[A/N: Hello everyone.
Alex is still interacting with the characters from the previous episode.
No one commented, so I assume you know who they are.
Comment, and donate Power Stones.]
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In the afternoon, in the heart of the city.
"Just one?", the young woman exclaimed, even more agitated. "Fuuu… Never mind. What are you doing here at the protests?", she asked her brother.
"My friend was in the park when the soldiers took those people while I was at church… And so far, I haven't heard anything from her. It could be that the soldiers killed her…" the boy said when an announcement rang out from the military trucks that arrived in the area.
"Everyone go back to your homes!", "We're going to clear the street and all those detained will be under arrest until further notice!", the soldiers announced.
Many were frightened by the military presence; some were even about to leave immediately, but there was a group of visibly angry young people who began yelling and throwing objects at the soldiers.
"Damn!", "Bastards!", "They killed them!", exclaimed the most energetic members of the protest.
"We repeat! Everyone returns to your homes! We are going to clear the street, and all those arrested will be imprisoned until further notice!", the soldiers said again.
Things were starting to get difficult, and the worst part was that we were very close to the scene of the conflict. Several people began attacking the soldiers and the police who were also helping clear the street.
At first, I didn't know how to react; this march was more complicated than it seemed. I noticed that a group of pickup trucks were arriving with Molotov cocktails and other homemade devices to confront the police.
"It seems someone is taking advantage of the chaos to complicate things for those who sent the soldiers and the police", I thought as I watched how a group of hooded men were influencing the rest of the crowd, leading them to violent behavior.
"Sister, what should we do?", the boy asked his sister, who looked quite scared.
"I don't know", she replied, following the confrontation with her eyes.
"We could take shelter in a store for now", I suggested in a calm tone.
"Who are you?", the boy asked.
"I'm Alex", I introduced myself with a smile, although I also looked as worried as them.
"I'm Alicia, and this is my brother Nick", Nick's sister introduced herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you", I said pleasantly. "I'd like to meet you another time, but we need to move", I told them seriously.
I led the two siblings toward nearby stores. Some were already closed, but others had small openings for public access through the bars that protected them. We started calling for help, but everyone refused, and some, noticing the chaos, even closed the main entrances completely for protection.
"Do you need shelter?", asked one of the nearby store owners.
"Yes, please", I replied in a pleading tone.
"You'll have to pay", he commented with a smile that reflected his ambition.
"I have this", I said, showing a watch Ron had given me as a form of apology for what had happened during the gun purchase.
"That's enough. You can come in", the man said, opening the door slightly to allow us to enter.
"Thank you very much", I told the salesman.
"It's just business. I hope there are no hard feelings", he said, ignoring the brothers.
"No problem. I understand", I replied, showing no discomfort.
"Thank you, Alex", Alicia said, while Nick looked at me gratefully, though he didn't say anything.
"You're welcome, Alicia", I replied with a smile. "At least we're safe now, for the time being", I added with a note of concern.
"If you hadn't helped me, I wouldn't know what to do", Alicia commented with an anxious expression. "We could have been in the middle of the mess outside", she added, as screams and gunshots could be heard outside. "Or they would have arrested us and taken us to an unknown location, like my friend", Nick added ironically.
"Situations aren't as easy as they seem", I said casually. "By the way, eat this, it'll help you feel better", I offered, giving them each a chocolate bar.
"Thank you very much", they both replied as they opened the bar and savored it eagerly.
"They seem very anxious", I thought, watching them devour the sweet. "By the way, you should call your parents", I advised them as the noise outside increased.
"You're right", they both said, a little calmer after eating something sweet.
The brother and sister were so scared they couldn't think straight. They remained motionless amid the din of the protest, just staring at each other, worried, not knowing what to do. I didn't blame them; it was clear the young man named Nick wasn't a good role model for an older brother, and while Alicia seemed more mature than many her age, she was still an inexperienced young woman.
"Were you able to get through?", I asked when they hung up.
"Yes, my mother is still at work. The military has requested that the students be kept in school for a couple more hours until the situation calms down, and now that the army is clearing the streets, they've been allowed to leave", Alicia explained.
"And your father?", I asked curiously.
"Travis is with Liza trying to convince Christopher to spend the weekend with him", she clarified, as if I already knew their family situation.
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[A/N: Do you know these characters? They're from TWD.]
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"I understand", I replied casually so as not to upset Alicia. "It seems she's noticed", I thought, noticing her blush after hearing my answer.
"It seems the situation isn't calming down", Nick said, listening to the sounds coming from outside.
"That's right", I replied, in tune with what he was saying. "I think we should consider leaving. It's quite likely the military will take control of the area, and then we won't have the chance to leave", I suggested calmly.
"It's risky outside, though", Nick commented with concern.
"I think we can make it", I told them confidently. "Besides, I don't think the shop owner will let us spend the night here", I said in a joking tone, lightening the mood.
"Okay, we'll follow you", Alicia said after a moment of thought.
