{"id":355,"date":"2013-07-22T15:05:08","date_gmt":"2013-07-22T15:05:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/?page_id=355"},"modified":"2013-07-22T15:05:08","modified_gmt":"2013-07-22T15:05:08","slug":"chapter-100","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/story\/chapter-100\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 100"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 100<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Society.<\/i><\/p>\n

For some reason, since the dead rose, we\u2019ve been operating as if such a thing still existed.\u00a0 The assumption simply was that the rules, expectations, everything was still there in some form.\u00a0 Now, we should have known better.\u00a0 That should\u2019ve been destroyed by the simple fact that corpses were roaming the world like it was nothing.\u00a0 Why wasn\u2019t it?<\/i><\/p>\n

Maybe it was habit.<\/i><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Believe it or not, I don\u2019t always have the answers.\u00a0 Everyone expects me to, and I wish I did, but\u2026 I just don\u2019t.\u00a0 So what happens when the rules of before are broken?\u00a0 What do you do?\u00a0 What can you do?\u00a0 The rules are gone.\u00a0 As are the punishments.\u00a0 It\u2019s a different world now.<\/i><\/p>\n

We adapt and face the new challenges the universe throws at us.<\/i><\/p>\n

No matter how grim things may be.<\/i><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t share my doubts with the others.\u00a0 Even in this new home, with more people, I\u2019m still the leader.\u00a0 People still look to me.\u00a0 Someone has to do it.\u00a0 I never asked for this role, but I take it on anyway.\u00a0 So I keep these thoughts in my journal.\u00a0 Remind me to someday thank Riley for the suggestion.\u00a0 That girl may drive me crazy at times, but this was one of her best ideas.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s kept us all sane over the past ten months.\u00a0 It feels longer.\u00a0 The world from before seems like a lifetime ago.\u00a0 In a sense, it was.<\/i><\/p>\n

One final thought to ponder\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

What if the worst thing out there isn\u2019t the undead\u2026 but ourselves?<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Friday, February 22, 2013<\/b><\/i>
\nWeek Forty-Four<\/i><\/p>\n

It seemed like another day in the castle.\u00a0 It still felt surreal, living overseas the way they were now, nothing but the moors in their view, when Kevin decided he needed a break.\u00a0 He needed space away from the others.\u00a0 A break from the leader role that plagued him.\u00a0 He wondered how this group had been run before they\u2019d arrived.\u00a0 It seems that although they had survived, they had been unorganized.\u00a0 So of course, once Kevin had seen that, he\u2019d gotten them into action. He\u2019d taken full inventory of their supplies, checked what weapons they had and how much ammo, and started getting them to use weapons other than guns, to keep those aside for runs and possibly hunting game when spring came.\u00a0 He\u2019d also started thinking about the idea of a new garden after the spring thaw.\u00a0 He was looking ahead at the long term, something not many others did but he knew was a necessary task.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look like you\u2019re thinking too damn much again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin chuckled as he turned to see AJ walking up behind him.\u00a0 He walked with an obvious limp, which kept his pace a slower one than before.\u00a0 It had lessened some since the initial injury; he only hoped it would be more subtle as time went on.\u00a0 He never mentioned it, since he knew how sensitive the other man was about it.\u00a0 AJ would never admit it, but Kevin knew he defined himself by how useful he was to the group, to keeping them safe.\u00a0 It was why, when he later found AJ had relapsed after breaking his leg, he hadn\u2019t been too surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust trying to make sure we\u2019re prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two started walking down the steps towards the bathrooms.\u00a0 Initially, Kevin was going to try and find Gabby, since they needed to go on a clothing run.\u00a0 He thought perhaps she\u2019d like to go and get out of the castle for a bit.\u00a0 It was always dangerous, but since Brian, Nick, and Riley were going, he knew the teen would be well-protected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen do you ever take a break?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t take breaks anymore, someone needs to stay vigilant.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ snickered.\u00a0 \u201cYou remind me of Mad-Eye Moody in Harry Potter<\/i> man \u2013 CONSTANT VIGALANCE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat scares me is that you\u2019ve read those books; they\u2019re meant for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, those books are fucking awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never stop surprising me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because, like the books, I\u2019m fucking awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t help but start laughing again.\u00a0 \u201cLook, Aje, we\u2019ll be heading out on a run later; I need you to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStay behind, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026Keep watch and snipe anything that\u2019s roaming around the doors, actually.\u00a0 I need you to keep this place safe, to keep us safe when we return.\u201d\u00a0 He paused, his hand resting on the former addict\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI need you to be my eyes, man.\u00a0 I wouldn\u2019t trust that with anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

