Blood. That's all he saw. Blood covering virtually every surface his eyes settled upon. The undead were littered among the road, and the scent of rotting, decaying flesh was prevalent. Of course, it was everywhere now wasn't it? It had become the norm. Society itself had been disintegrated. He had been wandering for weeks, trying to find any sort of shelter he could use. His luck had been non-existent. His heavy body armor and chains hung beside him silently. He didn't want to attract attention. All of that time looting and pillaging from the dead really had its advantages. In fact, he was most likely better prepared for survival than most people he would encounter. After all, how often do you see a massive 7' 4" tall giant of a man wearing body armor, chains, and touting tons of weapons? It wasn't likely. Even now he was certain he was even more of a spectacle than before. The giant kept alert at all times, being careful to keep silent and steady. Sure he was vulnerable when he slept, but he had developed such a sixth sense that whenever he did sleep, nobody could surprise him. How much time had passed since the disaster started? He supposed it didn't truly matter anymore. However, Nikolai Eindar Zweihander never gave up. His resolve was metal. His belief in the gods were forever embedded in his blood. His family was so mixed, he didn't even really know what to identify with anymore. So he just combined the cultures essentially. His thoughts were the only things keeping him sane these days. The giant kept walking, keeping his eyes open for any sort of movement. Thankfully there was none. He sighed to himself, taking in the sight. Nothing. There was nothing ahead of him or behind him, save for what appeared to be a small feed store, surrounded by a small clearing of what appeared to be some sort of farm land. to his left. He was grateful he found at least something. He could stay for a couple of days, then continue on his journey. Cautiously, he stepped off the road into the unkempt field of grass. He crept slowly, quietly, making sure to keep awareness for any corpses. There were several, but none seemed to be moving. It was unnerving. The place looked dismal, eerie. Of course it did. Nobody had been there for months most likely. Nikolai continued to creep closer to the barn that was present, making sure to not make himself too visible. Sure he had body armor, but if they had any sort of sniper keeping watch, it would make it much more difficult to get through. Thankfully, as he edged closer, there seemed to be no indication of life. A few undead were nearby, but they were nothing that he couldn't handle. Preparing himself, one of them noticed him, and began to inch towards him. It snarled and growled. Nikolai sighed. He said, "May Odin have mercy upon your soul, innocently deceased." The undead raised its arms, trying to get at him, the other two nearby joined the fray. Laughing, he effortlessly lifted the first off the ground by the throat. It struggled, trying to get free. He reached his other arm behind the undead's head, and tore the spinal cord promptly from the rear of its neck. The undead went limp, the crumbled brain stem demolished. Tossing it aside, he then swiftly took one of his sheathed blades, cleanly slicing through the necks of the other two, decapitating them. Their decaying heads lie there on the ground, jaws moving, trying to get a bite of anything they could. Nikolai did not put them down, and continued to press forward. The undead were such easy prey. Sheathing his blade, he crouched low, making his way across the yard. Jerking his head around wildly, he inched inside of one of the buildings.

He quietly made his way through the shed, keeping out of sight. He checked behind several stacks of crates, and was pleased to know there were no ambushes in the immediate area. It was much cooler in the shed, although the constant buzzing of flies were annoying. He sat down on the wooden floor, and rested for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder if the place was deserted. There were very few undead nearby, and it was indeed silent. Catching his breath, he decided that a scan of the area was necessary. He certainly did not want to be ambushed or attacked while he was asleep. Rising once more, he edged out of the shed, peering around the corner of the building. Nothing. Nikolai ran across the small clearing, and checked what must have been a hen-house. There was nothing inside of there either. The result was the same for each place he looked. Absolutely not a single soul in sight. Was his luck finally changing for once? Of course it wasn't. He had been investigating for what must have been an hour or so, when he was stirred by the sound of voices. A lot of them. He whirled around, quickly surveying the location of where they could have come from. It was coming from the left behind one of the buildings. He quickly maneuvered to the right, inside another shed. Quickly making himself scarce, he took to the higher level of his building and cautiously inched towards one of the windows. Outside, he could see a number of vehicles. It looked like a small convoy. Several men were approaching the building, and Nikolai couldn't help but wonder what they were doing. Several of the men were talking to one person in particular. He was rather well-dressed for an apocalyptic situation. His sleeves were rolled up, and he was wearing an eye-patch. Although his hearing was amazing, he was too far away to hear the subject matter of what they were discussing. The men were standing around, keeping watch. It appeared as if they were waiting for something. Nikolai wondered if he should go out and see them. The group looked like they were reasonable. The only one who seemed slightly out of place was the patched man. He looked grim, yet alert and prepared. The other men seemed to speak to him with some form of respect. Nikolai decided to just watch them, making sure to stay out of sight.

