Chapter 20: Loose.

"Welcome to Bentford." Luca said as he closed the door behind them. There were families left and right, it looked like a safe haven. The father and daughter walked ahead, and Daryl followed with River next to him. The two jumped from subject to subject. They said a little about the woman named Sierra, as the father seemed to feel even more guilt as they talked. He kept apologizing, but Sunny kept forgiving him.
Daryl still felt a little uneasy about some things, but knew he shouldn't. Then the two in front of him stopped.
"Luke!" Luca called. A moment later there was a nineteen year old boy jogging up to the three of them. "Aahana, this is your step brother Luke." The two looked at each other for a second, before their father shooed them forward, shortly followed by River.

As the two walked away from their father and Daryl, -Sunny not knowing at the time her brother- she looked at Luke. She looked at him with those silver streaked, Amber rimmed, blue eyes of hers. She looked at him, knowing he was her brother, related by a once had been marriage or not. They were brother and sister. The nineteen year old Luke looked at his younger sibling out of the corner of his eyes, with a mischievous smile. And Sunny, smiled back.
-

She's going to get herself killed.

Most certainly, she was. Anybody would be convinced that Aahana Dixon had a death wish. The way she gripped her bow, her free hand a fist. Thunder rumbled in the early hour. The horizon was a lightened grey surrounded by black clouds, as the sun was hardly even a sliver yet. The funny thing, she looked and walked as if she had a plan, when in reality she hadn't the slightest clue what hell she would raise. The town's streets were vacant. Anyone who claimed to be a savior was elsewhere. Sunny didn't even know where she was going, but she had found herself back onto the main road toward town. Swollen in her own world, she stormed past Keira's front porch.
"Hope?" A voice called out. "Hope!" John skipped going down the porch steps, and jogged to catch up to the taller, younger woman. But in this moment, she seemed much older than what she was. She had paused, the area overlapped in silence. It had seemed that the click of her boots had echoed through the mostly empty streets. Finally John caught up, but he kept his distance. John didn't know what it was, but something radiated off of Sunny that made her even more intimidating than normal.
"Those shots.." He trailed off as she didn't quite meet his eye. "Is it true?"
"She's gone." Sunny confirmed, staring at the siding on Keira's house. It had been a full day since she had to put her own daughter in the ground. But what she didn't notice, was the red headed stranger and his ex-girlfriend watching the two from the porch. John looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. Without moving his head, he looked up at Sunny.
"Um.. I got two from that prisoner group. Well, I uh, had three. But the other one is at Med. she's pregnant and something-" John cut himself off as Sunny squeezed her eyes shut. After a while of silence, surprisingly it was Sunny who spoke.
"Be ready." She warned, glaring at the siding of her friends house.
"For what?" John asked confused.
Now, Sunny met his eye as she answered. She took an arrow from her quiver, notching it before walking away. She had spotted a savior, and was ready to prove that the group was screwing with the wrong people. They, had awaken a monster.

She followed him toward the fence and by some houses that were finished after the wall was. Sunny was pissed. And this was going to end soon. This small war. The declaration was signed with the savior's blood smeared hands when Angel died. This was going to end, one way or another.

Sunny stopped, pulling the string back. "I'd drop that gun a' yours nice an' slow."
The man paused. "Or what? You'll shoot me?" Her fingers purposely slipped off the string. The arrow landed through the man's elbow. Her lurched forward with a cry in pain. By the time he sun to look bewilderedly at the woman, she had another arrow aimed between his eyes. He froze, but his cry had attracted the attention of more of them. Then there was a shot and a painful grunt. That was when everything snapped. Suddenly Preston was at Sunny's side helping her take out the pack of saviors. It was all happening so fast. It almost seemed like there were too many of them. Another shot was fired. The situation had escalated so quickly. Blood splattered Sunny's already dirty face. A bad feeling hit the bottom of her stomach when she was unable to find Preston. Then the next moment, everything was still. Bodies with arrows sticking out of them lay everywhere. Preston was missing, not apart of the dead, at least as far as Sunny knew. That was when she saw the man, a friend, laying on the ground. He had been shot twice shielding his sister.

