CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

˚ROAR OF THUNDER˚

"I know I could lie, but I'm telling the truth. Wherever I go there's a shadow of you."

WHAT WAS ONCE comforting to Reign Boyd was now traumatizing. The sound of rain drops hitting the roof, the sound of the thunder roaring in the sky, and the flashes of lightening were not comforting in the slightest.

Instead it sent her huddled in the back of the barn, cradled against the thin blanket she found. She laid her head on the hard, cold ground, her eyes wide open. It's not that the thunder scared her, but instead she felt as if it were mad at her. Like every time it roared it was screaming at her, telling her what a disgrace she was to this earth. It was if the universe was mad at her, blaming her for Beth's death.

It was all in her head of course. Deep down she knew the universe wasn't mad at her, that the thunder wasn't yelling at her. But she wasn't in the right state of mind to realize the truth. No matter what she still believed she was to blame for Beth's death.

She listened carefully to the voices coming from the front of the barn, where several others were sitting around a fire. She knew whenever their voices went quiet they were talking about her, but she was too tired, too determined on keeping Gizmo comfortable to get up. The pup was nudged close to her body, his breathing steady as he was already fast asleep.

Reign forced her eyes closed as she saw someone get up from the fire pit, hoping they would leave her alone if they saw she was sleeping.

To her luck however, they didn't.

"Psst"

Reign ignored them.

"Psst," they insisted, even going as far as poking her in the shoulder.

Not able to put up with it any longer, Reign creaked one eye open, growling audibly once she realized who it was. "Fuck off Damon," she muttered under her breath, closing her eyes once again.

"That's rude," he said sarcastically, pretending to be offended.

"I'm serious. Leave me alone," she pressed, turning over so she didn't have to look at him. She feared that if she did, she would break down. Deep down she knew he was the only person who could get her to open up, as she knew confessing to Damon wound't make her feel bad. Damon didn't judge her, because in reality he wasn't any better than her.

Instead of leaving, Damon sat up against the wall beside her, bringing both legs up to his chest.

"What are you doing?" Reign questioned bitterly, peaking over at him.

"What does it look like? I'm going to try and sleep," he said seriously.

"There are other places in this barn to sleep. Go find one," she said horsely.

"Yeah but they all smell like cow shit," Damon remarked, chuckling to himself. "Besides, you were all alone."

"I'm use to being alone," Reign whispered, but Damon's vampire hearing caught it.

"You shouldn't have to be," Damon said sincerely, causing Reign to go quiet. For a second she didn't know what to say. No one had really showed that sort of compassion before, besides her brother and mother. It was if Damon really cared about her, but that was impossible. As Reign saw it, they still hated each other; always have, always will. That was the way it was always supposed to be, but Reign had a suspicion something was changing, and instead of accepting it, she took it as a threat.

Instead of brooding about it more, she closed her eyes for real that time, and fell asleep.

◎ ◉ ◎

Reign gasped awake, breathing frantically, trying to catch her breath. She knew she had a bad dream, but she couldn't remember what of. Or maybe, that wasn't what woke her but instead the violent storm outside that was threatening to tear the wood off the barn.

She directed her gaze to the front of the barn where Damon stood, holding the barn doors shut with all his strength along with Stefan and Caroline. But even their strength was no match for the violent storm, the sound of train tracks hinting towards some sort of tornado. They were grunting, throwing their whole bodies against the door to keep them closed, using everything in them to prevent the storm from reaching inside.

Reign's breath caught in her throat as she quickly got up, waking a sleepy Gizmo who was sleeping soundly through everything. Instead she ran to the doors, standing along side the three vampires, pushing herself against the door to help. However, as she peaked outside through the cracks of the wood did she realize it wasn't just the storm threatening to tear down the doors, but rather a heard of walkers.

Damon sent her an assuring nod from beside her as Caroline flashed a small smile, the four of them using everything in them to protect the lives within the barn.

Reign could hear the storm growing stronger, hear the tornado closing in, the heard pounding against the wood. She began to grow frightened, truly scared for their lives. A walker she could take care of no problem, but a tornado and a heard of walkers she had no control of- that was what scared her the most.

Daryl and Dylan suddenly joined them, awakened by the storm. Seconds later, Rick and Glenn joined, all of them creating a line across the door to keep it closed. One by one more of them joined, creating a stronger barrier to secure their shelter.

In a matter of no time everyone, even Carl had joined, all of them using all their strength to keep the heard from consuming them. No one dared to move, fearing if even the slightest movement occurred, their strategic formation would break, and the doors would burst open.

So they all stayed there in their positions, pushing forcefully against the wooden doors until morning, in hopes the storm would calm by then, or even better, if the storm would devour the walker heard whole.

◎ ◉ ◎

The sun had rose about an hour ago, Reign sitting in the same spot she laid last night, against the back of the barn facing the doors, watching to make sure nothing came in. Her eyes were droopy and her muscles were sore, her mind replaying the scene of last night over and over.

They had stood at that door for over two hours, listening as trees snapped and the wind took some of the walkers away. They knew they were safe when the heard had somehow vanished, taken down by the storm. It was a miracle they were even still there, a miracle the barn hadn't been lifted away like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz.

Once they knew they were safe, everyone had dispersed and went back to sleep. Reign however couldn't sleep, not after an event like that. She couldn't sleep knowing there was a chance another heard could show up, so she stayed watching silently at the doors all morning, listening to everyone's heavy breathing as the sun rose.

Her eyes begged her to sleep, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Thankfully Maggie came and sat beside her, forcing Reign to talk and keep her mind awake.

"You should get some sleep. I can keep watch," Maggie said, bringing her knees up to her chest from where she sat beside Reign.

