Laundry day had left Liz with a kink in her neck. "Carol - you look like a yogi. Come do yoga with me."
"Oh," Carol said, shaking out a shirt and shaking her head. "No, no, no. I'm not flexible at all. It'd just be a humiliation."
"I'm too nauseous to bend over all over the place," Lori said. "Sorry." She'd recently announced her pregnancy, and was in the throes of morning sickness of the first trimester.
Liz looked at Andrea hopefully. The blonde seemed to dislike her, but Liz was desperate for some girl talk and stretching.
"No," Andrea said dryly. "Don't even look at me like that. I don't yoga."
Liz groaned. "Fine, I'll do it by myself."
Glenn, who'd been reading near the laundry area, chimed in. "Beth has been going on and on to Maggie about how cool it is that you're here, I guess." He looked up. "You could spend some time with her."
"Really? She's so quiet. I can't see her going on and on about anything." Liz smiled. "Well great. I'll go find her."
Ten minutes later, Liz and Beth were in front of the porch, stretching themselves out and chatting. Beth was less starstruck than Liz had expected, and that relieved her. Dealing with people who saw her as anything but a regular person tripped her up.
"So you and Jimmy, huh?" Liz asked as she pressed her hands into the dirt and stretched out her back in a downward dog. "Ugh, that's good." She swayed back and forth and enjoyed the burn in her muscles.
Beth looked at her body and copied her. "I guess," she replied dully.
"You guess?" Liz asked, peeking out from between her arms. "Why 'you guess'?"
"We dated for three months. This happened. Now it's like we're married." Beth rolled her eyes. "Guys my age are so immature. I know we can't send him away, but I wish I didn't have to be responsible for him." She lost her balance for a minute, then flopped to the ground. "Ugh."
Switching to a cobra pose, Liz made a face at Beth. "Try this pose. I can see how that'd be awkward. Believe it or not, some of my friends got married after knowing their boyfriends for about three months." She stuck her tongue out. "Yuck."
"Do you have a boyfriend?" Beth asked. "Or did you, before this? The websites were always saying you were seeing this guy or that guy."
"Nope," Liz answered, popping the 'p.' "Just little old me. I had a lot of friends who kept me busy. I'm too young to be tied down, especially to a movie star. They're the worst." She laughed. "If I have time, you've got plenty of time."
"Not like there are a lot of options," Beth grumbled. "I thought Glenn was cute, but then Maggie decided she liked him, first."
Pushing up into a plank, Liz glanced at the girl again. "How old are you? Carl's 12." She wiggled her eyebrows.
Beth wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Yuck. I'm 16. I thought yoga was supposed to be relaxing. Now I feel gross!"
"Sorry!" Liz exclaimed. "Carl's the only kid I've been around." She rolled herself up into a lunge and looked over to see Beth keeping up. "You're pretty good at this."
Beth smiled. "Really? Like, as good as the L.A. people?" Her cheeks slowly turned pink. "It's seriously really cool that you're here. We love your songs, me and Maggie. Dad doesn't like anything on the radio. But I can't believe you're so normal!"
"What else would I be?" Liz asked, losing her balance and toppling over.
Beth giggled. "I've only done this one, and I'm still doing it." She switched legs.
"Yeah, that's 'cause you've got bird legs! Eat something, girl," Liz replied with a grin. She pulled herself back up and slid into the splits.
"That's yoga?" Beth asked, disgusted. "I can't do that." She struggled, then gave up and pushed back into another lunge. "Oh!" she exclaimed, quickly collapsing onto her hands and knees. "There are people watching."
"Hmm?" Liz mumbled, twisting over her shoulder. She spotted Daryl and Glenn not far away, leaning against a fence post talking. "They're just talking," she said. "Ain't like they're walkers!" She twisted to the other side. "You can do this one, come on."
"I can't," Beth hissed. "I'm embarrassed. I'm not very good and I don't want them to see."
Liz sat back in a cross-legged position. "Okay, okay. You can do this, right?"
Beth crossed her legs and stared at the ground.
"What's wrong? You don't like Glenn now?"
"No, not him," Beth said quietly.
"Daryl?" Liz laughed. "He looks mean, but he's a really good guy. Be glad you didn't meet his brother. He actually was mean."
"Shh, don't let him hear!" Beth squeaked. "If he's looking over here, I want him to think I'm good at this." She stuck out her chest and twisted. "Everyone tells me I look older than seventeen."
"Ohh," Liz sang out, trying her hardest not to laugh. "I see what you're getting at." She winked. "Going for the older men, huh?"
"He's really helpful, and his bow is pretty cool." Beth twisted the other way, taking care to glance in the men's direction. "How'd you get him to make you one?" She thought better of her position and turned back into another downward dog. "Follow my lead, Liz. Don't leave me hanging. It'll be too obvious."
Liz laughed. She pushed into a downward dog to match Beth's. "Here I thought you were the quiet one. How devious, trying to lure in the poor men-folk with the world's skinniest legs. I don't know if I can condone a minor showing off her skinny ass to full grown men, though," she laughed.
"You're cool. You won't tell my dad, right?" Beth asked in a small voice.
"Of course not," Liz promised. She gently rolled her head from side to side. "By the way, this is the last time you're in charge of yoga. This is doing nothing for my neck."
"Might be because your ass has been in the air for the last five minutes," a voice came.
Liz looked up to see Glenn and Daryl's boots behind her. Beth quickly jumped to her feet and made up and unintelligible excuse about needing to go inside.
"You're a terrible yoga partner," Liz called after her. "Traitor. One hundred warrior poses tomorrow for you."
