WARNING! This chapter has content thats a little sad/ heartbreaking. A child had been turned. The Walking Dead barely touched on it and to be honest, I need to get out of my comfort zone and write about sad things. So this was an opportunity to do so. Please understand! Thank you for reading!
"Circle again!" Merle yelled, firing off the gun on the back of the truck as Sammy drove. She weaved through Walkers, hitting a few on the side of the truck or mowing down one to avoid a larger group. There were multiple helipads that were empty, some helicopters just taking off in the sky, and some helicopters fell back to the earth, crashing and exploding upon impact. Those were the ones Sammy had trouble dodging as the debris flew in all directions. She refused to believe Daryl was on one of those, just like she refused to believe that Timmy was eaten at a random outpost.
The sounds of gunfire were barely heard over Merle's mounted machine, but whenever he paused, Sammy heard the faint popping sounds. She did her best to drive towards them, knowing there was a survivor still trying to cling to life. She jerked the truck to the right, hearing Merle yell curses at her as she surprised him.
As she got closer, she could hear the faint hum of the helicopter blades whirring, getting ready to take off. Sammy wasn't going to be late to another one, so she desperately pushed the truck to go faster, slamming her foot down on the gas pedal and forcing the truck to jerk forward. Her accelerated force propelled her and Merle into a chain-link fence, crashing into a few Walkers before slowing down in front of a helipad with a single helicopter left.
"Merle!" Daryl's familiar rasp was heard over the small pause in gunfire. Sammy never felt so relieved in her life.
"You keep them off me and you keep them off that truck, ya hear me?" Merle hollered, sounding further from the truck. Twisting around in her seat, Sammy hadn't realized her gunman abandoned ship in favor of shooting the Walkers that did their best to hustle toward fresh flesh. "Grenade!" A sudden explosion lit up the dark sky, rocking the truck a little as small chunks of flesh rained down with soft splats. Sammy hadn't seen how many Walkers the grenade took out but was relieved she was inside the truck and not outside of it.
Another helicopter suddenly spiraled towards the ground, landing harshly on its side, the blades cutting into the ground and breaking apart. The loud explosion rocking the truck again, bringing a source of light as the flames licked over the fuel. Sammy could see dozens of Walkers slowly making their way towards them, tripping, and staggering over the ones Merle and Daryl had already put down. She stumbled out of the truck, bringing her knives with her as she lunged toward a Walker closing in on the truck.
"Sam?" Daryl called for her, sounding a little confused at her appearance.
"Who else would willing drive Merle to find your ass?" She sassed, tugging out one of her knives to throw it at another Walker, cringing when the butt end hit it in the cheek. She wasn't as badass as she thought sometimes.
"Get to the chopper, the both of ya!" Merle shouted, firing off a few more rounds before looking at the waiting helicopter. He must not have liked something he saw since his next words were "Change of plans! Get in the truck!"
"What?" Daryl wanted to leave as soon as possible the two people he cared for most in the world were with him again and he wasn't going to let the opportunity of escape slip through his fingers. "Get on the damn helicopter, Merle." Daryl grabbed Sammy's arm just below her elbow, tugging her towards the chopper.
Merle's hand gripped into Daryl's shoulder as he pulled him back, giving a signal to the pilot to take off. Someone from inside the chopper didn't want to wait anymore as they shut the sliding door, sealing off their exit. "You'll thank me later, Darylina. That pilot had a bite on him. Hell, he was halfway turned already." Merle stalked off toward the truck, leaving Daryl and Sammy to look after the retreating Helicopter as it flew higher in the air.
Sammy hadn't seen anything herself but being in a tight spot while flying through the air with any possibilities of someone being bitten wasn't something she was willing to risk. For the moment, she was going to believe that whatever Merle saw, was real. She jogged up to the truck, climbing back behind the wheel before honking at Daryl to hurry up.
