The Regulator (Complete First Draft)

Chapter 2: Andrew - The Road Ahead

Andrew walked through the darkened camp. Torches lit the pathways, and were spread just far enough that their dim glows could reach each other. Walking around the camp at night put Andrew a bit on edge. The walls weren’t completed yet, so undead were known for commonly stumbling onto the camp grounds at night. Andrew held his gun at the ready, just in case anything happened.

Andrew eventually came upon the lake. The moonlight danced and reflected off the dark water, illuminating the big field, the picnic tables on the “Peninsula Ventura”, and the cabins just a little ways away at the start of the woods. The mountains that surrounded the camp were dark and ominous, not a single detail of any of them could be made out, even in the moonlight.

Andrew walked over to the picnic tables, which sat on the peninsula reaching out into the black, gloomy water. Andrew walked to the center table. Scratched into the table were the words “Samurai’s 2013”. Under that, the names Andrew, James, Seth, Jaxon, Danny, Anthony, and Niko were also scratched in. Andrew ran his hand over the list and smiled, remembering the better times.

“Out for a late night stroll?” Andrew heard a voice shout behind him. Andrew jumped and clumsily raised his gun as he turned around. Nick stood there, arms out stretched.

“Shit, Nick. Don’t sneak up on me like that.” Andrew said, lowering the gun.

“I was just curious as to what you’re doing.” Nick laughed. He walked forward and joined Andrew by the table.

“Just remembering happier times.” Andrew responded, turning down and reading the names again.

“I know what you mean, man. It really is a struggle, going through all this. Seeing what these kids have to go through. It sucks man.” Nick said, walking over and sitting on the table, facing the water. Andrew walked over and sat next to him.

“I just wish we could do more for them. Not have them live in constant danger.” Andrew said.

“We’ve done the best we can. You haven’t lost any, I haven’t lost any. Thats more than a lot of counselors at this ‘camp’ can say. We’ve been good to them. That’s all we can really hope to keep doing.” Nick said.

“They’re asking questions.” Andrew said, quickly.

“Whaddya mean?”

“They know this isn’t a camp anymore. They know we’re trying to hide. They know what’s going on. I think it’s time to stop pretending we’re a camp, and start actually surviving. I’ve even talked to Brad about it.” Andrew said.

“Really?” Nick said, entertained.

“Well, kinda. Not completely like I just told you, but I hinted at it. It was there. I’m gonna talk to him later.”

“Haha, okay sure.” Nick said, amused.

“I’m serious. How long do you think this thing will last?” Andrew said, urgency in his voice.

“What? The undead? A couple months tops. Then there will be a long, long re-building period but we will recover. Within ten years, civilization will be back on track.” Nick said, sure of himself.

“Well then for those couple months the kids need to know how to defend themselves. And we have no idea what kind of world we’ll be living in during the ‘re-building period’ you’re talking about. If we keep pretending nothing is going on, these kids won’t be ready to face the world they now live in.” Andrew said, his tone was annoyed but Nick knew he was just frustrated with the world.

“Maybe you’re right. But I don’t think we need to be giving kids guns and telling them to kill walking corpses just yet. Me and Monica just organized the Militia. We aren’t gonna have to worry about not having enough men to fight if we need them.” Nick said, re-assuringly.

“That’s not the point though.” Andrew argued, “It’s not about having men, it’s about the kids learning the world that they are in is dangerous and how to deal with it.”

Nick sighed and stood up,  clearly done with the conversation. Andrew took it as a sign that he had won. “I have to go take over guard duty on the platform for the next couple hours. If you’re so serious about preparing these kids for the real world, maybe you should just train yours yourself.” Nick said, matter-of-factly.

“That, is not actually a bad idea.” Andrew said, also standing up. The two looked at each other and wordlessly parted ways. Andrew headed for the Cabin, Nick headed for the road.