Second Chance

It's been nearly two months since I decided to start over new. The people were friendly and the whole vibe to the town was always cheerful. The Governor would bring back people everyone once in awhile to join the growing community. There were at least seventy people now. Most of them I still had no clue to what their names were. I kept to myself and usually just walked around helping with whatever could be done. My gunshot wound had completely healed as well as my sprained ankle. I loved being able to walk around without feeling any pain in my body. It felt like everything was just like it had been before the dead began to walk.

It was a warm April day, my twentieth birthday to be exact. I had found a calendar and began marking down the days until now since some of the people here had been keeping track of the days. Someone had even written in on the calendar when my birthday was, so most people probably knew. It was kind of hard to miss the huge 'Lizzie Taylor's birthday!!!' on the April 16th box.

People were out on the streets talking, wishing me a happy birthday as I went by. I smiled at them and thanked them. I was thankful that none wanted to start conversations with me. I guess they knew that I wasn't one to talk a lot or join in on activities that involved a lot of people. It just made me uncomfortable. It reminded me when I was in school and had to do speeches in front of the class with everyone watching, even though most weren't paying attention. That's how I felt whenever I was in big groups. At least I felt safe here, well safe enough.

"I hear it's your birthday," the Governor said as he began walking beside me.

"No way!" I laughed, smiling up to him. He was really the only person I would have conversations with. Rose was the only other person that I would sometimes talk to.

He smiled back before telling me 'happy birthday', which I thanked him like I did with everyone else.

"I see you still carry the knife around," he said, pointing towards the knife that was half sticking out from my jeans. I moved my shirt back over it.

I had managed to get the gun and knife both back from the Governor when we arrived back from the town where I got shot. I had lied about both items being my grandfather's, and that they meant so much to me. He seemed to understand and let me have them both back. The gun was still out of ammo, so I couldn't really shoot anyone. The knife was always with me since it made me feel safer. The first time he caught me with it on me, he asked why. I explained that it made me feel safer, so he let me keep it. He seemed to trust me enough to keep it on me.

"What's the plans for today?" I asked him, wanting to know if I would join him or not.

I had been on two supply runs with him and his men in the past week, both which went smoothly. He only agreed to let go since my shoulder was healed and my ankle was much better. It was nice to get out of this town, even though it was more dangerous on the outside of the walls. He barely let me keep watch on the walls, saying it was too dangerous. It was nice that he looked after me, but sometimes it got on my nerves.

"Sending out some men for supplies, otherwise I have none," he said before looking around.

One of his men, whose name I believe was Milton, began calling out for him. He excused himself before going over to him, leaving me by myself in the middle of the street. I kept walking towards the walls, wanting to take watch for awhile and give someone a break. I let out a groan when I saw who was up there. The Governor's right hand man, Merle, was smirking at me. If there was anyone I hated in this community, it had to be him. Something about him always seemed familiar to me though, but could never figure out what.

Merle literally scared the shit out of me at times and was plain creepy. He was always calling me these pet names and being a dick. Then there was his hand, or what is now his new hand. It was a bayonet prosthetic hand that slightly reminded me of a pirate, but without the hook and instead a knife.

"I'm takin' your place," I told him, hoping that he would leave. He smirked and shook his head no, letting a lady who was on watch get up for me to take her place.

I let out a quiet groan as I sat down in the empty lawn chair that was placed up here for the lookouts to sit on. Merle began talking to me, but I ignored him and his crude remarks. I thought I would be stuck up here with him for hours until the Governor called for him. I smirked as he got up and frowned at me before mumbling something about seeing me later.

Another man soon came up and took his spot. He was one of the newest people here. I was glad it was him since he was like me and didn't talk much. All he did was nod a 'hello' before taking his spot and watching for anything coming towards the wall.

Minutes later the gates opened and the men the Governor was sending out left. My eyes stayed on the cars until they were completely out of my sight. Sometimes I wondered what they really did since they would come back with hardly anything after being gone for hours. I didn't ask though since the answer was something I probably didn't want.