The sun rose just over the quarry when Sammy was pulled from her slumber. Daryl was softly snoring next to her, having slipped in the tent quieter than a mouse last night. The cause for her rousing was stomping his way over in his typical grumpy manor, shaking the tent as he hollered for his brother, "Darylina! Sun's a risin'!"
"Go away, Merle," Sammy moaned out, still tired as she rolled over toward Daryl.
The younger Dixon cracked his eyes open, his snoring ceased as he cleared his throat. Sammy curled into him a little more, resting her forehead against his bare arm. He reached over, patting her shoulder before gently sitting up. She groaned in annoyance, not being a morning person in the least. "I'm comin', don't get yer panties in a twist," Daryl told him.
"Another hunting trip, already?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing at her eyes.
"Gotta keep the food comin' for all them mouths to feed," he told her. "Things are getting a bit harder to find out there."
Sammy looked surprised, "It's only been a few weeks, what's happening?"
"Deer are scared, more alert to noises. We'd have to go out for a few days to track some down, and even then you'd have to find a trail first." He got up and started getting ready by checking his gear, pulling out things he'd need to go hunting. "Squirrels are easier but they're starting to thin out." He opened his arrow case, grabbing the only two he had left. "Ah, shit."
"I'll make some more for you, don't worry," she offered, stretching out before getting up herself. She pulled on some shorts before throwing one of his clean shirts over her fitted tank top. Her arms slipped through the torn sleeves as she let it hang open before joining him to put on her shoes.
Daryl was kind enough to hold the tent flap open for her, letting her slip out first. Merle wasn't in sight, but they heard him shuffling around in his tent. She shared a look with Daryl, both a little concerned at the older Dixon's actions. "Fuck, Merle," Daryl growled, annoyed at his brother for continuing his drug addiction.
Sammy shrunk off, going for the pile of squirrels they managed to keep cool deep in the earth. A nice survival trick she picked up from the Dixon's. Merle was full of interesting tips and tricks and would give some up for free on his drugged out days, just before hitting the pillow. All she had to do was wait out the rest of the day where he almost always did stupid shit before he would grow tired and just want to talk.
Once she got to the pile, she realized one of the Dixon's had started the brining process for her, the meat already skinned and slimmed into perfect sections for jerky. All Sammy had left to do was season it and cook it. She had a smile on her face as she held up the large pot, carrying it over to her makeshift jerky spot. It was close by to her tent so she could get up and check on it every once in a while throughout the day. All it really consisted of was tall sticks formed in a triangle and leaves to cover the meat with a spot underneath for the fire. Part of her foraging would be gathering leaves to smoke into the meat for that extra flavor.
"Hey," the familiar voice of Daryl called out to her. Sammy turned to him, the smile still on her face. "Uh, be careful of that guy," he mumbled.
Instantly, she knew who he was talking about, but couldn't help the eye roll. Daryl had never liked her choice in men, which she knew, but it was different now. "Carl hasn't even hit puberty yet, Daryl," she teased, a smirk forming on her lips as she looked at him.
He knew she was teasing, but it bothered him that she wasn't taking his request seriously. Their moment the previous night was ruined by Merle and neither one of them had brought it up. Whatever confidence he had must have suddenly been stripped away at her response. "Fine," he snapped, suddenly angry. "Whatever." He started walking off away from her to go on his hunt.
Sammy rolled her eyes and called for him, but he didn't turn to her. "I'm just joking, Daryl! Sheesh," she said, catching up to him and trying to pull his arm to get him to slow down.
"Well, I ain't," he admitted, letting her pull on him.
She tugged a little harder, still trying to tease him, "Jealousy looks good on you."
"Get offa me," he growled at her, pulling his arm from her grasp. All she did was reattach herself.
"Daryl wait," all teasing was gone from her voice which instantly made him look at her. "I was serious last night. I meant every word." She was looking into his eyes, a tell that she was honest. "I'm sticking with you and Merle, wherever you go, I do too. If you wanted to pack up and leave the group right now, I'd ask where we're going." She paused to lick her lips, an action that had him follow the small muscle. "I'm not the same Sammy anymore that worked in the bar. Call it maturity, call it whatever you want, but I'm done being that girl."
He eyed her for a moment, taking in all of her words and shifting a little uncomfortably. There was no doubt the two had a strong attachment to the other, but as for who would initiate contact, that was all in Sammy's court. He knew she meant she wasn't going to use other men like she was while working in the bar, but what that meant for him, he didn't understand nor was he going to ask. He wasn't the type of guy to ask for clarification on whether or not they would be together now. So, all he responded with was, "A'ight."
