A New World

Seeing the night blanket over the ruins of Hope County for the first time in years was a welcoming sight. Before the collapse, the Judge never saw the beauty of the day or night but after years of never seeing them, he now saw the true beauty of them both.

After leaving the bunker for the first time in years Jake felt relieved. The confined space and lack of fresh air were getting to him and Joseph severely. Now that Jake was finally out of that accursed bunker he vowed never to go back in there ever again.

Right now the two survivors were sitting at a recently lit fire, enjoying freshly cooked meat from a deer killed by the Judge. When the Judge saw the deer he was surprised because he thought there wouldn't be any existing wildlife in the valley, but he was wrong. However, it seems like the fallout changed them. They look more… exotic.

The two chowed down, enjoying the taste of freshly cooked meat instead of all the canned stuff from the bunker. The taste was delicious, he savored every bite as he ate. These Hunting skills came in handy when he needed to feed him. Never did he imagine he'd be using these skills to aid a peggie, these skills were taught to him in order to kill Peggies. There's some irony in this.

Despite the juicy flavor of the freshly cooked game, the Judge couldn't help but hesitate to eat. There is much on his mind that made him ignore the needs of his stomach. This did not go unnoticed by the Father.

"Keep eating my child, we must replenish our strength for the task ahead," Joseph ordered.

As much as the Judge wanted to keep eating he just didn't feel like it. He paused from eating his share and placed it on a semi-flat rock, which substituted as a plate for the time being.

"What troubles you?" Joseph asked.

The Judge let out these words. "Old friends," he looked away from Joseph and reminisced about his life before the bunker. "Are they…do you think they might still live…Father?" He asked intently.

He was a new man now, a protector for the coming New Eden in this reformed world. But part of him still hoped they had survived the Collapse and the fallout that came after it. Then again, it would not be an easy journey from this point on. He did not want anyone to suffer when they did not deserve it.

Joseph shrugged. "I don't know. But we may know soon enough."

Ruins of Falls End

Needing to know if anyone else survived the Collapse the Judge began searching in what remained of the town of Falls End. The moment the Judge laid his eyes on the old town he was saddened. The once beautiful small town of Falls End was now just a bunch of scorched old buildings half-buried in the sand.

This town, once the heart of this valley is now no more thanks to the collapse. However two buildings looked to be in better condition than the rest, the Spread Eagle and the church looked to be the only intact structures in the town.

The Judge looked and listened carefully for any signs of survivors that may be in the town possibly in hiding. He started looking in what was left of Jerome's church. Looking around he saw nobody in sight however there showed evidence of somebody staying and taking refuge here. Around the church several various forms of supplies were laid around, some of which the Judge recognized as Jerome's belongings.

"Jerome…was…here," The Judge muttered.

Didn't seem like Jerome was gonna be here anytime soon. Seemed like nobody has been here in days. The dirt below him showed two sets of faint footprints, the Judge knelt down to analyze them. One of the most likely belonged to Jerome but the other was a bit small like they belong to a kid.

'Could Jerome have a kid?' The Judge wondered.

The Judge didn't remember seeing any kids in Hope County before the collapse, he knew Eden's Gate had many, but any residents that had children in the valley left when Eden's Gate began seizing the valley. Well, there was the Ryes.

As soon as his mind shifted to thoughts of the Rye's he began wondering if the Rye's could be alive. The thought of Carmina when he first laid on eyes on her all those years ago began to sprout in his mind.

'Could she have survived?' The Judge began to think, 'Am I still her godfather? Will the Rye's even want to see me even if they learn I'm still alive?'

Before he could think about that more a crashing sound filled his ears, he looked up and realized it came from the remains of the Spread Eagle bar. He ran over to the bar and then pushed in the door. Looking around he quickly realized the source of the sound was just a rat tipping over a bottle making it fall and shatter to the floor.

Realizing that the place is truly abandoned the Judge sighed, looking around the place another time. He loved this place, the beer was great, the food was good, and there were so many good people to talk to here. How he longed to relive one of those days over again one last time.

Looking around a horrifying sight made his eyes widen behind his mask. Sitting at one of the tables is the corpse of his friend Mary May Fairgrave. The sight made the Judge lift up his mask to get a better look at this.

Tears began leaking from his eyes, Mary May was a great person maybe a bit stubborn but she didn't deserve to die. When he was trapped in the bunker he hoped Mary would be one of the fortunate few to survive the fallout. However, it seems God has decided she wasn't worthy enough to survive in this new world.

