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.

23. Seed of Betrayal

It's a peaceful day in the Community of Prosperity probably as peaceful as it can be in Hope County at the moment. The valley has gone mysteriously quiet, or more specifically the Highwaymen have gone quiet. All over the valley, the Highwaymen were supposed to be doing what they did best: stealing, looting, raping, killing, etc. However, it seems that they've seemed to stop doing that, altogether. Looks like the recent defeats over their forces are making the Highwaymen pause and think.

Inside the Main building Marcus, Rush, Kim, Ellie, and Hunter were discussing the Highwaymen's sudden silence, to some it was troubling, and to others, it brought confidence and hope that they were winning. Hunter didn't have to be a part of this conversation but due to his recent injuries, he couldn't go out for a few days or so but he still wanted to be useful. Hunter's sitting down at the table, he had his feet propped up on the table and his arms crossed while the others were just standing.

"Alright, let's take a look at the big picture here," Marcus began. "From what we could gather from our scouts, the Chosen have really taken the fight to the Highwaymen, in the day as well as the night."

Ellie nodded, looking over the points on the map where the Highwaymen and the Chosen have clashed. "Many Highwaymen have died in the process. Those who didn't flee in terror, leaving us with very few casualties."

"Are you sure that what our scouts have reported about the Highwaymen is absolutely true?" Rush asked.

Marcus nodded, "Yeah, it seems that with the Highwaymen losing ground they're pulling back to the outposts in the Henbane, close to their main base,"

"And any Highwaymen that our patrols have encountered have been backing off, the same thing with the New Edeners," Kim added.

"Guess the Twins are finally learning that this is our land," Hunter guessed.

Marcus shook his head at that guess, "I don't think so, something tells me the Twins are planning something big."

Rush nodded in agreement, "You may be right, captain, the Highwaymen going quiet, it has to mean something's coming."

Marcus looked at Rush, who was visibly nervous. He didn't like that, as Rush was always calm and collected, even in the face of danger. Something didn't sit right between them. "What do you think they have in mind?"

Rush only shook his head. "I don't know, but I can guarantee it's nothing good."

"We should probably see what the Highwaymen are up to," Marcus suggested.

"I agree," Rush agreed. "I say we head to some of the outposts out east and see if any of our people noticed anything unusual around Highwaymen territory. After that, we head out on our own to see if we can pick up any of their new routines. They've gotta be changing their ways in one way or another to counter us hitting their supplies and prisoner convoys."

Kim was visibly nervous at the thought of two of their most valuable assets going out on their own to see what their enemies were up to. "Well, if you're serious about doing something like this, be extra careful. There are more things to worry about than just the Highwaymen now."

"I agree," Ellie added. "I heard about what happened the other day. These creatures you're referring to are not to be underestimated."

Marcus grew curious as to what Ellie was talking about. "You've seen animals like these before?"

Ellie nodded, fear in her eyes. "With my own eyes, and it's not something that I would prefer to do again. No one knows how these animals turned out this way. Some say it's the radiation from the Collapse, others say they're demons from another world. All I know is that they are best to be avoided. And if they can't be avoided, aim for the glowing spots on their bodies."

Marcus, Rush, and Hunter nodded, taking in Ellie's advice and planting it deep in their memories. "So what exactly can we expect in terms of what these animals look like?" Marcus asked.

Ellie thought for a moment. "I believe there are only four types of these animals with these types of afflictions. You've already seen one: the cougar. There are also bears, bison, and boars. Though I don't know if this kind of thing is limited to only those types of animals. Not many people who have seen these creatures lived to tell others about them."

Hunter, who had been listening intently at the mention of these monstrous creatures, felt his anger rise and his patience diminish. He removed his feet from the table and stared at the young Chosen warrior. "So if you knew about these things, why didn't you tell us sooner? Me and Carmina could've been better prepared against that cougar that attacked us!"

Ellie nodded, understanding Hunter's anger with nearly being killed by one of those nightmarish beasts. "I'm sorry for what you went through, but I had my reasons for not telling you at the time. For starters, I didn't think any of you would believe me. And those of us at New Eden wanted to keep this problem contained for as long as possible. They used to be isolated but thanks to the Highwaymen, that changed. Besides, there's no preparing for one of these things attacking you. They are completely unpredictable and volatile." She sighs. "But still, I am sorry. I should have told you sooner."

Now Hunter felt guilty about nearly losing his temper on Ellie, who was only doing her duty as a Chosen to keep the peace. "It's fine. As you said, there's really no preparing for something like this."

Back to Marcus and Rush, they were packing their things for their recon mission. "In any case, we'll be careful. We'll keep our distance from animals and Highwaymen alike. We'll find out what they're up to."

With that, Rush and Marcus left the room to go scouting on the Highwaymen leaving Kim alone with Hunter. Before either of them could get started on doing anything Ellie walked over to Kim. "If you need any help I'm happy to assist," Ellie offered.

Hunter smiled. "Having another person helping us can speed all this along."

Kim on the other hand did not look like she was willing to accept extra help from Ellie. Perhaps she was still adjusting to having New Edener's being so close to her home, let alone close to her daughter and Hunter. "That's a nice offer, but I really don't need any help from you, thank you," she said as politely as she could.

Even though she was attempting to be nice, Hunter and especially Ellie could hear the venom in every word she said. The shock and embarrassment on Hunter's face was obvious. He turned to Ellie and whispered to her, "Why don't you step outside? I'll talk to Kim." Ellie nodded and stepped outside the main building.

After Ellie left the building Hunter turned back to Kim with a mean look. "Kim, that was just plain rude. You didn't have to be rude to Ellie like that."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't being rude," Kim replied.

"Kim, we're not idiots, we could hear the venom behind your words. Ellie was offering to help us with these boring assignments and you just pushed her away. She's just a kid Kim, a kid who left her home to help us, and here you are treating her like a bad person. She's me and Carmina's friend. You have no right to treat her that way." Hunter said.

Kim hung her head in shame for hearing Hunter lecture her and not the other way around. He had very good points, making her think about why she acted in such a way. She always thought of herself as the mature one in the family, but she proved herself wrong just now. Had her hate and distrust of Eden's Gate driven her to the point of pushing away a young woman willing to help?

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Hunter, I didn't mean to be so rude." Kim apologized.

Hunter shrugged. "Eh, no worries, but you apologize to Ellie the next time you see her. I know you and everyone else has problems with Joseph and his followers but as we've discussed many times you have to put aside your hatred for them right now."

"I will, but let's get to work on these for now."

Hunter nodded. "Alright,"

Kim and Hunter then started working on her assignments. As they worked Hunter noticed Kim was...off. Hunter looked at Kim and noticed the huge bags underneath her eyes. She looked like she hasn't slept much in the last couple of days. "Kim, are you alright?" Hunter asked. "You seem tired,"

Kim rubbed her eyes. "I'm fine. Just haven't slept much since the attack on Prosperity."

"What?" Hunter said surprised, but not as surprised as he should've been. Since the attack on Prosperity Kim has been working nonstop in making sure that everyone is calm and collected. She's been working so hard that it seemed like she's hardly been taking care of herself.

"Kim, maybe you should get some rest, cause you look like you need it," Hunter suggested, growing concerned for Kim's well-being.

Kim shook her head in refusal. "I'm fine Hunter. Besides with everything going on, there's no time to rest,"

Kim tried to get back to work but Hunter walked over and stopped her before she could do anything.

"Kim seriously you need a break, I can take care of your duties for you. You need to stop worrying about everyone in Prosperity and start worrying about yourself for a bit. I can handle all of this for you." Hunter offered.

"Hunter, I appreciate your concern but Prosperity matters more to me than resting, caused" Kim argued. She tried to get back to work again only to be stopped by Hunter again.

"Kim, you can take a few hours to relax, we can't have you dozing off if the Highwaymen launch another attack. If you're not gonna rest then at least get off your feet and relax, please," Hunter insisted.

Seeing as how Hunter wasn't gonna take 'No' for an answer, Kim relented. "Ugh. Fine, but let me show you everything you'll need to do,"

Hunter nodded. "Alright,"

Kim showed everything that Hunter needed to do and he understood it all. When she finished she walked toward the door but turned back to Hunter. "Are you sure you can handle all this Hunter?" Kim asked, concerned that he could get overwhelmed.

"I've handled much worse things, I think I can handle all of this," Hunter said. "Just, trust me, Kim,"

Kim was uncertain about how this would play out, but she was kind of without a choice in the matter. The last thing she wanted to do was to work herself to death and leave these people without their matriarch, but she didn't feel comfortable doing nothing. Perhaps a few minutes of relaxation would change that?

Kim took a breath and sat down on the grass in the courtyard of Prosperity, planting herself in the ground and taking in the sights of all that she and the survivors of Hope County had built together. From where she was, she could see all of the different facilities in the immediate area: her husband's garage, Bean's intel center, Selene's garden, and Grace's training grounds.

She sighed in relief as she was beginning to feel the good part of sitting down and doing nothing. She feels as if she were standing for weeks on end without ever sitting down even for a minute. So finally getting off her feet felt good.

"What do we have here? Is my mom actually relaxing for once or am I just hallucinating?"

Kim blushed at the moment she realized she was being teased by her daughter. She sighed in annoyance and nodded. "Yes, but not for long. Your boyfriend talked me into sitting down for a few while he takes over."

