Second Chance

I woke up the next morning freezing and I quickly figured out why. Sometime throughout the night, I had kicked the blankets off of me and onto the floor. I pulled them up off the floor and back over me, wanting to sleep a little longer. After ten minutes of trying to go back to sleep, I gave up and just decided to get up.

I slipped my boots on and leather jacket before grabbing the knife. My legs were still cold, but I knew later on in the day it would warm up. My stomach growled, letting me know that it was time for breakfast. I yawned as I made my way outside into the cool spring morning. People were already out on the streets doing whatever it was they did everyday. It was around nine in the morning, or at least that is what it seemed like to me. I got my breakfast before sitting down on a nearby bench, feeling the warmth of the sun hit my bare skin. It felt nice as I glanced up at the sky, smiling to the sun.

After eating my breakfast, I spotted the little girl who gave me the bracelet. She was playing with a couple of other kids nearby. I went over to her and she grinned up at me.

"Hey, thanks again for the bracelet," I smiled to her. The two kids she was playing with, a boy and a girl, were curiously watching me. "Anyway, I didn't get your name. As you know, I'm Lizzie, and you are...?"

"Sarah," she smiled up at me before turning her attention back to the other two kids. They continued their made up game that involved rocks. I walked away letting them play.

Throughout the day, I helped a few people out with chores and other tasks. I said hi to the Governor at one point, earning a smile from him as he walked by. I had a short conversation with Andrea too, until she went to do whatever it was she does around here. I even managed to wash my clothes since I only had a pair of clean jeans left. My clothes never got real dirty, but I did get tired of wearing them over and over without being washed.

A pair of small arms wrapped around my legs, causing me to glance down. Sarah was hugging my legs, staring up at me with a smile. I smiled back before ruffling her hair. She seemed to take a liking to me like Carl had.

"Hey, kiddo!" I smirked as she scrunched up her face at the nickname. I began to wonder if she had family here since I've never seen her with any adults, just the kids. At least today I haven't. "What are you up to?" I asked her, not wanting to bring up her family. If her family was gone, I'm sure the last thing she wanted was to talk about it. I rather her be happy than to be upset.

"I'm hungry," she smiled up innocently, causing me to smile down at her.

I picked the little girl up easily, placing her on my left hip so I could carry her. I hoped if she did have family, that they didn't mind me doing so. She giggled and I began walking over to the bench I sat on this morning. My eyes wandered around the street, trying to tell if anyone had dinner yet.

"Dinner should be ready soon," I told her as she now sat on my lap, twirling the bracelet she made me around my wrist.

The young boy who she was playing with earlier called for her. She hopped off my lap and ran over to him. I watched from where I was as they ran into one of the buildings, disappearing inside them. I was glad that the kids here had somewhere safe to play and were able to act like kids without the worry of walkers getting to them.

I went into the building I stayed in to get my jacket out of my room. I had taken it off when I went to get my clothes to wash since it warmed up, but now that it was getting into evening, it began to cool off again outside. I thought about slipping a pair of jeans on too while I was at it, but decided that my legs wouldn't get too cold, they never did.

After returning back outside, I spotted Sarah with the boy and a few other kids playing in the street far from the adults. I saw an older lady watching them, meaning she probably moved them down there since there was more room and less people. I spotted a few people with plates of warm food, so I went over and got a plate for me as well as Sarah. I went towards the children, Sarah spotting me with the plate full of food in my hands. She ran over to me, and I carefully handed her the plate that had beans, corn, and some kind of meat that I didn't plan on eating.

"You got me food!" she grinned, her eyes lighting up. I chuckled at how happy she was just because I got her food.

"Well, you said you were hungry," I told her as I sat down next to her. My plate only had some beans on it since I didn't want anything else. I was waiting for Sarah to ask my why, but she never did as we ate.

-

It was late in the evening and I was standing at the window looking out to the street. For the past hour I've had a feeling that something wasn't right. I went to grab my gun before remembering that it was still out of bullets. I let out frustrated groan before grabbing my knife off of the dresser. Everything then seemed to happen so fast as I heard gunshots coming from outside. Without even taking a look from the window, I rushed down the stairs to get outside quickly as possible.