Sammy's smile returned as she squeezed his arm, "Alright. Go on, bring back some good meat. Venison would be nice!" She let him go off, his brother waiting by the tree line in the distance. She waved until she couldn't see them anymore and ventured into the community part of the camp.
It was still too early for James to be done with his patrol and there was no way Carl was awake yet, so she went to help the others make breakfast. It wasn't her turn, but she was in a good enough mood to help out, or at least offer.
One of the new girls from the previous day was awake and moving around the small fire for breakfast. It was the girl Sammy didn't meet until they were inside the RV, the younger girl. She looked sweet, like a nice southern girl with blonde hair that went past her shoulders, and a thin frame. She must have still been a teenager. "Uh, hi there," Sammy greeted awkwardly, not remembering her name.
"Oh, hi! Sorry, I don't actually know what I'm doing. I was just told to be out here to help prep for breakfast in the morning. Are you the one that's going to show me what I'm supposed to do?" She talked a mile a minute, almost sapping Sammy's energy and making her want to crawl back in bed.
All she wanted to do was offer to help and hopefully be turned away so she could go back to bed. It took everything in her to be nice and not turn around to do just that. "Let's just start with names… I'm Sammy," the woman offered, remembering to be polite.
"Amy," the younger girl rushed out, giving a bright smile that could rival the sun.
"It's nice to meet you, Amy. Though it's not my day to help out with breakfast, I just happened to be up and came to offer my services," Sammy said. "But I'm thinking of crawling back to bed until coffee is made at least."
Amy's eyes went wide, "There's coffee?"
"Not exactly," came a sharp voice from behind the girls. Lori appeared on the other side of the fire, the sun finally halfway into the quarry as it cast them in the warm light.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sammy asked, feeling disappointed at the news. All she wanted was a nice warm cup of caffeine.
Lori folded her arms over her chest, as if she were preparing for back talk. "We need to conserve it for those that wake up to go on patrol early in the mornings. There's just not enough to go around." Sammy was going to give her the back talk she was apparently looking for.
"How did the coffee supply dry up? That's not fair to keep it only for your boyfriend," Sammy mouthed, knowing she would be getting the third degree. She was tired of Lori and Shane making up rules that only had themselves in mind. When Lori went to argue back to her, Sammy just held up a hand, "You know what? Forget it. I'm going back to bed."
This was one of the reasons why her and the Dixon's weren't entirely welcome in the group. They couldn't keep their mouths closed or keep opinions to themselves.
Sammy stomped back over to her tent, casting the flaps aside quickly and throwing herself back on her covers. She groaned loudly in her pillows; the sound muffled. She was tired of the campers and their rules, more than ever she wanted Merle to just rob them of whatever they could and flee. At this point, Sammy didn't think this group was worth it.
Sometime during her frustrations, she fell asleep, dreaming of better days and people she was familiar with. They quickly warped into horrendous nightmares of flesh eating monsters and her loved ones asking why Sammy abandoned them. When she woke up, her body was wet with sweat and tears pooled at her eyes. She took a moment to gather herself, steel herself once more and changed out of her sweaty attire, kicking her clothes into their little pile by the door.
Sammy pulled a fitted sports bra on along with a drop arm muscle t-shirt that was cropped and some cute booty shorts. She fastened her knife holsters before pulling on some clean socks with her work boots and tied her hair up in a ponytail, ready to forage. Once she stepped out of her tent, she was surprised to see James standing there.
"Wow, sorry! I was just coming to get you," he lowered his hand from a weird knocking position, not that anyone could really knock on a tent. "Do we need any baskets or anything?" He walked beside her, making light conversation as they went to the common area to pick up Carl.
"We have to go see Dale, he's got piles of crap in his RV. I'm sure he has a basket or two," she said, keeping her eyes on the large camper as they got closer.
Lori marched Carl over to them, practically dumping the poor kid on James as Sammy dodged and went for the RV, knocking on the door. Dale opened it, giving the young woman a smile, "Well, Sammy, come on in! What can I do for ya?"
Sammy entered the packed RV, looking around at the overly stuffed camper, "I just need a basket or two if you can spare any."
Dale was already nodding at her. He went to the table and bent over one of the benches, pulling the cushion up to reveal a storage space full of pots and pans. Apparently, there were some baskets hidden inside as well. "Here you are," he handed them over to her, still smiling, "Whatever you need, don't hesitate to ask. I've got loads of stuff crammed in here so there's a good chance I'll have whatever you're looking for."
