The gang was hollering outside. Daryl instructed for me to get down as he tried to get outside with his crossbow. I didn't listen and followed him anyway, earning me a very annoyed look from him. We sneaked around the side of the building to get a good look at what was going on. Joe had Mary by the throat, a knife pressed against her pale flesh. Daryl gave me a long look, putting his crossbow up. He was about to shoot before I stopped him.
"He's moving. You might hit her.", I warned, my hand covering his on the crossbow. He glanced to me, then back to the others. Just then, someone grabbed me from behind and yanked on my ponytail so hard I was forced to stand. I tried to be quiet but a scream erupted, and Daryl spun around, crossbow ready. He couldn't do anything, since the guy was using me as a human shield. He had a gun against my head, the cold metal pressed against the side of my face.
"Look what we have here..", Joe handed Mary off to the others, and took me instead. He smelled horrible. Well, everyone nowadays smelled pretty bad.
Daryl was to his feet in a second, his eyes looking sorrier than ever to see me. If I died here.. he would blame himself again. The man escorting him around punched him below the belt and I lunged towards him, but couldn't do anything against Joe's tight grip.
Then I realized they hadn't taken away my weapons quite yet. They kicked Daryl to his knees and that's when I striked, grabbing my knife and stabbing Joe in one fluid movement. I pulled my knife out of his side, getting barely skimmed by an arrow on the way to Daryl's attacker. There was no hesitation when I lodged my knife in his throat. I took his gun after that and pointed it on the archer who'd nearly hit me earlier.
"Drop it.", I yelled, crouching down by Daryl. They didn't budge. "I said drop it!", I yelled louder, surprised my voice didn't quiver. In that moment I felt stronger, and I knew Daryl would be proud. That is.. until I felt a sharp pain at the back of my head and everything went black.
I woke up slowly with my ears ringing. I don't know where the hell I was, it was pitch black and I could hear distant cries from Daryl getting hit. Funniest thing about an apocalypse, your childhood fears come back. Afraid of the dark? There's a whole new twist on it. I felt around for my knife, however it was gone. It was so dark I couldn't see in front of me, so I tried to stand up, and fell back down from a sudden wave of dizziness. I still had Daryl's vest on, which brought a little comfort as I patted around the box I was in. It felt like a cargo crate almost. I kept feeling until I found the door, which I couldn't open. Voices were near by.
"Fine, but I get the bitch first.", Said one of the guys presumably from Joe's group. I frantically felt around for something I could use to my advantage, but again, there was nothing.
"Yeah yeah, when I'm done with her.", They opened the doors, and there was gunfire again. This time, it was people from Terminus. There was only four left in their group after what I'd done earlier- assuming Joe died. I kicked one man in the face as the doors opened and hopped onto the ground, falling and rolling. I was still dizzy, so running wasn't easy. I stood on my feet shakily, unsure of how long I'd been out. Without a moment to spare, I was running again. The screaming of Daryl stopped before I could get there, so I hid behind an overturned table until the two chasing after me passed. Around the corner, I saw him. He wasn't breathing- or so it appeared.
"Daryl.", I whispered, running over. He had a black eye and multiple bruises across his sides. He was too heavy, and I couldn't lift him. A couple yards away I heard banging from one of the other train carts. I walked over to it cautiously, until I heard the voices of people I knew. I quickly opened the door, and people from my old group spilled out.
"Let's go!", Rick shouted to the others as he practically kicked the door open after I'd unlocked it. He took a look at me.
"Beth?", he looked over to where Daryl was laying and frowned. "Come on we've gotta get him out of here.", he said to Glenn, going over and picking him up. They groaned at the weight, neither of them were strong enough. How long had they been in there?
"Wait! Carol and Judith are somewhere..", I said. The moment I said Judith, Rick looked at me with watered eyes. Beside him, Carl smiled at the mention of his sister. Bob took over the position Rick was in, helping carry Daryl off. Tyreese came from one of the buildings, covered in blood.
"Walkers!", he yelled, running over. Glenn and Tyreese switched out jobs temporarily so Rick and Glenn could get Judith and Carol.. wherever they were.
"Go.", Rick said to me. I'd been standing there a long time, probably from shock. The whole group left, except Maggie and Tara. They stayed behind to help Rick and Glenn. I wanted to stay, but Daryl was more important to me right now. My dad had began to teach me medicine before... so I knew some basics.
When we found a cramped up shack to set Daryl in, I took any makeshift supplies we had and tried to fix him up.
"I need alcohol.", I said to the people watching me bandage up Daryl's wounds. I realized I was wearing his vest and blushed at the look the others were giving me. Michonne offered, and Sasha decided to go with her. She however declined, telling Sasha she could handle her own, and abruptly left. Multiple times I checked to see if he was still breathing, clutching his hand between two of mine. Carl, who'd stayed because his father ordered him to, sat down on the other side of me and Daryl.
"Is he going to be okay?", he asked me, glancing from me to him. He looked bad, I couldn't blame Carl for thinkin' that way.
