Chapter 60

"Little piggies!" Negan sang ominously. "I see you! And you are fucked!"

I couldn't look away despite the burning wetness that blurred my vision. The lights were so bright, but I stared into the whiteness, lost in it. Negan's shadow remained perfectly still like a statue in the night, backlit and bold in the face of my fear. He had found us.

"Dwighty boy… You're running from me again?" Negan called to him, and he took one step as his umbra took one back. "If you wanted an out, all you had to do was ask for one. That would've been damn fucking dandy with me. I probably would've given it to you… But not only did you not ask for one, you went behind my back and took something from me. And one would think that you would have realized by now that you took the wrong damn one! What would poor Sherry think?"

I wasn't looking at Dwight, but I could feel the anger pulsing off of him. There were so many things he needed to say to Negan - to do to him - but now was not the time or place. Not when we were so critically outnumbered. I counted the men who stood around their leader, blocking the road with their vehicles and guns, and I thought about all the reawakened dead that creeped this way as we sat here, dumbstruck. There was no going around the Saviors and there was no turning back. We were trapped on both sides.

"You don't do that Dwight," Negan laughed bitterly. "You don't lie to my face and then take my wife with you. Not again!"

The end of his words imitated themselves, the robust energy in which they were spoken causing them to rebound off of the trees and circle back to us until they finally faded.

"Make this easy on yourselves, guys, and get out of the fucking car."

No one moved. We all sat stock still, glued to our seats, watching and waiting for an answer to our defiance. But I knew we couldn't sit here for long. We had to do something, and I finally tore my eyes away from Negan to find Daryl's and take his hand.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, but he shook his head, disagreeing with me.

"Don't force my fucking hand, people. You will not like what will happen if you do," Negan warned.

"Drive," Dwight said as he rolled down his window.

"And go where?" Trevor asked with incredulity in his voice. "They have weapons pointed at us!"

"They won't shoot to kill. And drive into the woods." Dwight winced as he leaned out of the open space of his door.

"What?! There are trees!"

"Now."

Regardless of his doubt, Trevor didn't hesitate. At Dwight's word, he swiftly put the car into drive and hit the gas, surging us back against our seats. Dwight just barely managed to hang on as he swung the Uzi on top of the car and let out a string of gunfire before ducking back in right as the tires left the pavement and we bumped into the woods. We wouldn't make it very far; the forest floor and scattering of numerous trees and boscage would prevent any projected travel, but it would make it hard for them to follow us in and maybe that meant we had a chance at losing them.

A returning fusillade chased us briefly through the dark and wooden stalks, bullets humming as they passed by or tinging as they hit our car. But not a second later, the barrage deceased and we ventured deeper into the woods until we reached the point where Trevor couldn't keep traction and we slid to a stop, stuck in a crowd of trees.

"Out," Dwight demanded and we followed his instructions.

Daryl took my arm, pushing me ahead of him as we all took off at a run, attempting to put as much distance between us and those at our backs as possible. The going was tough. A wooded area covered in thickets was not the best place to start a marathon and I lost my footing too many times to count. Gratefully, I had Daryl to keep me on my feet and encourage me to not stop, but I really didn't need it. The memory of Negan's stygian form standing out against blazing headlights was enough to fuel the terror that pressed me forward.

I could hear them behind us, shouting and revving their engines. Their movements were echoing sirens in my ears, warnings of the dangers that were encroaching upon us. I chose not to look back, not to think about what would happened if they caught up to us, and followed Trevor as he followed Dwight, never looking away from his back. Yet contemplations of how long it would take until we were surrounded - and there wasn't anywhere else for us to run - were a waking nightmare that I could not escape from.

"Dammit, don't shoot!" Negan yelled as he got back to his feet.

That lanky, scarred bastard had shot at them and one of his men was down with several gaping holes in his chest and throat. He didn't blame his Saviors for shooting back, but he preferred to catch Dwight and the whole group of them alive. And as extremely betrayed and hurt he felt by her, he didn't want to lose Everly. Not like this.

"Get your asses in the trucks!" He bellowed. "I want some of you in those fucking woods and the rest circling around these goddamn roads. Corner them and bring me back my damn wife without any fucking bullet holes in her. Keep the others alive, too."

His Saviors obeyed instantly, following their commander's orders without question. He watched a few men disappear into the woods, hot on his escapees' trail, while the others got back into their vehicles. He did the same, slamming the passenger door as Simon shimmied in the driver's seat. His secondhand man gave him an inquiring look.

"Let's wait here for a minute," Negan brooded, upset his wife had slipped away once more.

"They won't make it too far." Simon seemed confident in that fact. "There isn't anywhere for them to go."

