CHAPTER 27 - Easy or Hard Choices

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It was the next new day later since the previous one, exactly when Eden returned to Safe Haven from her lookout post and watch duties on her first assessment about the new living survivors that are there in Z-city.

Eden came back home to Safe Haven the last night before since she saw nothing more about the people from her intently staring sights, but she's not giving up to look over and stare at them more as she prepared and readied herself for another day of stalking and watching the potential friendly survivors at that time and day.

Her children Michael and Annie were delighted to have her back when she returned last night, but then they instantly became disappointed and upset when Eden told them that she'll still go out more to continue watching the survivors and see if they are friendly or not. They understood what she was saying but they didn't like that they were being left alone for almost two whole days since she's been gone from the first one over watching the new group of survivors that came passing through and into Z-city.

Despite that the kids and Archer the puppy already have food essentially prepared and made by their guardian while she's gone out on the city runs but they understand that this is important to know more about the people before Eden decides whether they can be taken and brought to Safe Haven or not. Eden reassured them once more that she'll be back safe and alive and well once she's done with her final assessment, and also reminded them about the walkie-talkie comm they still have on their hands and they can contact her if they want and that she'll contact them to let them know she's alright and everything.

After Eden prepared the meals for breakfast and lunch, she went and took breakfast with her group there in Safe Haven, and covered the meals for lunch later for the children and the puppy, and when they finished, she gave Michael and Annie touching goodbyes and firmly ordered the puppy, Archer, to look after them well, even though the growing small dog seems to understand a bit and follow orders besides looking playful as it is a puppy after all.

But after Eden is satisfied that her children will be fine, she left Safe Haven with Luna again and drove through Z-city in the same black motorcycle she had always used back then before up to now, without changing her mind about switching vehicles to another, as she drove to the same spot where the survivors are still holding up over there and taking shelter temporarily for the time being or so.

Eden went into the same building that she set up as a lookout and watch post, got into the same room the day before, and then readied her position, as usual, to keep a close watch and stare at the group of survivors right across from her place, with binoculars and the sniper rifle's scope again, that she brought with her.

Eden silently sat down on the chair after cleaning it a little, and quietly set the essentials out, including the packed snacks and sandwiches she brought, since she might be staying in there for another whole day until sundown or night-time again, and it will depend on the situation or something that might enforce the hard decision onto her whether she should stay the night over or not, if anything else happens or something even worse or so.

Eden patted Luna who lay quietly beside her and behaved obediently as it turns its head to look over to where she was looking too with ears perked up high on its head. Eden smiled at the sight from her loyal dog before she snapped herself out of it and focused on looking through the binoculars and sharply staring right at the survivors moving about from the other building across from her very eyes and see more of what was going to be revealed about this group of survivors before her.

So far there's nothing and the only thing still that's being shown or revealed to her very eyes through both scopes is that they are friendly kinds of people and there's nothing maliciously hidden from them or anything nefarious or bad that she can see about them.

It took almost a long time as the hours passed by and time moved on as it's now after lunch-time when Eden silently placed a small bowl of dog food and water before her dog Luna and then ate her prepared lunch which is a small ration of bread sandwiches she made before in Safe Haven.

All Eden could see and far as she can tell from watching on her post as quiet as everything still around them, is that the group of survivors in the other building still seemed determined and desperate to look for supplies that are available near their shelter in Z-city and they seem to be in a hurry to get out of there quickly before more dangers or threats might come at them and kill them all, such as zombies or maybe hostile kinds of living people if there are any lurking around or something.

Eden had made sure that she listened through her commlink that if there were any possible threats or hostiles about, but so far there is nothing but the usual quiet silence, except some noisy sounds of roaming Beta-Z that are milling about or going across, and only a few faint growls or snarling sounds from Omega-Z or Alpha-Z that might be prowling about, searching for live human prey.

Eden also made sure that she watched out for those specific noises from the most dangerous zombie types and note where they are before they might come closer to the location of the new survivors. Even though she could see that they were equipped with weapons of guns, bows, arrows, and machetes, and anything she can see that they have as useful weapons on hand. But she knew that she was going to have a very tough and hard decision she has to think deeply and makeup before it happens and she'll lose her chance of knowing more about the people if they turn out to be friendly and good in the end.

