Gateway to the Americas International Bridge—Laredo, Texas
The road ahead was blocked with stalled and abandoned cars, trucks, and an assortment of different vehicles on the road leading up to and on the bridge. It was four-lane with two pedestrian walkways on either side that spanned across the Rio Grande. Its official name was Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Jake was forced to park about half a block away from it since the roads were so crowded. It caused Zafir to study the area around them with the gun never wavering.
“Why’d we stop?” he questioned, reminding Jake of the pistol by shoving it into his side, causing discomfort.
“We’re walking from here,” he replied to the other man, a serious, composed look on his face. “He’s across,” he added to satisfy Zafir’s curious for the time, gesturing to the far side of the bridge.
Zafir eyed the road ahead and threw his door open as Jake did the same. The cool air filled their lungs while Jake walked towards their goal, a pistol scratching at his back for every step of the way. They passed car after car as they neared it. The two were forced to hope a barrier and continued onward.
They stepped into the left lane since it remained clear of most of the dead traffic. Not many were trying to get into Mexico, he supposed. Many people wanted out, there were telltale signs of that everywhere. The cars were the first. There were several rotting corpses that looked like it hadn’t had the time to reanimate after being trampled, that was second. The third were the abandoned Border Patrol trucks that looked like they were trying to regulate traffic before their driver’s left or met their untimely end.
Jake stopped once they reached the relative center of the bridge. Zafir was behind him with the pistol still aimed to incapacitate him, so he could still get some answer. The biting silence was soon broken by Jake himself. “I want to know something.” His hazel eyes met Zafir’s blue ones. “Why are you pursuing Jerry to no end?”
Zafir angrily shook the pistol towards him. “You well! You should know better than anyone else what he did. He deserves to be punished for it!” The boiling frustration showed in his curled lip, revealing his teeth.
“I know what he did,” Jake replied with an unmoving glare. “He’s been punished for it. The shot you fired into his skull? Sure, he survived it, but he’ll never be the same. He’ll be crippled physically for a long time. He’ll be mentally handicapped even longer!”
“That’s not enough!” Zafir stammered. “He needs to suffer for what he did! He killed twenty of our own by starting a fucking chemical fire in Vincent’s lab and slit Vincent’s fucking throat! He needs to suffer more for that!”
The glare Jake shot at him took on a new meaning of frustration as he stabbed a finger at the other man. “You’ve been too focused on punishments, Zafir! Jerry isn’t anything like the bandits that took Melissa and Nina’s life!”
That sentence sparked a shrouded rage in Zafr as he stepped forward in a large stride and pistol whipped Jake once, causing him to painfully stumble backward. Although he caught himself before he fell, he caressed his pulsing, numbed cheek, staring up with a beam of anger resonating within his reddened complexion. The look Zafir shoot back was hateful. “Don’t mention my wife or my daughter again, or I will make you suffer!” He paused to let the statement set in. “Understood?!”
Jake pushed himself off the ground and stared daggers at Zafir, ignoring what he said. “Jerry isn’t like those bandits. Jerry isn’t evil. Jerry isn’t a rapist. Jerry didn’t kill you wife and daughter. Jerry is the fucking Messiah!”
The gun in Zafir’s hand clicked when he pulled the trigger and the hammer hit the primer. The click was the sign nothing had happened. It was a misfire. A dud. Zafir pulled back the slide and ejected the faulty bullet onto the pavement. He sighed deeply, appearing to calm down slightly, but the gun’s muzzle was pointed at Jake again. “Second chances all around,” he sneered. “Don’t test me again. You know I have it in me without a reasonable doubt.”
“You’ll kill me if I cross you again, is that it?” Jake replied without hesitation. “You just tried to shoot me, Carter.” Jake used his last name to express his frustration. To divide their names. “You’re making this so fucking hard to find a reason to think you’re still human. Do you even remember what I was to you? Did you forget about all those years?” With the pistol still pointed at him, Jake jabbed the other man with a finger. “I was like you goddamn son and you were like my dad!”
That outburst bought Jake a moment of silence from Zafir. His eyes still echoed with reminded fury as Jake went on.
“I lived under your guidance for so long. You were the voice of reason on my shoulder! You tried to stop me from pulling that fucking job in Odessa because you had common fucking sense when I was still a kid looking for thrills, attention!” He bit his lip until it turned white under the pressure. “And now, my own fucking father figure, you pointed a gun to me and pulled the trigger.” The look in his eyes was of a raging frustration. “Drop dead, you fucker.”
Jake stared at Zafir and he just stared back Their eyes met for what seemed like an eternity. Jake found hard to see since his moment had caused him to start crying with anger, exasperated with the thought of Zafir actually killing him. Until then, he believed there was hope for him. He believed Zafir could change. Look what all that false faith had gotten him? Nearly dead on a bridge.
“Give me Jerry and it won’t have to end this way,” Zafir offered with the still unwavering aim fixed now on Jake’s head. The kill switch. Jake doubt he would be lucky a second time. Their commotion had attracted several walkers already. If stayed much longer, they might end up dead.
Jake didn’t care anymore. There was no hope left for the man he once knew as a father figure growing up. All that remained was a shell. An empty vessel of hatred and anger, seeking revenge and playing the executioner. Playing god, some days. A monster. As much as he missed what Zafir used to be, he would never be the same again. The reply slipped out, it would surely kill him, but Jake was done holding back. “If Melissa or Nina could see you now, they wouldn’t even recognize what you’ve become. They would hate you.”
That sealed it, Jake thought. Now he’s going to kill me.
He saw the telltale signs that Zafir was going to kill him. The strengthening of his grip on the gun, preparing for the recoil of the killing shot. The face was what told him the most, though. An unwillingness to accept what Jake had said to be the complete truth echoed in his features and behind the bandages. Even the bandages couldn’t hide that anger and denial.
The shot echoed, not from Zafir’s pistol, but from a tall building on the American side of the border. It partially destroyed his face. Going through the back of the head, whatever kind of caliber fired by the sniper had completely killed and devastatingly, savagely blew out his brain matter and blood onto Jake’s clothes. It was shocking and almost terrifying to see the man crumble to the pavement. It seemed impossible. It seemed a blur as Jake collected the body of the man in his hands. The man was worthy of some respect. The monster deserved exactly what the sniper had done to him. Pity and sympathy—Jake was beyond that now. He held empathy towards both halves like he held the man. Running instinctively from the bridge with the lifeless body of his friend, father, leader, but also the crumpled form of a monster, shrouded by anger and his own looming shadow. Both halves were dead now. One died a long time before the other.
Jake pulled up at the doctor's house with a blank expression as he pulled the body out and face the others.
Tonight
Jake noticed the conflicted look on Josephine's face as she looked at the body and at his displeause.
Rose tinted eyes
Josephine set her hand on Jake's shoulder comfortingly as he remained seat at the porch.
Color my sorrow a shade of wine
She rested her head on his shoulder as they simply stared off at the distance. He needed her presence more than ever.
Bye bye black balloon. See you real soon. Wave bye bye. Bye bye
Jake looked at a set of blueprints. A man in cargo pants with a sniper rifle slung over their shoulder plucked a note from the window.
Oh why you so sad. What have they done?
A man and woman walked through the open area with assault rifles as they mowed own any walkers they found, clearing room after room.
Forget those mindless baboons. They're off playing god
All the while, Jake remembered the man, not the monster. A calming aura was standing at his side at all times. He wasn't afraid with her near him, not anymore.
Copy cats in cheap suits, all playing it safe
Danny and Maria snuck into a public bathroom.
While cannibals with their noose, consume a parade
Ashley used the boltcutters to cut the chain holding the doors together like butter, entering a room full of supplies.
Is it wonderful?
Jake and Josephine settled in a bed together to rest.
Far, far from shore. Land of nightmares. Gone forever more
People moved into the area from a salvaged bus. They entered their new home. The likes of Zafir's and Harvest Hills alike.
And I love you more. Than I can control
Atlanta and Ashley watched Daniel play with another kid from a distance, smiling with each other.
I don't even try. Why would I
Jerry took a single, careful step in the presence of Calvin. The doctor smiled, thoughtfully thinking as they wrote.
Oh why the long face. You've got it all wrong
Sparks flied as the small piece of metal was formed, heated and followed by a sizzling dip in water.
Forget the lead and the rings. We'll choke chain them all
Calvin worked hard to bolt and screw the metal plate into Jerry's open skull while the man under.
These favor the ones. Who help themselves
Jerry looked at himself in a mirror at the bandaged over his forehead and the hesitantly tapped the metal in his head.
The rest feel the sting of the words. As they run. To hell
Lindsay and Keith sighing, entered Jerry's old house in Harvest Hills, tired and with nowhere to go anymore. Something was off about the house immediately. The two both noticed the mirror with pictures of Jerry tacked to it. Candles wax was still melted when they happened upon it. All the photos had one thing in common: Jerry looked somewhat drunk and dazed, smiling still, with a chocolate-skinned woman huddled next to him, smiling widely, always taking the picture.
A man was pushed from the shore, hands and feet nailed to the raft and set adrift down the Rio Grande by a figure hiding his face from the pale moonlight that threatened to reveal the bloodied mask of a fox covering their face. The figure looked at their feet and started walking back up the path, the warm Colorado night was fresh and the figure prepared a knife.
I can say that I'm pretty scared for Eight months later.
Based on the preview though, it seems like Josie and Jake are going to hook up. There are other children, Ashley's going to get better, Jerry's alive, Sasha was and possibly still is at Jerry's place, another public bathroom scene (which concerns me because last time we were in a public bathroom, we got a murder confession and a sympathetic villain), and a whole group of fucked up people on the way.
It makes me wonder though, if Danny and Maria looked around, would they have found anything or would they have been found themselves?
PART TWO OF TWO
Gateway to the Americas International Bridge—Laredo, Texas
The road ahead was blocked with stalled and abandoned car… mores, trucks, and an assortment of different vehicles on the road leading up to and on the bridge. It was four-lane with two pedestrian walkways on either side that spanned across the Rio Grande. Its official name was Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Jake was forced to park about half a block away from it since the roads were so crowded. It caused Zafir to study the area around them with the gun never wavering.
“Why’d we stop?” he questioned, reminding Jake of the pistol by shoving it into his side, causing discomfort.
“We’re walking from here,” he replied to the other man, a serious, composed look on his face. “He’s across,” he added to satisfy Zafir’s curious for the time, gesturing to the far side of the bridge.
Zafir eyed the road ahead and threw his door open as Jake did the same. … [view original content]
I remember I said when I closed the voting that was a preview, really, if anything it is a vague epilogue of some stuff happening between the eight months. Sorry for the misconception.
They would have decided to set Jerry up in the house and discovered the identity of the sniper, it would have been peaceful and friendly (Happy stuff, yay!).
The concrescences of them not staying haven't been revealed yet, but it caused the delayed introduction of the sniper and it changes a few things in the coming act, as well as affecting Danny and Maria's relationship.
Eight months later and Beyond the Silent Wall.
I can say that I'm pretty scared for Eight months later.
Based on the preview though, i… moret seems like Josie and Jake are going to hook up. There are other children, Ashley's going to get better, Jerry's alive, Sasha was and possibly still is at Jerry's place, another public bathroom scene (which concerns me because last time we were in a public bathroom, we got a murder confession and a sympathetic villain), and a whole group of fucked up people on the way.
It makes me wonder though, if Danny and Maria looked around, would they have found anything or would they have been found themselves?
I remember I said when I closed the voting that was a preview, really, if anything it is a vague epilogue of some stuff happening between th… moree eight months. Sorry for the misconception.
They would have decided to set Jerry up in the house and discovered the identity of the sniper, it would have been peaceful and friendly (Happy stuff, yay!).
The concrescences of them not staying haven't been revealed yet, but it caused the delayed introduction of the sniper and it changes a few things in the coming act, as well as affecting Danny and Maria's relationship.
I gotta say, the incredibly friendly dog has been the least problematic charcter of the chapter and probably my favorite. I'm guessing not Phil's favorite though...
Phil the cat vs. the friendly dog. The battle of the century. Just kidding, though. I wouldn't really make really have them fight each other. That would be kind of messed up.
I gotta say, the incredibly friendly dog has been the least problematic charcter of the chapter and probably my favorite. I'm guessing not Phil's favorite though...
Phil the cat vs. the friendly dog. The battle of the century. Just kidding, though. I wouldn't really make really have them fight each other. That would be kind of messed up.
I went looking for that Oh, you! Picture that was around like forever ago because I figured it would be really fitting but I couldn't find it. Puns!!! ba dum tsssss
I went looking for that Oh, you! Picture that was around like forever ago because I figured it would be really fitting but I couldn't find it. Puns!!! ba dum tsssss
That was a great chapter finale and a great act finale! Zafir went batshit insane one last time and I am both, surprised and immensely glad about his death. When he found out about Jerry's survival, I was truly scared for Jake's life. That was an intense scene, at the grave and later on at the bridge as well. For a moment, I was even convinced that Zafir would kill Jake and he honestly came close. I'm intrigued about the sniper. I mean, why has he shot Zafir, but spared Jake? Is he a good guy or just a really messed up bad guy who appears to be good at first?
Anyway, I am intrigued how it will continue from now on, more than ever. I definitely have not expected to see all three, Trevor, Clarice and Zafir die in this chapter. While that makes room for new villains, I am afraid for what will come in the future. Perhaps I'm going to miss the old villains soon. Well, except Trevor of course. No one will ever miss that piece of shit. But Clarice and Zafir were good characters, with complex motivations, who weren't all evil. And that made them quite fascinating. I am afraid about the next villains. Especially that guy with the bloodied fox mask in the epilogue sounds like a person even worse than Trevor, if that is even possible. But I have the bad feeling that he won't be the only threat the characters have to deal with in the next Act. Considering that he is located in Colorado, he seems to be mainly a threat to Vince and Zayne for now, but he can always travel down the Rio Grande himself.