Carmina's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates when she heard that. "Hunter take over? Now I know I'm going crazy," she joked.

Carmina looked at the Main Building then said. "I better go help out Hunter, he could use some help,"

Kim let out a small chuckle. "Typical you. You know Carmina, it seems that most of the time I see you, you're always with Hunter," she commented.

Carmina shrugged her shoulders. "What do you expect? Hunter's always had my back and I'll always have his."

"I understand that, but others would just say you're being clingy Carmina," Kim joked but Carmina didn't seem to find it humorous at all.

The young woman turned to head over to Hunter and help out with whatever duties he had to fulfill for the settlement. But before she was out of earshot, she turned around to Kim and said, "I am not clingy!" in her defense.

Kim chuckled a bit. "Carmina it's okay, I was the same way with Nick when I was dating him. There's nothing wrong with being overly attracted to somebody sometimes."

Carmina attempted to say something but she stuttered because she couldn't think of anything to say. So she just said, "I-I'm not clingy," Then went to help Hunter.

With Carmina gone Kim sat alone on the grass for a minute before someone else came up to her.

"Well well well, if I didn't know any better I'd say that Kim Rye is actually trying to relax for once," Nick said suddenly.

Kim turned in the direction of the voice and saw her husband Nick walking up to her with a surprised look and a cooler in one of his hands. Seeing Kim sitting down and doing nothing was certainly a surprise since Kim had no quit when it comes to working. Kim chuckled a bit and said. "Well don't get used to it Nick, I'm gonna relax only for a few minutes, then it's straight back to work for me,"

"Seriously?" Nick questioned as he sat down next to Kim on the bench placing the cooler next to him. "Jeez, Kim you seriously have no quit,"

"Don't expect that to change Nick," Kim replied.

Nick chuckled a bit. "I won't but it's nice to see you trying to relax, I don't think I've seen that in a very long time. It just makes me happy to see my wife actually taking a break from her duties and just taking it easy, even if it is just for a bit."

Kim nodded. "Yeah, and I admit it's nice to just sit down and take a breather than to just work,"

"Wait who's taking care of your assignments if you're not?" Nick asked.

"Hunter volunteered to take care of my assignments, so did Carmina," Kim explained.

"Really? Damn I swear, every time I see those two they're always together," Nick said.

Kim chuckled a bit. "Well, they are teenagers who are both crazy in love with each other…" she trailed.

Nick smiled in response to hearing that her daughter was in love, and with a boy, he helped raise. "Yeah, it kind of reminds you of us, doesn't it?" he asked Kim.

The Rye matriarch laughed at the memories she and Nick had together in the early years of their relationship. "I don't know. I specifically remember keeping you on a short leash."

Nick rolled his eyes, having heard that comment for many years. "Yeah, I get it. You wear the pants and I don't. Ha ha ha," he pretended to laugh. This made Kim laugh more and sighed in contentment. It felt good to her to laugh while relaxing. It took a lot off her mind.

Kim then focused her attention on the cooler filled with beer that was right next to Nick. "So what's with the cooler full of beer? Planning on getting wasted?" Kim asked, curiously.

Nick laughed at Kim's question but shook his head, as tempting as it was to want to get wasted with everything happening at the moment he had something else in mind. "Nah. I've been thinking about what Carmina said to me a few days ago about being nicer to our allies. As much as it makes my blood boil that we have to fight beside the people that tried to destroy our home so long ago I realize that Carmina's right," Nick admitted. "Right now the Peggies aren't our enemies and I have to accept that, so I thought I should apologize to the Judge for being so rude to him,"

"And where does the beer come in for that?" Kim asked.

"Well I thought that he and I could drink a few beers and maybe we could try to get to know each other better to try to come to a better understanding. Maybe we could even play some cards," Nick explained.

Kim smiled at Nick's willingness to try to put aside his hatred for Eden's Gate and learn to work alongside the peggies better. Right now, Kim wished that she could do that. As much as she wanted to, it was hard for her to put aside everything they've done in the past, but she knew that she had to. She then thought about Nick's idea. It was good that he wanted to get to know the Judge better, but there were numerous issues with his idea that she felt that she had to list out. "Nick I love that you're trying to get along with the Judge better, but I see quite a few flaws in your plan,"

She then began to list out the flaws, "One: Peggies don't drink because to them Alcohol is a sin. Two: The Judge never takes that mask off his face, and when he has to eat or drink he goes to a secluded spot so none of us can see him. And Three: He doesn't seem like somebody who you can just socialize with since he hardly seems to ever talk. Also since he's been here he's been distant from pretty much everyone here,"

Kim made some good points but Nick couldn't think of anything better that he could to try and get along with the Judge, so this is the best he can do. Nick then thought that since his wife was taking it easy she might as well have a drink. Nick reached into the cooler, pulling out a beer, and handed it to Kim. "Here Kim, you look like you could use a drink,"

Kim glanced at the beer then just sighed and accepted the beer from Nick. "Thanks,"

"Anytime, now if you excuse me I'm gonna find the Judge," Nick gave Kim a quick kiss on her cheek then got up and walked off to find the Judge.

Kim sighed and shook her head as her husband went off to find the most secretive man in Hope County. She was impressed that he was willing to socialize with some of the people of New Eden, despite everything they had done in the past. However, she had a feeling that it wouldn't be as simple as sitting down and having a beer. And this was the Judge of all people, Joseph's deadliest follower. A part of her wondered who was really behind the mask. Perhaps it was one of Jacob's Chosen from the war from seventeen years ago? Or maybe it was one of the people who resisted the Project at Eden's Gate until the world actually ended? The latter would give them a good reason to never take off the mask.

Kim shook the thought out of her head, as she felt like she was going to open Pandora's Box so to speak. She just snapped the cap off her beer and took a drink.

---

Atop the main building of Prosperity, the Judge sat on the roof doing nothing except staring down at an arrow he received from a recent fight.

The arrow resting in his hand belonged to a huntress he knew in his old life, a close friend, a trusted ally, and so much more to him Jess Black, the Huntress. All this time he thought Jess was dead along with many other people he knew before the collapse but no, she somehow survived by some miracle. However, now that he knew that she was alive he didn't feel happy or relieved, all he felt was just more pain and guilt. If Joseph was trying to test his devotion to New Eden then this is a test he's failing.

Seeing his former lover has awakened some of his buried feelings deep inside him. But it wasn't Jess alone that was awakening these feelings. Every moment he spends with his former allies in Prosperity is making his old self harder to contain. He cared deeply for his former allies, during the war he developed strong bonds with them, to him they weren't just his friends, they were family. They weren't his only family: Joseph Seed, Ellie, and New Eden was a new family he helped Joseph build from the remnants of Eden's Gate. New Eden was a family that he was willing to die to protect, but can the same be said for his former resistance allies?

Despite being with Joseph, Ellie, and New Eden longer than them he shared a very powerful bond with his former allies. Some of the memories he had of them were gone due to Ethan's torture with Jacob's old music box, but there were still many good memories he had with them in his head.

He could still feel the piercing, stinging pain in his brain from the horrendous torture caused by the oldest Seed and has now been taken over by the youngest remaining one. If he was in any position to do so, he would give Ethan a much-needed lesson in humanity. Something tells him that Ethan is a time bomb, now more than ever since Joseph has returned and named Marcus as his Shepherd. He hopes that the matter will be resolved soon, but he has his problems to be concerned about, with Jess being confirmed alive and out to kill him.

Several questions were going through his head right now: How did she survive? Why is she trying to kill me? Does she know who I am? Does she think Rook is dead? He had so many questions but very few answers. If he encounters Jess again he wonders how it will play out. Will he reveal himself to her or will he kill her to sever part of his past.

Suddenly the sound of an easily recognizable voice pulled the Judge out of his thoughts.

"Um...Judge?! Judge?! Hey Judge?! Where are you?" The Judge looked down and saw Nick Rye calling out for him. He wondered why Nick was calling out to him, but whatever it is it could be something important. He placed the arrow in his hand in his quiver then climbed down from the roof and landed right in front of the Rye.

"Oh god!" Nick jumped back in shock and fear at the Judge's sudden entrance, which caused him to lose balance and fall right on his ass. "Dude, what the Hell?!"

The Judge walked up to Nick and offered his hand to help Nick up off the ground. Nick accepted his hand and got helped up. "Jeez, don't do that!"

The Judge just let out a calm grunt and shrugged in response. He noticed something was off about Nick. He was holding something that had nothing to do with mechanics. He pointed to the cooler Nick was holding and tilted his head as if he were wondering something.

Nick picked up on this quickly. "Oh, yeah. I've been meaning to ask you something." He began, opening the cooler and exposing the bottles of Whistling Beaver beer inside. He took a bottle in his hand and offered it to the New Eden follower. "I know it's probably against what you believe in, but I was thinking about you and me sharing a drink. You know, so we can start fresh? I know I haven't been that tolerant of you or your people, and I want to see if I can change that. So how about it?"

The Judge stared at the beer bottle in Nick's hand, as Joseph Seed's most devoted followers he followed Joseph's teaching to the letter. For him to go against what Joseph has taught him would make him a sinner, that was something he vowed never to become ever again. However, there's so much guilt and pain inside him that the liquor Nick is offering was very tempting. Staring at the bottle made his heart pound, his skin sweat, and made him breathe heavily underneath his mask.

