A World Gone Rotten

Chapter 11

“With Fire and Sword Part 1”

Fort Conrad, Idaho

May 11th, 2015

1600 Hours

Samuel admired the place that Giselle brought them to; it was a well built and organized place. They were currently waiting to meet John, “the Warden”, he seemed to be called around here, especially by former correction officers. He sat with Sunset as it would just be them meeting with John. Giselle was currently talking with him as the two sat outside of a wooden building resembling a fire watch tower which provided a full view of the area, the day was cool with a partially cloudy sky.

The stronghold the group had found themselves in was large in scale. It used to be the site of an old trading post and fort turned tourist trap. A palisade surrounded the place, great big logs that had been well seasoned and would last a long while yet. It was next to Salmon river, allowing a source of fresh water and fish, as well as transportation up and down the river, made evident by several boats and canoes pulled up away from the shore. Many a building, built in an old fashioned style of the late 1800s, scattered the fort. Samuel could see that several more buildings were being built almost exactly like the others.

Most were used for residence or storage but a few were used for work such as carpentry or leatherworking, there was even an honest to God general store. There was stables that contained several horses and mulitple pens beside it holding sheep, cattle and goats. While Samuel admired the place it did make him wonder why John would choose this place, especially since what information could be gathered pointed to that he did, at one point, have control of a prison.

He supposed he could ask that later, when it was appropriate. Squinting his eyes as the sun caught them for brief second he spotted Arthur and Elizabeth down by the vehicles that had been parked inside. He saw them looking up at him and they waved, he waved back with a smile. With a cigarette in his hand he took a drag of it, noting how it was almost finished.

I’m going to have to quit eventually. Going to run out of anything nicotine in the next few years anyway. Hell I’m already doing it less and less of it. Come to think of it I doubt anyone is going to be growing tobacco in these parts. Shitty. But oh well…

“So Sunset you never did tell me what happened in Boise.” Samuel said out of the blue, he wanted to spark up some conversation while they waited; she had been rather quiet for the last few hours.

Sunset blinked in surprise and looked at him, “I didn’t? Well it was fine at first…”

She told the story of how they went through the Boise botanical gardens, the discovery of the old penitentiary and then their desperate escape, as well as Mateo’s death. As Sunset finished her story, Samuel just sighed.

“Another one gone then.” Samuel responded sadly, he paused for moment. “Mateo was shaping up good too.”

Sunset nodded in silent agreement, she decided to steer the conversation to another subject, “How are you feeling though? You should still be resting.”

“You’re right, I should be resting but we got things to do. I still feel like shit and the stiches are itchy, it drives me fucking nuts…I’m sore, hurting and exhausted but I’ll live.” Samuel responded stoically.

Sunset sighed internally, unimpressed at his tone, “After we are done this, you’re heading back to get some rest.”

“No argument there, Sunset.” Samuel conceded.

Sunset cocked an eyebrow, looking to see if there was any dishonesty on Samuel’s face. He usually didn’t back down so easily but she couldn’t find anything telling her he wouldn’t go get some rest after. Her mind turned to other things.

“Do you think we will get our friends back? Before they could be gone?” Sunset said quietly, contemplating the rather horrifying idea of her friends disappearing for good.

Samuel was silent for a few moments before responding, “…I will not give you false hope and say we will one hundred percent get them back. Only God knows absolutely, but we will try our best. A lot depends on our ‘allies’ if we can even get the chance.”

“We must try, even if we can’t get their help.” Sunset said with conviction.

Samuel nodded in agreement, “True. But the butcher’s bill will be high.”

“For us or them?” Sunset asked as she looked into Samuel’s eyes.

His eyes went cold for a second before thawing; his voice was cold and serious as he replied, “Both.”

That sent a chill down Sunset’s spine; she didn’t want to think how many would die in any rescue attempt. Thankfully she didn’t have to as Giselle finally came out, both Sunset and Samuel looked at her with anticipation.

“Come in, John is eager to discuss your joining of the coalition.” Giselle said with a welcoming hand.

The two followed her into the tower’s room, it was basic place, large windows allowed sunlight into the room, there was a single bed in a far corner with a night table beside it; antlers of whitetail and mule deer were mounted on the wall alongside a few fish such as walleye and northern pike that could be caught locally in the river. A weapons stand to the side had a modern black hunting polymer rifle and a handgun, a Sig Sauer Samuel mentally noted. But the table that had four wooden chairs in the middle was the main attraction.

Especially the man who sat there. John was wearing a green and black plaid shirt, dull blue working jeans and cowboy boots. He had rather unremarkable brown hair and eyes of the same color, his skin having a farmer’s tan. He was looking over multiple maps and sheets of paper, a radio was on a corner of the table as well.

John looked up as he spoke, his voice sounded grave, “Welcome to Fort Conrad, hope you been finding it hospitable enough.”

Sunset nodded her head in greeting and gratitude, “Yes, thank you for providing hospitality, especially these days.”

A small smirk appeared on John’s face, “No problem.” He gestured to the chairs, “Please take a seat.”

Everyone took a seat as John brought out a pitcher of water and plastic cups, he poured everyone a glass and set it in front, they gave their thanks in return. Once finished he sat down, interlocking his fingers as he rested his arms on the table and leaned forward.

“I don’t think any introductions are needed, I know who you are and you know who I am so let’s get down to it. You want to join this coalition to save some friends of yours and probably get some revenge on that bastard Dominic. I am all too happy to have some extra people in the gun line. Especially considering the upcoming offensive I got planned. ” John said plainly.

Samuel looked to Sunset with expecting eyes; they had spoken to each other about how they were going to go about joining, both agreed to the idea of asking a few questions before anything else. Sunset nodded to Samuel then turned her attention to John and spoke in a diplomatic tone, “Before we join officially, I would like to know more about this coalition and the expectations that come with it.”

John shrugged in a conceding way, “Sure. Things were pretty loose at the start, just mutual support in the fight against the doms. Lend a hand here and there. But now? The doms are getting pretty fed up with us and are wanting us gone. Every single one of us who doesn’t comply with their stupid religion. So I started making things more organized, efficient and now official.”

John took a sip of his water and continued, “All that is really expected is joining the fight, no holding back. You’re either in or out. The reason being is Dominic is getting ready for a big push down this way; he hasn’t exactly been subtle about it. We have caught scouts of his eyeing up everyone significant enough to be a threat, troop movements around their ‘borders’ and such things. So is that enough for you?”

Sunset nodded slowly, digesting the information, “Yes. I will admit however we just want to rescue our friends and go our separate ways. We don’t have an interest in a prolonged fight, or war which seems to be what it really is. I hope you can understand.”

John frowned at that, “That isn’t what I wanted to hear to be honest. What reason would you have for that?”

Samuel spoke neutrally, “I’m quite sure Mother Superior Giselle told you but we are out of state, from Oregon originally. We just happened to have stumbled into your little war here. If we really wanted to we would just hop in our vehicles and drive away, our missing friends is the only reason we haven’t and are considering joining your coalition.”

