A/N: Don't own (although I'd love to have my very own Norman Reedus :D) don't sue!
Lyrics are from 'Rain' by Patty Griffin
Rain
Chapter Fifteen
It's hard to listen to a hard, hard heart
Beatin' close to mine
Poundin' up against the stone and steel
Walls that I won't climb
Sometimes a hurt is so deep, deep, deep
You think that you're gonna drown
Sometimes all I can do is weep, weep, weep
With all this rain fallin' down
Strange, how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holding on underneath this shroud
Rain
It's hard to know when to give up the fight
Some things you want will just never be right
It's never rained like it has tonight before
Now, I don't wanna beg you, baby
For something maybe you could never give
I'm not lookin' for the rest of your life
I just want another chance to live
Strange, how hard it rains now
Rows and rows of big dark clouds
When I'm holdin' on underneath this shroud
Rain
"You look-" Cassidy broke off in surprise.
She knew it was the day she was supposed to be handed over to her new owners. She'd been well fed and once she'd been left alone she'd slipped her cuffs and exercised her tired body until she was almost as strong as one could expect in an apocalypse. She expected to be watched and she had picked up their routine easily, they took three hour shifts watching her through the one way mirror. With a few hours of unsupervised time between each shift. They clearly didn't expect her to be able to escape. Of course she played dumb but when she knew it was Joseph's watch she slipped out of her dress to exercise. As she'd hoped, he hadn't told anyone that she could pick the lock on her cuffs with the pin hidden in her bra. It was a little bit creepy knowing he was watching her while she was only in her underwear but she'd done worse to get out of situations before.
She resented being forced into the dress though. She'd changed back into her own clothes almost immediately and Cookie had barged in brandishing a tazer. She still had the two little burns on her neck. Oh she was going to get that little bitch.
"I don't feel too hot." He agreed, sliding her tray of food onto the table.
That was an understatement. His skin was waxy and grey, sweat was pouring from under his hairline and his eyes glinted feverishly.
"Sit down." She said, abandoning all pretence and sliding out of her cuffs.
He sank down onto the end of the bed.
"You're burning up." He was shaking too, his skin so hot it was almost painful when he grabbed her. "What're you doing?"
"They were going to hand you over today." He said quietly and she wasn't entirely sure if he was talking to her or himself. "Too late, though."
"What are you talking about?" She demanded, trying to wriggle out of his grip. "What's too late?"
He was much stronger than she'd thought, his fingers were biting into her skin through the silken sleeves of the dress.
"It's all too late. We're just putting off the inevitable, you know? What difference does it make if we die now or later?" He laughed, sounding more than a little insane, and she renewed her struggles to escape.
"What are you saying, Joseph?" She was now thoroughly alarmed at the way he was saying these things.
"It doesn't matter now."
"What have you done?" She demanded impatiently, fear coursing up her throat.
"I let them in." He said calmly. "They knew we were here. They just couldn't find a way in."
She recoiled when she realised her palm was stained with blood. He made no move to stop her as she pushed his sleeve up his arm. He'd been bitten. It was a surprisingly small wound but no less deadly. That explained the fever. He took her by surprise, crushing her against him before she could react. His lips were dry and cracked, almost painful against hers. She struggled to get away, panic overriding her instincts.
"Stop it. Let go!"
He growled in frustration as she clawed at him. He released her and she stumbled backwards, tripping on the long skirt of her dress. He grabbed for her and she swore, her fingernails scrabbling at his cheek as she fought to catch her balance. He cursed, hitting her across the cheek with the back of his hand. She knew how to take a punch but his fever and whatever it had done to his mind had made him stronger and her feet actually left the ground as she swung around. She stumbled over the table and it clattered sharply into her ribs as she hit the ground. She tasted the blood when her lip split but her senses had kicked in now. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind and tensed. She heard Joseph moving behind her and then his weight snatched the breath from her body. He shoved her over onto her back. Her dress had ridden up and his fingers were scrabbling at her thighs.
Going against everything her mind and body were screaming at her, she forced herself to relax underneath him. When she was sure he was distracted trying to work his way through the folds of her dress, she shoved her thumbs into his eye sockets and pushed.
Blood squirted and he howled but she was already on her feet. She dashed across the room to where her clothes had been left in a pile. Her fingers were slippery with sweat and blood but she managed to wrench the false sole of her boot out and retrieve the knife she kept there. He was staggering after her, blinking through the blood, his handsome features sickeningly distorted. Her jitters had left her, she was calm and collected now.
"I'm leaving, Joseph." She said quietly, palming the knife. "If you get the fuck out of my way right now we'll forget what just happened."
