Chapter 11: To You
After searching the prison for two hours Rick, Daryl, and Glenn were at a dead end. There were no clues telling them which way Liam took Beth when they left the grounds. With hours until daylight they were hesitant to leave the prison. They could handle the walkers but with Liam and whoever he was working with out there they had no idea who they were up against. "Ok so they had to go out that way," Rick started pointing to the opening they had made in the fence. "Beth either went willingly or he forced her but after that they could be anywhere in those woods."
"Yeah but if we try to figure out where we could be walking right into a trap." Daryl sighed adjusting his crossbow.
"Maybe that's what Liam and his boss are counting on." Glenn pondered.
Rick frowned, they had good points, he just needed to know Beth was ok. He felt useless just standing around while she was out there with someone who could potentially hurt her. Or worse. "We're gonna have to wait til morning. We may not know what we're up against but at least we'll have some light on our side." No matter how much he hated it he knew waiting til sunrise would be their best option.
"What are ya gonna tell Hershel and Maggie?" Daryl asked.
"I haven't thought that far yet." Rick mumbled. "But we do know Beth was alive when she left the grounds."
"And if he's using her to get information about us and the prison he needs her alive." Glenn commented.
"Yeah, but how long until he gets what he wants and just gets rid of her?" Daryl spoke. "He chose Beth for a reason. He thinks she's the easiest target. How do we know she hasn't spilled her guts just to protect herself?" Daryl didn't want to believe what he was saying but they had to explore all of their options.
"She wouldn't do that," Rick blurted, the words slipped out before he had the chance to stop them. "All I'm saying is Beth would never betray us, her family to save her own skin. And that's what I'm most afraid of." His voice trailed off, every single terrifying scenario raced through his head.
Glenn swallowed the lump in his throat. "Then there's everything they would do to try and get information from her."
Rick cringed. "We gotta find her before they get that chance. As soon as we see daylight we're going out there." He told them before heading to the cellblocks.
Struggling against her restraints Beth tried her best to loosen them but no matter how she tried her back never left the tree. Looking around she noticed the original man who had been watching her had left and was replaced with an older gentleman. With the light from the campfire she could see his grey beard reminding her of her father. Blinking tears away she knew she couldn't be upset at that moment. She had to concentrate on escaping and finding her way back to the prison. Glancing down at her jeans she realized. They forgot to take her knife away. With a small smile on her face she slightly angled her body so the weapon wouldn't be noticeable when someone stared at her. If she could just get her hand on it she could cut her ropes and slip away from camp before anyone saw her. She just had to wait until he guard turned his attention somewhere else.
Leaning her head back on the tree she heard muffled voices coming from the tent closest to her. Thinking back she remembered that was the Governor's tent. "In the morning we're gonna interrogate her. Anything she knows about the prison we need to know." Hearing the Governor's harsh voice made Beth shiver.
"What if she doesn't talk?" A voice she didn't recognize asked.
"She will, that's why I brought her." Liam chuckled. "She's the only one in that group I know will talk especially after we use some persuasion."
"Exactly so when we learn what she knows we'll attack their weak points. By tonight the prison should be ours." The Governor barked.
Putting the pieces together Beth narrowed her eyes. They were going to use her for information and then use it against Rick and the others. Now she had more incentive to get away. She knew the prison had no chance if they were ambushed again, even with all the new people they were in no way prepared to fight an army.
Turning her head she looked at her guard, he was still watching her but she could tell by the look in his eyes he was tired. 'That's good, just go ahead and nod off.' She thought putting her own plan together in her head.
Back at the prison Rick stood in the guard tower scanning the tops of the trees for the first glimpse of daylight. He had no idea what time it was but everything seemed to be going in slow motion. All he could do was hope Beth was ok. Guilt was still gnawing away at him. If he hadn't pushed her away, if he kept a closer eye on her, kept her close Liam wouldn't have been able to take her. He had been trying to repress his feelings for her for so long when she was actually gone he realized just how much he needed her in his life. Even when everything else in life seemed hopeless she always made his day better. For a long time he couldn't understand how with everything they've been through Beth could still smile, sing, and try to live her life instead of just survive it. Now he knew that was just Beth, who she was, and he needed her back.
"Rick!" A voice called from the ground below.
Looking down he saw Hershel coming towards him. Without saying a word Rick headed down to meet the older man. Judging by the look on his face Rick knew this wouldn't be a friendly talk. "Hershel I know what you're thinking..."
"No, no you don't." Hershel sighed. "For so long I've tried to keep Beth away from all this. I wanted her to remain the same sweet girl she's been since she was born." Rick could see the man's eyes well up with tears. "And by trying to keep her safe I haven't prepared her for this."
