The One Winged Angel
It has been at the very most a year. You have been traveling with your companion throughout the wasteland. You have been tirelessly searching for signs of humans the entire time. She doesn’t know this of course. She wouldn’t fully understand the situation that the two of you are in. Normally it would be against your morals to lie to her like this. You decided to keep the mass death of the human race a secret from her. You don’t want to tell her how either. You’re not sure she could handle it.
Your little duo had found a town recently. You thought that the both of you would just scavenge and leave, like all the previous towns.  In this town however, you find a painted message on one of the crumbled walls.
ANY LIVING, GO WEST, CRESTLINE CITY
The message seems to be fairly recent. The paint still has a bright color and none of it had crumbled away. There is a chance that people will still be there. You call her back over to you.
“Maisie, I believe that we should follow these directions.”
“Why?”
“We can find others there. Wouldn’t you like to meet some people besides us?”
“Okay, that sounds fun!”
A ten-year old girl pats your head. She makes sure to not touch the old, exposed wires. Your head had cracked open a few days ago. Thankfully, it seems that nothing extremely important had been damaged. Your eyes work fine, but your “thinky bits” as Maisie named them seem to be working at a slower pace. It’s fine though, there is no need to think as fast as you used to.
The both of you look through the assortment of maps you have for the city mentioned in the painted message.  Maisie finds it first, which she finds to be something to cheer about.  The city is in a separate sector, and getting to it will take a couple of days traveling by foot. It’s a shame that most vehicles are too destroyed or old to run. The trip would go much quicker if they could ride to the city. Maisie seems excited, and you can’t tell if it’s from the possibility of meeting others or the fact that they have a destination. You both gather as much supplies from the town that you can and head west.
You walk for a long time, making sure to take enough breaks for Maisie. Eventually though, the sun begins to set and you begin seek shelter for the night.
“Angel, I’m tired.”
Maisie rubs her eyes and yawns.
“Yes, I am currently looking for a place where we can stay.”
You find what looks like a small office building. The walls of the building were unbroken and the roof seemed intact. You hope there is a couch of some sort for Maisie to sleep on. You both step inside and find a break room with a couch and a few pillows. You pat away the dust from the cushions and take a blanket out of the backpack you carry. Maisie goes into another room and changes out of her overalls into a large shirt she uses as a nightgown.
“Would you like me to sit next to you again tonight?”
Maisie gets all tucked in.
“Yes please.”
You sit down on the couch next to her, minding your threadbare wing. You don’t want to get any of the wires to catch on the couch and rip it. You used to have two wonderful wings, but that is in the past. You hum a small tune for her. It doesn’t sound as good as a human, but she appreciates the gesture. She falls asleep, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You decide that you should conserve energy and go into sleep mode. The area seems safe enough for you to not stand guard. You lean back into the couch and lower your power use to the essentials.
“Gabriel, Gabriel! Will you play with me again today?” another girl calls out to you
Replays from your memory bank fill your vision. It isn’t dreaming, but it comes close.
“Charlotte, you know that your father wants you to continue your lessons again today now that you’re better.”
Charlotte spins around in her frilly dress, “But lessons are so boring! I’ve been sick all week again. I want to have some fun!”
“But your father…”
“Dad made you so that you could help me and be my friend! And I want to play with my friend!”
You follow Charlotte into the back garden. Many different flowers bloom and trees bear fruit. It is a very serene place where the future seems bright, no matter what happens. You watch Charlotte running circles around the bushes and suddenly notice Maisie standing in front of you. This isn’t right. Maisie shouldn’t be in the back garden with you and Charlotte.
“Angel! Are you awake?”
You are, or at least you feel awake. Everything is back online and running. But, why do you still see the garden surrounding you both? This shouldn’t be happening.
“Angel, you’re scaring me…”
Your vision changes back to the break room. What was that? It had never happened before. You look at Maisie and see how concerned she is.
“I am fine. I suppose I had trouble booting back up.”
She accepts that and goes off to change in another room. You pull food out of the backpack and prepare breakfast for Maisie. She returns and eats while you pack everything back up. Maisie finishes breakfast, looking over at you occasionally.
“You’re getting rusty again.”
You look down at yourself and see that some rust has accumulated. Maisie pulls out a wire brush from a pocket of her overalls.
“I’ll brush you nice and clean!”
Without giving you any time to protest, she gets to work scrubbing your metal plating. You suppose this is her trying to help you after what happened earlier. She finishes and makes a square with her fingers.
