SEASON 3 EPISODE 8: A Promise To Keep

            [Mrs. Reed]: You want us to what?!

            I could hardly believe what Rich was telling me. As I watched Mrs. Reed screaming at Rich and explaining the logic of sending a mother, a young woman and a child with no leg to the very community wanting to kill us, I listened to my own sense of logic.

            The truth is…I haven’t been much help to everyone at all, these past several days. Ever since Hunter had his accident and lost his leg, I have been emotionally numb, never leaving my brother’s side. I starved myself and deprived myself of sleep that I knew I needed, but I didn’t want it. In a way I felt selfish thinking I could walk away to eat and sleep while my brother lay dying in a closet without a leg.

            I made a promise to my parents a week after the world went dark. I remember that moment like it was yesterday…I hate remembering it. But I remind myself everyday of what happened to my parents so that I remember my promise to my brother.

            So…

            Much…

            Blood.

            I could hear the gunshots ringing off from my bedroom, my mother screaming in terror. I remember running into my brother’s room and dragging him into the closet. The shooting and screaming went on for what felt like hours. I remember wanting to cry but I couldn’t. It wasn’t that crying would risk drawing in the things outside, but because I literally couldn’t cry. I even tried at one point. Then I realized as the shooting slowed and the screaming stopped, and I slowly took my hand off Hunter’s mouth…I realized that I couldn’t cry because my protective instincts prevented me to.  

            I carried Hunter on my back as Mrs. Reed walked in front of us. We were told to not take a car from the church parking lot; the community might recognize where we’re from. The entire point of this mission was to arrive at the front doors of Costco and become a member of their community. Neither of us three had been seen when they attacked at the church, so we have the element of ignorance on our side.

            Taking hold of Hunter, I forgot for almost a second that Hunter’s right leg was missing. I went to reach for it, but only grabbed air. Hunter almost fell off my back trying to get adjusted as we walked down the long road ahead. His weight pulling down on my spine made everything ache.  

            [Lauren]: Sorry, Hunter.

            Taking hold of his quads, I pushed my little brother higher up my back so he could cling on easier. I had nearly forgotten how heavy he was. Even with a couple of pounds cut off from his body, he was still a heavy boy. My back started hurting a long time ago, but I ignored it.

            [Lauren]: (Smiling) Are you hiding rocks in your pockets, Hunter cause you’re like really heavy.

            [Hunter]: (Laughing) No!

            [Mrs. Reed]: Shh! You guys need to bring the chatter down. You don’t want to draw in any of the rovers.

            Wow. For a moment there I had forgotten all about the rovers. Hunter made me so happy. He gave me hope in an odd way. He’s turning eleven this year. A child that young with a missing leg and trying to survive in the world where everyone has to be able to run in order to live…and still smiling?? It inspired me to smile. In fact, one of the happiest moments of my life was just yesterday night, when Hunter woke up.

            I stood over Hunter as he lay quietly on the table. I wanted to smile, because I knew he was going to be okay, but I couldn’t. Not because I was still upset and scared and above all sad that my little brother went through this, but because I literally could not smile. Maybe it was because my brain wasn’t telling me he was okay until he opened his eyes.

            He wasn’t okay until he was.

That’s what was nagging in my mind. I was growing tired of it. I just wanted to smile over him. I don’t know what else to do in situations like these except pray. Praying came easy for me, ever since I was young. For a lot of people, they meet troubling times and think God isn’t there for them. The way I always saw it was that in troubling times, God is there the most if anything. It was a trial and a test to prove yourself to God and to yourself. I always saw trials as opportunities. But when Hunter almost died…that was a moment when praying was difficult. Up until he stabilized, I could only wonder why God would allow this to happen to a child. Sometimes, even today I wonder why. But as bad as it may sound, like everything else that has happened to everyone it was an opportunity. One thing that has always been consistent in life is that where bad is, good can rise from it. I know good can come from this situation.

            [Hunter]: ...Lau-Lauren…?

            I left my train of thought and looked at my little brother. He was smiling up at me.

            I smiled back.

            A rover must have overheard me and Hunter talking because it came stumbling out of the woods growling furiously. Mrs. Reed made a clean job of it and cut it down with the machete she carried. I carried a handgun. Flicking the black blood from her machete, Mrs. Reed looked up at me caringly.

            [Mrs. Reed]: I’ll try to take care of as many rovers as I can. Don’t shoot that gun unless I say so.

            [Lauren]: Okay.

            I never had a problem with guns before the end of the world, but now every time I hear a gun go off I can’t help but recall a memory that I don’t want.

I could hear the gunshots ringing off from my bedroom, my mother screaming in terror. I remember running into my brother’s room and dragging him into the closet. The shooting and screaming went on for what felt like hours. I remember wanting to cry but I couldn’t. It wasn’t that crying would risk drawing in the rovers, but because I literally couldn’t cry. I even tried at one point. Then I realized as the shooting slowed and the screaming stopped, and I slowly took my hand off Hunter’s mouth…I realized the reason I couldn’t cry, was because my protective instincts prevented me to.

All I ever wanted was the best for my brother. By now the air was still and not a sound was made expect for the few times my brother whimpered in fear. I didn’t know what to do next. Should I leave the closet and find mom and dad? Should I stay in the closet with my brother? Should we both go out together? I had to figure something out fast before Hunter got too anxious.

[Lauren]: (Low whisper) Stay here, Hunter. I’m gonna go see.

I slowly peered the closet door open. I poked my head through the opening and waited for almost a minute before proceeding into the center of my brother’s room. Hunter was reluctant to close the closet door so I had to shut it for him. Then I quietly left his room, not having any idea what would be on the other side of each door, or around every corner.

As I crept down the flickering hallway of my house, I inched closer and closer towards the living room. I could already hear the faint, muffled groaning around the corner. What if it was my parents making that noise? What if they were hurt…or worse? I wanted to just sprint down the hall and race to my parent’s side and help them, but I couldn’t. I fought so hard to run toward them, but no matter how hard to tried to convince myself to move faster I just couldn’t. Call it fear, call it survival instincts, call it whatever you want. I just. Couldn’t. Run.

We could see Costco from the highway. Just from where I walked with my brother clinging onto my back, the place already looked well-fortified. I could make out guards on the roof, and the parking lot lined with cars and angled spears to keep out the dead. Mrs. Reed stayed ahead the whole time. A trio of rovers stumbled out from hiding and came at us furiously hungry. I knew Mrs. Reed wasn’t going to be able to take them all on her own.

[Lauren]: Hunter, I’m gonna put you down over here take my gun.

Rushing to the edge of the highway I set my brother down and handed him my firearm. My back hurt so much. It was nothing but jabbing pains with every step. But I had to ignore it. I had to or else Mrs. Reed would die. I drew my machete and ran towards the first rover I got to. I swung as hard as I could at the corpse’s head, the rusted blade jamming into the side of it’s skull, only managing to go halfway through the rotted cranium. The rover fell to the ground, taking my weapon with it.

Mrs. Reed stabbed one clean into the throat and pushed it away to decapitate the third rover, but almost as soon as her machete cut down the rover, the one remaining corpse retaliated and fell on top of Mrs. Reed before she could get her weapon in front of her. I almost screamed as the woman struggled to keep the rover’s biting teeth away from her flesh. Blood leaked from the jabbed slit in the corpse’s throat and all over Mrs. Reed.

I felt sick. I felt the vomit in my throat rising but I had to keep it down. I had to help her. I reached out and grabbed the rover by the shoulders and yanked it off her. Falling on its back, I retrieved my machete from the rover I killed and made one fell swoop down on it’s eye socket. I thought the three rovers were dead and gone, but yet I could still hear the sound of a rover behind me. I spun around and my heart sank. Hunter didn’t see it coming for him.

