Chapter XV: Wolves At The Door

Amidst hazy and frequent blackouts, I remembered Joel nearly hauling my bleeding and broken body back to the settlement in a near-sprint, a vigorous panic in his voice that filled me with guilt even in my near-unconsciousness. That was probably the worst I'd ever felt in my life so far; Ashamed of my actions, frustrated with my immaturity, and in some

SERIOUS FUCKING PHYSICAL PAIN.

My consciousness refused to fail for a brief moment of time; I felt the cold surface of a metal table underneath me, jolting me to a more awoken state for a moment. My groggy eyes wandered aimlessly around the blinding room, but my vision was too dim, my mind too foggy to fully understand my surroundings.

Unfortunately, I could only stay conscious for a few seconds before passing out from blood loss.


I jolted awake in a sweat- and immediately regretted it upon the many aching wounds stitched around my body. A quick glance around revealed a cozy bedroom with two draped windows and a single oak door serving as the exit. As my glance wandered leftwards, I haplessly noticed Joel and-

Ellie...

My sudden awakening had caused both of them to jolt back in surprise and utter shock, gaping at me like fish. I looked down to see a grove of stitched wounds across my body; bruises, sewn lacerations, cauterized gashes... I was in utter disbelief at how I hadn't been shot back to a painful consciousness during the procedures. What the hell happened to my pain tolerance threshold?!

I was still light-headed and woozy, and waves of minor pain washed over my body in perpetuity, but aside from that I felt relatively stable.

"You... you can't be real..." Ellie muttered in sheer disbelief, looking between me and Joel as if to try and reason with the situation; Joel was equally bewildered, and only seconds later did I comprehend the implications of these wounds.

"Y-You are immune...!" Ellie uttered wildly, only to be severely hushed by Joel.

"Absolutely no one can know this! If word gets out, we're gonna have another Fireflies situation on our hands!"

"D... Didn't everyone see us... coming in?"

It was difficult speaking coherently, but the point got across. I saw Joel shake his head, his gaze remaining on me with deep worry and anxiety; it was then that I noticed the red swelling under his eyes.

"When you told me... you were immune, I took you to a private doctor I knew could keep his mouth shut. The only other person who knows right now is Ellie."

"I... I still can't believe it." She stuttered, holding her head and quivering. "I can't fuckin' believe I didn't see it earlier, with all those scars you had!"

Her point would have been agreeable- but I had never been bitten on the face or neck before. Those kinds of wounds would have been certain death.

"What in the fuck were you doing out in that forest?"

The demanding and gravelly voice of my father nestled an uneasiness in me, and guilt once again surged through my psyche. I knew my actions had caused an untold amount of grief and sorrow for these two; but I was in no spirits to be honest in my actions. The aftermath of the adrenaline from that fight to the death in the snow had left me exhausted in body and mind; What had initially been a burning, raging death rattle had churned over into desolation and ennui. And now, surging guilt as I recognized the small but steadfast bond I'd made with my father. Yet, I was still not ready to show either of them my fullest self, nor reveal my truest intentions.

I lied.

"The... WLF..."

The eyes of Joel and Ellie felt as if they could see right through me, and so I averted my eyes as the words escaped me. Nonetheless, I could hear the rising urgency in their voices as I broke the false news.

"Shit..." Joel cursed, sounding as if this wasn't his first rodeo with armed militants.

"How the hell- There's no way they tracked us through a blizzard like that!" Ellie protested strongly.

"After what's happened, it's a very likely possibility," Joel stated with firmness. "After the recent raid, we can't afford to take chances."

I raised my head to stare at Joel, wondering if he truly believed me, or was covering for me. Either way, I knew that this wasn't fully the end of the conversation with him. A knock at the bedroom door disrupted our hushed conversation.

"Yeah, Logan," Joel spoke towards the entrance, and the knob turned to reveal a tall older male in a white coat, with an athletic build and a chiseled bearded face. An M4 rifle was slung around his left shoulder as if he'd just come back from a skirmish. He was staring intently at his clipboard when he looked up and stared me down. I saw the not-so-subtle changes in his expression, from confusion to bewilderment. The clipboard slipped out of his hands and clattered across the floor.

"How are you alive?" Logan muttered, his words accompanied by a heavy Midwestern accent.

"Thanks... Doc," I responded sardonically, albeit with difficulty. The doctor slowly recomposed himself and picked up his clipboard, though he kept glancing back at me as if to confirm my living state.

"I don't mince words, son." He stated simply. "I would have thought you'd died of blood loss an hour and 45 minutes ago. You lost seventy percent of your blood. For reference, humans die at 40% loss. We managed to get enough of your blood back into yer system, but there's still a decent chunk missing from your veins and vessels."

I wasn't fond of how the doctor excluded me from the 'human' category. Regardless, I was more inclined to believe his words as I could clearly see the sorry state of myself. I peered at him with animosity; Now that he knew of my immunity, he would prove a liability. The only reason I hadn't moved to end his life was because of my father vouching on his behalf. It seemed as if the doctor could sense my deep suspicion, and grunted in genuine amusement.