Nick started to get a bit uncomfortable with how the Judge was just staring at the beer bottle and doing nothing else. Perhaps he did make a mistake with coming up with this idea? "Uh, you gonna take it? It's starting to get warm," he advised.

Unable to resist the temptation of the liquor the Judge snatched the beer from Nick's hand, turned away from Nick, opened the bottle, lifted his mask up to his mouth, and drank the entire bottle in one go. After he finished he took a few breaths of air, put his mask back on correctly, and turned back to Nick.

Nick was seriously surprised that the Judge just drank that entire bottle of beer. He expected him to just throw it or probably just hit him with it. He chuckled and asked, "Thirsty much?"

The Judge just shook his head and let out a somewhat annoyed grunt as he gave the empty bottle back to Nick.

Nick took the bottle and put it back into the cooler. "We can save the bottles and recycle them later. Well, kind of recycle them. Sharky likes to make them into Molotovs in his spare time." The Judge let out a quiet chuckle, clearly remembering Sharky Boshaw's love of setting things on fire.

"You know, the more I think about it, the less I'm opposed to getting to know you," Nick said to the Judge. The leader of the Chosen looked at the Rye in return. "You have anything you wanna get off your chest, I'm here. Despite what Kim and Carmina might tell you, I am a good listener."

The Judge couldn't help but let out a laugh at that comment, which made Nick raise his eyebrow. He was quite sure he had never heard the Judge laugh before since he's known him. He thought for a second that maybe the walls were being broken down and the Judge could let him in. Unfortunately, the Judge wasn't going to make things that easy for him.

"It's...best...if you...don't know," the Judge spoke, almost intentionally taking breaks in between words to appear more dramatic. "It's best… if...no one knows."

Nick couldn't say that he was even more confused than he was right now, even that time Hurk told him that he and Nick went to Mars together before the bombs fell. He felt like the Judge was hiding something and he wanted to see if he could help. "Look, I don't know what it is you don't want me to know, but you don't have to do whatever this is alone. We're partners now and we help each other out."

But the Judge only shook his head. "You wouldn't...understand," he replied ominously. "None of...you would. I...wish you could." Being among his former comrades is stressing his mind toward a breaking point. It felt that in his head was a battlefield for two sides fighting for total control, and those sides were his Judge persona and his old Deputy self.

"Partner I have no idea what's going on in that head of yours but if you just open up a little maybe I could try to help you," Nick offered.

Despite part of him wanting Nick to help him, the part of him that did not want that to happen won this time. He held his head in his hands and sat down on the wooden floor.

"Okay, if you're not gonna open up, how about we try getting along?" Nick pulled a set of playing cards out of his back pocket and held them out in front of the Judge. The Judge only let out a sigh and nodded, thinking it was best for everyone if he got along with those in Prosperity.

"Great, come on I know a good place to play cards," Nick said. The Judge then got up and followed Nick.

---

Kim watched as the members of Prosperity and the New Edeners were hard at work in repairing what was left of the damage from the attack. Many of the scavengers still seemed to be uneasy about working alongside the new edeners, the same thing with them, but both groups seemed to be getting along better. It seems that Rush's speech from the other day has seemed to lower some of the tension between the two groups.

If she was gonna be honest with herself, things were working out better between the Scavengers and New Edeners than she expected. Sending Carmina back up north with Ellie and Jerome to ask Joseph Seed for help was actually a great plan. If this keeps up then there may actually be peace between the two groups. But, a small part of Kim was against being at peace with New Eden after everything they've done to her family and the people of this valley so long ago.

Although as Kim watched the scavengers and Edeners work together she had to admit that both factions weren't so different from each other. Both groups were just people who wanted to protect their homes, loved ones, and were just trying to survive in this post-apocalyptic world.

Kim was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts by the sounds of children laughing, she looked in their direction and saw children playing tag in the courtyard. If there was one thing that could make her happier than anything else, it is the sight of children playing games innocently and in peace. Something that caught Kim's eye was seeing the young chosen Ellie playing with the children, though at a handicap since she was bigger than the kids. She wasn't running as fast as the kids were, she was running slower than them on purpose so they could have fun. Kim was surprised to see her playing with the kids like this. Tag must be a popular children's game at New Eden as well.

For a peggie especially a Chosen, Ellie seemed to be connecting with the children rather well, they seemed to take a liking to her.

As Kim watched the young woman play with the children of Prosperity, she couldn't help but think about what Hunter told her earlier. Now that she had some time to cool down, she felt the need to apologize to her for her recent behavior.

"Hey, Ellie!" Kim called out.

Ellie stopped playing with the children and looked in Kim's direction. "Come here for a second. I need to talk to you."

Ellie went over to Kim. "Yes Kim, is there something you need?"

"I want to apologize for my behavior. I'm sorry for pushing you away earlier Ellie. I shouldn't have been so harsh to you, but after everything your people have done in the past...it's just hard for me to accept that we're allies with your people now," Kim explained.

Ellie simply waved Kim off. "Don't worry about it, Kim. I understand. Joseph Seed and my people have done many terrible things in the past, but that's not who we are anymore,"

"I wanna believe that, but your people have done so many terrible things that a lot of us can't ever forgive. However I shouldn't treat you like the other peggies, you weren't there and you're just a kid." Kim said.

"It's okay Kim, I'm not mad at you for your harshness, you had good reasons to be harsh," Ellie said.

Kim sighed in relief knowing now that Ellie wasn't mad at her. "Great, you know you aren't like other Chosen I've encountered. You're a kind and gentle person from what I've seen."

"Thanks," Ellie chuckled, appreciatively. "But don't underestimate me, I was trained by the Judge for years and I can fight well."

"Okay, I won't," Kim said. "You know Nick is trying to get to know the Judge,"

"Really? Well, I doubt that's gonna be easy. The Judge is very secretive to everyone, including me, even though I'm like a daughter to him." Ellie said.

"Yeah, but he has the right idea in trying to open up to him. So I should try to do the same, so do you mind if we can talk?" Kim asked.

Ellie smiled and nodded. "Go ahead, I'm open to whatever you have to ask."

"What was your life like before New Eden?" Kim asked curious to learn more about the young chosen that Carmina and Hunter have befriended. If she was gonna learn to trust her then the first thing she should do is try to get to know her.

Ellie remained silent for a second trying to remember her life before New Eden, but there wasn't much she remembered before becoming an Edener.

"Honestly New Eden's the only life I've ever really known, whatever life I may have had before New Eden or anything about my parents is just a blur, just brief memories and that's it," Ellie shrugged her shoulders.

"But is there anything you do remember before New Eden? Anything at all?" Kim asked.

Ellie thought hard on anything she remembered before her life in New Eden but that was rather difficult; she was very young when she joined New Eden but there was something she remembered. "All I remember before New Eden is that my parents and I arrived in Hope County years ago searching for a place to call home. But, the journey here poisoned them so they were very sick from radiation. Eventually, they both succumbed to radiation poisoning and died shortly after. The next few days after that I tried to survive but I was so scared, alone, and starving."

Ellie's story made Kim's jaw drop in horror, followed by bringing her hands up to her mouth. It was hard for her to picture such a fate for a child but in this world many people, even children were suffering. "Oh my god that's horrible, no child should have to go through something like that,"

"It's ok, it may have been scary but what happened next was a miracle," Ellie assured Kim.

"What happened next?" Kim asked curiously.

Ellie took a deep inhale before continuing her story. "I was in the forests, laying on the ground, close to death. I was so weak from starvation and thirst… I thought that was it for me. I didn't want to die, the only thing I could do at that moment was pray so I prayed. I prayed to God to show me mercy, and allow me to keep surviving. Then, I saw some dark figures walking towards me. I thought they were angels coming to take me up to heaven, but I was wrong. It was an actual answer to my prayer. A group of Joseph's Chosen found me and gave me food and some water. After that, they took me to New Eden, and then…I met the Judge."

Kim's head was immediately filled with the image of the mysterious and equally murderous zealot that was Joseph's right hand. No one knew anything about him, but perhaps Ellie could shed some light on that subject?

"Ellie," Kim began. "Since you are so close to the Judge, do you happen to know who he truly is? I mean, what does he look like behind the mask?"

Ellie figured that question was coming. Even many of the Chosen were curious as to who the Judge was. However, like them, she shook her head to Kim and gave her the same answer. "I'm afraid I don't know. No one besides the Father has ever seen him without his mask on. And to be honest, it doesn't matter to me."

Kim raised an eyebrow. "You follow him so loyally even though you don't know who he is?"

Ellie answered, "Well he did save me from a lonely life and perhaps even death as well. That alone is reason enough to trust him. Besides, we all have our secrets and I respect that. Despite how cruel he can be to those who wish to harm us, he has been seen to be very caring to those at New Eden." She paused to think of the exploits of the Judge, the good and the bad.

"In my time in New Eden, the Father has taught me a lot and the Judge has trained me how to fight, hunt, and survive. New Eden has made me the young woman I am today and I honestly couldn't wish for a better life for myself." Ellie said proudly.

"Wow, I guess even Joseph can do something good for his people," Kim said, amazed.

Ellie nodded. "The Father cares for us and gives us the strength to survive in this twisted new world."

Kim shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we all need a good role model in times like these. Maybe Joseph has turned a new leaf."

