Beth hadn't known what to expect when she threw herself in the path of a bullet. Whatever she had imagined wasn't anything like what she felt. Her ribs ached and it felt like there was a heavy weight on her chest making it hard to breathe. She didn't really want to open her eyes because she was positive once they were open she would see her injury and then the pain would finally hit her.
"What the hell were you thinkin', Beth?" a voice grumbled from above her.
Beth's eyes flew open at the question. She recognized that voice, but she wanted visual confirmation. Holy shit, it was him, the body that was currently pushing her into the ground was Merle.
"How'd you get here, Merle?" She didn't recall seeing him in her vision, but then again sometimes the visions left out small details.
"Answer my question first. Do you know what Daryl's gonna do when he finds out ya jumped in front of a damn bullet, kid?" Merle was definitely not pleased with her actions and his tone showed that.
Beth bit her lip as he rolled off of her. Before she could even give a genuine response she saw the young boy from her vision on the ground. Her heart broke when she realized that Merle had prevented her from taking the bullet. She crawled over and started crying when she saw his ashen face.
It wasn't fair. Why would she get these stupid visions if she couldn't even stop them from occurring? But when she checked the boy's heart she realized Merle knocking her out of the way also moved the boy so the bullet struck his stomach instead of his heart. She could heal him. She could prevent his death.
She just needed to get him back to farm so she could give him a concoction of her lotus tree bark. She needed him to stay unconscious for her magic. She knew it wasn't pleasant for Daryl or Merle when she healed them and she wasn't sure it'd be any better for someone without some affinity to the Gods.
She was preparing to bark out orders to Merle to help her get this boy back to the farm when she felt utter darkness enter their clearing. She wished two men hadn't shown up at the same exact time so she could gauge who would even carry that darkness inside of them.
After two men entered the clearing another two men followed behind with three women and a little girl. Merle pushed Beth away from the boy and behind his large frame.
"Beth, you fucking run until you cross that barrier threshold," Merle growled.
His tone only got like that when he sensed danger.
"Merle, we have to get that boy back to the house. I can fix this, I can save him." Beth wasn't above resorting to begging. She needed to save this boy more than anything.
"For fuck's sake, girl. Daryl's already gonna be pissed you left the barrier. Want to bring strangers in too?" What Merle said made sense. It didn't really matter though because Beth knew what needed to happen.
"If you don't bring him back to the house then I'll just go ahead and heal him out here." Beth had never been so defiant in her life, but this was the moment. She was going to change the destiny of her vision.
Merle glared at her, but their little argument was cut short when one of the women screamed.
Beth would never forget the sound of that scream. It would probably haunt her dreams later on. The brunette that had screamed pushed past everyone and was holding the little boy to her chest.
"Ma'am, let Merle carry the boy and we can fix him up at my farm," Beth placed her hand on the woman's arm. She pushed a tiny bit of her healing into her palm to help soothe the woman's frayed nerves. She hoped maybe the added touch would push the woman to let her heal her son.
"Please, just save my baby." She begged Beth.
Beth sucked in a breath and nodded over to Merle who lifted the boy into his arms. It was in that moment she noticed Merle was missing his left hand. Just what in the hell happened in Atlanta? It didn't matter once she was finished with the little boy she'd heal Merle's hand and all would be right again.
The trek back to the farm took less than five minutes. The people remained silent, but that didn't bother Beth. She needed to figure out a game plan for back-to-back healing sessions. Daryl was going to be so pissed at her after she finished both. She could only hope he'd wait to pout until after she finished.
"Merle, put that boy in the guest bedroom, now." Beth told him as they reached the porch. She watched as he ducked inside. She couldn't hear Daryl's voice so she assumed he left to track her. Good, that gave her some time to begin healing.
"Look, I don't know any of you, but stay on the porch until Merle comes to get you." Beth didn't like being bossy or to take charge, but she needed to protect her home before she let these people in.
She ran to the kitchen and pulled out an old jar filled with salt. Not the stupid store bought kind, but genuine salt. She grabbed another jar of brick dust. The reddened clay had already been charged with an old incantation her father's friend Michonne had taught him. She poured the two jars into a bowl and stirred the concoction. She poured it under the rug directly against the door and added it to all of the windowsills. She saved the last, small amount for the bedroom she would be healing in.
She ran up the stairs. The guest bedroom had cabinets filled with everything Beth would need for the healing. She pulled out the bark from the lotus tree and put it in a kettle. She turned to Merle and ushered him out of the room.
"Keep watch for Daryl, my dad, and my sister. They're bound to come back when they feel I've crossed back into the protective barrier." Beth really needed Merle on her side for this. She knew she was already going to catch several shades of hell for running off. She ducked into the kitchen and quickly boiled the water and bark. Once she was satisfied she poured it in a cup and added ice to help cool the concoction down. She knew it was going to taste disgusting, but it would help keep the boy unconscious while she healed him.
