Having weaved through the city of Atlanta, and gotten the walkers off their trail, Sage and Glenn finally caught up with the van, and as the two passed by, Sage honked her horn while Glenn cheered out the window as they passed them, zooming ahead.
"Hey, Glenn," Sage said, getting his attention. "Are we close?"
"Yeah, about 3 miles ahead." He said, his voice loud as he spoke over the car engine. Sage then leans over, opening the glove box, and was pleasantly surprised to find a CD collection, grabbing a random disk, she puts it in. The song "Carry On My Wayward Son" came blasting on, and Sage immediately began to sing along, Glenn joining in quickly. Sage beams, looking at him.
The trip took a while, around 20 minutes or so but that was expected since it was about 18 or so miles out of town. Making a few sharp turns, turns and up a hill, the duo comes to a stop in front of a camp.
Glenn gets out first beaming, as Sage tears apart the wires, untwisting them, effectively stopping the ignition and the blaring music. Suddenly a blonde, possibly around Sage's age, came up to Glenn asking him a million things about Andrea.
Sage then gets out of the car and a guy with dark hair started questioning who she was, while she was right in front of him. Sage merely stood there, watching as it all unfolded, not saying a thing. Though with all the noise and the overlapping voices, her senses became overloaded.
"Stop!" Sage sighed in relief as it became quiet, everyone looking to her. She then gives a small and awkward wave, causing Glenn to chuckle at her. "Everyone's fine. I'm Sage, the others should be right behind us."
"Well, Merle, not so much." Glenn admitted, and Sage shook her head over his words. She was slightly pissed over the fact she was right, knowing T-Dog shouldn't have been trusted with the keys. They got that news a little while after they passed the van down the highway.
"Are you crazy, driving around, this song blaring bastard up here? You tryin' to draw every walker around for miles?" The guy who seemed to be the leader asked, leaning against the red car's hood.
"Sorry," spoke up Sage, taking the attention away from Glenn. "It's my fault. We got a little carried away." Her tone then shifted as she scoffed, gesturing towards the city they came from. "But excuse us for having a little bit of fun, seeing as we just went and took a detour through hell."
Sage looked the man before her up and down rather sourly. It wasn't much of a warm welcome.
"I think we're okay." An old man with a fisherman's hat said, to which smiled at.
"You call being stupid, okay?" The leader guy asked. Sage glared, taking a step forward, really tempted to punch his face in, but Glenn grabbed the blonde from around the waist.
"Sage, chill out. He's just overprotective." Glenn mumbled lowly, and that started to calm the girl down for a moment before the same man spoke up again, seeing her advance him.
"What? Do you really want to start, little girl?" He dared, and this immediately set Sage off, but Glenn yanked her away again.
"Shane don't! She took down Merle in less than 10 seconds, she will kick your ass, and you're not exactly easing tension here. Just stop." Glenn warned him. Shane looked at the blonde uneasy by her, to which Sage smirked cockily at him, while he glared back at her. This man sucked at first impressions.
"The music was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing, I'm just saying." The old man said, trying not to anger Shane, who gave him a look. He then turned to Glenn and the woman as Sage stood taller, stepping away from Glenn's grip. "Besides, they apologized."
Inhaling deeply to calm herself, Sage and Shane exchange tense glances as the box truck pulled up the gravel and dirt pathway.
The roll up door then opened, and Andrea was the first to jump out.
"Amy." She said, and the young blonde that had been pestering Glenn smiled, the two girls began crying.
"Andrea!" Amy said, running up as they then hugged each other tightly. Sage assumed they must be sisters, noticing how much they looked alike. Sage smiled at the reunion, wishing she had family still.
A little boy and girl ran to Morales, as well as a woman. Sage looked around and tried to distract herself from the depressing thoughts that filled her mind.
"You are a welcome sight!" The old man laughed, embracing Morales. "I thought we had lost you folks for sure."
"How'd y'all get out of there, anyway?" Shane questioned, and Morales looks to Sage, who blushes with a smile.
"New guy and Sage. They got us out." Glenn said, and the blonde nudged him.
"You kinda helped too, Rhee." She smiled, as Shane stared at her, a few other members glancing over at the blonde as well.
"New guy?" Shane questioned as T-Dog passed by her, the two of them exchanging nods. Shane didn't see a new guy anywhere in sight and was curious over who he was.
Charlie then hops out of the back of the truck, and Sage called him over, which he sprints toward her, practically tackling the girl in response.
"Good boy, Charlie!" She giggles as the dog licked her face. Sage then looked over a T-Dog again as he pat Charlie on the head. She didn't exactly blame him for leaving Merle behind, if she were in his shoes, she didn't know if she would do anything differently.
