Sarah woke to screams and gunshots outside.
She sat upright, squinting in the darkness and fumbled around for her knife and handgun. Lisa sat up too, panic clear on her face. Sarah finally found her gun as Lisa flipped on the flashlight.
Olivia and Noah both scrambled out of their sleeping bags, diving into Sarah's arms. "Mama what's going on? Are the monster walkers coming to get us?" Olivia asked, clinging to her mom.
"I don't know what's going on baby," she replied, her mind racing. She flipped the safety off her gun. "Mom, I need you to - "
"Sarah!" they heard Rick yell from outside the tent. The zipper started coming undone and she saw Rick and John outside, reaching in for them. She passed Olivia to Rick's outstretched arms and shoved Noah into John's chest. She grabbed her Mom's arm and pulled her out with her, holding onto her for dear life as she kept her kids in her sight.
The camp was in pandemonium, walkers and people running around, guns going off.
"Come on - get to the RV!" Rick yelled as he grabbed a hold of Sarah's hand, John already running that way with Noah. She could see Lori, Carl, and Dale on top of the RV already. Dale was shooting off rounds.
They made it to the door of the RV and John swung it open, running up the stairs and depositing Noah onto the couch. Sarah pushed her mom in front of her before climbing the stairs and turned to grab her daughter.
Rick tried to hand Olivia to her, but Sarah wasn't looking. Just over Rick's shoulder, she saw a walker headed straight for them, just feet behind Rick and Olivia and reaching for them. Sarah didn't even think. She raised the gun and aimed, hitting the walker right between the eyes. Rick jumped and glanced behind him as Sarah ripped Olivia from his arms and placed her onto the couch next to Noah.
He turned and looked at her, grabbed her face and kissed her hard on the mouth. He mouthed a thank you and she gave him a half smile. Then he turned around and ran into the night, his Colt Python raised, shooting walkers as he went. John jumped off the stairs of the RV and ran behind him.
Sarah, worried about Rick but wanting to protect those in the RV, closed the door and went about helping Lisa get them onto the roof where it was safest. When she climbed up, she saw the carnage around camp as the last few gunshots rang out in the pre-dawn light.
She put Olivia down in Carl's lap with Noah sitting next to them, a blanket wrapped around all three. Olivia was crying silently while both boys sat stone faced. Lisa sat down with them, looking scared to death.
"What the hell happened?" she asked Lori.
"I'm not sure. John and I were on duty and we saw one walker come out of the woods, so we signaled to Glenn and Shane to take it out silently, but then the woods came alive with walkers - too many for just the four of us. So we just started shooting. So many walkers..." she faded off. "John ran to get Rick, so Dale came up to help me."
Glenn came over to the RV. "Seems like we got them all. Have the kids stay up there for now, just in case."
Sarah looked at Lisa and asked her to stay with the kids. She kissed both of them as Dale offered to stay as well. Sarah and Lori climbed down to join the others.
The bodies of walkers and fellow campers littered the ground, most of whom she recognized but didn't know well.
"Has anyone seen Rick?" she asked Glenn and Jim. "Or John?"
Glenn nodded. "Yeah, they're over near the Pellitier's tent last I saw them."
A feeling of dread came over her as she and Lori ran across camp. When they came upon the scene, she saw Rick standing with John and Daryl with sad looks on their faces. Carol was sitting to the side, Christy's arms around her shaking shoulders.
Rick turned to see Sarah and Lori and put his hand up. "Sarah, Lori, don't - " but they ran over to the tent.
The bloody scene in front of them brought vomit to the back of Sarah's throat.
She could make out Ed just inside the ripped tent, torn to shreds by walkers, his face mutilated and his insides ripped out. There were walker bodies piled up outside the tent and covering Ed, at least 4 that Sarah could count. Lori gasped and moved closer to Sarah as they surveyed the scene.
Sarah looked away to Christy and Carol sitting on the ground next to the tent, Carol's sobs ripping out of her chest as Christy shushed her and held her tight. Christy couldn't meet her friends eyes as she rocked Carol, appearing to be in shock like the rest of them.
