Take Me as I Am
Chapter 10
[Small Town]

It had been five long, grueling hours since she left Daryl alone in the funeral home. Her confidence in her abilities were solid—at first. Then she began to run into one walker after another. If she kept count, the number of walkers she saw probably totaled over thirty—killed ten. Dooley trotted beside her the entire time, alerting her to incoming walkers with soft growls before the undead could spot them.

In all honesty, she would be dead without Dooley.

At the moment though, she was safe—exhausted, but safe. She wasn't going to turn back despite feeling a little defeated. If she turned back now, Daryl may die… and she wasn't going to let it happen.

Beth took a small slip of water from her plastic container and poured some in her cupped palm for Dooley. He lapped up the contents before moving to sit by her legs, surveying the surroundings around them. As he looked on, Beth pulled the sketched map from her back pocket and examined it. They had just past a street sign which looked familiar to her, she just had to make sure they were going in the right direction. Sure enough, they were and they would reach a pharmacy within the next half hour if they hurried. Taking one last sip of water, she stored it back in her backpack and started to head towards the pharmacy.

The sun had reached its peak in the sky during her first break; Beth looked up to judge the time and guessed it to be roughly two to four in the afternoon. She hadn't expected the run to get there take so long, but because of the walkers, she had to deviate from the plan several times.

It was a good thing that Daryl had taught her to track in those first three weeks they were alone after the fall of the prison. She was not an expert like Daryl, but she absorbed everything he taught her—and maybe, just maybe, this run won't kill her and she can get back to Daryl with the much needed medications.

During the time of being alone with her senses tuned to the unnatural sounds of the undead, she noticed that the bodies of the undead were… well, decaying for a lack of a better word. Comparing most of the state of the walkers now to back when her family and the group were at her family's farmhouse, the walkers now seemed scrawnier—clumsier. Certainly the laws of nature applied to every being on earth, dead or alive.

Eventually… hopefully, if no new survivors die, turn and turn others into walkers, just maybe the world can go back to normal.

Not very likely, Beth scrunched her nose at the thought. Even at the prison when the flu stole lives from the group, they turned even if they weren't bitten. They were all infected somehow. As breathing humans, their bodies had the capabilities to fight off whatever virus or pathogen that causes reanimation… but when dead, the thing takes over.

Which was more reason why she couldn't give up on this run. If by some miracle Daryl woke up and his fever was gone, there was a chance of his wounds getting infected and would have to fight both infection and fever if it ever came to that. There was a slim chance that there would be some medical supplies left in the pharmacy. Even if the chance is slim, she had to check. For his sake… and for her own.

She wouldn't be able to handle his death. The reason why she was still standing after she saw her father being decapitated was because of Daryl. He pushed her, kept her going, and kept her moving. He never gave up on her, and she wouldn't give up on him. It wouldn't be fair.

A soft whimper from Dooley made her stop. They were only a few steps from walking out of the tree line of the forest and into a grassy clearing. The clearing was dominated with overgrown shrubs and grass past her knee, not too far from she and Dooley stood were several small buildings—the edge of the small town.

"We made it Dooley," she breathed out, relieved. She paused for a moment to survey the main road and the fields around the buildings. There were a few walkers heading deeper into town, according to the map—that is where she needed to go. The pharmacy was supposedly near a gas station. Glancing at the skyline above the roofs of the buildings, she saw a rusty red and white Conoco sign roughly three buildings into the town.

It wasn't unusual judging from how secluded the funeral home was. Small towns often just had one grocery store, a gas station or two and a few other essential buildings. Smaller towns meant less walkers. Still, Beth kept in her mind that she shouldn't be careless. After all, walkers don't just stay in one place.

"Let's go Dooley," she petted his head briefly before bending low on her knees and pushed through the tall grass. She made a quick dash towards the closest building, and paused there to catch her breath. Dooley followed silently on her heels, somehow aware that he needed to be silent.

Beth pressed her back against the backside of the building for a brief minute before inching closer to the corner of the building, the side deeper into the town. She peaked her head around her corner slowly, and spotted two abandoned cars in the main road, one with black car with the trunk popped open and the other red truck looked rusted and burnt. There was garbage littered on the road, but no signs of walkers noticing her—yet.

The next building was roughly four lengths of a standard car in distance away. Across the road were two more buildings. If she could get past this next building, she might be able to spot the pharmacy. Taking in several deep breaths of air, she prepped herself for another dash. Glancing over her shoulders and around the corner of the building one last time, she darted across the small clearing and avoided junk piles when the coast was clear.

