PART 1
August 28th, Saturday.
4th Day of the Apocalypse.
The number of survivors under his command has surpassed 100.
Many mouths to feed, few soldiers capable of fighting, but he can’t get rid of the people.
Even today, there are no signs of the military passing through the city; they are certainly ignoring them.
They are focusing on Atlanta.
Ethan went there to make sure.
He went alone, taking a small car, and told them to continue with the work.
He will investigate, and since he is still recovering after the last few days, it’s the best thing to do in his case.
No one disagrees; they believe Ethan can bring useful information.
…
Ethan doesn’t follow main roads.
He spent the two weeks of preparation for the apocalypse researching the place.
His [Map] recorded that he literally always tried to go through various unknown routes, looking for shortcuts and interesting places to set up a base and shelter.
As a result, Ethan has many rarely used roads; he enters them, having switched from his car to one of the motorcycles belonging to the people he killed.
He senses everything, encounters several vehicles leaving Atlanta, but they are becoming increasingly scarce.
He eventually finds a family, some problem with their car.
Ethan stops, and the father of the family sees his badge but is suspicious.
“Need help?” Ethan asks.
“I didn’t know police officers rode motorcycles.” The man narrows his eyes.
“They don’t, not like that.” Ethan smiles.
“But we’re in difficult times, and I’m gathering information.
How about you give me information, and I see what I can do?”
The man nods.
“I’m not from Atlanta, well, I don’t live there, but I came from there.
I want to know how the situation is, what the police and military are doing?” Ethan begins to look at the engine, and curiously, his system activates, allowing him to automatically discover the problem.
Going to the toolbox and with the system giving him instructions on what to do, he begins to work.
“It’s chaos,” the man says.
“The military is turning the streets into a war zone, killing the sick and the infected.
They’ve also barricaded the exits; it was a struggle to get out, but we managed.”
Ethan nods.
“Where do you plan to go?” he asks.
“Anywhere is better than Atlanta.
I have an uncle who owns a farm in the next town; I’ll pray that these things haven’t reached them,” the man says.
Ethan nods, pointing to the problem he’s fixing.
He looks at the family; the man is around 45-50 years old, his wife, who is very quiet, is around 40, maybe younger.
Their sons, 19 or 20, are two men who are watching, obedient and attentive.
“Dad!” one of them shouts.
– “Monster!”
Ethan watches an infected woman approaching, hands outstretched.
He stops what he’s doing.
– “My god… what kind of monster did this to you?” – Ethan noticed several signs of abuse, no bites or marks on her neck.
Drawing his weapon, he aims and shoots, ending her suffering.
Ethan kneels beside her, observing her and closing his eyes.
“Are you alright?” – the man asked hesitantly.
“Yes, it’s just that… she wasn’t bitten.” – Ethan points.
– “There are no visible wounds that monsters usually leave, and if you see her clothes…” – Ethan lifts her torn dress.
– “There are signs of abuse, and I believe she was strangled to death…”
“My God…”
Ethan looked in the direction she came from, knowing he might encounter monsters if he followed the tracks.
He picked up the body and moved it off the road.
“Let’s finish repairing your car, and if you want a tip, I know a safe place for you and your children, but know that you’ll have to work hard and work with the community.” – Ethan said, looking at him.
“Seriously?” – The man was surprised.
“Yes.
I’m the deputy sheriff of Linden County.
I’ve joined forces with the local people and farmers, forming a kind of militia.
We’re clearing the city of these monsters and rescuing those who are still alive.” – Ethan said calmly, then pulled a map from his pocket.
He showed them where they were and where they should go.
– “Avoid following the sounds of gunfire; my people are luring them to the edge of town to finish them off there.” “But if you look around here, there’ll be a school, and that’s where I’m gathering everyone.”
“I understand, thank you for that.” – The man nods, and Ethan gives him the map so he doesn’t get lost.
He finishes helping with the repair and tells them to leave before more people show up because of the gunshot.
Getting on his motorcycle, Ethan drives calmly while following the tracks.
The blood and residual semen, the marks of her dragging feet, and soon he reached an end; she came from the woods.
Stopping the motorcycle and then putting it away, Ethan spreads his senses and, with his axe in hand, he heads into the woods, following the tracks.
Her scent still lingers in the air, a mixture of smells that his brain is slowly processing.
Accessing the [Map], he found a campsite almost 2 kilometers from the road.
He approached, found 3 zombies in his path, and finished them off.
He used the tall grass for camouflage.
He approached a higher area and found 5 people, all men, walking and laughing.
The smell of alcohol is strong, along with the smell of marijuana and chemicals.
