The Two Survivors - Chpt 4-1 [English - US]

The Two Survivors [English - US]

Description:

The Two Survivors is a fan comic and book series, created by Antony Bindilatti and in suggestion and in partnership with Priscilla2Warrior, also known as Priscilla McGee. The series brings together different stories from the characters from famous series such as Claymore (trademark of Norihiro Yagi and Madhouse Studio) and The Walking Dead (Robert Kirkman and Telltales Games by The Walking Dead: Michonne), all focusing on some journeys, some action. and some fun with your favorite characters (and some less).

The story focuses on two young girls: Priscilla and Paige. Priscilla is a newly formed Organization warrior after taking her place as Number 2, and Paige is one of the survivors after a zombie apocalypse devastated Georgia and turned victims into Walkers.

 And when the two survivors meet, a long, tireless journey begins and they will have to fight to survive.

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Chapter 4 part 1

Three days have passed since the survivors had been to that truck driver's restaurant in the middle of the desert. A place where only a few would know how to find, and only a few who could make the most of the somewhat bitter hosting of a gentleman who long ago isolated himself from the rest of civilization, believing the restaurant to be a perfect oasis. An impossible fortress to break. However, that restaurant is gone. And with it, the only cook who worked there and another horde of zombies from various surroundings, were taken by the flames of destruction, caused by the ignition of cooking gas from the canisters, triggered by Sullivan in his final moments.

During the one-way trip to the Mexican border, Paige continued to stare back at Richard's restaurant. The distance at which the truck was, she couldn't see anything else on the horizon. Not even the smoke from the explosion and the flames. And when nothing seemed to make her look at anything else, she heard a call.

“Paige.”

When answering the call, it was her guardian and colleague Priscilla. Paige was still affected by what happened where they were. Her gaze expressed a certain degree of fear and distress for those she cared most about being attacked by zombies.

“Yes Priscilla?” she answered the call of the other.

“You seemed quiet, not really willing to talk. Is everything alright with you?”

“I… guess so. I just can't stop thinking about that day.”

Priscilla knew what it was about. It was almost two sleepless nights, thinking and remembering the scene of Sullivan giving her life for them. Sacrificing himself to save them from zombies by burning the entire restaurant down with gas canisters.

“Hey Paige, we both know that we need to do everything we can to survive in this inhospitable and unknown world. There's no need to be grieved over Sullivan's death.”

“It's not that.” as she said this, Paige turned her gaze to her left side, with an expression of doubt and sadness. “It's just… I don't know how long this will be over.”

The greatsword warrior looked at her friend with some concern about the zombie apocalypse. As she wasn't from Paige's world, she didn't have a solid idea of how and when this nightmare would end to bring back what it used to be before this was the way it was. And just before they continued talking, they heard the former owner of the restaurant say something about Paige's restless voice line.

“I have no idea either. But I know I really want to live, just like you.”

“It's okay Richard. We both know you want to live as much as we do. But remember you almost killed us with your shotgun and you wanted to get rid of us.” Paige said as she reminded him of the time he almost took her life with that gun.

“Yeah, I know.”

“You know that, but why did you do that?”

Richard sighed in regret. “I know I started off on the wrong foot with you two and that family. Sullivan was right about me. My business wasn't doing well, just like my family and relationships with other people. That place and he were the only things to keep me believing that even in the midst of a dark world, there are people who need help.”

“And you used to scare them.”

“Perhaps. But… seeing Sullivan meeting you, aroused his interest in getting out of there. I didn't want to see him leave for fear that something was going to happen to him. And it happened. Still, I used to hear from him about his daughter and how much he wanted to see her.”

“Right. Even though you've been talking about his daughter, haven't you thought better of helping him look for her with what you had at your disposal?” asked Priscilla.

“As the other restaurant employees left the place and took most of the vehicles the place had, there wasn't much that could be done to help Sullivan.”

“And now that we're in the same boat, the way to go is to join forces and protect each other while we're in this zombie-filled world,” said the young warrior.

“Yes. And as it was Sullivan's wish to be able to help you after you helped him in that place, I will give what I have of my strength to help you.” he replied, extending his hand to them.

Even though they were afraid to be able to trust him after that incident before the cook's death, Priscilla and Paige knew that Richard could help them, Alice and their children. In response, they extended their hands to him, making a deal with the former owner of the restaurant.

 ////

During the trip, the two girls remained seated, listening to this man talking about Sullivan and other related things from that restaurant before the day they and Alice's family had set foot and the misfortunes had happened the next day. The truck traveled ninety-eight miles toward the Mexican border. They were close to leaving Georgia to enter Alabama.

The journey continued to be strenuous for the survivors as they could not find shelter or a suitable stopping point to refuel the vehicle, feed on what they had or rest. At this time, Paige was resting in the back of the vehicle. The vibrations of the moving truck were barely noticeable to her during her rest. But in her mind, the only things that passed were the memories of her family as they moved away from her in an affectionate way. Her parents weren't around her during her transition from childhood to adolescence, deeply scaring the young girl if not for the Fairbanks family and Samantha, their eldest daughter. Whenever she saw Samantha's face, Paige remembered the time when they fought until they calmed down and became friends.

“Hey Paige.” called Sam in the memories of the young survivor. “My parents will organize a tour tomorrow. We'll take a basket for a picnic and later we can go swimming. Want to go with us?”

Those words enchanted the young girl. She accepted her friend's invitation and the day they went was an unforgettable day in her life. Sophia and John Fairbanks accepted Paige as more than a friend to Sam and his siblings on the days she visited them.

