Bobby panted as he finished burying the group's loved one. The fresh pile of dirt made sure that no roamer or human could tarnish the body that once held a beloved girl's soul. Behind the grave hung a bouquet of white lilacs.
Bobby stood up and grabbed the white lilacs from the tree. He looked at the graves and broke down into tears.
"Please…" Bobby whispered to himself, "...try to pull yourself together."
Bobby dropped the white lilacs on the fresh grave and took the shovel off the ground. He kneeled on the grave and stared down with his eyes closed.
"I'm sorry what this world did to you to all of you…"
Bobby sniffled and felt his heart sink lower and lower as he thought about the brutalities that mankind would continue to commit. Lori loved her, the group loved her, and in the blink of an eye, her life was almost taken by the hands of one man. They were all destroyed emotionally.
All it took was one shot.
Chapter 18: Compromised
I - Face to Face
-Present Day-
The gunshots roared across the town. Both civilian and military. Birds flew away at the sound of armed conflict. Roamers were attracted to the sound and stumbled towards it.
Then, the gunshots stopped.
The rogues surrounded the town.
The civilians gulped as they were pitted against an entire rogue army inside their town. The rogue army had their weapons pointed at the fighters. The ceasefire didn't mean that the civilians were safe yet as one sudden move could mean one more casualty.
The rogues ordered the militiamen and civilians to hold their arms in the air. Sergei and his friends lifted their arms, weapons still in their hands. George, Chunk, and a couple other fighters raised their arms. The rest of the community surrendered.
"Look at me. Fucking look at me!" demanded Black.
"Make me!" hissed Lori.
Black looked at Luan with his one good eye. He pointed at her and motioned Lead to come closer.
"That girl, Luan. Yeah, her. Use her to teach Lori a lesson.
Lori's breath grew heavier as Lead aimed his gun at Luan. Suddenly, she faced Black with contempt.
"What the fuck do you want from me!" yelled Lori. "You already killed my parents! You want to murder my younger sister too? Do it and I'll slit your throat. I don't care if all these rogues kill me right after. You're going to die!"
Black chuckled and shook his hands at Lead.
"I know," he said. "I believe you. That's why I just want to talk for the sake of our lives. Now, walk."
The rogues moved forward at the open gates. Black led Lori inside the town with the gun pointed at the back of her head. Lincoln, Jason, Dana, Becky, and Hana were also held at gunpoint as they faltered towards the town. Hana continued carrying Kimi in her arms. Jason Clustered his shoulder keeping himself from losing anymore blood.
Luna staggered back when the rogues moved closer to her. She kept her fingers on the trigger of her rifle until the rogues stopped a few feet away from her. They aimed their guns at her, distracting her from the rogues marching behind her.
Captain Moss grabbed Luna's hand and pulled it away from the trigger before taking her M110 and tossing it to the ground.
Lynn looked around and found the rogues passing by her. She glared at Black and saw him force Lori to her house.
"Hey, what are you doing?" exclaimed Lynn. "Why are you guys walking around like you own the damn place?"
"Lori and I are going to have to have a talk," answered Black. "And well… because we do. Ain't nothing you could do about it."
Lynn felt heated and Lori was well aware of her emotions.
"We're just going to talk," said Lori. "Please don't do anything."
Lana, Lola, and Lily looked out the windows, finding Lori held at gunpoint by the man who killed their mother and father. Lana and Lola felt their blood boil.
"Stay back," said Lisa. "You don't want the general or his officers to catch you staring at them."
"I understand how you both are feelin," hissed Lucy. "But right now our best chance of getting out of this alive is to do what they say for now. We try anything people will die."
Lori placed her hand on the doorknob and twisted it, opening it. She sighed before entering. Black lowered his gun, admiring the decor in the house.
"This is nice," said Black. "That's a picture of your family on the wall, right?"
A trail of footsteps came down the steps.
"Hey, did you hear that outside?" asked Bobby. "Sounded like– oh god!"
"It's you!" quivered Clyde.
"The bad man!" whispered Darcy.
Black stared at the leader's boyfriend, his sister, Darcy, and Clyde. He smiled and pointed his palm at the door.
"Can you three give us a moment alone?" said Black. "We need to talk."
"Get your gun," hissed Ronnie Anne.
Black raised his sidearm again and pointed it at Lori's back.
"Not so fast. I said, we need to talk! So leave!"
Bobby gulped and nodded. He picked up Darcy who held on to him tightly and headed out the house holding Ronnie Anne's hand who held Clyde's hands. He looked back at Lori whose eyes were filled with smoldering fury.
