The clanking of shoes beside me caused me to open my eyes slowly. It was one of the Lucky aids. I felt like I'd been hit with a ton of bricks as a sharp pain trailed all along the side of my head. The Lucky examined my hand as I turned a bit to the side. I could see a few rows of empty metal beds lined up beside mine. Farther down the row on the other end, I could see Duke laying there. I hoped he was okay.

"Did I break it?" I croaked, focusing my eyes back to her.

Looking my way she tucked a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear showing bits of freckles along the lower bridge of her nose and cheeks. "No, it's just swollen. It will be back to normal in a few days." She leaned in to check the small bandage above my eye. "This however... we had to give you two stiches here. They'll dissolve on their own."

The girl didn't look any older than eighteen. Great! I'm being looked after by someone who has no more experience than a librarian. Probably never even seen an actual zombie before either.

Flashes of the fight swarmed in like a bunch a bees inside a honeycomb. The last image I remembered before blacking out was Spencer. Not thinking twice, I tried getting up off the bed and onto my feet.

"Whoa, whoa... You are in no condition to leave. You have a slight concussion," she said, placing her hands on my shoulders.

"I'm fine," I said, pushing her hands away and forcing my sore body up on my feet. "I need to get back to my group."

Trying to stand on my feet the room felt a little off, tilting sideways a bit, which caused me to nearly fall down. The aid caught me and sat me on the bed. "Please, just rest. It will do you no good getting back out there. You can barely carry yourself." Her brows frowned.

"What do you care?!" I snapped, pushing her hands away. "We're nothing but walking corpses in your eyes." My words pierced through her like a bullet screaming out of its chamber.

She kept her hand close to her stomach. She looked down, unable to make any motion or eye contact. Guilt started to overlap my anger making me realize it wasn't her I was mad at. His words still lingered like an unwanted ghost. Perish in the hell you crawled out of.

Sinking those unwanted thoughts away from my conscience, deep below in the forgotten, I sighed. "I'm sorry."

The girl looked up wide–eyed, blinking rapidly as if to register what I just said. Then a small smile formed on her lips. I scratched my head out of pure confusion at the odd girl.

"None of your kind has ever shown any kindness to me." Her smile now reached ear to ear. "Usually, its unwanted stares, yelling, or nothing at all." She walked up and sat next to me as if we were longtime friends. A little too close for comfort, so I scooted away just a smidge.

"My name's Grace," she said, holding out her hand.

I wavered for a moment before finally meeting her shake. "Leona."

The braid in her hair was long, nearly reaching her lower back. Before the virus, it wasn't nice to smell others without their consent; that was just weird. I couldn't help but notice how much she reminded me of blossoms as I took a big whiff of her scent.

Snapping my eyes open, I realized that my nose was so close to her shoulder it could be an accessory. Moving my frame away from hers, I gave us a little more distance on the bed we were both sitting on. Great, now I'll be known in her eyes as the weird Stiff who has dog-like characteristics!

I pinched the middle of my brow. The migraine was starting to come back. Noticing my body language, she unzipped the fanny pack she was wearing and took out a bag of green herbs.

"Here, chew on these. It will help." She handed me a couple of petals.

My head tilted to the side. My facial expression must have been that are you serious look because she placed one in her own mouth and chewed to show me it was okay to go ahead. "They're mint leaves. My mom's an herbalist. Try it." She zipped up the fanny pack and held the leaf in front of me. "I promise, it's not poison or anything!" She giggled at the thought even though I would take that very seriously.

I grabbed ahold of the leaf and brought it to my nose. I welcomed the fresh cooling fragrance coming from the small plant. It reminded me of peppermint candy. Placing the aromatic leaf on my tongue, the small but mighty sprig packed a punch. The icy sensation of the mint invaded my palette was delightful.

"Just be sure to spit it out when you're done. Don't swallow it," she smiled.

I closed my eyes and pictured the big red and white swirls on a candy cane. Unlocking Pandora's Box, I was flooded with images of the last Christmas I had with my family. I remembered the feeling as we sat huddled under the tall green noble tree. Finally opening my eyes, the odd girl looked as if she'd been staring at me for far too long.

"My mom is in charge of a small garden outside the walls." She lifted one of her legs up onto the bed searching for a comfortable position. "From the looks of it..." She paused for a second as she took notice of my erratic chomping mouth. "...it seems you guys aren't growing anything on your side."

The South had grown nothing but misery and wilted weeds. I envied the girl who sat across from me. Her past didn't show like mine did. I looked down at my faded skin. I'd do anything to be with my mom, even for just one second. Although we lived in this era where the dead walks the earth, she had her mom to lean on—something I would give my right arm for.

The freckled beauty reached for her fanny pack again and pulled put a couple more tiny leaves and placed them in my hand. Her kind gesture left me regretting even more how I acted towards her earlier. This was the second Lucky today that showed me compassion and treated me like an actual human being.

Hiding the mint leaves in my pocket, I couldn't wait to give some to Jenny. This would be a delightful treat for her. "Thank you," I said.

"Yeah, no problem. Maybe we can..." Before she could finish her sentence, another aid came in the room.

His pace quickened when he saw Grace sitting next to me. The skinny man grabbed ahold of her arm, pulling her to her feet. "Grace, what did I tell you about keeping your distance from them!" His hand slid through his thinning strands of hair, passing his shinny bald spot at the top.

"Relax, Bob. She's harmless. We were just..." The man put his palm up to stop her from saying any more.

"I did your mom a favor in getting you this job." He pointed a boney finger at me. "Aid the weak..." Pushing a second and then three fingers in her face he continued, "...keep your distance, and move on. Those are the three things."

She put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes at me. "It was nice meeting you Leona," she smiled, but then it quickly disappeared as she looked back at him, making sure he noticed her annoyance with him. She walked toward the door and stopped. "You know, Bob, you shouldn't get your panties in a bunch like that. My mom is more of a briefs kind of guy than you are." She walked out, leaving him standing there confused. My lip curled up at the funny remark. Kindness mixed with a bit of fire, I like that.

After a moment passed, the skinny nettled man huffed to himself. "Looks like you're doing better. You're being transferred to a new group." He pulled out the papers that were nestled under his armpit. After a brief scan of the papers he finished, "They're in the white room."

He turned to leave and I jumped up to move toward him. "Wait, where is my previous group at?"

Not bothering to answer my question, he sauntered off, leaving me to relish in the horrible thoughts of my team's fate. I took small steps toward the same exit Bob took. Before leaving, I focused my eyes on Duke once more as he lay resting on the old metal bed. Whatever's happening to them I hope they make it out okay. Leaving the building, I headed to the one place I desperately didn't want to go. Therapy is for sure not going to be a walk in the park today.