26 Days (Part 6)

Ignoring the stunned looks from not just Ally and the kids but also Hailey's people, Grant explained that the sooner they could leave the better.

They were swiftly running out of time and they only had 15 days left until the Earth began its own Path. He tried his best to explain what he knew so far but Hailey cut him off, "No need to explain, Grant. I trust you! If you say this is what we need to do, then so be it! I will get the camp ready to go in the next few hours!"

Hailey turned towards Leah and gave her instructions on who needed to be informed of the situation and how she wanted things handled.

Leah of course protested the idea of moving the camp on the words of one man that they knew little to nothing about, but Hailey wouldn't hear any of it. Eventually Leah had no choice but to relent and carry out her tasks.

While that was taking place, Grant and Hailey sat down at a conference table that was in one of the adjoining rooms. Ally and the kids also joined them.

The five of them spent the next hour discussing the logistical issues with moving a camp the size of one that Hailey was currently leading.

According to Hailey, there were 289 people within the camp. Surprisingly, nearly half of the entire camp had some experience fighting monsters.

This confused Grant to no end, so he tried to dig deeper into it.

According to Hailey, she only came to this place a few weeks ago and hadn't been here from the start of the apocalypse or the few days after The Path's emergence.

When she arrived, the camp had already been developed to a small degree. At that time, they had no leadership in the camp and it was more of a collective of people working together to survive.

However, as the monsters got stronger and stronger and the supplies became less and less, fights and arguments began to emerge within the camp itself.

Hailey, having a similar experience to Grant and having fought since the beginning, was fairly strong at that point and had fought to defend the camp multiple times already.

Seeing her strength and the positive attitude Hailey had for life and the people around her, the camp elected her as their leader.

Hailey did everything she could to make sure that the people were provided with a safe and happy, all things considered, place to live.

Which, based on what Grant had seen, Hailey had accomplished.

One question remained unanswered though, "Where were you when The Path emerged, Hailey?"

For the first time since their conversation began, Hailey looked upset. Grant knew, based on years of knowing Hailey, that it was a mixture of anger and sadness.

"I was at Chandler Regional Medical Center."

Stunned, Grant suddenly remembered a conversation he had when he was in the CRMC camp about a woman who had started the camp. He was told that she was eventually run off by Andrew during their struggle for power and had disappeared.

"Does the name Andrew mean anything to you?"

Hailey instantly raised her head and glared at Grant, "That's the name of the guy who stole my first safe haven from me!! I know its a common name, but why do you look like you know the same one I know?!"

Grant let out a deep sigh, 'truly a small world' he thought to himself before answering her question, "If it's Andrew who was in charge of the CRMC camp... I killed him and relocated the people of that camp into my dungeon; similar to my plan for you camp."

"You killed Andrew?? How could you? I mean, sure, the guy was absolutely crazy but you shouldn't go around killing people!"

Grant knew that he didn't have time to get into the morality of murder and doing what needed to be done, so he quickly downplayed what he had done before doing his best to change the subject.

Of course, Hailey was like a dog who found a bone though and would not let the topic go. She bombarded Grant with questions about what he had done and why.

Being subjected to the endless questioning, eventually he was forced to relent and explained what he had seen and heard when he was in the CRMC camp.

"Whether you agree or not Hailey, it needed to be done. After seeing the suffering of the people and the atrocious acts committed by Andrew and his men, I was left with no choice.

You can hate me or think poorly of me, but I stand by the choices I've made."

Before Hailey could argue though, Leah returned to the room, "Hailey, everything is ready to go. The people are scared and confused though. A few words from you would help a lot in reducing their fears at this time."

Hailey wanted to continue her conversation with Grant, but knowing the stubborn fool, she was unlikely to get anywhere with him, so she stood up and exited the building.

After Hailey and Leah left, Ally reached over the table and grabbed Grant's hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

Although she knew Grant was convicted in his actions and rarely did things that he regretted, she wanted to make sure that he knew that she was there for him if and when he needed her.

Grant simply smiled at the gesture before leaning over and giving her a kiss.

Which of course, was met by a torrent of 'ugh' from the peanut gallery still in the room.

Grant and Ally simply laughed at the kids in response.

About ten minutes after leaving the room, Hailey returned with Leah in tow.

"Everyone is packed and ready. Let us head for your dungeon immediately." said Hailey, in an overly serious tone.

Her cheerful and carefree attitude has seemingly all but disappeared.

Grant knew that she was upset with him but he wasn't going to concern himself with it. Eventually Hailey would move past the issues she had with what he had done and if she couldn't, well, that was her own issue.

Grant stood up with Ally's hand still held within his own and walked past Hailey and out into the camp.

In the middle of the open lot, the people were gathered.

All of the tents had been deconstructed and were slung over the backs of the people; along with anything else they could carry.

As he was admiring the speed at which the camp had gathered their things and the trust they must have in Hailey's words to agree so quickly to abandon their 'home', Hailey walked past them and headed straight for the entrance/exit.

Without having to say a single word, the group of people fell in line behind Hailey and followed her towards the gate.

The group of people was flanked on both sides by people with different weapons and armor.

Grant, Ally, and the kids simply watched the procession for a minute as they exited the camp and made their way out onto the streets.

Leah, who had remained behind, looked at Grant with both a tinge of hatred and curiousness, "You should probably move quickly to the front of the line and join Hailey. She has no idea where she is supposed to be going, you know?"

"I know. But I've found it best to give her five to ten minutes to calm down.

Hailey can be cheerful and carefree most of the time, but when she believes in something or someone, she can be rather stubborn in her convictions.

But if you give her time to think things through, she will at least understand what the other person was thinking."

Just as Grant finished saying that, Hailey reappeared in the middle of the camp in a flash of light.

"Are you guys just going to stand there all day or are you going to lead the way?! I look pretty dumb walking in circles at the front of this procession you know!

Jerk."

Grant couldn't help but laugh. Seeing her reappear with her usual demeanor, Grant was happy that The Path had not managed to change Hailey all too much.

He knew that she must have scars of her own and been through many things, but she seemed to still be the same person he'd known all his life; which was something he could appreciate.

"Coming chibi!"

"I said don't call me chibi! I'm not that small! I'm 5 foot .15 inches!"

Laughing, Grant ran past Hailey and headed for the front of the group.

Fuming in anger, Hailey chased after him with her fist waving in the air, threatening to beat her friend senseless.

As the two clowns passed by the rest of the people, the mood that had been sour from having to relocate their camp, was lifted. Laughter and smiles blossomed throughout the group.\

The show the two leaders were putting on continued for most of the day. Rather than threatening to beat Grant up though, it morphed into a competition of strength.

Hailey was an Enlightened Tier individual the same as Grant so she believed that she could match him in strength.

They had contests with each other one after the other. First it was, who can kill the most monsters in five minutes, then who can find and defeat the biggest monster, and many more.

Of course, Grant won every single hunting competition that they had with each other but that never seemed to stop Hailey from trying to win the next one.

Lost in their competitions, the two didn't realize that the day had already slipped away and when the sun was setting, the park where the dungeon was located came into view.

"Holy crap Grant! How did you get such massive trees!? Wait... are they moving?!"