Sorry about the delay in getting this up, I meant to have it done yesterday but got sidelined by some bad anxiety. But here I am, and I'm very excited about this chapter! Keep a close eye out if you can and pay attention, you might spot some familiar locations in the chapter below... (I'll be honest, I'm dying to see if you guys figure them out!) Please enjoy.
The sky above had the sort of clarity that often came after a large amount of rain. It was a crisp and clear blue, just a hint of what might have been the beginnings of a rainbow in the distance where the morning sun was coming up over the line of the trees. But as Daryl stood in front of the mill shading his eyes against the sun and peering into the distance, he could see more clouds marring the line of the distant horizon. They had put off leaving the mill for two days after the clouds he had seen on the day of their deer hunt had approached, bringing with them a day and a half of rain. Already he could tell that more autumn rain was approaching, but there wasn't much they could do about it. If they sat and waited it out, who knew how long the rain would last, or how many storms might follow in it's wake.
They'd had the discussion last night of course, and Daryl could still remember the slightly longing look on Beth's face, dimly lit by the glow of the solar powered lamp as she'd glanced around the Mill. In the end they'd agreed it was better to head out now rather than wait; they had the clear weather for at least a day, they had a large supply of venison jerky and canned food and several bottles of clean fresh water.
Still, as he stood outside the mill and settled his bow against his back, he could sense a hesitancy in the woman beside him. When he looked over at her that hint of longing was on her face again, hazy in her eyes as she glanced back at the mill as if drinking in the sight of it one last time.
Sensing the weight of his gaze on her, Beth looked back at him and exhaled a soft sigh. He didn't say a word, but the unspoken question must have been in his eyes because after a moment she just shrugged. "I don't know, it just… feels a bit like I'm saying goodbye, or something." Her gaze drifted behind them again to where the worn boards of the mill, visible between the gaps in the thick green kudzu, were illuminated by the sun filtering over the line of the trees. "It was a good place, you know?"
Following the line of her gaze to the mill behind them, Daryl looked it over slowly and gave a low hum of agreement. It had been good, he supposed. Strong and sturdy, it had kept them safe from a herd of walkers, a rain storm, and more. It had also kept them warm, and contained night after night of Beth's melodious voice reading from one of their books, or Beth tucked against his side sleeping… or Beth kissing him in the heat of the moment after his narrow escape from the herd.
"Will you remember?" Her question made Daryl blink and squint over at her, his brow furrowed until she went on, "Where it is, I mean." She hooked one thumb in the loop of her jeans and scuffed her foot on the ground. "Will you remember where it is? Just in case… I dunno, just in case we wanna come back here some day?"
Oh.
Daryl took a moment to look around once more; not just at the sturdy old mill with it's clouded old glass windows glistening in the sunlight, but the matted grass that surrounded it and the line of trees that circled the clearing. It was a good place for more than just the memories. If they ever needed a place to stay, this place could be good. It could be defensible, even. For now, he and Beth needed to move on, but if they ever decided to stop moving…
He nodded firmly as his eyes met hers, his voice gruff but honest as he murmured, "I can. And I'll show you how, too. Right now." As Beth came up right beside him with that focused look in her eyes that she always got when he was teaching her something new, Daryl began simply, "First, you're gonna pay attention t' where the Mill is in relation to the sun. It rises over there every morning, right? Which means that way is East…"
The plan was to make their way towards the railroad tracks and then once they found them, to walk parallel to them through the woods at the side, both of them having agreed that walking directly on the tracks was too dangerous and too much exposure. Of course the goal was to get to Terminus eventually, but in truth they were in no rush. Daryl knew as well as Beth that when they got there it would no doubt be swamped with walkers, and neither of them had any desire to catch up with the herd or any stragglers they might find along the way.
Still despite the risk, they knew they needed to stay near the tracks. For his own part, Daryl was torn between knowing it was important to look for signs from their family and also dreading finding any at all. The last signs they'd found, written so callously by Maggie, had hurt Beth in a way he didn't want to see again. They'd hurt her in a way she didn't deserve; the way no one deserved really, but especially not Beth.