Now with the outbreak of the zombie apocalypse and that event that took Paige to the hospital, the whereabouts of the Fairbanks remains uncertain, and the young woman continues to think about her friend and them, asking for their well-being day and night.

 ////

A short time later, something caught her attention to the point of taking her from her rest.

“Uhh… what happened?” she said when she woke up.

The truck stopped again. This time it wasn't because of mechanical problems. Mark and Andrew needed to go downstairs to urinate. As there was no bathroom, they had to lean against the vehicle and empty it after a long journey. Alice stayed in the cabin to rest after hours with her hands on the steering wheel and her feet on the pedals. During this time, Richard also decided to unload his bladder, leaving the two girls with the boys' mother.

When she saw her guardian still awake, she was relieved not to be alone.

“Paige.”

“Ah, Priscilla. Glad you're here.” Paige noticed Richard's absence and the vehicle parked in the middle of the road. “Why did we stop and where did Richard go?”

“Mark and Andrew asked to stop while they needed to empty. And Richard said he needed to go find a bush to draw water from the knee. I didn't quite understand what he meant by that.” replied the young warrior.

Paige sighed with a degree of discomfort. “He went to take a piss, Priscilla. That's what ‘draw water from the knee’ means.”

“Ah. I see.” replied the enlightened warrior.

“I bet that in your world the warriors also need to do their basic necessities. Is it not?”

“Very little I would say.”

“Very little? Priscilla, how is it that you usually, well… use the bathroom to piss, shit and bathe?” she asked with a tone of shame for adopting pejorative terms which are customary among men.

“We usually bathe at certain times. Of course we need to get rid of the reek of blood and impurities as well as rest after our chores. And because of our nature as warriors, it's not very common for us to look for a private place to… use a bathroom the way you humans do.”

The last part said by the warrior sounded a little uncomfortable for the young shooter. Of course they were both girls and could talk openly about certain things related to their gender. Of course, some customs from Paige's world were new to Priscilla and only a few people could speak the meaning of each slang or popular expression.

The moment they found each other, they had to wait for the others to get back to the truck and resume their journey.

“Now we have to wait for Richard to come back from his bush.” Paige replied as she crossed her arms behind her head.

Priscilla agreed with her. Although the place they were in was safe and there was no evidence of zombies in the vicinity, they could wait without needing to raise their guard and protect the others from imminent danger.

 ////

On the other side, Richard found himself among several trees and plants which could be used to cover him from any prying eyes. He watched the place being baptized for his piss in order to relieve him of his discomfort by holding him back during the trip to Mexico with the two girls, Alice and their children. He had taken his shotgun with him in case he was surprised by something frightening, like zombies or something else. For now, nothing different to make him take his gun and shoot.

“Glad those kids decided to stop to rest. I couldn't stand holding my bladder anymore.” he said to himself as he urinated in the corner he set up on the floor.

However, something was crawling through the bushes behind the man. He made no noise as he opened the branches to see his back to danger. He noticed the shotgun leaning against the tree on the right side and then Richard.

Completing his needs, the former owner of the restaurant felt something strange after pulling the zipper on his pants. He felt he was being watched. And when he heard something, he turned quickly to see who it was. His answer was just several bushes and a few trees, but nothing from his “watcher”.

“Who's there?” he asked, almost startled. He was still being watched. No movement or response came from the one watching him except that.

Before this strange and hidden watcher, Richard took his shotgun in order to arm himself. In doing so, his observer withdrew from him for a moment. The man felt safe after it left him.

Richard continued to the vehicle, his hands rubbing his pants to get cleaned up. However, the observer who was in the middle of that vegetation behind the man returned to the original position that was between the leaves, revealing a portion of a human face, with a pair of blue eyes and gray eyebrows. Because of these features and the wrinkles around the eyelids and forehead, he was a man of a certain age.

 ////

Arriving in the truck, the two girls spotted a partially calm man. When he went upstairs, Priscilla could feel his heart beating a little faster.

“Finally. I thought you wouldn't be long.” Paige said almost seriously.

“Not this time. But, it took just a little while.”

“What happened Richard? Are you okay?” asked Priscilla.

“Not much. I just had a small feeling that I wasn't alone.”

“Alone?” Alice asked as she opened the window to see the passengers in the trunk and with a worried look. “You mean there was… someone back there?”

“I don't know for sure. But in any case we need to go.”

“Richard is right. If we wait any longer, we could be ambushed by zombies.” said Paige.

“Or worse.” completed Mark.

Without taking another second, Alice and the others agreed and continued their journey towards Mexico. With the vehicle shrinking on the horizon, a soldier's boot with a kind of leggings emerged from where the survivors were standing. The direction of his foot indicated that he was watching not only the former owner of the restaurant, but also the rest of the group and their truck.

 ////

Two and a half hours passed after the truck hit the road again. Paige looked back to make sure they weren't being followed after Richard had spoken of an "observer" at his private moment of baptizing the plants with his urine. Alice led the group into an area full of plants, shrubs and trees. Before the zombie apocalypse, there wasn't much of that vegetation when park officials controlled its growth with certain pruning tools.

“Is this… a forest?” asked Priscilla looking around her.

“I don't know. I didn't remember this place having so many trees.” replied Richard.

“Have you ever been here before Richard?” asked Paige.

“Once when we went on a tourist excursion. That was three years ago before I started that restaurant.”

Priscilla and Paige paid attention to the man, about the time he went to this place.

