From Our Ashes We Will Fall

You Should Have Seen His Face

Twenty Years later 

TW. Blood, swelling, spirits i guess you can say 

Genevieve

The sun was high in the sky and beat down on my lightly tanned skin as I tumbled to the ground. The air in my lungs blew out of me so fast I choked on a groan, the blow to my abdomen forcing me to loosen the grasp on my weapon. I saw stars as the back of my skull connected with the grass beneath me.

The sound of footsteps advancing towards me dragged me back to reality. I was up before the steel staff embedded itself into the dirt. right where my chest would have been. My own staff was laying on the ground ten feet away from where I now stood. I didn't dare swipe a glance at it. Instead, I focused on the man in front of me. His long dark hair was braided at the sides of his head, connecting in the back that ran down his spine. He stepped forward and I stepped back, circling each other like cats ready to pounce. But he didn't strike. He strutted to where his staff stuck out of the ground and ripped it free without much of a thought.

"You're leaving yourself open on your left flank, Vieve ." Keith said as he pulled out a dirt stained cloth that I could only guess was white at one point from his pants pocket. He then wiped the dirt that covered the pointed end of his weapon. "Fix it before tomorrow or you'll be spending the night by the wall."

"I'll work on it," was all I said before going to pick up my staff.

Spending the night by the wall ment killing walkers that leaned on the chain linked fence. The community has two walls. The chain link one that faced outside to catch most of the walkers, that also was used as an extra protection, and the tall steel walls that protected us from the outside world. Each slab was fifteen feet tall and six feet wide. I didn't know the history behind the structure, never thought to ask.

The village did not pause around them as I examined the small but deep crack on the tip of my weapon. People knelt in the fields, plucking today's harvest and placing them in wheelbarrows. Children played in the street, laughing and hollering in joy. I was filled with disappointment, this weapon was a gift from the man in front of me for my thirteenth birthday. Four years of having it, taking care of it. Just for it to finally meet its dooming end. Ironically, by its former owner.

"We can make you a new one, that one was old anyways," Keith said as he stepped into my line of sight to see the damage

"Did you have it when she was alive?" He knew who I was talking about. When I was young, I was scared to ask about my mother, the former leader of this peaceful place.

"Yes, it's a branch from the fir tree over there." He pointed to a tall tree that was burnt with the summer heat. It stood next to the wall, its trunk hiding behind a building, built from wood scraped from other rotting homes around the area. Most of our structures were recycled, but they stood tall.

I gazed up at the sky, using my hand to try and shield the glare of the sun. It was almost time for me to begin my rounds on the wall. Everyone had a task to do, and they were divided from the people that were the strongest to those who were the smartest. The people with the brains and ideas usually did less of the hard labor, they focused on teaching the children, farming and disturbing supplies or being on the council. I was part of the citizens that did the hard labor. Just a week ago, I was finally assigned to work on the wall. Months ago, I had started to train on how to seek for walkers or intruders hiding in the brush. I felt ready and confident. I felt happy.

"Go on, I'll see you at dinner," Keith said as if he was reading my mind. I looked at him and a grin spread across my face. A small smile was also on his face. He and Jess were the closest thing I had to a family. My mother and father died the day I was born.