Maybe that was why he subtly positioned himself to her left, closer to the tracks as they walked, perhaps hoping he'd see any signs before she did. He knew it was likely she'd see any signs he did, but he couldn't help his desire to shield her. It wasn't because he thought she couldn't handle it; she could. She was so goddamn strong he was pretty sure she could handle anything. Maybe it was that he couldn't handle it; couldn't handle seeing that look in her eyes, all dim and cold with betrayal and hurt and pain. Couldn't bear remembering how she'd broken down that first time, crumpling in on herself until he came up behind her and held her until her body stopped trembling.
(Maybe it was that he'd do anything in the world to stop Beth from getting hurt. Physically, emotionally, it didn't matter. He'd use his bare hands to claw whatever threatened her to shreds, if it came down to it.)
They had yet to see a single sign so far, at least, but that wasn't the only thing they were keeping an eye out for. Despite the number of supplies they'd collected from the farmhouses around the mill, not looking for supplies was never really an option they'd have considered. Was it ever really, in the world they lived in? Maybe if you didn't care about surviving. If you cared, though, looking for supplies was pretty much an constant endeavor. So both of them kept their eyes out for anything along the way, including any buildings they might be able to search, though so far they had been unlucky.
Beside him Beth walked only in relative quiet; every once in awhile he'd hear a hum flitting through the air, growing louder for a moment when she'd catch his eyes in a smile only to fade away a few moments later. It rose and fell casually, accenting their pace in a way that seemed as natural an accompaniment as the chirping of birds in the nearby trees or the rustle of leaves in the breeze.
He was just about to ask her what the latest song was that she'd been humming, when he caught sight of something different in the landscape ahead. Instantly his posture shifted, shoulders straightening, brow furrowing as he moved closer to the tracks at their left and peered into the distance.
"What is it?" Beth's humming trailed off instantly as she came up beside him.
Her gaze was fixed on him rather than the tracks ahead, at least until he nodded into the distance and grunted, "You tell me."
Following his gaze, Beth turned to follow the line of the tracks, rising up to peer into the distance to the gap in the trees. "Need me t' lift you up so you can see?" Daryl couldn't seem to resist the teasing words that slipped from his lips, nor the little smirk that accompanied them.
But it seemed that his instincts with Beth were getting better, judging by the smile on her lips as she glanced over her shoulder at him and retorted, "No! I'm not that short…" Despite the defensive words, he didn't fail to notice the way her gaze strayed briefly to his hands, nor the flush that pinkened her cheeks for a few seconds before she turned away.
Focusing again on the tracks ahead visible through the trees, it only took a moment for Beth to spot the difference in the landscape up ahead, the hint of darker stone standing out against the green of the trees. "A bridge?"
Daryl nodded. "Mm. Somethin' beyond it, too. Maybe a train station? Probably picked over by now, but…"
"It never hurts to check?" The wry twist to Beth's lips was a hint at how many times they'd said or thought that in the past, and it had Daryl chuckling softly as he gave a little nod.
"C'mon," he remarked gruffly after a moment, turning back to the woods. They stayed within the trees until they neared the bridge, only then veering cautiously back towards the tracks. Though everything seemed quiet, neither of them were taking any chances. As he unslung his crossbow from his back he glanced over to see that Beth already had her knife in her good hand as she cradled the other one close to her stomach. He should have known she'd already be prepared.
They edged their way under the bridge, the shadow of the concrete above them flitting over their bodies as they moved slowly past the tall columns that supported it and made their way down the train tracks. They saw no sign of movement, but as they came out from under the bridge they passed by the corpse of a female walker nearby on the ground by a small railroad sign, her crumbled body curled almost in a fetal position and her long dark hair hanging across her rotted face. Daryl paused to crouch down beside it and examine the body, but there wasn't much point. Given the decomposition of walkers, it was damn near impossible to tell how long ago it had been killed. "Somethin' to her head," he remarked to Beth as he rose from a crouch beside the body. "Can't tell what, but it don't look like a knife, anyway." People used all sorts of shit as weapons these days, anyway. Anything sharp and pointed could get the job done.
After a moment he grunted and then nodded up ahead to the building sitting on top a platform on the left side of the tracks. It was long and narrow, the walls made from or covered in corrugated gray metal that was stained red with rust from the Georgia rain. Trash was scattered everywhere across the ground and sticking to the trees, blown in from storms and windy days to cling there now, with no one to clean it all up. Old car tires were propped both against the platform and on top it, lining the metal walls around the double doors that lead inside, but still they saw no movement.
