ꜰᴏᴏʟ'ꜱ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ || ᴛᴡᴅ

145: ꜰᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʀ

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The sewers smelt foul. And Sami remembered when the Saviors bombed Alexandria. 

But he made his way through, and climbed out of a pothole close to his house, Maggie with him. 

They climbed out of the pothole, and around Sami's house, running quickly across the street and down into the basement of the apartments. They were the biggest buildings, and made the most sense to keep people in. So, that's where they'd look first. 

When they climbed the stairs to Michonne's apartment, which was empty of everything, Sami ducked across the hall. But as Maggie went to follow him, she ducked back into her hiding space, and pointed towards the now rushed footsteps coming towards them.

The guard to spotted her turned straight to her, and Sami stabbed him in the base of the skull from behind, catching his body, and holding his arms, Maggie grabbing his legs, and they lifted him down the hall and into the old laundry room. 

But as they entered, Sami heard footsteps behind him, and quickly shut the door, leaning against the wall beside it and listening, as Maggie took the weapons from the soldiers body. 

As he leaned against the wall, waiting, he watched Maggie. 

Though he'd spent the past god-knows how many years in Alexandria, it was stripped of anything that made it his home. It was unfamiliar. Cold. But Maggie was the one familiar thing, the one constant. He hadn't seen her in six years, and yet it felt like she'd been here the whole time. 

He couldn't remember the first time he spoke to her. He remembered she was always nice on the farm. He remembered the first proper conversation he'd had with anyone since the world ended was with Glenn when he was looking for dating advice with Maggie. 

It was weird to think of the girl on the farm as he watched her now. She often thought the same about him. It was strange to think of the boy on the farm who couldn't speak English when she looked at him. 

"I keep thinking I hear Hershel's voice." She said, crouched beside the soldiers body, looking up at Sami as the footsteps vanished outside. 

Maggie stood, and took a deep, panicked breath. "I want to be better. I want to do better. But . . . "

Her breath shook, as her eyes went glossy, and she leaned against the press, turned away from him, now, and he leaned on the press beside her, now side by side. She seemed to be almost fighting herself to speak. 

"Sometimes . . . sometimes I think it wasn't even fair to - to bring him into this world. Was I being selfish?"

"Mags." He stood, and pulled her in for a hug as she cried, though tried to hide it, and he felt tears in his own eyes. 

But when he pulled away from the hug, he could see her eyes searching his as she waited for an answer. But he didn't think he had one. Of course she wasn't being selfish. But he'd be lying if he said the same thoughts hadn't been going through his head about Coco. 

"Carl was like a son to me." He said, and felt his voice break a little, so whispered to hide it. "And though I think that way about Coco . . . that - that maybe I shouldn't have let Rosita chose. Maybe I should've . . . convinced her to let me get pills or something . . . I remember Carl and I don't wish for one second that he wasn't born or that your Dad didn't save him when he was shot. Because he was what it was all for. I wish it was different, but I never wish it never happened. He . . . he was . . . he was so good, and . . . Coco and Hershel deserve a chance to be, to. And if we don't have them . . . if we-we give up on them, on making a future, it's all for nothing. We're good because of them. We take chances, we save people, we build a world for them. There's nothing selfish about that, Maggie."

She nodded, slowly.

"We're gonna find our kids. And we'll bring them home."

A loud thump sounded, followed by a yell. Sami thought he imagined it, but Maggie turned her head at the sound, too.

"Upstairs?" He asked.

She nodded.

Sami listened for footsteps, and heard none, so rushed out the door and into the dinging room, hearing a man yelling upstairs. 

He ran up the stairs, Maggie on his heel, and to one of the old bedrooms. He went to open the door, but it was locked. So, he raised his leg, and kicked it, the bad, hollow wood breaking and the door swinging open. 

He shot the soldier before he even registered Hershel's face, and Maggie ran to the boy tied to the chair, holding his face in his hands. 

"Coco?" Sami walked into the room, a gunshot sounding from outside, looking around. But no one else was there. Just Hershel. "Hershel. Hershel."

Sami crouched in front of him, feeling an even worse panic rise in his chest. 

"Was she here? Was-was she with you? Where-where'd they put her?"

"No. I-I don't know where she is."

He stood, and ran a hand over his face, walking towards the door. He heard Maggie call him as he made his way down the stairs. 

He couldn't feel his face. He couldn't feel his limbs. He couldn't find her. Where was she? Why wasn't she here?

When he walked outside, he almost walked into Rosita. 

"I checked the other houses, is she-" She began.

He shook his head, which felt light. They had no leads. Nothing. He tried speaking, but he couldn't. 

Rosita looked at him for a moment, and he couldn't tell what was going on behind her eyes. Until she spoke. 

"The Warden. He'll know." She turned, and ran to the windmill. 

Sami ran after her, as her plan began to make sense in his head. but then he saw Negan, over the body of a red head in a thick coat, raising his fist. "That the Warden?"

Negan looked at him. "Yeah."

"Don't kill him!" Rosita demanded,

Negan got off of him, and Sami kicked the man in the shoulder, knocking him onto his back, before Rosita grabbed the front of his shirt, leaning over him. 

"Where' s my daughter? Where is she?!"

He just smiled. 

Rosita looked around, eyes wild, and her eyes fell on a walker nearby, an old soldier. 

"Sami!"

He walked over to the walker, kicking it in the leg, before grabbing the toilet-seat-like neck-thing that the soldiers had, using it to drag the walker over to the Warden, holding it over him. 

"Tells us where she is, or your death gets a whole lot worse." He demanded, as Rosita moved out of the way. 

He still didn't say anything. 

"Tell me where she is?!" Rosita screamed. "Tell me!"

The Warden chuckled. "You will lose everything."

Rosita grabbed the walker, and shoved it down on the Warden, making it take a large bite out of his eye as he bellowed, his screams echoing through the dark night, as the workers watched on. Some looking away. Others watching, like Rachel, who still hadn't let go of Daryl.