The room was dead silent. Lily was trembling with fury. She pointed a finger at Daryl next and said
"THAT'S WHY HE GOT SICK! HE DRANK THE ONE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE!" They all turned to Carol now. Beth felt a creeping sense of dread. Was it true? Did Carol want to poison her? Beth expected and hoped Carol would look horrified and start to deny it but instead she had a calm and collected appearance. Tyreese said
"Is it true?" Carol picked up her steak knife and slammed it into the table, making everyone jump.
"I was so damn close wasn't I?" Beth took that as a yes.
"You were trying to kill me?!"
"No not kill you!" Carol put her hands out as if she were trying to defend herself. "Just make you miscarry. I made sure I didn't put too much in." Lizzie sat beside Carol also keeping a straight face. "Anyway none of this matters. I had a back up plan." Carol got up and opened up one of the drawers. Inside she took out a bloodstained cloth. She opened it up to reveal Daryl's bloody hunting knife. She smiled and said "Used it to kill Steve. He came looking for a reward after I had him chuck that rock at you. Wouldn't take no for an answer." She head Daryl snarl out
"How the hell did you get that?!"
"Picked the lock and snuck it from your bag the night before while you were sleeping. Richard should be on his way now. I told him I found the knife in a trash can in an alleyway. I told him I was sure you had committed the murder. He believed me. It's your knife and you would have a reason to go after him. He'll arrest you probably. He never casts out criminals, doesn't want to add to an already corrupted world." Both Beth and Tyreese were in utter shock. She had done a complete three sixty on all of them. Although Daryl was still weak he rose from the table.
"You bitch." His voice was low and gravely. He looked angrier then Beth had ever seen him. He lunged at Carol and slammed her onto the floor. Carol pulled out her knife and got back to her feet, swiping at Daryl, missing him as he darted out of the way. He called out to her.
"Beth! Go pack our stuff! Take only what we need!" Beth nodded and Lily tugged at her arm, pulling her out the door.
Tyreese stood back, holding onto Lizzie's shoulder as the fight ensued. Carol jabbed at Daryl again and got his arm, giving him a small wound.
"Shouldn't have chosen her Daryl," said Carol, "We could have been great together." He had no words left for her. He was completely disgusted. There was no going back now. He grabbed onto one of the chairs and held it up in front of him defensively. He had no weapons on him. His crossbow was back at the apartment and his hunting knife was still in her grasp. A part of him still didn't want to hurt Carol. Mainly because she was a woman and a little bit because the old Carol filtered through into his mind. The sweet Carol who was always looking out for others. But he had to remind himself that somewhere along the way part of her was lost. She was gone now and was never coming back. He wasn't in top shape either. He could feel his muscles still aching and his head was pounding as he tried to drive her backwards into the wall. Carol looked around the chair and called out
"Lizzie you remember what I told you to do in case of emergencies! Go get them from the closet." Daryl looked back to see Lizzie nod once and then take off into the bedroom, leaving a stunned Tyreese behind. Carol took advantage of the distraction and shoved him backwards onto the floor. Suddenly he heard the familiar hissing and snarling. Lizzie ran from the bedroom and a moment later, a group of walkers came out after her.
Beth and Lily ran into her apartment. She felt extremely overwhelmed. Where were they going? What did Daryl want her to take?
"How did you know she tried to poison me?"
"I saw her take it from the kitchen! Richard's on his way here," said Lily, "He'll have Daryl arrested."
"But Daryl's innocent!"
"It doesn't matter," she said, "He'll go on evidence and once Carol shows him that knife he'll be convinced it was Daryl. He knows about the fight they had a few days ago." Lily grabbed one of the empty bags by the door and held it out to her. "I'll help you get out." Everything was falling apart so quickly. She didn't want to leave this place behind. She had a future here and they were safe. She took the bag from Lily and she grabbed another one. "What do you want from the kitchen?"
"All the food you can fit in there." She opened up the bag she had and turned to face the living room. She grabbed the baby books on the table, the basket full of things Brenna had given her and all of their guns and knives.
