Recruitment

A handful of people stood up in support of the man who started the mini rebellion to the surprise of many, not least of all, the leaders of the camp.

"Frank, what are you doing?! We are moving for the betterment of everyone here! We didn't come to this decision lightly!"

"Fuck that! How do we know you aren't leading us into danger?! We have a good thing going here right now! Why should we leave?!"

Frank's statement was followed by even more words of affirmation this time. It seemed like the longer that this went on, the more people were going to join his side and refuse to leave.

Scott and Jerrod did their best to quiet the dissension that was quickly growing but they were losing hold on the crowed quickly.

Frank and a few other people were throwing insults at and questioning the leadership. They were accusing the leadership of doing uprooting the settlement for their own benefit. It didn't seem to occur to the people that it was because of the four people standing before them that they had managed to establish the current settlement.

That was when a voice washed over the entire crowd. It was laced with anger and forced everyone to listen to it whether they wanted too or not.

"Listen here people, you don't want to come with us? Fine. Don't come with us. We are providing you with a chance to find a safe haven where you can live your life without worry as long as you put in the work to contribute. However, we are not going to force you.

If you feel that you have a good life here, then good for you, but you will have to protect that safety on your own from now on."

Grant was truly pissed at the arrogance of these people. He could tell that none of the people who had stood up and spoke out against the move, were people with any semblance of strength. They were normal people through and through.

After Grant's words died down, silence returned to the courtyard. The people who had originally spoke out against the leadership were now the only ones standing up with stupid looks on their face.

As much as they were against the move, they knew that if all of the fighters left to go to the new location, then they would be well and truly fucked. They had no power to defend themselves against the monsters and they would die a quick and inevitable death.

Taking advantage of the silence, Scott resumed his speech from where he left off before Frank and his cronies interrupted.

"I know you guys are scared. And I understand completely why you don't want to move from this location. We have managed to create a place where we can gather people and move forward in these dark days. However, Grant here, has provided us with a place to go that will be far safer than where we are now.

I just need to point to this morning as an example that the monsters are becoming stronger and harder to fight. If we remain here, it is unlikely that this place remains safe for much longer.

Grant has graciously offered to take a handful of people with him tomorrow to train and level up so that we can better defend ourselves.

If you would like to join him and gain the strength to defend your families or friends, please come see us after we are finished."

Unlike before, the people listened to what Scott had to say without interrupting and over the next half hour, Scott shared as much information as he could with the people so that they could understand why the decision had been made.

When Scott told the people where they would be headed, there had been some slight discord again because it was hard for people to accept that they would be moving into, for all intents and purposes, a cave. But no one raised too much of a fuss because they were all a little scared of Grant who was standing next to Scott in front of the crowd.

But when they realized that defending the entrance of a cave would be far easier than defending an entire 360 degree perimeter, they understood why the decision had been made.

When Scott was done sharing as much information as he could with the people, he brought to close the impromptu gathering and people gradually returned to their living quarters.

After a majority of the crowd had dispersed, a group of men and women approached the area where Scott and Grant had given there speech because they wanted to volunteer to join the training session the next day.

There was a wide variety of ages within the group and it was a 75/25 split between men and women.

Some of them looked to be scared, some had put on a brave face, and others looked like they were ready to face the devil head on if it meant that they could keep their family safe.

Grant respected these people more than anyone else in the camp because he could relate to what they were feeling right now. He told himself that he would do his utmost to make sure these people were prepared to defend their fellow survivors.

There was one person within the group of volunteers however, that Grant had not expected to see.

At the end of the line was the friend he had run into just a few days after The Path's emergence.

Seeing Ethan standing in the line, Grant walked over to him directly.

"Hey Ethan, I am glad to see that you are still alive. Have you been holding up alright?"

Ethan had seen Grant heading toward him and put on a smile, but Grant could tell that something was wrong because he didn't have the same carefree smile he normally had.

"Hey Grant, I'm alright. I'm starting to feel like I've lost my way a bit... When we left you that day to head towards this place, we were attacked by a group of monstrous dogs and a large portion of my group was killed. A few of the people with me, even sacrificed themselves so that I could live."

Grant listened to Ethan speak and gave him reassuring pats on the shoulder knowing that no matter what he said at this time, it wouldn't amount to much. Similar to how there was really nothing he could say to Ally to help her move past the death of her husband or the trauma she faced at the hands of Jeff and his goons. It was something that they needed to do at their own pace. Most people in a situation such as theirs, just needed to know that someone was there for them if they needed to talk. Which it seemed like Ethan had not had the chance to do.

"I'm sorry, I know everyone here has lost people and I should not be so caught up on it, but it's starting to feel like God has abandoned us...

I can't help but question what or who I am if God has abandoned me. So when I saw you, and heard what Scott said about you helping people to level, I knew I had to step up.

Even if God has abandoned me, I will not allow myself to fall to ruin. In memory of those who died so that I could live, I must fight to survive."

The more Ethan talked, the more the speech seemed to be for himself rather than Grant because by the end of it, a fire was burning in his eyes. It seemed that he had found a purpose for himself and he was going to hold onto that come hell or high water.

Grant spoke a few words of encouragement to Ethan now that he could tell he had steeled his resolve.

"Well you have my word Ethan, I will make you into a warrior of heaven if that is what you desire. If God will not answer your prayers, then you can chase him down with sheer willpower and strength to get the answers you desire."

Then Grant turned to the rest of the people who had signed up to be a part of the new fighters and addressed them as well.

"Everyone here has my word that if you fight with me, shed blood with me, and kill with me, I will turn you into nothing but the best fighters that humanity has ever seen! With the strength I will beat into your very bones, your goals and ambitions will take no more than a mere stretch of your hands to grasp!

I will not say it will be easy! I will not say that it is without risk! What I will tell you though, is that with the hard work and risk will come immense reward!"

When Grant was done speaking, a raucous cheer rose into the sky. These people would inevitably be some of the strongest humans to walk the Earth.

And all they had to do to gain that strength, was step forward at the right time.