ꜰᴏᴏʟ'ꜱ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ || ᴛᴡᴅ

075: ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ

●～●～●～●～●

The years went by, and the world kept growing.

Sami would wander the world and wonder what it meant, if it meant anything at all. Was the world proving it owned itself, as it grew trees through the bodies of the dead, and the husks of cars? Or was it becoming theirs, once again, only destroying what once was? Showing that to create life, there must be destruction. But it doesn't always have to be ugly.

Danny enjoyed it. It meant there was less and less to remind him of his life before, which was the lesser half of his life soon. He was around 19 years old. Soon, he'd be in this world longer than he'd been in the last. And he looked forward to it.

Danny had lived in Hilltop for years, but when Michonne shut the gates of Alexandria to everyone, he wanted to be with Sami. Sami offered to go to Hilltop for him, but he fit in in Alexandria. He had a spot on the council, he helped run things. that was what Sami was good at, and they needed it in Alexandria more than they did in Hilltop. So, Danny moved there. Maybe he could learn.

Alexandria was built up, as were the other communities. They got a windmill, which Sami used as a way to teach Gracie and Judith how to scavenge. He went out with Aaron and the two children. Not far, but out beyond the walls, and they searched for chalkboard paint. His Padre used to use it in the house, since baby Sami would always draw on the walls, and his Papa thought stopping kids from drawing on the walls was just sad.

They painted the base of the windmill in chalkboard paint, and the children had a wide collection of chalk, drawing their families, their names, some of the teachers using it to teach them things in class. 

Sami and Aaron also worked on a playground. It was small, with only a few back yard pieces, but it was something. 

Six years after loosing Rick, Sami had it running alright. He'd had the community vote in council members, each with different jobs, since Alexandria had turned to him after Rick died. He was glad for it, it helped him cope. Focus on leading everyone. But, he didn't trust himself to always make the right decisions. No one could always make the right choice. So, he made the council. 

Originally, this had worked. The council had Aaron, Michonne, Sami, Gabriel, Laura, Kyle and Nora. Each had different roles. Michonne's was head of Security. Originally, everything was voted, until an incident happened, and she decided she could overrule everyone if the council were talking about security. 

It pissed Sami off. The council was made so that shit like that wouldn't happen. But he was the only one to ever fight her, so it never worked. 

He was sat outside the church, Gracie beside him, smiling excitedly, Apollo asleep at her side.

Apollo was getting older. Sami thought that he was probably less than a year when they found him on the farm, making him around eight years old, now. He was still a happy, energetic lad, but he needed to sleep. A lot.

"Is that good?" Sami handed his notebook to Gracie, having just drawn a picture of the street in front of them. 

Gracie smiled widely, taking it from him. "It's perfect! Are your coloring pencils still in your kitchen? Can I have them?"

"Here." He reached for his bag, which was at his feet, handing it to her. "Just put everything back in after and give it back."

Her smile grew wider, and she hugged his side. "Thanks, Uncle Sami! It's like a coloring page!"

She got up, and ran inside the church, to where the tables were, as the gates of the community opened.

Danny bolted out of the church, almost hitting Sami in the process. He always seemed way to excited when scavenging groups came back.