After The End

Chapter IX

Ronny sat down with the tall, black man. He stared at Ronny as Ronny awaited for a response. Finally, the man said, "So Omar sent you"? Ronny nodded his head. "Was he looking for anyone in particular"? Ronny said, "To my knowledge, no". The man sat back in his chair as he said, "Why did he send you"? Ronny responded by saying, "Omar wants to know if your people are ready"? Ronny, of course, didn't know what they were readying for. When Omar sent him to find his group, he was told almost nothing. The man sighed, "No we're not. Our people have been struggling here. We've been dealing with constant waves of zizis and the local military population isn't helping us out. So you can tell Omar that Jackson needs help if they want to initiate their operation". Ronny made the connection that the man's name was Jackson.

Meanwhile at Mount Vernon, Kyle was with Nick as the two were repairing holes and cracks in the wall. They were discussing all that had happened to them to lead them to where they were. They then began to talk about Ronny and how they met him. Kyle said, "Yeah, Xavier and I were trying to find the super market near by when we saw him being attacked by a biter. Xavier wanted to move along because he thought Ronny was already bitten. However, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and I killed the biter and we helped him back to our camp". Nick said, "It's crazy how despite the fact that I knew him since you brought him to the camp, I never spoke to him personally until after I escaped the biker camp. Between us leaving Seattle to Ronny almost being killed and left behind, to now where he might be dead. I never really had the chance to talk to him". Kyle said, "Ronny's alive. He has to be".

As they continued to talk, Tyler and Gavin approached them. Tyler said, "Hello gentlemen. I see you've broth been doing a fine job fixing this wall". Tyler saw both of the men had a somewhat sour face. Tyler said, "I need to ask you two to do me a favor. To the west of here, our scouts have found a large supply of food and medicine that we could use to help the community. I need you two to go with our runners to collect them". Kyle said, "Why us"? Tyler said, "Well, Nick, I always ask to go on runs. And according to stories I've heard about you Kyle, you really know how to handle yourself. Don't worry, it's a simple job, you should be back in a few hours". Kyle and Nick looked at Gavin for a response. Kyle may have healed from his injuries but he still was not able to go out on runs yet. However, Gavin stood by Tyler's side showing no emotion. Tyler said, "I expect you two to be out there in fifteen minutes". Both Tyler and Gavin walked off as Kyle and Nick prepared to leave.

After walking to the west side of the camp, they saw the small squad they would be leaving with. Most consisted of drifters and other non vault people, like Kyle and Nick. However, this group also consisted of several military personnel. As they approached the group, a military officer handed both of them automatic rifles, something both Kyle and Nick, had never used before. As Nick was handed his, he said, "Is this really necessary? A pistol would be fine". The officer said, "You clearly have never ventured out west. Trust me, you'll need this". Nick began to wonder if he was going to die. Once everyone was armed, they headed out.

As they walked, they saw Mount Vernon disappear and a forest appeared in front of them. However, this forest was short lived as they approached the shoreline. Displayed in front of the group was a bridge. It looked beautiful despite the fact that it was broken in several areas and looked unsafe to pass. As they walked closer to the bridge. The ocean winds picked up. It was cold enough that everyone could feel it through their bones.

Despite the poor condition of the bridge, the military officers guided the group to cross it. As they carefully walked across, avoiding the giant holes that had been created, a land mass appeared on the other side of the bridge. It was an island. From the bridge, the island looked uninhabited as no buildings could be seen. However, as they walked closer, the military officers grew more alert as they observed the area. After getting off of the bridge, the group began to walk along the island coast. Kyle was curious as to where they were going. He found the closest officer and said, "What is it that we're looking for"? The officer said, "If you see a giant quarry filled with hostiles, then were close". That was a sentence that Kyle wasn't expecting to hear. He walked back to Nick as he held his gun a little tighter.

Meanwhile, Ronny and Jackson were still discussing Omar and the plan he was creating. Ronny said, "So what is he preparing you for"? Jackson said, "If he didn't tell you then the most I can say is, there is a group that is based nearby who keeps trying to expand here. We don't want them here as they kill our people". Ronny thought about the military woman he had found in the forest. He now questioned again if she was with Mount Vernon. However, as he thought, someone yelled out, "Jackson! We're under attack". Jackson immediately stood up as gunshots were heard. Deep in the woods near the village, Ronny could see people moving around as they aimed for Ronny's general direction. Jackson grabbed a gun for himself and for Ronny as the tow hid behind a nearby house. As the bullets flew by, both Ronny and Jackson waited for the bullets to stop briefly so they could shoot themselves. Ronny then remembered about Thomas and said, "Jackson, where's Thomas"? Jackson pointed to a building nearby as he said, "I'll cover you". Ronny ran for the building as he broke a window to hop in. He coincidentally hopped into the room that Thomas was in. Thomas was hiding by a wall. He saw Ronny and said, "Ronny what the hell happened to us"? Ronny said, "I'll explain later, right now we're being ambushed".

Both Ronny and Thomas hopped out of the window and ran back to Jackson. Jackson handed Thomas a gun as the three of them shot at the forest. Every so often, they heard someone fall in pain. The enemy's numbers were shrinking as Ronny's group pushed towards the forest.

Meanwhile, on the other and of the battle zone, Nick was completely caught off guard. He had expected to go on a run, not fight in a battle. When he was ambushed by Scarlett and her people, they were a small group. This, however, was an entire village of people. During the chaos, Nick had lost Kyle. He, himself, was hiding behind a tree as he shot towards the village when he felt safe enough to do so. The battle was short lived as Nick's side was losing. Finally a military officer called for a retreat as Nick ran back towards the bridge they had crossed, along with anyone else who had survived.

Meanwhile back at the village, Ronny saw people begin to retreat as Jackson chased them into the woods. Once the gunshots ceased, Ronny walked out from behind the building in search of Jackson. He found him after a short walk into the woods. He found Jackson tying someone's hands behind their back. Their face was concealed by a bag. Ronny looked around and saw several others who were tied up and had their face hidden. Jackson said, "We can't stay here anymore. We have to regroup back with Omar". He then looked down at the person tied up, "Besides, Omar can figure out how these people could help up". Ronny looked at the prisoner who lied on the ground. He was wearing a military outfit like the woman he had seen earlier. Ronny was almost certain that it was Mount Vernon he was fighting with. He hoped that his group never made it there and if they did, they weren't in this fight.