The Promise of Tomorrow

by EmberSynapse

Repost from my OG account GhostfaceTV. AU - The America We Knew #2. Tori and the group have successfully made it out of Wanagi and are on the hunt once more for a place to call home. They've lost a lot, but they still have each other and hope for a better life. The second installment introduces people from the past, new alliances and new territory, all of which come with a price.

1. An Ultimatum

(Visual cue for characters: . )

Dom led both vehicles out of the town the way they had originally entered. It was eerie leaving the once busy neighborhood they were starting to think of as home, but there wasn't anything left there for them. They had lost one of their group but gained a few as well, so although the loss of Matthew weighed heavily on their shoulders the burden wasn't too much since they had fresh faces to interact with. The kids they had picked up on the way out were not something they planned on, but leaving orphaned children out in the open wasn't something they were prepared to have on their conscience forever. Everyone saw what leaving the boys had done to Matthew and Marie for a long time after and none of them wanted to go through the same thing. Dom looked to the back seat in his rear view mirror and saw the kids playing some kind of game with hand signals, laughing and going on like their future wasn't crumbling all around them. They would learn what happened soon enough, he just hoped they learned about it in a classroom instead of an encampment.

Nothing they learned in school had prepared them for the world they lived in. There was no class that taught kids how to scavenge for food and water. There was no instructor that taught them how to properly wield a firearm or how to take a punch, or even how to attack with a blade. Their harsh reality was adults taking from kids. Young people taking from the elderly and handicapped that couldn't defend themselves. No class they took in their school of futuristic certainty prepared them for a day where human beings would abandon their morals and act like barbarians towards each other on a grand scale, so when Dom thought back to the man in the car shooting the other man over money that didn't have any meaning anymore, and the fact that the pointless loss of life didn't really phase him much, he was worried about how the coming months-or years-would effect the group.

A quick check of the side mirror showed that Tori and the others were still behind him. He looked to his right and saw Cora with her eyes shut and head lolled to the side, breathing slowly. His whole family was gone, but he had a new family to help fill up the empty spaces and allow him to heal. The memory that his brother had gone down in a hail of gunfire was one that never really left his conscious, and it drove him to continue on, to find a spot where they could all be safe and start again. There weren't many places left where they could do that, especially on the west coast. Dom had thought about trying to go north again, maybe cross into Canada if they could find a way through and head up into the Canadian Shield. A remote forest would be a good place to hide out in for a while, given its density for weather protection and wildlife to hunt. He also thought of what might happen if they made it up there and their cars broke down or they ran out of gas, of what would happen if they were stuck there by themselves where no one would come to rescue them. The better choice was to stay in the states, although dangerous, since the chance of finding decent survivors wasn't that much lower than that of finding vicious ones.

Eventually the kids started voicing their need to take a bathroom break so Dom reached over and placed a hand on Cora's knee, shaking it gently to wake her up. She stirred for a second and looked down at Dom's hand, smiling lazily while she tried to blink the sleep from her eyes. Dom blushed for the space of a breath and brought his arm back quickly, steadying his hands at ten and two on the wheel with his eyes staring straight out the windshield.

"Any reason you woke me up?" asked Cora.

"Jessica said she has to go to the bathroom" said Dom. "And I'm guessing the rest of them do too. I could use a break myself."

"Okay then. Where do we stop?"

"There's an exit coming up in about ten miles. Sounds like a small town, could potentially be dangerous if people are still camping out there. We'll get off the highway, stop as quickly and as close to the on ramp as possible, do our business and get back out. Hopefully before anybody notices us." Another exit sign came up and Dom reached his hand out the window, pointing up to it and then pointing to the right, signaling to Diana that they were going to exit.

"Sounds like a plan" said Cora. "Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be a gas station close to the on ramp that has some snack food."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up."