A moment later everyone was loaded in the truck, Merle standing comfortably behind the gun, and Daryl joining Sammy in the cab. She drove quickly out of the stadium, still dodging groups of Walkers as they tried to reach for the moving vehicle. "So, where's my truck?" She hadn't seen Scout either, but Sammy had a feeling she had found her father.
Daryl turned in his seat to look at her. "I parked it outside the stadium, South side. It's off the street and I've still got the keys." He pulled the keys from his pocket and lightly jangled them.
Sammy felt her shoulders relax, rolling them back to ease her stiff bones. "Thanks for taking care of my truck, even though you were going to ditch it with all my supplies in it." She said, light sarcasm flowing from her mouth as she wiggled a little in her seat, trying to get comfortable. She drove on, being given instructions on exactly where her truck was, finally pulling the army truck up to her older vehicle.
They all jumped out, making quick work of any lurking undead before hauling their newly acquired supplies into Sammy's truck. Once loaded, Sammy told both men to take a load off while she drove them out of the city. Merle gave no objections, climbing easily in the back and laying out on the supply crates for a nap while Daryl rode in the cab with Sammy again. He offered to drive, having been used to doing so since they left her grandparents, but with her sharp no, he dropped the subject.
It wasn't all that long before Sammy heard faint snoring coming from her passengers and with a glance to her right, she saw Daryl slouched against the window, eyes closed, mouth slightly open, and his shoulders relaxed. She was tired herself but knew both Dixon brothers hadn't had much sleep. She felt a sudden sense of guilt for not offering to drive when her and Daryl first left her grandparents. He had been traveling a lot longer than she had, after all.
Driving in silence was becoming comfortable for Sammy, until a grumble and a groan came from the back letting her know Merle was awake. "Hold up, Doll Face, I know this town." Sammy looked at Merle through the rearview mirror, watching him glance around the buildings as she slowed down a little. "Yeah, yeah, right there was the old grocer. Across the way there, should be the DVD store." Listing off the stores as they went, Merle suddenly pointed to another building. "Stop at that one there!"
Looking to her left, Sammy saw it was a small lot of old and used motorcycles and a few trucks. She did as she was told, pulling into the lot, and parking her truck in an empty parking space. Daryl awoke once the truck stopped and swiveled his head to understand why they weren't moving. "Why are we here, Merle?"
"Gettin' my bike, Doll Face." Merle muttered as he jumped out of the truck with a gun and a few clips of ammo. "Darylina, get your ass up and help me."
Daryl grunted but did as he told, climbing down from the truck, and grabbing his own weapon of choice. Sammy scrambled as gracefully as she could from her truck, not wanting to be left behind, and hurried to Daryl's left side.
It was quiet outside, the first morning rays of sunshine peeking over the taller buildings. Sammy didn't even hear the singing of birds as they moved quickly in the lot. Ever since the apparent apocalypse, the world had grown quiet, so quiet that even animals were afraid to make their usual sounds. Taking it as a bad sign, she tightened her grip on the knife in her hand, not letting her guard down as she swept her eyes over the lot carefully.
Daryl turned to Sammy, nodding in the direction of the small dealership building – a sign to let her know he was going inside. She nodded back, staying close to him as they moved toward the large windows and glass doors. Pressing her face up to the glass, she cupped her hands around her eyes, getting a better look inside the abandoned building. Other than some trash and papers scattered around the floor, it looked pretty quiet. She took a few more seconds to carefully glance around, not wanting to miss anything before she spotted two figures slumped in chairs. One was wearing a tattered mechanics jumper while the other was wearing a dirty white blouse and black pencil skirt.
Holding up two fingers to Daryl, she let him know how many people or Walkers were inside before tugging at the handle on the door. With minimal effort, she pushed the door open, being grateful the hinges were lubed up enough they didn't make a single sound. Daryl pushed ahead, aiming his crossbow at their heads as he cleared his throat.
The small noise forced both figures to slowly look in their direction, stiff joints popping as they stood up. Their groans were barely released from their throats when Daryl easily silenced both of them with two arrows, getting faster at pulling back the bow line.