“And we don’t have any place we would call home here. Our destination is further east, past Idaho as of now. We would be risking a lot joining in for any long period of time. Our resources are more limited than yours. I also don’t want to see half my people end up dead because of it.” Sunset added in in explanation.

“But-“ John tried to respond before Giselle spoke first.

“They are risking just as much as anyone John, both of us included. Besides I remember how you were pleading for anyone to join the coalition barely three weeks ago. I doubt that has changed.” Giselle said to John her tone sounded strongly of reminding.

John looked at all three and nodded, “Alright, alright you make a point for your case. But I will ask in what capacity would you be committing once you join then? I have plans to keep this coalition going even after Dominic and his lackeys are defeated.”

Sunset responded reluctantly, “There are things we could do as ‘contractors’ instead of being some permanent member of the coalition.”

“Contractors? Are you talking like mercenaries or something?” John asked confused by the suggestion.

“Essentially, yes. We can do certain things until we get our friends back and perhaps kill Dominic if the two goals align. Zeke clearing, training in certain skills, scavenging, general labor or even just regular trading, we have experience in this type of work before when we were crossing Oregon. After all I’m quite sure you have some things you need done.” Samuel answered in a business like tone.

John narrowed his eyes as he nodded, Sunset could see thoughts dance in his eyes, ideas forming in his head, he spoke in a bargaining tone, “And what would payment be in? Basic supplies or something more specific? Or perhaps luxury goods?”

“Basic necessities mostly. But things harder to come by we also take, if we think it is worth it. It also depends on you’re willing to offer, we aren’t too picky if that is what you’re worried about. We can also talk details depending on the job you want done.” Sunset said with a smile, convinced that they sold John on the idea.

John leaned back into his seat with a thinking expression, his chin cupped in his hand, there was a pregnant pause and Sunset got more nervous as each second passed. Samuel looked unbothered as he finished his glass of water and Giselle sat peacefully as she looked at John expectantly.

“…Alright you sold me. You got a deal.” John finally replied, as he held out a hand for handshake to seal the deal they had made.

Sunset let out a relieved breath; she got worried there for a second he was actually going to refuse. She took up his handshake and Samuel followed suit, they had now officially join the coalition.

“I’m glad to see that an agreement has been reached.” Giselle chimed in with a benevolent smile.

Sunset looked at Giselle with gratitude, “We couldn’t have done this without you.”

“It was no problem my child. But we still haven’t gotten your friends back yet either.” Giselle responded cautiously, she then turned to John. “Will you tell us about this ‘offensive’ you have hinted at now or later?”

Sunset could see Samuel focus sharply at what Giselle said, as he eyes turned to John with curiosity. Sunset would gladly let Samuel take over this part of the planning, she considered herself too inexperienced to do it by herself, as well as not particularly liking the planning or leading of battles. She wasn’t a pacifist by any means but the idea of killing just for the sake of it never sat well with her.

I guess I really have changed from who I used to be. The old me would probably take to the idea of needless killing a lot easier and quicker.

Sunset refocused from her thoughts back to John as he replied to Giselle’s question, he sounded confident but a hint of worry was also there, “The basics of the plan are to strike deep into Dom territory, the aim being to kill Dominic and end the Doms influence over northern Idaho, kicking them out before they do it to us. Cause we were able to intercept a few messengers of theirs and the contents of the messages they carried were not good.”

John pointed to a map, his finger pointing to a series of arrows that started in the eastern part of the state, headed to the Oregon-Idaho border then go north towards where St. Hilda’s and Fort Conrad are. Sunset was trying to figure out what it meant, she remember something from history class like this…

“These are troop movements, aren’t they?” Samuel asked the question everyone was thinking.

John nodded, “Yup. Dominic wants to attack us from two directions at once, pin us so they can kill us all and finally have undisputed control over Idaho so his Prophet can finally have his little empire. It’s why we need to go on the offensive or else we will be royally fucked.”

Sunset’s eyes widened at the possibilities, none of them good in her mind. She looked at Samuel for an idea of how they were going to get their way out of this. Samuel had leaning over the map, his eyes moving from point of the map to another. Giselle only narrowed her eyes in what Sunset could only describe as acceptance.

“That was the bad news.” John announced.

All eyes were on him.

He continued, “We know the location of Dominic’s base. And it isn’t St. Hilda’s.”

Samuel looked sharply at John, “Explain.”

“Gladly. He took over a compound in the mountains. A survivor’s paradise. Has everything you would need to survive something like what we are going through. Water distillery, solar panels, high walls and more. It’s also where he conducts a lot of his more unsavory actions as well. So I’m betting that’s where he is right now.” John explained, almost triumphantly.

Hope lit up on Sunset’s face, “Could that be where he took my friends?”

John shrugged, “Good chance but no guarantees.”

Samuel butted in, his tone serious, “I have a lot of questions in relation to your plans John. Like what do we know about the Dom troops. What are they equipped with? What is their level of training? Numbers we are dealing with? What is their morale like? I want to know these things so I can prepare accordingly.”

John nodded, “That is something we will be going over come tomorrow afternoon, when the last of the coalition representatives arrive. A full brief on the situation and planning session, get everyone up to speed and then we will go from there.”

Samuel nodded in appreciation; Sunset spoke next in a questioning tone, “I was actually wondering if you could answer some questions, I’m curious about how a former warden come to be here in a fort meant for tourism.”

“I was actually curious myself about that. Alongside other information, that would either be useful or perhaps interesting.” Samuel chimed in, a smirk on his face.

John smirked back, “And I’m curious about how that nasty scar on your face got there.”

Samuel chuckled, “Fair enough.”

John looked at each of the three before speaking again, “How about you come have dinner with me tonight? We can go back and forth about each other over some food and drink. Oh and bring some other people you want along, I’ll be doing the same.”

“Sounds splendid, John. I will attend to my people and we shall break bread with each other.” Giselle said with a smile as she got up to leave.

Samuel and Sunset agreed as they too got up to leave. John gave a wave of farewell as he returned to his papers and maps. Upon exiting the door, they went to attend to business and get ready for dinner.

Rainbow couldn’t help but seethe as she was once more put through “wife” lessons by a couple of the wives of Dominic. She was gritting her teeth as she once more put through how to have ‘proper’ manners becoming of a soon to be wife of either a disciple or the Prophet. But she complied as she was told how to behave at the table.

She, Rarity and Pinkie had no idea where they ended up. Having been deprived of seeing or hearing anything as they were transported to someplace, whatever it might be. As soon as they got here, there had been nothing but preparing the three for their new roles that would be forced upon them. Their treatment from being prisoners had improved however, if only marginally. They had been living in some house, or something similar she believed. All three had been confined to the building, never allowed out, the heavy guard presence was a convincing enough reason to not try escaping.

Rainbow, Pinkie and Rarity were all sitting at a table as they were shown how they should properly hold eating utensils, pass dishes around the table but most important of all was how to address their husband and know when to speak. Rainbow had failed for the most part at first; she was usually verbally reprimanded but the occasional strike from a stick if she ever got out of “hand”, by their definition, she learned quickly after that it was better to play along than not.

Pinkie had still kept a positive and bouncy attitude, as she wouldn’t let their circumstances keep her spirits down as she tried her best to keep herself and her friends up. She went along with the lessons almost as if she wanted to, despite the oppressive atmosphere that lingered over her.

