SARAH
"Hey, what are you doing?" Glenn's voice came from beside her, his hands in his pockets as he walked closer.
Sarah smiled, glancing at the screwdriver in her hand. "I was thinking about Dale," she answered. "That was one of his." He had taught her many things about cars and engines; she just wished he could have had more time with them. She wished he was still with them. Taking a deep breath, she put the screwdriver back in the toolbox.
"I was thinking of building traps," she said, turning to her friend.
"Traps?" Glenn asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah," Sarah replied, her excitement building. "Something to defend ourselves in case of attacks. The reinforcements could work well, but we might need a way to lure walkers away, just in case."
"Like what?" Glenn asked, a smile breaking across his face as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Walkers are attracted to noise and lights," Sarah explained. "Maybe we could build something to distract them. I don't know... something that makes noise or catches fire when it's pulled."
Glenn grinned at her. "I missed you creating stuff." Sarah nodded, feeling a warmth in her chest.
"I didn't think it would be needed anymore," she admitted sadly. She had really believed they were safe at the farm; she never imagined that the events of the night before could happen again.
"Maybe we can go scavenging together to find what you need." At Glenn's words, her face lit up, and she placed a grateful hand on his forearm.
"Is Maggie all right?" Sarah asked, closing Dale's toolbox. Glenn nodded.
"She's glad her father is letting us stay," he answered, his expression softening.
"We all are," Sarah said, tilting her head at him. "I can't wait to get to know her better. I've talked to her a bit, and I think she's lovely." Glenn chuckled, looking down.
"She said something along those lines about you," he added, making her smile. She genuinely wanted to be friends with her best friend's girlfriend.
"How's Daryl?" Glenn asked, a hint of curiosity in his tone. "I've seen you two getting pretty close."
"He's getting closer to everybody," she replied, a small smile forming as her thoughts drifted to the archer. But then, the memory of the previous night struck her, and she continued, "It meant a lot what he did last night." She thought about what Daryl had to do for Dale. He stepped up when Rick couldn't, though Sarah didn't blame the sheriff; she understood him completely.
"I'm sorry," she had told Daryl that morning on the porch, where he was sitting quietly.
"Wha'?" he asked softly, looking up at her.
Sarah took a breath, moving closer to him. "I'm sorry you had to do it," she said, still feeling the memory of Dale's hand going limp in her grasp when Daryl pulled the trigger.
"Someone had ta..." Daryl said, his gaze steady on hers. She knew he was right. Dale had been suffering so much; they couldn't leave him like that. But it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Dale should have been safe at the farm.
Sarah took a shaky breath. "Nobody is ever safe, right?" she said, sitting next to him. His eyes never left her face; she could feel their weight. But his gaze wasn't intimidating; it was comforting.
"We are," he muttered.
"How can you say that?" she asked, almost begging him to prove her wrong. Terror gripped her heart. She had truly believed nothing could happen to them there. "After what happened—"
"Just know that we are," he said, making her look up at him. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she met his gaze.
"I'm scared, Daryl," she admitted, struggling to keep her lips from quivering. "I'm tired of losing people." A small sob escaped her. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to seem weak, but she couldn't lie—neither to herself nor to the others.
"Sarah," him whispering her name was almost soothing. When she looked at him, a tear rolled down her cheek. "It's gonna be fine," he said, and for some reason, she believed him.
"You trust him a lot, don't you?" Glenn asked, and Sarah nodded immediately.
Glenn smiled at her. "You're good at judging people. You've trusted him for a long time."
Sarah's gaze fell to the scar on her hand, the one she had given herself while trying to kill a walker with the glass from a broken bottle. Daryl had saved her, bringing her to safety. No one would have believed that one of the two aggressive rednecks in camp would ever have done that. But he did. From that moment on, Sarah had seen how Daryl acted. He cared about people, even if he pretended he didn't. After what happened with Carol and Sophia, there was nothing more she needed to see. She trusted Daryl Dixon, and she cared for him.
"Rick!" T-Dog's voice made them all turn toward the door. What was happening now?
It didn't take long for them to rush outside, afraid that what happened to Dale could happen again.
"What's happening?" Lori asked, noticing her husband running behind the house.
"Randall escaped," Nicolette said, urgency lacing her voice.
Sarah's breath caught in her throat as she looked at Glenn.
"We've got to help," he said, and without another word, Sarah followed her friends toward the cabinet. Nicki quickly joined them, and soon everyone else did too.
"Should we look around?" Andrea asked, entering the cabin. Daryl was observing the door closely, a frown on his face as he searched for traces.
"Did he break the door?" Sarah asked, frowning as she moved closer to Daryl. He shook his head and gestured to the door for her to see.
"It's not broken," he explained. "T-Dog said it was locked."