"Relax, son. I've known Joel here early into the outbreak. If you can trust your father to bring your corpse back here to my place, then you can trust me to make sure you don't die; and not reveal your... status to anyone who'd look to take advantage."

Unfortunately for you, I thought maliciously. I don't trust others to decide who can keep my secrets.

"Look, Jack." He started with honesty in his tone. "I know you've probably lived most of your life having to look over your back, and trust rarely. But as far as I'm concerned, you're an honorary citizen and local hero for this settlement; you should stake a home here and take some time to rejuvenate yourself."

What a fucking joke. I thought in sheer contempt of the man. Everything I had done here was purely out of self-interest. What did he think me? A guardian angel? What a FOOLISH bastard!

Rejuvenate myself? What the fuck did that mean? Was he just using make-believe words to try and soothe me at this point?

It irritated the hell out of me that Logan was seeming to read my thoughts with near-impeccability; as I subtly bared my teeth at him, his face became fraught with concern.

"Jack... are you not aware of what you've done for this town? Your recent events have been the most exciting and awe-inspiring stories this town has ever seen! You saved Ellie at the gates from a monstrous Infected leopard-"

Bit of an exaggeration, I thought in line with the doctor's rambling. It was more like she saved me.

"-You discovered and stopped a massive raider assault from flooding into the settlement, dodging thousands of bullets-"

Thousands? Really?

"And now -although I'm not really sure why you were outside the settlement at night- you practically wiped out the Infected population in our surrounding region in one fell swoop! 'Course, no one knows how it happened, but your efforts certainly won't have been for nothin'. You've done this community an extraordinary service in protecting the lives of us all, mine included. If we had 5 more of you, we could take over the whole damn country."

"Enough with the jokes." Joel hissed through grit teeth; Clearly displeased with Logan for making light of the situation. Logan cleared his throat.

"Right, well then. Let me get to the examination."

He did a quick visual examination of me, observing the wounds that laced my torso and limbs. He seemed less than inclined to touch me, and I couldn't blame him- I was sure looking like I was Infected at this point.

"Doctor Logan is a medical doctor," Joel spoke up. "And luckily for us, a former Mycologist-"

"Current mycologist, Joel!" Logan interjected. "Just because I don't have the fancy lab equipment and tools necessary doesn't mean I've lost my job."

After a few moments, he finished his examination, peering at me with unceasing curiosity.

"This... is just a marvel to see. Only 2 hours pass, and you've recovered this much?"

I didn't know what the hell he was talking about; I personally thought I looked like a pile of shit, and felt about the same. Doctor Logan fiddled with his clipboard using a pen laden behind his ear, seeming to jot down some notes. The shining inspiration behind his eyes as he wrote furiously on the clipboard filled me with apprehension and malice; I'd seen the same look in plenty of others who'd gazed a golden opportunity.

"This must be a unique strain of the immunity. Unlike Ellie's condition, the bites on your skin don't bubble up and show signs of Infection. I'm still shocked you're still alive even with all of those bites and wounds. Rather, it seems like your body absorbs the growths to rapidly quicken recovery-

"Alright, alright, doc," Joel cut him off. "Just... what does he need to do right now?"

What, what did the doctor just say? Ellie... was immune, as well?!

"Right now," Logan continued. "He needs to remain under watch here to keep his condition stable. I've sewn up the wounds and taken out the shrapnel and bullets, but Lord knows what developments could happen over time. Non-fungal infections, gangrene, total organ failure-"

"No," I stated firmly. Logan huffed in frustration.

"Can y'all stop interrupting, please? You need to listen, Jack. For your body's safety; Rest. I have no clue how you're going to heal because of your unique... er... regenerative capabilities. You can still suffer from gangrene and infection, which is my biggest worry. I need you under a watchful eye."

"...No."

Logan groaned in resignation.

"If yer gonna be this stubborn about it, there's no keeping you laced down. If you must go and ruin yerself further, I suggest you take a plus one to keep an eye on you in case ya faint or start havin' problems."

He took a white pill bottle from his coat pocket and handed it to me.

"I did most of the work already- yer body just needs to rest and heal now. Keyword: rest. Notice how many times I've said it? Don't go runnin' around startin' more shit and gettin' more banged up, or you may start to get some permanent injuries. You've already done more than a hundred people could accomplish."

I noticed how his midwestern accent got heavier with the more emotion he laid in his words. He headed for the door, glancing back once more to say something, pointing at the bottle in my hand.

"Don't overdose on those. That's oxycodone. Take one maximum every 12 hours."

I was relieved that he'd explained the bottle's contents for me out loud, as the door clicked shut. Yet, my base instincts told me to never blindly trust the word of strangers, no matter how strong the authority they may hold. I pondered the idea of having Joel confirm the bottle's contents, but as my gaze turned left I found myself staring at two very distraught and anxious individuals who were very obviously wanting to have a long talk with me- or to whack me around a few times, I wasn't sure with the enraged look they both possessed.

"I'm... going to head out," I stated, trying to move off the table.

