Surviving The New World (Book Six in the Surviving The Walking Dead Series)

In Strangers We Trust

The council room was completely packed, forcing me to stand off to the side of the room; everyone was excited to hear of the newcomer's fates, let alone take a look at them. When they came in, they were covered head to toe with dirt, but they have since abused their access to the showers and sparkled like a freshly minted penny. Luke's eyes surveyed the room, taking it all in, but when he saw me, he smiled and gave me a wave. I gave him a smile and a nod and turned my attention to the council, who were sitting in absolute silence, looking Luke and the others over. The new Alexandrian council consisted of Laura, Michonne, Gabriel, Aaron, Siddiq, and two people I didn't recognize, the common issue I've been noticing due to my lack of presence here. Hopefully, that would change and I'd get to know everyone here.

"As you can probably tell from our turnout here, it's been a long time since we've seen new faces inside these walls," Gabriel spoke up. "We're a fair community of decent-minded people, but we are not soft, and that's not going to change today. So...let's begin." Gabriel looked at each individual person in Luke's group. "Which one of you is the leader?"

"What makes you think we have one?" Magna asked.

"Did you know each other before?"

"No," Luke answered. "It was, uh, Magna and then Yumiko, uh, first, and then, uh, Connie nod Kelly." It was then that I realized that Yumiko wasn't standing at the front of the room. Was she still in the infirmary? Hopefully that head injury wasn't worse than it looked. "And then me and then Bernie," Luke let out a sigh. "I'm sorry...we lost Bernie yesterday. Um..." Hesitantly, I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket, that I used to wipe dirt off my hands from gardening, and walked over to Luke. Luke took one look at me and saw the handkerchief, taking it as I slowly held it out to him.

"We've all lost people, Luke," I softly spoke. "Losin' people...it ain't ever easy...I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Luke nodded and gently dried his eyes. "S-She was a good person." I gently nodded and took my place back against the wall, silently hoping he wouldn't try returning my handkerchief after hearing him blow his nose on it. "Um..." Luke continued. "There were others, of course. But, like Bernie, they just..." Luke quietly began to sob, hiding his face behind the handkerchief. "They didn't, uh—they didn't make it."

"Who were you before?" Aaron asked.

"Before all this?" Luke slightly smiled. "I was a music teacher."

"I waited tables at a truck stop," Magna answered. Connie began to sign.

"She said she was a journalist," Kelly interpreted. "But she's just being modest. she exposed a bunch of sleazeball politicians and put them behind bars."

"And you?" Aaron asked.

"I was in high school, stressing about stupid shit that felt like the end of the world." I was surprised, she didn't even look that young...this world is destroying everyone.

"And who are you now?" Gabriel asked.

"A fighter," Magna answered. Connie smiled and began to sign again.

"She says she's my guardian angel," Kelly smiled. "But, really, it's the other way around."

"I guess I'm still a music teacher?" Luke answered with uncertainty. "Um...education never ends, not even in the face of monsters and mayhem."

"What did you do to survive?" Gabriel continued.

"What I had to—anything I had to," Magna answered. Connie signed once more.

"She says she never gave up," Angel informed. "But me? I grew up."

"I-I don't know," Luke sighed. "I don't think I did anything special. I-I don't know what I did to deserve it. Uh...at first, I was just lucky. I was—I was in the right place at the right time, and then I met the right people." I thought back to the time I lived alone in the mountains back in Georgia. Luke was just like me. I was lucky and eventually met the right people. These people were descent, they just needed a chance. A good fighting chance.