SARAH

Two weeks. 

Sarah was sure that it had been two weeks since that day. The day that has changed everybody's world. 

Glenn had saved Sarah and her little sister Nicki, and from that moment, they never speared, and Sarah was glad of that. They were stuck in a different state with no possibility of coming back home. The two girls were from San Francisco, and without a plane, it would have been a long trip to go back. Moreover, she had no way of calling her parents, and she didn't know if they were alive or well. That really broke her heart. No one seemed to have a cell phone anymore, and even if they had, it didn't work, and that didn't reassure her one bit.

"Morning," said Glenn, entering their tent with some blueberries on a napkin. 

Glenn was a little bit older than Sarah, and he was working in Atlanta as a pizza deliverer. He knew the city very well, and most importantly, he knew how to move around it. It had only been thanks to him that they had been able to escape, all the three of them alive. 

"Thank you, Glenn," Sarah said, stretching her back and getting fully awake before taking the blueberries in her hands.

"Have you eaten?" Glenn nodded at her question. 

"Nicki and I got up a few hours ago," he said, fixing his hair before putting his baseball cap back on his head. "She said she wanted to be outside." 

"Is she near?" Sarah asked, glancing outside, trying to get a glimpse of her sister.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, nodding his head. "She is sitting a few meters away, just looking at the others." 

Nicki was a very silent girl. Some people even described her as cold, and maybe she was a bit, but mostly, Nicolette liked to observe. She felt more comfortable like that, getting used to what was around her. And right now, it could just get worse because of the situation and because of the new people. 

Sarah, Nicki, and Glenn had been running for miles after they got out from Atlanta, but they had been far too scared to feel tired. The image of that man in the alley being eaten alive was printed in Sarah's mind, and she was really hoping that Nicki hadn't seen any of that. Nicki was just fourteen... 

The three of them had walked in the woods until they had felt safe enough to stop. 

"What is happening? My god," Sarah asked out loud as she found herself sitting on the ground, taking long breaths to calm down her beating heart. 

"No idea," Glenn had answered on his knees, panting. "It's like a horror movie".

He was right; that didn't feel real, nothing of that could have been be real. Nor whatever was happening, nor the blood on their clothes and skin. 

"Thank you," Sarah had said. "You saved our lives." 

Glenn smiled weakly. "You could have managed." 

Sarah found herself chuckling as tears ran down her cheeks. "If there's something I'm really bad at, it is orienting myself." She leaned her back against the bank of the tree, feeling just at that moment how sore her legs were, how badly her hands were shaking. "I get lost always; it's like a superpower of mine," she chuckled sadly, thinking of what could have happened to her sister if she had to try and lead them out of Atlanta... they would not have made it. Nicki wouldn't have made it. And that thought made Sarah tremble before she looked up to the young man in front of her: 

"You saved us, so thank you." 

"Don't mention it," Glenn said, trying to be supportive, making the girl nod her head.

"They are getting stuffed over there," Sarah heard Nicki say as the younger girl stood up and looked at the lights coming from the road. 

"People..." muttered Sarah, looking over to Glenn, who seemed surprised and relieved as much as herself.

"Are they trying to get to Atlanta?" Nicki whispered with wide eyes. 

Sarah was immediately on her feet; if those people had reached Atlanta, they would have run towards a trap. The city was full of those monsters. They would have all died. 

"We have to warn them," she said as she started to walk towards the lights. 

"Sarah, wait!" she had heard Nicki exclaim as she and Glenn followed her. 

As the three of them made it to the road, people were outside their cars. They must have been stuck on that road for hours. It was nighttime now.

"Hey," a man's voice made them turn. "Are you alright?"

He was an older man, maybe in his sixties. He had a white beard, wore a fisherman's hat, and wore a Hawaiian shirt. 

"Are you alright?" he asked again with a worried tone. 

"We have to get away from here," said Sarah, walking closer to the man. "You can't go to Atlanta, it's not safe." 

"Have you been attacked?" asked the man, putting a hand on her shoulder, and the girl couldn't help some tears from running down her cheeks again. She felt so much comfort in that simple touch. 

"We were in Atlanta," said Glenn, walking closer to Nicolette, who had just observed the man. "It's bad there, very bad," Glenn kept saying. 

"We all have to go back," Sarah insisted, nodding her head.

The man looked at them with worry in his eyes, and he soon patted Sarah's shoulder again. 

"You... you don't have to worry," he said. "On the radio, they said that help is coming." 

"Help?" asked Nicolette with a frown. 

The man nodded his head. "Yeah, the military are coming." 