"Stop fuckin' around!" Ellie asserted, grabbing my arm with no softness and sliding me back onto the table. "You still haven't told us why the hell you were out there in the first place! How did you get outside settlement? No one tagged you at the gates."

"The WLF guys dug through the hole where the Wyotes had come from, I saw them looking around the place before they went back out. I followed them into the forest to find their camp and ended up getting ambushed by Infected."

I lied as easily as I breathed.

"And you didn't think to let anyone know you were doing this?"

The indignant question came from Joel, whose face was clouded in anger. However, just as I thought he was about to start yelling, he took a deep breath and recomposed himself.

"You need... to be more cautious. You are not invincible, no matter what kind of 'powers' you got. For fuck's sake, you almost died today!"

He stood up from the chair, holding my gaze with authority as he leaned on his cane. Then he leaned forward to whisper in my ear.

"You're a heap of worries for me, Jack. I know... I know our relationship is like strangers, but I'm not going to lose you to this world. Please, just stay alive for my sake. Find some peace here. I ain't goin' nowhere anytime soon. And... if you need to, find others you trust to alleviate these burdens with. You're carrying too much for such a young soul."

I wasn't sure what that last statement meant, but I assumed he was implying that I share some of my secrets with those I trusted. I decided not to comment.

Joel sat back in his chair, releasing a deep and pent-up sigh. His eyes glanced tiredly over to Ellie, who was silently listening to the conversation.

"Ellie, take Jack around town since he don't wanna be cooped up in bed. Make sure he has a cane, at least."

He picked up his own walking stick and waved it around for emphasis; A result of him getting shot in the kneecap by a very powerful firearm. Ellie nodded and (this time) gently grabbed one of my arms, helping me off the bed. Even now, wanting badly to stop the overwhelming ache in my heart, I was made warm and fuzzy inside by the physical touch of her hands. They were surprisingly soft, despite the callouses on her hands from her strenuous activities as a survivor.

"Rest when you can, Jack. Please." Joel said exhaustedly.

Ellie walked me towards the door, glancing my way.

"We'll table this talk for now. I'll show you one of the cooler things we have in Jackson." She said. Getting up off the table, I headed for the nearby coat rack that held my heavy jacket and put it on, ensuring to cover my bandaged and bloodied body.

Before we headed out the door to leave Joel stewing in ponderance- I peered back momentarily, wondering if I could ever proudly declare myself as his son one day.

One day. When I didn't have a slew of bounties on my head and a diabolical reputation in tow; When I could keep my emotions in check and fully trust him with everything I had, everything I knew and thought and did.

One day...


The sleepy city seemed rather peaceful and Ellie led the way as I limped alongside her, half-conscious but listening to her speak about the history of Jackson and her time growing up here since she was fourteen years old- But I was mainly focused on her. In the rotting carcass that was my mind, the only semblance of solace and warmth I felt was from when I was around Ellie. She may as well have been the light in my world- the only one aside from Joel.

And with every bit of affection and infatuation she ignited, an equal amount of horror and bristling anger grew in parallel. This was a new era in my life- the most difficult hurdle to pass yet.

Socializing. I'd thought myself to have this aspect down, but it seemed deception did not transfer over into everyday conversation well. And it definitely didn't help with sorting out my emotions. It was a miracle I had even survived this long with such weakness of the heart.

FUCK!

"Hey, we should play two truths and a lie!" Ellie said, stopping her tour guide and facing me with a genuine smile. Words could not describe the intense and ever-present pain of affection that permeated my body more strongly than the physical wounds that lined me from head to toe. "You know the game?"

"No... not really," I stated honestly, trying my best to sound enthusiastic about her opportunity. I could feel an internal vein bursting from the muscle strain I put into assembling a smile on my face. "But... I would be happy to play."

Ellie nodded, explaining the rules.

"You tell two truthful statements about yourself or your past, and one lie. Your opponent has to figure out which statement is the lie. Seem simple enough?"

I nodded. Ellie nodded back.

"Good! Then I'll start. Hmm..."

She stood for a moment, pondering her choices.

"...Alright. One: I went on a year-long journey across the whole country. Two: I was born before the global pandemic. Three: I was raised in a boarding school run by the military."

"...Huh?"

Ellie's smile faltered for a moment, as she saw the confusion on my face.

"W...What's up, Jack?"

"What do you mean... 'pandemic'?"

"Oh... like, uh, a sickness that's spread in a big, big area." She explained, widening her hands to emphasize a large area.

"Ah... okay."

I had no clue what a boarding school was, but I assumed that the first and third statements she made were true, because the second one was definitely wrong. In the past, I'd talked to plenty of people, always older adults, who griped and moaned about wishing they could go back to the old world; I was told enough about it. I knew Ellie was around my age, and the old world existed a good while before either of us was born.

"Two," I said. "That's the lie."

Ellie grinned, nodding in confirmation.

"Nice. Now you."

I fell silent to think of what to say, before responding.

"One: I almost died to a crazy girl with a bow recently. Two: I spent three years trapped in a fighting pit. Three: I've read The Art of War from front to back."

