I open the front door and burst into the blinding sunlight. Christy follows behind me, ready and willing to fight. Here we are, in the most twisted situation imaginable.
Just a few days ago, Christy wanted nothing to do with me. Now, we're in the same house together again. We're looking for our daughter together. The word together pierces my soul, and even though I shouldn't find a deeper meaning in her actions, I can't help it.
I've missed Christy so much.
I'm pulled out of my train of thoughts when a man wearing a black jacket runs up at me. I dodge his attack, and slice his side with the kitchen knife. He stumbles and falls to the ground, clutching his side with his hand. It wasn't a deep cut, but it must have really hurt.
He pulls out a pistol, and begins to raise the gun at me. Crap, I'm an idiot. I didn't think about the fact these guys would actually have weapons. We should have run by the armory.
I close my eyes, and stand my ground. The sound of the gunshot shakes me to my core, but when I open my eyes, the man's head now has a hollow hole in it. Justin runs over from my left.
"Hey, don't just stand there. We gotta fight back." He hands me a pistol, and hands Christy one also. Christy cringes.
"I've never shot one of these before," she tells him.
Justin shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to learn pretty fast. Just stay close and if anything happens, I'll help you."
He takes off down the street, and we follow in suit. We pass a few houses, and we eventually reach the van that crashed through the wall. The dead are starting to get through the cracks. Justin raises his pistol and aims down the sights. He fires a few shots at them, hitting one in the head.
A man yells out behind us. "Hey, asshole!" Justin turns around and sees the man. I'm petrified, but I force myself to turn around and witness the events unfold.
"You didn't think we'd let you off that easy, did you?" He asks us. He's holding an AK-47 in his hand. One mistake, and this is over completely. "Come along, and leave the weapons." He commands us. Knowing that we have no other option, Justin sets his pistol on the ground. Christy and I follow suit.
The man walks and Justin is next in line. We follow him down the road to the center of the community, where Chris eagerly stands waiting. A few members of his group stand around him. "Ah, here we go," he smugly states. "Witnesses are just what we need."
A few members push somebody out into the center. Rich stumbles to the ground, and I hold my breath in shock. Justin stands still and motionless.
"I'm getting real tired of this shit!" Chris yells. "We had a deal. You broke it. Now, we broke our end. Somebody has to fucking pay. It's time to cut the head off the fucking snake."
Rich is shaking on the ground. Tears stream down his face. "Please," he begs. "We can solve this in other ways, if you would just let me exp-"
Rich's words are cut off as Chris pulls his pistol out of his holster and shoots him in the head. Guts fly out of the back, and a giant, gaping hole is left where Rich's brain used to be.
Justin's body begins to shake. I can tell that it's taking everything in his power to not attack this man. He's wise too, because he knows we don't stand a chance right now.
Chris laughs, with loud and thunderous booms. "Now that's how you deliver a message!" his yell echoes throughout the community. "Listen up. Anybody else tries anything again, this whole fucking place comes crashing down. Let this be a lesson to all of you."
Justin's body is shaking even harder. I can't believe he's been able to hold his composure for this long. As I look around, community members clutch onto one another, frightened by the sights that they have witnessed.
Chris and his people slowly walk away towards the gate. He turns around and pulls the gate closed. "Ta, ta," he says, chuckling at the smug remark.
They hop into their vehicle and drive off into the sunset. The whole community stands in shock. I look over and notice a single tear rolling down Justin's cheek. He wipes it before it can drip onto the ground below us.
Justin turns around and begins to speak. His voice first comes out as a croak, but becomes stronger as he continues.
"Listen, everyone. This will not be the end of us. Chris can scare us all he wants, but we know what to do to keep them from fully taking over. I know, it's hard to think about fighting back right now." His voice cracks a little.
"But I know, somewhere in your heart, there's bitter hatred right now for Chris and his group. Rightfully so, there should be. Channel that anger, and use it throughout this next week. We're going to prepare for war."
The group shuffles a little with anxiety. It's dark now, and hard to read anyone's faces. Even I'm nervous about Justin's motives. From what it looks like, these guys aren't messing around. One bad move and we're done for.
"We have to keep everything on the down low," he says, to ease some community members. "Whatever we do to prepare for this, we have to keep it within these walls. All conversations about war stay behind closed doors. We never know where they could be."
Justin turns to me. "John, this is where I need you. I'm going to need somebody by my side, helping me plan this war. Are you up for the task?"
He leans closer and whispers to me. "With what just happened to us, these people are going to need a lot more than just one leader to rely on."
I nod my head without even thinking about his question. These people need help, and who am I to deny them of it? Justin pats my shoulder and brings me in for a man hug.
"Alright, everyone. For now, go back to your homes and rest. John and I will discuss what to do next. We all need some time to heal." Justin tells the community. Some members are hesitant to leave, but eventually people are heading back down the street. Christy stays.
Once the coast is clear, Justin breaks down into tears. He stoops down to Rich's body and grabs his hand. I almost wish I could help him in some way.
"How did it come to this?" he asks me. "Rich brought this community together within a short amount of time. We were all banded together, and Chris has been messing it up for us twice already."
"The world isn't supposed to be like this. We're not supposed to make the rules or judge people for their mistakes. We're supposed to just live our lives and hope for the best. We're not God. Nobody is."
Justin silently sobs and I remind myself that this isn't the worst it could be. "Justin," I start to say.
"Yes?" he turns around, and wipes his eyes.
"Lizzy disappeared, and we don't know where she went. I think she just hid somewhere when the fight was going on. Do you know anywhere in this community that she could have hid?"
Justin shakes his head. "Nowhere within the community." A random girl with purple hair comes from behind one of the homes.
"I know where she is," she tells us. "She took off in a section of the wall and hid in the woods."
In shock, I believe the girl. "Where's this section of the wall?" I ask her.
"I'll take you there," she tells me. "I've snuck out of that section of the wall before." She begins to walk in a direction towards the back of the community. Justin and I follow in suit.
Justin shakes his head and whispers to me. "Her name is Jessica," he tells me. "She's one of the random teenagers that showed up here a few days ago. To be honest, I've never liked her. She seems dishonest."
"I don't want her sneaking out of the wall anymore. Once we find your daughter, I want to assign guards to that section of the wall immediately. It's an unsafe security hazard."
I nod my head and agree. "Yeah, I never knew there was an unfinished section of the wall. That's not safe for any of us."
Jessica rounds a corner but she stops dead in her tracks before she walks any further. "What is it?" I ask her.
We round the corner, and there stands Lizzy. She has an ax in her hand, and her body is covered in blood.
"You bitch!" she screams at Jessica. Lizzy raises the ax with anger, and begins to run towards us.