Chapter 3
"Bed's small, but in the end we c'n both fit. I'll warn ya, though, I might try to cuddle in my sleep. Just punch me if I do." Ellis warned Daryl as he made the bed. His fellow redneck didn't seem to have any qualms
"Great." Daryl muttered under his breath. He shook out the blanket for the bed and spread it out, smoothing the covers over the mattress so they could rest. Ellis perched at the table, watching with vast interest as his rescuer did this.
"Tomorrow I'm gonna see if we can catch any game before we leave. Get some food stored away." Daryl mentioned. When he had checked the supplies Daryl had not realized they were so low. They were going to need more soon if they were to survive. They were good on water and gas, but everything else they were in dire need of.
"We'll figure it out. I'm pretty good at findin' edible plants and stuff too. My friends and I used to go hunting and camping a lot so I know all kinds of good stuff we can use in the wild." Ellis added helpfully.
"Sounds like we'll make a pretty good team, don't it?" Ellis said with a grin.
"Keith didn't teach you any of it, did he? Cause if he did I think you just leave that to me." Daryl replied with a shake of his head. He had heard enough about Keith to wonder why the man wasn't a one man menace for zombies everywhere. A shame the man had been one of the first to get on a helicopter to be taken to safety. At least Daryl assumed the man had been.
"Nah, Dave was the naturalist. We learned from his old man." He assured the other male with a laugh. "We might just wanna find a good place to settle down for a while and just work on storing up supplies."
Daryl nodded in agreement as he finished making the bed. He took a step back and inspected his work, his arms crossed. He knew he should probably sleep on the floor, but after spending so much time on the road he was reluctant to. The last thing he wanted to do was to ask Ellis to sleep on the floor as well. Daryl didn't feel it was his right to ask the other man to sleep on the hard floor while he got the bed. While it was a bit strange they would be sharing it he could see no other way around it. Besides, it wasn't as if he hadn't shared a bed with another man before.
When he had been a kid Daryl remembered climbing into bed with his older brother Merle when he got scared. Merle had never minded and often woke up just long enough to give his baby brother an extra pillow before dropping off back into his drunken slumber. Daryl would just curl up against his back. The corner of Daryl's mouth twitched almost into a smile at the memory. He actually missed those days when he had been that young. He wished his brother was with him now. Hopefully Merle was safe wherever he was at.
"You ready for bed?" Daryl asked. Ellis nodded, grabbing the flashlight off the table. He had flicked it on when the daylight outside had run out to see by.
Taking off his ball cap, Ellis set it on the table. He took off his shirt as well which he folded as best he could before setting that aside. Daryl undressed too, turning his back to the other man so he could give him a bit of privacy. Underneath he wore a black undershirt, but he kept his pants on. Kicking off his boots, Daryl climbed into the bed. Laying down flat on his back, he let out a croon of pleasure while closing his eyes contentedly as he sank into the soft mattress.
"Damn, I haven't been this comfortable since forever." Daryl said with closed eyes. He didn't even bother pulling the covers over himself. He could have fallen asleep right then and there. A few feet away from him Ellis chuckled, getting into bed beside him. He was good enough to pull a blanket over Daryl as he settled into the bed as well.
"Ah, yeah man, the rest of 'em mattress is always gross. Smell all funky and shit. I don't know how people stand to sleep in 'em. I'd rather just take a snooze on the floor if I have to. Know what I mean?" Ellis asked cheerfully. Daryl's eyes had already closed, his head turned to the side.
"Mhm." Daryl said, barely hearing himself. Beside him he felt the bed shift as Ellis found a comfortable position. He felt the man's arm brush up against his. It barely registered in Daryl's brain as he slipped off into sleep. A part of his mind thought lazily he should at least ask Ellis to stay up. Have him keep an eye out for approaching zombies. At the same time, he knew the door was locked. So were the windows so no one could get in without making a lot of noise.
"Good night, Daryl." Ellis whispered, turning the light off.
"Night, Ellis." Daryl murmured. He wasn't even sure if he said the words. He thought of the words clearly in his mind. Pictured his lips shaping them. Yet before he knew it Daryl was fast asleep.
Both men slept like the near dead, hardly moving from their positions until well into the morning. In his sleep Ellis curled up next to his companion. His head eventually came to rest on Daryl's chest as he slumbered. When morning came to them, Daryl didn't wake up right away. All he knew was that he was pleasantly comfortable on what felt like a feather mattress. It felt as if he could stay in bed forever. Slowly, however, his mind began to come back awake.
With a sigh the man opened his eyes. Blinking slowly, he stared up at the ceiling. A quick glance showed Ellis had indeed cuddled against the hunter in his sleep. Shaking his head, Daryl rubbed his face, trying to force the drowsiness from his bones. After a few minutes he managed to lift his head and arm to push aside a blanket and peek out the window. Sunlight had come forth in the chill of the morning air, doing little to battle the cold the hunter felt beginning to settle into his bones. Already he had begun to shiver, feeling his muscles cramp at the thought of getting out of his warm, snug bed.
