SARAH

Sarah had never felt better in her life. After a refreshing shower, she'd changed into fresh clothes and sprawled out on the couch, eyes closed, finally allowing herself to relax. Her stomach was full, and the pain in her hand was slowly fading.

"I can't stop smiling," she said, stretching her back as she glanced over at Nicki, who was changing her shirt.

"I can see that," Nicki replied with a grin, shaking her head in amusement.

"I can't believe we found this place," Sarah said, rolling onto her stomach to face her sister. "It feels like a miracle."

Nicki nodded, her expression turning thoughtful. "Maybe it is. But I wonder how long Jenner has been here. No family, no friends… People can go insane."

Sarah agreed. The thought of being isolated like that sent a shiver down her spine. It had already been tough adjusting to new people; she couldn't imagine facing all of this alone.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Sarah called out.

"Hey, girls!" Glenn's cheerful voice burst into the room, a wide smile plastered across his face, making them both chuckle.

"Glenn, have you been drinking?" Sarah asked, noticing the rosy tint on his cheeks.

"Yeah!" he replied with a giggle, leaning against the doorframe.

"What's up?" Sarah asked, amused.

"Wine!" Glenn announced, his voice rising with excitement. Sarah exchanged a glance with Nicki, who shrugged, clearly finding him funny.

"No, really, what do you want?" Sarah asked again.

"Oh, right!" Glenn said, snapping his fingers. "I found something for Nicolette." He burst into another fit of laughter, causing Nicki to frown in confusion.

"Nicolette? Nicki?" he said, chuckling. "It seems to talk about two different people."

"You're wasted," Nicki said, shaking her head, though a smile was tugging at her lips.

"No, no, really! Come on!" Glenn urged, gesturing for them to follow him, his enthusiasm infectious.

With a shared glance, Sarah and Nicki exchanged smiles before getting up to follow him, eager to see what surprise he had in store.

They walked through the corridor, looking closer at Glenn, afraid that he might fall on his face. It would have been funny, but the next morning, Sarah would have felt too bad looking at her sober friend's face.

"Here!" he said, opening a door. It was one of the rooms that Doctor Jenner had told them about. It wasn't huge, but there were some books and a TV, a sofa and a coffee machine.

"It's that a dartboard?" asked Nicki.

"And that's the surprise!" Glenn exclaimed happily. Sarah looked over at her sister, who walked towards the wall, taking one of the darts in her hand. It wasn't an arrow, but Sarah was pretty sure that it was enough for her.

Nicki took three darts in her hands and walked back to distance herself from the wall. She took position, observing the dartboard silently, before bringing the dart in front of her and aiming. It was very different from what she was used to, but Sarah couldn't help but smile when she saw her sister taking a breath. She smirked a little and threw the dart that hit very close to the center.

"Woah!" Glenn exclaimed, almost jumping from his spot.

Nicki looked at him from the corner of her eyes before aiming with another dart, which flew right in the centre this time. Sarah's smile grew wider when she saw that spark in her sister's eyes again. She was relaxing and having fun.

"Wow!" They turned to see Carl, Sophia, and Carol at the door.

"Nicki, you're very good!" Sophia exclaimed, running next to Nicki, who looked at them in surprise.

"I want to try!" said Carl, getting closer.

"We were supposed to go to bed," said Carol with a defeated smile.

"Five more minutes, mum, please," asked Sophia.

"Yeah, please," said Carl as Nicki was observing the two children.

"Just five," said Carol, sitting on the couch.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Glenn, making Sarah walk to him to help him sit down next to the woman.

"Can you do it again?" asked Sophia.

"Can you show me how to do it?" Carl asked with enthusiasm.

"Alright!" Nicki exclaimed, "But shut up, both of you. I was getting peace and quiet before you two." Then she turned to throw the last dart. The children exulted as Nicki managed to hit very close to the center again.

"She is very good," said Carol observing Nicki.

"Yeah," Sarah said. "She had made it to the Archery Nationals, finishing second in Atlanta's competition. "

She felt a little sad that her sister hadn't even had the chance to tell their parents that. It was the first time that Nicki qualified for the Nationals, and it seemed like a lifetime ago.

"You once said that you like to read, right?" Carol asked, making Sarah turn to her with a smile and nodding her head.

"A few doors on the right. There is a room bigger than this one, and there are many books," Sarah instinctively looked towards the door, "You can go take a look if you want." she was indeed tempted, but then she looked over Gleen, who seemed ready to fall asleep.

"Glenn and Nicki..."

