All Nightmare Long
Chapter 429
Author's Note: Now we left poor Summer right after she met Negan. Not a good place to leave her, is it? I think we need to check up on her, don't we? I loved all the reviews from last chapter, varying degrees of opinions on the Negan/Summer interaction. Please review.
Summer's POV:
Summer watched Negan and his men leave, and stared at the bloodied body in the street. She got up holding on to the chair back for support before starting to head in the direction of garage.
Archie and Jesus exchanged glances before they both followed her. "Summer wait," Archie said. "It's not safe to go out there, he'll have someone waiting, to see if any of us leave," he told her.
"Especially you. Negan seemed to have an interest in you, h will have someone waiting. It may be safer if you wait him out," Jesus said. "Plus you still need to continue to recover. I am sure Doctor Carson would agree that you still need to be in bed."
Summer turned and looked them. "You just let him beat a man in the head with a bat, you let his men walk around this town and take things and none of you did anything," she said as she looked at Gregory. "And you, what type of leader are you? You didn't do anything, you just stood there and watched as one of the people you are sworn to protect get his head bashed in by a baseball bat. And from your reactions, it wasn't the first time," she said.
Gregory looked at her. "I didn't swear anything, I'm not a law enforcement office, this isn't the wild wild west. You don't know anything about what we are doing, Shirley," he said. "It's best if you just go and mind your own business and let the men handle this," he said as he turned around to walk away.
"Does that mean you are going to find a man to handle this, Dick?" Summer asked. "And you're wrong," she said.
Greg turned around. "What am I wrong about?"
"Well, Dick, you were put in charge of this town. God knows why, someone would put you in charge," Summer said.
"Summer, you do need to rest," Doctor Carson said.
"I'll rest when I get home," Summer told him. "I'm sure, Dick, wants me out of his non existant hairline,"she said.
"It's Gregory," Gregory said.
"Well I think I much prefer Dick, considering it sums up your personality perfectly. Now, excuse me, I need to get home and warn them about Negan and his men," Summer said.
Jesus and Archie looked at each other. "Before you go, let me get you some arrows that I made. I noticed you were running low, Lassie," Archie said as he turned to leave.
"You don't need to give her anything, it's not our responsibility to send her away with anything," Gregory said. "She can walk for all I care, instead of taking on of our cars. If Negan sees her driving one of our cars, he'll think we're helping you," he said.
"If I have the displeasure of running into him again, I'll be sure to tell him that you gracefully gave me the car to get me out of town and I'll even remember your name," Summer told him.
Gregory walked toward her. "You have no idea what I can do," Gregory told her.
"You're not going to do anything, because you are a coward," Summer said as she limped away, followed by Jesus.
"One of us should go with you," Jesus said.
"No offense, Jesus, but I don't want any of you near my family until he is not in charge anymore. I don't trust him anymore then I could throw him. I've seen good leaders, my parents are leaders of our group, and they do what needs to be done and take care of there own. I've also seen bad leaders, but they are usually bent on ruining people like this Negan. But, Gregory is the worst kind of leader, he's a coward with no one's interest in mind but his own. He sent that man out to spy, I guarantee you that. A leader that doesn't take responsibility for his actions, that denies things like that, that isn't a leader," Summer told him. "Thank you for helping me, and tell Rayna thank you for the clothes," she said as she went to the garage, seeing Archie putting things in the trunk. "Thank you for hiding my things," she told him.
"Gregory doesn't even know this is here," Archie said.
"I'm sorry about your sister, I hope she gets home soon," Summer said.
"I hope that too," Archie replied. "She wouldn't have even been here in the United States had I not asked her to come with me on this trip. My highlander group got invited to a reenactment to Washington. It was a few weeks before all this happened. I asked Anna to come with me, if I hadn't she would have been home away from our family, and wouldn't have been in the hands of Negan," he said.
"Well, that explains he skirt," Summer said.
"It's a kilt, lassie," Archie reminded her.
