Chapter 2

When Daryl awoke he couldn't decide which bit of him hurt the most, his ribs were bruised from the kicks they'd received, his back and head ached from the blows from the baseball bats and his shoulders were screaming from taking his weight. A loop of chain had been passed around his bound wrists and then threaded over a pipe suspended in the ceiling. The ends of the chain were held with a large padlock. His arms were pulled above his head, his feet just touching the floor. Slowly his head cleared and he looked around the basement, trying to see a way out. The room was L shaped and he could see several racks with bottles of wine along one wall, there was also a small table with glasses on , but nothing useful. More worrying was the car battery on the floor, a strange cylindrical object attached to it and a long pole connected by a wire. There were several buckets of water nearby. He had a bad feeling about that.

It was hot in the basement and his throat was parched, he hadn't eaten since the night before and he was famished. He'd lost track of time, there were no windows so he didn't even know if it was night or day. He passed the time by trying to pull the pipe the chain was wrapped around free, but to no avail. It was solid.

Somehow he must have dozed off because he was awoken by the door slamming open and the crashing of feet down the wooden stairs. Three of the men from earlier were dragging a young woman down with them. She was twisting and struggling to free herself but they were too strong. As they tried to drag her across the earthen floor she dug her feet in. In annoyance one of the men lashed out and backhanded her across the face. She fell sideways, only staying on her feet because of the other men holding her. Michael walked down the stairs and strolled over to her.

"Told you before, it's a lot easier if you co-operate" he gripped her arms and held tight as one of the others produced some rope and tied her hands in front of her, the rope cutting in deeply.

Two of the men pulled out hand guns and approached Daryl warily. He was shoved backwards as far as the chain would allow and the guns were held close, one to his head the other to his gut.

"Don't give us the excuse, asshole" One of them hissed. The woman was shoved forward and her arms were yanked upwards. Michael pulled a small key from his pocket and reached up, undoing the padlock. He looped the chain around the woman's wrists and locked it again.

"Thought you might like some company" he said pleasantly as they all moved away. The woman was facing him, her arms brushing against his as she leant as far away as she could. She was a couple of inches shorter than him so her feet barely reached the floor, even when she stood on tip toes.

"Hell" one of the men laughed "Chaining her up there with him like that, it's like giving a starving man a bowl of soup and then only letting him have a fork to eat it with" the others stared at him blankly.

"What you talking about?" another asked.

He sighed "Well he's got this tasty little bitch all trussed up and pressed up against him and he can't do a damn thing with her. Seems kinda cruel" The others stared then started laughing.

"God, Ed, you are such an asshole" one of them chuckled as they left the room.

Daryl glanced at the woman in front of him. She was leaning back, her arms at an angle as she tried to avoid pressing against him, this meant that her feet were lifted further from the ground. He didn't like close contact with people but could see she was already struggling

"Gonna have to stand up straighter" he told her, looking at the floor "Else yer shoulders'll be hurtin' yer even more" He glanced up and caught her eye as she debated what he's said.

"S'not like I can do anything to yer is it?" He glared up at his hands.

"I guess not" she straightened her arms , taking some pressure of her shoulders but pulling them much closer together. Her legs were bumping against his and their torsos were pressed against each other. He glanced down and saw that her feet still struggled to reach the ground. He sighed and jammed his foot under one of hers, giving her an extra inch of height. She shot him an embarrassed but grateful look as the pressure eased even more.

"Thanks" she mumbled.

"I guess if we're going be this close for a while we ought to introduce ourselves" She tried to lighten the situation. "I'm Cassie"

"Daryl" he grunted, feeling trapped and uncomfortable with the enforced contact.

"How did they manage to trap you here?" she asked.

Daryl didn't really want to make conversation but couldn't just ignore her,

"Thought I was helping someone out, turns out it was a set up. Rest of the dicks were waiting in the side-lines. Beat the crap out of me and locked me up down here"

"I bet it was the pretty one you thought you were helping" she managed a small smile. He gave her an embarrassed look and turned away.