Kim and Ellie talked a little bit longer until the kids got bored playing by themselves and called Ellie back to play with them while Kim just continued to relax.

---

All over the Henbane Prison, the Highwaymen were preparing for the Enforcer's arrival but not many were thrilled about this. This Enforcer and his forces are the worst of the worst among the Highwaymen. Many were terrified of the Enforcer's arrival, but not as terrified as they were of being killed by the Scavengers or New Edeners.

With every defeat, the Highwaymen suffered, their forces grew more afraid, not even their strongest soldiers could best this alliance. None of them stood a chance against Prosperity's best fighters and New Eden's Chosen all who fought them all died by their hands. These defeats have driven some of the Highwaymen to refuse to fight in this war, some have even chosen to leave the valley out of fear of death, and worst of all what the Twins don't realize is that some of their troops are so afraid to go up against this alliance that some are even thinking of defecting to the Scavengers and the New Edeners.

And…that's exactly what's gonna happen.

Unbeknownst to the Twins some of the Highwaymen were gathered in secret by one of the Twin's commanders miles from the prison and away from the eyes of the Twins. The commander responsible for this secret gathering was a man named Mike.

Mike is a Highwayman in his late twenties with pale white skin, long black hair, and green eyes. His armor was white with many black markings on it. He served in the Highwaymen for many years and was given his commander position by Vince after leading a decisive and coordinated attack on a community years ago. However, Mike wasn't like other Highwaymen, he was a kind soul most of the time and cared about his men. While his men looked up to him for his loyalty to them Mickey and Lou always bullied him for being so weak and in conflicts he and his men would be used for front-line attacks, basically easy targets for enemies. The only reason Mike hasn't been killed for his kind nature is that he's simply kept his mouth shut and just put up with all the abuse. Eventually, all that abuse grew into hatred for the Twins and a longing for wanting them dead.

He always hated pillaging innocent people's homes just so the Highwaymen could live a lavish lifestyle. The reason he joined was because he needed a place to belong in this new, scorched world. But for a while, he had a feeling that he had made the wrong decision in joining. Especially when the Twins killed their father and took control of the Highwaymen. When Vince was in charge, the Highwaymen only did horrible things as an act of sending a message. But for the Twins, it was a different story. Those two and many of the other Highwaymen took pleasure in the suffering of those they robbed. Mike wasn't one of those people, which is why he was about to make a risky call.

At the overgrown ruins of an old pizza restaurant, Mike and a dozen of his men and women clamored around, not knowing what they were doing there when they could be doing work to get the Twins off their backs. Unfortunately for Mike, they were all talking so loudly that he couldn't get a word in.

"Hey! Guys! Knock it off! I've got an announcement to make!" But Mike's words were falling on deaf ears as the members of his group still refused to listen. He finally lost his patience and slammed his fist on the workbench nearby.

"BE QUIET!" Mike screamed at the top of his lungs, silence immediately overtook the crowd, they all looked directly at him, and now that there was no more talking, he could finally speak. "Thank you, you fuckin' pack of piss ants."

One of Mike's men spoke up first. "So what's this about, Mike? The Twins are gonna have us killed when they find out we're just sitting on our asses like this."

Mike sighed in annoyance. "Well if you motherfuckers would let me talk, we'll be out of here sooner rather than later." The group then gave their undivided attention to their leader. Mike nods and begins to say his piece.

"Look, we all know that this Hope County job isn't going as planned, with all the people and resources we've been losing to the folks who live here. And if you ask me, it's only going to get worse. Rumor has it that the Twins are bringing in an enforcer from the east. Now I don't know about all of you, but I'm not staying here when that happens." The men and women of the group then started to clamor again.

"You're not suggesting that we run away, right?"

"Where would we go? This county is the only thing worth living in for miles in any direction!"

"Not to mention that this place is pretty much one of the most well-supplied areas we've seen,"

Mike put his hands up. "Hang on, hang on! I have an idea, but I don't think any of you are gonna like it." These words made the group of marauders more curious. "There are people in this county that have been getting by just fine on their own, even with the Highwaymen here. If there's anywhere we can go to get away from those two psychos, it's with them."

Things got dead quiet when Mike finished talking, and it wasn't the kind of silence that Mike was hoping for. He could see the doubt on all their faces. Something in his gut tells him that this idea of his will be tougher than he thought to pull off.

"You know the saying: If you can't beat them then join them," Mike stated. "I say we tell other Highwaymen of this plan and then we abandon the Twins, defect to the Scavengers then join in their fight against those Mickey and Lou."

Unfortunately for Mike, he was not greeted by silence, but an eruption of chaos this time. The shouts coming from his followers' mouths made it difficult for him to decide who was on board with this plan of his. He could hear some people shouting arguments against what he was suggesting while some people were for it.

"Are you seriously suggesting that we change sides and join those scabs?!" A woman asked, incredulously.

"That's insane, we'll be killed!"

"Maybe he's right, these guys are clearly people we never should've fucked with in the first place,"

"I support this, I never liked hurting innocent people in the first place,"

"He has a point these people are just protecting their home from scum like us,"

"We can't betray, it'll be the death of us all,"

These arguments went on for a few minutes until the piercing sound of a gun firing into the air silenced them. The owner of the gun was Mike, he blew the smoke from the barrel of his gun and put it back into his holster.

"Look, I know we haven't made a good impression on those people, but they're the only chance we have at actually doing something with our lives! How many homes have we burned to the ground? How many people have we killed or left for dead? Not to mention that some of us have children, do we really want them to grow up doing the same things we've done? Also all of those kids we kidnapped and twisted into what the Twins want them to be. Where has everything we've done led us? I'll tell you where: in a losing battle with people who are finally giving the ass-kicking the Highwaymen deserve. It's not worth staying here and working for those two dingbats." Mike ranted.

All of those points made the men and women of the group think about Mike's idea and got them to consider that it seemed worthwhile. "Think about it, even if we don't betray we'll soon be killed by them or probably the twins, maybe even this enforcer that's why I'm proposing we abandon the Highwaymen," Mike said then asked. "Now...who's with me?"

Silence followed for a few minutes as the group quietly discussed with each other what they wanted to do. With every minute that followed Mike grew more worried that his soldiers were gonna kill him for proposing to betray the Twins, his heart was pounding harder with every passing moment. Suddenly the Highwaymen went silent and turned to face Mike. One of them walked over to him and stared at him then said, "We've talked about this and we've come to a conclusion,"

"Okay, and what do you guys think?" Mike asked, worried about what the answer was gonna be.

Mike's men all exchanged glances with each other then turned their attention back to him. "You're right…about everything. Let's abandon the Highwaymen and join those Scabs in their fight against the Twins."

Mike smiled at his men all supporting his idea, it surely brought him much relief. "Great, but as I've said we need to get more Highwaymen on the same page as us, and we have to get our kids out too,"

One of them spoke up, "Wait even if we do get more of our people on the same page as us and go to join those rednecks they're not gonna just simply allow us to join them, we need bargaining chips,"

Mike nodded, "Yeah, you're right, we'll need something to prove our loyalty to them,"

"How about we steal a bunch of weapons and vehicles?" A woman asked.

"That's good, but that won't be enough," Mike said. "We'll need more than that,"

"Maybe we can free some of the prisoners at the Bullet Farm and give them as presents to the scabs," a man suggested.

Mike nodded in approval with that suggestion, "Yeah, that's a good suggestion too, but we'll probably need a little more than that," Mike said, then thought about what he could offer them that would benefit them. Suddenly an idea clicked into his head. "I got it, we will steal weapons and vehicles for them, free some of the people held at the prison, and tell these people about the enforcer coming that's intel that they can greatly be of use to them, and so will the weapons and vehicles,"

All of Mike's men agreed that providing those things will be useful and prove their allegiance to the Survivors of Hope County. It then occurred to him that securing all these things together will take time so the best thing to do is for him and his men to split up. That way, it will go faster. "We know what we have to do now, and this will be faster if we split up,"

They all understood that splitting up was faster so they agreed.

"Great, now you three go tell other Highwaymen of this plan and make sure those who are loyal to the twins don't hear about this," Mike ordered.

"Don't worry, they won't know a single thing," a woman said, pulling out a knife and touching the tip of it with her index finger, giving an evil grin.

Mike smiled then turned to the five highwaymen on his left. "You five secure some weapons and vehicles,"

"We will,"

Mike then turned to the remaining Highwaymen in front of him. "The rest of you are coming with me to the prison to get some of the workers out and get some of the guards there on our side,"

The rest of Mike's men nodded then Mike focused his attention on the entire group. "Alright, when your tasks are completed, meet us outside of the prison then we'll leave," Mike ordered.

With their plan figured out the three groups set out to complete their objectives. However, they had to complete them quickly otherwise the Twins may find out about their treason. Hopefully, this plan will work out and Mike and his defectors will soon be allied with the Community of Prosperity and their allies.

---

Meanwhile back at Prosperity Hunter and Carmina were doing their best at trying to assume Kim's role as leader of Prosperity, but after an hour or two of handling the stuff Kim normally does, they were both learning that her job wasn't as easy as they thought. Neither of them ever assumed that her job is easy because they were taught that Leadership is a difficult task for some. However, they didn't expect that leading a small community would be this difficult.

"Oh my god, this is so much harder than I thought," Hunter groaned in frustration.

