The Dead World/Issue 98

Watching as people walked around camp having a load of fun, laughing and smiling. Riley just watched them coldly as his hand tightened on his baseball bat. He couldn't believe they were actually having fun in a time like this, this was an apocalypse not a fun fair.

Seeing Will and Bella go past around the edge of camp, Riley went back further into the bushes for a few moments until they had gone past and he stood back out properly, looking around the camp's current defences.

Stupidly they had none. All the guards were with everyone else and the fences wouldn't do much help, the whole camp was unprepared open for attack all because they were having a little fun on Christmas....

Even though he hated to admit it to himself, watching the camp going about and enjoying Christmas reminded him of his daughter. Reminded him of the Christmas's they spent together and he hated it, he didn't want to be reminded of the past, he wanted to let it all go and live the present.

Although he had no idea why he kept living to be honest....

"pretty stupid really, we could take this camp right now and they wouldn't see it coming" one of the men with him stated from beside him but surprisingly Riley shook his head and began moving back into the woods.

"we aren't attacking today" Riley told him confusing all the people with him as they shared looks, obviously thinking what was wrong with Riley but they didn't dare question his order as they followed him back into the woods. They knew that if they ever questioned him they would probably wind up dead.

However what they didn't know was Riley himself was questioning his own order. He didn't know why he wouldn't have them attack today, he knew he wanted Will and his group dead, he needed them dead but he just kept putting it off.

He knew he had to kill them soon or he'd make himself go insane, more insane than he already was. All he thought about lately was either his daughter which they kept reminding him of or him getting his revenge on the group, he needed to do something soon.

Gripping his baseball as his temper rose, he didn't bother to try and calm himself down while the three men with him just watched him carefully making sure they wasn't in close range if he snapped suddenly....which he did.

Suddenly over come by anger, Riley turned around and wacked the closest person around the head with his bat before brutally smashing in the guy's head while his friends just watched shocked as they raised their guns.

However them not doing anything to fight Riley turned out to be their mistake as Riley soon brought up his bat again and brought it back down straight on top of one of the two remaining's head, instantly crushing his skull and brain resulting in the other shouting and running off.

Although he didn't get far as Riley quickly ran after him and smashed his bat straight into the man's legs causing him to topple over and land on his back awkwardly, the last thing he saw being the bat being brought down on his face....

Walking past people as they went about having a little party, Karen smiled to herself as she watched everyone having fun. Despite their current situation everyone had seemed to have forgotten about it for now and were now enjoying Christmas which she was happy about.

At least they would have a happy Christmas she thought to herself as she headed away from the everyone and back to her tent. She had given Anthony the excuse that she had a headache so she wanted to go rest but truth be told, she was still thinking about Logan and how he wasn't here, knowing he would've enjoyed a party like this.

However just as she rounded a corner of one of the RV's she accidently bumped into Jamie who quickly stuttered a couple of apologizes and helped her regain her balance but she just shrugged it off and said it was all fine but before she could start leaving again he stopped her causing her to see a look of worry in his eyes.

"are y-you o-ok?" Jamie asked and she nodded looking at him confused but he didn't seem satisfied with the answer and she quickly realized he knew something was up causing her to sigh as she ran her hand through her hair.

"I just want a break from everyone, that ok with you?" she asked sarcastically not meaning to be mean but she tended to do it without thinking sometimes. Thankfully he just let it go and gave her a smile.

"d-don't y-you think that's the w-wrong w-way round, usually I-its me that don't w-want to be w-with everyone, not y-you" Jamie joked and she couldn't help it, she smiled a bit at this causing him to chuckle as he pointed out he got her to smile.

"ok, ok you win you got me to smile, now can I go?" Karen asked looking him in the eyes again and eventually he sighed and nodded standing aside so she could walk past him and she gave him a thankful smile and a kiss on the cheek.

"j-just promise m-me you're o-ok?" Jamie asked her just as she began walking away causing her to laugh as she turned back to look at him giving him another smile along with a nod, glad she had someone to look out for her.

