Author note here
* There will be a slight change to the Template System. Not a significant one just, it's just to add in the character I've been recommended to by a reader of this fanfiction.
* The number of templates won't change, I mean they will. Instead of going from #10 to #1, they'll go from #10 to #0. It'll be just a slight change to how they'll be counted.
* Check it out in the auxiliary chapter if you want, and thanks for reading.
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I didn't sleep much that night. Not from nightmares... Okay maybe a little. But it was mostly a habit I had back on earth. It was practically a trend to not sleep and spend hours scrolling on your phone after midnight.
That's not saying I didn't have a schedule, just not a great one. But when I had a morning shift at work, that's when I slept the full 8-hours. Too scared to lose my job.
That was all in the past though, even if it was practically just a day ago. What truly kept me from sleeping like a baby is: ...." This God damn concrete of a couch!!."
Okay, jokes aside. I was soo tempted to buy a nice sleeping bag, that thought collapsed soon after for multiple reasons.
One: the the weather out here wasn't so bad. The night was slightly cold, but that got fixed by laying the coat that I took from the resort facility to keep warm.
Two: I didn't know what might happen to me out here, so saving up on (SP) would be the smart move in this situation Incase I needed to buy something expensive from the shop in an unforeseen emergency.
Simply saying, there are too many unknowns.
Like the scouts I've seen yesterday, that meant there was a search perimeter. David wasn't playing around. He was committed to hunting me down.
I expected as much. He's the excessive/possessive kind, if something doesn't go his way he'd either force it to happen or make it so it doesn't happen at all.
He lost five people. Maybe more, cause I don't know exactly if the fire killed anyone else other then the two women I knocked out cold. Meaning, I didn't know what my two systems registered as kills. And figuring out how it worked was essential for many reasons.
" I should put that on the list of things to do after I got my situation in control." I thought out loud.
Okay, back to David.
What I mean is: I'm 100% sure his pride's hurt. He'll throw everything he can at tracking me down. He probably thinks I'm part of a rival group.
Let him think that. The less information he has on me or what I represent the more likely he makes stupid decisions. And a stupid leader is the doom of his group.
Now that's out of the way, I need to think about what happened yesterday. Well, a lot of things happened yesterday. What I'm talking about specifically is: when I killed that infected I thought about if killing was okay and about the lives I've taken.
In a perfect world harming others or in Dyer cases killing others is bad. But, this isn't a perfect world, not even back on Earth was it perfect. It's just a piece of the same cloth, just less chaotic then the other.
We live in a world of cause and effect. Actions have consequences more so now that I live or I will be living here in this world from now on.
I needed a code to live by. Something that will keep me both safe and from turning into a monster of my own creation.
First, It would keep me safe by shielding me from making a mistake that will cost me my life. Cuz those thoughts from yesterday about killing will eventually build up overtime to become hesitation. And hesitation will lead me to make mistakes in critical moments.
Second, I do not want to enjoy killing. More so, becoming a psycho killer who's sole purpose is to reap lives indiscriminately, I do believe in revenge and an eye for an eye but to a certain extent.
Or like my late mother used to say to me <" words can be forgiven eventually, but actions will leave permanent scars that will always be remembered for what they caused ">. She was a great person.
So, going by my infinite wisdom derived from hundreds of movies, Anime, Manga, etc.. .
You name it, I've seen it... Probably.
I made a code that best represented my moral compass. And anchored me to do and to be what I wished to become in this world, eventually.
( * A/N: you can skip it and check it out in the auxiliary chapter called "The code". )
• { The Code } •
1. No Innocent Blood.
I will not harm those who do not mean me or mine harm. If they raise no weapon, they are not my enemy.
2. No Children. Ever.
No matter the cause, no matter the situation. The cycle of violence ends with me, not with a child.
3. No Vengeance on the Weak.
If a guilty party dies, their family does not inherit their sins. I will not punish wives, sons, daughters, or parents for the crimes of one.
4. Old Age Is Not a Shield. But Deserves Mercy.
If the aged pose no threat, I will not harm them. Wisdom should be preserved, not destroyed out of fear or anger.
5. No Mass Retaliation.
If one man wrongs me from within a group, I will find him. I will not become the monster that slaughters many for the sins of one. ( *A/D: It's funny how this is exactly why Joel died by the hands of Abby. )
6. Self-Defense. Not Slaughter.
If I am attacked, I will defend myself. If I must kill, I kill to survive, not to feel powerful.
7. Wounded Are Not Game.
If someone is no longer a threat, disarmed, unconscious, or begging, I will not finish them. A line must remain uncrossed.
8. Kill Only When Necessary.
If I can spare a life, I should. No matter how easy the kill might be.