"Jeez now I understand what Mom has to deal with every day," Carmina groaned.

The two were up to their necks in countless assignments where when they finished one another came up. However, as hard as this is, Hunter had to admit that it was nice to spend this time with Carmina, even though they were doing some hard work that was normally Kim's job. Kim taking a break so that she doesn't overwork herself brought both Hunter and Carmina comfort, but it didn't make it any easier. While this alone time with Carmina was nice, Hunter had a chip on his shoulder that he couldn't shake off. Ever since last night, he couldn't shake the conversation with Jerome out of his head.

Once again, he felt like he was in between a rock and a hard place. He made Carmina a promise that he wouldn't keep secrets from her anymore, but this secret was one that could define who he was. He wanted to tell her when the time was right, but the longer he waited, the more it would end up hurting her. That was something Hunter would never want to do to her. He wanted to be honest and the secrecy was killing him inside. Unable to hold the truth any longer, Hunter stopped resisting and decided to just let it out.

Hunter looked up facing Carmina. "Hey, Carmina,"

Carmina looked up at Hunter. "Yeah,"

Hunter gulped in fear, already regretting opening up to Carmina about this, but he decided in his head that it was better to just get this out of the way before she finds out for herself.

"There's something I need to tell you," Hunter admitted to her.

Carmina raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Carmina...since we've met I haven't been honest with you or your parents. There are still some things that you don't know about me." Hunter said.

When Carmina heard those words, she started to fear for the worst, getting the idea that this wasn't going to be good news.

"When Jerome and I met up with you and your parents in the aftermath of the Collapse do you remember what Jerome told you guys about me?" Hunter asked.

Carmina nodded. "Yeah. How could I forget?"

One of Carmina's many cherished memories was meeting Hunter, he was one of the first of her friends. They both took a quick liking to each other when they met and became the best of friends. The two are practically inseparable.

"Well...Jerome wasn't completely honest with you about that," Hunter admitted.

Carmina raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're saying you and Jerome have been lying to us for years?"

Hunter winced as he felt Carmina's voice raise. "Carmina, I know you're mad, but you have to understand. Jerome kept this a secret because he promised my Mom that he would. I never told you this because it never mattered to me but you matter to me more and I promised that I would be honest with you," Hunter vented quickly before Carmina could say anything.

A brief silence followed before Hunter spoke up.

"Look Carmina, if I tell you this can you just promise me that you won't see me as anyone else other than who I already am?" Hunter requested. With the tone in his voice, he wanted her to promise him that.

Carmina could see that this secret Hunter has is something very deep to him. As much as she wanted to be angry, she could tell that this secret was eating Hunter from the inside out. He wanted very much to tell her, but he was afraid of what she would think of him. In that regard, she couldn't really blame him for not telling her sooner.

Carmina placed her hands around Hunter's cheeks and gently stroked them with her thumbs. She then looked her boyfriend in the eyes.

"Hunter, you promised you wouldn't lie to me anymore and be honest with me from now on, so I expect you to always tell me the truth," Carmina stated. "I can see this is something that you don't want anyone to know, but you can trust me. I promise that no matter what I hear my feelings for you will never change." Carmina said sincerely.

Carmina's words were reassuring for Hunter, and they eased him a little but he was still very hesitant to admit his deepest secret to her. "Really?"

Carmina nodded. "Of course. I love you,"

The young Rye then quickly added. "Besides, you're not going anywhere until you tell me what it is you're not telling me. Otherwise, I'll beat the truth out of you," Carmina threatened, pointing her index finger at him.

Now Hunter felt intimidated, just like the other day when Kim threatened him. Those two really knew how to be intimidating when they needed to. This was something Hunter and probably Nick will be experiencing for many years to come. Hunter raised his arms in fear. "Alright, well, first of all, you've heard the stories about some of the heroes during the war with Eden's Gate?"

Carmina nodded, finding it impossible to forget those stories of a group of freedom fighters that went to war against the Peggies for the sake of their homes, their families, and their freedom. "Yeah, my favorite ones were about my Dad and the Deputy," she told Hunter.

The young man flinched as he heard mention of the primary hero of Hope County. Before he could speak, Carmina continued.

"There was this one time after John Seed's death where my mom went into labor, so he and my dad drove with her to the clinic so they could deliver me. Ever since then, he's been referred to as my godfather." Her shoulders slumped and her mood darkened at that fact being said. "I wish I could've known him before he died. My mom and dad have always had a hard time letting him go. He did so much for my family and the rest of the county, but he never really asked for anything in return. Dad tried to let him go over the years, but Mom thinks he's still out there somewhere."

Hunter nodded his head. "Yeah, I hope he's out there, too," he said, voice slightly breaking. "I'd love to meet him." He paused before continuing to speak. "Jerome told me stories about another hero of Hope County. You ever hear about the Huntress, Jess Black?"

Carmina nodded. "Yeah, I've heard about her. My mom and dad said she always kept to herself. Compared to the other members of the Resistance, she was always kind of mysterious. Not that it was a bad thing, she fought and killed a lot for the people of Hope County. Believe it or not, she actually hooked up with the Deputy."

Hunter flinched again when he heard that. "Wonder what he saw in her?" he asked rhetorically.

Carmina shrugged her shoulders. "No idea, but from what I've heard from my parents and Auntie Grace, he truly loved her." Carmina could see some disdain on Hunter's face, for some reason she could not wrap her head around. "Anyway, she pretty much disappeared without a trace, just like the Deputy. I wonder why she vanished?"

Hunter took a sharp breath. "I don't know, maybe she was just avoiding something, something that she wasn't prepared to deal with like the commitment of a relationship or maybe the commitment of a child!" He slams his fists on the table in front of them both, causing everything on it to shake off and onto the ground.

Carmina was surprised and genuinely afraid of seeing Hunter like this. She had never seen him get this angry before. "Hunter, calm the hell down!" she said as sternly as she could, but still slightly afraid.

After taking a minute to breathe, Hunter calmed down but was still visibly livid. "I'm...I'm sorry, Carmina," he apologized.

Carmina shook her head. "It's fine, really," she said with uncertainty. "But what the hell was that about?"

Hunter sighs as he begins to explain himself. "The secret I've been keeping from you is about my parents. As you know..my...my mom abandoned me as a baby and my dad never even knew I existed. I never got to know my parents." At that moment, the outburst made sense to her. She was blessed with having been raised with her parents around, but she almost forgot that not a lot of kids were so lucky.

"Oh my god. Hunter, I'm so sorry," she said sincerely. She had almost forgotten that Hunter was an orphan and had been raised by Jerome entirely before she had met them. The old pastor was the closest thing Hunter had to an actual father. She knew it wasn't easy for a child to grow up without their parents, especially in a world like this, but Hunter seemed to have turned out alright in her opinion. Still, she wouldn't wish that upon anyone. The loneliness they must feel every night, the longing to meet them, or the abandonment they must feel.

Carmina then thought about what Hunter said about Jess leaving because of a child. That guess seemed oddly specific in her opinion. "Wait? Why did you say Jess was running from a child?"

"Because…" Hunter trailed before taking a deep breath. "Because she was supposed to raise me, but instead she just…she just abandoned me." Hunter was shaking, finding it harder and harder to keep it together. Carmina, on the other hand, was silent as she just listened to Hunter confess, finding this all a lot to take in. What Hunter was trying to say to her seemed to add up in an almost impossible way. She was almost afraid to ask the next question.

"Wait...are...are you...saying?" Carmina kept trailing off as she was having trouble believing what Hunter was telling her.

Hunter nodded in confirmation. "Yeah." Hunter took a breath then said. "Carmina...my secret is that...my...my...my mom is Jess Black…and...and...my dad...is...Jake Rook."

Admitting that to Carmina made Hunter feel as if a load of guilt was taken off of his shoulder which felt good. Confessing this was probably the hardest thing he's ever done. Now that Carmina knew the truth Hunter waited for Carmina's response. As he stared at the silent Carmina he wondered if she'll see him as he already is or will she see him differently now?

Carmina literally had no idea what to say. She expected this secret of Hunter's to be big, but this was huge. Two of the biggest heroes of Hope County were her best friend/boyfriend's parents. It would actually explain a lot, but part of her still had a hard time believing it. "That's...that's insane! I had no idea!" she said in shock and admiration. She had always heard about her godfather but never imagined him having a son. "Hunter, I probably shouldn't say this, but is there any way you can prove...you know?"

Hunter nodded. "I don't have much of either of them, but this was my mom's," he said, pulling out his lucky hunting knife, revealing it to be a hand-me-down from his mother.

Carmina then came up with an idea, looking toward the bookcase containing the photo album from before the Collapse. "Hang on," she told Hunter before making a beeline to the bookshelf. She came back with the photo album and flipped the book open to a specific page, the last picture taken of the heroes before the Collapse, containing both Jess and the Deputy.

She kept looking at the two heroes and Hunter to see if there was any resemblance and found that there were a lot of things they had in common. He had Rook's eyes, Jess's hair, and skin tone. She wondered why she didn't pick up on this before. "Oh...my...God…" she trailed, realizing that Hunter was indeed telling the truth. He was the son of two legends, not unlike her.

Hunter could tell by Carmina's reactions that she was taking this news as he thought she would. He was almost certain that he was about to get punched in the face or something along those lines, for the reason of keeping something this big from her, especially after promising that he wouldn't lie to her anymore.

