Ch. 41

Sam dreamt of the old world. Bustling city streets, his old home in Cork. The constant sound of cars and sirens passing by his apartment window. The smell of urine always crowding the subways, along with no personal space to speak of.

Before the end of the world, he had craved it, every last scrap of normalcy that the City of Cork brought. When the reports of Walkers first began appearing, Sam and his friends had ditched their class and gone into the countryside.

Sam and his friends had tried moving to Atlanta like so many others. Hoping to find refuge with the military and the remnants of the government. But roads filled with raiders, walkers, and dwindling supplies spelled doom for members of his group. So they turned to more, unorthodox methods of survival. But even that only worked for so long. Out of all of his friends he was the last.

Sam had once craved the city, the starless nights and never-ending sounds. But as the months passed, and he ended up by himself, he began to see the attraction of silence.

Silence was safety, it was stealth. Being quiet meant that there was nothing around him and that he could go about safely. Silence meant that Walkers weren't around, and neither were people.

But the dream had brought back an appreciation of the old ways of the world. A world that he knew would return eventually. But with the return of civilization, Sam knew that war would return, hell, it had already arrived for him.

The months on the road as well as the attack on the library had already proved that war was a harsh reality that many would face. His group was already in conflict. A conflict that Sam knew they would win. But how long would it just be them? How long before the Kingdom would finally jump in? How long until Alexandria went on the offensive?

For all Sam knew, they would be alone in the conflict until Negan was beaten. Sam smiled at the thought, even in his sleep. The victory of beating Negan going to his group and only his. Sam at the head, and Rory, Merle, and Abraham as lieutenants.

Sam's dream began to morph. Gone was the city and the noise. Instead, it became The Foundry. Sam was heading a column of men, and Rory stood next to him. Everyone had rifles and were marching out into the world

"Sam, got excellent news to report," Eugene said as he barged into Sam's office.

"Knock next time," Sam said, not even looking up from the map he was hunched over. "I don't care if the enemies at the gates knock."

"Apologies. However, the news is exceedingly important." Sam rolled his eyes and motioned for Eugene to go on. "Bullet production is a go. We've started with the higher requested calibers of the .223/5.56 combo, as well as the larger 7.62 round. Currently, we are making one hundred bullets of each caliber."

Sam smiled and looked up from the map. "Eugene, that is excellent fucking news."

"However, there are concerns."

Sam's smile dropped. "Out with it."

"We need more supplies for gunpowder. Primarily sulfur. If you can get your hands on a proverbial fuckton of it, we can crank out as many bullets as it'll take to put Negan in the ground permanently. "

Sam moved away from the table and began to pace slowly. Sulfur was found in volcanoes, and as far as he knew there weren't any volcanoes in Maryland.

"Where can we find more sulfur?" Sam finally asked.

"Some drugstores might have it behind the counter. Springs very commonly have sulfur deposits. Old maps in Alexandria show that there are a handful of springs around the area from which Sulfur can be found. All we need to do is get people out there to gather it and we should have some Sulfur to make as many bullets you need."

Sam rubbed his eyes, knowing that going out and collecting sulfur was a time costly, but unfortunately, there was no alternative.

"You remember where it is?"

"Rory!" The man in question jumped from his workbench causing bullet casings to spill onto the floor the clinking brass rolling on the floor and spreading around people's feet.

"Shit, sorry!" Rory said as he knelt down and began collecting the casings.

"Rory!" Rory stopped and looked up seeing Sam standing above him with an eyebrow raised. "Pick up the casings and then come to my office, I need you for something."

Sam turned and walked away leaving Rory on the ground picking up casings one by one for fifteen minutes before he collected them all and made his way to Sam's office. Rory rapped his knuckles against the wooden door and hear a shuffling inside the room. He could hear Sam clear his throat and shout for Rory to enter.

The inside of the room was dark and the map that sat on Sam's desk was now hung on a wall. Some areas were marked in red pen while the known settlements and Savior outposts were marked in black.

"You needed to see me?"

"Yeah, Sam said, seated comfortably behind his desk. "You still want a shot at leadership?"