Sammy put her own knives back in their places on her hips before heading behind the receptionists desk. She figured it was a good starting place to find keys for the vehicles, not having any idea of what to expect at a small dealership. She tossed drawers, not caring about the noise until Daryl grumpily shushed her from another desk. Not finding anything of use at the front desk, Sammy ventured down the small hallway that had only three rooms, two of which were the men's and woman's restrooms. The last door had a small red sign with white letters that said, 'authorized personnel only'.
Giving herself authorization, she tried twisting the knob, finding it already open, and pushed it the rest of the way. There were shelves inside the room with extra printing paper and toiletries for the bathrooms and a large lockbox on the wall. Sammy went straight for the lockbox, pulling at the Master-lock unsuccessfully.
Hearing a shuffling sound behind her, she spun quickly, hand ready to unsheathe her blade. Daryl stood there in the doorway, a small flashlight in his mouth, his crossbow resting in his right hand while he held a small silver key in his left. He waved the key at her before tossing it to her. It fumbled in her hands for a moment – her clumsiness very apparent to both of them – before she sent him a glare. She turned back to the lockbox, easily slipping the inside before turning it and tossing the lock somewhere on the floor.
The lockbox doors creaked open, revealing all the lots' keys. Instead of taking one or two, Sammy helped herself to all the keys. She didn't want to go back and forth trying to find the right one to whatever vehicle Merle wanted.
Daryl followed her back into the lobby, both quickly leaving the building. Merle whistled to them, waving at them beside a motorcycle. "Took ya long enough. Hurry the hell up so we can get back on the road." Merle growled. His mood had severely gone downhill since their arrival, Sammy noticed.
She wasn't the only one who noticed, though. "The hell is yer problem?" Daryl snapped back, easily riled up by Merle's sour attitude.
Sammy sighed, deciding to let them brawl while she worked on finding the correct keys to the bike Merle wanted. She knew the right key was probably going to be a touch smaller than a normal key, so she started with the small ones first. She was about seven in when she heard the Dixon's go silent, their bickering coming to an end as they looked around the lot. Confused, Sammy looked up for a moment but decided her little job of finding the right key was more important than whatever caught Merle and Daryl's attention.
"Hurry up, Doll. We got company." Both Dixon's stood at the ready in front of her, pointing their weapons toward whatever they heard. Sammy's hands started shaking a little as the fear of what exactly they heard took over her. Luckily, the next key she tried was the right one.
The motorcycle's engine turned over, making a loud roaring noise. Merle wasted no time, spinning around and quickly mounting the bike while Daryl grabbed Sammy and ran off toward her truck. "What is it, Daryl?" Sammy panted behind him, not looking back to see if the potential threat was there.
"People." Was Daryl's curt response as he reached the truck. He threw the passenger side door open for her before quickly running to the drivers side. They both knew it would take her a minute to catch up and get in the truck, so Daryl saved them both some time.
Once she was sitting against the seat, drawing in quick breaths, she looked out the windshield for any people that could have been around while Daryl started the truck to follow his brother. "What's so wrong about people? Shouldn't we be grouping up with other survivors?"
Pulling up behind Merle, honking once to tell him to get going, Daryl shot her an irritable glance. "You don't know nothin' bout the end of the world, do ya? Ever pick up a book about the dead walking? Or seen a movie?"
Sammy rolled her eyes, scoffing at him as she turned to her own window, trying to catch a glance at whatever people Daryl and Merle had seen. "Yeah, but not everyone is an asshole. There are nice people in the world that survive too. I don't see how we have to be distrusting from the get-go." Once the words left her mouth, her mind went to Martine. He had been exactly the kind of person Daryl was currently warning her about.
"Things won't be the same no more, Sam. Governments are gone, police are gone. It's everyone for themselves now." Daryl kept his eyes on the small back light of Merle's motorcycle, not looking at her.
