Visit my Tumblr page (link on profile, username: ElsaEditorial) to see pictures of St. Mark's lighthouse!

When Daryl and Beth were within a mile of St. Mark's lighthouse, Daryl pulled the truck to the side of the road and declared that they would approach the rest of the way on foot. Beth agreed with the notion, but she wasn't sure how much good it would do, considering that there wasn't much cover on either side of the road for them to hide behind. Vast, open marshes surrounded both sides of the road, leaving only a thin line of palm trees right next to the road for cover. Still, the light cover the palm trees offered was better than the roar of the truck engine inevitably announcing their arrival whether they wanted it known or not.

Beth kept her pink hammer clutched tightly in her hand as she quietly followed behind Daryl on the side of the road. Daryl had his crossbow drawn, and he had also opted to take one of the automatic rifles with him, which was slung across his back. He had also insisted that Beth carry a small handgun, and it was tucked into the back of her jeans. Both of them typically opted not to use guns, seeing as ammo was limited and the noise drew the attention of walkers, but since neither of them knew what kind of situation they could be walking into at the lighthouse, it was better to be prepared. The last thing they wanted was to be caught in an ambush with nothing but knives, a hammer, and Daryl's crossbow.

Beth could smell the ocean, and she could just barely see the vast expanse of blue water up ahead as they came closer to the coast. She wanted to nudge Daryl, maybe to share an excited smile with him, but he was in full hunter mode, his muscles tense and his steps almost impossibly quiet. Beth knew she would have to wait to celebrate this landmark moment until their safety was no longer a question. She instead focused her energy on mirroring Daryl's silent steps.

When they could just barely see the top of the lighthouse, Daryl crouched and motioned for Beth to do the same. They were only a few hundred feet from the lighthouse, and squinting carefully, Beth could see a man at the top of the lighthouse with a rifle in hand. Her heart sank as she realized that this meant the lighthouse was not vacant as they had hoped.

Daryl crawled forward in the low brush and peeked through the vegetation to examine the rest of the area. Beth mirrored him and observed that whomever was inhabiting the lighthouse was doing their best to make it safe. A tall makeshift fence surrounded the single-story building near the base of the lighthouse. The fence was made of scavenged materials, mostly driftwood and bits and pieces that looked as though they had come from other buildings. It looked to be enough to keep out a few walkers, but if a herd came through or if humans were intent on getting inside, it wouldn't hold for long. Still, it was better than nothing, and Beth's initial idea that the lighthouse would make a good guard tower was clearly proving to be true. The man at the top of the tower was scanning the area, his back to the ocean. It was the perfect vantage point to spot any oncoming threats, and seeing that the lighthouse was surrounded by vast areas of open swampland, it was unlikely that a threat would come from anywhere except the road leading to the lighthouse. The road that she and Daryl were currently crouched beside.

"We gotta move slowly," Daryl whispered. "Guy in the lighthouse will be able to spot any movement. We just gotta inch back the way we came until we're outta sight again."

Beth nodded. Part of her wanted to argue that they should wait and observe the spot some more, maybe see if they could determine whether the inhabitants were good people. But the obvious wound on her shoulder made her rethink that plan. She didn't want to risk exposing herself to strangers when there was no telling what would come of it.

Daryl began slowly backing away to head back the way they had come, remaining crouched down as he did so. Beth mimicked his actions and took a slow step backward, however her foot slipped on the unsteady terrain, and she slid quickly down the short incline opposite the road. Her foot landed in the marsh water, and she winced at the splash it made. She glanced at Daryl, who was frozen in place with his eyes trained on the lighthouse. He held his hand up, silently telling Beth not to move. She obeyed and waited, her entire body tense and on edge. Finally, after several long moments, Daryl motioned to her to start climbing out of the marsh.

Beth tucked her hammer into her belt loop for safe keeping and moved slowly and carefully, trying not to make a sound as she lifted herself out of the water. Daryl held out a hand to help her. Beth reached for it, but before she could grasp his hand, something seized her ankle and forcefully pulled her into the marsh. She couldn't stop the scream that erupted from her throat as she fell backward, and her whole body landed in the shallow water with a loud splash. Spluttering, Beth burst to the surface and began kicking with all her might at the thing that was still attached to her ankle underwater. Daryl was in the water a second later, his strong arms wrapping around her and tugging her toward the shore.