Alcohol, drugs, and…
Ethan sees that besides these 5 men, there are more people, isolated, 6 women.
– ‘God… they’re children!’
He realizes that more than half of them are probably not even 15 years old.
Ethan clenches his fists in hatred.
He slowly moves away, to a high position, a clear view of these sons of bitches.
He pulls out a sniper rifle, lies down, and aims.
He sees how many of them there are, their positions.
He sees two of them, facing each other.
Aiming at the back of one, he holds his breath, aims, and fires.
The bullet goes through him and hits the throat of the one in front of him.
They are confused and shocked.
Ethan aims at the next one, his brain calculating possibilities, his finger pulls the trigger, and unsurprisingly, the bullet goes through his stomach, and his heart-chilling scream reverberates as he falls.
One of the men, perhaps the youngest of the group, runs to his aid; perhaps it’s his older brother.
The moment he kneels, the bullet goes through his skull.
Four have fallen, one with a perforated chest but still alive, showing that it didn’t hit his heart.
Another with damaged entrails; Ethan hopes the bullet didn’t go through him, because he wants him to suffer much more.
Two dead, one intact and hidden.
Ethan leaves where he is and advances.
Revolver in hand, a cold look as he notices the man who wasn’t hit, fleeing into the grass, perhaps seeking refuge.
– ‘It’s no use running, you son of a bitch, I’ll get you.’
Ethan draws his rifle and, standing, he aims.
He doesn’t need to see, he only needs to feel and know where he is.
The trajectory, the air moving, the entire surrounding environment becoming a kind of map in his brain.
The trigger is pulled and in moments a skull is split open.
He hears the groans and approaches.
The man with the pierced chest crawled to a cooler.
Ethan shot him in the head.
He shot the man in the head, who died with his throat ripped open by the shot.
He went to the one with the bullet in his stomach.
He’s not here, he crawled into the woods, but it’s obvious where he is.
Ethan sees him, armed and waiting for him to pursue.
The hatred on his face is clear.
Ethan has a vision of him, but he doesn’t have one of himself.
Aiming, he shoots the man in the chest, and he screams, then begins to shoot desperately, and Ethan simply ducks, getting out of the line of fire.
When it stops, he stands up, aims, and shoots, finishing him off.
5 kills to his name.
Reloading his revolver and opening his system, he used the [Loot] function to clear everything: weapons, ammunition, supplies.
Nothing was left behind.
He has 418.12 kg of inventory capacity.
In a short time, everything useful is stored, and he slowly makes his way to the tents, finding a 9-year-old child and another of 12.
Ethan shows his badge.
– “I’m a police officer, I’m here to save you.” – Ethan says.
In a short time, he gathered the 6 women, 4 of them between 8 and 13 years old, the other two are 19 and 20 years old.
They are two strong women, friends who were captured by these monsters, hoping for safety.
Using the trailer, Ethan settles them in and gives them food and drink.
He then drives away from this hellish place, glancing sideways in the rearview mirror at the six young women eating and drinking, crying and supporting each other.
PART 2
Ethan arrived and found the family of four present.
– “I’m glad you arrived safely,” Ethan said.
The man came to speak to him, but Ethan waved his hand and said, – “Send for Mercy, now!” – His tone was firm; he didn’t have time to please anyone.
Mercy soon arrived, along with a few other people, and Kenny.
The man didn’t like being ignored, but he stayed close to hear the reason for this treatment, until he turned pale at what he heard.
“I found an infected woman on the road; they can confirm it.
I noticed signs of abuse before she died and tracked them to a camp near the road.
Five men and… six children…” – He didn’t need to elaborate; Mercy entered calmly, and the school nurse did too.
Ethan didn’t let any men in.
In a short time, a child was screaming hysterically.
Ethan stood aside, leaning against the trailer, his eyes brimming with tears as he rubbed his face.
“Those damned monsters!” Arthur growled and kicked the trailer tire.
“You killed them?” Kenny asked, his fists clenched.
“Every single one of them, none escaped.” Ethan stared at him.
“Good.” Kenny nodded.
Ethan said, “See with the nurse if she needs a more spacious place.
I know there’s an auditorium; we can use it as a medical center.
Use it if you need space.
Any abuse victim needs all the care we can give.”
Kenny nodded.
“Where are you going?”
“I haven’t finished my mission.
If I find more of these monsters, I’ll exterminate them.” Ethan said coldly and walked away, taking his motorcycle, then going to his house, putting down the supplies and other resources, and then leaving.
…
Mercy wiped the tears from her eyes as the children were taken to the infirmary for treatment.
It was difficult to bathe them, but they managed.