Which brings me to the epilogue. It looks like Jake and Josie got a sweet relationship upgrade, which is great, but also scares me. While I'm overjoyed that both of them found a bit of happiness after all of the things that happened to them, there is no way they are going to manage to keep this happiness for the three remaining chapters. Nonetheless, I am curious how their new relationship is going to develop over the eight months. It looks like Jake is going to lead the new community, with Josie at his side. After this chapter finale, I also noticed how much Jake actually has in common with Josie.
It looks like Ashley fully recovers and she and Atlanta are apparently going to adopt Dan. That is similarly sweet and I am happy for them too. Hopefully Dan can adapt to a more peaceful live, after the past months have been hell for him. And finally, Jerry seems to be on the road to recovery. I guess there will be permanent damage, but the fact that he can start to walk again is a good sign. At least he won't be a complete vegetable and perhaps he'll find a way to live with his new condition. The sentence with him standing in front of a mirror, with a piece of metal in his head, somehow reminded me of Metal Gear Solid's Big Boss. Oh god, I'm never going to get that picture out of my head again
All in all, it looks like the characters all find some sort of happiness during the timeskip and this is great, but also terrible. Bad things are guaranteed to happen to happy people in an apocalypse, and I am afraid that no one is going to remain happy once the next Act is over. Also:
The two both noticed the mirror with pictures of Jerry tacked to it. Candles wax was still melted when they happened upon it. All the photos had one thing in common: Jerry looked somewhat drunk and dazed, smiling still, with a chocolate-skinned woman huddled next to him, smiling widely, always taking the picture.
Jerry shrine confirmed!
Also, I was wondering about two alternative outcomes and perhaps you can answer me without spoiling anything: What would have happened if the group would have returned to San Antonio instead of Laredo at the end of Chapter 3? And, considering that I apparently made this choice alone, in the deleted part, what would have happened if I would have chosen for Josie to shoot at Trevor instead of hesitating a bit longer?
PART TWO OF TWO
Gateway to the Americas International Bridge—Laredo, Texas
The road ahead was blocked with stalled and abandoned car… mores, trucks, and an assortment of different vehicles on the road leading up to and on the bridge. It was four-lane with two pedestrian walkways on either side that spanned across the Rio Grande. Its official name was Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Jake was forced to park about half a block away from it since the roads were so crowded. It caused Zafir to study the area around them with the gun never wavering.
“Why’d we stop?” he questioned, reminding Jake of the pistol by shoving it into his side, causing discomfort.
“We’re walking from here,” he replied to the other man, a serious, composed look on his face. “He’s across,” he added to satisfy Zafir’s curious for the time, gesturing to the far side of the bridge.
Zafir eyed the road ahead and threw his door open as Jake did the same. … [view original content]
What would have happened if the group would have returned to San Antonio instead of Laredo at the end of Chapter 3?
It's pretty unknown to me as well. It was before I revamped the planned acts and started piecing stuff together, so it was a time I hadn't thought everything through and wasn't sure about taking the group to Laredo, so I decided to give a chance to go back. Odds are things weren't have been as good, from both a writing standpoint and of the characters mental and physical health, it would have been grimmer.
And, considering that I apparently made this choice alone, in the deleted part, what would have happened if I would have chosen for Josie to shoot at Trevor instead of hesitating a bit longer?
Again, I don't think the choices through as much as I should, so I can only say there would have been contextual changes with Trevor's injuries and possibly another still undeadly ricochet that could have harmed Josie further.
That was a great chapter finale and a great act finale! Zafir went batshit insane one last time and I am both, surprised and immensely glad … moreabout his death. When he found out about Jerry's survival, I was truly scared for Jake's life. That was an intense scene, at the grave and later on at the bridge as well. For a moment, I was even convinced that Zafir would kill Jake and he honestly came close. I'm intrigued about the sniper. I mean, why has he shot Zafir, but spared Jake? Is he a good guy or just a really messed up bad guy who appears to be good at first?
Anyway, I am intrigued how it will continue from now on, more than ever. I definitely have not expected to see all three, Trevor, Clarice and Zafir die in this chapter. While that makes room for new villains, I am afraid for what will come in the future. Perhaps I'm going to miss the old villains soon. Well, except Trevor of course. No one will ever miss that piece of shit. But Claric… [view original content]
So ends Dogma and act two. Dark clouds are on the horizon. It's time for the end-chapter questions to begin! Again you don't have to answer any or even all if you don't want to.
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
What are some themes you would like explored?
What characters do you think are in need of development?
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
Lastly, I'd like to recommend you check out Tobi's Forum Comic where submissions are open for a side story. Details are near the bottom of the last page. It shouldn't be too hard to find.
Jerry looked at himself in a mirror at the bandaged over his forehead and the hesitantly tapped the metal in his head.
"Josie, I'm already a demon."
I almost felt bad for Zafir. Almost. I was pretty scared for Jerry's life. Not so much for Jake's, but Jerry's. God I was scared.
Jerry is the fucking Messiah!”
What the hell?
Lindsay and Keith sighing, entered Jerry's old house in Harvest Hills, tired and with nowhere to go anymore. Something was off about the house immediately. The two both noticed the mirror with pictures of Jerry tacked to it. Candles wax was still melted when they happened upon it. All the photos had one thing in common: Jerry looked somewhat drunk and dazed, smiling still, with a chocolate-skinned woman huddled next to him, smiling widely, always taking the picture.
Oh dear God. It's a shame that it looks like Jerry and Sasha won't interact. I mean, I'm not even sure Jerry would be able to resist or even...do it. I've totally forgotten what I wrote for Sasha besides her craziness, so that's not good.
A man was pushed from the shore, hands and feet nailed to the raft and set adrift down the Rio Grande by a figure hiding his face from the pale moonlight that threatened to reveal the bloodied mask of a fox covering their face. The figure looked at their feet and started walking back up the path, the warm Colorado night was fresh and the figure prepared a knife.
I feel like the body is Zafir and the guy is the sniper.
PART TWO OF TWO
Gateway to the Americas International Bridge—Laredo, Texas
The road ahead was blocked with stalled and abandoned car… mores, trucks, and an assortment of different vehicles on the road leading up to and on the bridge. It was four-lane with two pedestrian walkways on either side that spanned across the Rio Grande. Its official name was Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Jake was forced to park about half a block away from it since the roads were so crowded. It caused Zafir to study the area around them with the gun never wavering.
“Why’d we stop?” he questioned, reminding Jake of the pistol by shoving it into his side, causing discomfort.
“We’re walking from here,” he replied to the other man, a serious, composed look on his face. “He’s across,” he added to satisfy Zafir’s curious for the time, gesturing to the far side of the bridge.
Zafir eyed the road ahead and threw his door open as Jake did the same. … [view original content]
Metal in his head as in a metal plate. The bone won't regrow and fill the gap made by the bullet, so instead of haveing a mushing place on his head, he's got a metal plate. He could do cool parlor tricks with it.
Oh dear God. It's a shame that it looks like Jerry and Sasha won't interact. I mean, I'm not even sure Jerry would be able to resist or even...do it. I've totally forgotten what I wrote for Sasha besides her craziness, so that's not good.
Well, she's still in San Antonio and has a Jerry shrine. Lindsay and Keith know where the group went so they could always lead her to him. Allow me to remind you: "She likes to mess with Jerry's hair and her nickname for him is darling/love. She also gropes him unnecessarily." Haha. If she makes her way to the Jerry, things are going to get weeeird.
I feel like the body is Zafir and the guy is the sniper.
Expect it's implied they're in Colorado. I can also confirm this is neither Zafir nor Mr. Sniper.
Jerry looked at himself in a mirror at the bandaged over his forehead and the hesitantly tapped the metal in his head.
"Josie, I… more'm already a demon."
I almost felt bad for Zafir. Almost. I was pretty scared for Jerry's life. Not so much for Jake's, but Jerry's. God I was scared.
Jerry is the fucking Messiah!”
What the hell?
Lindsay and Keith sighing, entered Jerry's old house in Harvest Hills, tired and with nowhere to go anymore. Something was off about the house immediately. The two both noticed the mirror with pictures of Jerry tacked to it. Candles wax was still melted when they happened upon it. All the photos had one thing in common: Jerry looked somewhat drunk and dazed, smiling still, with a chocolate-skinned woman huddled next to him, smiling widely, always taking the picture.
Oh dear God. It's a shame that it looks like Jerry and Sasha won't interact. I mean, I'm not even sure Jerry would be… [view original content]
Who are your favorite characters and why? Jerry, cause he's Jerry. Calvin saved him, that's nice.
Who are your least favorite characters and why? Zafir, I don't like him and I never will. Clarice is a bitch good thing she won't kill Jerry and Trevor is not nice.
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why? Jake, cause I like how he kind of got Zafir killed but he did some other stuff.
What characters do you sympathize with and why Josephine? I guess her brother's death still lingers with me.
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter? I kind of didn't like the lack of walkers, and was kind of confused why Zafir didn't just kill everyone, but other than that I greatly enjoyed it. It was refreshing.
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter? Not sure, I guess they go to the Safe Zone but it's bad?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap? Well it seems Josie and Jake are an item and 8 months is interesting because 9 months is a full pregnancy and I feel that she might be pregnant. With a lack of birth control I would anticipate that.
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond? You mean What do you think? Dark clouds, so bad stuff. Herd?
What are some themes you would like explored? Now talking about it the pregnancy seems kind of interesting, and I think a reentry into civilization in a community?
What characters do you think are in need of development? Keith and Lindsay haven't been seen in a while, and Atlanta and Ashley too.
Any further speculation that you might like to include? That Sasha probably would freak out if Keith or Lindsay mentioned Jerry.
So ends Dogma and act two. Dark clouds are on the horizon. It's time for the end-chapter questions to begin! Again you don't have to answer … moreany or even all if you don't want to.
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
What are some themes you would like explored?
What characters do you think are in need of development?
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
Lastly, I'd like to recommend you check out Tobi's Forum Comic where submissions are open for a side story. Details are near the bottom of the last page. It shouldn't be too hard to find.
For this chapter it is a bit harder than last time. Of course, Josie is among them, she was fantastic in this chapter. I loved the part where she fought against Trevor. While Jake did some stuff that really made me doubt his intelligence, mainly his forgiving stance towards Zafir and him turning a blind eye on Trevor, he fully redeemed himself in the last parts. And even though they had little to do in this chapter, I also realized that Atlanta, Ashley and Dan are among my favourites, simply because they have been around from the very beginning. Finally, there is Jerry of course. I'm looking forward for his new role in the story.
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
It is easily that fucking bastard Trevor. Pretty much everything that happened after the death of Stan was his fault in some way, by extension even the bad stuff that happened to Zafir and Jerry. And of course, I will never forgive him passively killing Anthony and actively kidnapping Josie. He deserved a lot worse than he actually got, but it is good that he is dead. After he fully lost it in his final part, I also stopped having a mixed opinion on Zafir. For most of the last two chapters, he was on a fine line between redeeming himself and becoming a monster, but in his final part he fully embraced his dark side and I lost every ounce of pity I ever had for him. However, in the end I like Zafir still a bit more than Trevor, because he was a very complex character. Trevor just felt like a flat character in comparison, as he was just evil, without all the complex motivations that made Zafir a compelling villain.
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
Clearly Clarice. She was a huge bitch for most of her lifespan and she tried to kill Jerry, which undoubtly qualifies her as a villain. However, her last act saved Josie's life. On top of that, the way she confronted Trevor was completely selfless in my eyes. There was little to gain from stopping Trevor and even if she would have succeeded, she would have lost time to pursue her vengeance and I guess she knew that. That proved to me that she wasn't all evil and it made me very conflicted about her.
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
The more I think about his situation, the more I sympathize with Jerry. The guy did so much for the whole group, he saved most of them at least once and in return he is now handicapped in some way. While it looks like he will recover at least partially, I am afraid for permanent consequences. Josie also had it rough in this chapter, considering that she was nearly killed by the same man who had already caused her brothers death. In her case, I am glad that she finally found some happiness for once. While I don't think I am too pessimistic when I say that I doubt it will last forever, I hope that her happiness will last for a long time at least.
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
This chapter was great! I loved the somewhat slower pace in the first half, it greatly helped with the character development. Especially Danny had a lot of development in this chapter. Naturally, I also liked the Josephine screentime. There can never be enough of that. The final parts, with Trevor attacking the group and Zafir going apeshit crazy have been a great conclusion to the chapter and the act as a whole. Together with the Chapter 3 finale, this was certainly my favourite chapter in this Act, it even topped the already awesome Chapter 4.
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
I guess this chapter will be a bit slower, more peaceful. The characters have settled down and some time should be needed to show their new way of life and other developments that happened during the timeskip. However, I guess we'll get a glimpse of the new main threat at the end of the chapter.
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
InGen brought up an idea that is interesting, as well as frightening. Considering that Josie hooked up with Jake now, and considering that eight months are almost a full pregnancy, I wonder if we'll see a pregnant Josie after the time skip. Of course, this would be nice in some way, however, I also dread this possibility. So far, apocalypse pregnancies have been very bad for the pregnant woman in question. Lori and Rebecca both died mainly because of their pregnancy. Perhaps Josie can be the first woman who actually survives childbirth in the Walking Dead franchise, but in the end it is a huge risk regardless of the outcome.