"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town. Hey, Helicopter Boy! Come say hello." Morales called to the van. "Guy's cop, like you." Morales told Shane.
Shane then directed his attention to Woody, who had climbed out of the van, his hands on his hips, looking exhausted. Sage noticed that Shane seemed frozen in place, staring at Rick like he had seen a ghost, and noted that the man must know Rick, seeing as he was looking at him with recognition.
For a moment, a very tender moment, Sage watched as Rick stares across the campsite at a little boy with the brightest blue eyes Sage had ever seen. He stood with his mother, who was kneeled in front of him, having a teary exchange of sorts. The pair looked over, after hearing something about a new guy.
Sage Hunter's hazel eyes filled with tears as she quickly made the connection, seeing the look on that boy's face as he saw his father for the first time in months. Rick's hand seemingly waved out in front of him, as if trying to see if he was hallucinating that his wife and son were alive.
"Oh my God.." Rick's pace then sped up, his stride widening as he advanced closer to his family. The little boy stepped away from his mother, slowly at first before breaking out into a full sprint.
"Dad! DAD!" He cried, as Sage's hand rose to her lips, smiling at the sweet miracle.
Rick fell to his knees, developing his son into a hug, crying into the boy's shoulder. Others around them gape in amazement at the reunion, then watched as Rick stood, pressing a kiss to the boy's head while he cried, clutching his father tightly. The woman stood there, staring at Rick as if she couldn't fully believe that he was real, even though he stood in front of her, perfectly alive.
As Rick drew nearer, Lori's shock faded away and she developed her husband in a tight hug, the three holding each other dearly.
"I think that was a miracle I just watched." Sage said, looking over at Glenn, who was smiling in amazement, nodding in agreement.
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Sage went around getting to know as many people as she could, one of which was Amy, who she got along with a little better than her sister.
Then she was introduced to Rick's family, his son being Carl and his wife's name was Lori. Sage was introduced as "the woman who saved his life", to which she scoffed at.
"Far from it, I just helped him out of a... predicament with Glenn, really."
Lori took her hand and looked at the blonde with soft eyes. "Well, thank you. Really."
Sage nods in reply and Carl hugged the young woman tightly, looking up at her with a large smile. "You're cool."
"Thanks, little man." Sage chuckles, ruffling his hair.
Dale was the old man with the fisherman's hat from before and she liked him a lot, he reminded her of her grandfather, who passed away when she was young. He had given her the warmest welcome with a kind smile and a sweet greeting.
They ate a little while after everyone had met each other and ate, and about an hour later, they grouped together and sat around a campfire, the light that it produced was low so not to attract walkers that would be passing by.
"Disoriented." Rick said softly, explaining his side of the story about why he was so lost in this new world. Sage was intrigued by the whole thing really, she found his story incredible. Before the world went to complete shit, Rick was shot on the job. He was in a coma for about 2-3 months before he awoke to their new world. It was a miracle he survived. "I guess that comes closest. Disoriented." They were all listening to his story while Carl sat on his lap, Lori snuggled next to him. "Fear, confusion— all those things but... Disoriented comes closest."
Sage had Charlie resting his head in her lap, while she pet him, feeling at ease now that she wasn't constantly surrounded by walkers.
"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short," Dale said wisely, glancing across the firepit and at the man who held his family close.
"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life, and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from. Ever." Rick explained.
Carl looked up at his father. "Mom said you died."
Rick looked to Lori, who looked away shamefully. Rick looked back to his son. "She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it."
"When things started to get really bad," Lori spoke up, "they told me at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened."
"Well I'm not surprised, after Atlanta fell." Rick said.
"Yeah."
"And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun." Rick continued.
"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane said, and Sage nodded, understanding what he meant. She wondered what her old home town was like and if her mother or father made it out okay.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane," Rick told his friend sincerely. "I can't begin to express it."
"There those words go, falling short again." Sage said with a smile, quoting Dale, who chuckled.
"Paltry things." He said, rolling his eyes, smiling at the woman, then directed everyone's attention towards her. "So, is the mystery woman going to tell us her tall tale?"
"I'm sure damn interested to know who took down Merle Dixon in 10 seconds." Shane voiced, though he sounded a bit doubtful.
Sage cringed at the spotlight being suddenly on her, glancing down at the dog that lay in her hair. "Well, to start off I think would be with my parents. My mother was the best doctor in the country. My father was a General for the Army, and served for around 20 years."
