The New Dawn

by djimenez1246

The Highwaymen are spread across Hope County taking everything the people have worked hard for and killing anyone who gets in their way. The Captain and his new friends will have to fight hard to save the paradise the people of Hope County have worked so hard to build.

22. Rebuilding

I apologize for the long wait, but I've just been super busy with school and other stuff in my life. I don't mean to make you all wait so long, but I'm trying to get these chapters posted as soon as possible. This might be the longest chapter that me and my beta have written. Anyway, enjoy the newest chapter of The New Dawn.

---

A few days have passed since the truce between the Scavengers and the New Edeners.

Since the truce between Prosperity and New Eden, the Chosen have been attacking the Highwaymen in both the night and day. Marcus, with the help of Gina Guerra and the Judge, has been working nonstop to secure the few remaining Highwaymen outposts, providing the people of Prosperity with more resources such as crafting materials and ethanol. With those resources, the band of scavengers would have an even better chance of paying back the Highwaymen for their abuse and brutality.

With the Judge's feral cunning and lethal accuracy, most of the Highwaymen guards didn't know what hit them until a second before they bled out. With Gina's brute force and firepower, many more Highwaymen fell at her feet. And with Marcus's versatile skill with improvised weaponry, he was able to take out arguably the most out of the three of them. There have been one or two times where he was forced to use his new abilities to take on the Enforcers that were left to warden the outposts. They were the gang's elite fighters, but even they were no match for the gift of Eden.

Within days, the Highwaymen were down from at least two outposts, respectfully dubbed the Pantry and Signal Point. With the former, the survivors had access to a healthy supply of food that would no longer be wasted on violent criminals. With the latter, they would also have increased communication between other captured outposts, meaning that the Highwaymen would have a difficult time keeping in contact with their forces in the valley. The three now had their eyes set on the remaining outposts, seeing no reason to slow down while they had the thugs running scared.

However, those three were not the only party attacking the Highwaymen. Pastor Jerome had resumed his little crusade of liberating prisoners from the Highwaymen convoys. Doing so would spare these people from slavery, give more fighters to Prosperity's side, and would make a dent in the Highwaymen's bullet production. It was a brilliant tactical move, but he had been captured twice already. Luckily, he wasn't alone as the eagle-eyed Nana and her trusty rifle were both right at his side.

However, Marcus and Hunter knew what happened the last time Jerome and Nana tried such a thing and managed to persuade some of the Chosen fighters to aid them in attacking those convoys. With all of the extra help, the guards at the convoys hardly stood a chance and many prisoners were freed.

When Marcus learned that the plot of land known as the Pantry used to be an orchard before the bombs fell, he stopped wondering how the people of Hope County managed to make a farm out of scratch. It seems that not even an apocalypse can stop Mother Nature. He grabbed an apple from one of the bushels set aside by one of the helpers that were sent from Prosperity to help with the outpost. He looked at the red, delicious-looking apple. He had walked through an orchard or two when he was a kid, but that was a long time ago. It was these small details, reminding him of an easier life, that kept him going.

"Hopefully, after all this, we can live a decent life," he said to himself, not caring if anyone heard him or not. He sighed and bit into the apple, savoring the sweet taste.

"Eating on the job?" Gina asked sarcastically. "What kind of Captain are you?"

Marcus shook his head and put the apple in his pocket for later. "The farm-hands are taking to the outpost nicely. It's in good hands now. Maybe we can have a feast to celebrate?" he half-joked.

Gina shook her head. "Don't count on it," she warned. "I know the Twins. They know they're losing by now and they're not gonna let that slide. We need to take those dingbats out, and hitting outposts isn't enough. We need a bigger plan, one that we know will cripple those bitches."

Marcus nods in affirmation. "You're right," he agreed. "After we're done here, we should see Rush and see if he has any ideas."

Gina nods. "Sounds good. We should check on the hippies to see if they're ok. Just to make sure that they're not being like this weirdo and limping around with a hole the size of a plum in their stomachs." She points at the Judge, who currently had a bullet wound in his stomach and was clutching the wound with his hand, and blood coloring his gloves red. He looked at Gina and growled at what she just said about him and his Chosen.

Marcus did not approve of Gina's choice of words and her attempt at being funny. "Gina, for the love of God, try to be nice." he scolded. "These 'hippies' will have our backs when the shit hits the fan so try to show them a little respect, alright?"

Gina sighed. "Look, I'm sorry ok?" she said sincerely. "It's just that I never really liked these people and it's hard for me to adjust to anyone outside of the Highwaymen. Not to mention, they freak me out sometimes. I mean, who or what can just shrug off bullets like that and walk away as if nothing happened?"

Marcus nodded, understanding Gina's distrust in New Eden. "Look, we've got a common enemy. We're gonna work together until the Twins and their army of thugs are driven off from this valley. After that, well, we'll see. But until we make sure that Mickey and Lou can't hurt anyone ever again, we have to trust each other. And that means trusting New Eden, no matter how weird and unsociable they might be. Ok?"

Gina sighed heavily in defeat. She didn't like admitting defeat, but Marcus had her number on this one. "Fine," she said simply. She looked around and saw that the Chosen who were injured were helping each other heal. Some of the Chosen, who were healthy enough, were taking care of the remaining Highwaymen. Some of the guards were smart enough to surrender, else they would face the same death that the group had given the rest of them.

There were three Highwaymen prisoners on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Marcus, Gina, and the Judge went over to the prisoners in an effort to interrogate them. "Now listen up," Marcus called out to the three on the ground. "The only reason you're still alive is that I said so. Now, depending on how well you cooperate, you may or may not live to see another day." He paused, to look upon the fear in some of the prisoner's eyes. It was a refreshing change of pace when the Highwaymen were at this end of intimidation.

"Now," Marcus resumed. "What we need is information. Let's start with where the Twins are hiding. Does anyone know?" he asked the three prisoners, all of whom remained silent. This didn't please Marcus or anyone on his side. He walked up to the middle prisoner. "Got something you want to tell me?"

The prisoner, who was a man in his thirties with short brown hair with red highlights made out of blood, hacked and spit in the Captain's face. "Fuck you," he said in an almost bored expression. This action did not please the Chosen as they readied their bows to fire shots into the man's neck.

"It would be wise to not do that again, locust," A young Chosen, Leo warned. "You may not see it, this man that you just spit on is our Shepherd, one that will lead us when our Father passes. He is blessed by God himself and deserves respect. If you lack any respect, we will gladly teach you some."

The man in the middle snorts in disbelief. "You're fucking kidding me, right?" He started to laugh, something the other prisoners were not stupid enough to do with arrows pointing at their throats. "Blessed by God? Yeah right, and I'm the fuckin' President!" He stopped laughing after a few seconds. "I will tell you one thing that's true though. Once Mickey and Lou hear about this, you're gonna wish you and those two runts never made it off that train," he threatened, looking right into Marcus's eyes.

The Captain was not happy upon hearing this, as he wiped the spit off his face and heel-kicked the prisoner right in the face. The Highwaymen cried in agony as he clutched his face, blood dripped from his hands.

"Ah! You broke my nose, you fucker!"

"Where are the Twins?!" Marcus demanded, quickly losing his patience.

"Fuck you!" the gang member replied, tears and blood dripping from his face.

Marcus shook his head and reached for his holster, taking out his M9 pistol. "How's this, huh?" he challenged. "I'm getting a little tired of this shit. You fucking monsters have been torturing and killing these people, taking what rightfully belongs to them. I'm not gonna stand by it any longer! Give up the Twins, or I'm gonna irrigate this farm with the insides of your head!"

Anger turned to fear quickly for the bleeding prisoner. There was something about how the Captain was getting so angry. Something that was...unnatural.

"OK! OK! Look, I'm just an officer at this outpost. You think the Twins would talk with someone like me?" he asked, answering Marcus's question. "Besides even if I did know something I wouldn't tell you because the twins would kill me."

Marcus tilted his head. "So what's stopping me from finishing you off, right now?"

The man struggled to find an answer to the Captain's question, anything that can help him save his life. He wished it were the good old days when he can pick on insignificant valley folk and not worry about consequences like these.

Then, an idea suddenly came into his head. "Little Fucker! You're gonna wanna talk to Little Fucker!"

Marcus didn't try to hide his confusion. "Who?"

Gina audibly groaned. "Oh, Christ! Not him! Anyone but him!" she whined as if she was familiar with who they were referring to.

Marcus quickly turned to Gina. "The hell's he talking about?" he asked the former Highwaywoman.

Gina sighs. "Irwin Smalls," she answered. "I met him once, and believe me, once was enough. He's the runt of the Highwaymen, and I do mean runt. He's always talkin' shit with nothing to back it up. That sneaky little fucker isn't worth our time."

"Look," the bleeding prisoner said, catching their attention once again. "He's always going on about how he's best buddies with the Twins. We can't get you to them, but maybe he can! Promise you'll let us go, and we can tell you where he hangs out!"

