I was able to write more than usual with all the free time from the Easter holidays, so this chapter has come out fairly soon after the previous one. Personally, this is one of my favorite chapters so far. I enjoyed building the relationship between Daryl and Beth, they are so adorable. Enjoy!
Beth's POV
Before Beth even opened her eyes, the pain came to her. Her head felt like it was going to split open. She sat up, clutching her temples and trying to make the ache go away. A deep chuckle came from nearby. Beth looked over to see Daryl smiling at her. "You wanted to drink alcohol," he reminded her. Beth made a face at him. "There is a creek nearby," Daryl said, "I'm going to go wash up, try not to kneel over and die before I get back." Beth curled back up and watched as Daryl's boots disappeared from view. She lay there rubbing her head, trying to make it feel better.
While Beth waited for Daryl to return, she began thinking back to burning the shack last night. Things had been a bit crazy yesterday, but Beth certainly didn't regret anything. Not only did she feel better emotionally, she had also grown closer to Daryl. Beth's head was starting to feel a little better, the hangover was wearing off. Instead of sitting up, Beth laid on the ground and replayed every drunken moment in her head. She saw Daryl crying as she hugged him outside of the shack and she replayed his smirk as he had flung moonshine onto the walls. Beth was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the crunch of twigs behind her. Suddenly, a cascade of water came pouring down over her head. "What the…," Beth sputtered. She spun around to find Daryl standing over her with a now empty canteen in his hand. His wet hair was pasted against his face and he had on a different shirt. "Your turn to take a bath Sunshine," Daryl said. "You could have just said so instead of pouring water on me," Beth managed to say. Daryl smirked. "That wouldn't have been nearly as fun," he replied, "besides, water is good for a hangover." If Beth didn't know better, she would have thought he was flirting with her. Her cheeks burned at the thought of the older man having any interest in her and Beth turned her head away so that Daryl couldn't see. Don't even go there girl, he doesn't mean nothin by it. Beth stood up and asked which way the creek way. Daryl pointed the way and told her to holler if she ran into any trouble.
As Beth walked down to the creek, she pondered over Daryl's playfulness. It wasn't often that you would catch the redneck in such a good mood, burning the shack down must have made him feel good. Beth smiled, she was happy that she could help Daryl after all he did for her. The creek wasn't too far away and soon Beth found herself on the bank. Skinny dipping was something her and Maggie used to do when Hershel and her brother were gone from the farm. They would go out to the lake at the edge of their property and play around for hours. Sometimes, the dogs would join them and they would all splash around until they were tired out. Beth undressed and stepped into the water, it was cool but not too cold. She didn't have any soap or shampoo, but it felt good to rinse off the accumulation of moonshine, sweat, blood, and dirt.
After she finished, Beth got out and went to put her clothes back on. She stopped when she saw how nasty they looked. Her yellow T-shirt was covered in blood and reeked of alcohol. She couldn't bring herself to put the clothes back on when they were so revolting smelling. Beth picked up her garments and washed them off the best she could, but the blood stains were not likely to come out. Once she finished, Beth hung them over a nearby tree branch and swam in the river for a while. It was the beginning of summer and water was full of life. Little minnows nibbled at her feet and dragonflies buzzed in the air. The atmosphere was very relaxing until Beth heard the rustle of a bush. Images flashed through her head of walkers showing up and her having to run naked through the forest to get away from them. Beth immediately got out of the creek and put her clothes back on, even though they were still fairly wet.
She headed back the way she had come and soon found Daryl sitting with his back against a tree trunk. He was sharpening the end of his bolts. Beth sat down near him and watched him work. He was completely focused on the task at hand and didn't even glance over at Beth. Her eyes took in his semi-dry hair and his scraggly facial hair. Then, Beth's gaze lowered to Daryl's arms. Each muscle moved fluidly as Daryl worked on his bolts. Finally, her eyes rested on the bolts. "Do you think you could teach me to shoot," Beth asked. Daryl looked up at her. "Can you even pull the string back far enough back," he questioned. "Well, I won't ever know if you don't let me try," Beth retorted. Daryl lifted an eyebrow but passed his crossbow over. Beth arm's sagged under the weight. How does Daryl run all around if his weapon weights about ten pounds? "First thing you do is fit the end of the bolt into the rope, then pull back until it catches," Daryl instructed. Beth set the end of the bolt onto the thin rope and began trying to pull it back. Beth's arms ached with every inch but she was determined to prove her strength to Daryl. Finally, the crossbow caught and Beth sighed with relief. "Barely," Daryl commented. "So you will teach me," Beth inquired. "I guess it couldn't hurt," Daryl said, "but if you are ever in a real situation, you will be dead before you can even notch the bolt." Beth bristled at his comment. "Well, this was my first time to ever do it," she replied, "I will get better with practice." Daryl held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, don't get ur panties in a twist," he said.
