Thanks to Victoria94 for reviewing! :) More would be appreciated, I like to know what you guys think.
Candice pressed her face against the cold glass window, looking out at the snow covered ground. She backed away from the window, leaving a smudge where her face had been. She turned to her sister who was on the couch
"Are we going out on a run anytime soon?"
"Tomorrow," said Georgette, "We need more medicine and we're gonna have to go two towns over to get it, the closest pharmacy was completely out last time I went there." Candice knew supplies were scarce. Angela had explained to them when the walkers had first risen there had been plenty of shelves still stocked but it had been almost 20 years since the start and the stores had been depleted. It would take them an hour to get there and back tomorrow. Feeling cold she went upstairs and sat down on her bed, wrapping a blanket around herself. Her thoughts wandered back to the trip they had to take tomorrow. She knew Georgette was more than content to stay here forever and live safely but Candice knew they couldn't forever. Sooner or later all of the stores and shops would run out and they'd be down to nothing. The markets had long since run out and they'd been hunting and growing their own food for about two years now. Soon everything would be gone and they'd be living like cavemen. Eventually they needed to move on and find a new place to live where there was more supplies, if such a place existed. She knew nothing of the world outside of Wyoming. She had never talked to anyone other than Angela and her sister. She longed for more human contact. She lay down onto her side and pulled her legs up under her chin. She found herself dozing off and slipped into a light slumber.
He held her close. Her body was shaking in his arms as sobbed into his chest. There was nothing he could say to her. Her father had just been beheaded before her eyes, her sister was gone and they had no idea if poor little Judith had made it out alive. He could feel tears in his own eyes. Everyone loved Hershel, he been like a father to all of them. He ran his hands through her blonde hair, trying to comfort her.
"Everything's gonna be ok," he said.
"No it's not," she said, "My whole family is gone, Maggie's lost, and my dad-" She couldn't finish her sentence and burst into tears again. "Everyone's gone!"
"Hey," he said trying to get her attention, but she kept her head pressed into him. He lifted her chin up to look at him. Her blue eyes were red and wet with tears. He put on the warmest smile he could muster and said "You got me." She tightened her hug around him and said
"Do you think we'll find my sister and everyone else?" Daryl didn't want to make the girl any promises so instead he said
"I'll do my best," She buried her face back into his chest but she was no longer sobbing, just softly crying. He rubbed her back and it seemed to calm her down even more. "What we need to do now is find shelter before dark." Beth backed away and nodded in agreement, still looking distraught. "We'll have to find a road or somethin'. We need a car." He walked off towards what looked like an opening in the forest up ahead. She remained standing where she was, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. He looked back and smiled again
"You comin' or what?" Beth walked after him, not saying a word. He felt relieved when he realized he had been right and they walked out onto a road. Unfortunately, he didn't see any cars. There had to be one somewhere along the road. "Looks like we better get walkin'" Maybe if he was lucky he'd find a motorcycle since he left his back at the prison.
They walked side by side in silence for awhile. Trying to strike up a conversation he said
"At least it ain't winter, we'd be freezin' to death." She just nodded again, staring at the ground. He let out a long sigh. He couldn't blame her for acting like this. She clearly had been traumatized. He wasn't one for physical contact but he reached out and took her hand. She looked up at him with a questioning expression. He gave her hand a tight squeeze and said
"You don't have to worry about nothin' everything's gonna be ok." She looked down again, her sad blue eyes still filled with sorrow and defeat. He looked up at the road again and felt a rush of excitment when he saw an SUV sitting on the side of the road. He approached it cautiously in case of any walkers but found nothing. The car was empty. "Let's go," he said getting into the drivers seat. He was happy to see the keys still in the ignition. He turned the keys and heard the engine rev and then fail. "Come on!" he said in desperation. He turned it again and was relieved when the car started up. He was also happy to see that there was half a gas tank left. She sat in the seat next to him, still looking down at the ground, like she was in some kind of trance. He put the car into drive and started driving down the road. It was a long road and there was nothing but the forest on both sides. He looked up into the sky and saw the sun setting over the horizon. They needed to get somewhere fast or they'd be stuck on the road for the night. Suddenly Beth spoke up