When she reached the building, she could hear the moans of the walkers on the main road she spotted just moments ago. Her heart began to hammer in her chest; yes they were few in numbers however… she was alone. She may be able to tackle one or maybe even two at a time, but could she handle four?

They haven't spotted her yet, so doing her utmost best to be quiet, she inched over to the edge of the small building. The four walkers were just roaming around in front of this building. Across from the main road was the Conoco gas station. From where she stood, the gas station looked to be relatively quiet. She had to squint her eyes to find any sign of a pharmacy but to no avail. She tried to take a closer look by taking a step towards the edge of the building—big mistake.

Her boot kicked an empty aluminum can that flew a couple of feet towards the other end of the building, colliding into a chain link fence. The sound of metal rattling attracted the attention of the two closest walkers, now they were stalking towards her, their jaws snapping in anticipation.

Beth panicked, frozen in her spot behind the building. She was not sure what to do, her mind raced through a million thoughts per second trying to make sense of the situation. Finally, Dooley began barking at the walkers only a few feet away, snapping her out of her stupor.

She pulled back towards the middle side of the building, shielding her and Dooley from other potential walkers in the area. "Watch that end Dooley," she ordered her companion to guard the other end, hoping he understood her. Obediently, the one eyed dog trotted to the other end and peaked out of the side of the building; his ears peaked up atop his head.

'Thank goodness,' she thought and left that end to Dooley's care. The chain-link fence blocked a way of exit as it was parallel to the two buildings she passed, but there were scrap material leaning against it. Of them was a long coil of grass covered rope. Wasting no time, as the walkers were closing into on her, she yanked the rope from its resting place and wrapped one end of it around a metal pole just at the edge of building, and secured it there. Taking the other end, she made a makeshift trip 'wire' by tying the other end around the chain-link fence multiple times.

Just as her time was beginning to run out, she made the final tie around the metal pole, pulled out her knife and poised herself for a fight. The first walker that waddled in was a short male, its flesh so terribly decayed, Beth couldn't tell if he died as a young male or as a short, older man. Her small trip wire came up around his hips, holding him back. The chain-link rattled from the tension, pushing Beth to jump into action.

She darted close to the short walker, his head came up to her chin and plunged her knife deep into his skull. Almost instantaneously the walker slumped towards her; she yanked her knife from its contaminated flesh and shoved it backwards, letting it fall onto its back listlessly. She lifted her knife to inspect it—it wasn't damaged but it wouldn't hurt to sharpen the blade a little more. Her trembling hands alerted her to her state of nervousness.

It was her first time going on a run—it could almost be called a suicide run… but she had to try. She just had to. She didn't have to prove herself for anyone but her own self. She needed this—confidence. Because the lack of it will kill her eventually.

The second walker that streamed into the back of the building was a female, also at a state of major decay. It tripped over the fallen body of the first walker, allowing Beth to drive her knife into the back of its skull, ending its reanimated life immediately. Thinking that the female walker was the last one, she stepped over the body and peaked around the corner of the building.

Decaying hands flew at her faster than she could react, sending her falling backwards atop the two corpses she dispatched earlier. Beth strained to keep its biting jaws from latching onto her neck as it clawed at her shoulders, then gripping at her hair. She heard Dooley's growls and barking behind her, then seconds later, felt the walker above her being jerked. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Dooley had latched onto its pant leg, tugging at it in efforts to help her.

The walker paid no attention to Dooley as it continued snapping its jaws above her. Beth grunted loudly and shoved the walker to the side of her, then moved on top of it, pinning its neck down with one hand as her other one searched for her fallen knife. "Knife, Dooley! Knife," she cried, hoping Dooley would help her find it.

To her dismay, Dooley kept tugging at the walker's pant leg. Beth couldn't find her knife, nor could she risk anymore time and strength pinning the walker down under her. She scanned the ground and the base of the fence to find anything that could kill the walker. Finding a potato sized rock an arm's reach from her, she snatched it tightly in her hand before pummeling the walker's head into a mess of rotten flesh and bone.

Beth kneeled there, above the walker, gasping for breath. She turned her head to scan the situation behind her to make sure the coast was clear. Then she pushed herself off of the dispatched walker and fell onto her bottom, exhausted. As she was catching her breath, Dooley walked up against her and pressed his muzzle against her left arm.

"Hi, Dooley," she whispered tiredly.

