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Chapter 2

I woke up alone in my little mattress in the attic. It must've been early because the soft light streaming through the circular window was faint-that of the beginnings of dawn. I rolled over to the other side and pooky bear was there, not just the ratted bear with the tutu skirt. Raffe was gone but he had left me his sword in his place. I smiled at the sweet gesture that spoke louder than any words could. An angel and his sword were intimately connected in a bond of camaraderie and loyalty, one did not easily left the other behind. I stroke the blade with my index finger from the hilt to the sharp point, admiring its strength and beauty.

The shadows of my recurrent nightmares were just starting to invade my mind when I woke-thankfully. I must have slept for about three hours-more than I've slept in over a week-if I was correct in my assessment of time. I hadn't had to worry about the concept of time in months, ever since the fake apocalypse begun. Now there were schedules and routines to follow, time was a part of the world again. I had to make an effort to find a watch-analog was all that worked right now; we might have electricity and running water but internet, cell phones and satellites were still a thing of the world before.

I went through my own morning routine, going down to the room I shared with my mother and sister, I took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. Mom and Paige were already up and probably in the mess hall-the room was empty. I methodically strapped pooky bear over my shoulder, feeling comforted by just having the sword near me.

There weren't as many people in the camp today. I recall Cap talking about making a run for supplies and some recon thing that I didn't pay enough attention to really know the details. I was sure whatever recon they were doing, Deedum were behind it. I was given the option to go out there on the runs as a guard-which suited my talents much better than staying here washing clothes, planting crops and assisting in the kitchen, but I just couldn't leave my sister; she needed me and I wouldn't abandon her again.

Cap was our new-unofficial-leader, he was an older man maybe in his late forties or so. He was one of the people that showed up to fight at the bridge while his sister and nephew escaped to the boats. My role as leader was short lived-thankfully-I never wanted it. I'm only a seventeen year old girl still waiting for normal body parts to grow or hoping they would grow more anyway. The night of the blood hunt after Obbie died people needed someone to inspire them and help them believe in something greater and at the moment that was me-the angel killer, but I was not their leader. That was not my role in the world.

Inevitably the burden fell on Cap, he didn't claim it or proclaimed himself the leader by planting a flag on the ground and shouting his name while banging his chest. After we got back to camp, tired and with many injured, a few gang members were making out with a lot of our supplies and we'd already been hit earlier that day. Cap stepped up, put a gun-a very large gun-to one of the punks forehead and pointed another at one of the bastards rummaging through the bins of food-they were both too engross in the act to even notice Cap sneaking up behind them.

Cap was a big man, at least six-five with broad shoulders and built like a linebacker. Intimidating to look at-crap in your pants-scary to have right in your face with two guns in his hands and a-don't screw with me-expression on his face.

He didn't go all He-Man on the punks, instead he gave them a choice. Stay and be a productive part of the new world or get the hell out before he got trigger happy and splattered their brains all over the wall. They scurried away with their tail between their legs.

Needless to say after that display of intimidation, everyone was feeling slightly apprehensive but people tend to huddle around those who can protect them and given the choices at hand, Cap was the better option. It turned out that he was a good guy-ex military-not a barbaric-trigger happy-gun slinger with a short temper. He didn't bark orders or command anyone around, people just started going to him for decisions.

I was picking up my tray of breakfast when something bumps me hard, pushing me forward and causing the juice to pill on the tray. I turn my head and catch the disgusted glare on Bodden's face as he leers down at me.

"Angel whore."

He spits out through his teeth and continues to walk away. I breath in and out a few times fisting my trembling hands, trying to settle my annoyance because honestly the way I've been feeling, I might just commit murder if pushed too far. Bodden was like a god damn cockroach, a nuclear explosion wouldn't take him down. He came out of the battle unscathed and just as annoying as ever. He's taken to the nickname-angel whore and everytime he gets a chance to throw it in my face he takes it. I've been too tired to care but the cup was slowly filling up and when it did, I was gonna smash his nose in several times over. Again. He's obviously still holding a grudge against my showing him off back at the old camp.

