survive
JUDITH'S SOBS TURNED INTO SOFT WHIMPERS AS THEY GOT DEEPER INTO THE WOODS. Scarlett tried her best to stay calm despite the worst odds they faced, but she was failing as tears ran down her face and mixed in with the blood from her father and herself. She began to weep louder as she suddenly stopped walking.
Daryl and Beth turned around quickly as they watched her fall to her knees.
"Come on, Scar. We gotta keep moving," Daryl grunted out, crouching in front of her. "C'mon."
Breathing deeply, she realized she couldn't breathe. Beth crouched down next and placed a hand on Scarlett's shoulder. "Hey, come on. We're all right. They are alive. We'll find them. Gotta be strong for Judy. We all got jobs to do."
Scarlett nodded, breathing in and out like Beth instructed her. They heard a snarl to their left. Daryl easily took it out with his bow. He turned back to them. "Let's go."
The night was scary with the baby making sounds every so often, but they managed to survive. Daryl made a fire while Beth changed Judith. Scarlett found a creek to wash the blood from her. She grabbed one of Judith's towels and wet it to wipe the blood from the baby. Judith was drinking some of her formula when Scarlett got back. She saw Daryl roasting some birds.
Taking back Judith, she stared at the baby happily drinking her formula.
Judith was all she had left of Rick. Of Carl. Of Lori.
Scarlett felt another tear fall, but she knew she should not cry anymore. Not in front of Beth.
The next morning, they were on the move again before the sun was even in the sky. Daryl was leading them to nowhere as they kept moving. Judith was hapily gurgling on some words as she teethed on her teething ring.
"We should do something," Beth said after a while to the hunter. Daryl ignored her. Scarlett kept bouncing Judith as she walked. "We should do something!" she said again. Daryl stopped to look at her. "We aren't the only survivors. We can't be. Rick, Michonne, they could be out here. Maggie and Glenn could've made it out of A block. They could have. You're a tracker. You can track."
Daryl glanced at Scarlett, shaking his head. "Come on. Sun will be up soon."
"If we head out now, we can—fine." Beth glared at Daryl. "If you won't track, I will."
"Beth!" Scarlett hissed out as her little cousin rushed away between some bushes. Daryl grumbled something under his breath before gesturing with his bow for Scarlett to go. They were going to follow Beth.
As they kept walking, Beth was acting like she knew what she was doing when it came to tracking. Scarlett kept a gun in her hand as Judith babbled nonsense. She was still strapped to Scarlett's body.
Beth gasped out in shock as she leaned down and picked up a shoe. It was a small shoe. "Could be Luke's or Molly's. Whoever they are, it means they're alive."
Daryl crouched down as well, taking in the tracks. He did not want to get any hope reinstated. "No. This means they were alive four or five hours ago."
Beth narrowed her eyes. "They're alive."
Daryl followed the trail he could see as Scarlett kept her gaze on the woods around them. She clutched her gun tighter. "They picked up the pace right here, got out in a hurry. Things went bad."
Beth sneered at him. "Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith."
Daryl sneered right back. "Yeah, faith. Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothing for your father."
Beth shook her head, seeing a bush of berries next to them. She ignored Daryl and glanced at Scarlett. "They'll be hungry when we find them."
Scarlett smiled tightly as she looked back at Daryl. He reluctantly gave Beth a rag to keep the berries in. They kept walking some more when Scarlett slipped a bit. She looked incredulously at what she could have possible slipped on. Tightening her hold on Judith, she glanced down at the blood mixed with dirt.
She whistled slightly for Daryl to stop walking. He turned followed by Beth. She was asking why they were stopping.
"That ain't walker blood." Daryl took point and walked with the blood a bit. Scarlett did not like this moving around shit. They needed to find somewhere to hole up. "Trail keeps going."
"They fought 'em off," Beth said hopefully.
"No. Got walker tracks all up and down here, at least a dozen of 'em," Daryl grumbled out.
"Let's go the other way. Toward the looting routes you and Michonne took. Yeah?" Scarlett offered. "Maybe one of them had the same idea?"
Daryl hesitated for a moment before nodding. Judith began to cry after a while, and Daryl grumbled to shut her up. He was worried about the sound. Scarlett unstrapped the baby so she could hold her better that way Judith could sleep. Scarlett placed the pacifier in her mouth, watching Judith's eyes begin to close.
"She didn't like the position," Beth commented.
"Nah, she didn't. Picky thing," Scarlett whispered as they kept walking.
They made good headway into their trek before Beth complained they needed to eat. Scarlett grimaced even thinking of food. Her stomach grumbled though, and she knew... she knew if she was inhabited that she needed to force something down.
Daryl found a snake.
Beth had held Judith while the baby slept. Scarlett made a small fire, and she watched Daryl skin the snake. He put it over the fire, nodding toward the water he had found. Scarlett began to boil it that way they could preserve some drinking water.
"Y'know, I was gonna tell you when you got out of quarantine," Beth began softly, "but Michonne found Buck! She brought him back... and then the prison was brought down. I didn't see Buck."
"I'm sure he's fine. He's a smart horse," she murmured, poking at the fire. Scarlett was handed Judith when the baby began to stir. Daryl broke the snake's meat into sections for Scarlett and Beth. Scarlett even gave small bits to Judith, knowing they had to ration the formula. Judith managed to eat it with her growing teeth.
Scarlett felt sick after eating the snake. She gave Daryl Judith as she left the camp. She hurled in a bush not too far away. When she came back, she shook her head at their concern.
"Just getting over that sickness," she murmured, taking then baby back. She forced another piece down before reaching out and extending some to Beth. Beth ignored it.
"I need a drink."
Daryl threw the freshly boiled water toward her without even looking up. Scarlett sat Judith between her legs, letting the baby lean back on her as she gave her the teething ring.
"No, I mean a real drink as in alcohol. I've never had one because of my dad, but he's not exactly around anymore, so—I thought we could go find some," Beth explained.
"Beth," Scarlett warned.
Beth gave her a look. "Enjoy your snake jerky."
She got up and walked away with sass in her walk. Daryl looked at Scarlett with eyes that said 'Control your cousin' before he got up angrily.
"Be right back," he grunted.
Scarlett waited a minute before she heard Beth's voice circling back toward their little camp. Scarlett had just finished changing Judith when they appeared.
"What the hell? You brought me back. I'm not staying in this suck ass camp!" Beth shouted.
"Watch your mouth, Beth," Scarlett growled out, standing and stomping out the fire. Judith was restrapped to her as she shoved the diaper bag in Beth's arm. "You're lucky to be alive right now."
Beth rolled her eyes and tried to walk away. Daryl grabbed her arm angrily as he snarled out, "You had your fun."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Beth shouted out. "Do you feel anything? Yeah, you think everything's screwed. I guess that's a feeling. And you? Playing house with a baby that's not yours! Acting like our world did not just end when the prison got blown the hell up by your Daddy!"
"What did you want me to do!?" Scarlett growled out. "Stop acting like a child, Beth! We're trying our best to survive right now."
"So you want to spend the rest of our lives staring into a fire and eating mud snakes? Screw that. We might as well do something. I can take care of myself, and I'm going to get a damn drink," she finished, turning and walking off.
Scarlett reached out and pretended to strangle her baby cousin. Daryl smirked.
"Let's go," she grumbled to him.
Daryl nodded, making sure Judith was strapped well enough before taking point. Beth grinned victoriously as they all kept walking. Scarlett stabbed a walker that got too close, ignoring Judith's laughter at the action. They were tired as all hell, but Scarlett knew they needed to get out of the woods. Maybe Beth's stupid request would do them good in the end.