Warning: This chapter has a triggering scene and is a little intense.

Ch.7

It all happened so quickly that at first she didn't even know what had happened. She saw the man sneak up behind Daryl, and just as Daryl fell to the ground she let out a blood-curdling scream. The man who had the knife to her throat released her, and Beth instantly lunged toward Daryl, but was caught by strong arms wrapping around her, pulling her tight to an unfamiliar body.

"Uh-uh, you're staying with us, they'll take care of him."

She tried to break free of his grip, but the man was too strong for her. She watched as one of the men walked over to Daryl and dragged him towards a tree, leaning him up just enough to wrap rope around his wrists, binding them behind his back so he wouldn't be able to use them when he was conscious. Her view became blocked by the man who had been doing all of the talking.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't cry," he said softly, caressing her face in his hand. "We're gonna take good care of you. Give it a few days, maybe a week, and you'll forget all about him." He paused for a long second before speaking again. "Why don't you tell me your name?"

Beth didn't answer him; she was straining to see past him, wanting to make sure Daryl was alright. But any progress she had made in getting a glimpse of Daryl was lost when the man roughly moved her face to meet his.

"I asked you what your name was." His voice was hard, raspy, any trace of the fake tenderness it had before was gone.

"Beth," she said, barely audible.

"Well Beth, that's a very pretty name." He let go of her face and gestured for the man gripping her to loosen his grasp, allowing for Beth to move from his body. "My name's Eric."

He reached his arm out to grab her, but Beth backed away. She didn't want any of these men touching her. All she wanted was to get Daryl and go. But her gut was telling her that she wasn't going to get her wish, and she was terrified of what was to come.

"You just see that boys?" He said bewildered. "She backed away from me. Now isn't that a little mean sweetheart, considerin' we're gonna be taking care of you."

"I don't want you to take care of me," she spat back, shoving Eric away from her. She didn't know where her sudden bravery came from, but she immediately regretted it.

Before she knew it she felt knuckles connect with her face, forcing her to the ground. She was almost certain something was broke, and knew that a bruise was already in the process of forming. She leaned up a little and her hand went to her cheek. She rolled over to get up but was stopped by a violent kick to her ribs, and she felt the air leave her lungs.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing pushing me like that?" He screamed, giving another forceful blow to her ribs.

Beth was crippled over in pain, unable to move, curled up trying to block herself from another kick. She rolled onto her stomach, trying to crawl away, not sure of where the men were. She felt as her chin hit the ground and her arms and knees went out from under her. She didn't know what was happening, everything was fuzzy, and the noises around her blurred together.

And then the world caught up to her and she dug her fingers into the soft dirt, desperately trying to get a grip on something; they were dragging her away, someplace where Daryl wasn't. Her attempt was pointless though, because there was nothing to cling to. All of a sudden the dragging stopped, and she was turned so she was facing the sky.

She vaguely sensed something tugging at her waist and then the cool breeze on her legs. Fear jolted through her, causing adrenaline to course through her body. She began to kick and scream. A coarse hand covering her mouth muffled her screams and her kicks were subdued with body weight. Before she had time to react her shirt was torn from her body, and the hand that had been covering her mouth lifted her back and unclasped her bra.

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen; her first time was supposed to be magical, like in the movies. The boy was supposed to kiss her softly, telling her that he loved her, and then things were supposed to escalate. She wasn't ready for this. The furthest she had ever gone was a light peck on the lips with Jimmy, a peck on the cheek with Zach. She wanted Daryl to come to her rescue; he had every time before, but she knew in the back of her mind that this was different, and that Daryl wasn't there to swoop in to save the damsel in distress, but she held on to that hope until it was shattered.

She was on her stomach again, her body pinned to the ground by someone much heavier, unable to move. She felt the pain from the friction of him inside of her. The cheek that she knew had a bruise was on the ground, scraping against the dirt and little rocks beneath it with each thrust. Tears were flowing freely and she was crying out, knowing it would only fuel his anger, but she couldn't help it anymore. Eric's hands were grazing over her body, tucking beneath her and reaching towards her chest. She focused her eyes on a lone flower a few feet from her and let her mind go numb, doing her best to block out everything that was happening.

His vision slowly came back to him, and his head was throbbing. At first he couldn't hear anything, but then he could hear muffled noises. He looked around him, trying to make sense of what was happening. And then everything came back to him in a whirlwind. The muffled noises became clear, piercing his ears; it was Beth. He went to bring his arms to his front, but quickly realized that he couldn't; they were tied behind his back with what he assumed was rope. He realized that Beth's screams had quit, and he didn't know whether that was a good thing or bad. He could only imagine what she was going through.

His heart was pounding in his chest, he was enraged and ready to kill, but he couldn't. He looked around again and saw his crossbow sitting right next to him and a man sitting a few feet away. He tried to pull his hands free of the rope, but it wasn't giving.

"Where's Beth?" The man just looked at him and turned his attention back to the knife he was now holding in his hand. "You mother fucker, I said where is she?"

"Woah, woah, calm down there boy."

Daryl looked up to see the man he had been talking to earlier. But he barely paid any attention to the man when he saw the figure he had trailing behind him. It was Beth, her hair and clothes disheveled. The spark in her eyes had dimmed, replaced by a vacant emptiness. Her right cheek was a deep shade of purple and blue, and he could tell that it had been rubbed against a rough surface. He barely recognized her, any life that was there before was gone.

"What did you do to her?" His voice was soft at first, hurt, but when a beaming grin grew on the man's face he angrily shouted, trying to lunge forward. "What the hell did you do to her?"

"Let me tell you, she's good. I thought you would have gotten to her already, but I can tell I was her first. She was a little feisty at first, put up a good fight, but she mellowed out after a while; I told you she would." He turned to look at Beth, his hand lightly grazing her cheek. "I'll let her rest a little, there's a few more men who want to have their way with her, and I wouldn't mind going at it again."

He pushed Beth in Daryl's direction, and she collapsed to her knees before him, not bothering to look him in the eyes.

"Keep an eye on them. I'll be back for the girl in a bit." He started to stalk away in the direction he had just come from, but stopped for a brief moment, "Oh, and bind her hands."

Daryl hadn't even realized that her arms were limply hanging at her side. When the man came up behind her and violently pulled her arms behind her she didn't even try to wrench them away, she just let him tie her hands like it was nothing. Soon she was leaning against the same tree Daryl was. Only now did Daryl notice the glistening streaks running the length of her face, but the tears weren't there anymore. The girl had no fight left in her, and he blamed himself.

"Beth," his voice was soft, he didn't want to frighten her anymore than she already was, "Beth, are you alright?" He knew it was a stupid question, but those were the only words he could think to say. "I'm so sorry."

His words were meaningless. It was like he was talking to a wall; she wasn't registering anything he said. He had to get her out of here before they could damage her anymore, if that was even possible. His fingers were resting in his back pocket, and the tip of them brushed up against something sharp. It was the arrowhead that had broken off earlier that day. He had forgotten all about it.

Carefully he removed it from his pocket, being sure not to drop it. He positioned it in his hand, the edge pushed against the rope. Slowly he started moving it up and down, cutting through the rope a little more with each motion. It felt like it was taking forever, and he knew it wouldn't be long before that man came back for Beth. Then he felt the rope loosen around his wrists, and he unwound them, discreetly reaching his hand to his knife.

Author's Note: I actually hated writing this chapter; what those men did to Beth was horrible. That being said, I like how it turned out. Beth was finally getting back to being her old self, and now those men have taken that and so much more from her. What happened in this chapter is going to be very important for the rest of the story, for both Daryl and Beth.

Review please!