In a split second, he saw Carmina lunge at him, making him close his eyes. However, he soon realized that he was not harmed in any way. In fact, it was the opposite. He felt Carmina's warm embrace as she tightly hugged him. This was not something he was expecting, given the circumstances, but he wasn't one to say no to a warm hug from his girlfriend.

"I...guess you're not mad at me," Hunter muttered.

Carmina's head was over Hunter's shoulder, but he could feel that she was shaking her head. She then released her boyfriend from the hug and looked him dead in the eyes. "No, I'm not mad. I appreciate you telling me this and I get why you kept it from us. I don't know if I would have done that any different than you. I mean, to admit that just like you did seemed very hard."

"You have no friggin 'idea," Hunter replied. "The hardest thing I've ever done." He felt a huge load lift off of his chest, especially since Carmina wasn't mad in any way. However, the guilt was still with him since everyone else in Prosperity still didn't know about his parents. Admitting it to Carmina reduced to guilt but it didn't get rid of it.

Carmina picked up on this feeling of Hunter's and grew curious. "What's wrong?" she asked in concern.

Hunter sighed. "Well...even though I've told you about my big secret, there's still a lot of people who don't know about my parents, including yours. How am I supposed to tell everyone else when it was hard enough to tell you?"

Carmina could tell Hunter was in a difficult position. "Well, how about, for now, don't tell anyone. You're secret's safe with me, and we can keep it for as long as you want. Don't tell anyone else until you feel like you're ready."

Hunter nodded at Carmina's advice. "Okay, but I don't know if I can. I mean...admitting it to you was hard, admitting it to the entire community is like a million times harder. Not to mention what everyone will think of Jerome since he's considered one of the most honest men here, but has been lying to them for years. If it wasn't for my mom, Jerome wouldn't have even lied to everyone about me. The last thing I want is for everyone here to hate Jerome for keeping a secret because of me, he doesn't deserve to suffer because of me!" Hunter vented.

"I understand," Carmina consoled. "But I wouldn't worry about something like that. Jerome's done so much for Hope County and Prosperity. I can't see anyone hating him for something like this. Even if they do hate him for this I'm sure they'll come around."

Hearing that brought Hunter some comfort, but the thought of Jerome being hated by Prosperity still bothered him. If anyone should be scolded for this then Jess is the one. Hunter quickly pushed these thoughts away and decided to focus on the fact that Carmina now knew his secret.

Now that Hunter had the guilt of lying to Carmina out of his conscience it was a good idea for the two to get back to handling Kim's assignments. After all, they agreed to do them to give her some time to relax. "Hey, we should get back to work. Kim's jobs aren't gonna handle themselves." Hunter suggested.

"Oh right," Carmina realized.

The teens went back to the table to continue the stressful job of handling Kim's responsibilities for her. Before the two could get back to work Carmina spoke up. "Hey,"

"What?" Hunter asked, looking up at her.

"Thanks for telling me the truth about your parents. Even though it wasn't easy for you to do that," Carmina said appreciatively.

"I promised that I wouldn't lie to you. The last thing I want is to break that promise by keeping any more secrets from you," Hunter said.

Carmina smiled then placed a kiss on Hunter's lips. "Thanks."

The teens then went back to work on their stressful/voluntary assignment on handling Kim's responsibilities for today. As hard as her assignments were for two teenagers to do, they did it for the sake of Kim. It made them happy to give Kim some time to rest and relax at the cost of their time.

---

At the old Henbane Prison, Mike and his men were finishing up securing some of the prisoners to hand over to their soon-to-be allies. Since Mike was a commander nobody questioned why he needed the prisoners so acquiring them was hardly a hassle. While securing the prisoner's Mike and his soldiers have even managed to secretly convince some of the guards to join them in defecting too. Apparently, when the Twins killed Vince it didn't sit well with some of their men so some have been looking for a way out since then. It was practically easy to get them to turn against the Twins when they were given an offer to stab Mickey and Lou in the back.

Right now Mike was finishing in convincing any guards who would be willing to join him and his Highwaymen in defecting.

"So do you guys wanna stab the twins in the back?" Mike asked the two Highwaymen guards. The two guards glanced at each other then nodded. "Hell yea',"

"I'm in,"

"Great, now go back to your duties and when you see my men outside that's your signal," Mike said.

A Highwaymen officer by the name of Mitch and a good friend of Mike was listening in and was surprised at seeing someone like Mike talking about doing this. Not that it was beyond him, but the fact that he was talking about it on their turf like this. Mitch immediately went over to Mike. "Excuse me, boys, I need to borrow him for a second,"

Mitch then grabbed Mike and pulled him into an empty room, locking the door behind him so they could talk in private.

"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Mitch asked.

Mike knew he couldn't lie to Mitch since he was a good friend and comrade, "I'm...I'm organizing a betrayal."

Mitch was shocked to hear that Mike was gonna betray Mickey and Lou. He shared no love for the Twins but to betray them sounded absolutely crazy. The one thing that the Twins hated more than anything was traitors. If the Twins learn about this then Mike could be sent into the Prisoner Run or worse he could be killed.

"Look, I'm no fan of the Twins, and I know you aren't either. At least not since they killed their old man, but is this the right move? We all know what they can do when they're at their worst. They're gonna make us wish we were dead when they find out about this. I'm not gonna rat you out but if you get caught you will be killed for treason or worse." Mitch warned.

Mike nodded, agreeing that Mickey and Lou were not women you would want to cross. However, even agreeing upon that was not enough to sway him from this bold move. "I know, but you gotta realize that we're stuck between a rock and a hard place. We either continue what we do now and we could all wind up dead at the hands of those Hope County people, or we risk everything at a chance at a decent life by stabbing those two spoiled brats in the back. Wouldn't that be nice? For us and the kids here with us to grow up without going to bed every night knowing that we've destroyed and ruined other's lives?"

Mitch thought about it for a moment. He liked the ideas that filled his head about not having to pillage and burn homes to make a living. "Yeah, that would be nice, but this enforcer guy is nothing to scoff at. And how do we even know that these people are gonna take us in?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "We don't, but we have to take a chance. Plus, we're offering them a lot. They have to at least hear us out."

Mitch turned his back on Mike. "You're betting a lot on this plan of yours. I don't know about this."

Mike planted his hand on Mitch's shoulder. "This might be our only chance to be free from all of the Twins' bullshit. We can finally work with good people and not crazy fucking savages. Would you rather have that than live in fear for the foreseeable future?"

After giving it much thought in the short amount of time that they had alone, Mitch came to a decision. "Alright, I trust you," he said. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

Mike smiled and hugged Mitch, giving him a couple of pats on the back. "Alright, then. Let's get to work. My men should be here right now with the people and supplies I told them to get." The two Highwaymen left the room and headed outside to see if Mike's forces had arrived with the acquired resources.

Outside a small force of Highwaymen were gathered outside the prison. Mike and Mitch walked out the Prison's gates with the prisoners and guards willing to join their cause. Upon reaching the meeting point for the rebels, he noticed that there were a great number of them. "Wow, more people showed up than I thought," he said to nobody in particular. He walked up to a female Highwaymen member. "So how many do we have here?"

"From the looks of things, I'd say at most five dozen. Any Highwaymen who refused and threatened to rat us out were quickly dealt with. We've gotten our children to take them out of here as well. We've also secured the weapons and vehicles you requested," She informed Mike.

Mike nodded. "Good, we've recruited some of the guards here to our cause. We've acquired about a dozen prisoners from the prison, that should be enough. Now, load them into the trucks." The rebels then loaded the fragile prisoners into the transport trucks. As soon as they were done, the last thing to do now was leave before someone finds out about what they're planning. "Alright, let's rollout."

"Wait just a motherfucking second!" Sounded a familiar voice behind them. Mike winced and slowly turned around to see both Mickey and Lou behind him. He was afraid that they would catch on, but not this soon.

Mitch and Mike both slowly turned around, scared of what the Twins were about to say to them. They've probably found out about Mike's plans to betray. "Oh um hey Mickey and Lou…what's up?" Mitch asked, stammering a bit.

"You know what I see here?" Mickey asks the two Highwaymen. Before they could answer, the older Twin continued. "I see a whole bunch of our people and a bunch of the thudfucks that make our bullets outside the prison, without our permission no less. So what exactly do you guys think you're doing?"

While Mitch was a bit too nervous to answer right away, Mike beat him to it. "We were gonna organize an ambush to pay those rabbits back for all the shit they stole from us. But I need some more men so I figured you wouldn't mind if I took some of the guards here."

While that answer might trick an ordinary Highwayman, it didn't do it for Mickey and Lou just yet. "And the prisoners?" Lou pointed out before cracking her knuckles.

"We're gonna need protection and I don't think those rabbits will risk killing their own people. Plus, they would be the perfect bait since they've been attacking our other prisoner convoys." The other Highwaymen rebels had to admit that Mike could surely keep his cool under pressure.

Mickey took notice of the children and grew skeptical of his claim. "Why do you have children with you for this?"

Mike quickly thought of a reasonable explanation before either Mickey and Lou would get suspicious and something quickly came into his head. "Well, I figured since these kids will be Highwaymen when they're old enough they'd outta see how we handle ourselves. We don't want these kids to be soft, people like that have no place in this world.

