Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead nor am I in any way affiliated with the show, the comics or AMC. This is strictly a work of fiction for entertainment purposes only. Thanks.

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I hope that you will keep doing so! Here is the next chapter. I know that they are going to be playing the next episode tonight and we will probably learn some more about Joe. I have a very clear character in my head for him and I doubt that my interpretation will be like that of the show, so don't hate me when I don't try to conform him to fit what he is in TWD. I know ya'll understand that after 'Alone' my universe is different than that of the show but I just wanted to throw that out there. Anyway, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it and PLEASE review!

Hunted

Chapter Four

Daryl more or less dragged Beth through the woods; zigzagging their way between trees and shrubs until he could no longer see the house. Only when he knew that they were well out of sight did he allow them to pause. Beth leaned back against a tree, bracing her hands on her knees she struggled to catch her breath. Her eyes locked on Daryl. Despite being short of breath himself, he shouldered the crossbow and quickly scanned the area around them. Satisfied that they had at least a moment, he set the bow at his feet and walked over to Beth. Dropping to one knee, he removed the scabbard that held his buck knife and fastened it around Beth's hips.

"We'll pick up somethin' else along the way, but this'll do for now." He said. He wasn't letting her continue on unarmed.

"You found me," Beth said softly.

"Ain't got time for that, now."

"Do you think he'll keep to it? The head start thing?"

"Yeah. He wants to draw this out. Make it last. Hunt us."

Beth smiled at him, but there was no humor in her eyes, "What else is new?"

Daryl picked up his bow and looked at her. He didn't give a damn about Joe. Not really. He had Beth back. That was all he cared about. "Let's go."

They went on in silence. They weren't running anymore, but they were moving fast. Daryl clearly had a plan in mind but he wasn't sharing. Beth was used to that. When he needed her to do something, he would let her know. Usually, he would let her know without saying a word. She had gotten really good at the whole nonverbal communication thing with him. She didn't need to hear him say 'go left' to know when he wanted her to go left. A subtle tilt of his head or even just a slant of eye told her everything that he needed her to know.

They were being chased by a pack of disturbed monsters, but there was only a small part of her that was really afraid of that. When she had been grabbed by those strangers outside the funeral home, she had thought that that was it; that she would never see Daryl again. That was the thing that had hurt her the most. Once that thought had burrowed into her brain, she had decided that she no longer cared what happened.

She had sat there and watched what they had done to that other girl knowing that they meant to do the same to her. Hell, they had taunted her with those intentions. But she hadn't cared. She had devised her death wish plan and she knew that it was all going to be over as soon as they opened her cage door.

And then there he was; like a dream; like a wish that she hadn't had the courage to make.

She would tell him later what his finding her had meant; what it made her feel. He would grunt and blush a little and hide it all by being taciturn.

And she would let him get away with it because that's just who he is.

Now, men who wanted to hurt Daryl by hurting her were after them but Beth knew that he wouldn't let anything happen. She smiled at the thought even as they ran through the forest. These assholes didn't know who they were messing with.

Up ahead, a lone walker appeared from behind a tree, spotted them and began stumbling toward them. It puss laden lips were curled back over jagged teeth. It let out an agonized snarl and reached one arm out at an awkward angle.

"Ain't got time for you," Daryl growled and bashed it in the head with his bow as he passed. He didn't even break stride.

No idea who they were messing with.

It seemed hours before they reached the river. He knew that Beth could use a rest but he couldn't let her have one. They had to keep moving. He would keep her moving all night and all the next day if he could. Joe didn't like to travel by night, didn't like to feel at a disadvantage, needed to have the upper hand at all times.

"We're goin' in the water," Daryl said.

"What?" Beth asked, "We'll freeze."

"Nah. Ain't cold enough for that. Not anymore."

"But, Daryl—."

"You really wanna argue about this, now? It's the best way to hide our tracks."

"They can track us? Like you?"

"I wouldn't put 'em at my level. Closer to Merle's. They know how to look for clues. C'mon, Beth."

He was done talking about it. The decision was made. The ground was still hard but the air had warmed considerable over the last month. They would be fine. When they entered the river, Daryl deliberately turned down with the current before stepping into the water. Once in, he cut back around and started heading against upstream. Beth didn't ask any more questions. She just followed his lead. It wasn't easy going. The water was up nearly to her knees with a strong current. Daryl reached back and took hold of her elbow to help her stay with him.