"Right there, there's a dirt road." He looked over to where she was pointing on the right side of the road. Hidden by the thick foliage he could just make out the road. If she hadn't of spotted it he certainly would have missed it. He pulled off the road, feeling the car bounce as they went over potholes. It was overgrown with grass and there was no way anyone could of been down there for a long time. A house came into view, it was two stories, old and dilapidated but it was shelter. He pulled up to the front and checked for walkers. There appeared to be none lurking outside. "Stay here," he said, "I'm goin' in to check the place. I'll be back when it's clear." He made sure the doors were locked and then got out. He walked up to the door and tested the doorknob to see that it was open. He pushed it in and walked into a living room. There were two dusty couches sitting in front of the fireplace, the wooden floor had been rotted out in some places so he could see the basement down below. Before he stepped any further he tested his weight out on the boards that still looked intact. After circling the room he figured the main perimeter of the room was safe to walk on, and the small area where the couches were, but not the middle of the room. Straight ahead was an open doorway that led to a hallway with a staircase. Off to the left was another doorway. He crept over and peered inside to see a kitchen. Sure enough, limping towards him was a walker. He raised his bow and quickly shot it through the head. The kitchen looked like that of any typical American home but like the couches, covered in a layer of dust. The tiled floors seemed stable so he went and pulled the arrow out of the walkers head. He made his way back into the living room and into the hallway where the stairs where. He quickly cleared the bathroom and closet in the hallway and then cautiously ascended the stairs. The boards under his feet creaked but didn't make any splintering sounds so he figured they were safe. The upstairs hallway had four doorways. The first was a small bedroom, the second a bathroom, the third another bedroom, and the last was the master bedroom. All of the rooms had old beds in them that were stripped of their mattresses and blankets except for the master. A queen sized bed still sat at the far end. It had a thick mattress with blankets. Next to it was a couch. It would be perfect. The last place to check was the basement. The doorway leading down was under the staircase and he had to duck to avoid hitting his head. It was cold and dark and he had to swat a ton of thick cobwebs out of the way before he finally reached the bottom. As he expected he found three walkers in the basement, quickly finishing them. He quickly went back upstairs and back outside.
"It's all clear," he said. Beth got out of the car and followed him back inside. He saw her looking around the room. "It's dusty and broken down but it'll do." She went and sat down on one of the couches, sending a cloud of dust into the air. They hadn't been able to relax in hours. She spread out on the couch, putting her head on the arm rest. He took a seat on the other, watching her.
"Sometimes I like to pretend that life's still normal," she said, "I close my eyes and try to make myself believe I'm sitting on the couch in my living room back home. The TVs on and me, Maggie and Shawn are all watching it, my daddy's sitting in the room across the hall, reading the Bible, my mom's in the kitchen, everything was perfect." She was quiet for a moment before saying "Lying here makes it easier to imagine."
Daryl woke up to find himself in darkness. For a moment he forgot where he was. Then he felt the leather material under his hand and he remembered the couch. He'd fallen asleep. He sat up and looked over onto the other couch. Beth wasn't there. He heard a faint sniffling noise coming from the kitchen. It took his brain a moment to process that it was the sound of someone crying. He stood up in a hurry and rushed into the kitchen to find Beth standing over the sink. She had a rusty knife in her hand. He realized what she was trying to do.
"No!" he said, lunging forward and grabbing the knife from her. She tried to take it back but he tossed it off to the side. He held onto her as she tried to sink to the floor to grab it. "No," he said again. Tears flowed down her face again.
"Please just let me do it," she said, "I can't take it anymore." He pulled her in close . "There's nothing left to hold onto, the longer we wait the slower and more painful our death will be." She struggled in his arms again, trying to find a way out.
"Hey! Hey, calm down!" She wasn't listening to him, there was a wild look in her eyes. He took her face in his hands "Beth look at me!" he said. She finally stopped struggling against his grip. "It ain't over yet, don't give up on me. I'm gonna keep you safe and protect you. I can't do this alone."
"You should of gone with Michonne or someone as strong as you, I'm weaker."
"You ain't weak," he said, "Don't let me hear you talkin' like that. I'm glad it's you I'm here with." He felt her go limp in his arms. She had to be not only exhausted but emotionally defeated. "Let's go," he said. He carefully picked her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs. When they reached the master bedroom he set her down onto the couch. The covers on the bed were caked with dust so he ripped them off the bed and took them over onto the opposite corner of the room to shake them out. When he was done he spread it back onto the bed.
"There," he said, "The bed's all yours."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Ya, I'll take the couch," he said sitting next to her.
"What time do you think it is?" she asked. Surprised by the question he shrugged and looked out the window. The sky was clear and full of stars and a full moon. "Maybe around two judgin' by the way the moon is."
"What are we doing tomorrow?" she asked.
"We could check out the area," he said, "See if there's any other houses around, I should probably go huntin' and we should check out what's left in the kitchen."
"And we'll drive around to see if we can find anyone?"
"Ya," he said. She nodded and then yawned. She got up and crawled onto the bed, laying on her side so she faced him.
"I'm sorry about earlier, I just lost control that's all. It feels like all the walls are closing in on us." He smiled at her and said
"I'll make sure they don't." For the first time in days she had a small smile on her face.
"You promise?" she asked.
"I promise."
Not a lot of Georgette or Candice in this one but I think having the flashbacks is good too explain what Daryl and Beth went through together. The next chapter will make up for it.