"I'll look after them, don't worry," Carol said.

Sarah smiled at her before getting up to walk out of the door. She walked into the empty corridor to find the room Carol was talking about. She found it pretty soon; it wasn't very difficult since those rooms were all in a straight corridor. Sarah opened the closed door slowly, looking inside. It was indeed a huge room: two entrances, three couches, and a wall full of books and some table games. She smiled when she spotted Trivial Pursuit on the top of the bookcase. She remembered playing that with her friends Emily and Lucy. She wondered if they were still alive and safe. She usually tried not to think about her friends. It was too painful to think about them surviving in that world.

She then walked towards the shelves, noticing a book that had been left on a table. Sarah took it in her hands.

'To Kill a Mockingjay'.

She had read it a few years back; her mother had recommended it to her. She smiled sadly, thinking about her mum, and silently, she put it back on an empty shelf. Her finger traced all the covers, reading the titles. She had read some of them and brought back many memories. Others she had never got the chance to read. Now, she had some time—all the time in the world.

"Whatcha doin'?" she turned in surprise as she heard Daryl's voice.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said eyeing the bottle in his hand, "Even if it's quite evident."

"Ya feel so much bette' than me jus' cause yar some uptown girl?" His words made her frown with surprise as she observed him.

"Daryl, I..."

"I see how ya look at me," he interrupted her angrily, making her frown even more. "Ya think I'm jus' some worthless redneck."

"Ok," she said, walking to him, "I think you've had enough of this." As she tried to grab the bottle from his hand, Daryl snatched it away from her.

"Stop pitying me!" he spatted in her face, making her flinch in surprise before glaring at him.

"I'm not!" she exclaimed. "I'm just trying to help."

"Ya don't give a shit," he argued, pointing his finger at her. "I can do it on ma own, littl' girl. I don't need the help of a useless gir' who can't even defend herself! I don't own ya nothing!" he yelled at her. She knew that he was drunk, but she couldn't help but feel hurt by those words. Sarah had never spent much time with Daryl before the past few days. He and his brother had never been the type to make people feel at ease, but she had always tried to be nice even when they weren't.

"The fault is mine," she said without averting her eyes from him. "To think that you weren't as much of a jackass as your brother."

"Shut up!" he said angrily. But she ignored him.

"Maybe you're the one pitying yourself."

"I said shut up," but she shook her head.

"You don't even know me! Still, all you do is always point out how useless I am," she argued, feeling tears in her eyes. "I never asked you to help me!" he glared at her, getting his face closer.

"I don't give a shit abou' ya."

"You're an ass," she said before walking past him, not caring about pushing him a little so that she could get through.

He came at her and insulted her. She was minding his own business before he showed up. Why did he always have to be so hateful? She had never thought that he was an ignorant redneck. That he was a jackass, yes, and frequently, but then she had changed her mind. He had risked his life to take his brother back, he had saved her life, and he had felt bad for Jim too. He had defended all of them. Sure, he wasn't exactly kind, but she thought he was different from Merle. But he was just a giant ass.

Sarah hadn't slept much that night, thinking about what Daryl had told her. Yes, she couldn't shoot a stupid arrow in some walker's head, but she could learn how to defend her sister, that group, and herself. She wasn't useless; she even had learned how to fix car engines.

Just when she heard the others get up, she realized how much time she had spent thinking about the words of the jackass Daryl Dixon.

"I've spent too much time on it," she muttered, setting up with a groan.

"Getting crazy, are we?" asked Nicki, yawning as Sarah turned in surprise. "You starting to talk at no one."

"Did I wake you?" Sarah said, passing a hand through her brown hair.

"Nope," her sister replied, "I'm hungry."

Sarah looked at Nicolette, standing up and starting to change her clothes.

"Have you cried?" asked Nicki, pulling her black hair out of her shirt.

"No," said Sarah, walking to the bathroom to look at her image. She had just shed a few tears of anger when she lay down to get some sleep. But she definitely hadn't cried.

"Did you have fun last night?" she asked to Nicki from the bathroom.

"Yeah..." Nicki said in a not-very convincing tone.

"Sure?"

"That little shit, it's pretty good," Nicki groaned.

"Hey, language," Sarah said, frowning.

"Sorry," Nicki replied. "Just, Carl threw the dart and..."

"It hit the center?!" asked Sarah in shock, walking out of the bathroom.

"Please," Nicki scoffed. "If he did, I would have dumped archery."

Always dramatic...

"But he made really good points for a beginner."

