Thank you all for your continued feedback and support! I live for reviews!
For those who asked, Sadelia is not a place that has come up in the comics. It is a place of my own invention.
Onwards and upwards!
"I still don't get it," Carl responded. "I've never heard of it."
"Star, Colorado is really far…" Sasha added, looking apprehensive. "We don't have any cars."
"It's going to be winter soon," Eugene added. He had blearily stumbled down the stairs upon being woken by the commotion. "We can't try to settle in the mountains during snow season. Not to mention the significant risks of trying to get across country."
Daryl watched the young woman take note of all of their protests, but the fire in her eyes did not seem to die down. She never took her eyes off of the map, with the circled text prominently jumping off the page.
"Hold on, y'all," Daryl said, holding up his hand to quiet the small mob in the kitchen.
"What is in Sadelia?" Rick asked. The young woman had proved herself to be level headed, analytical, and intelligent. There had to be something about this place that warranted her excitement.
She grinned up at the leader. "When I was in my senior year of the undergraduate program, my dorm roommate was a junior environmental engineering major. When I graduated, she was spearheading this project; an actual house on the Front Range. It was made entirely of recyclable materials, was totally off-grid and generated its own electricity, recycled its own water… she always had blueprints strewn all over the floor.
"A year later, she sent me a flyer to the 'open house'. She managed to finish the house and build it, and it became this model home for self-sustainable housing. Her slogan for the project was, 'A new normal'."
The group listened intently to her story, and was wide-eyed by the end.
"This house…'s in Sadelia?" Daryl asked. Star nodded in confirmation.
"Right along the Front Range of the Rockies. She designed it to self-sustain through the winter, off-grid. I think she primarily used solar and wind energy, but there's other measures she talked about for water and heat and things like that. I'm not totally up to speed on what all of it meant."
"It might already be occupied," Rick argued. "Especially if she sent out flyers."
Star shook her head. "She sent them to me for proofing. There were some grammatical errors on it that I corrected and then sent it back to her. Three days later, the quarantine in Denver was announced, and I got out as fast as possible to find my sister down here. She never had a chance to send them out. Sadelia is a tiny town, and the house was set back in the trees, at least a mile from any neighbors."
A silence settled over the group, with every pair of eyes now trained on the map. The more Star told them, the more it seemed like a viable option, and the more hope they had. But hope was a dangerous thing, and in this world, it could get you killed. The group was worried about tying their future up in a place they had never been to, on the word of a girl few of them knew.
Star could sense the hesitancy flooding the room, and she understood where it was coming from.
"Let me try to remember the layout and the features," she offered. "Then we can make a more informed decision."
"I'll help," Abraham volunteered. A few shocked looks were exchanged at his volunteering.
"I know the roads the best," he reasoned. "Colorado is damn far. We'll have to know our route to know what it takes to get there."
"We'll need vehicles," Daryl added. "And more supplies to even get there. I'll go on a run and see what I find."
"I'll come with you," Sasha furthered. "I'm sick of that tower."
"The lock on the gate was changed last night," Carl informed them.
"Aaron and Eric dropped off a key this morning," Carol responded, tossing a silver key over to Daryl, who caught it. "They said they thought it would be best that we not have a lot of foot traffic in and out until things settle down."
Rick began assigning additional jobs to the family members. Michonne and he would continue patrol and make contact with Morgan. Carl and Carol would stop by Deanna's place to check on Maggie, Glen and the town's leader. Eugene was to take over the supply inventory until further decisions were made.
Everyone filtered out of the house, off to their respective stations, until it was just Star and Abraham left. Star was intently measuring out lines on a grid, and Abraham was attacking the map with nail markers and highlighter pens.
After almost an hour of silence, Abraham finally spoke.
"Do you really think this place could work?" he asked. Star looked up from her work to look her companion directly in the eyes.
"I do," she said steadily. "It has everything we need to have an actual future, like the one they could have had at the prison."
"Be sure," Abraham said gruffly. "They lost the prison, we lost Washington, and now we are losing our grip on this place. Ain't much more loss this group can take."
