CHAPTER FOUR,
the supply run

NATHAN'S STORMY EYES were cloudy and his mind was fuzzy, his hand wrapped around his walkie talkie tightly as he adjusted the frequency. It had a become a part of his routine; check on his missing brothers and try to reach them, hopefully to have some light shed on the situation instead of being left to find his way through the thick darkness.

But no light came.

"Anything yet?"

Nathan turned to look at Samantha from his seat, his shoulders shrugging and his bottom lip being brought in between his teeth. Skin had been ripped there, and he couldn't faintly taste old blood, but he wasn't exactly disgusted by the familiar taste. Blood had become something he was used to seeing and tasting, especially in the old world.

He gripped the roots of his hair and heaved a sigh that rocked his shoulders. He was sick of feeling useless. "No," He answered. "I'm beginning to think Fort Benning is overrun."

Samantha frowned, growing questions hidden behind her eyes but she was sick of trying to find answers for them. She wondered about his baby brother, the one who looked up to him as if he was superman, but she only assumed the worst. "I'm sorry, bud." She sympathized gently.

A smile was forced that didn't meet his sad eyes. "I shouldn't have expected better," He stated. "I feel worse for you, though. You're stuck with me while they head to Atlanta."

She nodded, and as much as she hated her big brother being overprotective of her, she loved him for it. "I'm not cool with it, but he's just looking out for me," A smirk pulled her lips. "Plus, this camp needs more badass security."

Nathan laughed, his somber mood being fought away with his growing grin. Samantha always had that effect on him, she was a girl of contagious smiles and contagious laughter after all.

"That's why I didn't volunteer." He informed.

Glenn walked out to them, his regular everyday cap shielding his eyes from the ray of the sun. "We're about to head out." He informed.

Nathan got up and shook his hand. "Be safe, man."

Glenn turned to the younger Walsh, who suddenly found herself jumping forward and wrapping her arms around the Korean in a tight hug. Glenn always liked her hugs, because she had the type that made it feel as if her embraced belonged to you.

Samantha felt terrible she couldn't go, but she trusted Glenn. He had Atlanta mapped in his head.

Nathan sighed theatrically. "I'll let you kids have your girl talk." And then with that, he left the two young adults.

Samantha chuckled. "Find me some chocolate, Glenn coco, hershey's is always the classic."

Glenn rolled his eyes. "What is this, 2004?" He asked, not denying the smile on his lips.

"It's better than chinaman," She returned, reaching up to pat his cheeks. "It's such a cute name, Glenny."

He swatted her hands away. "I'm not cute." He protested, a blush creeping up to his cheeks.

"Well, won'tcha look at that," A Georgian accent drawled out. "Chinaman and Deputy princess getting it on." Both of them turned to face Merle Dixon.

"Don't you have anyone else to bug?" Glenn attempted to stand up to himself, but his defense only bounced off of Merle.

"I didn't know you was into them type of people, deputy princess," His blunt racism never ceased to cause aggravation to flutter in Samantha, but her and everyone else was used to his behavior. He was easily the most unlikeable person in camp, always the instigator and never the peacekeeper. "I could show ya a real man, sugar."

"Just point me in the right direction and I'll be on my way." She retorted, a wry smirk gracing her pretty, sharp features.

Merle cackled loudly, his shadow intertwining with hers as he stepped closer to her. She felt him fingers slip something into the pocket of her pocket, and she knew exactly what it was. It was a ticket to their late night conversations under the stars, and she concealed her gratefulness.

A hand suddenly wrapped around her forearm and pulled her back, her view being almost completely blocked by the tall figure of her brother. She could see Merle's face contort into a scowl. "Ain't it time for you to leave, Dixon?" Shane was eying him with distaste, as if he were nothing but a bug that needed to be squashed.

Merle grunted. "Like ya give a fuck, man." Then he stormed passed the siblings, knocking Morales shoulder in the process.

Shane looked at Glenn, who looked awkward. "You alright, Glenn?" He asked, and he nodded with a rub to the back of his neck before also leaving.