They moved slowly and carefull stilly, scoping out the surroundings and peering around the side of the building to make sure there were no walkers (or people) around. Only then did Daryl nod his head towards the steps, and with a grunt he began to lead Beth up the platform and to the old double doors. He had thought the place was some of kind of train station, but there were no ticket booths on the outside that he could see, no benches for people waiting to get on or for someone to get off. So when he opened the doors and the light from outside streamed into the space, he was only half-surprised to see the contents.
It was a large, open room, with concrete floors and the same corrugated metal walls. Windows high up lit the place somewhat, despite them being somewhat coated in dust and dirt from years of no one paying them any attention. Still it was more than enough to illuminate the contents of the vast space; several old and junky cars, one with it's hood popped and another with an old tarp on the ground beside it, as well as a junky truck that looked like it might have once been a light blue. They were all arranged amidst large tool cases and other machinery that was all familiar to Daryl almost immediately. It was some sort of auto repair place.
A hummed 'huh' was his only comment for the moment as he made his way inside, bow raised and at the ready as Beth followed behind him and carefully shut the door. There wasn't a single walker in sight, but it only took a look down to see they weren't the first people to come inside. "Look," he grunted, jabbing his bow at the ground in emphasis.
Coming up beside him, Beth peered down at the dust-covered concrete. After a moment she reached in silence for the lantern that hung from a hook on his back, pulling it free and lighting the switch to shed a clearer light on the grimy floor as she crouched down next to him. "Footprints?"
"Mm. What d'you think?"
At his encouragement (such as it was), Beth tilted her head in that bird-like fashion, peering down at the prints that marred the dusty floor. "They don't look like walker prints," she said after a moment, glancing up at him and then back down at the floor, "They're too purposeful." Standing above her, Daryl could see a hint of a smile twitch across the corner of her lips as she added, "I don't think it's a drunk man, either." After a moment, slightly more seriously, she added, "Or men, plural…"
As she rose to her feet again still holding the lamp carefully in her injured hand, Daryl gave a slow hum of agreement. "Definitely more'n one. Maybe three or four? Maybe more, hard t'tell, all the criss-crossing. Don't reckon they'd have found much here, unless they were lookin' for tools…" After a moment he stepped closer to one of the cars. The car was covered in dust and grime, too, but he could see fingerprints on the back handle and the window, which made him grunt again as he peered inside. "Might've spent the night here. Makes sense."
"I don't know if I'd want to," Beth murmured after a moment, turning off the lamp but holding it close as she turned in a slow circle. "Place is kinda… creepy, I think. Not sure why, though."
"What, you ain't a fan of cars or somethin'?" Daryl raised an eyebrow at her as he kept moving, peering into the back of the truck and then rounding it's side to rummage through the rusted old red tool chest that stood beside it.
"It's not that," she said with a hint of a smile, though it faded as she moved in a slow circle around the edges of the room, inspecting the shelves on one wall. "I think it's the openness and the dust and…" As he glanced over at her in the silence of her trailed-off words, Daryl watched as Beth nibbled for a moment on her full lower lip. The straight line of her teeth dimpled the soft flesh as she looked around, eyes wide but sort of distant in a dreamy kind of way that was echoed in her voice after a moment as she said, "It's feels... forgotten. Every place we go to is abandoned, you know? With the houses it's different, because it feels like… I dunno, sometimes it feels like the people have just stepped out and might come back at any moment. With the Mill, it had been abandoned so long that it kind of lost that creepy feeling, it was just an interesting old place. But this… I don't know." She shook her head. "Something about it sitting here, rusting away, all these cars with their hoods open waiting for people who are never gonna show up to fix them, everything covered in dust and the whole place filled with echoes…" A shiver went right through her, making her tremble before his eyes as she finished, "It just gives me the creeps, I guess."
Her words resonated with him, as they always did. This time wasn't on such a personal level, though. Beth just had this way of seeing things, of describing it in a way that might have been at home in a line of poetry or in one of the books they sometimes read. But rather than try and put that all into words, knowing he didn't have the same way with them that she did, Daryl just remarked, "Remind me never to take us into no abandoned asylum or somethin', then."
"Ugh." Beth shuddered. "No thank you. We can stick to abandoned mills and hunters cabins, thank you very much."