"Mary…May," The Judge muttered. He walked over to the remains of her deceased friend, placing his hand on her shoulder. Mary was a kind, caring soul who always looked out for others. This is not the fate she deserved, she deserved so much better. "I…hope… you're in Heaven,"

Decided that Mary deserved to be put to rest the Judge walked out of the bar, headed to an old shed, and found a shovel. He then went behind what was left of the church where the cemetery was and began digging a hole.

After thirty minutes the Judge finally finished digging the hole, now all that was left to do is collect the remains and bury them. With that, the Judge went back to the bar, collected the remains of his friend, then brought her to the hole. The Judge then placed her down in the hole, picked up the shovel then started filling the hole.

After another thirty minutes of filling in the hole, the Judge breathed out a sigh of relief now that his friend is put to rest. However, this job wasn't done, the grave needed a cross. So he went over to one of the buildings pulling a few pieces of wood and some rusty nails. After that, the Judge went back to the shed grabbing a hammer.

With all the materials and the tool, the Judge got to work on making the cross. Finishing it only took a few minutes, but there was one more thing it needed. The Judge pulled out a knife and engraved it. As soon as he finished the cross read. 'Mary Fairgrave'.

The Judge finally placed the cross over Mary's grave and then knelt down in front of it praying. "Mary… May… Fairgrave… may you… rest in… peace."

"My child…" A voice spoke to the Judge from behind, "Have you found anyone?" Joseph asked.

The Judge nodded his head. "A dead friend."

Joseph looked at the cross and nodded. "I see. Anything else."

"Faint… tracks… In the church… But nothing else,"

Joseph went inside the old church, the smell of the aged lumber brought a sense of peace to him. Stepping further towards the alter, Joseph noticed the footprints. Taking a closer look at the small pair of tracks, a sense of hope was brought to him.

"Children? Life will flourish."

Joseph walked back outside to the cemetery where he saw the Judge still praying to the grave of his deceased comrade. He placed a hand on his shoulder and then said. "Come, we must focus on finding what remains of my family then we can focus on locating any other survivors in the valley,"

The Judge nodded in agreement. Right now what matters is finding any surviving peggies and begin creating the New Eden that Joseph has dreamed of. Searching for any other surviving Hope County residents can wait.

Ruins of Johns Bunker.

Days have passed since emerging from Dutch's old bunker, now that the Judge knew that some of his comrades may have survived he could now help Joseph find any surviving members of Eden's Gate.

The Judge has searched for days for the remnants of the Project at Eden's Gate but locating them has proven to be very difficult. Eventually, luck smiled upon him, while scavenging a house he found a note off the corpse of a Peggie that said that as the collapse dragged on much of what remained of Eden's Gate took refuge in the remains of John's bunker. At first, the Judge doubted it but he scouted the area but it seems the note held true.

"Father… I have… located… our flock… they hide in… what remains of John's bunker," The Judge informed.

Joseph placed his hand on the Judge's shoulder, "You've done well my Judge, have you found a way inside?"

The Judge nodded. "The only… way inside… is through… old missile silo. We can try… to rappel down." The masked follower looked around for anything that could be of use to them. The building that had miraculously survived the Collapse, was the first place the Judge had checked for supplies. He was able to find several yards of chain that had not rusted over, due to them being secured in a crate. This would do for him and Joseph to rappel into the silo.

The Judge came back to Joseph with the chain and then said. "This will… help us… get to your flock,"

With that, the Judge attached the chain to something and then tested to see if it was strong enough to hold them and it seemed strong enough. Joseph and the Judge then rappelled down into the bunker. As they did the Judge began having flashes of memory, last time he was here he and Hudson destroyed this bunker and doomed this part of the valley.

The thought of deputy Hudson brought the Judge to a moment of pause as he and the father rappelled down. Joseph looked down at the Judge. "What's wrong?"

"Regret… destroy bunker… doom many… blood… me."

"Worry about that later, for now, focus on the task at hand," Joseph ordered.

"Yes father," The Judge continued to rappel down.

Making his way to solid footing, the Judge and the Father looked around seeing a hallway abandoned. The two walked a bit before they found a room. Inside the room, many peggies resided. The very smell carried through the halls bore the same feeling of dread and agony.

Many of the peggies looked starved, dehydrated, some sick, others dying. Seemed like some even have lost hope. Luckily that hope is about to be reignited at this very moment. That one thought made the Judge smile underneath his mask.

Joseph walked into the room next to the Judge and raised his arms into the air. "My children!"

The entire room fell silent at the break of silence, everyone was literally frozen, because the voice they heard was one that many of them thought they would never hear again. Everyone turned their heads at the source of the voice and what they saw didn't seem real to some of them, and to others, it was as if their prayers were answered.

