Note:

Some characters in this story will have racial biases in the beginning that they will change as the story progresses.


**March 1868**

Rick sat across from Shane on his front porch. Leaning back in his chair he took off his "Boss" hat and wiped his brow.

"How was your trip to Atlanta?" he asked his best friend.

"It was good." Shane said, he ran a hand through his thick black hair. "I swear that place is getting bigger and busier by the day."

Rick grunted. "You ain't kidding."

"People were saying Forrest was in town."

"Really?" Rick looked at his friend curiously, "Nathan Bedford Forrest?"

"Yep. Word is he's organizing the Klan."

"Well shit." Rick closed his eyes and let himself feel his exhaustion.

"I'm thinking of joining Rick."

"What?"

"I'm think I'm gonna join the Klan."

Rick opened his eyes and sat up straight, "That is about the dumbest thing I've heard you say Shane. Why do you want to join the Klan?"

Shane glared at him, "I think the real question is why you don't. We got Yankee Bastards occupying Atlanta, running our government. That son of whore Sherman burned our houses and farms from Atlanta to Savannah. He burned my parents' house and you don't seem to care! You just want to sit on your small little farm and pretend that shit ain't going down when it is!"

"You think I'm not mad that we're not ruling ourselves anymore?" Rick demanded, "I fought in the war just like you. But this Klan shit? It ain't gonna do anything. It's just gonna get people killed."

"Maybe not. Maybe it will work with Forrest running it."

"You really think that?"

"Yes. Maybe."

Rick nodded, "What are we fighting for then Shane?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what are we fighting for? What is the Klan fighting for? I joined the army because my state called on me to do so; because we were being invaded by hostile army. That's why I fought. That state is no longer calling on me to fight. That state surrendered to the blue coats and is no longer at war. So the only point in fighting now is vengeance, and all that's gonna do is get people killed. Didn't enough of that happen during the war Shane? Hundreds of thousands of our people died and we killed even more. Do you really want to add to that tally Shane? And get what in return? Some feeling of justice? It will just get worse Shane. It will just get worse."

Shane slumped back into his chair. "Maybe you're right." he muttered. Rick understood his friends desire to do something. The war had been devastating and Sherman's march to the sea had made things worse. Georgia's economy was in shambles and people now had to compete with the newly freedmen for jobs. "I won't join Rick." Rick snapped out of his reverie and looked at Shane. "You're right. I won't join the Klan."

Rick smiled, "Good." He stood up, "Come on inside. Lori should have dinner almost ready."

"I heard some of what you and Shane were talking about on the porch." said Lori as they starting undressing in their room. "Why don't you think the Klan can do anything?"

"The Klan is a disorganized mess." Rick told her, "It's just a bunch of ex soldiers bitter about the war. What have they done? A few lynchings here and there? Killing freedmen isn't gonna make anything better."

"But I heard Shane say that General Forrest is running it now. He's one of our best generals. Even I know that. The papers were constantly talking about his raids behind Northern lines."

Rick sighed, "You're right. Forrest was one of our best generals. That didn't stop us from losing now did it? We had Lee, the best general in the country and even he couldn't beat them. If Lee couldn't beat them when we had a standing army then there is no way that Forrest can pull victory out of the ashes now." Rick turned towards his wife who was now in her night gown, "We need to accept that we've lost Lori and we need to make the best of what we have. We need to do that for Carl."

Lori looked at him in doubt for a moment. Then she nodded grudgingly. They got under the covers and Rick slipped in behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled back into him. "I'm just angry about what they did." She said softly.

"Me too." Rick murmured, his eyes closing, "me too."


Note:

A few of things I want to clarify.

1. At this point, three years after the Civil War had ended the Union military was still occupying the south and running the governments of various states. Over time the Confederate states would be let back into the Union and eventually the military occupation would end. That of course, doesn't happen in this story as the Zombie Apocalypse happens first.

2. I'm going to highlight political issues that caused the war including slavery and states rights. Ultimately I side with the Union when it comes to the war but I'm going to portray certain Confederate arguments in a positive light. Not all Confederates went to war to protect slavery, some went because they thought the Union was overstepping legal boundaries others such as Rick fought out of loyalty to their state. The most important issue was slavery of course and that is why I ultimately side with the Union. For a lot of these characters growing up they would have seen slavery as a norm. Even if you disagreed with it, it wouldn't be as forcefully horrific as it would have been for someone from the north coming to visit. Many characters in this story will slowly learn just how bad the "peculiar institution" was and one of the main themes is going to be the exploration of right and wrong done on both sides.

3. Right after the war the Ku Klux Klan would have been seen by the south as a resistance effort. A second rebellion if you will. What it became (or perhaps what it always was) were bitter southerners angry that blacks were no longer slaves. I mention this because I don't want anyone to think that Shane is such a racist that he just wants to go around killing ex-slaves. No he wants to believe they can still win and thinks the Klan's purpose is to fight back against north. He is still racist, or at least more biased than Rick is, but he's not that bitter.

4. Finally; while this story is going to explore the political and racial issues of the 19th century that is NOT the only thing the story is going to be about. The Zombie Apocalypse trumps everything and this story is going to be about people in that time frame dealing with them. The weapons are different the technology's different and people divided over race and politics will be forced to work together to survive.