Fear The Living/Issue 100

This is Issue 100 of Fear The Living, titled A Death In The Family. This is the fourteenth issue of Arc #12, and the last Issue of Fear The Living.

Author's Notes
I would just like to thank all of you who took the time to even read Fear The Living till this point. This story started off terrible, and I'm surprised that I even made it to the last issue, but I don't regret a thing. It has been a great journey writing Fear The Living, and I'm going to miss it. Thank you all who have taken the time to read FTL, you the real MVP. I'd really like to thank TheInfected and Lee Dixon for keeping me going, without them FTL probably wouldn't have lived till this issue. Well here you go, the last Issue, hope you like it.



Issue 100
Ken Myers Jr.'s POV I slowly walk towards Wolf’s office, every step filling me with a dread that I could die due to my bite before I can finish the mission. But I can’t be thinking like that, I have to focus, I have to make sure that I finish the mission so the group can escape. I stop in front of the door leading to Wolf’s office, and two bandits stand there, and they both begin searching me for weapons. They take my pistol, and then let me through. I slowly open the door of his office, and inside I see Wolf, sitting down on a chair, and he points to another chair next to him.

I look around the office, taking in all the details. He has a desk at one end, with a speaker and a pistol on it. On another end he has a picture of himself, a much younger version, and another person and he’s hugging the person, with a diploma in his hands. I look back at him, and see that he is unarmed. “Sit down Ken, I just want to talk. I can reason with you, can’t I?” Wolf says, pointing at the chair next to him.

I slowly walk towards the chair, not taking my stare off of him the entire time. I sit down on the chair and I keep on staring at him. “What do you want Wolf?” I ask him, and I make sure to sound as intimidating as I can.

“Relax yourself Ken, no one is going to attack anyone right now. Want a drink, anything to eat?” Wolf asks me.

“Don’t think just because I agreed to talk with you that now we are friends. This doesn’t change the fact that your people have taken the lives of most of my group.” I tell Wolf and I lean forward in my seat.

“And you think you haven’t killed anyone in my group? You and your group have decimated more than a hundred of my men. Have you ever thought about that? You are taking human lives too Ken, don’t forget that. You don’t think those men have souls? You have also gotten your hands bloody, so don’t go antagonizing me for trying to end a stupid war my predecessors started.” Wolf says, and he stands up and walks to his desk.

“I’ve only been killing people from your group to protect mine Wolf. I had an entire group to care about, a group that didn’t only care for themselves, a group that would help others if they needed help.” I respond, and Wolf walks back to his seat with a bottle of wine in his hand, and two cups in the other.

“Is that right? I seem to recall once having stumbled upon a market once, and I hid when I saw you, thinking the rest of your group was surely there. I saw as you gunned down a defenseless man who only asked for mercy, and you have the audacity to say I only kill for my own needs.” Wolf says, and he sits back down in the seat. He pours wine in both of the cups and puts it down. He hands me one of the cups, and I only accept it when he says, “I promised you no foul play Ken, just take the damn cup.”

I grab the cup and I look him in the eyes, “I can tell you weren’t the murderer you are now when there wasn’t an apocalypse. You were someone smart, and with a future. But the apocalypse fucked that up didn’t it? You were going to become a genius, you were going to be someone. Tell me about your past Wolf, we both know I’m going to die here anyways, humor me.” I say, and I drink the all the wine in the cup, and I place it on the floor.

Wolf does the same, and he looks at the photo at the end of the room that I saw when I walked in. “I was born into a terrible family, my mom would beat me every chance she got. One day my dad came over, and he tried to kill her. I don’t know why, but I killed him, and then who I thought was my mom told me that she wasn’t, and she told me who my real mom was. I ran as far away as I could, and I was found by the man in that photo. He took me in, and raised me like a little brother. I went to college, and everything, and just as we were about to launch a business together, the apocalypse began. We were separated, and the bandits took me in. That’s the only reason why I am where I am right now. If the bandits never saved me, I wouldn’t be here.” Wolf says.

“I used to be in a gang before the apocalypse, and one day my gang was trying to beat up this defenseless girl, and I did the only thing I could do, I tried to stop them. They ended up beating me within an inch of my life. The woman’s name was Karen, and she is dead because of your bandits. My parents died in a car crash while driving to the hospital, it was all my fault. I was the reason that they were driving to the hospital, and the reason they got into the crash. Wolf, both of us have lost almost everything, but we went down two different paths. I decided to pick myself up, and not let myself be consumed by the darkness, but you did.” I tell Wolf, and I stare back at his desk. “I know that this day is going to end only one way, I have to die. But leave my group out of this, they were just following my orders.”

“My men were only following orders, and look what it’s gotten them, death.” Wolf stands up, and he motions for me to follow him.

I do exactly that, and I stand up and follow him as he walks towards his desk, and I can see an array of camera views around the base on his monitor.

“Before we continue with this conversation, I have only one request Wolf, for how long was Evan one of your spy’s?” I ask Wolf, Evan was one of my friends, and I need to know if it was just an act the entire time, or if he was truly my friend for a while.

“I captured him and his sister before he met your group, and we made him do what we wanted, or we would have killed his sister. Eventually we did, but then we would have killed him if he didn’t do what we said, so don’t blame the kid for betraying your group.” Wolf says, and grins.

“I will blame that asshole for making us all trust him, and making me think he was actually my friend. He was the cause of so deaths many in our group. I just that he wasn’t one of you, but you still would have found a way to fuck my life over some more.” I say, and I look at the monitor on Wolf’s desk

He types in something on the computer, and the screen changes to a single camera, and I see the group being held hostage, all with guns to the back of their heads, and all of them with their hands and feet tied together.

