ꜰᴏᴏʟ'ꜱ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ || ᴛᴡᴅ

070: ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛɪᴄᴇ

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Sami made sure the others made it safe to Hilltop, then him and everyone else who didn't live there went to the Sanctuary. After the kid dying, they weren't exactly wanted in Hilltop.

The Sanctuary was very different. Everyone was in a communal dining area, it seemed, when they got there. All standing to get a look at Rick, asking if Negan and Gracie were suffering.

But they were on edge. Painting on the walls showed 'Saviors, save us! We are still NEGAN!' which obviously didn't make it feel very homely. With the crops outside dying, apparently it was getting worse.

There was a speech - Rick telling them their plan to help out with the crops and all. But then Daryl pulled the two aside.

"I don't want to be the one leading these people no more." He said, as they stood on a catwalk high above the group. 

"Okay." Rick sighed, leaning against the rail. "Why?"

"I don't know. Bein' here. Behind these walls again . . . "

"I get it." Sami leaned against the rail, looking out over the tables and lights below. "I can hardly stand being here now, never mind often."

"I'm better out there." Daryl agreed. "Always have been. Rachel's gettin' testy, too. Don't know where she's goin', and she don't like it."

Rick sighed. "You kept this place together. You kept people in line here. We can't just let the Sanctuary fail after everything that's happened-"

"Man, it's gonna fail anyway." 

Sami nodded. "He's right. Negan didn't get supplies from other communities for nothing, this place can't stand. it's a stupid place to set up camp."

"It's still the same, now. Nothing's changed."

Rick shook his head. "No. No, we give what we give willingly."

"How long's that gonna last? Most of the bridges are out after the big storm. The highways done. We scavenged every drop of gas for miles. And we can't make enough corn fuel to run the cars or the trucks. Pretty soon, it's going to be more than a days ride from one spot to another."

"Well, it's on us to figure out how to make it work."

"It won't work here." Sami said. "We gotta either set them up somewhere else, or . . . "

"We're not cutting them loose."

"That's not what I'm going to say." Sami looked at them. "Look, there's no us and them anymore. We should just accept that and let them audition for membership at other communities or something. They're a part of us, just like the other communities."

Daryl shook his head. "There's no us anymore. Everyone's everywhere. That small group we had, back at the beginning - we could do anything. That was right. That's what I know."

Sami thought back to the group. Right at the start. Lori and Glenn, his first proper friends. Carl, Danny's first friend. Rick, this sweet-looking stupid cop. Daryl, a redneck who constantly complained about Sami's accent. Carol. Jacque. Sophie. Sophia. Taylor. Andrea. Amy. 

He felt very old all of a sudden. Very mature, standing with his brothers on the catwalk. His hands felt rough as he held them in front of him, the bar cold as it cut into his arms lightly. 

His rosary beads hung from his wrist, hardly ever taken off. Jesus somehow hadn't worn off the front of the cross, though the illustration a little small for the cross itself. On the back, the word 'Medjugorje' written across the back. This wooden cross had seen a lot, since his Abuelita got it for him. There was a bloodstain on the thin twine that held the beads together. He wondered if it was his or someone else's.