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
I think it is safe to say that things won't stay as happy as they are. While the new community might survive, I am convinced that there will be more hardships for the group. Right now, all of them seem to be happy, and while I like this a lot, I am afraid it can't stay that way forever. If Josie is indeed pregnant, I have the feeling that she will give birth sooner or later, perhaps during the act. And I am sure there is going to be a new villain coming. The fox-mask guy is probably the main villain for the Colorado arc, but there will be a new villain for the Laredo group too, I am afraid.
What are some themes you would like explored?
The life in the community and the rebuilding of civilization is the theme I am most interested in. I'd also like to see what kind of roles the group members have in the new community.
What characters do you think are in need of development?
We still know very little about Violet and out of the core group, I have the feeling that Ashley could be in need of some development. While Atlanta had similarly few scenes in the last two parts, she had a lot to do earlier and is already a greatly developed character in my eyes, while Ashley always seems to stand in her shadow. Perhaps now that they are in a different situation, with the safe zone and stuff, she could step up a bit.
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
I have the feeling that Sasha is going to encounter the group soon. She will meet up with Lindsay and Keith and will go on her way to the new community. And if she finally meets Jerry, things are going to get weird, very weird. I don't know what is going to happen, but I am unsure if I should anticipate or fear Sasha's arrival.
So ends Dogma and act two. Dark clouds are on the horizon. It's time for the end-chapter questions to begin! Again you don't have to answer … moreany or even all if you don't want to.
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
What are some themes you would like explored?
What characters do you think are in need of development?
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
Lastly, I'd like to recommend you check out Tobi's Forum Comic where submissions are open for a side story. Details are near the bottom of the last page. It shouldn't be too hard to find.
I had no good internet for a week and only found the time to catch up now and I have to say, holy shit, things got real! So much stuff happening
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Josephine was awesome, even more than last chapter. I really like her character, she and Atlanta are the most level-headed members of the group in my opinion. I also liked her fight against Trevor and it is good that she survived. I also liked Jake, who is a very complex character. It is nice that he got together with Josie in the end, they are adorable
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
Zafir and Trevor for obvious reasons. I dont even know who was worse. Zafir was the greater threat for the group but I think he was a better person than Trevor. Trevor was just evil and there was nothing good about his character while Zafir was almost redeemed for a short time. But I hate both of them and I am happy that they are dead.
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
I feel a bit sorry for Clarice in the end, because I think she could have been a good person if it wasnt for the death of Vincent. But I also dislike most of her actions, aside from her final action, so I have a mixed opinion on her. I am also not sure what to think of Violet. She seems nice and not evil like her brother but she also appears ditzy and a bit naive. I dont really like her.
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Almost everyone from the group has been through a lot of bad stuff but I think Jake, Josephine and Jerry stick out. I have a lot of pity for Jerry after what happened to him and like his character a lot. Josephine has been through a lot of bad stuff on an emotional level and after the final part she still seems to be a bit of an emotional mess, so I feel very sorry for her.
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
This chapter was awesome! I liked the pace and the character development for many of the characters. I also liked that it was a bit calmer at first, that was a good contrast to the first chapters of the Act, where the group was always on the run.Maybe it was my favorite chapter in the whole story.
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
Perhaps a new threat for the community will appear and the group has to deal with that. And I think Sasha will appear, either in Chapter 11 or in Chapter 12. I also think there will be a bit of exposition what happened to each group member during the eight months.
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Obviously, Jake became the leader of the community, he got together with Josephine and Jerry starts to recover. Perhaps Sasha already arrived at the community but I doubt it. I dont think that Josephine really got pregnant like InGen and Liquid speculate. Condoms and birth control pills are still around and I guess Jake and Josie have other things to worry about.
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
Things are going to get worse again. Right now, everything is so nice and happy and I fear that it cannot stay like this. Perhaps walkers are becoming a threat again and I am sure there will be more evil persons.
What are some themes you would like explored?
I dont know. Rebuilding of a society and the managing of a community sounds interesting. And perhaps adapting to this new society could be a theme, especially for characters like Jerry, Josephine or Dan, who have gone through a lot of physical or emotional trauma after the old society was destroyed.
What characters do you think are in need of development?
I dont know. We havent seen a lot of Maria and I think Jerrys new condition should also be developed. We also havent seen the Colorado people and Lindsay and Keith for a while, although I am far more interested in the new community at the moment. The Colorado and Lindsay/keith storyline never really got me as excited as the Harvest Hills group storyline.
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
This person with the bloody fox mask is definitely evil and could be the main villain for the Colorado storyline.
So ends Dogma and act two. Dark clouds are on the horizon. It's time for the end-chapter questions to begin! Again you don't have to answer … moreany or even all if you don't want to.
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
What are some themes you would like explored?
What characters do you think are in need of development?
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
Lastly, I'd like to recommend you check out Tobi's Forum Comic where submissions are open for a side story. Details are near the bottom of the last page. It shouldn't be too hard to find.
The cold chill of air passed by Josephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. Vines covered the canopy and most of the pathway in the courtyard. It served mostly as a flower garden with very few harvestable plants growing there. Its main purpose was for relaxing, after all, and the loss of usable land was definitely justified by the neighboring park’s large grounds.
Dark storm clouds gathered on the northwest horizon. Yellow bolts of lightning streaked across the sky for a brief instant and was followed by the loud clapping of thunder. Like some of the seasonal flowers withering in the garden, the stormy skyline was like a bad omen. Josephine didn’t think over of it much at the time, however, though she inherently assumed there could more an ample amount of corpses, living or otherwise, floating down the Rio Grande because of it. As the day shift guard of Bridge One, Josephine feared she would have to fish out one festering body after another for the foreseeable future, which was likely going to be more or less a week.
At that moment, Josephine heard the mattress shift underneath Jake as he swung his feet off the bed. He took his pants off to compensate for the grueling humidity the night had suffered. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and soon found his discarded pants. While Jake threaded his belt, Josephine sat beside him.
He looked up and smiled warmly at her. “It’s still early,” he said while finally finishing with the buckle of his belt, “you don’t have to go to work for another hour or so. Sleep a little, eat breakfast—” he yawned into his open palm as he stepped across the room to a pair of tennis shoes, “—or relieve Kurt from duty a little early. Whichever works.”
Josephine looked at the wristwatch sitting on the nightstand and found it was six in the morning. Far too early for her to begin her job and a very early time for Jake to being doing anything. “Where are you going, then?” she asked. “Are you seeing Danny again, or is it Tommy?” The former brought pleasant memories of a kind boy to mind. The latter made her frown with mild disdain towards the rude man.
“I have to see Danny and Maria by the northern gate to head towards the lake today to take care of some business. We’ll meet someone that’s been living there for a while.” He tied the laces and rose above Josephine’s eye level with a smirk. “I’ll be seeing Tommy later today to talk about an expansion. Anything you want me to pass on?”
She shrugged tiredly. “Nothing he doesn’t already know.” Josephine rolled back over to her side of the bed and smothered herself with a warm blanket. She looked up momentarily. “Actually, you can tell him he’s an asshole,” she added half-jokingly.
Jake nodded lighthearted with a smirk on his face. He straightened his shirt and jeans, and then pulled his arms through a black overcoat. He reframed from buttoning it and clipped his pistol holster onto his belt along with one for his knife. A content, appreciative smile formed on his face with one foot already out the door. “Bye, Josie,” he said as he resigned himself from the room and close the thick hotel door behind him.
As tired as she was, Josephine knew it was time to dress and prepare for work. She rose from the bed and put on a light blue blouse, jeans, and a pair of sneakers, followed by a belt with a similar holster and knife sheath to Jake’s. She retrieved her 9mm pistol and released the magazine, and then followed through by cocking the slide back and letting the loaded bullet expel from the chamber. She counted eight bullets currently. The mag could hold twelve total, but eight rounds was the issued handgun ammo for the guards. Luckily their assault rifles would get a full magazine of thirty bullets. She returned the ejected bullet to the mag and shoved the mag back into the pistol to hear a click. She pulled the slide to cock it and applied the safety before she put in the holster.
Ultimately, she decided between showing up early for her job of the day shift guard on Bridge One or hanging around the garden for a while before it was time to leave. She always did find the courtyard to be a soothing place, even if the quiet shuffle of the dead could occasionally be heard from beyond the wall. It was still peaceful.
[Go to work early.]
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.]
There's a second point of view that I've been working on, but like this one, it needs some refinement. I'm hoping that we'll catch up with most if not all of the characters, each in their own little point of view soon enough. Right now it's Josephine, next will likely be Jake, followed by Jerry, and then some of the characters who have taken a back seat, including Atlanta, Ashley and Daniel. And more importantly, I haven't gone out right and explained everything about where the group is currently residing because I'll be fleshing it out with every part. So, there's going to be a lot of exposition but not all at once!
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.] This short of reminds me of my fan fictions' first part, albeit the opposite of it.
Nuevo Laredo. New Laredo. Clearly a community, and from the looks of it, there's multiple bridges across the Rio Grande which are not walled off and if they are, they have a gate. I assume there's a wall around the community's side of the river, and they fish bodies out to make sure they don't damage that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 1)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
The cold chill of air passed by … moreJosephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. … [view original content]
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 1)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
The cold chill of air passed by … moreJosephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. … [view original content]
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 1)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
The cold chill of air passed by … moreJosephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. … [view original content]
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.] A bit of relaxing can be nice at times.
Very good start for the new Act! I see, Josie and Jake are indeed in a pretty stable relationship and their current location seems safe, which makes me fear that one or both of these things might change in the future. However, right now she seems calmer and happier than she has ever been in the whole story, which is really great. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while longer.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 1)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
The cold chill of air passed by … moreJosephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. … [view original content]
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico is an actual city across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas that has several bridges connecting the two. I still haven't come up with a name for the community, however, I've gotten a few district names down. I have a few screenshots taken from google maps and will be constructing a map of what it looks like soon enough.
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.] This short of reminds me of my fan fictions' first part, albeit the opposite of it.
… more Nuevo Laredo. New Laredo. Clearly a community, and from the looks of it, there's multiple bridges across the Rio Grande which are not walled off and if they are, they have a gate. I assume there's a wall around the community's side of the river, and they fish bodies out to make sure they don't damage that.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 1)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
The cold chill of air passed by … moreJosephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. … [view original content]
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doors and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and decayed slightly, which was why they had to change it out every month or so. The park itself had plenty of buildings used as houses and Fairweather Hotel, all still within the rectangle of safety. It had several extending streets still not blocked off that lead to places like an old church. Bridge One and Two each had a connecting path that was equally safe.
He walked over the road and stopped under a tree that was situated near the edge of the park, and simply smiled while looking over the green area with cut back grass. It was only possible because Danny had recovered a push mowing that didn’t require gas. It had to be cut frequently, but it wasn’t a problem since they had kids perfect for the job; unable to leave the community on most occasions, the youngest of the population were often left with the small, closer to home jobs, this included the classic chore of mowing the lawn. The grass wasn’t the only notable thing about the park: gardens had taken over part of it and it had now become one of their main factors in growing food—the other was one on the opposite side of the Rio Grande, since they liked to mirror things in case the bridges were ever down or destroyed, so each side could theoretically function without there other should a problem ever arise and separate the two.
At this hour, only two gardeners worked the planters filled with soil and mulch, it was an elderly woman and her husband. Neither two possessed the physical strength to do much else and they made good gardeners.
What would have been a purple morning sky was blocked out by densely gray clouds that had darker, more sinister ones behind them. Lit by the grim light and northeast of the Southern Hub, Bridge Two was enclosed by two gates on either end that were manned by the night shift guard. The friendly smile from the guard greeted Jake as both approached each other.
“Hey, Jake,” said the night shift guard with a light Mexican accent in his voice. He wore a black jacket and dark blue jeans that complimented his black hair. He carried an M4A1 Carbine in his arms with a flashlight attached to the muzzle so the guard could scan the waters below the bridge during the night. They had taken up the habit of fishing out any bodies floating down the river. Most were either reanimated walkers, drowning victims. They’ve yet to have a living person float by. Due to the difficulty of getting a corpse out of the water, once they confirmed it was a walker they sent on its way. Finally, he flipped the latch and allowed Jake onto the bridge.
The two walked to the other end in a calm, peaceful silence. Jake noticed the guard kept eying the waters for signs of movement. Though he never said it, Jake always feared Josephine would be on the bridge when something happened ever since he had a nightmare where she fell into the water below the bridge and was dragged under by living corpses. The dream shocked him for the whole morning and bit at him every time it passed in his thoughts.
However, they reached the other side of the bridge in one, complete piece and Jake was let through the gate and onto American soil where the other half the community was situated. He soon neared the farthest northern part of the area after a minute or two of walking, he arrived at the large gate that spanned across the street. It was a dark green, thick plastic that stood six-feet-tall and had a sturdy metal frame, with a red pickup truck parked near it. Standing by the gate was Danny. He had a bitter expression as he listened to the shambling from beyond it. Jake could faintly hear the dead groan as he approached.
“Jake,” he said quietly as the teen’s eyes met his. “The truck’s ready. Maria’s still on her way, though. But we’ve got a problem,” he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the morning noise, “more of the dead are outside than usual.”
“I see,” Jake replied as peered over to get a good look. Seven, he counted. The dead noticed his head above the gate and started towards him, moaning as they clawed at the plastic that kept them from reaching Jake. “We can handle it before she gets here,” Jake said decidedly.