"It's on me, it's still on me!" Beth shrieked, kicking with even more force.

Daryl heaved himself backward on the shore of the marsh and pulled Beth with him with all his might. The slimy, rotting head of a walker finally emerged from the water, its putrid hands still attached to Beth's ankle trying to pull it toward its snapping jaws. The walker looked as though it had been underwater for some time, but in its previous life, it had been a very large and burly man whose strength hadn't completely diminished even in death. Daryl kept one arm wrapped around Beth while his other arm grabbed for the crossbow he'd dropped when he'd jumped in after her. Before he could reach his weapon, a shot rang out, and the snarling ghoul's skull blew apart as a bullet tore through the decaying flesh.

Beth scrambled backward and allowed Daryl to finally pull her from the water. Her heart was racing and both of them were panting for breath as they crawled toward the safety of the road.

"Did it get you?" Daryl asked, and Beth shook her head. It had been a close call, but she hadn't been bitten.

Daryl turned his attention to the lighthouse, where the man who had been on watch was currently aiming his rifle in their direction, watching them through the scope on the weapon. Daryl slowly got to his feet and offered his hand to Beth, helping her stand as well.

"Put your guns on the pavement!" the man in the lighthouse shouted. "The crossbow too."

Beth glanced at Daryl, who nodded. He slowly placed the automatic rifle on the ground, followed by his beloved crossbow, and Beth laid her small handgun on the ground next to the other weapons. The man in the lighthouse whistled, and they could hear the sound of footsteps. The man in the lighthouse called down to whomever was on the ground, but Beth couldn't hear what he'd said. He turned his attention back to Beth and Daryl and kept his rifle aimed in their direction.

The makeshift fence began to slowly slide open, demonstrating that it was on some sort of pulley system. As soon as the fence was open wide enough, a woman darted through the opening with a rifle in her hands. She aimed the rifle at Beth, while the man in the lighthouse appeared to have his own rifle trained on Daryl. Beth raised her hands in surrender, and Daryl did the same.

"What's your business here?" the woman called to them.

"Just checkin' the place out," Daryl responded. "Don't mean any harm."

"How'd you find this place?" the woman asked.

"Tourism brochure," Beth said. "Thought it'd make a good watch tower, so we came to check it out."

The woman nodded, her rifle still aimed steadily at Beth's head.

"This spot's taken," she said. "Leave your guns and the bow and be on your way. You can keep your knives."

Beth glanced at Daryl and could see that his jaw was ticking, likely at the thought of leaving his bow behind. But even so, he nodded once and began to walk backward, not wanting to take his eyes off of the people in front of him. Beth swallowed the lump in her throat and copied his actions. She kept her hands raised as she slowly backed away.

Suddenly she saw movement in the opening of the fence, and another man appeared, also with a gun drawn. When her eyes landed on the man's face, Beth froze in place. She blinked hard, wondering if she was hallucinating, but Daryl had also stopped moving. And when the man suddenly shouted at the two other people to lower their weapons, Beth knew it was no hallucination. Standing only a couple hundred feet from them was none other than Glenn Rhee.

Glenn took off toward them, and Beth broke into a run in his direction, meeting him halfway. The man Beth considered to be her brother in law threw his arms around her and gave her a hug so fierce that it lifted her body off the ground. Beth's eyes filled with tears that quickly spilled over and streamed down her cheeks. She could hardly believe this was happening. When Glenn broke away several moments later, Beth was afraid her knees would give out beneath her. She was almost dizzy from disbelief. Glenn hugged Daryl, who had made his way over to them, and Daryl actually returned the gesture, despite his typical reluctance to show physical affection. Glenn pulled away and looked over his shoulder to the woman who still held her rifle in hand, though not aimed at anything now, a confused expression on her face.

"Tara!" Glenn called. "Get Maggie! Quick!"

"Maggie?" Beth exclaimed. "She's . . . she's here?"