Sarah looked back at Glenn, blinking her eyes in confusion. The military... what could they do? The city was in ruin; people were in panic or dying, and it had happened hours before.

"Do you know what is happening?" said Nicki to the man. But before he could answer, they heard a faint noise getting closer. 

"What is it?" asked Sarah, looking around, afraid that those monsters could come out and kill someone else. But as the sound came closer, they all looked up to the sky. 

"Helicopters?" Glenn said as three helicopters flew over their heads. 

Sarah and Glenn looked at each other before they started to follow wherever the helicopters were going. Nicki was running closer, looking up, too, as the two of them were doing. But what they witnessed as they arrived on the top of a hill, was Atlanta burning as the military were dropping bombs wherever they could. 

"Was that the help?" Nicolette said as she looked at the burning buildings. 

Since then, they have had to find a place to live. The man they had met, Dale, had a camper and was traveling alone, so he had offered them shelter. But they hadn't traveled far. Soon, they met other people, and they decided to camp in a quarry, where they could have had water to drink and wood for the fire. Atlanta wasn't too far from them, but it was far enough to be safe from those monsters. 

"Do you need help with anything today?" Asked Sarah as she got out of the camping tent with Glenn. 

"Shane said that we should take shifts to be sure none of the walkers get too close," he said as they walked near each other. 

Shane Walsh was a cop. They had met the day after their encounter with Dale. Shane wasn't traveling alone; he was with a woman, a friend of his named Lori Grimes, and her son, Carl. They had soon decided to stick together since no one really knew what to do, and being alone hadn't felt right. 

"Oh, alright," Sarah said, nodding her head. "Do I have a shift?"

"Erm... not that I know of," Glenn said with uncertainty. "But I'm sure Lori needs help with something." Sarah raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, I get it," she said, rolling playfully her eyes. "The world is ending, and you boys all men up and become overprotective." 

"Don't get offended," Glenn said in a worried tone, but that just made her chuckle. 

"Not at all," she reassured him. "I'm sure I'll find something to do and..." she lowered her voice. "If I have to be honest, I really don't want to see those things any time soon." Glenn smiled at her before waving and walking away.

Sarah looked around; it seemed as if they were a camping group. Tents were all around, and a campfire had been set in the middle. The woods surrounded them, and a big lake could have been seen from the cliff. And around her, all different kinds of people, with different backgrounds and stories... It would have been nice if that was really a camping group and not their new home.

"Morning, Sarah," the girl turned to see Amy greet her with a smile. Amy was around Sarah's age, she had blond hair and blue eyes and she was always smiling. It had been easy for the two of them to get along almost immediately. 

"Hey," Sarah waved. 

"What can we do today?" she huffed, looking around. "It's like living the same day every day" 

Amy was right. It wasn't easy to get used to that life, with nothing to do, no school, no work, nothing that you were used to... now everything that they did was cooking, washing clothes, and wondering if things would ever get back to normal.

"We should try not to get depressed," Sarah said with a small smile, which made Amy nod. 

"Maybe Andrea and I could find something to fish with." 

"You know how to do that?" asked Sarah with curiosity. 

"Oh yeah," Amy said. "Our father taught us since when we were little." Amy and Andrea were sisters. Andrea was the older one, and she really seemed to be a strong woman. 

"Amazing," Sarah said, making Amy smile wide.

"At least we wouldn't have to depend on those people anymore." Amy gestured to the side of the camp where the Dixon brothers had set their camp. They were two men; they talked with a strong Southern accent, and everyone thought they were quite scary. Merle, the older one, was annoying and nasty; Sarah really felt very uneasy every time he was around. It was frequent for him to pick a fight with Shane or angered T-dog with his racist comments. Daryl, the other one, on the contrary, never talked and really preferred to be on his own. He just glared at everyone and growled sometimes. He usually stood by his brother's side, and even though he was far less annoying, he was quite scary, too. No one liked them in the camp, but the two of them were able to hunt, and they always brought food back to the group so they would not lose them.

"Do you want to play?" Sarah turned as she heard a girl's voice. Not far from her, she saw Nicki sitting on the ground and Sophia standing in front of her. 

Sophia Peletier was a few years younger than Nicki, and she was the daughter of Carol and Ed. Sarah had never spoken to Ed, but she had chatted with Carol a few times. Carol was quiet and often volunteered to wash people's clothes.

"No," Nicki said simply.

"I knew she would say that," Carl replied, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Sophia."

The two children dashed off to play as Lori reminded them not to wander too far. Sarah excused herself from Amy and walked over to her sister.

