Chapter 4

Michael lowered the pole.

"And where is this farm?" he asked

Daryl was breathing hard, still suspended uncomfortably.

"Don't know the route number but can find it on a map" he muttered brokenly. Becca sent one of the men to find a map.

"How many are there, what weapons do they have?" Michael was still firing the questions.

"Bout 35 people, got rifles and a couple of semi-automatics" Daryl told him. The man returned with a map and Daryl was released from the chains. He slumped to the ground, barely conscious.

"Show us where it is" Michael held the map open in front of him. Daryl forced himself to look at the map and finally pointed out where the farm was.

"Mile or so down this track, just off the interstate, got a sign on the gate that says Greene. My groups camped by the farm house. Old man and his two daughters in the house."

"Thank you, you've been most helpful" Michael got to his feet and gathered his men up.

"Get ready. We'll go pay a visit to this farm right away. See what we can find" They all filed out of the room, leaving Daryl on the floor and Cassie still cuffed to the pipes. As soon as they had gone she slid the cuff free from the now broken pipe. Quickly she moved to Daryl's side, lifting his head from the floor, laying it on her lap.

"Hey" she called, lightly slapping his cheek "Come on, you've got to wake up" He groaned and swatted her hand away.

"Leave me be" he complained. She realised he was shivering and still wet so she pulled off her over-shirt and used it to try and wipe the excess water from his face and chest. Using her damp shirt as a pillow she lay his head carefully down and got up to search the basement, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. By the racks of wine she found an old fashioned corkscrew with a wooden handle and a small pocket knife. It was obviously designed to remove the foil from wine bottles and only had a short two inch blade that folded into the handle. She tucked the corkscrew into her waistband, hiding the handle with her tee shirt. She picked up a wineglass and scooped up some water from one of the buckets. Returning to Daryl she lifted his head again and tried to get some water down his throat. At first he coughed and spluttered but then managed to swallow some. His eyes opened and he stared up at her blankly.

"How you feeling?" she asked, then realised what a dumb question that was.

He gulped down some more water.

"Felt better" he told her.

She got to her feet again and went over to the car battery and the pole. Quickly she pulled the wire from the end of the pole and coiled it up. She took it and shoved it behind one of the wine racks.

"That should slow them down a bit, if they want to use that again" she returned to his side and pulled out small knife. She tucked it into his pocket.

"It's all I could find, maybe it will come in use" she told him as she reached for the ropes still binding his wrists. She hadn't got very far when the door crashed open and Michael strode down the stairs with some of his men.

"It's time to go pay a visit to your friends" he told Daryl "You're coming as well in case we need a bargaining chip" He frowned when he saw Cassie was free "You seem to make a habit of escaping, I think we'll take you with us as well so we know where you are" Two men grabbed a still weak Daryl and pulled him to his feet. Another grabbed Cassie and held her while Michael retied her hands. The two of them were pulled upstairs and outside. Three vehicles were waiting in the yard, engines running and several armed men standing around.

"Put them in the trunk of my car" Michael ordered. They were shoved towards a 1990's Cadillac and the trunk was pulled open. An unresisting Daryl was pushed inside and a struggling Cassie was forced in. The lid was slammed shut and they were left in darkness, once again pressed up against each other.

"Hell, second date aint going any better than the first" Daryl muttered as he tried to shift to one side and give Cassie more room.

"Least we made it to a second date" Cassie wiggled on to her side and lay between Daryl and the back seats of the car "I thought for a while we wouldn't get through this night"

"Night aint over yet" Daryl commented darkly as they felt the car move off.

It was about an hour later when the car stopped and they heard doors slamming and voices calling. They heard Michael telling the others to go in shooting and not bother about survivors, all they were interested in was the supplies.

Cassie couldn't understand how Daryl could be so calm, hearing this. They were talking about murdering his group.

As soon as it had gone quiet Daryl started to struggle to free himself.

"We gotta get out of here soon as we can" he told her "My group aint here, we got run outta this place by a herd a few months back. I'm hoping enough walkers are still hanging around to give this lot something to keep them busy." He twisted round and held his arms towards her

"Think you can undo these ropes again?" She reached out and spent the next few minutes trying to work the knots lose.

"I can't, they've done them too tight this time" she told him. He swore and tried to feel around for something to use to get free.

"Wait" Cassie cried "If I can get the knife from your pocket I might be able to get us out." They shuffled around until she could reach into his pocket and her fingertips touched the knife. She grasped it and pulled it out then rolled over so her back was against his chest. Fumbling a bit and trying not to drop the small knife she managed to pull it open. Not wasting any time trying to cut their wrists free she drove the short blade into the back of the rear seat in front of her, hacking through the leather look plastic. Once she'd made a big enough cut she slid her fingers inside and tugged hard. The plastic began to rip and finally she'd torn enough off she could fold it back. The metal springs of the seat were now exposed and she tried to pull then free.

"Let me try" Daryl tried to reach over her head to grasp the springs and pull them away but he wasn't close enough to grip them .

"Gonna have to swap places" he told her. She nodded and rolled over, sliding across him so he was facing the rear seats. After a few minutes of struggling he had managed to bend the springs, making a gap big enough for her to slip through. He used the knife to hack the padding and the front of the seat cover away and she wriggled over him again as she squeezed through and into the car. Quickly she opened the door and ran to the trunk, popping it open and helping him out.

They could hear the sound of shouting and gunfire in the distance and Daryl gave a satisfied nod.

"Sounds like there's enough walkers left to give them trouble. Gives us time to get out of here" He looked around, trying to get his bearings.

"We cut through the woods that way, there's an old farm house we can hole up in." He remembered it from his search for Sophia. Cassie had no idea where she was so she just agreed with him. Once they had reached the cover of the trees she stopped and held up the small knife.

"Let me see if this will cut the ropes. I'll feel safer if we've got our hands free" He held his hands out, keeping a look out as she sawed through the ropes. Eventually he was free and he did the same for her. They set off at a run, heading for the shelter of the farmhouse.

A/N Thanks to the guest reviewer - Should have known Daryl would never willingly give up the group :)

Thank you to all those following and favouriting.

Next chapter coming soon.