"That we know of." Negan thought back to Alexandria, the downed trees, and how suspicious it had seemed. There'd be no way they would go there, and the location where they had been found was exactly where Dwight said they would be, but heading the opposite direction. But to where?

"Lane's probably dead," Simon spoke, his tone informing.

"So it fucking seems." Negan held up the walkie but didn't bother to page his informant. He'd heard the tail-end of Lane's discovery of Everly before the walkie cut out, and upon finding those he sought without their chaperones was telling of his former Savior's fate.

"What's gonna happen when we get 'em?" Simon asked, excitement pumping in his veins. He knew it would be something good.

Negan smirked at his friend as his sour mood faded a bit. "A fucking pig roast."

"Stop," Dwight said, and suddenly I was running into Trevor's back.

"Why're we stoppin'?" Daryl demanded.

"They're going to circle around us. Not give us a way out. If we split up, we'll have a chance."

"Split up? Why? Go where?" I looked around the darkness in disbelief. "Where the hell are we even at?"

"You guys will head east and we'll go west." Dwight ignored my outburst and pointed in the correlating directions as he spoke. "Since they're already headed the way we'll be going, we can keep them distracted before losing them. It'll be as easy as bating the dead."

"Yeah, we can try," Trevor agreed.

"Use the map I gave you if you get lost, but I trust you'll find your way."

Daryl patted the backpack that was slung over my shoulder. "We got what we need."

Dwight nodded. "It should be a pretty straight shot, and as long as you lose them, they won't know where you're going. Just stay east until you think you're in the clear and then head south, but be careful in the city. A lot of dead still roam there."

I shivered, trying not to believe we were in this mess. Daryl's fingers on my arm tightened at the motion, pulling me close.

"You'll hit the road we were just on, but if you go north a bit, you should avoid Negan's men."

"I got it," Daryl replied impatiently. "I know who's out there, and I'm gettin' her somewhere safe. You guys try to do the same."

"Good luck," Trevor wished us.

"We'll meet you there at dawn," Dwight assured.

Daryl started to pull me away, but I resisted and removed myself from his grasp. I couldn't leave without doing one final thing.

Dwight hissed as my arms encircled his neck and I automatically loosened by grip, mumbling a sorry as I continued to hold him to me. He wasn't my favorite person, and we didn't particularly get along, but I would be eternally grateful to him for risking his life to get us out of the Sanctuary and for keeping us from Negan. We weren't out of the woods yet, literally and figuratively, but he was the main reason we had made it this far, and if I never saw him again, if one or neither of us made it, I wanted him to know how much I appreciated his selflessness.

"Thank you," I muttered to him, tears choking my words.

Dwight patted my shoulder as he tenderly hugged me back. "You're welcome."

I pulled away, giving him one last bittersweet smile. "Be safe. See you in a few hours."

Dwight nodded, looking both bashful yet filled with pride at the same time. He playfully said, "I'm not doing it just for you, you know."

"I know. You're doing it for the right reasons," I agreed and returned to Daryl.

We parted ways then; the pack disbanding to confuse the enemy. It was difficult to hold much credence in Dwight's method when his first had already gone to shit, but I hadn't gotten this far just to give up now. My head was still light and a pounding ache was persistent in the back of my skull, but I kept myself focused and moved swiftly behind Daryl as we traveled north.

The woods were quiet. We had lost track of Negan's men not long after splitting off from Dwight and Trevor which signified that they were able to hold up their end of the plan, but Daryl told me the Saviors would figure out eventually that we weren't all together, and that pretty soon they wouldn't be too far behind us. Whether that meant our two friends were dead or captured, I didn't want to know, but the trick was to keep moving no matter what, so I did.

I turned the focus on myself as Daryl and I came up to the road; the road where we'd been discovered not once, but twice. He made me wait in the woods like before as he inspected the area up and down, staying hidden behind the darkness of the trees himself. When he felt it was clear, he beckoned me over and we crossed the asphalt at a run as the fingertips of an anxious chill ran up my spine.

Once under leafy canopies again, my nerves began to unbend, offering me a smidgeon of relief after this giant disaster of a night. It wasn't over yet, and every second we had to ourselves counted towards us making it out alive and unharmed. Daryl moved so swiftly. It was amazing to see him maneuver through the woods with such confidence and dexterity. I would've been lost ten times over already, a crying mess in the dark waiting to be found and eaten alive. That was a fear that needed no thought; it only distracted me.

Up ahead I heard a rapid rush, like a harsh breeze blowing through the leaves or…moving water. Daryl paused momentarily, discerning exactly where we were. He announced we must be a few miles north of the city and we'd have to cross the river up ahead. I wasn't keen on that idea. It was cold, dark, and I already felt like an ice cube.