“I remember there were a lot of birds, deer and some squirrels.”

“Well, let's hope this place has a lot of cool stuff to discover.” said Paige.

The truck continued on its way to the Mexican border, passing through several plants and trees that filled the horizon and sky. However, the passengers felt another jolt to a sudden stop, leaving the two girls startled.

“What was that?” asked Paige about the stop.

For her answer, Andrew and Mark opened the window for them. “There's a grid gate in front of us.” replied the older of the two.

Going down to see, it was a fence two and a half meters high, consisting of a barbed wire fence. In addition, there were several signs that read “DANGER!”, “DO NOT COME IN!” and “TURN BACK” and “GO AWAY!”. This amazed the girls, as did Alice and her children.

“This doesn't seem like a good thing.” Paige said to her guardian and the others. “We seem to have arrived at a kind of dead end street.”

“What do you expect us to do? Turn around and take another route to Mexico?” said Richard without much fear and concern about it.

The young swordswoman turned to the boys' mother. “Alice, are there other routes to the border?”

“As far as I know, this was the main route there. If we take an unfamiliar route, we will have more empty gas cans and starvation will knock at our door.” she replied to the girls.

“So it looks like we don't have much choice. Still, I don't feel good about these warnings.”

“I would continue with our journey if I'd be in charge.” decided the man in the group. “Girl with the sword. See if you can break this gate to get us through.”

“My name is Priscilla.” she replied, disgruntled. As she pulled her sword out of the carrier, she advanced with a blow to the lock, breaking the object in two and giving the vehicle free pass.

Returning to the vehicle, Alice started the vehicle again and drove around the other side of the wall. But what they didn't see was that there was another sign, hidden among the vegetation. On it was written: “JUNGLE PREDATORS TERRITORY.” Alongside it was a skull painted in white, the same color used for the letters.

The survivors continued on their way to the border. Things remained quiet during the trip, and Paige looked over to where Alice and her children were. She wondered if in the middle of this trip something would come up from the interior of this forest and turn it into a disaster.

And that's what happened. High up in some trees, two men watched the truck pass beneath them. These were wearing civilian clothes but carrying an AK-47 rifle and a Type 64 submachine gun. One of the men took a long-range communicator from his pants pocket.

“Hey boss. We have company.” informed the man with the communication device.

“Inform others to start the bikes. We're going to intercept them.”

 ////

The truck continued on its way, unaware of the danger they were in as they crossed the fence wall. Priscilla, Paige and the others remained unaware of the scenery around them. And the young warrior sensed something approaching with frightening speed, called her friend and the man.

“Watch out!”

Hearing that, the two suddenly ducked as an ATV passed over them. Priscilla also ducked into protecting her friends. And when the new vehicle landed, it took the left still in pursuit. It consisted of two passengers. The driver and the shooter. This one was armed with an AK-47, opening fire on the truck.

“What the hell!” called Richard scared.

The projectiles flew in different directions, but the target remained the same. Some hit the vehicle's outer frame, while others hit the bucket's contents, like one of the gasoline canisters.

“Mom!” called Mark.

“But what do they want from us?!” called Andrew.

“I don't know Andrew! All I know is they don't want us to get to the border!” Alice replied. In response, she stomped on the gas pedal hard.

Paige and Richard took their weapons to defend themselves. They opened fire on the armed man on the quad while they were on the move. Some shots missed to hit him due to the driver maneuvering his vehicle evasive, in addition to being faster and more maneuverable than a Ford F-250 pickup truck.

One of Richard's shotgun blasts hit the ATV driver, knocking the vehicle over.

“Nice shot, Richard.” praised Paige.

“Thanks.”

Unfortunately this was not the only one. Out of nowhere, two more ATVs appeared from the right, then two more from the left. The shooters now had vz. 61 Skorpion submachine guns, Type 64 and Uzi. These left Paige and Richard in a delicate situation. Priscilla tried to deflect the projectiles in order to avoid it hitting her friends or the inside of the truck, but none of them hit the aggressors.

Alice was maneuvering the vehicle in different directions in order to lose them, but nothing had any effect. The bikers continued in pursuit while the shooters remained with their fingers on the trigger. Paige tried to return the offensive with her rifle. Because of her rate of fire and superior numbers, she didn't have much chance of returning to fire. The Ford F-250's bodywork now looked like Swiss cheese through the bullet holes. And when the situation couldn't get any worse, a new ATV appeared from the right. The shooter carried an RPG-7 in his hands, armed to take them off the road. And when he pulled the trigger, the explosive tip hit the front wheel, knocking Alice out of control and flipping over.

The truck was overturned on the left. Paige, Richard and Priscilla left with some bruises after the fall. On the way out, they saw the canisters lying on the ground with some broken and leaking gasoline. A spark or an incandescent object that touched the puddle would be enough to ignite it, along with the vehicle and whoever is in it.

The survivors went to the hut to get Alice and her children out. Fortunately, none of them have been seriously injured or got some bruises in the rollover. However, the bikers surrounded the fallen vehicle and some armed men approached with their weapons towards the group.

“Stay where you are!” ordered one with a Skorpion in hand.

“Drop your weapons!” ordered one with an AK-47.

Paige and Richard looked around and realized there wasn't much to be done. Believing that the warrior had the skills to protect them from zombies and could use them to protect them from these terrorists, the young woman turned to Priscilla.

“Priscilla, you have superhuman abilities that saved us from zombies. Use it to save us from these people.” asked her.

