Beth and Daryl had hauled the three bodies outside and several hundred feet away from the cabin, using the light of the moon to guide them. They hadn't wanted to dump them close to their home, as the scent of the freshly killed bodies could attract walkers. After the bodies had been disposed of, the pair returned to the cabin, neither of them speaking. The fire still burned low in the fireplace, and the silence of the cabin felt almost oppressive after the events that had just transpired.
Beth stood in the doorway to the bathroom, staring down at the large pool of blood that covered the floor. Her expression was blank, but Daryl knew her mind was anything but. He went to stand behind her and she leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and she sighed.
"They weren't the first people I've killed," she said after a moment. "But the men in the car were different. My life was in immediate danger then. This time there was a chance that things would have been okay, but I acted anyway. I just couldn't take that risk."
"I'm glad you did somethin'," Daryl said quietly. "Wasn't sure if I'd have had a chance to."
"I don't regret doing it. But it feels different than it did the first time. Knowing that I didn't have to, but I did anyway . . . it makes me wonder what kind of person I've become."
"You're still a good person, Beth," Daryl said firmly. "Just 'cause you defended yourself and your home don't make you a bad person."
"I guess," Beth murmured softly. "I wish it didn't have to be like this. I hate what this world makes us do."
Daryl said nothing in reply, but tightened his embrace in reassurance. Both of them stood still, staring at the sticky mess of the bathroom floor and staying silent for several moments. After a while, Beth tore her eyes away from the floor and turned in Daryl's arms to face him.
"What now?" she asked.
Daryl knew she was asking whether they would stay at the cabin or leave. He studied her face, looking for any indication of how she was feeling about the matter and hating that they had to make such a choice.
"I think we need to go," he said, his voice laced with regret.
Beth nodded solemnly; she had been expecting this.
"The cabin isn't very close to the main road," she said. "The dirt road that leads here is barely even visible. And the camp these men talked about is ten miles away. There's a chance they'd never even find us."
"But there's also a chance that they will. We got out of it this time, but next time we might not be so lucky. It's too risky."
"Being out on the road is also risky," Beth pointed out. "It's still the dead of winter. We'd be out there without shelter exposed to the elements, and to the other dangers of life on the road. Might be that we run into people worse than those who just found us. Or get swarmed by a herd. Is staying here really more dangerous than life out there?"
Daryl sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair.
"You're right that leavin' here is dangerous. Especially with winter bein' in full force and all. But I'd feel safer if we could keep movin' rather than stayin' here like sitting ducks waitin' to be discovered. We survived out there last winter, and we can do it again. You and me make a good team. I know we could do it."
"I don't doubt that," Beth nodded. "I just want to make sure we go over both sides to this situation before making a decision."
"So what do you wanna do?" Daryl asked.
"I don't know," Beth answered honestly. "Part of me believes we should stay here, and even that we could set up something to defend ourselves if we're found. But the other part of me wants to put as much distance between us and that other camp as possible."
Daryl nodded, looking down at the woman who mattered more to him than any person ever had. The woman who loved him. His heart thumped as he remembered her words from just hours before. He had to do whatever he could to protect her. Even though she had clearly shown that she could protect both of them herself, staying put seemed like he was putting her in harm's way.
"You know where I stand," he said. "I think we gotta go."
Beth bit her lip, but slowly nodded in agreement. Her eyes were full of regret, and Daryl felt the same way. The cabin had been their home for over two months; they had started to build a life together in this place. The thought of leaving their little haven behind pained both of them, but it was necessary to increase the chances of their survival. Surviving was what was important.
"When?" Beth asked. "And where?"
"One of those guys said their group would come lookin' for 'em if they weren't back by tomorrow night. So we should probably leave tomorrow. Maybe by midday, if we can," Daryl replied. "I dunno where we should go. Their camp is north of here, so for starters, I say we head south."
Beth's expression grew thoughtful. "South is good," she said. "The farther south we go, the warmer it will be. Maybe we should head toward the coast. Having water on one side of us seems like it would be safer, and it would give a destination to head toward."
Daryl studied Beth with a bit of a frown on his face. "What about lookin' for our group?" he asked quietly. "If we head toward the coast, it's a lot less likely that we'll find 'em."
"I know. But it seems so unlikely that we'll find them anyway. And who knows, maybe they had the same thought. It's not impossible that they headed south as well, especially if they were without shelter for the winter."
"Guess that's true," Daryl nodded. "But what if we make it all the way to the coast and we don't run into 'em? You gonna be okay with that? Just lettin' them go?"
"I don't know," Beth answered softly. "But we have to have some sort of plan. I can't say right now whether I'll be okay with giving up on searching for them. Maybe I will, but I can't promise that. For now, let's just focus on putting distance between us and other camp. That's all I can really do right now."
"Okay," Daryl nodded. "That's more than enough." He stepped closer to her and drew her to his chest to embrace her once more. She wrapped her arms around his waist and closed her eyes, taking in his comforting scent.
"We should get some sleep," Daryl said, his chest rumbling against her cheek as he spoke. "Still a couple of hours left before dawn. Once the sun comes up, we'll start loading up the truck with whatever supplies we can take with us."
