ELEANOR . NEGAN

001.

[ THE START OF THE END ]

Stone framed windows and cream curtains add an orange glow to the bright morning light where every morning when the clock turns seven creates an ethereal sunrise. This light becomes the greatest artist with colours of crimson, pink and orange in a mix with the Earth's greatest star. She rises on the horizon and erases even the darkness of an abyss the night before. Arriving without an invitation yet we dwell in on her welcome with open arms. She is our gifted essential ignited to bring warmth, challenging us to seek beauty within.

It is the invitation of the perfect flame.

Only silhouette before, but as she casts her welcoming rays on skin, the world is awake and you'll be each and every colour you can imagine. She welcomes you and captures you as a soul to the star with golden grace.

In the advanced light that seeped into the dark room, her face that once belonged to a black and white picture warmed into colour, so strong and potent. For a moment, her mind conjured up the past sunrises of a frequent schedule where she stood at that very window and felt the warmth elope her body.

It was her peace before the storm.

It was inevitable, hard to escape yet easy to clutch onto. Too far in to turn around and say never mind. War was locked in and there couldn't be a single negotiation - only blood shed on once sacred ground.

She reaches for the fabric of her drooping bag just to take out the definition of what begins these wars, what drops blood so effortlessly. Her thumb gazed across the safety and she pondered on the upcoming events.

Were they going to survive?

When the heavy drawls of wheels against grainy roads infiltrated her hearing, Eleanor was quick to push her handgun between the waistline of her jeans and to grab the perfectly weighted DMR that she stole back in Atlanta. The upcoming ride was only meant to be a trip to the Hilltop, a check-up with Dr. Carson for Maggie's baby but her dreams the night before were everything but kind.

Eleanor didn't want her fiction of a mind to twist into reality that's why she was treating this morning as a precaution with heavy artillery. She could hear the RV slowing outside her house, a tired grind against the rocks with a small squeal as it came to a full stop.

She hurried out her bedroom, ready to meet Rick but her eyes met the closed wooden door that was decorated with colourful paint and she just had to freeze. Her green eyes traced the bright blue name: MAYA and followed the red love heart next to it.

Each time she left Alexandria was a strain to her heart, just the thought of leaving the ten-year-old alone in a world of monstrosity was enough as it is. How she could do this... Elle would never know. At least it brought serenity to her being knowing she was safe either way.

The woman made her way to the front of the RV, meeting with Rick, Gabriel and the occasional sighting of Spencer. Her eyes were neutral, prepared yet relaxed and her DMR was slung across her shoulder.

"We have twenty-four hour shifts set up on each of the watchtowers, each one of them fully supplied and ready." Gabriel started yet it sounded like he was speaking his words from a revised script. "In the case that we're incurred upon, we have drivers assigned, evacuation and distraction, and the rendezvous we discussed."

Rick had his eyebrows knitted together, not quite in confusion but just to prove he was listening. "In the event of any emergency, my first priority is Judith. I will not fail you. Are you comfortable leaving me in charge of Alexandria's defence?"

Eleanor looked over at the chuckling Rick and the dead-serious Gabriel while her hand wrapped around the bar next to the RV door. "I know I am. Rick?"

"Yes."