Rarity had adapted to the situation with the most ease, but she hated it almost as much as Rainbow did; although she composed herself with as much grace and poise she could have possibly mustered, which seemed to have gain the approval of their instructors. She was considered the best of the three and most likely to the have the “privilege” of potentially marrying the Prophet himself.

None of them really expected to see their future “husbands” anytime soon at least, a small mercy.

Rainbow sighed internally as she picked up the fork again in a “proper fashion”, finally doing it right as one of her instructors gave a nod in acknowledgement. It became a slog of a lesson for an unknown amount of time, Rainbow couldn’t tell as she miserably sat through everything.

She was shaken from the mindless state she was in as the lesson was finished for the day. Though their day was far from done, they would soon be doing cooking classes. Rainbow considered it only slightly more interesting than manner classes.

The instructors left, they always did to discuss with each other the results of the class. That gave the girls a small break every time, which they always used to talk.

“I am so done with this. We need to make an escape plan, like now.” Rainbow said as she crossed her arms.

“And go where? We are most certainly entirely surrounded by these lunatics so even if we get out, I doubt we would make it far.” Rarity countered as she looked at the door the instructors used to leave.

Pinkie leaned in and spoke softly, “I’ve looked everywhere for an escape route and found nothing! They really got it locked up tighter than a duck’s butt.”

Rainbow and Rarity didn’t bat an eye and both silently contemplated. Both knew if Pinkie of all people couldn’t find a route of escape than their chances were slim indeed.

“Then we escape another way, like we are going somewhere else eventually. So I’m thinking we do it when no doubt get put another vehicle again. And then-” Rainbow said firmly.

“As we are made blind and deaf again?” Rarity interrupted with a raised eyebrow.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, “I was getting there. Since we are going to be ‘wives’,” she said the word with disgust, “There is a good chance we won’t be, which will make it so much easier to try. Like come on, we can take a few dudes who think we aren’t a threat.”

“Oh yes, then we get shot as we try running.” Rarity replied in a deadpan tone.

Pinkie leaned into Rarity, “It’ll be fine. We will escape like ninjas in the night.”

Pinkie proceeded to do a ninja pose following it up with a “HIIIIII-YAAA!”

Rarity couldn’t help but smile slightly at her friend’s antics and Rainbow grinned too. Regardless of their circumstances they still had each other. They however all turned their attention to the door as they heard footsteps and voices. They quickly returned to their seats and tried to look the part of dutiful students.

The instructors all came in one by one; the lead instructor cleared her throat and spoke in a teacher like voice, “You three all know what you are training for and that initially the process would be a month. That has changed.”

The three girls all gave a confused glance at each other, not saying a word however; as they would receive a verbal tirade for talking out of turn. They refocused as the lead instructor went on.

“It has been forwarded to two weeks now. You will be meeting your potential husbands sooner than expected. But we will have you ready in time, so this means more time spent in classes so let us hop to it. Chop chop.”

Rainbow couldn’t help but groan inwardly, almost letting it slip. She followed the rest as they got up to go to the next class, at speed walking pace no less.

This is such a fucking joke, but what happens if we do get married off to some creeps and we never see our friends again?

Rainbow shivered at the thought. She only hoped that rescue or an escape would happen. And soon.

` Samuel and Sunset walked beside each other as they headed to have dinner with John. Arthur followed shortly behind as Elizabeth was given a piggyback ride, her laughs communicated she was having fun. Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight and Spike were along as well, Sunset thought it would be good to have them along.

She had high hopes for the dinner, a good way to connect with John and his group, paving a way to good relations and the opportunities that could open up from it. After all it never hurt to have friends one could rely on. They already had several jobs that the group was working, in exchange for payment of course. Mostly just training or skill sharing, though they were hints there could be some more lucrative options coming their way soon.

She looked at Samuel, who grazed his scar lightly with a hand to avoid causing pain as he looked forward; it was strangely attractive to her. But she ignored that as she spoke.

“So what do you think there could be for food?”

Samuel gave her a glance, “I’m actually hoping for some fresh fish myself. I have also a hankering for anything fruit, even if it’s canned. What about you?”

“Burgers, with cheese and soft buns, with crisp fries on the side…Dammit like that’s going to happen.” Sunset said as her mouth watered at the idea.

Samuel chuckled but he felt a pang of wanting of a greasy burger too. And he felt his mouth water at that idea as well. Which everyone felt these days; it wasn’t uncommon for people to go into a daze as food porn played in their head.

“We will be fine with whatever we get though.” Sunset added after, in a slightly depressed way.

Samuel nodded, “We can always hope though…But when we settle somewhere I’m making sure someone is producing burgers and pizzas cause by God I will not last without it.”

Sunset giggled at Samuel’s statement for she agreed. Oh how she missed the food once so readily accessible but now are a lot more work to get. She couldn’t help but envision making such food again in a new home. But she quickly dismissed those thoughts; they weren’t close to finding a place anytime soon.

Her attention was brought back to Samuel as he spoke, his tone drifting seriously from the playful one he had a few moments earlier.

“You know, some of the councilors weren’t too happy that you didn’t invite any of them to this dinner. A few are even thinking that whole election we had was a hasty one and we need a redo. Now I’m not saying there is any chance of an uprising or something like that but its best we keep an eye on the few dissenters we have.”

Sunset narrowed her eyes, she had an idea at which councilors it might be. Looks she might have to make them understand her reasoning but yet again they might not see that way. She sighed as yet another problem had appeared but she would deal with it.

“That’s a concern but we can deal with it later…somehow. I think everyone is just getting fed up with our current living conditions. After all most of them thought we would be in some place by now, including me.” Sunset replied thoughtfully.

Samuel gave a conceding nod, “For a bunch of people who once lived in comfort and the biggest worries were bills, kids and the next episode of whatever T.V show they watched, it’s not surprising. But we will make do. It is all we can do. Though I do miss my Xbox…”

“Don’t you start!” Sunset quipped, “I was only starting to get used to not having my games and then you just had to bring it up!”

Samuel barked laughter and two sparred each other with words. The rest of the group joined in after as Samuel was quickly outnumbered, not even his beloved cousin would come to the rescue as all the girls tag teamed him. This continued until they reached the home of John. And he was already waiting for them at the front door wide open.

“So that is where the laughter came from.” John said with a smile. “Come on in, dinner isn’t fully ready but we got some snacks and drinks till it is.”

Everyone entered through the door, each person giving a “thanks” to John as they passed him. They were immediately greeted by a large dining room, a table that had been extended to accommodate everyone as well as a number of chairs with extras if needed. John quickly guided everyone to their seats, though it didn’t stop Sunset from admiring the small but welcoming home, it was all wooden planks but designed beautifully. The dining room was connected to a bedroom and kitchen; she could smell food being made from the kitchen. She swore she smelled freshly baked bread.

It was dim but the kerosene lanterns provided enough light, the table was set already with the standard plates and cutlery expected for such an occasion. She was seated near the head of the table with Samuel and Elizabeth seated on either side of her as Arthur and the rest of the girls filled the rest of the seats. Sunset’s and everyone’s attention turned to John as he cleared his throat.