She looked up, glancing around at the people around her, feeling extremely anxious about opening up to all the strangers around her. Biting her lip once more, Sage continues. "From the time my father got back from his third deployment, I was 8 and he started vigorously training me to be like him. I was his only child, so he sent me to military school, put me through his own bootcamp training, taught me how to use all types of weaponry, taught me to fight..."
There was a sense of realization of what she meant slowly spreading throughout the group, and those of whom were in Atlanta now understood how she was unfazed by Merle punching her. She learned to take a hit the hard way.
"Eventually I got out, I went to college, and instead of following in my father's footsteps, I became a school teacher." Sage smiled, remembering all the kids she had in the past few years.
"What grade did you teach?" Lori asked, causing Sage to smile at her.
"First and second grades, actually." Sage informed her, and Lori nods in return, noting to mention schooling the campsite children later. With a shaky breath, Sage continues her eyes teary, reaching up to a chain where an engagement ring was tied around her neck. The band was gold with four smaller diamonds on either side of a large set stone, which was a princess cut. "And I was engaged."
A silence fell upon the group, some of whom exchanged sad and pitiful glances for the blonde that fought tears.
Her sadness alerted Charlie, who sat up, licking her face and tears away. She smiles, and kissed Charlie lovingly, quietly thanking the dog. "His name was David and we were set to be married later this month I think... It's October, right?"
Her hazel eyes glanced up and was met with concerned and sympathetic looks. Dale clears his throat, getting Sage's attention. "Yes, it's October."
She nods to him thankfully, resuming her story. "He died before all of this though, he was in the Marines, stationed out in Afghanistan, and there was an explosion.. After his death, the Marines offered me Charlie." Sage said, whose ears automatically perked up, at the sound of his name. "David was Charlie's handler and he did all sorts of things, searching for weapons, scouting, search and rescue a couple times. After the explosion, Charlie couldn't handle being over there anymore, so they gave him to me."
She briefly thought of David, his handsome features lingering in her mind. "A few months after I got Charlie, the apocalypse came, and at first, I hid out in my house, tried waiting the whole thing out. But no one ever came and I ran out of food, so I'd been surviving on my own for about half a month or so, before Glenn and I met."
Finally looking over at the Korean, she found him smiling at her. "You were doing fine on your own. I was the one who needed bandaging up, remember?"
Glenn then held up his bandaged hands, getting a couple chuckles from around the firepit.
A noise came from the next fire pit over. A man by the name of Ed had put in another log. The noise had caught everyone's attention.
"Hey Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Shane asked.
"It's cold man." He said, and Sage had to admit, it was getting a little chilly. But then again, she was wearing a cropped tank-top, having taken off her tan bomber jacket.
"The cold don't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" Shane asked, trying to get Ed to take out the piece of wood.
"I said it's cold." Ed barked. "You should mind your own business for once."
Shane stood, irritated, walking over to Ed's fire pit as Sage rose her eyebrows. From her understanding, not many went against Shane's word, hence why he didn't take much of a liking toward the blonde at first. A fragile looking woman and skinny blonde girl sat across from Ed, staying silent.
Shane said something to Ed, and Ed ordered Carol— who was his wife— to pull it out. Shane looked sadly at Carol as she reached into the fire, and pulled the burning log with her bare hand. She throws it on the ground because of it being hot, and Shane stomps on it so the flames would burn out. He bends down, and talks to Carol and the girl Sophia for a moment.
Sophia was an adorable little girl who had short blonde hair, and is honestly too quiet for her age which was around 10 to 11. And Sage thought it might have something to do with Ed, who she sensed was an asshole and an abusive prick. She just hoped she didn't witness any of his behavior, otherwise she'd most definitely kick his ass.
Finally, after a moment Shane stands, and comes back over, sitting down. It was silent before Dale spoke up.
"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Sage's gears in her head begin to turn, making the connection. Daryl, he must be related to Merle. She felt a knot in her stomach, thinking of the man they left behind, chained up like an animal. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."
"I'll tell him," Shane offered.
"I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog said.
"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick argued.
"Guys, it's not a competition," Glenn said.
"Here's the thing though," started Sage, pointed to each of the men who volunteered. "You all have valid points as to why you want to tell Daryl. Shane's kind of the leader of this group. Rick cuffed Merle. T-Dog dropped the key. And I don't mean to bring race into this, but based on his brother's behavior, it'll probably sound better coming from a white guy."
"Probably better coming from a woman," said Glenn, who looked over at the blonde. Her eyes immediately widen, shaking her head. "You patched Merle up, you're able to be sympathetic!"