Danny raised a doubtful eyebrow and waved a hand dismissively. “Probably not the best idea,” he advised with a level of calmness in his voice. The late teen stood on his toes to look over the gate and frowned distastefully when he saw the walkers outside. “Definitely not worth the risk,” he concluded.
“C’mon, Danny, where’s your sense of adventure?” Jake raised his eyebrows high and spread his arms in the air as he produced a large knife from his belt. “We’ve got this.” Jake’s tone flowed with confidence that he could easily back up with decisive action.
Danny, however, was still somewhat doubtful, but his face lightened slightly at the energized gesture. He frowned in thought and looked Jake over to see if he might be ready. His expression seemed positive and shrugged lightly. “If you’re absolutely sure...” He eyed the gate thoughtful and returned to Jake. “If you’re sure, I’m up for it.”
[Agree to take on the walkers with Danny.]
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.]
I'm not completely sure who will star as the point of view in the next part, but I have several characters in mind. Mainly Atlanta or Ashley, with a strong possibility it might be Jerry, I also have characters within the safe-zone that have yet to appear with points of view planned. And I know it's starting out a little slow, and will probably keep a similar pace for a while longer, but we've yet to reach, well, in all honesty the plot device of this act. Parts have been a little short, too. They account for little over a legal-sized page each on docs. Hopefully when the plot starts to thicken, things will take off and the writing will have more direction. Anyway, thank you for reading!
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.] Well, let's not to do anything rash here. No need to get in danger.
Jake's nightmare is a pretty frightening thought. I mean, it's sweet that he cares for Josie enough to even get nightmares about something happening to her, but I hope that it wasn't foreshadowing. Though it reminded me of a question I wanted to ask. In your original plan for Act 2 Chapter 5, you said that Zafir, of all people, would have saved Josie from such a situation. Does that mean that Zafir was originally planned to survive the chapter?
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
It was originally planned that Zafir would save Josie, survive, lead the group somewhat, and face-off with the next threat where he may/may not have died.
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.] Well, let's not to do anything rash here. No need to get in danger.
Jake's nightmar… moree is a pretty frightening thought. I mean, it's sweet that he cares for Josie enough to even get nightmares about something happening to her, but I hope that it wasn't foreshadowing. Though it reminded me of a question I wanted to ask. In your original plan for Act 2 Chapter 5, you said that Zafir, of all people, would have saved Josie from such a situation. Does that mean that Zafir was originally planned to survive the chapter?
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.]
I definitely dont want to get Jake killed because of this, he and Josephine are just too cute together Now I cant wait for Jerry to reappear because I am very courious how he developed in the eight months and what kind of damage the bullett did to his brain. Im a bit scared for him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doo… morers and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and de… [view original content]
Sorry for my inactivity, but recently I pulled something in my neck and it made doing most things a pain yesterday. It wasn't anything major. Today, however, it's much better and it'll hopefully be gone by tomorrow. I haven't gotten the chance to do much writing because of it, but I should have something to post soon. Again, sorry for my inactivity on a lot of forum stories, I'll try to catch up ASAP. They'll be more characters introduced this chapter, I've already dropped a few names, but there's more to come next time. Thank you all for your incredible patience! Soon you around!
Edit: Soon you around? What the hell. Anyway, I'll *see you around soon!
Voting is closed!
(!) Jake and Danny will wait for Maria
Sorry for my inactivity, but recently I pulled something in my neck and it ma… morede doing most things a pain yesterday. It wasn't anything major. Today, however, it's much better and it'll hopefully be gone by tomorrow. I haven't gotten the chance to do much writing because of it, but I should have something to post soon. Again, sorry for my inactivity on a lot of forum stories, I'll try to catch up ASAP. They'll be more characters introduced this chapter, I've already dropped a few names, but there's more to come next time. Thank you all for your incredible patience! Soon you around!
Edit: Soon you around? What the hell. Anyway, I'll *see you around soon!
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel Courtyard—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
She pushed the glass door open and stepped onto the cement pathway of the garden. A peaceful atmosphere enveloped her and suddenly the dark clouds overhead seemed less of a bad omen and more of a backdrop to the pretty plants in the courtyard. Josephine walked down the path with her hand trailing over a few leaves, quietly edging forward.
“Come to admire the flowers?” echoed a man’s voice. She turned to face the speaker and couldn’t help but reach for her holster. She let her hand hover over it as she looked at him. He was an older man in his sixties or seventies with completely white hair tied up in a ponytail. He chuckled when he noticed her hand above the pistol. “Well, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The soft, but friendly tone and laugh helped to ease the tension a little.
Josephine cracked an uneasy smile and gave a short nod. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, folding her hands in front of her. “I thought I was alone at this hour.”
“It’s alright. You didn’t shoot me, after all.” The old man flashed a smiled and inclined his head towards the seat next to his. “Have a seat.”
Josephine gave another short nod as she walked to the man and seated herself near him. She studied his demeanor for a bit and, for starter’s, he seemed like a morning person. He sat relatively straight which was bound to be hard at his age, and he wore a bright button-up shirt, boots, and an old pair of blue jeans. “I don’t think we’ve met,” Josephine noted. “What’s your name?”
The man sensed she was sizing him up and found another chuckle. “My name is Jefferson. Jefferson Mclannon if you still care about last names.” He raised his eyebrows and looked off. “I’m surprised you think we haven’t met, you’re one of the bigshot council members. Would’ve thought you’d know most everyone’s name.”
Josephine shifted in the seat and looked at Jefferson and pointed a finger at him. “It’s not nearly as formal as you think. We sit around a coffee table and—” She stopped and licked her lips when she noticed the smile on the man’s face and realized that he wasn’t being passive aggressive. “Have we met?” she finally asked.
“No,” Jefferson replied with a mischievous grin. “I did, however, meet your…” he waved his hand in the air in front of him as he spoke, “husband, boyfriend, partner. Whichever he is, he’s a nice man. Lucky to find him, I’d say.” Josephine nodded politely at him and he decided to change the subject. “So, why did you jump?”
“I didn’t jump,” Josephine replied, maybe a little too quickly. “I reached for my gun. It’s... different.”
Jefferson nodded, brushed over her reply and continued. “Something on your mind? Is something bothering you?”
The man reeked of a fatherly attitude and Josephine didn’t want to have any of it. “No. I’m fine,” she answered sternly.
“Then why did you reach for your gun?” Jefferson frowned slightly and sat back in his chair as he gave it some thought. “You’re on edge at… what? All times?”
“Fine. Yes,” Josephine admitted. “But can you blame me?”
“Of course not. I don’t think anything of it,” he replied.
“Then why did you asked?” she questioned, mild annoyance in her tone.
“I was curious,” he answered with a strikingly somber expression. The man licked his lips, tapped the armrest of his chair and sat forward in a precarious position. “Honestly, I would’ve jumped as well. But in my case, it helps to be aware of your surroundings, you know. You wouldn’t be caught off guard if you were looking over your shoulder.”
“I look over my shoulder,” Josephine snapped softly.
“Not as well as you think.” He spun his finger around the air in front of him. “If you were on guard here, in your peaceful place, I wouldn’t have been able to startle you. You’ll find you’re caught off guard the most at home, work, places where you don’t bother to look around because you don’t expect something to jump out at you.”
“Is this going anywhere?” Josephine questioned uninterestedly.
“Yes.” He leaned closer to her and flashed a half smile. “If you were as careful here as you were comfortable, you’d notice the peeping tom climbing over the wall as we speak.”
Josephine immediately stood from her chair and looked past a thicket of bushes and vines to see a sneaker retreating behind the wall. “You son of a bitch,” she snapped at Jefferson as she ran to the wall and pulled herself up. She peered over its lip and saw no one running. Turning back, she jogged back to Jefferson and jabbed him with a finger. “You knew!”
He looked beyond Josephine for a second with the expression of being deep in thought and then finally returned to Josephine. “Maybe,” he shrugged. “I might have guessed part of it and assumed another half, but c’mon, you’re perception could really use some tuning.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. “You know what?” she huffed with another step backward. “I’m not going to satisfy you. My perception is fine. You, on the other hand, need to work on your people skills. What’s wrong with you, why not tell me there was some pervert hiding in the garden?”
That made the man smile widely, and he reached for the table and brought a glass of tea to his lips. Taking a sip, he answered her. “Relax. It wasn’t a creepy old guy, it was a kid being a stupid teenager. Catch him. Tell him there will be consequences and he’ll reform. And didn’t I tell you about his presence? After all, if your perception was fine, I would have thought you’d notice the guy scaling the wall just a couple yards from you.”
“Listen, I wasn’t looking for someone—” she began but Jefferson spoke up again.
“You see, I guess that was your problem, then.” He swished the liquid around its glass and flashed a concerned fatherly expression complete with the same tone of voice. “If you don’t start taking in your surroundings sooner, it’ll be the death of you.”
Josephine paused when she caught the worry in the man’s voice. It alone compelled her to listen longer. She brushed a brown strand of hair from her eyes and sighed deeply. “Go on, then. How do I go about that?”
Jefferson smiled reassuringly and fell further into his chair, the glass of tea held loosely in by his hands. “Start by being ready for anything. Expect a dead fella around every corner—but don’t go as far as become paranoid. Maybe don’t step out in your underwear, either, so you don’t let a peeping tom have an eyeful.”
“Wait.” She paused and narrowed her eyes at the elderly man. “Did you see… anything?”
“A little,” he admitted, “but I, being a faithful man, looked away. Kids like that, they don’t have such obligations.”
“Well,” Josephine said, clapping her hands together as she rose, “perception and common sense are your main life lessons? Let’s start with one of those, then, huh? Can you tell me what he looked like? You want to set me straight on the path of survival, let’s take care of this first. I’ll confront this kid and make sure he learns a lesson.”
“I don’t exactly see how that puts you on the path of survival.” Jefferson nodded, though, and added, “I’ll still tell you what I know. Straighten this kid out. They’re a kid, after all. Considering the circumstances, they might not have a parent to set them down the right path. Nonetheless, I’d be stern with him if I were you.”
Josephine gave an understanding nod that looked convincing, and asked, “Then what did he look like?”
“Short, around four and a half feet tall. Long brown hair. Glasses. Wore jeans and an orange shirt, I’m almost ashamed you missed it.” He gave a short shrug, and then finally added, “And his name is Freddie Gomez.”
“Jesus!” Josephine exclaimed under he breath. “You could have started with the name!” The description suddenly set in and she exclaimed further. “Wait, wait, wait—four and a half feet tall? Fuck, how young are they? Are they even a teenager?”
Jefferson gave another shrug. “I’m old, my eyesight isn’t the best,” he confessed, but it felt like he was just saying that. “Any other questions that you might want to ask about the peeping tom?”
“No. The name is all I’ll ever need,” Josephine replied while she walked back towards the hotel. She wore a confident expression.
“How so?” Jefferson asked as she retreated from view.
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “We keep a log of names to help keep track of everyone. If he’s a member of our community, I’ll find him and I’ll have a good long talk with him.”
That satisfied Jefferson’s curiosity and he let her go back inside the hotel. He sighed glumly and took a of his tea while glancing around the garden. Jefferson finally swished the drink around its glass one last time before he had his fill of the peaceful outdoors. He rose and started walking towards the doors, Josephine was already out of view, but he followed the same path into the Fairweather Hotel lobby.
Jerry Stewart—Gilbert Hotel—Laredo, Texas
The world looked like it was all over. Standing in the middle of the neighborhood, Jerry stumbled, half drunk. The dusk light distorted the street and everything past ten feet was a blur. Jerry continued at a drunkard’s pace forward with a bottle in hand as he looked at the jury-rigged mesh of metal that coated the gate. It fell with a tantalizingly numb, metallic echo and the dead poured in, and Jerry was forced to stand and watch as the nightmare unfolded.
The dark room was poorly lit and the little light that did enter the room only highlighted the sharp corners of a wooden table and the bed frame. Jerry’s eyes slowly opened with a deadened expression and he reluctantly rose from the stiff mattress. He climbed out of bed and pulled open the curtains to let the late morning illuminate the room and by consequence the man sitting in the chair by the bed.
The man’s face twisted into a bitter look and tried to shield his eyes from the diluted, but still harsh light. “Christ,” he muttered in annoyance. “A word of warning is appreciated, you know?”
“Sorry, Stephen.” Jerry somberly walked back to his bed and sat there facing Stephen Bennett. Jerry did what he always did: he studied the man the best he could, but he still never could figure him out. He had short brown hair and thick stubble not unlike Jerry’s. He wore a bright red jacket over a gray t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
Stephen knew he was being looked at and he simply stared back. “So,” he mumbled, getting up from the bedside chair and stepping to the window. He squinted out the shudders and frowned disappointedly. “Everything’s so gray today.”
Jerry looked over his shoulder briefly and nodded. “There’s a storm over head.”
“Ah. Yes.” Stephen let out a sigh. “A storm is coming. I guess this is just the calm.”
“If it’s a hurricane, can I name it Hurricane Overkill?” Jerry asked glumly while he stood from the bed. “First came the dead. Then came the wind.” He might have been joking, but his tone had a serious flatness to it, that it was hard to tell.
Stephen shrugged and gestured to the door. “Doubt it’s a hurricane. But you should start getting ready to see Calvin so he can do his weekly check-up.” He tapped his wrist to insinuate that he’d be there soon. “Time’s a-ticking.”