In the other car Tori had been thinking about their situation and what they had been through in the past month. They had lost a friend and family member to the craziness of their new reality, and yet some people were still out in the wings. It had been four weeks since she had heard from her mom, and with them being in California it was uncertain if they were even still alive. Her sister was off somewhere, hopefully not by herself, which meant that her parents were alone without their two girls, most likely in constant worry over their well being. Tori had barely been away from home for over a week in her whole life, but things had definitely changed.

They didn't have a specific course of action. Dom was just kind of going with the flow and taking the group to where he thought resources might be easy to get, which gave Tori hope that maybe she could convince the group to go west. She knew it would be a hard sell since the unrest in that direction had been worse for longer than it was anywhere else, so it would be really dangerous to go that way, but she wanted to do everything she could to find her family. Diana would be okay with it since she had said before that she wanted Tori to be reunited with her parents, but the others would probably want to go east instead. She didn't blame them.

The radio had been dead for the most part since Wanagi had fallen apart. There were snippets of information coming from pirate radio stations in different areas, usually about the state of the area they were in and any SOS messages for lost family members. The Red Cross usually set up some kind of coordinated search effort to help people find lost loved ones by having them fill out names and areas of residence on a sheet of paper, but for all they knew The Red Cross didn't even exist anymore. The last bit of information they had heard before they left the city was about north Denver being mostly on fire. People had spotted smoke in the distance and wondered if it would travel their way, but that worry was pretty far gone in the present.

They continued that last little stretch before the exit and veered off, looking around the corner to see if they could spot any service stations close to the on ramp on the other side of the intersection. There was a fast food/gas station hybrid set back a little ways next to a hotel that looked like it might have some salvageable items left in it, so Dom pulled into the parking lot and put the car in park. Cora went to open her door but Dom laid a quick hand on her shoulder.

"Stay in here with the kids while I go scope out the inside. I don't want any surprises."

"OK" said Cora, pulling down the visor so she could see the kids in the back seat with the mirror.

Diana pulled up a minute later and got out as well. She scanned the area around them out of habit before locking eyes with Dom. He nodded towards the hotel and everyone looked that direction, searching the windows to see if they could spot movement. They understood that a hotel could easily be a safe haven for some people that were looking to hide out from bandits, or could even be a haven for the bandits themselves. Dom pointed to the hotel and the run down diner across the street as he backed up towards the building.

"Keep an eye on the grounds and the windows, we don't want to get surprised out here."

"You got it" said Diana, slipping her hands into her pockets. "If there's any pink vitamin water in there snag me one."

"Will do."

Dom and Marie entered the store together and separated to attack both sides of the building at the same time. Marie headed into the gas station part while Dom headed into the fast food part, looking for any kind of materials they could use in their travels. One thing they had learned in the month since the Conflict was practically nothing was useless and if you know what to look for, you can find things that could potentially save your life. Commodities like duct tape and super glue suddenly became worth more than diamonds and if you had access to those things, you could easily dictate terms for yourself and your group in a community.

There wasn't really much since it looked like the building had been combed over by others before them but Marie managed to find plastic bags behind the counter, so she grabbed a couple and filled them with whatever food was left on the shelves, which was mostly snack packs of crackers and gum, save for the odd candy bar. Dom mostly struck out as well until he spotted a five gallon bucket in the back room. He picked it up and set it on the counter so he wouldn't forget it on the way out and went back into the back, hoping to find a few more things. The walk in freezer was empty and the utility closet didn't hold much more than a molded mop bucket and broom so Dom's hopes of coming away with some gear dimmed substantially, but the thought of maybe having a Reese's from next door lifted his spirits.

Marie filled up three bags with the small snacks she'd found when they first entered and then began filling a few more with drinks from the coolers. There was no power in this area so they weren't cold anymore but they hadn't lost their carbonation, which only added to her excitement of cracking a Dr. Pepper. She was finishing up the bag in her hand when she heard footsteps to her left.

"Find anything good over there?"

"Not really, but I can't say I didn't score over here."

