Ch.4

Daryl handed Beth the half empty bottle of water and was happy when she eagerly took it and drank until it was empty. She looked like hell. He couldn't quite figure out how she had managed to get so covered in blood. They needed to get her cleaned up, and he was hoping it wouldn't take them long to find someplace to do that.

They began trekking deeper into the woods, not bothering to acknowledge each other's presence until Daryl saw something in the distance. It was big and orange, and he instantly knew what it was. They were stumbling upon somebody else's campsite. He stopped and waited, watching to see if he could see any movement. When he felt safe that nobody was there, he started forward again, making sure to keep Beth behind him and out of sight of anybody who may be lingering in the tent.

The place was deserted. The only signs that life had ever been there were the rotting food and random items strewn around. These people must have left in a hurry, and Daryl suspected walkers were the cause of their abandonment. He saw Beth reaching to look inside of the tent and quickly rushed over to her and grabbed her wrist.

"You crazy? You don't know what's in there, could be a walker. Don't even have your knife out." He looked her straight in the eyes and then let go off her wrist, gently pushing her aside; guilt bubbling inside of him as he realized how harsh his words had sounded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Don't be sorry, just think next time."

He gingerly eased the zipper to the entrance of the tent down until he could get a good look inside. The smell that wafted out of the tent made him gag, and he could hear Beth do the same. She tried to peak around his shoulder to see what was causing the smell, but he purposely blocked her view. She didn't need to see what was in there.

"What is it?"

"Nothin', why don't you gather up the things around the camp that we can use."

He looked to her and could tell that she was about to protest, but one demanding glance stopped her, forcing her to go and do what she was told. His previous assumption that the former residents of this campsite had fled was wrong, because the tent told a completely different story. One glance in the tent told him that something horrible had happened, but he wasn't sure what. Blood covered every inch of the inside, and there were bits of flesh, which he assumed to be human, littering the ground. His first thought were walkers; it made sense, walkers ate and left very little behind. But that wouldn't explain how the tent was zipped, walkers don't zip things back up.

He brushed the thought from his mind and turned his attention to Beth, who was standing off to the side, waiting for him to be ready to go. He couldn't tell if she had really found anything, but she did have a pot in her hand, which would be useful for cooking things and boiling water. He was ready to get away from this horror show.

"Ready?" she asked, looking at him anxiously.

"Yeah, let's go."

On their walk she told him that she had found a few more bottles of water and cans of food, but he could tell by the excitement in her voice that the best find was the pot, which she kept tightly clutched in her hand. It was funny how such a simple thing could make her happy. Their conversation then turned to the tent and what had been inside, but it was mostly a one-sided conversation as he refused to let her know. He was thankful when he saw two squirrels scurry in their path, and he easily took them both down.

He heard a twig break far behind them, a sound that didn't reach Beth's ears. He didn't turn around to see what it was, but with the absence of shuffling feet and groans, he knew it wasn't a walker. If someone was following them he didn't want to let them know that he was becoming suspicious, at least not yet. He was broke from his thoughts when he heard Beth speak up.

"Look! A river!"

He could tell she was excited. "Good, ya' won't have to stink no more." He let out a laugh when he saw her expression.

"Shut up," she said as she gave him a little nudge and then took off running to the water.

"Don't go in yet, I need to make sure no walkers are hidin' under there."

She stopped dead in her tracks; she obviously hadn't thought of that. It made him wonder how she had survived this long. He approached the edge of the water and was surprised to see how clear it was. He could see almost 20 feet out and didn't see any walkers.

"You're good, just don't go too far. I'm gonna get a fire started. We can boil some of the water and refill the water bottles with it. I'll cook up the squirrel too." He saw her hesitate and couldn't for the life of him figure out why she wasn't readily jumping in the water. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have any clothes to change in to, and if I stay in wet clothes I'll freeze."

He thought it over and she was right. Night would set in before her clothes had a chance to dry. "We have a blanket don't we? Wrap yourself in that 'til your clothes dry." He saw her cheeks become red. But she started heading to the water. Daryl went to start making the fire, but he positioned himself to where he could still make out her form from his peripheral vision. He wanted to be able to see if a walker grabbed her.

His thoughts started to wander as he started cooking the squirrel he had killed earlier. His mind kept bringing him back to Hershel and the conversation he had had with him after The Governor attacked the prison a second time. While everyone else was relieved, thinking they had finally won the war, Hershel was still nervous. He had pulled him aside after the Woodbury people had arrived, making sure they were out of earshot of anyone else.

"Daryl, can I have a word with you?" His voice had been calm, but Hershel always had a way of keeping himself calm, even when the worse was happening. "Now I know The Governor's gone, and he could be gone for good. But I still have to worry. I have Maggie and Beth, and I can't let anything happen to them. Maggie, she can probably do just fine on her own, she's strong. But Beth is different, she cares too deeply, her emotions can get the best of her." Daryl just nodded in agreement, not sure where the conversation was going. "I need you to promise me that if anything happens, and I don't make it, you'll keep my girls safe."

Hershel's pleading eyes had bore into him, and there was no way he could deny the man his request, so he reluctantly promised the older man that he would keep Maggie and Beth safe. He hadn't actually thought it would ever come to this. And as fate would have it, Beth was the only person he had seen after the final attack.

Author's Note: I apologize for this chapter being a bit shorter than the others, but I feel that there are a lot of clues and special moments in there. I just love the ending! I think it really explains why Daryl has been so worried about Beth, and his promise to Hershel is definitely going to play a big role going forward.

Leave a review to let me know what you think!

P.S. After writing this chapter I have the urge to write more, and soon! I'm not going to rush anything, but I may be so motivated to write that another chapter could be produced today and up sometime today or tomorrow! Oh, and I have the next few chapters roughly planned out, and let me tell you, a lot will be happening!