ELEANOR . NEGAN

033.

The shark intake of cold air hitting her lungs as she sprinted down the roads of Alexandria was anything but human. Tears spilled from her eyes and the frost nipped at her bare skin but even if it fucking killed, she kept running. She couldn't stop. Not again. She was sobbing. This can't happen again.

"Maya!" She screamed, "MAYA!"

The little girl, or rather the young woman, spun around at the shout of her voice and instantly tears started to spill. Her long legs started to sprint for Eleanor, the woman doing the same.

In seconds, Elle had Maya engulfed in her arms while she recklessly cried into her hair. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay?"

"Ellie-" She sobbed.

"Maya, Skittles, please."

But the young girl was too busy sobbing to make any credible words. Nothing could leave her split lips from what happened. What the fuck happened?

"We got attacked." Someone spoke to the side of bed. It was Aaron. If she could, she would've hugged him too. "The Whisperers."

"The fucking Whisperers?" Elle let out a hiccup. "You're taking the piss. You're taking the fucking piss!"

"Ellie-" Maya called, her soft brown eyes looking up at her that were red and tear-stained. Elle frowned and clutched onto her tighter.

"It's alright, shh, it's alright." As Maya sobbed into Eleanor's chest, Aaron took a step forward and rubbed her back. "What fucking happened?"

"One snuck into the Kingdom and they took them."

"Took who?"

Aaron's face scrunched up in disgust and fear, but Eleanor needed to know. "Ten of them." He sighed. "Few Kingdom people, Hilltop - Alexandria."

"Who?"

Aaron looked up at Michonne, who was walking to them with a frown. "Enid's gone." Fuck off. "Tara too."

"Aaron-"

"Henry as well."

Henry? "Fucksake." She whispered under her breath, Maya's cries only getting louder at each name that was said. When Elle spent her time with the Saviours, Tara looked after the little girl when she came back from Oceanside. So did Enid. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Skittles."

Aaron frowned and took a step closer. "Maya and Siddiq were taken. We uh, patched them up back at the Kingdom but she needs to take it easy. Had a concussion, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah of course." Eleanor softly held Maya's arm and stepped back, crouching slightly to be eye-level with her. Maya looked at her but she couldn't convey any words, any quirk, any anything. She just stood there, crying, heaving, and her tight grip on Eleanor never loosening.

-

Silence was one thing. Silence in a house that used to light up with laughter and joy was another.

Eleanor was curled up on the settee, a big throw tucked up around her arms and under her feet while the fireplace roared in front of her. Maya was upstairs finally sleeping. It took a couple of hours for her sobbing to stop and that overwhelming feeling of being sick to dissipate. Elle promised that she'd be there for her whenever she wakes up, so she couldn't sleep.

There was a bottle of whiskey on her little coffee table, three glasses surrounding and two water bottles. Michonne was sat next to her, hands on her knees and sighs leaving her lips with Aaron and Eugene on the other side. Then there was Gabriel and Rosita, drink for the priest - no drink for the pregnant woman.

"What are we gonna do?" Eleanor asked, taking a sip from her drink. "They can't just- behead ten people and call it even. Over a fucking teenager? Someone has a flare for the dramatics."

Aaron shrugged and leant back in his chair. "Alpha talked to Daryl," Yeah, the fucking leader was called Alpha. "It's to make up for the people we killed."

She scoffed and took another gulp of her drink. "They tried to kill Rosita and Eugene! Plus they're dressed up as walkers, that's a fucking automatic death sentence!"

"We know." Rosita responded, angry. Not at Eleanor, but at the Whisperers. "It's a joke."

"But..." Michonne said, everyone looking at her. "We gotta stand by it."

Eleanor sourly laughed, "Are you taking the piss?"

"No, no, think logically." Eugene interrupted. "Most likely is the alcohol entering your system but you are smart, Eleanor." The woman sighed and decided to listen to him. "Daryl was broadcasted a horde bigger than Texas just outside our doorstep. If we don't listen to them, they're gonna unleash the beast."

This guy, she smirked, always had a way with words. "Right, so... the beheadings was for what?"

"It's a border." Gabe said. "Up South. If we pass their borders then - well, nothing God agrees about happens."

God has nothing to do with this. God gave up on this world a long time ago. "Can I put in a more alarming conversation?"

"More alarming than a new enemy?"

Eugene sent a tight-lipped smile and a forced gulp. "Uh, uh, no."

Ever since he sold out Alexandria, Eleanor was wary to forgive him. If anything, she hasn't forgave him. But he grew a backbone somehow and learnt how to use a weapon, so Elle had to give him a thumbs up for that. But she'd never forget, and neither would he from the looks of things. He still had a scar across the small of his cheek from when Elle punched him.

"The storm I mentioned is getting closer." He cleared his throat and took a swig from his water. "We need to prepare."

"How do we do that?" Aaron asked.

"Dry wood and- and food in houses. Set up a couple designated weather-protected houses people go to when the storm hits... ride it out."

Silence loomed over everyone and as soon as Michonne looked at Elle, as did Gabriel, she started to laugh. "You're a bunch of pricks."

"He's gotta stay with you."

"He doesn't have to." She responded. "Just pad up his room, give him some wood and a lighter, he can ride it out alone."

"Elle." Michonne said, giving her a pointed look that only Eleanor would understand. For crying out loud. "Come on."

"Alright, alright." Elle scratched the back of her neck and sulked into the comfort of her settee with a deep sigh. "He can stay with me. When storm hits, I'll go get him."

"There we go." Aaron said with a small smile. "I'm thinking my house good be a good one. It's big, but hid by the other buildings. Then I'm thinking Barbara's too."

"Yes, this is good." Gabe took a sip of his whiskey, he didn't even flinch. Wow. "Meeting room as well, it's got one of the biggest fireplaces."

Michonne cleared her throat and nodded at the group. "It's settled then. When the storm comes, divide Alexandria into these three houses. Elle, you get Negan, and then we ride out."

"Happy days." Elle said with a smile.

But the smile didn't reach her eyes, because yet again, ten more people died while she was at home playing chess.

That wasn't fucking fair.

tehehehee

elle going through it #ellelovertilidie

idk if im portraying it right because im just really really really excited to get to the storm and then negan freedom bit but yk elle's going through it aint she. ik i didnt show in this book about how close she was to tara and enid and all that, but yk its eleanor and negan as the focus. but i will try!!!

i hope i didnt make you think maya was gonna die <3

(i could never kill her)

(i might who knows)