"Natural instinct is to go with the current," he explained without being entirely sure what compelled him to do so, "so we don't."

Maybe she wouldn't catch hyperthermia, but that didn't mean that the water wasn't cold. It poured down into her boots, making it a battle every step to just keep them on her feet. Her jeans were well past soaked and the flannel that Daryl had given her was sodden and weighing her down. She caught the tail ends and tied them up at her ribcage in a somewhat futile effort to make things easier. Her teeth were chattering violently, creating a jarring in her head that she didn't think would ever come to an end. Still, she continued on. She trusted Daryl. Had complete confidence in his judgment, his skills. If turned and told her to drop to her knees in the water and start digging for China, she'd take a deep breath and do it.

Daryl had had Beth in the water for hours. He knew it wasn't cold enough to do any damage, but he wanted to get her out of it nonetheless. She was exhausted and to keep her constantly fighting the current and cold seemed borderline cruel even though it was the best plan. The sky was too clear and the moon entirely too bright. Any other night, he would have loved the lightness and extra visibility it provided. Not tonight. Tonight it felt like a liability.

In the distance, he spotted what appeared to be a bridge spanning across the river. While he didn't particularly relish the idea of putting them out in the middle of a road, he couldn't pass the opportunity to get them out of the water while causing as little disturbance to the bank as possible.

Closing the distance to the bridge, his reservations all but vanished when he saw that it wasn't a road; at least not the kind he had originally thought. It was a railroad. Near the base of the bridge, exactly where he had expected it to be, Daryl spotted the concrete culvert that allowed rain water to drain away from the tracks and down to the river.

He pointed it out to Beth. She nodded and veered in that direction. The two of them scurried up the small concrete path, leaving behind slopping wet footprints that would, with any luck, be dry within the hour.

Beth managed to drag herself up to the railroad tracks, but as soon as she was there, her legs gave out and she dropped. Her knees hit hard, her palms scraped against the wooden tracks as she struggled to drag air into her lungs. She had been down less than a second when Daryl's large, rough hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled her right back to her feet.

"Don't get lazy on me now, girl," he said, tugging her along as he started to jog down the tracks.

So, she pushed through the fatigue. It wasn't even that difficult for her anymore; to ignore the cramping in her thighs, the soreness in her feet, the burning in her lungs. That was just part of life now. She ignored it. Daryl had taught her to. And as her eyes drifted to the horizon, she was grateful to him for always pushing her just a little bit harder.

"Oh, God," she gasped.

Daryl knew what she was seeing. The clear darkness of the night sky was starting to lighten. The stars were no longer visible. Too soon, slanted slivers of gold and orange would breach the blackened landscape.

Sunrise.

Daryl released his hold on Beth's arm, but reached down and took hold of her hand. He wanted to know she was close, to know that she was right beside him. They had to push on. They had to push hard. No way was he gonna stop and let Joe close any of the distance that he had put between them. No way in hell.

The river had been a good way to hide their tracks. The railroad was even better—at least for a while. He didn't like being so out in the open. So exposed. Vulnerable. They would keep to the tracks for at least a few miles, then veer off into the woods where he could keep them in some cover.

He glanced over at Beth. God, she was an amazing woman. He knew that she was cold. He knew that she was wet. He knew that she had to be starving. And still she went on. Hell, she kept up. Not once had she whined or complained or asked if they were there yet.

Amazing. She was amazing.

That was something worth dying for, right there.

Sunlight played through the leaves of the tress and warmed the weathered skin of his face. The boys stood behind him as Joe studied the large boot prints on the riverbank. At the last second, the prints angled downstream and Joe couldn't help but wonder, was that intentional?

Joe hadn't been acquainted with Daryl for long but he had always considered himself a quick study of character. And that boy was quiet. He was quiet, he was observant and he was a hell of a lot smarter that he let on. That little blonde bitch had stolen one hell of a recruit from him. Joe would make her pay for that.

He would enjoy making her pay for that. Making them both pay.

But that would come later. First, he had to find them and now he was wondering if Daryl had really gone downriver as his tracks implied. Or had that sneaky redneck son of a bitch doubled back and headed up?

Blondie was just a slip of a thing. It would be a real struggle for her to fight that current and make good time. Downriver should have been a no brainer for them.

"Okay, boys," Joe barked, "we're headed upstream!"

A/N: Well, that's it for now. Please, please, please review and let me know what you think.