Shaking his head in amusement, Daryl just focused for the moment on inspecting the rest of the room. They weren't likely to find anything useful when it came to food or water, but at least some of these tools might come in handy… maybe. You never knew.
Beth circled around the side of one of the cars, pulling the handle on the passenger side and popping open the door. "Good thing it was unlocked, I have no idea how to jimmy these."
Her glance over at him had Daryl furrowing his brow. "What, you assuming I do?"
"I dunno." She paused for a moment, and smiled. "My brother Shawn used to know how. He was always locking his keys in the car. He used to come up and steal my wire hangers to go back down and pop the lock."
For a moment he'd tensed up again, even knowing deep down that Beth hadn't even been close to trying to insinuate something. That wasn't who she was, not intentionally anyway. He was the one with his hackles up, the one whose own issues made it habitual to assume that people were thinking the worst of him. Lately it came less often but when it did he always felt guilty, for assuming something about her that was so far off the mark.
"Merle taught me," he said gruffly after a few moments of silence. "How to pop locks like that… how to jump start a car." He hesitated between the words, but when his voice trailed off, Beth didn't say anything. Just glanced up briefly and then, with a hum of acknowledgement, went back to peering through the glove compartment of the old car.
That was another way she had about her. She always seemed to know when to ask questions, and when not to. When it was words that would draw the story out of him, and when it was silence that he needed to fill up with his own voice instead. Just like right now, the quiet seeming to pull the words out of him, "Reckon I was maybe eight, the first time. Maybe younger. Merle was eighteen or so at the time. He'd already been to juvie and now that he was legal, he didn't want t' get caught, you know? Didn't want to do time. Of course he did anyway, but that was later."
Sliding a screwdriver into his pocket, he closed the drawer of the tool storage box and moved down to the next one below it. "Wasn't actually stealin' cars, then. That came later. Used to like to just take stuff from 'em and sell it, you know? Stereos, extra cash, stuff like that. Course I didn't know it, right away. He'd get me to jimmy the locks, figured no one would suspect a kid. If I got caught, I was supposed to say it was my Mama's car and we'd locked our keys inside or somethin'. And then run."
He closed another drawer and moved onto the next as from the corner of his eye he saw Beth pull something from the glove compartment and stick it in her back before closing it. Here at the bottom of the case was a nice looking crow-bar with a pointed end that might come in handy. As he ran his fingers along the smooth metal, he finished, "Didn't really figure it all out till I was older. After he got kicked out of the army and came back from jail… he taught me how to hotwire at the local garage, you know? All his friends hung out there then, I reckon wasn't much of it on the up and up. Wasn't until we were out one night, I must've only been like eleven, maybe twelve. He got me to hotwire a car and then we went on a joyride with it… only we got caught."
Clutching the crowbar in his hands Daryl closed the drawer and rose slowly to his feet. "Merle had drugs on him. Went to jail for stealing the car, and possession. He got me out of it, though. Told 'em I was just his kid brother that he dragged along for the ride, and they believed him. I mean I guess I was, in a way. Had no idea what we was doin' was that bad, you know? Just… wanted to be cool, like Merle was. He went to jail for about a year. Didn't really come back after that. Called sometimes but never came by except for a day or two every few months."
Like that time he'd told her about, though he wasn't sure if she remembered. She'd been unconscious then, carried in his arms away from the cops he'd killed to save her. He'd tried to wake her up by telling her that story, about how his Pa had beat him and he'd called Merle, and Merle hadn't come. That had only been a year or two after the car theft incident. As a kid he'd wondered if it was his fault. If he'd disappointed his brother, failed him somehow that night and that was why Merle had run off and almost never come back until Daryl was old enough to go chasing after him instead.
But he knew that wasn't really it. It was just how Merle was. How their Pa had made him. Always running, never looking back.
"Here," Daryl said after a moment, his voice rougher than usual with the weight of the stories he was telling her. He offered up the crowbar carefully, finally meeting her eyes. She was sitting inside the car but climbed out slowly as he went on, "Could be good sometimes, when you don't wanna get as close as y' have to with the knife. Strap it to your bag, maybe, or hook it in your jeans, might work."
