A/N: I know there was some confusion over the pairing of this story. It's a Beth/Daryl story, but since it's an "Alone" divergence, there will be an absence of Beth. Ellie it's not Daryl's romantic interest, that's for sure.

Thanks to lovely brady66, DarylDixon'sLover and CJ (Guest) for your reviews. Hope you enjoy!

II

Daryl woke up with a startle. He had slept two hours maximum. He never slept too many hours in a row, but he always managed to get enough sleep to feel rested the next morning. That night, however, between his reeling mind and the girl, who wouldn't stop shifting, turning and talking asleep, it had been a lost cause.

He waited until his breath and heartbeats returned to normal before he stood up, and it was just then when he realized something was off. He looked around him, as if he wanted to convince himself that it was a mistake. The girl was gone, and with her, his knife.

"Fuck" he cursed. He took his crossbow and his backpack and got out of there. He didn't even bother looking for her in that tiny cabin: the door was wide open. Daryl went outside without second thought. He wasn't too sure why he was looking for her: he felt a bit responsible for her. After all, it had been him who had rescued her, and she was pretty beaten up.

It didn't take long to find her. After a few minutes wandering aimlessly, he heard the unmistakable walker's moans. He ran towards there, not knowing exactly why, just following his gut. He spotted her fighting three walkers and struggling. When the knife got stuck in the rib cage of one of them and the third one was about to chew up her jugular, Daryl pierced its head with a bolt. He ran towards her and kicked away the other walker as he hit it with the crossbow. Once it was on the ground, he crashed its head with a load stomp, and then he got the knife out of its chest. He took out his old bandana and cleaned up the blade as much as possible before he sheathed it. He saw how she gulped when he stared daggers at her.

Daryl didn't say anything. He just stood up and started walking towards the cabin again. Two seconds later he heard her rushed steps behind him. He stopped immediately and turned, more pissed than he had ever been.

"The fuck you want, huh?"

"I just wanted…" she tried to protest, but Daryl cut her off.

"It's the third time I save your ass, you idiot. What did you intend? You steal my knife and leave the door open while I'm sleepin' so any of those fuckers can come in and devour me. What did you want, kill me or kill yerself? Huh?" he yelled. He refrained himself from slapping her like last night. He needed all of his self-control to do so, "I helped you yesterday, but you're not my problem anymore".

He turned his back to her and re started the way, not knowing now where to go. He hadn't even taken six steps when he heard her imploring voice.

"I didn't mean to risk your life. I know it was stupid, but… I was scared, and I didn't know you. I didn't know if you were harmless".

"Well, I'm not" Daryl snapped, facing her again, "Don't even doubt it".

The girl stared at him silently, and then she nodded.

"I'm sorry" Daryl had the feeling that she had said it with difficulty. She seemed embarrassed, "I've been a jerk".

"Yeah".

"And if you let me stick with you, you'd be making me the biggest favor of my life".

The hunter huffed, exasperated. All his anger came from an absolute and painful truth: he knew that he wouldn't refuse. Partly because, if the girl died (and it was very likely that she would) he'd have to carry with the guilt, and partly because he couldn't stop hearing Beth's voice inside her mind, repeating the same words she had told him when they found the funeral home.

"I knew it. It's like I said. There's still good people" and she had smiled so sweetly. And he hadn't believed her. How could he? How could he be a good person, after everything he had done, after everything he'd been? How could he be a good person if he had allowed that she was taken from his side without fighting?

He felt a gulp in his throat when he remembered the black car racing away from him. He clenched his teeth and looked at the girl before he started walking again.

You gotta stay who you are, not who you were.

He stopped again and took the knife out. He gave it to the girl without saying anything.

They'd been walking for an hour. The sun was already high in the sky, shining weakly, and the cold was getting in their bones. Suddenly, Daryl noticed the clothes she was wearing. A thin flannel shirt that was too big for her, jeans with holes everywhere and military boots. She was bracing herself, trying to placate the cold and holding the knife on one hand. She had wiped out the blood from her face and the cut looked better, but Daryl suspected that if they didn't take care of it, she was going to get an infection. He thought about the clothes in the cabin's wardrobe. He wasn't exactly paying attention right then, but he couldn't remember those clothes in it.

"Where did you go when you left this morning?" he asked her.