The Twins exchanged glances at each other. The deserters were sure that they were going to call them out on their betrayal, so some of them slowly began to reach for her weapons. However, the need for that went away as the two leaders of the bandits burst out laughing.

Lou went up to Mike and gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder. "Man, I never thought I'd see the day when you'd stop being so soft!"

Mike nervously laughed, rubbing his shoulder. "Yeah, well, I guess we all gotta grow up sometime."

Mickey nods her head with a smile. "Alright, Mike. We're gonna let this one slide, but next time, you run this kind of shit by us first, got it?"

Mike nods. "No problem. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got shit to tear up and rabbits to kill. Let's go!" Mike said to his group and they all entered their trucks, pretending to be excited to kill people. However, before any of them could drive off Mickey yelled out. "HOLD UP!"

Mike winced as Mickey ordered them to stop where they were. "Oh shit," Mike whispered to Mitch. He didn't want to be yelled at by the elder Twin, but it was certainly better than being on Lou's bad side. Mickey was more reasonable by a longshot. Who knows why Mickey just stopped them, she probably saw through his lie, but Mike just sat silently as made his way over to his window.

Mickey casually walked over to Mike's truck and leaned on his open window bringing her head close to his. "Um…yes Mickey, was there anything else?"

Mickey nodded. "Yeah, while I'm not against teaching our young how to be Highwaymen, I'm concerned that bringing them into them into the line of fire will be very dangerous,"

"I know, Mickey, but I promise you that they'll be safe. Besides, they won't be in the line of fire with us; they'll be watching from afar with binoculars," Mike reassured.

Mickey didn't like the idea of their future generation of soldiers going out in the field given that the kids with them were kinda young, but Mike never gave her any reason to doubt him. He was always soft in one way or another and sometimes, that wasn't a bad thing. She knows that Mike wouldn't do anything to get those kids hurt. She sighed. "Fine, but if even a hair on their heads is out of place, when you return I'm gonna cut off your nuts and use them as marbles, got it?" she threatened. She unsheathed a knife and brought it close to Mike's crotch.

The Highwaymen commander gulped as any man would and nodded his head. "Yeah, I got it," he said with concern for his loins' safety. This was good enough for Mickey, making her take back her blade.

"Alright, then," she said. "Happy hunting out there." She turned to the kids. "And have fun on your little field trip, squirts!" Both the Twins backed off and went back onto the prison grounds, as they had much work to do to prepare for the Enforcer's arrival.

In the meantime, Mike and Mitch both sighed in relief. Mike looked at Mitch. "That was a close one," he said, which was an understatement.

"You can say that again," Mitch replied, still sweating from nearly being caught. He looked back at their convoy. "So, we ready to set out?"

Mike took one last look at the prison before looking back at the other Highwaymen officer. "Yeah. It's a long drive to Prosperity."

"Yeah, about that…" Mitch trailed nervously.

"What now?"

Mitch sighed. "I talked with some of the other guys and a few of them want to go all the way to New Eden. I asked them why, and they said that they wanted to give a simpler life a try. They said they heard rumors that their leader came back from way up north and he blesses people to be free of sin or something like that. To be honest, I agree with them so I decided to go with them."

"What?" Mike said, surprised.

"Yeah," Mitch nodded. "I always wanted to give a simple life a try and I'm not passing up this opportunity."

Mike didn't like seeing Mitch and a lot of his people go on ahead to a place he knew next to nothing about, but he didn't have much of a choice then to let it happen. He would risk everything and everyone who wanted to defect if he were to deviate now. "Alright. I just hope you know what you're doing. Anyway, you better get going with the others."

Mitch nodded then got out of Mike's truck then piled into one of the vehicles heading for New Eden.

With their destinations set Mike put the truck into drive and led the convoy away from the prison grounds. Half would steer into the direction of Prosperity, the other half to New Eden. Either way, they would be risking quite a lot for seeking salvation from the Highwaymen's rampage. Time will tell if these rogues made the right decision or not.

---

Marcus and Rush arrived at Prosperity's front gates, the former inhaling the fresh air of his new home and main base. He could feel the atmosphere of Prosperity is a lot less intense than it was earlier. From what he can gather, the people of Prosperity were getting along better with the New Edeners than last time. Both sides seemed to be cooperating better and things were getting done with little to no problems getting in the way.

"Well, it looks like things are better around here," Marcus pointed out to Rush.

"Yeah," Rush nodded in agreement.

Suddenly the two heard a pig behind them and they turned to see the pig they found while they were out, standing behind him.

While they were at the Pantry the people there found a warthog that was named Horatio, the pantry people found him not far from the outpost. The Highwaymen were gonna cook it for their next meal but the survivors saved him and brought him back to the Pantry.

Hunter and Carmina went out to the main gate to meet those who were welcomed through. They were relieved to see both of their comrades were unscathed and both immediately took notice of their newest ally.

"Wow, you got a pig?" Carmina kneeled and petted the pig. "Aww, he's so cute."

Hunter didn't know what to think of Carmina's description of the boar. "These things can be cute? That's not the word I would use."

Carmina looked up at Hunter. "What, you don't like pigs?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just more into dogs or wolves rather than pigs or boars." Hunter explained.

Carmina wondered about the difference between her and her boyfriend. "I guess we're pretty different when it comes to what kind of animals we like."

Hunter just rolled his eyes then asked. "So how'd your patrol go?"

"We didn't find much but what we can guess is that the Highwaymen seem to be preparing for something big," Marcus said.

"But what?" Rush asked aloud but to no one in particular.

"Maybe it has something to do with that demo derby the prisoners told us about?" Marcus asked.

"Probably," Rush guessed. "But we can't be so sure of that."

"We should go talk to Kim," Rush said.

"She's over there." Hunter pointed out.

Marcus and Rush looked at the courtyard and saw something neither of them expected to see. Kim Rye, not working and just resting on the ground.

"Is Kim actually...?" Marcus asked Rush, stunned.

"Yep," Rush nodded, just as surprised as the Captain.

"I convinced Kim to take a break for a bit, while I took care of her responsibilities," Hunter explained then Carmina added.

"And I was grateful that I volunteered to help him. Heh, you're always looking out for everyone." Carmina chuckled a bit then kissed Hunter on the cheek.

"It's what we were raised to do," Hunter said.

Carmina smiled at Hunter, amazed at how selfless he was all the time. It was as attractive as it was inspiring. "You know, I can never get over how you always put everyone else before yourself all the time."

Hunter blushed a little bit at the praise he was receiving. "Thanks, but I'm nothing really special. You'd do the same and you know that."

Carmina kept her smile. "Anyway, Mom sure looks like she's enjoying herself," she pointed out as she watched the Rye matriarch resting peacefully.

"It was only supposed to be for a few minutes but I guess she lost track of time from taking it easy." Hunter supposed.

"If you think that's a shocker, right there's a sight I never thought possible," Marcus pointed to a table nearby and saw that Nick and the Judge were playing a game of cards. Although, it looked like Nick was having less fun than the Judge.

"Wow," Rush said in awe. "I guess things have changed while we were gone."

"Goddammit!" Nick yelled in frustration as he threw his cards down on the table and left the Judge alone.

Marcus shook his head "I guess some things just stay the same no matter what," he chuckled.

Nick got up from the table and stormed off to his garage, but not before telling the group something. "Don't ever challenge the psycho to cards because he's too friggin good,"

"Duly noted," Hunter replied.

Marcus shook his head at Nick's childish behavior, then went over to his wife, the others following him. "So, Kim, how have things been around here?"

Kim shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, so far. Nothing much has happened today, been mostly quiet around here." Little did they know, their peace would be disturbed for the rest of the day very soon. For the sounds of engines revving suddenly filled their ears. "What is that?" Marcus asked.

"OH MY GOD! RUSH! CAPTAIN! GET UP HERE WE HAVE HIGHWAYMEN OUTSIDE!" A guard on the wall yelled out.

Marcus, Rush, Kim, Carmina, and Hunter all shared scared glances. "Quick Kim get the people inside. Hunter, Carmina gather the defenders, and Rush you're with me!" Marcus quickly ordered.

Everyone ran up to the top of the gates to see that there was a small force of Highwaymen surrounding the community. There had to be dozens of them and they're all armed to the teeth with what looked to be military-grade weaponry.

After what happened last time when the Prosperity, everyone on the inside of the walls had itchy trigger fingers, eager to put at least a few bullets in each of those masked bastards.

"On my command, mow these bastards down!" Rush commanded, readying his assault rifle.

Before anybody could open fire Hunter quickly yelled out. "WAIT DON'T!"

"What why?" Marcus asked.

"Look!" Hunter pointed to the Highwaymen. Marcus looked where Hunter pointed and his eyes widened, they had children with them as well as adult prisoners. "Oh, shit,"

The leader of this Highwaymen Warband walked up to the front gates. "Hey, up there! Hold on a sec!" he called out to Rush and the others on the wall.

It seemed like there was about to be a bloodbath, then the leader suddenly dropped his rifle on the ground, removed his helmet, and raised his hand into the air. "My name is Mike, I lead this band of Highwaymen. But we haven't come here to fight you,"

Everyone atop the gates fell silent but confused at the commander's words. Several of the defenders exchanged confused glances with each other. If these Highwaymen weren't here to fight then why are they here?