“Perfect! You look good as new, well, almost.”
“We should get going Maisie…”
“Okay!”
You both head further into town. Maisie looks into every shop window, hoping to find anything interesting. You walk in the center of the road, not wanting to get lost. When you look to the side, you see something again. Walking along side you in the window’s reflection is Charlotte, heavy with child. When you look into the street, she disappears. Maisie grabs your hand and surprises you.
“Angel! I found a tailor shop! Do you think it has clothes?”
She pulls you into the direction of a broken town shop. The only part of the window remaining is the part that the title is painted on. You both walk in and look around. Maisie finds an old dress shirt. It is meant for a grown man, so it is much too big for her, but she is excited none the less.  What interests you is a pair of scissors left on the counter.
“I think it would be a good idea to cut your hair again Maisie. It will be easier to take care of.”
She nods and pulls up a stool. You take out the string for her pony tail and begin to cut her hair. It won’t be pretty, but it is will be easier to keep moderately tidy.
“You’ve always taken care of me Angel. You even saved me that one time and the mean tree fell on you!”
“Yes, I remember.”
You remember quick flashes from that day. The tree was about to crush Maisie, but luckily it only managed to crack your head open. You are willing to get hurt as long as Maise is safe.
“You’re my guardian angel.”
Maisie turns around to face you.
“You’ll take care of me forever, right?”
You can see Charlotte looking at you, saying the same thing, her pale face looking worse for wear.
“Forever is a very long time.”
Maisie makes an angry pout.
You sigh, “I’ll do my best.”
You finish cutting her hair and the both of you set off once again. For the rest of the time, you ponder about that conversation. You don’t know how long you can keep up that statement.
You finally near the town limits. Crestline City is the next city over, but there isn’t enough time to get there before nightfall. There is a mattress store that you decide would be a good place to sleep. Thankfully, there is a small pile of mattresses in the back room, protected from wild animals. You look at the pile.
You the memories come back again. Charlotte is dead in her bed. A baby is in the father’s shaking arms.
You choose to ignore what you see and begin the nightly routine. You get Maisie settled and wonder if the memories will come back. You decide to stay fully awake for tonight. The darkness creeps in, and a nine-year old Maisie sleeps next to you in a small space. You know to ignore the sound of explosions ringing in your head.
Nearing the middle of the night, you return to normal. You watch Maisie for the rest of the night. When she wakes up, you have already set out breakfast, eager to get going.
You are more anxious today. You can tell from your quickened pace. The only thing on your mind is getting Maisie to those humans. She notices this, and begins to get worried.
“What’s going on, Angel?”
“I’m just excited to see other people. Aren’t you?”
“Well…yeah!”
“Then let’s get there as fast as we can.”
She keeps up with you easy enough. You keep walking forward, not paying attention to whatever sights flash in your optics. You have to ignore them; you have to make sure that Maizie is safe. She is all that matters. You promised Charlotte.
 Finally, you reach the city limits. A chain link fence surrounds the city. You see batteries on the inside connected to them. A woman wearing combat gear stands at the gate. She is holding a gun, something that Maisie hasn’t seen that much of.
The woman notices the both of you and aims the gun.
“Stop!”
Maisie freezes in place. You try to calm the woman down.
“Please, we come in peace. We traveled here to meet with the others. Can we be let in?”
”I’ll let the girl in, but not you.”
“Why?”
 “Your kind is the reason that there are so few of us now! I can’t possibly trust you!”
Maisie steps forward, “He’s taken care of me all this time. I won’t go in without him!”
“How could I know if it would turn on us or not? Nobody else would bring it in here.”
You had to get her into the city. It was her only hope to live a long, meaningful life. You look over at Maisie and she turns toward you, looking for support.
“You have to go with her Maisie.”
She begins to cry.
“No! You said you would protect me forever!”
“Maisie, I’m not able to take care of you anymore. I’m very old, you know that.”
She stands in silence as you pass the backpack over to her. You turn to the woman.
“Please take care of her. That is my only wish.”
You guide Maisie’s hand to the woman’s.  Maisie begins the scream and try to pull out of the woman’s grasp. The woman has a sad look on her face.
“Maisie.”
She looks at you, distraught.
“I love you.”
And you begin to walk away.
“Angel! ANGEL! Come back! PLEASE!”
You continue walking, back toward the previous town. When you reach a small building, you enter it. You sit against a wall and lay your head back.
You sleep, never to wake again.