Seeing that situation and hearing her protege's request, Priscilla had her hand very close to the hilt of her sword. However, she did not draw her weapon. She had a code of not crippling, harming or killing a human being, as the Organization masters made clear to the warriors as they carried out their tasks of protecting villages, tribes and towns from the Yoma. This rule couldn't be violated if a village was invaded by other humans.

“I… I can't, Paige. I cannot do this.” she replied, lowering her hand from the hilt.

The reaction of others was startling and demoralizing. They believed the Number 2 could do something with her abilities to save them. But that wasn't what happened. The terrorists have gathered around them, and among them appears a dark-haired woman. She was about 29 years old, wearing jeans, a tank top with a brown coat and boots. In her hands was a Heckler und Koch Gewehr 3 rifle while in the holster of her right leg was a Beretta M9.

“Alright, you maggots!” she yelled to the survivors. “The journey is over for you. Hand over your weapons and follow us to camp. If you resist us, we'll open fire the moment you're there!”

The men remained with their guns pointed at Paige, Priscilla, Richard, Alice and their children. As the minors and their mother didn't carry weapons, the only thing they did was raise their hands to their heads. Paige and Richard put their guns on the ground to later be taken by the terrorists. When Priscilla thrust her sword into the ground, the men tried to pull it back hard, but realized it was too heavy to carry. At this, their commander ordered her to carry her to the camp passively. And just before proceeding, she ordered the shooters to tie their hands and cover the heads of the survivors with old cloth bags.

 ////

It was a ten-minute walk towards the terrorists' camp. Paige couldn't see anything because of the cloth bag over her head. But she felt the snipers' hands on her arm moving to make her walk. The boys were still close to Alice as they proceeded with the others.

Farther on, they approached a wall made of tree trunks worked into the shape of stakes with a few monitoring towers. In front there were smaller stakes to stop the onslaught of invaders, although faced with a horde of zombies the barricade would become ineffective. As they walked through the gate, there were other men guarding the place, keeping it in its current condition. In addition to the towers, there were some tents and wooden huts for gang personnel and prisoners.

When they reached the courtyard, they brought the survivors to their knees, removing the bags from their heads. Paige and the others were a little breathless from their fright, and to their amazement, they were in a well-guarded camp, even though it was made up of bad people. In their midst, three men approach them. Two appeared to be bodyguards, also armed with AK-47 rifles; and the one in the middle wore an open T-shirt in various warm colors, with gray shorts and a white shirt. His skin was dark and his hair was short black in color, as was his little beard. He wore sunglasses and a Walther P38 pistol.

“You have entered Jungle Predators territory. I congratulate you for the courage you had.” he said with a fake smile. “I'm Marlon, but everyone calls me ‘Samael’.”

Paige was looking at him in disgust as she was on her knees by the robbers. Priscilla, Richard, Alice and their children were also on the ground without being able to do much about this situation.

“When I heard from my men that you went through the gate, I figured there wasn't anyone crazy enough to ignore the warnings. In the end you willingly surrendered to the Jungle Predators.”

“What do you want from us?” asked Alice.

“What do I want?” he smiled. “It's simple, my dear. We are short of men to continue setting up our camp and I hope you can offer your services if you want to live so badly.”

“What if we refuse? What are you going to do with us?” asked Paige seriously.

“If you choose not to support our cause, I fear you will suffer. You will seriously suffer that you would never again wish you had said 'no' to my face. But I believe you will not say that because we hold the power here, and you will have to obey us.”

After saying that, the woman approached Marlon, standing beside him with the Gewehr 3 rifle in her hands.

“This is Celine Black, my trustworthy person. She and my men will keep you under observation while you work. For now, she will show you to your rooms.”

The woman, now introduced as Celine, gestured to her master's henchmen to get the prisoners to their feet.

“Your sword, warrior. Leave it here.” she ordered as she approached Priscilla.

Without hesitating or doing anything that could risk the lives of her comrades, the Number 2 warrior took what she used to face the Yoma and zombies from the carrier and buried the blade completely in the ground. As such, Paige was shocked to see her colleague and guardian easily surrendering to the assailants.

“Very well. Now proceed with the others to your new home.” said Celine as she ordered her men to take Priscilla, Paige and the others to the lodgings.

 ////

Three armed men dragged the group to a wooden hut. Looking at it, it appeared to be very poor, small, and not having many shelter conditions to protect them from rain, freezing wind, or other adverse weather effects on human health. Paige looked for a moment at that building built by the Jungle Predators, but was pushed by one of the men of Marlon and Celine.

“Get moving!” shouted the soldier as he shoved her with the butt of his AK-47 rifle.

Andrew and Mark helped her to her feet after that act made by the barbarian man. Alice also helped Paige through that, and again the group resumed the path to the log hut.

Entering, four prisoners flinched at the sight of Paige and Priscilla's group being dragged by Marlon's men. They consisted of a 42-year-old man of Indian origin, a 32-year-old black-haired Caucasian male, a 36-year-old mulatto male, and a 24-year-old dark-brown-haired Caucasian boy. These prisoners knew that the newly arrived group was not evil in the same way as their slave masters, but they were scared to help Paige, Priscilla, Richard, Alice and their children.

“Enjoy your stay, you rebel scum!” said the man with a Skorpion submachine gun to the prisoners. Then he closed the hut door.

Paige glared at them, then turned her gaze to the floor. Priscilla noticed her colleague's closed, bitter expression. She tried to reconcile her in order to calm herself in the face of this humiliating capture.

“Paige. Are you alright?” asked the warrior.

