Deadlands Odyssey: Ace Redemption

Part 23: Into the Void

Keinan's voice wavered as he recounted the events of that fateful day. "It happened maybe two or four months after the apocalypse... I don't remember exactly," he began, his words tinged with uncertainty. "We were in survival mode, Mom and I, trying to make our way to our house."

He paused, the memories flooding back with painful clarity. "That's when a car rammed into us," he continued, his voice tightening with emotion. "A man with his family pointed a gun at me, ordering me to get out and leave the car..."

My response was chillingly detached. "They stole the car and left you and Mom in the middle of the zombie party?" i interjected, my tone devoid of any sympathy.

Keinan nodded grimly. "Yeah, but I knew I had to get out of there," he pressed on, the urgency evident in his voice. "That's when we reached a big warehouse. We went in there, since a couple of survivors were already there. At first, everyone coexisted, but more people kept coming, you know? And supplies didn't exactly fall from the sky, so people's survival instincts started to kick in."

The tension in the room was palpable as Keinan's words hung in the air, each syllable laden with the weight of their shared history.

Keinan's voice trembled with anger and frustration as he continued his tale. "It went south fast," he recounted bitterly. "A hierarchy formed, and a fucking trash of a human became the leader. His real name is Magnus, but everyone calls him Mordekai now."

He paused, his jaw clenched in fury. "He played us all," Keinan continued, his voice thick with resentment. "Played both sides. But we didn't care at first, you know? As long as we were safe. But then the supplies ran out fast, with so many people gathered. They stopped taking in more survivors, and the strong men were sent out to gather supplies... I did too, to feed Mom, you know?"

He shook his head, the memories of those dark days haunting him. "As more people went on supply runs, Mordekai was picking the strongest to help him become a dictator," Keinan explained, his tone filled with disgust. "His scheme ran deep. They started handing out food only to themselves, making women and other wives sleep with them for food and water. And later on, they made the weak and old shovel shit and do shit jobs."

The air in the room grew heavy with the weight of Keinan's words, the horrors of his past laid bare for all to hear.

Keinan's voice grew hoarse as he recounted the worsening situation. "The status gap became larger," he explained, his words tinged with bitterness. "They started recruiting more strong survivors, mostly men and beautiful girls. They promised the guys they could have fun with any women they wanted."

He paused, a look of disgust crossing his face. "They became cocky," Keinan continued, his voice low with disdain. "Thought things were going smooth. But without a strategic plan, they used up all the supplies in the area. So people started traveling farther out."

His expression darkened. "It worked at first," he admitted grimly. "But every day we survived, the more undead were out on the streets. More people failed and joined the flesh-eating ranks."

Keinan's voice wavered as he recounted the events. "It was fine, you know," he said, his tone tinged with sorrow. "Mom and I kept a low profile, and I made sure she was never starving."

He glanced at Ace, but his brother remained silent, his expression unreadable.

"Anyway," Keinan continued, his voice steadying, "one night, we heard a lot of zombies outside. We climbed up to the second floor to check it out, and that's when we saw an alarming big horde in front of the warehouse. People panicked, and Mordekai had an escape planned."