Spark

A Light in Darkness

My partner and I walk through the dark streets, rifles held at low ready. Broken streetlights are the only things that provide any sort of illumination, leaving a lot of dark, shadowy corners to watch. I'm glad I've got Spark at my side. Suddenly, she stops walking. She leans over toward a window, then looks over at me.
"Hey, this convenience store hasn't been picked clean yet! C'mon, let's see if there's anything good!"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Spark. We're not supposed to break from the patrol route, and we're definitely not supposed to be looting."
"Oh, who cares! It's not like they've got enough to people to be tracking us. Who's gonna find out?"
"Alright, fine. It's been way too long since I've had some chocolate."
"That's the spirit!"
She forces the stock of her rifle through the glass door, then reaches through with a gloved hand to unlock it. We move in, rifles raised. You can never be too careful.
"Looks clear," Spark announces as she begins searching through the snacks.
"Same here," I confirm, and lower my rifle. I pick up a candy bar, and shove it into my kit.
"My favorite," I whisper, satisfied. I look over at Spark, and see her dumping entire boxes of candy into her backpack.
"Uhh, Spark?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't you think that's a bit much?"
"Nope," she answers with a bright smile. "Now pass me that box behind you."
I pick up the cardboard container, and rip it open. Chocolate with caramel filling. I love these things. I take one for myself, then toss the box down to Spark, who pours its contents into her bag. She tosses the box aside, grabs a candy bar from her bag, then swings it onto her back. We unwrap our candy and begin eating as we walk out onto the street. Spark always veers me into these kinds of things. I always say she's too good for this broken world, and I mean it. She's a bright beacon of joy in a dark, depressing place. Come to think of it, that's probably how she earned the name Spark. She's just so fun to be around. Wow. Look at me, praising her like we're lovers. I should clarify: we're just friends. Close friends, maybe, but still friends. Nothing more.

But I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to say I haven't entertained the idea of pursuing her romantically. I'm not sure if love can even exist in a place like this, but we definitely have some chemistry— a "spark" if you will, haha— between us. I'm just not sure if it would work. We're so different. She's bright, laid-back and excitable, but I'm serious, by-the-book, and more bleak in outlook. We're just not compatible... right? We walk side by side down the sidewalk, enjoying our candy. I toss my wrapper in a trash can when I hear growling. Faint growling, but definitely growling. It's coming from an alley up the street. I pull up my rifle and check to make sure it's loaded. Good to go. I give Spark the "ready up" hand signal, and she follows my example. I signal for her to follow, and close in on the alley. I pull the corner, and see two Zeds feasting on a corpse. Poor bastard. I steady my sights on the head of the one on the right, and pull the trigger. A bullet explodes out of the barrel and punctures the target, spraying blood in an arc in front of it. I move in fast, and fire two more shots, destroying the other Zed's brain. It slumps over. The growling now silenced, I can hear crying. It sounds like that of child, and seems to be coming from a dumpster. I look back over my shoulder, and see Spark cautiously approaching. She opens the lid, and peeks in. I hold my rifle, ready for some Zed freak to jump out and attack my partner. But, nothing stirs. Spark reaches in and retrieves a small boy. He's hysterical, trying to spout out words with tears in his eyes, but they're unintelligible. Spark moves to hug him, but I pull the boy away. She gives me a stern glare, but I shoot an even harsher stare back.
"Protocol, Spark. I'm not budging on this."
She rolls her eyes.
"It's for safety. Now, keep watch."
I spin the kid around, checking for bites or cuts, anything to suggest infection. Spark coos to the child the whole time, keeping him relatively calm.
"He checks out," I conclude, and the kid turns around and runs into Spark's arms. She picks him up, spins him around, then sets him down, and retrieves a chocolate bar from her bag. The kid hesitates, thenhappily takes it, and begins eating it as Spark picks him up.

Such compassion. She cares so much, which is part of what makes her so great to be around. It's also part of the reason I think I might have a shot. Who knows, maybe she'll get me to be more compassionate.

I raise my rifle and take point back through the alley.
"Fuck."
The gunshots attracted more Zeds.
I snap into firing position and begin engaging the targets.
Bang. One down.
Bang. Two down.
Bang, bang, bang. Five down.
Suddenly, I'm thrown to the floor by some heavy force. My rifle slides out of reach in front of me. I roll over and get an eyeful of gnashing teeth, stained crimson by blood. I push the face away with all of my might, straining away from its thrashing maw. A gunshot resounds through the street, and the creature stops straining. I turn the head around and see there's a gaping hole in it. I look up and see Spark looking down at me, smiling, her rifle in one hand and the kid in the other. She drops the rifle, and the sling swings it into her hip. She offers her now freed hand, and I take it.
"My hero," I say in a rare moment of good humor.
"No problem," she answers nonchalantly. "Don't know what I'd do without you."
Yeah, we're really close friends, and that's all we'll ever be...
I pick up my rifle and begin walking back toward base. Spark approaches on my left and wraps her long, lean arm around my shoulders and pulls me close.
...right?