Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night - Chapter 56

A Serious Dilemma
While Zane was having the ever living shit slapped out of him by Elena and Olivia, Ryan and his crew were on the move. The young jock’s scouts had witnessed the trio leaving the second building early in the morning, and were quick to report back to Ryan about the whereabouts of Zane and his hideout.

With this information in hand, Ryan began to conceive a plot with his lieutenants about how they would gain entry to Zane’s camp, and, more importantly, loot its resources. Ryan was quite excited about the prospect, so much so that his voice was louder than it should be as he conspired with his friends.

“This is perfect! Zane is gone, which means we won’t have to worry about firearms. Not only that, but Elena and Olivia are out of harm’s way! We can approach his camp and ask them for entry. After all, we’re all fellow classmates. Why wouldn’t they let us in? And once we’re inside… Their supplies are ours for the taking!”

Ryan’s various friends nodded their heads in agreement with these plans, but one of them, Jorge, was quick to speak about a few minor things that caused him to be hesitant about this whole plan.

“I mean… Even if they permit us entry into their camp… Once they see us taking their supplies, they will fight back, right? What do we do then?”

Ryan looked at his friend as if the man was an idiot and was quick to lecture him about his naivety.

“We do whatever is necessary to get those supplies! They chose their side! It is us versus them! What don’t you understand about the fact that we are literally living at the end of human civilization, Jorge?”

Jorge looked away from Ryan, whether it was guilty or shame that compelled him to do so. Only he knew, but he was quick to voice his thoughts on the matter.

“I just… I just don’t want to kill anyone, Ryan… I wasn’t raised like that…”

Ryan, however, was just about sick of everyone’s hesitancy towards engaging in violence, especially his best friends, who were supposed to have his back in these difficult times. He was quick to grab hold of Jorge’s collar and smack the man across the face, as he demanded that he and everyone else do as they were told.

“Idiot! If you don’t kill them, they will kill you! This is the world we now live in, and I don’t want to see any of you get yourselves killed. So, who is with me?”

Despite the fact that they were literally talking about raiding another camp, and killing its denizens for their supplies. The others were completely on board with Ryan’s plan. After all, they had all gone longer without food than ever before in their lives. And they could not handle the pain of hunger. Thus, they were quick to agree to Ryan’s demands, so long as they could stuff their faces once this was all over.

“Alright, I’m in…”

“Me too…”

“Yup, let’s fucking do this!”

In the end, it was only Jorge who was still hesitant, and thus Ryan forced the young man into an ultimatum with a terrifying look in his eyes.

“Well, it seems like everyone is in agreement except for you, Jorge…. So what will it be? Are you with us? Or against us?”

The look on his friends faces as they thought about the possibility that Jorge would betray them was a severe one… Knowing that he was quite literally about to get beaten to death by the young men he considered being as close as brothers, Jorge’s resistance to the idea of killing Zane’s followers broke. With a heavy sigh, he agreed to do what was necessary.

“Alright… I get it… I’m in….”

Ryan smirked something fierce as he nodded his head, and patted Jorge on the back, as if he wasn’t giving off murderous vibes just moments before.

“That’s my boy. Now let’s gather the others and take what is rightfully ours!”

—

It was only an hour or two after Zane and the others had departed that the main doorway to the second building received a loud pounding on it. This immediately riled the survivors within the camp as they rushed towards the door, believing that another abomination was trying to break inside.

However, as they held their clubs in their hands, timidly awaiting their deaths, a familiar voice called out to them.

‘Hey! Is anyone in there? It’s me Ryan! Please, you have to help us! We are out of food and water. Can you please just spare us some supplies?”

One of the survivors looked towards the other four boys and girls in their small party with an anxious expression on her face. Without Zane to take the lead, they literally had no idea what to do, and this girl was quick to express this sentiment.

“What the hell do we do?”

Another survivor was quick to deny that they should allow Ryan and his group inside. After all, Zane gave them explicit orders not to let anyone in who was neither himself nor the two women by his side.

“What are you talking about? You heard Zane! Nobody is allowed inside but himself, Elena, and Olivia. Obviously, we tell them to kick rocks!”

However, the other survivors were not so sure. They had followed Zane because the man had the power to force them to do so. But now that he was gone, and someone else presented themselves as an alternative, they were starting to change their minds.

After all, Ryan was the most popular boy in school, and was beloved by most of the campus. Or he was prior to the apocalypse. While Zane was a weird loner, with a terrifying past. They never volunteered to join Zane or follow him. Circumstances had forced them together, and Zane assumed control because he was willing to engage in violence.

But ruling with fear commanded neither respect nor loyalty, and the moment Zane was away, and his followers were presented with an alternative option for leadership. They suddenly found themselves faced with a serious dilemma. Do they allow Ryan inside and follow him? Or do they tell him to go fuck himself?