I replaced the drink with shaky hands and got a new tray, then headed over to my family's table. My mother is sitting beside Paige-who doesn't seem to be eating anything-and is currently engaged in conversation with Cammy-Cap's sister, she is our resident doctor. My mother was actually talking to another human being and not about rotten eggs or ravings about the devil, she was talking casually about renovating some of the rooms around the medical ward to provide more space. It still astonishes me to see her acting so, so normal.

Cammy and Cap were a few of the people that conversed with my mother and sister freely. Cammy's son Jake who is about Paige's age, was a chatterbox and he engaged in conversation with anyone who'd listen including my little sister.

"Hey." I sat across Paige and smiled tenderly at her.

"Not feeling hungry?" She kept her eyes downcast and shook her head no. She had been sad even since one of her scorpion pets died a few days ago. Paige always took the loss of any life hard, becoming a vegetarian at such a young age was proof of that. I was certain it couldn't be easy to see yourself as the thing you hated most. I swallowed the lump in my throat and told myself over and over that she was getting better. It was slow but I could see it, the change; she'd gain some weight and the ugly, black stitches that ran across the length of her tiny body and face were mostly gone. The scars would eventually fade, at least the ones on the outside, the scars in her heart were another story.

"Why do you have that bear on your back?" Little Jake appeared beside me eyeing Pooky Bear.

"He likes to keep me company." I say.

"It's a stuffed bear, he can't tell you what he likes." He poked the bear with a pointed finger, making a face.

"Well maybe I like his company then."

"You're weird." He says pursing his lips.

"Tell me about it kid." I take a bite of what taste like grits or oatmeal, I can't be sure. It's not bad though.

He doesn't bother with me anymore and moves to sit beside Paige. She smiles and he immediately engages her in conversation. Jake is not afraid of anything it seems, he's way too curious to be concerned with anything as silly as fear. The kid was as curious as George.

When he first saw Paige, he couldn't take his eyes off her; after quietly observing her, he finally asked if she'd ever seen the movie A Nightmare Before Christmas-she had. He proceeded to tell her that she reminded him of Sally-the stitched up doll created by the mad scientist. His mother was outraged at her son for saying such a thing. I flinched on behalf of Paige-who remained quiet-taking it all in. Jake continued, unaware of the power of his words.

"That is my favorite movie ever. Sally is super awesome, like you."

That was the first time I saw my sister give a genuine smile and it felt like someone was squeezing my heart. I was glad she had a friend her age and human, non of the other children talked to her and I could understand that, she didn't exactly look approachable. Little Jake however was undeterred and unafraid, I smiled taking another bite of my food.

Across the room Cap sitting on his own, his eyes trained on our table. He was a quiet, observant man with the sort of wisdom in his eyes that never missed a thing. I hadn't conversed much with him, just exchanged a few words here and there but I'd seen my mom talk to him on numerous occasions. His eyes observed Paige, not with fear or revulsion the way so many others did but with something else, something like sadness or yearning I couldn't be sure.

The day dragged by, I helped in the kitchen for a few hours prepping for lunch but my head was in a constant fog. I trudged down the long hall, feeling like a zombie when the commotion out in the yard got my attention, I headed out to see the group of scouts had returned, a large circle gathered and were shouting out excitedly.

I made my way through, avoiding elbows until I could see what the fuss was all about. DeeDum stood in the middle of the circle, pointing at something on the ground.

"This is history in the making ladies and gents. We have found a legendary, one of a kind weapon." My vision was slightly blurry but as I focused on the blanket spread out on the ground, I could make out something reflective peaking out.

"Wield by king Arthur himself in countless battles. Step forward and see if you're deemed worthy enough to pick it up and claim it as your own."

I moved a little closer as DeeDum continued their theatrics-trying to get a better look. I blinked several times until my eyes adjusted enough to see clearly. It was a sword, an angel sword. They found an angel sword.