"if I wasn't, you'll be one of the first I went to" she told him before she began heading towards her tent leaving him to watch her go before he heard other residents calling for a speech so he decided to join everyone else and listen to this "speech".

Laughing with her friends as she watched her husband playing with their baby, Lori couldn't help but think about how lucky she was to have a husband like David because even though he was a complete idiot, he was still better than most husbands these days.

However her thoughts soon changed when she saw Annie walking through the camp nearby them causing Lori to quickly excuse herself from her friends before she jogged to catch up with the doctor, sharing a greeting with her while Annie just gave a smile.

"hey, I wanted to say sorry for my actions earlier" Lori said quietly. She was ashamed that she had shouted randomly in the tent at her and she knew the doctor didn't deserve it, especially after what Frank did to her.

"its fine don't worry about it, I'm just glad that you managed to get all of your problems sorted out" Annie said with that same smile remaining on her face as if it never left. That was what Lori as well as anyone liked about Annie.

She was always nice to you never mind who you were. If you came to her asking help she'd give it straight away, if you needed to talk she'd drop everything and listen to you....she was literally an angel in this world.

"thanks, also are you ok....I know after what happened it must be hard" Lori said but Annie just laughed a little as she nodded, her face literally lighting up as she laughed which could make anyone smile despite the situation. Lori really did hope Annie would never change.

"yeh I'm ok, soon i'll be as fit as I always am" Annie joked causing the two of them to laugh as they were glad they were on friendly terms again. That was what was perfect about their camp, never mind who it is, if you argued they would forgive themselves easily and always.

It was their own perfect little community....

Giggling as she watched Anthony do funny faces, Maria couldn't help but think she was having the time of her life today. Sure she missed her family but she had a new one now and that made her happy despite the situation. She also loved her new family as much as she did her old one.

However soon enough, Anthony had to excuse himself from the little girl as he was called over by Will and Bella who was having a private conversation but Maria was ok with it and said her goodbyes before beginning to wander around camp again, seeing what she could do next.

She still didn't know that many people In the camp cause she tended to stay with the group she knew the best but she still knew mostly everyone at least by names. She just didn't talk to them much, mainly due to their not being that many children her age.

Walking around one of the RV corner's Maria found herself looking at Angelica who was sitting away from everyone else which completely confused the little girl. Why was she sitting alone during a party?

"you ok?" Maria asked as she walked over to Angelica who suddenly realized someone else was near her and shook herself out of her shock to look up at Maria and give her a warm smile, inside wondering why the little girl was talking to her.

"yeh I'm fine you?" Angelica asked in return and the little girl nodded as she stood there a little awkwardly making Angelica bite her lip trying to think of something to say. Talking to children wasn't really her specialty.

"I just saw you was alone and I wanted to make sure you was ok because you wasn't talking to anyone" Maria revealed looking at Angelica with curious eyes but Angelica just let out a little laugh, running her hand through her hair before responding.

"yeh well, I'm not really the most happiest and talkative person am I?" Angelica asked smiling while Maria bit her lip not wanting to be rude and say yes causing Angelica to laugh again before she looked around for Maria's carer Emily leaving the two of them in silence for a few moments until Maria again spoke.

"maybe you should try talking to people more" Maria said causing Angelica to think for a moment while the little girl excused herself and walked off, looking for Jamie leaving Angelica to actually think for once that maybe Maria was right.

Maybe she should try and enjoy life more and make some friends, before it was too late....

Sighing as he nervously watched everyone go about having fun, Ricky fiddled with something in his pocket as he got more and more nervous. Annie as well as everyone else wanted him to give a speech soon but he wasn't really sure whether he was ready for it or not.

"what's up man?" he heard someone speak behind him and turned to see David grinning but Ricky just sighed even more leaning against the nearest RV as he ran his hand through his hair in thought and David could instantly telling something was wrong.

"not much, just worried about this speech everyone wants me to do" Ricky answered causing David to chuckle as he stood beside Ricky and patted his back before responding to his statement with one of his own.

