Previous Chapter: Ariel and Mayor Crawford left the courthouse pleased with the deal they just made; they were to give a letter to a man in Savannah, and in return, they’d be given some small supplies. Logan ran up to Ariel with a smile, "Hey, Ariel. I got your group situated in some of the rooms in the town's college dorms."

"Thank you, Logan! Do you think you can take me there? I'm new here," Ariel joked.

"No problem... also, may I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"So... this Savannah trip. Why are you going there?"

"Oh, you and everyone here would like to know!" Ariel smiled as they walked to the college dorms.

Forsyth, Georgia

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

10:00 A.M. EST - Apocalypse Day 4

"Wakey, wakey, we have a long day ahead of us," Mikael said, nudging Ariel awake.

"Mm, just a few more minutes..." Ariel groaned groggily.

"Now you know we can't, so get up and get ready," Mikael stated, trying to pull Ariel out of the bed. "Also, you have a visitor... two, actually."

"Do you know what they want?"

"They won't speak to me until they speak with you..."

Ariel sighed, "I'll be on my way soon." The sun was out, and the birds were still chirping like any other chill autumn day. ‘Hm, even though we see an apocalypse, the world around us is doing just fine... probably even thriving. What are people doing out there? What'll happen to the things we take for granted? Food, water, protection, medicine... hell even fuckin' clothes…’ Ariel thought and let out a huge sigh and stretched. ‘Now time to meet these people and get back on the road.’ 

...

As soon as Ariel made headway down the dorm staircase with Mikael and Tonya, she knew who was waiting for her in the commons. Logan's unmistakable golden hair and the mysterious man with the dark brown hair next to him. "Hey, Logan!" Ariel smiled. "What brings you over here?"

"Ah... Well, I have a gift for you. Since you were worried about the troubles out there in the world, I thought I’d give you this," He handed out a compound bow to her with a full quiver, "These should do you well for a while. Either hunting or defending yourself."

"Awe, thank you so much! This will be great! Now, all I have to do is learn how to shoot this damn thing!" Ariel smiled and slightly giggled.

"All in due time. Well, I must go- Oh! Before I do, there is a barn down south called the ‘Brown Oak Stables’ and just say my name, and they'll hook you and your group up with some horses for your travels."

"Ooh, you didn’t have to do all this. Thank you so much for your help!" Ariel waved goodbye to Logan. All that time was the mysterious man staring at her. ‘Well, that's creepy... what does he want,’ Ariel thought. The man walked closer to her. "Can I help you, sir?" Ariel asked.

"Ah, yes," The man smiled. "My name is Lincoln. I was wondering if I would be able to join your group of people to Savannah?"

Looking closer, Ariel saw the man's facial features. He had short brown hair, brown eyes, and a beard with silver whisps covering his face like a bush. He seemed to be around fifty, given the wrinkle lines around his face and the sound of his raspy voice. Although, the older man seemed to be in good shape like he could take down half the people in this town.

"How'd you know we were going to Savannah? You stalking us?" Mikael intervened, his tall stature trying to intimidate the man.

"Well, this is not a big town, and word spreads around, and no. I wanna come with you guys to Savannah."

"What do you have to offer? We can't just let anyone into the group."

"Young man. I have spent most of my life prepping for any type of theoretical scenario I could think of. This is kind of one of them. I know how to wield a sword and shoot a bow. I know how to hunt. I know how to survive. You need me," Lincoln boasted.

"Why don't you stay with the people of Forsyth. They seem like your people and need your help."

"No, Mayor Crawford believes that help is going to come. It's not, especially if the entire world is like this," Lincoln spat. "You guys are leaving to make a difference. I can tell that you will, but only with my help. So, only once am I going to repeat this. Let me be in your group to Savannah."

Ariel, Mikael, and Tonya just stared at each other then at the man. "He’d be a huge help," Ariel mumbled.

Somewhere in Northern Georgia, Georgia

Thursday, September 27, 2018

3:00 P.M. EST - Apocalypse Day 5

The sharp sound of metal grinding against each other echoed across the camp. Then a damp thud. Then another. The same repetition of sounds, slashing of metal, and the thuds of bodies. "Come on; you got this! Take him down!" Erik yelled. "It's just one person!". More and more men pushed forward, but that one person still stood undefeated. 

"Are they done yet?" Luis asked cockily. "I feel like I'm embarrassing them... It's kind of sad".

"Cocky son-of-a-bitch" Erik chuckled. "Run the drills one more time! We're going to do this until I get tired."

Traveling for several days straight had put a lot of strain on the officers that agreed to follow Erik. Most were tired and could barely do the tasks needed. Rations began to run low and didn’t even know where they were going. But, through Erik’s speeches and convincing, the officers pushed through it. Since Luis and Sara were taught in the art of swords and shields, they became professionals in it and excellent trainers. Luis and Sara were the perfect candidates. If they had any chance of surviving this new world, then they’re going to have to teach the officers what Luis and Sara knew, especially if they don't have a meal tonight.

"Chief! Could I talk to you!?" George called, walking towards Erik.

"What do you need... and just call me Erik," Erik stated.

"Noted... anyways, I was looking at the maps we collected, right?" George waited for a nod of approval and then continued. “There's a town nearby called Adairsville, right off I-75, and I'm pretty sure we can get food from there. It's a small town, which is probably the easiest to loot from. A small group of us could go and check it out?"

