Apocalypse: The Dead Lives
Chapter 35: The Leader

Chapter 35: The Leader

I froze as I watched the silhouettes fall on the shattered glass door. The dying sunlight glinted off their weapons.

My pulse hammered in my ears as I shared a quick glance with Cooper. Each of us carefully planning our next move.

"Stay low," Ronan instructed.

I crouched behind a counter smeared with blood. The crunch of broken glass under deliberate footsteps filled the silence.

A leader emerged from the group, a broad-shouldered man with scars etched deep into his face. His eyes seemed hard and wary.

He stopped at the threshold, scanning the interior as if weighing our worth.

"Identify yourselves!" He barked, his voice rough and unforgiving. "This isn’t a safe haven for drifters."

Ronan stepped into the flickering light.

My eyes widened by his actions. What the hell is he doing.

He raised his hands in a gesture of peace.

"We’re survivors," he spoke, his voice steady despite the chaos we found ourselves in. "We need shelter for the night."

For a moment, the man’s gaze swept over Ronan and I stepped forward. I stood next to him and Cooper and Ellie followed my lead.

"What the fuck?" We heard a familiar voice asking.

Oliver emerged from the crowd and tears shot up in my eyes.

"Oli?" I muttered, my voice barely audible. He stayed unmoving in his spot. Tears shot up in his eyes as he watched me.

His jaw tightened as he watched us, and a heavy silence fell over everyone.

"We’ve all done what we must to survive," Ronan continued carefully, choosing his words with caution. "We mean no harm. We’re simply looking for a safe place to rest for the night."

The leader’s eyes flicked over our group before returning to Ronan, skepticism written all over his face. "Trust isn’t free here," he growled. "What do you offer in return?"

Ronan swallowed hard, his hand tightening on the machete at his side. "We have supplies to share and information. We can be useful allies if you’re willing to work together."

I felt the tension build as the leader considered our words. His wary gaze drifted between me and Oliver, who was probably the only reason why they hadn’t shot us yet.

"Talk," he finally said in a low, measured tone. "Explain why we should believe you."

"We share the same enemy," Ronan replied, letting the truth of our desperate situation sink in. "In a world overrun by the dead, it’s the living who pose the greatest threat. If we help each other, we all stand a better chance."

The leader’s eyes darkened with contemplation. Behind him, his group shifted restlessly. Their weapons were still drawn but less tense now. They seemed curious yet cautious all at the same time.

"And you know them?" The leader questioned Oliver.

"They’re my family." He uttered with a smile on his face, and something flickered in his eyes, but it was too brief for me to notice what it was.

"You have a week to prove yourselves worthy of my alliance. I’m Ender, and this is my people." He blankly stated.

That was it. His people started to retreat and Oliver stormed at us with a smile on his face.

"Tell me everything," he uttered before pulling me into his chest.

He then gave every member of our group a hug before coming back over to me.

"Wait, who are all these people? Where’s Dad and DeAndre?" I curiously wanted to know.

"They’re both back at camp. Working." Oliver explained and I slowly nodded in understanding.

"And they’re okay? You’re okay, right? You’re being blackmailed to work here, right?"

Oliver frowned at me. He shook his head in disbelief before wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "No, on the contrary. They’re actually really good people."

I looked over at Ronan who seemed to be deep in thought. A deep frown was etched onto his beautiful face and I realized that I wasn’t mad at him anymore.

I’ve realized that he made a mistake- and I shouldn’t have talked to him like I did. I shouldn’t have yelled at him.

That’s not who I am. That’s not who I want to be for Ronan.

God, I said so many hurtful things to him, out of anger. And I defended Marco when all he’s ever done was hurt me. Ronan was the one who was trying to protect me and that makes me feel horrible.

"So how did you meet all these people?" Cooper curiously asked Oliver in confusion.

"Through, Serena. She introduced me to Ender and well- everybody else." Oliver explained.

"Serena?" Ellie questioned him and he cleared his throat before scratching his back.

"Yeah, I stole her gun and then she chased me, remember?" He asked Ronan and I.

"You stole someone’s gun?" Ellie asked again.

"Not exactly," Oliver said before exhaling a heavy breath. Why are they so awkward?

"We needed a distraction to get Michael down from the fence back in the city. The plan was for Oliver to steal someone’s gun who could pass for Hailey-Jade." Ronan explained.

"Oh," was all Ellie said and Oliver curiously watched her.

"Where did you guys disappear to? I went back to the farm, looking for you." Oliver asked Cooper and Ellie.

"Marco’s right-hand man showed up and threatened to kill us." Cooper blankly stated. "It was twenty against two. Not a fair fight at all." Cooper explained.

"Then they took us back to the city, but then the colossus zombies showed up, so we had to hide in an underground bunker in order for us to not die," Ellie added.

"And you guys?" Oliver asked me and Ronan.

"We didn’t have any other choice, so we willingly went underground with the rest of the civilians," I told him.

"Anything else I should know?" Oliver asked us with a smile on his face.

"Well, Ronan just beat the shit out of Marco right before he shot him." Cooper blurted out and the people walking ahead of us stopped in their tracks.

They collectively turned around to frown at Ronan. And I didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

All I could hope for was that they wouldn’t kill us for it.

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