Chapter 1: The Way the World Is and Always Will Be

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     The world was still. It had never felt this still in a long, long time. No chaos. No destruction. No death. 3 years into the apocalypse and now, there's finally silence. A sort of, peaceful ending. An ending that gives you closure, yet leaves you lead on at the same exact time. But of course, we're not there yet.

The misty, murky and gloomy October sky of Rhode Island awoke with the sudden chirps of small birds in a tree. Birds most people in the apocalypse quickly forgot even existed. Sun rays beamed down on their nest through the cracks in the trees, lighting up the dense, shadowy forest with rays of bright, elegant light. The somber grass lightened up in the light, as flowers that had sprouted in the spring, began to die from the fast moving breeze of shivering October air.

James and Lisa were the first ones up. They had the first shift up on the main wall of the Hangar Bay. They sat up on top of the large, protective wall, watching out for any danger that might come their way. They knew they were safe wherever they were, as long as they had each other. The Hangar Bay was quiet and still, like a tomb buried far beneath ancient Egypt.

It was quiet. So very quiet. As the sound of chains and the rumble of the ground brought goosebumps to James and Lisa's skin. It was their second shift on the wall, and they thought they were prepared for anything, but nothing would prepare them for what was to come.

The hangar bay was surrounded with a grim and solemn forest, as James looked down the narrow scope, aiming the rifle down at the tree line. A walker appeared, walking at a slow and passive pace. James didn't think much of it, but the sound of chains and the slight rumble of the ground kept him uneasy. Another walker appeared suddenly from the trees, as did another, and another, and more following behind the others.

"Lisa." James said under his breath, as the sight of multiple walkers coming out from the forest was beginning to make him tremble.

"Yeah?" Lisa responded.

James continued to watch the walkers come out from the trees, as it almost looked like hundreds were beginning to swarm outside of the hangar bay.

"Get down." James said softly.

"What?" Lisa asked concerned.

"Get down!" James yelled, as he pulled himself off the edge of the wall, falling down to the lower area. Lisa did the same, as a huge blast was suddenly heard behind the wall, making the whole thing shake where it stood.

James and Lisa caught themselves, as they laid down on the wall, shocked from the blast. Commotion was beginning to brew inside the hangar as the two of them looked at each other scared. Another blast was heard, as the wall shook again, another boom following after.

"What the hell is going on." Lisa said, as they held themselves making sure they didn't fall off the back side of the wall.

- Moments before the attack -

Jax and Caroline held each other, as the both of them woke up from the bright shinning rays of light beaming down on them through the trees above.

"Ready to finally feel safe?" Jax asked her quietly.

"I always feel safe, as long as I'm with you." Caroline said softly, as Jax's lips met hers.

The rest of The Roamers were waking up one by one, as Alpha, Delta and Omega stood in a circle, whispering to each other. The group geared up and began to move towards the community. They kept the walkers chained up in the forest as they slowly made their way towards the large metal wall. Jax and Caroline still wore their blood suits, as the rest of the group also had themselves covered in blood, guts and skin. As they made their way to the tree line, Alpha raised her hand into a fist, as the group came to an abrupt stop. Jax and Caroline saw this but continued to walk up front until they were behind Delta and Omega.

"What's going on?" Jax called out, as none of them flinched or acted like they noticed him.

The ground beneath them became to rumble, as the sound of chains grew louder. It didn't take long for Jax to realize what was going on and what was about to happen, but he knew if he didn't act fast, he would loose everything. He quickly grabbed Caroline's hand as they turned around completely, heading in the opposite direction that the group was facing. They made it to the back of the group as the monstrous group of walkers grew closer and closer. Jax stopped in his tracks, as Caroline did too. Caroline didn't think twice about what Jax was doing. She knew he would keep her safe, but it wasn't looking good. There was no way out, only one direction they could go in. They turned around again, facing the group of people as their backs were turned to them.

"Jax- what do we do?" Caroline said nervously.

Jax shook his head. "We have to play along."

Sudden blasts began to go off up in front of the wall, as Delta and Omega began to throw grenades and bombs over and at the wall. Alpha now had a pistol in hand, raising it to the sky, as she pulled the trigger. The bullet shot off into the sky and gun shots began to blast off from the crowd. Even with all of this commotion going on, only one thought crossed through his mind. Smithy was right.

James and Lisa stayed down behind the wall, as the gun shots continued to fire off at the other guards along the walls. They were trapped for the moment and all they could do was hide.

"We should've known." Lisa said as she covered her ears from the chaos outside.

"Known what?" James asked as he was doing the same.

"Known this would happen. We put all of our remaining hope into this place, but we didn't even stop to think about the only true and solid fact about this world. That this is how it is, and this is how it always will be." Lisa said, looking at James deep in the eye.

The extensive group of walkers finally made their way up to the Roamers, as they began to force Jax and Caroline in the direction of the wall. The walkers didn't think, they didn't know what they were doing, all they truly knew what to do was follow the leader. Jax watched as the walkers pushed by, looking at them in the eyes. Their droopy, glassy and grey eyes shined in the sun rays, as their bodies lazily walked amongst the tree. Jax had walked with the infected before but never once has he stopped to truly look at what they are. It's always just been put them down or run in the other direction, but now, Jax saw what they really are and what they always will be. Monsters.

Jax tightly held onto Caroline's hand as the walkers pushed and shoved through them. He tried to tighten his grip, but she was suddenly pushed away from him. Jax stopped in his tracks and looked around, not being able to tell apart human from walker. He had to keep moving though. If he stopped, the walkers would realize he wasn't one of them, but Jax knew in his mind, he would never be one of them.

Alpha, Delta and Omega stood at the front of the group. Delta and Omega continued to fire off their guns as they had used all the grenades to put a dent in the wall. They began to head towards the main entrance of the wall, as the walkers finally caught up to the front of the group. By this point, people in the roamers either split completely, continued to move towards the wall along side Alpha, or were forced to keep moving.

The wall was damaged, the walkers creeped closer, and the threat from the outside was about to make it's way in. The day the Hangar Bay feared was about to come. Destruction was near, and death was even closer.

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