The bodyguard disappeared from view when Jerry stepped into the bathroom and started cleaned up. He stared at himself in the mirror and looked at disfigured white spot of flesh on his forehead. He raised his hand almost subconsciously and tapped the flesh to hear the discomforting metallic echo inside his head. He let out a soft scoff and combed his hair to help cover the scar.
Surveying his attire though the mirror, Jerry found himself in a pair of old blue jeans and a white dress shirt. He was getting increasingly sick of his own appearance. He carried on, though. Continuing with his morning routine, he eventually happened out of the room and ran into Stephen at the door into the hallway. As Jerry pulled open the door, he eyed the guard’s holster. “I’ve never seen you use that thing. Do you even know how to use it?”
Stephen frowned as he walked down the hall with Jerry, but replaced the disconcerting expression with a slight chuckle “I’d be more confident in your abilities than my own.”
Jerry looked at him with confusion. “I don’t follow.”
“You took a shot to the head,” Stephen said, “you fucking lived.”
“It’s not nearly as impressive as you’d think,” Jerry replied.
Stephen shrugged. Jerry felt compelled to feel the spot on his forehead and even started raising his hand, but Stephen stopped him. “You know the doctor doesn’t want you to mess with it. Something about those little screws irritating the underside of your flesh, remember? It’s kind of impossible to scratch.”
“Ah,” Jerry said as he lowered his hand. “That doesn’t sound too pleasant.”
“Not at all,” Stephen concluded as they neared the lobby doors.
Jerry and Stephen waited patiently in the lobby for the good doctor to arrive. Calvin pulled up outside in a small car and walked through two sets of doors to finally enter the opened, tall-ceiling room that bled out into a dining room and kitchen.
Calvin flashed Jerry a smile and shook his hand. “I see you’re up and ready.” Calvin walked past Stephen without acknowledging him; Jerry guessed the doctor wasn't particularly fond of the guard. Calvin sat his suitcase on a countertop, spreading it open and beckoning for Jerry to take a seat near him.
After his eyes, ears and nose were shined with a tiny flashlight, and Calvin had finished for a number of tests, the doctor smiled widely to deliver the good news. “You’re healthy. You should get out more, but you’ve healed nicely and have succeeded my expectations. I’ll talk with Josephine to see if she would mind taking you out.”
Jerry returned the smile and stood from his seat, stretching as he rose. “Thank you, Calvin.”
The doctor nodded. His expression took a sudden grim twist and he licked his lip worrying. “You’re healthy physically, Jerry. I’m not a psychologist, but you’d tell me if there were any problems.. mentally?”
Jerry stiffened slightly and bit his lip. “Define problem.”
Calvin shrugged. “Whatever ills you.” He sighed and scratched his neck. “If there is something you need to talk about, speak up. Secrets are always safe with me. You know that. But if you don’t want to talk right now, that’s alright, I need to be getting on my way soon.”
[Tell him about the nightmares.] PTSD cannot go untreated. I'm surprised how well he's healed. I retract my statement concerning if Jerry could 'do it'. Not sure if he couldn't without some nightmare flashback, but I'm sure he'll be fine.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 3)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel Courtyard—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
She pushed the glass d… moreoor open and stepped onto the cement pathway of the garden. A peaceful atmosphere enveloped her and suddenly the dark clouds overhead seemed less of a bad omen and more of a backdrop to the pretty plants in the courtyard. Josephine walked down the path with her hand trailing over a few leaves, quietly edging forward.
“Come to admire the flowers?” echoed a man’s voice. She turned to face the speaker and couldn’t help but reach for her holster. She let her hand hover over it as she looked at him. He was an older man in his sixties or seventies with completely white hair tied up in a ponytail. He chuckled when he noticed her hand above the pistol. “Well, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The soft, but friendly tone and laugh helped to ease the tension a little.
Josephine cracked an uneasy smile and gave a… [view original content]
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PART TWO OF TWO
Gateway to the Americas International Bridge—Laredo, Texas
The road ahead was blocked with stalled and abandoned cars, trucks, and an assortment of different vehicles on the road leading up to and on the bridge. It was four-lane with two pedestrian walkways on either side that spanned across the Rio Grande. Its official name was Gateway to the Americas International Bridge. Jake was forced to park about half a block away from it since the roads were so crowded. It caused Zafir to study the area around them with the gun never wavering.
“Why’d we stop?” he questioned, reminding Jake of the pistol by shoving it into his side, causing discomfort.
“We’re walking from here,” he replied to the other man, a serious, composed look on his face. “He’s across,” he added to satisfy Zafir’s curious for the time, gesturing to the far side of the bridge.
Zafir eyed the road ahead and threw his door open as Jake did the same. The cool air filled their lungs while Jake walked towards their goal, a pistol scratching at his back for every step of the way. They passed car after car as they neared it. The two were forced to hope a barrier and continued onward.
They stepped into the left lane since it remained clear of most of the dead traffic. Not many were trying to get into Mexico, he supposed. Many people wanted out, there were telltale signs of that everywhere. The cars were the first. There were several rotting corpses that looked like it hadn’t had the time to reanimate after being trampled, that was second. The third were the abandoned Border Patrol trucks that looked like they were trying to regulate traffic before their driver’s left or met their untimely end.
Jake stopped once they reached the relative center of the bridge. Zafir was behind him with the pistol still aimed to incapacitate him, so he could still get some answer. The biting silence was soon broken by Jake himself. “I want to know something.” His hazel eyes met Zafir’s blue ones. “Why are you pursuing Jerry to no end?”
Zafir angrily shook the pistol towards him. “You well! You should know better than anyone else what he did. He deserves to be punished for it!” The boiling frustration showed in his curled lip, revealing his teeth.
“I know what he did,” Jake replied with an unmoving glare. “He’s been punished for it. The shot you fired into his skull? Sure, he survived it, but he’ll never be the same. He’ll be crippled physically for a long time. He’ll be mentally handicapped even longer!”
“That’s not enough!” Zafir stammered. “He needs to suffer for what he did! He killed twenty of our own by starting a fucking chemical fire in Vincent’s lab and slit Vincent’s fucking throat! He needs to suffer more for that!”
The glare Jake shot at him took on a new meaning of frustration as he stabbed a finger at the other man. “You’ve been too focused on punishments, Zafir! Jerry isn’t anything like the bandits that took Melissa and Nina’s life!”
That sentence sparked a shrouded rage in Zafr as he stepped forward in a large stride and pistol whipped Jake once, causing him to painfully stumble backward. Although he caught himself before he fell, he caressed his pulsing, numbed cheek, staring up with a beam of anger resonating within his reddened complexion. The look Zafir shoot back was hateful. “Don’t mention my wife or my daughter again, or I will make you suffer!” He paused to let the statement set in. “Understood?!”
Jake pushed himself off the ground and stared daggers at Zafir, ignoring what he said. “Jerry isn’t like those bandits. Jerry isn’t evil. Jerry isn’t a rapist. Jerry didn’t kill you wife and daughter. Jerry is the fucking Messiah!”
The gun in Zafir’s hand clicked when he pulled the trigger and the hammer hit the primer. The click was the sign nothing had happened. It was a misfire. A dud. Zafir pulled back the slide and ejected the faulty bullet onto the pavement. He sighed deeply, appearing to calm down slightly, but the gun’s muzzle was pointed at Jake again. “Second chances all around,” he sneered. “Don’t test me again. You know I have it in me without a reasonable doubt.”
“You’ll kill me if I cross you again, is that it?” Jake replied without hesitation. “You just tried to shoot me, Carter.” Jake used his last name to express his frustration. To divide their names. “You’re making this so fucking hard to find a reason to think you’re still human. Do you even remember what I was to you? Did you forget about all those years?” With the pistol still pointed at him, Jake jabbed the other man with a finger. “I was like you goddamn son and you were like my dad!”
That outburst bought Jake a moment of silence from Zafir. His eyes still echoed with reminded fury as Jake went on.
“I lived under your guidance for so long. You were the voice of reason on my shoulder! You tried to stop me from pulling that fucking job in Odessa because you had common fucking sense when I was still a kid looking for thrills, attention!” He bit his lip until it turned white under the pressure. “And now, my own fucking father figure, you pointed a gun to me and pulled the trigger.” The look in his eyes was of a raging frustration. “Drop dead, you fucker.”
Jake stared at Zafir and he just stared back Their eyes met for what seemed like an eternity. Jake found hard to see since his moment had caused him to start crying with anger, exasperated with the thought of Zafir actually killing him. Until then, he believed there was hope for him. He believed Zafir could change. Look what all that false faith had gotten him? Nearly dead on a bridge.
“Give me Jerry and it won’t have to end this way,” Zafir offered with the still unwavering aim fixed now on Jake’s head. The kill switch. Jake doubt he would be lucky a second time. Their commotion had attracted several walkers already. If stayed much longer, they might end up dead.
Jake didn’t care anymore. There was no hope left for the man he once knew as a father figure growing up. All that remained was a shell. An empty vessel of hatred and anger, seeking revenge and playing the executioner. Playing god, some days. A monster. As much as he missed what Zafir used to be, he would never be the same again. The reply slipped out, it would surely kill him, but Jake was done holding back. “If Melissa or Nina could see you now, they wouldn’t even recognize what you’ve become. They would hate you.”
That sealed it, Jake thought. Now he’s going to kill me.
He saw the telltale signs that Zafir was going to kill him. The strengthening of his grip on the gun, preparing for the recoil of the killing shot. The face was what told him the most, though. An unwillingness to accept what Jake had said to be the complete truth echoed in his features and behind the bandages. Even the bandages couldn’t hide that anger and denial.
The shot echoed, not from Zafir’s pistol, but from a tall building on the American side of the border. It partially destroyed his face. Going through the back of the head, whatever kind of caliber fired by the sniper had completely killed and devastatingly, savagely blew out his brain matter and blood onto Jake’s clothes. It was shocking and almost terrifying to see the man crumble to the pavement. It seemed impossible. It seemed a blur as Jake collected the body of the man in his hands. The man was worthy of some respect. The monster deserved exactly what the sniper had done to him. Pity and sympathy—Jake was beyond that now. He held empathy towards both halves like he held the man. Running instinctively from the bridge with the lifeless body of his friend, father, leader, but also the crumpled form of a monster, shrouded by anger and his own looming shadow. Both halves were dead now. One died a long time before the other.
Act Epilogue:
Queens of the Stone Age - Kalopsia
I never lie to myself
Jake pulled up at the doctor's house with a blank expression as he pulled the body out and face the others.
Tonight
Jake noticed the conflicted look on Josephine's face as she looked at the body and at his displeause.
Rose tinted eyes
Josephine set her hand on Jake's shoulder comfortingly as he remained seat at the porch.
Color my sorrow a shade of wine
She rested her head on his shoulder as they simply stared off at the distance. He needed her presence more than ever.
Bye bye black balloon. See you real soon. Wave bye bye. Bye bye
Jake looked at a set of blueprints. A man in cargo pants with a sniper rifle slung over their shoulder plucked a note from the window.
Oh why you so sad. What have they done?
A man and woman walked through the open area with assault rifles as they mowed own any walkers they found, clearing room after room.
Forget those mindless baboons. They're off playing god
All the while, Jake remembered the man, not the monster. A calming aura was standing at his side at all times. He wasn't afraid with her near him, not anymore.
Copy cats in cheap suits, all playing it safe
Danny and Maria snuck into a public bathroom.
While cannibals with their noose, consume a parade
Ashley used the boltcutters to cut the chain holding the doors together like butter, entering a room full of supplies.
Is it wonderful?
Jake and Josephine settled in a bed together to rest.
Far, far from shore. Land of nightmares. Gone forever more
People moved into the area from a salvaged bus. They entered their new home. The likes of Zafir's and Harvest Hills alike.
And I love you more. Than I can control
Atlanta and Ashley watched Daniel play with another kid from a distance, smiling with each other.
I don't even try. Why would I
Jerry took a single, careful step in the presence of Calvin. The doctor smiled, thoughtfully thinking as they wrote.
Oh why the long face. You've got it all wrong
Sparks flied as the small piece of metal was formed, heated and followed by a sizzling dip in water.
Forget the lead and the rings. We'll choke chain them all
Calvin worked hard to bolt and screw the metal plate into Jerry's open skull while the man under.
These favor the ones. Who help themselves
Jerry looked at himself in a mirror at the bandaged over his forehead and the hesitantly tapped the metal in his head.
The rest feel the sting of the words. As they run. To hell
Lindsay and Keith sighing, entered Jerry's old house in Harvest Hills, tired and with nowhere to go anymore. Something was off about the house immediately. The two both noticed the mirror with pictures of Jerry tacked to it. Candles wax was still melted when they happened upon it. All the photos had one thing in common: Jerry looked somewhat drunk and dazed, smiling still, with a chocolate-skinned woman huddled next to him, smiling widely, always taking the picture.
A man was pushed from the shore, hands and feet nailed to the raft and set adrift down the Rio Grande by a figure hiding his face from the pale moonlight that threatened to reveal the bloodied mask of a fox covering their face. The figure looked at their feet and started walking back up the path, the warm Colorado night was fresh and the figure prepared a knife.
End of Act II: A Marching Band.
Act III: By Those Beyond; coming soon.
Eight months later and Beyond the Silent Wall.
I can say that I'm pretty scared for Eight months later.
Based on the preview though, it seems like Josie and Jake are going to hook up. There are other children, Ashley's going to get better, Jerry's alive, Sasha was and possibly still is at Jerry's place, another public bathroom scene (which concerns me because last time we were in a public bathroom, we got a murder confession and a sympathetic villain), and a whole group of fucked up people on the way.