She nodded her head, not doubting his words for a second. "Thank you, I'll return them once we're done," she offered a wave as she turned to leave, but he quickly stopped her.
"Where are you going? If you don't mind my asking."
"Foraging for some mushrooms, herbs, whatever we can, really. We're not going far," she took a step back, continuing to head outside as he let her.
"Well, stay safe out there, take precautions," he told her. Sammy looked up at him with surprise. In that moment, she didn't see Dale, she saw Clive, her grandpa, telling her to come back home safe and sound. She had to shake her head and clear her throat, giving Dale a nod as she hurried off to join Carl and James.
James reached out to her, seeing her pale face as she returned with the baskets, "Hey, you alright? You look pale." His hand came down on her shoulder, trying to be nice.
All she could do was nod and try for a smile, telling herself that Dale was not Clive. They didn't even remotely look similar, but his words felt the same. "Uh, I'm fine, let's go." She shot off in front of the other two, leading them towards one of the sides of camp that was lush with greenery.
"What's out here that we can forage?" Carl asked, watching Sammy as she slowed down to start looking at the different shrubs and plants.
Sammy smiled at him and waved him over to her, "See that?" She pointed to some tall green stalks and when he only looked at her, she continued. "That's either onion or garlic. Go up to it and smell it. You know the difference between onion and garlic, right?"
Carl gave her a frown, "Of course I do." He left her side, bending down and sniffing at the plant. "It smells like onion," he told her.
The woman was already nodding her head, "Pull it up and put it in the basket. Those are like Chives and are great for seasoning." Carl did as he was told, collecting all the ones that were around them.
James looked around, helping where he could. "So, how did you start foraging?" He asked, looking up at Sammy from a serviceberry bush. Something she told him was good for snacking and good for catching birds.
Sammy shrugged, "Daryl taught me. Both brothers have taught me a lot about survival."
"You and the Dixons have known each other a long time, then?" James inquired, putting the berries he collected in the basket before going to collect more.
Sammy gave him a nod, "Since I was about eight or so." She looked up from her spot collecting mushrooms to check on Carl. "Hey, don't go off on your own, Carl. Your mom will kill me." He looked up at her and waved, still looking for the garlic and onion chives he found earlier.
They all gathered together, filling up both baskets rather quickly. James made as much conversation as he could, trying to get to know Sammy. She felt uncomfortable with all of his pestering questions but answered most of them as generally as she could. She refused to talk about her childhood and barely discussed the people who raised her. She just wasn't used to sharing a lot of truthful information about herself.
The men she usually dated hadn't known a single truthful thing about her. Her favorite color was black, but she lied and always said purple since it made her look more attractive. If she was honest and said black, how many men would think she were goth or emo? Hiding the truth and selling herself for more always paid better for her. But now that she didn't have to lie, it just felt odd to be honest.
"Ms. Sammy?" Carl looked up at her as they were walking back to camp, a shy glint in his eye.
"Don't call me Miss, it makes me cringe. Just Sammy is fine," she requested, nodding for him to continue as James silenced his pestering questions.
"Okay, Sammy. Could you teach me some more stuff about being in the woods?" He asked, hopeful she would agree. "Shane does on occasion, but he's been disappearing from time to time or going on patrol." Sammy knew what the disappearing meant, but she wouldn't be the one to ruin his childhood innocence. She would leave that to one or both of the Dixon brothers. Their lack of filters would have any offspring spitting curses out of the womb.
Smiling at the growing boy, Sammy nodded, "It'd be my pleasure." She positioned one of the baskets on her left hip as she used her right hand to pat his back. "Maybe we can get one of the Dixon's to pitch in."
Carl dropped his gaze, frowning. "Uh, actually, my mom doesn't really like them. She doesn't know why you hang out with them and thinks it's weird." He shrugs as he looks up at her, watching as her lips fell into her own frown. "But she still let me come out with you, so she must like you!" He tried to cover.
Sammy's gaze lifted to James, who was already looking at her and gave her a one shoulder shrug of his own. "It's okay, kid. I've known the Dixon's since I was born. They grow on you like a leech eventually. They're good for some things, but boy do they bite." She laughed at her own joke, making Carl smile as they continued on.
She switched the topic back to what he wanted to know and gave him whatever tips she could remember. Always carry some spare food in a backpack, have another means of weapon on you if your primary goes missing, always pack a bag for overnight just in case, etc. "Hey, Sammy? Can you teach me how to make Jerky?" Carl asked her, interrupting her spew of tips.
