The Regulator (Complete First Draft)

Chapter 20: Andrew, Brad, and Nick - The Hallows

Andrew sat, motionless, with a solid face on the steps of the camp shack. Brad was behind him, pacing inside. Nick was sitting inside on the floor, with his back against a wall. Andrew watched as a couple of men were cleaning up the disgusting state of the main field and camp entrance.

“So, what do we do about this?” Brad asked. He was nervous, but they had to figure out a solution for this...problem.

“I have no f***ing idea.” Andrew said, coldly and sharply. He continued to stare off into the distance, refusing to turn back and look at Brad.

“We can’t let him turn into one of those things. We have to kill him before he changes.” Nick said, also coldly. There was no emotion in his voice.

“We can’t just kill him. He’s a kid. We should listen to Monica, we can help him.” Andrew retorted.

“We can’t help him, it’s just like the barn, he-” Brad began to say, Andrew however stood up fast and began screaming at him.

“The f*** do you know about helping people! You’re the reason this happened, the reason he’s bit. You’re the reason all those other people are dead. We made a mistake at the barn, you told me yourself you knew it wasn’t right, and now you have a chance to redeem yourself, change your decision and you aren’t even going to f***ing try!” Andrew shouted, his blood boiling and nothing but pure rage spilling out.

“What am I supposed to do! You didn’t listen to those radio broadcasts! There is no hope, there is no cure! The barn was a necessity and so is this. He will die, and he will change unless we do something about it.” Brad responded. Andrew talking back was one thing, but straight up questioning Brad’s leadership was a whole ‘nother story. “You sit your ass back down and you keep your mouth shut. You have no idea how to survive in this. You can’t held dead men walking, you can just ease their suffering.”

“He was my camper, I should do it.” Nick said, cutting in calmly.

“What do you mean ‘do it’? You aren’t actually siding with him are you?” Andrew asked, stunned, shocked even.
“Andrew, there’s no other way. We won’t be able to save him no matter what we do. So why should we leave him in constant suffering until he becomes a threat to everyone around him. I’m sorry, man, there’s no other way.”

Andrew walked over to Nick and got in his face, “I went and got your kids out of your cabin while you were trapped up on the platform. I got them to safety. I defended them when my cabin got attacked. I tried to save Zach when everything got out of hand. All the while you were cowering like a f***ing baby on the platform, refusing to move. Yet you try to tell me that there’s no other way out of this? You haven’t tried one thing to keep your kids safe, I’ve tried everything tonight.”

Nick’s face turned bright red, “Don’t you f***ing say that, everything I’ve done this past month has been for my group. And you try to paint me as some monster who couldn’t protect them and just wants them killed? You asshole. You f***ing asshole! I get trapped by a horde, and you try to paint it like I cowered from battle. I couldn’t do anything else, I-”

“Enough.” Brad but in. He could sense the incredible tension in the room, and didn’t want to escalate it any further. “Forgot the past, forget the future. Focus on the now. Zach is bit, there is no cure, there is no way too pull through. He is going to die wether we try to prevent it or not. So we either kill him now, saving him from pain, suffering, and transformation. Or, Andrew, we let him go through all that. What’s it going to be.”

Nick looked Andrew in the eyes and said calmly, “Andrew, it’s mercy, not murder.”

Andrew’s emotions ran high, and for a second he felt his head swirl. He then managed to calm himself down, and walked out the door. “I’m going to go ask him myself.” He said and stormed off. Nick moved to stop him, but Brad held him back.

“You can’t just do that, Andrew! He’s a kid, he doesn’t understand the situation! We need to do what’s best for him!” Nick shouted after Andrew.

“Don’t try and tell me that killing him is ‘what’s best for him’, alright?” Andrew stopped and turned to face Nick. Andrew had walked down the hill from the shack and was looking up at Nick and Brad. “What’s best for him is living, not dying. Now I’m sorry, but we didn’t even try to keep the people in the barn alive. We just let them die, then we slaughtered them. I’m not going to listen to you, especially when your following Brad’s philosophy.”

“My ‘philosophy’ is right!” Brad asserted.

“You admitted to me tonight that you thought you made a bad call, that you were wrong. Why make the same mistake?” Andrew asked Brad. Brad almost felt a sudden sting, as if he had actually just been hit with a realization he hadn’t taken note of before. Brad still felt that Andrew was wrong... but he didn’t want to argue anymore. He backed off, back into the shack and removed his arm from in front of Nick. Nick stormed out of the cabin down towards Andrew.

“Why are you fighting so hard for a dead kid?” Nick asked through gritted teeth.

“Because he’s not dead, he’s alive. And he has a choice, and it’s a choice only he should be allowed to make. So how about you back the f*** off and let me give it to him.” Andrew replied.

“And what happens if he wants to live? He just stays in my cabin where he’s a ticking time bomb forever.” Nick mocked. Andrew was a fool, he couldn’t possibly be serious about this.

“We’ll think of a plan. You’d rather his body be on the pile, waiting to be burned like all the others?” Andrew said, sternly.

“That’s what’s going to happen if you let him live.” Nick said, coldly.The area got quiet as the two stared at each other, each waiting for the other too break. It was dead quiet, not even the near by stream was making any noise.

“Do what you have to do. But I won’t help you with the consequences.” Nick said. He turned and stormed off. Toward the pile of bodies that the clean-up crew had organized. Andrew looked up at Brad, who was standing in the doorway of the shack, giving Andrew a look of worry, but with a hint of disappointment. Andrew looked back at Nick as he and the rest of the clean-up crew tossed torches made of sticks and paper towel onto the pile. Andrew turned and walked off down the trail towards the big field.