Though she hadn't said anything about the story he'd just told, as she reached out to take the crowbar Beth's fingers brushed against his own and lingered, curling over his hand for a few long seconds before she gently tugged the new weapon free. As she slipped it into the belt loop on her jeans, she broke the silence to say, "Messed up as it was back then… I guess it comes in handy now, doesn't it?"
Daryl furrowed his brow at her, caught between the story and the crowbar and his own thoughts about his brother's absence being somehow his fault. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, but before he could ask what she meant Beth went on, "Being able to pop the locks on car doors and hotwire them. I mean, it's not like everyone left their keys in their cars, right? I mean it's just another skill of yours that's incredibly useful now, just like hunting and tracking and being able to tell the weather the way you do…"
What was funny was that he hadn't ever even thought of it like that. How many times had he hotwired a car these last couple years out on runs and shit, and it had never occurred to him that knowing that skill all came down to Merle teaching him shit no one should've taught a kid his age?
Though he grunted in agreement, there was a hint of gratefulness in Daryl's eyes as he looked up at Beth and nodded, slowly and simply. A hint of thanks to her, for reminding him of crap like that. Making him see the connections he never seemed to notice, because the things he knew how to do didn't ever really originate from any happy sort of memories.
"Maybe you could, I dunno…" Glancing over at her where she stood by the open car door, Daryl watched as Beth scuffed her foot on the ground. "Maybe you could teach me? You know, how to pop open the locks, and how to jump start cars… if you want, anyway. It could come in handy…"
One hand holding his bow and the other stuck in the pockets of his jeans, Daryl took a step closer to her. "You think?"
"Daryl…" Her voice was breathy, her eyes all big and wide with sweetness and admiration as she went on, "If it were up to me, I'd learn everything you know how to do. I think every single bit of it is important."
The way she said that, so honest and sure… there wasn't any way he could stop how the tips of his ears got all hot again, or the way he ducked his head and cleared his throat to hide the flustered expression on his face. But after a moment he said simply, "Alright. Let's look for somethin' we can use, to practice gettin' a locked door open… We'll start with that and then maybe eventually, I can teach y' how to hotwire a car."
As he turned to the tool chest and started rustling around for some kinda thick wire or something else they could use, Daryl gave a chuckle that rumbled through his chest, and glanced over his shoulder at her to tease, "Gonna make a pretty criminal out of you yet, girl."
"Pretty, huh?" She grinned at him, and damn if the brightness of her face didn't light up this whole dusty place better than all the sun shining through them clouded windows. "Well I'm all for that, then."
After their window popping lesson and a brief stop for a lunch of venison jerky and pecans, Beth and Daryl had left the abandoned automotive train stop and continued along down the tracks. The afternoon sun was hot overhead, and the tracks arched through a series of large open fields, which meant they had little to hide under for shade unless they veered much farther away from the railroad.
After the signs they'd seen in the last building, they decided to stay closer to the tracks for now, until they reached the woods again at least. It was impossible to tell who had left those footprints back in the abandoned automotive shop. It could have been people from their group, but it just as easily could've been another group of people entirely; strangers, good or bad. He didn't think the tracks were too recent, but it was almost impossible to tell. The recent rain had wiped out a lot of the markings along the railroad tracks, especially since these were so out in the open. But if it was their group they wanted to stay close and keep their eyes out for any signs they might have come through here or might still be nearby.
Ahead of him, Beth was trying to walk perched on one of the rails, arms stretched out to her sides to keep her balance. "You ain't so bad at that," Daryl remarked from behind her, noticing the way she managed to keep her balance despite the fact that her ankle was still sore sometimes and bothering her a bit in twinges. Even injured she had a natural sort of grace to her, one that only added to the picture she painted right now, all lit up by the sun.
"I took gymnastics, you know. Only for a couple years when I was a little kid… so by gymnastics I mostly mean a bunch of kids tumbling on mats, although we did get to use a balance beam sometimes. A really low one. They used to make us walk like this-" She began to dip her foot with each step, swooping it down the side and back up with her right foot, then her left, then her right again. "I think my Daddy kinda wanted me to keep doing it, but I was more into music, you know? And Mama always just wanted me to do whatever made me happy. So she took me out of those and- oh! look!"