It makes me wonder though, if Danny and Maria looked around, would they have found anything or would they have been found themselves?
I remember I said when I closed the voting that was a preview, really, if anything it is a vague epilogue of some stuff happening between the eight months. Sorry for the misconception.
They would have decided to set Jerry up in the house and discovered the identity of the sniper, it would have been peaceful and friendly (Happy stuff, yay!).
The concrescences of them not staying haven't been revealed yet, but it caused the delayed introduction of the sniper and it changes a few things in the coming act, as well as affecting Danny and Maria's relationship.
Should've stuck with the damn dog... well Zafir's dead and there's no more that I could have asked for
The friendly dog (including his master) will appear again in chapter eleven!
I gotta say, the incredibly friendly dog has been the least problematic charcter of the chapter and probably my favorite. I'm guessing not Phil's favorite though...
Phil the cat vs. the friendly dog. The battle of the century. Just kidding, though. I wouldn't really make really have them fight each other. That would be kind of messed up.
Phil's too cuddly to fight and the Friendly dog is too gosh darn fantastic to fight. Draw!
The purrfect ending!
I went looking for that Oh, you! Picture that was around like forever ago because I figured it would be really fitting but I couldn't find it. Puns!!! ba dum tsssss
Oh, you! Google is the answer to, like, everything imaginable!
Anyway, I gotta go. Goodnight!
That was a great chapter finale and a great act finale! Zafir went batshit insane one last time and I am both, surprised and immensely glad about his death. When he found out about Jerry's survival, I was truly scared for Jake's life. That was an intense scene, at the grave and later on at the bridge as well. For a moment, I was even convinced that Zafir would kill Jake and he honestly came close. I'm intrigued about the sniper. I mean, why has he shot Zafir, but spared Jake? Is he a good guy or just a really messed up bad guy who appears to be good at first?
Anyway, I am intrigued how it will continue from now on, more than ever. I definitely have not expected to see all three, Trevor, Clarice and Zafir die in this chapter. While that makes room for new villains, I am afraid for what will come in the future. Perhaps I'm going to miss the old villains soon. Well, except Trevor of course. No one will ever miss that piece of shit. But Clarice and Zafir were good characters, with complex motivations, who weren't all evil. And that made them quite fascinating. I am afraid about the next villains. Especially that guy with the bloodied fox mask in the epilogue sounds like a person even worse than Trevor, if that is even possible. But I have the bad feeling that he won't be the only threat the characters have to deal with in the next Act. Considering that he is located in Colorado, he seems to be mainly a threat to Vince and Zayne for now, but he can always travel down the Rio Grande himself.
Which brings me to the epilogue. It looks like Jake and Josie got a sweet relationship upgrade, which is great, but also scares me. While I'm overjoyed that both of them found a bit of happiness after all of the things that happened to them, there is no way they are going to manage to keep this happiness for the three remaining chapters. Nonetheless, I am curious how their new relationship is going to develop over the eight months. It looks like Jake is going to lead the new community, with Josie at his side. After this chapter finale, I also noticed how much Jake actually has in common with Josie.
It looks like Ashley fully recovers and she and Atlanta are apparently going to adopt Dan. That is similarly sweet and I am happy for them too. Hopefully Dan can adapt to a more peaceful live, after the past months have been hell for him. And finally, Jerry seems to be on the road to recovery. I guess there will be permanent damage, but the fact that he can start to walk again is a good sign. At least he won't be a complete vegetable and perhaps he'll find a way to live with his new condition. The sentence with him standing in front of a mirror, with a piece of metal in his head, somehow reminded me of Metal Gear Solid's Big Boss. Oh god, I'm never going to get that picture out of my head again
All in all, it looks like the characters all find some sort of happiness during the timeskip and this is great, but also terrible. Bad things are guaranteed to happen to happy people in an apocalypse, and I am afraid that no one is going to remain happy once the next Act is over. Also:
Jerry shrine confirmed!
Also, I was wondering about two alternative outcomes and perhaps you can answer me without spoiling anything: What would have happened if the group would have returned to San Antonio instead of Laredo at the end of Chapter 3? And, considering that I apparently made this choice alone, in the deleted part, what would have happened if I would have chosen for Josie to shoot at Trevor instead of hesitating a bit longer?
It's pretty unknown to me as well. It was before I revamped the planned acts and started piecing stuff together, so it was a time I hadn't thought everything through and wasn't sure about taking the group to Laredo, so I decided to give a chance to go back. Odds are things weren't have been as good, from both a writing standpoint and of the characters mental and physical health, it would have been grimmer.
Again, I don't think the choices through as much as I should, so I can only say there would have been contextual changes with Trevor's injuries and possibly another still undeadly ricochet that could have harmed Josie further.
So ends Dogma and act two. Dark clouds are on the horizon. It's time for the end-chapter questions to begin! Again you don't have to answer any or even all if you don't want to.
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
What are some themes you would like explored?
What characters do you think are in need of development?
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
Lastly, I'd like to recommend you check out Tobi's Forum Comic where submissions are open for a side story. Details are near the bottom of the last page. It shouldn't be too hard to find.
"Josie, I'm already a demon."
I almost felt bad for Zafir. Almost. I was pretty scared for Jerry's life. Not so much for Jake's, but Jerry's. God I was scared.
What the hell?
Oh dear God. It's a shame that it looks like Jerry and Sasha won't interact. I mean, I'm not even sure Jerry would be able to resist or even...do it. I've totally forgotten what I wrote for Sasha besides her craziness, so that's not good.
I feel like the body is Zafir and the guy is the sniper.
Metal in his head as in a metal plate. The bone won't regrow and fill the gap made by the bullet, so instead of haveing a mushing place on his head, he's got a metal plate. He could do cool parlor tricks with it.
Well, she's still in San Antonio and has a Jerry shrine. Lindsay and Keith know where the group went so they could always lead her to him. Allow me to remind you: "She likes to mess with Jerry's hair and her nickname for him is darling/love. She also gropes him unnecessarily." Haha. If she makes her way to the Jerry, things are going to get weeeird.
Expect it's implied they're in Colorado. I can also confirm this is neither Zafir nor Mr. Sniper.
Who are your favorite characters and why? Jerry, cause he's Jerry. Calvin saved him, that's nice.
Who are your least favorite characters and why? Zafir, I don't like him and I never will. Clarice is a bitch good thing she won't kill Jerry and Trevor is not nice.
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why? Jake, cause I like how he kind of got Zafir killed but he did some other stuff.
What characters do you sympathize with and why Josephine? I guess her brother's death still lingers with me.
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter? I kind of didn't like the lack of walkers, and was kind of confused why Zafir didn't just kill everyone, but other than that I greatly enjoyed it. It was refreshing.
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter? Not sure, I guess they go to the Safe Zone but it's bad?
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap? Well it seems Josie and Jake are an item and 8 months is interesting because 9 months is a full pregnancy and I feel that she might be pregnant. With a lack of birth control I would anticipate that.
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond? You mean What do you think? Dark clouds, so bad stuff. Herd?
What are some themes you would like explored? Now talking about it the pregnancy seems kind of interesting, and I think a reentry into civilization in a community?
What characters do you think are in need of development? Keith and Lindsay haven't been seen in a while, and Atlanta and Ashley too.
Any further speculation that you might like to include? That Sasha probably would freak out if Keith or Lindsay mentioned Jerry.
Who are your favorite characters and why?
For this chapter it is a bit harder than last time. Of course, Josie is among them, she was fantastic in this chapter. I loved the part where she fought against Trevor. While Jake did some stuff that really made me doubt his intelligence, mainly his forgiving stance towards Zafir and him turning a blind eye on Trevor, he fully redeemed himself in the last parts. And even though they had little to do in this chapter, I also realized that Atlanta, Ashley and Dan are among my favourites, simply because they have been around from the very beginning. Finally, there is Jerry of course. I'm looking forward for his new role in the story.
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
It is easily that fucking bastard Trevor. Pretty much everything that happened after the death of Stan was his fault in some way, by extension even the bad stuff that happened to Zafir and Jerry. And of course, I will never forgive him passively killing Anthony and actively kidnapping Josie. He deserved a lot worse than he actually got, but it is good that he is dead. After he fully lost it in his final part, I also stopped having a mixed opinion on Zafir. For most of the last two chapters, he was on a fine line between redeeming himself and becoming a monster, but in his final part he fully embraced his dark side and I lost every ounce of pity I ever had for him. However, in the end I like Zafir still a bit more than Trevor, because he was a very complex character. Trevor just felt like a flat character in comparison, as he was just evil, without all the complex motivations that made Zafir a compelling villain.
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
Clearly Clarice. She was a huge bitch for most of her lifespan and she tried to kill Jerry, which undoubtly qualifies her as a villain. However, her last act saved Josie's life. On top of that, the way she confronted Trevor was completely selfless in my eyes. There was little to gain from stopping Trevor and even if she would have succeeded, she would have lost time to pursue her vengeance and I guess she knew that. That proved to me that she wasn't all evil and it made me very conflicted about her.
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
The more I think about his situation, the more I sympathize with Jerry. The guy did so much for the whole group, he saved most of them at least once and in return he is now handicapped in some way. While it looks like he will recover at least partially, I am afraid for permanent consequences. Josie also had it rough in this chapter, considering that she was nearly killed by the same man who had already caused her brothers death. In her case, I am glad that she finally found some happiness for once. While I don't think I am too pessimistic when I say that I doubt it will last forever, I hope that her happiness will last for a long time at least.
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
This chapter was great! I loved the somewhat slower pace in the first half, it greatly helped with the character development. Especially Danny had a lot of development in this chapter. Naturally, I also liked the Josephine screentime. There can never be enough of that. The final parts, with Trevor attacking the group and Zafir going apeshit crazy have been a great conclusion to the chapter and the act as a whole. Together with the Chapter 3 finale, this was certainly my favourite chapter in this Act, it even topped the already awesome Chapter 4.
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
I guess this chapter will be a bit slower, more peaceful. The characters have settled down and some time should be needed to show their new way of life and other developments that happened during the timeskip. However, I guess we'll get a glimpse of the new main threat at the end of the chapter.
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
InGen brought up an idea that is interesting, as well as frightening. Considering that Josie hooked up with Jake now, and considering that eight months are almost a full pregnancy, I wonder if we'll see a pregnant Josie after the time skip. Of course, this would be nice in some way, however, I also dread this possibility. So far, apocalypse pregnancies have been very bad for the pregnant woman in question. Lori and Rebecca both died mainly because of their pregnancy. Perhaps Josie can be the first woman who actually survives childbirth in the Walking Dead franchise, but in the end it is a huge risk regardless of the outcome.
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
I think it is safe to say that things won't stay as happy as they are. While the new community might survive, I am convinced that there will be more hardships for the group. Right now, all of them seem to be happy, and while I like this a lot, I am afraid it can't stay that way forever. If Josie is indeed pregnant, I have the feeling that she will give birth sooner or later, perhaps during the act. And I am sure there is going to be a new villain coming. The fox-mask guy is probably the main villain for the Colorado arc, but there will be a new villain for the Laredo group too, I am afraid.
What are some themes you would like explored?
The life in the community and the rebuilding of civilization is the theme I am most interested in. I'd also like to see what kind of roles the group members have in the new community.
What characters do you think are in need of development?
We still know very little about Violet and out of the core group, I have the feeling that Ashley could be in need of some development. While Atlanta had similarly few scenes in the last two parts, she had a lot to do earlier and is already a greatly developed character in my eyes, while Ashley always seems to stand in her shadow. Perhaps now that they are in a different situation, with the safe zone and stuff, she could step up a bit.
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
I have the feeling that Sasha is going to encounter the group soon. She will meet up with Lindsay and Keith and will go on her way to the new community. And if she finally meets Jerry, things are going to get weird, very weird. I don't know what is going to happen, but I am unsure if I should anticipate or fear Sasha's arrival.
I had no good internet for a week and only found the time to catch up now and I have to say, holy shit, things got real! So much stuff happening
Who are your favorite characters and why?
Josephine was awesome, even more than last chapter. I really like her character, she and Atlanta are the most level-headed members of the group in my opinion. I also liked her fight against Trevor and it is good that she survived. I also liked Jake, who is a very complex character. It is nice that he got together with Josie in the end, they are adorable
Who are your least favorite characters and why?
Zafir and Trevor for obvious reasons. I dont even know who was worse. Zafir was the greater threat for the group but I think he was a better person than Trevor. Trevor was just evil and there was nothing good about his character while Zafir was almost redeemed for a short time. But I hate both of them and I am happy that they are dead.
What characters do you have a mixed opinion on and why?
I feel a bit sorry for Clarice in the end, because I think she could have been a good person if it wasnt for the death of Vincent. But I also dislike most of her actions, aside from her final action, so I have a mixed opinion on her. I am also not sure what to think of Violet. She seems nice and not evil like her brother but she also appears ditzy and a bit naive. I dont really like her.
What characters do you sympathize with and why?
Almost everyone from the group has been through a lot of bad stuff but I think Jake, Josephine and Jerry stick out. I have a lot of pity for Jerry after what happened to him and like his character a lot. Josephine has been through a lot of bad stuff on an emotional level and after the final part she still seems to be a bit of an emotional mess, so I feel very sorry for her.
Thoughts, criticisms, and general view on this chapter?
This chapter was awesome! I liked the pace and the character development for many of the characters. I also liked that it was a bit calmer at first, that was a good contrast to the first chapters of the Act, where the group was always on the run.Maybe it was my favorite chapter in the whole story.