“Priscilla, why… why didn't you defend us at that moment?”

Hearing that, Alice, her children and Richard were silent. Priscilla was silenced by her protege's question.

“Why Priscilla? Why didn't you defend us from them in the same way as the zombies?” she asked, her eyes drenched with tears.

“Where I come from, there is a rule in the Organization that I cannot harm or kill humans. My duty is to protect you from Yoma. If I violate this rule, I risk being branded a traitor and getting killed by my comrades.”

“Right. But in case you've noticed, you're no longer in your world. You're in my world! And in my world, there is neither Yoma nor the Organization you've been talking about so much. This world has nothing but misfortunes and humans loot and kill other humans, and now even more so with zombies! Didn't you notice that, Priscilla?!” yelled Paige crying.

Hearing that, Number 2 was shocked by it, and moved by Paige's words to the point of pulling her away from the other girl. Priscilla walked to the right corner of the room and cringed in frustration at Paige's reaction. Andrew and Mark clung to Alice in fright.

“Mom. Do you think Paige and Priscilla are going to spend all day fighting each other?” asked Mark quietly.

“I don't know, Mark. But let us hope they don't get so sad. Okay, sweetheart?” said Alice, hugging her children.

Richard and the other prisoners saw what they couldn't do for the two girls. All they could do was wait for some miracle to get them out of their misery.

 ////

Two hours passed after the group was placed in that wooden hut. Priscilla rested with her back against the wall. Mark and Andrew were sleeping on Alice's lap, Paige was lying on the floor and Richard was looking out the window for something different. The other prisoners were in the other room, playing some sort of game with some pieces of wood.

In an instant, the door opens again, revealing the two men who had dragged the group into the hut. The sound of the door opening caught the attention of everyone in the place.

“All right, you maggots. The boss wants you all out.” called the man with the Skorpion.

“If you resist us, we will have no choice but to drag you with your hands tied.” threatened the man with the AK-47.

Confronted by that situation, Priscilla, Paige and the others had to obey them.

Back in the center of the camp, the group was lined up with some armed assailants around them. Marlon and Celine approached the prisoners with three more men. These carried hoes, shovels and other work tools.

With the prisoners being lined up by Marlon's armed men, the men in front of them passed the tools to Paige, Priscilla, and the others.

“You have been called here to carry out a series of tasks. They involve you excavating several rows of minefields and barbed wire.” said Marlon as his men passed their tools to the prisoners.

“Mines and barbed wire? For what?” asked Alice.

“To ensure the Jungle Predators can survive in the face of various invaders.”

“In case you haven't noticed, we don't pose a serious threat to you.” said Paige.

“But you invaded our territory. In this case you can be classified as invaders.” replied Marlon with a macabre look.

Seeing that scary man with that look, Paige felt the things had a tendency to get worse. She and the other prisoners remained under pressure from Marlon and his men, even though outwardly they appeared calm.

“Very well. I hope you got the message that you will have to put mines and barbed wire around the camp to protect it from further invasion.”

“But what about zombies?” asked Richard.

“Are you talking about those things that are devouring the survivors out there?” said Marlon with a macabre smile. “Even though we heard about them via radio reports, we had no problems with them before you arrived. Even so, they won't stand a chance with us.”

“OK. But in case you haven't noticed, zombies can outnumber you.” pointed Paige.

“And we should be working together to survive this apocalypse.” completed Priscilla.

Hearing that, Marlon laughed. He left Paige and the others baffled. The way he laughed was like he didn't care about their lives. Marlon and Celine's men remained silent, not reacting to that comment from the golden-haired warrior or to their boss's laugh.

“Working together?” laughed the evildoer of the Jungle Predators. “My dear, the only way for us to work together would be for you to do what I command. I hold the power here. Not you.”

Alice's children were worried about that. Richard looked at him with some awe. Paige and Priscilla were a little wary of that.

“And now, get ready to do your job.” he ordered.

That said, the men lifted the prisoners and told them to walk to their forced service camps. And just before going on, Priscilla asked one last question.

“Wait. What if someone refuses or can't continue the service?”

That said, Marlon ordered them to hold to answer it.

“What if someone refuses or is unable to continue the service?” he smiled. He gestured for his men to bring one of the prisoners: the 32-year-old Caucasian male.

They brought him by the arms to their boss. Pulling a Walther P38 pistol from its holster, he aimed it at the prisoner's head, then pulled the trigger. The poor man was now a corpse. The sound of gunfire and the man falling startled Alice, her children, and Paige. Marlon approached Priscilla with the pistol in his hand.

“Here's the answer to your question. Work well, and you will be treated well. Work badly or misbehave, and you will die.”

Marlon's two soldiers dragged the dead prisoner out of the courtyard. Their boss holstered his weapon, but kept his gaze on the other prisoners.

“Now, go to your field of work.”

Priscilla, Paige, and the others walked with armed men and tools in hand. Their boss watched the survivors march with the guards escorting them to the labor camps.

 ////

Fifteen minutes passed, the skies began to close in with water-laden clouds. Priscilla, Paige and the other prisoners performed the forced labor conceived by Marlon. They dug holes in the ground to install anti-tank and anti-infantry mines, sharp stakes and heavy wooden poles so one person could carry them and prepare barbed wire around Jungle Predator territory. Paige walked to the next field to do her share of the work. Just before advancing, she saw the brown-skinned man slithering across the earthy ground, only to receive a blow from a soldier armed with an AK-47. And when she looked at the man being pressured to continue, she heard another Marlon watchman calling her.