Daryl pushed the chair to the side and was on his feet again. One of the walkers lumbered towards him and he kicked it over with his feet, still weaponless. He felt someone grab him from behind and wrap something around his neck, holding him back. He heard Carol talk in his ear.
"Richard will have you arrested," she said, "Then Beth will be alone and vulnerable." He elbowed her in the ribs and turned around.
"She ain't as weak as you think."
"She's not built for this world Daryl, without you she'd be dead. She's already dead. Something will go wrong and that baby will eat her from the inside out. Then you'll be left with nothing, all because you fell for a pretty face." He saw red, but before he could reply he felt a walker grab onto his shoulder. He was beyond pissed and he grabbed it by its neck. It lowered its head and chomped at his hand, trying to bite him. He picked it up off the ground and threw it at the table. It sent several plates smashing to the floor, along with three candles that had been in the center. Flames licked at the wooden cabinets, setting them ablaze almost immediately. He saw Tyreese busy fighting off walkers and Lizzie was watching with wide eyes. The walkers were instantly attracted to the flames and moved into them, lighting themselves up which in turn, set other things on fire as they moved into them. The situation was getting worse and worse. He heard a scream and turned to see Lizzie get bitten in the neck. Carol was across the room in an instant, screaming in agony. She quickly stabbed the walker in the head and looked at Lizzie's bite. It would no doubt be fatal. He heard Tyreese yell out for help and saw him getting piled up against the wall by walkers. Daryl quickly searched the drawers for something he could use. He grabbed a butter knife from the drawer. It wasn't sharp but it would be enough to penetrate their heads. He got to work on picking them off one by one. They had their backs turned to him as they continued to go after Tyreese. When they were all dead and lying on the floor he went to Tyreese.
"You get bit?"
"No I'm good." Daryl was suddenly aware of how hot the apartment was getting. The flames licked at the ceiling now. They needed to get out fast. Tyreese headed for the door and said "I'll go find Beth and get her out!" Daryl turned back to Carol who was holding an already unconscious Lizzie. The neck wound continued to spurt blood, covering Carol completely. He watched her put Lizzie down on the floor and stand up to face him. She was red-faced now and looked the angriest Daryl had ever seen her.
"This is your fault! It's your fault she's dead!" She took a few steps closer to him and continued to yell, repeating the same thing over and over again. A loud crack split the air and he jumped back, a large amount of burning plaster and wood falling in front of him. When the dust cleared he saw Carol lying crushed underneath a large support beam that had fallen through the ceiling. He grabbed his hunting knife from her grasp and didn't stick around any longer.
From the bedroom, all Beth took was three clean outfits for them to change into; they'd have to pick up new clothes on the road. When she came out of the room she saw Tyreese had arrived.
"Where's Daryl?!"
"He's coming," he said, "Just finishing off with Carol." Lily stood over by the window.
"He's coming! I can see him. He had some other men with him. He's walking up the road. You need to get out of here now!" Daryl burst through the door next. He was covered in sweat and what looked like ash.
"This place is burnin' down to the ground. People are runnin' outta here."
"What do you mean? Where's Lizzie and Carol?"
"Dead, the whole place got lit up we gotta go!" He slung the bags over his shoulder and took her hand and pulled her towards the door.
"You have to go out the back," said Lily, "Richard and his men will already be out front waiting." When they got out into the hallway the end where Carol's apartment had been was completely on fire. She led them down a back staircase that Beth had seen several times but had never checked out. There was a door that led outside of the town. It had a deadbolt along with several other locks to keep the walkers from getting in. Lily quickly undid them and pushed open the door. Thankfully, there were no walkers waiting for them on the outside yet. The flames would attract them to the town and they had to move fast to avoid running into them. She turned to Lily and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Thanks for everything. If it wasn't for you I'd be dead." Lily hugged back and said
"I'm gonna miss you. I'll take care of Gwen for you." Beth was going to miss Brenna and Gwen but she knew there was no going back.
"Tell her what really happened, don't let her think badly of us."
"I'll tell her." She hugged Lily one last time and then they turned and ran off into the woods. She looked over her shoulder and saw Lily pull the door shut. Another home had been destroyed for them. It seemed the moment they settled down anywhere things fell apart.
