Surviving Alexandria (BOOK THREE IN THE SURVIVING THE WALKING DEAD SERIES)

Blackbird

~BEGIN DREAM~

     "Michaela." I looked down from the wall to see Martinez looking up at me from the ground. "Your shift is up."

     "You takin' over?" I asked.

     "Yeah, it's me and Shumpert tonight." Martinez motioned towards Shumpert who walked up behind him before offering his hand to me, helping me down the steps.

     "Thanks." I smiled as I handed him the rifle. "There's been a few stragglers, but I took 'em out. Might wanna have Shumpert out to clear the bodies out before people start smellin' 'em."

     "Why do I have to move the biters?" Shumpert grumbled.

     "Because Martinez is a better shot, he can cover your ass better."

     "I missed one damn biter and you won't let me live it down."

     "Nope. Your one walker nearly killed someone. If it weren't for me, the noob would've got bit." Shumpert didn't respond. "I'm goin' home, y'all have a good night."

     "Yeah, about that." Martinez interrupted. "The Governor has sent for you."

     "Sent for me? What the hell did I do this time?" I groaned.

     "Don't you remember?  He invited you over for dinner to apologize for makin' ya do back-to-back shifts."

     "Right." I sighed. "God this is gonna fuckin' suck." I slowly made my way down the street in silence, gently waving to people who passed me by. Once I finally reached The Governor's house, I gently knocked on the door, a few seconds later, The Governor opened the door.

     "Evenin', Michaela." The Governor smiled. "Please, come in." I walked past The Governor and he shut the door behind me. "How's life on the wall?"

     "Had a few walkers, but nothin' I couldn't handle."

     "Atta girl." The Governor smiled as he led me into the dining room where he had the table already set and the hot food waiting for us to dig into. "Have a seat." I gently nodded, internally groaning as I sat in my chair, looking at the candelabra sitting in the middle of the table. "Wine?" I looked at the wine, remembering the first night I tried Woodbury wine. It was like Merle said, tasted like grapes and feet.

     "No, thank you. I promised Merle I'd meet up with 'em at the bar after dinner."

     "I see." The Governor smiled. "Ya didn't forget about our dinner did ya?"

     "No, sir." I lied. "I just forgot that Merle wanted to hit up the bar tonight, so I told Merle I'd meet up with 'em later, seein' that the bar is practically his second home." The Governor didn't respond as he poured me a glass of water. "The, uh- the food smells great."

     "Thank you." The Governor handed me my glass and began to scoop food onto my plate. Mashed potatoes, chicken and dumplings, and green beans. "So, you and Merle have been gettin' rather close since ya got here."

     "Yeah, it feels great to rekindle our friendship."

     "I bet." The Governor responded in a low tone.

     "Is somethin' wrong?"

     "No, no, nothin's wrong. Just, uh, let's just eat." The Governor quickly scooped food onto his plate before taking his seat at the other end of the table."