"There was another cabin not far from ours. There was just these clothes, but no coat, and that's weird 'cause here it's cold as fuck. I guess someone else had already taken everything useful".

"Same with the cabin. Someone has cleaned the area. But how did you clean the wound?"

"Oh, this?" she asked, pointing at her eyebrow, "There was a tiny bathroom, covered in blood, but I found a bottle of hydrogen peroxide with a few drops inside and I used it. I was trying to hunt something to eat when I found those… things".

Daryl wondered what had she been trying to hunt with a knife in the middle of the road. Maybe she hoped that a herd of deer would walk by her.

"By the way" she said, "I'm Ellie".

"Oh, now you trust me, don't you?" he countered ironically. When he turned his head again, he froze. A black car with a white cross was pulled over.

His last thought before he started running was Beth. Beth, Beth, Beth… it was everything that came to his mind in those instants. Maybe there wasn't anyone in the car, but they must be nearby. And if they weren't far, that meant that she might be there.

He felt a dull pain in his side from how brusque he had started sprinting, but he ignored it. Nothing, not even the heavy crossbow, the exhaustion, the cold, or the hunger could stop him from getting to that car.

Nothing… except from a very annoying kid.

Before he could react, his face was thrown against the fallen leaves, just like the rest of his body. He needed a few seconds to process what had happened. He felt Ellie's weight crushing him, immobilizing his arms.

"Don't even think about it" she whispered. She stood up and tried to drag him with her, but Daryl grabbed her arm and pulled her strongly.

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" he put her a few inches from his face, trying to intimidate her, but truth is he didn't look very scary with leaves on his face. Ellie seemed desperate. She was tugging and dragging him with her, as if she didn't care if she torn his arm apart.

"We… have… to… hide…" she panted, exhausted. Daryl was stunned. It wasn't just fear what he saw on her face: she was utterly terrified. And suddenly he understood. He only had five seconds to react before two men appeared from the woods. Ellie let out a squeal of panic. Daryl stood up suddenly and pushed her against one of the abandoned cars. Crouching down behind her, he made her hide and covered her mouth so she couldn't make a single sound. He looked just in time to see how they got in the car and left. It didn't look like anyone was with them. He waited for a few seconds until he moved away from the vehicle, leaving the girl on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I think we need to talk" Daryl muttered, watching how the car disappeared.

Daryl rekindled the little fire he had lit up. He watched Ellie devouring at full speed her part of the squirrel while he had barely started it. She really must be hungry, but it didn't surprise him, judging by how visible her column was even through the shirt. Despite how many questions he wanted to ask her, he refrained himself and let her eat. When she started licking off her fingers, he started:

"Who are those guys?" he asked cautiously. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and cleared her throat.

"The White Crosses" she answered.

"You know the two of the car?" she nodded.

"They're captors. There's a lot more, but they are kinda run it. The tall one, with the jean jacket, that's Lewis, and the other one's Reagan. Lewis looks more human, but he's just like the others".

"Captors?"

"Yes. They kidnapped me a few weeks ago".

"I supposed it from the look on your face".

"You'd be like that too, if you knew what they're capable of. I used to believe that those things were the monsters, but… they're not. Not really".

Daryl forced himself to drink water to calm down. If she was telling the truth (and she didn't have a reason to lie) those guys were animals. And she had ran way, but Beth…

"What the hell they want? What happened?"

"My brother and I, we were with a group. There were twenty of us. One night, a herd of the things appeared from nowhere and… then we were just eight. And then it was just my brother and I, with no food, no water. We were about to use the last two bullets we had when we saw the train tracks" her voice cracked.

"And you saw Terminus' signs".

"Yes. It was like a fate thing" Ellie wiped her tears; "Matty and I decided that it was worth the shot. We started following the signs, and things were good for the first time in a long time…"

Her voice quivered again and she started sobbing silently. Daryl didn't push her. She was just a scared child in a world where she had no one who could protect her. Ellie got rid of the tears again and breathed deeply, trying to regain control.

"One night, I woke up suddenly. I knew something was off. There was no fire, and I couldn't find Matty. Then I heard him screaming. I didn't even think about it. I started running like crazy, looking for him. You know, I wasn't considering the fact that one of the things could hear me, so of course I didn't think that someone could. I just wanted to find Matty. I couldn't stop calling him, but he wouldn't answer. And then I got to the road. I saw Matty laying on the ground, and a man in front of him, and then a car blinded me with its headlights. I wanted to run away, but… I froze when I saw the blood".