Still trying to catch her breath and calm her racing heart, Beth inched over to where she secured the rope against the metal pole and untied it. Slowly and quietly, she coiled the long rope as tightly and compactly as possible and proceeded to stuff it in her backpack. The rope will certainly serve its use later. Finding her knife was the hard part so far. It had been wedged under the second walker's arm on the ground. She wasn't sure how it got there, but she thanked the almighty for finding it. There was no way she could travel without a weapon.

After dusting herself off, she retrieved her knife and scanned the road once more. Looking closely this time, she spotted a blue and white sign 'Kendall's Pharmacy,' except that the letters 'm, c and y' had fallen off. In order to reach the pharmacy, she would have to cross the main road at the intersection. From where she was at, it looked as if the gas station and the pharmacy on the corner was the center of the small town.

Beth didn't head out immediately. Instead, she threw the rock that she had used to dispatch the third walker towards the opposite direction of where she needed to go. It clattered in low pitched thuds against the concrete paved roads. She hoped it would draw the attention of whatever walkers remained. After listening intently for sounds of the undead, she slowly crossed the intersection with relative ease when she deemed it safe to cross.

It unnerved her to find that there were relatively little walkers in this town. Given, it was a small town in a secluded area… some buildings looked like it had been ransacked a little; even then, shouldn't there be more walkers? Not that she was complaining or anything, it just made her a little anxious since for over a year, they ran into herd after herds of walkers with no breaks in between.

With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, she focused her attention on bee lining from the gas station to the back of the pharmacy, out of sight from the main road. This particular building had a large glass window, intact still, with a front entrance and a metal door in the back. When she crossed the road, she didn't notice any signs of activity through the dusty window, but she couldn't be too sure. Quietly, she tried the doorknob of the back door.

It clicked when she turned it—it was unlocked. There was a chance that the pharmacy or any other shops here in this small town would be empty since the owner of the funeral home had this location circled. However, it also meant that the building could be empty from the runs that the only may have made. The metal door groaned as she opened it, she prayed there were no walkers inside.

Dooley slipped in before she could set her foot in, she bit her tongue from the urge to call him back. She paused, listening for any sounds of distress from Dooley or the moans of the walkers. All was silent, so she slipped in, easing the door closed behind her.

The two high walled windows streamed enough light for her navigate around the back. This seemed to be a mini-kitchen slash break room for the employees from the way things looked—lockers on one side, a small four seat dining table and chairs, counters, cabinets, a microwave and a sink. There were two doors, both closed.

Beth dived into the task of searching through the cabinets and lockers for something of use. As Dooley stood guard at one of the doors, she rummaged through every bag and cupboard space she came across. A large blue and white duffel bag caught her attention from one of the lockers. She pulled it out and set it on the table, before identifying the contents within it. An opened package of feminine pads, a travel size bottle of Tylenol, a navy blue hoodie and a watch—all of which are useful and needed. The Tylenol would help with Daryl's fever, but she needed more than the eight count the tiny tube held. Stuffing everything back into the duffel bag, she zipped it up and looped her arms through the handles.

She made her way to the door Dooley stood in front of; a piece of paper was taped on there.

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13," Beth smiled at the verse. The world had gone to Hell… but there was still good people out there. She had a feeling whoever put this paper on the door still kept their faith in God… as would she. She silently thanked the writer of the note and slipped through the door.

The large shop window and the glass door let through ample amounts of light throughout the shop. She quickly made a note though, that the sunlight was tinged yellow and orange—signaling that the sun will be setting relatively soon. Just how much time did she waste?

Still, she carefully maneuvered from the door and scanned through the three short aisles of the store and the unlocked pharmacy counter. The place had been ransacked, but there was still a lot left. This place was a gold mine—canned food, bottles of pills and other various items littered the floors. She made a mental note to bring Daryl to this place once he was well enough. She stepped past some discarded items on the floor and entered through the door to the pharmacy counter, where the prescription meds laid.

She didn't know what she was looking for, to be honest. The only thing that came to mind was penicillin as an antibiotic. She looked, and looked but found nothing that resembled it. In fact, she knew nothing of these medications and opted to forgo these and look for over the counter pain killers. She slipped back into the main area of the store, and searched the aisles.

Beth stuffed a few things she came across into the blue duffel bag in her arms. A few bottles of water, few cans of Campbell's soup, a discarded flashlight, a digital watch, a bag of jerky and finally, the pain killers. There were only a few bottles left, all of which were scattered onto the floor. Quickly picking through the mess, she put a large five hundred count ibuprofen bottle and a three hundred count generic Tylenol bottle into the bag. She was on her way to look for more items, but Dooley nudged her knee and whined.