"Hang on, that's not what I meant, Glenn," argues the woman while the others around them nod, seeing Glenn's point. She had no idea how this complete stranger might react to the news, and based on what the others were saying, it wasn't going to be good.
"I kind of see Glenn's point, you're really the best option out of any of us. He might not react since you're a woman." Shane shrugs, causing Sage to toss her hands up, exasperated over being thrown into the role.
"Yeah right," she scoffs. "His brother had no issue punching me."
"Daryl's... slightly less of an ass." Glenn shrugs and offers poorly. Sage wanted to respond, but didn't know what to even say to that.
"I did what I did." T-Dog said after a moment. "Hell if I'm gonna hide from him."
"We could lie," Amy offered, and Sage looked to her shaking her head very fast.
"Or tell the truth. Merle was out of control." Andrea said. "Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed." She then looked to Lori. "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."
"Word to the wise— we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt." Dale said.
"I was scared, and I ran." T-Dog spoke. "I'm not ashamed of it."
"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asked.
"I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that— not that chain, not that padlock. My point— Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."
T-Dog then stood up and left, Sage's eyes following after him.
After a moment, Sage clears her throat, dusting the dirt off of her, looking around the campfire. "Well, it was nice getting to know you all, I'm gonna go ahead and get some sleep." She smiled kindly to everyone, waving goodnight to Carl who sleepily waved back. "Come on, Charlie."
The dog trots after the blonde, panting as they made their way to the tent they set up earlier today. Sage could carry surprisingly a lot in her tactical gear back, and she never had to use the small tent until now. Hearing footsteps behind her, she glanced back to see Shane, causing her to immediately roll her eyes with a sigh.
Sage unzips the tent, allowing Charlie to go in before turning back around to face him. She still didn't exactly like the man, seeing as they got off on the wrong foot, and he was a complete dick, but she forced herself to be respectful. "You didn't have to follow me, you know. I can walk to my tent."
"I just wanted to apologize about earlier. I'm sorry, I want to make sure everyone here is safe, that's all." Shane explains, his tone soft and embarrassed.
"Oh," she mumbles, rather surprised he was apologizing. "Well, thanks, I appreciate that. Like I said, Glenn and I got carried away. It wasn't our intention."
Shane nods, and steps back, nodding to the blonde. "Alrighty then. Have a good night."
Sage smiles and watches the man saunter off before ducking into her tent, and zipping the flap closed behind her. "That was interesting."
Charlie glances up at his human only for a moment before curling up and immediately falling asleep. Sage then strips her clothes off before curling up under the blankets beside her dog, also falling asleep not long after.
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Sage awoke to the sound of mechanical noise. Groaning, the blonde sits up and gets ready for the day, pulling on black jeans, and a dark green cropped, knitted sweater, as well as her black hiking boots. She tucked her knife into her pocket and strapped her gun holster to her thigh, leaving her bat behind. Stepping out of her tent, the noise awoke Charlie, who sat up and immediately bounded outside, having to pee. He runs over to a bush, raising his leg and pissing, which Sage rolled her eyes at, waiting for the dog patiently.
Once finished, Charlie followed her to the front of the camp, along the way others happily greeted her, bidding her good morning as she passed by. Sage smiles and murmurs a morning in return to her fellow camp members.
Once she reached the top of the hill, Sage stopped by Carol, the woman from last night. She was sitting down and folding laundry. "Hi you're Carol, right?"
The woman with the shaved hair smiled with a nod. "Yes, hi Sage. It's nice to meet you."
"Yeah," the blonde whispered, squatting to meet her skittish eye contact. "Hey, I don't know if you heard my story last night, but if you need something for any reason, you let me know okay? I went through some... tough times with my father."
Carol looked around, as if she was worried someone might overhear. "I don't know what you mean."
Sage nods in reply, understanding how difficult it is for people of abuse. The cycle is nearly impossible to get out of.
She then offers something else as well, changing the subject. "Well I was a school teacher by the way, I was going to talk with some of the parents about maybe doing something for the kids. You know, so they can actually learn some stuff."
Carol then relaxes at the change of subject and nods. "Yeah, we should talk about something like that. Sophia has trouble with math and she's very curious about science."
Sage then smiled sweetly, gently touching Carol's arm. "Great."
"Do you um, have any clothes that need washing maybe?" Carol asked before the blonde could walk away.
"Um," Sage hesitates, looking back at her tent where she came from. "None that I can't take care of myself later."
"You sure? I don't mind." Carol offered, insisting. Sage then gives in, and nods, telling the older woman to give her a moment to gather her things. Running off to her tent, Sage gathers her clothes that smell absolutely awful, and hesitates for a moment, not wanting to hand the clothes over, embarrassed over of how badly they smelled.
