"Are you sure about this? I mean after the last time you spoke to the town-"

"Are you doubting me already?" Gene asked sternly.

"N-no," Jeremy answered, "It's just that after the wall, I think these people are the real ones doubting you."

"I'm wouldn't worry too much about the crowd. The secret is the young people: the ignorant, the millennials, all of them. They believe anyone who's talking at that moment. You saw how fired up they were at the wall. Just watch and see how many are against me now and how many will be by the end of the day. And don't worry Jeremy, remember what I told you: you have to learn to be patient. Things won't resolve themselves immediately."

"Then how long?! How long are just going to pretend Chad's death never happened! Doesn't it matter?!"

"How dare you! Under no circumstances are you to touch that boy from the park! I told you things will be resolved, so trust my judgement! Do you hear me!?"

Jeremy looked down, "...Fine."

Gene looked out of the car window. The jeep stopped moving as they arrived in the town center. As planned, the town, our at least the Southern half, were in attendance. There was a large murmur as they rolled up. Some shouting was even heard from several people in the crowd. Oddly enough, many of the disruptive members were young adults and teens.

"Well, we don't want to keep them waiting," Gene said. He and Jeremy stepped out of the Jeep. Suddenly the atmosphere of the mob intensified. Gene took his place on the stage. Jeremy held his rifle as he joined the rest of East Pines' thugs on the ground.

There was a great uproar now, it seemed to be coming from the entire crowd.

"Well I guess that ends our Gene problem," Audrey said. The park crew were all in attendance near the back of the crowd.

"I wouldn't be too certain of that just yet," Benson replied, "Gene's been through worse situations before."

Gene stood patiently waiting on stage. Meanwhile a large array of abuses were being thrown at him. "You promised us we'd make it through this, but not by separating us into ghettos!" one of the people yelled.

"Fencing us off just like the Nazis!" another screamed.

"What about the power?! What do we do without power?!"

Gene finally said, "I understand why you are angry..."

The crowd gradually quieted down. "We couldn't ignore the problem at hand though. Any other man in charge would have tried to cooperate or work around the criminals on the Northern half of this city. Yes, anyone else would have tried, in vain, to take care of the problem indirectly. However, you have seen what was happening. The thieves and murderers were already invading our fair side of the city!"

"I'm not saying what I have done was right, but it was the only option. I don't like the wall as much as you do, but it a necessary evil. If the wall was not built when it was, there would not be much of a city left by now. I have seen the other side. I know what they are capable of. We would not have last."

To Benson's surprise, the crowd slowly began to accept this. They did not full out rally for Gene or like him any more than they did, they just accepted what was done needed to be done.

"What about our families? I have family left on the other side!" someone from the crowd shouted.

Gene cunningly replied, "I understand. I know many of you have loved ones that were left on the other side. That is why I'm going to be honest with you... Not even our stable side of the city is safe-..."

There was the sudden roar of a jet in the distance. Gene stopped as the crowd looked around, searching for a glimpse of the aircraft in the sky.

Muscle Man asked, "Woah, they're still flying planes? I thought the world was over or something."

Benson answered, "It's probably military, but why are they out here?"

As quickly as it came, the noise died. No one did see the aircraft.

Gene continued, "As I said, not even our side of the city is safe. There are no farms, we have no crops nor do we have any animals. We are limited in food, and there are only so much of us. I am proposing four acts. The first, starting today, there will be a city wide registry. You will state to us your name, your address, and how many you are staying with. Every citizen is required to give us this information within the next two days. I know that may seem extreme to many of you, some of you may even be relating me to Hitler. But we need this register so we can begin rationing out supplies."

There was a greater murmur from the assemblage. Most of what was said was disapproval. Gene said, cutting off their idle talk, "Many of you may disagree and some may call me a communist, but it is something we must do. I do not want to see anyone in this city starve or become low on necessities. We need to pull through this by helping everyone out."

"This food will not be handed out freely though. We will require everyone's help. I require at least one member of every group join our police force... There will be rule breakers. There will be trouble makers. We cannot even completely guard the wall. If any of you refuse to comply, that is entirely your choice. However, if you do, you will be on your own for food and supplies."

"However, some of us have stolen away more food than others on that day. Even though I got as many supplies as I could, there is not enough to help the entire city. There may also be people you know on the other side: friends, family. So I have one final proposition... Those who turn in at least 40 pounds of food or medical supplies will be allowed to transfer one person from the North side."

The buzz of the crowd grew immediately. Who could object to such an offer? Food for family? Besides they'd be getting rations anyway.

Jeremy was stunned by Gene. Could he really be serious?

Mordecai instinctively turned to Benson. He didn't have to say anything. Thomas caught on, "Should we?"

Skips shook his head, "I don't trust him. I've lived long enough to see simpler promises betrayed."

"But Margaret's one the other side!" Mordecai exclaimed, "We can't just leave her over there with all this shit going on!"

"I agree with Mordecai, we shouldn't abandon his friend like this," Pops said.