Marcus lowered his guns. "And if this guy doesn't help us out, then this guy right here," he paused, pointing at the Judge. "He's gonna stalk you in the night to the ends of the Earth. Understood?"

The three prisoners only nodded. "Ok." the center prisoner said, before pausing to catch his breath. "Down the road, there's the ruins of an old bridge that leads north. He's set up shop there. Last I heard, he's been looking into the locals to help him with something. Maybe if you can help him out, he'll help you with something?"

"Sounds good to me," Marcus said as he holstered his pistol. "We'll look into him soon after we report back home." he turned to the Chosen guarding the prisoners. "Let them go," he commanded.

Many of the Chosen were uncertain how to react to that command when they got what they wanted from Locust. None of them have shown them any mercy to their people so why should they show any to them?

"Shepherd, why should we show mercy to these insects who plague our lands, who murder our people without the thought of mercy in their minds?" One of the Chosen Leo asks, earning a displeased gesture from the Judge who would never approve of questioning the Father's orders or the orders of anyone who the Father decrees worthy of leading.

Marcus sighed, thinking of a way to explain this to his Chosen allies. "We're showing mercy because we're proving that we are better than they are. Would the Father show mercy if he were here?"

The Chosen look at each other, to see who would speak up first.

"I don't believe he would. Not after how many innocent lives they took," the Chosen Scott said.

Marcus nods at their answer. "Well, whether or not he would, we have to find forgiveness in our hearts for at least some of these 'locusts,' as you say they are." Some of the Chosen were coming around to what Marcus was saying, but some were still not budging. "If it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee that the Twins won't be spared. All of the suffering in Hope County and beyond comes from them and they're gonna get what they deserve."

The Chosen nod at what their Shepherd proclaims, making them feel a little better about letting these sinners go free. They reel back their bows and give them some space, surprising the Highwaymen on their knees. Marcus looks at the now-freed prisoners. "Get out of here, and don't let me see any of you again. Because chances are, if and when I see you again, I will kill you. Understood?"

They only nod, as they were at a loss for words. So they pick themselves up and leave the outpost as fast as they can, not looking back.

Gina looked at Marcus. "I hope that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass," she says with uncertainty.

Marcus sighs. "Well, if it does, then there's nothing we can do about it, except deal with it when the time comes." He looks to the Judge for what he had to say, who remained silent and stoic. "Anyway, I think we've wasted enough time here. Let's report back to Prosperity."

"Yeah. By the way, speaking of the two runts," Gina added. "Where are Hunter and Carmina? I saw them leave Prosperity this morning, too."

"I think Kim said something about letting them take a few days off from fighting. Those two have been working so hard for being so young. They've helped in the attack on Prosperity, they helped me in New Eden, and they've helped in repairing Prosperity. Those two have hardly ever stopped to take a breath. They deserve a break if you ask me," Marcus answered, wondering what the two teens would be doing right now since they have free time on their hands.

---

While the teams were out in the field making life miserable for the Highwaymen, others were taking in the sights of Hope County after a long period of work. Hunter, Carmina, and the faithful Akita named Timber were out in the forests north of Prosperity hunting and exploring the beautiful woods. Despite wanting to be able to do more to help out, they felt that their few days off were well-deserved. Not having to worry about any problems regarding Prosperity or the Highwaymen was a nice change of pace. However, they knew that they couldn't get comfortable. The Twins were still out there and there was no way of making them stop beyond making sure that they would never hurt anyone again.

Hunter and Carmina were currently crouched atop a hill ready for any animals that will pass in their direction. The Forests of Hope County were full of rich game today and Hunter was more than happy to be out hunting again. He was even happier that Carmina was here with him, and vice versa. Carmina was happy to be at her boyfriend's side, to not only spend some quality time with him but to keep him safe. The sight of Hunter returning home injured after his last hunting trip still haunts her. Only, she wasn't the only one. Part of Hunter wanted someone as capable as Carmina to help him on this trip so he wouldn't be blindsided as he was last time. Still, he couldn't let Carmina see that side of him, as he had to be strong for his girlfriend and his community.

He wondered why he had that side of him, to appear strong for the sake of others. Part of him believes that it was because of his father, the famous Deputy from the war with Eden's Gate. Jerome told him that said man would always put on a strong facade so no one could see that he was afraid of everything that Joseph and his people had done at that time. However Jerome saw through the whole thing, it wasn't hard for him to see through Jake's facade and it certainly isn't hard to see through Hunter's.

Hunter then frowned in sadness as he thought about his father. The thought or mention of his father often depressed Hunter, as he wished he could know him and his mother. But again, he had to remain strong for the sake of those he cared about.

Hunter's internal struggle was visible to Carmina on the outside. Naturally concerned for her boyfriend's wellbeing, she asked. "Hey, are you okay?"

Hunter snapped out of his deep thought and looked at his girlfriend. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," he answered. "Just kind of put off by how we were given a few days to ourselves, despite there being more work to do."

That wasn't completely a lie, since that was what he was also thinking about, but it was enough for Carmina to buy it. She just scoffed and replied, "You need to lighten up every once in a while Hunter. We've both been working a lot since the attack on Prosperity with hardly any stop. We deserve this break."

Hunter nods. "Yeah, I guess so. It does feel nice to go out hunting again without worrying about other stuff." He paused, before looking at his girlfriend. "You know, you didn't have to come out here with me Carmina,"

Carmina gave Hunter a stern look, "You think that after what happened to you last time you were out here that I'm just gonna let you come out here again without me? Not happening,"

"Fair enough," Hunter said then went to touch the scars left behind on his body after the infamous bear attack. Sometimes, when he closes his eyes, he could still see the bear coming after him. When the beast lifted its mighty paw to exact the killing blow, that is when he would open his eyes, and they would be filled with fear and horror.

Carmina noticed the look in Hunter's eyes and clutched his hand. "Don't worry," she assured. "I'm here, ok?" Hunter smiles and nods, happy that his girlfriend is at his side in case anything should happen.

Once their little moment was over, they heard Timber whining and moving its head, as if he were trying to point them to something ahead.

"What is it, boy?" Carmina asked. She knew Timber was a smart dog and knew it had to be something important.

"Shh," Hunter cut her off and waved his hand parallel to the ground, signaling her to lower to the ground. She did as instructed and looked to Hunter who had his eyes locked onto something. He looked back at the Rye daughter and motioned his head forward, beyond the bushes they were hiding behind. She looked ahead and the three looked at a single rabbit only a few yards away.

"Aww, it's a rabbit," Carmina quietly gushed, always having a soft spot for the gentle creatures. "I love rabbits,"

"Me too," Hunter said. "Delicious." He licked his lips as Timber was doing.

Carmina sighed. She loved animals, especially the cuter ones like the rabbit, but she knew that it was a time of survival of the fittest. Still, she wasn't exactly starving at this time. "Do we have to kill it?" she asked with a pout.

Hunter felt conflicted. He knew for a long time that Carmina loved rabbits and all kinds of animals, and never killed them unless she absolutely had to. This wasn't one of those moments, so he didn't feel the immediate need to kill the hare. He groaned and took his hands off of his bow. "No, we don't have to kill it," he answers, reluctantly.

Carmina sighs in relief and watches as the little rabbit scurries away into the forest. She got up from the ground. "Come on, there's plenty of things to hunt out there. Maybe we can find a nice, juicy deer?"

That alone was enough to make Hunter stop moping about the lost rabbit and get ready for another round of hunting. Soon enough, they came across a trail left behind by an adult deer. They tracked the animal for a good few hundred feet and finally found it munching on a few berries from a bush. Hunter could tell that it was a male deer, which suited Hunter just fine. He heard from other survivors that before the Collapse, hunting female deer was frowned upon.

He pulled out his bow and readied an arrow, aiming at the chest of the buck, hoping to pierce it right through the heart. This was, the animal can die with little to no pain, as any good hunter should prefer. He reeled the string back and took a deep breath, steadying his aim. When he felt his timing was perfect, he launched the arrow, which was embedded into the chest of the deer, causing the creature to drop to the ground instantly.

Hunter smiled. "Bull's eye," he said as he put his bow back around his body. He and Carmina got up from their hiding spot and headed over to the deer, Timber following closely behind. Hunter pulled out his skinning knife, eager to take the meat from the dear corpse. But before he could get to work, a foul odor entered his nostrils, the familiar scent of decay.

He looked around to find the source of the smell, and then stopped dead in his tracks when he found it. The source of the decaying smell was the corpse of an all too familiar creature to the young man. The corpse in question was that of a massive bear, one that Hunter could recognize anytime. This was none other than the bear that nearly killed him on his last hunting trip alone.

His blood chilled as he looked at the beast's face, one that was partially distorted due to the other animals picking its flesh from its bones. He stepped away from the deer, which alerted Carmina.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked in genuine concern.

However, she didn't get an answer as Hunter was struggling to find his words. He quaked in fear as he walked toward the dead creature. He looked down, in front of it, and saw that there was dried blood in the dirt. He knelt down to feel the blood in his hands and knew without a doubt. The place they were in right now was the place he nearly died. If the Judge had not intervened, this would certainly have been his grave.

