Please enjoy this Bethyl/Deth fic. I've recently listened to 2 songs on repeat: "This Is How You Fall in Love" by Jeremy Zucker & Chelsea Cutler + "Satellite" by Starset (particularly the acoustic version). I've been craving an emotionally-driven Beth + Daryl story lately, and my brain thought it was a swell idea to write it myself.
CHAPTER 1
Beth
Long worms wiggled in the dirt as cold rain pummeled the forest floor like tiny meteors. Staring down at the most delectable thing she'd seen in almost six days, Beth wiped away the tears and willed reality to bend so they could transfigure into a hot bowl of ramen or a plate of spaghetti. A groan tickled her scratchy throat and a sniffle made the tip of her runny nose tingle.
The storm soaked every inch of her body. A shiver thrashed up and down her spine — reminding her that she was very much a dead girl walking. Well, sitting stationary underneath a thick tree while she contemplated the possibility of eating worms. Days away from Terminus, not even a hunting shack or shed stood wherever she traveled. In trying to track the one man in the world who made her feel safe, she'd made quite a mess of getting lost.
With only a small pocket knife, an infected, stitched scar along her cheek, and soaked scrubs to her name, Beth Greene was positively and completely sure she would die starving and alone. Nothing quite compared to the hollow, endless ache buried in her belly. Well, except when the girl coughed.
Quietly, Beth chuckled. "In a world where the dead walk, I'm dying of the common cold."
"Gotta stay quiet, girl." The ghostlike, gravelly voice comforted her a little. At the end of her line, it wasn't Daddy who haunted her. It was always only him.
Clutching at her filthy scrubs, she swallowed and wiped a stray tear away. A shiver made her squirm as she ground her teeth together and hissed. "I wanted to see you. Just one last time…"
"Hush, Beth."
Daryl never used her first name — only when shit got real bad. Still, the single syllable of her name in his wild voice anchored her to the Earth. The world wasn't cruel enough to kill her yet nor was it kind enough for her to be out of her mind enough to see him.
The girl giggled, the noise loud and almost carefree. Tears flooded her vision, blotting the world away and distorting the forest around her. The wind, however, didn't quite hide the sudden snarl in the not-so-distance. "I tried, Daryl. I wish I could sing us to sleep…see you smile…sit with you…" A vicious growl sounded closer to her. She winced, closing her eyes as the moonshine shack flooded the darkness. "Just one more time." The uncoordinated, loud steps of the walker closing in on her felt like walls encasing all around her, shrinking.
Opening her eyes, Beth exhaled. Every sound disappeared. Birds chirping in the distance quelled. The wind gently settled then scrambled — indecisive like she'd been at her last school dance. The cool, wet air warmed as it fell around her, enveloping her like her daddy's hug. Scattered leaves whispered along the ground until a few stuck to her scrubs.
The walker was five steps away from her. The lack of sleep. No real food in more than a week. She couldn't hunt worth a damn. Her God damned cold. All the fight she had fleeing Atlanta, finding Terminus, and pushing forward. Beth Greene was at fate's mercy now.
Heavy eyelids lulled her into a somewhat peaceful fear. Numb. "D-Daryl…"
The walker reached out for Beth's leg, its bony, fleshy grasp too strong to overcome. The creature crouched down at her level, meeting the platinum blond's pale gaze. Beth winced back against the tree trunk supporting her body upright. But when she expected the monster's bite, a thin, long, stick-shaped object flew out of nowhere to her left. The walker fell on top of her, its teeth grazing the flesh of her neck but not piercing skin.
"Beth!"
The world went black; however, before she slipped into the dark, the heavy weight of the creature lifted from her body. Rough, callused hands pulled her a little away from the trunk. Home. If this was death, Beth succumbed to its gentle control.
Thank you! I'd love to hear what you think of this story so far.