Marie froze instantly. She didn't recognize the voice and since her back to was the man she wasn't sure if he was holding a weapon, but in the world they lived in she would be surprised if he wasn't. The man took a few steps forward and she smelled alcohol in the air, tipping her off that whoever was behind her was probably squatting in the building and had helped himself to all of the booze in the cooler. The natural reflex to run was screaming in her muscles but she stood still, trying to play it cool and not tip the man off that she was afraid.

"Let me guess. You're gonna tell me I'm the prettiest girl you've seen in a long time in hopes that I'll be flattered, right?" Marie stood up straight but didn't turn around. "Then, you'll put a soft hand on my arm and tell me that you could teach me things the boys I know wouldn't even dream of, and you'll stare longingly into my eyes, hoping that I'll see the tortured soul and just under the surface tender nature. Sound about right?"

The man chuckled and she could hear his body relax. "I could say that, but I don't think my girlfriend would appreciate it."

Marie turned around and made eye contact. The man was about six feet two inches, give or take an inch, and thin, but with extraordinary definition. He had short brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. He wore a long sleeved under armour shirt that clung to his upper body like a second skin and a pair of asphalt gray khakis that tucked into black boots. Marie looked him up and down once and smiled coyly, tilting her head to the side a little. He smiled at her and as soon as he dropped eye contact she grabbed the stand next to her and ripped it to the floor between them, turning to run towards the other side of the building where Dom was. The stand crashed to the linoleum and it echoed throughout the store, loud enough to alert the girls outside.

Dom's head snapped up at the noise and he charged from the back room, hopping effortlessly over the counter toward the front door. He ran into Marie so hard that she stumbled backwards but he caught her extended arm and pulled her back before she could hit the floor. A noise from the back wall alerted Dom to the new man's presence as he stood against the coolers with the freshly tipped over stand between them. The front door opened and Tori flew through it, almost falling over as she stopped in front of Marie and Dom.

"What's going on?" Tori breathed, clearly freaked out.

"I'm guessing I scared your friend here" said the man, holding his hands up in a surrender pose. "I'm Brandon."

"Well Brandon," said Dom, "where did you come from?"

"My mom's name is Kelly and my dad's is Frank. I think my dad's side is Irish and-"

"Enough" said Dom, his voice booming through the open space. Brandon's face hardened and his eyes bored right into Dom's, charging the air between them. "Answer the question."

"I stay nearby. Why, are you guys looking for somewhere to go?"

"Possibly. We just left a nearby town when it, uh, fell apart I guess." Dom looked at the girls and they shrugged their shoulders lightly.

"You must have been involved with whatever had all those military vehicles heading north from here, huh?" asked Brandon.

"Yeah. Some guy named General Calloway."

Brandon shook his head with a grave look on his face. "Figures."

"You know of him?"

"Know of him?" Brandon chuckled and ran a thumb over his jaw line. "I've tangled with him a few times, trying to keep him and his goons out of this area. That was a few weeks ago, before he had risen up so to speak. I know he's gonna come back with his army in their vehicles and try to intimidate my group into either working for him or leaving, but he's gonna have a hell of a time as long as I'm alive."

The look on Brandon's face was the same that Dom usually carried. Strong and precise, but not void of worry. Marie looked them both over and bit her lip gently, crossing her arms over chest. She could see that the two of them were very alike and that Brandon had probably sacrificed a lot to keep his group safe same as Dom, and that helped her warm up to him a bit. She handed one of the bags over to Tori and the other to Diana, then started looking through the last one. A Hershey bar was staring her in the face so she grabbed it out and unwrapped it, broke the top corner piece off and popped it in her mouth. Brandon smiled and then held his arms out in a grand gesture.

"It's not hard to tell the difference between good people and scavengers, and you guys seem cool. We're shacked up in the hotel next door. There's twelve of us, and I'm the, uh, seventh oldest at twenty six. I can take you over so you can check things out, but I don't have any rations to spare. I'm sure you can understand."