She paused and inhaled again. Daryl saw how her hands shook when she pulled a strand of hair from her face.

"It's all a big trap" she muttered, "There's no sanctuary. There's no community, there's nothing, just… death".

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. Even remembering it, Daryl could see how much it affected her.

"What happens there?"

Ellie huffed lightly.

"The question is: what doesn't happen there? The White Crosses, the captors, the signs, the train tracks… everything's the same thing. Everything's managed by those two…"

"Who?"

"The real monsters" she whispered, piercing him with her amber eyes. Daryl's blood ran cold, "The memories are confusing from there. They drugged me a lot. They got me naked and dragged me to some kind of… observation room. They made me lay down on a metallic table. I wanted to talk, or move, but I was paralyzed. I could hear them talking, I could feel the cold of the table, but I couldn't do anything to resist. I was so scared that I cannot even remember what they were saying".

"And after that?"

"I woke up in darkness. Dehydrated and dazed. I could hear girls crying; whispers, but I couldn't see anything. I dunno how long I stayed there until she arrived".

"She?"

"She said her name was Mary. She came in and told us that we didn't have to be scared but proud. That we had been chosen to collaborate. She told us that if we followed the rules and adapted, we could be part of the Greater Good. I didn't understand what she was talking about. I just wanted to get out of there. And then they made us all go outside. We were all in our underwear, not caring one bit if we froze. They made us stand up and asked us our names and age. She slapped the ones who cried. She said that clothes, food and everything were a privilege, not a right, and that we had to earn it with merits, not with tears. Then they sent us again to that kind of building where they kept us. There were no windows so I didn't know what time it was. I lost track of time. I was scared because I thought they'd let us starve to death, but then that woman appeared again and called four of us. We went to some doctor's office… they… started asking awkward questions, they made us pee in a cup. Like… they knew what they were doing".

"What kinda questions?"

"If… we'd already had our first period" he saw her flush, "and when it was, and when the last one was, and… if we were virgins, and with how many boys…"

She stopped, totally blushed, and Daryl didn't push her.

"What happened after?"

"They injected us something. Then they made us go to another room, one by one. We had to lie down in some weird thing with our… with our legs spread" she whispered, "I didn't cry, not like the other girls. I didn't cry when they injected me that or when they started looking at me like I was some kind of… animal. I didn't even cry when that woman came to me and told me that they had killed my brother and they'd kill me if I didn't obey them. She feared me" a bitter smile appeared then, "I know it because she came to me only to threaten me. The rest of them were already willing to do anything, but I wasn't, and Mary knew. Matty always said that I was the most stubborn girl ever, and he was so right. Then they gave us like… nurse uniforms and took us to another place that had windows".

She stopped when a walker appeared and fell against the ropes. Daryl stood up and put him down quickly. Ellie seemed a bit confused, like she was far from there, still in Terminus, but she nodded nevertheless when he gave her a look to continue.

"We helped the doctors. We cleaned up vomits, or blood, or anything, we stitched up… whatever they ordered us. Mary disappeared and another woman dressed with a cop uniform started watching us. She seemed so nice. She was always smiling and being polite to us. She didn't slap anyone for crying, but I noticed how the ones who cried the most were the firsts in disappear. I don't know where they took them. I just… obeyed and stayed quiet. That's how I learnt so many things of that place".

She stopped again, gesturing to the water bottle. Daryl handed it to her and she took big gulps, probably tired from being talking so much. It looked like the more she talked the more courage she gained.

"I'm not sure what else they have, but the White Crosses are like the medical part of Terminus. They get supplies for the doctors, they look for young girls".

"Why do they want young girls?"

"How many girls of my age do you think that are alive right now?"

"Not many" Daryl admitted.

"How many virgin girls do you think are still alive?"

Daryl went still. Ellie smiled, but there was no joy behind it.

"They're so convinced they'll find a cure that they want to avoid extinction… and boredom. It took me a while to understand why they chose us to help the doctors. It was because… we're virgins. I'd been there for two weeks when one of the girls appeared. She had been there longer than me, and she was like a nurse too. She was bleeding so much… she was pregnant, and she lost the baby. The doctor called Mary and told her that the girl wasn't worth it, that she couldn't have children. I saw them burning her body. Once she couldn't give birth, they let her die" her eyes were glassy again, "She was fifteen".