Exiting the tent, she found Charlie was still waiting with Carol, sitting in front of her iron board. Carol points to an empty basket by her feet, telling her where to place them. With a blush on her cheeks, Sage rubbed the back of her neck. "Please, don't judge me on the clothes, I've been on the move for half a month. I usually throw clothes out when I can find new ones but—"
"Sage," the woman smiled in understanding. "It's okay, it's not a big deal."
Sage frowns, not really believing her. "Well, thank you."
"Of course," she then shooed the young woman away, and the blonde ventures off to the red Mustang that was being taken apart.
"Hey, hey Sage!" Carl ran up, an adorable smile on his face. A boy with dark brown, curly hair behind him, which Sage deduced to be Morales' son Louis. "Can we play with Charlie?"
Sage hesitates, glancing down at the german shepherd who was obviously restless and needed to get out some energy. "Okay, but there are a couple rules." Sage squatted down to the boys level, her tone stern. "Charlie is specifically trained, do you remember what I told everyone last night?"
Carl nods in return, anxiously wanting to take the dog and play. "Yeah, you said he was tr- traumatized?"
She could tell the word was hard for him, and she smiled at his successful pronunciation. "Yeah, he was. So don't tackle him or pull at his tail. If you wanna play with him, it's strictly gotta be catch or fetch, those types of games, okay? Charlie isn't like other dogs."
Carl nods in return and Sage reluctantly allows Charlie to go with the boys, who chase after them, panting. Sage smiles, trusting the children as she looked over to Glenn, who stood in front of the stolen Mustang sadly.
Although she knew the car wasn't practical for their group, it still saddened the blonde to see it being stripped apart and siphoned for gas. Venturing over to her friend, Sage rests her chin on Glenn's shoulder, the two of them frowning at the men who took the car apart.
"We'll steal another one." Sage said after a moment, looking up at the Korean, who was about 5 inches taller than her. "A better one."
"Promise?" Glenn pouted, causing Sage to giggle, nodding in return.
"Promise." Sage steps away, trying to find see Rick behind her.
"Hey," the man stops her, lowering his voice. "If I go back for him, will you come with me?"
Sage sighs, but immediately nods. Her conscious had been eating away at her all night, thinking of what Merle was going through on that rooftop. "Yeah, I got your back if no one else does, Woody."
Rick nods appreciatively, smirking at the nickname before the two depart, as Shane pulls up in his Jeep, gallons of water in the trunk. "Water's here, y'all. Just a reminder to boil before use."
Turning off his vehicle, Shane climbs out as Sage joins him, assisting him with the water, while Rick and Lori talk. A sudden scream was then heard from the woods, and it sent the group through a frenzy.
Setting the jugs back in the trunk, Sage, Shane, and Rick all sprint off into the woods, the men grabbing weapons, while Sage pulled her gun from it's holster. The children screamed for their parents as Charlie barked and growled, and for a moment, Sage was half worried that the dog had bitten one of the children. Charlie wasn't aggressive by any means unless seriously provoked, but if the kids were too rough on him, she was really worried he might snap back.
"Charlie!" Sage shouted, only to get growls in reply. This caused the woman to sprint faster, rushing past Rick and Lori, glancing at the kids momentarily to make sure they weren't hurt before continuing. Sage and the men then entered a wooded area, with a circular clearing.
A walker was limping towards Charlie, who she immediately ordered to get back, kicking at the biter hard, causing it to fall backwards. It looked like it might pounce for a moment, but its attention was directed back to the dead deer with a couple of arrows in its rear end.
Gnawing at the deer's flesh, Sage cringed at the sound.
The walker began to notice the group that slowly surrounded it completely. It stood, going for Rick, but he soon beat it down.
And soon, all the men began beating it, hitting it everywhere except the head. It ended with Dale chopping off its head.
"Come on, boys. It's gotta be the brain." Sage emphasized, trading her knife for her gun, squatting down next to the severed head. The walker chomped away at the air for a moment before Sage pressed the blade against the its temple, piercing the brain.
"First one we've had up here," Dale explained. "They never come this far up the mountain."
"Well they're running out of food in the city, that's what," Jim spoke.
Suddenly the sound of a branch snaps, and they all turn, worried it was another walker wandering into camp. In a split second, Sage switched her blade for her gun pointing it toward where the noise was coming from. Only, it was a man with a crossbow.
"Oh, Jesus." Shane mumbles, sounding irritated at the man's arrival. Sage could only assume that this was Daryl.
