Through Rose-Tinted Glasses - Rewritten

Hey, y'all! So it's been a long time, once again. Sorry about that! So after some thinking and rereading, I decided that an old fanfic of mine from 2014, one of my first Walking Dead works, needed a serious, serious overhaul. I'm hoping that I can make it a little better this time around, and I might even make a few more changes and fix a plot hole or two along the way. Even all these years later, I still love Sarah to bits and pieces, and I feel like she deserves a better fanfic than what I originally gave her. So without further ado, please enjoy!

"And then, the last of the body snatchers escaped the hospital morgue right before he could get caught!"

Sarah was eagerly going on all about The Guurgles, the book she was currently reading, to Rebecca. It was early evening, and some of the group were in the kitchen, waiting for Pete and Luke to return from hunting for the day. Carlos, Sarah's father, was currently trying to clean some of the piling dishes in the sink, and Alvin and Nick were elsewhere in the cabin. No doubt Nick was angry at the fact that he'd been made to stay behind this time around. He wanted to help, to pull his own weight around here. To say that his mood wasn't great was an understatement.

Sarah enjoyed talking to Rebecca - or anyone that was available to listen, really - about her books, among other things. She just wished that she were allowed to do more, though. Carlos had forbidden her from even taking a single step outside the house ever since the group had found it some time ago. There wasn't a lot that she was allowed to help with, either, and that made for an occasionally boring, and somewhat lonely, time in the cabin. It would've been so much cooler to have another kid around here, someone close to Sarah's own age. Being the only girl wasn't easy.

Little did she know, that wish was just about to come true.

The wait for Luke and Pete's return was much shorter than expected, because Luke came bolting into the kitchen only as Sarah was just finishing up the latest information on the main character.

"Okay, y'all, look," he said, appearing to be a little frazzled. "Everything's fine, but we got a little, uh, situation outside."

Carlos stopped what he was doing immediately, and frowned. "What kind of situation?"

"Outside," Luke repeated. "Just...we gotta deal with this, okay? It's important."

Rebecca stood up slowly, going over to the window to investigate. When she saw what was going on, she looked angry. "Oh, hell no. Not now."

Nick and Alvin were in the kitchen by now, and they, too, were figuring out what was going on. Sarah was beginning to get worried. Was everything okay? No one was here to hurt them, were they?

In an instant, Rebecca and Alvin were outside, Nick following suit with his rifle. Luke pulled Carlos aside, whispering something to him that Sarah could only make a little out of.

"Would you take a look at her?" Luke whispered. "I-I don't know, just-"

He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot coming from outside, and he immediately ran off. Yelling could be heard following the noise. Sarah jumped, looking at her father with a frightened expression.

"Dad?" she asked innocently, clearly worried. "Wh-What's-?"

"Sarah, I want you to stay inside," Carlos warned cautiously. "Don't come out for any reason. You will be safe in here."

She nodded slowly, her worry not in the least bit dissipating. Of course she had to stay inside, though. That was absolutely nothing new. She knew that her father would protect her from those dangerous things, though. What was wrong?

Everyone outside seemed to be arguing about something, but what? After about a minute of standing in the hallway by herself, Sarah walked over to the door and opened it just a little. She was still "inside" if she just peeked out, right?

All the adults were outside, standing around, but there was something different about this scenario. Carlos was inspecting the arm of a girl, one that appeared to be Sarah's age or a couple of years younger, wearing a baseball cap. When the girl noticed her, Sarah had to say something.

"Who's she?" she couldn't help asking.

Was the girl going to come in? They wouldn't leave her out here all alone, right?

"Sarah," Carlos scolded, "what'd I say? Stay inside!"

Sarah's curious expression was replaced with that of disappointment, closing the door slowly. Once again, she never got to do anything. It wasn't fair. She wished that she could go outside, just once, to meet this girl. Maybe they would've been friends.

She was sitting on the couch, waiting, when her father, along with the rest of the group, came back inside. But the girl wasn't with them. But why? Not only was it getting dark, but it was beginning to rain as well. Surely she'd have been allowed inside, right? The moment she saw Carlos, Sarah stood up and ran slightly over to him, wanting to know what had happened.

"Dad? What's going on?" she inquired. "Where's the girl?"