Breaking off mid-sentence, Beth hopped off the railing and onto her good leg first, before catching her balance. As she settled, she pointed ahead at a patch of green in the middle of the tracks. "I think that's a strawberry plant, isn't it? We used to have them in Mama's garden, in the back behind the house…"
Coming up around her side, Daryl watched as she crouched down and gently began to inspect the plant. "Awww… it looks like we missed when they were ripe. There's one on here still but it's all rotten now. Rats!" Rising to her feet with a sigh, Beth caught his curious expression and shrugged. "I love strawberries, that's all. They're maybe my favorite fruit… although blueberries are right up there, too."
His reaction was instinctive; the moment she mentioned missing strawberries Daryl began to scan the ground around them. Maybe there was another plant nearby, something she hadn't spotted. Strawberries put on runners after all and sprouted new plants. He might be able to find one, surprise her with it… but all he spotted was an old tattered candy wrapper, stuck under one of the railroad ties and flapping in the faint breeze. The writing was smeared from all the rain and exposure to the elements, but he was pretty sure it was an old Big Cat chocolate bar wrapper.
"How about chocolate?" He asked with a smirk, gesturing with his foot to the wrapper that rustled in the breeze.
"Don't get me started," Beth shot back with a grin and a laugh. "If I start thinking about how much I miss chocolate, you won't hear the end of it all day. C'mon…" She hopped back up onto the rail and began to walk again, eyes looking ahead to the distance where the tracks merged back into the woods once more. "I'd rather focus on getting back into the shade. Maybe we can find a stream, get some cool water… Lord, that'd be nice."
He knew what she meant. They had plenty of water in the bottles in their bags, but it'd be nice to find some running water, nice and fresh and cool, to maybe splash on their faces too.
So listening for running water got added to the mental list in his mind as they continued to follow the tracks towards the trees up ahead, right below 'keep an eye out for strawberry or blueberry plants' and just above 'look for signs of the others'. The signs were important, sure… but he had a feeling finding some strawberries would really make Beth smile, and that was important, too. Especially to Daryl.
It was late afternoon and edging towards evening by the time he finally heard the telltale babble of water off to their left. The clouds had caught up faster than he'd expected, covering the sun in thick gray bands as darker ones brewed a short distance away. They'd been back under the trees for a little while now, and though he hadn't spotted any strawberries, at least he could lead them to some running water. When he veered away from the path they'd been following parallel to the tracks, Beth followed without question.
From the corner of his eyes he saw her perk up as she heard the stream up ahead, and he felt another hint of pride in how good she was getting at stuff like that. Not quite as fast as him, but getting there. Of course she only got better by keeping at it and that meant challenging her when he could, keeping her thinking on her toes. "How big, d'you think?"
"Ummm…" She cocked her head and turned it a bit towards the direction of the water. For a second he imagined her ears perking up and almost chuckled at the image of it, even as she responded, "Bigger than the one back by the mill, but not a river or anything. Maybe a small stream?"
He said nothing in response, no clarification or correction or even a good job. Just lead her to the trees until they stepped onto the rocky bank of a small stream flowing past them with a babble of water over rocks, light flickering through the branches of the trees above to cast light on the running water below.
For her part, Beth just gave a proud smile as she looked up and downstream and them made her way down the bank of it to kneel by the edge. Soon she was dipping her hands in and bringing them up to her face, taking a long sip of the cool water as he came to kneel beside her. "Not bad?" When she hummed in agreement he swung his bow carefully onto his back and leaned in to follow suit, scooping up water in his hands to sip at with obvious relish. These days, water fresh from a clean stream was as good as a glass of it had been back in the day, nice and cool with ice cubes.
He thought Beth felt the same way, thought she relished the water the same as he did… until suddenly he felt it splash right across the side of his face. "What-" He turned towards her, but didn't even have time to finish that question before she was splashing him again, scooping up water in her hands and flinging it at him with a delighted giggle.
It was that giggle that got him, really. How often did he get to hear her like that these days, so clearly delighted, so obviously having fun? How could he not want to hear it again? "That's it," he growled, wiping his face with the back of his hand even as a hint of a smirk crossed her lips, "You're gonna get it, Greene."
That was pretty much how it turned into an all-out water war, the two of them knelt in the grass at the bank of the stream, using their cupped hands to dip into the water and splash it on each other until their faces and hair and clothes glistened with the clear droplets and Beth finally back onto the bank, seemingly unable to stop giggling.
