The Spirit

I awake from my slumber, and look around. Bill stands near the door, leaning back against the wall. It would seems as if the others are waking as well. In fact, next to Bill is the native american I knocked out yesterday. I pick myself off the inflatable mattress I slept on, and walk over to him, “Hey.”

He nods back, “Hello. I apologize for yesterday’s actions, I thought you were a demon. Can we put it behind us?”

He offers a hand, which I take, “I’m Survivor.”

He shakes, and nods, “Twin Blade. Pleasure to meet you. Good to see any face in this horrid world.”

I smile, “We won’t have to worry about that for much longer.”

Bill snorts out a laugh from beside me, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

I look at him, “Well, I was sent here on a mission to scavenge technology from my old world. We needed a way back, so I requested a portal for all of us.”

He shakes his head, “Where is it then?”

I glare at him a bit more, “This takes time to set up. Magic is a very complex art.”

He laughs again, “Magic? Don’t expect to get me to believe in a fairytale, son.”

I shake my head, “You don’t need to believe, old man. I will have location by this afternoon.”

He snorts, and shakes his head, “Yeah, whatever.”

I sigh, and turn around. Twin Blade puts his hand on my shoulder, “Be patient with Bill, he just wants to protect us.”

I nod, and he lets go of my shoulder.

I look at the people waking up, and see the girl from yesterday missing. I mentally shrug, and decide to go on the roof again.

I emerge on the rooftop, and see that she is leaning against the edge like I was yesterday. I walk up, making sure my boots make sound, and look over the rising sun next to her.

We stand like that for a bit, just looking at the rising Floridain sun. Bright blue skies filled with puffy white clouds float about, but make way for the sun.

I finally speak, “You’ve got some history, haven't you? Don’t speak in order to try to disconnect from reality.”

She looks over at me, and raises an eyebrow.

I continue on, “I’m the same way, you know. Wear this mask to create a barrier between myself and reality. So who am I to judge?”

She just looks back at the lot in front of us as it fills with undead.

I stare at them as well, “Do they scare you?”

She takes a second before nodding.

I nod as well, “I think all of us are. They are literally creatures of horror brought to life. But they can be changed from being scary very easy. You know how to shoot?”

She simply holds out her hand, and I give her my repeater. She takes a kneel on the roof, and assumes a shooting position. She calmly aims, and pulls the trigger.

A zombies head explodes with the silent shot. After five seconds, another has it’s head spread across the pavement. Then another.

She stands up, and hands me the repeater with a smug expression. I nod, “You can shoot, good.”

She nods, before walking back to the stairs.

But, I hear another two pairs of footsteps come up the stairs as she goes down. I turn around to see Lee and the little girl trailing behind him, “Lee, your on your feet already! Good.”

He smiles, “I don’t know what you did, but I feel perfectly fine.” He looks behind him, “Come on, don’t be like that.”

I smile as well as the little girl approaches closer, “And what’s your name?”

She quitely says out, “Clementine.”

I nod, “A fitting name. Clementines are both small and sweet, and you seem to fit those perfectly.”

She moves back a bit, “I’m not small...”

I slightly laugh, “You’re all small compared to me, except for that centurion and Sir Palmer. I’m a giant. I’m Survivor.”

Lee smiles, “What are you even doing up here?”

I motion out to the horizon, “Watching the Florida sun, my childhood memories before my eyes.”

He looks out at the bright blue sky, “You grow up around here, Survivor?”

I nod, “Only five minutes to the west from here. I remember eating at this Subway many times. What about you, Lee, where did you grow up?”

He smiles, “Macon, Georgia. You know it?”

I think for a bit, “Yeah, that name rings a bell. I think my Granny lived up near Macon for a while. No, wait, my great-Grandad owned a farm up near there, that’s where I remember it from.” I motion to Clementine, “What about her? You her father? I certainly don’t see a ring.”

He shakes his head, “Common idea. See, our world had an apocalypse exactly like this. I found her hiding in her treehouse and I ended up taking care of her. Met up with a family, with my friend Kenny, and met up with another group. Made it all the way to Savannah. Got bit, and couldn’t do much after a while. I think you and Kenny would’ve gotten along, he was a fisherman down here.”

I nod, “I’m sure he was a great person. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Lee.”

He smiles, and nods back, “A pleasure to meet you too, Survivor. Come on now, they have breakfast ready.”