In a Desperate Time There Was Hope

          The girl before him was twelve, maybe thirteen, and her blonde hair was stringy and covered in blood. Her hands were shaking violently as she clasped them together. She almost looked as though she were praying, but truthfully she was begging for mercy before the man she had stumbled upon, alone in the deserted city street of Toronto. She had no weapons to protect herself against the undead roaming the streets, and the group she had been traveling with had all been slaughtered in the last city they traveled through. All she was asking for was a little protection, a small weapon to protect herself with. The man standing before her shook his head violently, preparing to pull his gun from his holster. His female companion placed a slight but firm hand over his, demanding his attention in her quiet way.

          "Don't do it, Raul. She is just a little girl." The womans voice shook with emotion as she remembered the daughter they lost to this, this...sickness.

          "She could have been BIT 'Neecy." Raul growled, never taking his eyes off of the child before him. His rough accent made the girl flinch further away from him, her eyes darting around nervously searching for an exit.

          "All you have to do is ASK her, look into her eyes, the girl would not lie to us!" 'Neecy whispered fervently, tugging at the hand closest to Raul's gun. "And if she has been bit, we leave her, we can't waste the ammunition and she hasn't changed yet." Raul sighed and shook his head again, casting a fervent look into his wife's eyes. He pointed fiercly at the young girl and glared at her, daring her with his eyes to lie to him.

          "You." He said humorlously. "Are you infected." No different emotions cast through the girls face as she whispered back her answer.

          "During times of universal decit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."

          Raul took a step back and looked at 'Neecy, confused by what the girl said. 'Neecy smiled warmly at the girl, and smiled up at Raul, tears filling her eyes. "She is promising never to lie to us, Raul. She is quoting George Orwell, so smart! She is just like our little 'Lissa..." Her voice cut out as tears threatened to close up her throat. "Oh, Raul. She is not infected!" 'Neecy's sudden cry of joy startled a flock of crows in a grove of trees to the right of them and all three of them jumped, the smile slipping from 'Neecy's face.

          "Damn it Anisa! Now you've done it." Raul looked around in a blind panic, reaching for his gun and grabbing 'Neecy's wrists, preventing her from pulling out her bow and arrow. "We must go." Raul said stiffly, crouched in a positon not unlike a panther hunting for prey.

          "Come child." 'Neecy whispered, reaching out her hand for the girl to take. Neither 'Neecy nor her partner missed the fact that the girl's clothes were intact, not shredded or holey as some of the victims they had come across, no signs of being bit or attacked showed on the girl. Raul smiled slightly at his beautiful wife and continued down the street looking for shelter, just as the setting sun cast a beautiful hue of orange and red to everything around them.