"What about Timmy? I'm worried about him, Daryl. What if he went looking for me?" Talking about Timmy was a slight sore spot for Sammy. She lost the only blood family she had except for him. She wanted to go look for him but knew it would be nearly impossible to get Merle to agree. Daryl wouldn't need much convincing, though he would get an earful of teasing from his big brother about being pussy-whipped.
"He's lookin' for ya." Daryl's voice was so quiet, Sammy almost missed his words.
"How do you know?" She felt her heart pick up at the thought of her brother actually being alive. She had always been hopeful but hearing someone else voice her thoughts made it feel real.
Daryl grimaced, eyes darting to her hopeful face as she stared at him, unblinking. "Cause I heard him over the radio when we were separated." He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, a little nervous about her reaction.
Sammy slumped in her seat. Timmy was alive, he was looking for her. The relief that consumed her felt a little overwhelming but considering everything they had already been through, she basked in the positivity. She knew she would have to settle for just the news, but maybe in a few weeks or so, they could go off and look for him. She didn't know where to start other than checking every army base they came across, but through a process of elimination, she would eventually find him. So long as he remained alive.
"Sam?" Daryl was still hesitant with her, fearing a burst of anger from her. Honestly, he should have known her better than that by now.
"Thank you. I'm okay. Just knowing he's alive and looking for me, too… It's a relief." She couldn't really see them all traveling together. Timmy and Merle hadn't cared much for the other during the handful of times they met. Thanksgiving dinners were always stressful, not only from cooking, but because the two would end up getting into drunken fights. "We will cross paths eventually." A small smile graced her lips as she thought about Timmy and Dixon brothers together. Since Merle and Daryl found her first, she would stay with them, seeing no point in running off on her own to look for Timmy. He was a grown man, perfectly capable of taking care of himself. She wasn't.
The rest of the ride was enjoyed in silence. Sammy drifted off to sleep every once in a while, her dreams swirling with memories of holiday dinners and laughter. It was a pleasant change from the nightmares of her grandparents tearing apart her flesh. When she woke up again, feeling more refreshed than she had since the undead started walking, they were pulling up to a small single-story house surrounded by trees.
Whatever face she made had Daryl grunting a small chuckle before answering her unasked question. "We're stopping here for the night. You may have gotten some beauty sleep, but Merle and I need some too." He opened the door, pulling his crossbow with him, and walked with Merle around the house.
Sammy rubbed her eyes, willing the sleep away as the brothers disappeared behind the house. She cautiously opened her own door, taking her weapons with her as she slowly went to the front door. She had a small urge to knock politely on the front door, as was custom, but with a small jiggle of the handle, the door opened. Sammy pushed the door open the rest of the way, hearing a static noise from a tv that had been left on. Not hearing anything else, she poked her head inside, looking down a dim hallway with a kitchen entrance to the left and a living room to the right. A step away from the living room was a small bathroom or a coat closet, though she couldn't be sure unless she opened the door. She also assumed the remaining three doors were bedrooms.
A tap on Sammy's shoulder nearly made her scream, but once she spun around and saw the familiar bolt of Daryl's crossbow resting in the chamber, she shrank back behind him. Daryl entered the house first, going to the kitchen on the left first as Sammy looked behind her towards the vehicles where Merle was guiding his motorcycle closer to the house.
Daryl came back a moment later, heading to the right and into the living room, turning off the tv as he came back. Merle brushed by her, nodding at Daryl to move on down the hallway. Sammy stepped inside, deciding to close the door behind her as she moved into the kitchen. She checked the cabinets for any food, coming across a few cans and some cereal boxes, but the rest were full of dishes and coffee mugs. Coming to the pantry door, she opened it and felt disappointed as the shelves were barren. The only things that were in there were napkins, toilet paper, paper towels, and a few small boxes of matches which Sammy took.
Meeting back in the living room, Sammy placed the few cans of fruit and beans that she found on the coffee table before sitting back on the couch. Daryl stood at the window, peering out occasionally, and Merle sat in the recliner off to the left of the couch. There was a wide bookshelf to the right of the couch, and the tv pointed more toward the recliner slightly in front of the bookshelf.