"Hershel you can't prepare someone for this. We didn't know this was gonna happen. If we could have prevented it we would have." Now Rick realized he was starting to sound like Beth, she had rubbed off on him.
"She's out there with a monster."
"And we're gonna get her back."
"How can you be so sure about that?"
The words cut like a knife and Rick knew no matter how hopeful he could be there was a possibility Beth wouldn't come back alive. "I'm not sure, all I know is I'm sure as hell gonna try and bring her back to you."
Hershel let out a shaky sigh. "That's all I can ask."
Nodding his head Rick put a hand on the man's shoulder. "It should be morning soon, I'm gonna get my team together."
Leaving Hershel he headed to the cellblocks where Daryl and Glenn were waiting. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Maggie getting her gun together. At first he was a little hesitant to bring her. He feared she would act out of rage if she saw Beth was injured or worse. "Maggie..." He started but was silenced by the icy look on the eldest Greene daughter's face.
"If you think I'm gonna sit here while that asshole has my sister you're wrong." She snapped. "I'm goin' with you."
Knowing there was no way of convincing her otherwise he nodded his head. "Ok I think we need to bring Tyreese and Sasha with us as well. They were out there in those woods for weeks before they found us. They should know the area."
"I'll go get 'em." Daryl volunteered picking up his crossbow and leaving the room.
At the top of the catwalk Rick saw Carl watching them. "I'll be right back." He told the group before walking up to his son. "Hey you ok?"
Without a word Carl nodded once. His eyes still focused on the floor below them. Leaning down Rick placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We're gonna get her back."
Carl cringed. "Yeah...I've heard that before." He mumbled.
Rick was confused at first then he remembered. Sophia. They had been in this situation before and both times the one missing was Carl's good friend. Taking a deep breath Rick's blue eyes met his son's. "I know this is hard but..."
"Dad don't, don't make promises you can't keep." Carl whispered.
He was right, Rick knew that. There were no guarantees she was coming back safe. Kissing his son's head he told them to stay close to Carol and Judith while he was gone. "I love you both." He told him.
"Yeah...love you too." Carl murmured, turning around to head to their cell.
By this time Beth's plan of escape was slowly falling apart. Her guard wasn't falling asleep and she knew the sun would rise soon. In her head she was starting to accept that she was possibly going to be killed at the hands of the Governor. She wasn't going to see her family again. She was never going to see Rick again. Biting her bottom lip the tears she had tried to hard to keep at bay had started to fall. After everything she'd been through she still wasn't strong enough to save herself. Dropping her head she began to softly pray. "Dear God, I know there are far more important things in the world that need you right now...but I need to get back to them." Letting out a shaky sigh she continued. "Please, I just need something to help me right now. Please." Whispering the last word she lifted her head up to heard snoring coming from her right.
She wanted to scream in happiness seeing her guard sleeping at his post. Acting quickly she shimmied her arm down to grab her knife. Her fingertips brushed the cool metal of the top of the knife but she still couldn't reach it. Stretching her hand around more two of her fingers grasped the handle. Taking a more firm hold she unsheathed the weapon and pointed it up. Slowly the rubbed the blade against the ropes. With the sounds of snoring urging her on she continued to cut at the rope until finally they broke apart, dropping to the ground.
As quietly as she could she stood from her spot on the ground. Keeping a firm grip on her knife Beth tiptoed out of the camp. Crouching down she kept an eye out for anyone who could stop her, stopping in her tracks every time she heard a twig snap. Taking one more look back at the camp she started retracing her steps from when Liam brought her and headed back to where she hoped the prison would be. The cool morning air made her hair stand on end, an eery fog had moved in making her feeling like something would pop out at any time. She knew not only did she have to worry about the Governor's group back at camp but walkers were still lurking around. She had heard their moans all throughout the night. Tightening her grip on her knife even more she kept moving, her eyes wide open and her mind chanting a silent prayer.
Back at camp the sun was going to rise in a matter of minutes when Liam left his tent. Knowing Beth would be thirsty he decided to be nice enough to get her a drink. After grabbing a small cup of water he headed to where their prisoner was tied up. As he approached the tree he heard snoring. When he saw the cut ropes on the ground he dropped the cup. Looking around he saw no sign of the blonde girl. "Oh shit," He growled running over to the Governor's tent.
When the leader of the group learned their prisoner had escaped he was furious. "What the hell happened?!" He snapped glaring at his apprentice.
"The fucking guard fell asleep." Liam explained his eyes fixed on the older man behind the Governor who was slowly waking up.