[Rich]: The fact is, the man who attacked us saw most of our faces. He knows me, Christian, Sherman, Vergilio, Lashaun, Lee, Dylan, Brittany, Tim, and Zach. That leaves you, Lauren, Hunter, Maddy, Ian, Bailey, Audrey, Jenna and Kelley. The entire point of this mission is to send people that Cosctco would least suspect to be a major threat, infiltrate and compromise them slowly but surely. The last people they would expect is a woman, a little girl, and her little brother who’s got only one leg.

            [Mrs. Reed]: I don’t care about myself, Rich, I care about the safety of these children! Think about what happens if we fail. Did you ever think of that?! They will kill me first, and then those kids. I can’t believe you would even suggest this.

            [Rich]: It’s the only option that makes the most sense.

            [Mrs. Reed]: None of this makes sense! Period! Send me. By myself; I’ll do it alone.

            Bailey overhearing, immediately interjects. At this point, Brittany, and Tim had gathered to join the conversation.

            [Bailey]: Mrs. Reed, all due respect, you’ve never been out there on your own. You need someone there to watch your back.

            [Brittany]: We are all looking at this the wrong way. None of us should be going anywhere. We should be planning and preparing for when they attack us. 

            [Mrs. Reed]: Maybe, but it’s the fact that you all expect a little girl and a handicapped child to go out there and do what you’re asking! If anything, why not send Ian? Or Maddy? There are so many to choose from that are more likely to survive!

            I don’t understand why Hunter couldn’t hear the rover coming for him. Maybe he was so frightened by seeing me fight off rovers with Mrs. Reed that he didn’t register everything else going on around him. It didn’t matter what happened, but if I didn’t do anything to change what was about to happen…my brother was about to die. My promise would be broken.

            [Lauren]: HUNTER LOOK OUT!

            Hunter snapped back to attention and turned to face the rover coming for him. His little hands lifted the gun in his hand, and he pulled the trigger. The rover’s face popped open like a busted watermelon. It crumbled to the ground and rained blood. My brother was alive. I ran to him, dragging him away from the body. So much blood. The corpse was so mangled and bloody. My brother was okay.

            [Mrs. Reed]: I was wrong…

            I pulled Hunter back onto my back.

            [Lauren]: What?

            [Mrs. Reed]: You and Hunter are strong. You can survive. I’m sorry I said those things earlier today.

            [Lauren]: It’s okay. I used to be weak. Honestly, I don’t think I was any weaker than I was when everything first fell apart. I’m stronger now, I know I am. So is my brother.

            Interrupting our conversation was the faint noise of a truck coming our way. We had nowhere to hide.

I turned the corner. I had already prepared myself for what I was about to see. I imagined blood everywhere. I pictured a few dead corpses lying close to the door with gun shots riddling their bodies, and I pictured my parents lying in pools of their own blood. I picture these images because I wanted to see the worst-case scenario. Sometimes I did that to myself. I wanted to see the worst of what could be so that when I see reality, it won’t seem so bad.

But no matter what I thought I pictured as the worst-case scenario, I was in no way ready for what I actually saw.

I saw several dead bodies at the door of my house, but they weren’t corpses. They were people who fought to stay alive and had broken into our home. They lay in their own pools of blood, and then there was my parents…

Eating the dead bodies.

The entire time I heard the screams and gunshots, I was convinced my parents were alive and fighting off the dead. Turns out I was very wrong. Survivors just wanted a chance to live. They were fighting off a horde that followed them here, but what they didn’t know was that two dead parents were waiting inside the house for them. My parents. It was then that I realized a terrible truth: it can always be worse.

Always.

I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want them to hear me. Yet as I slowly crept back into my brother’s room to his closet I wanted to scream. Even though as much as I tried to prove to myself that screaming was okay, I literally could not scream. I tried.

I stepped into Hunter’s room. I walked back over to his closet. I was so hasty to see my little brother that I swung the door open carelessly, but my hand was reluctant to let go of the door so there wasn’t as much noise that was made. However, my gasping cry was much louder than what the door could have done if I just let the door slam against the wall. I nearly screamed when I looked closer into the closet and saw that Hunter was gone. I thought I was going to puke.

I wanted to die. I wanted to scream and die a painful death for leaving my brother. Then I heard something move in the room. I quickly spun around, my eyes meeting with the source of the noise: my brother.

He was curling up against the wall covering his mouth. He was crying so hard. That was when I understood: he followed me into the living room.

I slowly walked over to him and cradled him. I couldn’t stop telling him I loved him. It had gotten to the point where I tried to stop telling him, but I literally could not.

The black truck rolled forward to a stop just in front of us. I stood in front of my brother with his gun in my hands. Mrs. Reed stood next to me holding the machete out in front of her. Three men carrying rifles jumped out of the tailgate and a fourth mounted his rifle on top of the truck and pointed the long barrel down at us.

            The men yelled at us demanding that we drop our weapons. Mrs. Reed looked at me and nodded as she threw her weapon to the side. The men grabbed our wrists and tied them behind our backs. Hunter started crying.

            [Lauren]: Hunter, it’s going to be okay.

            One of the men picked Hunter up and tied his arms together. Hunter’s screams made me want to murder the men in the worst ways imaginable.

            [Lauren]: Please don’t hurt him! I swear to God if you hurt him I’ll kill you!

            The man who bound me pulled a rag around my head and tied it around my mouth. My screams were muffled. They did the same to Mrs. Reed and my little brother. The pushed us towards the truck. All three of us were lifted and tossed into the tailgate, and before we could process what was happening we were at Costco being led inside.

            The inside of the building was completely barricaded with defenses, the floor covered in rows of tens, the spaces in between the tents bustled with the activity of the community’s civilians. They were all doing something whether it was carrying supplies or making them. There had to have been at least two hundred people here. Maybe more. I scanned the area and counted fifty men with guns. I didn’t see anyone else carrying besides those fifty. These men were included in the 200 person-populous.

            They continued to lead us towards the back of the store where a metal staircase lead to an office area overseeing the community. We reached the top of the stairs and one of the guards knocked on the office door. I heard a voice reply. The door was opened, and the three of us were pushed inside and then forced onto our knees. Hunter was simply laid down beside me. His face was so red with tears. The man standing behind a desk was staring for what seemed like hours. He looked so concerned. I glanced at a pair of twins standing in the corner watching us. They looked much more concerned; their eyes never left Hunter.

            [Anders]: Get these gags off these people.

            Dom and Pat immediately pulled the gag off Hunter, then Lauren followed by Mrs. Reed. Dom then pulled Hunter to the office wall so he could sit upright. Dom could feel Lauren’s frightful eyes watching him pull Hunter across the floor. Lauren turned her gaze back up to Anders.

            [Anders]: Listen guys I just want to say that I am so…sorry. I can’t give you people any details but we’re dealing with a situation with another community, so we’ve taken major security precautions. I know we scared you and I really want a chance to make it up to you. After we go through the necessities, I’ll be sure you’re all well fed, cleaned and given a comfortable bed.

            Mrs. Reed hadn’t made a sound since she entered the room. She immediately recognized the man standing before her. This dark…twisted form resembling humanity had taken the last bit of the blood that flowed in her family. This creature took her child. She knew she had a responsibility and that was to destroy this place and weaken it slowly and subtly from the inside and out. She wanted it to go down that way as well. She wanted this man to die slowly…after watching his world crumble to the ground just as she had to watch hers. Her desire to bring a slow demise to Anders was the only reason she was still tied on her knees rather than charging the murderer. Anders must have noticed the grim look of murder on Mrs. Reed’s face cause his eyes met hers and he locked on them.

            [Anders]: You do not look very nice, ma’am.

            Anders opened a drawer in his desk and set his handgun next his stack of papers.

            [Anders]: I’m gonna ask you guys a few questions. Number one: Where do you come from. Number two: Why did you leave? Last two: How many people have you killed…and why?