"Well, his father is a cop" Sarah said shrugging her shoulders, making Nicki glare at her.

"And dad is a dentist, but I don't even know the names of all teeth."

"And we found something to do today," said Sarah, brushing her hair.

"Oh, shut up," Nicki scoffed before exiting the room, followed by a smirking Sarah.

As they arrived in the dining room, Sarah saw T-Dog with a pan, cooking something. It smelt so good. She couldn't wait to eat.

"Is that bacon?"

"You can bet on it, sweetheart," said T-Dog happily as she side-hugged him to thank him. Then she saw Jacqui getting coffee ready and Carol and Sophia already sitting at the table talking with Nicki.

Soon after, Lori and Carl arrived. Sarah smiled at them as they greeted her with a smile. Then Dale and Andrea entered the room.

"Good morning," the man said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Morning," she said before noticing Glenn walking to them with an exhausted expression.

"Morning, mister," she said, getting closer to her friend. "How are we doing today?"

"My head hurts," Glenn moaned, making her chuckle remembering him drunk. It was funny.

Her smile, though, disappeared as she saw Daryl enter the room. They looked at each other for a moment. He chewed his bottom lip slightly before turning to grab some bacon and sitting on the ground. Sarah observed him not being able to stop glaring, that conversation keep repeating in her mind.

Then she decided not to give Daryl that much of her attention, and turning, she took Glenn by the hand, pulling him with her. She helped him sit down as Jacqui sat closer to him to be sure he was alright. Sarah's gaze couldn't help but travel to Daryl, who wasn't sitting at the table but some meters away.

"Morning," said Rick, making his entrance and going to sit next to his wife.

"Are you hungover?" Carl said with a little smirk, "Mom said you'd be."

Rick nodded. "Mom was right."

"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori said, chuckling.

"Eggs," announced T-Dog, "Powdered, but I do 'em good."

"Give me some, please!" exclaimed Sarah, handing her plate to the man as Glenn moaned in pain.

"Protein helps the hangover," T-Dog said.

"Yeah, take these," Sarah said, pushing her plate at Glenn before handing another plate to T-Dog.

"Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again," complained Glenn as Jacqui rubbed his shoulders.

"I can't promise you anything," Sarah said, turning to Nicki. "He was quite the sight, right?"

"Oh, yeah," she said, biting her bacon.

"Witches," Glenn said, making them laugh.

"Hey," said Rick, making her turn to see Shane walk in, strangely not very relaxed.

"Hey," Sarah noticed Nicki's eyes studying the man, making her frown a bit.

"Feel as bad as I do?" asked Rick.

"Worse," Sarah turned to her eggs and ate some.

"What the hell happened to you?" T-Dog's question made her turn again towards the man. "Your neck?"

"I must have done it in my sleep," Shane explained, sitting down. Now, Sarah could see red scratches on the left side of his jaw and neck.

"Never seen you do that before," said Rick with a little frown.

"Me neither," Shane said, taking a breath. "Not like me at all."

"Quite the nails you've got there," said Nicki after sipping her juice and not giving Shane a glance. Sarah observed the man; there were some strange scratches, indeed.

"Morning." When Jenner entered, they all took their attention away from Shane. They all greeted the man as he walked to get himself some coffee.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing..." said Dale, making the man take a breath.

"But you will anyway."

"We didn't come here for the eggs," said Andrea, backing up Dale and bringing them all to reality. They were there for answers, and Sarah really hoped that the doctor could give them some good ones—not all, but maybe some.

After breakfast, they followed Jenner all the way to the control room of Zone 5.

"Give me playback of TS-19," said Jenner to Vi as they walked in. All of them got comfortable. T-Dog sat on a chair while Glenn and Sarah sat on a desk, looking at the big screen lit up.

"Playback of TS-19," Vi said as some images started to appear on the screen.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this," said Jenner as all of them got closer. "Very few".

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked in surprise, making Jenner look at him with a small smile.

"A very extraordinary one."

The images on the screen changed, zooming the brain and getting more and more in the details.

"What are those lights?" asked Shane.

"It's a person's life," explained Jenner, pointing at the screen. "Experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light is you... The thing that makes you unique. And human"

"You don't make sense ever?" asked Daryl with arms crossed. Sarah observed him for a moment before turning to the Doctor.

"Are those... synapsis or something?" she asked curiously.

"That's right, those are synapses," said Jenner. Electric impulses in the brain carry all the messages." It was really interesting to see how the brain worked, to see how a person thinks and lives from a scientific point of view. Sarah turned to Nicki, seeing her looking closely at the screen, as interested as they all were.