"Yeah I get it" said Dom, turning towards the door slightly. "We'll go take a look and see what your setup is like and if it works for us, maybe we could stick around and help you guys out."

Tori's heart sank a little bit but she didn't want to burst the bubble of potential stability for the rest of the members of her group. Selfishness wasn't a very good color on her.

"OK, follow me."

The group followed Brandon through the back entrance towards the hotel they saw on the way in. Abandoned cars littered the parking lot and some of the back roads that led to it, and that made Tori think that the owners had probably been killed. She looked at every car and the thought of a human life, one of love, loss and knowledge, had been removed from this Earth over something as miniscule as colored paper. Those people could have been parents. Brothers, sisters, aunts or uncles. The weight of her own losses was heavy enough but with her new found added pressure of others she wasn't sure if she would be able to handle it all. Day by day it seemed to take more to power through it but she did so because people needed her, and she needed them.

The hotel looked like it was pretty much abandoned but they knew on Brandon's authority that it wasn't. She wondered how the people that lived here would take on newcomers, and all of a sudden she was nervous. Would they push them away, loathe them for coming to share in the already limited supplies, or would they embrace them? There was no way to guess what was going to happen so she just had to bite the bullet like the rest of her group and go in with the best attitude and positive energy she could muster, and hopefully that would convince Brandon's group that the two groups could coexist peacefully.

As they entered the hotel grounds Tori made for the front door but she heard a sound behind her, so she slowed and turned her head back. Brandon nodded his head slightly to the right and veered a little off course, leading them around to the right side of the building. There was a second entrance about half way down the wall but he didn't stop there, instead he continued all the way to the back of the building and entered through a service entrance near the dumpster. A man was standing by the door with a gun, apparently on duty, and when he saw Brandon they nodded mutually yet silently. Brandon led them down a series of hallways until they headed through a door that led to a staircase. They went up floor after floor until they headed through a door marked with a 5, which had another guard standing next to it on the other side. Tori went to pass through but Brandon put a hand out to stop her.

"You guys wait here a sec, I'm gonna go break the news to the Elders before they just happen to walk out and see a big new group of people. I don't think that would be the best way to introduce you." He smiled and headed through the door, which clicked loudly in Tori's face.

"Well hopefully everything goes OK, this is a pretty nice hotel" said Marie. "I could see us staying here for a while. Plus then we wouldn't have to ride in the car anymore."

"I think it's nice too" said Dom, "but don't get your hopes up. Getting in with new groups isn't really an easy task, and even if they do accept us in the beginning we might not mesh well over time. Lots of things are possible so we just need to stay focused on right now."

"Yes sir Captain Major guy sir." Marie saluted Dom and he shook his head with that condescending parental look. "Come on, let me live a little."

"I'm just trying to save you from being disappointed."

In that moment Marie could see the enormous pressure of everything that Dom carried for them, and the feeling broke her heart. He should be going to college and chasing girls, but instead he was tasked with ensuring the survival of a whole group people, even in the wake of his brother's death. She felt a big wave of appreciation wash over her and in that moment she stepped forward and brought Dom into a hug and leaned her head on his chest. He smiled and wrapped her up tight, trying to squeeze his understanding into her ribs. Tori and Diana both smiled and entangled their fingers, hoping to live in the moment for as long as they could.

They were cut short of the good vibes when Brandon reappeared, looking stern but not upset. His eyes moved from the floor to Tori and the familiar smile from the gas station popped back onto his face.

"Well it seems like most of them are busy in a meeting about strategy or something so they won't be out for a while, but I did tell them everything, how there's quite a few of you with the little kids and all, and they seemed to be OK with it. I don't know if that's because they really are OK with it or because they were wrapped up in their meeting and didn't really hear what I said to them, but for now anyway, you guys are cool to hang out around here. I can't really give you the grand tour at the moment since they gave me a job to do, but if you want you can check it out yourselves. The rooms are still locked but we've managed to pick them manually for rooms for people to stay in, so for now you can hang out in the lobby and play cards or something. The guards just want to make sure people don't go into the basement or onto the roof."

