The Bet

Part 11

Emerging from the woods, you purposely stepped on a twig to snap in, drawing the armed men's attention towards you and away from Daryl and Beth.

"Whoa there," the man with salt and pepper hair said, walking towards you with his gun raised. "What we got here boys?"

You raised your hands and twisted your face to a look of fear.

"I'm just... oh, my god. Sir, I'm sorry, I am just lost," you thickened your voice with as much panic as you could.

At the sound of the conversation, Daryl looked up, his eyes wide over the gag covering his mouth. Beth also saw you and looked over to see Daryl's expression. When she looked back at you, her eyes were pleading for help.

"Well ain't we just a lucky bunch of bastards tonight gents! Two beautiful young girls and one poor fucker who gets to watch!"

Turning to see the reactions and laughs of his friends, you took the opportunity to draw your weapon from the waistband of your sweatpants and point it at the closest of the men, pulling your trigger quickly and pointing at the next man before the first hit the ground.

Daryl recoiled in surprise, twisting in his restraints to try and get to you. The rest of the men pointed their weapons, but before they could aim and shoot at you, a gunshot from the perimeter of the woods took down one more of the men.

"Now, gents..." you started, all fear washed from your face, "I'm gonna bet that you couldn't get a shot off before one of my companions out there dropped two more of you."

You moved slowly around the remaining men and closer to where Daryl and Beth sat.

"You have no idea how many of us are out there... Seems like you may be better off letting the house win this one."

The man with salt and pepper hair watched you with the eyes of a hawk. He allowed a quick flicker of a glance over at Daryl and Beth seeming to weigh his options.

"Maybe we can talk this out darlin'," he said, a snake-like grin spreading across his face.

"First of all, don't call me darlin'," you said aiming the gun at his head; a small snap of a twig behind you and Daryl's expression told you to turn and fire. As you did, the man that was about to jump you from behind had their head exploded by another gunshot from out in the woods.

Without warning, Maggie, Sasha, and Bob emerged from the opposite side of the wood line, guns drawn and pointed at the gang of marauders.

You drew in a deep breath, turned and smiled at the man. Behind him, Glenn, Abraham, Rosita, and Eugene also emerged, weapons raised and ready to fire.

"Secondly," you said, feeling exhausted, yet somehow exhilarated, "you shoulda run when you had the chance."

As if on cue, Daryl was on his feet and knocking the man off his and onto the ground. Beth was up and running at one of the other one men nearby. Gunfire erupted for the second time that day, and this time there was no avoiding it. Both groups firing at the other, but in the end, the ones who were holding Daryl and Beth were the ones on the ground covered in blood.

When the echoes of the shots finally died down throughout the trees, Glenn saw Maggie through the dust and smoke. Running to her, they grabbed onto the other for dear life. Maggie was laughing through her tears while covering Glenn's face in kisses.

Abraham and Rosita gave each other a weary smile, feeling as though they had done the right thing by staying. Looking around, Abe was surveying the damage when he spotted her laying on the ground.

"Oh shit," he said kneeling where Beth lay on the ground.

Maggie's eyes traveled down to where Abraham knelt. The scream that left her body was otherworldly, and something you knew you'd never forget. Beth's eyes were closed, and blood poured from a hole in her sweater, right where her heart had been. Maggie fell to the ground, covering her little sister with her own body.