After Death

Chapter 9 (...Of my Executioner...)

Chapter 9: ...Of my Executioner...

Ethan Warren

Estimated, May 2025

About three years after outbreak

California, The Circus

Season 4

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I pushed Andrew's dead body off from on top of me. I didn't want to stand up, I was still mentally prepared to die. I wanted death, it would have been better for everybody. I watched as Andrew's and Dallen's blood flowed into the sewage drain, I wanted to look away but I just couldn't. It was either staring at that or staring at Timothy and his face flushed with more anger than he's ever shown.

When I finally built up the courage to take my eyes off of the blood I feared for my life as I tried to meet Timothy's gaze. He wasn't looking at me though, he was looking behind me. He was fixated on Thomas who held the gun of Andrew's misfortune in his hand.

"How's it feel to kill someone, Thomas? Bet you get off on it don't you?" Timothy stared slowly walking towards me, I backed up trying not to move out of the way.

"You killed someone today too, why am I any different?"

"Because I'm only here because of you, if you really think about it everyone who's blood has spilled is on your hands, you started this! Now let me finish it, move aside Ethan." I stayed my ground, I should have moved out of the way. I say Leah practically begging me to just move and let Timothy get this over with. I didn't move though and Timothy expressed that he didn't appreciate that. I think he wanted to kill me than, as he towered over me I could tell he gripped his knife tighter but I still didn't move. I may be a selfish asshole but I didn't want to see anyone else die today.

"Ethan, I said move," his eyes were deadly and I felt like I was about to cry. Half of me was waiting for someone to help me but the other half knew that no one would. To them if my death along with The Ringmaster's meant the war would end than that was enough for them.

I could tell he was moments away from stabbing me before the screams and the warnings started. The dead had breached the gates for the first time since the start of the apocalypse. I never though I would be owing my life to things that have stolen more lives than everyone left in the world put together but I am. Timothy stood there in shock as he watched his own people be ripped to shreds and for a moment it felt like he shared some of my pain but he didn't grow up with these people, he could afford to lose them.

We used this time to get the hell away from these people. I grabbed Thomas' wrist and we ran towards the exit. We tried to signal to as many of our people as we could to follow us but not everyone got the message. It felt weird running to the dead instead of running away. When we finally made it past the gates I heard Thomas begin to cry and I held back my own as I too, realized that my community had fallen.