From Another Place

"More than eighty days ago, humanity was executed. The righteous and the sinners were judged in the same way and with the same pain, depending on their circumstances. Many managed to hide from the spread of the virus that started it all."

"Some were able to escape becoming a walking corpse or something worse. Who knows what the hell is out there, right? With a lot of luck and skill, it seems many have survived. After all, it's impossible for humans to perish completely in this hell that many claim was sent by God."

"But that's just unjustified nonsense to avoid the blame humans bear for playing with a force more powerful than they could control. Now, we suffer the consequences of decisions that were never in our hands."

"But amidst all this hell, I see a great opportunity. This opportunity gives us the chance to choose our own path and make our own decisions in a single order. There will be no more powers or authorities controlling human development. There will be no more factions to follow in the future, and the best thing for everyone is for a single leader to take charge of humanity's future."

"This is worth it. As we slowly continue surviving, we will learn to work in this land stained with walkers and decay. I have a wish, and that is that with determination and help, we can move forward together from this point on."

Inside a large building, a man with disheveled hair, clad in black tactical gear, stood in front of a broken window, holding binoculars. Moving slowly, he carefully observed everything ahead, and his tone of voice grew increasingly disappointed.

"I thought that when he said this group was invincible, that we couldn't mess with them and that our only option was to retreat, he was talking about a group of a completely different caliber, a level far beyond what my eyes are seeing now."

"Sir Jason, if you allow me to explain, they attacked us at night. We didn't know—"

"Shh!"

Looking at the group with a face full of fear, Jason ignored them and pointed ahead. "This group of people is supposed to control most of the city, right?"

"That's correct!" An old man named Jeffrey entered the room and looked at Jason with a somber expression. "Their leader is called Dmitri, and his aggressiveness is exactly as I expected when I first met him. He doesn't care about people at all. His modus operandi when encountering a new group of survivors is to disarm them. They then take more than half of the food and continue doing so periodically."

"That group recently settled near our community. We don't know much about them, but they are extremely dangerous. We were thinking about leaving this place until those bastards took many of our people to prevent us from leaving."

As the two talked, loud footsteps echoed from the hallway outside the door, and then the door swung open as a group of people dressed identically to Jason entered.

"Sir, we have split up as per your instructions. This place houses around 150 people, and if we leave, they will surely die." At that moment, Tommy stepped forward with a serious expression, reporting the situation to Jason.

During all this time, Jason had been roaming the city of Atlanta, searching for key locations and essential resources. His primary goal was to see if he could establish a refuge at some point in the city and expand from there.

It wasn't long before they ran into problems, and as they dealt with them, they also took in some survivors and kept moving forward.

But not more than a month ago, Jason and his large group, who had been moving all over Atlanta recovering military weapons from bases, came across Jeffrey's group, which had recently been attacked by Dmitri's men.

When Jason saw the opportunity to grow his community, he became interested in having this group of people join his side. This was the perfect moment to establish a base on the outskirts of Atlanta.

"Hmm, it's time for you to decide, Jeffrey. Will you and your people join the S.C.T., or would you rather continue being oppressed by another group?"

Jason's eyes quickly scanned Jeffrey and the people beside him, who seemed to be his leadership team, and he said, "You probably don't know me, and that's normal. Many in my group are experienced soldiers, and we are still working to slowly rebuild a new beginning amid everything we have lost so far."

"Are you from the army?" Upon hearing this, a woman beside him looked at Jason with a certain wariness, surprised. But she soon realized she had asked a somewhat foolish question. If these people were highly equipped and in such good condition, what made her think they weren't lying or had ulterior motives?

"It seems you all come from a place where you aren't suffering as much as the rest. At least that assures me you aren't lying and aren't like those other soldiers who massacred many of our loved ones at the start of the catastrophe. But what do you gain by helping us?"

"What do you mean?" As soon as this question was asked, Jason frowned, stared at the woman, and said, "Well, our goal is to expand and help the people who still want to survive. Expanding our territory into the city of Atlanta wouldn't be a bad idea at all."

"I understand. I never thought that after all this time, there would be a group like yours that still cares about people."

The woman named Anna looked at Jason's indifferent expression, which assured her that he wasn't lying. She couldn't detect any trace of deceit or hidden motives in his words, and she immediately realized that he could be trusted.

"Hard times have made people distrust one another. Nowadays, who can be certain of what the other side is planning?"

Hearing about this group's struggles, Jason remained seated, looked at Anna, and said, "It's a shame you don't have many options, but I assure you that my intentions are good, and soon, my actions will speak louder than my words."

"You have a point..."

After sitting for a long time, Jason gradually organized his thoughts and considered what he could do in this situation. It had been about two months since he left the prison, and according to his people, everything was running smoothly.

During all this time, aside from wandering like a nomad and facing many horrors of the post-apocalyptic world—especially how terrible people could be—he had realized that the chances of encountering hostile humans were even higher than running into walkers.

Unconsciously, he touched his chin and murmured, "What do you think, Tommy?"

"It definitely won't be a problem, Captain. We have more than thirty active soldiers and thirteen more in reserve, not counting the people in this group. Considering the difference in experience and the way we operate, we can handle this without calling for reinforcements."

"I'm not sure if having a direct confrontation with those people is a good idea. They're definitely well-armed." After hesitating for a moment, Anna added, "But if you're willing to eliminate that man's group, many will join you without hesitation."

"Alright, I understand." Jason said while considering whether it was a good idea to establish a second safe zone in the city. There weren't many walkers since most people had already abandoned Atlanta, but that didn't mean it was safe.

Seeing the conversation come to a pause, Jeffrey looked at Anna and said, "Can you step out for a moment? I'll give him all the detailed information we have on Dmitri's group. Things will go faster without too many people in the room."

"Yes, I understand." Anna nodded and left the room.

"I'm not too fond of the idea of trusting ex-military personnel. Before this whole apocalypse started, I saw with my own eyes how many soldiers killed everyone, whether they were infected or not." Jeffrey said honestly.

When Jason heard Jeffrey's words, he nodded in understanding. Many soldiers, whether they wanted to or not, had followed Operation Cobalt, though it ultimately failed to control the situation.

"But we don't have many options. Your eyes tell me you're not an evil man. I hope I'm right about that. Well, the place where Dmitri's group is located is that building you saw. He has a lot of people under his command, and they're not ones to be trifled with."

"It's a large facility. That group definitely has access to a lot of important resources that others don't. I'm still unsure if we'll be able to take them down; I think our forces might not be enough."

After considering the possibilities, Jason smiled slightly and said, "That shouldn't be a problem. If they're such a troublesome group, then we need to eliminate them completely and take their place to establish a new refuge from there."

"I see that at least your men fully trust your words. I just hope we can fight so that the people in my shelter will have a better place to stay," Jeffrey said, looking thoughtful.

"Well, now you know everything about our group and what we've sacrificed to survive. If you're willing to take down Dmitri's group, all of us will do our best to support you."

"There's nothing to fear. I'm sure my people would love to wipe out that group quickly. The real problem will be the walkers. The people in this community will need to help clear the area of walkers that could hinder our movements."

After saying this, Jason glanced at Elias and walked out of the room. Considering the resources Dmitri's group had, they would be more than enough to take them down. But eliminating that group offered many benefits—not only would he be able to establish a new refuge in Atlanta, but he would also provide safety for all the survivors in the area.