"The Father?"

"Is this real?"

"Joseph?"

"This can't be,"

"Joseph is alive!"

"The Father is alive!"

Everyone ran over to Joseph standing in awe at the father's presence, all of them thought that Joseph Seed was gone but here he was.

"We prayed Joseph… we prayed hard that you would survive. But some of us thought we would never see you again. We never should've doubted you." A woman said.

"Who is this masked man with you Father?" A man asked menacingly as several other cultists began surrounding him.

Before things could escalate Joseph raised his arms up to cease tension towards the Judge. "My children please calm yourselves. This man is no threat to me or to any of you. God has ordained this individual to be New Eden's Judge, he is one of the tools with which we will build our New Eden. So do not fear him he is loyal to me and to all of you as he should be."

After hearing that all the peggies immediately stopped acting hostile towards the Judge, and some even began looking at him as their friend and ally.

"Family of Eden's Gate, you have all endured, struggled, and survived. For that, you should be proud, but this time of hardship is over. The world above us has been made anew, the time has come for you to leave the confines of this bunker and come with us to help us begin the lord's work." Joseph preached to his followers. "Are all of you still willing to follow me?"

"Of course father,"

"We'll follow you anywhere,"

"We are your children,"

"We will never doubt you anymore,"

"We are yours to command forever."

Knowing now that his followers remain still remain loyal to him after all these years Joseph smiled. "Then come, let us leave this accursed place and begin building our New Eden."

Not being need to told twice the remnants of Eden's Gate gladly followed Joseph and the Judge out of the bunker. Climbing out of the darkness and up into the night. After years of being underground many peggies reveled in being topside once more, others found themselves irritated with the sunlight as the Judge was.

After a few moments, Joseph spoke up. "Everyone, gather around."

The peggies obeyed, gathering around Joseph listening closely to what Joseph is gonna say to them.

"As you all can see, much has changed, but do not fear this, instead embrace it. Trust me when I say this is all temporary. One time of hardship is over but another is beginning, but we will persevere and we will prevail. For I am your father and you are all my children and together we will build the New Eden God has intended for us. Now come, we have much work to do." Joseph preached and then began leading the way with the Judge following next to him.

The cultists gladly followed behind the two of them more than ready to begin God's work.

This is where it all begins.

New Eden

A year has passed since the collapse, and since then a New Eden has arisen in what remained of the Henbane River. The condition of New Eden has been slowly improving, but not enough. The climate is making it hard to grow crops to survive, hunting animals was getting harder and harder, and the people are starving. The people aren't gonna be able to survive much longer if this continues.

Joseph has been praying to God for answers for many months hoping for a solution to no avail. The Judge and the Chosen have been working hard to keep New Eden in a state of stability but eventually, New Eden will fall apart.

It seemed like this would be the end of New Eden, but a day ago Joseph received another vision from God. The vision told him that New Eden's salvation lies in the north. If New Eden is to survive then somebody will need to journey north to acquire whatever it is there. Joseph decided that he and the Judge should be the ones to make this voyage.

Many of the flock wanted to come along to assist Joseph but he reassured New Eden that he and the Judge could handle this alone. The next day Joseph and the Judge departed for the north. The voyage lasted for half the day, and the toxic environment nearly killed them both but the two of them persevered and made it through.

After the voyage, Joseph and the Judge arrived at what was left of the Dam. "We are here, my Judge,"

The Judge looked up to see that they'd arrived at what remained of the old Hope County Dam.

"Why… are we…here?" The Judge asked.

Joseph pointed towards the ruins of the Hope County Dam.

"Our future, my child." Joseph praised.

Joseph lead the two of them through the whitetail mountains, and up the dam. A haunting sound began to creep into his ears, but there was no music. It was the ghosts of his past, following the Judge. His legs didn't go into a pause but he was shaken to the core. He fell to his knees as he began losing control of his breathing.

"Son." Joseph held the Judge from falling completely.

"We culled… the herd here… blood… fangs… so much death… the lord gives… the lord taketh…"

Joseph embraced the Judge in his weakened state, "We must think beyond that understanding, son. This world has given us a chance to be more than cattle, and that is why we're here. Follow me son"

Knowing he couldn't keep letting the past haunt him he picked himself back up and followed behind the Father. Joseph led them up some hills where they made it to the front of the dam where they found the most unusual tree.

Joseph pointed to the tree. "Do you know what this is?"

"A…tree," The Judge said, not seeing what the big deal was about this tree, however, he could sense something unusual with it.