"I don't intend for anyone to lose anything," Star responded. "I sincerely believe we can make it to Sadelia, with some planning, and start actual lives there."
"Just don't go wasting actual lives on a fairy tale," Abraham concluded, and went back to his map.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Star stretched up after several hours of work on her 2-D rendition of the house. Abraham had long ago abandoned his maps in the quest of a more active occupation, and Star thought that he had the right idea.
She carefully locked up the house with the key that Daryl had shown her stashed inside the porch light, and set off at a light pace to her house. Old house, she corrected herself silently. It was going to take her a while to get used to the idea of being part of a group after so long on her own.
She had every intention of just grabbing her day pack and heading out on a short run, but saw that Aaron and Eric had gotten her bike back into the garage at some point. Those sweethearts. Taped to the handlebar was a silver key tied to a string, with "Front gate" scribbled across it in black marker.
She got the bike out to the street, past the gate, and out into the woods. Once clear of the town, Star opened up full throttle, flying along the paved roads and throwing up swirls of fall leaves behind her.
She knew Sadelia was their best bet for long-term survival, but convincing the group that crossing the country for a place they had never seen was going to be tricky. Additional doubts were gnawing at her brain. What if it's been destroyed by looters? What if someone turned there and tore the place apart? What if the solar panels or wind turbines were damaged? What if the house never worked in the first place?
She shook her head to clear her head of such negativity. She wasn't a negative person, not even in the end of the world. She had to keep going, and be strong, because she never knew if anyone else would. She couldn't let the weight of the world worm into her brain, because that was what happened with Skye, and she couldn't end things like Skye.
She shook her head again, more aggressively, as if she could knock the tears for her brother back into her head. A rebellious tear slid down her cheek, and she muttered, "Stupid wind", even though there was no one else to witness as she roughly brushed it off her skin.
The thoughts kept tumbling through, the stress of the situation in Alexandria combining with her months of only looking out for herself. You don't have to convince them. They can make their own decisions. They've made it this far, they'd probably be fine without you or Sadelia. You could just take the Jeep and go. You have enough to make it just fine. Abraham figured out most of the roads. Just copy the map and leave. It'll be safer with just one vehicle. That many people may not even be able to fit in Sadelia. They have Alexandria…
"No!" She shouted out loud, coming to a screeching halt alongside the highway. Several birds fluttered out of the trees in reaction to her outburst, sending a shower of leaves down on her. Annoyed, she picked several fallen twigs out of her hair.
No. The memories of the previous few nights came flooding back, sending chills and warmth to her toes all at once. Daryl arched over her, kissing her senseless. Daryl's arm encircling her waist. His confession about the voices in his head, and how she made them go away.
Daryl would come with me, if I asked. If I made a strong enough case…
She took a deep breath, trying to stop her runaway brain from rambling any more.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Star spent a few hours out in the woods, and came back with a pack full of mushrooms and firewood. She went back to her own house, and clipped the mushrooms up on a drying line in the garage and added the kindling to her growing pile next to the fireplace. While she was trying to get comfortable in the family homes, she still kept her stashes at her own place. Just in case, she tried to justify, but it still felt like keeping a secret.
She was taking some fully-dried lavender off another line and packing it into the Jeep when she heard her back patio door open and close. She immediately dropped to the floor, and crouching low, walked her way to her spear leaning next to the garage door. She flicked the lights in the garage off to give her the advantage of surprise.
Heavy footsteps sounded across her kitchen, and then went up two stairs, paused, and came back down. The person walked slowly towards the garage door, and Star concentrated on keeping her breathing quiet and her hand steady. Her toes tightened in her running shoes in anticipation of springing forward. The door handle slowly turned, and the door opened enough to let light in. Star waited longer, and saw that the intruder had nudged the door open and still had not crossed the threshold. A creak in the floor signaled that the person was waiting on the other side.
She held perfectly still, nerves setting her skin on fire and blood coursing through her limbs. The stranger stepped across the threshold and onto the first stair that led into the garage, pausing as they fumbled for the light.