“I’m glad you could all come, snacks and drink will be out shortly just give me a moment.” John said as he entered the kitchen and just as quickly came back, two platters in his hands containing a variety of crackers, meat and cheese.

John was followed by his wife, that’s what Sunset guessed who she was anyway, and then by two children, once again Sunset assumed they were John’s children; they were holding either platters or pitchers. And soon the table was filled with appetizers and drinks; it seemed there was even some fruit and vegetables, no doubt canned but would work just as fine. Sunset could tell Samuel was eyeing up the fruit something fierce, everyone was eyeing some kind of food that was to their liking.

I can’t resist the cheese, it’s been so long…But manners first we can’t be pigs about it. Despite my absolute desire for some cheese..,

Sunset caught herself drooling and quickly corrected herself, going slightly red in embarrassment. John and his family put the food and drink on the table and it wasn’t long before John said “Dig in.” with a smile on his face.

A flurry of activity followed John’s words, not a desperate one but definitely filled with desire and wanting. Sunset couldn’t help grab some meat, cheese and crackers, she did so with quick movement of her hands as she filled her plate. She looked to see what the others were grabbing.

Samuel was filling a small bowl with canned fruit cocktail and he already had several slices of smoked fish on his plate. A small smile on his face that communicated thankfulness, Arthur’s eyes widened as he consumed a piece of shaved ham followed up by a crisp cracker, he caught Sunset looking at him and just gave a smile as he chewed. Sunset couldn’t help but smirk as she raised a piece of cheddar cheese to her mouth.

Elizabeth had two handfuls of crackers as she put them on her plate in an awkward way that children do, then immediately stuffing her face with cheese no matter the type. Sunset couldn’t help but giggle at her and she heard Samuel chuckling himself as well.

Applejack was searching for anything that might be an apple related dish, she never did find any but some canned sliced apples would do the trick as she shrugged and began taking some and then added meat and cheese to her plate. Fluttershy had some canned peas and carrots, and even some smoked fish, not a surprise to Sunset, her poor friend had to give up her vegetarian habits due to dietary circumstances, but she didn’t seem too down about it so there was at least that.

Twilight however was giving Spike shavings of ham and sausage before she even had her own food, much to Spike’s enjoyment as he ate everything given to him in record speed. Twilight laughed softly as she went in for her own serving of meat, cheese and crackers, with a side of canned vegetables and fruit.

For several minutes there was nothing but the sound of eating, chewing and tidbits of conversation, mostly about how good the food was and many of gratitude and praise for the food as well. John and his family couldn’t help but smile, his wife most of all who seemed to take pride in what was prepared and served.

Soon John’s wife and children went back to the kitchen, no doubt to prepare the main course, giving Sunset the perfect opportunity to open up a conversation.

“Thanks again for the food; it has been so long since we have had anything like this. Like how do you have so much ham and cheese?” Sunset asked in slight astonishment.

“I second that!” Applejack blurted out.

John smiled as he responded, “Your welcome, I could tell it is has been a while for you, in terms of the ham and cheese,” John shrugged, “Lots of boar in the woods nearby, probably the only animal around these parts in significant numbers left and for the cheese, helps when you got dairy cows and the people who know the process.”

Sunset nodded, “I think that leads to the question-”

John interrupted, “Of how I and the rest came here to this fort?”

Everyone seemed to agree, John wiggled himself to be comfortable as he spoke in a matter of fact tone, “Depends I can give the long or the short version.”

“Long version please.” Elizabeth answered.

The table chuckled and giggled, John replied, “Well as you all know by now I was warden for a prison, it was located south of Boise. I’m assuming you’ve passed by it?”

Twilight responded as she adjusted her glasses, “We did, we actually investigated the old penitentiary there. Would you happen to know anything about it? It was overrun when we got there.”

John stared at her for second before sighing softly, “That explains why I haven’t heard from them in so long. Another gone to the apocalypse I suppose. I was originally hoping to get them on our side but that’s not we were talking about. I’ll spare you the details of the beginning-”

“I actually wouldn’t mind hearing how it was here when everything…collapsed. Especially since you might have some more insight as a former warden into what happened.” Sunset interrupted abruptly.

John blinked several times before shrugging, “If you want…I was at home when I was first informed of the initial situation, I was given a command from the governor himself to secure the prison and prepare for follow on orders. The plan was to use the prison as a base of operations until the military could respond. Mind you this was only about a day before the outbreak actually began so everything was falling apart by the time I was able to get me and my family to the prison. A blessing really, who knows what, could have happened if we were still in Boise.”

John paused to drink some water before he continued, he checked to see everyone was still paying attention, they were, “Thankfully most of the correction staff were still there and we got to work immediately securing the prison but it didn’t take long for contact with the government to be cut and we found ourselves alone. And it was business as usual. I’m quite sure it’s similar to how it went down in everywhere else as we stayed in the prison, we dealt with some zombies but most seemed to have stayed around Boise. Slow creep of the zombies, overwhelming violence and then all of sudden quiet. Or as quiet as you can get nowadays.”

Everyone gave some inclination of agreement, Samuel decided it was time to speak, “I know this is off topic but what was the military response? And where are they all now?”

John looked at him for a moment, “Actually it’s not off topic, it is related. But at first most of the military was sent in a futile attempt to prevent the spread of the zombies especially on the coast, I saw the columns of vehicles and the soldiers pass by us, helicopters and jets flying overhead, they really did seem invincible…But you know how well that went in the end. After failing they retreated back to here, but as quickly as they came they left. Going further east and south and we haven’t seen them since, just the deserters and units that were left behind. And believe it when I say that was the moment the doms burst forth and begun their expansion.”

John sneered for a second as everyone hung onto every word, “The military were also the reason my prison fell. They came and took supplies, conscripted any prisoners they thought suitable and anything else they wanted. At the same time a horde of zombies came through and overran us, the damn bastards had left a giant hole in the fences. As the military fought the zombies I rallied as many of the convicts and correction staff as I could along with any supplies we could bring with us. We came here as I remembered the time me and family came here before for fun, when we got here most of the staff were still here, they never went home and since most of them had their families with them they had no reason to. So we all banded together and then I began getting as much of whatever was left of any the law enforcement together and we have been surviving as best as we can since.”

Everyone digested John’s story, hooked on every word they were silent for a solid minute at first before Arthur spoke to break the silence, “Wow…That is quite a lot to take in.”

John nodded solemnly, “It is. We have so far been lucky considering the state of the world, but you do what you can.”

Another round of agreements followed John’s statement. Arthur decided to speak again, “Is that also why the doms were able to expand so quickly?”

“Aren’t you guys just full of questions.” John said as he chuckled, he went on. “But yes it is one reason. But I think the real reason is that they existed before anything related to the apocalypse began, nothing significant just another small cult that formed. Which are a dime a dozen around these parts but the others I knew about either are no longer around or joined the doms, I’m guessing on that but that’s just theory. But I remember getting a few hints from a few police buddies of mine a few weeks before the outbreak began about how the doms were. Secretive bunch who kept to themselves didn’t bother people and they never had any complaints filed against them. So they were left alone.”

