Bethany Sutton Chapter 15

Rather than burn off to reveal a bright summer day, as Beth had hoped, the fog remained, thick and gray, making Beth feel as though she was trapped in perpetual twilight. The ride was quiet, with everyone opting to listen to a radio station out of Savannah that gave regular reports on the traffic accident.

“Nine car pileup,” Michonne said, with a shake of her head.

“That’s because some idiots drive in any kind of weather like it’s dry and sunny. They can’t see twenty feet down the road yet some fools will drive thirty miles per hour over the speed limit,” said Rick. “Good thing we left an hour early.”

They wound up at the back of a line of cars almost two miles long. Horns honked. Tempers flared. Other drivers resigned themselves to the wait and turned off their ignitions to conserve fuel.

Forty-five minutes later traffic began to move again but at a slow crawl. Beth pressed her face to the window as they passed a line of mangled vehicles. She pitied the people involved in the carnage. There was blood on the road but thankfully no bodies were in sight.

“Just to be on the safe side, Beth, lie down and put your head in Daryl’s lap. I don’t want you visible to anyone on the side of the road,” Rick said.

Daryl pulled off his jacket and bundled it into a pillow. She maneuvered herself on the seat until she comfortably rested against Daryl.

“You thinking this is some kind of setup to catch Beth?” asked Daryl.

“No way of knowing,” said Shane. “We just need to be cautious.”

Thankfully there was no trouble. The rest of the ride was smooth sailing and they arrived at the courthouse with a few minutes to spare.

…

Beth was relieved to be off the witness stand. The court was closed to the public. Only necessary officials and witnesses were allowed in. Negan had opted for a bench trial in the matter of the Cooper murder.

He’d sat at the defense table with his eyes glued to Beth in a cold and hateful stare as she’d given her testimony. She’d found it difficult to speak up until she thought of her father, how he’d almost died. She’d lost so much to that day in Cooper’s Grocery.

Her eyes went to Daryl, who sat at the back of the court room. She couldn’t deny that she’d gained a great deal as well. She’d met and falling in love with a good man and made wonderful new friends. Not everything that had come out of that chance event had been awful.

It was easy to draw strength from Daryl. Just knowing he was there was a comfort. Now, as she gazed at him, she didn’t find it at all difficult to stand up under the weight of Negan’s glare. She completed her testimony and was released from the stand.

“You ready to eat now?” asked Daryl, putting an arm around her. “I can hear your belly growling.”

Beth nodded. “Now that it’s over I’m starving. We should go for pizza.”

“I know a place not far from here,” said Shane. He looked away as a woman with red hair approached, smiling.

“Detective Mercer! Surprised to see you here,” he said, offering his hand.

“I’m as keen as anyone to see Negan get what’s coming to him. Good work, Walsh. Maybe now we can weed out the corrupt cops back in Senoia.”

“You had a hand in it, Brigid,” he replied.

She bowed her head in acknowledgement and smiled at Beth. “You were very brave to testify today, Miss Greene.”

“Thanks.”

“You want to join us for pizza? We could, uh, have that drink we talked about,” Shane said.

Brigid clapped Shane on the arm. “I’m heading home. Gotta get back in time to pick up the kids. I’ll take a rain check.”

“You got it.”

Shane very clearly enjoyed the back view as Detective Mercer walked way. Beth snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Pizza, Agent Walsh. Pizza.”

…

Perception of time could be a tricky thing. The ride to court had seemed to fluctuate between crawling by and speeding by. Now, on the way home, Beth felt it simply crawled by. She sat next to Daryl, contemplating the news that Agent Carstairs had died in the wreck on the highway. She listened to the steady thump of the windshield wipers and the beat of the rain on the truck, wondering how much of that was a coincidence and if someone had been waiting to kill her as they’d driven by the wrecked cars. What bothered Beth was that Carstairs hadn’t been the only casualty in that ‘accident.’ Two other people had died with him.

“Those people…if I hadn’t gone to the store that day for ice cream I wouldn’t have witnessed Mr. Cooper’s murder. I wouldn’t have gone on the run. Agent Carstairs wouldn’t have been murdered and taken two innocent people with him.”

Daryl squeezed her hand. “None of that was your fault, Beth. That’s on Carstairs and whoever killed him, not you.”