"Why's that?" asked Cora.

"Well the roof I guess is because there can obviously be people in the area and they don't want the potential for someone being spotted on the roof from far away, giving up our position. The basement I'd guess is because there's no lights or anything and there's a lot of stairs, you could fall and break a leg or ankle or something."

"Alright then I guess we'll hit up the lobby and relax for a while" said Diana as she squeezed Tori's hand.

"I should be back pretty soon, just going into a neighboring area for a minute. I'll see you guys later."

Brandon headed down the stairs and was out of sight. Dom lead the group down into the lobby where the people who lived there had set up a small games area. There were a few board games and some decks of cards, and even a Chess set. A small rectangular board sat on a side table and Tori knew what it was immediately, so she ran over and grabbed it before anyone else did.

"Diana, have you ever played Mancala?"

Diana scanned the board and the little marble pieces. "Can't say I have."

"It's easy" said Tori, filling up the basins with marbles. "You move to the right as many spaces as you have marbles in the basin you choose. You drop one in each basin including your keep, but not in my keep, and if your last marble drops in your basin you get to go again. If your last marble ends in an empty space on your side, you capture whatever marbles are in the basin on my side. When one side runs out of marbles whatever the other side has left goes into their basin and each side counts their marbles, and whoever has the most wins."

"Sounds like fun" said Diana, looking at the spaces and counting to try and develop a strategy. "Did you used to play this game a lot?"

"Yeah, it was a pretty big staple in my household. The board was always out on the living room table and we kept a scoreboard by the door. Last I knew I think my mom was winning by a couple games but I was right behind her. Then my dad, then Trina. I don't think she ever really got the hang of it but she tried. Sometimes."

"I bet you guys had a lot of fun." Diana watched as Tori moved her first pieces and sat back looking at the board for a moment. She passed through a bunch of memories in her head as she stared blankly at the pieces in front of her, wishing that she could flip one of them and make a wish to bring her parents back. It had only been a year or so since her dad died and quite a bit longer for her mom, but it felt like she had just seem them maybe a week ago. The passing of Matthew in such a horrible situation had really brought out her grief for her parents but she couldn't focus on it in that danger, and the downtime she found herself in then was helping to bring out the feelings of mourning. She was hoping to not throw Tori off her game so she went ahead and made her first move, copying what Tori did and then making her second move a little different. Tori looked her over questioningly before she continued.

"Are you OK? You seem a little down, and I'm getting some heavy vibes from you." She put her hand over her heart and bit her lower lip.

Diana thought about saying something but she determined that it wasn't the best time since they were practically in limbo waiting for the OK to see if they could stay there or not. "No, yeah, I'm fine. I just kind of spaced there for a second."

"If you just spaced I wouldn't be feeling like someone was sitting on my chest right now. What's wrong?" Tori got up and moved to the other side of the table.

"Just finally feeling the grief of my dad and Matthew and all of this going on. I've been pretty good at putting it away for a long time but I don't know what it is right now. I feel like I just need to run, or scream or something to help release this tension." Diana fidgeted on the couch until Tori grabbed her hands and cupped them with her own.

"I know all of this is hard to deal with, especially since my whole family is in another state and I have no idea if they're okay or not. I know what's it's like to wonder and say what if, but at the same time you have to look at how far we've come in such a short period of time. Look at how many people died when this thing started, but us? We survived. We got ourselves together and we made it." Tori let go of Diana's hands and stood up. "We might not have much, but we have each other. Like Jonny and his brothers, Jessica and her siblings. I know you still need to work through the bad stuff, but keep the good stuff in mind, and I'm sure it'll help you out."

"You know, you're really attractive when you give advice."

Tori blushed and averted her eyes to the floor. "Yeah well you're easy to talk to."