It looks like that her mind is in a whirling blur of sorts like she's trying to make up her mind, change it and then finalize her choice and make her decision. So after eating her sandwich, drinking water from a packed water bottle, cleaning up, and then continuing her watch post on them, she decided to also write a new entry into the journal which she brought it along again on that day.

Eden smiled a bit when Luna lay down comfortably to take a short nap or something, even though she could see that her dog still had its ears perked up alertly to listen or hear anything in case her master might miss it, and then she started writing the new entry and update into her journal about the living survivors.

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JOURNAL ENTRY: DAY UNKNOWN, 10TH MONTH OCTOBER, YEAR 2XXX

Hey, it's Eden again.

I'm back and still alive and well.

But so far, I'm not getting any progress on staring at the new group of survivors and assessing intently whether they are truly friendly or not.

Despite that I don't see any danger or threat coming off from them, from what I could see and look over here in my lookout post and watching position, I'm not letting my guard down into thinking that they're the good kind of people, since I know better from reading a few books back in Safe Haven that in some rare cases among people, there's a hidden evil beneath the surface of a good-looking friendly appearance.

Truth and fact, for example, are such the infamous serial killers back in the old days very long ago, and it still rings true even with the zombie apocalypse going on still and such.

Boy, I'm going to be having difficulties a bit in making easy or hard choices about whether or not I should confront these living survivors to find out more about them and truly see whether they are truly good people or not.

But I can't risk exposing myself and revealing my presence if I try that route and I might end up getting hog-tied and become their prisoner if ever possible they think that way once they see me or something.

So I'm going to need to watch and look out on them more maybe a few more days or so--actually, I think I should go on three days, to be exact--before I finally decide and make my assessment on these survivors whether they're worthy to be brought over and taken back home to Safe Haven.

Ugh, at this rate…this small amount of time I spent hanging out here is going to worry my children even more, and there's a possibility that they might expose me by accident to the survivors, even though they're far away on that other building right across from mine.

I'm going to have to make my decisions soon before something might happen, as I suddenly started getting bad feelings or eerie sinking feelings churning deep within my gut, that keep telling me that I should go back to Safe Haven and stay there until those negative feelings within me stop.

I don't like the feels of those when I first started sensing and getting them when I did.

But I knew that I can't just get out and leave these people alone since there's a risky chance that they might stumble into spotting Safe Haven and start thinking about looking into it and then find out about us.

Even though Safe Haven is very far away from this temporary shelter for these new people, I am not willing to take that risk at all. So I need to think deeply and be quick and fast about making up my mind on either easy or hard choices that I have to decide on, concerning these survivors.

Hopefully, it won't take too long, or something unexpected might happen to show off the true nature and colors of these people and I'll finally get my assessment of them and the situation at that very time if it happens or not.

So the next update the next time writing the new entry into this journal will be about my final decisions about these survivors and what I have decided on what to do with them once it's over and done with.

Hopefully, it will turn out well in the end, and I'll be coming home safe and alive and well.

But I should be really careful not to jinx it. I'm serious.

Such as one of the survival rules on my list goes, as important as the few other ones are on there, RULE #24: Do not jinx it.

Including this rule too, that is RULE #25: Be wary of anything, even your own shadow.

Until then the next time at the new journal entry, this is Eden signing off.

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After Eden finished writing the new entry into her journal, she hid the small book away in her bag again and then resumed watching and staring at the survivors in the other building as quiet and intently as long as she can, until the time came for her to go back and return to Safe Haven.

So far, there's been no other movement, other than the usual tasks the survivors have been doing such as a few of them going out into the city to search for supplies with food and water as the important musts, and seeing that the rest are holding down their temporary fort and watching out for any threats or dangers, even though they're still unaware of their watchful silent stalker right there in their very midst and near their area across from them.

Eden was satisfied that nobody from that survivor group has noticed or was aware of her presence as she continued watching them and she quieted Luna with a small gesture when the dog whined a bit like it doesn't like sticking around here, the same as she doesn't want it too. But Eden is not leaving her spot until something finally shows something or was revealed right into her eyes upon knowing about these people and she won't give up or stop until she gets and knows everything that she needs to and make her final decision about these survivors.

Either by coincidence or fate…Eden is going to be faced with an unexpected surprising event that will help her to decide on these survivors and it might force her to make up her mind and have to make a choice, whether she wants to or not. This unexpected event that's going to happen--will come unexpected and surprising that might change the course of hers, as well as her group's survival too right there in Z-city.

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