Thank you for all the new follows! I've been busy the last few days so it's been difficult for me to update. This chapter was written a bit rushed so I could update and I'm hoping to update soon and start getting closer to finishing out this season.

Galwidanatitud: Sarah definitely needs a wake up call! Though it might take her awhile to understand what the world is really like!

Tension filled the living room as I entered. The moment everyone spotted me, the room became silent and all eyes turned to me.

"You're awake," Dale said, sounding relieved. "Been worried about you all day."

"Yeah," I said as I eyed the group. "I'm fine. Daryl kept an eye on me." I cleared my throat awkwardly as Shane shifted in the doorway beside me. "I didn't mean to interrupt, I was just looking for Sarah."

"She's upstairs with Maggie. They're taking care of Beth," Andrea told me.

I nodded and uttered a small thanks, making my way towards the stairs. I paused with one hand on the railing, shooting one last awkward glance back at the group. Everyone was avoiding eye contact with each other for some reason.

Strange.

I made my way up the stairs and headed straight towards the room I had previously been sharing with my sister and my cousins. I found the three inside, as I had been expecting to. Beth lay silently under the sheets, her eyes open and staring vacantly at the ceiling. Her face was pale and expressionless.

Maggie and Sarah both turned as I entered the room and closed the door behind me. Maggie offered me a slight smile in greeting, though Sarah was openly frowning.

"How's she doing?" I asked the two.

Sarah continued to frown in my direction so Maggie was the one to speak up.

"She's been like this all day," she told me. "She won't talk or eat. Won't drink any water. She doesn't even seem to respond like anyone is here. Daddy still isn't back yet and I don't know what more to do…"

I could see the pain on Maggie's face as she turned her attention back to her sister, gingerly running a hand over her blonde hair. Beth continued to lie motionless and unresponsive in the bed.

I turned my attention to my sister. "Sarah, can I talk to you?"

I watched as her frown deepened. "About how your people killed our parents?"

"We should probably not talk here…" I said, my voice trailing off as I gestured towards Beth.

Reluctantly Sarah stood and exited the room without a word, her eyes avoiding me entirely as she moved. Maggie shot me a sympathetic look before turning her undivided attention to her sister. I let out a sigh and followed after Sarah.

I found her in the third bedroom, where Carl had been recovering from his injury just days ago. She sat down on the bed and folded her hands in her lap before eyeing me. I decided I was more comfortable leaning against the wall from across the room, putting space between myself and that icy stare.

"You told me our parents were dead," I started off saying. "You didn't say they'd been infected."

"So you admit it's a sickness," Sarah said in mock surprise. Her voice was bitter—a stark difference from every other encounter we'd currently had.

"Yes, it starts off that way. But it eventually kills you. And then you come back as something that isn't you anymore," I told her.

"You don't know that," Sarah shot at me.

"Actually, I do," I said. "The other week, before Carl was shot and before we made it here, we were in Atlanta. At the CDC."

Sarah seemed to struggle to hide her curiosity behind her anger at the mention of the CDC.

"There was only one man still left alive there trying to keep the place going. His name was Jenner. He showed us what information the CDC had collected on this…disease. But even they didn't know much about it. They didn't even know what it is," I continued on. "But he showed us the brain activity of one of the test subjects—his wife. After someone is infected with that disease, a few hours later, they die. All brain activity ends. But then some time later, they come back. But not every part of them. Not the parts that made them who they were. That's all gone."

I could see the tears welling up in Sarah's eyes as she listened to me. She was shaking her head, not wanting to believe it.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. But it's the truth. Those things that came out of the barn today? Those weren't the people you all knew and loved."

"Uncle Hershel said they were just sick," Sarah said, her voice weak. "There has to be a cure. Somewhere."

I shook my head slowly. "Sarah. This has happened everywhere in the world. Jenner told us France was the last to fall. I know this is hard to hear, but it's the truth." I paused, chewing my lip in contemplation before asking her, "When was the last time you left the farmhouse?"

