“We should go take care of Liam,” I announced.

Sure enough, that put a damper on the mood.

---

Kevin stayed sitting, “I’m not really good with this sort of thing.” He said, then clarified as he saw our questioning looks, “but you guys can go on without me. If you really need me, you can call out to me, but… I doubt that’ll be needed.”

I grasped the meaning behind his words. Kevin wasn’t exactly the confrontational sort. At least, not when it involved words. Which was fine, he didn’t exactly have to come either.

Alex stood up though, and my father nodded slightly to Rick and his men, apologizing for the untimely departure.

I thanked them as well and expressed regret for ruining their fun.

Rick politely waved us off, “do what you need to. This is only a game, after all, we can always pick it back up later when the lot of you finish up.”

With that taken care of, our group of four made our way over to the solitary house - one that was already beginning to be overwhelmed by nature's growth due to neglect - that likely housed Liam.

Unbeknownst to us, William, Liam’s brother had seen us getting up to leave. The man quickly excused himself and then proceeded to tail us.

⤜⤚⤙⤛

We found Liam in the overgrown backyard of his designated house, lounging around on a padded beach chair he had managed to find. The man was currently sprawled, shirtless, and wearing a small and tight pair of swim briefs - likely a speedo. The sight wasn’t exactly pleasant, as the man’s pudgy belly accented a form decorated with the glistening of sweat.

To our dismay, it appeared that the pompous lawyer was currently laying under the falling rays of the sun and… Sunbathing?

He noticed us coming when the gate creaked open on our approach. The sound of groaning and scaping metal foreboded the scene soon to play out.

Glancing up, Liam yelled like the cynical prick he was, “What do I have to do to just get some peace around here without you lot constantly bothering me!?”

I was dumbfounded. I had expected the guy to maybe feel somewhat guilty, perhaps frightened, but to not care and continue to nonchalantly deride us? That was ridiculous, and Alex clearly thought the same way as he launched into a tirade with his own opinion.

“Seriously?” Alex was stunned at the audacity of the man. “Do you feel even the slightest bit of remorse over what happened yesterday? Someone almost died!”

Liam shrugged, as though the issue didn’t bother him in the slightest, because clearly, it didn’t. “Well,” he began, “as far as I’m aware he didn’t, right? Plus you all handled it well enough. No reason for me to get hurt in the process.”

And he was serious. There wasn’t even a hint of a sense of wrongdoing in his voice.

All of us were appalled. It never ceased to amaze me how egocentric Liam, our resident Lawyer, was.

It was that reaction that made me realize there really was no way to finesse our way into making him leave. Granted I didn’t know if I even wanted to.

“You’re leaving Liam,” I announced.

He looked at me confused, “if you wanted a spot to lay in the sun too, I’m sure that you can find your own lounge chair to lie on scattered around somewhere. That’s how I found mine,” the man shrugged as he laid back down, resuming his prior position of capturing the suns rays.

I internally groaned, “I meant,” I accentuated, “that you need to leave the Community. You are not welcomed here anymore. You don’t do shit, all you do is harass people, and you can’t even be reliable when we needed you the most. The longer you stay, the more people that will end up getting hurt because of your incompetence!” My pronouncement was like the gavel of a convicting judge plunging down onto a striking block.

He looked at me. Then at Alex, and my father, and then at somewhere behind us. He took a moment to process what I had just said. Then, suddenly, the look in his eyes shifted to one of pure indignation.

“What the hell!? You’re just going to throw me out? All because I’m not foolish enough to let myself get killed?” He began to rant, “You even got my brother roped in with your deranged lot!” He screamed as he pointed behind us.

As Liam continued to rage, I turned around and was surprised to notice William was standing right behind us.

I looked at him, concern evident. The thing is… I didn’t want to lose William along with Liam. Liam could go get himself killed for all I cared, but William had been a fine addition to the Community.

“William…” I started, as he strode closer.

My worry for William only served to be interrupted by Liam’s continued outburst:

“William and I didn’t even want to stay here anyway!” Liam yelled, “You all are just going to get yourselves killed and I won’t wait around to die along with you bastards!” Then, after a momentary pause, “William! We’re leaving!” The enraged man proclaimed as he began to storm off, completely oblivious to the look of disdain his brother’s visage held.

As Liam stomped past us, he bumped into my shoulder. However, for him, it was like bumping into a brick wall. His only claim to the act was his own poorly concealed wince. I hadn’t moved an inch. Grimacing, the man continued straight towards his brother.

As Liam drew closer, William shook his head at his brother. "No!" The large man said as he put his foot down, staring Liam dead in the eyes.

I was surprised, not because of his response, – which was fully warranted - but because I've never seen the man stand up to his brother like this before.

