Chapter 24

He leant on her as he eased out of the car and they walked back to the others. While they were eating Rick explained about the signs the three of them had seen for a place called Terminus. They had decided it was worth trying as any other survivors from the prison may have headed there. They all decided to continue towards it as there was a chance it could be a genuine place of safety.

Once they had packed their supplies they carried on down the railway tracks. They all found excuses to stop regularly so Daryl had a chance to rest. He didn't admit it but they all knew he was struggling after the beating he had received at the hands of Joe's gang. Once they were a few miles from their destination Rick suggested they head into the forest, away from the tracks.

"Just 'cos it says safety for all don't mean it's true. It's better if we see them before they see us" he commented. An hour or so later they saw a large complex in front of them. It was made up of several buildings, with high fences all around. They stayed hidden in the trees and watched for a few minutes but there was no sign of any people.

Rick had taken all the weapons from Joe's gang and now he put them all into a large bag which he buried, under a large tree.

"Can't be too careful" he told Daryl as he covered the bag with soil.

"We'll split up and see what we can find" he told the others. "I'll go with Carl, you three head in different directions and we'll meet back here in about an hour. Then we'll decide what to do."

Nodding in agreement they all melted into the forest, keeping their eyes and ears open.

When Daryl arrived back at the meeting point he found Michonne waiting.

"Find anything?" she asked, he shook his head as Rick and Carl arrived back, reporting that they had seen nothing out of the ordinary. After several minutes had gone by and there was still no sign of Eleanor, Daryl started to get fidgety. He messed around with his crossbow and kept glancing into the forest, hoping to see her. After thirty minutes or so had passed he stood up from where he had been leaning on a tree.

"She should be back by now, I'm gonna go look for her" He started off in the direction they had last seen her.

Rick glanced at Carl and Michonne and they both nodded to him.

"Daryl, wait up" he called "I'll come with you". The two men headed off, striding quickly through the undergrowth. Rick could feel the tension coming off Daryl and realised that he was worried. Daryl soon found Eleanor's tracks and started to follow them.

"Good thing she still blunders around like a big ole grizzly bear" he muttered, eyes down as he followed the trail she had left. It was Rick that spotted the bodies first. Up ahead were four walker corpses, knife wounds in their skulls. He tried to stop Daryl from charging up to them, not knowing what they were going to find, but it was impossible. They checked all the bodies, making sure they were all properly dead. Rick heard Daryl give a muffled cry and turned to see him staring at the ground. Cautiously he walked over. There was a lot of blood on the floor and in the middle of it was a clump of long honey blonde hair. There was still skin attached where it had clearly been ripped out by the roots. Frantically Daryl searched around for Eleanor's tracks but the ground was churned up as if several sets of feet had been there, then the only tracks he could find were clearly the stumbling, dragging marks of walker feet as they headed off through the forest.

He dropped to his knees, his hand rubbing at his eyes as he realised what this meant. Eleanor must have come across a herd and been unable to fight them off. It looked like this time she really was gone. A lump welled up in his throat as he thought of her blindly wandering around as a walker. He stared hopelessly up at Rick, not knowing what to do.

Seeing his friend looking so lost and broken Rick couldn't find a word to say. He'd known the two of them were close but had just thought of them as just friends. He now realised that in their time alone together something had changed; they had become something much closer, more special. He knelt next to Daryl and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Daryl, I really am" he said sincerely. They stayed like that for a while before Daryl got to his feet.

"Gotta find her" he picked up his crossbow "Find her and finish it. She wouldn't want to be a walker" he moved to follow the tracks but Rick stopped him, with a hand on his arm.

"It's no good" he said softly "you'll never find her now. We need to get Carl and Michonne and head to Terminus. We need to get somewhere safe, you need medical care. You know it's what she would want" What he said must have got through to Daryl because without a word he turned and headed back the way they had come.

When they got back to the woman and the boy he strode past them silently. Carl's eyes filled with tears when he realised what Rick's silent shake of the head meant. Michonne turned away, but not before Rick noticed the wetness in her eyes. Quietly they picked up their bags and followed Daryl to the wire fence surrounding Terminus.

Sorry it's so short, just needed a filler before we arrive at terminus.