Jonathan quickly became alert, '' Where exactly?'' He approached Samantha, who also heard what Eve said.

'' Near the trees. Looks like they haven't seen us yet and are focusing on the zombies.'' Eve continued to watch the group.

'The Titanium plates are there. They've probably noticed and know that there are people inside. If they still showed up, it means they're either confident or desperate.'

And in the world the way it was, Jonathan was inclined to believe the second option.

'' Look out where they are and see if they are armed and their condition.'' Jonathan said into the radio and the whole group took aim at them, "And stay hidden.''

Everyone hid and began to watch the group. Nathanael's voice came over the radio, "From what I can see, they're barely armed. Also, they are dirty, I doubt they've had a shower in days.''

Jonathan looked at Samantha, who nodded, confirming Nathanael's information, '' Anything else?''

There was a slight pause, but Eve said in a strange voice, '' I count at least 10 people. There are men, women, and children... one of the women is pregnant.''

Jonathan paused. He looked at Samantha and noticed she was looking at him. Samantha then asked, '' What are we going to do?''

'Can we trust strangers? Every time, without execution, it ended with violence. But now, knowing that there is a pregnant woman, I am swayed... Would it be hypocritical to accept this group?'

From what he could see, Jonathan came to the conclusion that they want to live in the prison, 'Did they find it by chance or did they already know about it?'

With many things on his mind, Jonathan sighed, "Let's vote. I can't make this decision alone.''

Silence. No one said anything over the radio.

It was a normal reaction because most of the decisions were made by Jonathan. Not all of them, but Eve, Samantha, and Nathanael were not accustomed to this.

Even more so now, when some people's lives were on the line. They knew that if they voted no, the fate of this group, which already looked very tired and tattered, would not be one of the best.

The first to speak was Eve. Her voice sounded heavy, '' ... Jonathan, I'm sorry, but I can't unsee what I saw. They have a pregnant woman. Imagine if we were in the same situation as them... I vote we let them in.''

'' Eve, are you crazy!?''' Nathanael sounded agitated, '' Have you forgotten what happened to our father? What about that gas station a few months ago? And the group from prison?!''

Eve sighed, '' You don't have to remind me of that, I haven't forgotten. But the situation is different. This time we'll be better prepared.''

''But why take that risk! Just fire a few shots in their direction, and they should run away!''

'' Could you live knowing that, even if not directly, you killed a pregnant woman and her baby?'' Eve tried to convince her brother, but they were both right: '' Imagine if it were our mother in this situation!''

Both of their points were extremely valid.

'' ... Our hands are already bloody. We can't risk it. I vote no.'' Nathanael's voice sounded unsure. It was as if he was struggling internally to make this decision.

Making a decision like that is not easy. Jonathan then looked at Samantha.

As always, she had a smile on her face, '' I think we need new blood. The world is over, but that doesn't mean we should stop living. I vote yes.''

'' Even though I know I'll have to hide my powers again? Things may not be convenient anymore.'' Jonathan was playing the devil's advocate.

''Yes, I'm sure. Besides,'' Samantha touched her belly, '' It would be good for this baby to have a friend of his age.''

2 votes to Yes and 1 to No. If he voted Yes, he would open the door to his house to total strangers. If Jonathan says No it would be a draw and he probably will have to make the decision anyway.

With all the variables in his head, Jonathan came to the decision, '' They can come in.''

Eve's voice sounded over the radio, '' Yes!''

It seems that meeting new people has cheered Eve up even more.

'' 'But we're going to have to impose some rules on them. First, no guns until we trust them enough. Second, they stay in Block 2 for now, until we trust them. Third, we will have to hide what I can do. Which means reducing some privileges, as I could only use them out of their eyes. Those are the main ones, but mentioning the others is unnecessary since they're not bad for them.''

Jonathan didn't want to risk other people knowing what he could do. He only told Samantha, Eve, and Nathanael because he trusts them so much.

''I agree with that.''Eve was the first to accept.

'' ... Me too.'' Although Nathanael was still undecided about the whole situation, he knew he didn't have much else to do. And the rules, though simple, were good.

''No problem for me either.'' Samantha turned her attention back to the group, '' They are getting close to the gates. There are some zombies around, but I think they can handle it. When are we going to talk to our friends?''

Jonathan carefully placed his Deagle on his waist. Although he was 13/14, he was a bit tall for his age (5'6 or 1.67 meters), so he somehow could pass as older. But his face still looked very young, and the contrast between that and the gun was strange. Luck for Jonathan, he didn't care that much.

'' Now. Eve, and Nathanael, you can come to block 1 and we'll go help them. Samantha, stay here and provide cover for them if necessary.''

Even though Jonathan agreed to let them in, he didn't want to put Samanthan in unnecessary danger.

'' Got it.'' Samantha then looked at Jonathan, '' Be careful.''

''I will.'' Jonathan finished talking with Samantha and went down the watchtower.

Reaching the ground, Jonathan looked outside Block 1 and saw Nathanael and Eve in the distance. Turning and looking outside the fence, he also saw the other group. 'I hope I'm making the right choice.'