"I haven't. Not since we came here," Sarah admitted quietly. "Maggie, Jimmy, and Otis usually made the runs into town."

"So you don't know what it's like out there?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, not since the last news reports. Which were months ago now."

"I've been out there only a few weeks, and I can assure you. Those things out there? Whatever they are, they're not people anymore. I know Shane handled the situation less than poorly, but you saw that…woman get shot multiple times and she stayed on her feet. If these people were just sick, they should still die from a bullet like that." I pushed a few strands of hair behind my ear. "They're dangerous, whatever they are. If you get close enough, they'll kill you."

"But why?"

I shrugged. "For some reason they seem to have some insatiable hunger for living flesh."

Sarah winced and looked down at her hands. She was quiet for a few moments.

"I think I need time to process what you said," she finally spoke up. "I just…can't stop seeing that friend of yours put a bullet in their heads."

"I understand," I told her. "It's a lot to take in."

She let out a humorless snort. "Probably nothing like waking up from a coma to all of this and being all alone."

A sad smile crossed my lips. "I wasn't alone for long. I found Rick, and then we eventually found the others. But that's a story I can tell you another time."

She nodded in response before standing up from the bed.

"Are we good?" I asked her. "You don't hate me or my friends?"

"I guess there's a lot I don't understand, but you're still my sister. I trust your judgement and I believe you're telling the truth. And I know after Maggie's last run into town her view on those…walkers has changed."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened this morning. At the barn. Shane shouldn't have gone about that the way he did," I told her.

"I just hope Uncle Hershel makes it back. For Beth's sake," Sarah told me before exiting the room.

I heard the door across the hall open and close and I figured she had gone in to stay with Beth and Maggie. I let out a sigh and made my way back down the stairs. The living room was empty now. I frowned and made my way outside. I spotted Dale on top of the RV and I made my way over, climbing up to the top of the vehicle.

"Any news on the others in town?" I asked Dale.

He shook his head before glancing back out towards the road. "They've been gone a few hours now. They should be back soon. I'm sure they're just trying to find Hershel. And after this morning, I don't think it'll be easy talking to him and getting him to come back."

"I know you're not Shane's biggest fan, but he was right. It wasn't safe living next to a barn full of those walkers. But he should have let us find a better way to show Hershel the truth instead of firing six rounds into his neighbor's chest before putting one in her head."

"You talk to your sister?" Dale asked me, changing the subject quite obviously.

I moved to sit down beside the older man, pulling my legs into myself to keep warm.

"Yeah. She wasn't as hard to convince when I told her about the CDC. And I suppose it helped that Maggie's views had already changed on the subject. Still don't think she fully agrees though, but that makes sense since she hasn't left the farmhouse in months. She hasn't actually seen these things in person."

"Unfortunately that's bound to change," Dale said solemnly.

I shot him a look. "What makes you say that?"

Dale let out a sigh. "I'd love to believe this farmhouse is a sanctuary that we can live out our days at peacefully. But that's just wishful thinking. Something is going to happen one of these days, I'm just hoping we can make it through the winter here before it does."

"That's a bleak thought."

"It's a bleak world out there," Dale said.

A few minutes of silence fell between us before I caught Dale try to suppress a yawn with his hand.

"Why don't you let me take watch the rest of the night?" I suggested suddenly. "It looks like you could use the sleep. And I basically slept the entire day."

Dale turned and stared at me for a moment as he contemplated the idea. "You sure?"

"Yeah. I might not be a great shot but I can keep an eye out for anything out there and alert everyone," I told him.

"Alright, I'll just be in the RV then. Wake me up if anything happens," Dale said before handing me the binoculars. He placed the rifle down beside me. "Just in case."