He saw a smile start to form on AJ\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, man.\u00a0 It\u2019s just-\u201d<\/p>\n

But what it was, Kevin didn\u2019t get a chance to hear.\u00a0 A scream resounded throughout the castle\u2019s walls and chilled Kevin right down to the bone.\u00a0 He knew that voice instinctively.\u00a0 The two shared a glance for a split second before sprinting down the hall, AJ forcing his leg to cooperate as best as he could.\u00a0 The screams continued.\u00a0 Kevin\u2019s mind was racing.\u00a0 How could the undead get in here?\u00a0 The place was impenetrable; it was the only thing that let any of them feel safe.<\/p>\n

How is this possible?<\/i><\/p>\n

They burst into the bathroom, and Kevin was frozen with shock at the sight before him.\u00a0 Gabby was still screaming.\u00a0 The scene before them was different from any scenario the two could have imagined.\u00a0 A figure was hovering above her, moaning loudly.\u00a0 However, it was not<\/i> a member of the undead.\u00a0 Instead, it was a human, alive and kicking.\u00a0 The old man, Alistair, was struggling with the young girl, as she fought to keep him from ripping off her clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, now there, girl, you\u2019ll enjoy what I have to give ye\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

In that moment, Kevin saw red.<\/p>\n

He reached forward, grabbing the older man and slamming him up against the wall.\u00a0 In his peripheral vision, he could see AJ going to Gabby, helping her up and trying to gather what was left of her torn clothing.\u00a0 There were already bruises forming along her arms and face.\u00a0 His rage only built at that fact.\u00a0 His emotions drove out any rationality he could have possessed at that moment.\u00a0 He shoved Alistair into the wall a second time and held him there, ignoring the way he winced as his head was thrust back against the stone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey there, lad\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

His grip tightening around Alistair\u2019s throat, Kevin leaned in, his voice barely audible.\u00a0 \u201cWhat gives you the idea, the thought, that you could touch her?\u00a0 How sick are you<\/i>?\u00a0 Do you know what that girl has been through!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a new world now; the rules of old are\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin pulled him back from the wall, only to slam him into it forcefully once more.\u00a0 He could hear the noise as the other man\u2019s skull smashed into it again, harder this time, and he felt a tinge of satisfaction, as the rage continued to surge through him.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a new world, and you don\u2019t deserve to be alive in it.\u00a0 You just tried to rape a thirteen-year-old girl!<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

Alistair tried to talk again, but Kevin\u2019s grip began to cut off his air.\u00a0 He knew he could do it, kill him right then.\u00a0 He knew that to leave this man alive would be a mistake.\u00a0 He could hear someone yelling in the background, but he was too enraged to make out the words.\u00a0 All he saw was this sad excuse for a human, alive by chance, damaging Gabby even more than she already was.\u00a0 It had been pure luck that they had been close enough to hear her screams in time.\u00a0 Had he been blinded back in Florida because he\u2019d had the good luck of finding companions who were good, honest people?\u00a0 His trust in what humanity was left had been brutally betrayed.<\/p>\n

A few minutes longer, and\u2026<\/i>\u00a0 His grip tightened even more at the thought.\u00a0 The rapist\u2019s face began to redden with the lack of air.<\/p>\n

\u201cKEVIN!\u201d AJ screamed.<\/p>\n

He ignored him, focusing in on the task at hand.\u00a0 \u201cI should kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKEVIN, NO!!!\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ lunged at the two men, forcing himself forward and prying Kevin\u2019s hand from around Alistair\u2019s neck.\u00a0 He shoved Kevin back so that he couldn\u2019t go back at him again.\u00a0 The old man passed out, slumping to the floor.\u00a0 AJ stared steadily at the former colonel, who simply looked at him coolly in response.<\/p>\n

\u201cKevin, you were killing him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabby just stared at them from where she stood, tears streaming silently down her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but fortunately for that bastard, we\u2019re better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin sighed, staring down at the unconscious body, and then nodded.\u00a0 \u201cGrab Nick; we need to get him locked up.\u00a0 Ask Liz or Shaun if there\u2019s a dungeon we can use.\u00a0 We can figure out what to do with him there.\u201d<\/p>\n

AJ nodded, pausing at the doorway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to kill him.\u00a0 I\u2026 wasn\u2019t thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d he replied and rushed off to do as Kevin said.<\/p>\n