Tyreese ran ahead of her. For once she was pulling Daryl along rather than him pulling her. She knew he was still weak and recovering from the poison. He fell and pulled her to the ground with him. Tyreese stopped and turned around. She expected to Daryl get up and keep going but he remained motionless on the ground. She'd never seen him like this and it was strange and extremely scary. He always had been the one protecting her. He was vulnerable now, not her. It was a harsh reminder that he wasn't invincible like she wanted to believe. He was human and he could get hurt just like any of them. Tyreese was quick to get him up and onto his back. Beth tried to pick up the three bags that Daryl had been carrying but Tyreese took them from her, holding Daryl onto his back with his other hand.
"I can carry them."
"No," he said, "Carrying all that weight isn't good for you."
"Well at least let me take one." He gave her the lightest bag which was full of their clothes. They continued to run. Daryl remained on Tyreese's back still unconscious. The sun was starting to set and they needed to find a place to take shelter. It was cold out and they wouldn't last out in the open. Beth barely noticed her surroundings, she just stayed behind Tyreese, but when he pointed out a house she instantly recognized it as the house that she and Daryl had taken shelter in months ago, where she'd lost her virginity. She didn't tell Tyreese that as he approached the house and pulled open the door. The living room was clear of walkers and he set Daryl down on the couch.
"I'm gonna check the rest of the house, you stay here with him." Beth nodded and watched him go off into the hallway. She propped Daryl's head up on a pillow and shoke him lightly, trying to get him to wake up. He was still pale and his face looked thinner. Now that he was no longer throwing up, she'd need to get some food back into him. Tyreese came back down and said "It's all clear." He got right to work on starting a fire. Beth continued to sit with Daryl.
"What the hell happened back there?" She'd left the apartment before the fighting had ensued and she was still having trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that Carol and Lizzie were dead.
"Carol was out of control," he said, "Daryl took care of it."
"Did he kill her?"
"I don't know," said Tyreese, "I left before that happened. Lizzie set a bunch of walkers free from the closet and they knocked over the candles which caused the fire."
"How did she get walkers in the apartment without anyone finding out?"
"I don't know," said Tyreese. "I had no idea. She probably brought them up the back staircase when I was out earlier. Carol clearly knew, she was the one who told her to set them free." Beth shivered at the thought. Lizzie had definitely had major issues.
"How'd Lizzie die?"
"Got bit in the neck." Maybe in her last moments of life, Lizzie had seen how wrong she had been.
Tyreese cooked some meat on the fire and they ate. Her head was still spinning from everything that had happened. They sat side by side on the small couch while Daryl remained on the larger one across from them.
"So what now?"
"I don't know," said Tyreese, "Everything was going so good back there."
"You didn't have to come with us," she said, "You could have stayed."
"I know," he said, "But you guys are the only two I got left. I lost everyone, Karen, Sasha, you guys are my family. I couldn't leave you." It was then that Beth remembered Tyreese still didn't know the truth about Karen's death. Would he be as serious about staying with them once he knew the truth?
"Actually there's something that both Daryl and I have been keeping from you." She took a deep breath and continued. "Karen and Dave were killed by Carol." His face was pure shock. "Before the prison fell, Rick told Daryl about it. He'd banished Carol after she told him. They had every intention of telling you but the Governor attacked and they didn't get too. When you arrived at the town we figured it wouldn't be a good time to tell you. We were gonna try and see if Carol would confess it to you herself. I'm sorry Tyreese."
"I can't believe it," he said, "All this time it's been right in front of me."
"I'm sorry," she said, "We should have told you. You deserved to know."
"It's ok," he said, "I understand why you didn't. I'm just glad she can't hurt anybody else now." He looked down at the floor miserably. Beth pulled him into a hug which he returned.
"Everything's gonna turn out fine." She wasn't sure she believed her own words but they sounded hopeful.
"I just wish I knew were Sasha is. I just hope she's safe."
"I'm sure she is," said Beth, "Maybe she and Maggie are together somewhere, inside a big, warm, safe house."