As the door closed, Black stepped close to the family photo. He placed his fingers against two Loud sisters.
"I would how much these two change ever since you entered Detroit," said Black. "How are they fearing, especially the one with the prosthetic arm?"
"What the fuck do you want to talk about?" asked Lori.
"Excellent, straight to the point," said Black. "Take a seat."
Both Lori and Black sat at the dinner table, staring at each other with intense looks. Black stroked his gray stubble and cleared his throat.
"The civilians in this town… you lead 'em. And you think you are in charge of this place. Yet that couldn't be more wrong. I own this place. You are simply refusing to leave my place."
"We fought for this town," said Lori. "The people that you held in here? They didn't deserve to be treated the way your army treated them. It's demeaning, agonizing, inhumane. My group and I fought to free the families from this unforgivable treatment. And we also made a new home for ourselves after you destroyed our old homes. Royal Woods, Ann Arbor… Detroit."
"It's all a necessary part for the plan to improve our species."
Lori rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Wonder why you're still alive?" said Black. "Because you stood above all. You are the most capable for survival. You can repopulate the world along with many strong men and women like you. You're not weak, Lori."
"I don't want to hear this bullshit again," she hissed.
"You proved that you are capable of taking on this world. But I need this place. You have to understand that many of the civilians in here cannot survive in this world on their own. But they're not completely useless. I need them as a step to improve this world."
"I won't surrender."
"I am giving you the chance to let you and your group leave. We won't have to cross paths again. And the world would benefit from that."
Lori shook her head again.
"I'm not leaving."
"Not without giving me something in return of course. You did kill a lot of my men… of course not today but with your little militia… that's a threat. No doubt David played a part in this."
Lori stared at Black.
"I'm gonna need you to give up David… and Vonda Crowley," he said. "Once you do that… everyone you traveled with can leave this town unscathed. The ones who are still alive, of course."
Lori tapped on the table and looked out the window before glancing towards Black's missing eye. She raised her revolver and her hands before placing it down on the table. She leaned close to Black and stared at him before whispering.
"Go fuck yourself."
Lori sat back down, crossing her arms. Black lowered his eyebrows and slammed his fist on the table.
"Alright, get up!" he growled, pointing his gun at her.
Lori slid herself back and reached for her revolver.
"That's staying there," he said. "Move!"
The door opened from the house opened with Lori and Black walking out, the former once again held at gunpoint. Bobby gasped as Lori walked to the street trying to shake her fear away. Luna, Luan, Lynn, and Lincoln all wished that Black won't do anything worse.
"Lieutenant! Captain! Take a group of men and look for the doctor and the spec ops guards!"
"Yes, sir!" said both officers in unison before the headed to the laboratory.
Lori looked around Main Street. The rogues marched across the streets, moving from house to house, marking the amounts of residents they spotted. Some of the civilians were dragged out of their homes so the rogues were able to confirm their estimated kills.
"This is not fair!" said Ronnie Anne. "You can't just come here and take our home away from us!"
"We can and we will," said Sturgess. "The General will always get what he wants."
"It's not about what I want," said Black. "It's what I need. And what I need is this town."
Some trucks transported corpses from the guard towers to the church. Luna glared at the rogues with intense hatred as she saw them dragging the bodies of people she trained to become snipers like her.
Just like Luna, Jason was also glaring at the rogues as he saw the bodies of people he trained to use either pistols, assault rifles, shotguns, snipers, and many other guns to become sharpshooters and marksmen like him.
Black motioned the rogues to force the group to walk to the church. With reluctance, Lori led the group to the church.
"You think that this world was made for the survival of the fittest?" hissed Lori. "Dana is strong! I fought alongside with her against the herd that you guys brought in here! And you just tried to take her life with a single bullet? How's that fair?"
"For the past two months, all she did was guard the town, staying behind the fences," said Black. "That is not survival. That is weakness. Dependence. The only reason I'm not killing her right now is because we got more important things to do, and no one else has to die today. I have to say your friend got lucky today that's way she still breathing. Your friend isn't strong she won't make it in this world and doesn't deserve to live in it."
"Fuck you," hissed Jason.
Black turned around eyebrows rised and started at Jason.
"What was that?" asked Black.
"I said fuck you, you think your doing what's good for humanity," said Jason. "But the things I been hearing coming out of your mouth is nothing but a steaming pile of... BULLSHIT."
"I wouldn't test my luck if were you, unless you want more people to die," said Black.