Glenn nodded fiercely, and fresh tears sprang to Beth's eyes again.

"Oh my god," she cried. "Oh my god, is this real?"

The sound of hurried footsteps carried toward them, and suddenly Maggie emerged from the gap in the fence. When her confused eyes landed on Daryl and her younger sister, her face crumbled, and she let out a cry as she ran toward them. Beth sprinted to her sister and nearly knocked her over as she crashed into her. Maggie hugged her so tightly that Beth could barely breathe, but it didn't matter. Her sister was here, she was alive, and this was real.

Beth wasn't sure how long she and Maggie held each other, but it felt like ages before they finally pulled away. Daryl and Glenn were standing next to them watching with wide smiles on their faces, and several other unfamiliar people were beginning to file out of the fence to see what the commotion was about.

"Is anyone else from our group here?" Beth asked.

Maggie shook her head and wiped the tears from her face.

"No. We got separated from them a few months back."

Beth nodded, feeling slightly disappointed, but her relief over being reunited with her sister and her brother in law was more than enough. It was more than Beth had hoped for, especially in Florida. She wiped the tears from her own cheeks and smiled widely at her sister.

"We have so much to talk about," she said, and Maggie nodded fervently. Suddenly she saw her sister's eyes wander to her neck, and her smile immediately vanished.

"Bethy, what happened?" Maggie exclaimed, looking closer. "Did you get bit?! Oh my god, Beth—"

"Maggie, it's fine," Beth said firmly, sensing the panic already rising within her sister.

"What do you mean it's fine? You were bitten! How is that fine?!"

Maggie was on the edge of hysteria, and Glenn was now starting to crowd her to investigate as well. Beth noticed a few of the unfamiliar people also hesitantly approaching, and she felt Daryl step closer to her protectively, as if he would shield her if need be.

"This happened a week ago," Beth said. "But I never got sick. And now it's healing really well, and I still haven't had any symptoms."

"A week?" Glenn asked, staring at the bite almost incredulously. "Most people get sick within a few hours."

"I know. We went to a library and did some research, and it seems very likely that I'm either immune or an asymptomatic carrier, meaning I carry the disease, but will never show symptoms."

Maggie didn't look completely convinced, but Glenn was staring at her wound as if she was some sort of miracle. Beth glanced behind them to the unfamiliar people, who were also staring with varying looks of disbelief.

"I'm going to be fine," Beth said firmly. "I'm not going to get sick. That time has passed. I'm going to be okay, Maggie. You have to trust me."

Maggie nodded slowly, still eying the wound warily, but she flashed Beth a smile nonetheless.

"I wish we had a doctor who could tell us more," Maggie said.

"Yeah, too bad you're not a real scientist, Eugene," Glenn said to one of the unfamiliar people who had gathered around. A man with an awful mullet gave him a grimace in response.

"How did you end up down here in Florida?" Beth asked her sister.

"It's a long story," Maggie replied with a smile. "It seems like we both have a lot of catching up to do."

"Why don't you come on in and we'll chat over some supper?" Glenn suggested. "And we'll introduce you to everyone."

"Got some butchered rabbits in our trailer," Daryl grunted, speaking for the first time since the others had arrived. "Got a pickup truck with a trailer 'bout a mile down the road."

"Great," Glenn nodded. "I'll walk back with you to get it, if you want. You can bring it down here and park it inside the fence."

"Sounds good," Daryl agreed.

"I'm so glad you're here," Maggie said with a smile, her eyes tearing up again. "Now come on. Let me show you around your new home."

As some of you know, I've had a hard time getting the motivation to write this story lately. Because of that, it will likely end sooner than I had originally intended. So just a few more chapters and we will be at the end!

And as those of you who follow me on Tumblr know, I have also been working on another Bethyl story on the side. It will be published sometime this month. The story is a WWII-era AU romance and is set in 1943. It follows a whirlwind romance between Beth, a factory girl, and Daryl, an enlisted man, during Daryl's week of leave before he is deployed overseas. I have been working on this story for almost 6 months and I'm really excited to finally share it with you. If this seems like something you'd like to read, keep an eye out for it this month. It is called "Bombs Away."