"You surrender?" He let the water fall through his hands back into the stream before he shifted on his knees to look over her where she was stretched out on her back on the grass beneath him. God, was she pretty. The prettiest damn girl he'd ever seen… every day really, but especially right now. Her hair had come loose from it's ponytail and was now spread out around her head against the grass. Water glistened in the blonde strands and on her cheeks and nose and her soft pink lips as she watched him with those bright blue eyes all full of happiness.
"You've got a little somethin," he murmured, reaching out to brush his thumb across her cheek, the pad of it chasing away a few droplets of water.
"Oh yeah?" She smiled up at him all slow and sweet, the water that clung to her lips shining in the light that filtered down through the trees. "Anywhere else?"
Yes. God yes. But he didn't say that, didn't respond at all out loud anyway. He didn't need to. He just leaned in nice and slow, giving her time to stop him if she wanted. But she didn't, and he couldn't have been more grateful as his lips pressed to hers and he kissed away those dew-like drops of water, tasting them on his tongue before they were replaced by the sweet warmth of her mouth.
As they kissed, Beth's hands came up to splay against his chest, her fingers curling into his shirt as they both got caught up in the moment. All that mattered was her lips against his, and nothing more. Not the dampness that made his shirt cling a bit to his chest, nor the droplets of water from his hair that fell onto her face, or the rumble of thunder in the distance…
Wait.
Another rumble echoed through the sky a few seconds later and he broke the kiss with a sigh of regret that showed in the way he stayed near to her, leaning over her and searching her eyes for a long moment before he murmured, "Storm's gonna catch up soon. We should find someplace to ride it out for the night. C'mon…"
And with a groan of reluctance he climbed to his feet and offered her his hand to help her do the same. Before they got moving again though, Beth looked up at him with a slow smile and murmured, "You've still got a little something…"
There must have been a drop of water on his mouth, too… or maybe it was just an excuse. If it was, he certainly wasn't going to complain when that excuse got him the Beth's lips brushing against his again, lingering for a few perfect moments as she rose up on her toes in front of him to keep her lips pressed softly to his.
It was enough to have a faint smile on his lips even when she stepped back, even as they filled their bottles up from the stream and turned and headed back towards the train tracks. The thunder rumbled ominously in the distance but for the moment anyway, the only water that lingered in his mind was the kind that glistened on Beth's pink lips and tasted cool and sweet on his tongue when he gently sucked it away.
The memory of those kisses swirled around in his mind for the next hour or so as the sky around them began to gradually darken and the rumble of thunder got closer and closer despite them not finding any sign of some place to stop for the night. He knew they could hole up somewhere under a blanket, but that wasn't gonna do shit in normal rain let alone a thunderstorm. They needed a place to shelter for the night, something with a roof they could keep over their heads.
The longer they went without finding one the more frustrated Daryl got, and the less he thought about Beth's lips in favor of focusing on the problem at hand. The sky was getting darker and darker, helped along by the setting sun, and Daryl was so stressed by his inability to find them a place to stay that he began to growl as he strode through the woods parallel to the tracks.
"Daryl-" Beth hissed, hurrying to catch up to his long strides and reaching out to curl her fingers around his arm. All around them the air had gotten cooler, the wind whipping stronger around them, making the tree branches sway and Beth's hair swirl all around her face even when she tried to brush it back. "Daryl slow down, we'll find something, we just need to take a minute and relax-"
As she spoke she curled her fingers tightly around his arm and tugged, and finally he stopped… and it seemed like it was just in time. As he looked over at her thunder crashed almost right overhead, loud enough to make his bones shake but not as startling as the flash of lightning that flickered through the sky to hit a the top of a nearby try with a crack and a sizzle that made Beth jump beside him.
But it wasn't the lightning that scared Daryl. It wasn't the lightning that had him reaching instinctively for both Beth and his bow, all at the same time. It was what that flash of light illuminated just ahead. In the flash of lightning he saw through a break in the trees and there, milling around what he thought might be some kind of animal corpse in the middle of the train tracks, were somewhere over 20 or 25 walkers.
And at rumble of thunder that followed, echoing overhead, at least half of them turned to look right their way.
"Shit."
Did you spot the familiar locations/scenes? I hope so, though I won't spoil it by giving it away even here. Thanks again for being such faithful readers. I love all of your comments, they really help keep me going when my anxiety gets bad, so thank you so much!