What do you think will happen in the eleventh chapter?
Perhaps a new threat for the community will appear and the group has to deal with that. And I think Sasha will appear, either in Chapter 11 or in Chapter 12. I also think there will be a bit of exposition what happened to each group member during the eight months.
What else do you think happened during the eight-month gap?
Obviously, Jake became the leader of the community, he got together with Josephine and Jerry starts to recover. Perhaps Sasha already arrived at the community but I doubt it. I dont think that Josephine really got pregnant like InGen and Liquid speculate. Condoms and birth control pills are still around and I guess Jake and Josie have other things to worry about.
Where do you think awaits with By Those Beyond?
Things are going to get worse again. Right now, everything is so nice and happy and I fear that it cannot stay like this. Perhaps walkers are becoming a threat again and I am sure there will be more evil persons.
What are some themes you would like explored?
I dont know. Rebuilding of a society and the managing of a community sounds interesting. And perhaps adapting to this new society could be a theme, especially for characters like Jerry, Josephine or Dan, who have gone through a lot of physical or emotional trauma after the old society was destroyed.
What characters do you think are in need of development?
I dont know. We havent seen a lot of Maria and I think Jerrys new condition should also be developed. We also havent seen the Colorado people and Lindsay and Keith for a while, although I am far more interested in the new community at the moment. The Colorado and Lindsay/keith storyline never really got me as excited as the Harvest Hills group storyline.
Any further speculation that you might like to include?
This person with the bloody fox mask is definitely evil and could be the main villain for the Colorado storyline.
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 1)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
The cold chill of air passed by Josephine and pulled her awake. She stirred slowly at first. Finally, she sat up in a sleepy daze and looked around the hotel suite to find the balcony doors had blown open with a breeze. Carpetless, the cold wooden floor hit unpleasantly against her feet that were used to the warmth of the bed as she now threw her legs over the side and stepped onto it fully. At a slow and steady pace, she stepped out in her underwear onto it and looked over the courtyard. Sighing deeply, breathing in the fresh morning air, as she surveyed the area several stories below her. It was a large area with a small rock fountain in the center. A stone wall enclosed the yard squarely, the walls having a wooden frame canopy that jutted out from the wall, protruding about five feet, and on all sides except for the building itself. Vines covered the canopy and most of the pathway in the courtyard. It served mostly as a flower garden with very few harvestable plants growing there. Its main purpose was for relaxing, after all, and the loss of usable land was definitely justified by the neighboring park’s large grounds.
Dark storm clouds gathered on the northwest horizon. Yellow bolts of lightning streaked across the sky for a brief instant and was followed by the loud clapping of thunder. Like some of the seasonal flowers withering in the garden, the stormy skyline was like a bad omen. Josephine didn’t think over of it much at the time, however, though she inherently assumed there could more an ample amount of corpses, living or otherwise, floating down the Rio Grande because of it. As the day shift guard of Bridge One, Josephine feared she would have to fish out one festering body after another for the foreseeable future, which was likely going to be more or less a week.
At that moment, Josephine heard the mattress shift underneath Jake as he swung his feet off the bed. He took his pants off to compensate for the grueling humidity the night had suffered. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and soon found his discarded pants. While Jake threaded his belt, Josephine sat beside him.
He looked up and smiled warmly at her. “It’s still early,” he said while finally finishing with the buckle of his belt, “you don’t have to go to work for another hour or so. Sleep a little, eat breakfast—” he yawned into his open palm as he stepped across the room to a pair of tennis shoes, “—or relieve Kurt from duty a little early. Whichever works.”
Josephine looked at the wristwatch sitting on the nightstand and found it was six in the morning. Far too early for her to begin her job and a very early time for Jake to being doing anything. “Where are you going, then?” she asked. “Are you seeing Danny again, or is it Tommy?” The former brought pleasant memories of a kind boy to mind. The latter made her frown with mild disdain towards the rude man.
“I have to see Danny and Maria by the northern gate to head towards the lake today to take care of some business. We’ll meet someone that’s been living there for a while.” He tied the laces and rose above Josephine’s eye level with a smirk. “I’ll be seeing Tommy later today to talk about an expansion. Anything you want me to pass on?”
She shrugged tiredly. “Nothing he doesn’t already know.” Josephine rolled back over to her side of the bed and smothered herself with a warm blanket. She looked up momentarily. “Actually, you can tell him he’s an asshole,” she added half-jokingly.
Jake nodded lighthearted with a smirk on his face. He straightened his shirt and jeans, and then pulled his arms through a black overcoat. He reframed from buttoning it and clipped his pistol holster onto his belt along with one for his knife. A content, appreciative smile formed on his face with one foot already out the door. “Bye, Josie,” he said as he resigned himself from the room and close the thick hotel door behind him.
As tired as she was, Josephine knew it was time to dress and prepare for work. She rose from the bed and put on a light blue blouse, jeans, and a pair of sneakers, followed by a belt with a similar holster and knife sheath to Jake’s. She retrieved her 9mm pistol and released the magazine, and then followed through by cocking the slide back and letting the loaded bullet expel from the chamber. She counted eight bullets currently. The mag could hold twelve total, but eight rounds was the issued handgun ammo for the guards. Luckily their assault rifles would get a full magazine of thirty bullets. She returned the ejected bullet to the mag and shoved the mag back into the pistol to hear a click. She pulled the slide to cock it and applied the safety before she put in the holster.
Ultimately, she decided between showing up early for her job of the day shift guard on Bridge One or hanging around the garden for a while before it was time to leave. She always did find the courtyard to be a soothing place, even if the quiet shuffle of the dead could occasionally be heard from beyond the wall. It was still peaceful.
[Go to work early.]
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.]
There's a second point of view that I've been working on, but like this one, it needs some refinement. I'm hoping that we'll catch up with most if not all of the characters, each in their own little point of view soon enough. Right now it's Josephine, next will likely be Jake, followed by Jerry, and then some of the characters who have taken a back seat, including Atlanta, Ashley and Daniel. And more importantly, I haven't gone out right and explained everything about where the group is currently residing because I'll be fleshing it out with every part. So, there's going to be a lot of exposition but not all at once!
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.] This short of reminds me of my fan fictions' first part, albeit the opposite of it.
Nuevo Laredo. New Laredo. Clearly a community, and from the looks of it, there's multiple bridges across the Rio Grande which are not walled off and if they are, they have a gate. I assume there's a wall around the community's side of the river, and they fish bodies out to make sure they don't damage that.
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.]
Confound everything!!!! I unfollowed this story on accident and this happened!!! All caught up now, man, great frickin story.
[Hang around the courtyard until it's time for work.] Fantastic part
[Hang around the courtyard until it’s time for work.] A bit of relaxing can be nice at times.
Very good start for the new Act! I see, Josie and Jake are indeed in a pretty stable relationship and their current location seems safe, which makes me fear that one or both of these things might change in the future. However, right now she seems calmer and happier than she has ever been in the whole story, which is really great. Hopefully it will stay that way for a while longer.
Yeah, I see the resemblance, too.
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico is an actual city across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas that has several bridges connecting the two. I still haven't come up with a name for the community, however, I've gotten a few district names down. I have a few screenshots taken from google maps and will be constructing a map of what it looks like soon enough.
[Go to work early.]
Voting is closed!
(!) Josephine will hang around the garden before work
The new part is written and will be out momentarily!
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 2)
Eight Months Later
Jake Morrison—Southern Hub—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Jake stepped through the hotel lobby doors and stood still for a brief moment as he admired the scenery of the park. The barricades placed at the ends of the streets made the area an almost complete rectangle of safety. At more than twenty thousand square feet including the pavement, the place was largely open except for the trees and pre-built rest stops, benches, and a monument at the far left end of the park. In the center of the greenery was a giant metal flag pole that had a circular pathway wrapping around it, with off shooting stone paths in three directions. It previously flew a Mexican flag but had been replaced with a white one, that was more of a large bedsheet than anything else, to help signify they were peaceful. Of course, since it wasn’t an actual flag and wasn’t meant to be flying in the wind and weather, it had yellowed and decayed slightly, which was why they had to change it out every month or so. The park itself had plenty of buildings used as houses and Fairweather Hotel, all still within the rectangle of safety. It had several extending streets still not blocked off that lead to places like an old church. Bridge One and Two each had a connecting path that was equally safe.
He walked over the road and stopped under a tree that was situated near the edge of the park, and simply smiled while looking over the green area with cut back grass. It was only possible because Danny had recovered a push mowing that didn’t require gas. It had to be cut frequently, but it wasn’t a problem since they had kids perfect for the job; unable to leave the community on most occasions, the youngest of the population were often left with the small, closer to home jobs, this included the classic chore of mowing the lawn. The grass wasn’t the only notable thing about the park: gardens had taken over part of it and it had now become one of their main factors in growing food—the other was one on the opposite side of the Rio Grande, since they liked to mirror things in case the bridges were ever down or destroyed, so each side could theoretically function without there other should a problem ever arise and separate the two.
At this hour, only two gardeners worked the planters filled with soil and mulch, it was an elderly woman and her husband. Neither two possessed the physical strength to do much else and they made good gardeners.
What would have been a purple morning sky was blocked out by densely gray clouds that had darker, more sinister ones behind them. Lit by the grim light and northeast of the Southern Hub, Bridge Two was enclosed by two gates on either end that were manned by the night shift guard. The friendly smile from the guard greeted Jake as both approached each other.
“Hey, Jake,” said the night shift guard with a light Mexican accent in his voice. He wore a black jacket and dark blue jeans that complimented his black hair. He carried an M4A1 Carbine in his arms with a flashlight attached to the muzzle so the guard could scan the waters below the bridge during the night. They had taken up the habit of fishing out any bodies floating down the river. Most were either reanimated walkers, drowning victims. They’ve yet to have a living person float by. Due to the difficulty of getting a corpse out of the water, once they confirmed it was a walker they sent on its way. Finally, he flipped the latch and allowed Jake onto the bridge.
The two walked to the other end in a calm, peaceful silence. Jake noticed the guard kept eying the waters for signs of movement. Though he never said it, Jake always feared Josephine would be on the bridge when something happened ever since he had a nightmare where she fell into the water below the bridge and was dragged under by living corpses. The dream shocked him for the whole morning and bit at him every time it passed in his thoughts.
However, they reached the other side of the bridge in one, complete piece and Jake was let through the gate and onto American soil where the other half the community was situated. He soon neared the farthest northern part of the area after a minute or two of walking, he arrived at the large gate that spanned across the street. It was a dark green, thick plastic that stood six-feet-tall and had a sturdy metal frame, with a red pickup truck parked near it. Standing by the gate was Danny. He had a bitter expression as he listened to the shambling from beyond it. Jake could faintly hear the dead groan as he approached.
“Jake,” he said quietly as the teen’s eyes met his. “The truck’s ready. Maria’s still on her way, though. But we’ve got a problem,” he pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the morning noise, “more of the dead are outside than usual.”
“I see,” Jake replied as peered over to get a good look. Seven, he counted. The dead noticed his head above the gate and started towards him, moaning as they clawed at the plastic that kept them from reaching Jake. “We can handle it before she gets here,” Jake said decidedly.
Danny raised a doubtful eyebrow and waved a hand dismissively. “Probably not the best idea,” he advised with a level of calmness in his voice. The late teen stood on his toes to look over the gate and frowned distastefully when he saw the walkers outside. “Definitely not worth the risk,” he concluded.
“C’mon, Danny, where’s your sense of adventure?” Jake raised his eyebrows high and spread his arms in the air as he produced a large knife from his belt. “We’ve got this.” Jake’s tone flowed with confidence that he could easily back up with decisive action.
Danny, however, was still somewhat doubtful, but his face lightened slightly at the energized gesture. He frowned in thought and looked Jake over to see if he might be ready. His expression seemed positive and shrugged lightly. “If you’re absolutely sure...” He eyed the gate thoughtful and returned to Jake. “If you’re sure, I’m up for it.”
[Agree to take on the walkers with Danny.]
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.]
I'm not completely sure who will star as the point of view in the next part, but I have several characters in mind. Mainly Atlanta or Ashley, with a strong possibility it might be Jerry, I also have characters within the safe-zone that have yet to appear with points of view planned. And I know it's starting out a little slow, and will probably keep a similar pace for a while longer, but we've yet to reach, well, in all honesty the plot device of this act. Parts have been a little short, too. They account for little over a legal-sized page each on docs. Hopefully when the plot starts to thicken, things will take off and the writing will have more direction. Anyway, thank you for reading!
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.]
[Agree to take on the walkers with Danny.]
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.]
[Agree to take on the walkers with Danny.] Let's get Jake killed.
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.] Rashness is not the answer. usually. Unless it is. In which case... Dang it.
Great part!
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.] Well, let's not to do anything rash here. No need to get in danger.
Jake's nightmare is a pretty frightening thought. I mean, it's sweet that he cares for Josie enough to even get nightmares about something happening to her, but I hope that it wasn't foreshadowing. Though it reminded me of a question I wanted to ask. In your original plan for Act 2 Chapter 5, you said that Zafir, of all people, would have saved Josie from such a situation. Does that mean that Zafir was originally planned to survive the chapter?
It was originally planned that Zafir would save Josie, survive, lead the group somewhat, and face-off with the next threat where he may/may not have died.
[Elect they wait for their Maria to be their backup.]
I definitely dont want to get Jake killed because of this, he and Josephine are just too cute together
Now I cant wait for Jerry to reappear because I am very courious how he developed in the eight months and what kind of damage the bullett did to his brain. Im a bit scared for him.
