Officer of the Dead

Chapter Two

A gentle nudging slowly brings you out of your slumber, and you need a moment to fully wake as your senses start coming back to you. You feel a comforting warmth on the left side of your face which causes your eyes to flutter open. You notice Ronnie's long legs stretched out on the floor; he's still sitting beside you, making you realise that the warmth on the side of your face is coming from him. You panic with embarrassment as you quickly remove your head from his shoulder.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..." you say quickly, brushing stray strands of hair out of your face. Ronnie chuckles slightly before reassuring you.

"No, it's okay, I didn't want to wake you."

You smile at him briefly as thoughts of the dead creep into your mind, your smile vanishing. "Has anything happened?" you ask, a sense of worry overcoming you.

"Nothing," Ronnie responds, "We're safe." A sense of relief floods through you; you hope your watch will be just as uneventful

"Right, you'd better get some rest," you say with a closed lipped smile. Ronnie nods and hands you his torch, now resting his head back on the machinery to get some rest.

You rise to your feet, knowing that if you stay sitting beside Ronnie that you'd inevitably drift back to sleep. You shine the torch towards the others to check on them and they all appear to be sleeping. With the acknowledgement that the group is safe you start moving through the factory. You set out to find access to the building's roof so you can have a clear view of any potential attacks.

***********

Standing on the roof, you watch out into the distance as dawn breaks through the trees surrounding the building. Everything seems peaceful, you can't hear a sound, not even the birds' early morning chirping. You take it in with a deep exhalation, unsure if today would be your last. Your thoughts are interrupted as you hear the door to the roof open. Turning your head you see one of the girls you didn't catch the name of last night. She's tall with natural blonde hair and blue eyes, and she walks with a sense of confidence.

"Morning..." you say.

"...Lucy," the girl responds, finishing your sentence, offering out her hand. You mirror her and shake hands.

"Hi, I'm y/n, did you sleep well?" you ask, trying to make conversation.

"Yes, which is surprising considering the circumstances." You nod in agreement, not sure what else to say; small talk had never been your forte.

"Well, I guess we better wake the others and make a plan for today," you reply, gesturing for Lucy to lead the way.

As you reach the small area of the factory the group had claimed the night before, you notice most of the group are awake. Steve, Alice and Katie are sat huddled in a circle talking quietly amongst themselves. "I better go wake my sister up," Lucy says, leaving your side. You make your way towards the spot you had spent the night in, cringing momentarily remembering that you had fallen asleep on Ronnie. As you reach the spot you see Ronnie is still fast asleep. You watch him for a moment. If the world wasn't coming to an end, he'd be the type of guy you'd like. He was his own unique version of tall, dark and handsome and if his actions were anything to go on so far he seemed to be a gentleman too. Polite, considerate, calming, you couldn't fault him. Suddenly, as if he can read your mind, his eyes flicker open. You quickly look away from him, hoping he didn't catch you watching him sleep.

"Morning," a hoarse voice says. You turn to look back at him.

"Morning" you say with a smile. Ronnie lifts himself up to his feet. You had forgotten just how tall he is. The light of day now highlights the features you couldn't make out in the dark, like his piercing brown eyes. As he stands besides you, looking towards the rest of the group, you find yourself feeling nervous in his presence. Trying to distract yourself from the feeling you leave his side and start walking towards the rest of the group.