“Don’t do this Wolf; you don’t want to know what I’m capable of.” I say, but he quickly retorts.

“What is a bitten man capable of Ken, I know you’re bitten. I’m prepared to offer their freedom Ken, but first you have to pass through six tests that I have set up for you, complete them and I guarantee their freedom.” Wolf says, and he turns to me.

“Fine, I’ll do whatever your tests are, but you have to swear on your life that you won’t lay a finger on any of them.” I say.

“I won’t have to lay a finger on any of them, as long as you follow each of my instructions while doing those tests. Are you ready Myers?” Wolf asks, and I don’t even have to think to respond.

“I’m always ready when it comes to protecting my group.” I say.

Wesley Snipe's POV We all watch as Ken slowly walks away from us, towards Wolf’s office. I watch as he makes a right turn, and we can’t see him anymore. “We have to get out of here now, we won’t want to be here when this place blows sky high.” I say, and I have turn around.

Everyone else begins to follow me as I lead them out of the base, but we are quickly stopped by a group of bandits blocking our path, I look back to see if we can make a quick escape by running away, but another group of bandits appear, and they block that path.

“Wolf told us to take you guys in alive, but if it were up to me I would have you killed where you stand Wesley.” The bandit says.

I look back and I see Ewan lowering his hand to his pistol, but I just shake my head at him, signaling him to stop. “There’s no need for bloodshed right now. Don’t you remember me? I may have set you all down this path, but look where stopping it has gotten me. You can change who you are, you don’t have to kill because Wolf tells you to. You don’t ha-“ I say, but I’m cut off the moment one of the bandits hits me in the face with the butt of his gun.

“I’ve had it up to here with all this redemption bullshit Wesley, we are all already going to hell, might as well make the best of life before we die. Now follow us, or get a fresh new bullet shot in your forehead.” The bandit says, and we all have to do as he says.

The bandit’s bring us into a room, and tell us to get on our knees and put our hands behind our backs. They tie our hands together, and then tie our legs together. After a while a bandit walks up to a TV in front of us, and turns it on, and we see Ken sitting down in front of a table.

Ken Myers Jr.'s POV I follow Wolf as he brings me towards the first test, and he opens a door, and motions for me to enter, he closes the door and follows me in. In the middle of the room is a table, with 6 shot glasses, the first three are filled with water, and the last three are empty.

“Sit down Ken.” Wolf says, and he walks towards a camera in front of the table, and turns it on.

He leans against the wall, and I sit down in the chair. “Turn on the TV.” Wolf whispers into his earpiece, and he looks back at me.

“The six glasses are in a row, by only moving one cup, how can you alternate them from full to empty?” Wolf says, and he grins.

I stare at the six glasses in front of me, and I look at each one of them. By only moving one glass how am I supposed to make all six alternate from full to empty? Let’s see if I move the second to the end, no then the first one would be obsolete and the others would be full, empty, empty, empty, and then full.

Moving the third one would result in the same result, but what if I filled another cup? Let’s see if I use the first cup to fill one of the empty cups, no then it would be empty, full, full. The third one? No that would become full, full, empty. The second one then, but to which empty glass, moving it to the third one would result in empty, empty, full.

“Ten more seconds Ken.” Wolf says, and his grin widens.

Thinking quickly I pick up the second shot glass, and I empty it’s contents into the fifth shot glass, and I place it back to where it was. This results in a full, empty, full, empty, full, empty pattern.

I look up at Wolf, and I see him grin at me. “Now, drink one of the full cups, but there is one of them which is poisoned, if you drink that one, then you die in an instant.” Wolf says, and I look back down at the drinks.

Without thinking I grab the fifth shot glass, and I drink it, since it’s the one that got moved. I place it down, and I look at Wolf.

“Nice job kid, next test won’t be as easy as a riddle.” Wolf says, and he opens the next door, and waits for me to walk in before closing the door from his side, and locking it. I look around the room, but I can’t see a damn thing because the lights are off, and the entire room is cloaked in darkness.

“There are six biters, in there Ken, and the lights will remain off until you have killed each and every last one of them. And if you faint due to your bite, the biters will be eliminated, but someone from your group will have to die. Are you ready Ken?” Wolf says, but I know he’s just asking so that I make noise to attract the biters.

I quickly get into a defensive stance, with my only fist raised. This probably would be easier if I had both of my hands. I can’t think of that right now, I listen intensely for any sound of a biter, and I keep hearing the groans of the biters. I slowly walk forward, trying to make the least amount of noise that I can, but in this room any step echoes around.

It’s not long before I hear footsteps, and I can only guess that there’s a biter sprinting towards me right now. I can only see the biter when it’s a few steps in front of me, and I jump to the side, and I put my foot out so it trips. Taking advantage of this I quickly stomp down on its head, crushing its skull. I stomp down again and again, and then I put my hands on my knees so that I can catch my breath. One biter down, five more to go.

It’s not long before I’m tackled by a biter, and I quickly place my hand on its head, holding its head back. I can feel it clawing me, but I endure the pain, and I push it off of me. It stands up and lunges at me, but I grab its head and I smash it against my knee. It collapses to the ground and it still slowly moves it’s arm at me, trying to get it’s prey. I feel myself suddenly become weak, and I collapse to the ground with a loud thud. I look up at the roof, fighting not to slip out of consciousness. It’s only when I feel the biter’s hand wrap against my arm that I regain my strength. I quickly grab it’s arm, and yank it away. I stand up slowly and I grab it’s head, and slam it against the ground repeatedly. Two down, only four more to go.

