Beth woke up to the birds chirping. And for a moment she thought she was sleeping out under the stars with her Shawn and Maggie back when they used to pretend to go camping in the backyard. She stretched and sat up and saw Daryl sitting against the tree across from her, widdling a stick down to a sharp point with a pocket knife.
"Morning," he said.
"Good morning," she looked around and remembered the previous night's events. "Have you been sitting against that tree all night?" she asked. He nodded, not looking up from his work.
"Kept watch," he said.
"All night? You didn't sleep?"
"Nope," he said.
"You could of woken me up I would of taken over a shift." He shrugged and said
"You needed your sleep." She rolled her eyes and said
"Got any breakfast?" He picked up a cooked squirrel from his bag and handed it to her. She dug in, not caring if she looked like an animal. All they'd been eating was cold soup and as much as she disliked squirrel it was cooked meat. "What are we doing today?" she asked.
"Walkin'," said Daryl.
They were on the road a half an hour later. It was hot out again and the sun still hadn't risen to its highest point. The grime and sweat from yesterday still was on Beth's skin and she felt gross. This time she walked behind Daryl because she didn't want him seeing how bad she looked. As much as she missed Judy and wished she could of found her she knew a baby would easily perish out in this kind of heat. All she could hope for was that someone had grabbed her and that they had found a nice safe place to stay. She hoped if she did find her that she'd remember her. She had just started trying to say her name. Beth smiled, remembering how she would moved wriggle excitedly in her little highchair when she saw her coming. She'd call her 'Bet', unable to pronounce the 'th' sound of her name. She saw Daryl looking back at her
"Whatcha smilin' about?" he asked.
"Thinking about Judy," she said.
"I'm sure someone grabbed her," he said. "They wouldn't leave 'er behind."
"I don't know," she said, "Everything happened so quickly." She suddenly felt angry. "Why didn't we have a better evacuation system or at least a designated place to meet."
"Never got that far," said Daryl, "All we had was the bus to take people out." Not wanting to think about it anymore, Beth took the last sip of her water.
"Can we find a place to fill up?" she asked.
"Ya, I'm out too," he said.
They found a big lake and Beth instantly looked out for cottages or docks but she couldn't see anything on the opposite shore, however there was a boat half sunken in the water, its bow sticking up diagonally. She watched as Daryl leaned over and filled up his bottle. It would be a great moment to clean off. She debated the pros and cons in her head. She wouldn't strip down naked, just to her undies. But how would Daryl react? And how would she build up the courage to take her clothes off in front of him? She started while his back was still turned. First she took off her shirt, revealing her light pink bra. Then her shorts and shoes. She ran into the water, completely shocking Daryl and soaking him. She sunk down into the water, laughing as he stood up, looking annoyed.
"What the hell you doin'?"
"Going for a swim," she said, "I feel so gross and sticky." He shoke his head at her and saw her clothes piled on the ground and said
"Get your naked ass outta there before I come in and drag it out." She laughed and said
"Go ahead."
Daryl's face felt hot. She was really pushing it this time. Either way this was going to end badly for him. If he went in there and tried to drag her out he'd have to put his hands on her bare body. If he waited for to come out he'd watch her walk out of the water, soaking wet in nothing but a bra and panties. She watched her go underwater and come back up, rubbing her fingers through her hair, getting clumps of dirt out.
"I'm gonna turn around and give you five minutes to come out and get dressed," he said. She just laughed at him and continued on with what she was doing. He turned around and went and sat on a rock, waiting for her. A small voice in his head kept telling him to go join her and show her whose boss but his logical thoughts quickly squashed it down. He took a quick peek behind him and saw her swimming out further.
Beth pulled herself onto the bow of the boat, sitting at the top. She looked down and could see as far as the glass windshield before the rest of the boat disappeared under the water. Daryl still had his back turned to her. Part of her was glad he wasn't looking at her but the other side wanted him to watch as she laid out in the sun, half naked. She felt a shot of excitement when he turned around. She waved at him and called out
"Come on over!" He turned back around. She smiled and looked back down in the water. She wondered if there was anything valuable in the boat. Anything they could use as a weapon. She slowly slipped down the side, her feet pressed against the glass. She slowly pushed herself up so she was standing on it. Then she heard it crack. She stood there for one terrifying moment and then she fell through the glass and plunged into the water below. Glass pierced her sides and legs, cutting her open. Screaming, she tried to lift herself out of the metal frame when something grabbed her foot.
Suddenly a scream broke the air. He whipped around to see Beth in the water, stuck inside the broken frame of the boat.
"Fuck!" He quickly took off his shirt and ran in. Fear gripped his heart as he swam towards her.
"It's got my foot!" she said. A moment later he saw a disgustingly water-logged walker rise up above the surface and wrap its arms around her shoulders. It's jaws snapped at her as she restrained it. The horrible bloody image of it taking a bite out of her delicate shoulder made him feel sick. He pumped his legs faster and reached the boat. He pulled his knife from his belt and quickly stabbed the walker in the head. He didn't see the full damage until he lifted her up out of the frame. Her legs and waist were sliced up, bits of glass sticking out of body was covered in blood.
"Goddamit Beth," he said. He held onto her with one arm and swam back with the other. He laid her out on the rocky shore. She was awake and breathing but loosing a lot of blood. She was in shock, her blue eyes wide open. Her tried to stay calm as he checked her over. The wounds were deep, especially a long one running down her right side by her rib cage. A simple bandage wouldn't change anything, she needed help. He picked her up and held her close in his arms. He ran back up to the road. There had to be a town or something close by, they' been walking for miles without seeing anything.
The world seemed to be fading in and out. She felt Daryl holding her. He was running, and she heard him whisper
"Gotta get you help darlin', just hang on for me." She was numb and despite being in Daryl's arms she felt like she was floating. Was she dying? She thought about her daddy, Shawn and her mom. Would she see them soon? She heard her father's voice in her head, reading the Bible verses. She thought about when she was little. He would tuck her into bed, kiss her goodnight, and turn on her little rainbow nightlight so she wouldn't be scared of the dark. She remembered the feeling of safety and security, lying in a warm bed, knowing her parents were right down the hall. It would never be like that again.
He kept running. There had to be something up the road somewhere. She felt her go limper in his arms. He looked down to see her eyes fluttering shut.
"Come on Beth," he said, "Just last a little longer." Her soft skin was slippery with blood. It soaked his clothes. He wished he could take her pain away. That he could somehow take all of it upon himself. If she died that would be the end of it. He had always been a loner but living with her for the past couple of weeks had changed him. He needed her to stay with him. When he heard a low rumbling sound he stopped and listened. It was definitely a car. With a new sense of hope he ran faster yelling
"Help! Somebody help!" His prayers were answered when he saw a car further up the road coming their way.
"Stop! Please stop!" The car came up to him and came to a halt. He held his breath as he waited for the driver to get out. He hoped to God that they would help. His jaw dropped when he saw who had stepped from the car. It was Carol.
Uh oh Carol's in the picture now lol I thought it would be interesting to have her come back. But don't worry this is definitely NOT a Caryl story. Thanks everyone for your continued support and reviews :)