John took a few gulps of his water as his wife and children began to set out the main course, a combination of grilled fish, Samuel took note of it with delight. Followed by soup of some type, a salad made of various leaf vegetables, a platter stacked with pork chops that were sizzling and to finish off a homemade apple pie.

John continued talking as the dishes were laid out, “It was about a week or so before the outbreak or so that the doms completely changed their course of action. Just the mass buying of supplies for the ‘doomsday’ that awaited them. And once they felt comfortable they showed their true colours. So that’s really the story behind them.”

With a look from his wife John got the hint that was enough story time for now, “Well that’s enough for now, let’s have a good meal. Enjoy.”

The night would go on for some time as they ate, drank, talked and laughed. The world might be a hellhole and full of horror, but in that moment they could forget their worries.

It was three days later that Samuel and Sunset found themselves overlooking the road that would lead to the compound that Dominic and hopefully their friends were. It had been a grueling drive up there, several times they had encountered forces of the Dominion and each time they pushed them back until they reached their objective. John’s group had led the way, being the tip of the spear. All had suffered casualties in each respective group but they were light in comparison to what the doms had taken. But one final push was necessary.

Sunset tried forcing her anxiety down but it was hard. They would soon be taking up the task of advancing towards the compound, into the potential hailstorm of bullets. While the prospect of death was always over her head, it felt more…real this time.

“Sunset.” Samuel said softly, trying to get her attention.

She turned her head to look at him; to her Samuel seemed to be a rock, unmoved by their circumstances and she couldn’t help but wonder why.

“Yes?” Sunset responded softly.

“You ok?” Samuel asked, concern in his eyes.

Sunset hesitated for second before responding, “…No.”

“Pre-battle jitters?” Samuel asked with a sympathetic tone.

Sunset merely nodded, Samuel nodded back, “I’m feeling the same. If it makes it any better.”

“How? You always seem unaffected like you’ve seen it before… have you seen combat before when you were in the army?” Sunset asked rapidly.

Samuel shook his head, “Nope. We trained for this type of thing for sure, but the real thing is completely different. But that was then and this is now, we have all seen some level of combat now.”

“True…but this seems different than before.” Sunset admitted.

“Cause we have never did anything on this scale before; we got nearly a hundred people here and there is more sieging St. Hilda’s right now. This is the kind of event that changes history. Or whatever you might want to call it.” Samuel explained somewhat distantly.

“However we can worry about it later, we need to get back to our guys. Phase one is going to commence soon.” Samuel said as he put the binoculars away he was using.

Sunset didn’t say anything as she followed Samuel slowly out of the brush and they returned to the group? Host? Sunset wasn’t really sure what to call these merry bands of people mixed together for a common cause. She turned her thoughts to the battle that lay ahead. The first phase was to clear a path for the firebase that was to be established. She got the basic idea of how it worked and that was enough for her.

The compound was built in an almost perfect location for a defense, with only a single overgrown dirt road into the small area. It was surrounded by thick forest and hills, though the hills had sharp cliffs and might be more appropriately called mountains.

Its why at first the idea of just purposely committing to a full frontal assault with everyone they had was dismissed, far too likely to fail before they even breached the walls. The plan was completely redone by a captain who was leading a contingent of former National Guard and only a few minor changes were made to accommodate.

Sunset only hoped it work the best it could in their favour.

The group assigned to the first phase consisted mostly of her people, their task was deal with a zombie infestation that was in the way of the former National Guard from setting up their firebase in the hills to give covering fire for the assault element.

Sunset looked down at her hands, she was wearing Kevlar gloves and that wasn’t all. She, Samuel and a dozen other people of her group were all wearing full riot gear. An exchange between her group and John’s, melee weapons forged by Big Mac in return for riot gear; the armor felt lighter than Sunset ever expected and moved easily in line with her movement. The armor won’t stop a bullet, but it would help immensely against zombies or survivors in close combat.

She had a lookover of Samuel, and he just seemed more…intimidating than usual. The armor gave him more bulk and while he definitely wasn’t the most muscular man she has ever seen she couldn’t help but feel he would be quite challenging in a fight now, what with the armor giving him protection. They had a few friendly spars before and she remembered the power he was able to put behind his blade. Samuel had a riot shield as well in his hand while his other rested on his sword, ready at a moment’s notice.

He also seemed more use to the armor than she could be in such short time, for he moved in it like it was a second skin. The visor of his helmet was raised at the moment and she felt a bit of shock, he seemed more handsome than before. His light blue eyes were sharp and focused, the scratch on his face was healing nicely and gave a grizzled look to the man and the beard he was growing was coming in nicely… She then cursed herself for thinking of such things.

Yes he might seem more handsome and easy on the eyes, but now isn’t the time. Besides he probably has no interest in me…I’m several years younger than him as it is.

While Sunset was chastising herself, Samuel found himself taking a look at Sunset and she seemed positively beautiful, almost in a Valkyrie or shield maiden sort of way. Her hair seemed to flow effortlessly back as she held her helmet in her left arm; resting it on her hip and her other hand came to brush some hair out of her face. Revealing even more of her face, it was quite a sight. To Samuel, Sunset was one of the most beautiful women he has ever met. But then he tore his graze away, ashamed of himself.

How could I look at her that way? She is only eighteen! God forgive me! I better put away any feelings I might have, they will fade in time.

Or at least he thought he would but thankfully he didn’t need to think on it much more as they both passed the large allied force and came to where the leaders had all congregated. John and Giselle were there, armed and armored, the captain from the Guard and several others from the groups that had joined. Samuel guessed they were the last ones to arrive.

“Do the Guard really need to use the one path infested with zombies? I’m sure we could find another easily.” One man said to the captain, seeming furious at the idea that they had to clear a path.

The captain, a man of average height that had the look of an outdoorsman, frowned angrily before erupting, “Because it’s the only path my troops can take! We are humping all our support weapons on foot; by God do you have any idea how heavy a fifty cal is?! I will not risk their wellbeing trying to replicate the Omaha landing for the sake of you!”

The man arguing with the captain backed down, fearful of further confrontation. The rest of the leaders merely watched the exchange with disinterest; none liked the man trying to argue. John turned his attention towards Sunset.

“About time you two joined us. We are finally ready to begin. Are you and your troops ready?” John asked with anticipation.

“We are. They are formed up ready to start, as long as our support is ready as well.” Sunset responded confidently.

“Good.” John said. He turned and addressed the whole group of leaders, “We all know why we are here and you all know your roles in the battle to come. So let us begin. To victory.”

Most responded with “To victory” in return and dispersed. Samuel and Sunset headed over to their group, all standing among the bush as they looked to the two leaders. Sunset felt a deep pit in her stomach; they all looked to her for leadership. She calmed herself with a deep breath, through her nose and out her mouth. As she and Samuel reached them she could feel the nervous and anxious air around her, everyone was tense and she mentally sighed and then began to speak.

“Alright everyone, I have never made a pre-battle speech before but I’ll try.” Sunset said with a nervous laugh.