"This is the place," he said quietly, after a minute or two of silence.

Carmina raised an eyebrow. "What?" she asked, not hearing what he said.

Hunter sighed. "This is the place that I almost died." He paused and then pointed at the bear corpse. "And that is the bear that almost killed me." He could feel the scars left behind by the bear flare in pain slightly as if he were being haunted by the animal as much physically as mentally.

Carmina couldn't believe what she was hearing. She looked closely at the corpse and saw that it was indeed the same bear that she found dead while she was searching for Hunter. She never thought she would see it again, and certainly didn't want to either. Feeling a need for someone to be close to him, she went over to Hunter and hugged him in comfort.

"Hey, it's ok," she assured. "I'm here for you."

Hunter didn't say anything at first, but then he began to get his feelings out.

"It was the first time I was actually scared of an animal. The Highwaymen have nothing on that thing. I never thought I would see you or anyone I love again." He felt tears well up in his eyes, despite his desire to look strong in front of his girlfriend.

Now Carmina began to get scared, as she had never seen this side of Hunter before. She could tell that this was affecting him in a way that she hoped wouldn't be permanent. Even as a kid, she can't remember a time where Hunter cried. Even as a kid, Hunter was always the tough one, a bulwark for the two of them in case anything happened. But things were different now, as they both have dodged death more times than they could count. The rush of danger and the close escape from death can change even the strongest people. It can help people to grow, but it can also destroy them from within. It was up to Hunter to decide which it will be, and how it will affect his and Carmina's relationship.

Suddenly, a high-pitched growl snapped both the teenagers out of their thoughts. They whipped their heads around toward the hill and saw a familiar nimble figure emerging from the bushes. Familiar, but also unfamiliar. The creature was a cougar, but it was unlike any cougar they had ever seen. Instead of the common beige and white colors of its skin that they have seen on pretty much every other cougar they've encountered, the cougar in front of them had a sickly green skin that resembled mossy plant growth that they would find on rocks. The cougar had piercing red eyes, of which they were squared on the two humans in front of it.

"What the fuck!" Hunter exclaimed. Both Teens took a couple of steps back from the horrible monstrosity in front of them.

"What is that?!" Carmina yelled in terror.

"I have no goddamn idea," Hunter said, removing his bow from around him and removing an arrow from his quiver then placing the end on the string.

The feline monstrosity growled and charged with lightning speed at Hunter. The young man fired an arrow at the beast, only to find that the arrow bounced off its mossy skin as if Hunter was aiming at a moving stone.

"What the-!" Hunter asked aloud as charged at him in a flash, soon knocking him over by headbutting his stomach. Hunter was now on the ground, the cougar swipes its mighty paw and scratches Hunter in the upper arm, causing him to scream in pain. "AHHHHUUUUUGGGHHHH!"

"Hunter!" Carmina cried out in horror as she watched the rogue animal injure her boyfriend then proceeded to cut his leg. "AHHHHH!"

Carmina raised her rifle and aimed at the creature. "Hunter, get out of the way!"

Hunter nods, although in pain from the wounds. He punched the cougar in the face with his uninjured arm, causing the beast to cry out and stumble back and off of Hunter. The young man kicked the animal away and ran in the other direction so Carmina could get a clear shot.

The Rye daughter took this chance to unload her rifle into the beast, each bullet impact causing it to cry in pain. However, it did not look like it had much effect on the animal, as there was little blood coming out of the bullet holes. "This thing is from another world!" Carmina said in horror and fascination as she watched the monstrous animal get up, hardly injured.

The cougar growled and charged at Carmina. The young woman fired more shots at the menacing animal, only hitting it a few times as it was moving so fast. Before the cougar could sink its fangs into Carmina's flesh, Timber, the faithful Akita tackled the creature, breaking its line of attack.

While Hunter was treating his wound as best he could, he noticed something when the cougar was tackled by Timber. While on its side, Hunter noticed that there was a glowing spot on its belly all the way to its chest. The way it looked from the rest of its body led Hunter to believe that spot was a vulnerable spot. "Carmina! The glowing spot on its belly! Aim there!"

Carmina nodded at what Hunter said, but as soon as she aimed for the glowing spot, the cougar moved again, straight at Hunter.

The creature tackled Hunter to the ground, flashing its fangs at Hunter. Then, all of the sudden, it stopped moving, as did Hunter. Carmina feared the worst and ran up to the two bodies and hoped that it was not true that her boyfriend had died.

"Get this goddamn thing off of me," Hunter said, his voice muffled by the corpse on top of him. Her fear melted away, she quickly made her way over to Hunter and helped push the cougar off of him. When it was off him Carmina saw the knife in the beast's chest revealing that Hunter's knife dug deep into the glowing spot of its chest.

Both of the teens were breathing heavily after the event they found themselves in had ended. "That was scary," Carmina said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it was," Hunter replied. "That's twice I've almost died at this spot." He then felt Carmina's Arms wrap around his form in a warm embrace. Carmina broke the hug after a moment and saw that Hunter's arm and leg were still bleeding.

"We've gotta get those looked at," she suggested.

"Yeah," Hunter agreed, taking his knife out of the corpse. "And we've gotta tell everyone what we've learned out here." Carmina nodded and helped Hunter to his feet as they limped home to Prosperity however but before they could leave there was one thing that needed to be done.

"First let's do something for your arm and leg," Carmina pulled out her pack, pulling out a set of bandages then wrapped a bandage around Hunter's arm then wrapped another around his bleeding leg to stop or at least slow down the bleeding until they got home.

---

In the community of Prosperity, the scavengers along with the workers from New Eden provided by Joseph Seed were hard at work at repairing the defenses, which was surprising given the years of bad blood between the two factions. So much violence and destruction had taken place in the county between the Resistance and Eden's Gate. There were a few of the scavengers who were uneasy about working with Joseph's people, but most of them hated the Highwaymen more so they were willing to put up with it for the time being.

Inside the main building Rush and Kim were discussing the repairs done to Prosperity and going over their force's recent reports on attacks against the Highwaymen's outposts.

"How are the repairs going on our defenses?" Rush asked.

"Well with the materials we got from the lumber mill and the new edeners that Jerome, my daughter, and that Chosen girl got from Joseph Seed the repairs are going much faster than before," Kim said. Kim had to give Joseph's people credit. They sure do know how to work a wall for a settlement. "And with some of the prisoners that Jerome and Nana have rescued from prisoner convoys with the help of Joseph's Chosen we have managed to get more people to help defend Prosperity,"

"Good," Rush said then asked. "Any word from our people out in the field?"

Kim nodded. "The Captain contacted me not long ago telling me that the Pantry is now under their control.

Rush smiled. "That's great news," he said excitedly. "Now we don't have to worry about feeding our people for a good long while now."

Kim nodded. "Yeah, that is good." Her smile faded into a frown as soon as she stopped speaking.

Rush noticed this and decided to speak. "Something on your mind?"

Kim sighed. "Marcus is pretty much our lifeline in this fight, and now he's been exposed to the world of Joseph Seed. Not to mention he's out there taking the fight with a former Highwayman and Joseph's favorite zealous pet. I know neither of them are our enemies but Gina killed for the Highwaymen, and the Judge will do anything for Joseph. I can't help but worry that he's keeping his enemies closer than his friends."

Rush nodded. "Look, I get it," Rush consoles. "They're a lot different than the other people we have working with us, but they have their reasons to fight the Highwaymen and they're not stupid. They know their best chances of killing the Twins are by working together. They're not gonna jeopardize that by betraying us. And it's not like they're strangers to some of the others. Sharky and Hurk can vouch for Gina."

Kim gave Rush a look of uncertainty. "Well, I'm sure you know those two both have reputations for doing stupid things." She paused. "But I understand. Though it's not going to make the past go away. I just hope our people think more about the future."

Rush puts a hand on Kim's shoulder. "I wouldn't worry about that, Kim," he assured. "Your people are strong, stronger than any I've been around when I built up settlements in the west. We're gonna make it through this."

Suddenly, a screaming sound erupted from beyond the wall and snapped Kim and Rush out of their conversation. The two leaders went outside to investigate and found a native of Prosperity yelling curses at a member of New Eden, tools and materials strewn across the ground.

"What the hell's your problem, you damn peggie?!" The scavenger accuses as he pushes the New Edener a few steps back.

"It was an accident, you disrespectful sinner!" The New Edener explains before pushing him back, knocking the other man down.

Then, a Prosperity woman came from her post to intervene. "You son of a bitch!" she slaps the peggie right in the face. The zealot cupped his cheek with his hand and began to lose what patience he had left.

"Lay another hand on one of my people, sinners, and I'll break it!" Another peggie stepped up to the plate for her fellow follower.

The female scavenger pulled out her pistol and aimed it at the female New Edener, who in turn drew a knife. "Why don't you come over here and try to bitch!" She spat at the peggie.