Daryl felt the squirrel wanting to come back to the outside. Questions were stuck inside his throat, and he just couldn't ask them. Ellie sniffled.

"Girls are like… cattle. They drug them sometimes and they control them. The ones that aren't virgin are used for different things, but if one of them is pretty they… use her. They send the virgin ones to the hospital. Mary used to classify us: who's obedient, who's older, and who's prettier. I didn't realize because girls were changing all the time, and if one of them got pregnant she disappeared. When that girl appeared, I…" she gulped, "Two days later, they found me overhearing a conversation. Mary said they had to discipline me. The day I ran away… it was the same day a man claimed me".

Ellie stopped immediately, and Daryl felt relieved. He didn't want to know what had happened. He didn't want to know if a man much older than her had forced a kid to undress and do whatever the hell that fucker wanted.

"It was late when two girls came to me to clean me. They made me go to another room and forced me to take off my uniform again. I didn't know what to do. They had locked the door and there was no escape. I was freezing because my hair was damp and made me shiver. I was trying to climb to a tiny window when a man appeared. He was drunk, and he smelled like he had drunk a whole liquor store on his own. He walked like one of those things… he approached me and he tried to take off my underwear, but I bit him. He got angry and tried to slap me, but I moved and he tripped. He hit his head and stopped moving. I took his keys; I opened the door and got out of there. I can't remember how, I just did. I cannot remember you saving me either" she looked at him again, tears falling freely, "So now you know. It's all a big trap. And everyone buys it".

The night was clear. Temperatures had stabilized a bit, so Daryl refused to take their own blanket and he lay against the trunk of a tree. Beside him, Ellie was sound asleep.

He was repeating Ellie's words over and over again. It was hard to believe that it was true, but he didn't know why: people were that sick even before world went to shit. Maybe the fact that Beth was there made it more difficult to assimilate. He couldn't imagine her being in such an awful place, surrounded by people who tortured her to get what they wanted from her. Something came to his mind: Beth, sitting on a bed, just on her underwear, waiting with fear for someone to come in and…

He clenched his teeth. His sight turned red just from thinking about it. No, he'd kill anyone who tried to touch her. She was something too good and pure to harm her. They'd had to be really stupid not to see that. Beth wasn't a piece of meat. She wasn't cattle. They couldn't have touched her. They couldn't.

He heard Ellie stretching slowly. She turned around and faced him.

"I couldn't remember the last time I slept with one eye open" she muttered.

"Me neither".

"You've been awake for long?" Daryl shook his head, "Don't tell me you haven't slept yet".

He didn't answer.

"Daryl" it was the first time that she said his name, and it felt weird, "you need to sleep".

"I slept enough yesterday".

"You're just gonna get yourself killed".

"And that'd be tragic, wouldn't it?" he replied bitterly. Ellie didn't respond. She just stared at him, "Quit that".

"Why were you running after the car?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"You heard me. You should've seen your face. It was like you'd seen a ghost".

"Well, you don't find alive people every day. Not anymore".

"You can't lie, you know that?" she giggled. Then, her face turned serious again, "No one would react like that, and no offense, but you don't look like the sociable type. Something happened. You'd already seen them".

"And what if I'd already seen them?"

"Who did they take?" she whispered. She straightened up when Daryl tensed, "You don't have to tell me, it's evident. I wasn't sure when you started running, but then you made me tell you everything. They took someone you cared about".

Daryl looked at her.

"I may know her" she added, "I might have seen her".

"Don't think so. You said girls were always changing".

"So I wasn't in the wrong when I said they took someone" Daryl realized he had talked too much, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone".

"You should go back to sleep".

"But I-"

"Sleep" he repeated harshly.

"Suit yourself" she countered, offended. She turned her back to him and shifted in the hard ground.

A couple of minutes passed by until Daryl huffed, giving in. What could he lose for asking?

"Beth" he muttered. He thought that Ellie had already fallen asleep again, because she didn't answer right away, but then she turned slowly, "She's alive?"

He noticed Ellie's glassy eyes before she nodded energetically. And suddenly, he felt his eyes burning.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!