Ellie laughed out loud at the first statement, and I felt the warm rush of fuzziness in my body once again; Like a fucking dopamine shot to the brain. I wanted this for the rest of my life.

"Well... I know the first one is true. The second one is a lie... I think."

Her statement trailed off as she glanced over the extent of my face and torso as if having a minor revelation. I forced another smile, trying to dissuade her from thinking further about it. I wasn't sure why I was playing with my past like that, but it felt like I had unloaded a mountain of rocks from my back just by mentioning it.

"Haha, yeah. Well, you didn't put much effort into hiding your own lie."

"...Heh. Yeah. I tried not to make it so obvious." She said with an uneasy grin. "Anyways, since we're walking, we might as well go get some soda."

She gestured to me, and we walked down the snowy road further, greeting passersby and folks chilling outside of their homes. I did my best to hide my face as Ellie greeted them, but a few of the residents recognized me and immediately began heaving praise my way in droves, offering me gifts on the spot and thanking me with unshakeable gratitude for the Wyote attack. I was beyond exhausted and practically fading in and out of consciousness, but I knew well enough to return their thanks before heading off.

Finally, after a tiresome walk to the alley near the tavern, Ellie pointed out a large machine with rows and columns of sodas inside. It was somewhat marvelous to me- I'd never seen a machine like this one, much less in functioning condition. I stared at it for a moment in awe, and Ellie seemed to notice my overexcited reaction.

"Don't tell me you've never seen one of these before?" She asked me, and I averted my eyes in embarrassment. I wasn't sure what was the norm around this place, considering I'd lived a wildly different life only a week ago.

"I... no, I haven't."

Ellie exhaled in excitement, reaching into her side bag.

"Ah, man! You remind me so much of myself when I was younger. It's called a vending machine, it dispenses sodas and water and stuff for coins. It was a big thing before the infection outbreak. Here, take a quarter and put it into the machine! You can get a soda, whichever one you like."

I tentatively took the quarter from her, looking around the machine for what I was meant to put 'into'. Ellie helpfully lead me to the slot with her finger, and I slid it in there, hearing the satisfying sound of it clinking inside the vending machine.

"Now," Ellie continued. "Press the buttons to get the soda you want."

"Wha- huh?"

Oh no. I had been wondering what that panel of buttons at the right of the machine was meant for. Fear paralyzed me; I could not possibly decipher this text. Every single thing I had learned in my life was by word of mouth, observation, or sixth sense.

"The sodas have a number and letter below them, like 'B4', or 'E5'. Just press the letter and number that's on the pad."

I shivered anxiously, dread filling my every pore. I decided it would best to guess, and pressed two of the buttons on the pad in haste. Nothing happened. Ellie walked closer to examine.

"Oh, you have to press enter." She explained. "But, uh, you put in 'AF'."

She chuckled, thinking I was messing around. Dejectedly, I tried again. She peered once more, and this time her expression changed to bemusement.

"...You put in '47'."

DAMN IT! I thought in silent frustration. Ellie stared at me for a moment, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Joke was funny the first time."

"Ah, nobody's perfect."

Ellie cracked a smile at my grumbled statement.

"Ditto. Since you don't wanna pick, I'll get one for ya."

I watched her press the buttons on the keypad, memorizing the sequence in case anyone else decided to ask me for a damn drink. She handed me the soda, and I eyed it suspiciously.

"How old is this?"

Ellie chuckled again.

"Don't worry, we make our soda in-house."

She got one for herself, and we headed to an open park bench, taking a seat and peering around at the light-decorated township. Hesitantly, I cracked the soda cap (with some help from Ellie; I'd never done this before) and took a sip. I was taken aback by how sugary, sweet, and bubbly it was. It was unlike anything I'd drank before- which had primarily been water.

"Pretty good?"

"Mhm," I mumbled through the sips.

"That's what I thought the first time. I got ya Pepsi, even though it's not very popular around here."

She pointed at the brand, and even though I clearly could not read it, I nodded in agreement with her words. Her expression slightly changed when she saw me nod.

"A lot of the people around here like Coca-Cola, but personally I think it's too sugary."

I nodded again, smiling more naturally; I was still deeply wounded over finding out about Ellie's current partner; But it was not the end of the world for me- perhaps it was the aggressive catharsis hours ago that calmed my state of mind. I took a few more sips in particular relaxation; A most pleasant thought had graced my mind, one that soothed the despair of loneliness.

And once I found my place here,

I would just need to orchestrate Dina's death.

It would be quite easy. With the standing I had somehow gained, I could accrue a number of assets that would give me more range over framing her death to look like an accident. Or framing her for a crime and having her exiled. Once I recovered, I would work to increase my status in this settlement, doing small-time work and going on patrols to increase trust, and attending important social gatherings to figure out who held the most sway within the settlement's hierarchy.

Settling. My new goal.

Seventeen years against the elements, the chaotic forces of this world, the deadly day-to-day; it was growing too exhaustive on me. In the week I'd spent here, I had come to truly enjoy and savor the daily meals, appreciate the safety of the walls, and felt an emotional anchor with Joel and Ellie.