She took very little comfort from his words, even though she knew they were fact.

“I want us to have a talk when we get home,” Daryl said quietly, under the sound of the rain the wipers, and the music that spilled from the speakers.

“About what?”

“Our future,” he said.

Beth felt cold in her stomach at those words. What did he mean he wanted to talk about their future? She worried it over for almost an hour before they reached home. They emerged from the truck and received a wet and sloppy greeting from the guard dogs.

Exhausted, Beth peeled off her jacket once she reached the bedroom. Eight hours total on the road, the testimony, news of Carstairs’ death, the dreary weather, and worry over Daryl’s comment, took it out of her. She made her way to the shower and turned the water on as hot as she could stand it.

“You got quiet on the way back,” Daryl said, when she came into the bedroom to change into her pajamas. “Something wrong? You’re not still beating yourself up over the accident, are you?”

“I’m just tired is all.”

Daryl wasn’t buying it. He could sense something was off. “Baby, what’s wrong? Don’t shut me out, please.”

“You said we needed to talk about our future. Sounded like a prelude to a break-up.”

Daryl burst into laughter. “No! I just wanted to know where I’m gonna fit into your life now. I mean, do you plan to stay in Springston? Do you plan to back to the farm?”

Beth gave it serious consideration. She hadn’t really thought of what she would do now that the drama was over and she and her family were safe.

“I don’t know. I’d love to be near my father but…I want to be wherever you are. You’ve become home for me.”

Daryl felt pain in his chest. It was the kind of pain born of love and happiness. He swallowed. “I am?”

Beth nodded and put her arms around him.

“We’ll work it out,” he promised, feeling Beth yawn against his chest. She hadn’t been lying about being tired. He was, too. “We won’t be apart.”

“Come to bed. We need some rest and I want you to hold me.”

Daryl snuggled up behind her. “We’ll figure it out in the morning,” he said, but she was already asleep.

…

At first Beth thought the loud crack and the shaking around her was part of a dream she’d woken from. Instead she opened her eyes to see a bright orange glow outside of her bedroom window, which faced the front of the house. Warning sirens began to blast through every room.

“Beth, get up,” Daryl said.

The sound of gunfire and a man crying out shot even more adrenaline through Beth’s body. She was wide awake when she jumped out of bed and followed Daryl to the door. He made certain it was locked and then grabbed his shoes.

“Put your shoes on. We may have to go outside.”

She hurried to slip into them. Someone banged on the door, making her heart thunder even harder.

“Beth? Daryl?”

“Lori,” whispered Daryl.

He unlocked the door and yanked it open. Lori shoved a gun to his chest. “We’ve got a breach. The gun is really simple. Point and pull the trigger.”

“I know how to shoot,” he said.

“I do too,” said Beth.

Lori reached down to her ankle and pulled a small gun from a holster under her pant leg and gave it to Beth.

“We’re going to get you to the panic room. Don’t come out for anything or anyone but Rick, Michonne, or one of the team. Even if they identify themselves as police.”

“Got it,” Daryl answered.

They followed Lori into the hall. Smoke had wafted up from the first floor. It stung at Beth’s eyes and burned at her throat. She stuck close to Daryl, who walked cautiously along behind Lori.

“I’ll cross the staircase first,” she whispered. “I’ll cover you from the other side.”

She’d taken just one step out when a bullet whizzed dangerously close to her head and slammed into the wall behind her. Rather than duck back, Lori began to fire as she rushed across the hall.

“Come on!” she shouted, still firing down the stairs. Daryl tucked her beside him, using his body as a shield, and rushed Beth across the hall.

“Why did you do that?” she demanded. “They could have shot you.”

“I’m keeping you safe,” he answered. “I’ll die before I let something happen to you.”

Lori approached a pad fitted into the wall. She punched in a code but nothing happened.

“Fuck,” she whispered.

“What?”

“We’re locked out of the panic room. Let’s go.”

They ran to the room at the end of the hall. Lori ushered them in and slammed the door shut, locking it, just as several bullets slammed into it, making heavy thudding sounds.

“The door is bullet proof,” she said, pulling out her phone. She went to the window and looked down.

