One

As I crested the hill, I was greeted by the sound of quick, pounding footsteps.  Looking down, I could see the source.  A girl, who didn’t look a day over sixteen, was running from a horde.  I pulled out my gun and was about to start shooting when she pulled a sword from a sheath on her back, and spun around to cut the head right off the leader of the horde.  She wielded the sword sloppily but effectively. She obviously had received no training in its use, but she slashed and stabbed with speed and ease. She sliced zombie after zombie and, finally, she thrust her sword into one, and yanked back her elbow to knock out the last of them.  She sheathed her sword and immediately pulled a revolver from a holster at the base of her back and pointed it straight at me.

                Instinctively, I held up my hands, and she made her way cautiously up the hill.

                “Strip,” she said. Her voice was hard and stern.

                I was confused, but in no place to argue, so, despite the brisk weather, I stripped down to my underwear.

                She smirked and said, “Those too.”

                Reluctantly, I pulled them down and tossed them aside with the rest of my clothes.

                “Hold up your arms and turn around slowly.”

                I turned, and as I did, I realized she was making sure I hadn’t been bitten. She wasn’t going to kill me. When I completed my revolution, she put her gun back in its holster, and I put my clothes back on. Once I was dressed, I picked up my handgun and shoved it in the front of my jeans.

                “Don’t do that,” she said, turning away, “you’ll blow your dick off. Let’s go. Oh,” she said, turning back to me just in time to see me move my gun to my pocket, “and take your time on this, because this is your only chance to reinvent yourself. What’s your name?”

                I stared at her for a long time. She was a plain sort of pretty, the kind that might not grab your attention under normal circumstances, but the circumstances were anything but normal. Her eyes were hazel, her dark hair was in a long braid that went all the way down her back, hanging over the sheath of her sword. In addition to the sword, she had a holster belt that held two silver nine-millimeters at each hip, and a large revolver at the base of her back, which she seemed to favor. A leather messenger bag hung off her shoulder. She had a young face, but her demeanor indicated she was older than she looked.

                “Finnick,” I said, uttering the first fictional name I thought of.

                “Finnick. Well, Finnick, call me Bruce.”

                I smirked as my eyes fell to her Batman T-shirt.

                “Not self-proclaimed. Come on. Grocery run.”

                She led me northward, where I knew there would be a supermarket.

                “Do you know what’s going on?”

                “I know some. At the compound--where the other survivors are--we have one, in quarantine, of course. Our doctors think the disease evolved from another, but they aren’t sure what. It could be something as fatal as AIDs, or something as common as the cold...we just know it’s very infectious. We estimate it has affected about seventy percent of the population so far. There are carriers, who can be bitten, but they won’t turn, which is why we take in injured survivors.”

                “So…you wouldn’t have killed me if I had been bitten?”

                “Of course not. But I’d keep a close eye on you.”

                Then, we were there. A huge Target absolutely surrounded by flies. Swatting at the bugs, we made our way inside.

                “Grab a cart, and head to dairy. If the fridges are still working, get as much milk, eggs, cheese, and especially juice, as you can. Pay attention to the dates. If they aren’t working, move on to non-perishables. Anything in a box, can, or bag. Feel free to grab whatever snacks you like, but I’d advise staying out of produce. It’s bound to be full of bugs by now. Meet me back here when you hear my whistle.” And with that, she took a cart and headed to the pharmacy.