"We'll find a way to not get wet," he offered, taking my hand in reassurance. "It ain't cold enough for us to get hypothermia, but I bet that water will be. If we happen to go in, we'll have to stay together, warm each other up and move as little as possible."

I looked in the direction of the water, not seeing it but knowing it wasn't far ahead. The process of finding a way across that would allow us to stay dry would take time, and I wasn't sure if I'd rather plunge in head first than take the risk of Negan finding us again.

"Is there a way to go around?" I asked hopefully.

"Not unless we go back to the roads," was his answer and that wasn't going to be an option.

With reluctance, I followed Daryl as he started forward, his steps precisely placed the closer we got to the river. As the woods began to thin, I noticed a pathway or – no, a dirt road. It was narrow, but wide enough for a vehicle to fit through and I could tell it was used. Moonlight lit the tracks which were not overgrown and I could see the shape of tire marks. This road had been used fairly recently.

"Must be an earthen road for the patrols," I gathered.

"Yeah, it's probably a shortcut," Daryl assented.

"Where?" I pondered and Daryl turned me away to access the bag on my back.

"Hold this."

He handed something dark and cylindrical to me. I took it and saw it was a flashlight, but waited for Daryl to instruct me to use it. He rummaged in the pack, producing a folded piece of paper that I realized was a map as he unfolded it. At his word, I clicked on the flashlight but immediately turned it off, startled by how bright it was. Daryl and I locked eyes before we each looked around our surroundings. Seeing and hearing nothing but water and wind, he nodded and I cupped my hands around the end of the torch and held it close to the paper, preventing the light from shining outward too far.

Daryl followed the lines of the map, indicating we were somewhere between the main highway and some other smaller surface roads. Roads that Negan and his men travelled to get to and from the Sanctuary.

"We're deep enough in that we won't be seen, but let's keep moving. Keep the flashlight in your pocket."

I clicked it off and did as he asked while he put the map away in the pack and zipped it up. He took my hand again and edged us to the dirt road, looking both ways before leading us across. A few hundred feet ahead revealed to us not quite what I expected. There was a river alright; a large, swollen one with very few sizeable rocks or boulders for us to cross on. And not only that, but we were on the edge of a cliff.

"Shit," Daryl mumbled as we watched the water frothing below our feet.

"What do we do?"

Daryl sighed and look across the tributary. "Wanna build a raft?"

I snorted, "I don't think we have the time or resources."

"No," he sighed again. "We'll have to walk the edge until we find a way over."

"Which direction?"

Daryl thought for moment before turning back to the dirt road. "Let's try following it down. It branches off at some point, it might be narrower there."

"We'll be okay," I comforted him and held his arm to my chest.

He smiled back at me and stopped, bringing his lips down to my own. I wished I had the time to get lost in him, stop here and stay the night so I could nestle against his chest as we rested on the leaves. I'd never made love outside before, but I could imagine how wonderful it would be with him; even if it was nippy as hell. But being in pursuit put a real damper on things. Not to mention being in constant fear of how long you might stay alive wasn't exactly an aphrodisiac. I marked a mental note in my head, however, that a camping trip might be in order once we were safe and sound.

Back on the dirt road we strode over the tire tracks at a brisk pace. The woods were thin between us and the river, and every once in a while we would check for any signs of an accessible path across. We found a few instances that would grant us dry navigation to the other side, but getting down to that point was nearly impossible. I was beginning to wonder how much longer this would take, how far we would have to walk, when a red shimmer boomed its way into the sky. It was a flare.

Daryl shoved me into the woods and forced me into a crouch against a tree. He went back to the dirt road to watch the flare billow in the sky, marking its trail to pinpoint its origin. When he came back, he pulled me to my feet and started off at a jog with me in tow.

"It's close to us. Somewhere in the woods from where we came," he said.

Panic took hold of me like a crushing hand wrapped around my throat. We stay in between the trees, using them as cover for anyone who might be nearby. I wasn't sure who had shot the flare, if it was friend or foe, but if Daryl didn't want to find out and neither did I.

From far off I could hear rumbling like that of an engine, and it was growing closer. Daryl drew me next to him, holding me close as he started back through the small patch of woods to the dirt road.

"Where're we going?"

"There's more cover over here," he explained.

"But we need to cross the river. If we go over there, we'll be cornered," I considered hastily.

