Chapter 3- Season 1, Episode 2
The militia had found and retaken Danny and Lexi from Grace's house. They now sat in the back of the same carriage only this time they're escaping abilities were not underestimated.
The Assembly had been walking constantly since they acquired the captives again. A gunshot echoed through the area. They came to a stop, "You hear that? What did that sound like to you Danny boy," Neville giddily called. Danny raised his head and only looked towards him. He looked back at Lexi; making eye contact they shared the same thought. The group continued walking in the direction of the sound. They came to a path that continued to a house. Once passing the forestation hiding the house, a buck strung up by it feet was in clear view, with a gunshot to its abdomen. Neville walked up to the rotten door and knocked three times, then stepped back. A man walked up the the door and opened it. "Can I help you?" the man asked leaning against the door frame.
"You know my wife Julie, she grills these venison steaks. I don't know what she does to them, but man oh man, it's like she smothers them with love," Neville made small talk to the man. Lexi and Danny rolled their eyes at the facade he was portraying to the man.
"Sounds good?" the man replied not knowing what else to say.
"You could get a lot of steaks out of this guy, berley son of a bitch… How did you take him down?" Neville smiled and took off his sunglasses.
"Crossbow," All Danny could do was look between the two men as each of them took in turns of speaking.
"I suppose he got this buck shot in a bar fight," Neville gestured to laceration on the buck.
The man quickly spoke to defend himself "listen I don't know what you think I…"
Neville cut him off. "Sir, are you familiar of the 'Baltimore act'? It shall be unlawful for any citizen of the Monroe republic to buy, sell, own or transport any firearm, except loyal militia of course." Neville's face darkened. Lexi knew the exact punishment of owning a ballistic weapon was. Neville continued "Now the penalty for this is death, so I'm only gonna ask you this once… is there something you'd like to share?" All that was going through Lexi's mind was to deny everything, but the man stepped back into his house, pulled out a single barrel shotgun and threw it on the ground. Neville thanked the man, before ordering two other men to search the house.
"Hey, hey. That's all I got…" the man stated.
"And your just a beacon of trust," he replied. The man stepped back into his house and pulled out a revolver and shot one of the men entering his house. Neville pulled out his gun and shot the man square in the chest. Lexi and Danny sat up with their mouths slightly open and watched as Neville placed his gun back into the side holster. Directing his attention to his soldier that was shot, Captain Neville knelt down to speak to the man. "Easy son, easy, easy, easy, easy, just take it easy, let me have a look. Let me see," he pulled the soldiers hands away from the wound to have a better look. "Sir," one of the soldiers came out of the house, he was carrying some fabric. He opened it up and the utmost disgust passed over the Captain's face. It was the United States of America flag from 15 years ago. Lexi's eyes opened wide, she knew what it meant. It was the sign of the rebels. She had seen the tattoo of it on her uncle's arm before he died. "Burn it, burn everything" Neville instructed the man, then looked towards Danny and Lexi.
Neville had the group travel further up the road and stop in the middle of a corn field. He placed the militia soldier in the back of the carriage, in front of Lexi and Danny who were sitting on boxes. Both Danny and Neville had locked eye contact. The man was fatally shot and was breathing heavily "Hey Capt. I'm pretty messed up huh?" he kept deviating eye contact with Lexi, Danny and Neville.
"I'm afraid so, son. It's die quick or die painfully. That's all you got left." Neville held up a vile filed with a red substance. "You drink every drop and you sort of drift off, nothing more than that." He open and handed the vile to the man.
"I'm scared…"
"Don't be… down that hatch, son."
They made eye contact then he drunk the poison. Lexi didn't know what to say or where to look. She kept her expression cold and dark. Inside her she felt conflicted. This is the man who had shot half of her family. Though, was she changing? How could a person who feel joy when another human died? The more she thought of it the more she accepted; being happy when the enemy lost a fighter, none the less one who murdered a family member. "Where you're going to you'll be warm and rested and fed, you'll be with your family, and the best part; you'll bask in the brightest most beautiful Sun." the man looked towards him then died. Lexi, deep down didn't believe he deserved being in this land Neville was talking about.
His eyes were still open; Lexi felt no remorse, only relief he wouldn't kill anyone again. Lexi looked at Danny, he had tears forming, but one didn't fall. For Danny to see someone die it was hard, he had never seen someone lie there and watch as the life left their eyes. Lexi had seen too much of this and would not waste her time on this man.
The group were in the same spot in the middle of a corn field for hours, the sun was even beginning to set. The other soldiers had dug a grave for their friend. Neville was saying a prayer for the man's soul. "And surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days in my life and I will dwell in the house of my lord forever, amen." Danny and Lexi took no seriousness of this and were amused by the way they thought of themselves greatly and not the same of the citizens who fight for family and barely eat enough to live.
Danny and Lexi were still sitting on the boxes ignoring the prayers in the background. When they were over Danny snorted at the amusement of it all. Captain Neville looked at Danny. "Go ahead, spit it out,"
Danny looked confused "I'm sorry, what?"
Captain Neville walked up to Danny and Lexi. "Have some conviction… if you think something, then say it. You don't like that I killed that traitor back there, even though he owned guns and a rebel flag, even though he shot one of my boys. Well I'll tell you what I think; I think the Monroe militia is the one thing between us and total anarchy, maybe it's just a finger in the dam, but it's the only order we have left." Neville was inches away from Danny's face. Lexi looked at Neville then Danny.
Danny spoke up "You want to know what I think? I think you tell yourself that, I think the trust is; you like to kill, because you're a murderer and a psychopath…" Danny was then cut off by Neville's hand reaching forward and grabbing him by the throat. Lexi sat up, her eyes were wide. "Hey!" She yelled at Neville. He looked at her then back at Danny.
"I appreciate the honesty," Neville let go of Danny's neck and they held eye contact for a while. Changing from Danny to Lexi, Captain Neville asked her "Go on, you might as well speak your mind too."
She opened her mouth to only be cut off by Danny, "Don't," he said under his breath.
"Ah, let the girl speak," He said to Danny. He then directed his gaze to Lexi, "I saw the way you were looking at him when he was inches from death… Speak up," the last part he said robotic, emotionless and cold.
Lexi glanced at Danny, then the distance between her and the Captain. She was too far away; he wouldn't be able to reach her. Lexi took her chance to speak her mind freely. "Do you have kids and a wife, Captain?" she said quietly.
He looked at her then shifted his weight to the other foot. "Yes, I do. One son," he humoured her.
"Imagine you had a daughter too. One day you die… then your wife is left with these two kids to keep safe. Years pass and they adapt, on her sixteenth birthday she goes hunting to repay a dept. On her arrival home her brother, your son is beaten so mush he can barely talk. She is kidnapped and there mother is shot in the head… right in front of her. While kidnapped the son of a bitch who did this… to your family, dies right in front of her, how would you want her to feel? Happiness, relief; that he will never hurt or break another family again? Or remorse," the last word she said with a bitter tone. Lexi pursed her lips and looked down at him with tears forming in her eyes. His smirk faded; he walked towards the other side of the carriage and looked at her sympathetically. For a moment Danny and Lexi saw humility within the Captain. He walked closer to the carriage.
He reached out and slapped her face then said "trying to put guilt on me for something one of my men didn't do is not going to work, your brother has been dead for 10 years now and you never had parents…" He turned around and walked away, leaving them alone. Lexi kept her eyes on Neville. She kept her head down. He face and pride was hurt, but most of all she was confused. Yes, her parents were never there, but her brother was alive, up until yesterday at least.