Small Miracles
Beth Greene is not dead. Though it is not for a lack of trying.
After eight long years spent in the CRM's grasp, struggling to find reasons to continue surviving, Beth finally finds her reason: Rick and Daryl are alive, and they are closer than she ever could've guessed. Now she must take advantage of her only opportunity to escape and track them down.
Along the way, she revisits all of the places that changed her into who she has become. And she is forced to remember who she truly is at heart despite how unrecognizable she finds herself.
But she has an unexpected ally along for the journey. Just the same as her, he is somewhat of a living miracle. Except he's no longer living... he's a walker.
Moonshine Awards 2023 Third Place Winner for Best WIP ZA, and Second Place Winner for Best WIP Reunion/Fix It!
Chapter 26 // Part 17: North Carolina III
A moment of silence passes over them. Or, more realistically, hangs over them. Like a bomb waiting to drop. Like a noose waiting to tighten. And then, unable to be left hanging in this purgatory of uncertainty for even a moment longer, Beth takes a long drag off her cigarette and holds the smoke in her lungs for as long as possible before asking, “What was it?” “What was what?” Amanda shoots back, though her tone betrays her ignorance. Beth pauses. She exhales long and slow, watching the cloud of smoke expel from between her lips and dissipate before her eyes. “What was it that—what made you think he loved me? What made you so sure? You an’ Edwards?” Another moment of silence passes between them. Beth can feel the tension like a physical thing. Like a rope pulled taut, like a bubble ready to burst. Still, she doesn’t turn her head to look at Amanda. She simply waits. Then Amanda speaks softly, her voice cracking as she recalls, “Well… the way he looked at you. Anybody with eyes could’ve seen it. But I guess that was something more subtle. For all we knew, it could’ve been the guy with the Colt Python who loved you—the way he grabbed you once you made it over to their side. But… no. It wasn’t him. He loved you like a daughter, or a little sister. That was obvious.” “Rick,” Beth manages to say. “What?” “The guy with the Colt Python. His name is Rick.” “Oh, right…” Amanda mumbles, clearing her throat awkwardly before going on, “Well, it uh, it was the looks on all their faces after Dawn shot you. It was the way he-he didn’t turn away. Rick turned away real quick. Like he was wiping the blood off his face, but it wasn’t that. He was wiping away something else, and he wouldn’t look at you after, he just kept looking at us, at the floor where your blood was pooling. But Dixon—he didn’t hesitate. He had this look on his face. It was something I’ve never seen before. I-I don’t think I’ve ever seen it since. The way he pulled out his gun and fired so fast, blew that bullet right through Dawn’s head before she could get more than a couple words out. Everything after was kind of a blur. I can’t tell you exactly what happened. I don’t remember it. But what I do remember is seeing him on the floor. “I was just standing there, useless. I thought your people were gonna kill us. I thought they were gonna shoot us all dead just like he’d shot Dawn. I begged ‘em not to, I tried to step in and stop more pointless deaths. But they didn’t even try to kill us. They all seemed… shocked. Or-or more sad than shocked. But he was the saddest. He was crying. He was picking you up like he thought—like he thought you’d wake up. He was shaking you, and then he was just… crying. Begging. Nobody moved. Not even Rick. Everybody just watched. We watched him pray, and then we watched him pick you up and carry you out in his arms. You were heavy. You were dead weight. They all knew it. All of your people—they knew it, they tried to help, but he pushed them away. He wanted to carry you, all on his own. He had you in his arms and-and he looked back at us. At me, at Edwards, at everybody. He looked back with this expression that just… it told us to go to hell. He looked back at us like he was promising something. Like he was promising he’d be back to make us pay for killing you. And then he carried you out. All the way down. And he-he never… Beth, he never looked back. Not once. All he cared about was you. We all saw it. We had no idea. Not until you took that bullet. We had no fucking clue.”