"Yes, I've read about kilts and the Scotish wars. I guess that is what your reenactment group is," Summer said.
Archie nodded. "You mean it was," he said.
"You can't blame yourself for what happened, no one could have predicted the end of the world," Summer said. "But you do, you blame yourself for not being able to protect your little sister. That's what big siblings do, we blame ourselves if we can't protect our younger siblings, I think it's a curse," Summer said. "I have to get back to check on my younger siblings. I'm never going to be able to rest if I don't head to check on them, to check on my family," she said.
"I wish we could convince you for one of us to go with you, lassie. Negan and the savior's, they are worse then you can imagine and Negan wants to control everything and everybody. He especially has a weakness for beautiful young women, such as yourself," Archie told her.
"And your sister," Summer answered.
"And my sister," he agreed. "Going out there, alone, it's foolish," Archie told her.
"It may be foolish but it's necessary," Summer said as she got in the car.
"There's nothing that we can say to have you wait, even just a day. Negan will get bored having someone standing guard," Archie said.
"How can you be sure he has people waiting?" Summer questioned.
"He will," Archie assured her. "Here, take this," he said as he handed her a knife.
"I don't need your knife," Summer told him. "I have my own weapons," she told him.
"It'll make me feel better. Do you know how to use it?" Archie asked.
Summer raised an eyebrow. "I knew how to use a knife before I was five. My mom's preferred weapon is a knife, trust me when I say learning how to use a knife was just like learning to walk and talk. I'll get you back this knife as well as the car," she said. "I need to get going before it gets to late, want to try to make it home before the end of the day," she said.
Archie nodded as she started the car. "Open up the gate!" he yelled at the people standing guard. "Be careful, and good luck," he told her as she drove.
A couple hours later:
Summer slowed the car down when she saw two men and a woman standing in the road with guns. She glanced in the rear view mirror as she saw a third man approach her with a gun. She noticed it was the man that scoffed at the idea of her being able to handle things on her own. She kept one hand on the steering wheel and put her right hand in between the seat an the console fingering the handle of the knife.
The man bent down and put a gun through the window. "Well, well, well, so you think you can take care of yourself in this situation, doll?"
Summer took a breath calming herself. "Well this doesn't exactly seem fair, four against one," Summer told him.
"Even if it was just me and you, doll, you'd be at an unfair advantage," Levy told her.
Summer looked at him. "You know the old saying the bigger they are, the harder they fall," she said. "Now, if you all want to move out of my way, and let me be on my way, I'd be greatly appreciative," she told him.
"We both know that's not going to happen," Levy told her.
"Well it was worth a shot," Summer said as she moved her head to look at him. "So what is going to happen?" she asked.
"Well you are going to show me your other hand, then you are going to open the door, slowly, and get out. Then you are going to get in the truck and we're going to go and pay a visit to Negan. See, I don't think you've been totally honest with the boss man about how you survived. And I think it's awful fishy that you just happen to be leaving after e made a visit," Levy told her.
"So, let me get this straight, you want me to move my hand, and get out of the car, and come with you," Summer asked as she fingered the knife. She looked at the other three, seeing a few walkers moving slowly in the trees.
"Yeah that's what I want, better yet, that's what the boss man wants and what the boss man wants, the boss man gets," Levy said. "Now come on, let's not waste any more time, this is only going to end one way, doll," he told her.
"Are you a betting men? It's Levy right?" Summer asked.
"Yeah doll, but my name isn't going to matter, not with Negan wanting to make you a wife, though I'd love to get a piece of you doll," Levy said.
"Well, I'm going to have to turn down your nicely worded invitation," Summer said as she pressed down the horn with her left hand and grabbed the knife with her right hand bringing it it over and stabbing Levy's hand causing him to drop the gun into the house. She continued to push down on the horn as she pressed the gas causing the three people to jump out of the way as the walkers came out of the woods, causing the people to shoot at them and not at her.