I watched as he climbed down the back of the RV and then I was alone. My eyes scanned the tree line in the distance. If I squinted just enough I could make out the small fire still burning over by Daryl's tent. I lifted the binoculars up and held them to my eyes, searching through the dark night, but I couldn't spot him. I dropped the binoculars back into my lap with a sigh. I wanted to help out by keeping watch, but I didn't realize just how boring staring into the darkness all night would be while everyone slept.

I just hope the others get back here soon.

The sun was peeking out just above the treetops finally. I had spent the last half hour watching its slow rise. The night had been uneventful, which was good despite the fact that that meant Rick, Glenn, and Hershel still had not come back. I had spent the last hour contemplating running into town myself to look for them, but then realized how stupid of an idea that would be. I didn't even know how to get into town from here.

"You still up there, Isabell?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden voice. I glanced down at the hatch in the RV beside me to see Dale staring up at me.

"Yeah, still here."

"The others make it back yet?" he asked hopefully.

I shook my head in response.

"I was thinking about gathering some people together to go look for them then," Dale told me. "They've been gone too long."

"I'll come with," I volunteered immediately. "Just let me grab my things from my tent and I'll be ready to go."

Dale nodded his head. "I'll go see who I can wrangle up to make the trip."

I made my way over to the back of the RV and began my descent down the ladder. It was only a few short steps before I was back on the ground. I quickly turned and headed over to my tent. The tent flap was unzipped so I made my way inside. Everything was still where I had last left it. I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder before grabbing my hunting knife and securing it to my belt.

I was back at the RV where Andrea and Dale were conversing.

"I'm ready to go," I informed the pair.

"Shane and Daryl are getting the car ready," Dale told me, pointing off towards the other two who were piling guns and bags into the back of a car.

Andrea was anxious to be doing something—that much was obvious by the way she led us straight to the car without another word.

"We ready to go?" Shane's voice asked as he eyed the three of us.

Daryl shot me a concerned look. "You sure you want to come?"

"Of course, I want to make sure they're all okay, too."

"It's not exactly safe out there," Daryl continued. "You were out of it all day yesterday. And you didn't sleep all night."

"I'm fine," I assured him.

"Guys?" Andrea's voice said, catching our attention. "Is that them?"

The four of us turned and spotted a car coming down the road. I recognized it as Hershel's.

"That's them," Dale said with relief.

"Bout damn time," Daryl muttered.

Shane quietly began pulling the bags back out of the trunk of the car, no longer needing them for a rescue mission. The rest of us watched in silence as the vehicle turned into the long drive towards the farmhouse. We began making our way towards it before Rick parked the car right in front of the house. He was rushing out of the door the minute he'd killed the engine. Occupants inside the house came rushing out: Lori, Carl, Carol, Maggie, Patricia, Jimmy. Suddenly everyone was outside surrounding the group that'd been missing all night.

I watched as Rick was reunited with his family, a small smile on my lips at the sight. Maggie rushed forward, and to my surprise, ignored her father and instead pulled Glenn into a hug as he got out of the back of the car. Something caught my eyes though and I took a few steps to peer inside. A young man was sprawled out and unconscious in the backseat.

I vaguely was aware of Hershel angrily ordering Patricia to prepare the shed for surgery. My eyes were glued to the guy bleeding out from his leg. There was a red piece of fabric tied around his face as a makeshift blindfold.

"Who is this?" I suddenly asked, turning to Rick and Glenn.

"That's Randall," Glenn told us as everyone's eyes darted to the young man in the car.

Daryl was beside me immediately, eyeing the stranger from head to toe. He let out a grunt but said nothing further as everyone else began crowding around to get a view.

"I'm going to get him to the shed for Hershel to fix up his leg. After that, I'll explain everything and we can discuss what to do with him," Rick informed everyone.

"What to do with him?" I asked in confusion. My eyes found Daryl's as he stood beside me among the group.

Daryl's lips set themselves into a straight line at my questioning gaze before his eyes dropped to the ground. Obviously Daryl could think of a few things that Rick meant by that.