I didn't want to open my eyes. I was feeling the best I had physically felt in a long time.
My ribs weren't causing me any considerable pain, just the faintest discomfort. The ache I had felt in every limb had seeped out leaving a comforting glow.
The most noticeable thing though, was the warmth I felt. I vaguely remembered going to sleep absolutely frozen, but now I was toasty and snug.
Moving my body faintly told me that I was in my sleeping bag and under the duvet, with the weight and restriction I had on me, but I wasn't complaining. I was glad I hadn't frozen during the night.
After my body had woken up, I opened my eyes and slowly began wriggling out of my sleeping bag.
I changed out of the shorts into a pair of jeans and grabbed my dad's green jumper.
I discovered that my shoes were off too. I slowly pulled them on, thinking about who tucked me in.
I got out of the tent and wandered towards the fire where a few of the group were congregated.
I slumped down on the log next to Alex, thanking Carol for a plate of food she handed me. I remember not eating the night before, too. Seeing the food made me almost dribble from hunger.
"I'm glad to see you're alive." Alex smirked.
"Yeah?" I laughed.
"I got to the tent to see you'd passed out, and you were shivering like crazy." He said, the smile fading from his face and concern creeping in.
"I was just exhausted... Wait, were you the one that tucked me in?" I asked, swallowing my mouthful. He blushed.
"I... Yeah." He shrugged with a smile.
"Ah, thanks mum." I laughed, throwing an arm around his shoulders. "If it's any consolation, I felt amazing when I woke up."
He laughed and pulled me into a tight hug. I winced as a pain shot through my ribs but it quickly passed when Alex let go. I then completely demolished the food on my plate, throwing all manners to the wind.
"Sam, you're awake! Perfect. Just in time to come and do some shooting practice with us." Rick smiled as he walked towards us from his tent.
"Sure." I said slowly. I was dying to get out if camp anyway.
Ever since I'd gone out alone, I'd been cooped up at the farm. I needed to stretch my wings a little bit. Not being able to get far was a real irritation. Besides, it would only come in handy to know how to shoot properly.
"You coming?" I asked, standing and facing Alex.
"Nah. I'm going to stay behind and hold down the fort." He smiled.
"Shane?" Rick called.
"I'm gonna watch the barn." He said, standing and strolling away towards the barn without a backwards glance. Whatever.
I put my plate down on Alex's lap and strolled alongside Rick to his truck. The boy that lived with Hershel got in with us, as well as T-Dog. I heard doors on another truck shutting and an engine starting too.
"Have you ever fired a gun before?" Rick asked me as the convoy started leaving.
"I shot my grandad's air rifle once, but that was so many years ago. The last I held one was when we went into Atlanta..." I trailed, images flicking through my head of Merle's 'rescue' mission. I'm sure the others were thinking about it too. I inwardly winced.
The rest of the journey was relatively quiet until we reached out designated shooting ground.
I slid out of the truck and followed Rick through a small patch of trees until eventually reaching a clearing.
I stood next to him while he turned to talk to everyone assembled. I too began flicking my eyes about.
Daryl was the first thing I noticed. I tried hard not to groan as I looked at him. He seemed to be preoccupied with his hands to notice me staring. There was most of the group apart from Dale, Shane, Alex, Lori and the kids. Patricia and the girl Beth from the house had also come, too.
T-Dog stood next to me, grinning. I raised an eyebrow at him, trying hard not to smirk at his toothy smile.
"What?"
"I'm just wondering if you're a good a shot with a gun as you are with your machete." He smirked and I laughed. The laugh drew a little bit of attention to myself, but I tried ignoring it.
"No. I'm gonna be terrible with a gun." I smiled.
"We'll see." He whispered. I looked back at him and smirked.
No pressure, then.
"Okay guys, I'm going to make this simple. The guns are loaded and safety is on. They will remain on until all the targets are prepared and it's safe to shoot. Only on my word, though." Rick spoke authoritatively.
He then begun lining up cans along a fence. I watched as he did this, a faint sense of dread resting in my gut. I'm going to be rubbish, and I'm never going to be able to shoot. I know it.
"Line up." Rick called, holding out his arms as the starting line.
I fell into place between Patricia and Jimmy. Rick walked along the line of people, giving out handguns.
I took mine cautiously and ran it over in my hands. Rick offered an easy smile, and I tried to return it.
"Now. T-Dog, Daryl and I are going to be walking behind you, checking how well you do and giving you some pointers if needed. Don't be put off. When you've emptied your clip, stand back." Rick said again. Great, having Daryl judging me? Can't wait.
"Safety off... Begin shooting."
I turned the gun over in my hands, and pointed it towards the cans when I flicked the safety off. People had already begun firing, and so did I.
I aimed at the small can. I pulled my hands up to support it. I squeezed the trigger - and missed.
Frowning, I held the gun up again, I let my instincts take over and aim it, and pulled the trigger. It hit the can, knocking it off the fence.
"Hah!" I shouted, turning to look for T-Dog, keeping the gun facing away.
"Not bad!" He called, smiling.
