Sadie's POV
We'd already traveled a good few miles out from the house we'd been holed up in with Theresa when my eye managed to catch sight of the cassette player in Aaron's car, which normally I wouldn't have given a second thought in the grand scheme of things. Not if it hadn't looked to be in the remarkably decent condition it seemed to still be in, even with all things considered.
...and music does have its way of putting me in a better mindset, so if it can't hurt…
"That any good?" I finally asked, breaking the previous silence.
"...Sorry?" He answered, apparently having been somewhat zoned out up until this point.
I scoffed to myself at that.
"Maaaan, you've got some balls zoning out like that in a car alone with the crazy lady who showed zero hesitation in putting a knife to your neck or keeping you cuffed for as long as we did." I shook my head in amusement as I snickered. "..or maybe you're just dumber than I give you credit for...anyway, I was referring to the cassette player. That still work or what?"
"Ohh." He chuckled nervously as he seemed to more carefully consider his next choice of words. "...right, that…"
I looked back at him, waiting for him to go on, as I balanced my focus between him and the road.
"Uhh, I wouldn't know. I don't keep much in here outside of a small collection of license plates in the glove compartment."
"...license plates, huh?" I chuckled. "..what are you, a cop?"
"Ahh, not exactly…" He sort of laughed, cracking open the glove compartment to show me. "...like actual license plates. I'm trying to collect all fifty states."
"Well, you're gonna need a bigger glove compartment for that." I chuckled.
"Well, I'd like to make up a whole wall of them in my house eventually." He explained a little too casually.
"You have your own house?" I sort of scoffed, shaking my head. "...right."
"See for yourself when we get there." He shrugged.
"Whatever…" I scoffed again. "...anyway, why don't you check in that bag down by your feet? Might be some old Joan Jett tapes in there, maybe a couple Tom Pettys."
"You like the old stuff, huh?" He sort of chuckled as he brought the bag up to his lap.
"Love it." I corrected. "...back at Ter- …...er, back at our last place, before we met back up with T, I had this old record player that still managed to work. Gareth snagged it for me on one of his runs."
"I could probably find you a new one…..if you want."
"Right…." I smirked, sort of mocking him. "...in one of these so-called houses of yours, right?"
But before he could answer, a horde of dead ones were coming into view just ahead of us, forcing me to speed the car up to run them down. "Shit!"
Dead one after dead one hit the windshield, as we sped through them, til the road seemed clear enough to skid the car to a stop and jump out to look for the others.
"WHERE ARE THEY, CAN YOU SEE THEM?!" I shouted at him when I looked behind us and didn't see the other two vehicles, climbing up to stand on top of the car for a better view in case they were somewhat within eyesight.
"No, I think they got away!"
I took another look around, just to be sure, before hopping down and grabbing him by the arm
"You'd better hope for your sake you're right!" I practically spat at him as I just about dragged him back to the car.
I tried desperately to get the car started back up but to no avail, just as a flare was shooting up near what appeared to be a nearby water tower.
"Shit.." He muttered anxiously to himself, scrambling to open the passenger door back up, stopping only when I leapt out the door after him and grabbed his arm back again.
"HEY!" I spat at him. "WHY are you in such a hurry, huh?! WHO shot up that flare?!" I jerked him back some more.
"Sadie, please- " He attempted to plead with me.
"NO, that's what you're gonna be begging ON YOUR KNEES to me, if you don't tell me in three seconds who shot that flare up and how many more of you are out there!"
"ERIC!" He panicked. "Just Eric, okay? Nobody else!"
I decided to humor the pleading desperation in his eyes as I quickly grabbed my crossbow out of the back seat to sling over my shoulder and yanked the knife off my belt to hold to the back of his neck again as I ordered him to lead me in the direction of this water tower.
If Eric and Theresa, assuming they hadn't gotten separated in the meantime, were there, then Gareth had probably made it there with Alex.
"MOVE!"
When we finally made it to the front of this water tower, Gareth was taking out the remainder of a few dead ones while he waited for us, though the immediate area appeared to be otherwise clear.
"Gareth!" I called out to him, practically shoving Aaron off to the side, as I returned my knife to its spot and rushed into his arms. "Are you okay?! Where's Alex?!"
I took an anxious look around over the general vicinity when I realized that Gareth was otherwise empty handed.
"We're fine, he's fine!" He quickly reassured me. "Theresa's got him inside."
I just nodded as I wrapped my arms back around him, letting him hold me, til I heard Aaron running ahead of us as he called out for Eric again.
Gareth and I just exchanged a brief look before heading off to follow him.
