Daryl rapped on the window with the butt of his crossbow, holding his hand up to Beth to signal her to remain silent. After a few moments when no walkers lunged at him and the inside of the derelict store remained unmoved, he nodded.
'We can go in.'
Beth, tired and hungry, pushed opened the door. The air was stale and musty, and made her eyes water. She drew the collar of her t-shirt up and clamped it over her mouth, not wanting to breathe the stench in. Daryl moved quietly through the building, crossbow cocked and ready and Beth scouted the shelves. There wasn't much left, there never was anymore, but she stuffed the remaining cans of old beans and fruit into the backpack.
'We should stay here a night,' she said wearily.
'Nah,' Daryl collected some empty water bottles as he spoke. 'We need to keep movin', find a safer place.'
Inwardly, Beth groaned. They had been on the move for at least three days, surviving on rain water and whatever creatures the found in the woods; mainly snake and squirrel. Beth's eyes were heavy from lack of sleep. Each night they had slept out under the stars, on the hard ground but the weather was beginning to turn and the air had a chill to it. Neither of them had any other plan apart from to keep moving. Every place they had been to was overrun or not secure enough, either with windows or doors missing or broken. Even with Daryl's hunting skills, they both knew that they wouldn't survive much longer if they didn't find somewhere to hole up in soon. Today was the first day they had emerged from the woods, searching for more food to add to their diet, and blankets or anything that would keep them warmer at night.
'Nothing left,' she said, holding up the backpack. 'Just what I stuffed in here.'
He nodded, leading her back out to the road. Opposite were a row of houses, all empty. Some had boarded up windows and others had none at all.
'We'll check these,' Daryl told her.
The first and second were empty and Beth was beginning to feel fraught with tension as they crept into the third house until Daryl gave a low whistle.
'What?'
'Looks like someone left this behind,' he indicated with his head towards a small pile of canned foods. A film of dust was thick across the top and with a gentle motion, he wiped it away with his finger.
Beth's heart sank for a moment, realising that these things were probably always intended to be returned to. She wondered what had happened to the owner.
'You pack this up, I'll check upstairs,' Daryl instructed.
Beth crouched on tired legs and opened the backpack, reading the labels on the cans before slipping them into the bag. She was so intent on their new stash combined with sheer exhaustion that the walker caught her off guard. She heard it's moaning behind her, felt the air stir as it lunged at her and jumped to her feet, aiming at it's head with the can she was holding. It didn't go down, instead continued snapping and biting at her. Beth shoved her hand into the bones on it's chest to stall it and keep it at arms length as she turned around, in some sort of macabre dance, and pushed it against the wall. Again, she struggled to hit it with the can, her strike was still not hard enough. She cursed herself for feeling so feeble. She was not going to die today.
'It's legs! Kick it's legs out,' Daryl called, thundering down the stairs, crossbow raised.
Beth swept her leg out, connecting it with the walker's knee. It buckled and fell to the floor. Panting and irritated, she smashed the can down, this time delivering a blow that was fatal. She blew out a breath, and bent double trying to catch her breath.
'You okay?' he asked, stepping towards her. Gently, he caught her chin between a thumb and forefinger, rotating her face to check for bites or scratches. Beth was caught off guard by the touch, blue eyes widening in surprise that after spending so long yanking her around out of anger, Daryl had quite a tender touch. He noted the surprise etched on her face and, embarrassed, snatched his hand back like it was burnt and stepped back away from her to a more comfortable distance.
'I'm…fine,' she reassured him.
He cleared his throat, evidently awkward and presented her with a grey knitted object. 'I found this upstairs, I thought it might fit you.'
She took it from him and shook it out, revealing a warm, thickly knitted cardigan. Immediately, she put it on and pulled it around her, grinning. It was a little big and hung at the shoulders but it was warm and the fact that Daryl had even thought of her at all made her happy.
'Thank you,' she beamed, stepping forward and hugging him. He stood limply, his body completely tense as her arms wrapped around his torso. Slowly, he gave her elbow a gentle squeeze and moved away.
'You're welcome,' he replied, stiffly.
Happier now with the promise of some food and a warmer night thanks to her new cardigan, Beth felt lighter than she had in a while. They took a slow walk back to the woods in a comfortable silence. As they entered the trees, Daryl pointed out some bushes to her, telling her which ones were poisonous and which ones were safe to eat if their situation ever became that dire. He held up a hand to silence her as he stalked a squirrel, sailing an arrow into it and then plucking it up.
'Dinner,' he muttered. 'You can catch tomorrow's meal.'
'I don't know how to hunt.'
He shrugged. 'I'll teach you.'
They found a clearing and started their fire for the night. Beth gathered the dry leaves that had begun to fall from the trees as autumn crept in, and arranged them on the dirt floor, creating makeshift beds for the night. Daryl had found two blankets in the third house, and she spread one on top of the leaves, smoothing it out and stepping back to admire her handiwork.
Daryl eyed it as he roasted the squirrel. 'There's two of us,' he reminded her.
'We'll have to share.'
The decision had made him uncomfortable. 'You have it. Someone needs to keep watch.'
There was no point in arguing with him or telling him that she hadn't meant it in a suggestive way. It was colder at night and sharing body heat as well as blankets would make sense. She dug her knife into a can of peaches and prised off the lid, careful of the jagged edges, and handed it to him.
'Dinner is served,' Beth announced with a a playful flourish.
Squirrel and peaches was not a combination she had ever thought about eating but as the grease from the warm meat ran down her chin accompanied by the sweet tang of the fruit, she couldn't have asked for a better meal. She was sleepy from being so full and after wiping her hands on the front of her jeans and taking a swig of water, she went to lay down on the leaves, pulling the second blanket over her which felt scratchy and warm.
'Wake me up in a few hours to keep watch,' she told Daryl, her eyelids heavy. She thought she saw him nod and closed her eyes, drifting into a dreamless, happy sleep.
Beth woke hours later. The fire had gone out but was still smoking a thin white stream upwards. The sun was starting to rise, throwing the woods into a golden half light which was spectacular. She blinked, clearing her vision and was aware of a body next to her, warm and breathing a steady rhythm. She smiled down at Daryl's sleeping form. For once, he looked peaceful with his face devoid of the usual scowl that was always painted onto this face. He looked younger too. She fought the urge to smooth the wisp of brown hair that had fallen across his face and drew her hand back, wondering why on earth she would even want to do something that was so intimate. It was evident that he had left a gap between them as he settled down for the night, but in his sleep as he had relaxed, he had rolled closer to her, leaving only a few inches. She wondered if it was why she had slept so soundly; the warmth of him plus the comfort of another person next to her. Carefully, without wanting to disturb him, she snuck out of the blankets. It was cold with no fire and away from him and she shivered, drawing her cardigan around her.
'Damn,' she heard him mutter.
'Morning,' she suddenly felt shy.
'I didn't mean to fall right asleep. I just…meant to lay down and close my eyes. We're lucky we're still alive,' he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and he looked so innocent that for a moment, Beth considered how attractive he actually was and would have been before the turn. It had aged everyone quickly; no food, no sleep and the stress of trying to survive, but waking up, Daryl actually looked younger than she had first thought. Butterflies rippled across her stomach and she shoved them away. She recognized this feeling; she had the same sense in her stomach before when she had looked at Jimmy or Zack, both her ex boyfriends. It was not the sort of feeling that she should feel towards Daryl Dixon. I think you're a little too happy to have had a good nights sleep and some food, Beth Greene, she told herself.
She plastered a smile on her face and aimed it at Daryl. 'So, you gonna teach me how to hunt?'