"We should move the vehicles." Daryl suddenly said, dropping the curtain back against the window as he looked at his two companions.
"Why?" Sammy inquired.
"Don't know if those people were followin' us and don't want them thinkin' were makin' camp here." Merle told her, getting up to follow Daryl out the door. Sammy watched them for a moment, still unsure as to why they were distrusting of other survivors.
Deciding to brush off their unfavorable attitudes for the moment, Sammy got up and went to the bathroom next to the living room. She had been a little surprised that things were slightly functioning here, but Daryl told her it was only because of a gas generator in the back. She didn't know how long it was going to last or if they would use any of their own fuel for however long they decided to stay, but she was grateful to have a light on as she used the toilet.
Sammy hummed to herself, something she did a lot in public bathrooms or felt the need to do if someone was too close to the door so they wouldn't hear her do her business. She stopped when she was finished, quickly pulling up her bottoms and flushing before facing the sink to wash her hands. A thump sounded at the door, slightly startling her. "I'll be out in a minute." She told one of the Dixon brothers, assuming they were waiting to use the bathroom.
The thump sounded again, but this time, Sammy wasn't sure it actually came from the door. She peered down at the cabinet doors just under the sink, watching them closely as the water from the faucet warmed her now shaking hands. There was no way someone could fit in there, so it must be a trapped rat or mouse. Either way, Sammy hated rodents and hadn't witnessed if an animal could reanimate like the dead. The cabinets suddenly opened, pushing into Sammy's legs as a skinny and small arm shot out from the opening, latching onto Sammy's shin.
The scream that tore through Sammy's throat instantly dried her mouth, she stepped back moving out of the way and forcing the little hand to let go. As she did so, the cabinet doors were opened further, letting whoever was inside to be let out. A small little girl, no bigger than eight or ten, rolled out from the cabinet. Sammy gasped, forcing herself back further, her legs meeting with the cool touch of the bathtub. She climbed backwards, not looking away from the little girl on the floor, trying to maneuver her way toward Sammy.
"Help! Daryl! No, no, no…" Sammy put her hand out, not touching the little girl but as a reflex to try and make her halt as if she still had the ability to listen. The little girl only growled, slightly tilting her head, her dirty long brown locks falling a little in her left eye. She didn't look like she had been bitten as Sammy looked at the little girl up and down, but she was also wearing longer pants and a bigger shirt.
The little girl reached her own arms out for Sammy, looking like she only wanted to be picked up. Grasping at the sheer shower curtain, Sammy pulled it closed as she pressed herself against the porcelain wall of the tub. The little girl only pressed her palms against the plastic, pushing toward Sammy as she came closer. Not realizing that she needed to step into the bathtub, the little undead girl tumbled forward, coming headfirst into Sammy. The curtain rod came crashing down, hitting Sammy on her left shoulder and hip before bouncing on the other side of the tub.
Sammy hadn't stopped screaming since the little girl tumbled into her and she was trying to mold herself into the wall of the tub. She managed to move toward the faucet and handle, getting away from the girls head and hands. She had an opportunity to step back onto the floor and out of the tub as the girl was wrapped a little under the curtain. Sammy jumped, grabbing for the bathroom door, pulling at the handle. She had forgotten that she locked it.
"Help! Help me!" Giving up on the handle, Sammy resorted to pounding against the door. Her mind was frantic as she heard the plastic of the shower curtain shifting and crinkling. Taking a look behind her, she saw the girl standing, facing the back of the tub with the curtain hanging from her head. It would have been funny, seeing the girl wrapped up like a ghost for Halloween if she wasn't dead and trying to eat Sammy.
Alerted by the sounds Sammy was making, the little girl turned herself around, slowly raising her arms again, the plastic of the curtain shifting with her movements. She tumbled over the excess curtain as she tried to take a step forward, a loud crunch sounding as she smacked her head against the metal of the spout. That wasn't enough to end her suffering, though, as she managed to crawl out of the tub and land in a heap on the floor by Sammy.