Watching the man closely, she couldn't help but check the man out. He looked to be around her age, possibly a bit older. His body was toned and he had sweat covering him from head to toe.
"Son of a bitch!" Daryl exclaimed. "That's my deer! Look at it, all gnawed on by this..." Then he began kicking the walker's body with every curse word he said. "Filthy, disease-bearing, motherless, poxy, bastard!"
"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale said, and Daryl shifted his anger from the dead walker to the old man.
"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat, and go back to 'Golden Pond'?" He asked, and Sage immediately stepped in front of Daryl, intervening. The man had quite a bit of height on her, but so was Merle, so she wasn't intimidated.
"Hey, dick face, he's just trying to get you to chill, there are kids nearby. Yelling at him, isn't going to help either." Sage's eyes were unwavering, and her proximity made Daryl stumble back, looking her up and down.
He huffed and turned away after returning the glare, though it didn't affect the blonde.
"I've been tracking this deer for miles." He said, as he took out his arrows. "Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" Daryl asked, pointing at the dead deer's rear.
"I would not risk that." Shane said, his shotgun resting over his shoulders.
Daryl sighs. "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel— about a dozen or so, that'll have to do."
Without another word, the Dixon man and Hunter woman exchange looks before Sage walks off, calling Charlie after her.
Sage didn't say much as she walked back, she was trying to figure out what she was going to tell Daryl, seeing as she was basically thrusted into the position. Once reaching camp, Sage looked to Carl who stood with his mother by the RV, and he ran over, hugging the blonde. "Hey, bud. You're okay, right? You didn't get scratched?"
"I'm okay, Sage." Carl reassured, as Charlie came over. "Charlie warned us and made sure it didn't get near us."
Dropping to her knees, and petting the dog, Sage smiled as he licked her face, and the boy's hands while the pair praise the pet. "You're such a good boy, Charlie."
"Merle!" Sage heard Daryl shout, making her turn. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here!" Sage then instructed Lori to hold Charlie back just incase, and stepped in front of the man, to stop him from walking any further.
"Daryl, right?" She assumed, placing a hand on his chest. He looked down at the blonde with bright blue eyes, her tone gentle and soft. "Something happened in Atlanta with your brother and I'm gonna need you to take this news as calmly as possible."
"Who the hell are you, shorty?" He questioned the girl, who rolled her eyes at the name. Pushing it aside, she continues.
"My name is Sage." She told him, only for him to interrupt. "But onto your brother—"
For a moment, she watched as sadness overcome him, and she felt for the man who cut her off. "He dead?"
"We don't know," Shane said, stepping up now, taking Sage's place. Glenn pulled her back, having felt slightly guilty for putting the girl in that position, while Shane seemed to only make it worse.
"He either is, or he ain't!" Daryl said, loudly, his anger pulsing. Sage pulled away from Glenn's light grip, and stepped up along with Rick.
"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick said.
"Who are you?" Daryl asked Rick, he was utterly shocked by the strangers that were now in his face, breaking this news.
"Rick Grimes."
"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?"
"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I took him down," Sage said, causing Daryl to glare doubtfully at the woman.
"And I handcuffed him on a roof hooked to a piece of metal. He's still there." Rick told him.
"Hold on. Let me process this. You're sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof after taking his ass down, and you left him there?!" Daryl yelled, livid.
Sage inhaled sharply, her tongue clicking quietly. "Would it help if I told you I patched him up afterwards?"
Sage took his answer as a no, seeing as Daryl threw his dead squirrels at the two of them, Rick and Sage easily ducking out of the way while Shane tackled Daryl to the ground.
"Hey!" T-Dog exclaimed, who dropped his pile of firewood he was holding. The two men tumble around on the ground, Daryl reaching for his hunting blade. "Watch the knife!"
T-Dog's voice laced with worry as Daryl pulls out his hunting knife, thrusting it at Rick, and he moves quickly out of the way. Sage wasn't so lucky. Daryl's arm swung, and it sliced into the blonde's bicep, sending Charlie into an angry frenzy.
Sage quietly lets out a groan, but ignores the pain. Daryl thrusts the knife again at Rick, but Rick grabs his arm, while Sage hooked her leg around Daryl's feet, causing him to fall on his ass. Rick backs off, while Shane takes his place, and puts him in a choke hold.
"You best let me go!" Daryl exclaimed.
"It's better if I don't," Shane says simply, holding his position, glancing at the blonde's arm, his eyes widening as blood dripped from the wound. He tossed Daryl's blade to the side after taking it.