"Woah! What about me?! I've got a cousin over there!" Muscle Man exclaimed.

Skips seemed more level headed, "But we don't even know if he can make this promise! If the other side is just gangs like he said, then Gene is just trying to bluff with us!"

Benson seemed at ends here. He didn't trust Gene, but he did see Mordecai and Muscle Man's side.

But those weren't his family... The Park was his family... And he's not going to risk anything for anybody lesser.

"We do nothing," Benson finally said. "Mordecai, Muscle Man, I'm sorry. I know you have friends over there but we need to worry about this Park right now! I think we barely have enough for food to get one person over, but we need that! I know Gene. He's going to go back on everything he said! I'm sorry, I really am, but we need our supplies..."

The crew had no way to respond. Mordecai was at a loss for words. Realizing there was nothing he could do, he ran off. He left the crowd and headed back on his own. Tears were forming as he ran. He wished he could escape this. He wished none of it were real. Why can't he just escape to his fantasy of ice like he wants?

"Well..." Thomas said after Mordecai left, "Who's it going to be?"

Everyone seemed confused. Thomas explained further, "One of us HAS to join Gene's police. Which one of us is it going to be?"

Benson didn't want anyone else to have the burden, "I'll do it."

Audrey protested, "You can't go, who will be in charge at the park? We need you here."

"No, I'll do it. Nobody else will have to. I've dealt with Gene before. If it should be anyone it should be me!"

"Benson, I really think you should reconsider," Pops said agreeing with Audrey.

"You can't handle both," Skips said, "You have to be in charge. We'll find someone else to join."

Muscle Man stepped up, "I'll handle it!"

Benson seemed a little anxious at this. Everyone else seemed to agree. Benson knew what to expect from Gene, but would Muscle Man be able to handle it? "Are you sure?"

"Heck yeah Bro!" Muscle Man screamed enthusiastically.

High Five Ghost joined in, "I'll join with him." The duo high-fived each other.

"Do you know what you're going yourselves into?" Benson asked.

"It's just walking around a wall. I could do that in my sleep!" Muscle Man said.

So it was decided. All that was left was to register.

Benson said, "Alright, everyone else head back. I've got to register then I'll meet you back at the house."

Benson headed towards the stage as the rest of the park headed home.

"I don't trust him. He's too much of a politician." Benson heard from someone as he walked.

"No, we are not going give up anything!" a mother argued with her teenage son.

"But mom, my girlfriend's over there!"

Elsewhere he heard, "What are you talking about? This is brilliant! He's a better leader than any of us could have been!" Benson's looked to see it was a damn college kid.

Benson arrived to find tables already set up along with guards holding pens and papers recording every bit of information the people were required to say. The lines were horrendously long. At best it seemed like a two hour wait.

"Benson!" Gene said, almost semi-excited to see him. Benson seemed utterly confused with his friendliness. Gene motioned for him to go over to his table.

"Sure beats waiting in lines, doesn't it?" Gene said, "So, how many am I writing down for your group?"

"There's eight of us," Benson replied.

"Is it going to be nine? I've seen that one employee of yours with-"

"Just eight." Benson interrupted.

"Well, Alright... That's it for now, Benson, service recruits are to arrive at noon tomorrow." Gene said motioning for Benson to leave.

"What? What about our address or who's joining?"

Gene chuckled before saying, "Benson it's obvious that I know where you live and I've got you for service. You can head home now."

"But I'm not volunteering..."

"What?!" Gene said in a surprised fashion.

"Two of ours: Muscle Man and High-Five-Ghost"

"B-But what about you? Of all people, I expected you to step up the plate."

"Sorry to disappoint," Benson said as he walked away.

Gene at first was extremely pissed off that Benson wasn't following his expectations, but soon he started chuckling. Benson was such a hard-ass, but he'll make his other two work.

Jeremy finally came over, "What the hell are you thinking? We both live on the same planet right?"

"Jeremy, watch your language. And get back to work!"

Jeremy took him off to the side. He spoke in a whisper, "You and I both know what's on the other side of the wall! There's way too much for us to possibly handle! You know what the Devil Kings has. What on earth makes you think they'll be up for trading?!"

Gene replied, "I know, this arrangement just buys us time. As for the North side... We'll have to deal with them when we can. We're outgunned if they try to attack. I guess you can thank him for that."

Jeremy looked down, "Yeah... Chad was a little too smart for himself... But what happens if we can't work things out? What do we do about the people?"

Gene smiled grimly, "Don't worry about that. Just leave everything to me..."


The rumbles from Rigby's stomach were getting louder. He felt himself trudging through the woods, exhausted and lethargic. Not to mention he was starting to smell which practically ruined any chance of hunting without getting noticed.

Rigby didn't really have a much of a "home" anymore. He simply had a make-shift shelter made up of a log leaning against a tree with a tarp for a roof and leaves for a bed. It was unbearably cold when he slept. His magic was the only thing keeping him warm at night.