            Lauren glanced at Mrs. Reed who refused to a say a word. Lauren took it upon herself to respond.

            [Lauren]: We come from Palestine. We left because our home was overrun with the dead. We thought we’d try our chances on the water so we chose to head to Galveston.

            Anders nodded. He leaned forward in his chair and looked closer at Lauren.

            [Anders]: How many people have you killed?

            Lauren thought for but a moment as to how she should reply. She knew if tried to lie it wouldn’t be very convincing. So, she responded with a half-truth. How many dead people has she killed?

            [Lauren]: I’ve taken five…Hunter one…and Mrs. Reed has killed a few I’m not sure how much. She doesn’t really talk about it very much so I don’t expect you to hear from her very often.

            Ander’s nodded. He stood up and walked around the desk moving in towards Lauren. He crouched down till he was at eye level with her. Mrs. Reed’s eyes never left the man.

            [Anders]: …Why did you kill those people?

            From the beginning, Lauren had trouble making real eye contact with Anders. There was something that was so daunting about him that made it hard to look at his face. But she had to prove that she was strong. Not just for Anders, but for Rich and for herself.

            Lauren’s gaze shifted directly into Ander’s eyes.

            [Lauren]: They came at us. It was either them or our people. We decided it would be them.

            [Anders]: (Smiles) Did you have more people in your group?

            [Lauren]: Yes…lots of us. People we loved and cared for from before…they were taken from us by people who think it’s okay to kill for supplies.

            [Anders]: Then I’d say it’s a good thing the bad people are dead. Less trouble for when the world starts over.

            [Lauren]: Oh yeah. They are so dead…so dead.

            Anders smiled and stood back up and sat behind his desk once more.

            [Anders]: You two are survivors. I can see that. Your brother here seems to be a liability, but nothing we can’t remedy. I have a guy here who can help with his…limb situation. We’ll feed you tonight and give you access to the showers. You can stay the night at our community if you so desire.

            [Lauren]: Thank you.

            [Anders]: Of course. I have a heart for weak people who became strong. I have a knack for seeing those types. As soon as I saw you three I knew I saw weakness…weakness that died. All that remains is instinct, and the small amount of strength that didn’t go out. The irony is that the strong are the first to go. They’re the ones who were brave enough to charge the dead and fight the fire; they die first. When the dust settles and we begin anew the only people left were the ones society deemed as weak; nobodies. The weak…survive. You do things right around here and I think you will fit in quite nicely.

            [Lauren]: Thank you.

            [Mrs. Reed]: Thank you.

            Lauren’s eyes darted to Mrs. Reed. For a moment Lauren was worried for Mrs. Reed. What if she blew their cover or tried something stupid?

            [Anders]: So, she does talk. I’d love to hear more from you and your perspective in the near future. Until then, Dom why don’t you get these fine people a place to rest and get them some food?

            [Dom]: Yes, sir.

I hadn’t said a word in a while. All I’ve done is listen. Multiple times now, they comment on me being a “little girl” and how I’m not capable. They talk about how my brother is a handicap, as if now he’s a liability to the group. I know why they said it; they didn’t mean any harm in what they were saying, but they were hurting, nonetheless.

            [Rich]: Here’s why: Ian is needed here. We need him for the walls, and for our defenses. As much as I dislike the kid for tuck-tailing and running-

            [Brittany]: We both know that’s not what happened.

            [Rich]: …As much as I dislike the kid…we need him. Just like we need Audrey, Maddy, Kelley, and Jenna here to help keep this place safe and make sure those walls are put up. Bailey above all can’t go because she is our doctor and she’s stuck here. We can’t afford to stretch our most valuable recourses thin, so we have no choice but to send what the enemy would never expect: our weakest recourses, that which being an old woman, a little girl, and her crippled brother-

            I had enough. He crossed the line.

            [Lauren]: Hey!

            Honestly, I couldn’t even control myself at this point. I felt like a passenger in a car watching myself push through the people in my way till I was standing directly in front of Rich. My hands shoved up against Rich’s chest and I felt myself shouting at him.

            [Lauren]: My brother will not be a liability! He is not a cripple, or a handicap! He is a member of this group just like everyone else and he has value! And if you think you can just push around your “weakest links” then fine! Let’s have it your way! Me and Hunter will go. And when we come back after proving you wrong, I’ll make sure everyone knows it. You leave me, my brother, and Mrs. Reed alone and let us do what we’re supposed to do, and that’s taking down that Costco!

Night had fallen. I was still holding my brother. We both had cried ourselves to sleep. I was first to wake up. It all felt like a dream. It didn’t really feel like mom and dad were gone. In a dark way, it helped keep me emotionally stable, denying it all. But I also knew I had to get us out of our house and somewhere safer. I gently pet my brother’s head till he woke up. He looked at me and I whispered.

            [Lauren]: We have to get out of here, Hunter. It’s not safe.

            [Hunter]: I don’t wanna go.

            [Lauren]: …Hunter we have to go.

            Hunter rolled off my lap and hid inside the closet. He wasn’t going anywhere. It would cause too much of a struggle for me to just get him out of the house let alone fend off any dangers that would hear the noise and follow it. I wasn’t going to leave the house any time soon, I realized. But I couldn’t leave my home like this either. Either I drag my brother out of this house and hope there’s not any of the corpses out there, or I can make this room more secure and hope for the best. I sobbed for just a moment before wiping my face.

            [Lauren]: This sucks.

            [Hunter]: I’m hungry, Lauren.

            He still hadn’t left the closet and night was settling outside. I can faintly hear the shuffling of the rovers outside the door in my house. I was beginning to feel hungry too now that Hunter mentioned it. That’s when I remembered I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. I was starving.

            [Lauren]: I’m hungry too…but they’re right outside that door I can’t get to the kitchen. If we left the house we might have better luck.

            [Hunter]: I don’t want to leave.

            [Lauren]: What else are we gonna do, Hunter?

            [Hunter]: I don’t know, I’m just hungry, okay?

            I am overwhelmed. It felt like I was trapped and no matter what choice I made I was going to endanger my brother. There had to be another way out. There had to be something.

            I looked out the window in the bedroom and that’s when it hit me.

            [Lauren]: Hunter, hide in the closet. Don’t come out until I tell you, ok?

            Hunter closed the closet door concealing him completely. Lauren pushed the window open and ripped the screen away from the framing. Stepping back to her brother’s night stand, she grabbed her phone that had been sitting there all day and set the alarm on her phone to the nearest minute, and immediately threw it outside in the direction of the from lawn. Shutting the window closed, Lauren kept her eyes peeled towards the front of the house waiting. A minute went by and she could hear the alarm on her phone going off. She waited a minute or two longer and registered the shadowy silhouette of her parents grazing through the front lawn toward the noise.

            Not wasting another second, Lauren raced into the living room, carefully stepping over the half-eaten corpses soaking in black slaughter to shut door and lock it. The moment she took the time to inhale and relax she vomited at the stench of the corpses.

            I was always annoyed by the fact I had a weak stomach. I was irritated how I had a weak back, and how I would be forced to take breaks from playing games with my friends because it was too painful to stand at times. In a very fractional way I almost felt disabled compared to everyone else. I felt deformed and different in a bad way compared to everybody on top of that. I saw my friends like Brittany and found myself comparing, I saw Zach doing his silly tricks and running around and jumping and wished for just one day that I could do those things without feeling the slightest twitch in my spine. I don’t know. I just used to always find myself…comparing.

            Supposed me and Hunter get out of this. Suppose we do make it out of my house and to someplace safe or even find our church friends somewhere. What then? What good am I going to be but a liability? I wanted to be more, but I knew everyone else was but me.

            No, I don’t resent them. I love my friends. I just want to be valuable. Like…actually valuable. Contributing to help survive. But I doubt I’d ever get that chance. So, for now, I just focus on the simple stuff, like bringing food to my little brother.