"Sir, thanks for the help, we're leaving now", I yelled to the shop owner.
"Are you leaving already?", he said with a mysterious look. "I don't think the payment is enough", he said as he pulled a wooden bat from one of the counters and approached with malicious intent.
"What?", the brother and sister said, frightened by the man's change of attitude.
"It can't be. The apocalypse hasn't even begun, and already there are people abandoning morality", I thought ironically as I stood in front of them, protecting them. "I'm afraid we have to go, and I think the payment was more than enough", I said in an aggressive tone as I pulled my gun from behind my back and pointed it directly at his face.
Everyone was surprised by my behavior. Alicia and Nick probably thought that given how friendly I seemed, it was impossible for me to show such an aggressive side. On the other hand, the shop owner thought he had the situation under control and that he would only steal a few things from us, so they let us go, but what I did took him by surprise and scared him at the same time.
"Young man, calm down", said the frightened shop owner as he put the bat on the ground. "Hahaha… I was just joking", he said after letting out a nervous laugh and putting his hands up.
"Is that so?", I asked in a serious tone.
"Yeah, yeah… I was just joking. I can even give you back the watch you gave me earlier", he suggested, still visibly nervous.
"No need", I refused his offer. "You can keep it. It was payment for your help after all. Now I just need you to open the metal door and let us out", I said with the same serious tone as I lowered the gun but didn't put it away.
"Right away", the man said with a relieved tone as he quickly took the keys from a drawer in the store counter. "It's ready", he said, opening the door slightly and standing to the side.
"Thank you very much, sir", I thanked him as I poked my head around the door to observe the situation outside. "I hope we see each other under better conditions in the future", I said with a serious tone.
"Let's go", I said to Alicia and Nick, who were still shocked by the change of attitude.
"We're coming", they responded, startled, just coming out of their stupor.
We left the store without making much noise or attracting the attention of the people who were still clashing with the police and soldiers. Things outside were as bad as they sounded from inside the store. There were trash cans on fire, some cars had broken windows, stores that hadn't managed to close had been robbed, and injured people were being treated by the protesters themselves.
The chaos spread across several streets. The protesters scattered, confronting the military and police at various points around the city center. I knew we would definitely run into trouble, whether it was the military or the protesters themselves.
"What do we do now?", Alicia asked, frightened.
"We have to move quickly. Follow me", I told them as I headed toward where I had parked the truck.
We walked a few meters, right at a crosswalk, and looked in every direction for a safe route to leave the place, but it seemed luck was not on our side. In every direction we looked, there was a different group of protesters confronting the police or the military. It seemed there was no escape, but we had to move if we didn't want to be swallowed up by the disaster.
"This way", I told them both.
I took the nearest route to my truck, and halfway there, I noticed a gangway running through the block. No one had tried to break into these places since there wasn't much to steal, and gangways close very early.
We jumped over a fence that kept the chaos at bay and walked through the gangway with great caution. When we reached the other end of the gangway, we realized we had gotten dangerously close to an army checkpoint. As I contemplated my next move, I saw a group of men dressed in white, with batons and iron bars, standing on the opposite side of the street in an alley. They were fighting with another group of men, but there was something unusual about the other group.
"They're zombies", I muttered, slightly panicking.
Seeing the situation, my mind was at a crossroads. I was deciding whether to intervene or just stand by and watch as they were killed by the group of zombies.
"They're criminals", I told myself, trying to convince myself not to intervene, but my body was already acting on its own.
"Where are you going?", Nick asked, frightened.
"I have to go help the men over there", I told him. "I'll be back in a few minutes… Don't move from here", I added firmly.
I walked across the street without attracting the attention of the soldiers, and as soon as I got close to the first zombie, which was on top of one of the Drugos gang members, I stabbed it in the back of the head with a large knife. It stopped moving immediately.
"Thank you", the man on the ground, now covered in quite a bit of blood, said to me.
I moved forward without responding, looked around, and counted three more zombies. One of them was being beaten by a couple of men, and the other two were about to bite two others who were still struggling with them on the ground.
I approached one of the men in distress, kicked the zombie out of the way of the man on the ground, and without waiting a moment, plunged a knife into its temple. Then, I turned to the other zombie and did the same to its head. The three men I had rescued looked at me gratefully, while the other two had fun beating up the remaining zombie.
"Leave me alone", I said as I pulled them away from the creature and stabbed it in the head. "Whooo... that's it", I commented after exhaling a sigh.
I quickly turned around to join Nick and Alicia, but as I neared the alley exit, the men I had saved stopped me.
"What's wrong?", I asked, putting my knife away and keeping my gun in its holster in case they tried anything strange.
"What can we do to repay you?", they asked politely. "We can't leave without paying our debt, Mr. Alex", one of them clarified.
"Looks like they recognized me", I thought.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Thanks everyone for reading.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the transformation from what seemed like a normal novel to a fanfic featuring quite a few characters from the series.
Read my other novel called Vinland Kingdom: Race Against Time.
You can find it on my profile.]