"Hey, we want to run a few more tests to make sure you aren't allergically reacting to any of the medication we gave you, but you saved my life and I need to repay you for that. You aren't one of the patients anymore. I need to know if you want to be a part of the group." Eugene explained

"I need to find my people. I'm who everyone looks up to and they expect me back soon." I said in response.

The run that I had planned on was to a hardware store to retrieve some chain, among a few other things to repair a breached gate in the northern side of the school we where staying in as well as scavenge for fuel. It wasn't as big of a deal because there was another stronger gate blocking the walkers from getting into the school.

"Can you get me back there? This new science that you discovered will change how people live. Life expectancy. Children can grow up, and people could grow old… You must know Eugene. People are more afraid of a walker on a chain than a gun in their face."

"Look it isn't my decision it's Ricks. He's our leader here. He has done this before and people died because of it." Eugene said

Eugene took me back down to the town hall, at the far end of town, the town hall was marked "Z"

"This is the far end of town. "Z" is our town hall here. It keeps it orderly and makes it easier to refer to what a building does, or is for. That's why we mark 'em"

Eugene walked in before me and addressed someone:

"Carl, Where's Rick at?"

Carl was someone a bit younger than me. Maybe 19. One eye was covered my a shade lens, perhaps he had lost it… You see that kind of thing a lot these days.

"Yea he's upstairs, working on something with the power outage. You should be able to go up.

We go upstairs and knock on a large what double door.

"Hey Grimes! You in their?" Eugene said loudly

"Eugene? What is it. Come in the door is unlocked."

Ricks voice was deep. He sounded like he's seen some serious shit. The building wasn't much of a town hall. Actually it used to be a library. I assume that it would be appropriate for such a place.

"This man saved "D" from the outbreak and he has a request that I couldn't make happen without running it by you first." Eugene began

"This is Nick? Hello, My name is Rick, I'm the leader here at the Fish Hawk safe zone."

Rick was a man of average height, who had his hair slicked back slightly. He wore a worn brown leather jacket, with black pants. He had a Colt Python on his side and seemed a lot like me.

"I need to get back to my group. My people need me and the science that you have given me will change how we live for the rest of this thing.

"What do you mean the rest of this thing?" Rick questioned

"The shit hit the fan 15 years ago and the cleanup crew hasn't showed up yet!" Rick became angry.

"Let me show you something Nick." Rick walked over to a book shelf and removed a worn, dark red notebook.

"I started this notebook a few years after it started. Almost filled Nick! Almost filled!"

Rick threw the book onto the desk in front of me.

The book was filled with names.

"Who are these people?"

Shane

Lori grimes – perhaps his sister or his wife.

T-dog

Hershel Greene

"Are these your people? " I looked at Rick.

"Im sorry… But you know better than I that you have the power to fix a lot of what people are going through."

"Nick you don't remember when we picked you up do you?" Rick asked, already knowing the answer.

"No ,But I remember Eugene, he was there, and a larger man with red hair. That woman in "D" She was there too…" I tried to reclaim my memory but the effort was futile.

"We took those memories out." Rick said

Unsure of what he meant I recalled the power outage that the town is currently faced with.

"Is that what your servers are for? why did you have people connected to them? Is that all part of your research?"

I became a bit anxious as I hadn't seen technology on this caliber in some time.

"We use them to store and study peoples memories." Eugene began:

"As we all know when someone dies, as long as their brain isn't destroyed, they turn. But what does that do to a persons memories? Are you still you after you turn?

There was a short silence.

"Look kid. We aren't trying to hurt anyone here. We are trying to solve moral dilemmas. Have we been slaughtering people that where still alive in some capacity? Or are these things truly as they seem."

"Rick you need to get me back to my people. Now. I cant leave them back a thousand years behind." I exclaimed powerfully

"Give him a truck, and some supplies. Nick. You and your people are welcome back here whenever you like. As far as I'm concerned you're one of us."

Rick stood up and began to leave, turned around and said:

"Theres a guy named Daryl with a crossbow. Talk to him and tell him Rick said to give you the frontier."

"Thank you. For everything."

I looked over at Eugene and handed him his gun back

"Thanks kid. Come with me, I have something a bit better for you.

Eugene brought me to the building marked "G"

""G" for guns, Ha! Come on in, I think you might like this one. Abraham! Get your ass out here!"

The man that came out from the back room had red hair. With an overly manly handlebar mustache. I remember now! He told Abraham to "Get his ass out here" when they found me.

Eugene hands me a metal baseball bat with barbed wire wielded around it.

"A long time ago, a lot of people where afraid of this thing. He called it Lucille."

He looked disappointed. As if he wanted Lucille. Like it was some status of power, or respect that wielding this particular bat made you a better leader.

"Thank you. Really I mean it. You have given me more than I could have ever expected to receive from people just yesterday I didn't know if they where intending to kill me."

I shook hands with Eugene and Abraham, and left the building. I wandered around for a few minutes before making my way to the front gates to meet Daryl for the truck and the supplies.

"You Daryl?" I called out, as he was the one cleaning out the backseat of the truck

"That's me. Here, take this." He hands me a gym bag

"You've got a couple of handguns with plenty of ammo in the green bag, Medical supplies in the red bag, and 2500 ft. of the strongest chain we got in the bed there alright? Noah will be here in a couple of minutes; he's just packing his shit."

Daryl began to walk away when I realized what he just said.

"Noah? Who's that? Why is he coming with me?" I asked

"He is Eugene's right hand man. He knows everything Eugene does, and then some. If your group is more that two people than he's worth having around. Trust me."

Daryl went onto what I presumed to be his motorcycle and drove off

"Nick?' I heard a young sounding voice behind me

"Noah I assume. I heard you will be coming with me?"

I study Noah for the few minutes that we talk. He was black, and slender but muscular, not just skinny. Noah tells me that he is twenty-eight and has been a scientist for the group ever since they became the leaders of the Alexandria safe zone up north. He tells me he was a senior in high school before everything happened so long ago, as was I. We where the same age and had more in common than I would have originally thought.

He told me that his family stayed together in the two years before the government crumbled and "the fan was hit with a heaping pile of shit" as he put it.

We both get into the "2020" Nissan frontier, with some kind of spiked bumper guard wielded to the front end. The truck was already filled with gas, and started up just like it would on the lot in 2007, the real year this vehicle came out came out. The reason they called this truck a "2020" was the fact that it had some upgrades that could perhaps help someone who was in the apocalypse. All open areas where sealed water tight, And the engine was upgraded to a quiet v6 with skid plates and 4x4.

"Its going to be a long drive home, bro. Take some snacks."

I perch Lucille on my shoulder and look at the truck. This is going to be a new world order.