I look around, expecting a biter to attack me, and I’m not surprised when I hear footsteps approaching me. I see a biter sprinting towards me, and it’s too quick, and it tackles me to the ground. I punch it in its head, but that barely affects it. I look around, and I faintly see a wall to my side.

I quickly tug the biter as hard as I can towards that wall, and I slam its head against the wall once. The biter still claws me as I use my feet to keep it back so it doesn’t bite me. I grab it’s head, and I push its head against the wall again and again. After a while I managed to kill the biter, and I kick it off of me. I use the wall to pull myself up and I look around and I see another biter sprinting at me. Thinking quickly I lean to the side and the biter slams into the wall. I take advantage of it’s stunned position, and I grab the back of it’s head and I slam it’s head against the wall again and again until it’s head has become the equivalent of a smashed pumpkin.

I wipe my hands off on my shirt, and I look around, and I see two biters sprinting towards me this time. I quickly jump to the side, and I look back to see the biters still chasing me. I begin sprinting into the room, and I eventually reach the other wall, and I turn around to see a biter sprinting at me. I quickly punch it in the face, knocking it down. I look back up and see the other biter sprinting towards me, and I quickly kick it back. The biter than I knocked down stands up, and it grabs me. Acting quickly I punch it in the face, and it stumbles back. I kick it in the shin as hard as I can, and it falls down.

The other biter that I kicked sprints at me, knocking me back into the wall. I manage to put my hand on it’s face, and I begin to push away. I dig my fingers into it’s eyes as I push the biter away from me. I move my hand to the side as hard as I can, moving the biter a bit too. Quickly I grab the biter’s head, and I slam it against the wall as hard as I can, breaking the biter’s head like a pumpkin.

I look down and I see the other biter grabbing my foot, and it trips me. I climbs over me, and goes to take a bite out of me, but I manage to hold it back with one hand.

Suddenly my eyes feel heavy, and I fight to remain conscious so no one from the group has to die, but I suddenly begin to lose strength, and my arms fall to my side. A bandit runs into the room and puts a bullet into the biters head. The last thing I see before I pass out is the bandit walking towards me, and then telling Wolf that I have lost consciousness. I have fucked up, now someone from the group is going to die.

Diana Myers's POV I look as my brother falls unconscious, and a bandit rushes into the room he is in and puts a bullet into the biter. The bandit talks into his walkie talkie, telling Wolf that Ken has fallen unconscious. I stare at the screen, one of us is going to die, we were told that when Ken started to solve the puzzles.

“Fucking hell.” I hear Ewan say, and he looks to the ground.

“Did we say that you could talk? Now shut the fuck up and wait patiently till the boss gets here. Y’all are going to get it when he gets here. The only bad thing is that we can only put a bullet in one of you, if it were up to me I would kill all of you. Well, good luck to y’all, you are going to need it. If I had to put money as to who would die I would say either Diana or Logan, since they are the closest to Ken.” I hear a bandit say, and he quickly laughs when he finishes talking.

“Yeah, one of those two are fucking screwed, and if not one of them then I would guess Wesley. But still, we should stay quiet till the boss comes, you know how he feels about this type of talking. He wouldn’t like it.” Another bandit says, and the moment he finishes talking Wolf walks into the room, and stares at all of us.

“I take it you have all seen Ken fall unconscious right. You know what the means don’t you, one of you has to die now. But I don’t like just choosing, that’s biased, and I don’t like to be biased, so I am thinking of a number between one to one hundred. The person who comes the furthest from the number will die.” Wolf says, and he stops for a second, then looks back at us. “I have thought of the number, I will start with Diana, guess a number.” Wolf says.

Without thinking I just say “3.”

Wolf walks up to David, and nods at him. “68.” David says. Wolf walks up to Wesley, and Wesley says “12.” Wolf walks up to Logan, and Logan says “73.” Wolf walks up to Ives, and he says “33.” Wolf walks up to Lasky and Lasky says “84.” Wolf walks up to Ewan and Ewan says “99.”

Wolf smiles at me then looks at the rest of the group. “The number was 69, and that means that the farthest was dear little Diana here.” Wolf says, and he walks over to me, and grabs my arm and picks me up.

“STOP, KILL ME AND LEAVE HER ALONE WOLF.” David says, and he slowly stands up, and stares at Wolf.

“I would love to do that, but I keep my promises, and you were the closest to my number, so sit down and shut up.” Wolf says, and he walks me to the door, but he stops when Ewan stands up.

“Look, kill me okay, none of these people deserve it, they are good people. Kill me, they deserve to live Wolf, I know you are reasonable Wolf, be reasonable with me Wolf, kill me, and let the others go.” Ewan says, and he stares at Wolf.

“Like I said to David, shut up, sit down, and accept that Diana has to die because she was the furthest from the number.” Wolf says, and he continues to walk me out of the room.

He leads me down the corridors, and I decide to talk to him. “Why are you doing this Wolf? Why can’t you just let us all go Wolf, please just do it. You and the bandits started this whole shit, they are just peaceful people who were dragged into your war. Let all of them go.” I tell Wolf, but he just shakes his head at me and lets go of me.

“I promised these men the chance at a life without having to risk their lives Diana. And the only way I can do that is to eliminate Ken, he is the one that caused all of this Diana. Ken was the one who started this war. Sure we would have started it, but Ken started it when he killed Wesley’s best friend. I’m trying to end a war that your family started Diana, and the only way to do that is to eliminate your family. So just shut the fuck up Diana.” Wolf says, and he grabs my arm again and continues walking me down the corridors.