Voting is closed!
(!) Jake and Danny will wait for Maria
Sorry for my inactivity, but recently I pulled something in my neck and it made doing most things a pain yesterday. It wasn't anything major. Today, however, it's much better and it'll hopefully be gone by tomorrow. I haven't gotten the chance to do much writing because of it, but I should have something to post soon. Again, sorry for my inactivity on a lot of forum stories, I'll try to catch up ASAP. They'll be more characters introduced this chapter, I've already dropped a few names, but there's more to come next time. Thank you all for your incredible patience! Soon you around!
Edit: Soon you around? What the hell. Anyway, I'll *see you around soon!
Soon you around, Hope! Take as much time as you need, the writing is already fantastic
CHAPTER ELEVEN (Part 3)
Eight Months Later
Josephine Harper—Fairweather Hotel Courtyard—Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
She pushed the glass door open and stepped onto the cement pathway of the garden. A peaceful atmosphere enveloped her and suddenly the dark clouds overhead seemed less of a bad omen and more of a backdrop to the pretty plants in the courtyard. Josephine walked down the path with her hand trailing over a few leaves, quietly edging forward.
“Come to admire the flowers?” echoed a man’s voice. She turned to face the speaker and couldn’t help but reach for her holster. She let her hand hover over it as she looked at him. He was an older man in his sixties or seventies with completely white hair tied up in a ponytail. He chuckled when he noticed her hand above the pistol. “Well, I didn’t mean to startle you.” The soft, but friendly tone and laugh helped to ease the tension a little.
Josephine cracked an uneasy smile and gave a short nod. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, folding her hands in front of her. “I thought I was alone at this hour.”
“It’s alright. You didn’t shoot me, after all.” The old man flashed a smiled and inclined his head towards the seat next to his. “Have a seat.”
Josephine gave another short nod as she walked to the man and seated herself near him. She studied his demeanor for a bit and, for starter’s, he seemed like a morning person. He sat relatively straight which was bound to be hard at his age, and he wore a bright button-up shirt, boots, and an old pair of blue jeans. “I don’t think we’ve met,” Josephine noted. “What’s your name?”
The man sensed she was sizing him up and found another chuckle. “My name is Jefferson. Jefferson Mclannon if you still care about last names.” He raised his eyebrows and looked off. “I’m surprised you think we haven’t met, you’re one of the bigshot council members. Would’ve thought you’d know most everyone’s name.”
Josephine shifted in the seat and looked at Jefferson and pointed a finger at him. “It’s not nearly as formal as you think. We sit around a coffee table and—” She stopped and licked her lips when she noticed the smile on the man’s face and realized that he wasn’t being passive aggressive. “Have we met?” she finally asked.
“No,” Jefferson replied with a mischievous grin. “I did, however, meet your…” he waved his hand in the air in front of him as he spoke, “husband, boyfriend, partner. Whichever he is, he’s a nice man. Lucky to find him, I’d say.” Josephine nodded politely at him and he decided to change the subject. “So, why did you jump?”
“I didn’t jump,” Josephine replied, maybe a little too quickly. “I reached for my gun. It’s... different.”
Jefferson nodded, brushed over her reply and continued. “Something on your mind? Is something bothering you?”
The man reeked of a fatherly attitude and Josephine didn’t want to have any of it. “No. I’m fine,” she answered sternly.
“Then why did you reach for your gun?” Jefferson frowned slightly and sat back in his chair as he gave it some thought. “You’re on edge at… what? All times?”
“Fine. Yes,” Josephine admitted. “But can you blame me?”
“Of course not. I don’t think anything of it,” he replied.
“Then why did you asked?” she questioned, mild annoyance in her tone.
“I was curious,” he answered with a strikingly somber expression. The man licked his lips, tapped the armrest of his chair and sat forward in a precarious position. “Honestly, I would’ve jumped as well. But in my case, it helps to be aware of your surroundings, you know. You wouldn’t be caught off guard if you were looking over your shoulder.”
“I look over my shoulder,” Josephine snapped softly.
“Not as well as you think.” He spun his finger around the air in front of him. “If you were on guard here, in your peaceful place, I wouldn’t have been able to startle you. You’ll find you’re caught off guard the most at home, work, places where you don’t bother to look around because you don’t expect something to jump out at you.”
“Is this going anywhere?” Josephine questioned uninterestedly.
“Yes.” He leaned closer to her and flashed a half smile. “If you were as careful here as you were comfortable, you’d notice the peeping tom climbing over the wall as we speak.”
Josephine immediately stood from her chair and looked past a thicket of bushes and vines to see a sneaker retreating behind the wall. “You son of a bitch,” she snapped at Jefferson as she ran to the wall and pulled herself up. She peered over its lip and saw no one running. Turning back, she jogged back to Jefferson and jabbed him with a finger. “You knew!”
He looked beyond Josephine for a second with the expression of being deep in thought and then finally returned to Josephine. “Maybe,” he shrugged. “I might have guessed part of it and assumed another half, but c’mon, you’re perception could really use some tuning.”
She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him. “You know what?” she huffed with another step backward. “I’m not going to satisfy you. My perception is fine. You, on the other hand, need to work on your people skills. What’s wrong with you, why not tell me there was some pervert hiding in the garden?”
That made the man smile widely, and he reached for the table and brought a glass of tea to his lips. Taking a sip, he answered her. “Relax. It wasn’t a creepy old guy, it was a kid being a stupid teenager. Catch him. Tell him there will be consequences and he’ll reform. And didn’t I tell you about his presence? After all, if your perception was fine, I would have thought you’d notice the guy scaling the wall just a couple yards from you.”
“Listen, I wasn’t looking for someone—” she began but Jefferson spoke up again.
“You see, I guess that was your problem, then.” He swished the liquid around its glass and flashed a concerned fatherly expression complete with the same tone of voice. “If you don’t start taking in your surroundings sooner, it’ll be the death of you.”
Josephine paused when she caught the worry in the man’s voice. It alone compelled her to listen longer. She brushed a brown strand of hair from her eyes and sighed deeply. “Go on, then. How do I go about that?”
Jefferson smiled reassuringly and fell further into his chair, the glass of tea held loosely in by his hands. “Start by being ready for anything. Expect a dead fella around every corner—but don’t go as far as become paranoid. Maybe don’t step out in your underwear, either, so you don’t let a peeping tom have an eyeful.”
“Wait.” She paused and narrowed her eyes at the elderly man. “Did you see… anything?”
“A little,” he admitted, “but I, being a faithful man, looked away. Kids like that, they don’t have such obligations.”
“Well,” Josephine said, clapping her hands together as she rose, “perception and common sense are your main life lessons? Let’s start with one of those, then, huh? Can you tell me what he looked like? You want to set me straight on the path of survival, let’s take care of this first. I’ll confront this kid and make sure he learns a lesson.”
“I don’t exactly see how that puts you on the path of survival.” Jefferson nodded, though, and added, “I’ll still tell you what I know. Straighten this kid out. They’re a kid, after all. Considering the circumstances, they might not have a parent to set them down the right path. Nonetheless, I’d be stern with him if I were you.”
Josephine gave an understanding nod that looked convincing, and asked, “Then what did he look like?”
“Short, around four and a half feet tall. Long brown hair. Glasses. Wore jeans and an orange shirt, I’m almost ashamed you missed it.” He gave a short shrug, and then finally added, “And his name is Freddie Gomez.”
“Jesus!” Josephine exclaimed under he breath. “You could have started with the name!” The description suddenly set in and she exclaimed further. “Wait, wait, wait—four and a half feet tall? Fuck, how young are they? Are they even a teenager?”
Jefferson gave another shrug. “I’m old, my eyesight isn’t the best,” he confessed, but it felt like he was just saying that. “Any other questions that you might want to ask about the peeping tom?”
“No. The name is all I’ll ever need,” Josephine replied while she walked back towards the hotel. She wore a confident expression.
“How so?” Jefferson asked as she retreated from view.
She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “We keep a log of names to help keep track of everyone. If he’s a member of our community, I’ll find him and I’ll have a good long talk with him.”
That satisfied Jefferson’s curiosity and he let her go back inside the hotel. He sighed glumly and took a of his tea while glancing around the garden. Jefferson finally swished the drink around its glass one last time before he had his fill of the peaceful outdoors. He rose and started walking towards the doors, Josephine was already out of view, but he followed the same path into the Fairweather Hotel lobby.
Jerry Stewart—Gilbert Hotel—Laredo, Texas
The world looked like it was all over. Standing in the middle of the neighborhood, Jerry stumbled, half drunk. The dusk light distorted the street and everything past ten feet was a blur. Jerry continued at a drunkard’s pace forward with a bottle in hand as he looked at the jury-rigged mesh of metal that coated the gate. It fell with a tantalizingly numb, metallic echo and the dead poured in, and Jerry was forced to stand and watch as the nightmare unfolded.
The dark room was poorly lit and the little light that did enter the room only highlighted the sharp corners of a wooden table and the bed frame. Jerry’s eyes slowly opened with a deadened expression and he reluctantly rose from the stiff mattress. He climbed out of bed and pulled open the curtains to let the late morning illuminate the room and by consequence the man sitting in the chair by the bed.
The man’s face twisted into a bitter look and tried to shield his eyes from the diluted, but still harsh light. “Christ,” he muttered in annoyance. “A word of warning is appreciated, you know?”
“Sorry, Stephen.” Jerry somberly walked back to his bed and sat there facing Stephen Bennett. Jerry did what he always did: he studied the man the best he could, but he still never could figure him out. He had short brown hair and thick stubble not unlike Jerry’s. He wore a bright red jacket over a gray t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
Stephen knew he was being looked at and he simply stared back. “So,” he mumbled, getting up from the bedside chair and stepping to the window. He squinted out the shudders and frowned disappointedly. “Everything’s so gray today.”
Jerry looked over his shoulder briefly and nodded. “There’s a storm over head.”
“Ah. Yes.” Stephen let out a sigh. “A storm is coming. I guess this is just the calm.”
“If it’s a hurricane, can I name it Hurricane Overkill?” Jerry asked glumly while he stood from the bed. “First came the dead. Then came the wind.” He might have been joking, but his tone had a serious flatness to it, that it was hard to tell.
Stephen shrugged and gestured to the door. “Doubt it’s a hurricane. But you should start getting ready to see Calvin so he can do his weekly check-up.” He tapped his wrist to insinuate that he’d be there soon. “Time’s a-ticking.”
The bodyguard disappeared from view when Jerry stepped into the bathroom and started cleaned up. He stared at himself in the mirror and looked at disfigured white spot of flesh on his forehead. He raised his hand almost subconsciously and tapped the flesh to hear the discomforting metallic echo inside his head. He let out a soft scoff and combed his hair to help cover the scar.
Surveying his attire though the mirror, Jerry found himself in a pair of old blue jeans and a white dress shirt. He was getting increasingly sick of his own appearance. He carried on, though. Continuing with his morning routine, he eventually happened out of the room and ran into Stephen at the door into the hallway. As Jerry pulled open the door, he eyed the guard’s holster. “I’ve never seen you use that thing. Do you even know how to use it?”
Stephen frowned as he walked down the hall with Jerry, but replaced the disconcerting expression with a slight chuckle “I’d be more confident in your abilities than my own.”
Jerry looked at him with confusion. “I don’t follow.”
“You took a shot to the head,” Stephen said, “you fucking lived.”
“It’s not nearly as impressive as you’d think,” Jerry replied.
Stephen shrugged. Jerry felt compelled to feel the spot on his forehead and even started raising his hand, but Stephen stopped him. “You know the doctor doesn’t want you to mess with it. Something about those little screws irritating the underside of your flesh, remember? It’s kind of impossible to scratch.”
“Ah,” Jerry said as he lowered his hand. “That doesn’t sound too pleasant.”
“Not at all,” Stephen concluded as they neared the lobby doors.
Jerry and Stephen waited patiently in the lobby for the good doctor to arrive. Calvin pulled up outside in a small car and walked through two sets of doors to finally enter the opened, tall-ceiling room that bled out into a dining room and kitchen.
Calvin flashed Jerry a smile and shook his hand. “I see you’re up and ready.” Calvin walked past Stephen without acknowledging him; Jerry guessed the doctor wasn't particularly fond of the guard. Calvin sat his suitcase on a countertop, spreading it open and beckoning for Jerry to take a seat near him.
After his eyes, ears and nose were shined with a tiny flashlight, and Calvin had finished for a number of tests, the doctor smiled widely to deliver the good news. “You’re healthy. You should get out more, but you’ve healed nicely and have succeeded my expectations. I’ll talk with Josephine to see if she would mind taking you out.”
Jerry returned the smile and stood from his seat, stretching as he rose. “Thank you, Calvin.”
The doctor nodded. His expression took a sudden grim twist and he licked his lip worrying. “You’re healthy physically, Jerry. I’m not a psychologist, but you’d tell me if there were any problems.. mentally?”
Jerry stiffened slightly and bit his lip. “Define problem.”
Calvin shrugged. “Whatever ills you.” He sighed and scratched his neck. “If there is something you need to talk about, speak up. Secrets are always safe with me. You know that. But if you don’t want to talk right now, that’s alright, I need to be getting on my way soon.”
[Tell him about the nightmares.]
[Ask if he has something against Stephen.]
[Thank him and send him on his way.]
[Tell him about the nightmares.] PTSD cannot go untreated. I'm surprised how well he's healed. I retract my statement concerning if Jerry could 'do it'. Not sure if he couldn't without some nightmare flashback, but I'm sure he'll be fine.