Two Paths Collide

Sarah

"So, how long is this trip again? Over."

"Stop complaining and drive. It's only been twenty minutes. Over," Scott replied by walkie-talkie. He turned to Sarah and said "We should have put Marco in charge of communications."

Sarah shrugged "Rosalyn just gets nervous on car rides. She'll stop soon."

The silver Nissan Altima drove in front of the blue Honda Civic. Scott and Sarah were in the first, with Marco and Rosalyn close behind. Their group was small compared to some of the others they'd seen. But it worked, proven by the fact that everyone was still alive.

Sarah hugged her knees to her chest and peered out the window. If she saw a walker her heart rate didn't race anymore. She loved being in the car because that's where she felt the safest. In the distance, she saw cars and a motorcycle on the road. She pointed and said "Do you see the cars? I think we should stop!"

Scott nodded and handed her the walkie-talkie. "Radio the others".

Sarah did, and the two cars came to a stop, parking right next to the other three. They didn't bother pulling off the road- what were the chances of another car driving through?

Before they got out of the car, Scott took the gun from his belt and set it on the seat. "The best way to stay safe is to avoid presenting them with a threat." He used the walkie-talkie to tell Marco and Rosalyn to do the same.

They quietly shut the doors behind them, and Sarah wished she was back in the air conditioned car instead of the hot, muggy air of Georgia.

Sarah heard someone yell, "Hey guys, we've got company!"

It came from an Asian boy standing atop a stone wall, apparently the guard on duty for the group. Sarah had a keen sense of hearing, and picked up on the noises of people running around the camp, probably handing out shotguns.

"Who's there?" they heard a man's voice bellow.

"There are four of us here," Scott said. "We aren't armed and we're not trying to raise any trouble."

Marco shook his head; mostly because of the way he was brought up, he didn't approve of such pacifist techniques such as Scott's. But since Scott took the role as leader of the group and acted as a sort of father figure for the other three, Marco didn't argue much.

"Well you stay there, we'll come to you," the same male voice replied. A few seconds later, three men emerged from the camp. One held a crossbow, while the other two carried guns. The group of four on the road stood together and showed their hands, so that the approaching bunch knew they hadn't lied about the absence of weaponry.

Scott spoke again, "We saw your cars and decided to stop; we're just passing through. I think we'd all agree that it's nice to see some new faces now and again."

Sarah's heart pounded in her chest, waiting for the others to respond. People were usually kind when Scott displayed his nonviolent and polite nature, but in the place that the world turned into, it was hard to predict how anyone would react to newcomers. She held her breath until the three men lowered their guns.

Thanks for reading my first chapter! Sorry, not a ton of Daryl, but I just needed to get some of the characters introduced. It'll get better, promise. Thanks for reading!