The Argument drew more peggies and scavengers who both went to support each other's sides. This conflict escalated to the point where almost all of the people working the walls of Prosperity were at each other's throats, threatening to cause a riot between the two groups. Before the conflict could grow any worse, Rush and Kim came up between the two groups.

"Hey hey hey!" Rush called out, his hands raised. "Hey! Calm down! Calm down! What's the problem here?"

The male scavenger grunts as he holds his injured hand. "That damn peggie hit my hand with a hammer! I think it's broken!"

"I told you that it was an accident! And I truly doubt that your hand is broken," the male New Edener reasoned, but the members of Prosperity were not adhering to any of it.

"That Peggie bitch threatened us after we only defended ourselves!" the female scavenger claimed.

"I was not the one who drew the knife, sinner," the female peggie countered.

The surrounding scavengers and New Edeners began to spit out their arguments, flooding the area with insults and profanities. No punches were thrown, but Rush could tell that there was little holding them back from doing so. Deciding that he had enough, he grabbed his gun and fired it into the air. Piercing silence now filled the gate area of Prosperity.

"You know, if you all fought the Highwaymen as often as you fight each other, then they would've been gone a long time ago!" Rush began, causing many of the people surrounding him to internally feel shame. "We've all been through this more times than I can count. We have a truce, which means there's not gonna be any fights on my watch. If there are any disagreements, take them up for me. Don't send fists flying over things that aren't worth it."

Rush's words hit home for some of the scavengers, some more than most. "This is a time that should be about unity, not conflict," Rush continued. "We've got enough of that when we're fighting those masked bandits that take what's ours. This is our home, all of us. We've all lost much to the Highwaymen. It's up to us to make sure that doesn't happen anymore. So what do you all say? Can you play nice until the Highwaymen are gone for good?"

The scavengers and peggies exchanged several glances at each other before they all looked back at Rush and nodded. Rush smiled. "Alright then. Now how about we get back to work?" he advised. The group then dispersed and went back to their duties on completing the repairs and upgrades for Prosperity's walls.

Rush then turned back to Kim, who looked impressed with what he had accomplished. "I sure am glad that you're on our side. We need someone with a stern voice like you to help us succeed."

Rush chuckled at the praise he was getting from the co-leader of Prosperity. "I want to do the best I can now, but what I want is to make sure people can survive without me. It's what I've been doing for all the other settlements I built up along the west coast."

Kim nodded. "Wish we had you before the Collapse. We could've used you to help prepare for the worst. Granted, we weren't without someone to lead us." Her smiles disappeared as soon as she stopped talking.

Rush picked up on this. "You ok?" he asked in concern.

Kim sighed. "Yeah, just remembering an old friend," she paused, memories flooding back. "Before the Collapse, there was a deputy in the Hope County Sheriff's Department. His partners were all captured, but he got away. It was he who helped us when we needed it the most. He was there when the fight needed to be taken to Joseph and the Project at Eden's Gate. He was also there when Carmina was born. He was a selfless soul who always cared for others. Nick and I named him her godfather. But he never got to be one, though."

Rush saw tears well up in Kim's eyes and grew increasingly concerned for his friend and increasingly interested in this tale she was telling. "What happened to him?" he asked hesitantly.

Kim wiped the tears from her eyes. "As soon as the bombs dropped he headed his way with his partners, and Joseph in handcuffs when the bombs started to fall. Then many years later Joseph resurfaced and built New Eden from the ashes of his old Project. I haven't seen the deputy since. Some think he's dead, but I like to believe that he's still out there somewhere. Though I sometimes wonder, if he's still out there, why hasn't he found us yet? And why hasn't he let us find him?"

Rush sighs. He had faced loss before, and he didn't want Kim to be filled with false hope. "Look, a lot has happened over the years, a lot of stuff that some people can't come back from or live through. But we're still here now, and if this deputy is anything like you've told me, he's still out there somewhere. But, in the off chance that he didn't make it, be prepared for the worst."

Kim nodded. She lost a lot of friends over the years. She was prepared to let go of them, but the deputy was a different story. In her heart, he was still out there, but she couldn't hold on to hope forever. Then again, the deputy has done so much for her and the rest of Hope County, it was difficult to keep him out of her thoughts.

Kim snapped out of her deep thought as she heard the sound of the gates opening. Through the gates walked Marcus, Gina, and the Judge. Kim was happy to see her friend's home safe after capturing an occupied outpost, but what caught her eye was the Judge clutching his stomach with a blood-soaked glove. She grew worried and immediately gasped. "Are you guys alright?" she asked in deep concern.

Marcus nodded, putting his gear down to rest. "Yeah, overall we're fine. Some of us got injured, but nothing we can't handle," he replied, earning a look from the Judge who had a bullet in him.

Rush came up to the group. "I take it the farm outpost is now in our hands?" he asks.

Gina nodded this time. "For now at least," she said pessimistically. "It won't be long until the Twins strike back after knowing how much they've lost."

"And where are we on dealing with that?" Rush asked, concerned about the Twins' reactions to being hit by Prosperity and New Eden.

"We have a lead, of sorts," Marcus answered with slight uncertainty. "The Highwaymen we captured at the Pantry told us about a Highwayman grunt named Irwin who claims to be close to the Twins. I feel like we should look into that, but Gina has her doubts about him."

Rush thought about the name Marcus had given him, as it had rung a bell or two. "I know the name. The Highwaymen that captured me didn't think too highly of him, said that he's always talking shit. But it's all we've got to go on so I say we at least make an ally within those bandits."

"In the meantime," Kim interjects. "I think we should rest for our next move." She then looks at the Judge. "That goes for you too. Why don't you go see Selene and see if she can do anything about that wound of yours?" she offered. However, the Judge just shook his masked head.

"I think he'll be fine, Kim," Marcus assured. "I've seen him recover from worse, believe it or not." Kim looked at the Judge, who gave her an affirmative nod.

Marcus then noticed something when he was looking at Kim, the remnants of fresh tears in her eyes. "Kim, are you ok? You've been crying, haven't you?"

Kim widened her eyes at how perceptive the Captain was. "Oh yeah, I'm fine," she assured. "I was just telling Rush about an old friend of mine."

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" Gina asked, partly out of concern, mostly out of boredom.

"Well," Kim began. "I'm not sure how much you know about Hope County before the Collapse, but there was this Deputy that helped us fight against the Project at Eden's Gate."

Marcus nodded his head. He had heard about the Deputy before. Some people compared him to this deputy, how he was helping this county and its people. Something tells him that he was never going to amount to what this deputy had accomplished, but he was happy to be a symbol of hope for the people of Hope County.

"We were talking about how we shouldn't give up hope that there's a chance we'll find him someday, but we also should prepare for the worst."

The Judge listened to what Kim said and lowered his head, reminding him that his previous life had not been forgotten. He walked away and let the "sinners" speak to themselves.

Gina picked up on the Judge's reaction, finding it strange that he walked away as soon as this deputy was brought up. She wanted to confront him about that reaction but knew to leave well enough alone. She decided to ignore him for now, but she will not forget.

Marcus could tell that the Deputy was a subject that Kim didn't like to talk about, so he decided not to pry into it. Just then, he heard the gates open behind him and saw Timber barking loudly. Behind the dog, he noticed Hunter and Carmina, with the young man being helped walk through the gates. He also noticed that Hunter's side was covered in blood.

"What the hell happened?" he asked the two teens.

"Where's Selene? We need her!" Carmina called out as she helped Hunter limp into the compound.

"Unfortunately Selene's busy tending to some prisoners busy tending to some prisoners Jerome and Nana brought back not long ago," Rush informed, running over to examine Hunter.

"Jerome! Get out here now!" Kim yelled out for Jerome.

The old pastor bolted out of the medical wing of Prosperity at the call of his name. He widened his eyes when he saw Hunter injured and immediately hurried over to him. "What in God's name happened?" he asked as he took Hunter's other arm carefully over his shoulder.

"Ah!" Hunter cried in pain as his wound was agitated slightly. "It was a cougar," he answered.

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "A cougar?" he asked, slightly not believing what he heard. "I thought you killed pretty much every predator in Hope County?"

Carmina shook her head. "This wasn't a regular cougar by any means," she replied, slightly shaken up from the sight of the cougar that was fresh in her mind.

Kim picked up on her daughter's fear. She had rarely seen Carmina so scared. There were only a couple of things she was truly afraid of: the thought of losing her friends and family and the Twins. Now it seems that there was one other thing to add to that list.

She laid a hand on Carmina's shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked in deep concern.

Carmina then looked to her mother with tears in her eyes. "No, Mom, I'm not alright. I almost lost Hunter again and I could barely do anything to stop it. That thing took shots and kept on coming."

Rush grew increasingly curious as to what attacked them. He helped Jerome to sit Hunter down so that they can tend to his wounds. "You don't think the Highwaymen have been having their way with the cougars of this county, do you?" he asked. "I've seen what they do to dogs, but I've never heard of them taming cougars like that before."