He stops at a door, and opens it, and he tosses me in there. I hit the ground hard, and he walks into the room, and he slams the door shut. I look around the room, and I see that it’s empty, with only a big window showing another room next to us, and a door to the next room.

Inside that room I see Ken laying on the ground, unconscious. I stand up as quick as I can, but Wolf punches me in the face, knocking me to the ground. He cuts my bindings, but then he kicks me in the chest, and holds me down with his foot. “I am going to torture you before I kill you, I want Ken to suffer, just like I did when he started this war. I lost my best friends thanks to him, and Wesley lost his girlfriend and best friend thanks to Ken. It’s all been Ken’s fault, and it’s time he got a taste of his own medicine Diana.” Wolf says and he stops.

I look through the window and I see Ken waking up, and then I know my time is over.

Ken Myers Jr.'s POV My eyes slowly open as I regain consciousness; I look around the room I’m in. There’s nothing but a hammer at the end of the room, and when I look forward I see a window with Wolf standing in the other room, holding my sister down with his boot.

My eyes widen when I realize that he chose my sister to die, and I just stare at Wolf. I slowly pull myself up off the ground, and I stare at Wolf. “You fucking maniac, you evil monster. LET HER GO, JUST KILL ME WOLF, DON’T HURT HER. LET HER GO.” I yell, and I bang my fists against the glass as hard as I can.

“You sure you want to be insulting me Ken?” Wolf says, and he picks up my sister, and he just punches her in the face, knocking her down.

“YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED WOLF, YOU GOT ME. JUST KILL ME AND LET THEM GO WOLF, PLEASE.” I yell at Wolf, my sister can’t die, she just can’t.

Wolf picks up Diana again, and he tosses her against the window, cracking it a bit. “YOU WILL NOT MAKE DEMANDS KEN.” Wolf says, and he punches my sister again, knocking her down again.

I feel tears start to roll down my eyes as I see Wolf punch my sister again and again, and I know that I was the cause of this, it’s my fault that my sister is going to die, it’s my fault that my group will suffer. This has always been my fault. I remember back when this war started, I could have just stopped it all by just running away from there. This all could have been stopped then, and I wouldn’t be where I am right now.

“Please Wolf, stop this, just stop this madness Wolf, why are you even doing all of this Wolf? If you didn’t want your men to risk their lives then you could have left us alone. Wolf why are you doing this to us, please Wolf don’t do this, you told me about how you were before this apocalypse, you don’t have to be a murderer, you were a good man before Wolf, please don’t do this. Let them go Wolf I beg of you. Stop this madness, you don’t have to kill us, you don’t have to torture us Wolf, just stop it.” I tell Wolf, but he does not listen to me, and all he does is grab Diana by the shirt, pick her up, and punch her in the face repeatedly.

“STOP.” I yell again, I can’t take another second of this.

“I’ve had enough of this.” Wolf says, and he takes out his pistol and puts it to her chest.

“No Wolf, please, don’t do it. PLEASE.” I yell, and I bang my fists against the glass. “DON’T DO IT WOLF, DON’T DO IT.”

Wolf doesn’t listen, and he pulls the trigger, putting a bullet through my sisters chest, he pulls the trigger again and again. He opens the door, and he pushes Diana through the door, and he closes it. I quickly rush to Diana’s side, and I hold her hand.

Wolf stares at me, grinning his ass off. “You fucking maniac, I hope you burn in hell Wolf, I hope you fucking burn in hell. YOU FUCKING MANIAC.” I yell, and I feel more tears roll down my eyes.

I look back down at Diana, and I see that her eyes are wide open, but she isn’t breathing. I close her eyes, and I lay her body down. I stand up slowly, and I stare at Wolf. “You deserve to burn in hell Wolf, I’M DONE PLAYING YOUR GAMES. IF YOU WANT TO END THIS SO BADLY THEN BE A MAN AND FIGHT ME. YOU AREN’T A MAN WOLF, YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE.” I yell, and I fall to my knees.

“Why does this have to happen to me, why did all this have to happen to me. Why couldn’t you have done this to someone else, why did I have to suffer. Am I cursed? Am I cursed to see everyone I love die before I can finally die? Just kill me already Wolf. Please Wolf I beg of you to just kill me already.” I say, and I look back up at him, and I see him just staring down at me.

“You can’t die until you have paid for everyone you have killed from my group Ken. They were like family to me, just like your group was family to you Ken, and you can’t die yet until you have paid for it. You will be dead soon ken, you will be dead soon. I’m not sorry about anything Ken, you deserve this.” Wolf says, and he looks away from me.

I look at Diana’s corpse, and I feel more tears roll down my face. I slowly walk towards her, and I hold her corpse in my arms. “I’m so sorry for this Diana, I never wanted to drag you into any of this. I just wanted to end this war, I never wanted you to die because of me. In fact I just never wanted you to die. I’m so sorry about this Diana, I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you. Now the Myers name dies with me sis, I’m the last living Myers. I’m sorry.” I say, and I hold her in my arms.

Then I hear a growling, and I turn to Diana and I see her eyes are now grey. I grab her head, and I hold it down. “Don’t make me do this Wolf, please, don’t make me do this. This doesn’t have to happen Wolf. Just kill me already, please.” I say, but I get no response.

I turn back to Diana, and I just can’t let her stay a biter anymore. I grab her head, and I pull it up, and then in a quick motion I slam it down on the ground, and she stops growling. She goes limp once again, and I just stare at the ground. I look up when I hear a door open, and two bandits walk up to me. “Wolf told us to take you to the next test, let’s go.” The bandit says, but when he grabs my arm I just punch him in the gut with my good arm.