"Luke!" Sunny cried. "Luke!" She ran to him. Blood stained his teeth and lips as he smiled weakly at her.
"Hey... Sunshine.." He coughed out.
"Shhhh.. Don't talk.." She whispered, smoothing her thumb on the side of his face as she held his head.
"Dad's... proud of you... you know?" His breaths were takin in painfully and forced in short bursts.
"Luke.." Sunny's voice cracked and waved. "Please.."
"No.." He almost whispered. "Dad's proud... of... of who've.. you've become.. And damn... it.. I.. I am.. to." The sun was a large sliver peaking over the horizon, casting them in an array of peaceful colors.
"Luke, please don't."
"They.. they don't know... who they're messing.. with." Luke chuckled. The sound was so full of pain as it faded, and as did the owner of it. Luke stopped breathing. He stopped moving period.
Sunny froze. "Luke? Luke?" She started shaking his shoulders. "Luke!" Tears threatened at the back of her eyes. "Luke!" She dryly sobbed.

Luke's limp hand rested on the side of his step sister's arm. That very hand gripped her tightly out of nowhere. Luke's eyes opened, now a bull yellow brown. His mouth jerked open and snapped close. But this wasn't Luke. It just wasn't him. Sunny managed to hold the water down, reaching her gun.
"I'm sorry. I, so, so sorry. This is my fault." Only mere seconds after those words were muttered, another shot fired, silencing the walker beneath Sunny.

Keira had slipped out of the small cabin. Nate had left a little while ago. He said he'd try to come back as often as possible to update them. Keira didn't wander too far, but put enough distance between the cabin and her to be in solitude. When she left, everyone seemed to still be asleep. She let out an extended, heavy sigh. The colors of the morning light hardly made it through the thick cover of leaves. Keira very much wanted to go home. For all this fighting and confusion to just stop. She felt like she was being a coward by hiding out here, being useless. She sat on a tall stump. Her thoughts were confused by what could be happening. Of what could happen to Hope. Who would take care of poor CJ if anything happened to his mother? No one knew his father. They only knew his name: Carl Grimes. Most people only knew that CJ was named after his mysterious father. If something were to happen to Hope, and then Bow, this community was very likely to fall apart. The people relied on those two along with others in the council. But those two, everyone trusted their judgment. As far as anyone knew four council members had been killed. That only left seven of the original eleven.

Keira hid her face in her hands letting out another sigh that almost sounded much like a groan.
"Are you in need of assistance?" Keira jumped at the voice as one of the men burst from behind a few trees, holding a knife. She looked up at Eugene shocked. He looked from her, to the knife, then at their surroundings.
"I deeply apologize for any inconvenience I've caused by my outburst." He told, putting the knife in his pocket. Keira had to hold back a smile.
"No, actually you showed up at the right moment." Keira told softly. "You interrupted my thoughts."
"I don't see any good in that." Eugene was past confused.
"I was doubting a lot of things I shouldn't be. Thinking of the worst that could happen." She let out a breath and looked at the ground.
"Of just how easily that little boy in there could lose everyone else close to him. Of how he could lose his mother."

Eugene stepped forward, causing Keira to look up once more. He hooked his thumbs in his pockets awkwardly.
"You seemed to have hella confidence in her." Keira nodded. "Strong people always find their fights. Whether it's beating up on me, or a fifteen year old making a grown man want to stand in a corner as time out." They both chuckled, unknowingly thinking of the same person: Sunny.
"I've had my fair share of being a coward. And what you're doing here is one of the bravest things I've seen."
Keira smiled. "Thanks..."
"Dr. Eugene Porter.." She giggled at how naturally he said Doctor.
"Well, thank you very much Dr. Porter. For, well... A lot of things."
"There was no problem." The way he spoke caused Keira to smile again, and shake her head at this strange man.

She stood, finding herself almost at level higher with Eugene. She was thinking of kissing him on the cheek before going inside when she noticed he was fidgeting. Eugene looked at his shoes, slowly moving his eye back to Keira's.
"It is very tempting to osculate.. You are, uh, quite the... Charming female. I'd assume you'd be a good osculator."

Keira didn't move for a few beats. Every moment that passed Eugene seemed to get even more red. He was very focused on his feet. That was when she made the decision.

Keira took a half step forward, locking the curves of her lips with the strange man in front of her. She could tell he was surprised at first, but soon melted in the moment. Keira pulled back, her lips still hardly brushing Eugene's.
"Thank you." She whispered, before osculating once more.

She couldn't do this. She just couldn't.
None of this could possibly be happening again.