            I walk into the kitchen, and immediately me eyes are diverted to the countertop. I find a letter with my mother’s hand-writing. I haven’t seen this yet. To me, this is the last words of my mother, and I couldn’t even read it without crying at the sight of the lead-written words on this piece of graph paper. Hunter came in seeing me in tears. He stood there looking at me for a while before walking into the pantry. I forced the tears to stop. Somehow, I managed to find the strength to stop crying. Motivation to read this letter, I guess.

            Lauren,

        I couldn’t find the strength to tell you face to face, so I did the only thing I could manage to do without breaking down in front of you or Hunter. I got bit. Your father knows and he’s not leaving my side. He’s watching over me and doing everything he can to keep me alive, but I know it’s my time. I know all of this is scary and it is going to change your life forever, but it is not the end of the world. No matter what happens, I want you to protect Hunter just as your father is protecting us. Promise me you will never leave his side.

I’ll never leave yours. I love you, Lauren.

Mother

       

          I folded the note and put it in my pocket.

            [Lauren]: I promise.

            Our tent was just large enough to hold the three of us. Mrs. Reed, however had been sitting outside the tent ever since she had gotten her shower. I stayed with my brother till he fell asleep. After that I arose from the tent and sat down beside Mrs. Reed. Most of the lights in the store had been shut off leaving a few guards keeping watch inside. Five total. I counted the amount of guards throughout the day that had retired to their tents and resulted with twenty-five. So, twenty guards keeping watch outside the store. That was the number I came up with before I retired to the tent to watch my little brother sleep.

            [Lauren]: Have the numbers changed?

            [Mrs. Reed]: No. Same as before: Twenty outside, five inside. The rest are in their tents.

            There was a pause for several minutes where we simply listened to the silent noises that echoed through the store.

            [Mrs. Reed]: So many opportunities. I could’ve attacked Anders in his office, the guards while we showered…we could find something sharp and kill all twenty-five of those sleeping guards and no one would know it was-

            [Lauren]: It wouldn’t work you know that. We have to stick with the plan. We will avenge your son. We will. But we have to do it the right way… not the dumb way. We screw this up and we may ensure everyone else’s death back home.

            [Mrs. Reed]: I understand…

            More silence. I looked at Mrs. Reed. It took her a moment before she looked back at me. I smiled.

            [Lauren]: We can do this. I know we can.

            I walked away from Rich. It didn’t take me long to gather my gear. I packed lightly. I had to look the part of someone who had been walking a long time. I went outside and rolled around in the dirt for a little bit until my clothes and skin were beat up and dirtied enough to be convincing, I packed a pocket knife, a couple of cans of soup, a buck knife, and one of the handguns. I dirtied up some of Hunter’s clothes and put it on him and made sure he looked the part as well. He was surprisingly excited to leave. Maybe it was just the feeling of finally getting up and moving.

            When I was ready I found Mrs. Reed, who had prepped herself in a similar fashion as I did. We both looked ready to leave. I didn’t know if or when I’d return, and frankly, I was frightened by that thought. I fought so hard to hide it, though. I was in such a hurry to prove everyone wrong that I nearly forgot to say my goodbyes. I hugged everyone so quickly. I forced myself to hold Brittany just a little bit longer. She didn’t let go until she was done hugging.

            [Brittany]: Prove him wrong. Be safe.

            [Lauren]: I will.

            We let go. She was crying. Hunter sat down up against the wall waiting for me to get him. He was so innocent lying there with his leg wrapped up. Maybe it was wrong Hunter was on this mission with me and Mrs. Reed, but Hunter was just as determined to leave and move around as I was determined to prove Rich wrong.

            I picked my brother up. He was heavier than I expected him to be. I walked out the door and made sure I took one last look at Rich’s face, so I could imagine what he’d look like after I prove him wrong. Then I left for Costco.     

Hours turned to days, and a week later we were out of food. Yesterday was me and Hunter’s last bit of rations and now we’re just sitting here in his room. I’ve been dreading this day. I was dreading it because I knew it meant it was time to leave. I dreaded it even more so because I knew Hunter was not going to want to leave.

            How long would we even last out there? I don’t know how to survive and having to keep my brother fed and protected made things even more difficult.

            [Lauren]: God, what am I supposed to do…?

            Hunter stood up and walked out of the closet and sat down next to me up against the wall. He looked at me and I looked back at him.

            [Hunter]: We have to leave, don’t we?

            [Lauren]: Yeah…I think so.

            [Hunter]: Where will we go?

            Where would we go? The church was overrun, and all my friends would have left the suburbs to find a safer place that I don’t know of…where could they possibly have gone? Where could we possibly go?

            [Lauren]: …I don’t know.

            Then I heard it. It was such a familiar sound that my first instinct was to cringe. I recognized that sound as a school bus…and it sounded like it stopped right in front of my house. At first, I froze, until I heard the gun shots. I ran to the window and looked out to see who it was. My whole body suddenly felt energized and I could finally breath. Stepping out of the bus was Brittany…behind her was Dylan and Lee.

            An hour had passed that had been completely entailed with tears, hugs and crying with joy before we all managed to relax and talk to each other. They told me everything that had happened in the past couple of weeks. They told me about The Property, and everyone who didn’t make it. Including Zach who was missing. I couldn’t believe half of what I was hearing, so it was hard to feel sad in a weird, twisted way. The only thing I wanted to know now was where they were headed.

            [Lauren]: What are we gonna do? Where are you guys headed?

            Dylan set down his crossbow and sat down next to Brittany.

            [Dylan]: We want you and your bro to come with us. We’re going back to the church.

            [Lauren]: But…I thought it was overrun.

            Lee walked back into the living room from the kitchen after looking for any left-over supplies. He rested his shotgun against his shoulder.

            [Lee]: It is. And we’re gonna take it back.

            [Dylan]: And we need your help.

           

THE PAST

They want my help. They actually want my help. So, I will help them in any way I can. Who cares if my back hurts a little after a day’s worth of surviving. None of that mattered to me anymore. All that mattered was that my friends were alive. We had a plan. And I have a promise to keep.

            THE RECENT PAST

As Mrs. Reed, Hunter and I walked away from our church home I adjusted Hunter comfortably onto my back. He was in just the right spot to allow me to access my pocket and pull out a letter my mother wrote me. I read it to remind me of a promise I swore to protect her. I looked over my shoulder to my little brother and smiled.

            [Lauren]: We can do this.

            Hunter smiled back. I put the letter back in my pocket.

THE PRESENT

My little brother, Hunter was passed out in his tent beside me. I spent this moment just to look at him. I was his sister and yet I felt like a mother. It was such a beautiful level of pressure on my shoulders. I wouldn’t trade this moment for the world.

            I folded my mother’s letter and put it back in my pocket. I read it everyday as another reminder of a promise to keep.

            THE FUTURE

            I couldn’t trust my own eyes. I didn’t believe what I was seeing…what I saw. My heart new better. It knew what happened. I tried so hard to fight the tear rolling down my face. I tried. But I literally could not fight it.

            I have broken my promise.

               

  

THE END

           

   

               

THE WALKING DEAD will cross over with WALKING DEAD REVELATION

          Since the release of Season 3 of The Walking Dead Revelation, page views and feedback have increased almost three times more than previous seasons. However, because of the fact that fan fiction stories-especially stories posted on blog sites have decreased in popularity over time, writers and creators of TWDR understand that the game has to be stepped up exponentially. One of many of those "steps" to bringing The Walking Dead Revelation further into popularity is by doing none other than a cross over event, of which we confirm 100% WILL INDEED HAPPEN. 

          To many of your surprise, this cross over will happen soon. VERY soon. In fact, it's confirmed that 11 original walking dead characters from Robert Kirkman's original comic-turned hit television series will cross into the lives of the characters in The Walking Dead Revelation. 