I did a mock bow, and turned to face the fence again when I caught the gaze of Daryl. He was glaring at me but I forced myself to ignore him. I focused on the next can and fired, just grazing the side.
Whenever he walked behind me, I could feel his eyes burning into me. I tried not to be deferred though, and focused even harder on the can. I was determined that Daryl wasn't going to put me off.
Eventually, I started getting the hang of shooting. I even started enjoying it.
After a few hours had passed, the group seemed to be pretty efficient shooters.
I missed quite a few hits, but I made up for that with some purely excellent shots. I definitely wasn't perfect, but I knew it would only take practise.
"Sam, do you want to do some more practice and maybe some advanced stuff? I'm sure we could help you hit those misses." Rick smiled and I nodded.
"That would be great!" I chirped.
We all finished off our barrels and started preparing themselves to leave as Rick and I began to wander further in through the trees. I waved at T-Dog and shared an awkward glance with Daryl before scurrying after Rick.
"Shane had a pretty good set up going on here. It should help you a lot more than just stationary tins." He said, walking towards a log swaying slightly from a rope.
"Reload your weapon... Right, now focus on the oncoming threat..." Rick explained slowly, going through each little detail when taking a shot. I took everything in and digest his words slowly, making them stick in my mind.
He grabbed the log and walked back. He let it go and left it to swing while I took aim. I steadied myself and cleared my mind, letting my instincts take over. I waited for Rick to move out the way and focused. After two misses, I hit the wood.
"Not bad. Now try this..."
He turned the log so only the end showed. He grabbed it and walked backwards so it would swing towards me.
"Now your target it heading towards you. I want you to hit it before it gets close. Go."
He let it go and jogged to the side. The log swung towards me, and then flew back again, only a few feet from me. I waited for it to swing back forward before swiftly bringing the gun up and firing.
I hit it, and fired a few shots before it even got close.
We repeated these processes, changing both the speed and the size of the target. We even varied range and weapon. I wasn't perfect, but I didn't expect to be. My karate had taught me focus and patience, which really paid off with the guns.
My confidence and comfort with the weapon grew, and it wouldn't be long until it would feel natural.
"I think that'll do. You've got to keep this up though. You'll get to be a great shot." Rick smiled as he gathered up the guns and walked us back to the truck.
"Sam, how are you feeling about Shane after the other day?" He asked, taking me by surprise.
"I haven't really seen him to know. I've only walked past him a few times. Why?" I said slowly.
"I- nothing. He's just been a little... Distant." He sighed, and I chewed my lip in thought.
"I haven't noticed, to be honest Rick. I've been, uh, a little distracted. But I'll keep an eye on him. Is there anything to worry about?" I rushed, but my voice was serious.
"No. No, he's not who he used to be before all of this. I just need to make sure he's okay, you know?" He sighed, and I nodded.
We soon reached the truck and was soon back en route to the farm. His Shane outburst got me thinking - did he want to just teach me more, or did he want to talk to someone about Shane? Either way, I was flattered Rick was being that open with me.
"How're you doing though? With Lori?" I asked after a silence.
"Okay. We're doing what we've got to." He said defiantly.
I ran my eyes over him, assessing. I knew he was holding up a collected facade. I saw through it, and he probably knew that. But he wasn't going to let on - although I didn't blame him. I'd probably do the same.
"Don't worry. I'm sure you're going to make it work." I smiled, laying a hand on his arm. His eyes briefly flashed to me in a slight moment of weakness.
He nodded as he began turning the wheel. I sighed as we began down the road to the farm, my mind whizzing.
He stopped the engine and we got out. I helped him carry the guns back to Dale's RV and went our separate ways with a quick but knowing hug.
I walked to the fire pit and sat beside a tired-looking Dale.
"Everything alright?" I asked, casting my eyes around the virtually empty camp. He smiled at me and thought for a few seconds.
"Carol's out of the RV now." He smiled, nodding towards the woman in question.
I looked in her direction and smiled. She was out of the RV. She was even helping Alex preparing food. I was pleased - she needed to talk to people again. Everyone was getting worried about her.
"That's a relief. Pretty soon I thought she was going to become part of the furniture." I said, a small smile on my face. Dale nodded, a sad smile on his face.
"How was shooting?" He asked after a short silence.
"Good, actually. I need practice, but I'm pretty okay." I shrugged, running through all the hit and misses I'd had the day in my head.
"Nice. We could always do with another barrel." Dale noted, patting a hand on my knee.
"Anyone been out today? For, you know." I asked quietly, leaning in towards Dale.
"Daryl went out a few hours ago when he got back. Andrea drove up to the highway too." Dale said, his voice low and I nodded.
I looked back at Carol, the faintest laugh gracing her face as Alex spoke. it was nice to see her smiling again.
I crossed my legs and ran a hand through my hair. My arms felt a bit achy but nothing too bad. My ribs hurt after some unexpected recoil from some of the guns.
But I was oblivious to that. Things seemed to be going okay.
It's gonna pick up a bit, I can promise you that. ;]
Let me know your thoughts! And as ever, thank you for reading/following/favouriting. :)
- Loré. X