Thank goodness they didn't search any of the buildings. Although as to why he couldn't be sure. It was rather idiotic. Any undead could easily be lurking in the dark. Then again, the group was heavily armed. Nikolai, strong as he was, couldn't take them down alone. Time went on, and the men appeared to be growing restless and irritable. However, all of them seemed to fear the patched man. One hand was raised and they all were silent immediately. No doubt the patched man was their leader. Nikolai wondered if they had spotted him from the road and were wanting to talk to him. It was unlikely, but hell, anything seemed possible. The giant was about to make a move when, out of nowhere, he heard a loud roar somewhere in the distance. No doubt a car engine. But where was it? It was not from the convoy he was looking at. Did they have reinforcements? If so, Nikolai definitely knew he couldn't take them alone. There was no doubt at least ten armed people in the farm yard. There was no telling how many more were nearby. Out of the corner of his eye, he identified the source. A car was rolling in, sloppily swerving from one side to the other. It was blasting music, and due to the noise, it was attracting a large number of undead. The men began getting confused and worried, realizing that there were bound to be more undead coming. Nikolai did not hesitate. He quickly ran down the stairs, making sure to keep as quiet as possible. The car rolled right past the door of his building, and he used the rear of the shed to run across the yard, keeping out of sight and making sure to not be too loud. He was around the corner of another building now, and he heard gunshots. No doubt the group of men were dealing with the undead. He quickly peeked around the edge. After spending several moments thinking of what to do next, the doors next to the corner he was hiding behind burst open, and a middle-aged man and one undead came toppling out. The man had what looked like a sort of...was that a blade arm? The man quickly killed the undead, then suddenly, he was being ferociously assaulted by three men who came up behind him. They began to ruthlessly beat and kick on the man. Nikolai stayed hidden, debating on what to do. He couldn't help but want to aid the defenseless blade-armed guy, but he would be better off if he helped the other three men whom were armed. He chose the former. Emerging from the corner, he allowed his chains to drag, making a rattle against the metal of the building. Nikolai roared, and lifted the closest guy up by the throat. The giant casually tossed him against the wall, his head making a loud bang. He was knocked out. The other two men seemed confused and startled by the situation, and they rounded on the giant. Nikolai gave one of them a massive blow to the side of the temple, followed by a back-fist to the face of the other. Both men crumpled to their knees, unconscious. The patched man appeared, and had raised a pistol.

The man spoke, a soft smile on his face. "Whoa, whoa, now. Easy. We don't want any trouble." Nikolai simply roared, and the man said, "Hey now. Just a minute. Please." Gunshots still rang in the distance. The patched man holstered his gun and rose both hands, the typical peace gesture. Nikolai spoke, "Why are you here?" The leader spoke, "Well, we were waiting for another group to make a trade. We had some things they wanted. And they offered us some supplies in return." The gunshots had subsided. Nikolai spoke through his helmet, "Who are you?" The leader spoke solemnly and politely, "A friend." Nikolai spoke skeptically, "Friend? Is that not an outdated term in this new age?" The patched man said, "Depends on how civilized you are." Nikolai spoke, "Indeed. That is very perceptive." One of the other men of the group came up from behind the man and said, "We lost several. Ben, Briggs, Johnson, and a few others." The patched man nodded and whispered something to the shorter fellow. The man turned off and the leader turned back to Nikolai. "Are you out here all by yourself?" Nikolai answered, "Looking for shelter. A place to call safe, at least for a while." The patched man offered a smile and said, "Well it looks like you've come to the right place." Nikolai snorted in contempt. The patched man continued, "Yes sir. We've got a nice little community. It isn't too far from here." Nikolai withdrew his chains and said, "An actual community?" The patched man nodded with a rather charismatic smile. He said, "That's right. We've got walls, enough food for an army, living space...and people." Nikolai simply stared in disbelief. The patched man continued, "I'm impressed. You knocked out three of my men with a single blow. That's true strength." Nikolai did not respond. The man continued, "I would like to ask however. How long have you been alone?" Nikolai responded, "I have wandered for weeks. The last place I was in got overrun by the undead." The man slowly approached Nikolai. Nikolai felt his hand go for his pistol, but the patched man softly spoke, "Relax". Nikolai reluctantly obliged. The patched man stopped and knelt down to the bladed man's unconscious body. He said, "I have to thank you for finding our most hated traitor. He killed