“Move, you maggot!” he shouted.

Without denying it or saying something like that to retort, she continued forward. Priscilla looked at her colleague in front of that scene. Even though they had an argument over the no-kill human rule, the Organization warrior was still concerned for the well-being of her protégé. Mark and Andrew helped their mother when she was not in a good position to bring the mines or lay them on the ground. Richard was bringing another box of barbed wire for the Indian and the Caucasian boy.

 ////

While they were doing their forced service, one of the guards approached them.

“The boss ordered me to call you. It's time for you guys to get your lunch.”

Hearing that, Paige and the others were surprised. Only the Indian, the dark-skinned and the Caucasian boy knew what it was, but what they could express was a slight concern for the newcomers to the camp.

“Lunch? And what will we have for lunch?” asked Paige.

With that said to him, the group found themselves again in the wooden huts. They carried a bowl with a spoon, both of impoverished wood. And for lunch, they would have to eat a portion of rice with a little water. Seeing that, the young shooter was frustrated.

“Are we going to eat only rice and water?” she asked the guard.

“Yes. We are in the rationing season. We don't have much, but they'll have enough for one day.” replied the man armed with a Type 64 submachine gun.

“In case you haven't noticed, we don't live on rice and water alone.”

“But you will have to live with it. Unless of course you can get some food in the forest. Or right here if one of you dies.” said the man through laughter.

Alice was scared of that. Paige wants to take out her anger on him. However, Priscilla held her back, saying it wasn't worth it. And with him returning to his duties, the prisoners began to feed on what they had been given. Priscilla ate two spoonfuls of rice with a small sip of water. Due to her face, she didn't need to eat much. She saw her colleague quiet in her corner, not taking a spoonful of rice.

She went to sit beside her, but to her reaction, she turned her face to the side.

“Paige You need to eat. Otherwise you won't be able to last the next sections of work.” tried to convince her to feed.

“I'm not hungry. I just want to go home.” Paige replied coolly.

“Paige, I know you want to go home. But, in case you haven't noticed, we are in a very delicate situation. And you won't last long if you deny your biological needs.”

“And by any chance I don't know?!” she replied seriously, almost giving in to sadness and hopelessness. Then she covered her face. “I want to be alone, Priscilla. Okay?”

Hearing that, Number 2 sighed. “All right, Paige. I'll leave you then.”

The warrior got up and continued to the other room of the hut. With the others seeing this, Richard went to the young woman to talk to her about it.

“Hey. I know you're trying to play tough, but don't you realize you're chasing your friend away?”

“I don't want to talk about this. And besides, she's not really my friend.”

“I know you don't want to, but listen to what I have to tell you. Even if you are completely different, don't take certain things personally.”

“And why do you think I don't want to talk to her?! She didn't protect us when we needed it most.”

“I know. And I know she had a reason for refusing to use her sword against those men. But, I believe that deep down, she still cares about us. As if she had protected us from being killed if she reacted to them.”

Still frustrated, Paige was quiet at that last comment made by Richard. The former owner of that inn chose to go back to his corner and finish his meal.

 ////

Hours passed, time turned adversely to the survivors. A heavy rain fell on them as they set up mines, sharpened stakes and barbed wire fences. Some of the guards watching them wore coats while others watched them from the towers and shelters.

Paige was digging more holes to install new mines and barbed wire posts. As the weather turned against them and their surroundings, the cold, rainy air made her body feel sensitive. And just before going any further, she slipped in the middle of a puddle of water and mud, falling flat on her chest. Priscilla saw her and went to her rescue.

“Paige.” called her when helping her.

When the warrior lifted her friend, one of the guards approached the two.

“Let them be warned that no one should help the other to get up if you are incapacitated, injured or close to death.” warned him with a Skorpion. Then he returned to his post.

Paige and Priscilla returned to their duties on separate sides. Mark and Andrew watched the two of them as they tied the wire around the stake. Mark sneezed from the rain he was taking. Alice tried to warm it up, but was surprised by a guard passing by.

 ////

Night fell, and back to the hut, the boys were sleeping on Alice's lap. Richard slept on the wooden floor. Priscilla was asleep sitting with her back against the wall. Without her sword, the feeling was a little disconcerting for an Organization warrior. Paige was looking out the window while she was sitting on the floor. She wasn't quite willing to fall asleep, but she felt the weight of him falling into her eyes.

 ////

The next day, the prisoners were sleeping in the hut. The three longest-lived prisoners in one room, Richard, Alice and her children on the floor in the other and Priscilla and Paige leaning against the wall. Things looked like they would never change for the better, but they tended to get worse in the first place. And that's what happened. The guards open the cabin door, calling the residents in fright.

“Let's wake up, you maggots! The day dawned to work.” called the man with the M45 in his hand.

Hearing that, the dark-skinned boy thought in frustration.

“Ah man. I don't like when they call us 'maggots'.”

When the others rose to their feet, only Paige was a little weak around them. Her eyes expressed pure exhaustion. Eyelids were creased and she had difficulty concentrating. As she got up, she had a slight fall to the point where she was leaning against the wall as her knees grew heavy. Mark tried to help her, but the man startled him by pulling the catch on the bolt of his Kalashnikov rifle.

“Everyone, gather in the courtyard to receive your new tasks.” said the man with the AK-47. Then he and the other proceed to the respective place where he informed the survivors.

Priscilla watched them walk away from the door. Then the young warrior, Alice and their children ran to Paige after they left and the girl coughed.

“Paige.” called Mark and Andrew.