Much to her relief most of them laughed with her, doing wonders for her, looking to Samuel he gave her a wink, feeling something grip her she was filled with confidence and she continued, “I know everyone is scared and anxious for the upcoming battle. But remember we are doing it to save our friends, to bring justice to our fallen and end this evil. And if you can’t remember during the moment look to your friends on your left and your right, they are your reason. Now to victory!”

` A small cheer was unleashed as Sunset felt the confidence almost vanish; it was otherworldly what she felt. The group finished their cheer and then made ready. Sunset looked at Samuel.

“How was that? Not too bad I hope.” Sunset said unsure of herself.

Samuel smirked, “It was actually decent, definitely better than others I have heard before. Now I have to get our little band together, you’ll be good?”

“Of course. We are putting a lot of faith in you guys holding the center. So be careful.” Sunset said softly as she looked into Samuel’s eyes with her own soft ones.

Samuel’s eyes looked into hers with the same softness, “I will be. I’ll see you after.”

He turned to leave but Sunset, compelled by some unknown force, reached out and grabbed his hand. She was surprised as he was but when she spoke she was doubly surprised by the conviction in her voice, “You better. I mean it.”

Samuel blinked several times and gave a nod, not finding the words to respond. Sunset’s grip lessened as he left towards the rough formation of people equipped in full riot gear and whatever melee weapon they had. Sunset kept her eyes on Samuel the whole way till he reached them and barked some orders to them and they began to move forward.

“You like him don’t you.” Fluttershy said quietly as she approached from behind her,

Sunset jumped and turned around in surprise with wide eyes, “Fluttershy! How did you sneak up on me!”

Fluttershy gripped her medical bag with clenched hands as she responded with concern, “Umm…I called your name several times and you didn’t answer and well…it wasn’t hard to see what or should I say who had your attention.”

Sunset blushed at Fluttershy’s words; she probably couldn’t deny it any further.

“Well…we can talk about it later. We need to attend to our duties.” Sunset said absentmindedly.

Fluttershy nodded, “Oh of course.”

Samuel looked back as his unit walked towards their destination, he saw Sunset and Fluttershy walk out of sight further into the bush. Samuel let out a breath of relief and reminded himself to focus on the task at hand. He quickly ran through his head the plan again.

The main idea was his unit alongside two more from John’s group that were similarly equipped. They would form the center of their advancing line as two other larger but lighter units would be on their flanks. The reason they were doing this medieval style was the risk of discovery if any firearms were used, while the doms knew they were close, evident by the ambushes on any incoming or outgoing parties from the compound. They however didn’t know there was much more than just some hit and run groups instead of the army, if it could be called that, was almost at their gates.

Samuel found it almost ironic they were resorting to old tactics before gunpowder took over the battlefield. But he also knew the other reason for this was to experiment with the idea of fighting zombies in a world where all the ammunition ran out and they had no way to make more, which was certainly a possibility. It was brought up during the planning phases and Samuel decided it would be a good go to try it hoping it worked as well as it did for so many others as it did in the past.

Cause if it didn’t, a whole lot of people would die for nothing.

They had to deal with this zombie infestation before they could even enact their main plans to engage the doms, but such was life in the apocalypse. Numbers were guessed to be around forty zombies while the gathered survivors only outnumbered them by ten more. But proper weapons and armor, and some simple tactics should win the day.

As they approached the area over open ground, perfect for what they intended, Samuel could see the path the Guard intended to take, it was steep but definitely not the sheer angle the cliffs around it had. It was loud but also quiet, just the sound of humans walking and talking in a world gone dead. Samuel saw Big Mac and Applejack on the extreme right of the line, he knew they fight and hold until the end of the world.

“Samuel?” Arthur said, trying to get his cousin’s attention.

“Yes?” Samuel responded, turning his head to look at him.

Arthur was also in full riot gear, carrying his billhook over his shoulder and a radio attached to his shoulder for quick communications. He and several others with pole arms were to be behind the ones with shields, trying to strike at any undead heads they could with their longer reach.

“Are you ready?” Arthur asked curiously.

“Ready as any other. You got my back and I got yours, that’s all I need. Just don’t hit me in the back of the head eh?” Samuel said with a smirk and a chuckle on his breath.

Arthur snorted in amusement, “Don’t worry. I’ll only do it once…maybe twice.”

Samuel laughed, Arthur did as well. As they got closer the two men shut their mouths and looked forward, they were near the location. Samuel, Arthur and everyone else put the helmet visors down, wouldn’t want to forget that. Eyes scanned for any sign of the undead, but the thick trees and bush that covered the hillside prevented it. Samuel checked his watch, they were given an hour to finish their little skirmish. They wanted to commence the attack on the compound by no later than dusk.

Arthur pointed out some movement in the trees, Samuel and several others noticed it as well.

“Halt!” Samuel yelled, his unit followed his order a few moments after.

Should of halted sooner, wish I had more time to train them but oh well. They aren’t professional soldiers but they’ll do for this.

Samuel scanned the units to his left and right. Thankfully they halted somewhat in line with each other. It would have to do in Samuel’s eyes. He moved to the front of his unit, taking his place in the front row. They were only two rows deep but it would be enough. He hoped.

His fellow troops made a rough shield wall, interlocking their clear poly riot shields together. Samuel could feel squished between two others and he knew Arthur was behind him, the head of his billhook was over his left shoulder. It wouldn’t be long before the zombies noticed them.

Several runners from the lighter units jogged ahead, they were to act as bait, all had been chosen from athletes and good runners. The bait started making noise, shouting or banging objects together. It wouldn’t be long before the undead would come forward.

Samuel heard the nervous breaths of the man to his left, he sounded like he was about to have panic attack or worse run in fear. He looked to see who it was.

It was Blue Blood.

It didn’t come as too much of a surprise, the man had smartened up since they left the Hub, he hardly complained and worked hard enough. Blue Blood actually looked different; then Samuel realized he had his hair cut rather short in comparison to before. He was the first volunteer for this task; willingly putting himself in the shield wall had earned him some respect. Samuel also knew that this would be his first time willingly fighting against the undead.

So Samuel knew he would nervous, facing the undead was always nerve wracking, especially for the first time.

“Blue Blood.” Samuel said with firmness.

Blue Blood turned to look at Samuel, mouth open to breath and his eyes wide in fear. Samuel felt pity for the man, he really was trying to keep together.

“I’m not going to run sir, I promise.” Blue said quickly.

“Don’t need to call me sir, I’m no officer and I work for a living. But do know no one here is blaming you for what you feel, we have all felt it before. Now take a controlled breath, it’ll help.” Samuel said comfortingly.

Blue Blood took several deep breaths, eyes closed as he mentally recovered, easier than he thought it would be. Once he opened his eyes Samuel nodded slowly before speaking again.

“Remember you’re not alone here, take care of your buddies and they’ll take care of you. Right?” Samuel said with expectation.

Blue nodded, “Right…Yes you’re right Samuel…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, now make ready.” Samuel said.

Blue Blood might be hopeless with a rifle but he has some talent with a sword…or axe in his case. He’ll split the Zekes skulls no problem.