"Follow me," Daryl told Beth, before he headed off into the woods. Beth ran after him, trying to carry the crossbow and keep up. They didn't go far, Daryl stopped in front of a big oak tree. He took his carving knife out and made a circular line in the middle of the tree. "Okay, so just aim for the center," Daryl said. Beth had to put the front of the crossbow on the ground and pull with all of her strength to notch the bolt. She picked the heavy weapon back up, unsure of how to even fire it. Daryl walked over and began instructing her on the use of his crossbow. "Okay, you are going to look down the center at your target and going to push this little metal piece that holds the rope down so that the bolt is released," Daryl drilled. Beth nodded and looked down the end of the crossbow at the circle in the tree trunk. After a few adjustments, Beth pushed down on the metal release and the bolt fired away from her with a quiet hiss. The bolt planted itself firmly in the tree about two feet below the circle. "Not bad for your first time," Daryl encouraged, "try again." Beth raised the crossbow up once more and the results were similar.
After Daryl had Beth try multiple times, she still hadn't hit the circle. Beth retrieved the bolts. Her arms groaned in protest with every movement, she almost regretted asking Daryl for the lesson but she wasn't going to wimp out now. Beth walked back to her original position and notched a bolt. She raised the crossbow up once more and tried to concentrate on the target. Suddenly, Daryl came up behind her and put his head right against hers, looking down her line of sight. His arm moved up and adjusted the direction she was pointing the crossbow. "You need to look straight down the bolt if you want it to be accurate," Daryl said, his breath on Beth's neck. She tried her best to concentrate but Beth suddenly felt very self-conscious as she realized how close Daryl was. Beth realized she was taking too long to shoot so she quickly pulled the metal back, causing the bolt to whizz off beyond the tree. Daryl moved away and Beth was able to catch her breath. "You are going to have to go find the bolt," Daryl ordered, "I ain't making any more of them." The blonde rolled her eyes and headed off to search for Daryl's bolt. Don't make an idiot of yourself, what are you doing getting so excited just because he leaned over you? Beth cursed herself silently as she dug through the bushes.
Finally, she noticed a feather sticking up out of a patch of weeds. Sure enough, it was Daryl's bolt. The feathers were a speckled brown and white with a black tip unlike the fake yellow rubber that was on the end of most of the bolts. Beth wondered what kind of bird it had come from. Beth had to respect Daryl's resourcefulness, maybe someday he could teach her to make bolts as well. When Beth returned, Daryl was leaning on the tree waiting for her. She placed the bolt in his hand and he added it to the rest. "Better get ready for tomorrow," Daryl warned, "because that was an easy practice today." Beth arms ached, but she smiled. Despite how tired she was, it was fun learning how to shoot the crossbow and she couldn't have found a better teacher. "Yes Mr. Dixon," Beth joked, making a little salute. Daryl snorted and headed back to their camp.
Around noon, they packed up the few items they had and began walking along the river. Beth enjoyed being outside, she had been cooped up in the prison for so long that despite the danger they were in, she couldn't help but appreciate the feeling of the outdoors. If it hadn't been for the need to watch out for walkers, Beth could have almost fooled herself into thinking that they were just going on a hike. Throughout the day, they only came across a few walkers, which Daryl quickly dispatched. While they walked, the redneck pointed out different animal pawprints and Beth would guess what they belonged to. If she couldn't get it right in five tries, Daryl would tell her the answer. When the sun began to hang low in the sky, Daryl finally suggested that they should find a place to camp for the night. Their camp ended up being a small patch of open field right next to a creek. Beth set her things down and helped Daryl string objects around the perimeter to warn them of walkers at night.
"You up to hunting a little," Daryl asked. Beth looked up to see Daryl offering her his crossbow. Beth took it from him, happy that he trusted her enough to do something as important as hunt for dinner. The older man headed into the forest and motioned for her to follow. They slunk around the trees, trying not to disturb their prey.