As we approached the room that his boyfriend was apparently laid up in, I could hear him filling Aaron in on the aforementioned injury he'd apparently sustained in all the chaos.
I snickered a little to myself when I heard them recount the last time this happened.
So this is a recurring problem then.
"Great, so one of them's an idiot and the other one's accident prone." I joked to Gareth under my breath.
He just shot me a look that was simultaneously amusement and apparent confusion.
"Tell ya later." I chuckled as I cracked the door open when it sounded like they were done talking.
They both turned to look up at me when they heard me enter the room.
"Hi…" Eric greeted, appearing significantly more relaxed than Aaron appeared to be...I'd dare say somewhat cheerful, even….despite what he must've told him about me. "...I'm Eric."
"Sadie." I replied with a half smile. "...No hard feelings." I added when I turned to Aaron, nodding toward the door for him to come talk to us.
"...It's okay." He reassured Eric, gently releasing his hand as he stood to follow me.
Gareth was holding Alex again, whose face just lit up at the sight of me, when we came back out and shut the door behind us.
"...So, this isn't the first time something like this has happened, you say?" I chuckled, aloud this time.
He just sort of laughed it off. "Yeah, I'm sorry to say it isn't…..he uhh, had a similar incident the last time we brought a group back."
"...Maybe it's a sign to quit recruiting people then." I teased, to which he also just laughed off, as I took an increasingly antsy Alex from Gareth.
"Wouldn't dream of it." He chuckled. "...like I said before, people are just too important of a resource."
"We'll see about that..." I snickered under my breath.
"Well, in any case…." He continued. "...I can't thank you enough…. especially you two…" The latter, more aimed toward Gareth and Theresa, who'd been here for Eric's little incident. "...for taking care of him…you saved him, out there."
"...yeah, I can't take too much of the credit there." Gareth admitted. "Theresa did most of the work in that department."
"...I had a cousin who used to work in an ER just before…" She added with a shrug. "...showed me the basics and whatnot."
"...little more than that." I reminded her, adjusting Alex in my arms as he made himself comfortable up against me.
"...well thank you, anyway." Aaron continued. "...we really appreciate it, and we will make sure that debt is repaid in full once we get to Alexandria….our community."
Oohh, fancy.
"Do do do do, do do do do." I hummed to Gareth under my breath, joking in reference to my earlier Twilight Zone remarks.
He rolled his eyes but chuckled a little regardless.
"...and look, I know you made it clear earlier that you preferred to get there before light…." Aaron recalled. "...but if it's alright with you.." He glanced around to all three of us as he gave a nervous chuckle. "...I'd rather not do anymore driving tonight….if we could just hit the road again in the morning?"
"Fine by me." Gareth agreed, getting a nod from Theresa before turning back to me.
"...and by me….on the condition you sleep over there." I pointed to an area that was away from the door.
"Sadie, is that really necessary?" Gareth sighed.
"You think it isn't?' I scoffed. "...we still don't know him."
"Oh, I'm staying with him." Aaron interjected. "...and the only way you're gonna stop me from doing that is by shooting me."
Gareth sighed, shooting him a sympathic look in response, as he took me aside before I could start toward him.
"Sadie, Sadie…." He sighed. "...look, just hear me out."
I just looked back at him as I waited for him to go on.
"Sadie, he did tell us where his camp is….and he was just traveling with the one ther person he told us about right off the bat…." He glanced over to the room. "...and…"
"...and what, Gar?"
"...and I remember when that was you." He reminded me. "...when we begged Rick to let us sleep under his roof, I could've killed Rick myself if he'd insisted on separating us."
"You begged." I pointed out with a snicker. "...I was fine making do with what we had, if you recall."
"...and as much as I love it when you berate me for wanting better for my, at the time, pregnant wife…" He teased. "...not the point.
"I beg to differ." I snickered.
"Anyway…" He sighed. "...the point is, we were just as much as a threat to them if not more. I mean, hell, they aren't even armed."
"...yeah, I know, Gar…" I admitted. God, I hate it when he's right.
After considering for another moment, I turned back to look at Aaron and pointed with my free hand towards the door to indicate that he could go back in.
Once he was in, I turned to put a hand gently to Gareth's chest.
"We take turns guarding that door tonight, starting with you." I patted my hand against his chest.
He rolled his eyes again at that. "Whatever you say, Boss." He sort of snickered at that last part.
I kissed him before I turned to follow Theresa. "Atta boy!"
I adjusted my arms so that Alex could rest over my shoulder as he put his little hand up to wave back to Gareth.