Chapter 35

Daylight was just creeping into the room when he awoke. Eleanor was asleep beside him, her head on his shoulder, her arm resting on his chest. She was pressed up against his side, one of her long legs tucked between his. His arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close. With his free hand he reached up and brushed hair off her cheek. He couldn't help a small smile as he thought of the previous night. They'd fooled around downstairs for a while before she pushed him away and got up. He thought he'd screwed up somewhere and she'd had enough but then she'd given him a look and held her hand out. He hadn't needed asking twice. He'd dragged her up the stairs like a horny teenager. Once in the bedroom his shirt had soon hit the floor, closely followed by her dress. They'd tumbled to the bed and that's when things had got real interesting. Now she was snuggled next to him. He'd never woken with a woman beside him before; this was something he could get used to with Eleanor he decided.

He realised she was awake and looking at him with a smile on her face.

"Hi" she said, stretching contentedly, trailing her hand across his chest.

"Hey" he replied, trying to sound casual, knowing he failed. "You sleep okay?"

"Yeah; best night's sleep for a while" she smirked at him, as he traced his fingers down her side. They reached for each other at the same time and suddenly it got real interesting all over again.

The sun was high in the sky before they were ready to leave the house. They had decided to go onto the second town they had planned to search. If they had no luck there they would head back to Terminus, searching any houses they found on the way back.

"We'll leave the car, quieter to go in on foot" Daryl decided "We can go get it if we find loadsa stuff"

Eleanor agreed.

"Keep a look out in case the assholes in the car had more friends" he advised her.

They pulled the car off the road, hiding it among the trees and jogged the last mile into the small town. It was surprisingly quiet.

"Why aint there any walkers?" Eleanor was concerned. Daryl was looking around, a frown on his face.

"It's too quiet, don't like this" he muttered to her. "Let's just hit that store, see what they got then get outta here" She nodded in agreement and they headed to the nearby grocery store. They were almost there when the door flew open and a bruised and bloodied man stumbled out.

"Help me" he gasped before falling face down onto the roadway. Daryl hung back, but Eleanor automatically ran to him without thinking.

"Ellie, get the hell back" Daryl yelled as she dropped to her knees beside the injured man. Before she could reach for his neck to check for a pulse he rolled over and grabbed her, the hand gun he'd been hiding pushed against her jaw. Laughing he stood up, dragging her with him. Daryl was aiming his crossbow but couldn't get a clear shot. The man held Eleanor in front of him, gun to her head, his other arm around her waist, pulling her against his chest.

He leant forward and buried his face in her hair.

"You sure smell good" he leered, sliding his hand across her stomach.

"Keep your stinkin' hands off her!" Daryl yelled, furious, trying to find a clean shot.

The man laughed again "You don't recognise me, do you honey?" he purred into her neck. "Mind you last time I saw you two, I was hanging upside down in a car seat, while you put a gun to my friends head and blew him away."

They exchanged looks; neither had thought to check the front passenger of the car was conscious when they left. They'd both assumed he was still out cold.

"Simon told you to run, that you might stand a chance of escaping if you went right away but instead you stroll right into our town. You two are so dumb, and now, so screwed" The man found this highly amusing.

"You hurt her, you're dead" Daryl growled, glaring at the man.

"Oh we aint gonna kill her, she's too valuable to us" A different voice spoke from the side. A tall dark haired man with a beard stepped out of the store. He held a gun down at his side but wasn't bothering to point it.

"You, on the other hand aint worth a thing to me. My men got guns on you from different buildings all around. You don't lay down that fine crossbow, you're dead. You aint gonna do her any good laid out here. Co-operate and you maybe got a few more hours with your lady." He smiled "Your choice"

Daryl squinted in the sun, looking around at the nearby buildings. He could now see several people stationed at windows and even on the roof of a nearby store. They all had guns pointed in his direction. He looked at Eleanor; saw her slight smile as she looked back. He knew what she was telling him. Suddenly she threw her head backwards, making contact with the injured man's already damaged nose. He gave a scream of pain and let go of her, dropping his gun to clutch his bleeding face. Eleanor dropped to the ground and grabbed the fallen gun as Daryl fired a bolt at the bearded man hitting him in the leg. Eleanor fired at the man on the roof, it wasn't a clear shot but she hit his shoulder and it was enough him to make him drop down out of sight.

Bullets hit the ground around them as they made a dash for cover, Daryl behind an abandoned car and Eleanor the corner of the nearest building. The bearded man was shouting orders.

"Don't damage the woman. Get him alive if you can, but I aint that bothered" he yelled, staying low on the ground, keeping out of the line of fire. More shots were fired, keeping them trapped where they were. They made eye contact, an unspoken message passing between them. Get back to the car. As Daryl watched Eleanor slipped further around the building out of his sight. He wasn't sure how he was going to get away. There wasn't much cover between the car he was crouched behind and the closest building. His only chance was to make a run for it. He slipped his crossbow onto his back and drew his gun. Jumping quickly out from behind the car he fired a few shots in random directions, put his head down and ran for it. He heard shouting and a few stray shots hit the ground near him but somehow he was suddenly behind the store, out of the line of fire. He could hear people pursuing him through the town but once he was in the forest it was easy for him to lose them.