Chapter 7
They arrived at the housing development and decided to leave the car a short distance away and head in by foot. Once the area was clear of walkers they would bring the vehicle in to load with any supplies they managed to find. The development was made up of about fifteen houses, all built a few years before the outbreak. They were nice looking family homes and they hoped to find some decent supplies.
"Food and water are a priority, then batteries, ammo and medical supplies. After that whatever else you think will be useful." Rick decided they should split up into pairs. He and Michonne would do the houses on one side and Eleanor and Daryl would do the other. "If anyone gets into trouble fire a single shot ." They split into pairs and head to the nearest houses.
Daryl broke open the door of the first house and Eleanor slipped inside, her machete in one hand, knife in the other. There were no walkers in the downstairs rooms. Daryl headed upstairs, crossbow aimed ahead and Eleanor followed him. They checked the first two rooms with no problems. As they approached the next closed door they could both hear the familiar shuffling and moaning. Daryl aimed his crossbow and indicated for Eleanor to open the door. She twisted the handle and threw the door wide open. A walker stumbled out and Daryl fired, the bolt entering the creatures eye. As it fell another walker appeared in the doorway. It was the rotting body of a small child of no more that 3 or 4 years old. It was snarling and reaching for Daryl as he reloaded his weapon. Quietly Eleanor stepped behind it. She crouched down and wrapped her arm around the tiny body, stopping it from moving, carefully she slid her knife into the base of its skull, forcing it upwards into the brain. When it stopped moving she removed her knife and gently lay the body on the ground.
She stood "never get used to the children" she said sadly as they moved onto the next room. Once they'd checked the rest of the rooms and found them clear they moved through the house and piled what they found by the front door, ready to load into the car. They found some fruit trees in the garden and picked a couple of bags of apples and pears as well as some blackberries.
"Fresh fruit will be good for the kids" Eleanor was pleased. They checked the garage and found a car with some fuel in, which they siphoned into an empty fuel can. There were also some packets of vegetable seeds, which Daryl thought Rick would want as he had started to try and grow food at the prison.
They followed the same routine in the next three houses with no problem. They were getting a lot of useful stuff and there were still three houses to check. They seemed to work well as a team. Daryl appreciated the fact that she understood what he wanted without a lot of annoying talking. A few hand signals and she was in the right place, doing the right thing at the right time. He wondered if she could hunt and found himself thinking about taking her on his next trip.
They entered the last but one house and went upstairs. As they were checking the rooms they heard a single gunshot. Daryl raced back downstairs as Eleanor ran to a window. She could see Rick and Michonne on the porch of a house opposite. Rick was pointing down the road and she tried to see what he was gesturing at. As she watched he and Michonne disappeared back into the house, slamming the door. As she went downstairs Daryl came back inside. He closed the door behind him.
"Herds comin', help me block this " He started to push a large chest in front of the door and she ran to help him. They shoved a few other items of furniture against the door. Glancing through the window she could see the first walkers coming along the road.
"Be better off upstairs, less chance they see us" she grabbed the bag she'd been filling with supplies and they headed up to one of the bedrooms. They could hear the walker's outside, brushing against the windows and door. They barricaded the door and peered out the window. It was a massive herd, walkers were filling the street and there was no obvious end in sight.
"Gonna be here sometime" Daryl commented "wish we hadn't left the food Carol packed in the car"
Eleanor tipped the contents of her bag out on the floor and picked through them.
"Got some cereal bars and a couple cans soup as well as green beans. Found a can of soda as well" She held up a familiar red and white can.
Daryl reached for the beans and used his knife to open the can. Using their fingers they shared the contents, then each had a cereal bar before passing the can back and forth.
The herd was still passing so Eleanor decided to search the room. She opened the wardrobe and started going through the clothes. She pulled things out and dropped them on the floor if they were no good. When she found a slinky, red cocktail dress she couldn't resist holding it up to herself and glancing in the full length mirror.
She saw Daryl watching and gave an embarrassed smile "just the thing for killin' walkers" she laughed. He reached past her and pulled something out of the wardrobe
"Only if you wear it with these" he held up a pair of strappy red shoes with four inch heels "even I know you gotta accessorise right"
They both laughed at the thought of her standing at the prison fence stabbing walkers in a designer cocktail dress wearing killer heels.
"You turn up in that, there'll be a lot more help at the fence from the old fogies. Thought some of those old timers were gonna have heart attacks when you walked through in them shorts yesterday"
His voice trailed off as he realised she was looking at him with an amused expression.
"What?" he wasn't sure if he'd said something wrong
"I'm trying to work out if there's a compliment in there somewhere" she smiled
He shrugged his shoulders and returned to the window
"Take it how you want." He turned away from her "herds thinning out. Should be passed soon"
She shook her head and returned to sorting through the clothes, taking some jeans and several tops. They weren't her size but they would do for some of the other women at the prison. She also took several pairs of socks and some trainers. In the bottom of the wardrobe she found a sports bag and stuffed everything in it.
Once the herd had passed they unblocked the door and finished searching the house. They found some first aid items in a bathroom cupboard and some baby clothes that would do for Judith in a few months. They had already found some formula and some packs of diapers in a previous house.
They met up with Rick and Michonne in the middle of the street.
"Herd's heading toward where we left the car. We'll have to wait a while before we can get it." Rick was concerned.
"I'm gonna go check the gardens in the other houses now we got time to spare" Eleanor started to head back across the road.
"I don't want anyone going anywhere alone. Michonne why don't you go with her?" Rick didn't want to take any chances. "You see what you can find and me and Daryl will head for the car."
The woman both looked like they were going to object but Ricks face told them they wouldn't get anywhere. They went into the first garden and found a small greenhouse. The glass was broken so rain water had got in and there were some tomatoes and cucumbers. There were even a few grapes on a tatty vine. Eleanor pulled out a plastic bag and they silently began to fill it.
They were in the third garden when they heard the familiar sound of several walkers approaching. Michonne drew her sword and Eleanor tightened her grip on her machete as they turned to face the approaching threat.