"Adairsville? Are you sure that it isn't burned down to the ground yet, and if not, what about the people that live there?"

"That's why I said to send a little recon team out there to check what's in the town and come back to report it to us.”

"Who would that be? None of these men nor women are trained."

"I'll have one of the men look over things while you and I are gone. Look, this is a good idea, trust me," George stated.

"Fine, give me a few minutes to get everything ready, then we can walk to Adairsville.”

...

George and Erik headed on their way to the entrance of Adairsville. Swords in their sheaths but ready at a moment’s notice. "Hey Erik, Can I speak to you about something?" George asked.

"Yea, man. Go ahead." Erik said.

"My son, Luis. He's a good kid, and he's taking this new scenario the easiest out of all of us, but I'm scared that he's taking it too well. I don't want my kid to be comfortable with this, or so used to this that he gets hurt or worse," George shuttered, his hand combing through his hair.

"I don’t understand what you mean?"

George cut him off, annoyed, "I don’t think this is something temporary, Erik. The laws of physics and the laws of this world have changed. Right now, it's every man and woman for themselves. All over the world, there is probably violence and purge. I don’t want my children or my children’s children to experience that, especially my son. You need to protect him in all possible ways."

"Look, I'll try to keep your son from being stupid, but that doesn't mean I can stop him from wanting to do things by himself. As you said, this world is changing, and so is he."

"Tssk," George sucked his teeth and thought about what could be in the future, "We're coming up on Adairsville now. What's the game plan, Chief?"

"We'll just walk in and just observe and see what happens." 

They walked around the town for almost an hour now and had seen no one. The fall leaves were scurrying the streets, and the houses looked as if they were torn apart by a mob. "Damn, what happened here?" George asked.

"Looks like the houses were just... abandoned?" Erik questioned. As he looked about, the town gave an eerie feeling as if the former inhabitants now haunted this area. How quickly the world had gone to absolute shit.

"No, they wouldn't just abandon them. You wouldn't just leave the safety of your home. Something happened." 

"I wonder what..." Erik pondered as he looked around. Then came a man sprinting full speed, his hair disheveled and clothes torn. 

"Help... please... help!" the man gasped, grasping to them for dear life. 

‘That's a gnarly fuckin' wound... poor man.. what hurt him so much to cause that...,’ Erik thought. Then Erik's instincts kicked in. "Sir, hold pressure on the wound," Erik ordered and then whispered to George, "Watch the surroundings and make sure no one else is coming."

George nodded and did what was told.

Erik started to help the man, tearing off a piece of clothing until the man stopped him by shaking his head, "Don't... do... it. It's too late. Run from them… far far away."

"Run from who?" Erik asked. "Who is the problem?".

"T-the gang. They took us from our homes and...."

"And what?"

"The gang members-..." The man would say before he took his last breath.

Erik stood up angrily with his blood boiling, "Someone is responsible for this, and we're going to find out who!". 

"Looks like we're going to find out soon!" George said with a sword in hand as five men ran up to them with crude makeshift weapons. 

"We're not gonna win that... put your sword up and see what they want," Erik ordered.

As the five men came up, one of them stepped forward and angrily yelled, "What happened to him!? Did you kill him!?"

"No, no, we didn't. It seems like one of your men beat him to death. Did you guys do this?" Erik asked, disgusted.

The gang surrounded the two men like birds to their prey. The man looked around at his crew, laughed, then looked back at Erik, "What do you think?"

"Oh... so you guys are the so-called 'gang members'?" Erik asked sarcastically.

"Yea, we are, and what’re you gonna do about it, big man?" The man taunted.

"Are you going to bury this kid? He didn't deserve to die like this," George shuttered.

"Why would we do that? He's a sad sack of shit who doesn't deserve it. We're just here to make sure he doesn't escape. By the looks of it, he won't," The man laughed with the others.

"You piece of dirty shit!" Erik said, running upon them only to be held back by George. 

"Don't do it... It's not worth it... He's not worth it. We'll get them later," George whispered in his ear.

"Yea, hold your bitch back, eh?" The man smirked and laughed, swinging around his weapon. Erik pushed against George's arm, trying to get closer to the man. Ready to beat him into oblivion.

"Let's go," Erik ordered with George following suit. The men were watching them, eagerly waiting for the fight that never happened.

...

The trip back to camp was mainly silent until George eventually broke it. "What was that back there, Erik?" George asked, a little worried.

"Senseless murder is never acceptable; that just doesn’t sit well with me. He was just a kid," Erik's eyes started to tear up, and he choked on his words.

"I understand. I have kids myself. We’ll get back at them," George put an arm around his neck and smiled.

"Father... Chief! I finally found you guys!" Sara smiled as she ran towards them.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" George worried.

She raised an eyebrow, "Nothing's wrong? In fact, quite the opposite. It turns out there’s a halted train not too far from here, and it was filled with canned food! It should last us quite a while!”

"Oh, honey, that's great! That solves one of our problems since our trip was a complete waste!" George said.

"Not a complete one... we now know to what extent humans will take things," Erik stated.

"... what is he talking about?" Sara asked, confused about what she missed.