Now Rigby had his gun drawn. He was looking for anything to kill at this point. Squirrel, deer, anything. He was starving.

Suddenly he saw some blood marks on the ground. They smelled and looked fresh. He followed the path, his gun now at the ready.

Rigby could hardly believe his eyes... Around him were four dead bodies. All four were the victims of gunshot wounds. Some of them were still oozing blood. If it weren't for the past three or four days and the fact his stomach was empty, he would have thrown up.

"They've gone too far... They've gone way too far..." Rigby thought to himself. "I have to do something about those bastards or people will keep dying!"

But revenge could wait. He hunched in pain as he clenched his stomach. Rigby needed something to eat.

He noticed that two of the dead had backpacks on. It didn't look like they were looted as their bags seemed undisturbed.

"Go ahead... Take it..."

"No. This-... This is wrong."

"You looted one already."

"That was different. He was a criminal! But these people..."

"What's the difference? Dead is dead. Besides, they're not going to miss it anyway."

It was hard to argue. Rigby reluctantly went to one of the bodies. He slid the backpack off. It was still soaked in blood. Inside, he found more ammo for his M9, not to mention several cans, a box of crackers, and couple bottles of water. The rest he really didn't need.

It was wrong, but at least he wasn't hungry anymore.

He turned and moved on to the next body...


Benson arrived back at the park. Inside, life went on as usual.

Muscle Man was losing a game of checkers to Fives. In response he ripped his shirt off and flipped the board. In the kitchen, Pops was showing Thomas his rifle and how to use it. Skips was talking with Audrey on the couch. Mordecai was in a haze as he fiddled with the radio without purpose.

As Benson saw this, he felt a little grateful the power went out. Usually everyone would avoid each other through the computer or their cell phones. But at least now they were forced by boredom to interact.

"Muscle Man, Fives: Gene wants you two to show up tomorrow at noon. I'm also guessing that's when they're handing out rations... and put your shirt back on!"

"What are you? My Mooom?!" Muscle Man retorted.

"Unbelievable..." Benson muttered to himself.

"Hey Benson," Thomas called from the kitchen. He was holding Pop's rifle so that it pointed at the ceiling, yet he had his finger on the trigger. "Should I take watch tonight?"

Benson replied, "I don't think anyone should be taking watch. With the way things are, we don't want to get caught. And another thing: watch where your finger is."

Thomas realized his error and took his finger out of the trigger guard, almost pulling it as he did.

Mordecai began to feel a pain in his head. It was worse than any splitting headache he'd felt before. He made his way into the bathroom.

In the mirror he could see his beard was growing and the hair on his head was getting longer. Even without the crown, Mordecai's skin was still getting colder. "Why the hell is this happening to me?! It should've stopped by now!"

His hears were filled with a piercing white noise. He almost collapsed to the ground. He could barely hear anything else. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "It's me," Skips said from the other side.

Mordecai opened the door to see Skips holding something. "I don't like giving you this, but it can't be worse than the way you've been drinking," he said as he held out a bottle of pain pills. Mordecai took the meds, his hand shaking. "Just be careful, too many of them will kill you," he said.

Mordecai nodded. He went over to the mirror and swallowed two of the pills. Suddenly he felt a little better.

Back in the living room, things went on as usual. "So, Audrey," Thomas said, "Just curious, what were you before all this? Like what kind of job?"

"Why the sudden curiosity?" she asked.

"I'm just trying to make conversation. Plus the power's out and I got nothing better to do."

Audrey chuckled a bit before she answered, "I was a nurse before all this. I worked at General Hospital. But then the bombs fell, so now I guess I'm unemployed."

"I think we all are," Benson chimed in, "Now I don't what to do. I woke up this morning worrying about whose going to cut the grass and run the snack shop. Man did I feel stupid."

Thomas added, "Same. This morning I flipped my shit thinking about Mr. Crawford's exam and how I didn't study."

This idle conversation was immediately interrupted by crackle from the radio.

"Hydra, Hydra, This is... Heading to Deadeye... Odysseus. Repeat, Odysseus... Over and Out."

"What the hell was that?" Fives asked.

Benson answered, "It's military code. Usually you'd hear things like 'Yankee,' 'Foxtrot,' but they changed up the codes so the Russians are still in the dark. We heard a jet earlier today, so they're probably close by."

"I believe the local airport is still standing. Do you think they're there?" Pops asked.

"So does mean they could help us out?" Thomas asked anxiously.

"No," Benson answered pessimistically, "Usually the Air Force has its own communication network. But they're using broadband radio signals. They haven't used that since the 50's. And if that's true, then that means they got hit. Hard. They probably have barely enough supplies to handle themselves, much less a whole city. Sorry, but I think we're on our own. But I'm still glad we're hearing this."

Muscle Man asked, "So what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're still kicking... America isn't out yet. The war's still going on and hopefully we're beating the shit out of them. This message just gives me up at least that things will turn around."

Indeed Benson was right, the Air Force was still certainly in for the fight.