…

Chapter Two. Pine Tree Bark.

She had never thought that she would even consider it. If they began eating this, it would mean that they were really starving and this would be a last resort. Yet, the more she read, she found that it had been eaten for generations. And it wasn't used just used for food but for medicine, too. It could even be ground up for flour if they ever needed that.

Beth chewed on her lower lip as Daryl read over the few paragraphs she had pointed out to him before handing over the book for him to see for himself. She felt nervous but she didn't know why. The nettle soup she had made up had turned out good – really good – and once she saw that it had been successful, she knew that this was what she had to do. Cans and boxes weren't going to work anymore and they had food all around them if they just knew where to look and how to gather and use it. They were not going to starve. This was going to be Beth's job now.

"What do you think? I don't think it would taste that bad since it's not the actual bark and is the bark underneath the first layer," she began to speak, wanting to explain herself.

Daryl finished reading and closed the book. He held it out for her to take, which she did, hugging it to her chest with both arms. He didn't say anything as he took his crossbow and Beth felt nervous though she supposed she was more than used to Daryl not saying anything.

"There's a bunch of pine trees by the entrance of the subdivision," Daryl then spoke. "We can start there if you want."

"I want," Beth nodded her head quickly, hugging the book tighter. "Thank you, Daryl." He gave her a look as if he didn't understand. She smiled a little. "For going along with this," she added.

Daryl kept looking at her though now, he was looking at her like maybe she had gone crazy. "Ain't goin' along with anything," he shrugged. "If you think this is somethin' we can eat, why am I gonna doubt you?"

Beth had to lower her eyes with his words. She couldn't look at him – not until the burning she felt on her face pass. She had learned that Daryl didn't say anything he didn't mean but it was still always so nice to hear that he trusted her and was behind her when she wanted to do something. It wasn't the first time she hadn't thought it but she now thought it without being completely overcome with guilt.

She was glad she had gotten out the prison with Daryl. She felt like if it had been anyone else in their group, they wouldn't have been as willing to let her try and experiment things as Daryl was. With Daryl, he trusted her as she trusted him. That trust didn't happen overnight. Far from it. It had taken them months to be where they were now. Now, when she mentioned something to Daryl that there was something she wanted to try, he didn't ask her why she wanted to. He just asked what he needed to do to help.

As Daryl began doing a weapon's check on himself, Beth made sure she had everything in the pack she would need and then went to Jack. The fox's leg was still healing and he was on the large dog-pillow bed they had found for him, it placed on the floor near the fireplace. Jack was laying there now and like any dog, he thumped his tail against the pillow as she came to him.

"Hey," she smiled as she knelt down. "You stay here and be good. Daryl and I won't be gone long." She gave his head a scratch. "Good boy," she then told him softly with a smile.

Jack thumped his long, bushy red tail again and Daryl snorted from behind her.

…

Beth had her own large knife hanging from the belt loop of her blue jeans but Daryl took point, leading the way with his crossbow as they walked down the streets of the St. George subdivision, passing by the empty houses. Garage doors were open, some front doors had been flung open and were still that way. Cars were parked haphazardly and random things were strewn across lawns as everyone had either left in a hurry for a safe spot that didn't exist anymore or had stayed behind and had died to become the walkers that she and Daryl had cleared out.

Everything was quiet in the way that had taken her months to get used to. Just birds and the soft wind and nothing else. Occasionally, she heard a soft chitter of some animal – hidden in the tall grasses as they passed. But other than that, there was nothing. Even their steps were quiet.

At the front of the subdivision, there had been flowers and pine trees planted for the main entrance and though the flowers had long since died, the trees remained; strong and growing tall. Daryl kept watch as Beth went to the nearest one. She set her pack down and consulted the book for a moment, making sure she knew what she was doing, before pulling out the cheese slicer she had taken from the kitchen. She thought this might be the best tool with which to do this.

She carefully began to pull the first, outer layer of bark away and then the second layer beneath that. She wanted the deepest layer of bark and when she reached it, she ran her fingers over it.

"You don't think this will hurt the tree, do you?" Beth asked, turning her head to look at Daryl.

Daryl had been watching the street and following his eyes, she saw the walker coming their way. It wasn't walking though. It was crawling, dragging. Something had happened to its legs so it was on it's belly, using its hands and arms to move and pull itself forward. Even in its state, it saw Beth and Daryl ahead and growled, wanting to get to them.