"Hell yeah," Rory stepped forward and smiled brightly. "Whatever you need, I'll do it."

"Good," Sam's lips formed a tight smile. "I need you to get a group together, fifteen people. Five of you will watch over the other ten. It's a work detail but, you'll be guarding people while they collect sulfur out of the ground."

"Sulfur?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "Yeah. Eugene needs it for gunpowder. No sulfur, no powder, no bullets."

"No fighting. Got it. I'll round up who I can."

"Good. Rory, don't get into it with any Saviors. Avoid them, we can't afford to fight 'em right now. We're just getting set up and organized. I've heard that Alexandria's got pressure from them. Watch out and be careful."

Rory nodded and made his way to the door his stomach soaring from the assignment. Eager for the chance to prove himself as a leader.

Shovels pounded into the ground and moved sulfur into wheelbarrows. Five volunteers from Alexandria worked tirelessly, making sure to haul as much Sulfur as they physically could. Rory had been sure to brief everyone on what they were doing. Explaining the need for the sulfur and what it would be used for.

Knowing that bullets would come of their labor seemed to inspire the group to work hard. Rory smiled at the eagerness of the working party as he turned back and watched the woods surrounding the hot spring.

He had set the guard party around the spring. Two were father out in the woods meant to alert the others should anyone show up, Walkers and Saviors alike. The rest were spread out around the spring hidden in the brush or behind the cars that had brought them to the spring.

Overall, Rory was confident that he and the group would be fine.

Sam sat on the roof of The Foundry binoculars held up to his face as he scanned the area around him. Sam had decided to relive the watch for the night, deciding that he would take it. It had been a while since he had stood watch, it seemed best to remember what it was like. Sleep tugging at his eyes, the nervous tick in his body, reacting to every noise that jumped out from the area around him. It was therapeutic in a way.

"Sam?" He jumped and turned quickly toward the small hatch in the roof. Beth's head peaked out from it. "Can you help me up?"

"Course," she walked over to her and took her hand before hoisting her out of the hatch. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Abraham told me you were taking watch tonight. I thought I'd join you." Beth was wearing a satchel and set it to the ground before taking out a small bottle and two cans. "I took this from Daryl's bike before we left. Apparently, he found some of the stuff you like and kept a bottle. I took it before he could give it to you."

"Well then," Sam began, taking a seat on the ground, "I guess we could take a bit of a break. Besides, we haven't properly toasted our little reunion."

"I think we skipped that part."

"You skipped that part."

"And you didn't complain."

Sam shrugged as he opened the bottle, the oaky scent of the alcohol spreading across the roof. He took a small sip of the drink, smiling as the burning sensation transitioned into a warmth that spread through his body.

"That's good. Been a good while since I've had anything good." Sam handed Beth the bottle and stretched his body out on the gravel that covered the roof. "Who would've thought I'd of made it this far?"

"Who'd of thought any of us would have made it this far?" Beth said before taking a sip from the bottle.

"Fair point." Sam took the bottle and raised it in the air. "To surviving this far."

"And farther still."

They kissed gently, enjoying the closeness that the rooftop isolation brought them. Although they were alone, neither of them would let the one kiss escalate any farther. A rooftop was not a place to get that intimate. Though Sam. Knew that once his relief came to take over the watch, and he got to his quarters, neither he nor Beth would sleep very much.

"So these fucking raiders, we know where the fuck these pricks are yet?"

"No. our scouts have been around every backroad they know. Nothing so far, but they can't stay hidden for long.

"And this prick, the one that wiped out that outpost, we know where they're at?"

The men and women that sat around the table looked excited as they delivered at least some good news, the news of the location of the settlement. They began discussing strategies on how to root out the leadership from behind the walls without letting it. Become a bloody siege that would cost more lives that it would be worth.

Besides, Negan thought as he stroked Lucile, people are a resource.

AN: Hey guys, new chapter, the next one is already in the works should be up relatively soon. some action should be coming your way. I really missed writing this so I'll be writing up some chapters really quick. Be on the lookout my friends. Review!~ Pacco1