Maggie sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at her feet. Glenn had gone out again. He told her now that they'd established a place to stay he needed to go out and look for seeds to build a garden. They were somewhere in southern Illinois. They'd remained in Tennessee for a bit, every so often going back down into Georgia to search for the group but they never found any signs of them. Glenn suggested they move north where it was colder and the walkers got slower in the winter. As much as she didn't want to live the area, she knew it was made sense and was a safer option then remaining in southern Tennessee. They began to search for a permanent home. Glenn didn't trust groups thanks to the Governor, so they picked out a house. They'd found the mansion and decided that was where they wanted to live. The size and number of floors would give them a lot of places to hide in. Glenn was determined to make things as normal as they had been before the turn but she knew that was impossible. She loved him with her whole heart and soul but things were so much different. It was incredibly lonely with just the two of them. She hated the quietness and was typically bored. She couldn't help but mourn her sister. Even if she was still alive somewhere there would be no way she'd find her way out in Illinois. Everyone was gone and she and Glenn were literally the only two people left for each other.
She felt a pang of nausea. For the past few days she'd convinced herself that it was the depression making her sick, that she had herself so down trodden that it was messing with her body. But she wasn't so sure anymore. She had lost track of her menstrual cycle but she was pretty sure her period was supposed to have been last week. At the prison, she hadn't been afraid. She had wanted to have a baby. But now she wasn't so sure. How could she bring an innocent human being into this world? Just so they could grow up isolated and afraid?
She heard the door downstairs slam shut and got up to go find Glenn. She walked downstairs and saw him lining bags of seed up against the wall. He saw her and came over and kissed her.
"Hey," he said, "Feeling any better?"
"No," said Maggie, "I need to ask you for something."
"Anything."
"Next time you go out on a run can you get me a pregnancy test?"
Tyreese and Beth spent the next hour talking about things they had done with Maggie and Sasha before the turn. She found out that they had grown up in northern Florida. His father had been an accountant and his mother a nurse. They were interrupted by Daryl who slowly started to wake up. He let out a low groan, shifting slightly on the couch. She saw him open his eyes and say
"Where the hell are we?"
"We're in a house," said Beth, quickly getting up and going over to him. "Taking shelter for the night."
"You ok?"
"Ya I'm fine," she said, "You're the one who collapsed while we were running." She grabbed a plate of meat and handed it to him. He immediately dug in.
"You should continue to rest," said Tyreese, "Don't need you falling again."
"I'll bring you up to the bedroom," she said, holding onto his arm as he stood up off the couch.
"You both can stay up there," said Tyreese, "I'll take the first watch." Daryl cut in and said
"I'll take the second."
"Oh no you won't," she said, "You need all the sleep you can get."
"There ain't no way I'm lettin' you get up in the middle of the night, you need sleep more than me for the baby."
"The baby and I aren't gonna be ok if you aren't there to protect us. Now let's go." She pulled him along by his arm. He looked over his shoulder and called out
"Tyreese, remember to wake me up."
"Nope, he'll be waking me up!" They continued to argue as they went up the stairs. She was glad he was back to his old sassy self.
They lay in the dark together. She lightly traced circles on his chest, thinking about their first time together. It had been in this bed. As if he could read her mind he said
"This is the house we stayed in isn't it?"
"Ya." With a laugh he said
"It's nice to be back." She continued to run her finger over his skin, the silence settling over them again. She took a deep breath, finally getting the courage to ask him.
"How'd you kill Carol?"
"I didn't," he said, "She got crushed under a burnin' beam."
"Oh."
"I'm glad she's gone," he said, "The real Carol was killed a long time ago. She's out of her misery now; wherever she is she's with Sophia." Beth wrapped her arms around him, his words bringing tears to her eyes. He held her, rocking her back and forth as she let herself cry.
Thanks DarylDixon'sLover, K. Lynn Perks, stateofgrace-xo and all the guests for commenting :) They're back to square one and on the road again.
I'm glad to see the positive response I got towards Irving :) Like I said the girls meeting him was the last subplot before they reach Georgia so it's full steam ahead now for them lol.
Thanks for reading,
Wanderlustt