Then Shane turned to her, taking on the I'm the older brother attitude. "You okay?"

"I'm not some damsel in distress." She claimed with a scoff.

His silver 22 necked glinted in the sun and nearly blinded her as he laughed. "Ya sure about that?" Amusement swam in his eyes. "" 'cause you just about remind me as a yappin' Chihuahua."

His baby sister gasped. "Are you calling me little?" Stepping on the tips of her toes she tried to size him up to appear bigger. This never worked in her case, because unfortunetly Shane had always been larger than her in height.

He opened his mouth to speak, but the amusement slipped clean off his face as he found Lori and Carl, who was sitting a few feet away and conversing with Sophia. Samantha bit the insides of her cheek, the look on his face reminding her of Rick whenever he looked at them, too. It was a husband or father looking at his family with love, but the thing is, Shane wasn't neither.

"Rick would be proud of Carl," She said, watching him watch her. "He used to cry himself to sleep at night, but he's pulled through. He's just like-"

"-his dad." Shane finished.

She wondered if Lori left the wedding band on that she wore around her neck whenever they went into the woods, she wondered if Shane ever felt guilt. She wondered if they ever thought about Rick, or avoided his ghost to protect themselves from the shame of their sins.

But like all questions, some were left unanswered.

But one question that she had had long already answered and as Shane looked at his baby sister with shame plaguing his mind, he knew that she knew.

━━━━━

Samantha was used to doing other people's laundry. Back then it had been just Shane.

"Well, I'll be damned," A voice full of mockery caused the ebony haired woman to let out a sigh. "Is that Samantha Walsh doing laundry?"

Without thinking, she whipped around and threw a soggy, wet rag at her best friend but he was too swift, ducking away with a shit eating grin.

"Don't you have anywhere else to be?"

"Not till four o' clock," He fired back sarcastically, sitting next to her. "I thought I'd never see the day where Sam would do anyone else's laundry. It is a new world after all."

Ignoring him, Samantha threw a pair of worn out jeans and began to scrub vigorous stains on them. She glanced back at Nathan, who was scanning the basket of clothes intently. "The least you can do it help." She said loudly.

He disregarded her request. "Are you washing them Dixon boys clothes?" He retorted, her eyebrow raised.

He was holding up what looked to be a shirt. It was muddied, stained with dirt and blood, the sleeves cut out. She knew which Dixon brothers shirt that was instantly, and as did Nathan. He had a look of utter disgust, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Yeah, so?"

"I don't get it," He huffed, throwing the shirt back into the basket. "Daryl avoids you, and Merle treats you like some piece of meat. Why do you repay their shit attitude?"

" 'cause I'm a nice person." She hummed.

Nathan stared at his best friend as if she were insane.

"Bullshit." He didn't say anything after, and she continued to do her hard labor, ever so often checking to see if he was still there. His eyes were clouded with thought, his fingers gripping his dog tags, his mind a thousand miles away, but luckily she saw no war behind his grays.

She wondered if he were thinking about that pretty blonde back at the camp, the one who made his eyes light up as if he were a little boy experiencing a crush for the first time.

When they were both toxic teenagers once upon a time ago, Nathan would've used someone Amy up until she was unusable, but something about the way he looked at her made Samantha think otherwise.

"Have you talked to Shane?" She gave him an eyebrow raise. "Lori and Shane, ya know!" He made obscene gestures with his hands.

She didn't know whether to feel disgusted or amused. "I feel like if I said something now, I would cause a scene."

"Isn't causing a scene your thing?" Nate asked, a knowing spark in his eyes as he smirked at her.

"Nah, can't do that to Carl." She simply stated, rubbing her head.

"So, what are you plannin' on doing?"

"Dunno, but I've been praying that Lori got poison ivy up her ass."

The two shared a look, a pregnant silence in the space between. Then suddenly, the silence crumbled as the two started barking with laughter in unison. Samantha missed time like these, it almost felt completely normal, and she wouldn't take it for granted for a second.

