Hello, dear readers! I've come back with another story. But, this one is purely an experiment. I'm not sure if I want to continue it, so I'm leaving it up to you! I'm going to write two chapters, including this one and if you want me to continue, I will. It's going to be purely based on whether you guys like it or not! The next chapter will be from Beth's point of view. So, please, don't be afraid to review and tell me what you think!

Daryl had felt like the color had been sucked from his world. Beth had been ripped from him. He had ran all night for her, but it was all for nothing. He had ended up at a crossroads with no sign of her in any direction. His chest was tight and ached for the girl he had become quite attached to. He was just starting to believe in the world again and it was all his hope was viciously taken from him.

He couldn't help his mind from wandering to all the horrible, disturbing possibilities that could be happening to her. He squeezed his eyes shut until colors danced behind his eyelids. There were too many endings to the things he thought of, all of them worse than the previous. Daryl forced his eyes open, gazing at the intersection before him. He peered down the railroad in front of him, heads bobbing in the distance.

Fear lanced through him. It wasn't a fear of walkers – it was a fear of people. After what had happened to the prison, the trust that he was learning to develop was crushed. His trust lay in only one person at the moment and she was missing. Coming to his senses, Daryl darted into the trees to his right. He ran in a few feet, pressing his back to a thick tree, turning his head to watch the group of men pass.

He could tell by the way they walked, the arrogance in their step, that they were trouble. He slunk back against the rough bark of the tree, waiting it out until they had wandered farther down the road. Wherever they were headed, he'd be headed in the opposite direction even if it meant venturing farther off from Beth. He knew it in his heart that he would find her. If he didn't, he would never forgive himself.

Once Daryl heard their footsteps fade off, he slithered out of the woods, crossbow raised in defense. But it wasn't needed. He was utterly alone and it weighed down his shoulders once he realized it. He had grown so accustomed to having Beth at his side, her warmth keeping him company. He was now the one thing he never wanted to be. Alone. But anger flared in his veins when he realized that Beth wasn't. She was with her captors. She was with the enemy, and that was the last thing she wanted. Daryl and Beth were alike in so many ways.

He took a deep breath, glaring up at the early morning sun. He thought to Beth and what she was doing – if she was still alive. Daryl quickly banished those thoughts from his mind, taking in his surroundings once again. He had come from behind and had only two options of a route to take. He scoured the ground for any trace of tread marks but there wasn't even a ghost of one. He would have to live on a prayer and hope that the road he took led to Beth.

Daryl forced his legs to carry him forward though he was beyond exhausted. He would have to find some place to rest soon because tired equaled dead and dead was no help to Beth. As he pushed himself to carry on, Daryl's eyes hunted the ground in sweeping passes looking for any sign of his blonde. It didn't even have to be obvious – it could have been a boot print, a thread from her shirt, blood or hair, just anything to give him a heading.

But he was still coming up empty. Everything he came across was old or caused by a walker. There was a fine line between sloppy movements and kidnappings. Nothing looked isolated to him. Daryl kept to the side of the road near the forest. If Beth was smart and got away from her kidnappers, she would dart for the forest. He liked to think he taught her well and could kill whoever was holding her captive.

Daryl sighed, running a hand over his weary face, his palm coming back coated with sweat. It didn't help his cause with the sun being so sweltering hot and him pushing himself farther than ever. He looked farther down the road in the distance. Chills ran through down his spine upon seeing the scene in front of him. It was a car crashed onto the side of the road. He could just see the shadow of through the heat floating off the blacktop. Daryl forced his aching legs into a run as he darted for the car.

There was a large possibility that this was the car that had drove off with Beth. Or the men that Daryl had almost ran into had something to do with it. But either way, the group would have surely checked it out. Daryl slowed to a jog when he saw the image of a white cross spanning across the back windshield of the car. The tingles in his back intensified upon seeing the distinguishing feature. This was the car that took off with Beth, that Daryl knew was true.

It had crashed into the embankment on the side of the road; the front end crushed and compacted. He could tell by the skid marks leading up to the crash that something had happened while they were driving and the wreck wasn't intentional. He hoped and prayed that Beth caused the accident, and that she was alive. Daryl liked to think she did. If it weren't for this crash, Daryl would never had known he was on the right path.

Daryl approached the wreckage slowly, crossbow raised defensively in anticipation. He knew the possibility of Beth still being inside the car was slim to none, but he could still hope. The driver's side door and rear door were left wide open. That told Daryl that they had left in a hurry, not caring that the car wasn't usable anymore. But as he suspected, there was no one left inside the vehicle. He ducked inside the back seats, searching for any sign of pamphlets or information as to where the car belonged.

