Sammy just sighed lightly.

"Patient needs help." She told him honestly.

"and I'm not going to say he can't do something that is impotant like that." She added, sincerity to her voice.

"It sucks, but... well, nothing I can really do about it."

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Sammy nodded.

"Sounds good." She said simply.

Sure enough, about fifteen minutes, he had a messenger bag and a backpack, both of which were rather full of drinks, snacks, and food for the pair of them.

"You ok with that load?" She asked, her voice concerned.

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

"Are you surprised?" Sammy asked as she looked around, trying to find where she was meant to go.

"Come on." She said before heading off, with Darrell following.

---

A few hours later, Darrell was at the next checkpoint, and had noticed that Sammy had quite a lead. As she approached though, obviously looking for the drink she usually was, he saw that she was looking far worse than he likely expected.

As she reached him, she hunched over, a hand on her knee and an arm across her torso, where Darrell could see smell some blood from. It wasn't anything extreme, not yet, but it was there.

What Rene had given her was wearing off, and she was easily very close to the crash he'd warned would be coming.

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Sammy shook her head before taking a drink.

"No.. I have enough of a lead, I think I'll be all right to finish." She tol dhim simply.

"Although when Uncle Rene mentioned about the crash, he wasn't kidding." She added with a heavy sigh.

"I have to finish this though."

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

"If I give up, then coming for this would have been a waste." Sammy answered with a light sigh before looking back toward her path, where she'd come from.

"All right, they're probably closing in a bit." She then said, before taking another drink and handing him the bottle back.

"I gotta go. I'll see you later." She paused a moment.

"Gimme thirty minutes at the very most to reach there."

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Sure enough, about thirty minutes later, he saw Sammy approaching. She really wasn't looking the best, but he could tell she was still going strong - surprisingly enough.

She didn't say anything, and he had her water bottle out by the time she reached him anyway. She handed it over, she took a drink, and just sighed as she took a break for a moment.

"Oh man is this torture." She muttered.

"Last bit though, thankfully." She added with a small shake of her head as she straightened up with a wince.

"Longer than the previous few, but final bit. Has anyone else passed you yet?" She asked

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Sammy nodded.

"Two minutes? all right. I can't linger for long then." She commented before pausing, and sighing.

"I know." She then said.

"I just... I know. I'm glad I didn't decide to forgot the bandages. They're the only thing stopping them from bleeding a ridiculous amount, I think." She admitted.

"Anyway, I should get going. I'll see you at the finish line. Although I admit, you miiight need to catch me." With that, she was off, not even giving him a chance to properly process what she said, or reply."[/b]

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Sure enough, he was waiting for a bit, entertaining himself with his phone and conversations with the crowd, before they saw someone in the distance. A couple someones, for that matter.

Darrell didn't need his nose to identify the blonde that he saw approaching. There was also a brunette that was close behind her, but still a few feet back.

Sammy's steps weren't quite as fast and sure as they had been early on, but she was still faster than the one that was close behind her.

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Darrell could see her steps slowing slightly as she got closer, as she continued to run.

Sure enough though, she was close to the finish before they all heard a cry as the one that was close behind her lost their footing, and landed - hard - on the pavement. There were cries, of course, from the crowd, and Sammy slowed, stopped. When she looked behind her to see what was going on, she just made her way back.

"Hey, you ok?" She ased, her voice concerned and curious. A quick scan made it rather apparent that it looked like their ankle needed medical attention, and quick

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫

Sammy just stood over them before smiling softly.

"Yeahh.... no." She said simply before holding a hand out to them.

"Come on. Let's go." She said simply. "I can pay for it myself. You can take the scholarship. It's cool."

"Seriously. Let's get you to the end."

♫You taste the silver, Sara! You taste the crown. | You thirst for blood from the roses in hand.♫