A Little Word Called Love

Part 1: Salutem

All she could do was grunt. Disoriented and dizzy she slightly moved her head with her eyes barley open. As a minute passed she began to awaken more. Within an instant her eyes opened and she sat up looking around her. It was a clean room with an end table to her left with a lamp on it along with the camera and a closed window with a curtain over it to the left. She was dressed in nothing but a normal white t-shirt with cotton shorts that reached down to the mid-thigh. Underneath was her normal underwear. Right next to the end table was a man sitting back in a chair. When he noticed Lilith awake he leaned forward.

"Hey its okay Lilith you're safe now. No need to worry," the young looking fellow with some stubble wearing a simple v-neck shirt with black jeans said.

"How do you know my name?"

"It was in these video logs your friend made. I'm sorry by the way for the others."

"Who are you?"

"I'm John the sniper that killed that big scary man for you. My brother, Jorge, runs the place."

"I'm in the sanctuary?"

"That's only what we call it over the radio. Our official name is Salutem. It's the Latin word for safety."

"What happened to me?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"The big guy saying I'll meet my friends soon..or something like that then a gunshot."

"He won't be bothering you anymore. That guy was an animal by what your logs said."

"In a way I wanted him to shoot me."

"I understand Lilith," John said "I would too, but we got a job to do."

Lilith looked back on the wall next to the door was a Springfield American sniper rifle "That's your gun?"

"Yeah," John said "She's a beauty ain't she?"

"Can I see it?"

John stared at her with a vague look "No. I'm pretty sure you remember what happened with your friend Chris."

Lilith looked down "Sorry...I just-"

John interrupted "I know and its alright you are safe now. Just stay in here until my brother comes in to give you your cleaned clothes," John got up from the chair and grabbed his gun "If you're lucky Jorge might show you around," He then exited the room.

Lilith looked over at the scuffed camera and grabbed it to turn it on and start recording.

"I don't know what day it is or what time, but what I do know is that I'm in the sanctuary. They call it Salutem which is the Latin word for safety. I just woke up after being shot by the leader of the savages. I don't remember much, but from what John told me he shot the leader and his brother carried me inside. Now I don't even know how long I was out John didn't tell me. I'm safe now and I hope nothing happens....I did it guys. I reached the sanctuary. I'll update when I know how long I was out."

She stopped the recording, but turned around to watch a play back from the video logs. She began crying when she saw her friends still alive and functional at one time. Jorge silently walked in and sat down in the chair John was in.

"Lilith?" he said.

She immediately dried her tears and faced towards him "What?"

"Someone here says they know you."

"Who?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" he turned around and said "Come on in guys."

A tall man with a thin beard and really long hair with an awkward complexion wearing a pair of jeans and a plain shirt with a woman just as tall with frizzy red hair wearing glasses with having the same complexion. The woman spoke "Hey Lily are you okay?"

"TIFFANY?! DAMIEN?!" Lilith was surprised to see her old friends standing before her.

"Hey Lily," Damien said.

She jumped up from the bed to hug them to death "I can't believe you're alive."

Tiffany spoke "I'm sorry that you had to experience all this at one time."

"It was horrifying and I thought I had no purpose."

Tiffany began to cry while Damien was hugging around them ready to cry too.

"Zargo is gone. Dylan is gone. Julian is gone. Nadia is gone. Alissa is gone. All of them," Tiffany exclaimed "How does shit like this even happen?"

"The apocalypse is a brutal thing Tiffy," Lilith responded.

"Out of all of them you survived some how," Damien exclaimed "That's some shit."

Lilith looked back at Jorge "Thank you Jorge."

"I never really intended this to happen really," Jorge explained in his rough Irish accent "Maybe fate has a better future in store for you then?"

"The rest are counting on us; they didn't get me here for nothing."

Jorge stood up and said "Alright then allow me to give you the tour."

They exited the room into this long hallway with rooms that are similar to the one she was in. Walking along the hallway she sees a light that must be the exit to the sanctuary.

"Welcome to Salutem Lilith," Jorge said as he presented the quaint little settlement.