She herself was scratched and bitten, but she didn’t care about any of that and just took care of the children.
“My God… Kenny, they’re children.
The same age as our granddaughters.” – Mercy cries as she is hugged by her husband.
– “How can people do this?”
The atmosphere around them is heavy.
“It’s like Ethan said.” – Jerome, sitting down, and Jacob beside him, says calmly amidst anger and disgust.
– “We are experiencing the end times, rules no longer make sense and the worst humans will show their true colors… these monsters existed, but now they can show themselves without fearing the consequences of their actions.”
“It’s a good thing Ethan killed those monsters.” – Arthur said, growling.
“When did killing become the solution to everything?” – Hudson asks beside him, still trembling.
“It didn’t become so.” – Kenny said.
“Not yet… Ethan just adapted faster than all of us.
He’s probably the one who feels the weight of all this the most, but he’s pushing himself to the limits, physically and mentally, not stopping because he doesn’t want to face the weight of what he’s doing.”
Everyone falls silent.
“Ethan is a good man,” Mercy says weakly.
“But what his ex-wife did destroyed him, he let himself be destroyed, and the fact that he was sent here instead of staying with his friends only made it worse.”
Jerome felt guilty; he had never thought about it from this point.
Imagine, you’re betrayed, your wife in bed with your best friend and police partner.
It was a huge shock, and a miracle that Ethan didn’t kill them.
But instead of being properly cared for, he was transferred to another city, practically exiled, because the bosses don’t want to bother dealing with a problem like this.
Jerome realizes he was a terrible friend and teacher, since he was the one who instructed Ethan in his first year as a police officer.
“Do you think we should leave him alone now?” Jerome asks.
No one knows what to answer.
PART 3
It’s still afternoon, Ethan rides his motorcycle down the road, passing vehicles, always attentive to every detail, searching for prey.
He needs to kill them, this trash, he doesn’t want more children to suffer this fate.
He doesn’t want to give opportunities for the worst imaginable scenarios.
The number of monsters this new world will create… there are no limits to human cruelty.
Perhaps even Satan himself will be surprised by how much humans can still surprise him in this regard.
Does Ethan believe in God?
Yes.
Even though he wasn’t a churchgoer, he always had a Bible at home, sometimes he read a little.
It brought him comfort, but the next morning he would get dressed and go out into the streets, seeing the worst side of humanity.
Ethan needed an anchor after the betrayal.
Even though he experienced something cosmic, acquiring a system and being sent to the world of the TV series.
His faith was shaken, he has so many doubts about whether God is real or not.
But he needs strength, because… what’s the point of a vain life, without goals and faith?
What makes him get out of bed?
What makes him keep fighting and saving so many people, even exhausted and with only 3-4 hours of sleep?
EXP?
He won’t lack zombies to kill.
Extra Levels?
He’ll level up eventually.
People?
Ethan looks at the recently cleaned church, staring at it for a while.
– “I… want you to be real.
Even with all this cosmic nonsense, I really want you to be real…” – He leans forward as tears fall.
“I know I’m a piece of shit, that I don’t deserve it, but… just give me strength to keep going, to protect these people.
Just… give me strength, please.” – Ethan says, even knowing that there are superior forces, perhaps even waiting for a mystical voice, a sign…
But he sees or feels nothing.
He just feels alone, something he already expected.
But clenching his fist, he moves towards Atlanta, even without concrete reasons he still moves.
Maybe… just maybe, his prayers have been answered.
…
Ethan drives and observes the deplorable state of the roads and people.
He uses his axe to deal with some zombies on the road.
He encounters some conflicts, looting, and kills a man and scares the others.
One additional level and he invested everything in Constitution.
[2]: 5 Constitution.
[8]: 5 → 6 Constitution.
[2]: 6 Constitution.
1 increase, better than none.
He also reached 500 zombie kills.
Another extra skill level, thought little and again chose [Fitness].
Now he is virtually Level 7.
His strength skyrockets, his physical condition improves, and the earlier pains become almost insignificant.
His Stress increases, so he smokes.
Stopping in the middle of the road, while investigating various entrances to Atlanta, he observes the military barricades from afar through binoculars, listening to the gunfire.
Ethan knows Atlanta will be bombed; he believes that since the government will fall or has already abandoned most of the states in two weeks, the military should retreat and concentrate on strategic locations with priority targets.
…
It was getting dark, and Ethan found an abandoned pickup truck, but with a lot of blood.
His inventory full of resources he collected from various abandoned vehicles or accidents, he began searching for something to load onto his motorcycle.
Then he hears something in the distance and looks up; he sees a man holding a little girl’s hand.