"He might have something broken, hard to tell with all of these bruises.", I told Carl as I traced a bruise on his side with my finger. I sat with my back flat against the wall, the others did the same. I finally noticed the rest of the group. They looked like they hadn't eaten in days, and there was even some new people I didn't know.
"How long were you in there?", I asked Sasha. She played with her thumbs- her arms rested on her knees.
"Day or two. I couldn't keep track.", she replied. I looked down at Daryl, checking his head for a fever. He felt a little warm, which worried me.
"So my sister's alive?", Carl asked, watching every move I made. I nodded. His hat sat by him, for once he wasn't wearing it. I reached over and plopped it on his head, smiling to him.
Tyreese spoke next, telling everyone about where he'd been after the attack at the prison. "Carol found us. Took care of Judith, and the other girls.", he explained, looking towards the door anxiously. "I should be out there helping. We're outnumbered. They have guns.", everyone's faces were grim then.
"There's only four..", I started, thinking about the guys left from Joe's group, but got a grim look.
"Not them. Terminus."
It wasn't until hours later, some of our group returned. I ran outside to flag them down since they didn't know where we were. Maggie ran forward, wrapping her arms around me in a hug. Her tears soaked my shirt, but I didn't cry, despite being happy to see her. Behind her, I saw Rick, soaked in blood and holding Judith in his arms. He was crying, whether happiness or grief I couldn't tell. Glenn was behind them, and that's when I got relief for my sister's sake. No one else followed.
"Carol? Tara?", I asked. Rick shook his head, setting a blue bag of weapons on the ground. Carl appeared from inside, taking Judith from Rick and giving her a giant kiss on the cheek. I smiled at that.
"Where's Michonne?", Asked Rick, looking over the survivors of the camp.
"Supply run. She should be back soon.", I told him. "Daryl hasn't woken up still.", I looked back to the small shack.
"We better move soon.", Rick said. "I saw what they are.. what they really are.", he glanced in the direction of Terminus. "They've been louring, holding and eating people.", With everything we've been through.. that wasn't a shock. Nothing surprised me anymore. I went back inside.
An hour later Michonne was back. It would be dark soon, and while she was out we could hear the people of Terminus calling and searching for us. She found a little bit of alcohol, cotton balls, and water. I cleaned Daryl up, wet a rag torn from my shirt, and pressed it to his head. It would be dark soon but no one dared to start a fire. I curled up next to Daryl to keep him warm, by then it was so dark no one would've seen me. Although, I wouldn't care if they had. I was careful of his wounds, keeping my head on my own arm instead of his. I had a dreamless sleep that night, but was woken up multiple times from snoring, or the group shifting. Finally at the crack of dawn, I felt movement beside me and my eyes snapped open to meet his.
"You're awake.", I whispered, putting my hand on his cheek. There was a bruise on his jaw I accidentally touched, and he flinched. I kissed his cheek softly instead. His hand found mine. He was quiet for a while.
"Any of 'em touch you?", he asked finally. His voice was strained and raspy. I handed him water.
"They tried.", I replied, smirking. His eyes were on his vest, which was now on me.
"Looks good on you.", He commented, propping his head up under his arms. I scanned the room, a couple of people were awake and watching us.
"Does anything feel broken?", I asked, pushing up the hem of his shirt. His hand came out and stopped mine, probably since the group was beginning to wake up.
"I'm fine, Beth.", He assured, taking a sip of water from the bottle I handed him. I tried to help him sit up but he shrugged me off, grunting as he hoisted himself upright. I looked to Rick who'd just stood.
"We're leaving in ten minutes.", He announced. "Can you walk?", he asked Daryl. Beside me, Daryl nodded and got to his feet.
Everyone in the group had a weapon. We didn't have much ammo, especially if we had a run in with Terminus members, but it was alright for now. Daryl and I walked slower, he clutched his side as he walked along with the group. His crossbow was heavy and probably didn't help the pain he was having- not that he'd let anyone know he was in pain. He spoke a little quietly, so the group wouldn't hear him.
"You did good.", He told me, glancing in my direction. A wave of confusion came over me.
"When?", I asked.
"Back there.", he slung his crossbow over his other shoulder. I took it from him so he wouldn't have to walk with the extra weight. A while of waiting and he explained. "Was badass to see you fightin' them.", he admitted, in a shy kind of way. I smiled at him, although killing people didn't make me happy, it was something I had to do.
"I saved your ass.", I gloated. He glared at me, but I knew it was playful.
"Keep talkin' like that and you can kiss it too."
[A/N: SPOILER ALERT: Okay wtf no one died in the finale?! Also sorry for the late upload, my internet went out -_-". So the whole thing with Joe and Rick didn't really shock me since y'know, comics xD but like did anyone else think that finale wasn't that great? The final line could've been better.. yeah rick you show them with all of your power over terminus while you're locked in a box.. Any predictions for S5? leave a review :D]