Because of the distance, Jonathan could not see the faces of the other group, but from what he could see, they were somewhat organized. In the meantime, Eve and Nathanael arrived.

"Shall we go?'' Eve said as soon as she got close to Jonathan. She seemed really excited about meeting new people. Nathanael didn't look very happy, but he accepted the reality.

Eve's reaction, however, made Jonathan surprised, ' Did I think wrong? Maybe, perhaps, we should accept strangers or be more open?'

Jonathan was attributing Eve's reaction to the fact that she had no friends, apart from him and Nathanael. But remembering his encounters with strangers, Jonathan quickly took the idea out of his mind, 'Even if there are good people out there, I don't want to risk too much. Accepting this group is already my limit!''

''Let's go. Get ready to help them.'' Jonathan looked at his Deagle and shook his head, 'This gun is not for this situation.'

Leaving the Deagle at his waist, Jonathan grabbed a Glock from INVENTORY. Then, Jonathan, Eve, and Nathanael rushed to open the gate.

Halfway there, they heard a gunshot. They recognized the noise and knew it was Samantha who fired. Jonathan quickened his pace, "They must have run into trouble! Nathanael, cover us while we open the gates.''

Jonathan and Eve ran faster and arrived at the gate. There, they could see why Samantha had shot them. A lot of zombies were gathering, 'Any more and they wouldn't last.

From what he could see, the group barely had firearms, most were equipped with knives. Jonathan quickly opened the gate and shouted, '' Here! Come on!''

The other group, who was already on edge because of the gunshot from earlier, were startled by Jonathan and Eve's presence. They didn't notice them before because they didn't have the luxury of looking for humans in the middle of zombies.

Realizing that Jonathan and Eve were not shooting at them, the group started to run to the gate. Luckily for them, they were only a few meters away from the gate, and everyone managed to get inside without getting hurt.

BANG

Nathanael killed a zombie that was about to enter the gate. Jonathan looked back and nodded at Nathanael. He didn't even look at the other group. He started walking ahead, '' Let's leave the introduction for later. Follow me.''

The group behind him became quiet and began to follow Jonathan and Eve. Eve, by the way, wanted to talk to them right away but knew that this was not the place for that. It didn't take long for them to regroup with Nathanael. Jonathan thanked him, "Nice shot.''

Nathanael nodded and joined everyone. Although he was in the front, Jonathan was watching for any movement from the other group, 'If they try anything, they are dead.'

Jonathan could take out the titanium shields in less than a second, so he wasn't too worried about an ambush.

Soon after, everyone arrived at the entrance to Block 1. Jonathan knew there was no way out of this. He took a long breath and turned to the other group, "Good afternoon. I know you must be scared and tired, but I have good news. We know that you must be looking for a place to stay. We watched you and saw how desperate you are to reach the prison.''

The other group was quiet and let Jonathan speak.

''And after a discussion with my group, we've come to the conclusion that you can stay here. Of course, if you don't want to, you are free to leave.''

''That won't be necessary. As long as you don't kill us, we accept.'' The person who spoke was a man who appeared to be in his forties. His posture indicated that he was the leader of the group.

Jonathan found his appearance a bit strange. He couldn't resist asking, ''Have we met before?''

The man tilted his head, '' I don't think so.''

Jonathan shook his head and put this at the back of his mind. '' Now, though you're free to stay, there will be some rules for now. I take you can agree with that.''

When Jonathan said that he could feel tensions rise in the other group. The leader seems unfazed though, '' What rules?''

'' To start, no weapons for now.'' This did not go down well with the other group, who became more agitated, '' It's just for a while, until we can trust you.''

The leader of the other group didn't take long to accept, '' No problem.''

'' Oh? You're going to accept without thinking too much?'' Jonathan was curious.

''Well, I've worked as a policeman for years. Although I'm not 100% sure, I feel you can be trusted.'' The man didn't add this part, 'And we have no other option.'

Although he wasn't going to say this, he could feel the enthusiasm gushing out of the girl next to the boy who was speaking. So he decided to trust his instincts. 'They can't be more than sixteen years old. Although I don't think they'll kill us, it's always good to be prepared, so I'll hide some weapons.'

Everyone in the group passed his weapons to Eve and Nathanael. When they returned to Jonathan's side, he noticed a strange weapon in the middle of the others, '' Is that a crossbow?''

He of that out loud, and a man, who was dirtier than the others, said in a deep voice, ''Yes.''

Jonathan looked at the man. He had the same feeling, that he recognized him from somewhere, and this made him pause, 'Wait. Once is a coincidence but twice in the same group is too much.'

He then looked at all the other members of the group. Slowly after that, he began to sweat, 'Wait a minute. I recognize most of them! Something is wrong!!!'

Jonathan, not wanting to believe it, looked at the leader of the other group, '' I know it's a little late, but how about we introduce ourselves? My name is Jonathan.'' He held out his hand.

The other group leader did the same, "My name is Rick. Rick Grimes.''

Jonathan only had one thing in mind, 'WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!?!!'

 

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