Jason wanted to say more after the comment.
Black stopped in front of the church. Preston came out from the house across the street with Reggie, watching all the rogues gather around the church.
"Hey, why are you dragging the bodies here?" asked Preston.
"We made it easier for all of you to bury the bodies," answered Black.
Becky looked away, trying to hold her anger in. Bobby wanted to scream after that comment.
Meanwhile, Lead and Moss busted inside the laboratory with their squads and aimed their rifles around. Dr. White gasped and toppled over beakers in the ground.
"Get the fuck up," said Moss, grabbing Dr. White's arms.
"No, wait! I'm sorry! Don't you remember when I saved you a bottle of chocolate pudding?"
Captain Moss continued dragging Dr. White across the ground as he stepped into the battered runway. He walked to a nearby Humvee and threw the doctor into the backseat with a few rogues climbing next to him. Lead sat in the passenger seat while Moss drove them back to Black.
They looked around, finding the ground in front of the armory cracked and filled with potholes. Craters filled other parts of the runway to which Moss had to maneuver around. Then they saw the prisons which held black particles on their walls shaped like craters. Some of the walls were cracked, to the point where one prison cell can be seen in Unit A. The guard towers also suffered intensive damage, instead, caused by the rogues and their grenade launchers.
The Humvee arrived by the church. Black smiled and watched the rogues escort Dr. White out of the vehicle. Moss grabbed the back of his neck and tossed him to the ground in front of Black's boots.
"Long time no see, right, doc?" smirked Black.
"I'm sorry, I know I screwed up!" trembled Dr. White. "Please, don't do- don't kill-"
"Relax, doc! I"m not going to kill anyone. That's if Lori listens to me and considers the ultimatum I gave her. So, I'm choosing to spare you. I know I won't regret it because in the long run, your discoveries precede over my vengeance!"
"Thank you… sir," he stammered.
"Now, let's have a walk, shall we?" said Black.
George tugged his brown blouson jacket and stroked his shotgun over his hair that stroked down in a wavy formation to his ears– resembling his hair in his younger years. He ditched the buzz cut ever since the community started rebuilding their town after the herd invasion.
"Go on!" exclaimed Sgt. Hoover. "Go home! Don't try anything stupid!"
"Are we going to listen?" Mr. Coleman whispered.
"Yeah," replied George. "There's nothing we can do right now."
The rogues marched past through the militiamen with deliberate bumps and shoves. George clenched his fists and walked home where Vonda and waited for him.
"What the hell's happening out there?" exclaimed Vonda. "Why are they here? Why!"
"I don't know," said George, closing the door. "We had a little scuffle and now they're here. No doubt… he's here."
"We gotta find him and put an arrow through his heart," suggested Vonda.
"No. You stay here and do something else! Black doesn't even know you're here!"
Vonda stormed off into her room and shut the door, leaving George alone with his nerves running high.
Meli stayed hidden inside her home waiting for Jason and Dana to come back. When she heard the gunshots she went to hide in her room and caved her ears.
When the gunshots stopped she looked outside the window seeing rogues moving through the streets and dead bodies on the ground.
Meli quickly docked under the window leaning her back against the wall, knees tucked into her chest and started crying. Members of her parents death flashed through her mind how she was alone and scared until Jason showed up.
She stopped crying as she thought about Jason the one who not only found her, he saved her and took care of her. She started to see him like a father with every thing he done for her to keep her safe, and the thought of losing him scared her as she rested her head in her knees she hoped that he would come back home to her.
"Please be okay and come back home daddy," whispered Meli.
Black walked to the prison with Dr. White and Lori ahead of him. Following them against their will were Bobby, Darcy, Clyde, Ronnie Anne, Jason, Hana, Dana, Luan, Luna, Lynn, and Becky.
Becky continued feeling the rage inside of her as Dana's face flashed in her head. She looked at her seeing her next to Jason making sure he was okay. She was very grateful to just for saving Dana's life.
Clyde was consumed by fear with every glance he gave to Black. He felt sorry that he couldn't avenge his fathers.
Darcy buried her face in Bobby's chest not even daring to look at Black. As she is terrified of him and his rogues.
Bobby felt anxious around Black. He knew at any moment, he could strike against anyone. His hatred for him flickered, though, and the anger that came from seeing his dead family in the highway outside of Detroit only grew.
Ronnie Anne wanted to lash out against Black for giving the orders that would lead to the deaths of her family. She was unable to act, though.