The older woman shrieked, slamming herself against the door as a last-ditch attempt to get it open. Her mind was blank as panic and adrenaline took over. "Sam?" Daryl's voice was slightly muffled through the door, barely heard over her screams. "Sam!" Loud pounding made the door shake as Daryl tried the handle and slammed his other hand against the door. "Unlock it! Unlock the door!"
A small amount of sense sparked in her as she twisted the lock on the door as fast as she could. Daryl pulled it open, catching Sammy as she launched herself out of the bathroom, shaking harder than a tree in 80mph winds. He pushed her slightly to the side and toward the living room, going into the bathroom to handle the poor little girl.
Taking a few steps into the living room was all the energy Sammy had left as the adrenaline left her body and she crumbled to the floor. She landed on her knees, sitting back on her feet as she exhaled, sobs filling her throat and tears starting to flow from her eyes. She tried to hold herself, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, but finding no comfort as she cried.
Daryl came back a moment later, dropping beside her and resting a big hand on her shoulder. He had always been an awkward comforter, never really knowing what to do to help, but Sammy appreciated it, nonetheless. She flung herself at Daryl, needing more than a hand, just as Merle came in through the door. "You two girls getting' friendly?"
"Found a walker in the bathroom. Little girl." Daryl mumbled out, still awkwardly patting Sammy's back as she cried into his shirt.
Merle was silent for a moment, either having a silent conversation with Daryl or trying to look behind him for the little girl he mentioned. "We went through all them rooms. How in the hell'd we miss one?"
"Just deal with it while I get her on the couch." Daryl told him, picking up Sammy by the arms and half dragging her through the living room and to the couch. He sat by her and did his best to shield her view from the entryway as Merle dragged the little body out of the house.
It was silent between all of them once Merle came back in, the final light of the sun disappearing as night swarmed their half of the world. Small flickers of light from two taper candles barely illuminated the living room as they were the only ones they found sitting on a small table in the kitchen. Sammy was nursing a mug of tea, English Breakfast, that he found in a drawer she didn't bother checking as she stared at the little flame.
"I think we outta lighten our load some." Merle suddenly said, eyeing both of his companions. Daryl twitched slightly as he let the dark curtain fall back in place over the window, resting his arms on the back of the couch by Sammy's head.
"Meanin'?" Daryl faced Merle, dropping his eyes over the young woman's frame, noting her lack of movement since he took her to the couch.
Merle tossed his right hand down by the lever on the recliner, pulling it back as the bottom kicked up. "I'm sayin' we leave our goods some place safe, some place no one'll look, and we get more. It's us against the world, always has been and always will be, yeah?"
Daryl nodded his agreement while Sammy finally brought the steamy cup of tea to her lips, taking a small sip. She didn't say anything, not really paying attention. Her mind was on the little girl and how she had ended up in the cabinet under the sink, but most importantly, she didn't see a bite wound.
"…Leave the truck with most of the supplies n' get ya a small truck." Merle was saying, finally catching Sammy's attention.
"We're not leaving my truck behind." Her eyes turned hard as she looked at Merle with a glare. "It can hold the most supplies and I'm not interested in someone else finding it."
Daryl moved to sit by her right side, sinking down into the couch as he looked at her. "Sam, yer truck might make people think we got stuff worth sharin' or stealin'."
Merle cut in, not as sweet on the words as his brother, "Yer truck ain't comin', Doll Face. If were goin' to take things for ourselves, we gotta pretend to have nothin'. End of discussion. One of ya is takin' the first watch." With that said, Merle kicked the leg rest down and got up, moving down the hallway into one of the bedrooms he cleared earlier.
"We'll leave your truck here, covered in branches so no one'll find it." Daryl told her, getting up from the couch to go back to the window. "I'll take first—"
"No. I'll watch first. Get some rest Daryl." Sammy set her mug on the coffee table and moved to push the younger Dixon back on the couch. Once he was at least sitting, she took up his spot by the window, pulling the curtain back enough to watch the street.