~ 9 ~ Who She Is

"Huh?" Sofia asked, taken back.

Lucy nodded and smiled sadly at the girl. "Not directly but, I think she was depressed and me not being there for her led to her demise." Lucy sighed and scratched her head, hesitant to continue. "We were born in a wealthy family in England. The thing we were both forced into was piano playing." She sighed once again, this time in annoyance. "I hated playing the piano, but I was exceptional at it, so I played to appeal to my parents. My little sister, Mary, was also pretty good, but she wasn't at my level yet. This caused my family to compare her failures to my success. I tried to comfort her, but I felt as though my words went in one ear then out the other." Sofia frowned, grateful she was never compared to her brother. "We moved to America a few years ago. I just started high school while she was in middle school. She started getting bullied, for some weird reason, and it was bad. They would lock her in her locker, or in the storage room in the auditorium. I still don't know how she would get out. She told me, and I always told her to fight back, or to go to our parents about it. She didn't want to bother them, and was even a little scared to. And she always said that she didn't have the heart to harm someone else. She believed that something was going on in the bullies' houses, so it 'justified' the reasoning. I disagree strongly." Lucy shook her head. "Anyways, one day, she was late. I remembered her saying that she had some after school activity but I didn't know what it could be. So I went to her middle school, and had teachers help me look for her. I check the storage room, just to see if she was still locked in there. It was unlocked, but when I opened the door…" Lucy took a shaky breath. "She was hanging."

"I'm so sorry for your loss." Sofia quietly mourned with Lucy.

Lucy cleared her throat. "It's okay. She's definitely in a better place now." Lucy nodded as if reassuring herself. "I don't think she would've lasted long in this kind of world now." Lucy looked at Sofia. "I believe me being ignorant and not helping her led to her death. I wished I could've helped more." She smiled. "Which is why I need help with redemption."

"How would I help with that?" Sofia questioned.

"You already seem like a little sister to me, Sofia." Lucy started to explain. "So I want to help you get strong and be less afraid of the dangers that lurk around outside."

Sofia frowned. She understood where Lucy was coming from, but she didn't want to replace her sister. "I understand and all, but it just sounds like you're looking to replace your sister."

Lucy looked at Sofia, shocked. "That's the last thing I want to do. I want to take care of someone the way that I should have taken care of Mary. Besides, you need the help anyways. You would've been dead a long time ago if I didn't save you, and I'm sure that other than taking a bullet for your friend, you haven't done much for your group."

The words stabbed Sofia. She looked down, upset. 'I haven't done much for my group.' "She's right." Sofia mumbled to herself.

"I know I'm being selfish." Lucy scooted closer to Sofia and gently stroked her hair. "Please, let me use you and you can use me. I'll teach you how to survive this nasty world."

Sofia looked at Lucy. "Can I trust you?"

Lucy laughed lightly. "If you're still questioning that at this point, we have a long way to go." Sofia giggled and the pair huddled by the fire. Sofia stared into the fire. 'I guess I'll be a little selfish as well.' Sofia closed her eyes. 'She's like my older sister now. Thank you, mom.' The pair surrendered to a deep slumber.

They woke up bright and early, laying on the wooden floor and the fire dead. Sofia was the first to wake up, who took more of her medicine, this time without water, and walked around the house. It was a normal house, that was emptied out. There were picture frames that were cracked and dried blood splattered on the floor. She found a few kitchen knives and picked one up. It was a bit dull, but she knew she could work with it. She turned around to see Lucy a few feet away, with messy bed hair.

"Good morning." Lucy mumbled.

Sofia laughed lightly at the sight. "Good morning, Lucy."

Lucy scoffed as she walked over to the knife stand. "I see you're looking better. Going knife shopping?"

"I…" Sofia took a moment to think. "I wanted to try and prepare myself." Lucy looked at Sofia. "To kill a zombie myself."

"Well," Lucy started, "there are some techniques that I'm sure you'll find acceptable to make it easier for you. I personally don't know any since I'm not a fighter and I just used all my energy in one swing." Lucy shrugged. "But it works for me." She walked over to the fireplace. "Come on, let's get ready to leave." Sofia nodded and walked over to Lucy, getting whatever they needed for the trip.

Lucy and Sofia walked back down the road for a few hours. Sofia wanted to take at least one break, but Lucy didn't allow it. The sun was finally in the sky and the young women chatted about their past. When they went to school, when they hung out with their friends and joked about anything and everything. Soon, they reached the gas station. It was a pretty small one. A rusty gas station with no cars or living organisms in sight. They stood in front of the gas station, looking around.

"Do you think there will be useful stuff here?" Sofia asked Lucy. She stared at the gas station in thought before looking at Sofia and smiling.