Samuel noticed the runners were heading back to their respective units, the undead finally decided to stir. The first rotten corpse shambled forward; it wasn’t alone for long as the infestation showed itself. Narrowing his eyes as he counted, it was evident there must have been more than forty now, probably closer to sixty from his quick count. Meaning they were outnumbered now. Soon there was a small horde moving towards them, the sounds of their groaning and moaning loud.

There were no sprinters among them, a small mercy Samuel thought, just shamblers. They still covered the ground quickly, it wouldn’t be long now.

The twang of bows and tung of crossbows rang through the battlefield. The lighter units had many missile weapons with them; their role was to kill as many as they could from a distance, prevent the center from being flanked and if possible strike the zombies from their flanks as the center held them.

Many arrows and bolts simply missed their intended target or struck the zombies with no effect, but there was a kill here and there. Arthur could hear the impacts, and the results. The projectiles kept flying as fast as their owners could send them and it was beginning to take its toll. With sizable pockets forming in the horde, Arthur let out a relieved breath, it would make it easier.

The zombies were too focused on the fresh meat clad in riot gear to the front to care about the units on the side killing their own. Arthur counted it as another win for humans and loss for the zombies. But they kept coming and they were only about seventy feet away from the shield wall.

Samuel looked at the ravenous zombies in front; they seemed almost rabid in their desire to consume him. Too bad he didn’t want to indulge them. He however didn’t like just waiting to receive the enemy, only reacting instead of being proactive. He also had the feeling the people around him didn’t like the idea of standing still any better, awaiting the cold hands and teeth of the undead.

So he decided to do something about it, using the same trick he read the Roman legions would just before units impacted each other.

“Make ready to charge! We will knock them on fucking their asses! On my signal!” Samuel yelled as he looked at everyone around him.

They looked at him in surprise, but a good many grinned at the idea, better than standing still was general consensus. Samuel grinned as well.

Samuel waited for the horde to get closer; forty feet became thirty than twenty five and when they reached twenty…

“CHARGE! HAAKA PAALLE! CUT THEM DOWN!” Samuel yelled as loud as he could, feeling the adrenaline flow and excitement.

What did surprise him is when some of his troops also took up the war cry of “HAKKA PAALLE!”. Samuel heard Arthur behind him having yelled as well, as a sense of pride took him as his cousin finally embraced their ancestors’ war cry. They all sprinted forward, shields in front and weapons ready to kill, then impact.

A loud crash echoed as bodies collided, the zombies of course not being braced what so ever fell to the ground. They opened the shield wall to dispatch them with quick efficiency, and reformed their shield wall just in time to receive the next wave.

The line grunted and cursed as they were now the ones on the receiving end of being pushed. Samuel could feel the zombie in front of him try a combination of pushing, pulling, reaching and grabbing but the shield kept it at bay. Then Arthur’s billhook slid past his ear and smashed into the zombie’s head breaking bone and slicing dead flesh, the now silent corpse fell back as he pushed it back and Arthur withdrew for another strike. Another zombie took the place of its fallen comrade just as quickly and another shoving match ensued.

Arthur took note of the situation. All down the line people kept their shields locked together, not giving the zombies the chance to break through but at the same time preventing them from getting effective attacks in with only a few weak jabs and slashes in answer.

He looked to see if the other units were still intact and they were. The two other riot gear units were in the very same situation they were and seemed to be holding for now. The two light units were currently embroiled with their own battle with the few undead that had shambled over to them. He only hoped they would finish soon and fall on the zombies’ flanks so they can get this over with. He was getting tired from constantly pumping his arms back and forth to kill them.

Samuel was getting tired too, this type of combat was exhausting on a whole other level. His arms burned as his legs acted as anchors to keep himself being pushed over, he knew he had to quickly think of something to prevent them from being overrun. So he decided on something else the Romans did.

“On my mark we are going push these cunts!” Samuel yelled.

He made sure everyone got the message, having to repeat himself several times. It was surprisingly loud, between the voices of humans and zombies intermixing, the banging of weapons and shields on flesh and bone. But eventually everyone got it.

“One! Two! Three! Push!” Samuel yelled through gritted teeth as he pushed the zombies in front of him.

Across the line people pushed with their shields, grunting and cursing and yelling as they did so. The people behind helped by giving a push forward, adding their strength to the task. The zombies were pushed back a couple feet into the ones behind them, giving breathing room for the humans. Many took the opportunity to kill any they could. Samuel had split the skull of the former woman in front of him, showering himself in bone shards and blood. Blue to his left had also split the skull of a zombie in brutal fashion as Arthur speared another in its temple in a rather clean fashion before it could grab Blue Blood.

“Form back up! Now!” Samuel barked his order.

His unit quickly followed it, interlocking shields before a fresh batch moved into the place their former comrades were and another shoving match ensued. Samuel knew they weren’t too many zombies left but he also knew his troops were getting tired from expending energy, and he had no replacements to reinforce his current ones. He just hoped their allies would quickly intervene.

“Arthur! Get the other units on the damn radio and see what it happening!” Samuel yelled as tried to keep a zombie from yanking his shield away.

Arthur quickly pushed the button on his radio, “This is Arthur from the center unit! Where are you guys! We might get overrun here soon!”

He waited a few moments before response flooded in.

“This is Joesph from the left light unit! We are currently inbound as soon as we clear up the rest attacking the left riot unit! Hold out!”

“Maria here on your right, light unit! Our unit got flanked from more we didn’t see! We have taken several casualties! No help from us for now!”

“Robert from your left! We are almost finished hang on!”

“Steve from the right! We have to help the light unit first! They are currently in a heap of trouble!”

Arthur relayed the messages to Samuel as he killed another two. Samuel acknowledged it and yelled, “Keep going! Our allies will be here soon!”

That made the troops fight harder as let a cheer and for what seemed like an eternity, Samuel was told that reinforcements were coming in from the left flank. But it was in that moment a man in the line to Samuel’s right had overextended and a zombie got through. Evident by the man’s screams as the zombie tried biting him.

“Get the gap filled! Now!” Samuel yelled in panic, if the gap got overrun it would be devastating.

The second line became a frenzy as they tried fight the zombies trying to break through. Arthur himself rushed over and put his billhook into the gut of one and pushed back with a wordless shout. He and several others worked frantically to plug the gap.

They wouldn’t have to wait for long as their allies poured in from the left, the zombies suddenly attacked from their flank were cut down quickly and brutally.

“Push forward and kill them all!” Samuel yelled as he slammed the d-guard of his sword into the jaw of a zombie, breaking teeth and bone before slicing through the skull on the return.

His unit and the others quickly surrounded the undead and soon the zombies were all lying dead and the humans were victorious.

A quick look over at the right side of the battle line showed they had dealt with the unexpected ambush, but not without cost as several human bodies laid still.

Both Samuel and Arthur looked at each other as they breathed heavily, sweat soaking their clothes and running in ringlets down their faces. They gave each other a grin.

Samuel took a deep breath before composing himself to do orders, “Alright! We aren’t done yet! You know what to do, move into it!”