Dom walked over and checked out their game which snapped the two girls out of their little moment. Diana looked down at the board and realized that Tori's basin was half full and she only had a couple. Their talk had her coasting through her moves without really paying attention, something that she had a nagging suspicion Tori was counting on based on the look she was giving her.

"Were you cooing me on purpose so you could win this game?"

Tori contorted her face in mock shock. "Who? Me? I would never!"

"Looks like you two are having fun" said Dom.

"Well if you think about it, we're not really sitting around waiting to do the normal duties anymore" said Diana. "Usually a person's downtime is really just the space between one job or another, but now, downtime is the only time. I guess we're just trying to adjust how we live and carry on conversation."

Dom chewed on those words for a minute and couldn't really think of anything to say at the time, so he nodded his head and patted Diana on the shoulder before walking to a comfy looking chair in the corner. He sat down and looked out the window, rolling the observation around in his brain. It was true that their day to day had become pretty aimless, except for the scavenging for food and other survival items. They weren't waiting to go to work or school anymore, so they had to find new ways to fill their time when they had cleaned out an area of all salvageable supplies. Most of the time when people see each other in public it's a quick 'hi, how are you?' or 'hope you and the family are doing well' in between isles in the grocery store, but these days, the stores were empty and there was nothing pressing keeping people from talking to each other. Video killed the radio star, and the internet killed the art of conversation.

About an hour later Brandon reentered the building and headed upstairs after a quick wave through the lobby. He was up there for a matter of minutes before he was bounding down again, eyes set on Dom.

"Hey bud, the group is ready to see everyone but they want to do separate interviews to see how each person is individually."

"So do we just wait here and have them call us up one at a time?" asked Dom.

"Actually I'm gonna put you guys in separate rooms down here and they'll disperse into each room so they can have one-on-one time with all of you before we all reconvene in this area."

Dom searched Brandon's face for a moment and looked at the rest of the group. "I don't really like the idea of us being separated like that."

Brandon smiled and opened his arms in a welcoming gesture. "Nothing to be worried about Dom, they just want to vet you guys in their own way."

"I would rather us stay together and have them talk to us as a group. I just don't feel like there's a real need for us to be rated singularly if we're all going to be living as a community."

Brandon's smile cracked a little and it seemed like he was getting agitated. Tori's stomach rolled over on itself and she laid her hands over top of it, gripping slightly like she was going to vomit. Diana didn't miss the gesture and she tapped Dom on the hip with the back of her hand.

"I don't like this Dom."

He turned and saw Tori's face and how she held her stomach, thinking that she had been sensitive to a lot of bad vibes before, he didn't want to go against her gut this time when there were a lot of people with guns around them. "I think we're-"

"You're not going anywhere" Brandon interrupted as he pulled his pistol out of the holster and pointed it at Dom. "I tried to do this the nice way but you wouldn't go along with it, so now it's the hard way." He whistled and a few more guards with rifles came into the room and started poking the group with the gun barrels, herding them different directions until they were all outside of arm's reach of each other.

"If you hurt these people I promise you'll regret it" said Dom, shaking slightly with rage. "My family means more to me than any possession you own does to you, I guarantee that."

Brandon chuckled softly and stepped forward. "Possessions don't do anything except hold you back. They're tokens of a past life that we don't live in anymore, dead weight that serves no purpose except to keep you up at night. No, I don't have any possessions except for a couple sets of clothes, my gun and a keen ability to rise through the ranks."

Dom's eyes widened at the realization that Brandon wasn't talking about old people when he said Elders, he meant Officers above his rank. "So how long have you been working for Calloway?

"General Calloway?" Marie asked, her voice rising a bit with each word. "How do you know he works for Calloway?"

"Since a couple days after the Conflict. I saw what he had going for him and I knew that was the train to get on, so I did. He tells me I'm great at 'taking initiative.'"

"You'll be taking my foot up your ass if you don't let us out of here" said Marie, struggling to get away from her captor.