9. The Day I Enjoy the Kill Is the Day I Lose Myself.
If I ever smile while taking a life, or feel joy in watching someone bleed, I will walk away. I will not become what this world wants me to become.( * A/D: revenge is a means to an end, not the goal. )
10. But Some Things Should Not Walk.
There are people who prey on the weak. Rapists, Slavers, Cannibals, Abusers. Monsters that wear the face of men.
I will not let them roam. If they cross my path, I end them, not out of rage, but out of necessity.
They chose what they are. And I choose to make sure they don't choose again.
Some if not most sections of this code contradict each other. At the end of the day it all comes down to two things Necessity and Consequences.
So when the time comes, and I face one of those contradictions. I will do what's necessary avoiding most of the consequences possible.
I finished writing the code in two pages of the notebook. One to keep it as a reminder whenever I opened it, and one I ripped and folded it and put it in my pocket.
Still knowing all of this, I know I might do something that I will regret doing. When that that time comes and it happens... I'll try to be better.
Thinking about all of this made me mentally exhausted, so I took a short nap while I had some time before Dawn.
***
When morning hit, I started prepping.
Stretched first. Ate a protein bar. Took one of the multivitamins. Used the water purification tablet on stream water I gathered yesterday and drank carefully. I'm building a body here, consistency is key. Making it a habit while I'm at it.
Then I opened the notebook. Reviewed what I wrote about yesterday's scouting endeavors.
Two scouts. West-southwest route. Sweep pattern.
They weren't alone.
It'd be stupid to send two guys alone into the forest with nothing but a rifle and a machete. There had to be more nearby, maybe not in the same direction, but close. If I wanted this to go flawlessly, I needed to be two steps ahead, no 10 steps ahead of the curve.
My job now was simple: shift their assumptions.
Right now, they think I'm hiding somewhere in the area. That's good. But I need to make sure they look the wrong way. Mislead them. Confuse them. All this to buy time, time I'll need to prepare for whatever option I'll go for. Either it be the extermination of David's group or I'll just disappear from thier visibility completely.
Time = survival.
After doing a double check of my gear, it hit me that I still didn't have a long-ranged-silenced weapon. With the possibility of there being multiple parties of scouts, I needed to be as stealthy as possible, Incase an unforeseen situation happens.
Like Murphy's law: anything that can happen. Will happen.
A non-silenced weapon isn't ideal. Outfitting my glock with a silencer needed tools and a new barrel and the silencer. It would essentially cost me more than actually buying something else. Like a crossbow for example.
Why a crossbow and not a bow you might ask. Well obviously my body won't be able to pull the string, hence, a big No!!.
And again you might ask why not a compound bow, it wouldn't need that much strength to wield it and it's very accurate and strong, It's perfect.
That's what I thought too until I looked up the prices of anything bow and arrow related.
[ Grand Shop ]
SP: 1005
• Products:
- Weapons:
Mini-Crossbow: 30 ~ 50 SP
Crossbow (Full-sized): 80 ~ 120 SP
Regular Bow: 50 ~ 75 SP
Compound Bow: 150 ~ 200 SP
" It's price hurts my eyes. " I said. Yep, not buying that till I'm filthy rich in (SP). It's not like my first option either.
The mini-Crossbow is the ideal weapon in my situation right now. It's compact, it's silent, it's reloading speed is fast. It couldn't score more positive points in my mind, the range is a bit of a flaw though.
I went through with purchasing it. I chose the best model of course, it came with a mini-pouch that holds bolts. And I bought an extra ten bolts added to the 8 that came with it. All of that cost me a crisp 55 SP.
Now done with all of my preparations. I checked the area around the cabin for any infected or people first. You be careful, you get to live.
First, I moved east. Away from where I spotted the scouts. I stayed low, weaving through brush and tall grass, avoiding flat surfaces and animal paths. It took me about an hour to reach a decent clearing with an open sky.
From there, I placed a fake camp. Old trick. Anyone could pull it off, you didn't need to be a veteran assassin to do it.
At first I wanted to leave the protein bars wrappers near A patch of Disturbed dirt, but fortunately I caught myself in the middle making a blunder. No one in their right mind would eat one of these things that probably didn't survive the test of time. After all, it's been 13 years since the infection started.
And if I've left them, anyone not dumb enough would have noticed this place was a decoy because of them.
So, i just emptied half a water bottle, left the cap off. Then took a shirt I found in the storage room back at the facility and tore part of it. Hung it on a tree branch like someone walked past in a rush.
I even made a small fire pit, covered it with leaves, and left a small soot mark nearby like someone forgot to clean it. I might have gone a bit overboard with the details, but it sure looked real.
Then I walked back west, circling around the long way, making sure to brush over my own tracks when I could.
The goal? If they find the camp, they'll think I'm heading east. Which buys me space to hunt west.
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Word count: 2060 words.
Thank you for reading.
To be continued.