I would cement my position here and find peace in this city with Joel and Ellie. I would do anything to achieve that. And I would KILL anything that stood to prevent that.

I... didn't want... to leave.

"Jack..."

I heard Ellie call out to me, and brought my attention back to her. She pointed at the brand on my can.

"What brand are you drinking?"

I was wondering what she was on about, and just parroted her answer.

"Pepsi, obviously. Like you... said..."

I just now noticed the curiosity on Ellie's face, furrowing her eyebrows in concern. She took her can up and handed it to me.

"What's the brand on that?"

"..."

"Are you... not able to read?"

I crumpled the can, dropping the spilled contents to the ground.

"Have you been mocking me this whole time?" I murmured scathingly, to Ellie's anguish.

"No- I didn't know. I'm sorry, I should have been straightforward in asking."

"Whatever..." I muttered, getting up to continue my limp-walk to the lodge. I was not in the mood to be made a fool.

"I'll teach you!... if you want."

...

I turned my head to peer at her for a moment.

"...Teach."

"Uh... yeah. Teach you. To read."

"What are you teaching me to read, exactly?"

Ellie stared at me with utter bewilderment.

"...You gotta tell me about your past, someday. I feel like you're hiding a world of secrets."

"They're hidden for a reason."

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUWWWWWWWWWW-

The conversation was disrupted by the familiar sound of the settlement's alarming sirens going off all around the city, echoing through the streets and homes of those inside. Both of us were caught off-guard as the noise blared through the silent coziness of the night; Already, I could see people running out of their cabins and stores, weapons in hand.

"What the hell is it now?!" Ellie growled, her head swiveling from the sirens to me. "You know you're in literally no condition to fight. Go get some rest!"

As she ran off, she twisted her torso to shout something else.

"IF IT GOES TO SHIT, I'LL LET YOU KNOW!"

I could just barely make out her words over the ear-blasting sirens, and nodded in confirmation.

Another bold lie. In fact, I was shocked that she had trusted me not to run off. As if she expected me to sit in my cabin and hope that neither she nor Joel would be killed in this emergency situation. Like HELL I was going to stay in one place! No... I needed to find out what the sirens were for.

As soon as Ellie was out of sight, I hurried to the stables I'd seen at the eastern wall; they were most likely to have rope on hand. I dashed as fast as I could to the far east wall of the settlement, locating the stable and relieved that it was barren of other people- everyone was readying for battle. After locating some rope, I quickly scouted out a stairwell that led up to the ramparts. Trudging up the stairs, I concocted a simple scheme in my mind despite the bolting pain that ran through my body with every swift movement.

I eventually emerged at the top of the stairwell and ran into one of the guards, who jumped back in fright as I surfaced from the shadows.

"Holy- oh, Jack!"

The sentry guard was an average-height female that seemed a good bit older than me, likely in her late 20s, with a blue parka and dark-blue beanie that kept her hair down. She carried a semi-automatic M4 which seemed appealing to me, but I was on a different mission for the moment.

"I know we're on emergency standby, but I never thanked you for your heroism at the south wall! My family's house is right near that block, and I don't know what would've happened if they had gotten through! Probably would have burned all our houses down and taken our children, or worse!"

BITCH, ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?! I wanted to shout in protracted fury. WE'RE IN A CRISIS!

However, I knew that approach would not win me any help in my mission. Slyly, I played along with the role.

"I couldn't have lived through it if not for the help of you guys," I said with faked humility; It was almost comical considering the blaring of the sirens still echoed across the valley while I was playing out this stupid act. "Hey, for future reference, where's the armory?"

My last statement was a meager attempt at prodding the boundaries of my influence in the settlement; The armory was undoubtedly one of the most critical aspects of any encampment. Trusting people to have knowledge or access to it was a huge risk. However, it seemed I didn't need to worry about that as the woman nodded eagerly, her eyes revealing blind trust in me.

"Absolutely, Jack!"

She told me its location- in the center of camp was city hall, with a vault that contained all the firearms and weaponry the city had for its standing and reserve militia forces. Out of a desire to gain more information on the current issue, I asked her where she and all the others were running towards.

"The front gates, is what Marie said over the static."

I thanked her as she ran off, finding the opposite direction on the rampart in hopes of locating a desolate place for getting down the outer wall. I found such a place eventually, and wrapped the rope tightly around one of the battlements before making my way down by hand and foot.


(Music: "Covert", by Avery Alexander)


The rope was just long enough to gain me a few feet remaining from solid ground. I jumped down, knowing I'd have a solid way back up if I needed to retreat. I crept along the side of the wall, trying to avoid the floodlights that lined the segments of wooden walls running down the eastern part of the town. It took a few minutes, but eventually I reached the edge of the wall, segmented near the front gate.

"Holy sh-"

I saw dozens of armed gunmen, wearing heavy green military jackets, riot gear, and heavy firepower. Along with them were a few transport trucks idling a dozen meters down the path of the front gate in the background; even from where I was spying, I could tell there were more enemy forces concealed in the forestry around the settlement. From the way it looked, the enemy forces were getting their forces into place and speaking to the people garrisoned on the ramparts- a temporary parley before shit went down.