I do the same to the other bandit, and I quickly stand up. I stare at both bandits, and I just get in a fighting stance. “I’m done playing Wolf’s homicidal games. If he wants me to continue he has to come in here and fight me like a man.” I say, and I hear Wolf’s voice boom out.

“Ken, don’t be a fool, just follow the two men to test 3 before I have to kill another person in your group.” Wolf says, and I lower my hands. I can’t let another person die.

I look at the two bandits, and they walk up to me. One grabs one of my arms, and the other grabs my other arm. I follow them when they start walking forward. They open the door forward, and they stop. I see Wolf standing there, and he walks up to me.

“I knew that you were going to faint Ken, I had put a sedative in your wine that would kick in around an hour. At first I thought it might not have worked, but then I saw that you had fallen and your eyes were closing. So don’t blame yourself for your sister’s death Ken it was my fault as you would have expected. In fact you put up quite a fight Ken, you had me believing you might just not fall unconscious.” Wolf says, and he pats me on the shoulder.

“You fucking madman, why the fuck would you warn me about it if you were going to do it anyways. What did I ever do to you to have warranted all of this? I have just been defending myself and my group Wolf. You and your fucking bandits have been the maniacs that have caused all of this. You decided to continue this when you could have ended it. You are the cause of this, you and your fucking bandits. You aren’t a man.” I say, and I spit on the ground in front of Wolf.

“You might not want to be so vulgar Ken.” Wolf says, and he grabs the front of my shirt and pulls me towards him. “Because I can make you and all of your group fucking die this moment. Or they can die and I can make you continue the tests.” Wolf says, and he tosses me to the ground.

“Leave him alone in here, he’ll figure out what the test is.” Wolf says, and he and the other bandits walk outside.

I slowly stand up and I look around the room. I stop the moment I see a man standing at the end of the room, looking at me. “This man has been offered freedom for him and his wife, all he has to do is kill you Ken. If you kill him then you go on to the next test. But if the man kills you, then your entire group will die Ken. Think about what’s more important here Ken, keeping your morality, or saving your group.” I hear Wolf say, and I stare at the man at the end of the room.

He sprints at me, and I quickly dive to the side, dodging him. “You don’t have to do this man. We can just team up and stop Wolf now.” I tell him, but he just sprints at me and grabs me. He punches me in the face and tosses me to the ground.

“You don’t have to do this Man, you can help me stop Wolf.” I say, but the man puts his foot to my neck.

“Wolf said he was going to kill my wife if I didn’t kill you, I’m sorry kid, but I have to do this.” He says, and he pushes he boot deeper on my neck.

“I’m sorry too.” I say, and I grab the bottom of his leg, and I push it forward, moving his leg off of me. I take advantage of this and I grab him by the neck, and I push him against the wall. I quickly wrap my fingers around his neck as hard as I can, and I put all my strength into that one arm to keep him from stopping me.

He begins to punch my arm pretty damn hard, but I ignore it as I continue to stop the flow of oxygen through his neck. I look away from his eyes, I can’t look at him.

I’m taking the life of an innocent man, another innocent person that got caught up in all of, another person who was just trying to defend his people. I feel his hits become weaker by the second, and I push ever harder now, until I feel him hitting me no more. I look him in the face, and I see that he is dead. I release him from my grip, and his body slumps down to the ground. I stare at his body, and I just hate myself for doing this. Then I hear Wolf’s voice ring out again. “Turn around Ken, now.” Wolf says, and I turn around to see a woman standing there, with two bandits standing at either side of her.

“You bastard, you fucking bastard. YOU ASSHOLE.” The woman says, and I can only guess that she was the man’s wife.

I stare at her and all that I can say is, “I’m sorry.”

“You are sorry? WILL SORRY BRING BACK MY HUSBAND? WILL SORRY STOP THEM FROM KILLING ME?” The woman says.

“You evil monster.” I hear Wolf’s voice say in a sarcastic tone, and I look at the ground, not wanting to listen to him. “Look up Ken, I want you to witness the death that you have caused.”

I slowly look up, and I see a bandit take out a knife and stab the woman in the chest repeatedly, then he stabs her in the head. I stare at the bandits, and one of them says “Follow us to the next test you maniac.”

I stare at the woman’s body, and I tell myself that it needed to be done, that if I didn’t do it my group would be dead. But in reality I’m just a monster.

Logan Kent's POV I stare at the screen, and watch as Ken is put into the room with the other man. Wolf walks up to Ken, tells him something, and then I see Ken lunge at Wolf, but Wolf grabs Ken and tosses him to the ground. Wolf leaves the room, and Ken looks around and sees the man standing at the other end.

“Don’t worry Logan, Ken isn’t going to die, he’s strong, he’ll make it through this.” Wesley says, and then a bandit looks at him.

“You do know there are stakes here, if Ken kills that man then that man’s wife has to die, if Ken dies, then y’all die.” The bandit says, and I look up at him.

Ken won’t do it, that’s not like Ken, Ken wouldn’t kill innocent people. Then I look back up at the screen and I see Ken on the ground, with the man chocking Ken with his boot.

I see Ken throw the man on the ground, pick the man up and then begin to choke the man. After a while Ken drops the man’s body on the ground. I stare in surprise as I see Ken stand over the man’s body.

“He just killed that man.” I say, and I stare at the ground.

“He had to do that Logan, or else we would be dead.” Wesley says.

“He’s right Logan, don’t blame Ken, you know he would do anything to protect us. This was just one of the things he had to do. If he didn’t do this then we would be dead.” David says.

