Same Love

51: Run

Sam woke in a cold sweat, his heart thumping wildly in his chest, spooked by yet another terror. It infuriated him that once he awoke he couldn't ever remember what they were about. Daryl wasn't beside him and he fought for a while to regain his breath, wiping the sheen of sweat from his brow as he panted. something wasn't right and he knew it. He roused himself and showered, putting on a clean grey t-shirt and some black skinny jeans, his old combat boots and his trusty leather jacket and then heading downstairs. The front door was open wide as he made himself a cup of tea and Daryl coffee, watching him and Carol talk on the porch through the open door. he had asked Carol if she wanted anything but she had declined his generous offer. She left a few moments after Sam came out, walking away as though something had bothered her and Sam stood at the door, leaving Daryl's coffee on the porch steps for him as he tinkered with the bike.

"What did you say?"

"Nothin', Jus' asked her what they did to 'em" Daryl sighed, his fatigue clear even though it was early on in the day. Sam was uneasy when Denise came by the house and even more so when she called both of them out into the street where they met Rosita too.

"There's a place not too far down the road, a souvenir shop and apothecary. If it really is an apothecary then it means they have drugs, drugs we need" 

"Ok, we'll go" Sam confirmed, feeling Daryl squeeze his hand as a form of answer.

"No, I need to go too. I want to help and I can tell you the right ones"

"That's not a good idea" Rosita scowled as she played with the knife at her belt, her expression souring.

"I'm going anyway, with or without you" 

"Let's go then" Sam butted in, trying to smooth the waters. Going out on a run when tensions were high, it unsettled him as well. They piled into the beaten up pickup, Sam in the driver's seat, with Daryl, Denise and Rosita beside him in the passenger seats. Denise held on tightly to her seat as Sam drove, quite scared by Sam's driving as it was judder, almost as dangerous as Daryl's driving but not quite. About twenty minutes in they came across a fallen tree and were forced to stop and go on foot. Daryl and Denise took the road and Sam decided to follow Rosita and take the train tracks there, they ended up having to wait for a few moments while Daryl and Denise caught up to them. The so-called Apothecary yielded much and their bags were full, though Denise seemed too paranoid to show any fulfilment. When walking back they all took the tracks, seeing as it really was the quickest route. 

"Hey! There's a cooler! It might be useful!" Denise yelled, peering into the window of a stray car that lined the track and ignoring the walker that banged on the glass.

"It's not worth it"

"Just leave it" Sam called back, continuing to walk shoulder to shoulder with Daryl who nodded in agreement, pushing back his now long hair. Sam had been meaning to pin the male down and cut it at some point but had not gotten round to it yet and so it had grown past his shoulders. Sam's own hair was short after it's most recent maintenance a few nights prior. The Trio, Rosita, Daryl and Sam, turned upon hearing intense struggling just in time to see Denise put down a walker with much effort. Sam sighed angrily, his mind was too preoccupied with the paranoia he felt to admonish her though and he left that to Daryl.

"Risked your life for a pack of Soda!?" 

"No, Just this one. I have training in this! This medical stuff. I asked you to take me on this run because you and Sam are two of the only people who make me feel slightly safe! And I asked you to come because you're probably alone for the first time in your life. You need to face your issues! You're all strong people, you're smart and you're good people and if you don't wake up-" 

An arrow embedded itself in her eye and Daryl caught her as she fell, still mumbling, to the ground. Sam drew his bow and aimed for the people surfacing out of the trees as the other two followed suit, Daryl looking shaken. About twelve of them emerged from the brush with Eugene within their grasp and the leader carried a familiar crossbow, Daryl's crossbow.

"Well well well, Daryl. I'm still getting used to this, the kickback's a bastard. I wasn't even aiming for her" He grinned sinisterly, his eyes floating over to Sam who tensed up even more. The whole left side of the leader's face was burned and the skin leathery around his eyes, creating a gruesome image. "You..are going to take us to your place, that Alexandria"

"What makes you think we will?" Sam questioned, the venom in his voice clear, his tone cold and cutting. The leader, Dwight, simply pointed down at Eugene with the stolen bow and this caused Rosita to tell Sam to lower his weapon in panic. He did so but not for Eugene, for Rosita.

"Well if you're going to kill any of us start with our friend there behind those barrels 'cause he sure as hell deserves it more than us three" Eugene blurted out. Dwight and his cronies just had to investigate and this caused their downfall. Abraham began shooting, Sam took down three or four and finally Dwight called the retreat. Daryl grabbed his crossbow that Dwight had dropped and took off yet was stopped by Sam's harsh tone.

"Daryl. Don't, It's not worth it all alone like this" 

As Daryl padded back to where Sam knelt by the bleeding Eugene he silently seethed, he needed to avenge Denise, he should have killed that bastard. 

"Daryl" Sam called out to him and he picked up Eugene's one arm as they began the long slog home to the community. The journey was silent. After they'd delivered him to the infirmary Sam was ventured out to retrieve Denise's body and brought it back, leaving Daryl and Carol alone to bury her and watching from the porch steps of Carol's house where the swing continued to swing back and forth behind him and the grief was pushed from his mind for another day, another waterfall of feeling yet to come. As he sat and watched them work and listened to the carefree sounds of life it dawned on him.

It could only get worse from here on out.