1
Tara ran through the forest, clutching the gun tightly in her right hand. Sweat was running down her temples and her T-shirt was sticking to her back. Can't stop, she thought desperately, brushing away some low-hanging branches, which were obscuring her way. Finally, she broke through the edge of a particularly thick part of the forest and stumbled onto a clearing. She felt all blood rushing out of her head and she grabbed a nearby tree to stop herself from falling. No. NO.
Tara closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. But there was no denying it. She was too late. They were dead. She stared at the three lifeless figures in front of her. The one on the far left, her sister, had her eyes wide open, staring into the sky. On the far right was Alisha, her girlfriend. She had her arm over her face, as though shielding it from sunlight. But there was no sunlight; the sky was grey, almost black. Tara's eyes turned to the little figure in the middle and felt as though someone had plunged their hand into her chest and was crushing her heart, slowly, deliberately. Her niece, Meghan... How could she be dead? She was only a child. Meghan would never get the chance to fulfill her childish dreams... would never know what it felt like to be in love.
Tara stood there, transfixed, starring at the ones she loved, the ones that had remained in this unforgiving world. There was no telling how much time had passed, when suddenly the bodies began to move. Oh no, Tara thought in horror. No, no, no. Tara, still paralyzed, watched as all three corpses got to their feet and, grunting, made their way towards her. Tara raised her gun, but it was shaking in her hands and long before they had reached her, she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't shoot them. Tara screamed, tears pouring down her face, and dropped to the floor. She raised her arms above her head, shielding herself from what was about to come. At least it would all be over... Over...
She felt a hand on her arm, tearing at her, but she didn't feel any pain. The tearing continued, and still Tara was screaming. Tearing... no, it was more of a shaking...
Tara jolted upright and stared into a distantly familiar face. "What, where..." she stammered. She looked down at her arm and saw that a hand was lying there, but definitely not tearing at her.
"Tara, you had a nightmare," Maggie said softly. Tara stared at her. She felt a jolt from beneath her and looked around. They were sitting in the moving church bus; or rather Tara had half slipped of one of the benches. She pulled herself back onto the seat and Maggie gripped her arm to help her. "I... I had a nightmare," Tara mumbled. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then stared back at Maggie. "Except that it wasn't a nightmare. They're all dead."
"Oh Tara," Maggie said and embraced Tara, who hung stiffly in the other girl's arms. The pictures, they were still so close. "You're not alone."
Tara nodded and a tear trickled down her face. She wiped it away and realized her face was completely wet – apparently she had cried in her sleep. She freed herself from Maggie's embrace and attempted to dry Maggie's shoulder, which was wet from the tears. "Sorry," she mumbled and cleared her throat.
"You don't have to apologize," Maggie replied and stroked Tara's shoulder. Tara nodded and looked out of the window into the darkness. It had still been light outside when she had fallen asleep. Tara forced herself to breathe evenly and slowly the vivid images of her dream faded. How could you ever really start to accept this reality?
She had not expected that she would be able to sleep; the fact that they had separated from the rest of the group was terrifying. Not that she had spent overly much time with Rick and his people so far, but she had come to think that she would stay with them. She felt Maggie get up beside her, leaving her to her thoughts, and from the corner of her eye watched her move a few benches to the front to join Glenn.
No matter how terrifying it had been to leave Rick's group, Tara was incredibly thankful that Glenn and Maggie had come with her. They were more than just part of a way to survive, they were her friends. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever bonded with anyone like that. If there was such a thing as soul mates in this soulless world, then they were hers, both of them. She stared at the two of them, talking quietly to each other and wondered if there was any chance they felt the same about her. Tara turned her head to stare out into the darkness again. Who was she kidding? They loved each other. They were each others soul mates. She didn't fit into that equation.
As she watched the dark trees rush past, she felt her eyelids beginning to droop again. Please, no more dreams. She felt someone sit down beside her and heard Maggie whisper: "You alright?"
Tara nodded sleepily without opening her eyes and laid her head on the shoulder beside her. She felt a hand stroke her hair and finally drifted of into a dreamless sleep.