C7

There were too many people around me. The women didn't bother me that much, even the ones hugging me, but the large males had me breaking into a cold sweat. I didn't want to think about what that said of Sophia's life, because it certainly wasn't a hangup from my side of things.

Without a clear recollection of the intervening time I was ushered into the rustic farmhouse. The windows were unboarded leaving the house bright and homey. The outbreak must have happened very recently if the defenses were so poor. Either that or this must be a new hideout.

"Can you take a look at her Hershel? I want to make sure she's okay." The woman who had first hugged me kept me close to her side, her hand clasping my shoulder as if to make sure I was real.

"I'm sure she just needs a big meal and a good night's rest but let me take a look at her." I suppressed a shiver as he came close to me lugging a chair. "Take a seat and I'll take a look at you little miss." Ignoring my body's misgivings I sat and stayed still as he tested my pulse and wiped a alcohol swab against some scratches I got climbing trees. "All done, she's doing just fine." He patted my head and I flinched away, clutching my head as a sharp pain came from the top of my skull.

Hershel gently peeled my hand away, parting my hair. The woman looked on anxiously as he dabbed the alcohol swab on my head, the liquid stinging slightly. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing, I hope," he replied. "Sophia, do you feel dizzy, nauseous?" I gave a small shake of my head as he pulled out a flashlight from the cupboard. "That's good. Now look at me." He hummed a bit as he waved the light in front of my eyes. "Alright, good. Now can you tell me the date."

It appeared I'd have to tell them about my situation sooner rather than later. As I pondered over what to say he took my silence as an answer.

"My mistake," he said. "That's a hard one these days. How about your name?"

After only a brief hesitation I replied, "Sophia."

"Your full name."

"Go on Honey, you can tell him," said the woman.

"..." It was truly unfortunate that I had a head wound. It would make proving my identity as Bernie Sanders much harder. Perhaps it was best to play along until I knew more of what was going on. "I don't know."

Hershel made sad-eyes, bushy eyebrows full of grief. "Do you remember who she is?"

I looked at the woman. "My mother?" I hazarded a guess. She didn't take the questioning tone well, breaking into tears before grabbing me up into another hug.

"It's okay baby girl, I'm just glad you're back."

Once she'd recovered somewhat Hershel said, "Make sure Sophia doesn't fall asleep for at least the next six hours. Hopefully she'll remember everything with time but don't push her just yet."

My… mom, I supposed, led me back outside to a collection of tents. Settling next to a small fire I watched hot dogs roast over the flames as my mother explained my memory loss to the others.

The camp was too open. No walls, a fence on only one side - and a poor, wooden one at that. The tents might protect against the rain but they'd be gift wrapping for zombies. Did they know something I didn't? It was a good thing I wasn't supposed to sleep yet because it was hard to imagine sleeping so exposed like this. I wondered how hard it would be to convince my mother to let me sleep in a tree.

'Mother…' In some ways that was an even crazier thing than landing in a new body. After more than half a century without, having an elder that wanted to care for me was exceedingly strange. Especially when my new mother was young enough to be my daughter. I might have been tempted to call her by name but I still didn't know what it was and didn't want to upset her by asking.

She'd been hovering over me since we met, but it didn't bother me as much as I thought it might. She was good at fending off the others that came to check on me, many trying to ask questions I didn't have answers to. Carl's mother in particular was intimidating and seemed to feel I was at fault for Carl's injury if I didn't misunderstand her. I hoped she was wrong but besides subtle emotional responses nothing of Sophia's memories had carried over so I couldn't argue otherwise.

I learned my mother's name later as we were called to the funeral. It was a surprisingly elaborate affair for an apocalypse and Carol had to help keep me upright by the end. My new body was younger and would likely recover quickly but I'd pushed it to the limit.

'Otis.' I hadn't seen him before he died, though I thought I might have heard him screaming briefly last night. Perhaps if I'd gotten to the school sooner I might have saved him, but I doubted it. There were zombies coming from all directions and from the photo Otis didn't look like the fittest man in the world. Definitely wouldn't have been able to carry him on the back of my bicycle - no offense to the dead, of course.

After a lunch of hot dogs and canned beans I was finally allowed to go to sleep. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was our turn to stay in the RV. It was still more exposed than I'd like but far better than a tent. It also helped that it was daylight and Carol was watching over me. Better to nap now than in the dark of the night.

I was asleep before I knew it.