Carmina shook her head again. "No way the Highwaymen could come up with something like this. It was from another world." She paused to think clearly about what the cougar was like. "It's almost like it had armored skin, mostly covered in moldy stone. I know it sounds weird, but I swear it's the truth."

Marcus suddenly froze, as that description reminded him of something he'd rather not think about. It was when he was tested for being worthy of New Eden's gift when he fought his soul in the form of a monstrous bear. "So, how'd you kill it?' he asked, curious for answers.

Before Carmina could answer, Hunter, grunted as Jerome was tending to his wound. "I managed to plunge my knife into its heart." He pulled out his knife. "For some reason, there was a glowing spot on its chest. It's like a pulsing weak spot signaling itself to us. It was weird, but it died almost instantly."

Marcus's fears had just been confirmed. For some reason, the bear he fought in that dream wasn't really a dream. Those demons were real and they can take the forms of other animals than bears. Though something tells him that the rest of the gang won't believe him if he were to tell him about his vision, so he decided to keep that a secret for now.

"Well, whatever it was," Marcus began. "We should be lucky that we're all still here. But if we run into any more of those things again, we should let everyone know where they are weakest, the glowing spots." He walks up to Hunter and pats him on his uninjured shoulder. "Nice work, kid," he said. "I bet even expert hunters couldn't kill that thing if they tried," Hunter smirked, suddenly filled with some slight pride.

Rush got up from helping Hunter. "I'll get on the radio and inform our scouts of what we've learned. The last thing we need is for more of our people to go missing because of some freak of nature," he tells the group. Marcus nods and goes over to the medical building to check on Selene, to see if she's available now.

Unfortunately, Marcus found that Selene was still busy at work, tending to all of the prisoners that Jerome and Nana had liberated. Before he could deliver the news to Hunter, Jerome held his hand up and said. "I've got this, Captain. I've tended to Hunter's injuries many times over the years. I just need some supplies to get to work."

Marcus nodded. "Alright, I'll see if Selene can spare anything," he said before heading back to the medical wing once again. This time, however, he returned with a medical kit, filled with basic medical supplies.

"Here you go Jerome," Marcus handed the supplies to Jerome which he accepted.

Pleased with the supplies he's just received the pastor took these supplies back to Hunter to help with his wounds.

"Come on let's go to your room where I can do this without any distractions," Jerome said.

Hunter nodded then grabbed Jerome's shoulder to get himself up. Jerome brought Hunter up to his room and then sat him on his bed.

"OK let's see that wound, remove the bandage on your arm," Jerome instructed.

"Alright," Hunter nodded, he raised his bandaged arm and proceeded to undo the bandage on his arm revealing the blood-covered claw marks on his arm. He grabbed Hunter's arm and took a close look at the wound, the claws cut deep into the skin so they needed to be stitched up. However, The wound was still bleeding but only a little, so the first thing to do was clean the wound then disinfect it.

Jerome opened up the medical kit next to him then pulled out a bottle of alcohol and a cloth. Alcohol would clean and disinfect the wound, however, it would sting but Hunter was prepared. Jerome poured alcohol onto the rag and looked up at Hunter.

"Just do it, Jerome," Hunter suddenly said, stopping Jerome from saying anything.

"OK," Jerome nodded, then placed the rag on the bloody wound. When the rag made contact with Hunter's skin he didn't wince in pain, he simply closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose. Jerome moved the rag softly on the wound It only took a minute to clean the wound

"Hmm, this mysterious cougar that attacked you and Carmina got you good," Jerome said.

Hunter scoffed then chuckled a little, and pulled out his knife in front of Jerome. "Yeah, but I got the best of it,"

Jerome chuckled, "I can tell,"

Hunter put away his knife just as Jerome finished cleaning his wound. With the wound now cleaned the next thing to do was stitch up the cuts. Jerome put the alcohol and rag back in the medical kit, then pulled out a sewing needle and some threads. "Now the fun part starts," Jerome said…

"Whoopie!" Hunter cheered sarcastically in a sarcastic manner, raising his good arm in the air.

Jerome placed the needle onto the edge of the first cut then began to close up the cuts on Hunter's arm. As Jerome stitched up the cuts on Hunter's arm he couldn't stop thinking about how badly this could've played out. This is twice already that Hunter has almost died from an animal attack. The little Rook has always been lucky most of the time when it comes to fighting but with the Highwaymen likely to retaliate against their recent attacks against them soon and these mysterious/dangerous new animals that the teens have said that appearing in Hope County luck won't be enough to save Hunter. Jerome made a promise to Jess to keep Hunter safe and he wasn't gonna break that promise.

"Alright, those cuts should heal in a few weeks," Jerome finished sewing the cuts on Hunter's arm then bandaged the wound.

"Thanks," When he finished bandaging Hunter looked up at Jerome and noticed that he was thinking about something.

"Jerome," Hunter spoke, snapping Jerome out of his thoughts.

"What?" Jerome raised his head to look at his adopted son.

"Dude, I can tell you have something on your mind right now. What is it?" Hunter asked.

Both of them could always tell when either of them had something on their mind, and they were good at knowing when either of them needed to be talked to.

"Yeah...yeah I do," Jerome admitted. "Hunter... I've been thinking that...this is the second time you've been attacked and almost died from an animal attack. Not only that but Carmina could've gotten hurt as well, it seems that the forests are getting too dangerous to hunt in,"

Hunter nodded in understanding at Jerome's concerns, he feared for Carmina's life and everyone else's in Prosperity too. "Yeah, but don't worry the two of us and Timber are just fine...mostly," Hunter said, gesturing to the cuts on his arm and leg.

"I know, but I made a promise to look after you and I don't want to see you get hurt again like you did from that bear attack. So...I've decided that I shouldn't allow you to hunt anymore for the time being," Jerome said.

"What!" Hunter yelled out, shooting up from his bed, but instantly regretting it when his leg jolted in pain, making him fall to the floor.

Jerome quickly sat up from Hunter's bed and helped him off the floor, sitting him back up in his bed. "Are you ok?" Jerome asked with his voice filled with concern for Hunter.

Hunter groaned a little before nodding, "Yeah, just my leg hurts,"

"Let's get that leg patched up," Jerome suggested. "Prop your leg up and let's see the wound, then we can talk about this,"

Doing as he was just told to do Hunter placed his leg on the mattress and raised the pant sleeve then removed the bloody bandage showing the claw marks on his leg. Jerome examined the wound and saw that the claw marks on his leg weren't as bad as the ones on his arm. The mutant cougar luckily didn't cut deep enough to need any stitches. After cleaning and bandaging the wound on his leg, both of them stayed silent until Hunter spoke up breaking the silence. "Jerome,"

"Yeah?"

"Were you serious about me being forbidden to hunt?" Hunter asked, in an incredulous tone.

Jerome nodded, although he showed a little hesitation. "Yes I am, Hunter, I know you love Hunting but the forests are growing too dangerous to have any of our people just wander into them. And you mean a lot to many of us here to see you get hurt again or worse."

Hunter could understand Jerome's concern for his life and the lives of Prosperity and he deeply appreciated it. But...hunting meant more to Hunter than just providing food to his home. His Mom, Jess was a huntress and a great one at that. Hunting was a way that Hunter could feel close to his mom other than having her knife and despite the fact that he wants to meet her.

"But I...I...I..." Hunter tried to protest but kept stammering. As much as he wanted to protest against Jerome, he couldn't argue with the fact that he just wanted to protect his godson. "Ugh...fine," Hunter groaned.

The pastor placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "I know you don't like it but right your skills should be put to use in fighting the Highwaymen and freeing our home. And besides, food isn't a problem at the moment since Marcus, Gina, and the peggies just captured a food outpost,"

"Yeah," Hunter nodded in understanding. "But Jerome I don't fear death,"

"I know you don't, Hunter," Jerome sighed then said. "While it's an admirable thing, it can also make you reckless...I just don't want to see you throw your life away for me or anyone else,"

"Why not? You would do the same for me," Hunter opposed.

Jerome nodded. "I know, but Hunter, you're only sixteen and you've still got the rest of your life ahead of you. There are still many things that you have to do in your life. God has a plan for you, I don't claim to know it, but it's certainly not to just die at the hands of the Highwaymen,"

Hunter processed Jerome's words, he had a point; he was still pretty young and there were things that he could still do with his life. Hunter wasn't much into religion despite being raised by a Pastor but he always thought that God had a plan for him however he didn't claim to know what his plan was either. He simply nodded at Jerome's words then said. "Thanks, Jerome, but if you or anyone I care about is ever in danger then I will always run to help them because in Hope County we protect our own,"

Jerome couldn't help but smile at Hunter's words, as reckless as he was sounding right now his words reminded him of his mom and dad. Once again Hunter proves to the old pastor that he is just as selfless as his dad Jake and as stubborn as his mom Jess were. "Heh, heh, heh, you never seem to stop reminding me of your parents, Hunter, you sound a lot like them," Jerome chuckled lightly.

