Reckoning

Chapter Eight: Into the Fire

The next thing I know, Theo, Cody, Matt, and I all have our hands tied behind our backs and shoved into a the back of a jeep. Eli, the guy with the sword, is behind the wheel with some guy in the passenger seat.

They took our weapons.

Eli drives us down a long road, past the countless pine trees and the occasional walker. The cloudy sky shields us from the autumn sun. Behind the jeep we're in, several other cars follow us. Are we going to where they live? Surely the want us to know where they sleep if they didn't blindfold us. In the back of the jeep, there's no space for any of us to move our legs or even our shoulders. Matt's glasses start to slip down his nose but he isn't able to adjust them.

Up ahead, a large wall just like the one at Haven comes into view. We weren't far at all from their hideout when we got captured.

"We're here", Eli says as he starts to slow down the jeep. Then we get a look at what monstrosities lie ahead of us. About fifty feet away from the wall, there is a long border of chained, tied, and impaled walkers. Our eyes widen at the sight of it.

They're using walkers as defense.

The numerous walkers snarl at us as we drive past them. The border must go all the way around the wall. We approach a large gate similar to the one at Haven. The gate slowly opens and Eli drives the jeep inside. The other vehicles follow us inside the wall. Inside, this community is very similar to Haven.

It has houses and office buildings, but they're just located in different places. But I can immediately tell that this place is way different than Haven as well. There are no children, and hardly any women. Just about everyone is wearing a jacket with a hood. And there are large fires scattered around the streets, maybe for cooking or warmth. Eli parks the jeep near the wall and steps out of the vehicle, his sword in his grasp.

"Get out", Eli demands as he opens the back door for us. Matt is the first one to step out and he is forcefully pulled aside. The next ones to exit the car are Theo, me, and Cody. The countless Angels of Darkness gather around, glaring at us "outsiders".

An older bald man approaches Eli and tells him, "Nathaniel is on his way. Are these young men from Haven?"
"Yes, Richard. They are", Eli says.
Richard steps in front of us, stares at us, then says, "You should not have followed us. Now you will be punished." Matt starts to look a little scared.

Eli brushes off some dirt off his navy blue hoodie and says, "Relax, four eyes. You're not going to die. Yet."

Richard gets behind us and there coming down the street is the one and only Nathaniel.

He has swapped his brown coat for a black jacket, and a slight look of anger is across his face. By now, probably all of the Angels of Darkness form a circle around us, but the circle breaks for Nathaniel so he can walk through. "Get on your knees!", Richard yells as he kicks at our legs. We comply and get on our knees with our hands tied behind our backs. Nathaniel starts to give a little smile and announces, "Well, look who decided to join us."

Theo shifts nervously and Cody and Matt stare down at the concrete. I just stare at Nathaniel, not afraid.

"I'm sure you never intended to be captured", Nathaniel tells us, "But yet, here you are. And I'm sure you saw our way of defense outside the wall, we barely put it together a few weeks ago and it seems to drive away the biters."

"So, what happens now?", I ask, glaring at Nathaniel.

He slowly walks toward me, gets right in front of my face, and whispers, "Now?...You will be punished."

I'm still on vacation and I'll be back in California on Monday night