"Now that's no way to talk to your superior" said Brandon in the most condescending tone he could muster. "You know what we do when something like this happens? When people get rowdy and want to stir up trouble?"

"You punish them, right? To show how big and strong and in charge you are?"

"Basically, but it's not necessarily aimed at the person who started it." With the end of his sentence he pistol whipped Dom so hard blood splattered against the wall they were standing near. Dom's body crumpled to the ground without obstruction and a loud thud echoed through the room. Marie's face went from stern to terrified in less time than it took for him to fall and Brandon's face mimed the satisfaction he gleaned from doling out punishment. "Now, you see how we do things around here. If you don't want any of your friends to get knocked out the way this poor guy did, you'll keep your mouth shut and do as I say. Otherwise, it could get messy around here."

Tori looked at Diana and tried to squeak out a reassuring smile, hoping that maybe if they kept a positive attitude, internally at least, they might be able to make it out of the next part of their situation alive. Marie seemed suddenly defeated and overwhelmed while Cora stood stone-faced and rigid. The younger kids started crying and as soon as the sound of wailing started to echo towards the stairs Brandon grabbed all four of the younger ones and led them to the first room in the hallway to the right. Cora tried to jump forward and stop him from doing so but the guard behind her caught her arm and pulled her backwards. A moment later a door slammed shut and the sound of crying was cut off completely. Brandon nodded to the guard closest to him and he moved to stand in front of the door with his weapon at the ready.

They stood in silence for the better part of twenty minutes when Dom started to stir a bit. He struggled to get to his knees and when he opened his eyes he slammed them shut immediately, his face full of pain. Tori wanted to walk over and help him up so badly but she knew what would happen if she moved, so she stayed still and watched him carefully. He made his way to his feet with the help of the chair in front of him and then leaned on it, reaching his arm back to feel the wound on his head that was still wet with fresh blood. He winced at the touch and saw the blood on his hand, his eyes quickly widening again as he scanned the room to make sure everyone was alright.

"Don't worry, no one else is hurt" said Brandon. "You get clocked because your loud-mouthed friend over there thought she was cute."

Marie looked scared and apologetic as Dom tried to reign himself back in. He looked over at Brandon, who was sitting idly in a chair picking at his fingernails when the question came to mind. "I don't understand. If you have us here surrounded by guns what are we still doing in this room? What do you even want from us?"

"For now, to stay here and be quiet. It's not up to me what happens to you in the future."

"So what, are you a bounty hunter or something?" asked Diana.

"More like a recruiter" said Brandon, kicking back in the chair to get a little more comfortable. "We have a few until our friend arrives, so just sit tight and don't be a hero."

About fifteen minutes passed by and with a rumbling in the distance Dom saw a convoy of three vehicles pull into the hotel parking lot. Brandon whistled again and made a circle motion with his finger that had the guards rounding all of them up in a straight line, which told them group that General Calloway must be approaching. They each stood straight with a little bit of fear of the unknown strengthening their spines.

Calloway entered the lobby area moments later with guards on either side of him, carrying what looked like brand new weapons. Of course, his bodyguards would have top notch equipment to make sure he was safe at all times. He talked animatedly with the man on his right as they walked up to the group and only at the last second did he actually look up to see what was in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise when he took in all of the people in front of him, especially when he landed on Dom. He looked them over one by one, assessing strength and agility from the outside.

"I remember seeing you folks in the humble town of Wanagi some days ago when that unfortunate little incident occurred. It soothes me to see that you made it out unscathed."

"We didn't exactly make it out unscathed" said Dom, balling his hands into fists. "My brother was killed in that fiasco."

Calloway looked down towards the ground and sighed out a deep breath. "I'm sorry to hear that son, I truly am. These casualties we've faced recently will blot our memories forever, that's true, but sometimes we encounter losses in the face of change for the better." He put his hands on his hips and studied the group once more, this time looking for they weren't sure what. He obviously seemed to be satisfied with what he saw since he continued on. "Me and my men have been working since day one of this thing to try to keep the American spirit alive, to bring us back together again under one common goal."

