Chapter 1: the wit of the devil

I look left, I look right, I looked up and down, the sky and the ground. To the left of me, the pitiful nurse and her boyfriend, tending to the needs of a near dying man whose heart is slowing. To my right, three boys, all 18, roasting a dear over the hot fire, the meat becoming cooked and edible. My stomach turned, I haven't eaten in 2 days, and I was near desperate to eat. I couldn't help thinking that the majority was against me, our leader Luke never handing me out the rations, saying they needed them for the weaker and younger people in the group. My first thought was he wanted me to starve, that I was a risk to the group, now that's the biggest piece of bullshit I have ever thought. If anything, Luke is the reason this group is struggling, always pissing off somewhere else, doing the right thing to everyone but is own kin. Made sure I gave him a piece of my mind.

It was morning, everyone was sound asleep, I could hear the snores coming from old man Benjamin's tent, he always had this problem, I'm just lucky I'm not next to him. As I look out of my tent, I notice Luke carrying a backpack and walking off into the bush, my first instinct was to follow him, since his absence would distort us if we didn't know where he was. This was a good opportunity to take action for my my task. I walked out of the tent quietly to confront him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Luke?" I yelled, he turned hesitatingly with a blank expression.

"Going to town, there has to be someone else out there, don't you think?" he explained

"You really believe that's going to make things better? The more people we have, the more mouths we have to feed, we barely have enough to go around as it is"

"Listen to me Maverick, I have a duty to protect these people, and the more people we have, the better..."

I raised one eyebrow at Luke, his incompetence made me bitter, never had I heard such idiocy coming from a so-called leader.

"You know what I think? I think your weak, you can't make the tough decisions in the toughest of times, you want to bring new people into the camp but you can't protect the people you already have, some fucking hero"

"How dare you talk to me like that, you're crossing the line Maverick, you think you could lead these people like I have?" I notice he was extremely agitated, he never likes people questioning his judgment or his role in the group. I hesitated before speaking, but Luke's sharp speech cut me off before I could say a word.

"Liam and I are going to be just fine, he has me, and he has these people, you're a fighter Maverick, but you're not a leader, so pull your shit together and know your place" Luke raised his voice to the point the camp could hear him and any walker in the area. He back down, holding his head down the right and looking at the ground below.

"I'm going back to camp, I'll think about this more clearly, but remember when I make my decision its final, do you understand Maverick?" He wasn't playing around now, he was far weaker than I thought, but I admired his tone. I gave a simple nod, he acknowledged and started to walk back to camp, giving me a disrespectful nudge on the shoulder as he passed, possible to assert his dominance.

I watch him walk off into the trees, I could make out one dim colour yellow tent that Jessica slept in, a young blonde university student with a degree in sociology. I heard a rustle in the bushes, the sound of dead leaves being crushed on a slow crawl. I pulled out my handgun and held it at my hip, ready to fire at anything hostile coming out at me. To my surprise, Liam came out, hands raised and shaking at the site of me with my gun drawn.

"Its ok Liam it's me, no need to shit your pants" I say, placing my gun back in my carry bag.

"What was that all about?" Liam asked, wiping some dirt on his cargo shorts.

"Nothing to worry about, just talking some sense into your brother" I said

"Finally, he always said you never do anything good, you just make things harder, I know that's not true"

"You're brother has never ceased to amaze me on his lack of conscience, him and the rest of the group, but you, your different, your better than him"

"Really? You think so?" he seems slightly over exited, but i guess over exited then under exited.

"Of course, your strong, and brave, and you have a clear mind, you're a better than everyone here, sometimes I think you have it over me" over confidence will make him give in, it's my only shot of getting rid of this group forever. Out of the blue, after a few seconds of silence, Liam surprised me with a few words that could for fill my plan for the group.

"I hate my brother" he claimed, looking down at the ground as he spoke.

"Do you now?" It was all unfolding before me, "How much do you hate your brother?"

"I hate him so much that I wouldn't care if he was dead, like really"

"Well that's just perfect, I have a plan to get rid of these rats forever, and I need you, if you're up to it" he looked up at me confused.

"Wants this about?"

"These people, they're all going to die, one way or another, you and me, where going to live out this plague" I had to persuade him, it was only going to work if I had another person, and Liam was the only one I see strong.

"You mean, you want to kill them?"

"It's not me that's going to kill them, remember those herds we came across?"

"Yeah" I could see in his face, he was getting the idea, and was embracing it, I was pleased.

"Well it doesn't take that much to attract them, we can let them do all the work" Liam stepped back for a second after what I said, maybe he wasn't as strong as I thought.

"I don't know Maverick, it seems… wrong, and risky" he argued.

I walked up to him in a swift move and put my hand on his shoulder, this may comfort him so he will agree, and then stage two will commence.

"Listen to me, we're the odd ones out, we don't fit in with these breath-wasters, in order for the strong to survive, the week must be sacrificed, you understand?" I struggled to hold ground in this conversation, I'm not in control of his decisions, and I'd hate to waste perfectly good meat.

He bowed his head down to look at the ground as I pulled myself away from him, taking my hand of his shoulder. He looked at the camp, watching the rest of the group stretching their limbs after their sleep, most of the group has awoken. Liam let out a large breath, and looked back at me.

"Alright, I'm in" he finally accepted. I was relieved, now it's up to stage three, it will be much easier with two people. This time I will have to keep an eye on Liam, if he spills out on Luke, it'll be the end of me.

"We'll do it this afternoon, we say we have been talking about a scouting mission, we will find the herd and bring it here, and they won't stand a chance, none of them" I had everything I wanted were I wanted it, everyone is tired and skittish from their hunger, and Luke after our talk is worked up, giving me the upper hand.

Soon, Liam and I will lay waste to everyone we meet, its survival of the fittest now, and these people are not the fittest.