"Where's Soph -" Lori started to whisper to Sarah when she suddenly stopped, grabbing Sarah's arm and covering her mouth in horror.
Sarah followed Lori's line of sight just behind Ed and made out the purple color of Sophia's shirt. The young girl who had just been playing dolls with Olivia that afternoon lay facing away from the front of the tent, covered in blood and her body draped by two dead walkers, a chunk of flesh missing from her shoulder and neck.
"N-no...No way..." Sarah let out and she started to back away from Lori, shrugging her off as Lori collapsed to the ground.
Sarah started shaking, the vomit working it's way up and she leaned over into the bushes and emptied her stomach, the disgusting taste of bile and force of it making her eyes water. She started to cry, her stomach hurting at the thought of Carol losing her husband and child in such a brutal way. 'That could have been...' Sarah thought to herself as a fresh wave of nausea hit and she puked again. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get rid of the images burned into her memory.
She felt Rick come over and stand next to her, rubbing her back soothingly. She took a few deep breaths and stood upright, wiping her mouth with a shaky hand, tears staining her cheeks. Rick pulled her into his arms. "Hey it's ok," he whispered. Sarah nodded, squeezing her eyes closed. She was still thinking about how easily that could have been them...if Rick and John hadn't come to the tent in time...
She gasped for air and held back a sob. He stroked her back and kissed her lightly on the top of her head. She squeezed him tightly and stepped back, working to compose herself. He held on to her waist and looked down into her eyes. "You're ok. The kids are ok. That's all that matters," he whispered.
"And you're okay," she sighed, resting her forehead on his chin.
"I'm okay," he said. He kissed her lightly on the lips and she gave him a small smile. He stepped back and put his arm around her waist, turning to John, who was comforting Lori and Daryl who was talking to Shane.
Her breath caught in her throat and Rick tightened his grip around her waist. Shane turned to look at them.
"Are you okay?" he asked Sarah. She nodded. "The kids?"
"They're fine. They're with mom and Dale." He nodded and turned back to Daryl. A small part of her wondered if he witnessed the moment between them. Shane had a way of hiding his emotions until they exploded - usually with her on the receiving end. The other part of her didn't give a shit - she was quickly falling more in love with her best friend and he felt the same way.
Rick pressed a kiss to her temple and joined the guys to talk about how to handle things.
Later that afternoon, everyone was exhausted after helping to clean up bodies. Lori and Lisa had the kids in the RV with Carol and Jacqui, keeping them entertained while Carol mourned in the back room not speaking to anyone, tears dried on her face.
Dale kept lookout on the RV and three other guys whose names Sarah couldn't remember kept watch on the perimeter.
It was decided that the walkers would be burned - 25 total. Christy, Sarah, Rick, and Daryl worked to load the bodies into a pile for burning. They would bury their fellow campers - 6 total - and Andrea, Jim, Shane, and T-Dog had been digging graves all day.
They also broke down all of the tents and piled them back in the cars. They moved the cars up to the RV, all of them facing out in case they had to move quickly.
There had been much conversation about where the next move would be - Shane thought they should head to Ft Benning, thinking that the military would be well-equipped to take them. Rick thought the CDC was the better option - he figured the government and military would be protecting them if they were working on a cure.
Sarah was inclined to side with Rick, and not because of their budding relationship, but the PA in her agreed - the CDC would be protected at all cost.
Rick lit a match and threw it on the pile of walkers after Daryl spread a tiny bit of fuel on the bodies. Christy stood next to her and wiped the sweat from her brow, blood and dirt all over her body. Sarah knew she looked just as rough and tired.
Rick came and stood next to them, looking even worse. "Thanks for your help," he said, wiping blood and sweat from his arms with a towel. They all nodded. He handed the towel to Sarah and she thanked him. "Pretty sure we have enough light left to wash up down at the lake before the burials."
"Why don't you and Sarah go first and we can keep watch up here?" Christy suggested as Daryl joined them.
"Yeah, we will keep watch if you'll switch with us after," Daryl added.