"If you're not here to fight then why the hell are you here?!" Marcus demanded to know.

The Highwayman sighed. "Fighting you won't end well for us, the countless defeats we've had because of you support that. So me and my men along with many other Highwaymen have decided that instead of fighting against you we should fight for you. So we want to join you." Mike said.

Several of the defenders including Hunter and Carmina exchanged confused glances with each other. Highwaymen have said crazy things but this may be the craziest. "Is this some kind of joke?" Marcus asked no one in particular.

"How do we know you're telling the truth, you could be lying just so you can just manipulate us then kill us all?!" Rush demanded.

Mike turned around and glanced at the Highwaymen defectors and gave a single nod at them before turning back to the scavengers standing atop their defenses. "We figured you would ask that so we brought you some presents."

Mike extended his hand out then his men brought out their prisoners and presented them to the defenders. Then some of the others walked up to the gates and presented some crates, then opened them up revealing Military grade weaponry inside them. "We figured these may earn your trust, weapons, and some of your people," Mike said.

Carmina couldn't believe what she was seeing. Highwaymen laying down their guns and offering weapons and prisoners to be used and liberated by the people of Prosperity. Something about this did not sit right with her. It seemed too good to be true.

"Why would Highwaymen like you give all of this stuff to us? What do Mickey and Lou think about all this?" Rush asked.

"Please, those two have no idea about this. Besides, those two have lost their touch which is why we want into your little club," Mike said then let out a sigh. "Look, we've done so many terrible things to your people. To be honest many of us don't take pride in it. Some of us have been wanting a way out for years, but were too scared of those fucking twins to do anything. And there was nowhere to go since everyone else was too scared to stand up to them. And then, you came in. They don't show it, but Mickey and Lou are weak right now. Things aren't going to get better in this valley until they're gone."

He paused for a moment to gather his proposal in his mind. "So let's say we work together. We take down the Twins and the rest of the Highwaymen, what's left of this county can recover without them. You get the peace you want, and we get the better life we want. That sound fair?"

Marcus thought about the offer this Mike person was proposing. Prosperity could always use the supplies and manpower, but how are they certain that this isn't a trap? Highwaymen weren't known for being sincere. Well, except for maybe Gina.

Then, Marcus thought of a potential solution to this conundrum. "Hang on, let me get a second opinion," Marcus told the defector

Marcus then turned to Gina. "Hey, Gina,"

Gina looked at Marcus. "What?"

"You were in the Highwaymen, do you know this Mike? Is he someone we can trust, or is he lying?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah, I know this asshole. And...compared to other Highwaymen I've fought beside, Mike has always been a total softie," Gina said.

"What do you mean?" Rush asked.

"He's always merciful, he only killed when he had to, he sometimes fed the prisoners more than they were allowed, and he looked out for his men," Gina explained.

"So you're saying we can trust him?" Marcus asked.

Gina scoffs. "I wouldn't go that far," she said pessimistically. "But he did save my life once, and he tried his best to get me out of trouble when I told the Twins to fuck off after they tried to take my baby. If there's any of the Highwaymen that can be kinda sorta trustworthy, it's him. And if those others seem to trust him, I don't think we'll have to worry about them. Most highwaymen are pretty stupid and are followers, not leaders."

Marcus thought about this whole situation for a minute or two. He came to a temporary conclusion. He went back up to the wall to talk to Mike and his band of deserters. "I'll tell you what," he began. "Let your kids and the prisoners through the gates and we'll consider taking you up on your offer."

Mike sighed, thinking that this was going to be the best option for them for the time being. "Alright. At least the kids will have a decent place to sleep for a while. We can camp out here until you guys come to a final decision." The thought of camping out in the woods bothered the other defectors, many of them groaning in annoyance and disappointment.

Rush then stepped forward. "And as a precaution, we're gonna have eyes on you all night, at all times." Another round of groans came from a majority of the Highwaymen, knowing that they're going to be watched while they sleep. It took some doing, but Mike managed to calm them down and comply with Rush's demands.

On the inside of Prosperity's walls, tears of joy were being shed with the return of many of the people's friends and relatives. Not to mention that the children of the Highwaymen were amazed with what they were seeing, land and building so polished and neat, almost perfect.

Rush smiled at the sight of more young ones populating Prosperity, being given another chance at a life, a better life. He looked at the teenagers. "Hunter, Carmina, Ellie! Why don't you look after the kids tonight? Make sure that they are nice and comfortable in their new home." The three teens complied without argument.

Things were certainly going to be much more lively at Prosperity from now on or… probably not.

---

Back at the old Henbane Prison, the Twin's forces were finishing up in preparation for the Enforcer's arrival. Neither twin was excited about Kreese's arrival, despite being Vince's right-hand man and brilliant strategist he often scared them both and was cold and calculated.

As the Twins were discussing recent events their commander, Jackson ran up to them. "Mickey and Lou! We have a problem!" Jackson said.

Both Twins groaned in frustration. It seems like every time one of their commanders reports in they always have more problems. More problems were piling up every day. "What is it, Jackson?" Lou asked, reluctant to know the answer.

"One of my scouts recently came to me with some very bad news," Jackson informed.

"And? What is this bad news?" Mickey asked.

Jackson took a deep breath before explaining because as soon as the Twins hear this then they will undoubtedly be very pissed off. "We have traitors among us."

As soon as Jackson finished that sentence the Twins snapped in his direction.

"What do you mean we have traitors?!" Mickey said incredulously.

"My scouts have reported that Mike and his men are at Prosperity, but they're not attacking. They're wanting to join their fight against us. Not only that, but some of his other men have gone to New Eden to join their band of hippies." Jackson explained.

Lou stomped her foot on the ground. "That mother fuckin' backstabber! Bad enough we have to deal with defiance and deserters, but now we have to deal with goddamn traitors?!"

It's bad enough that the Highwaymen already had to deal with defiance and constant casualties, but now traitors are gonna be a bigger problem.

"Of all the problems we've been dealing with, why are we now dealing with traitors?" Lou asked aloud to nobody in particular.

"Because of the constant defeats we've been experiencing, with losing many of our outposts, our failed attack on Prosperity, along with those hippies rising up our men are afraid," Jackson explained even though nobody asked him. "We've suffered heavy casualties, so many of our people in this valley have died. Many of the Highwaymen are even starting to question your leadership."

"Oh, they are huh?" Lou said. "Well if they are questioning us then tell them to bring their complaints right to us,"

Jackson just crossed his arms. "Mickey, Lou, this is serious. These Rabbits are making you two look weak, if this persists then others may think your weak and betray to follow those Scavengers and Hippies as well,"

Not wanting to hear this anymore Mickey ordered. "Jackson get the fuck out of here and check on the men,"

"Ugh... Yes ma'am," Jackson nodded then quickly walked off.

As soon as he was gone the Twins turned back to face each other. Mickey places her hands on her hips and let out a sigh. "Damn, it seems that we can't get a break since that rabbit has arrived," Mickey said.

"Well, I think our problems are gonna start to disappear now," Lou said. She pointed up to the sky, her sister looked up and saw a helicopter arriving.

The chopper landed in front of the prison, the door opened revealing a large, muscular man wearing black armor with shades of red, with a machine gun tied behind his back. Behind him were men wearing the same armor but they were wearing red armor. The ramp lowered and they walked down and made their way over to the Twins.

The one leading the squad removed his helmet revealing a man to be in his sixties. His hair's black with shades of gray, his beard was trimmed and his skin is a little wrinkled. The Enforcer stared at the Twins for a moment before letting out a brief chuckle.

"Well… Mickey and Lou, I always knew you'd call. Things must be very bad here for you to call me and my friends in." Kreese said.

"Kreese it's… good to see you," Mickey said a bit nervously.

"You two can dispense with the pleasantries, now I suppose things have gotten pretty bad in this forsaken valley for you to call me in," Kreese supposed.

Mickey and Lou are always so prideful about accepting help but right now they needed Kreese's help so they pushed their pride away and got serious.

Lou nodded her head. "Yeah, the rabbits here have forgotten their place and have been causing a shitload of problems for us,"

"Heh, sounds about right," Kreese commented.

"What did you just say?!" Lou exclaimed, she took a few steps of anger toward Kreese but Mickey quickly grabbed her sister. "Don't," Mickey said.

Lou growled a bit then restrained herself.

"As much as we hate to admit this Kreese, these rabbits have proven to be too much for us to handle alone, we need your help," Mickey said.

Kreese said nothing for a moment, he just stared at the eldest Twin, then he walked closer towards her and just placed his hand on her right cheek. "Oh Michelle, you always were the smarter one compared to your trigger-happy sister."

Mickey slapped Kreese's hand off her. "Are you gonna help us or not?"

"As tempting as it is for me to come all the way out here just to tell you no. I made a promise to Vince to help you when you called for my help and I keep my promises." Kreese said. "I'll help you, but first, let's go inside. So you can tell me what you're dealing with."

"OK," Lou said.

With that, the Twins escorted Kreese inside the Bullet Farm to discuss the war between their forces and the alliance between the Scavengers and the New Edeners.

---

Another chapter of the New Dawn completed. I'm so sorry about the long wait, I don't mean to take so long but I've had a lot on my mind lately. I've graduated from High School, been looking for a job, and other things.

Anyway, please leave a review.