I Made It. ~ a Beth Greene survival story.

Chapter 2: Changes

 

    The truck ride was quieter than expected.  Everyone sat huddled in the back of the firetruck, still astounded at what I had done. Maggie had wrapped her arms around me and fell half asleep on my shoulder.

     I glance up to see Daryl eyeballing me from across the truck. It looks as if he has something to say but can't quite get it out. I can read him like a book. He has that same look that he gave me the night I was taken. Although it's easy to tell how he's feeling, you can never fully understand what exactly it is that he's feeling. Is it hope? Excitement? Maybe even love? I doubt it. Daryl had always been reserved and preferred to be alone. For almost months I was positive him and Carol had something going on, but I guess Carol's in the same situation I'm in. It's confusing.

     "Then we head towards Richmond. " I heard Rick say from the passengers seat of the truck. Richmond? I thought. Why Richmond?  Then I remembered.  Noah would finally be reunited with his family he had been longing to see. I turned and gave Noah a big smile, and he returned with an even bigger one.

     We approached the the sign reading, Now exiting Georgia, and I felt like a new person. Goodbye Daddy, I said in my head right as we passed the sign. Nearly hours had passed in complete silence, other than the few stops to siphone gas off nearby emergency vehicles. I begin to wonder if I caused some tension with the group with what I did.

     "About what happened back there....," I begin to say.  "I-" BOOM!  

The truck begins to slow and everyone jumps up frantic about what it was.

"SON OF A DICK!" Abraham yells from the driver's seat.

     Everyone hops out the truck to examine what caused the noise.  Sticking out the back tire was what seemed to be a broken arm bone, most likely from a walker, or even just a dead corpse.

     "We'll find another vehicle. We've been runnin' on fumes anyway." Rick said in an almost upsetting tone.

     After walking nearly seven miles down the road, we found no vehicles in the area. We pushed on a few more miles, hoping for a van or truck to be in the area, but none were found. I had tired out and began walking towards the back of the group, where Daryl happened to be. I slowly eased my way toward his path and walked beside him.

     "I didn't think I would find you....." He said under his breath, not daring to look me in the eye. It may not have sounded like it, but he was genuinely happy that I made it out of the hospital.

     "It's okay,  I know it seemed nearly impossible at the time. I didn't even know if you made it out alive that night. They leave the stronger ones behind,  that's just what they do" I said as I looked in his direction.

"I don't see why they took you then..." He said softly.

     Daryl casually strolled up towards Rick, advising that we seek shelter before nightfall. What did he mean by that?  I didn't think much of it. I followed the group into a nearby cabin. The cabin had been nearly engulfed in leaves and moss, but hey, anything is better than nothing.

     I make my way into the bathroom of the cabin. I check my stitches on my face as Maggie walks in to check on me.

     "What did that nasty bitch do to you..." She says as she checks the wounds on my face. She pulls me into a tight hug, and we talk in private for what seemed like forever. Maggie still treated me like a child, but I guess that's what you expect from an older sister. No matter how many times I said I was fine, she questioned me more and more. Finally we got off the subject of me, and I learned about her struggle after the prison assault.

     "What's Terminus?" I questioned her after she had brought up the name.

     "Ask Rick, Daryl, or Glenn about it..." She replied, "They saw more than I did, but don't expect them to be comfortable talking about it. Just give them some time." She said as she pulled me in and kissed me on the cheek. She exited the room as a remained sitting on the floor.

     I made my way back to the group and sat on the dirty couch in the center of the room. Rick had started a fire in the fireplace and began to heat up the last few cans of beans we had left. The cabin was small, yet comforting since I was with all my friends again. I still felt weird being surrounded by all the new group members,  but they were friendly and seemed like good people.

     " I think we all missed your singing since you left....we all could use a song after everything lately.." Michonne said.

     "I don't know. According to Daryl my singing wasn't much appreciated." I jokingly said as I smiled at Daryl.

     I couldn't think of a good song to sing, so I sang the same song I played for Daryl that night. By the time I was done, the beans were done cooking. After eating,  everyone decided to go to sleep. We still had plenty more miles to go, and it won't be easy.

*Sorry this was kind of a filler chapter,  but things will get intense pretty soon! I honestly don't think I'll take the Daryl/Beth "romance" much farther, but who knows. I definitely will keep them kind of reminiscing about their time together though. Thanks for reading this chapter!*