He snarled. He was completely beyond reason and she felt a flicker of regret. If he hadn't been bitten he might have been a good guy. Apart from the handing girls over part obviously. He kept coming. She spread her balance, ready for his attack but she had forgotten her long skirt. Trying to widen her stance she got caught in the unforgiving silk and he lunged. They careened backwards. The tabletop behind her caught the base of her spine and she cried out. Her head hit the wall with a resounding crack and she saw stars. His hands were gripping her arms again. She had no idea whether he was trying to rape her or trying to bite her. She had no intention of letting him do either. The knife was short but it slid into his temple remarkably easily. His face went slack with surprise and his grip relaxed slightly. They tumbled down from the table in a heap of ungainly limbs. She shoved him off her. She wasn't entirely sure if her knife had gone deep enough. If memory served Joseph had a hunting knife strapped to his ankle. She pulled up his jeans and yanked out the knife. He looked peaceful now he was dead, his hair flopping over his face and hiding the wound. His shoulders trembled and she thrust the knife through the centre of his forehead. His body went still.
She sat there for a moment, calming her trembling nerves. Whilst she had been attacked before, perk of the job and the wonderful temperament the apocalypse had created, no one had managed to get quite that close. She had nasty red marks on her thighs which she knew would rapidly become blue-black bruises. She shoved a lock of hair off her forehead, frowning at her trembling hands. There was an almighty clattering from behind the one way mirror. Time to go. She shoved her bare feet into her boots, grabbed her clothes and Joseph's knife. She'd have to change on her way.
Lochie gave up. They were taking it in turns to keep watch and hers wasn't due for another couple of hours but she just couldn't rest. Of course squashing into the back of an abandoned car wasn't exactly the best way to get a good night's sleep. She wriggled out of the car as quietly as she could. Rick was on watch, hidden away somewhere in the trees where he could see the road from both directions. She knew she shouldn't go wandering around in the dark on her own, but she couldn't stay in that car any longer.
She moved quietly away from the sleeping group. She didn't go too far and she kept the makeshift camp in view. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.
"What're you doin'?"
She leaped about a foot in the air, whirling in a full circle. It took her a moment of panicked fear to pick out Daryl in the moonlight. He was halfway up a tree, his crossbow across his lap. It was almost impossible to see anything but the glinting of his eyes through the shadows of the leaves. She eyed him warily. Daryl never outright refused any of their company, unless he was in a bad mood, but he never looked particularly inviting either. Throwing caution to the winds she scrambled up the tree, rather ungracefully and not exactly quietly.
She was breathless by the time she'd finished her short climb and settled down on a sturdy branch just below him. He didn't comment on her noisy ascent which was slightly concerning. She sneaked a glance at him. His face was stony, his blue eyes fixed intently on the distance. She hadn't really spoken to him since the attack at the farm, there hadn't been time in the mad dash to escape and after that she hadn't been able to work up the nerve. Whilst Daryl had always been slightly frosty towards any attempt at human contact between them, since Cassidy had left he had reverted to monosyllables and grunts as his main form of communication. Only Rick and Carol managed to elicit words of more than one syllable from him and even they weren't always polite ones.
She ran her finger over the red ribbon tied to her wrist absently. It had become rather grotty and frayed but she held onto it nonetheless. Cassidy would laugh herself silly when she got back and found she still had it. If she got back. Lochie squeezed her eyes shut as her gut clenched. Of course she'd come back. And she'd give her that exasperated look when she realised how bad her crush on Rick had become. The thought made her smile.
"Any danger?" She asked quietly.
He grunted.
"Any sign of food?"
He grunted.
"Any chance of a bed any time soon?"
He grunted.
She sighed, swinging her legs slightly and watching the shadows of her feet waver over the ground beneath them.
"Any sign of her?"
Well he didn't grunt which was rather encouraging. She chanced a quick peek up. He was so still, shoulders rigid and jaw clenched. It was like trying to talk to a statue. A particularly unresponsive statue. But leaving people to it was not in Lochie's nature. She was a nosy little wench and "leaving well alone" was not a part of her vocabulary. Besides, Cassidy was her best friend.
"Are you going to sulk until she gets back?"
He scowled at her and she smiled sweetly up at him, still swinging her legs absently.
"Keep still." He ordered irritably.
She rolled her eyes but ceased her kicking.
"Look, legging it probably wasn't the best thing she could have done but let's face it…" She gestured at the road beneath them. "We could probably do with a nice little vacation home right about now."
He didn't reply but he had sort of cocked his head a little and she took that as a sign that he was listening.
"Do you think she'll find us?" She asked glumly, voicing the fear that had been circling in her head since she'd woken up to an empty tent. "What if she gets herself killed out there?"