The back yard was empty with the exception of two men keeping watch by a black SUV. The yard lights illuminated them fully but they were unable to see into the darkened bedroom that Lori was in.

“Come on, Rick,” she said. She received no answer and hung up.

“Follow me,” said Lori.

“The bathroom?” Beth said.

“Secret passage,” Daryl answered. “You should have studied the schematics of the house, Baby.”

“I will if we live through this,” answered Beth.

Daryl squeezed her shoulder as he nudged her along in front of him, careful to keep to her back, again acting as a shield should someone breach the room and start shooting.

“I thought this was over,” said Beth.

“So did we,” Lori answered. She walked into the shower and pulled on the hot water handle. The tiles beside her seemed to crack and give way as they moved inward and to the left, revealing a dark staircase. Lori flipped a switch and yellow bulbs emitted a very dull light, just enough to see the steep winding staircase in front of them. Once they were all inside, she pressed a button that sealed the entrance.

“Keep moving. We’re going to the rear garage.”

Beth carefully navigated her way down the winding staircase. The metal grating the steps were made of echoed around them. It was such a tight, steep descent Beth began to feel dizzy. She was grateful when they reached the bottom and had a moment to stop and get her bearings.

“Someone disabled the panic room,” Lori said, looking at Daryl.

“How is that possible?”

Lori shook her head. “A hacker could do it. They’d have to be very good. Better than Michonne, who designed the system.”

“Or maybe someone on the inside?”

“That’s possible. Unlikely, but possible.”

“What do we do now?”

Lori was looking at a screen set into the wall. “The garage is clear. There’s an armored truck inside. We’re going to get in it and drive to another safe house.”

“But what about Andrea and the others?” asked Beth.

“They can take care of themselves. This is about getting you to safety. Follow me.”

When the door was open Lori went through first, pointing her gun ahead of her. She cleared the room, though she didn’t like the partially open garage door. She checked under the truck, which looked like something from a dystopian sci-fi movie, and then checked behind it.

“Clear,” she said. Her phone buzzed. She pulled it out to answer it. “Andrea. We’re in the rear garage with the armored truck,” she whispered. “Everyone else?...We’ll wait.”

It took two minutes for Andrea to arrive. Those minutes had seemed to stretch into eternity, leaving Beth exposed every second of it, before Andrea finally entered through a door on the other side of the garage. She kept imagining someone jumping out of the truck to shoot at her.

“Rick’s with Michonne and Shane,” Andrea said, coming in and giving Lori a kiss. “He wants you to get them to safe house seven.”

“That’s the plan,” Lori said, nodding. “You’re coming with, right? You’re wounded.”

“I thought I’d stay and help.”

Lori side eyed Andrea. “What are you not telling me? I’m not a kid, Andrea. I can take whatever it is you have to say.”

“Jacqui and Axel are dead.”

“Goddamn it,” Lori hissed. “Who is this? FBI? How many are there?”

“We don’t know how many there are or who they’re with,” answered Andrea, leading them around to the back of the truck where she grabbed the handle of the door to let Beth and Daryl slip in. “Let’s get going. We’ll wait for Rick to--”

“Down!” Daryl shouted, shoving Beth and Andrea out of the way. Beth hit the cold concrete floor of the garage just as she heard a booming sound and Daryl cry out. She looked back to see him raise his gun and fire.

“Daryl!”

A man fell face first from the truck with a bullet wound directly center of his forehead. Beth shoved the body off Daryl and knelt by his side. He had a gunshot wound in the upper right side of his chest and his eyes were closed.

“Somebody help!”

“Help me get him into the truck!” Lori shouted.

“Do something!” Beth wept, hysterical now.

“We’ll get him to the hospital but you have to help, Beth!” Andrea shouted.

She helped Andrea and Lori pick him up and put him into the back of the truck where blood and brains had been sprayed. Beth didn’t care about the gore or the stench of death. Daryl’s breathing was ragged and blood was spreading from the wound at an alarming rate.

“Please, please, please,” she wept.

“Put pressure on the wound,” Andrea said, yanking the door shut.

A moment later the truck fired to life and rocked as Lori drove out of the garage. Someone was firing at them but it didn’t stop the truck, which kept going. Beth watched as Daryl became pale and, to her horror, stopped breathing.

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