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🕑 Added 2025-05-25 10:12:31 +0000 UTCStay Alive
Chapter 46 - The Great Place Forsaken by God
On the way to the other survivors, Alan looked in every direction, and seeing that the roads were all clear, he didn’t pay them much attention. There might be more infected, but they would find that out later.
When they arrived at the survivors’ location, Kaplan took charge of the checkups and then began gathering all the available soldiers.
“Do you have control over this?” Joel asked Alan as they walked toward where the survivors were gathered.
Alan looked at Joel, already knowing what was troubling him. “Do you have your weapon?”
“Yes.”
“Then everything is under control.”
This was one of Alan’s safeguards against betrayal, which could happen at any moment.
“Something good…” Joel thought as he scanned the area.
He didn’t like the idea of being a hero to the people who were still alive today, because most of them had probably done terrible things to survive this winter.
As far as Joel was concerned, no one deserved to be saved from this world.
Everyone had brought this upon themselves through their sins and crimes, and karma was simply doing its job. After losing his daughter, those had become his only thoughts.
Alan, of course, didn’t think the same way. If he didn’t like how things were, he would change them. A world where the wicked were now dead was worth rebuilding from the ground up.
A new order was within Alan’s reach—and of course, he would take it.
Looking around, there weren’t large numbers of people. This slightly altered Alan’s upcoming plans regarding how to increase his influence.
As for the deaths that would occur, Alan hoped they would not exceed expectations.
“Zz… We’ve started securing the outer zones. The snipers are covering the only two entrances.”
Joel, hearing this, muttered, “That’s a problem.”
The truth was, the terrain they were on didn’t have just one entrance. Everything around them was a potential doorway, inviting the infected into the dam, which would now serve as their shelter.
“To have full control, you need to show strength,” Alan said, expressing little interest in making commitments without necessity.
Tommy approached Alan and said, “There are several infected people.”
“Separate them from the others. Let them say goodbye to their families, and I’ll take care of the rest.” If he wanted to be the leader, Alan had to act like one.
Once Tommy left, Alan walked over to where an older man was standing. He seemed to have more influence than any of the other survivors.
“Weren’t you bitten?” Alan asked while eyeing the Black man, who appeared frightened.
“Most of us are fine, thank you. We didn’t think there were any good soldiers left these days…”
“Did you escape from Austin?” Alan guessed.
“Yes, my name is Nelson, by the way. Nice to meet you.” Nelson looked to be a little over forty, but there was no doubt he was very intelligent.
Alan looked at the others and asked, “Did any of you work at the dam?”
“Yes, Levi’s in charge. He stayed here and, as far as I know, he’s with his family.”
“That’s very good news.” Alan walked toward the area where the survivors were gathered.
“You’re all free to do as you wish. We won’t stop you. However, you must understand that the infected must be executed.”
Everyone stood up as they saw Alan enter, followed by other soldiers.
“But the sad truth is that there’s nothing out there—no state or country you can imagine has anything left. The cities will soon stop providing resources, and we’ll have to figure out how to survive on our own.”
Alan stroked his beard and continued after a brief pause, “As you’ve probably realized, there are good soldiers and bad ones. The truth is, my men and I have tried to be the good ones. However, there are decisions that must be made.”
“Don’t blame my soldiers. You can blame me. And one day, if I end up infected just like your loved ones did, you’ll be free to pick up a weapon and shoot me.”
“Tell us in simple words—what’s going on?”
Hearing that question, Alan replied plainly, “The collapse of the world has begun. If you wait and trust me, you’ll learn everything in detail. For now, leadership of this place has changed, and my priority is to secure humanity’s future from this point forward.”
None of the people nearby made a move. Many eyes watched, because at that moment, in the distance, a large group of armed soldiers was approaching.
“All right. The time has come,” Alan said, giving the order. The soldiers dragged away the infected men.
“No, please!”
“They might be immune to the virus—wait!”
“No one is immune to the virus, ma’am,” Joel said, unmoved. “But you’re free to die with your husband if you wish. As our captain said, everyone is free to do what they want.”
Alan sighed at Joel’s attitude, took out his pistol, and seeing that the infected men weren’t resisting, he said, “May their souls rest in peace.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“No! Damn you! You’re just like the others—the death-wishers!” a woman screamed curses at Alan until her voice gave out.
All Alan did was smile. He recalled scenes from his time at war and thought this wasn’t much different. “Burn the bodies. Take everyone to the cabins.”
“Understood, Captain.”