Again, Hunter's face frowned in sadness at the mention of his birth father, as Jerome knows his parents are a subject Hunter isn't comfortable talking about. "Jerome...you know I'm not comfortable talking about my parents,"

"I know," Jerome nodded in understanding of Hunter's discomfort with the subject of his birth parents. "But, you are like them in so many ways. Your parents were always willing to risk his life for others and when I look at you I see that same bravery and courage inside you," Jerome said, placing his index finger on Hunter's chest where his heart is. "It makes me happy to see how much you've grown from an infant to the strong young man you are now, it makes me proud,"

Hunter's frown slightly turned into a smile because of Jerome's kind words. Hunter then wrapped his arms around the old pastor. "Thanks, Jerome, I appreciate that," he said, then his slight smile faded back into a frown behind Jerome's back. The subject of his parents depressed him in more ways than one. Not only did he never really meet them, but Carmina was still in the dark about who they were. He made her a promise that he wouldn't hide anything from her again, since revealing what happened between him and the Judge.

Jerome noticed that Hunter had a guilty look in his eyes. "Um...Are you OK Hunter because you seem a little guilty about something?"

"It's nothing, Jerome," he stammered, mentally cursing himself for making it look so obvious that something was wrong.

But the old pastor saw right through Hunter's lie. "Hunter…" he trailed with mild disappointment in his tone.

Hunter sighed, realizing that he made it worse for himself by lying to Jerome. He swallowed his pride and began to spill his guts. "It's uh, Carmina," he admitted.

Jerome got more curious. "What about her?" he asked. Before Hunter could answer, his mind got some ideas. "She's not pregnant already, is she?"

Hunter then blushed furiously. "What?! Hell no!" He shamefully answered. "We haven't even...you know…" he trailed with a firm blush on his cheeks.

Jerome laughed heartily. "I'm just messing with you, son," he assured.

Hunter groaned. "That's not funny," he pouted.

Jerome only shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I thought it was pretty funny." He knew enough was enough and quit with the embarrassment. He then thought back to what he originally wanted to say and then grew serious. "So what are you worried about Carmina for?"

Hunter sighed and thought back to what he was going to tell Jerome. "Well, you remember that night we came back from New Eden? When we brought the Judge and Ellie back with us?"

Jerome nodded. "Yeah, that was the night that you revealed what really happened when you were attacked by that bear." Hunter nodded affirmatively.

"Well, it turns out that Carmina took the fact of me lying more seriously than everyone else. She felt hurt from what I didn't tell her. She confronted me later that night."

Jerome now felt guilty that he was making Hunter pour these feelings out.

"We were able to patch things up, but I made a promise to Carmina that I wouldn't lie to her again, and I want to keep that promise I really do. After all, I love her and I would never want to betray her trust. But...I haven't told Carmina the truth about my parents," Hunter admitted.

Now Jerome saw the problem. He wanted to give Hunter a simple answer to his problem, but given the circumstances, he didn't think that was possible this time. "I will admit that you're in a tough spot and you're right to share this with me," He began while thinking of a way to help his godson.

"It's not that I don't want to tell her, I really do but I'm afraid that if I do then it will change the way she thinks about me, and I don't want to be treated any differently than anyone else here," Hunter said.

"I understand why you're so conflicted, Hunter," Jerome said. "But remember, it's not just Carmina you're keeping that secret from. Think about the rest of Prosperity."

Now Hunter felt even more pressure upon thinking about the rest of his family and friends who didn't know who his parents were. "Thanks for reminding me," he said sarcastically. "So what do I do? I don't want anyone looking at me differently, but the guilt of keeping this from Carmina is killing me on the inside."

Jerome knew how Hunter was feeling. He too had to keep this secret from everyone on the word of his mother. He honestly didn't know what to do, and that hurt him more than anything. He took no pride in lying to everyone, but he owed a lot to Jake. "The way I see it, Hunter, you have two paths before you."

Hunter then looked at Jerome with serious curiosity. Then Jerome continued his advice. "One path is to continue the way things are and keep your secret. The other path is, to tell the truth, and lift the burden from your shoulders. One path leads you to the possibility of the others, including Carmina, looking at you differently. However, the other leads to the possibility of Carmina and the others finding out in a different way, which would make you and me seem like people who can't be trusted and would destroy our cherished bonds. The way I see it, Hunter, the right path to choose is obvious. It won't be the easiest one, but I believe it will be worth it in the end."

Hunter took in the wisdom of the man who raised him, suddenly feeling less conflicted.

Jerome then looked back to the medical kit that he used to patch Hunter up, and put what was left back inside it. As soon as he was done packing things up, the door to Hunter's room suddenly opened. The Teen and the pastor turned and saw Kim coming in. "Oh hey Kim," Hunter greeted.

Kim smiled at the sight of Hunter doing better, "How are you feeling Hunter?"

"Sure as hell better than compared to the last animal attack I experienced," Hunter answered.

Jerome got up from Hunter's bed and turned to face Kim, "Hello Kim, is there anything we can do for you?"

Kim nodded, "Yeah, Selene needs some help with the Infirmary with the prisoners you rescued, and I need to talk to Hunter for a minute...alone,"

"Alright," Jerome turned back to Hunter. "The cut on your arm will heal in a couple of weeks, but your leg will be just fine in a day,"

"Thanks, Jerome," Hunter thanked Jerome departed from Hunter's room, closing the door behind him. Now that they were alone Kim then went over to Hunter and sat down next to him on his bed.

First Kim looked at Hunter's bandages seeing his patched-up wounds. "It's good to see you're doing better," Kim said.

"Yeah," Hunter nodded then asked. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

Kim gathered her thoughts before speaking to Hunter. "I spoke with Carmina and she's not happy with how things have turned out today."

Hunter nodded. "Neither am I, but at least she's not the one who got clawed by a mutant cougar,"

Kim nodded in return. "Yeah, about that…" she trailed.

Hunter grew curious as to where Kim was going with this. "What is it? Carmina's not hurt, is she?" he asked, fearful for his girlfriend's wellbeing.

Kim shook her head. "No, she's fine but she's upset about what happened,"

"What? Why would she be upset?" Hunter asked, surprised to hear that Carmina's upset over something that was out of their control.

Kim sighs. "I guess she's upset that she was in the middle of everything and couldn't do much about it." she paused, reminiscing about the war with Eden's Gate before the Collapse. "I know what she's going through. I was in the same position before the Collapse when we were at war with Joseph's people."

"Yeah, but you were pregnant," Hunter reasoned. "There wasn't much you could physically do. You were doing the right thing by not fighting,"

Kim nodded. "I know, but I couldn't help but feel like there was something I could do. I helped out when I could and how I could, but it wasn't enough for me. I'd watch time and time again where my husband and my closest friends were out fighting and getting hurt or worse, and I was at home. It's a stupid thing to be mad about, but still."

Hunter nodded this time. "I understand that too. I got hurt by that damn bear and I couldn't contribute when so many others were working hard. Now here I am again, being dead weight."

Kim shook her head. "You're not dead weight," she assured. "You just need some time to rest and you can get back to help out, though I do advise taking things slow when you do. Now that we have these demon animals out there, the wilds of Hope County have gotten a lot more dangerous."

"Yeah," Hunter agreed. "Let's hope they take out a few of those Highwaymen while they're at it."

Kim smiled at Hunter and saw that his fire was as bright as ever. "Anyway, I heard you and Jerome talking."

"Oh yeah?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow. "What did you hear?"

"Well, I didn't hear much of it since I grew up on the belief that snooping around was wrong," she began. "But I did hear the word 'pregnant' and I saw you get flustered. So I'll ask you: did you impregnate my daughter?"

For the second time in ten minutes, Hunter's face lit up with a fierce blush. "Absolutely not! Nothing like that happened between us! I promise!" Hunter blushed when he heard and saw Kim laughing in his face, probably some joy adults get when embarrassing children. "If I ever wanted to take that step with Carmina, I will ask you and Nick for permission."

Kim ceased her laughing when she heard Hunter say that. She knew he was a good kid, an honest kid. "I believe you, Hunter. But let me be clear. If you ever sleep with my daughter without permission, you won't live to regret it." Hunter had to admit. Kim knew how to be scary when it counted because he was very terrified of her at this moment. "You know Kim when Nick threatens people it doesn't scare them, but when you do it you terrify the living shit out of people,"

Kim laughs. "I take that as a compliment," she said.

"Look Kim can you please get to the point of why you needed to talk to me?" Hunter asked, practically begging to change the subject.

"Oh right," Kim nodded then she got to the point of why she came here in the first place. "Look, Carmina is very beat up about what happened to you. Me and Nick have tried to comfort her, but she's not listening to us, but maybe she may respond better to you,"

Hunter looked at Kim with confusion on his face. "What makes you and Nick think she'll take my word better than her own parents?"

"Well, Carmina spends most of her time with you and you're her best friend and boyfriend. If there's anyone who she can vent to that's not her parents, it's you." Kim's words echoed in Hunter's head. "Besides, Jerome always told me that you can comfort people when they're at their worst."