When I look back up at the screen I see Ken standing there, in front of a reanimated Rosalie. “No.” I say.

Ken Myers Jr.'s POV I follow the bandit out of the room, I just want to forget what I did already. When they open the door to the next test, I look inside the room and see Rosalie standing there. I stare at her, my eyes wide in anger. “Wolf you asshole.” I say, and I stare back at Rosalie.

“For your next test Ken, you have to kill the reanimated Rose, but you can’t use your hand, if you do, then another person from your group dies Ken. Do you want to be responsible for another death?” Wolf says, and I just stare at Rose.

I look back at the other bandit, and I see he has already left. I look back at Rose, and I slowly walk towards her. I hear growls coming out of her as she slowly limps towards me. I stare at her slowly walking towards me, and I can’t hold it in. I feel more tears flow out of my eyes, too many people have died today. She continues to limp towards me, and I stare at her. Her once beautiful brown eyes were now flooded with grey, and they stare at me, trying to determine how to attack me. I walk towards her, and she lunges at me. I move out of the way quickly, and her body falls to the ground.

I place one foot on her stomach to hold her down, and I put the other foot on the top of her head. “I’m sorry for this Rose, I’m sorry for having caused this.” I say, and I raise my foot, and I bring it back down. I don’t look, but I hear my foot going through Rose’s forehead, and when I finally decide to look back at Rose, I see her face is squashed in.

“Oh god.” I say, and I kneel down next to her body.

I stare at her crushed face, and I just tell myself that she was reanimated, this needed to be done. But if I hadn’t been weak, if I had stopped the bandits from taking her, then she would still be alive.

“What’s next Wolf? What more sick twisted games have you ready for me? If you were looking to break me Wolf, then you did it. I can’t take any more of this Wolf, just kill me already. JUST KILL ME, MAKE ME PAY FOR WHATEVER YOU THINK I HAVE DONE. JUST KILL ME ALREADY.” I yell, and I look back down at the ground.

“No Ken, there are still two more tests, when those are done, then you can die. Now get up, and open the next door Ken. You already know what happens if you don’t.” I hear Wolf say, and the only reason I stand up is so that nobody else from the group dies.

I feel an arm grab me, and I see a bandit grabbing it, to lead me to the next test. I push him away from me, “I can lead my damn self to the next test bandit.” I tell him, and I slowly walk to the next test.

I open the door, and when I look inside the room, and see a window on one side, and Logan, Wesley, David, Ewan, Ives, and Lasky on their knees, with their hands tied behind their backs through it.

I look at them all, and I rush towards the window. “Are you guys okay? Have they hurt you in any way?” I ask them, this will probably be the last time I ever see them, so I have to make sure I get the most out of it.

“No, they haven’t luckily. We saw what they’ve been doing to you Ken, are you okay?” Wesley says, and I look at him.

“No I’m not, I’m done with the bandit’s sick games Wesley, but I just need to pass through two more tests, and then I’m done. You will be free guys, and you won’t have to worry about the bandits anymore.” I say. “Are you okay Logan? I’m sorry you’ve had to see all of this, but it will be over soon, and you won’t have to worry about the bandits Logan, okay.”

“Okay.” Logan says, and I can hear the terror in his voice.

“It will be okay.” I say.

“No it won’t Ken.” I hear someone say, and I turn around to see Wolf. “You forgot that this was one of the tests. Your test now is to choose two people from your group to die. If you can’t decide within five minutes, then they will all die.”

“You told me you wouldn’t touch them unless I gave you a reason to Wolf, didn’t you say that you keep your promises you fucking maniac!” I exclaim at Wolf, but he just grins.

“You did give me a reason, and the reason was to make another test for you. Ken you decide who dies, or I will kill them all.” Wolf says, and he leans against the wall, looking at me.

I look at the group, I can’t choose to kill any of them. “Just kill me Wolf, you don’t have to hurt them Wolf, JUST FUCKING KILL ME ALREADY. KILL ME AND GET THIS FUCKING NIGHTMARE DONE WITH WOLF. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP ON FUCKING WITH ME, WHY DO YOU KEEP ON MAKING ME DO ALL OF THIS WOLF, WHEN YOU COULD JUST END THIS BY PUTTING A BULLET IN MY HEAD. PLEASE WOLF, PLEASE STOP THIS ALREADY. DON’T MAKE ME ENDURE THIS FUCKING TORTURE ANYMORE; JUST END IT ALL FOR ME. I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU DO TO ME WOLF; JUST LEAVE MY GROUP OUT OF IT. THEY DON’T DESERVE THIS WOLF, I DESERVE IT.” I say, and I can feel my strength weakening, and the bite pain begin to feel worse. “I FORCED THEM TO DO THIS WOLF, THEY WOULDN’T HAVE WANTED TO KILL ANYONE, I FORCED THEM TO DO IT, LET THEM GO. THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.” I quickly lie, hoping that it can stop Wolf from killing my group.

“On the contrary Ken, they have everything to do with this, just like you do. They actively participated in the killing of my group Ken. They also deserve this, and if I wasn’t so nice I would have their decapitated heads staring at you instead of the live versions. Now choose, you have two minutes now since you pissed me off.” Wolf says, and he goes back to leaning against the wall.

I stare back at the group, and I can’t bring myself to choose any of them. I look back and forth through them. My eyes land on Ewan, and I see him staring back at me. He slowly nods at me, and I understand what he means.

“Ewan.” I say, and I see a bandit walk up behind Ewan.

“You sure?” Wolf says, and I stare at Ewan.

“I’m sorry Ewan, I’m so sorry about this.” I say, but he shakes his head.