Star saw her opportunity and seized it in a flurry of furious movement and steely strength. Her hand shot up and grabbed the wrist of the intruder, pulling them down the last two stairs and flipping them over in the process. She lost no time in pinning them down with a knee planted firmly in the sternum, another slamming into the ground to give her something to grip. The heavier tip of her spear quickly found the jugular, and she pressed down firmly to shut off airflow but not pierce the skin.
The stranger gasped at her frantically, hands flailing in the air and occasionally smacking into her thighs. She used the lighter side of her spear to pin down one arm, the other she secured under her planted knee.
"Fucking move and fucking die," she hissed venomously. The struggling immediately stopped, but the gasping did not.
Star saw one fatal flaw in her attack plan; they were still in the dark, and she had no idea who or what her attacker was. She took off her shoe on her planted foot and tossed it up at the light switch, effectively snapping on the lamps.
"Oh shit!" she exclaimed, springing off her captive in shock. A very panicked Daryl lay on her garage floor, clutching at his neck and staring at her in exasperation.
"I didn't realize it was you!" she shouted, and knelt next to him in concern. "Did I hurt you?"
"Damn woman," he managed to say.
"Don't 'woman' me," she snapped, but still pulled him to his feet and kept an arm around his waist in support.
"Well then don't fuckin' try ta kill me!" he shot back.
"Don't sneak around people's houses!" she retorted.
"I didn't know ya were here!" he answered. She rolled her eyes and they both sat on the middle garage door stair. "Jesus, who else would come in here?"
"I don't know, rogue walkers, townspeople out for revenge…" she suggested. "Whoever keeps carving 'W' on the walkers… the list really goes on and on."
"Next time ask 'who's there?, instead of trying to spear em," Daryl advised bitterly.
"I didn't spear you," she argued. He rolled his eyes at her. "But I am sorry," she relented. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he replied gruffly, rubbing the red spot on his Adam's apple. "Ya really know how ta use that thing," he admitted, kicking at the discarded spear on the floor. "I get the weights now."
She frowned at him having to learn that the hard way. To try to make it up to him, she got up and picked the spear off of the floor, as well as her thrown shoe, which she shoved back onto her foot. She flipped the weapon around in her hands a few times, and then held it out to him. He took it in both of his and clumsily waved it between his palms.
"Try to hit me with it," Star gestured for him to get up. He shot her a confused and shocked look.
"Na, Star, I don't need revenge," he insisted. She laughed.
"Don't worry, I know that, Angel," she confirmed. "Just…try."
He looked apprehensively at the small woman in front of him, and then at the heavy, dual-blades staff in his hands. Finally, he shrugged in surrender, and held it by the middle of the staff and took a half-hearted jab at her.
The heavily weighted side swung too far, and the weapon went wide, missing his target completely. He was taken aback- he rarely missed anything. She was smiling at him proudly, and stood perfectly still, gesturing for him to try again. He flipped the weapon around so the lighter side was behind him, but it flew up behind him as he swung forward, sending the tip pointed at Star down towards the floor.
"Told ya," he sighed. "'s broken. Can't be balanced."
She took the weapon from him, and backed away, and then swung the edge at him. The blade stopped a half inch away from his chest. He looked at her admiringly, and she triumphantly dropped the blade down to the floor.
"It can be balanced," she said simply. She leaned back against the hood of the Jeep, smiling fondly at the weapon in her hands. The smile fell away gradually, and she got a distant look in her eyes. Daryl crossed over to the Jeep as well, and climbed up the wide tires to sit behind her on the hood, one of his legs on either side of her. She leaned back against him.
"The first person I saw die up close was about three weeks after everything went to hell," she told him. "We were camped out in Virginia somewhere, and we had this camp of about twenty of us. Late at night, we were raided by some people on the road. This guy who had been leading us, Wright, had a gun trained on their leader. And in a second, the other guy grabbed Wright's gun and shot him with it. Right in the face, just…bam. Killed with his own weapon."
Daryl watched her intently as she recalled her gruesome tale.