"Nicolette," she said gently, but Nicki just shrugged.

"What?" Nicki replied. "I don't have fun running up and down the hill."

"You could try to make friends with them," Sarah suggested, but Nicki shrugged again. "I know it's not easy," Sarah continued, sitting down next to her. "But we'll find a way to get back to San Francisco."

"Yeah, of course," Nicki scoffed. "We'll never get back..."

Sarah looked at her sister, sadness welling up inside her. She felt utterly helpless in this situation. What could she say to make things better? They were far from home, uncertain about the fate of their family and friends—where they were, if they were even alive.

"You need to keep your mind busy, Nicki," she tried to suggest. 

"I lost my bow" Nicolette whispered. 

They had left it inside the taxi in Atlanta. 

Sarah really didn't know what to do and when Nicki got up to walk away Sarah ran her finger through her brown hair taking a breath. There was really nothing she could do now. 

"Kids, right?" She turned to see Lori "I dread the day Carl will be her age" 

"It didn't seem so bad when you are one" said Sarah "What should I do?" 

"Leave her be for now" Lori said "It's difficult for everyone... let her cope" Sarah nodded her head with a little smile, but she was still worried. 

She decided to clean the campfire, where they had dinner the night before. Dale and Morales had some canned food and they had eaten it with some meat Daryl and Merle. 

She picked up one of the cans and placed it in an old bag, trying to keep them out of the way so no one would get hurt. A few weeks ago, she would never have believed she would end up like this—far from home, surrounded by strangers, and unable to communicate with her sister. Sarah tapped her fingers on the metal can, the sound drawing Jim's attention as he turned to look at her.

That metal made a clear noise, not too loud, but it rang with just one touch. 

"What if..." she muttered, taking the bag in her hands and getting up. The movement caused the cans in the bag to clash together. 

Sarah walked toward Dale, who was perched atop the RV, wearing his usual fisherman hat and the only rifle they had slung over his shoulder. The sunlight glinted off the metal, making it difficult for her to see.

"Dale," she called, shielding her eyes as she squinted up at him.

"What is it, Sarah?" he replied, his voice warm and inviting as always.

"Do you happen to have a wire?" she asked, a spark of determination in her eyes.

"A wire?" he echoed, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

Sarah nodded eagerly. "I think I've got an idea," she explained, her mind racing with possibilities.

Following Dale inside the RV, she began searching alongside him for pieces of wire. They rummaged through various supplies, but despite their efforts, they found only a few strands—far too few for what she had in mind.

"I think that's all I have," Dale said as she looked at the wire in her hands. "What do you have in mind?" 

"I think we should have a safe zone," she said. "I want to build an alarm system." 

Sarah had seen how the men of the group were always on edge to protect everyone, and she wanted to try to help them just a bit. 

She looked at the wire in her hands; it wasn't enough. It would have covered maybe two or three sides, but she needed more. She had to tighten the cans on the wire and then secure them around the trees. 

Sarah began to wander around the camp, searching for the wire she needed. Morales's wife handed her a piece, and Jacqui offered another. As she rummaged through some bags, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

"Look what we got here. Have ya lost somethin', little bird?" Merle Dixon's mocking voice cut through the air. Sarah rolled her eyes, recognizing the familiar taunt. "I could help you out."

"I appreciate your concern, but it's really not necessary," she replied, rising to her feet.

"What ya have in mind?" he pressed, his nasty grin widening as he stepped closer. "With all those ropes an' ev'rythin'?" His eyes shined suggestively.

"Can you let me through?" she asked, avoiding his gaze and trying to sidestep him. 

"Ya'r a sophisticated one, are ya?" he chuckled, stepping even closer. "Ya can't stand people like me?" 

"I just need more wire," Sarah insisted, taking a step back to distance herself from him. 

"Merle!" the two of them turned to see Daryl standing a few feet away from them with his crossbow hanging over his shoulder.

"Hey, lil' bro," Merle said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Was havin' a chat with the lady here." 

Daryl didn't even glance her way. "We have ta go huntin'."

Merle laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the air. "Ya're right, lil' bro," he said, then turned back to Sarah. "See ya." He sauntered off, leaving her to exhale a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Her heart raced; Merle was genuinely frightening and completely unpredictable.

As she tried to steady her breathing, something was suddenly tossed at her feet.

Ropes.

Looking up, Sarah saw Daryl adjusting his crossbow over his shoulder as he walked away. She studied him with a curious frown. He was a strange man but somehow different from his brother.