You Can't Survive Alone

Part 5

A week later, in the afternoon

We have sent out patrols around the city to look for Ethan twice a day. The patrols consisted of two people each; one armed with a gun, one with a melee weapon. Aaron and I are on patrol right now; Nick and Jess work together also.

Nick fixed the generator; Ethan had apparently cut a wire inside of it to turn it off.

There has been no sign whatsoever of Ethan, and we are starting to give up. We think that he may have left the city, deciding that it is no longer safe.

As Aaron and I walk back from patrol, leaving small footprints in the inch of snow, he says, "Want to go visit Jake?"

I say sure, and we stop by the gardens on our way back to the White House.

When we get to the spot where Jake is buried, marked by a carved stone, I see a note on top of the stone, along with a small black box.

Aaron picks it up, and starts reading it. His hand starts shaking halfway through, and I think that it is sadness, but then I see the expression on his face- pure fury.

He hands the note to me, and I read it.

"Dear White House Group,

I am sorry about the death of your dear friend, Jake. I don't mean to put you down, but he was a means to an end. He gave me useful information which I will now use to continue my plans.

I created this apocalypse because society was in ruins, and the only way to improve it was to tear it down and start it anew. I have set this entire thing in motion, and I will continue to lead it. I will offer people a cure, and the price will be my leadership. You can also benefit from this deal. Leave a note here, and I will find it. Just so you know, I will not approach if I am being watched. I have my ways to find out if there is somebody watching me.

Best Wishes, Ethan Canon

P.S. I have included a syringe of the cure, if you have need of it."

I was angry, so angry. I consider smashing the black box that contains the cure under my foot. "This dude is insane. Completely, utterly insane."

"He is."

"He can't believe that this plan will actually work? This would never work; people wouldn't let a psychopath lead them, ever. Not even for the cure."

"Some people just might. You have to think about it from their perspective. They don't know he started this, and he is appearing with a cure. They don't know he's a psychopath; we didn't know for days."

"Let's go show the others."

Inside the House, after collecting Nick and Jess

"Ethan is still alive, and is inside the city."

Utter silence after I say this. I need to just continue.

"Aaron and I found this note..." I read the note aloud for them to hear. Their expressions become murderous.

"Question: Are people going to listen to him?" Nick asks, trying to remain calm but failing miserably.

"We think they might. Remember, they don't know everything we know about him. They don't know that he started this; only that he found the cure. Some people would go along with him, even if they did know that he had started this, just because of fear," Aaron says calmly. Somehow he manages to keep his voice even, though his emotions must be a complete mess inside. He was the closest to Jake, and this note simply twisted the knife of Jake's death.