I Am Strong- A Bethyl Fanfiction

"She's not dead."

She was covered in bright red gore and shaking when the others found her. Completely coated in crimson fluid, and not walker blood either. Beth Greene was dripping with fresh human blood.

Daryl Dixon had began the run with Rick, Michonne, Tyreese and Glenn in hopes of finding food, maybe some blankets or coats for the group. It was supposed to be a simple run, they were just meant to get in and out of the Walmart they were raiding as quickly as possible.

They had snuck in through the back door, knowing that the front of the store would surely be crawling with walkers. It was locked, but he easily busted the cheap lock with his knife.

"That's a good thing." Glenn reminded him.

"Means no one's been through here first. Should be some supplies left."

"Better be," Daryl replied in a low voice.

"We ain't gon' last much longer without it."

Nodding to himself, Daryl looked back at the group one last time before swinging open the door, crossbow raised, his eyes searching the room for any signs of walkers. After finding none, he lowered his weapon and jerked his head towards the group, signalling them that it was ok to enter, as they slowly crept inside, everyone's hand on their sheathed weapons, just in case any biters decided to try and sneak up on them.

"Alright people, let's do a sweep. Rick and Glenn, you guys look for food, anything we can eat, especially stuff for Asskicker, alright?" Daryl instructed.

Rick and Glenn nodded, before both heading over through the door at the front of the room, into the Walmart centre and to the far end, where the canned goods are usually stocked.

"Michonne, Tyreese, I need to you try and find some batteries and water, got that?"

The katana-wielding woman unsheathed her blade, silently slipping through the doorway and out of Daryl's sight. Tyreese followed her closely.

He sighed to himself. That left him to find some clothes and blankets for the group, as winter was quickly approaching and the temperature had already begun to drop. He had no idea what sizes to look for, so he just began randomly shoving whatever looked warmest from the racks he found in the clothing section into his duffel bag.

He pushed some ugly orange pairs of shorts out of the way as he continued his search for winter clothing, when something caught his eye. At the back, concealed behind the shorts he had just moved, hung a pale yellow polo shirt, nearly identical to the one Beth had been wearing when she was taken from him. His breath caught in his throat as the painful memories of the small blonde rushed into the front of his mind, although they never did stray too far.

It was all his fault. He had failed to get to her in time, and she had been taken from him as a result of it. If only he hadn't opened that door, if only he had been thinking about what might be on the other side instead of the 'oh' hanging from her lips, then he could've saved her. He should've done a better job of protecting her, but it was too late. He had failed, and she was gone. Taken by that goddamn bastard in the black car with the white cross. He felt the pain fresh in his mind every day, from the minute he woke up to when he went to sleep, he felt the raw ache of missing her in his mind and in his heart.

He took the yellow polo, gently sliding it out of the plastic hanger, and tucked it neatly into the side flap of his bag. To remind him of her. To remind him of what he had failed to do, and how he could never make that mistake ever again.

God, how he missed her.

He found some baby clothes a little further on down the aisle, along with a few baby toys and pacifiers, so he threw them all into their bag, not caring if they were too big because at the rate that the Lil' Asskicker was growing at the moment, it wouldn't be too long at all until they fit just fine.