When she got back to the room the boy had opened his eyes and had begun panicking.
"Shh, your family is downstairs and I'm going to help you with that but I need you to drink this first." Beth could only hope he'd allow her to help him.
He shakily took the cup she offered and drank it. She was impressed that he finished it in two gulps. Most humans put up a huge fuss when they drank the stuff because of the taste.
She didn't focus too much longer on how well he took the drink. She started burning the white sage in the room. She needed the space to radiate positive energy before she could even consider healing him.
Healing humans was always a little bit trickier than healing those with connections to Gods or magic. Any sort of negative energy could filter in the wound as its being healed and completely shut down the person's personality.
She nervously braided her hair so it would be out of the way when she began healing the boy. She noted with dry amusement when she caught sight of her nightgown that she looked like she had been dragged through the woods. Her legs were caked in mud and the white satin of her dress had smudges of blood mixed in with a distinctive grass stain from where she had been tackled. She could only imagine Daryl's reaction. She knew Maggie would probably laugh it off and tell her she always suspected she was a wood nymph and not a daughter of Persephone and her daddy would laugh at that evaluation.
She guessed it didn't really matter how Daryl reacted as long as she saved the boy's life. She lifted his shirt when she sensed the room had been cleansed. She put her hands on the hole in his stomach and began to push her healing power through them.
It was a weird sensation to feel the bullet pull to the surface of the boy's skin. She carefully plucked it out and then put her hands back on his body. The sensation of tendons and skin knotting back together always leaves Beth a little queasy, but the result always left her feeling a little pleased, too.
She could hear yelling from downstairs as she finished up healing the little boy. She still felt a little sick, but she would fix Merle before she could lay down. That healing session should be much longer anyways. The boy only took a little over an hour to heal. Bringing back a limb that was missing completely would be much more difficult.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs she saw her family facing off with the group that had been tagging along with Merle.
The brunette woman had shifted out of a man's arms and looked Beth directly in the eye.
"Is he alright? Is my son okay?" She pleaded with her and Beth could sense the tension waiting for her response.
She knew that how she looked made it seem like she hadn't saved the boy.
"He's alright, he's in the first bedroom on the right if you want to see him." Beth told her quietly. She didn't even register the small push as the couple ran up the stairs to see their sleeping child. The rest of the group awkwardly shuffled around before deciding to join their friends upstairs.
Beth drew in a breath once that group had relocated. Daryl spun around and she was waiting for his lecture. His eyes were heavy with worry. She had to push down the guilt she felt when she looked at him. She knew she loved Daryl, but she would have hated herself if she didn't save that boy.
"Beth, what the Hell were you fuckin' thinkin'? Next time you want to have a fucking run in the woods you get me. Do you know how fucking dangerous it is out there?" Daryl rarely raised his voice. He was taciturn in nature so when he raised his voice you knew he meant business.
"Look, yell at me all you want, it won't change my actions. I needed to save that boy. If you had seen what I did then you would have followed your instincts just like I did." Beth didn't want to argue about how right she felt about the entire situation. She just needed him to understand.
Clearly, he understood what she meant because he seemed to deflate with her answer. Now he just resembled a pouting toddler that hadn't got their way. She could deal with that.
"Merle, come here and let me see your hand." Beth motioned for him to sit beside her.
She unwrapped the dirty bandages that covered his wrist.
"How'd this happen?" She was curious.
"Got handcuffed after an argument with a castor and had to cut my hand off. Rick, that boy's dad, found me and let me join 'em until I could get back here." Merle told her.
Beth was curious. She wanted to know why Merle would even bother tracking or talking to a castor. It didn't matter right this second though. She needed to fully focus on giving Merle back his hand.
When she went to push her healing powers into the stub, all she felt was a blinding pain and the world around her turned white.
The room melted into white nothingness. She realized she was standing in front of a vision of Persephone.
"Dear child, you cannot give him back what he's lost. Be careful little one. Remember there is a difference between darkness and evil. The next few months will push you to seeing this." the words were airy and floated around Beth.
The sting of the warning caught her off guard. Beth thought she already understood the difference between darkness and evil. Before she could ask what that statement even met, she welcomed back the sight of her family all crowding around her on the living room floor.
A/N: Thanks to jazznsmoke for being an incredible beta and letting me rant and rave about my research. Also, huge shout out to akiraflame for being the sweetest person on tumblr and encouraging me to write/update all my stories. I'm always humbled with the love I get from you guys!
Disclaimer: I don't own TWD or any of its characters!