"Yeah, that's true," Hunter nodded. "Alright, I'll talk to her after I rest this leg up a little because it's really hurting at the moment,"

"Thank you," Kim gave Hunter a quick hug then left Hunter's room to allow Hunter to rest up. The Rye Matriarch felt better knowing that Hunter would talk to her daughter and do his best to cheer her up. If she couldn't help her daughter then Hunter may have a much better chance.

---

After returning to Prosperity, the Judge heard something that he would rather not think about. He didn't want to stick around and hear anymore, so he decided to leave and hunt to clear his head. It was bad enough being with his old friends again after everything that had happened to them over the years, but now Kim brought up his past life as a Deputy, which brought him to the question he had been asking himself for a while now: should he reveal himself?

He held a strong loyalty to New Eden and the Father after everything he's done for him; shield him from the Collapse, comfort him when he fell into despair, give him a new purpose, and so on. He promised himself and Joseph that he would leave his old life behind, but his old life was now catching up to him. His old friends had also done a lot for him in the time before the Collapse. They cheered for him and protected him, fought and bled for him. They were there when the times were toughest against Eden's Gate, and they almost saw it to the end together. Now they were fighting another enemy, which is hoped to lead to a happier ending. He just wanted this war with the Highwaymen to end so there can be peace for both New Eden and Prosperity.

The Judge heard some rustling in the trees and bushes around him. He paused and used his senses to search for anything out of the ordinary. The animals were making no noise, meaning they had all scurried away. There can be only one reason for that: the presence of an apex predator.

Suddenly, the Judge heard an unmistakable sound of an arrow being released from a bow. He was able to turn around and catch the arrow with his right hand before it struck him but was unable to see another arrow coming right at him. Unfortunately, he was unable to catch this one and the arrow pierced his left shoulder.

Grunting in pain, he dropped the arrow that was in his right hand and used it to pull out the arrow currently lodged in his shoulder. He was able to pull it out, the bleeding wasn't too severe, but there was something else wrong. He started to feel weak, his vision became distorted and his limbs felt mysteriously heavier by the second. Suddenly the Judge's legs went numb and he couldn't stand so he fell to his knees, he tried to stand up but his legs weren't moving, and he was using all of his strength to keep himself up with his arms.

As he was too preoccupied with trying to regain motor functions in his body, he did not notice the assailant responsible for the toxic arrow emerging from the brush. The figure seemed to be female from what he could gather, as they seemed to move like a shadow. His senses were interrupted by the feeling of a hard first slamming into his masked face.

The Judge grunted as he collapsed onto the ground on his back. However, the attacker did not let up, as they followed their first punch with a set of increasingly hard and anger-fueled strikes. For about five minutes the Judge suffered hit after hit with the assailant showing little signs of stopping or slowing down. He found it a miracle that his mask had not been cracked yet. Then again, he did suffer great pain from the mask being forced deeper into his face with every hit.

The attacker panted heavily as they began to slow down on their punches, inevitably leading to them stopping for the moment. The sound of them breathing confirmed the Judge's thoughts as them being female. He wondered what kind of woman other than a Chosen can have a chance of beating him this badly.

The woman, whose face was covered by a bandana and hood combo, looked him dead in the eyes. "You know, beating the shit out of you brought me a joy I haven't felt in a long time," she began. She pulled out a blade from her belt, which the Judge found finely crafted given the materials available. She firmly held the knife in her hands. "But nothing's gonna be more satisfying than watching you dying at my feet."

Anyone would be frightened at the thought of being threatened by a knife-wielding lunatic, but not the Judge. The thing he was disturbed about was the fact that the woman's voice sounded so familiar. He knew he heard her voice somewhere, but he just couldn't place it.

"Don't bother praying to your Father," she said. "He'll be joining you in Hell soon enough." Venom was shot with every word she spat as she held the knife upside down, about to plunge it into the Judge's heart.

He knew that this was going to be the end of him if he did not tap into the power gifted to him from Eden. He called upon the power lurking deep inside him and began to feel the strength in his body return. He clenched his right fist.

"This is for-" The woman never finished her sentence as the Judge quickly grabbed the archer by the throat and picked her up off the ground. The woman began to choke as the pressure on her throat from the Judge's amplified strength threatened to end her life.

The Judge, now up and ready to end this fight, leaned his head closer to the woman's face to the point where her nose was almost touching his mask. He spoke only one word in response to her threats and strikes. He said, "No," in defiance.

With his free hand, he punched the attacker in the face multiple times before slamming her onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

With the mysterious archer incapacitated the Judge wanted to learn who it was who's been trying to kill him. She certainly had some balls in thinking that she could best the Judge especially after failing in many attempts. However, he had to admit that it was very brave of this woman to try, not many would have such courage to try and take him on and she fought with very impressive skill and cunning.

Just then something occurred to him.

The way this archer fought was very familiar like he's seen it before. But he didn't know many women (outside of New Eden) who possessed such skills with archery and knife combat…except for one. Suddenly the Judge's mind was bombarded with flashes of memories of one Huntress he fought beside so long ago who fought with such ferocity. Someone who he was very close to, a violent soul but she was more to him, she was the first woman he could ever truly love.

Suddenly the Judge found himself with a realization as to who this archer may be.

"It...can't...be." The Judge let out. He shook his head trying not to believe what his conscience was telling him. There was no way that it was possible that it was her, not after so long but the only way to know for sure was to unmask her. Needing to know he grabbed the archer and sat her up in front of a tree. He then raised his hand slowly to her bandana and removed it.

As soon as he saw the archer's face his eyes widened letting out a loud gasp. The shock made him fall on his butt followed by moving back a little. This didn't seem real but it was. In front of him, sitting in front of a tree, unconscious was the Huntress, Jess Black herself…

"No...no no no no no no no no!" The Judge got back up and went back over to the unconscious Huntress, not believing that this woman was the one he fell in love with all those years ago. He shook his head, looking at his hands. He felt dirty upon realizing that he assaulted his past lover in such a way, and vice versa. Despite belonging to a new family now, he couldn't bring himself to finish her off. So he began to walk away, back to Prosperity. Before leaving, he picked up one of Jess's arrows, the one that had been tipped with whatever poison she was using, and left for the settlement.

After about ten minutes, the Judge was long gone and the master huntress of Hope County slowly regained consciousness. She groaned and held her head and throat, as both were still aching from the Judge's attacks.

Upon realizing that she was awake, she began to inspect her body for any more injuries, fatal injuries. She found none, which left her with more questions than answers. Why would the Judge, Joseph's most trustworthy killer, let her live despite the many attempts on his life? "Something's not right," she said to herself. She grabbed her bow and began to limp back to her camp. "Whatever that motherfucker's hiding, I'll pry it out of him."

---

Back at Prosperity in the Main Room Carmina sat on the couch staring at the fireplace with her legs curled up in front of her. It's been a while since the two came back and Carmina hasn't said much and hasn't even moved from the couch. Timber was laying down right beside him, comforting his companion allowing her to pet him but with no success. She's really been upset about what happened to Hunter and she can't seem to stop blaming herself for not being able to help Hunter. She couldn't even help herself when the cougar was going for her, it was thanks to Timber that she wasn't hurt.

This is the second time that Hunter's almost died of an animal attack and she could do nothing to help him. She felt so weak right now, if she couldn't help Hunter how the hell could she even help fight the Highwaymen?

"Carmina," The sudden break of silence made Carmina jump back on the couch a little bit, letting out a quick gasp. She quickly turned her head and saw Hunter standing behind her wearing a different outfit than the one from earlier. Seeing that it was Hunter, Carmina let out a sigh of relief and sat back on the couch.

Carmina groaned at Hunter's sneakiness, "Ugh Hunter, don't sneak up on me like that,"

"Sorry Carmina," Hunter apologized while chuckling a little bit. He went over to Carmina and took a seat next to her on the couch, then turned to Timber. "Hey boy,"

Hunter petted for a moment then gave him a light push, "Go outside and play Timber,"

With that Timber got off so Hunter could sit next to her. Then the dog ran out of the room so the teens could talk in private. Now that Timber was gone Hunter turned to face Carmina. "Hey, Carmina,"

"Hey Hunter," Carmina greeted, then glanced at Hunter's bandages. "I see you're doing better,"

Hunter nodded. "Yeah, Jerome managed to stitch my cuts. My arm will need a while to heal, but my leg is just fine. However, I heal fast so I'll be okay."

"That's good to hear," Carmina said, then looked at Hunter's new clothes. "So, you changed your clothes,"

"Yeah, my others got stained in cougar blood and mine as well so I decided to put on some fresh clothes," Hunter explained.

"Oh right,"

An awkward silence followed for a moment, then Hunter decided to get to the point.

"So, Kim spoke to me earlier…" Hunter began. "She's really concerned about you and she thought that I should talk to you since it seems like you're not gonna open up to her or Nick about this,"

Carmina sighs and begins to get up from the couch, but Hunter grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Oh no, you don't. You're gonna tell me what's wrong and you're gonna tell me now," Hunter demanded.