“Don’t apologize Ken, at least now you don’t have to suffer from anyone else’s death. Now I can finally forget about this apocalypse Ken. Thank you.” Ewan says, and he looks down at the ground.

“I’m sure Wolf.” I say, and then I see the bandit pull the trigger, and Ewan’s dead body slumps to the ground.

“One more Ken, and you only got one minute remaining.” Wolf says, and he grins at me.

“Stop fucking grinning you damn psycho.” I say, and I turn back at the group.

I see Logan staring at me, “I’m sorry you had to see that Logan.” I say, and I continue looking across the group.

“Ken, choose me.” I hear Ives say, and I look at him. “Just choose me, I’m the oldest Ken, I’ve had my run, now it’s time for others to live if it means me dying. Ken you know the only option left is to kill me. Do it Ken, just do it.”

“No, no Ives you are not dying on me, you are coming back with me to the Fort Ives, you are goddamn it.” Lasky says, and he stares at me.

“Just do it Ken, we both know no one else can die here. My spot can be replaced at the Fort, the rest need to live Ken, just let me die.” Ives says, and I stare at him.

“I am going to hate myself for this, Ives.” I say, and I hate myself for saying his name.

“Are you sure about this Ken?” Wolf says.

“I have already said his name Wolf, so I am sure.” I say, and I stare Ives in the eyes.

“I’m so sorry.” I say, and I watch as the bandit walks behind him, and pulls the trigger, and Ives’s body collapses to the floor.

“No, no, no. Why Ken, why?” I hear Lasky say, and I look at him, and I just hate myself even more.

“I’m so sorry Lasky, I’m so sorry about this Lasky.” I say, and I stare at the ground.

“He was like a father to me Ken, why did you do this. Why did you take him away from me Ken? WHY DID YOU DO THIS.” Lasky yells at me, and I look up to him lying on the ground. I can see the tears falling out of his eyes.

“One last test Ken, then you can be released.” Wolf says, and he grabs my arm, and he raises me to my feet.

“Goodbye Logan, protect yourself. Stay alive. I love you like a brother.” I say, and I allow Wolf to pull me into the next room, and he opens the door.

He tosses me into the room, and I collapse to the ground, feeling the pain from my bite increase, and I feel myself becoming weaker. I look up, and I see Wesley being pushed into the room, and he quickly rushes towards me and pulls me up off the ground.

“For your final test Ken, only one of you can walk out of here, and that man will leave this base with your group. You two decide which one of you that is.” Wolf says, and he walks out of the room with another bandit.

I stare at Wesley, and I know the only way this can end. “Kill me Wesley, do it now, so I don’t have to suffer through having to wait till reanimation. I’ll tackle you, pretend like we are going to fight, I’ll hand you the trigger in a way that will make them think I’m just trying to attack you. Then you end my life, alright Wesley, that’s the only way this can end.” I say, and Wesley just nods at me.

I lunge at him, and I tackle him to the ground, I quickly stand up, and I put my foot on his chest. I swing my fist down at him, and I grab the trigger from my sock and uppercut Wesley. He pushes me off of him, and he grabs the trigger from my hand, and he punches me in the face, and I fall to my knees facing away from him. He places one hand on the top of my head, and he places the other beneath my chin. “Goodbye, old pal.” Wesley says, and I feel a tear roll down my cheek.

“Goodbye, friend.” I say, “Just do it already, no need to delay this.”

He’s about to snap my neck, but I feel my life flash before my eyes.

''I wake up in the hospital, confused and dazed as to what had happened before. I see my brother, sister, and Karen around me. ''

“What happened?” I ask.

“You got beat up.” My brother says.

“Where’s mom and dad, and what happened to the gang” I ask.

“The gang got arrested, and Mom and Dad got in a car accident coming over here, they died” He says flinching at those last words.

Tears start to flow from my eyes “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” I yell, my heart beat starts to increase rapidly.

''I see my uncle, Ken Sr., close his eyes and fall limp on the ground. I raise my gun and shoot him in the head. I start to cry and just fall down crying. Daniel and Lee grab Uncle’s body and put him in the grave. Daniel is also crying. They finally put all the dirt over and the group meets up near the RV.''

“I love you” Allison says, as she looks at me, the last time I see here alive.

''“I love you” I say and watch as a biter grabs her leg and bites it. Another one pulls her head back and bites her neck. My knees go weak and I fall to the ground, crying uncontrollably, sobbing hardly. Another biter digs it’s hand into her stomach and rips out her intestine. I look away, not being able to take any more of this. I can’t believe it, I can’t fucking believe it, he, he killed Allison. I continue crying to myself, I feel a hand pull me up and Wesley looks me in the face “This is what you get for shooting me”. He spits on my face and tosses me back to the ground.''

''Karen puts one hand on my cheek “I love you Ken, remember me” She says. Her hand goes cold, not warm like it was before. I feel for a pulse and there is none. I walk outside with tears in my eyes.''

I stand over Dwight and look down “You killed so many of my friends, so much pain and misery” I cut a long gash down his arm “You deserve to feel that pain before you die” I stab one of his eyes, but not deep enough to destroy the brain “You are a piece of shit, you kill people who were your friends because of one mistake, I hate you so much” I stab him in the stomach “Please go die in a pit, oh wait, I’ll arrange that” I say and pick him up, I lift him up, and throw him into the pit of biters.

"I love you Logan and I will miss you, I know we have said some nasty things to each other so I'm sorry for any pain I have caused you, Promise me you will always be with me" I tell my brother.