“Paige. Are you alright?” asked Priscilla.

“Priscilla. Alice. Mark. Andrew. I… I'm fine.” she said weakly and coughing.

“You're not well by the look on your face.” said Andrew.

“You must have taken a chill after that rain.” said Alice.

“You should rest and avoid trying too hard.” said the Indian who approached her.

Seeing the man approaching them, Alice and her children were surprised. At a glance he must have been a doctor. He asked them to step back a bit while measuring his pulse with his fingers.

“I imagine you are some kind of doctor.” said Priscilla.

“My name is Raj, and before the apocalypse I worked in a clinic in Atlanta as a doctor and surgeon. However, the inspectors closed it when they discovered that one of my employees was acquiring stolen organs.”

“This is horrible.” said Richard.

“I know, but I didn't think he would do such a thing,” he concluded. And checking Paige's pulse, he turned his gaze to the others. “Her pulse is normal, but she needs medication to treat her cold.”

“Would you have any, Raj?” asked Priscilla.

“No. I believe the Predators did not allow their prisoners to receive medical treatment, as they wanted to spare effort to treat their men.”

“What a bunch of bastards.” said the warrior with disgust for them.

“Unfortunately they wouldn't accept that she could rest in order to recover from her cold.”

Before they can continue talking about Paige's condition, the Predators Lieutenant arrives and opens the door, accompanied by two armed men, startling everyone in the hut.

“Marlon's orders are clear. No one should say no or stay here until the job is done willingly. So to the COURTYARD!” called her with a scream at the end.

Priscilla rose at the call of that spiteful woman, and boldly approached her.

“Listen. My friend is not in a good condition to be able to exert herself at work. If you can give her some medication to ease the effects, maybe she can go back to work.”

“Do you think we'll give some of our meds to those who tried to cross our territory in order to get back to work?!”

Priscilla nodded her head forward in agreement with that. However, the only thing she got from Celine was a slap in the face, leaving the cheek region and below her left eye marked. Paige tried to react but was stopped by Alice, Richard and Raj.

“Don't think that you have the same right to receive anything from us. All you can do is follow our orders and avoid questioning them. In case one of you is unable to do them or for some reason you rebel, the only treatment you will receive will be a bullet in your empty heads!”

The Number 2 Warrior recovered from the slap, but her eyes expressed a certain distaste for her. Even though she knew it was against the Organization's rules to deal a blow to humans, she opted to warn her.

“You're lucky I'm not in a position to put my friends in danger if I could repay you in kind. But be aware that at our next meeting you might not be so lucky as to be able to hit me.”

“Oh, really? But I bet you will eventually fall out of favor after your friends are dead.” concluded Celine with a look away and away from the cabin. Her men were still waiting for the prisoners to leave the place to go back to work. Priscilla was standing and with that look of disgust for her.

 ////

The group was again in the labor camps. Paige was digging more holes with her shovel, coughing and holding herself upright through it. She put more mines on them and covered them with earth. But in the next corner she would open new holes for mines, her coughing was frequent and evident.

“Maybe Raj is right. I need to rest. But, I didn't expect that this would be my last moment here in this country.” she thought as she tried to stay upright.

Just before continuing, Priscilla and Alice approached her in order to help her.

“Paige.” called Alice.

“Alice. Priscilla. I… I'm alright.” she said through her coughs.

“Paige You're not alright. You should stop for a while.”

“But Priscilla, didn't you hear... what she said at that moment? If I stop for some reason or I can't… go on any longer, my life is gone.”

“Don't say such nonsense, Paige. You are still young for this.” said Alice.

Just before they continued their conversation, Priscilla heard the sound of footsteps approaching their positions. As they passed by them, Priscilla turned her attention to them. The men approached with their weapons to break up the small group and get them back to work. Priscilla moved in front of the two to get in the way of Marlon's men.

“You there! Get back to work!” ordered one of them.

“She needs help!” cried Alice.

“She will die if you don't help her!” said Priscilla.

“Who needs help is our boss if you go back to work.” said the man with the Type 64 submachine gun.

“These are orders from Marlon. Anyone who can't do his part is dead weight.” said the other man armed with an AK-47.

Richard dug to insert the next Teller anti-tank mine into the ground beside Raj and the dark boy. Before inserting the next stanchion with the shovel, he heard the sound of arguments and screams coming from the girls before the armed men of the Predators. He stopped for a second and headed to the spot.

“Hey! Where are you going?” called the dark-skinned to Richard.

There was no response from him. Instead, the former owner of the inn continued forward into the turmoil and the dark-skinned returned his attention to his work.

Paige tried to stay upright to continue the work. But, due to her poor health, she couldn't hold on to the handle of the shovel and fell to the ground. Alice tried to help her, but one of the men approached her.

“I told you to get back to work!” he shouted. In a second, he pulled Alice's hair to drag her away from young Paige.

“No! Let me go!” screamed Mark and Andrew's mother as she was being dragged by her hair. She tried to struggle to free herself, but it had no effect enough to let go of his hand.

“Marlon has ordered you to get back to work and none of you must disobey him. But I hope we have plenty of time to deal with you.” said the aggressor who was pulling Alice by the hair in a scary tone.

Priscilla saw the whole terrifying scene for the two women. One being pulled by an armed man and the other suffering from weakness. The Organization would not let her do anything about this type of situation. To protect humans from other humans. However, she didn't stop to see Alice being assaulted like that.

In an incredible act of bravery, she advanced with amazing speed at the man who was dragging Alice by the hair, grabbing his hand to the point of losing strength and raising a frightening look to his eyes.

