Death do us part

The meeting

We drove up to the place the the governor had suggested that we meet him. Daryl had led the way on his bike and once we had stopped, he climbed off and we followed him stealthily towards a building. Rick walked in and Daryl and I stood outside.

  Hershel stayed in the car with a few guns and knives, just in case.

  We heard talking and Daryl looked into the window. I stood a few feet away with my gun ready.

  Daryl backed away from the window and walked to the other side of the building, where Hershel pulled up.

  I kept a lookout where I was.

  I heard a truck approaching from where Daryl and Hershel were and I looked over. Daryl held up his crossbow and Hershel got out of the car holding a gun. I ran over to a few barrels and hid with my gun up where they couldn't see me.

  Andrea got out with two men and Daryl said something, then Andrea shook her head and walked over to the building. And I heard the door open. Daryl looked around with his bow still up. He looked to where I was standing last with a confused face. 

  I kept my gun up and ready in case they tried anything. I heard something metal clank from where the truck came from and Andrea, Daryl and one of the men went to investigate it.

  I heard footsteps behind me and turned quickly. I didn't see anything, so I went to go check it out. I held my gun up with one hand and had my other hand ready on my knife. I saw a bush ruffle and I shot my attention towards it, slowly walking up to it. I kicked the bush and saw a squirrel hop out and run away. I sighed and dropped my hands, then turned to go back, immediately feeling something hit my head hard.

  I fell to the ground and looked up, seeing a girl that I didn't recognize. She saw that I was still conscious and pulled out a pillowcase, then put it over my head and hit me again, this time knocking me out.

***

  I woke up with a huge headache and opened my eyes. I brought my hand to my head and rubbed where I was hit, scanning the room. I was on a bed in a basement looking room with a red light in the middle hanging from only a wire. I tried to get up, but the sound of a chain stopped me. I looked down and saw that my belt and boots were gone. The chain was attached to a single cuff on my ankle.

  I looked around for anything I could use and spotted my boots, belt and my knife in the opposite corner of the room. I got up and tried to reach the corner, stretching from where my leg could reach.

  My fingertips touched my knife handle and I stretched a tiny bit further, grabbing it and rushing back to the bed. I cut a small hole in the flat pillow on the head of the bed and stuffed the knife in, then returned to the position I had started in. As soon as I returned to that position, I heard keys rattle and the metal door open.

  I slowed my breathing and felt someone sit on the bed and sigh.

  "It's been three days, when are you going to wake up?" I heard a girl say. I slowly inched my way to the hole in my pillow and grabbed the knife handle without making a sound. I tightened my grip and quickly shot up, ramming the knife into the girl on the bed, but the knife only ricocheted off and fell out of my hand. I saw that the girl on the bed was wearing armor- a bulletproof vest.

  She smiled and took the knife, throwing it across the room. I looked at her in horror and she looked down.

  "It's okay. A lot of guests react like that when they first see this place." She said sadly.

  "Now I know you have a lot of questions, but I just want to let you know that we are not the bad guys." She tried to assure me. "We actually saved you. There's these people that like to take others as hostage and that's where a lot of us came from, but we save people like you from people like them."

  "What people? Where am I? How far are we from Woodbury?" I asked.

  "I'll answer those questions, but for now I think there's someone you'd want to see." She said, unlocking the chain around my ankle.

  "Why was I tied up?" I asked, rubbing my ankle.

  "Because of your head. And we weren't sure how you'd react." She answered, walking over to get my boots.

  "Why am I here?" I asked.

  "We saved you. That's what we do, we save people from a group called the cleansers. They think they're helping the world by getting all of the people they find into one place, but they end up killing them." She said, handing me my boots.

  "How far from Woodbury are we?" I asked.

  "Not too far. Why, are you one of them?" She looked over concerned. I shook my head. "Well, you have to promise me that you won't try anything stupid?" She raised her eyebrows and I nodded.

  We walked out the door and up a flight of stairs. At the top of the stairs was a wooden door that led up to the outside.

  She unlocked the door and we walked out. It was dark out, but the first thing I saw was torches lighting up a dirt road with thick fencing on either side. I followed her down the road and we made it to a larger area with a few buildings and one tall house.

  "How many people are here?" I asked.

  "About 40." She looked up.

  I nodded and we approached a building with a sign up front that said "town hall".

  We walked into a large house type place and went into the first room, a large office.

  Another girl was standing facing away from me reading a book. The door slid shut behind me and I looked back, seeing the first girl had left.

  I sat at a chair that was in front of a desk that said the name "Lington" on a metal plaque.

  I cleared my throat and the girl sat at her desk. I tried to see who she was, but she was still facing facing somewhat towards the back.

  "Why am I here and who are you?" I asked.

  The girl sighed and turned the rest of the way towards me, then looked at me. My hand flew to my mouth and tears started running down my face.

  "Elise?" I whispered. She smiled sadly at me, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

  ***

  -Kenzie