Reckoning

Chapter Twenty: Safe and Sound

After leaving the infirmary, I head out onto the street, the residents of Haven going about their daily business.

Several adults stare at me and whisper to each other. Word must have gotten around quick that I broke the rules and went after Nathaniel. The sky is overcast, and the air is a little chilly. It's that time of year.

I walk past all the shops and restaurants, along with the large cafeteria where people are having a late breakfast.

I head down the street to get to my house. I walk onto the porch of the pale tan painted, two-story house. I open the wooden door, and there on the sofa is Grace, wearing a white long sleeved shirt and black pants.

She sees me and jumps up, then she exclaims, "Oh my god."

I close the door and she hugs my black t-shirt tight. I wrap my arms around her as well.
"I was so worried", she whispers, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

"It's okay", I whisper back, "It's not your fault."

Grace kisses me on the cheek, gently pushes me away, and touches the bandage on my right cheek where I was shot.
"This could have been a lot worse, David", Grace tells me, looking into my eyes, "then I would have never forgiven myself for letting you leave."

"How's Lisbeth? Where is she?", I ask Grace.
"Yeah, I let her stay here for the night. Thought it'd be the nice thing to do", Grace tells me.

Just as Grace mentions this, Lisbeth herself walks down the stairs,. Wearing a thin gray sweater and blue jeans, her brown hair hanging down. Lisbeth sees me and freezes.

Grace and I both turn our heads to look at Lisbeth for a few seconds, then Lisbeth says, "David, you're back. Can I talk to you?"
I turn to Grace, asking for her permission through my eyes.
"I'll leave you two alone", Grace says, heading for the kitchen.

Lisbeth stops in front of me and looks slightly up at me since I'm a couple of inches taller than her.

"What did you see?", she asks.

"A lot of things", I tell her, "An execution, the spot where Victor was killed, and the containers where they store the walkers."

"Did my father tell you anything?"
"He was planning on trading us for you", I say to Lisbeth.

"I heard that you got into a car crash", Lisbeth tells me, "What happened?"

"Those sons of bitches blew one of our tires, we hit a rock and the car flipped."

"And this?", Lisbeth asks me, pointing to the bandage on my cheek.
"That bitch Diana shot me", I sternly say, "But then she was killed."

"D-Diana?", Lisbeth stutters.
"Yeah, did you know her?", I ask.

Lisbeth lets out a sigh and says, "She would watch out for me. She was one of the only women back home."

"I'm sorry", I tell Lisbeth.

Lisbeth walks past me to get to the front door and says, "There's a war coming, David."

She opens the door, and before she walks out she says to me, "I'm going to have to get used to death."

Ps Sorry Ebay XD