''"Don't worry Ken as long as you are alive I will always be with you and I will always protect you, I love you to ken and I always will, and I will miss you, stay alive okay, you can overcome this apocalypse because you are strong, Now Ken it's time" He says, and he closes his eyes, sending him into a permanent sleep. I slowly raise my gun up, and I put a bullet in his head, making sure he won’t reanimate.''

''“The boy, your little brother, or friend, I don’t know. His body, it’s fighting off the infection. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before, like he might not need the cure. And I don’t know if the cure will work or not, I really haven’t tested it out. And look the bite wound seems like it’s healing up. Here just take a look for yourself.” Stan says, fumbling over words due to how quick he was speaking, and he turns around the computer screen so it faces me.''

“What the fuck?” I say, and I stare at the screen, one which shows Logan’s insides where his bite is, and the other showing his bite, which skin is slowly overlapping, covering the bite.

“So you’re saying that Logan could be immune?” I ask, still staring as his red and white blood cells fight off the infection of the bite.

''“They were both great people, both had touched the lives of the people around them. Both of them died fighting a good fight, both had died for those around them. Allison was a great woman, she might not have been like that when we first met, but after a while she warmed up to us, to me, and showed us her good side. Ken was a great man, he had token me in when I needed help, he had looked after me when I needed guidance, he had helped me when I was down. I love them both, and I hope they are having a better live on the other side.” I say, standing over the grave of Allison, and my Uncle.''

''“I suggest you give up now Ken, you don’t to make this so hard on your group, with Ben Renolds, Andrew, and Steve already dead do you want to give up more of your group’s lives? You already know that you won’t succeed.” I hear a voice say, probably a bandit.''

''“They killed Ben, Andrew, and Steve. No now none of them can live, we have to stop them now Wesley.” I say, but when I look at Wesley he is just staring forward.''

''“I don’t want this either Logan, but it’s happening, and we can’t control this Logan, it’s fate, and everyone has to handle theirs eventually.” Rose says, and she looks at both of us. “I love both of you more than you can imagine.” I say, and I feel my life slowly slip away.''

''I hold Rose in my hands, and I watch as she slips away. Her body goes limp, and her pulse stops. I lay her body down, and I close her eyes. I slowly stand up, and I wipe the tears from my eyes. “Wolf is going to pay for this, I’ve had enough of him, this time he won’t get a second chance. This ends this time, remember the plan Wesley.” I say, and I look at Wesley.''

“Ken if we die today I just want you to know something.” Rose says, and starts to kiss me.

''“Goodbye Logan, protect yourself. Stay alive. I love you like a brother.” I say, and I allow Wolf to pull me into the next room, and he opens the door.''

My life finishes flashing before my eyes, and before I know it, I’m sent away from this cruel world.

Wesley Snipe's POV I release Ken’s head from my arms, and I watch as his lifeless body falls to the ground. I stare down at his body, the kid has suffered enough throughout his poor lifetime, at least now he gets to be with everyone who he loved. I crouch down next to his body, and I close his eyelids. “Goodbye, old pal.” I say, and I stand up. I look forward, and I just let out a yell, I can’t handle this rage inside of me any longer.

Wolf walks into the rooming, clapping and walking towards me. “It’s done Wolf, now me and my group are going to leave.” I say, and I walk past him.

“Nothing’s stopping you, I’m a man of my word, you can all leave now. But just know, if I just catch a mere glimpse of your group again, you will all die.” Wolf says.

“Just fuck off already, you’re not intimidating anyone.” I say, and I walk out of the room.

When I walk outside I see David, Logan, and Lasky standing there. Logan looks at me, and I know what he wants to know. “Ken’s been put out of his misery Logan, he won’t turn.” I say. “Now we can finally leave here, let’s go.” I say.

Logan looks up at me, and I know what he feels. I grab his shoulder, and I help him walk out of the base. The rest of the group follows.

They all follow me as I lead them out of the bandit’s base, and then moment we open the doors of the base, and leave I see Logan break into tears.

I grab a walkie talkie from my pocket, and I activate it. “Hello Wolf.”

“How the hell did you find the other walkie talkie?” I hear Wolf’s voice say, “You know now we are going to have to gut you all.”

“No you won’t Wolf, I just wanted to tell you one thing. Go fuck yourself.” I say, and I press the trigger Ken gave me.

In a matter of seconds the bandit’s base suffers from explosions on all fronts, and in a matter of seconds the bandit’s base has been obliterated to mere pieces of metal here and there. “That was for everyone you’ve ever hurt, you fuckers.” I say, and I turn around and begin to walk away.

Two Months Later

Logan Kent's POV We slowly make our trek through this road, we’ve been walking for hours, and with no rest because apparently we are getting close to our destination. Wesley walks right next to me, he’s been protecting me ever since what happened. He’s been a great protector, he hasn’t let a biter near me. I look behind me, and I see David helping Ashley walk along, she’s been getting fatter for the baby, and in turn the rest of us have had to sacrifice eating for a few days, but Wesley has tried to give me food as many times as we can afford.

I look forward, and Lasky walks in front of us, he’s been guiding us this whole way, and he hasn’t said a word, I don’t think he’s gotten over what happened to Ives yet. I still haven’t gotten over what happened to Ken, he was more than my guardian, he was an older brother to me. He protected me whenever he could, and he loved me more than he could express. I never got to explain to him how much I loved him like a brother, but I hope he knew it. Lasky suddenly stops, and I stare forward. A big sign in front of us says “Welcome to The Fort.”, and we all look at each other.

We finally arrived, we can finally begin to live. We can finally start to live, and not just survive every day and no longer Fear The Living.