          Now for some of the die hard fans of TWD, we understand what could be going through your heads. Whether it be a deathly fear of it being a forced story that makes no sense, or "heck yeah!", we can promise you that there WILL BE NO TIME JUMPS, and the original characters of TWD will not be affected by their character's stories canon wise. Every bit of the story will be carefully written to match what happens leading up to the happenings of the TV show. Of course, we can't reveal too much information, however, we can reveal that the cross over event will take place during TWDR SEASON 3 EPISODE 9. This next Tuesday will mark the release of S3:E8, and from there the next chapter will be in the process of development. Whether it is to be released the following Tuesday cannot be confirmed yet, but that is definitely our goals. 

          Well fans, that's all we have for you today. Be sure to check out our IG page @twdrevelation and continue checking out our blog! Stay dead, friends! 

S3 E7: Fairbunker

            Ian stood before the graves. The group has lost so many since Ian has been gone. Resting in peace before him were people he once knew; survived and fought with. It didn’t even feel real that these people were gone now. Zack, London, Alissa, and Hunter…no. None of this felt right. Zach Golden’s grave spot still stood beside the others. It didn’t belong there anymore. The idea of Zach being dead wasn’t real. Grabbing hold of the cross that had been standing in the ground, Ian pulled it out. It didn’t belong there anymore, because Zach was alive. If only Ian could say the same for Hunter. He didn’t belong in the ground. None of them did. Recognizing this reminded Ian of the new task at hand: the people at Costco. They had to pay. They were involved in the murder of everyone they knew back at The Property, and they killed Hunter. They have to be stopped.

            [Ian]: Rest in peace, brother.

            Ian walked away from the graves, pulling the hood to his jacket over his head. The weather grew colder.

            Anders’ leg refused to heal correctly. Just as the doctor said, during operation, he’ll either bleed out, or have a limp for the rest of his life. It seemed as though the latter was the verdict. Every step he took became another level of irritation. Every time the muscles in his leg spasmed and gave out served as a reminder that everyone at the Church needed to submit under his rule. Their fuel supply was exactly what they needed to thrive. It was theirs for the taking. Since the shoot out yesterday, Anders has been putting his men to work. Fortifying the facility, stashing as much supplies as possible, and getting his men trained and prepared for when he advances on them. Many wondered why he went to such great lengths of preparation to attack such a small group. “Never underestimate the enemy.” Anders always said. They got away with killing six of their men, and they now have all the supplies that came with those men. They are capable of fighting. They are dangerous. Even more of a reason to wipe them out.

            Sure. If they attacked today they would most likely win. But this wasn’t about beating another community. It was about showing their power. It was about showing Anders’ abilities as a leader. He had to make an example of these people. He had to show that he was in control. He had to prove his worth. To do this, he had to be calm. He had to be collected. He had to show control throughout the entire ordeal and the way to do so, was to draw this out. Contain the situation. Expand the anticipation, and in the moment that everyone thinks that the church might have a chance…Anders’ will pull the trigger and destroy them. Then his people’s loyalty will strengthen all the more. His people would be safe, and his value would be proven all the more.

            He would often stand in his office staring at the same object for hours at a time. A custodian’s uniform hung in his room. He would look at it and run his fingers across his name that had been sown into the uniform. It would drive him. Motivate him to succeed, and it would anger him.

            [Anders]: I’ll show them.

            Anders would often say to the uniform.

            [Anders]: I’ll show them all.

            [Sherman]: Sure. We got ourselves a few guns yesterday. But the fact is that ammo will only last us so long. We need more ammo, and we need more guns to arm everyone here. Simple as that.

            Sherman pulled his hardhat off and scratch his head. Rich, Brittany, Mrs. Reed, Lee, Zach, Dylan and Tim all stood together in one of the empty classrooms. Sherman stopped talking, but everyone knew there was something else he wanted to say. But for some reason he was reluctant to speak.

            [Mrs. Reed]: What is it, Sherman?

            [Sherman]: …I know where we can get more guns and ammo.

            Bailey held her ear against Lauren’s brother’s heart. He hadn’t opened his eyes in the past three days. Bailey guessed he was in a coma. She was no expert. She mostly worked on animals at the zoo, but the basics were almost nearly the same. Temperature, space between heartbeats, breathing stability and many other factors came into play whether she dealt with people or animals. Lauren stood behind her. Lauren had gotten so thin the past few days. Her eyes were dark and baggy. She was pale, and her voice worn and tired. The group had tried to feed her but her body rejected everything she ate the first two days. She gave up trying eat last night. She gave up sleeping three days ago.

            [Lauren]: Is he okay?

            [Bailey]: As far as I know, I think he’s stabilizing. The stump isn’t warm which means no possible infection, his breathing and heart rate is a little fast but much better than yesterday. I think he’ll be okay.

            [Lauren]: (Crying)…Really?

            [Bailey]: I’ll check with him tonight to see if there’s any improvement but…yeah, I think he’s going to make it.

            Lauren’s face after such hardship had finally expressed a smile. Tears streamed down as she hugged Bailey. Bailey gave up trying to resist hugs a long time ago. Now she just let it happen.

            The next morning, Lee and Zach were sitting outside on the curb eating canned corn. Fog nestled along the grass line like a cloudy-blanket. The sky was gray, and the sun was white. Sherman was almost done making repairs on the crane. Building the walls might begin this afternoon. Everything went from slow pacing to full speed ahead. The sooner the walls went up, the better. Walls weren’t the only need, however. This predicament would hopefully be fixed within the next day or two.

            [Zach]: You sure you don’t want me to come along?

            [Lee]: As much as I would like to, Sherman said it himself: they’ll kill if more than one approaches their gates. It’s gotta be just me. This place needs every adult on deck, and I’m the supply guy, ya know? I gotta do this. I feel like I haven’t contributed enough.

            [Zach]: Yeah. Just don’t die man, I just got home.

            [Lee]: Will do.

           

            Lee traveled light. He didn’t need much, and there were specific things he was told not to bring. From what Sherman informed, this community took up shop within the fair grounds of the Annual Montgomery County Fair when everything fell apart. Then out of nowhere they used the radios, channeling frequencies inviting those who needed supplies to make trades. However, there were safety precautions. Only one member of a group of survivors were permitted to enter. Any more and they would be gunned down on sight. They were also warned to not bring anything more than a knife unless arriving to trade guns and other weapons which were to be kept in a bag and secured. After that, the traders would offer a trade for what you had, in order for you to get what you wanted. In this case, The Church needed guns and ammo. Lots of it.

            It had been a long time since Lee had time to himself. As he zipped down the roads in a gray Honda Accord, Lee began to wonder about the present. He had never done so in this way before. He always looked back in the past, remembering the good times and the bad, then he’d looking forward to the future, to what earth might be like when everything is okay. But now he finds himself adrift in the present just as the dust rose and settled behind the wheels of the car he drove down the stranded highways.

            Hunter was going to be okay. His leg is healing. Lee knows he’ll come through, but now Lee is living with two times in his life where he failed the people he cared about. His father was bit and he lost his arm because Lee failed him. Hunter was bit and lost his leg because Lee wasn’t thorough. How many more had to die because of him? He didn’t want to live with these burdens anymore, but moment to moment he had to live. He knew he had to. Moment to moment he had to succeed in this mission. So, he kept his eyes open. He listened to the sounds. He focused on the beat of the drums in his heart that represented his courage to outdo death; to stay a step ahead of the misstep. Moment to moment he was going to focus on survival.

            Lee slammed his foot on the breaks. The car screeched to a stop just in front of the truck blocking his path on the highway. Lee climbed out of the car, keeping his knife in hand. He approached the truck slowly, because he could already hear the rover growling from inside the truck.

