The zombies gathered around the rubble, a strange camaraderie forming as they continued to reminisce. Groaning softly, they shared silent, fragmented memories of their early days with Jenna. For most of them, those moments were like trying to remember a dream—blurry and jumbled—but the essence of it stuck.
Sparky let out another series of crackles from his fingertips, watching the sparks dance. He remembered his first clear encounter with Jenna. It wasn't heroic, like Lefty's rescue story. No, Sparky had been stuck in a grocery store, hopelessly banging against a vending machine that refused to give him snacks. Jenna had walked in, eyes gleaming as she'd immediately spotted the vending machine.
"Aha!" she had exclaimed, to no one in particular. "This will fit perfectly in my space!"
Sparky had watched in stunned confusion as Jenna, instead of trying to break open the machine for the food, had shoved the entire thing into her spatial storage with a proud grin. She didn't even realize he was there until she turned around.
"Oh, hey there!" she had said, like she was greeting an old friend instead of a drooling, mindless zombie. "Do you want to come along? I could always use a sidekick."
He hadn't known what a sidekick was, but for some reason, he had followed her out of that grocery store. He had figured maybe she'd open the vending machine at some point and share the snacks. Spoiler: she didn't. But by the time he realized that, it was too late—he was already part of her strange, ragtag crew.