Kevin turned towards Gabby.\u00a0 She rushed to him, and he cradled her in his arms.\u00a0 She sobbed hysterically as the two slowly slumped to the floor, exhausted.\u00a0 His head rested on top of hers as she continued to cry, her body shaking.\u00a0 Kevin rocked her, clueless of how to comfort the teen.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid he\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head, still unable to say anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here for you, okay?\u00a0 I won\u2019t let anything happen to you,\u201d he promised, looking up at the ceiling, wishing for a sign.<\/p>\n

Jo, I need you.\u00a0 How do I protect your daughter?\u00a0 How do I keep her safe?<\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry I failed you.<\/i><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

A few hours later had them all together, staring at the man locked in old shackles Kevin knew would hold.\u00a0 It was almost barbaric, but he knew the man deserved no better.\u00a0 Gabby was glued to his side; she had been since the incident.\u00a0 She hadn\u2019t spoken a word either.\u00a0 He could see Callum out of the corner of his eye, staring at Gabby worriedly.\u00a0 It made him smile that she finally had someone her own age around.\u00a0 He hoped Callum\u2019s presence would help comfort her in the days to come.\u00a0 She would need that, more than anything.\u00a0 Gabby had had more to deal with than he could even imagine.\u00a0 It was a miracle she hadn\u2019t become catatonic or something, he figured.\u00a0 How could she trust again?\u00a0 He caught sight of Callum again.\u00a0 Or even love?\u00a0 He wanted that for her, something to light up her dark, bleak world.\u00a0 He worried for her deeply, his surrogate daughter in a world of orphans.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do we do with him?\u201d AJ asked bluntly, since no one else seemed to want to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the question.\u00a0 I almost\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDude, I get it.\u00a0 Hell, I want a piece of the bastard myself,\u201d Nick replied, but Riley put her hand on his shoulder, a silent gesture to keep him from acting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought Alistair was a bit daft, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserves a good flogging,\u201d Shaun said, looking sheepish as his wife gave him a look for interrupting her.<\/p>\n

\u201cKevin has already done that,\u201d Dr. Kwak In-Su reminded them with a distinct tone of disapproval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do?\u00a0 We don\u2019t have laws anymore,\u201d Gretchen added, reminding them all of the biggest flaw in the current situation.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t have prisons; we have to handle everything ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe kill him,\u201d Selena said simply.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t<\/i> kill the living,\u201d Brian declared firmly.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s the matter with you?\u00a0 Suggestions to beat him, saying we should kill him?\u00a0 I get it; Kevin was upset when he found him doing\u2026 what he did.\u00a0 But to really plan it out and do it?\u00a0 Are you insane?\u00a0 That makes us no<\/i> better than those corpses roaming around, trying to eat us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh sod off with your morals,\u201d Selena retorted.\u00a0 \u201cThis is about reality.\u00a0 We can\u2019t be letting this bastard free to wander.\u00a0 What are we going to do?\u00a0 Just force him out the door for the undead to eat?\u00a0 That\u2019s the same as killing him.\u00a0 We should just shoot the wanker and get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian\u2019s right,\u201d Riley chimed in, staring down Selena.\u00a0 \u201cWe can\u2019t kill him in cold blood like that.\u00a0 That makes us lower than the sleaze himself.\u00a0 I say\u2026 we keep him chained up down here.\u00a0 For now.\u00a0 We don\u2019t kill him.\u00a0 We hold him till we figure out something else to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ashton stood in the corner silently as the debate continued \u2013 something Kevin didn\u2019t like.\u00a0 He\u2019d rather everyone gave their opinion on the issue.\u00a0 But he also knew that was too much to ask.\u00a0 No matter what everyone thought, the decision was going to come down to him and him alone.\u00a0 It was easier for people like Selena to suggest killing.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because she knew she wouldn\u2019t have to be the one to do it.\u00a0 In the end, it would be Kevin who held Alistair\u2019s life in his hands.\u00a0 He hated the feeling.\u00a0 It made him feel slimy, dirty.<\/p>\n

It was that feeling that made his decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian and Riley are right:\u00a0 we can\u2019t kill him.\u00a0 For now, we\u2019ll hold him here, feed him, and keep him alive till we have a solution.\u201d\u00a0 He turned, his steely stare fixated on the old man, who had wisely refused to utter a word this entire time.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t think you\u2019ve gotten away with it, or that our respect for human life is a weakness.\u00a0 That would be a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The words seemed to echo throughout the dungeon and haunted them all.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

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Chapter 100 Society. For some reason, since the dead rose, we\u2019ve been operating as if such a thing still existed.\u00a0 The assumption simply was that the rules, expectations, everything was still there in some form.\u00a0 Now, we should have known … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"onecolumn-page.php","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/355"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":356,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/355\/revisions\/356"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/dreamers-sanctuary.com\/undead\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}