            Reaching the door to the truck, Lee took hold of the handle and swung it open. The rover immediately lunged forward, only to dive face first into Lee’s knife. Slivering the blade from it’s soft skull as it fell to the concrete, Lee climbed into the driver’s seat of the truck.

            Keys were still in the ignition.

            Turning the keys, the truck gradually rumbled to life. Pulling the truck in reverse, Lee guided the truck up against the barriers of the highway until there was enough space to squeeze the Honda through.

            Just before climbing out of the truck, however, Lee’s eyes caught something. Sitting in the passenger seat amongst the garbage and dried chunks of flesh was an old iPod shuffle.

            [Lee]: Whaaat! No way.

            Picking up the ancient piece of tech, Lee managed to find some earbuds in the glove compartment. Maybe it still had life. He quickly placed the earbuds into his ears and turned on the shuffle.

            “Heathens” by 21 pilots.

            Lee chuckled softly. It had been a while since he heard an actual song. Before the world ended, Lee was getting annoyed with 21 Pilots, but now that he’s listening to it again, and hearing the sticks colliding with the drums, the sweet beat of impactful bangs and crashes married with rhythm and melody. He couldn’t resist the tears. It was the most beautiful thing he heard in a long time.

            Suddenly the shuffle was silenced. The battery was dead. There had to be a charger somewhere. Lee dug through every compartment, every nook and cranny in the vehicle but nothing to be found.

            [Lee]: (Voice breaking) No…nonono are you serious? Come on please.

            Nothing.

            He didn’t move. He sat there in the driver’s seat looking at the shuffle in his hand. He played the music in his head. Every beat of the drums, every rhythmic tune. He relished in the sounds in his mind, dreaming of hearing them with his ears instead of his heart. Many might have thought the music was meaningless; that compared to everything else in the world, music was the last thing people needed. Yet here Lee Balusek was, with a sudden feeling of hope just from listening to the sound of the music in his head. The feelings they produced: passion, anger, anxiety, fear, excitement, and joy. These things were everything. It was all that was needed, and he lost it.

            Lee had to get it back.

            [Lee]: Focus on the mission, man. You’ll get it back. You’ll see. ‘Bet you’ll have it back by today.

            Stepping back into the Honda, Lee continued down the highway system. He knew the area well. He knew where the Montgomery County Fair took place the year before. Looking back made him chuckle to himself. He had met up with Zach and Timothy there at the fair one time. Small talk turned into conversations, and eventually, Lee found himself with a group of all of Timothy Roland’s friends playing the dumbest dare game he’d ever played. Zach asked Lee to get a handful of ketchup and run around throwing the ketchup in the air, and then later he got asked to sleep in the bucket of a tractor for a minute. The pointless dares had continued for a while up until it evolved into a game of hide and go seek. With hundreds of people at this local event, hide and go seek in the middle of a fair was more fun than what he had anticipated. It was almost-

            [Lee]: No. Stop.

            Focus, Lee. Focus. Live in the now.

            Live in the now.  

            I knew where I was going. I turned left off the highway. I knew it wasn’t far from here so I pulled off the road and parked halfway into a ditch. I made sure I had my bag with me. All I had inside were a few snack bars, two water bottles, a knife and some matches. All I really needed. I opened the trunk and took out the two-five-gallon gas tanks that I was going to negotiate a trade with. They had to be worth something. Everyone needed fuel these days. If you ask me, I’d say gasoline was the number 2 most valuable thing right now aside from ammunition. With these two tanks of fuel, I hope to get my hands on enough ammunition at least to arm all the automatic guns we got our hands on after the shoot out a couple of days ago. I didn’t expect that much ammo, but ammo all the same.

            I approached the outskirts of the fairgrounds. All the rides and tents were still set up. It was almost a cold, menacing sight: the Ferris wheel was running. Like nothing was wrong with the world. The lights, the chiming tunes, the small rides spinning and twirling with ominous glee. What was even more disturbing was the fact that there were rovers strapped to the rides. I came in closer. My eyes fixated on the entire scene. I moved closer and closer with each passing moment that by the time I realized I was walking, I was standing beside the ticket booth.

            [Lee]: …what…

            A rover stood growling at me from inside the ticket booth. He was locked inside wearing a white and read-striped, long sleeve button up shirt, and looked dressed for the role he played in this dark fair ground. I continued deeper into the grounds and noticed some lose rovers shuffling towards anything making noise. Many of them if not all of them were broken and torn in many places. Their bodies busted open and dragging their insides along as they strode down the dirt path. I knew I couldn’t go any further. If I was spotted, I’d have a whole herd on my tail.

            As I turned around I immediately felt a heavy blunt weapon ram into my forehead. Everything went black for a moment. I woke up a few moments later on the ground. My vision was blurry, and I couldn’t feel anything above my lips. Two men stood over me with faces white-stricken with fear. They had a bag in their hand. They quickly pulled it over my face and started dragging me. I dropped my supplies…I needed my supplies.

            My hand quickly reached into my pocket for the iPod shuffle. I still had that at least. I heard footsteps, the grazing of grass and crumbling dirt as they pulled me across the lot. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard what sounded like a metal latch twisting out of lock. Footsteps clattered and soon I felt the sun cease to beat down on me; I felt the cold air get colder…then warmer. I heard voices. Dozens of them. I heard conversations, and arguments…laughter and small talk.

            My senses were slowly growing clearer. I could make out words and sentences:

            “…I’ll take two of these…”

                                                                        “…I’ll give you one box of 22s’ for the…” “…compound…”

                        “…What are these made of?...”

“…These are hardcover so more valuable than a

 “…couple…”

“…How much for the quiver and arrows?…”

            Was this the place? Was this where the trading commenced? But Sherman said it all went down at the fair…what was going on??

            Suddenly I felt the voices fade away and I heard a door close. The sounds barely vibrated off the walls, like I was in a room made of fur. I almost smiled when the pillow case covering my head was lifted and I realized I was in a room with animal furs blanketing the walls and floor. In front of me was a large, mustached man. He wore the attire of a wise, old, country man. The white cowboy hat, the fancy vest over his white button-up, the Wrangler jeans, the giant silver buckle, and the snake-skin boots marked him as the Texan stereotype. He sat in a brown leather chair behind a fancy desk. He was looking at me intently. I could barely focus my eyes.

            [Stranger]: ‘ can’t tell if ya have bad eye sight, or if ya need contact lenses. We got contact lenses if you need some. We got anything and everything you could ever want here at the ‘Fairbunker’.

            I blinked hard and opened my eyes. I can see better. Crap. Did a tear really just fall down my face??

            [Stranger]: Aw, darn it. Don’t mean to freak ya out, son. The strike on the head is just a precaution. We take things seriously around here, but I promise ya, were not bad people. Just business men. Now question is: what kinda man are you?

            I cleared my throat. How do I answer that, exactly?

            [Lee]: I need ammo.

            [Stranger]: Everybody needs ammo, son. Question is… how do you plan on getting it?

            [Lee]: I have two tanks of gasoline.

            My hopes began to go downhill when the stranger smiled. The man’s mood suddenly changes when he stands up in his chair and walks over to me. He reaches out his hand to me so as to shake it. What is going on…? I am reluctant to comply and shake his large hand but I do so anyway.

            [Stranger]: Totally forgot my manners. I’m Gregg Vernon Perry. Many people just choose to call me Gregonerry. Kinda a nickname I s’pose.

            [Lee]: Lee Balusek.

            [Gregonerry]: Okay, Lee. Why don’t you follow me?

            I stood up. Gregonerry walked through another door in his office that led down a long, hallway. The two of us walked down the halls and I began to notice the many doors along the way.