Finally, they came across several rabbits nibbling on some grass. Beth had always liked rabbits and would much rather keep one as a pet than shoot it, but her stomach convinced her otherwise. Daryl tapped her hand, indicating that she should take aim. Beth lifted it up and looked down the end of the bolt, trying to concentrate the closest brown rabbit. It hopped a little closer and Beth adjusted the crossbow accordingly, her finger hovering on the metal release. It took only a second, the bolt leaped from the crossbow and buried itself into the rabbit's hind quarters before it even had time to hop away. The little creature wreathed in pain until Daryl withdrew his carving knife and finished it off. Beth looked away at the last minute, she didn't want to see the sweet animal die. "Good job Sunshine, we got ourselves a decent meal to look forward to tonight," came Daryl's gruff voice from behind her. When she looked back, Daryl had somehow hung the rabbit on his backpack, the blood still dripping from it. "Let's see if there is anything else worth shooting around here," Daryl said, before heading off. They found a couple more rabbits and a pigeon, but Beth's aim wasn't good enough yet hit her intended target. Daryl had Beth try and track the trail of a coyote, but they lost it when the prints ended at the river.
Back at camp, Daryl skinned the rabbit and Beth roasted it over the fire she had made. Once it was cooked, they both took a seat on the ground and began eating chunks of hot rabbit. Daryl could tell that Beth was a bit disappointed that she hadn't managed to shoot anything else. "Ya know, Merle was a much worse shot with the crossbow than you," Daryl said, "the one time I tried to teach him, he ended up shooting out our pa's truck's tire. The old man got mad as hell and would have given Merle a whoopin if he wasn't too drunk to walk." Beth chuckled at the thought of Merle trying to learn to use the crossbow. "How did you get your crossbow," Beth asked. Daryl's fingers ran over his prized possession and a grin came to his face. "I won it off a guy at Rosie's bar," he told Beth, "He didn't have any money to bet on our pool game and so he hauled this bad boy up out of nowhere. I had another crossbow before that, but it was a piece of crap. I beat the guy, but just barely." Beth nodded, taking in Daryl's story. "So you were like a pool shark or what," Beth questioned. "There ain't a lot of things I take pride in, but I can play a mean game of pool," Daryl told Beth, "I started in high school. Merle's friends loved to play and I just kinda picked it up. After a while I got good and that's how I would make a bit of extra cash when I needed it." Beth sat there taking in the information, she wasn't used to asking Daryl questions and him actually giving her answers.
"When I was in high school, I was on the equestrian team," Beth said, contrasting their experiences, "I used to ride my horse every day, training her for our big meet. When I was riding her, I felt so free and so alive. After the walkers appeared, I used to go out and talk to her every night while I brushed her coat." Beth glanced down at her hands, remembering how she had sobbed into Sally's mane every night for weeks after her mom turned. "That is, until someone took her out of the barn and lost her in the woods," Beth finished, looking up at Daryl. Daryl's eyes widened, he obviously hadn't know that it was her horse that he had taken. "Well, that damn horse of yours near killed me so I think we can call it even," he retorted. Beth thought back to how Daryl had been dragged half alive into her house, wearing the ears of some walkers he had killed. Back then, Daryl had seemed wilder than he did now. "Maybe Daryl isn't calmer, maybe it is me who changed," Beth thought to herself. She remembered how adamantly Daryl had told her yesterday that she had changed, it was possible that Daryl was right. Several years ago she wouldn't have been out in the middle of the woods shooting a crossbow with a rough redneck that was about ten years older than her. Now, not only was she able to manage the rough lifestyle, she was actually enjoying her time with Daryl.
Beth yawned, the crossbow training had tired her out. "Why don't you get some sleep, I will keep watch," Daryl offered. The blonde nodded and laid down right where she had been sitting. As the fire died down, she could feel goosebumps rising on her arms. Suddenly, warmth enveloped her and Beth opened her eyes to see that Daryl had laid his vest with the angel wings over her. Daryl's woodsy sent reached Beth's nose, it wasn't a bad scent at all. That was the last thought that Beth had before she fell asleep.