Sammy raised an eyebrow at him before pondering the question. There wasn't really any harm in doing so.. She could have a little buddy to keep herself distracted until the Dixon's got back. The only problem would be Lori, but considering she pawned her child off on most of the campers anyway, it didn't seem that big of a deal. "Sure," she affirmed, giving him a smile. "I have some going at the camp right now. But if the Dixon's bring back a good haul, I can show you everything we need to do to make it."
"How did you discover how to make jerky in the wild?" James asked her, still trying to keep up with the conversation.
Sammy shrugged, "YouTube." There were tons of videos with decent clips on how to survive in the wild, plus lots of tv shows, but Sammy didn't care to elaborate.
They all entered camp again a moment later, Sammy immediately looking around for the brothers. Carl dragged her off toward his mom before she could attempt an escape, carrying the baskets of goodies with them. "Mom! Look what we foraged!" Carl's excitement caught the attention of Lori, Shane and Dale who were under the awning of the RV.
Lori's lips pulled up into a smile as she watched her son run the rest of the way to her. "What did you find?" She reached out and smoothed down the hairs on his head in adoration.
"Sammy helped me find onions that are like Chives! She says they're good for seasoning. We got berries too!" He pointed to the basket in Sammy's hands as she awkwardly handed the goods over to Dale. "She says she's going to teach me how to make Jerky." Carl's face was beaming as he told his mom about their little trip. Sammy thought it was the happiest he had been in a while, knowing everyone needed a good distraction at some point to keep from going crazy.
Lori looked expectantly at Sammy, making the younger woman grimace and shrug. "I don't mind. It's not like we'll be leaving camp to do it and I've already got some going."
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead," Lori mumbled, nodding at her son. He cheered before sending Sammy a wide grin, causing the other adults to chuckle. It had been some time before anyone, especially Carl, had shown some genuine excitement about anything since the apocalypse. Seeing his cheeriness caused some kind of infectious excitement to spread around the camp for the afternoon as people did chores with an extra pep to their step.
Showing Carl how to cook Jerky was easy. Sammy showed him how to make a brine bath; the first step to curing the wild meats, which was basically just a shit ton of salt and some water. The killer to the whole process was the waiting. Having something like a dehydrator made everything easier, but since they didn't have electricity, they had to go the longer route.
She showed him her makeshift Jerky Teepee and how she hung and covered the meats to cook evenly before drying out. Again, the worst part of the process was waiting. It would be the next day before they were even ready, but Carl seemed patient and eager to learn.
Sammy felt strange bonding with a kid so easily. Not that she ever tried in her hometown, but still. It was nice not to hear cursing every other word for once. "Gonna need some more leaves and branches. You think it'd be okay to come with?" She asked her charge, raising a brow at him.
Carl was already nodding his head. "Of course!"
Sammy rolled her eyes but cracked a smile at him, "No, I mean, will your mom be okay with it?"
"Yeah," his voice was smaller, more hesitant as he gave her an answer. He wouldn't meet her eyes, which gave her the clue that he wasn't being honest with her.
"Look, I would love to take you out with me, but if you're not going to be honest, then this friendship isn't going to work out, dude." Sammy hip checked him or attempted to since he wasn't all that tall yet. "Go ask her and then come back with the truth."
Carl shook his head, looking down as his shoulders slumped in defeat. "She probably won't let me. The sun is going down." He looked up at the retreating sun as it cast them in an amber glow.
Sammy frowned at the sky, finding it odd that the Dixon brothers weren't back yet. They would have made it back to the shared tents first to show off their haul before cleaning and preparing the game. She was starting to feel a little panicked that something was keeping them, or something happened to them. "C'mon, I'll take you back. We can wait on the leaves until tomorrow if you want, I should have enough for the rest of tonight." She slung her arm over his shoulders to pull him into her side as they made their way back to the RV.
She dropped off Carl to his mother with a promise to take him out again the next day for leaves and possibly more foraging. She made her way back to the perimeter behind her tent, slipping into the forest easily without being seen. Sammy would keep her promise to Carl, but she also told Daryl she would make him more bolts for his cross bow and in order to do that, she needed sticks. She already had duct tape to make the fletching's, but the most important part was finding the right type of stick or straight rod.
Not being allowed out of the camp at night, her only option was to go in search of sticks in the woods. She had made Daryl arrows plenty of times before, but her least favorite thing was looking for the right sticks. It was very time consuming and, honestly, a pain in the ass to do. Which was why she always went to Bass Pro Shop in Atlanta to get materials.
