didn't pay enough attention to Seth, who was suddenly right in front of her. He grabbed at her shirt and began trying to pull it over her head.
"No," Beth gasped, trying to pull out of his grasp.
"Now now songbird," Seth intoned, "I like your spunk, but you can't act that way towards me. I know you want me, you don't have to be shy about it."
"No," the young woman said a little louder as he pulled the shirt over her head and tossed it away, his hand going to her breast.
"Shhhh," Seth said, putting a finger over her lips while his other hand continued exploring her. Without thinking, Beth opened her mouth and bit down on his pointer finger. She heard the crunch of bone and a warm, copper fluid filled her mouth. A rough hand hit her cheek, causing her whole head to rattle. Beth's body hit the ground for the second time in the last few minutes. She rolled over and began trying to crawl away.
"Where do you think your going," yelled Seth, "you little bitch. You should have been happy to have been my pet, but this is the thanks I get!"
A foot connected with Beth's side, causing her to grunt in pain and roll over. She curled up into a ball as another blow connected with her back.
"You fucking whore," shouted Seth, "think you can just lead me on and then do this. Well that ain't how the world works, not anymore!"
Everywhere was aching and Beth wasn't sure how much more she could take. She noticed Seth's gun, lying a few feet away. The blonde couldn't remember how it ended up there, but it didn't matter. She leapt for it, only to have a heavy foot land on the gun before her hand did.
"Shit," cursed Seth, "look what you made me do, broke the goddamn silencer."
"I will show you what happens to women who toy with my heart," said Seth as he picked up the gun.
Beth didn't have the energy to fight back. She had no weapon, she was beaten up and tired. It made her want to cry, the thought of never seeing Daryl or Maggie or Judith again, but she wouldn't cry, not in front of Seth. Instead, she just looked up weakly into the barrel of the gun and sent a prayer up to heaven.
First, things went slow. A breeze blew through the woods, the groan of a walker resonated through the air. The men behind Seth stirred, watching the show. Then, Seth's finger tightened on the trigger and everything went faster. A figure collided with the manic as a searing pain shot through Beth's head. She instantly collapsed, her ears ringing and vision blurring. She heard a scream and it took a moment to register that it was her own voice.
The blonde could hear yelling and two men fighting. Everything was going out of focus, but then, for just a second, it was clear. Seth had his knife out and stabbed it into Gareth's side, before pulling it out and repeating the action. Beth's vision faded out again as she heard a voice call her name. She couldn't tell if it was real or the other side calling her, and then she was gone.
Daryl's POV
Daryl burst onto the scene and his heart all but stopped. Beth lay on the ground, her head covered in blood.
"Beth," Daryl cried, her name being ripped out of his throat. He started to run toward her when a man collided with him. The archer was pushed back a few steps but quickly maintained his balance.
"I didn't mean to hurt the baby bird," said the man, "but she was bad and had to be punished, now you will be punished too."
Daryl vaguely recognized the man as Seth, the one who had attacked their camp. It all became clear. It was Seth's fault that Beth was taken and shot. Without thinking, Daryl hoisted his bow up and shot the man right through the head. The bolt went clear through, but that wasn't enough. The redneck swung his bow around and caused it to connect with the man's head before he fell. Bullets were buzzing all around him as his group caught up and began shooting at Seth's men, but Daryl barely noticed. All that mattered was the young woman lying on the ground.
He ran to her side and tears falling from his face.
"Beth, no," he sobbed as he took in her lack of clothing and bruised body. Finally, he looked up at her face, so peaceful looking except for the hole at the top of her temple. Daryl didn't notice the gunfire ending, but suddenly Maggie was at his side, her hysterical crying filling the silence.
"Hey," the Hispanic woman said, crouching down close to Beth. Daryl ignored her as he clutched Beth's small hand in his own. His world was crumbling around him. He had thought that after the destruction of the prison, nothing would be able to affect him so much, but he had been wrong, so very wrong.
"Hey," Rosita repeated, "I think she is breathing."
"What," gasped Maggie.
"The girl," Rosita insisted, "I can see her chest rising, just barely."
"We have to get her to Bob," Carol said.
"I can carry her," Tyreese offered.
Daryl ignored them and scooped Beth into his arms, careful not to move her head too much. Without another word, he began running back to camp.
"Daryl, wait," called Rick, but he couldn't stop, time was running out.
Thanks for reading. I really enjoyed this chapter because for once, Beth got to overcome at least one of her attackers, showing how Daryl has trained her to be stronger. And with Seth out of the way, that will give the group more time to relax and for things to happen…..