Stretching his limbs Dennis saw the two men walking towards him. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"I don't know Dennis why don't you tell me why our prisoner is gone." The Governor spat.
"What are you talking about? She's right over there." Dennis defended pointing behind them but when he saw the girl was gone. "I swear she was right there!"
The Governor didn't speak. His eyes were glued to the older man who started arguing with Liam. Without a word he pulled his pistol out and shot Dennis in the head. Hearing the shot made Liam jump back in surprise. When he saw Dennis' body fall he stared at his boss in shock. "Come on, she couldn't have gotten far." The man spoke putting his gun away.
Still stunned by the heartless murder of Dennis Liam followed the man he had looked up to as a father figure to the center of the camp. The gunshot had woken everyone and now they stood outside their tents still wearing their pajamas and were confused as to what was going on. "What was that?" A woman questioned.
Ignoring her the Governor spoke up. "Last night a woman entered our camp, she stole one of our weapons. She stabbed Dennis in the head leaving him to turn into a biter." Feigning sadness he shook his head. "I was forced to take care of him but she is still out there, going back to her group and telling them about us. They want what we have!"
Voices spoke up, some of them worried, others were already starting to pack up their belongings. "Shouldn't we get out of here?"
"No, we're gonna get them before they can get us. The girl couldn't have gotten far. If we get her the others don't stand a chance. They won't know about us."
"Then lets go!" A man exclaimed.
"Fan out!" The Governor commanded. When he turned around Liam stood in front of him. "What is it?"
"You lied to them." Liam whispered. "How could you lie to them like that?"
"What they don't know won't hurt them. With the whole camp looking for her, Beth will be found within the hour. Now come on," He scowled walking past the younger man.
Sunlight streamed through the trees as Beth ran. She tripped a few times, briars cutting her hands and piercing her skin through her jeans but she kept moving. When she stopped to catch her breath she could hear rustling from all around her. She couldn't tell if it was because of walkers or people from the camp. "I have to be getting close," She muttered taking off in a sprint again.
At the prison Daryl had decided to leave the fence to take care of any walkers that had been gathering around the area. Outside the cellblocks Rick stood with his team telling them what they were going to do. "We don't want a big fight. Our aim is to get Beth and get out."
"What if they want a fight?" Sasha asked.
"Then that's what we're gonna have to do. Keep a sharp eye out, we don't know who we're up against."
When everyone understood what they were about to do they started to walk down the gravel path to the big gates where Carol and Karen were waiting. "Make sure to have someone in the guard tower," Rick told the two women.
"Oh he's already volunteered," Karen answered pointing to the tower where Carl stood.
Nodding his head Rick led the group through the gates. Keeping his hand on his gun he looked around for Daryl. "Lets go," He mumbled.
Over the sounds of her breathing Beth listened for anyone following her. She was sure someone was going to jump out at her at any moment. Just when she thought she would never find her way out of the woods she saw the familiar prison fences through the trees. Picking up speed she ran through the opening almost breaking out in tears when she realized she made it home. Looking around she saw Rick and others walking through the gates. "Rick!" She yelled getting his attention.
When Rick heard his name he stopped. Turning his head he spotted her blonde hair first. Taking off in a sprint he ran towards her. His heart in his throat as he got closer. Then to his horror someone grabbed her from behind making her scream. Pulling his Colt Python out he pointed it at Liam who had his own gun pointed at her head. "Let her go," Rick spoke, his voice harsh.
"I-I can't," Liam stammered. "He'll kill me! Just like he killed Dennis!" He was close to tears thinking about the Governor's cruelness.
Beth was stunned. This wasn't the Liam who mocked her the night before. This one was a frightened boy who acted like he just got in trouble for breaking his neighbor's window with a baseball. "Yes, you can." Rick reasoned. "Let her go, and we can work this out. No one has to get hurt."
Rick could see the inner battle Liam was fighting. His hand holding the gun to Beth's temple was shaking. Lowering his weapon Rick stood in front of the younger boy. "You don't want to do this." Rick whispered.
Closing his eyes Liam dropped his gun, slightly pushing Beth towards the man. Without a second thought Beth ran towards him. When she got close enough she wrapped her arms around Rick's midsection. His eyes widened at first but almost immediately Rick responded to the hug. One of his hands caressed her head. He could feel her shaking as her hands clung to the back of his shirt. "Its ok, you're safe now," He muttered so only she could hear.
"Its the Governor, Liam brought me to him," She told him, her voice rushed. "He wanted me to tell him about the prison, about you."
Before Rick could process what she told him the first shots ran out making his blood run cold. They were close and here the couple were standing out in the open.