At her question, he turned his head to look at her. "Nah. Trees are strong and sturdy for things like this. 's long as you ain't pourin' salt in the trunk, no reason why scraping the bark will kill it. It'll grow back."

Beth nodded. She knew that but she supposed she wanted him to say it, too.

She worked carefully, sometimes using the cheese slicer and sometimes, using her knife. She peeled the bark away from the trunk in strips as best as she could. The first few attempts had been nothing more than useless flakes but she eventually got the hand of it and began building a nice pile at her feet.

The walker was still crawling and growling and Daryl sighed. Beth stopped collecting bark and watched as he walked forward, meeting the walker halfway. He stood directly above it and the walker weakly clasped a hand around his ankle. Daryl fired a bolt right into the skull and the walker dropped heavily onto the pavement. He shook the hand from his leg as he bent down and collect the bolt again, taking a moment to load it into his crossbow once again.

As he turned to come back, Beth resumed gathering more tree bark.

"You think you got enough?" He asked.

She looked down to the pile at her feet. Did she have enough? She had no idea. She didn't even know if this was going to work or hot it would taste so why bother collecting so much this first time trying it?

"Yep," she smiled at him. "Let's go home."

…

Back in their backyard, Daryl ushered Jack out of the house so the fox could get some fresh air. Beth gathered a bin of water and began washing each strip of bark, laying it out on the picnic table so it could dry in the sun. Once it was, she gathered the strips to carry back inside and at the fire, she first boiled them in a pot of water over the fire. With the cookie sheet trays in the kitchen and a jar of never-before opened cinnamon from the pantry, she then laid the strips out again and began to sprinkle cinnamon over them. She experimented with the amounts. Some strips hardly got any while others were covered. She wasn't sure how much to add but she would learn – if this turned out good enough and she and Daryl ate these again.

Once the trays were prepared, she then balanced them on the rack they had installed over the fire so they could bake. When they would be done, again, she had no idea but they were thin so she figured they would be done within minutes.

"Daryl!" She called out for him though she knew she shouldn't shout. She looked out the back door as she passed on her way to the kitchen to get the oven mitts.

In the backyard, Daryl had been mixing more cement with mud and grass, cooking the blocks in the sun so they could be added to their fence but at his name, he left the project to come to her. Jack had been keeping him company and came hobbling, too.

She removed the trays from the fire and carried them to the kitchen table.

At least they smelled good, she noted.

She smiled at Daryl as he, with Jack, came into the house and she pulled off the oven mitts. "Do you want to try one first or do you want me to?" She asked. "Careful!" She then exclaimed when he immediately began to reach for one. "They're still really hot."

Daryl carefully pulled a strip up and without even seeming to hesitate even a little bit, he ripped off a bite. Beth watched his face carefully, holding the oven mitts tightly in her hands as she awaited for his reaction.

He didn't throw up immediately so that was a plus. He swallowed and then ripped off another bite, not telling her anything. But she supposed he didn't have to because when he finished one strip, he carefully peeled another from the cookie tray.

"Yeah?" She smiled.

Daryl paused in his chewing to give her strong nod. "Oh, yeah. It's like jerky but made of bark."

"And the cinnamon?"

"Damn good with cinnamon," he let her know.

He resumed chewing and setting the mitts aside, Beth helped herself to a strip. It was tough like jerky and actually seemed to have the same feel of it as she ripped off a piece with her teeth. A burst of cinnamon and a smoky sweetness beneath that exploded on her tongue. She had not been expecting that in the least.

"Oh goodness," she moaned before she could stop herself.

Daryl snickered, swallowing the last bit of his second piece. He looked to her and gave her a smile. "This can be added to the list of things to keep eatin'."

She let out a laugh and nodded. "Definitely."

As she chewed, Daryl was still looking at her and she felt her cheeks turn pink from his eyes being settled on her. She knew Daryl noticed her blush. Daryl always noticed everything but she couldn't get herself to turn away in an attempt to hide it. He kept looking at her and before she could stop herself and tell herself to not do it, she licked the specks of cinnamon from her lips.

She told herself she was not flirting. She did have cinnamon on her lips she had to get off and did Daryl even know what flirting was if he saw it right in front of him? Not that she wanted him to think that she was flirting with him because she wasn't. She looked at Daryl as he was still staring at her and she decided. Nope, definitely not flirting with him. No good could come of it and they had so much to do. There was just no time for it.

…

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