"Choke hold's illegal," Daryl spat back, his face getting red.
"You can file a complaint." Shane told him sarcastically. Daryl tries to get out of his hold, but Shane held tightly. "Come on man, we can keep this up all day."
Sage squatted down in front of Daryl, applying pressure to her wound. "Hey," she groans softly, "I thought I told you to take the news as calm as possible?"
The blonde tried to make light of the situation, hoping he would calm down, but Daryl only stared at her with a hard glare. His eyes stopped short when he saw the arm she was cradling, the tiniest amount of guilt washing over him.
"Let him go." Sage said, looking to Shane her voice stern. Shane looked at the woman like she had two heads. "Shane." She hissed, her hazel eyes harsh. Shane rolled his eyes, and threw Daryl, causing the blonde to glare at him. "Really? Was that necessary?"
Shane only shrugged in response as Sage looked down at Daryl, who finally met her eye. "I'm sorry about what happened with your brother, but Merle... was being difficult."
"What I did was not on a whim," Rick spoke to Daryl bending down to his level, which was still on the ground. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."
"It's not Rick or Sage's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-Dog spoke.
"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked, shooting a glare at the man.
"Well I dropped it in a drain," T-Dog explained.
Sage and Daryl exchange glances, the two of them rather uneasy about one another. Daryl was like bomb ready to explode at any moment, and Sage was like a water hemlock, a type of plant with tiny flowers on top, which looks harmless but is actually extremely poisonous.
Daryl got on his hands and knees then slowly got up.
"Well if it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." Daryl told T-Dog as he began to walk away. Sage then also got up, brushing the dirt off her before speaking up.
"Well maybe this will," she said, and looked to T-Dog, gesturing to him for encouragement to tell Daryl.
"Look," T-Dog started, "I chained the door to the roof— so the geeks couldn't get at him— with a padlock."
"It's gotta count for something," Rick said, his voice sounding almost desperate. Daryl turned, looking at each of the group members, and Sage's heart broke at the sight of Daryl Dixon. His eyes and cheeks were red and blotchy, he had a couple tears running down his cheeks, and she felt incredibly terrible for him. He wiped the tears from his cheek.
"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so's I can go get him," Daryl said. Sage looked over at the view of the city, just barely able to see the buildings over the tall trees.
That's when Lori spoke, like she was reading Rick's mind. "He'll show you. Isn't that right?"
Rick nodded in confirmation. "I'm going back."
✧༺♥༻∞ ∞༺♥༻✧
Sage sat just outside her tent, where she had pulled her kit from her bag, struggling to see and clean her wound, her hand shaking as she held a needle and thread. She attempted several times to calm herself, but it was no use, her pain and the shaking of her hands were overwhelming.
She had no idea who to ask for help either, getting the sense that no one in this camp knew how to treat wounds. The sound of boots shuffling passed by Sage, then stopped in front of her. The blonde didn't look up at first, but when she did, she saw Daryl standing in front of her.
"Hi." The blonde nods, looking down at the deep cut in her arm once more.
"Sorry." The man grumbles, glancing down at her injured arm.
"I've dealt with worse." She chuckles nervously, her hands violently shaking, causing him to sigh.
Annoyed but feeling obligated, Daryl tossed his bag and crossbow to the ground with a thud, causing her to jump. Grabbing a nearby chair from someone else's campsite, Daryl drags it over, setting it in front of her. Holding his hands out, Daryl offered to take the needle and thread, but Sage only stared down at the man's dirt and blood covered hands.
He noticed what she was staring at and groans loudly, grabbing the bottle of alcohol by her feet, pouring it over his hands. "God, you're such a girl."
Sage then scoffs at him, as he rubbed the dirt away. "Sorry I don't want the cut you gave me to get infected by your grimy hands."
Daryl stopped momentarily, feeling guilting for a moment before looking back at her. "I could just not help, you know."
"Fine by me." Sage bluffed, the two exchange intense eye contact with one another. She hoped he wouldn't actually leave, because she didn't think she would be able to stitch herself up. They continue to stare at one another for a moment before Daryl gives in.
Holding out his now clean hands, Sage hands over the needle and thread, her arm aching with pain. Daryl pinches her torn skin closer together, and expected the girl to cringe, but she just stared straight ahead, seemingly unfazed by the pain. "You take somethin' to help with the pain, shorty?"
Sage glanced up at him, shaking her head, once again ignoring the nickname. "No."