"Sounds like a plan," Rick said. He reached for Sarah's hand and they headed off for their cars. They each grabbed cleanish clothes and soap and headed down to the lake, passing Daryl and Christy with nods.
Sarah grew anxious about getting undressed and bathing with Rick there...and him being Rick, he picked up on it. "You go ahead and I'll keep lookout," he told her, kissing her lightly on her lips. "I promise not to peek..."
She smiled and gave him a tight hug. "Thanks, Rick."
She quickly undressed and went neck deep in the water, shivering at the slight chill in the water.
"Is it warm at all?" Rick called to her, his back turned, scanning the woods.
"Could be worse, but right now I don't care…it feels amazing," she replied, quickly washing off. He laughed softly and she saw him glance over his shoulder at her. She smiled feeling shy. He grinned and turned back around.
When she got out, she wrapped herself in her towel and walked up behind him. "Ok, Officer, it's all yours." He turned and looked at her, his eyes meeting hers. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the look on his face.
"You're beautiful," he said, putting his hands on her bare upper arms bringing goosebumps all over her skin. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She melted into him, putting her arms around his neck. She opened her mouth and his tongue plunged in to meet hers. She moaned as his hand slipped down to her lower back and he pulled her closer to him.
"Hey! Y'all almost done?" Daryl's voice came from the top of the hill. Sarah jumped back, looking at a very frustrated Rick.
"Yeah!" Rick called out. "Two minutes," he said, giving her a look. He leaned in to kiss her again. "I guess now is not the time..." he whispered against her mouth. She blushed and felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach. She kissed him again and he smiled, going to take his own bath.
The burials took a few minutes time and they left Carol with T-Dog, Jacqui, and Andrea as she mourned by the grave sites of her husband and daughter.
As they gathered around the fire for dinner, the final discussion of where to go was had. Shane was sticking by Ft Benning and Rick was adamant about the CDC.
"I'm with Rick on this," Christy offered.
"Me, too," Sarah spoke up, hugging Olivia to her, the 5-year old sitting backwards, her head resting on Sarah's chest. "The government will be posted there to help protect the doctors and scientists to help cure this thing." Rick reached over and put his hand on her knee, giving it a soft squeeze.
Shane scoffed. "You would agree with Rick," he said quietly.
"Excuse me?" Rick spoke up, turning his hard gaze to him. "Something you want to say, Shane?"
"No man. I'm okay." He gave him a fake smile. Sarah glared at him.
Rick stared hard at him before continuing. "So," Rick continued, "I think we should leave for the CDC in the morning. Tonight we'll sleep in the cars."
When no one disagreed, they all finished eating and dispersed for the evening. Lori, John, and Carl gave her and the kids hugs and kisses as they headed toward John's truck.
"Hey," Rick said, turning to her, "So Dale is letting your mom stay in the RV with him, Carol, Andrea, and Jim. Mind if I crash with you and the kids?"
"Sure," she said, warmth coming over her body. "Let me just check with Christy."
"Um, she's staying with Daryl in his truck."
She looked surprised and laughed. "Really?"
He laughed, too. "Yeah, I know."
"Ricky, you're gonna stay with us?" Olivia asked quietly. Noah looked hopeful, standing next to Sarah.
"Yes, ma'am, Liv. Noah, is that okay with you, buddy?" he asked kneeling down by him.
"Sure is, Rick!" he exclaimed, smiling.
Liv grinned, the first real smiles from them in days. "YES!" she replied, jumping into his arms from Sarah's.
Sarah laughed as Rick hugged Olivia to him and pulled Noah to his side. He smiled at her, his blue eyes crinkled. Sarah leaned in and kissed his cheek.
They threw their paper plates in the trash, Rick still holding Liv. Sarah and Rick sought each other's hand, intertwining their fingers as they headed to her SUV, Noah just in front of them.
As she put Noah in the backseat, she saw Shane's face out of the corner of her eye, standing there scowling, his brown eyes dark by Rick's truck.
She stared at him until he smirked and got into the truck.
This isn't good, she thought.