"Thanks, but I would rather keep watch. I'm no good with the sleep thing right now," Reign replied monotoned, keeping her eyes glued ahead of her.

"Why?" was all Maggie asked, wanting to know more about Reign's reasonings. Reign was a mystery to everyone, but even Maggie suspected a shift in Reign's state, ever since the death of her dear sister.

Reign however didn't answer, instead shifting her gaze down to her hands. She fiddled with her fingers that soon began to shake. She knew why they were shaking, the early sign of another panic attack, but she quickly crossed her arms across her chest before the shaking became noticeable.

"She was strong," Reign whispered. "She didn't know it, but she was," Reign smiled at herself, biting her bottom lip.

Maggie had her eyes glued to Reign's, as if she were hanging on to her every word. She nodded, able to see how much Reign was blaming herself. She could see just by how hard she bit her bottom lip how much she was keeping inside.

"You don't have to beat yourself up, you know," Maggie said softly, her own voice cracking. She too was still raw to Beth's death, still shaken by the traumatic loss. "There wasn't anything you could have done."

"But you see, you're wrong." Reign glanced over at Maggie, raising a brow. "I could've stepped back, put my sword away. Beth was only trying to stop me from starting a fight. She was only trying to save everyone."

"So were you." Maggie said sincerely, placing a hand on Reign's shoulder.

"I-I told her that we would get out of there," Reign said, beginning to break down. "I told her I would make sure we both got out of there, that she be able to see you again- and- and I failed."

Reigns shoulders begin to shake as she lets out more tears, erupting in a silent sob. Maggie has her own tears flowing down her face as she puts a comforting arm around the brunette.

"I'm going for a walk." Reign said suddenly, standing up. Maggie tried to protest and hold her back, but gave in when Reign tore away from her grasp.

She walked to the barn doors, wiping her eyes of tears as she opened them.

"I'm coming with you," Damon said groggily, sitting up from where he was sleeping in the corner of the barn.

"No. I can go alone," Reign insisted, wiping down her dirtied jeans, and securing her sword across her back.

"Oh I don't doubt you can," Damon replied, walking over to the front gates. Reigns face was turned from him, to hide her tears but he had heard the conversation between her and Maggie.

"But I always liked watching the sun rise in the morning. You see, the best part, is when it's just above the tree line," he smiled, unlocking the wooden doors and opening them. "After you." He waved towards the exit of the door.

Reign scowled, not looking at Damon as she passed, Gizmo following in her steps. "I hate you," she muttered lowly.

"I hate you more," Damon teased, before following suit.

Together they walked outside, slowly and cautiously in awe as they witnessed the aftermath of the storm. Trees were torn down, the roots spiking walkers in the chest and trapping them to the ground. Some walkers were even squished from falling trees, their guts sprawled out everywhere. It was a complete disaster.

"No wonder they were trying so hard to get in last night. Bastards were just looking for some shelter," Damon joked, kicking some walker in it's side for amusement.

"You're not funny," Reign growled, walking further away from the disaster and into a meadow.

"Never said I was," Damon retorted, smiling to himself like he usually did after he made some remark he believed was successful.

Reign found a nice log, overlooking the open meadow giving her the perfect view to the rising sun. The sun was already in the sky, lighting up the area. But it was the most beautiful when it was just above the tree line, displaying an array of warm colours, enough to calm even the bitterest of people down.

"Di-"

"Shhh," Reign hushed, trying to enjoy the view in peace. She sat on the log, Gizmo by her feet, staring off into the distant. "I'm trying to enjoy the peace," she explained.

Damon nodded, taking a seat on the log beside her, squinting at the sunrise. Reign glanced over for a split second, admiring him from the side. He was perfectly still, everything about him seeming to be so unrealistic, so perfect like he had been carved. His jawline was sharp and his cheekbones were strong, structuring his face in a pleasing manner.

He turned his head and caught her staring, causing Reign to blush slightly. She wasn't staring because she liked him, but because she had never really gotten a chance to be so close to him before, and actually take him all in. He was someone that she couldn't seem to understand. Sometimes he was kind, caring, and other times he was completely rude and irrational.

The more Reign thought about it, the more she realized she was the exact same.

"What?" Damon chuckled a deep laugh, the kind that was true to the core. The kind of laugh you knew was real. Reign couldn't answer though, only stared into his icy blue eyes that reflected the light of the sun perfectly. She was too embarrassed to think of anything to say. She never felt that way before, never felt so lost for words.

Gizmo let out a bark, saving Reign from another second of embarrassment. However, once the two realized who Gizmo was barking at, they both sprung to their feet. He wasn't barking at a walker however, but rather a person.

"Good morning!" the man said, holding his hands up to show he didn't have any weapons.

Reign immediately pulled her sword, Damon pulling the gun from his waistband and aiming it at the stranger. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," he said, slowly proceeding to walk towards them. "My name is Aaron."

Neither Reign nor Damon said anything, Damon slowly creaking in front of Reign without her noticing, putting himself in between her and the stranger.

"I know, 'stranger danger'. But um, I'm a friend," he said, putting great emphasis on the words 'a friend'. Suddenly it clicked in Reign's mind, the connection between him and the note left on the water bottles on the road yesterday. It was him that left them, it had to be.

"I would like to talk to the person in charge," he stated. "Rick right?"

"How do you know that?" Reign interrogated him.

"Why?" Damon questioned at the same time.

"Because, I have good news," Aaron smiled.

______________________

Please vote, share and comment!

Thank you my readers!

-taytaylorabc

xoxoxoxo

[EDITED: 07/25/18]