Tomorrow Will Be Kinder {IHOFIL Sequel}

Chapter 7: "Misfits"

{Mentions of rape- you've been warned my lovelies}

Beth remembered the first time.

First time of everything.

First time eating ice-cream, first time kissing a boy, first time getting a C- on that assignment she'd rushed the night before.

It wasn't like they were important details, but they helped her remember what the world was like without rotting corpses and starving men. She'd spent so long trying to document them in her head, keeping a list of everything she could and the things that made her happy; driving the tractor on the farm on the odd occasion or swimming in the lake with her friends in summer or that first frost when winter's on the way.

All the little things that matter or make her feel safe. Memories of a better world and the days that never came.

It was memories like those that helped her; gave her perhaps a reason to live. Some of them were stupid, just times when she'd heard a joke at the back of a classroom or went for milkshakes with her friends.

Some of them were far more important. It was times like these that she needed them, when all hope was lost and little Beth Greene, far from selfish, worried about the ones she loved most. If she didn't have them, what did she have?

The answer was simple: nothing.

The memories were her way of holding onto herself- the person she used to be; poor fourteen year-old Beth who watched the world turn to nothing but rubble and broken-hearted men.

"Did you hear the gunshot?"

Beth nodded, biting into the skin on her thumb nail. "Of course I did and every walker for a mile probably did too."

"I heard they brought a man in, pretty beat-up," the woman then offered, ignoring Beth's concern. "He has a group too; kids and adults. Alex was talking about maybe finding them. It'd be nice to see some new faces."

Beth was naïve but not stupid. She knew they would just be used as cattle. She had seen the way people disappeared around here only to never be seen again and she'd seen- and tasted- deer meet and it was nothing like that. She'd put off eating as much as she could, the thought of eating people left a bitter and unpleasant taste in her mouth.

"So, what are the planning to do with him if his group comes to find him?" she asked, chewing on a loose piece of skin on her index finger. "They could be dangerous."

"Dunno, he's in the infirmary right now. Maybe if they think we're helping him then they'll go easy on us and we can find them a place in our community. Like we did with you."

"I barely contribute."

The woman shrugged, a playful smirk on her face. "You keep Gareth happy," she teased. "That keeps us happy. As long as we're concerned, you're good for him and that's good for us."

"I'm glad," Beth offered, not really knowing what to say.

"So am I. Look, you should probably go visit Gareth, he's in the infirmary too. Azy tried to kill him as far as we know and he needs stitching up. He's not too happy considering we just found her. Got herself caught up in another group, got hypothermia and probably another number of things. Gareth is discussing her punishment with the rest of the council."

"Aisl- Azy wouldn't do that. She's good, she likes Gareth."

"Not Gareth she had a problem with," the woman muttered, staring off into the woods.