Beth looked up at him and gave him the faintest of smiles. She pulled away and took his hand, leading him toward the bedroom. They both climbed under the covers, and Beth sighed contentedly when Daryl's body curled around hers. She hated that this would be their last night in this bed, and she wanted to enjoy the final moments of it, but exhaustion overtook her, and she was soon pulled into a dreamless sleep.
All of their supplies were loaded into the truck. Most were in the bed of the truck covered with a tarp, but Beth had stored her books and clothing in the truck cab. They had taken all of their food, medical supplies, toiletries, bedding, and clothing. Everything they had acquired in the past few months was going with them. Beth wished they could just tow the entire cabin along behind the truck. Leaving their home behind was harder than she thought it would be.
She stood by the truck gazing at the cabin while Daryl did a final sweep to check for things they may have left behind. Both of them were tired, as they had only gotten a few hours of sleep. They had woken shortly after dawn to begin loading up their supplies. Beth wished they could have lingered in bed for longer, maybe spent some time being intimate, but neither were really in the mood for such. Besides, the sooner they left the cabin, the more distance they would be able to put in between themselves and the impending search party that would likely be sent out that evening. Every mile counted.
Daryl approached the truck after double-checking for forgotten supplies. Beth flashed him a smile, but it felt stiff. He stood beside her and joined her in gazing at the cabin for a final time. She slipped her hand into his and he gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
"We'll find somethin' better," Daryl said. "We'll have a place to call our own again someday."
"Yeah. I hope so. There's just so many good memories here. We were only here for two months, but it feels like a lifetime."
"In this world, two months practically is a lifetime," Daryl muttered in reply.
Beth nodded in agreement, and the two of them spent several moments in silence, both saying internal goodbyes to their home. Beth sighed and lifted their intertwined hands to place a kiss on the back of Daryl's hand.
"We should get going. If we don't leave now, I'm afraid I'll change my mind about leaving at all."
Daryl placed a rough kiss on the side of her head and nodded, dropping her hand and moving to the driver's side of the truck. Both climbed into the vehicle and Daryl quickly started it. The engine roared to life in the quiet woods, and Beth watched the cabin in the side mirror as they began to drive away. When she could no longer see the cabin behind her, she sighed heavily and pulled out the map.
"Let's take 41 through Greenville," she said. "We can try to siphon some gas in town there, and then when we get to a town called Warm Springs, 41 branches off to the southeast. We should follow that, 'cause if we stay on this road past Warm Springs, it'll take us to Fort Benning."
Daryl hummed in agreement. They both knew Fort Benning had been overrun, so there was no sense in going toward the place. Their plan was to try to also avoid all major metropolitan areas. If they stuck to small county highways, they were also less likely to encounter large traffic snags. Daryl just hoped they would be able to siphon enough gas for their journey in whatever small towns they encountered along the way.
"You know," Beth said after a few minutes of silence. "If we head straight south all the way to the coast, we'll actually end up in Florida. How d'you feel about leaving the state of Georgia? It'll be a first for you."
Daryl glanced over at her and saw that she was smiling. He couldn't help smiling, too. She had remembered his admission that he had never been out of Georgia, something he had said to her so long ago. He gave a little shrug.
"I'm up for it if you are."
Beth's smile widened, and Daryl returned his eyes to the road.
"I'm still sad about leaving the cabin behind," Beth said, "but I'm glad we have a plan. It gives me something to look forward to, getting to our destination. Before the cabin, it felt like we were just wandering aimlessly, just surviving day to day. This time, we have a place we're heading. Even though we don't know what we'll find there, working toward something is making leaving here easier."
There it was: that positivity that Beth always managed to hold onto, even when things weren't going the way they had planned. Her hope and positivity were something Daryl adored most about her, and he was glad that despite the horrors she had experienced just hours before, she was still able to maintain that light inside of her. He reached over to her and took her hand in his, keeping his other hand on the steering wheel.
"Maybe it'll be paradise down in Florida," he said with a half smile. "We'll find a little house on stilts right on the beach."
"I might have to actually get a tan," Beth giggled, joining in on his fantasy.
Daryl scoffed. "Nah. I'll find you an umbrella to keep you outta the sun. Your skin is perfect the way it is."
Even though he wasn't looking at her, Daryl could tell Beth was smiling.
"Might have to find some tequila, too," he continued. "We'll find a way to drink margaritas on the beach."
"That sounds amazing," Beth grinned. "Although, we don't really have the best luck drinking together."
"Well, if you promise not to burn our house down, I promise not to make you shoot arrows at walkers. And I also promise that if you kiss me, I won't push you away. In fact, there'll be no escapin' me once the kissin' starts."
Beth gave a pure, uninhibited laugh, and Daryl was certain it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
Side note: If you're looking for another good Bethyl story, I highly recommend that you check out "Home" by Mccorv3 if you haven't already. I'm
Mccorv3's beta reader for that story, and as such, I have the privilege of reading ahead of what is currently published, and I can tell you that there is some awesome stuff coming up in that story that you won't want to miss! Go give it a read! :)