"S'her problem? Daryl asked.
Liz stood back up and stretched her arms upward. She debated telling the men about Beth's crush on Daryl, but decided against it. "Ah, nothing. Just a little nervous around me, I guess."
"I'm making a supply run," Glenn said. "Want anything?"
"You're going too?" Liz asked, cocking her head at Daryl.
"Naw, I'm going out for Sophia in a minute," he replied.
Liz nodded. "Be careful. And thanks Glenn, but I've got everything I need," Liz said, shrugging. "Want, though? I've been wanting a piece of chocolate cake since this whole thing started." She felt her mouth start salivating. "Ugh, like, I'm lusting after cake."
Glenn laughed. "I don't think I'll find any in town. Sorry."
Liz feigned disappointment. "That was my one goal for coming home to Georgia - eat as many calories as I could. Food in California sucks. I'm not a salad girl. Even their junk food is healthy. Blech." Liz tipped her head back. "That's the cruelest part about this new world. No junk food."
"Seriously? You aren't worried about your figure?" Glenn asked, staring at her toned midsection.
Daryl raised an eyebrow at him. "You can't ask a woman that."
"Ha," Liz laughed. "Look at Shane. We're blessed with insanely great metabolisms. I eat what I want. I do yoga. No body issues here." She patted her thigh, which was curvy, yet firm. "Stick legs don't win men, no matter what the magazines say." She saw Daryl looking at her leg, and Liz couldn't help but wink. He immediately dropped his gaze and cleared his throat. His sheepishness caused her to laugh. "Or not."
"You're right," he mumbled, staring up at the sky. He hoisted his bow higher over his shoulder. "I've gotta go. I'll be back later. We'll practice with your bow again."
Enjoying his obvious awkwardness at her flirting, Liz tried on a seductive look and blinked slowly in his direction. "Can't wait."
Daryl hesitated as if to say something, but instead nodded and headed off.
"Wow, okay," Glenn said with a note of awkward hesitation. "Good to know." He shook his head at Liz. "That one's going to take some work. And are you sure Shane's going to like that?"
Liz made a face. "He's my brother, not my babysitter. What do you mean it'll take work?"
"I just don't want-" Glenn started. A commotion by the barn cut him off. The pair spun around to see what was going on. "Is that Rick?" Glenn exclaimed. "He has a walker on a leash?!"
Rick, Hershel, and Jimmy had walkers on makeshift leashes and were bringing them onto the property toward the barn. Shane was waving his pistol around and yelling, and it clearly wasn't going to end well.
"Oh, my god," Liz breathed, slapping her hand to her forehead in disbelief. She'd tried to avoid Shane as much as possible, but saw his friendship with Rick quickly deteriorating. This may be the final nail in the coffin, and that would be horrendous for the group.
"We've gotta go," Glenn said before sprinting toward the barn.
"Daryl!" Liz called, running in the direction he'd walked. "Daryl."
Upon hearing Liz frantically calling him, Daryl turned and sprinted back to camp. "What?" Daryl called, "What's wrong?"
Liz motioned for him. "The barn. Rick's got a walker on a pole. Shane's-"
A series of gunshots rang out, and without another word, the pair ran faster to reach the barn. "Stay back," Daryl said gruffly when they reached the scene.
"I can help-"
"No. I'm not kidding." Daryl gave her a stern look and rushed ahead.
"What's going on?" a voice came from behind her.
"Beth, come here, baby, come here," Liz cried, taking the girl under her arm. Beth's mother and brother were in the barn and she knew the girl wouldn't be the same after what was about to happen.
Shane was yelling and waving his pistol around. The words were exploding into the air and not sinking in as Liz watched the spectacle play out in slow motion. Rick and Hershel were trying desperately to control the walkers at the end of their poles. The sound and survivors showing up had agitated them. Liz blinked. It seemed surreal. She glanced over and saw Daryl and Glen holding their weapons at the ready. Maggie ran out and stood near her father. Suddenly, time sped back up and Liz cried out as Shane hammered at the lock until it broke off and the twenty walkers from inside began to spill out.
The men make quick work of the walkers; shooting them down immediately as they spilled out into the sunlight one by one. Blackened blood sprayed everywhere with each bullet and arrow. Hershel fell to his knees and watched in horror as the friends and family he thought he was saving were slaughtered. Finally the moment he'd been dreading came; what had once been an older woman stumbled from the barn, gnashing its teeth and glancing around at all of the possible
"Mom!" Beth screamed, trying to pull away from Liz.
"No, no, sweetie, that's not your mom," Liz panted, doing everything to keep the girl in her arms. "It's okay, it's okay. Look at me," she begged, trying to pull Beth's face to hers. Beth collapsed to the ground as sobs rocked her body. She reached out and whimpered. Liz knelt beside her and dragged the girl's body to hers. "Shh, it's okay. It's all right. Don't watch." She rubbed Beth's back and tried not to hyperventilate, herself. "It's okay, it's okay."
A horrible cry that belonged to a survivor snagged her attention. Carol was running to the barn, her arms outreached. "Baby girl," she cooed.
"No!" Daryl quickly caught her around the middle and pulled her to the ground.
Liz squeezed her eyes shut just before a bullet blew through Sophia's head. "Oh, God," she choked. Sophia. When the last walker had fallen, Liz glanced back at her brother. Shane was standing with his rifle smoking and a satisfied smirk on his face.
"Mommy," Beth cried. "My mom."
Liz felt tears fall from her own eyes as Beth nestled her face into her neck. She held the girl close and buried her face in her hair, hoping this was the last of the horrors they'd have to endure.