Their laughter died out when they both spotted Amy Harrison walking towards them. Usually she would have a bounce to her step, but she looked completely defeated. Samantha could make out the redness on her face, tears streaming down her face and heartbreak and anger in her eyes.

Nathan was on his feet and rushing over with his best friend not that far behind. The blonde wrapped herself around the soldier and sobbed profusely into the crook of his neck. He was rubbing soothing circles around her back. "What's wrong?"

With her lower lip quivering she looked at them, her petite frame shaking. "It's the supply run," She finally spoke. "My sister..."

Samantha's heart dropped. Something happened on the supply run.

Nathan was a person of calculation and logical thinking, never the one to act on emotions. His mind was his greatest tool next to his combat skills, no surprise when the Army accepted him once he made the legal age of joining.

But when Amy told Nathan what Samantha's brother had done, she saw the way his eyes darkened, his control of his inner hurricane being lost within his anger. That's when she knew he was impetuous, ready to do something completely unlike him.

"Shane!" Nathan bellowed, his voice carrying around the campers as he stalked towards the camp.

Samantha was silent, wanting nothing but to protect her brother, but knowing the soldier for fifteen years, she was smart enough to know that once he set his mind to something, it was hard to pull him back from it.

Before her brother could even turn around, Nathan had shoved him back so hard he lost balance. Survivors around them froze, watching the scene unfold.

"What the hell, man?" Shane snapped.

"Who told you that you could play God, huh?" Nathan spat, getting into his face. "Those are our people!"

"They knew what they were getting themselves into." Shane stated, as if that reason would solve everything. Samantha was in shock, staring at her brother with disbelief written all over her face.

This wasn't like him at all, he was never that inhumane.

"We can't just sentence them to death, Shane. They volunteered to go." She voiced, arms crossed against her chest.

"Stay out of this, Sammy."

"What if I was there?" She continued, Shane's lips pressing into a tight line. "Would you leave me there too?"

"No, I-"

"Then what makes them different?" Nathan hissed. "You're murdering good people."

"It ain't murder."

"The hell it isn't!" Nathan looked infuriated, his face completely red. "This is manslaughter, what happened to being the good guy?"

There was a ticking muscle in the jaw of her brother, his body tense, his eyes narrowed. "We do what we can do survive, and sometimes being good doesn't take that."

Samantha was utterly appalled. This was uncharacteristic of her brother - Shane became a cop to save people, to bring justice to the deserving. He was being indifferent, lacking consideration and compassion to people they have been surviving this cruel world with for weeks.

Nathan's glare could take down armies. "You selfish prick." He hissed, the men so close that it looked as if they were going to start swinging fist.

Samantha feared it might come to that, the two the artillery to the camp. What happens when the two strongest men turn against each other?

Dale appeared, his presence brining comfort to Samantha as he stepped in between the two.

"Violence won't do much," He sighed. "Glenn is with them - that boy knows Atalanta. They are fine."

"Dale-" Nathan started.

"They are fine," Dale repeated firmly. "Instead of fighting it out, we need to prepare for when they do come back."

Amy tugged Nathan's arm, pleading with him to come with her, his eyes nothing but steel as he glared down the leader of the camp. A few more tugs however made him finally give in, and he followed the blonde away.

Samantha sent Dale a thankful smile and he returned it, the campers finally going back to what they were doing previously and leaving the Walsh siblings to themselves. His jaw was clenched as he looked up at his sister. "Why didn't you stand up for me?" Shane asked, and she bit her lip.

"Its wrong, Shane. This is murder." She answered.

He became exasperated. "It ain't murder-"

"Indirect murder," She cut him off sharply. "Congrats big brother, you've become what you used to lock up." She turned on her heel, but her brother's voice made her glance over her shoulder.

"I wouldn't have left you to die, y'know."

There was a look of hurt flickering on his face, his hands rubbing his head.

"I know," She spoke softly. "That doesn't change the fact that you're leaving others."

Yet even after her words, he still held no consideration for the lives at risk.

words ; 2427
edited ; ✔️