Not again... Not again...

It was her fault. Always, always, always her fault.
She couldn't be a leader. Almost anyone who followed her would die.

And her?

She's still living. Watching everyone she loves die in front of her.

Her mother
Kylie
Then the woman who helped her
The Greens
Several communities
Angel: her best friend
The Andersons
Luca
Four council members
Tom and Mary
Alanna and her husband
Cobalt, a sweet horse
Her baby girl, Angel

Now Luke, and probably Preston. And who knew anyone else..

There was blood on her hands... Too much of it.

Countless walkers
Eight people, probably much more by now
Sierra
Braxton
A handful of Saviors

Probably Emily
Carl
Rick
Daryl
Judith
Enid...
Everybody...

Bentford had fallen... There was nothing to hint that Alexandria hadn't either..

Preston said the Saviors were threatening them.. Everyone could be dead.

Now she curled into herself. Sunny had hidden away in a house soon after she put Luke down. She stared out at all the darkness that now surrounded her. She had spent the remainder of the day in this house. In the darkest corner she could find to hide her shame.

Sunny thought of Preston, something he told her echoing in her mind.
"Aahana... Enid is pregnant."

And now Preston was dead. Or close, she had no clue.

She was no leader. She was a coward, a murderer, a monster. She let those people die. It was her fault. And she still hadn't found anything remotely close to courage to get the hell over it and move on. No, she was still that scared little girl who survived on her own with her dog. That one who ran to daddy every time she scraped her knee. That was the thing, Sunny never had a real other than Luca. The only man who was the closest to a father for her, abandoned her when she was six. No one stayed with her, hardly even cared. If they did take the time to care about her, they wound up dead somehow.

That stupid bow. She picked it back up to try and end this all, rid EastHaven of the Saviors. But that curved wood was cursed. She didn't even poke the stupid thing for years, and no one died like people are now. Sunny should have broke it years ago.

And now she sat there, in pitch black. The fire inside her burning more and more by the second. Pretty soon, Sunny was fuming. She glared at the wood over her bow through the shadows. She was a coward. But Courage wasn't exactly being fearless, it surely was sitting in a dark room hiding either.

Suddenly the mother was on her feet, gripping the smooth wood of her bow. Rage burned from deep within her.

Sunny stormed out of the house and into the darkness of the night. A shiver tried to make its way through her, the chill of the atmosphere was thick. The midnight moon almost completely full: a Gibbous waxing. It was a cloudy night with no rain. A single star shone brightly through the blank sky. It so happened to be the North Star.

Sunny's grip tightened around her bow as she made her way toward the gate. She stormed right up to the Savior's on guard. Killing one with the element of surprise, and a single arrow. The one that sharply turned as she got up to him, his buzzed, ginger hair gleamed in the moonlight. Sunny only got a glimpse of his cold eyes before she smacked him with her bow. Mr. Douche stumbled, trying to regain his balance. That was when Sunny socked him once more, then again. Another hard slam of her fist to his eye sent Douche flat on his ass. One thing for sure, he was seeing stars. Not the good kind.

Then, Sunny drove her boot into Douche's stomach.
"That was for Carl, Rick, Glenn, Maggie, Sasha." She announced through gritted teeth about the pounding she just gave the man. When he tried to get up she kicked him more. "Abraham, Rosita, Aaron." She took Douche's shirt collar and slammed her fist into him several times. "Daryl, Eugene, Enid.. Luke." She gave him one final kick. "Preston."

It was safe to say this man could hardly fight back. His face was a bloody pulp, his aides brushing underneath his shirt. Maybe a few ribs broken. Sunny moved down.
"For me." She drove the heel of her boot right between Mr. Douche's legs. He hoarsely gurgled in pain. "And this." Sunny stepped so she looked down at him, cocking her gun and pointing it down at the man's head.
"Is for my daughter."

There was an echoing report of a gunshot. The splatter of blood. Jerk of a body going limp. And click of boots as Sunny walked away, her message was very clear to herself and the Saviors. They had crossed the line for the last time, and as Sunny had told John earlier:

All Hell's about to break loose

A/N
Well, this chapter gets a bit violent.
But, we're getting close to the end...

what's with Keira and Eugene? ?
What he'll will be released next?
Is the group at the Underground truly safe?

Please remember to vote and comment and until next chapter!