"you know if you really don't want to do this speech all you have to do is say so, I'm sure everyone will be fine with it" David stated but Ricky just chuckled as he shook his head, disagreeing with what David said.

"I'm their new leader, I have to make a speech one day, might as well be today while everyone is in a happy mood" Ricky told David who nodded and leaned against the other RV knowing he couldn't argue with that, what Ricky was saying was true, he had to make a speech at some point.

Seeing Annie come over, David moved off from his leaning position and patted Ricky on the back telling him "just don't stress yourself too much" before walking off leaving Ricky alone for a few moments until Annie finally reached him with a huge smile on her face.

"ready?" she asked in her usual cheerful tone which made him sigh as he gave her the do I have a choice? look but she just ignored this and grabbed him before beginning to drag him through the crowd who had began to gather to hear his speech. Great, he thought to himself.

Sighing as his sister Annie dragged him to the "stage" in front of every resident in the camp, Ricky tried to give many excuses as to why he couldn't give a speech which everyone seemed to want but she ignored him and soon enough he found himself staring at everyone as he quickly tried to think of what to say.

"alright, alright you sure you all want to hear one of my rubbish speeches?" Ricky asked flashing them a smile causing them all to chuckle as they watched him, their new leader taking the spot light. Annie couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"ok well....I'm just going to say whatever comes to my head here so bear with me" Ricky told them and they all nodded, some muttering how he looked nervous or just having a simple conversation as he shoved his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath as he thought of something to say, sharing one final look with Annie before he spoke.

"well I've been here most of the apocalypse now I'd say, I mean it was only Harris, Angelica and a couple of others when me and my sister came here and look at us now, over 70 0f us living and breathing in this camp, a successful camp. Yes we've had our bad moments like recently but we've always pulled through never mind the odds and always will"

Saying this Ricky looked to them each in turn and could tell they were all as surprised as him as he spoke, he didn't know where all this had come from but he could tell It was having a good affect on his people....his people. He now realized that he was the new leader of this camp, they had accepted him as that and it made him feel proud of himself.

"whether you believe me or not, I promise you I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that our camp stays this way. Perfect, safe and secure and maybe one day we will be a proper community and have proper walls to defend us because there is hope, things can get better....we just have to believe" Ricky said looking Angelica in the eyes as he said the last few words and she actually gave him a big smile and a nod to show he said the right thing.

Standing there he heard everyone clapping and couldn't help but shift on his feet awkwardly as he heard all the cheering, knowing he had said the right things and also knowing he was ready, ready to take control of the camp and lead its residents to safety. Ready for his new job.... - Sitting down on a chair in his new office of the cabin, Frank looked down at his knife while he moved it skillfully in his fingers but he wasn't focused on its movement. Instead he was lost in thought about what his next move should be.

They had lost their camp but thankfully they still had their most skilled fighters. They could easily take their enemies camp and that was exactly what Frank was planning to do, the question was whether they would take it forcefully or not....

Hearing his office's door open, Frank looked up to see Riley covered in blood along with his bat in the same state enter the room alone and by looking Riley in the eyes he could tell what had happened to the others. Riley had lost his temper and killed them.

"there defenses are low and it would be easier to take the camp now but I suggest we wait till tomorrow so we can fool them even more into false security before we strike" Riley informed Frank of the new info before Frank could even mention the loss of three men, although the man himself wasn't actually going to say anything about it, he would just let it slide.

"alright, but I am not waiting any longer than tomorrow, ok?....I want these residents gone one way or another" Frank stated making it obvious he was the one in charge here but Riley just shrugged as he swung his bat over his shoulder.

"whatever, it don't matter to me when you take the camp as long as I am the one to kill Will personally" Riley stated giving Frank the look that dared the man to say that Riley couldn't get his wish that made Frank think about it for a moment before he nodded and sat back like a boss would.

"just make sure you kill him" Frank ordered Riley who just nodded giving his usual mad grin as he walked to the exit of the room and opened It, only stopping for a moment to tell Frank one thing before he left.

"oh I will, don't you worry...."