"And what is that goal?" asked Marie.

"To build a better Nation than we had before. Based on the same principals and laws of course, but with a few changes here and there to allow things to run more smoothly."

Dom didn't even want to guess at what Calloway would change, he just knew that he didn't like the sound of it at all. A series of beeps sounded from one of the guards' walkie talkies, triggering him to walk back towards the door to speak with someone. He was gone for maybe ten seconds before he walked back and muttered something to the General that caught his attention. He surveyed the group one last time and then turned on his heel to leave, but stopped at the last second. "Tell them I'll deal with it later, I have something else to do right now." With that the guard walked away once more but went all the way outside this time, leaving the group with Brandon, Calloway and one of his guards, and the original guards that were there when they first entered.

Tori looked back and forth between everyone in their group, trying to figure out the best plan of action. There was at least seven guns in the room and none of them belonged to the group, so their odds of getting out uninjured were slim to none, and they couldn't take another casualty. She eyed Dom, who seemed to be doing the same thing she was doing by scoping out doors and windows that could be potential exits. Their movements were not unnoticed by the guards, who seemed to stand a little taller. Calloway nodded his head to the side and Brandon jumped up, joining him in front of the group. They looked them over together, and finally Calloway broke the unnerving silence.

"So what do you think, Colin? Infantry for this one, Medical for the women?"

"Colin?" asked Tori. "You really gave us a fake name?"

Brandon smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Tactical move. There was more of you than me obviously, and if you happened to get away and tell someone about me I'd be a step ahead in anonymity."

"Good work, soldier" said Calloway, patting Colin on the back of the shoulder.

"Thank you sir."

"Lapdog" spat Marie, crossing her arms over her chest.

Colin crossed the room in just a few steps to come face to face with Marie. He stared her down and lifted his gun in the air, presumably to strike her the same way he had stricken Dom but before he could land the blow Calloway stopped him.

"That's enough, son. She's trying to get you to react." He pointed to Marie and nodded his head in appreciation. "Watch out for her, she's sly. Anyway, we'll start getting you all enrolled in your new jobs shortly here. You'll receive new duties to perform and the better job you do, the more you are rewarded. You'll bunk with like members of-"

"Wait a minute" Dom interjected, cutting the General off. "We're not joining your army."

"You say that now, but I think you'll find me pretty fair and just in the future. Give it a shot, see how it works out for you. We're building a new family here, a new country. Something we can all be proud of."

"Right, and if we don't like how it turns out in a week or two you'll just let us leave? Hardly." Dom shifted his weight to his left foot and waited for Calloway's response, which he knew full well wouldn't be what he wanted to hear.

"You'll either comply, or you won't. I've told you what happens when you comply, and I'd hate to have to call you an enemy." With a skillful move Calloway showed the holstered pistol on his belt, but he did it in a non-showboat way which made it feel all the more sinister. "I'm giving you an opportunity here. There's even child care for the little ones in the next room."

"You can't make us fight for you" said Marie. Who's to say that we don't turn on your army the second we get a gun and spray down everyone we can?" Tori and Diana both looked at Marie at the same time, holding their breath that her brash nature didn't get her in trouble.

"I'll kill you if you do."

"Then why not do it now?" Dom took a step forward and looked the General square in the eye. "If that's where this is leading go ahead and put me down now."

In one smooth motion Calloway pulled out his pistol and shot a bullet clean through Cora's left hand, garnering a shriek of pain that bounced off the walls with the boom of the shot itself. Marie practically jumped out of her skin and Diana covered her ears, while Tori and Dom just stood still out of shock. Calloway re-holstered his weapon and cleared his throat while Cora crumpled to the floor, holding her hand to her chest.

"There's no room in my ranks for bullshit. If you don't want in, fine, there are plenty of people that do. But heed this; you will be an enemy to the Calloway Faction as long as you are alive. Are you prepared to take that risk?"