The Road Ahead of Us - TWD Season 2

SARAH

"You made it work!" Nicki exclaimed as she jumped into the car, Sarah's hands steady on the wheel as she maneuvered through the chaos outside. They had to make it back to the house, but uncertainty hung in the air—how long would the car hold up?

"You're so dead after this!" Sarah shot back, her focus on the road. She swerved to avoid a cluster of walkers. "What were you thinking?!"

"Can we save the lecture for later?" Nicki replied, glancing out the window, panic rising in her chest. "We gotta find Carl and Rick!"

Sarah pushed the car harder, but the sheer number of walkers was overwhelming. She couldn't take the risk of getting stuck.

"Alright," she said, her grip tightening on the wheel. Daryl had been right; they couldn't stay at the farm. They needed to reach the road.

"Nicolette, grab that rope behind you," she instructed, her voice steady despite the chaos.

"What?" Nicki barely heard her over the din of groans and shuffling feet.

"Take the rope!" Sarah urged, dodging another walker. "We need to buy ourselves some time."

"What the hell? Why is it wet?" Nicki cursed, her fingers brushing against the slick material.

"It's gasoline," Sarah explained, her heart racing. "Tie the ends to two arrows. We can create a diversion and make our escape."

"Leave the farm?" Nicki echoed, disbelief creeping into her tone.

"The place is lost," Sarah said, her voice heavy with resignation. "Defending it will only get us killed." She had clung to the hope that the farm could be their sanctuary—a place where they could build a semblance of normalcy together, but that dream had shattered. Safety was an illusion; they were never truly secure.

"Alright," Nicki muttered as she tied the rope around two of her arrows. Sarah nodded her head. They had to go away. Her mind went to Glenn, hoping that he was alright. She thought of Lori, hoping that she would decide to leave the house with Carol as well. She hoped that Rick and Carl were somewhere safe. And she thought of Daryl. And she so hoped that she would have seen him again.

"This is crazy, you know that?" Nicki said, glancing at her sister.

"Yeah," Sarah replied, swallowing hard.

With her friends in mind, Sarah turned the car around, determined to drive straight into the heart of the herd. They needed to create a distraction to buy them and their group time to escape.

"Go," Sarah said to her sister, who climbed out of the window and sat on it so that she could aim her bow from the top of the car.  She watched as one walker fell to the ground, an arrow lodged in its chest. Nicki's accuracy was impressive; another arrow found its mark in the skull of a second walker, sending it crumpling down. The rope tensed, taking down a dozen more as they drove forward.

"Coming back!" Nicki shouted, slipping inside just as Sarah came to a halt. With a lighter she'd found in the shed, she ignited the rope and threw it out into the fray. The flames caught quickly, igniting the gasoline. The sight of burning walkers created a fiery spectacle, drawing more of them into the chaos, allowing Sarah to steer the car away from the farm.

As she glanced in the rearview mirror, her heart shattered. The barn was almost reduced to ashes, engulfed in flames, while the relentless tide of walkers advanced toward the house. Panic gripped her. Were their friends alright? Were they even alive?

"How long can we go with this?" Nicki asked, her tone flat.

"We'll go as long as we can," Sarah replied, hastily wiping away her tears. Terror clawed at her insides. What was next? They were utterly alone, with no clear path ahead. Where could they find safety?