            [Gregonerry]: If you’re wondering where we are…I won’t give specifics for our own safety. But this is a bunker. It was set up the week everything began to fall apart. About a week into the epidemic it was overrun, but that same week, me and my hired field hands and distant neighbors cleared it. From there we saw an opportunity: to not just house supplies, but to endeavor in a grand mission to bring back what we knew was going to die: currency. It’s the key to everything. Whether it’s a green piece of paper or box of ammo, everyone finds value in something. For many people today, they find different things more valuable than what other people see as valuable, and that’s how trade is born.

            [Lee]: A friend of mine told me about this place…that you lived in the fair grounds and made trades with anyone as long as they followed rules.

            [Gregonerry]: Of which you have followed. I respect that a lot. We get a lot of rebellious types. They don’t last long. I thought it was smart, however, how you parked your car in the ditch to avoid suspicion. Smart kid. That’s why I’m gonna let you in on a secret.

            Gregonerry stopped walking and stood beside one particular door. He looked down at me and I made a few brave efforts to look back up at him. But most of my attention was on the door.

            [Gregonerry]: The fairgrounds are a cover. We are located a mile from it. The rovers you saw strapped in and riding the rides and manning the tents?

            [Lee]: Yeah. Weird.

            [Gregonerry]: Actually I see it as genius. See, for those who don’t follow our rules, who try to rise above the law and take what’s mine, I dispose of them. Because anyone willing to steal from a trading compound, will steal from anyone. When the new world returns it’s the thieves and murderers who will become the new threat. I’m thinning the numbers of the new threat one by one and placing them in the fairgrounds. You’d be surprised at how many people come our way. We go through the same process you went through, find out what they want, and we do business from there. When the job’s done, we cover their faces and send them back out, and they never find us again. Ever. We only do business once with anyone who comes in. Everything we do, every trade, every man and woman who comes here, is never seen again. The question is why we don’t see them again. When me and you do business…why won’t I see you again?

            [Lee]: Cause I’m following the rules. You won’t have to kill me.

            [Gregonerry]: Exactly. I like ya, kid. Now. Back to what your offering. There’s only one small issue: fuel is the number one item we trade in. Right now we are at the max.

            Opening the door and flipping a light switch, I peered inside. At least a hundred drum barrels of fuel.

            [Gregonerry]: As valuable as it must be to you, it isn’t to me. I won’t trade it for what you want.

            I didn’t know what to do at this point. What am I supposed to do? I don’t have anything else on me except a couple of snack bars and a knife. That won’t get me anywhere.

            [Lee]: I…I don’t know what else to offer you.

            [Gregonerry]: Then I’ll give you an option: your services. See, what often happens is the dead on the fairgrounds get lose or find a way off the rides or out of the tents. I can’t have that. It’s bad for business here at the Fairbunker. I need someone to go in and kill all the dead who got out. You do that for me, and I’ll give you five-fifty-round boxes of whatever type of ammo you need. Sound like a deal?

            [Lee]: Ten boxes.

            [Gregonerry]: (Laughs) Six.

            [Lee]: Eight boxes or I’ll keep looking elsewhere.

            Gregonerry stopped laughing and just smiled.

            [Gregonerry]: I really like you, brother. Ya got yourself a deal, son.

            Gregonerry reached out his giant hand. I smiled and shook it firmly. Following that trade-off, Gregonerry walked me out to a separate room containing dozens of melee weapons. Staves, swords, knifes, bats…anything that could be used as a hand weapon that didn’t involve a trigger or a bullet.

            [Lee]: Guns?

            [Gregonerry]: We used to offer guns as aid for those that traded and cleared the fair…in fact…those guys should still be tied to the Ferris wheel if I remember correctly. No guns.

            In front of me was a table. Strewn over it were different types of melee, but there was one I couldn’t help myself from being drawn to. It seemed only logical for the moment, and in my preferences was simply an awesome hand weapon in general. I felt the handle and lifted it to test the weight. It proved true. I nodded in admiration as I looked over to Gregonerry who stood beside one of his guards ready to blindfold me and carry me out to the fair grounds.

            [Gregonerry]: Good selection. Good luck out there.

            I smiled. The man pulled the pillow case over my head, and it was taken back into the gray cold.

            As the metal latch behind me closed, I suddenly felt an urge to count my steps. As I reached the fifties, I was beginning to fathom just how far I had been dragged. No wonder my lower back bone was so bruised. I could tell I was just outside the fairgrounds before they pulled the pillow case off my head. Upon doing so, my thoughts were confirmed as I stood in the exact same spot as I was knocked out. My back pack and two tanks of fuel was dropped back off in the same spots, and the guard handed me my chosen weapon.

            [Guard]: Good luck.

            I nodded in reply. They seemed cool. Sure, the clock to the forehead sucked but it was all just safety precautions. I respect them. It’s because I respect them, and my dedication to getting those bullets that I manage to find all the drive needed to survive this trade-off. Stepping past the ticket booth, I entered the fair grounds.

            I was already being welcomed by two rovers. One was protruding different bones from his body as if it had fallen from great heights, the other must have been part of the balloon popping tent, cause his face and chest was riddled in darts.

            How ridiculous this must seem, I thought to myself. I’m here at the fair to kill loose rovers for bullets and because a man in a cowboy hat wants to draw a crowd. I almost grinned as I brandished my rusted crowbar. I shuffled towards the two rovers.

            [Lee]: Just another day in Texas.

            I arched the crowbar over the balloon-dart rover, then pulled my bowie knife out and jammed it into the second rover’s temple just before it closed in on me. Both dropped the ground, the broken boned rover creating a discomforting cracking noise as it’s bones grinded against each other. I continued deeper into the park. As I peered down the corner, I realized most of the rovers had gathered around the speakers as they blared the fair-music. They were distracted enough for me to sneak around looking for any stragglers.

            For the most part, I didn’t find much action. Most of the rovers that didn’t gather around the speakers were rovers that were completely immobilized; some corpses crunched under rides or smashed to bits from the great heights. After making one giant walk around the grounds, I returned to the gate with only six kills at the moment. I counted nearly twenty-six rovers left to take out. But there was no way I could make a move on the herds surrounding the speakers without having all of them scrambling towards me. I needed a strategy. I needed a way to get their attention; to draw them out in some form or fashion so that I could pick them off one by one.

            I needed to turn the speakers off.

            Eyeballing the wire from the speakers, I followed the trail of wires leading up to a breaker box. Opening it up, I looked at five black switches. Once I turned these switches off, there was no going back. I looked at the heard and relayed the game plan in my mind. I looked confidently at the switches and breathed in deep. I yanked all five switches down.

           

            The fair was silent.

           

            I wasted not one extra moment as I scrambled for the Ferris wheel. The giant, circular ride was still activated and rotating as I reached the gate entrance. I screamed so loud…it had honestly been so long since I’ve raised my voice so high. I was always so scared of drawing in unwanted attention, yet here I stood, screaming and banging the crowbar against iron gate supports for that same purpose. The herds came closing in. I watched an empty cart rotating towards me from the Ferris wheel. Before the cart reached me, a rover got within arm’s length of me first, but was simply batted away with a single swing of my weapon. Just as the rovers closed in, the cart came my way, and leaped inside the cart, and fell hard on my back as it carried me into the air. I ignored the brutal pain in my spine and stood up to look over the edge. I chuckled as the other carts that rotated to the surface behind me knocked the herd off their feet, some managing to get decapitated or smashed into piles of damp skin and black blood.

            Soon the cart was headed back down to the ground. There were still a few more rovers standing. As I came back down I swayed my iron weapon across multiple skulls in one shot, taking down three rovers at one time and showering myself in droplets of brain matter and gore. Back up the Ferris wheel I went.

            Suddenly the Ferris started slowing down. I looked down to see what was happening. Typical. Several rovers began pouring from the stables and had managed to bump into the control desk, shutting down the Ferris wheel. The ride stopped and I was several stories from the bottom.

            [Lee]: Are you serious?!