That made sense to Sarah; Randall was a lean guy—he could never break a locked door with his bare hands. But if he hadn't broken it and hadn't forced it open, how did he escape?
"Was it locked from the outside?" she asked, looking at T-Dog as Daryl moved past her to examine the ground, taking careful steps.
"Yeah, Sarah," T-Dog replied, glancing at the trees. "The lock was on the outside, and it was working fine." Sarah frowned as she examined the lock and chain.
So, according to what he was saying, Randall had managed to unlock it and escape. But instead of running away, he took the time to put the chain back on and close the lock. That didn't make any sense.
"That's impossible; there's no other way out," Glenn said from beside her.
"How long has he been gone?" Hershel asked, but Rick shook his head as he walked outside.
"It's hard to say," he replied. "The cuffs are still hooked." Sarah's brows furrowed even more. Weren't they supposed to be broken? How had he managed to escape?
"So, what? He—he slipped them?" Sarah asked, anxiety rising within her.
"Probably," Rick said, glancing at the cabin.
"Is that even possible?" Carol asked, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"It is if you've got nothing to lose," Andrea said, stepping out the door.
"He must be bleeding badly," Nicki remarked, catching Rick's attention.
"The door was secured from the outside," Hershel noted.
"Yeah, Daryl was saying the same thing," Sarah nodded. What was happening? Where was the blood? The cuffs were made of steel; if someone tried to pull against them too hard, their skin should have been cut. And why was the door still closed?
"Rick!" a voice shouted, and Sarah instinctively pulled her sister behind her. "Rick!" Shane burst out of the woods, his face covered in blood.
"What happened?" Lori asked, her voice filled with concern.
"He's armed!" Shane exclaimed as he drew closer. "He's got my gun!"
Sarah's eyes widened as she glanced at Glenn.
"Are you okay?" Carl asked, standing next to his mother.
"I'm fine," Shane replied. "The little bastard just snuck up on me and clocked me in the face."
"Quite the hit he has," Nicki muttered beside Sarah, who gently nudged her toward Carl as she moved closer to Rick.
"Didn't he know we were letting him go?" Sarah asked, her worry deepening. Rick was studying Shane before turning to her.
"Maybe... he didn't believe us," he said, then looked at the others. "All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everyone back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us!"
Daryl stood next to Sarah, loading his crossbow. She instinctively reached out to grab his arm, making him turn to her. A little frown appeared on his face as his blue eyes searched her expression.
She didn't like the situation at all. Everything felt strange. Randall's escape made no sense, and heading into the woods at night felt like a trap. Fear filled Sarah's heart; she didn't want to lose anyone else.
"Don't go," she pleaded, her voice trembling slightly. He glanced at her hand, hesitation flickering across his face before their eyes locked, the weight of the moment hanging between them.
"It's gonna be fine," he replied with a small nod. "Go inside with the others; we'll be right back."
She knew they had to go. Shane had said Randall was armed now. God only knew where he was—he could be gone or hiding, ready to take vengeance on them. "Okay..." Sarah nodded, taking a couple of deep breaths to steady herself before letting him go. "Be careful... please," she begged, her voice barely above a whisper. Daryl nodded once more, concern etched on his face, before she reluctantly turned to head toward the house, her heart heavy with worry.
"Be back soon," she called to Glenn as he passed by. "Stay safe!"
"You too," he replied.
"Just let him go," Carol urged as Sarah placed her hands on Nicki and Carl's shoulders. "That was the plan, right? To just let him go?"
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun," Rick replied as Shane took the gun from T-Dog.
"Don't go out there," Carol insisted, her voice rising with urgency. "You all know what can happen!" Sarah and Daryl exchanged one last glance, a mix of concern and unspoken worry in their eyes, before he turned to follow Rick toward the trees with Glenn and Shane. As he stepped away, Sarah felt a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach, the weight of uncertainty heavy on her heart.
"Get everybody back in the house," Rick commanded. "Lock all the doors and stay put!"
"Okay, let's go," Andrea said, pushing Carol toward the house. Sarah caught Maggie's gaze, and in that brief moment, they shared an understanding of the fear and worry weighing on them. They both nodded, silently acknowledging the danger they were facing, before turning and running inside together.
"I'll take the guns," Andrea said as they all rushed in.
"I'll lock the doors," Maggie called, heading to the kitchen while Beth moved to close the back door.
Andrea returned with the guns, handing one to each of them.
"What if something happens?" Carol asked, panic creeping into her voice.
"Rick's got it," Lori said, trying to calm herself.
"We don't know this guy!" Carol protested.
"It's gonna be fine," Sarah murmured, heading toward the window and peering through the gaps between the beams. "It's gonna be fine."