I had no time to waste- I quickly dashed from cover, finding silent refuge in the woods. Sneaking through the brush and tree foliage, I spotted the other elements of the enemy army that had been concealed; mortar emplacements, demolition teams, specialized forces-

WHERE THE HELL DID THESE PEOPLE COME FROM?!

In all my time alive, not once had I seen a force as advanced and large as this. At least, not as attackers during a siege. If these people could spare this kind of manpower and firepower for a distant dispute, what did they have back home?!

I circled around the entirety of the staggered formation with speed, though the pain of moving around only prodded my wounds and stifled my progress in this reconnaissance. It wasn't long until I ran into one of the soldiers pissing in the woods, having separated from the primary detachment. Apparently these dipshits didn't cover their flanks.

Bad mistake.

I practically danced past him as I brought the sharpened hunter's knife over his throat, letting it slide across the thin canvas of flesh and spilling his life onto the ground. I quickly slid away and continued my scouting. From what I had observed and interpreted from eavesdropped conversations so far, there were around 5-10 leaders in the whole of the formation, with around 120 infantry and 60 auxiliary (support) personnel. That would make...

"A hundred and eighty fuckin' well-trained gunmen?" I whispered in shock. What faction were they from, to be able to afford this kind of offensive move?

DAMN IT, I chided myself. I had forgotten to check the patched insignia on the unaware soldier when I slew him, and had moved on unthinkingly. He was far too distantly off to be checked now; all I needed to do was return to the settlement and relay what I'd seen here. And so, after a few more minutes, I managed to clear through the forestry, stumbling a few times in malingering pain, before sticking back to the settlement walls.

"Shit!" I cursed quietly. Another mistake- I had circled all the way around the enemy formation and found myself at the western end of the walls rather than the east. I sensed a firefight brewing in the air; There wouldn't be enough time to circle back and climb up the rope again. I eyed the settlement walls, wondering if I could somehow barehand my climb up; Unfortunately, it seemed there were no reliable handholds or footholds to allow such a feat.

Luckily for me, it was then that I spotted an arrangement of hay bales stacked right outside the wall a distant way. I chanced the opportunity and ran towards the stack, gathering up energy and eventually leaping onto the top hay bale, planting my hands on top of the second bale and propelling myself upwards towards the ramparts; I just managed to grapple the embattlements, and hauled myself over the parapet (a low protective wall for defenders) to slam down onto the elevated walkway.

"Ey, who the hell is that?!"

Oh, fuckin' great.

I eased myself up off the walkway floor as two of the wall guards came dashing towards me from the left, guns raised in caution. As they came closer and saw my face, though, their wariness gave way to surprise and excitement.

"Oh, my days, it's Lucky Jack, Daryl!"

"The luckiest sumbitch in this valley!"

I was not keen on how these two spoke of me so familiarly, as if I'd met them before. Though dressed in intimidating dark-green heavy jackets and sporting heavily-customized automatic rifles, their goofy-ass personalities balanced out their appearance.

"Ya know, we carried ya in when you were nearly mauled 'ta death by that big 'un leopard!" Daryl remarked; that answered the question of familiarity. "Can't believe ya survived that! Looked like it was tearin' into ya somethin' awful-"

"Pals, let's go to the front gate!"

That was my only way of redirecting them toward the actual problem at stake here; at this point, I was beginning to doubt the competency of these settlement guards with how often they seemed to ignore the general crises in their hometown. Like a massive siege that was about to explode at their front gates. We rushed towards the northern walls where the enemy forces, and I hid among the masses of settlement guards gathered atop the walls, weapons at the ready as they held an uneasy stare-off with the legions of armed combatants that sat outside their gates.

"Holy SHIT, where did these bastards come from?!" Daryl's friend muttered incredulously. From that alone, I was beginning to worry that my safe haven would come crashing down to this much more well-armed and well-manned opposing force standing before us.

I was just in earshot to make out the conversation; Between Marie and Tommy, our settlement leaders, and the bland-faced fuck standing at the front of the gate with a rifle in hand.

"What the hell's brought you lot to our gates with all these guns?" Marie shouted from over the battlements. The enemy leader seemed as if he was holding back a fiery rage inside, and his words reflected such sentiment.

"YOU HARBOR THE KILLERS OF OUR KINSFOLK AND FRIENDS!" He shouted with fury. "Surrender them to the Washington Liberation Front as a sign of peace and mutual sense of justice so that we can deal with these murderers ourselves! We are only here for them!"


(Music: "The WLF", by Mac Quayle)


Ah, fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

I had been thinking for a while now that things had gone rather too smoothly with that incident at the lodge. It wouldn't have made sense, though; I'd killed everyone there, so who the hell could have told them about us, and specifically this settlement?

"You need ONLY give up Joel Miller and the psycho that killed eight of our members!" The enemy leader continued on. "Otherwise, we're going to take them from here by force!"