"This… tree, is our salvation. The fruit this tree bears is extraordinary, it's God's gift to us. It will allow our people to survive the famine, weather, and the predators that plague this valley." Joseph explained.

The Judge knew not to question or disbelieve Joseph's words, but still, the idea of a magic tree made the Judge chuckle a bit.

Joseph saw the Judge's disbelief but he will soon understand the power the fruit of this tree bears.

"Of the two of us, you are the strongest in both mind and body, I have faith in your strength," Joseph picked an apple from the tree, handing it to the Judge. "Again and again you have proven yourself a loyal member of New Eden. We will be the first to partake in this miracle… Join me, my Judge."

The Judge wasn't sure of this, a magical apple that granted magical powers still seemed stupid to him. However, questioning Joseph's wisdom only leads to disaster. Knowing he had to believe in Joseph he removed his mask and took a bite.

The taste was sweet but the moment he swallowed a strange sensation began taking over his body. His skin began to sizzle, his blood burned like acid, followed by smoking, and then passing out.

At first, there was nothing but darkness then he found himself in the middle of a forest. Then a wolf appeared right in front of him, then suddenly lunged towards him, the Judge quickly turned this to his advantage grabbing it and throwing it into a tree. However, vanishing as soon as it made contact on the hard tree bark.

Suddenly the one wolf wasn't alone, the wolf pack appeared everywhere surrounding him, and a blade then mysteriously appeared in his hand. The Judge immediately readied himself for the fight coming, he wouldn't let himself be killed by these creatures. The biggest mutated mongrel crouched on all fours ready for another lunge. Barking with his fangs in full view he pounced on the Judge. The Judge ducked beneath the canine, exposing the wolf's underside. Thanks to the apple given by Joseph the Judge used the knife he was given to cut the wolf open. Steaming intestines followed after his strong cut. Blood splattered across the Judge's mask. The rest of the wolf pack simmered in their ferocity. Given the biggest wolf now laid dead with an open stomach, the Judge looked back at the rest of the pack. Amidst the chaos and wrath brought upon this newfound power bestowed upon the Judge has brought a new sense of purpose coursed through the old broken deputy. No, not the deputy, the Judge of New Eden.

The very moment the Judge's bones stopped shaking and he now stands before the wolves that kneel before his very presence.

Then the Judge's vision instantly snapped to black and utter silence.

The Judge's eyes snapped open, he looked around seeing Joseph standing over him. However, as he regained himself something felt odd. He felt stronger, faster, and so much more. Joseph wasn't lying when told that these apples granted power. The tree truly was something extraordinary.

Joseph helped the Judge up and then asked. "How do you feel?"

The Judge said only one word. "Stronger,"

"Good," Joseph then approached the tree. "This tree will help our people survive the harsh conditions, we must bring others here but in order for them to receive the gift of Eden they will need to survive the journey here,"

"How?"

Joseph placed a hand on the Judge. "Do not worry I have a plan. But first things first."

Joseph went over to the tree, grabbed the apple then took a bite from an apple. The Judge as the Father's witness watched Joseph fall into the same stupor as he bit into the fruit. His body fell unconscious as he battled his sins the same as he did. Unknowing of the time it would take for the Father to awaken, the Judge remained vigilant to protect Joseph and his inner trial.

Behind the Judge crept a pack of howling wolves.

"Impossible." The Judge's trial was all in his mind, and yet a pack has arrived before him.

The pack galloped over to the duo's location. The Judge readied his bow, ready for another fight, but when they surrounded the two men one wolf crept closer with a dead rabbit in its jaws. Dropping the fresh rabbit carcass in front of the Judge they backed away and remained vigilant the same as the Judge.

"Thank you..." The Judge looked up at the clouded blue skies, "Thank you... God."

The wolves then departed and at that same moment, Joseph awoke. The Judge went over to check on him. "Are you… ok?"

Joseph just stood up and then raised his hands into the air. "OK… I am alive."

The clouds above moved away from the sun to crack open a beam of sunlight. The very spot laid down golden rays of light beneath Joseph Seed.

"Come, let us return to New Eden and inform our family of this," Joseph said.

The Judge gave a nod of agreement, letting out a grunt.

With that, the two of them headed back down to their boat to return home. What they've found will change everything for them. Thie fruit will help Eden survive the coming years. Things will finally begin to change for the better.

Or so they think, nobody will be prepared for what's to come in the years ahead.

Another chapter is done, leave a review and tell me your opinions.

I would also like to give a shoutout to Dr. Archangel and Fairytail96 for helping me out with this chapter.