Daryl's POV
Daryl stayed up the whole night keeping watch. He could have woken Beth up to take her turn, but he had so much trouble sleeping ever since the attack on the prison that it wouldn't do him any good to lay down. The few hours of sleep that Daryl had gotten since Beth and him had been on the run just ended in nightmares. He would wake up covered in sweat and trembling all over. Daryl's eyes drifted over the edge of the campsite. The night had been a quiet one, only a few walkers could be heard in the distance. Daryl glanced over the fire to make sure it was out and then his gaze fell on Beth, who was curled up a few feet away from him. Her light skin and hair reflected a bit of the moonlight, making her look like some kind of angel, the angel wings from his jacket suited her much more than they suited him. She fidgeted a bit in her sleep and her hand wrapped around his vest. Daryl's suddenly had to look away, he felt like some old pervert watching Beth sleep. He glanced back out into the woods but there was very little to see and slowly, his gaze was drawn back to the young woman. She looked so much younger when her face wasn't etched in worry. Daryl liked it when Beth smiled or laughed, he didn't want her to ever lose that happiness that seemed to come so naturally to her. Daryl thought back to how she had been practicing with his crossbow. Although she needed a lot of practice, when he had seen her shoot that rabbit, he had been filled with pride. Beth wasn't the same little girl he had meet on the farm, she had grown up a lot.
The groan of a walker interrupted Daryl's thoughts. He waited to see if it would come any closer, but it just shambled off in another direction. Light was beginning to come up over the horizon. Daryl stood up and stretched his legs. He went down to the river and got a quick drink and filled up his canteen. Fish flitted around in the water and Daryl considered trying to catch a few of them, but decided that would take more energy than they were worth. At some point he would need to try and get some hooks and a line.
Daryl walked slowly back to their makeshift camp and sat down. Soon he would need to wake Beth up, but he wanted to give her just a little more time to sleep. The redneck took out his knife and spent a bit of time chopping off some of his broken nails. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer, he walked over to Beth and nudged her on the shoulder. "Com'on, time to get up," he said. Beth breathed in deeply and then opened her eyes and blinked a few times before sitting up. "I had the most amazing dream," she said, half awake. Daryl grunted, unsure if she wanted to talk about it or not. "I was riding my horse out at my dad's farm when I came across this beautiful meadow. There were all kinds of flowers there, dandelions, Indian paintbrushes, bluebonnets, and sunflowers. Fat bumblebees were flying all around, but they didn't scare me," Beth described. Daryl just nodded, at least one of them was getting a good night's sleep.
"Where are we headed today," Beth asked. "East," Daryl answered before getting up and beginning to unwind the string surrounding their camp. Beth got up and began to help him as she hummed some cheerful tune. After they had finished, they packed up their belongings and headed out. Daryl walked in front, careful to look out for walkers. As they hiked, he kept a sharp lookout for any wildlife. He wanted to find prey that Beth could practice her crossbow skills on. Finally, he noticed a raccoon high up in a pine tree. "Beth, see that coon," Daryl pointed out. She turned her head up and located the furry animal. "Yes," she said. "Here," Daryl said as he took the crossbow off of his back and handed it to her. Beth took the weapon from him and notched the bolt just like he taught her. She aimed the crossbow up into the tree and he could tell she was concentrating really hard. He examined her form and checked to make sure that Beth was doing everything right. Her finger hovered over the release and then the bolt flew up into the air and right over the head of the raccoon. Beth lowered the crossbow, disappointment written all over her face. "You shot it, you retrieve it," Daryl told the blonde. She nodded at him before going off in search of the arrow. Daryl waited for Beth and after several minutes, he decided that she might need some help. He began combing the area searching for his bolt. Finally, he found it lodged in a branch a bit higher than his head. Daryl pulled it out and took it over to Beth.
As he was handing the bolt to the young woman, he noticed a disturbance in the leaves at Beth's feet. The foliage had long sections that were bare, as if a horribly uncoordinated person had stumbled through the forest, or more likely, a walker. Beth was still new at shooting, but she wasn't horrible. Daryl pondered the idea in his head, Beth needed to learn how to kill walkers, in a world like this, it was a necessary skill.