Carlos was silent for a few moments, as if debating whether or not his daughter should know the truth. "She's nearby, sweetie. But we can't let her in here, not right now. We have to ensure the safety of all of us. Do you understand?"

"Oh." Sarah couldn't hide her disappointment, but she nodded again. She had really wanted to meet this girl, maybe even become friends.

Carlos placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you go upstairs and read your book for a little while? I will check on you soon."

"Okay, Dad." She gave him a small smile, going upstairs to retrieve her book. Her dad's room had a roof window, so she decided to go in there to read instead. She wasn't the biggest fan of thunder, but she did like the sound of rain pattering on the roof as she read.

It must have been sometime later, but the main characters in her books were just about to explore their next mission when the doorknob turned, causing Sarah to look up. A startled gasp escaped when she saw that it wasn't her father, or anyone else from the cabin, but the girl from earlier! What was she doing? Did anyone else know she was in here?

"Shh!" The girl placed a finger to her lips.

Sarah frowned, setting her book aside. "You're not supposed to be in here," she whispered.

For a fleeting moment, the girl stood at her spot, but soon entered the room, closing the door gently behind her. "Hi, can you please help me?"

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," Sarah replied. "My dad can't know."

There was a short pause as the girl sneaked a glance at the book. "What are you reading?" she asked.

"A book," Sarah said slowly.

"What book? I like books."

Maybe she was nice. Sarah didn't feel quite as nervous anymore, and the question made her want the girl to stay even more. They could have so many discussions about books, and even more things! She wouldn't be lonely here anymore!

Another short pause. "It's called The Guurgles. It's about trans-dimensional body snatchers."

"Cool."

It was then that the teenager took a look at the girl's arm, and realization as to why Carlos was looking at it finally hit. It was bleeding rather badly, the purple on her left sleeve turning bright red by the second.

"What happened to you?" Sarah whispered, concerned.

"A dog bit me," the girl explained.

"Sounds scary. I bet it hurts."

"I could die if I don't take care of it," the girl said slowly. "Do you understand?" When Sarah didn't say anything, she continued. "I just need something to clean it with. I bet it would be with the rest of your medical supplies."

"Yeah, it is," Sarah confirmed. After some quick thinking, her mind was made up. "I'll help you."

"Good, thank you." The girl gave her a grateful smile.

"I'm Sarah," the older girl introduced herself, smiling back.

"I'm Clementine."

Sarah decided that now was better than never. "We're friends!" she exclaimed. She didn't notice the girl's - Clementine's - look of surprise as she kept going, standing up as she did so. "Right? We can be best friends! I haven't met another girl my age since way before! It's hard to be the only girl, you know? Rebecca's okay, but she's old. And that's it! And if her baby is a girl it'll be forever before she's old enough to, like, be my friend. And then I'll be super old!"

She hardly noticed that she was rambling, something she did whenever she got excited, but she really hoped that the girl would say yes! Then, they could learn all about each other and be best friends!

To her delight, Clementine gave her the answer she was dying to hear. "Yes, we're friends."

Sarah's eyes lit up. "Promise?" she asked. "It's important. Friends have to trust each other no matter what!"

"I promise."

"Me too! Friends!" She held out her pinky, ready to give her the pinky swear she did with many people. It was something she'd always done, but hadn't been able to do in a long time.

When Clementine intertwined her pinky with Sarah's, the latter's smile grew. "A pinky swear is forever!"

After a moment's pause, she spoke up again. "I'll see if I can find the stuff my dad uses when I get a cut. Lemme look around."

She walked over to the other side of Carlos' bed, rummaging through the medical supplies that only she and her father knew the whereabouts of. She pulled out a bottle of peroxide. It burned, and she didn't like it, but it usually helped to heal any injuries she got.

"I think this is it," Sarah whispered, handing over the bottle.

"That'll work," Clementine said, putting the bottle away.

"You can't do it here, though. Someone will find you!"

"Don't worry, I won't." Clementine Walked back to the bedroom door, opening it. "Thanks, Sarah."

Sarah placed a finger to her lips, shushing her so that she wouldn't be heard. When the door closed, she sat back down on the bed, not being able to help but feel excited. It would be her own little secret, but she had a friend now!

Should I keep going with this? I have a few ideas that can happen if I do!