There was nothing but debris and blood staining the white leather seats. It felt as if Daryl's heart stopped. He knew where the source of the blood had come from and her name was Beth Greene. He couldn't keep the sounds of her pain-strangled screams out of his head. He didn't want to envision her twisted face registering the pain from whatever her captor's hit her with. Daryl knew the only weapon Beth had on her to defend herself was her knife, and even then, that wasn't much. He touched the spattering of blood with the pads of his fingers. It was tacky and that meant it was still fresh. He wasn't far behind.

Daryl backed out of the rear seats and switched to the front. A gun was tossed into the passenger seat. He reached across to the gun, opening the chamber to find it empty. He tossed it back onto the seat with it being no use to him unloaded. Daryl couldn't decide if he was happy that it was empty or if it terrified him more. He took a settling breath and continued his search.

A plastic cup made its home in the cup holder. He raised it up to his face. It was not filled with any liquid but sunflower seed shells. It only gave him another clue to whom had taken Beth. He opened the glove compartment only to find papers CD's and another unloaded gun. There was nothing else inside the car for Daryl to find, but he had enough.

He knew Beth was hurt. He knew it was only one person who had her. He knew the person who took her liked sunflower seeds. He wasn't certain if the person was armed, but he was down two weapons. He knew that Beth had caused a commotion and they were now on foot. Daryl couldn't help but smile when he thought of Beth. She knew if she stayed in that car for much longer the greater the distance she put between her and Daryl. Switching his thoughts, Daryl averted his eyes to the ground around the car.

The mud was soft and that was to Daryl's advantage. There were more than a few sets of tracks. He knew the group that had passed him earlier stopped to check them out. He eliminated those tracks as being important. Instead, he focused on the tracks that started at the driver side door and the tracks that were clearly Beth's. She was wearing cowboy boots and those were distinct. He could tell there was a scuffle just by the way the prints were. They were hard to make out with the other prints from the men overlapping, but it still played out a scene in Daryl's head.

He followed the footsteps in order, watching as they led off into the forest beyond the car. He would have been happy if it were Beth alone ditching into the thick covering of trees, but she wasn't alone in there. She'd be harder to find now, not without another heading to go off of. Daryl adjusted his grip on the crossbow in his hands as he rounded towards the back of the car. He would check one last place before leaving the car behind to continue his search.

Daryl grabbed the hatch of the trunk, squeezing it and forcing it upwards. His worst fears were put to rest when it ended up vacant. Beth's dead body was not hidden away in the trunk and that only made him believe more that she was still alive. But for how much longer, he couldn't even begin to put an estimate on. He had to move fast, he had to find her. Not only for her sake, but also for his. He knew there was a long road ahead of him to find Beth, but at least he knew he was on the right path.

Daryl took off beside the tracks, following them into the dim forest. Light leaked through the leaves of the forest, spotting the grass with patchy sunlight. It only helped him more. He would've asked for better lighting, but he would take what he could get. The footprints soon faded into compressed grass patches, but Daryl knew what to look for, and he wouldn't let the trail go cold. He followed the broken blades of grass, knowing Beth was struggling to get away.

In his mind, he imagined her bound and gagged. No use of her hands and no use of her beautiful voice. What Daryl would give to just hear her sing once more. He didn't like admitting to her that he liked her singing, but if meant finding her again, he'd admit it a million times over. Daryl blinked, his eyes stinging, but he wouldn't let this trail go cold. He had already let Beth down once; he wouldn't let the list grow longer.

It felt like hours had passed and Daryl was still on the trail of Beth and her kidnapper. He tried to ignore his protesting muscles and fiery lungs. He could go for a cigarette, but this wasn't a family outing. He wouldn't let himself the niceties until Beth was by his side again. The light above had faded drastically and Daryl knew that it was getting later. He would soon have to find a place to stay the night. But he couldn't lose the trail he was on. He had given so much to find it; he wouldn't foolishly lose it just to sleep.

Daryl didn't stray far from the path to find what he needed. He found a hand full of sticks tall enough to be seen when he woke. He pushed them into soft earth where the footprints led exactly on the path of broken and compressed grass. It would give him a heading in the morning. He settled back against a tree, his crossbow cradled in his lap. He was just about to let his eyes fall shut when he saw the flash of blue in front of him.

Judging by where the sticks were sticking out of the ground, this pop of color was still on the path. Hope sparked in Daryl's mind as he scrambled from his sprawled position. Tossing his crossbow aside, Daryl darted to the item in question abandoned in the grass. But he knew exactly what it was. It was Beth's bracelet. Somehow she had shucked it off without her captor noticing. If Daryl were to kidnap someone, he would have pocketed that bracelet. Or Beth would have kicked and screamed to get it back if she dropped it by accident.

But this – this Beth knew Daryl would find. And Daryl knew it as well. He couldn't help the wide grin from spreading across his face. He knew he would find Beth, especially when she was planting clues for him to find. She was Gretel and he was Hansel and this bracelet was the first breadcrumb of many.