The walker stumbled towards them, Rick's face frozen with fear and shock realization.
"Get up!" Daryl barked, grabbing his shirt and tugging him to his feet. "We've gotta go."
The walker, once formally known as Chloe, reached a rotting hand towards them, the sound of gunfire now distinct in the distant.
"Chloe?" the Sheriff sobbed, trying to get to her but his friend wouldn't let him. "No, no. You're not- You're not one of them. Chloe!"
"Come on, we've gotta get out of here and get the group together. You need to let her go."
His friend spun on him, "Yeah? And when will you give Beth up? Atleast she's alive."
Daryl stared, considering the words before he buried his knife in the skull of the decaying body of Chloe. "This is different," he argued. "Chloe's dead, Beth isn't."
"She might be," Rick spat, immediately regretting his harsh words.
The redneck ignored him, turning and sprinting towards the open door to the prison. He needed to get his family out of there and if he couldn't, they'd all be dead. He just prayed to whatever God existed that he keep the ones he loved safe, unlike Merle and his father and mother.
A few bodies lie in a heap on the ground, unrecognisable. Daryl crept along the concrete floor of his home, crossbow in hand and prepared for whatever came around the corner. Their was the sound of babies crying but they were so distant that he had no hope of reaching the child in time to silence it.
"Rick, get Judith and Carl out of here!" he barked, hoping his friend heard him. "I'll get the others."
"You got it," came the close reply and upon further inspecting the darkness behind him, he could see the outline of Rick.
Without another word, they both departed separate ways, hoping to see one another once again after the second battle for the prison this week.
"Daryl?" asked a voice and when the crossbow-wielding man turned, he saw Carl holding both the children; Nevaeh and Judith.
"Your dad is looking for you, come on," he growled, motioning behind him. "You'll have to carry the two kids, I'll protect you guys."
"Have you seen Beth?" the teenager asked. "Last I saw her, she was shooting at a few invaders."
"By herself?" Daryl barked, angry. "You let her do that herself?"
"She's capable, Daryl .Besides , she said she could do it and I trust her to. I'll take these two to my father and you go find her, she could use some help."
The redneck considered it but shook his head. "I have to keep you safe, I promised ya dad. Besides, like you said, Beth can handle herself. We should trust her."
Daryl paused outside Beth's cell then stepped inside it quietly. "I have to get something, wait here. Call if you need help, 'kay?"
"Be quick," Carl hissed.
Daryl nodded to him then began ruffling underneath his ex-girlfriend's mattress. It sure sounded creepier than it was.
His hands immediately found the note and he grinned to himself, pocketing it. She'd written it a while ago and made him promise that he'd give it to Rick, Carl, Nevaeh, Aislynn, Chloe, Judith and Michonne if she died or was never again. He'd refused at first but there he was, pocketing what seemed like the last words she'd ever say to him on a decaying piece of paper that could in no way ever describe how she truly loved him.
This was all before she'd broken his heart, of course.
The note was addressed to eight people, including Chloe and Aislynn but they were both long gone. When he'd opened the note, he'd be a fool not to notice both of their names were rewritten and a large line was drawn through both of them as if she'd rubbed it out; almost as if she'd crossed them off her list then changed her mind. Ever the hopeful she was, she probably still believed they were both still alive.
"Carl?" Daryl said, emerging from the cell with the paper note rustling in his jean pocket. "Your dad went this way, he was trying to find you."
"Okay, we should go," the young boy agreed, struggling with the weight of the two toddlers in his arms. "But be quick, these two are heavy."
They both set off, walking as quickly as they could as Carl struggled with his sister and the orphaned child.
The two children were just about the only things innocent in this world but even then, Judith had killed his mother.
{________________}
Beth let out a long string of curses, mad at herself for not taking the ammo Carl had offered her. She had one bullet left and she preferred to save it in case she needed a quick way out.
"Where are you hiding, blondie? We're going to find you," came a chorus of voices but if she had to guess, there were probably only two invaders in the room with her.
When a hand grasped her shoulder, she wanted to scream, afraid of being caught out, but instead Rick flopped down beside her. "I found Chloe," he whispered to her. "She was one of them; a walker."
"What? How?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say the invaders took her and planned to use her to lure us out but their plan fell through and she ended up trying to tear the flesh from our bones instead."
"So, you think they have Aislynn too?"
Rick shrugged, rubbing his face. "We need to kill them, Beth. I can't let Carl and Daryl lose anyone else. That's why I'm here. You need to get out of here and find them, Carl will probably have Judith and Nevaeh."
"Are you crazy?" Beth said, her voice hushed. "I'm not leaving you here, Carl can't lose anyone else, remember? That includes you, his father. He isn't going to become an orphan, neither is Judith. No one else can be an orphan, not like Nevaeh and I."
Rick leaned in close to her, his mouth to her ear. "Tell Carl I love him and Judith, will you?"
"Rick, I'm not leaving you, stop being an idiot. I love you," Beth said, oviously hinting towards their platonic bond, "and we're getting out of here. Everyone we love is getting out of here. Alive."
"My son and daughter need you, so does Daryl. Don't you be an idiot, Beth. Take my gun and go, I can hold them off long enough for you all to escape safely. Also, tell Michonne I appreciate all she's done for us, just tell them all I love them, even Daryl, okay? Tell Daryl that he's my brother and I didn't want to leave them."
Beth shook her head, crying. "No, Rick. You're not doing this. It's suicide and you'll regret it; I do."
She revealed the scar on her wrist, one hand over her mouth to conceal the sound of her sobbing. "I tried to and once I'd made the cut, I regretted it. You will too."
"But I'm doing this for my family, you did that for you."
"I thought you'd all be better off without me, it was all for you guys. Everything I do is for you guys, okay? I was giving Maggie and my father a chance to live and now they're dead. You see? Maybe if I hadn't been a coward, they'd be here right now."
"Yeah, here and missing you."
Beth tried to subdue the shake in her voice but she couldn't. "You're going to leave, okay? I'm going to distract them and you're going to find your family. O-Once you find them, tell Daryl I'm sorry."
"Is that all you want to say?"
"Tell him I'm a very good liar," she laughed, her voice as quiet as she could keep it to remain hidden. "Tell him that I love him."
"I hate leaving you here by yourself," Rick hissed, a hand placed comfortingly on her shoulder. "If you get away, if you survive, we'll take you back. We'll wait for you, Beth."
She nodded, crying. "I-I'll look for you," she stuttered. "Once-If I get out, I'll look for you and I won't stop until I've found you."
"Good luck," Rick said softly. "I hope to see you again."
Beth handed him something hard and soft, letting it fall into his hand. "Give this to Nevaeh, okay? Wait until she's a bit older, tell her it's from Aunty Beth."
Rick nodded, "I will."
And without a few seconds, she was all alone; the only sound that of the invaders looking for her.
In case you didn't catch it, this chapter- the very first of hopefully many- is named after the note Beth left to her family that Daryl found under her mattress. Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Love,
Amy.