"How'd they get you then" he asked

"I was on a run to a pharmacy with two men from my group. When we were in there five men turned up. The men I was with ran at the first opportunity, left me behind. I took out one of the gang but the others overpowered me. They roughed me up a bit then shoved me in here with you"

She saw his lips twice slightly.

"It's a hell of a first date" he commented.

She gave a short bark of laughter.

"Believe it or not I've had worse" she told him.

He stole a few glances at her as she looked around the room, taking in the same things he'd seen, not seeing a way out. She had dark brown eyes and wavy brunette hair and he guessed she was in her early thirties. She was a little shorter than him, with a slender form and a low throaty voice, not a stunning beauty but certainly very attractive. He stopped his thoughts from wandering too far, it wouldn't be right, not with her pressed so close to him. He realised she was looking at him, a slight smile on her face.

"I've got an idea but it means we have to get a little closer" she informed him.

He raised an eyebrow "How can we gonna get closer than this?"

He followed her look as she glanced up at their bound hands.

"I should be able to reach the knots in your ropes if I could get a little more height" she explained "I don't think you can reach me can you?"

He stretched his fingers, trying to reach the knots in the ropes binding her but because of the way they two of them were tied together they were just out of reach.

"How you gonna get taller?" he asked. Instead of replying she wrapped her fingers around the chain, gripping it firmly. She pulled herself up, so her feet were a few inches from the ground. She smiled at him and then lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist. Instinctively he recoiled from the touch, jerking backwards as far as he could go. She lost her grip and gave a small yelp as her arms took her full weight as she dropped back down.

"Damn it, woman" he snarled "Warn a man when yer gonna do something like that"

"It's not something I make a habit of doing" Cassie looked sheepish "I didn't think it would cause that sort of reaction"

Daryl took a deep breath, "You wanna try again, I'll stay still"

She nodded and grasped the chain again. This time he forced himself to stand still as her legs encircled his waist. He kept his eyes on her hands as she carefully picked at the knot, working it loose, trying not to think about her thighs resting just above his hips, her stomach on his chest.

"It's coming undone" she said excitedly as the first knot started to work free. She was just pulling the rope through from the last knot when the door opened.

"Looks like we're disturbing an intimate moment here" Michael came down the stairs, two men behind him, both holding rifles. Becca followed an amused smirk on her face as she looked at them.

Cassie unwrapped her legs and dropped down, giving Daryl a long look. He waited until Michael was closer and then jumped forward. The rope was still tied to one of his wrists but he managed to wrap the loose end around Michael's neck. He yanked it back, choking the man as he clawed at the rope. The two men raised their weapons but couldn't get a clear shot as Daryl was using Michael as a shield.

"Drop yer guns" he yelled at them as he pulled the rope tighter. The men exchanged glances, then grinned keeping the guns aimed.

"How about you let him go and she gets to keep her pretty little head intact" Becca's cold voice came from behind him. He twisted slightly, seeing Becca holding a handful of Cassie's hair, forcing her head back, a hand gun jammed under her chin, the barrel digging into her flesh. Cassie meet his eyes and managed to give a slight shake of her head, trying to tell him not to release Michael. She knew if he did neither of them would make it out alive. She saw the resigned look on his face as his hand loosened the grip on the rope.

"No!" she cried, Becca jabbed the gun harder against her skin, causing it to bruise. Daryl let go of the rope and shoved the semi-conscious man away from him. He slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Deal with them" he choked at the two men, who were already moving forwards, towards Daryl, guns raised.

Becca used the butt of her gun to strike the back of Cassie's head, leaving her dazed and unresisting as she was untied and dragged to the other side of the basement. Becca shoved her to the ground and snapped a pair of handcuffs around one of her wrists, attaching the other bracelet to a pipe connected to an old water heater. She slumped on the floor, trying not to pass out. She could hear the sounds of a violent fight between Daryl and the two men. She saw Becca looming over her, saw her grinning face as she raised the gun again and then it all went dark.