THE END TO AN ERA the walking dead

1. incipience

Introductions were brief, something Ira was grateful for; especially when he almost fell asleep while the man he found attractive, Glenn, was introducing himself. What a wonderful first impression. Not that he was looking to make an impression.

He spent the night in a spare tent outside with his pack and a blanket. As exhausted as he had been, it was difficult to sleep while his thoughts were running rampant in his head. Things like, "what if they kill me in my sleep?" and "what if they steal my gear and desert me?" kept him alert until his body refused to enable the thoughts anymore and went to sleep.

The morning was very bright, even in the confines of the tent. Sunshine leaked through the fibers just to spite him. Ira was annoyed but was thankful to not be awoken by a blaring reveille or a dead-one (or the group's terminology "walker").

He sat up on the wrinkly sleeping bag, shoulder blades cracking and a yawn swimming up his throat. Ira rubbed his bleary eyes and took a moment to breathe, something he'd been desperate to do ever since the outbreak began. He wished he had been formally keeping track, but he was able to estimate around two months since the first confirmed case. About one month since the accident.

He shook his head and groaned. I'm too tired for a crisis. Go away, he thought to himself. He would deal with his problems later, but now he would leave the new comfort of his tent and see what was happening outside. It was fairly quiet, he didn't like the quiet.

Ira shrugged on his jacket and went back and forth between leaving his pack or taking it with him. After staring down the lump of green material for a moment, he settled it on his shoulders, just in case.

Peering between the tent flaps, similar to a mouse peeking from its home, he could see Dale atop his RV with a rifle laying on his lap, Carol and Lori sitting by the fire pit watching Carl and Sophia play with the Morales children while making small talk, and a few others milling about.

He climbed out of his tent, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to say hello sooner or later, and judging by the sun, it was nearing noon.

"Morning," a voice startled Ira who was still getting his bearings after a surprisingly restful sleep. He had never been one to fall asleep quickly or sleep well, especially nowadays. He turned his head to find Shane making his way towards him, boots crunching on the rocky ground.

Ira nodded in greeting. "Morning." Taking another look around, he noticed some faces missing from last night. "Where's everyone else?"

Shane clicked his tongue. "Went out to the city to find Daryl's brother, Merle. We were gonna ask you to go with but man, you slept like a damn rock."

Ira smiled uncomfortably, a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. And- thank you, by the way. Everyone really, for your hospitality."

"Of course," he was clapped on the shoulder. "We gotta look out for each other now, you hear me?"

While the words weren't nefarious, something about the way Shane spoke made Ira's gut twist in discomfort. He didn't know why. If anything, Shane's words should have brought him comfort now that the former officer had confirmed that he would have his back. But it almost felt like a warning.

"Well, now that I'm up, is there anything I can help with?"

-

Two hours. A painstaking two hours of helping Carl and Sophia with homework. Why on earth are we doing homework? This is ridiculous. Now, Ira has always hated math. He was never able to learn it, so he just memorized (the beauty about the American education system, really). Which is how he got through multiplication, by memorizing the multiplication tables. And now he was trying to teach that to these confused incredibly concerned twelve-year-olds.