After Death

Chapter 12 (The Basics Necessary for Change)

Chapter 12: The Basics Necessary for Change

Ethan Warren

May 2028

About 6 years after outbreak

Arizona

Season 5/The Final Season

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It's been a while since we've had a proper argument, I thought maybe we were past that type of lifestyle but I understand where people's anger is coming from now.

We've only known about Airianna for roughly five minutes and about 1,000 opinions have been shared with me being the one to decide our next move. No one dared to ask for my opinion.I knew we were going to do everything to help Airianna I just didn't know to what extent we would have to go. This was the first time in a long time that I had to mentally prepare myself to potentially kill someone.

I told everyone we would sleep on it. Rudi wasn't exactly happy with that but it was what I had to do. No one would be getting any sleep with this news flooding their minds but it gave me time to sort out my shit as best as I could.

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Rudolph Alinsky

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I wanted to leave, I had to leave, I had to go after her but there was too much risk involved. I had to think about Juna's safety too.

I slept on the roof of the station, I didn't feel like trying to sleep, it wasn't worth the effort. I still haven't gotten used to the sounds of Arizona, it's almost too quiet. It is too quiet. I thought I hated the sound of the dead but now I honestly can say I miss it. It doesn't feel real now.But then again, maybe I took the silence for granted because when the silence faded all was left was this uneasy, unsettling feeling as I thought of the second worst thing in the world.I reached over the edge off the roof knowing full well I probably wouldn't die if I fell forward but still had the intrusive thought anyways. It was dark, only candle lights from inside shown onto the pavement, but I was determined to find the source of the abnormal noise. I hoped desperately that what I heard was real, that I wasn't going insane, but then again, wouldn't it be better if it wasn't real?I almost gave up but then I heard it again, rustling near the dumpsters. I wanted it to be just an animal, even one of the dead would be fine. I just didn't want it to be a person, I didn't feel like socializing right now.But to my dismay it wasn't one of the dead, it was what I feared.They looked traumatized, like they recently saw something they weren't supposed to see but that wasn't what I focused on at the moment. A stranger was here and I knew I had to do something, we can't take risks anymore.I stood up without another thought and pulled my gun out of the back of my pants. I knew I only had one bullet and now I had to decide how I should use it.The person walked closer to the station, making me more uneasy than I already was. The gun rattled in my hands, I didn't want to kill her but I didn't want her to kill someone I loved either.

"Stop!" I yelled from the rooftop, catching her off guard. She was shocked to see me. No doubt she's seen the dim lights from inside, she should have expected people here.She didn't respond to me but she also didn't listen either. I swear I saw a smile form on her face then fade before I could know for sure. She looked me dead in the eyes as she walked slowly forward even more, like she was begging me to shoot her. I was confused, I didn't know what to do, so I pulled the trigger and decided to think about it later.Ethan, Grahame, Clara, and Archer ran out of the station with the biggest look of concern I've seen in years. Most of them took a look at the woman and then looked at me but Ethan, didn't bother to look back at me, apparently the woman was familiar but he didn't look too happy to see her.

"Addie?"