The unit went about their tasks, making sure the zombies stayed dead, tending to the wounded and their kit, and keeping the area clear. Samuel was quickly informed that only two were wounded from the unit, one had a twisted ankle and the one that was overrun suffered a broken collar bone, but the man wasn’t infected so that was reassurance.

“Arthur get the Captain on the line, it’s his troops time to shine.” Samuel said he wiped his blade with a cloth.

Arthur quickly relayed the message and soon the National Guard remnants were rucking through what had just been the battlefield, avoiding the piles of dead zombies. Samuel recognized that many of them gave respectful glances to the bloodied combatants. He also saw Sunset and several others approach him and the others.

“Well, it seems that you came out rather unscathed which I’m glad to see.” Sunset said as she overlooked the whole unit and then the zombie corpses that lay in a somewhat line of death.

Samuel chuckled, “For the most part, sweaty and sore we are but ready for what comes next.”

“Darn tootin’ we are, we still got to save our friends.” Applejack said as she came over.

Her friends surrounded her, fussing over her but Applejack dispelled that quickly. Samuel smiled at the scene; he noticed Big Mac coming over as well, stoic as always.

“You guys really did a good job; I didn’t think such an old style of warfare could be used in such a way.” Twilight said thoughtfully as she looked at a particular dead zombie, its head was practically gone from a blow that came from a mace.

“There is a lot of room for improvement though, we nearly had a breakthrough.” Arthur said as he leaned on his billhook.

Twilight nodded, “Of course, there is always room for improvement.”

Fluttershy looked over from where she was tending to Big Mac or more like overlooking him for any injuries, “Oh my. That must have been terrifying.”

“Eeyup. Nearly got chomped myself.” Big Mac said slowly.

Fluttershy gasped in concern as she broke into a whirlwind going over Big Mac, the man was shocked by it. The rest just laughed softly.

“Anyways. John wants us to start getting ready for phase two. We best be getting back.” Sunset said.

Samuel nodded and ordered the unit to head back, and he began to follow until he saw a certain Captain walking over to him.

“Wanted to thank you for clearing the way for my troops, it is much appreciated.” The Captain said gratefully.

“No problem sir.” Samuel said, another old habit he had from his army days.

“I was told you were army once; Canadian, right?” The Captain asked.

“Was. Just a reservist but I learned a lot, been keeping me and others alive because of it.” Samuel responded.

The Captain nodded, Samuel spoke again, “Do you have everything you need? Cause otherwise I need to make sure my troops are good for what comes next.”

“Not truly everything, but enough to get the job done; we are going try our best to get good suppressing fire on those damn doms as soon as you start but the terrain is going to make it difficult, so hope and pray we get the calculations done right.” The Captain explained as he checked a magazine before putting it back.

Samuel nodded, before getting an idea, “I might have a solution for you.”

The Captain raised an eyebrow; Samuel called over Twilight and Sunset over. The two women walked over, curiosity on their faces.

“Twilight here could help make sure the first volleys of machine gun fire strike true.” Samuel explained giving an expecting look to Sunset and Twilight.

Sunset merely raised an eyebrow and Twilight looked at him with concern.

“But I’m no soldier I-” Twilight began spewing before being cut off.

“You would just be doing some calculations, just some elevation and degrees stuff, it’ll be alright.” Samuel said comfortingly. He turned to Sunset, “If you are willing to approve?”

Sunset thought for a second as she looked at Twilight, who gave her a wondering look in return, “Only if Twilight is willing. I won’t force her to do it.”

“So are you willing?” Sunset said to Twilight.

Twilight looked at the ground for a second, “Yes, I am willing. If it helps them keep you alive, how could I say no?”

Sunset smiled and then turned to the Captain, “Of course only if you accept her help, Captain.”

The Captain gave her a judging look before nodding, “Very well. She can accompany us but only if you give her protection, I need everyone hands on for this. And I can’t be looking after her.”

Samuel smiled, “Splendid. I’ll assign two of our people to accompany her.”

Calling over two men still clad in riot gear Samuel explained their duties, both nodded and prepared for the hike. A small series of goodbyes were made and soon the Captain, Twilight and her two guards were off.

Sunset and Samuel caught up with the rest of the others and made their way to base camp. They began the process of preparing for the main battle to begin; it was only an hour before the main attack would start.

Both of them had quickly met up with John, Giselle and the other leaders to confirm each other’s roles and then they began moving their respective groups around into battle. Some would be staying back to form a rearguard, preventing any dom reinforcements or zombie surprises.

The assault group began making their way to the road that would lead to the compound. They bushwhacked to the road and feet began to walk on the dirt road kicking up dust. Samuel’s and Sunset’s group were the first in the order of march.

The road on both sides had enormous hills that forced their one way entry. Samuel kept an eye on the ditches attempting to keep an eye any potential dom activity, but he didn’t see any.

Strange. No scouts, observation or listening posts. It is like they just retreated without trying to keep an eye on us.

Soon they passed the hills into where a large plateau sat; the whole line was safe from being seen due to the steep incline of the ditch. Samuel was happy about that; it would make their job easier.

Groups fell into position as Samuel’s took their place on the right; soon he was making sure everyone was ready. Water and ammo were topped off,armor and kit secure and the junior leaders knew what to expect.

“Sunset. Our people are as ready as they can be. All that is left is to wait.” Samuel reported to Sunset.

“Good. We only have about thirty minutes before we start but I won’t lie, I’m concerned. John’s scouts have confirmed that a shallow trench has been built in front of the wall they have; which is concrete mind you. How are we going to breach it?” Sunset asked in concern.

“Know those M-72s the Guard gave us?” Samuel said.

Sunset nodded, “We will be using them then. Makes sense, but how may do we have?”

Samuel frowned, “Only three. One for each group and I’ll be using ours, I don’t trust anyone else to do it.”

“Very well but you’re carrying so much already.” Sunset noted as she looked him over.

Samuel still had his riot armor on. His riot shield strapped to his back and the sabre sheathed by his side. He had the one M-249 the group got from Canterlot so long ago, now finally having ammunition for it thanks to the National Guard remnants. He had two boxes, one already loaded. And he would be carrying the M-72 as well. He would be pretty bulky.

“I’ve carried more than this before.” Samuel said with a shrug.

“Okay then.” Sunset said with an uncertain tone, side-eyeing him as they began walking.

The two stayed in comfortable silence as they made their way to a spot and sat against the wall of the ditch. They talked with each other and fellow friends for twenty or so minutes before Samuel had them get ready.

Sunset put her helmet on and slammed her visor down as she took some deep breaths to settle her anxiety. Arthur was beside her and Samuel, Applejack and Big Mac came over as well. All looked at each other, not knowing what could come next.

“I know we are going to win, I can feel it.” Applejack said with confidence.

“Agreed.” Arthur replied. “We got this.”

“Yup.” Big Mac added.

Sunset looked at her friends with a sense of pride; she knew anything was possible with them by her side, “Victory is in our grasp, we almost have it.”

“We will defeat those damn doms, with fire and sword.” Samuel said with sheer conviction.

As soon as Samuel finished speaking, the sound of machine gun fire erupted. H-hour had begun; the machine gun fire would last for three minutes.

Everyone knew the time had come.

The main battle was about to begin.