Lynn searched around, scanning the eyes of the rogues, counting their numbers, trying to find the perfect time to strike against Black. But there weren't any opportunities.
Luna wished that she was on that treehouse. If she had the chance, she wouldn't miss her shot– Black's brains would've blown out instead of his eyes.
Jason glared daggers at the back of Black's head wanting nothing more than to put a knife through his throat. But know there weren't any opportunities and didn't want to risk anymore lives.
Dana stuck close to Jason glaring at Black with red puffy eyes. Her hatred for him saying she was weak grew not only for trying to kill her but also shooting Jason, her anger turned to worried as she could see Jason looked a little pale.
Like Lynn, Hana also tried to find the perfect opportunity. However, she didn't want to risk the life of her beloved Kimi, so she chose to do nothing at all.
Luan remembered the freezing nights and hot days when she would go days without eating. She also remembered the gunshots going off and her parents dropping dead on top of her. The memories returned to her.
Lori felt the urge to murder Black with each step that he took, something that was only restrained for the safety of her family rather than her own moral well-being.
"Well, would you look at that?" scoffed Black. "This damn place is still up!"
Black admired the infirmary building and walked in with the group. The rogues marched across the hallway, entering the room where the patients were treated, and found people inside.
"Sir, you're not going to believe this," said Lead.
"I'm coming," said Black. "Donovan, check the rest of the building."
Black walked inside the room and found Carol holding a little baby by her chest. She breastfed her daughter as Haley placed a couple cans of formula down.
"Oh shit…" murmured Haley.
Becky and Luan gasped at the sight of the baby. Luan tried her best to smile, but being surrounded by the rogues forced her to nod at Carol.
Becky only released more conflicted tears, though she was grateful that Carol made a safe delivery. More than grateful. She felt her heart warm up.
Black stared at the baby. Then he shifted his eye to the mother. Then to Haley. The rogues moved around the room, inspecting the items.
Carol placed her breast back inside her shirt and trembled as Black stared at the survivors. Haley held on to the desk where her medical supplies stood, fearing she might faint and drop to the ground.
"You delivered her?" asked Black.
Haley gulped and was barely able to make a nod.
"Congratulations. I can see why Dr. Steven White sees great potential in you. What's this little munchkin's name?"
Lead walked to Black with a piece of paper in his hands.
"A birth certificate?" gasped Black. "You guys really thought you were going to rebuild civilization in this place? Haha!"
Black read the certificate while Lori heard voices coming from upstairs.
"Zoey Laura Pingrey," he read. "What's the Laura for? Your parents didn't have a Laura in their names."
"It's a variation of Lori's name…" explained Carol. "I respect her a lot… I'd do anything for her. I trust my best friend."
Black looked at Lori. He raised his hands and clapped.
"She trusts you," he said. "Gotta think about that decision, right?"
Lori stared at Black with defiance in her eyes. Then, the medic came to the room with Leni, who held a white cup.
"The place is clean," said Donovan, now looking at Zoey. "Sir, that's an–"
"An infant," said Black. "Beautiful thing isn't she? Thank you, Carol Pingrey, for making our dream work one step at a time."
Leni shied away from the rogues until she was stopped by Moss who stood behind her. She almost stumbled and dropped the cup.
"I didn't know you were up so early," said Lori.
"I got up early to make you a cup of coffee," explained Leni. "Then, I heard a lotta scary sounds. Now, I see THE scary man!"
"I see I don't have to reintroduce myself," said Black.
"You totes don't, Quentin Black!" exclaimed Leni. "You know, you have a lotta nerve coming here with your big, mean army! After what you did to me, Lola, Lucy, Luan, and Lori, I never wanted to see your face again!"
Leni sighed and turned to Lori.
"Here's your coffee."
Lori and Black were stunned.
"You're lucky you have good genes," said Black. "I'm sparing you too, Haley. I thought I was gonna have to kill you until I saw Zoey."
"You still didn't explain why you're here!" yelled Leni.
"Don't worry. I'll be out shortly. I just needed to have a little chat with your big sister and see this place again."
Leni looked away.
"I know. Must be hard looking at the guy who took your mother and father away, right?"
Leni walked away before being stopped by Moss again. Black motioned him to let her go upstairs, so she could be left alone with her wretched emotions.
Leni made it upstairs, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. She paced around the room, thinking about how she could help the group. She moved around the clothes that she almost completed sewing, wondering what the medic's focus in that particular area was. Then, a folded piece of paper fell. She grabbed the note and placed it inside her pockets as she heard voices in the ground floor.