            I counted heads at the bottom of the ride. Sixteen rovers left.

            [Lee]: Okay…okay, okay, okay, okay.

            I know. I know. I’m panicking. I admit it. But what else am I supposed to do? I am suspended in a steal cart several stories above a herd of rovers, what else would anyone do in a situation like that??

            Climb down.

            No way. Do I really expect myself to try to climb down this thing? There’s too much of a risk.

            What else are you gonna do?

            I don’t know…

            Climb down.

            This is stupid. I can’t believe I’m doing this. Oh, and on top of that, I feel a tear forming in my eye as I grab hold of the steal arm holding the cart. I slowly start shifting from the cart using my body weight towards the frame of the Ferris wheel. My feet are dangling, and my crowbar is barely hanging on from the belt loop of my pants.

            [Lee]: Ohhh sh*t, curse word, curse word…son of a curse word. I swear, God if this is how you decide to kill me off we’re gonna have a serious talk when I get home.

            My arms barely wrap around the thick steal bar, and yet I was just barely inching along and almost a few feet from the framing. I lunged my legs back and forward to carry me further down the bar.

            My hand slips.

            Thank God no one was around to hear me scream.

            Watching from a sniping position from afar, a guard intently watched through his scope.

            [Sniper]: (Smiling) Heard that.

            [Gregonerry]: (Over radio) How’s the kid holdin’ up?

            [Sniper]: He’ll be wanting more than eight boxes of ammo when he’s done.

           

            I was so freaking close! I could almost touch the framing with my feat. Just a few more feet. My arms were getting so tired. The thought of just letting go and dropping to my brutal death may have crossed my mind once or twice. The only thing preventing me from doing so was the fact that my feet were literally set firmly on the frame and all I had to do was get my arms around it.

            [Lee]: Hold off on the death thing for now, Lee.

            Taking hold of the angled framing, I looked down at the end of the frame and saw the ten-foot gap between it and the herd of rovers watching and following my every move.

            Bracing my foot against the frame attachment and grabbing hold of the framework and bolts around the contraption, I pulled out the crowbar, setting it over the angled frame and prepared for the scariest zipline of my childhood.

            I pushed off.

            Taking hold of the crowbar on both sides, I sped down the angled frame and towards the ground. The time spent between the center frame work and the ground coming straight at me was almost calming. The cold wind blew hard into my face, the feeling of my insides piling up in my chest, the adrenaline pumping and the breathlessness of almost free falling took over the moment. I lived in this moment and I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to stay in this moment. No more thoughts about the future, no more glances into the past and remember the good and bad times, only focusing on the now. But all good things had to come to an end.

            I hit the ground hard, rolling away from the Ferris wheel and skidding across the gravel. I absorbed the pain and ignored the dirty blood dripping from my beaten and bruised body and simply stood at the ready to face the rovers coming towards me.

            [Lee]: Come on!

            I beat one to death. It’s blood splashing all over the legs of my pants. I jammed the end of my weapon into several skulls, popping all kinds of gore and brain juices into the air. I kicked, stabbed, decapitated, bashed, rammed, dismembered, and destroyed. So much blood that it soon felt like water on a rainy day. It just kept falling and collecting under the stones of the earth. I never realized it as I killed…but I was emotionless, I wasn’t feeling, fearing, hoping, praying, or desperate. I was empty. All that there was was a man and his crowbar. I was in the moment, listening to the beating of my heart as I smashed into the dead and beat their skulls into pulp. I ignored the fact that I was surrounded by the dead, I ignored that more than sixteen rovers had joined their numbers in an attempt to kill me. I even ignored the fact that I lost my crowbar and was left with only my knife. I ignored everything and simply focused on killing the dead. I focused simply on surviving. I wasn’t alive. I was simply a moving moment.

            I killed them all.

            So, there I stood, covered in blood and holding the rusted-dripping crowbar in my shaking hand standing in front of Gregonerry. He was smiling.

            [Gregonerry]: My sniper told me everything.

            [Lee]: Good, then you know I’m gonna want more than just the eight boxes?

            Gregonerry laughed so loudly, I could hear the man’s bellowing chuckles echoing down the bunker. He removed his white cowboy hat and sat down in his big leather recliner.

            [Gregonerry]: Ya know, usually I stick to the handshakes, and hold the trade off firm. But you’re lucky; I like you. A lot. You got fire, and you’re god-d*mn hilarious. So, tell you what. You pick out one thing here besides a firearm to add to your eight boxes of ammo, and then we’ll send you on your merry way.

            Anything I wanted. Maybe I should grab another box of ammo for the group. We might need it in the long run…

            No. I have to live in the moment. What do I need to have right now?

            I scanned the different rooms and dozens of different tables down the long under ground bunker. I must have been there for half an hour just looking for something until I found it:

            A charger cord.

            I immediately picked up and smiled to myself. I glanced over at Gregonerry and he smiled once again.

            [Gregonerry]: Of all the things…a charger cord? Haven’t been able to get rid of those in ages! What do you need it for?

            Lee smiled back. He carefully placed it in his blood-dried pants. He subtly walked over to Gregonerry and took the pillow case from the guard standing next to him. Lee gingerly pulled the case covering his own head.

            [Lee]: (Under pillow case) Heathens.

(“Heathens” by 21 Pilots plays as Lee is escorted out of Fairbunker.)

            I waisted no time as soon as they pulled the blind fold off my head. I ran to my car and scrambled inside. It didn’t take long for the iPod Shuffle to charge enough for me to listen to it. I played Heathens, of course. After all, what’s a song left unfinished?

            [Maddy]: He’s here!

            Maddy lowered the binoculars from her face and raced down the balcony stairs. Zach was already in the parking lot with Dylan, Rich, and Christian helping Sherman move cars away from the perimeter. Sherman had already begun the process of marking where they would start digging and posting. The construction of the walls had begun, and Lee was just in time to see the beginnings of it as he pulled in.

            Climbing out of the driver’s seat after parking it beside the other vehicles, he was instantly met with Maddy who hugged him tightly.

            [Maddy]: I missed you okay, sir.

            Lee hugged back.

            [Maddy]: You smell like rovers…and…is that cotton candy that I smell?

            [Lee]: Ah, I’ll tell you about it later.

            Dylan and Zach made their welcomes known to Lee soon after the brother and sister let go of their embrace, and Rich wasted no time to greet Lee with a debriefing.

            [Rich]: Lee, come with me. I’ve gotta bring you up to speed on some things going on.

            Pulling Lee aside, Rich took him into the family life center. They stopped in front of the basketball goal.

            [Lee]: You wanting to hear what I got?

            [Rich]: Yes, report.

            [Lee]: Um, well…I made the trade off, but they didn’t want our fuel so I still have the gas in the car.

            [Rich]: Why wouldn’t they want fuel??

            [Lee]: Trust me. They had plenty. Instead they had me kill rovers for them in exchange for eight boxes of ammo of whatever type I wanted. So I got like three boxes for the automattics, two 38s’, one 45, and one 22. And each box has like 50 rounds. So, we’re well supplied, at least enough to defend ourselves against Costco, ya know?

            [Rich]: We’ll see.

            [Lee]: You said something about stuff happening here?

            [Rich]: Not here. At Costco. We sent Mrs. Reed, Lauren, and her brother there to work undercover for us.

            Honestly, I’m not even sure how to respond to that. Three of probably the most vulnerable people in our group are now in the hands of the enemy.

            [Lee]: What?

            [Rich]: They were the most logical choice. They volunteered. Their mission is to learn their inventory, become one of them, and slowly and subtly compromise them one bit at a time without getting noticed.

            This wasn’t right. What was Rich thinking? What if something happens to them? We won’t be able to save them without a full invasion. Rich just sent Mrs. Reed, Lauren, and her little brother who had just lost a leg… to their doom.

THE END