Another reason for slipping into the woods was to follow a bit of the Dixon's trail, as much as she could. Daryl gave her some tips about tracking, but most of the things he told her went right over her head. She wasn't even good at it; not like he was. But it didn't stop her from at least attempting to follow them.
She followed the tree line she knew they took, trying to keep that gnawing fear from crawling up her spine that something happened to them. Of all the men in the world, the Dixon brothers were well equipped to survive. They had most of their lives and a little undead wouldn't stop them now, she told herself.
When the sun disappeared over the quarry, leaving the forest in a light blue hue as the oranges and reds painted the clouds, Sammy turned back to the camp. She was holding about seven sticks she deemed good enough to make arrows for the younger Dixon.
"The hell ya doin' out here, baby doll?" Sammy spun on her heel; her eyes wide as she looked behind her. Merle and Daryl were there holding a large buck over their shoulders, staring at her with frowns on their faces.
Sammy hugged the few sticks to her chest, "Getting fletching to make Daryl's arrows." She frowned back at them, her worry for them coming back to her. "Why did it take so damn long? I was expecting you to be back before the sunset."
"Calm down, woman. Gettin' a buck in a day ain't easy," Daryl snapped at her. "Weren't you demanding venison this mornin'?"
"Well yeah," Sammy muttered, forgetting for a moment that she requested a deer. Her mood deflated, she turned back to the camp starting her march toward their tent without another word.
They followed her back, Merle grunting and complaining about the weight of the animal and Daryl telling him to zip it. Their bickering was comforting to her and made her smile as she led them back to their shared space. It reminded her of the times they had before the outbreak, at the bar, when Merle was still welcomed. She missed those days of pouring shots, bothering Marco in the kitchen, teasing Jake about a raise, and getting as much attention as she could from the local biker gang.
"What are you smilin' for?" Daryl asked her, noting how she slowed her pace and stared at nothing in particular.
Sammy realized she was walking by Daryl, letting Merle take the lead. "I was thinking about how things used to be. I miss it. All those fun nights just drinking with everyone, Marco's food, the idiots in the Savage Sons." She turned her smile to him. "Don't you miss it?"
"I don't miss nothin' 'bout that damn place. Them bastards ratted me out 'n got me arrested for nothin'," Merle sneered. His mood darkened as the old memories were brought up.
Daryl just gave a one armed shrug to Sammy, "He's right. Not much to miss when most of the townies hated us."
Losing her smile, Sammy nodded. Nothing was perfect in the town, there were plenty that hated her and her grandparents, but she didn't care for those people. She just missed the carefree days.
The rest of the walk was silent as they made it back through to the edge of the perimeter and slipped through. Sammy let the Dixon's deliver their haul to whatever spot they deemed the butchers area while she stayed behind at their tents. She lay her collected sticks out to begin the tedious task of filing them down and shaving off the rough bark. It was going to take her at least two days to file them and then make the fletching. She had to make sure they were all equal length, or they wouldn't be accurate when fired. If she gave Daryl a dud arrow, it might cost him his life.
By the time the brothers returned to their quarters, she was only partially done with stripping the bark from one of the sticks. "Am I going to be making Jerky tomorrow?"
"Put some in the brine ya made," Daryl told her, sitting down on a chair next to her.
Merle disappeared inside his tent for a moment before coming back out to join them around the small fire she started. They didn't mention a word about what he went in there for, just shared a look of annoyance. It was no use telling him to quit his habit when he wasn't willing to.
Sammy cleared her throat before rubbing her hands together and sending the brothers some smiles. "How about a board game, or cards?"
"Strip poker only," Merle laughed.
"Gross Merle, no one wants to see you in your underwear," Sammy told him, her nose scrunched up as the mental image popped in her head.
Daryl was shaking his head and drinking some water from a bottle he grabbed. "Don't think he meant himself, Sam."
"Gunna lose, baby doll. Send the whole camp in a frenzy over that body of yours," Merle snickered, sending her a wide grin.
Sammy bit back, "Who said I'm going to lose?" She was good at poker. Her grandpa taught her to play, and she used the skills she got from the lessons on the men she used to date.
Though, it turned out, Merle, even when drugged out of his mind, was better than she was.
Okay, I feel like this chapter just sucks.. It's more of a filler and kind of garbage.. but the next one will probably start rolling with season one, episode one. Actually, it for sure will and I have some ideas already planned out. Please stay with me! I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter, I can't stand writing fillers because its boring. So forgive the super long delay.