"That never really left my mind," she finished, tossing the spear back and forth around her hips. "I was always aware that the knives protecting me could very easily end me if I dropped one, or someone wrestled it away from me. So when I got to Alexandria, I designed a weapon only I could use."
"That's why th' weights are off," Daryl understood. "Ya practice with it, and don't let anyone else have it. If someone else has it, they can't use it."
She nodded. "Exactly."
"'s smart."
"Thanks," she said, and put the weapon back on the floor of the garage. She turned and clambered up the tire well also, settling down next to him on the hood.
"What did you and Sasha find?" she asked.
"Nothin' much. One car, but it's shot. Gotta go out further to find somethin' useful."
She nodded. "I guess we will have to take the Jeep on some longer trips and see what we can find."
"Do ya mind? The group knowing ya have it?" He had noticed that she had not included her own household stash in the inventory list.
She shook her head. "I think I was hesitant to not have a backup plan. I even thought about leaving on my own for Sadelia," she confessed.
His heart felt like it had been stabbed. She had thought about leaving them?
But what he said was, "Makes sense. Ya'd have a better shot on your own."
She shook her head at him again. "Always the practical one. Don't worry, Daryl. It was a stupid, fleeting thought. As soon as I thought it, I dismissed it. I wouldn't leave you all, you especially."
Her outward affection made him blush and go silent.
"But I am going to miss hogging this Jeep all to myself," she confessed, patting the hood. "I barely got to use it, other than bringing it into Alexandria."
"Ya didn't get to take it on runs?" he asked.
"Nope, we usually took the camper or the Outback. It's been a garage trophy for a while now, waiting for the right time."
"Ya shoulda taken it out at least once," he admonished her. If he had such a vehicle, he wouldn't come back for days.
A spark of mischief lit up her eyes, and she abruptly swung her leg up and over his thighs, landing in a straddle, hovering over his lap. His eyes widened and his heartbeat sped up, trying to keep his uncertainty and surprise hidden.
It wasn't hidden enough, though, because she leaned in and asked quietly, "Are you ok? Is this too much?"
He visibly swallowed. "Na..this…'s fine. Just…not used to it." Having a beautiful, sassy woman in a long, tight body teasing and flirting and straddling him was a new experience. But he brought his hands around her to clasp both her hips as a sign to continue. She gave him a coy smile and, almost painfully slowly, slid her legs out along the hood until she was settled firmly across his lap.
He gazed up at her, pure admiration and astonishment pouring from his eyes. She blushed slightly under his intense gaze, and he amazed her by reaching up to her scalp and pulling her hair out of the elastic tie. Her long ombre hair fell down in a curtain around them, and she dipped down to capture his lips in a long, passionate kiss.
She pulled away just slightly, the sides of their noses still touching, and said teasingly, "I should have taken it out at least once?"
He was happily dazed by her presence and her attention, and did not understand her question. "Wha?" he mumbled against her lips, trying to capture them again. She laughed and pulled further back.
"You said I should have taken the Jeep out at least once."
"Ya," he responded, still lost.
The mischievous sparks turned to a roguish grin. "Well…tonight would be the last chance."
"Guess so," he agreed, leaning forward and trying to kiss her again. She giggled and put her hands on his chest to stop him, but rotated her hips so her center was directly pressing against the zipper of his jeans. His eyes rolled back into his head and a throaty gasp escaped from his lips.
"Come on Daryl," she whispered playfully in his ear. "Let's break in the Jeep tonight."
The feeling of her flush against him was fogging up his mind just enough to delay his understanding of her entendre, and he watched, baffled, as she slid off the hood and retrieved the keys from a basket near the door.
The meaning hit him as she reached the driver's seat of the door, and in an instant, he was flat on his feet, picking her up in his arms and grinning as she laughed and wrapped her long legs around his waist. He used her body to shut the ajar door and roughly, sloppily kissed her as her back braced against the cold metal.
When he pulled away, she unwrapped her legs and went for the door knob again, shaking her head in laughter. "I'm taking that as a yes?"
Alrighty! Overnight Jeep camping! Whatever could happen? Lol. Please read and review. I'll update as soon as I can, I promise!