Daryl stared at the woman in shock. Even he would've cringed as a needle was sewing through his skin, so he was astonished that she gave little to no indication of it. He quickly changed the subject, beginning to apologize once more. "I'm sorry about how I reacted back there, I—"
"Daryl?" Sage interrupted, irking him slightly. Looking at her, the two make eye contact as she slowly lays her hand on his knee in comfort. "It's okay. I promise, if I had a brother that was left for dead, I'd be pissed too."
"He's an asshole, I'll give y'all that. Most of the time we fuckin' argue like cats and dogs." Daryl admits looking up at her hazel irises, looking rather lost in them for a moment. Glancing back down to the cut, he resumes sewing her up, finishing his second suture.
"I'm sorry," she admits to him softly. Daryl nods, his eyes wandering from her gorgeous eyes down to her lips, which looked incredibly soft. Finally, his eyes fall lower to the necklace she wore, the engagement ring hanging from it.
"Who's the lucky guy?" He questioned out of nowhere, confusing her for a moment. She followed his line of sight, and looked surprised to see the ring, almost like she had forgotten about it.
"His name was David, and he's dead." Her voice was gentle, and her statement really shook the man, so much so he stopped sewing to look up at her. Daryl really wondered what the girl's past was like. She seemed like her life was rough, and there was a look in her eyes that he had in his own, it was the look people have after going through abuse. He wondered if it was the fiance, but he doubted that, seeing as she wouldn't still have that ring if that was the case.
"You don't have to come with us, you know." Daryl told the woman, finishing with the last suture, cutting the string.
Sage shook her head in response. "I do, though. No one deserves that, and we're not about to let you go into that overrun city by yourself, you'll get killed."
"You underestimate me, shorty." Daryl shook his head, wrapping Sage's arm with the rolled gauze, taping it off.
"Or you underestimate that city."
✧༺♥༻∞ ∞༺♥༻✧
After much debate, it was decided that T-Dog, Sage, Rick, Glenn, and Daryl would be apart of the rescue team. Sage had decided to leave Charlie behind to act as extra protection for the camp. There was also a little side quest to pick up the guns that Woody dropped in the street yesterday.
The five of them sat in the box truck, with Glenn driving, Rick in the passenger's seat, and the rest in the back.
"He better be okay." Daryl mutters, glaring at T-Dog. "It's my only word on the matter."
Sage rolled her hazel eyes, the bickering driving her crazy. "You're quite the complainer, aren't ya?"
"I told you the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us." T-Dog said, as they finally came to a stop.
"You two fight like a damn married couple." Sage teased, chuckling as Daryl glared at her, annoyed.
"We walk from here." Glenn said, turning to the others from the driver's seat. They then all got out, walking along the train tracks, Sage balancing on the metal tracks before she was told to get down.
"Will you stop it?" Daryl glanced over at her, causing Sage to roll her eyes in reply, pouting. Daryl's blue orbs study her pouted lip and quickly shook his head, inappropriate thoughts intruding his mind. Daryl swallows, trying to think of anything else besides what he was thinking now.
Upon reaching a fence, T-Dog uses the bolt cutters to cutting a hole through it. One after the other, they all slip through it, glancing around to see any on coming walkers.
"Merle first or guns?" Rick asks, as they stopped by the fence.
"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation." Daryl said before either Glenn or Sage could respond to the man's question.
"We are." Rick emphasized, irritated with the Dixon man. They began to walk again, as Rick looked to Glenn and Sage, waiting for their response. "You two know the geography. It's your call."
Sage thought about it, then looked to Glenn, signalling that it was his decision. "Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back."
"Merle first." Sage agreed, side eyeing Daryl.
✧༺♥༻∞ ∞༺♥༻✧
The group walked into the store to find two walkers. Rick looked to Daryl and Sage, pointing to one for each of the two corpses for them. Sage grabbed her bat, swinging it as Daryle rose his crossbow. He shot off his arrow as Sage smacked the biter over the head.
Daryl walks forward retrieving his arrow while Sage wiped the blood off her bat and on the walker's clothes.
Running up the steps, T-Dog comes forward, cutting the chain. Daryl kicks open the door, and calls out for his brother as the others push open the door, and step onto the roof. "Merle! Merle!"
Sage was right behind T-Dog, as they all look at the place where Merle used to be.
"No! No!" Daryl cries out, his voice cracking. Sage covered her mouth to keep herself from screaming or puking, she didn't know which. Daryl shoots daggers of glares at T-Dog, then looks back to the spot. "No!"
"Oh my God.." Was the only thing Sage could mutter. Because instead of Merle, they found a hacksaw covered in blood, and the only thing left of Merle— was his right hand.
"No! No!" Daryl's screams cried, echoing throughout the Georgia air.