"Ellis, wake up man. You're all over me." Daryl said to the sleeping figure. Ellis's hair had been ruffled during the night. His head still rested on the other man's chest as he slept soundly. His arm was thrown across Daryl's waist as if he had been in the process of hugging the other man.
"Ellis, get up man. C'mon, I got shit I have to do." Daryl said irritably. Looking around, he spotted Ellis's hat and snagged it. He quickly swatted the mechanic across the head with it to get him to wake up. There was a grunt before Ellis's eyes opened, squinting in the dim light. He groaned before rolling over, pulling the blankets with him.
"I'm awake, man. I'm awake. Don't hit me with my hat. She's a prized family heirloom."
"Bullshit." Daryl said tossing the hat onto the bed as he got up. His palm pressed flat against the wall as he stood up. His entire body shivered as he groped around for his shirt. Finding it, he slid it on quickly. His skin felt as if it were shrinking away from the cold cloth.
Ellis blinked, watching the other man get dressed. Sitting up, he still had the blanket tightly wound around him. Grabbing his poor hat, he smoothed it out while murmuring soft apologies to the poor thing. His hair stuck up in every direction. As if he and the hunter had spent the night doing more than just sleeping in bed together. When Ellis looked up again, he saw Daryl rummaging through one of the cupboards.
"Damn, it's cold as shit in here." Ellis said beginning to shiver. He scooted over into the warm spot Daryl had exited. Settling down into the warmth as he lay back down with a tired sigh.
"Hey, look at this!" Daryl said when he felt a box underneath his fingers. When he pulled it out he stared in surprise at the pop-tarts. A silly grin coming across his face as he opened it up. Ellis opened one eye then sat up all the way.
"They any good?" Ellis asked hopefully. Daryl shrugged his shoulders as took out a package. Opening the silver foil he broke off a small piece of pop-tart and ate it. Then he nodded his head as he reached over and turned on the oven. Drawing out the two pieces of pop-tart he popped them into the oven to warm up. Placing the box back in the cupboard, he moved about the camper searching for his boots.
"Man, I used to eat those all the time as a kid. Sometimes if my brother didn't want any I'd end up devouring the whole damn box. Merle threatened to never buy 'em anymore, but every month there they were." Daryl explained. Ellis chuckled as he sat up more. The warm stove warmed the small camper as the blanket slipped down around his slim waist.
"I always liked the blueberry ones. Or hell, even the strawberry ones they got now. I dunno how the hell anyone ever eats them cinnamon pop-tarts or the smores ones. They're to sweet and taste like shit." Ellis responded, wrinkling his nose. Daryl nodded his head as he laced his boots up. He raised his head to respond, but his words got caught in his throat. He frowned as he got up and walked over to the bed.
"What the hell is this?" Daryl asked Ellis. His tone of voice sounding like an accusation as he moved the blanket. Running a finger along Ellis's side where his ribs showed through the skin. The hunter had thought Ellis looked a bit on the skinny side when he had first picked him up. Which was why he had given the other man an extra share of food last night.
"It's hard times, man. Food is kind of scarce." Ellis said, trying to cover it up. He blushed when the hunter touched his side, wrapping the blankets around his waist. Daryl made a sound in the back of his throat in irritation. Getting up as he moved back towards the stove. Taking out a plate he reached in and managed to slide the pop-tarts onto the plate without burning himself.
"Yeah, that means skip a meal. Not starve yourself! I know you had your group to look out for, Ellis, but you have to take care of yourself too. Here, you eat both. I'll catch my own breakfast." Daryl said placing the plate in front of the mechanic. Ellis's face flushed as he glanced down guilty at the pop-tarts.
Ellis hadn't meant to get so thin. He had secretly shared his food with the others when no one was looking. Passing it off as he wasn't hungry. Rochelle had been the only woman in the group, and it had seemed wrong not to make an effort to take care of her. She was already slender to begin with and needed it. Coach had been older and it was clear to Ellis the man might not make it. And Nick…well, Nick had been the strongest out of all of them. While the gambler never said much to him he had always given Ellis a strange look when the mechanic had given him his share of food. Nick never did say thank you, but the flicker of his eyes and silence had been enough for the mechanic. At times the gambler softened his tone afterward to carry a conversation with him.
"You don't look so good yourself." Ellis attempted to argue weakly. Daryl glanced at him, but his glare softened at the guilty look on the mechanic's face.
"I'm sorry I got mad at you, Ellis. But I'm bein' serious. You need to look out for yourself. Even if we don't have a lot of food you need to at least try not to lose so much weight. From now on you're eating extra each meal, alright? I can afford to skip a meal here and there. You can't." Daryl lectured him.
"At least eat one of these. You can't go off and tell me you had them as a kid then give me the whole plate."
"Fine." Daryl said. Going over he broke off half of one of the warm pop-tarts, eating it as he grabbed his crossbow and arrows. Loading it up, he checked the mechanisms and safety to sure everything was in working order.
Ellis sighed, shaking his head as the hunter moved towards the front of the camper again. Despite himself, he tried to hide the smile on his face. Daryl sure was a stubborn man, that much he could say for sure.