The man is Black, limping, with a tired look, but a protective expression towards the child.
The little girl, wearing a white and blue cap, was intimidated by his gaze and took cover behind the man.
[Image] →
“We don’t want any trouble, officer.” – The man said, raising his hands as he saw Ethan reach for his holster.
Ethan watches them and relaxes, knowing there’s no one else around.
“I’m Ethan Walker, deputy sheriff of Linden County.” – Ethan steps forward and extends a hand for a handshake.
“I’m Lee, Lee Everett, this is Clementine.” – Lee shakes his hand and introduces the girl, who must be around 8 years old.
“Hi…” – She says fearfully, hiding behind Lee.
Ethan smiles gently, with a hint of pain.
– “She’s not your daughter, is she?”
“…no sir, I found her and I’m helping as much as I can.” – Lee says, trying to sound as harmless as possible.
Ethan watches him, a tear rolling down his cheek.
Lee looks confused as Ethan rubs his eye.
“Sorry, it’s just been a difficult day today.
I’ve seen a lot of things and done even worse things, but it’s good to see that a child has found a kind soul.”
Lee blinks, confused.
“How about helping me with the motorcycle?
Then I’ll take you to a safe place?” Ethan says, and Lee agrees.
They quickly load the motorcycle into the truck and get in.
Ethan covers the driver’s seat with a cloth because of all the blood.
Lee says nothing, just sits beside him while Clementine eats a chocolate bar Ethan gave her.
“Where are you from?” Ethan asks.
“Where I was born, or where I was before this?” Lee asks, smiling.
“Whatever is most comfortable for you,” Ethan says, already noticing something suspicious.
“I was a history professor at the University of Georgia.
A lot of things happened.” Lee laughs bitterly, clenching his fist.
Ethan senses there’s more, but the man is injured; he sees that.
– “Okay, I won’t ask anymore.”
“Where are we going?” Lee asked, also worried and full of suspicion.
“There’s a small town nearby, me and others have formed a militia, we’re rescuing people, dealing with these monsters.
Currently we’re using a school as a base.” Ethan says, and Lee sighs in relief, but also worried.
Ethan noticed that his relief is for Clementine, but his worry, he doesn’t understand where it comes from.
Whatever the case, in less than 2 hours they arrive at their destination.
It’s already dark, Ethan parks the vehicle and joins the others.
Lee and Clementine are warmly welcomed, Mercy, who doesn’t seem to be going to sleep anytime soon, came to see the child, and Lee, who is obviously injured, went to receive the necessary treatment.
Ethan lights a cigarette and leans against the wall, looking at the moon.
“Got a cigarette for me?” – A provocative voice sounds, Ethan looks and finds Bianca.
He doesn’t answer, only pulls out his pack of cigarettes, and one stands out.
Bianca smiles and accepts it.
Ethan takes out a lighter and lights her cigarette.
Bianca leans back beside him.
Ethan doesn’t look at her; his hand trembles.
He smokes, but even that isn’t calming him like before.
The faces, the voices… they aren’t just the people he killed, innocent or not… the zombies, hundreds of them, were people once.
Their heads splitting open, guts exposed… so many dead children…
Ethan passed by an elementary school; the scene was heartbreaking.
He still hasn’t had the courage to open it to clean it.
That place has become taboo, but he knows that only he has the courage to do it.
The thought of going there terrifies him.
Of doing what must be done, but… why does he have to do it?
Bianca spoke, noticing that Ethan wasn’t even listening, lost in his own world, the cigarette burning between his fingers as he trembled, tears streaming down his face, his breathing…
He was panicking, losing control.
Bianca was surprised, worried, so she did the only thing she believed was right.
She touched Ethan, holding his face, and then kissed him.
Ethan, lost in his suffering, widened his eyes, confused as Bianca kissed him.
Memories of the last few years, him sober or drunk, trying his luck with this beautiful woman everyone wants, but very few have been lucky enough to have.
The feelings that belonged to those false memories overwhelmed him, and he simply gave in.
The kiss slowly ceased, Ethan watched her in confusion, and Bianca smiled.
– “I’ll take care of you, kid, now… let’s go to your house, okay?”
Ethan blinked, then nodded.
He wasn’t going to argue.
<><><><><><><><><><>
Ethan lets Bianca guide him through the darkness, turning away from the whispers of the cafeteria where Lee and Clementine now find the warmth of a true community.
That night, the blood-soaked weapons and axe are left at the door.
Day 4, the darkest yet, ends with Ethan finally finding safe haven in Bianca’s arms to heal his soul before tomorrow forces him to be Linden County’s savior once more.
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