"Well of course! There has to be something. Let's go, but be very cautious." She held Sofia's hand and started walking in. Inside, most of the shelves were broken but were filled. There was no sounds except a clock. Lucy looked at Sofia. "We'll stick together, but if you spot something, tell me immediately." Sofia nodded and Lucy picked up an empty book bag next to them. "We'll use this to hold our stuff. Hopefully I can find another one for individual use." Sofia smiled. 'She actually thought about me.' Sofia thought to herself.

The pair walked through the isles one by one. They picked up cans of food like beans or pineapple and drinks like soda and bottles of water. Their bag filled up with stuff quickly, and they luckily found another bag, which they quickly filled up as well. They checked behind the counter to find a shotgun that Lucy took to protect them both with. There was a few boxes of ammo for the shotgun that Lucy put in her bag while Sofia wasn't able to find a weapon.

After they searched the front of the store, they sat down to rest. Sofia drank a little of her water and settled for some chips she got from a shelf. She looked over at Lucy. She drank a small bottle of water while eating some candy. Her shotgun and flashlight laid beside her. Lucy pulled down her socks to reveal a black scrunchy around her ankles. She took the scrunchy and created a nice ponytail with it.

Sofia decided it was time to know Lucy a little more. "Lucy." Said girl turned to Sofia, plopping red candy in her mouth. "What's your favorite color?" She blinked, a bit confused.

"What? It's pink. Why do you ask?"

Sofia shrugged. "I want to get to know you more." Lucy stared at Sofia, then laughed lightly. They continued asking each other questions for a few minutes before they heard someone talking.

"Hey, do you think they'll find us here?" A woman spoke.

A man's voice was heard. "I doubt it... We need to wake the others up. We need to pack up for tomorrow." Lucy and Sofia quickly stood up, gathering their things. They held each others hands as if they've been friends forever. They looked around, trying to see if they can hear anything else.

They heard footsteps coming towards them from the back of the store. Lucy cursed to herself silently before crouching in between isles with Sofia. She crouched with Lucy and stayed close as the door to the back opened.

The same man groaned loudly, clearly annoyed. "Someone's been here! Our stuff is gone!" Lucy and Sofia looked at each other, terrified.

"What do we do?" Sofia whispered to Lucy. Lucy opened her mouth to speak until they heard a gun cock. The pair jumped in surprise. 'He has a gun!' Their hands held each others tightly, shaking. The man crept closer to them, calling out for the woman to help him. The woman ran in the room.

"What's wrong, Dan?" The woman complained.

The man, Dan, stepped to their isle and looked at the girls, angry. They stared at him, completely frozen. The man, Dan, had brown eyes that glared at them. He had dark brown hair that was kept down by a red hat. He had no facial hair and a mole on his cheek. Dan carried a pistol and pointed it at them. "There's two kids here! They stole our food!"

The woman ran over to Dan and looked at the girls, confused. The girl looked very identical to Dan. She had the same eyes and hair that reached to her shoulder. She also had a mole on the opposite cheek from Dan. "Dan, come on! These are children!" She crossed her arms and glared at Dan.

"Dani, come on! We need this food too!" Dan put his gun down and looked at Dani, just as angry. "These kids need to be taught a lesson!"

Dani scoffed and looked at the girls with a warm smile. "Are you guys alone?" Sofia wanted to tell Dani about her friends and family. 'Maybe she saw them if they escaped.' However, Sofia forced herself to nod her head with Lucy. Dan glared at the pair again, sending shivers up their spine. Dani walked over to them and knelt down in front of the girls. She looks really pretty up close. "How about you come with us to the back of the store? We have some others with us!" Lucy looked at Sofia, wondering what she thinks they should do.

Although Sofia wanted to say no, to find her friends and family, she held all her hesitation back before nodding at Lucy. She nodded and looked at Dani. "Yes ma'am."

"Oh! Please, just call me Dani! This is my older brother Dan!" Dani laughed as she pointed to her brother, who wasn't too happy that the pair were now welcomed into his little group, even if it was for a little bit. Lucy stood up, pulling Sofia with her. "Come on, follow me!" Dani started walking towards the back of the store. Lucy and Sofia followed closely after her, terrified that her brother walked behind the with this glare.

They got to the back of the store, and it wasn't that much bigger than the front store. The windows and doors were boarded up. There were a few lockers that were broken, but open. There were benches everywhere and multiple tables. On the tables were guns and ammo. There were three more people in the room, looking at the pair of girls confused.

One person who was a young guy had an a purple t-shirt of a gaming console and black jeans with black sneakers. He had some glasses on. He looked around Sofia's age and seemed pretty laid back. He had black hair that was styled with medium length waves and blue round eyes. He smiled at Sofia and she quickly looked at the next person.

The next person was an older lady, around 70 years old and looked like an innocent grandmother. With gray hair in a bun and dark gray orbs, the elder had wrinkles all over her face. She wore a long purple dress with white shoes. She smiled at the girls and waved, which Sofia happily returned. She looked at the last person and her eyes widened in shock.

"Desirae?!"