Rifles were raised and barrels were pointed as he made his statement, starting a long tension as both sides kept their guns leveled at one another. The enemy leader was undeterred and continued his speech.

"These people had lives, and families to return to! They had ambitions, interests, goals- all of them shot to hell by the murderers you all insist on covering for!"

By this point, it sounded more like the bastard was verbally trying to justify his eventual call for the siege to ensue. The enemy leader then raised a hand, closing and opening it a single time.

"I will give you ten minutes to find the murdering bastards and haul them out this front gate. After that, all three hundred of these battle-hardened gentlemen and women will be seizing your walls!"

Perfect, I thought in cruel delight. He's a fucking idiot!

Unknowing to that poor shithead on the ground, he had just given me enough time to possibly prevent this whole town from getting ransacked to bits. I wormed through the crowd of settlement guards as they shuffled down to take positions all along the walls. I eventually saw Marie and Tommy looking over the battlement above the front gate; Tommy turned his head in surprise as he noticed me heading toward them.

"Jack!" Tommy exclaimed. "-Oh, shit, where did you get those cuts on your face?... Anyways, I'm surprised to see you here, especially after the hits I heard you took during the Wyote raid. This is not a great first introduction, but it's good to meet you here and now, and good knowin' we have a damn fine rifleman for our defense."

"Let's cut the small talk." Marie stated firmly, being more direct. "I'm inclined to say you have something you wanna tell us. Hopefully it's about how to deal with these shitbuckets crowding our town."

"Yes." I said, trying to hide the fatigue and pain gripping me from beneath my jacket. "I need you two to keep your mouths shut about this."

Although my request was very forceful, the two of them leaned in with curiosity, nodding.

"You have it." Marie stated.

"Same here." Tommy murmured in agreement. I hesitated for a moment; This 'sharing your secrets and recent activity' was beginning to chafe on my years of clandestine operation. However, I knew that divulging this information would be helpful for my survival in the long-term, since I intended to stay with this settlement. And we were in a dire enough situation that trusting others to some extent was necessary in this predicament.

"I'm not kidding. Do not share this shit with anyone else right now." I stated strongly, before getting to the main point. "...I roped down the settlement wall and did a quick scout of the WLF's forces-"

"You fuckin' what?" Tommy muttered, in clear disbelief. Marie ignored him, prodding me for further answers; though she had shown a considerable amount of doubt, as well.

"I'm only believin' this because of the supernatural shit you pulled a few days ago." Marie said, making mention of the Wyote raid. For once, I was relieved the legends had spread around the town. "How many did they number?"

"From what I gathered through their talk and my own eyes, I'd say roughly around one hundred and eight of them. Not only that, they have about three demolition teams, more than a few mortars, and some transport trucks."

"Shit!" Marie cursed. "They're wantin' to take down our walls."

No shit, I thought sardonically.

"Mortars..." Tommy muttered nervously. "Who the fuck are these WLF? How did they get ahold of this kind of firepower?"

"Don't know, but there's no point in wondering now," I grumbled.

"We're gonna have to stop the explosives teams before they reach the walls," Marie remarked. I shook my head in disapproval.

"If you'd dug deep and wide trenches all around your settlement, that might've been possible. But there's nothing impeding them except the gunmen on our walls, and they'll be forced to push back soon enough. No, you need to start barricading your streets and making chokepoints, because those walls are coming down no matter what. Once you funnel them inside, you can pick them off, street by street, as long as you can get your people to start putting up makeshift walls."

Marie grunted in frustration, but before she was about to say anything else, the enemy leader spoke up once more.

"You have five minutes now!" He shouted furiously. "And you can take the time to reflect on our conditions! We ask only for two people, to save the whole lot of ya! Joel Miller and the young, wily-eyed son of a bitch that killed all of our people!"

"Like hell I'm gonna give over my brother to these scum-suckin' cunts!" Tommy growled ferociously. "I'll get our guys and gals to start putting the walls up, as Jack said. Hopefully that'll slow their advance."

Marie nodded as Tommy ran off, bringing her gaze back to me.

"If I had a medal to give ya, it'd be yours." She stated.

"Smelt it into bullets, and I'll use it for sure." I responded with a grimace.

"Sure is takin' a long fucking time to get them to us!" The enemy leader shouted once more. "I'm granting you fuckers a lot of leeway for killing our people! Mel, Manny, Nora, Abby!"


(Music: "Eye For An Eye", by Mac Quayle)


He hesitated for a moment, a wicked grin surfacing across his face.

"Well, ya TRIED to kill Abby..."

I froze upon hearing his words, peeking over the battlements once again.

No fucking way.

Time slowed to microseconds; I watched the dead-risen burly woman from the snowed-in lodge walk through the loose ranks of WLF gunmen. I recognized the mutilated face that stared sheer malice at the Jacksonite soldiers with her one good eye.

WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE MADE OF?!

I simply could not fathom how this... fucker was still alive. I swore I watched the bullet pierce through her entire skull, but... I had shot her in the eye, right? Was it somewhere that entirely avoided the brain? What about the sheer physical trauma of the bullet blasting through her head?