"She'll be fine." He interrupted gruffly. "She can take care of herself."
"Yeah." Lochie agreed. "But no one has quite the talent for attracting trouble she does."
Daryl made a strange noise that could have been a laugh or a grunt. Or something in between.
"Do you miss her?" She murmured.
He didn't reply but that could have been his usual friendly manner or maybe he hadn't heard her. Either way the conversation was clearly over and she slid down from the tree.
Rick was waking T-Dog for his watch when she got back. He frowned at her as T-Dog ambled away into the surrounding darkness, yawning widely.
"You should be sleeping." Rick chastised quietly.
Lochie, still worrying about Cassidy, tossed him a scathing look and stomped off into the trees. Rick followed in alarm, not stopping to think about it. She could only go a few feet in because then it became too dark to see where she was going and she found herself tripping on an upraised root. Rick helped her to her feet.
"Go away." She snapped, shrugging his hand off her arm.
He stared at her.
"I mean it. I don't need you to protect me. Stop treating me like a kid. I am a grown woman."
He looked at her. Really looked at her. Her much too big jacket had slid off one slender shoulder when she'd fallen, her hair had slipped out of its braid and fluttered over her delicate elfin features, her grey eyes were blazing, her chin was tilted defiantly and her chest was heaving as her breathing hitched. Yes she was most definitely a woman. He felt something stirring in his belly and he tried to step back, to put some distance between them but his feet weren't obeying. His hands must have developed a mind of their own because he reached out. The jacket was warm from her body heat and, whilst his brain had planned to pull it back up and cover her pale naked skin, his fingers hooked into the soft material until it fell away completely. It caught on the crook of her elbow, dragging down the other side until the studs on her cropped black Guns N Roses vest caught the moonlight.
Pink flushed over her cheekbones and her chest bared by the v of her vest. They seemed to stand there for an interminably long time. He couldn't seem to stop looking at her, noticing things he had refused to see before. Her slender waist peeking out from under the vest, the glitter of a jewel in her belly button, the deceptively delicate slim shapely legs outlined by the skin-tight black leggings. He could see her pulse fluttering wildly in her throat. He felt like he was burning, heat flooding through his body and thundering through his head. Rick was a man of morals who led with his heart and did what he thought was best, he did not let his baser instincts rule his actions. Yet he found himself folding this steely, vulnerable, impossibly unique, young woman into his arms almost without realising it. She slid against him with a startled little sigh. Lori was tall and willowy and when he held her there was always a slight manoeuvrability issue fitting long clashing limbs together but Lochie fitted against him easily.
Her small hands glided along his chest and into his hair as her mouth opened beneath his in surprise. He found he'd actually lifted her off the ground but she didn't protest. He was used to Lori clinging to him as if he might escape her grip at any moment but Lochie was weightless in his arms, trusting him completely. Some sort of sense managed to penetrate the fog in his brain and he put her back down. She struggled to catch her breath for a moment, licking her reddened lips. Her cheeks were red from his stubble.
"I-"
He couldn't think what to say to explain what he'd just done, he couldn't even begin explaining it to himself.
"It's okay, Sheriff." Lochie finally said, zipping her jacket back up.
"It's not okay." He argued stiffly. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Did you want to?" She asked calmly, fixing him with a surprisingly shrewd look.
"I-" He said again. He wanted to deny it but the words stuck in his throat. "Yes." He admitted, scrubbing his hands over his cheeks
"Then you definitely should have done it."
He was slightly taken aback at how calmly she seemed to be taking this situation. He had expected her to scream at him, or slap him maybe.
"The end of the world is not the time to be shy." Her eyes were sparkling but there was something sad about her smile. "Be spontaneous, before we all die anyway."
"I wasn't being spon-" He broke off in confusion.
He didn't have the time to handle this right now. He had to concentrate on keeping these people who trusted him alive, not try to figure out why he had the sudden urge to drag this pretty mischievous creature into the bracken. And Lori… he didn't even want to think about Lori right now.
"Really, Rick… it's okay."
It was the first time she'd ever actually said his name in front of him and it sent a little shiver racing up his spine. Not good.
"Of course, if you ever get the urge again…" She shot him a wicked look over her shoulder as she headed back towards the road.
It had been a while since the fever had burned out her memory but as she crept along the deserted corridors, it started to come back. The room they'd been keeping her in wasn't far from the main room where they'd drugged her. A half eaten body was strewn across the doorway she'd noticed when she'd arrived. It shifted feebly. The problem was she had no idea how many walkers Joseph had let in, or how many scumbags had already been inside.