"Fuck," Daryl was indecisive as we stopped in the road. "The woods aren't dense enough 'round here, but it's thicker d-"

The engine was a roar now and it was gaining on us. We needed to hide and quickly, but as Daryl was leading me back into the woods, headlights rounded the brambly bend and shone on us. We ducked into the cover of the forest just as the truck slid to a stop, rocks and dirt flying out from its tires. We ran parallel to the cliffs edge, dodging trees and thickets as we went. Negan's Saviors were shouting behind us, calling out the direction we were going, and if we hadn't been running so fast, I might have heard their rapid footfalls pursuing ours.

As we ran, the woods we were in began to thin and the forest floor started to turn jagged and uneven. It was disappearing into the cliffs edge and the further we went, the more we were being forced back to the dirt road where the Saviors waited, but Daryl had no intention on stopping and neither did I. Yet our intentions never seemed to work well with the way reality worked.

All at once, I lost my footing and rocks slipped out from under me as I started to fall over the precipice, screaming. Daryl held onto my arms as one leg dangled off the edge of the cliff, and I clung to him, using his strength to pull myself back up so we could keep going, but it was already too late. They had surrounded us.

"My, oh fucking my," Negan drawled as he sauntered before his wife and her lover, hesitating as he admired their defeated faces. "On your fucking knees."

Daryl stood stalk still, keeping Everly behind him as he glared daggers into his enemy. She peeked from around his shoulder and her scared green eyes met the hazel orbs of mirthful wrath.

"I don't want to ask you two again," Negan cautioned, an easy smile forming on his face.

Begrudgingly, Everly stepped out from Daryl's back and slid down to her knees, tugging on his hand as he remained standing. But with persistence, she got him to lower himself next to her, and she tightly laced her fingers with his. The time for defiance was over. They were caught. There wasn't anything else they could do except comply and beg for their lives.

"Jesus Christ," Negan began to laugh. "Jesus fucking Christ! You two shitheads nearly skipped town and got away. I told you two that I was into people huntin' but you didn't quite believe me, did ya? I bet you do now. I bet you won't try this shit again after night."

Negan swung his first lady in front of their faces. Everly gasped and jolted back in fear, but Daryl stayed stoic, barely moving an inch despite the terror that clawed up his throat. He knew what this game was, but he was so sick of it. Negan could do whatever he wanted to intimidate them, but he wasn't going to get Everly.

"No, we won't," Daryl said confidently, his voice crystal clear.

This comment struck a chord with Negan as he suspended his ministrations. A small look of befuddlement came over him as he peered down at Daryl, smirking slyly. He wiggled Lucille in his hand.

"Don't try to suck up to me now, redneck. You've wasted all of your fucking chances of making it out of this shit whole."

"Negan, please-" Everly begged.

"SHUT," Negan swiftly bellowed, "up, my dear, lovely wife. Shut the fuck up. Nothing you say, no amount of sorries or tears, is gonna persuade my stone, cold fucking heart from tearing his ass in."

"Please," Everly cried quietly.

"No," Negan shook his head. "Cut that shit out right now because it won't work anymore. You thought any other altercation you had with me was bad, sweetheart? Just fucking wait until you see this."

Negan whistled and his men advanced on them. Immediately, Daryl sprung up to his feet, dragging Everly up with him, and he crushed her against his chest as he began to back up.

"You won't hurt her," Daryl yelled at Negan.

"You're right. I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm gonna hurt you, Daryl. So, don't be a pussy and let her go," Negan returned with a warm smile.

"You won't touch her again," Daryl stated more certainly as the Saviors got closer, nearly reaching them as his heel lost the edge of the cliff.

Negan's smile dropped, understanding what was about to happen. "Don't!"

"Hit the water feet first and I'll meet ya on the other side," Daryl whispered in Everly's ear as he spun her around and pushed her off the edge of the overhang.

"You stupid fuck!" Negan shouted, but Daryl hardly registered the brutish words as he leapt off the cliff after Everly and into the rumbling water below.

Edited by Nightperidot.

Dammit! I imagined the ending of this chapter a bit differently, but I decided it was too harsh. I was gonna have some sappy, dramatic conversation between Negan and Daryl where Daryl agrees with him, like, "Yeah, we are caught, and you can do whatever you want to me. Blah blah blah." But then out of nowhere (and they're still on their knees at this point), he was gonna kiss Everly and then shove her backwards off of the cliff, leaving just him with Negan. BUT that seemed highly dangerous for Everly, and I didn't want to leave Daryl alone with Negan because he has no reason to keep him alive or intact anymore.

Aaaaanyway... They've escaped once again! Ha-ha! Now let's see how they combat the chilly waters and hypothermia in chapter SIXTY-ONE! Holy hell, I can't believe how long I've kept this story going. It's basically a shitty, ripped off novel at this point.

Thanks to my guest reviewers and Blue Moon. They got away AND Dwight used the Uzi, so win-win. :D