Lori looked at the espresso in her cup. The tiny spot of whipped cream disappeared into the darkness that sat on the bottom of the coffee. The coffee trembled, yet it would not spill.
"I think we've seen enough," said Black. "This place seems to be in good shape– our place. We'll be coming back some time this month. You can try to fight back… and see how that ends for you. No, I won't slaughter these people."
Black stared at Lori.
"I will murder your friends and family one by one," said Black. "We have this whole place surrounded. If you wish to talk, leave a message in the front gates. Maybe a big sign. Consider the choice I'm giving you. And if I were you, I'd start burying the people we eliminated. Until the next time, Loud."
Black walked out of the infirmary with his soldiers. The walkie-talkies chattered about and ordered the rogues to regroup at their rally point. On foot and by vehicle, the rogues left their post in Houlton and relieved the civilians from the fear of execution. After a few minutes, the rogues left the town with Black's Humvee leaving last.
Carol nudged Lori.
"What he said. Is it true? Did people really die?"
Lori looked down at her coffee and wiped a teardrop from her face. Becky sniffled and decided to answer her question.
"Yes. Dana– she was almost one of many. She okay because of Jason, he saved her life."
Carol held her daughter and hid her face on her. Tears flowed out through her face. This friend has always been nice to her and she was almost taken away from them. She was internally grateful to Jason. Becky wrapped her arms around Carol and her baby, comforting both of them.
Benny and Sam left the home that they shared together. They saw trails of blood and very few bullet casings in the ground. Their first instinct was to run to Lori's home, but on the way there, they spotted the trail of bodies dumped in front of the church. Benny saw Jeffrey holding his chest in pain while Preston and Reggie stood behind him, paralyzed by fear. He took a closer look at the bodies and saw a familiar set of clothes that resembled those of his friend and fellow survivor.
"Wait, no, no, no! That can't be-" stuttered Benny.
He saw Lori's group approaching the church.
"Luan!" he cried out in relief. "You're here! You're still… alive!"
Luan wrapped her arms around him and tried to fight back her tears. Benny closed his eyes and hugged her back, stroking her hair while tearing up. Luan then looked at the line of corpses in front of the church.
"I just saw… General Black… tried to kill Dana," sniffled Luan. "When does it end? When does the killing end?"
Luan couldn't hold her tears back anymore. She sobbed quietly into Benny's chest while Lori looked at her coffee once again. Lori dropped the cup and shivered as she felt lost. Her leadership was challenged in a once again tough situation.
The sunset that arrived that day shone on the grieving town. A few roamers gathered around the fences that guarded the town in which the civilians used to feel safe in. In the spots where the Humvees ran through– and the fences were unable to be repaired– a few vehicles and tanks blocked the roamers from coming inside.
People who lost their loved ones that morning gathered in the graveyard. The clouds were dark, warning the town of the approaching storm.
Becky and Luan spotted Tabby and Wavehead's graves, adding to the burning pain in their hearts. Jace stood behind the church, watching Luna and Sam walk around the tombstones. He moved his eyes towards Leni, finding her next to Preston. He blended in with the people leaving the graveyard before disappearing from anyone's sights.
"Hey, Lori…" sniffled Leni, handing her a note. "I found it in the clothes I was sewing. Someone must have left it behind."
Lori took the note.
"Did you read it?" she asked.
Leni shook her head.
"I'm too sad to read."
Leni went back to mourning, standing next to Preston and Bobby. Lori walked out of the graveyard and stood in front of the church, opening the folded note. George and Jason approached her, asking her if she could read the note.
"Sure thing," she said. "'Woodstock, New Brunswick. Will be here for a week starting six days from now.' There's blueprints in here. I think it's for a military base."
George looked at the blueprints.
"Who gave you this?"
"Leni did. But she found it in her sewing office in the infirmary. And… I think I might have an idea who dropped this note. He just gave us an edge. But why?"
Dr. White walked out of the graveyard and approached George and Lori. He pointed at the note.
"What's that for?" he asked.
"We're going to fight back," said Lori, handing Dr. White the note. "We'll start by taking this base down. We'll lower their numbers… then we'll be able to take on Black's army head on."
"I like the sound of that, we move quick, we move hard, hit them fast, hard, and by surprise," said Jason. "Wipe out as many of them as we can they won't see us coming."
"He threatened us," said Dr. White. "Are you really going to risk the lives of your family?"
"My family's lives are already on the line. It's General Black we're talking about. He's not reasonable. That's why I'm going to put a bullet through his skull after we wipe out his army."