"This person died?" asked Andrea, taking a step forward. "Who?"

Jenner took a breath.

"Test subject 19," he said, "Someone who was bitten and infected... And volunteered to have us record the process." That person must have been very brave, facing death with open eyes just to let humanity have a small chance of surviving.

"Vi, scan forward to the first event."

They could see the subject's shape and the synapsis working, but then something dark started to branch out inside the brain, slowly invading it.

"What is that?" asked Glenn from next to her.

"It invades the brain like meningitis" Sarah observed the shape of the subject starting to her restless. It must have hurt. She felt for that person.

"The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs," said Jenner. "Then death."

The brain was now completely shut down. That made her heart race faster. They had just seen a person die from the inside. She couldn't help but feel a little frightened to see how it happened.

"So that's what happens," said Nicki, making Jenner nod his head.

"Everything you ever were or ever will be... Gone"

Sarah and Glenn looked at each other, she knew everyone was thinking the same thing; the people they had lost recently. Jim, Amy...

Sarah's eyes watered as Glenn side-hugged her. Jacqui was crying, and Andrea was trying not to fall apart right in front of everyone. Sarah and Andrea had never been close, but she couldn't help but want to go to her and give her a hug. Jenner was observing Andrea, somehow getting what she was feeling.

"She lost somebody two days ago," Lori explained. "Her sister"

"I lost somebody too," Jenner said, searching for Andrea's gaze. "I know how devastating it is." They stood in silence for a moment before Jenner asked Vi to show them the second event. Apparently, the timing for turning back as a walker was different from person to person, from three minutes to eight hours. It was so little of time.

Suddenly, sparks of faint red lights started to appear in the dark brain and spread.

"It restarts the brain?" asked Lori in disbelief.

"No, just the brain stem," Jenner explained. "Basically, it gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Asked Rick.

"You tell me."

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark."

Sarah nodded her head.

"That's why they just keep walking," she said. "They cannot think; they just... move."

"Dark, lifeless, dead," Jenner said, nodding his head. "The human part...That doesn't come back. The you part."

If it was me, I would rather be shot than become one of them.

Nicki's words came back to her mind as she looked at her sister, who was now looking away from the screen at the side of the room.

She was right. If that was what happened, Sarah felt the same. Better die than become those monsters...

Suddenly, a light passed through the subject's brain, leaving a big hole, which stopped the corpse's movement.

"God," said Carol. "What was that?"

"He shot his patient in the head," said Andrea. "Didn't you?" Jenner closed her eyes before ordering Vi to turn down the power on the screen.

They had seen the process, but that was all they got. There was nothing about how it started or how to end it. She suddenly felt the urge to walk; she was feeling nervous. That would have never stopped, they would have never come back to their normal lives, and that would have never ended.

"God..." she muttered, pacing around. Then she noticed Daryl glancing at her for a moment before turning away.

Yeah, she was freaking out, and she wasn't ashamed of that.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" asked Andrea.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal," said Jenner, just confirming their fears.

"Or the wrath of God?" said Jacqui.

There was nothing anymore, anywhere. Rick asked if there were other people or other facilities, but Jenner told them that it had been in the dark for almost a month.

"Oh my..." Sarah said nervously, trying to keep her hands from shaking. All of them were trying not to freak out.

"So, it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing?" asked Andrea. "That's what you're really saying, right?"

Jenner observed her for a moment before nodding his head sadly.

Her heart raced faster as they looked at each other in disbelief. Sarah searched for Nicki, who was sharing a glare with Dale.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again," she heard Daryl walking away from his spot, rubbing his eyes.

"Dr. Jenner," Dale's voice made her turn. "I know this has been taxing for you, and I hate to ask one more question, but..." What could have been worse than that? That clock...It's counting down." Sarah followed where Dale was pointing, the direction that Nicki had been looking. She hadn't noticed the large clock with red numbers. They were counting backward.

59.59, 59.58, 59.57...

Were those minutes?

"What happens at zero?" asked Dale with a worried tone. And he was right; nothing good could happen after a countdown if it wasn't New Year's Day.

"The basement generators...they run out of fuel," Jenner answered, looking at the ground. That didn't help Sarah's anxiety at all.

"And then?" asked Rick. But Jenner ignored him, walking away.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked, looking up and waiting for the answer.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur," Vi said, making her eyes widen.

Decontamination... whatever could happen, it wasn't good.