I grit my teeth almost tight enough to shatter them.
The wind whips across my shirtless body. Blood drops from my wound.
"Are you ready?"
I ask.
I hear her whimper behind me.
"Just pull, Amy."
I say, trying to calm her down.
"I can't reach it myself."
I feel her wrap her hands around it, and give a slight tug. I growl in pain.
I fight to keep my rage inside.
She finally pulls, ripping it from my lower back.
She drops it to the ground. The metal chunk of rebar clatters on the cement.
Acting quickly, I grab the gauze, wrapping it around myself to stop the bleeding.
"You did good." I say, patting her on the head.
She tries to smile.
I pull on a long sleeve thermal and toss my bloodied one aside.
It takes me another few minutes to move past groaning internally from the agony.
I'm surprised of all the debris that fell on me while I was covering her, nothing else pierced me. A few chunks of cement left bruises, but that's all.
I pull a small ration bar from my pack, and hand it to her. She eats it as we walk.
I'm not sure I can fire my gun correctly in my condition, but I'll have to if something comes along.
"Tell me a story."
She says quietly.
Over the past few days I've gotten good at making things up as I go.
But the first story that comes to mind is the story of dragons and knights I used to read as a kid.
The irony is that there exists a man with a glowing sword, who kills the monsters that have taken our home.
So I tell her about him. He's brave, and fearless. He slays them by the edge of the sword, and he saves the ones who need saving.
He's a superhero. And he's gonna save us all.
She looks at me with her fiery auburn eyes.
"All of us?"
Her voice is full of hope, and that makes me smile.
"Every single one of us."
I answer.
She smiles and looks down at her little dirty white shoes.
I don't know where she came from, and I don't know what happened to her family. I'm afraid asking will push the boundaries of the trust I have gained from her.
We continue walking in silence.
"Is he one of the good superheroes?" She asks.
I look down at her, puzzled.
"All superheroes are good." I say with a confused smile.
"Not all of them. Some of them do bad things. And we can't stop them, do you think he can?"
I must not lie. Her words chill me to my core.
Bad superheroes.
The letter.
The Fearless the author spoke of.
I'd chosen not to believe what it said.
"Yes, of course he can." I reassure her.
She pauses for a long while.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
She remains silent.
"Did they hurt you?"
She sniffles, wiping a fresh tear from her eye.
I stop walking and lower myself to a knee. Once we're eye level, I begin to speak.
"I will not let anything happen to you. Your safe with me, Amy. There's nothing to be afraid of."
I hold her by her tiny shoulders, staring into her eyes. She leans in and begins to cry. I stand there holding her as she cries.
"What if they kill you too?"
I search for an answer.
"Than you go find the Shift. He will protect you."
I say.
After another moment, I stand.
Her hand in mine we walk along.
I need to find new supplies. I have three magazines full of bullets, along with another 2 boxes in my pack, but I would like to find a second weapon, and more ammo. I want to teach Amy to shoot.
She's right, what happens to her if I die? If I'm not there to protect her?
Unfortunately there's no guns laying around. Most people stocked up on them once they found out about the Undoing.
That makes it difficult to find weapons. So far, the most dangerous thing I've found that is not a firearm is a foot long machete, and even that I keep strapped to my thigh. Even if I could find some body armor, that would be great.
That's wishful thinking. I've got enough rations to last us at least until next week, so food and water is of no worry.
I'm just scared of finding other people.
What if they want to kill me, and take my gun, and our rations? I'm afraid of what I might have to do.
I reach up, wrapping a bandanna around my mouth to steady my breathing.
I don't want to kill, but I'll fight if I have to.
We come to a bridge, where I hear shouts.
Amy and I duck down. I reach behind me, and pull my binoculars from my pack.
About 20 yards out I see two men leading a bound girl in front of them. The both of them carry guns. The girl is tied up.
I continue watching through the fog as they push her in front of them. The gun shakes in his hand as one of them takes aim.
Without hesitation, I reach for my rifle, and take aim.
This stupid girl yells at her captors angrily.
She insults them with sarcasm I've never heard before.
It's kinda refreshing to know someone still has heart these days.
"What are you going to do?"
I turn to her.
"Everyone needs help sometimes."
Without another word, I take the shot.