"I'm s- staying." William finished, despite his slight stutter.

Liam looked baffled, and then a look of pure rage took over, "What the hell do you mean you're staying, you big oaf! The only reason you’re even alive right now is because I've been here, taking care of you! You would've walked into the first freak you saw and gotten yourself killed!"

"No!" William yelled, finally erupting like a dormant volcano suddenly blowing its top. "It was because of you that my f- family isn't here anymore. I have tried to un- understand you Liam, but I can't anymore! W- we found nice people who t-took us in when they didn't even have to, and all yo- you’ve ever done is complain! The only thing you’ve ever done is try and get everyone hu- hurt!” The bigger man bellowed, “No! You're leaving by yourself! I'm d- done with you!"

Liam was completely struck and looked as though he had just been hammered in the gut, "What... What do you mean?" He paused, and then he turned around and looked over towards Alex and me like we were the source of all the world’s problems. "It was you! You brainwashed him!"

Then Liam did something both of us hadn’t expected. He rushed at us like an enraged beast, fist outstretched, clearly positioned to strike at us.

At this point, our difference in strength proved itself. This entire time since the apocalypse began, everyone in the Community had been working hard, getting stronger and tougher.

Liam on the other hand had been sitting on his ass doing nothing and contributing nothing to the growth of the Community. The man was a leech who took advantage of the hard work everyone else had been struggling to accomplish.

It was at that moment it became evident he was just a downright shitty person, and there was no sympathy to be had.

From Liam’s perspective, Alex and I moved inhumanely fast as we suddenly sidestepped his lunge. His punch sailed through thin air, failing to come even close to landing a blow on either of us.

The feeling of his own powerlessness only served to increase the intensity of Liam's irate episode. He kept coming at us. While annoying, both Alex and I entertained an inner delight at watching the man make an utter fool of himself. With punch after punch failing to land anywhere close to either of us, the man frothed and fumed like an enraged rabid wolf.

Ultimately, William was the one who interceded in the obviously one-sided fight. Unlike his brother, William had earnestly strived to get stronger and take advantage of the powers of the System. As a result, he wasn’t that far behind everyone else in levels despite joining the Community later on.

In this particular case, it became apparent he had surpassed his brother dramatically as he stepped forward and grabbed Liam, restraining him in a vise-like hold.

Liam could only squirm in futility, as his brother put him in a chokehold. Eventually, William let him go once he stopped trying to break free. Liam dropped to the floor and fell onto his knees, gasping for air.

"I'm sorry," was the last thing William said to his brother before he reverted to his calmer demeanor.

Liam looked absolutely torn, the look of betrayal evident in his eyes. All fight had left him though.

Even if the look normally warranted pity, I felt no compassion for the man who had only drug the community down and had nearly gotten people killed during his stay here.

The fact remained, if we were to prepare for an influx of refugees and new members to the community, then we needed to make sure that any weak links were eliminated now. Such pompous and self-centered disregard to the unity of our group would only encourage the prospective sprouting of dissident parties. In this case, I chose the only solution that I felt would remove any potential remorse.

While some part of me felt guilty with the idea of leaving any man to fend for themselves in this fallen and apocalyptic world. In the end, I had to rationalize that Liam forced us into this situation. The man was hotblooded, entitled, and a coward on top of it all. He had to go.

I pointed through a gap in the fence, and towards the battered cars marking the entrance into the community.

"Leave," I said with deadly force behind my words, and in just that one word I declared the man's fate one final time.

Liam, terrified, scrambled to his feet and ran away, shirtless, shoeless, and in a speedo. Either the man would change, or he would die as he succumbed to the terrible reality of our world. I could only hope that our decision did not come back to haunt us.

I sighed. Leniency was likely a thing of the past for situations such as this. If our community collapsed, where would any of us go? Maybe Camp Edward would take folks in… But clearly, as evidenced by their request for us to take refugees in, it wasn’t much of an option.

As I stood there, both Alex and my father turned towards me. While Alex seemed as happy as can be, my father on the other hand clearly was dealing with mixed feelings of guilt and remorse. Whether it was because we had just exiled Liam – practically sentencing the man to die - or if it was because he simply pitied the man, I didn’t know. Nor would I ask. My father had a right to his own private thoughts.

William just nodded towards us solemnly and walked away. I didn’t blame him if he wanted to be alone for a while.

Despite how crappy of a brother Liam had been; he had still been his brother, and we had effectively consigned the man to an ominous fate. William would need his space as well.

I made eye contact with Alex. As we stared, I watched as Alex’s gaze slowly shifted upward.

“So, what the hell is up with your hair,” Alex asked.

I scowled. Having to explain the fact that I had no clear idea what had happened was going to be a handful.