"I have a new target for you," Daryl told Beth. She looked up at him, ready to practice. "This one we are going to have to track down though, it is very important that you learn the signs of this particular predator's presence," Daryl explained, wanting Beth to understand how important this was. "Okay," she said, excited for the new training exercise. Daryl followed the walker's trail while Beth tromped behind him. There was a bit of blood on a tree trunk, it looked fresh. The walker must have found something to eat, Daryl hoped that something wasn't a human. "Okay," he whispered in Beth's ear, "Get the crossbow up and go in front of me slowly." The young woman came into view and raised his weapon up as she peered around the bushes, trying to glimpse what they were tracking. "Kay," Daryl said, giving her a nudge with his hand in the direction of the trail. Beth went forward slowly, peering down the crossbow the whole time. After they had gone about a quarter of a mile, Beth spoke. "Are we close," she asked. "Almost there," Daryl encouraged, getting closer so that he see Beth's point of view of the forest. "How do you know," Beth questioned. "The signs are all there, you just gotta know how to read them," Daryl answered. Beth took a step further, moving away from him. "What are we tracking," she probed. Daryl's eyes moved over the trail of disturbed leaves and the bit of blood on the ground, but he gave nothing away. "You tell me," Daryl challenged. Beth suddenly lowered the crossbow and looked back at him in exasperation. "You wanted to learn," Daryl reminded her. She turned away and began examining the ground in front of them. Daryl waited while she took everything in, he watched as she bit her lip in frustration. "Well," Beth finally said, "Somethin came through here." Daryl saw her looking at the path the walker had taken, she was catching on. "The pattern is all zig-zaggy," Beth observed. Daryl kept quiet, wanting Beth to figure it out. "It's a walker," Beth suddenly exclaimed, looking over at him for confirmation. The older man couldn't help but tease her. "Maybe it's a drunk," Daryl suggested. Beth's face lit up upon realizing that she had been right. "I'm getting good at this," she announced, going back to following the tracks, "pretty soon I won't need you at all." Beth didn't mean anything by her comment, but Daryl's stomach clenched at the idea. Stupid, the idea is to teach her how to fend for herself. "Yeah," he muttered, "keep on trackin."
Daryl followed after Beth, taking in the surrounding and watching her technique at the same time. Suddenly, Beth froze in front of him; the walker had come into view. It was knelt over eating some small animal. "It's got a gun," Beth said softly, trying not to draw the walker's attention. She seemed unsure of what to do and looked back at Daryl for support. He nodded and she turned back and raised the weapon up. Daryl watched as she inched closer to the living corpse. One part of him wanted to pull her back and away from the danger, but a more logical part of his brain told him that Beth needed to learn how to kill in order to survive. Daryl hung back a bit while Beth took aim. He was close enough to help, but he wanted Beth to feel like she was doing this on her own. He observed closely as Beth inched closer to the walker. She looked comical, the petite girl with his big crossbow resting on her shoulder. Daryl glanced at the walker, who hadn't noticed Beth yet. Then, he looked back at the young woman. She had a fierce look on her face. Daryl's eyes took in how her hair fell over her shoulder. She had a braid in her ponytail that was very distracting. His eyes swept lower to her thin waist.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Beth's foot exploded and a metal chink could be heard in the air. The blonde grunted as she fell down. Daryl began mentally cussing himself as he went to help Beth. The walker was headed straight for her, she raised his crossbow and fired, managing to hit it in the neck. The bastard didn't stop coming though. Daryl grabbed the crossbow from Beth, but didn't have time to load it. He swung the weapon up and hit the walker straight in the head. The monster slumped to the ground with a satisfying thud.
Daryl threw the crossbow aside and ran back to Beth. A metal trap, probably set for wolves, was clamped onto her boot. Daryl cussed himself mentally, how could he let himself get distracted like that? Why hadn't he noticed earlier? Daryl leaned down, inspecting the device as Beth made little whimpering noises. He grabbed the cold metal teeth and pried them open. Beth slid her foot out, gasping at the movement. Daryl wanted to punch something. Beth was hurt and it was all his fault. Stuff like this never happened to him, how could he have let his guard down? He was supposed to be watching out for her. "Can you move it," Daryl asked. "Yeah," Beth replied, flexing her foot a bit to prove her statement. "I think it's sprained," Beth managed to say. Her face was contorted in pain and Daryl hated himself for that. "Com'ere," Daryl said, putting his arm under Beth and lifting her up. She stood up but wasn't very stable. Daryl grabbed his crossbow and slung it over his back. Beth was now too hurt to run, they couldn't be out in the open like this. Daryl needed to find them a safe place. He put his arm under Beth's shoulder and let her lean on him as they walked. Daryl didn't know where he was going, but he knew that they couldn't stay out in the woods any longer.