The Walking Dead *Fan Fiction/Bethyl*

Chapter Sixteen

"Aah" I screamed, bringing the axe down heavily on the walkers head. It stopped moaning and slumped still against the ground. 

"That's that last of them." Daryl shouted to me from where he stood ten feet away. Three walkers had decided to run into our traps and devour all of our rabbits that we had caught for our meal tonight. Oh well, so much for going to bed with a full stomach. 

I walked slowly over to where the trap lay. We had covered it with leaves, but I guess it didn't fool the walkers sense of smell. I brushed away the remaining leaves that clung to the trap and gently picked up the rabbits torn apart body. I walked over to Daryl and held it out to him.

"You think we can get anything out of this?" I asked, laying it in his hands. I watched as he turned it over in his hands before finally throwing it behind him into a patch of bushes.  

"Hardly any meat to feed us for the night." He replied, a frown on his face, he bent down and wiped the rabbit blood on his jeans before reaching into his bag and pulling the piece of cloth that we tied around the horn the day we left the group. He gently took my hands and wiped the blood away. 

I smiled, and then my stomach gurgled so loud that make Daryl take a step away from me in surprise. I held my stomach tightly, trying to conceal the sound of my hunger.

"I guess I'll have to teach it not to speak." I say jokingly, glancing over his shoulder at the walker that I had taken down. It sat at the base of a small oak tree, black blood oozing out of its skull, where my knife was. But that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the bright pink bag, or what was left of it, concealed in the mucky leaves behind the tree. Only then did I hear the small whimper of a child.

I tapped Daryl's shoulder in surprise and looked up in the tree. A little girl sat perched on a small branch. Her shoulder length hair sat tangled in the small branches around her. Her eyes were red and her face was pale. I gave her a small smile and turned back to glare at Daryl.

"What should we do?" I whisper to him softly, turning my gaze back up to the little girl. "We can't just leave her up there, its not safe for her there."

"Beth, we don't know this girl. Yes, she could be sweet and innocent, but she could also be a hard rock killer." He tapped my shoulder. "Like you."

I stuck my tongue out at him for this remark. I looked at the little girl, and she trembled away from my gaze. I didn't care if she was a killer. She was a little girl, and she needed to be on solid ground.

I laid my bag on the ground slowly, keeping my gaze on the little girl. She looked away quickly, but then as curiosity gets the best of children, focused her eyes back on me once again as I slowly made my way towards the tree.

"Beth", Daryl whispered at me, warning in his voice. I could tell that he didn't like me disobeying his request to stay away. But when was the last time I ever listened to his rules?

I held my hands up to the little girl, showing her that I ment no harm to her. I watched as she backed up an inch in the trees. I moved slowly, grabbing the lowest branch and gently pulling myself up onto the first story of the tree.

I kept going until I finally came face to face with her.

"Hi" I say to her with my calmest voice, even though my heart feels like its beating out of my chest. "Whats your name?"

It takes her a little while to answer. "Fable", she whispers finally, her voice like the sound of bells.

"Hi Fable." I whisper softly. I look down at Daryl and smile, then I look back up at her. "I'm Beth." I point down. "And that's Daryl."

She gives me a slight smile. "Hi."

"How old are you?"

"I'm Thirteen." She says softly.

"Where's your family?" I ask, slowly reaching for her hand. She pulls it away quickly and buries her head into the tree.

"My daddy and I were on our way to a safe place when the monsters came, daddy pushed me up into the tree and told me to stay here until they went away... but then he- then he..." Rapid tears started pooling down Fable's face. Her head looked down the where Daryl stood. But her eyes weren't on Daryl, they were on the walker that lay at his feet. The one I had put a knife in it's head.

I gently rubbed her back until she slowly stopped crying. I couldn't imagine what she was feeling after she watched her dad get bit and then seeing us, stabbing him in the head.

"Fable". I say softly, "Were going to a safe place, maybe even the same one that you and your daddy were going to. "

She smiles, wiping her runny nose on her arm and rubbing her eyes so there free of tears.

"Do you want to come with us Fable? You don't have to be alone anymore." I ask, the question finally off my chest.

She nods quickly, and her smile widens.

"Okay then" I say with a smile on my face. "Lets get down and out of this tree."

I climb down first, making mental notes to myself on where to step. One the last branch I lose my grip, but Daryl is there to catch me just in time for me to fall. I laugh and shimmy out of his grasp.

"Ok Fable." I shout to her. "Just take your time, and if you want to, just jump down and I'll catch you."

She nodded and climbed down the tree with ease. When she reached the bottom, she ran and hugged me.

I slowly wrapped my arms around the small little girl. Her body warm and frail, eased my mind. But now all I could think about is how were we going to do this? We barely had enough food to feed the both of us. We could hardly escape many of the walkers that we were put up against with just the two of us. 

With all this racing though my mind, I realized now why Daryl was telling me to leave the girl. It wasn't because she was a danger or a threat. It was because we were a danger to her, and we would surely be the ones that would bring this innocent girl's death.

=========================================================================

WELL THERE YOU GO GUY'S, CHAPTER 16 :) I HAD SUCHH A FUN TIME WRITING THIS CHAPTER AND PUTTING FABLE INTO THE STORY. ORIGINALLY I WASN'T PLANNING ON IT, BUT THEN IT CAME TO ME IN A DREAM ON HOW FUN IT WOULD BE IF DARYL AND BETH WOULD HAVE A KID?

WELL THEN I CAME TO THINKING THAT IT REALLY COULDN'T BE THAT WAY BECAUSE WHO WOULD WANT TO BRING A CHILD INTO THIS HELL LIKE WORLD (LORI !! )

SO THE IDEA OF FABLE WAS BORN, AND SHE IS JUST A LITTLE PURE BALL OF JOY.

ON THE SIDE IS A PICTURE OF WHAT I SEE HER AS.

HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS CHAPTER.. MAKE SURE TO VOTE AND COMMENT!

THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!

-ANNA