several of our people. He then ran for his life. He's been on the run for days." Nikolai rose an eyebrow. He spoke, "It's hard to believe, I know, but there is law in some places still." Nikolai spoke very cautiously, "I must apologize for the wounds of your men. I did not know who was friend or foe." The Governor said, "It's alright. I don't blame you." Nikolai was put off by that. This man seemed...too nice? The patched man said, "Hey, would you mind helping me with these three? I need them to get back to camp safe." The patched man motioned to his three unconscious subordinates. Nikolai nodded and lifted up two of the men by himself. The leader of the group began dragging the other. The patched man said, "You're pretty strong." Nikolai did not respond. He followed the leader to the group. Another of them had began dragging the bladed man behind them. The men had apparently succeeded in their job to neutralize the undead. The corpses were abundant. The group of the patched man were all looking up at Nikolai in fright. The patched man stated, "Relax. He's no enemy." Nikolai looked down at the men. One of them said to the patched man, "Sir. That bastard Dixon sniped them from the window over there." The leader nodded and said, "Relax, I know, I know. He won't get away with it either." One of the other men approached Nikolai and said, "Who in the Hell are you?" The leader of them rose a hand and said, "Gentleman, this is the hero of Woodbury. He stumbled upon Dixon and subdued him, handing him over to us. He definitely deserves some recognition." Nikolai liked this less and less. The leader was twisting his story. Only he knew what had transpired besides the three knocked-out men. He continued, "We'll honor him with a night of gratitude." Nikolai said immediately, "I must apologize sir, I cannot accept this offer." The leader laughed and said, "Nonsense, come on. Have yourself a few drinks. We'll get you a shower, some supplies, then give you a vehicle of your own. It's the least we can do." Nikolai once again said, "I apologize sir." The leader said, "Please, I insist." The patched man's expression seemed genuinely warm. He said, "It might be a once in a lifetime chance." Nikolai did see the wisdom in those words. He would likely not get a chance like this again. The leader said, "Gentleman, grab our prisoner and let's escort this heroic man back to Woodbury." Nikolai reluctantly agreed to go. After all, the lukewarm water of a shower and the pleasurable feeling of a hot meal were burning through his gut instinct to not go along. Against his better judgment, Nikolai said, "Very well, I suppose I can stay for a few days."

As the men proceeded with their tasks of gathering the remaining ammunition and weapons from their fallen comrades, and with them binding the unconscious man they called Dixon, the patched man decided to talk to Nikolai in private. He led him over to the truck furthest away, what must have been his own personal vehicle. The patched man spoke, "These people. They work so hard. They're good people, they care about one another. They've gone through Hell and back to get where they are now. They don't like killing, but by God they will defend what's theirs." Nikolai spoke, "How many people do you have?" The patched man said, "A few dozen. A good deal of them make up our town's militia." Nikolai liked the man's tone. It was very soothing and courteous. He continued, "The guy you found, Dixon, he used to be my right hand man. He abused that trust." Nikolai spoke, "How long has the community been formed?" The leader responded, "I'd say several months. Time flies when the world has gone to Hell. They look up to me as their leader. After the outbreak, myself and a few others, we survived, until we came across Woodbury. It was abandoned, fragile, but we decided it would be the holy ground for the new civilization. We built it up, fortified it, made walls, and scavenged for resources. Eventually, we grew in numbers, and things became more prosperous." Nikolai asked, "What about brigands?" The leader responded, "Oh of course. Several. But our town held strong, and indeed, it held up under the weight. That traitor, Dixon... He led an assault on our town not long ago. Stirred up a real panic." The men around them had finished their tasks, and one of them had come up reluctantly, saying, "We're finished." The patched man said, "Alright. Back home we go fellows, this mission wasn't a total failure. We got one prize. Not only that, but we encountered a great man. A hero. We celebrate the capture of this traitor." The other men gave a few approving smiles, and proceeded to load themselves into the vehicles. The leader said, "Come on, we'll get you there safe." Nikolai said, "Wait a minute, I never got your name. I think Patchy would be disrespectful." The governor gave a warm smile and said, "I never tell. They call me The Governor." Nikolai spoke skeptically, "The Governor?" The man smiled softly and said, "That's what the folks call me. It just stuck." Nikolai climbed into the back of The Governor's truck, and they were soon pulling away from the farmyard and onto the main road. After several minutes,the buildings were entirely out of sight.