She sighs again and sits back down, causing Hunter to let go of her hand. She pondered on how to say her thoughts for a minute or two before taking a breath. "I used to think that I was useful in times like these. I like to think that I can protect those who mean the most to me, but from what we went through earlier, it goes to show that I can't."

Hunter shook his head. "Carmina…" he began, but was cut off by Carmina continuing to vent her feelings.

"Well, it's true! If it wasn't for Timber, you could've been hurt a lot worse than you were!" Tears began to fall from her eyes at this point.

"Carmina!" The Rye daughter was shocked at Hunter raising his voice at her. "You know I love you, but I have never heard so much bullshit come out of your mouth before."

Hunter put his arms on Carmina's shoulders. "You are a Rye and Rye's are tough as nails and never give up. What happened was something almost no one has lived through to tell about it. The fact that you got out of it unscathed was nothing short of a miracle, which is more than I can say for me. You did your best and that's all that I can ever ask for. So what if you couldn't do much then? We didn't know anything about these creatures before, and now we do. So in case this happens next time, we'll have a better chance of coming out with fewer scars."

Carmina couldn't hold it in anymore and threw her arms around Hunter and started to weep into his chest. "I was so scared that I would lose you! I was afraid that I couldn't save you!"

"I know," Hunter said comfortingly, rubbing Carmina's back. "I was scared too, but fear isn't always a bad thing. Fear can teach us lessons that we need to survive and get stronger."

Carmina lifted her head out of Hunter's chest and looked up at him. "Yeah, but you almost never let fear get to you! I wish I could do that sometimes."

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, but it's not as easy as you think. Like...when that bear attacked me and was close to killing me I wasn't afraid of death I was afraid of not seeing the people I care about again, that was a time when fear broke through."

The awkward silence returned soon enough when both of the teens got their feelings out. The tears stopped falling shortly after Hunter finished. "Wow...you know I never realized how much that bear attack affected you till I saw how traumatized you really were earlier,"

"Well, I'm not made of stone, Carmina. What happened to me really rocked me to my core, I'm just glad that I had Jerome and the rest of you to help me otherwise I would've been a real mess," Hunter admitted.

Carmina nodded. "Yeah, I bet anyone would be shaken to the core from something like that." she paused, taking a breath. "Thanks for listening, Hunter."

Hunter smiled. "No problem. And hey, you had no control over what happened earlier. You can't get so worked up over something that's out of your control."

Carmina nodded. "I know," she agreed.

"Good," Hunter said. "How about we get something to eat? There's plenty of food to go around since Marcus took that outpost."

The Rye daughter nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving, especially after letting that deer go."

"Oh my god, tell me about it," Hunter groaned, realizing that he hasn't eaten all day. "Come on, let's go,"

Carmina grabbed Hunter's hand and the two went to grab some food. Hunter felt happy that Carmina was feeling better, Kim was right he just needed to talk to Carmina. He was glad he was able to cheer her up, he hated seeing her like that. Hunter immediately pushed those thoughts aside and just enjoyed the fact that Carmina was feeling better.

---

Far from the community of Prosperity in the Holland Valley at the old prison where a branch of the Resistance "The Cougars" used to operate but is now under the command of the Highwaymen. Which is the place the Highwaymen move their prisoners to put them to work. For hours every day, unfortunate souls slave over a forge making bullets for the Highwaymen to undoubtedly shoot more people. With the place practically rebuilt as a fortress, there was little to no hope for escape for these people.

In the Twins private room, Mickey and Lou were together at a table with one of their commanders discussing stuff, and looking at a map going over recent attacks, and to say that they were pissed about their enemies' recent attacks would be an...understatement.

Lou slammed her hand hard on the table. "THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT!" Lou screamed at the top of her lungs.

Mickey placed a hand on Lou's shoulder, "Lou calm down," she said, trying to calm her sister's rage. That was all but a moot point, from past experiences of Lou going on a rampage.

After punching the cement wall and leaving several cracks in it, Lou took a minute to calm down. After she collected herself she went back to the table. "Alright, I'm better now," she collected herself as she tended to her bruised knuckles.

"Great," Mickey sighed then the Twins turned back to their commander. "Now are you sure this isn't bullshit your scouts made up to mess with us?"

The commander shook his head, "My scouts know better than to lie to me, they know what happens when they spew pure bullshit in my face," He informed them. "What they say is true: In the past few days the Scavengers and those savage New Edeners have taken our communications outpost, ambushed several more of our prisoner and supply transports, and have killed a lot of my best fighters." He said then continued. "Not only that, but I just received a report that "The Pantry" has just fallen to the hands of Rush's captain, that bitch Gina, New Eden's most savage warrior The Judge, and a handful of his savages," The Commander explained.

"You mean to tell us that your men can't handle a couple of rednecks and savages?" Mickey questioned.

"My men can handle themselves just fine, but it seems your Scavengers and New Edeners have been coming up with new ways to fight us that mostly avoid fighting us face to face," He explained.

Mickey then looked at the Commander with curiosity. "Ways like how?"

The Commander sighed. "Well...I've been receiving reports that the Scavengers have been killing our first lines of defense, then their archers take out the lookouts so the guards inside don't know they're under attack. Not only that but I've been hearing that they've been taking my men's armor and using that armor to stop convoys so their savages can go in for the slaughter." The Commander immediately began to watch his tongue as he saw Lou's temper begin to resurface. The younger twin was flaring her nostrils in fury upon hearing all of this bad news.

"I say we go back to Prosperity with everything we've got. Scorch the earth to the point where there's nothing left of them! Then we move on to those freaks in the North!" She declared, slamming her fists on the desk.

"Yeah, because that really worked the last time," Mickey countered, not wanting to waste more people, especially now that Prosperity was stronger than ever. "No, we make them suffer. They're feeling pretty good about themselves right now, I bet. What we do is make them regret ever taking up arms against us."

Curious, and somewhat liking this plan of her sister's, Lou turned her attention to Mickey. "How do we do that? They don't seem to be scared of us anymore."

Mickey nodded and smiled, reaching for the intercom on the desk. "Jackson, get yo ass to the office, pronto," she ordered a particular Highwayman. She then turned back to Lou. "Those rabbits haven't seen just how scary we can be. We're gonna show 'em."

The Commander shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea to strike back so soon. Some of the men are afraid to fight at this point, and some have even left the valley." He paused after feeling Lou's anger spiking at this sudden news. "Many of the men have lost friends and family to those rabbits. They don't want to lose anymore. At this point. I'm not sure if this place is even worth the effort. Let those dirtbags have this shit hole and let's move on somewhere else?"

That was the last straw for Lou as she launched out of her seat and grabbed the commander by the throat, pushing him up against the wall that she damaged with her bare fists. "Let's get a couple of things straight here, asshole! You don't make the decisions around here! We do! And if you think we're gonna run with our tails between our legs, you've got another fuckin' thing coming!"

"Lou, let him go," she commanded, not wanting any blood to be spilled in her office. Lou looked back at her with disbelief then looked back at the commander in her grip, sighed in frustration, and let him down.

Mickey then looks back to the maps on the table. "Lou's right. We ain't running anywhere. This is our territory and we won't go down without a fight. Now there's gotta be something we can do to make these rednecks regret going up against us." She then widened her eyes as an idea entered her head, and then squinted her eyes in annoyance a second later. "Lou, I've got an idea but you're not gonna like it."

Lou was confused as to what Mickey could have in mind. But after thinking for a second or two, she had a good idea of what Mickey was thinking about. "Come on, Mickey. Anyone but him!" she pleaded, not wanting to go down this road.

"We have no choice Lou, these rabbits are ripping our men apart and the only way to defeat their fury is by giving them, even more, fury," Mickey argued, but Lou wasn't backing down.

"That man is a psychopath sis, even worse than me," Lou opposed.

"He's exactly what we need, he's smart, cold, skillful, and calculated. With him and his troops, those hippies and scavengers won't stand a fuckin' chance against us,"

Lou crossed her arms. "I don't trust him at all. I bet he's been looking for a way to take the Highwaymen from us ever since Dad died. If he sees us in the state we're in now, he's only gonna see two weak little girls who can't handle control of a gang. I ain't letting that happen."

"Well Lou I ain't seeing any other options, if you've got anything better then tell me or just shut the hell up!" Mickey exclaimed.

Lou knew when to keep her mouth shut. She knew her sister had a point. She didn't like this course of action, but she had to admit that it might help solve their problem with Hope County's locals. "Fine, but if he even looks like he's thinking of stepping us down, then we're cutting our losses."

Mickey shook her head. "He wouldn't do that, he knows better. He made a promise to Dad, remember?"

Lou remembers alright. It's been the reason he has put up with the Twin's orders for so many years. She just hopes that this decision won't come back to haunt them in the end. One thing is for certain: this little war in Hope County has just escalated...the Scavengers and New Edeners were in for a difficult fight.

---

I hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter of The New Dawn. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.