“I would let her go if I were you.” she said intimidatingly. Then she threw the guard hard to the ground. Priscilla soothed Alice from her fright and helped her to her feet.

The other guard rushed to his aid.

“My hand… my hand!” he screamed in pain as he held his crippled hand.

The Type 64 man stood up in front of Organization Number 2 with an angry look. “You will regret this act of rebellion!”

“Go ahead. Finish me if you have to.” Priscilla said as she approached him. “But know that I would not let my friends suffer at your hands, even if I am not carrying my sword.”

Next to him, her eyes changed color and shape. Instead of silver, they were now gold and the pupils retracted in cat-like shape. She used her Yoki to terrify him.

“Are you… are you… some kind of witch?!”

“I am a warrior of the Organization, willing to protect humans from unimaginable danger.”

The armed man tried to raise his gun, but her hand came down on its barrel, making him lower it. Gripping the end, she yanked hard enough to disarm the man and throw it away. At that act, he ran away from Priscilla, screaming like a frightened child into a mother's lap.

The warrior remained standing as she saw that man running in fear and the other getting up and going after his colleague while holding his hand. With that horror episode going on, Alice approached the young warrior. Priscilla's eyes turned silvery and rounded pupils.

“Thank you Priscilla.” She thanked her in tears. “I… I don't know what they would have done to me if you hadn't intervened.”

“Well, I'm glad I saved you from them. But now we need to help Paige.”

“You're right.” agreed the boys' mother.

The two ran to help Paige who was still on the ground. As they approached her, they lifted her. But her appearance was not the best. Her face was pale, her lips partially cracked, her eyes were closed and she had dark circles under her eyes. She really needed medical help.

“Paige, stay with us.” called Priscilla.

Richard approached them. Seeing that the situation had changed to calm and quiet, he believed it would be the perfect time to get away.

“Priscilla. Alice.” he called as he approached them.

“Richard?” said Alice.

“I heard you were arguing with the guards. I thought about being able to help you, but I see you didn't need it.”

“Paige is weak, Richard. We need to find some kind of remedy for her to recover.” said Priscilla.

“I have an idea. We can use this moment to get out of here.”

“To get out? But what about my children?” asked Alice, startled.

“We don't have time to catch them. Now that Priscilla has chased away the guards, we can use this moment to escape. There won't be another one like this.”

“Richard, even if we could escape, where do you think we can go if we don't have a map or an idea where to go.” said Priscilla seriously.

“But I have. I know very well where we can go if we want to get out of this scary place.”

“All I've noticed since the day we met is that you always cared about yourself. Even Sullivan would agree with us if he were here.”

“But unfortunately he is not. All thanks to you. I didn't want to leave my inn the day you were about to take Sullivan out of there.” Richard replied seriously. “And if you're not willing to take this moment to get away, then I…”

Just before completing his speech, Richard and the girls spotted two ATVs approaching them. Celine was on the back of the second. The former owner of the inn was startled to see those numbers. In a second, he tried to run away from them, not saying a simple goodbye to them.

The Predator Lieutenant came down with a Mauser rifle in her hands. Precisely a Karabiner 98k, the legendary German bolt-action rifle of the former Wehrmacht troops, the German Armed Forces of the Third Reich. As she pushed the bolt forward, she raised the gun toward the fugitive, aiming for Richard's head. In a second, she pressed her finger on the trigger, triggering Karabiner with a clear shot.

Richard ran as far as possible. As the sound of the gunshot echoed through the trees, he had a fleeting second to feel the bullet piercing through his skull, creating a hole in his brain, then widening his eyes in fright. As he took the next step, he lost his balance to support his body, bending his knees forward. His body lurched forward, falling face and belly to the ground.

Priscilla and Alice were startled to watch that. Richard was shot in the head by Celine's incredible accuracy. And when the two survivors turned their attention to the Jungle Predators lieutenant, she pulled back the bolt, removing the empty cartridge from the rifle with the force of the explosion with the sharp extraction of the sniper. Celine's eyes turned to the two women who were standing with Paige in their arms.

“This is the punishment for anyone willing to make an escape attempt.” she said with a frightening expression. She moved toward Priscilla. “If you try to intervene in the punishments of those who disobey Marlon's orders, you will have the same fate as the fugitives.”

Celine was standing in front of the Organization's Number 2 warrior with a serious look and the barrel of the Karabiner on her chin.

“And I hope I don't have to hear further implications from you through our men. Am I clear?”

Priscilla stared at that gun in her face and the eyes of Marlon's lieutenant. Those words made her a little nervous, but she kept her cool so she could respond and do what she said or ordered.

“Yes. You were clear.”

“Excellent. Now get back to work.”

Celine lowered her weapon, placing it on her back through the straps. Her gaze turned to Alice.

“This goes for you too. Return to work while it's still daylight. As for the girl who is not about to continue, she will return to camp. We'll see if she can regain her strength to return to service.” she said about Paige as two men took her to her ATV.

“Will she receive medical support?” asked Priscilla.

Hearing that, Celine closed her eyes in an act that would indicate denial. “We don't have enough medication at the moment. She is on her own. Just like you if one of you gets sick.”

Ending the conversation, she climbs into her vehicle and returns to camp with Paige in her hands. Priscilla and Alice watched them as they drifted away on the horizon. With Richard dead and Paige sick about to succumb for good, showed the harsh and cruel reality of the world that the young warrior of the Organization was.

-x-

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