That was not a good sign from Dooley. It was as if he was telling her to hurry up. The sunlight was quickly fading away, and in the distance from beyond the walls of pharmacy, she heard the undead closing in. She fastened the duffel bag securely to the straps of her backpack and maneuvered her way to the front of the store. She scanned road on one end to find it clear, then she turned her head.

Things were just too good to be true. She grew lightheaded at the sight before her. A herd. It looked as if there were a hundred of them heading down the road, bumping into obstacles and sides of the buildings. "Come on, Dooley! We have to go, now!"

Beth dashed towards the back of the store, and into the break room. There was a thought in the back of her mind that she could bunker down here… but with the front of the store made of glass—it was not a great idea. Neither is facing a herd of walkers, but she couldn't stay here. She wouldn't stand a chance here.

She slipped out of the backdoor with Dooley hot on her heels. The herd was slow moving, so hopefully she could beat them with speed. "Shhh, Dooley," she shushed him when he started to growl in the direction of the herd. She needed a distraction. Looking at the objects available around her, she conveniently found two empty beer bottles laying a little ways from the edge of the building.

There was no way she was going to expose herself to the herd of walkers this way. They would see her before she could grab those bottles. She would have to go around them.

She rounded the corner of the building and dashed to the back of the next one. She followed the line of the buildings, thinking if she kept this up she would be out of the herd's sight.

Oh how terribly wrong she was. She turned the corner of a building, only to find that the herd had split up—dozens of them heading towards her. They must've spotted her somehow and they were on their way to tear her from limb to limb.

Beth panicked, unsure of what to do next. She was deeper into the small town, running further and further away from where she came from. Dooley must've sensed her fear—he dashed out from behind her and bolted straight through the smaller herd heading their way.

"Dooley!" she cried out after him, he didn't listen. His barks and growls echoed through the once deserted road, she couldn't help but cry out in uncertainty. "Dooley!" she called for him again, praying he would be safe. She knew he had given her a chance to escape; she wasn't going to let it go in vain.

She bee lined to the gas station, and then darted proceeded to run across the street. A part of her thought she was going to make it out alive—that Dooley's sacrifice was not for nothing. She had faith and confidence, but having those things didn't prepare her to trip on a jagged raised crack in the concrete road, causing her to sprain her ankle when she landed on her right foot at a sharp angle.

Beth crashed down onto the concrete with a cry that bounced off the walls of the buildings. The other half of the herd that had not followed Dooley now had their eyes on her. She cradled her aching ankle, crying out in pain, large tears slipped from her eyes. She couldn't stay on the ground… no… the walkers were closing in. She had to go. She bit her lip and fought the urge to scream and curl up in a ball and just wait for them to devour her when she tried to stand up. The sharp, stabbing pain shot up her right leg, she felt nearly crippled.

She spotted the car with the opened trunk around the corner nearby, and then proceeded to crawl towards it on her knees. She was in no shape to out run a herd of walkers… she had to find some kind of shelter. That trunk may be her only saving grace. She reached trunk of the car relatively fast, though her knees were now bruised and bleeding, it didn't compare to the pain of her ankle.

With little time to spare, as the sunset began to cast an eerie orange glow in the sky, Beth hauled herself up into the trunk and pulled out the coil of rope from the backpack. She had to do what she and Daryl did not too long ago. As the walkers began to turn the corner at the intersection, Beth did her best to fit herself in the trunk of the car and pulled the door down. She secured the trunk hatch to the car with the rope as Daryl did with his bandana, and pulled out her knife.

Beth didn't dare to make a sound, she didn't dare to breath. She knew the first few walkers had seen her get in the car, she prayed by the time they reached the car, something else would distract them. She didn't want to die today… no… not yet.

She couldn't, she didn't even get to say goodbye… Daryl. She had told him that she hated to say goodbye, but Daryl… if she had to die, she would at least tell him…

"Until we meet again…" she whispered, clenching her eyes shut when the bodies of the walkers began bumping and scratching against the frame of the car.

/

J.R.- Long chapter, Beth centered again. The next one will be half and half. I applaud Beth for having the guts to brave a run alone… but poor Dooley… he sacrificed himself for Beth. I know it's a bit cut and dry, but I feel this is an important growing up experience for her. You know, aside from losing her entire family and all… she needed to experience these things on her own.

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Thanks for reading, stay tuned for next chapter! Please review! And a great big thanks and hugs for everyone who leaves a review, they are so wonderful and it keeps me writing!