There were fingernail marks on the door behind the body. Probably where Cookie and Doug were holed up. She studied the tunnel that headed towards the exit. It was dark, lit only by a feebly flickering light a few feet in. If they were in that room then they hadn't been able to reach the doorway that led out. It seemed deserted now but with walkers you never knew. She was still deciding what to do when the door creaked open besides her. She stepped back against the wall, sliding out of view. Doug advanced shakily, a gun stretched out before him. Cassidy waited until he had cleared the door frame, then put as much force behind her kick as she could. His knee made a satisfying crunching sound and he went down like a ton of bricks, the gun skittering out of his hand and bouncing across the floor. Cookie must have been right behind him because her hand lashed out and grabbed the handle of the door but Doug's writhing bulk blocked it open. Cassidy kicked him again and he stopped squirming.
"Well well." Cassidy said cheerily as Cookie stumbled back a step at the sight of her. "Aren't we in a pickle."
She'd gone deathly white but she glared nonetheless. To be fair she did have a gun in her hand. She moved towards Cassidy.
"Move." She ordered.
Cassidy smiled. The gun was barely an inch from her chest.
"Don't think I won't use this."
"Oh I know you would." Cassidy replied calmly. "If you hadn't gotten so close."
Cookie frowned.
"I reckon it'll still cause a pretty big hole."
"That wasn't what I meant."
Cookie blinked but Cassidy had already yanked her wrist at a painful angle and relieved her of the gun. Some of Cookie's cool left her and she stumbled back.
"So." Cassidy said conversationally, leaning back against the wall where she could see anything approaching. "How many girls were there?"
Cookie stared at her, cradling her injured wrist against her chest.
"What?"
"I said." Cassidy repeated in an icily calm voice. "How many girls did you sell?"
Cookie's face had gone yellow with pain as she gingerly tested her broken wrist.
"What do you care?"
"Never said I did." She pointed out. She could hear something. Maybe walkers, maybe the lovely individuals who were trying to buy her. Either way it was time to go. "I am, however, going to need a distraction."
If it was at all possible, Cookie turned even paler.
"You wouldn't." She said hoarsely, although she didn't sound nearly as certain as she wanted to.
"You think," Cassidy said in that dangerous voice that had given Andrea the chills the first time they'd met. "That because I let you fatten me up and get me back on my feet, that I wasn't capable of getting out of here of my own accord?"
Cookie staggered backwards, tripped on the uneven floor and landed hard. She threw her out hands to catch her balance, screeching in pain when she put her weight on her broken wrist.
"Even if you would." She argued defiantly. "You shoot that thing and they'll all know exactly where to find us."
Cassidy cocked her head to the side, crossing the room in three long strides until she towered over Cookie.
"Good point." She stamped the heel of her boot down on Cookie's leg until it made a sickening crack. "Now you've got as much chance of getting out of here as those girls did."
"You can't leave me here!" Cookie wailed.
"Don't worry." Cassidy stepped neatly over Doug's unconscious body. "Your business associates should be along any minute. I'm sure they're the kind of men who'll protect you."
Getting down the tunnel was relatively painless, only one dozy looking walker staggering in circles which she despatched easily. She emerged cautiously out into the trees. Scanning everything for sign of any walkers. However they'd got in, it hadn't been through here. She sighed. Now all she had to do was get back to the farm. She was still weary from her fever and the adrenaline that had been surging through her body. Crawling into Daryl's tent and tucking her tired feet between his had never sounded so appealing.
LadyLecter47 – I haven't read the comics so probably not lol There was so much disappointment, not a single irritating character removed when they had the chance.
LittleRin26 – she's not the kind of girl to sit around and be rescued, there's enough of those in the show already :)
SaraLostInes – they'll get together again, but I'm going to make you wait for it first at least until the next chapter anyway :D
LisaBoston – thanks very much :D :D
VileMalapert – well I'm going with the theory that if Daryl found out what they'd tried to do to her, he'd go all native on their asses lol and as much as I enjoy Daryl Dixon kicking ass, I don't want to put more guilt on him than he already has
SharonH – I don't think there's anything Andrea could do that would make her interesting anymore, and I'll never forgive her for shooting him either. Don't worry she'll get herself out of it lol
Dalonega Noquisi – is this enough kicking ass for you? There will probably be a bit more to come too and there will be a sexy reunion in the next chapter, cross my heart :)
arl with a K – yeah apart from that bit lol and apart from Daryl being the sexiest human being ever. No offence
AutumnKrystal – thanks very much here's an update for you
eloquent dreams – I don't think Merle would ever buy anything he wanted, he'd just waltz in and take it. So excited he's going to be in the next series again can't wait!