"JOOOOEEEEEEL!"

As I heard the blonde bitch, Abby, shout the name in pure madness and anger, I had to stop trying to reason with what was the reality in front of me- after all, not long ago did I suffer a freakish recovery myself. I observed her features for a moment. She had a triangular eyepatch, but other than that I couldn't properly see any other distinguishing features.

Only a few minutes later, I noticed Joel and Ellie climbing the stairwell and surfacing at the top of the front gates, peering over subtly at the litany of armed men and women facing off against Jackson City. I was relieved that they were in sight, but equally terrified because they were at the very precipice of the tense stand-off. Before sprinting off, I had a last-minute conversation with Marie, who'd also tuned in to the WLF's spokesman.

"How many combatants do we have?" I hurriedly asked her. She took a moment to silently recall in her head.

"Well, we have around 600 in our total population. Our volunteered soldiers number around 280. But I'm sure that most all adults are armed at this point."

I sighed a breath of relief. Perhaps this settlement would be salvageable, after all. Having a superior number to the attackers was always an advantage, but having nearly everyone armed inside the compound was a guaranteed victory. From observation alone, I had seen both Infected and humans alike try to siege a walled settlement- and the vast majority of times, the attackers failed miserably, even with larger numbers. There was just something about defenders that inspired a higher chance of coming out the winner.

"Have them spread out evenly around the city, and take your guards off the walls- these bastards are coming in regardless, thanks to those demolition teams. But only withdraw them from the walls after the first minute," I told Marie. "After that, have your soldiers barricade the streets, and they can control the flow of the attack."

Marie nodded in affirmation before leaving the battlements; I rushed over to Joel and Ellie, who were side by side with rifles in hand. It was the first time I'd seen my father in the face of combat; even with the debilitating wound in his right leg, he held an expression of ferocity. From a glance, I could sense he would be a terrible and fierce enemy against our opposition.

I first had the thought to rush over to Joel, to tell him of what I'd seen and how we would prepare for this siege; but I knew that he'd already consigned me to rest, and making myself known in front of him would only hinder his fighting aura, along with Ellie's. Begrudgingly, I withdrew myself back to the far west of the north wall; Many of our glorious fighters were still quivering on the walls.


(Music: "Pressured", by Elephant Music)


"W-What the hell should we do, Jack?!"

I heard the panicked mutterance from Daryl, whose sentiment was mimicked by his friend and a few others stationed at the wall; Rifles were pointed, tensions were high- it was eerily silent; as if a Molotov was on the cusp of breaking open, and catching everything alight with fire.

I thought for about one and a half seconds.

"At this point, I usually start firing," I said simply. "Gives us the upper hand in battle. Though, I'd probably start getting everyone spread along the walls; they're probably looking to attack from all sides."

"Shit... you're right, Jack. Leave it to the hero!"

Stop calling me a fucking hero.

I watched as the armed Jacksonites dispersed themselves along the walls, filled with renewed confidence as they found direction to their defense. Satisfied with the integrity of the city's defense force, my gaze slowly drifted back toward the one-eyed blondie standing alongside the WLF's speaker. I saw them arguing and scuffling with each other, a clear indication of unsettled differences. This was an incredibly stupid and dangerous time for them to have this kind of dispute, and I intended to take every advantage of it.

"Hey, you," I asked of a nearby Jacksonite on the rampart. "Give me any gun you have, and I'll repay you in all the beer you want, tomorrow."

The Jacksonite was shocked and more than hesitant at the moment of asking, but a few seconds later he handed me the rifle and handgun with unexpected ease.

"Leave it to Lucky Jack. I'll get some spares from the armory. Godspeed."

And with that, he sprinted away, heading towards the armory in the center of town. After holstering the handgun and shouldering the rifle, my attention refocused on Abby, the one-eyed madwoman that bristled near the entrance of the front gates, as if anxiously awaiting the siege's start.

I remembered now why I hated her so fucking much. She tried to use a fucking golf club on my father. I later discovered that the woman who I'd seen saved by Joel was this very snake of a woman. And now she was here to try and take his life again?

This obnoxious, irritating fuck. Perhaps it was the recent attachment I'd gained with my father that propelled me towards these feelings of carnal violence. Or the fact that this loveless cripple was disrupting the peace I was trying to find in this settlement. It didn't really matter to me- everyone outside these walls gave me a good and proper reason to strip their souls from their flesh.

"THIRTY SECONDS!" The WLF leader shouted, gesturing to his infantry to prepare for a firefight. I rushed between the Jacksonites at the walls, whispering for them to prepare to fire at my signal. I was a firm believer that the first to fire was the victor of the battle.

With only fifteen seconds left on the timer, I positioned myself next to the stairwell that would lead me to safety behind the walls in the first minutes; Assured of a secure exit, I leveled my gun over the parapet, taking aim at the blonde eye-patched woman arguing with the WLF leader. Before firing, I hurled one last scathing sentiment over the walls to the cock-sucking attackers below; specifically aimed at the death-defying woman near the front of the formation.

"YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED DEAD, BITCH!"