Establishing Order

As we all walked down the stairs of the bunker, the others were silent. As soon as I saw the sofas, I also saw Zane sitting on the couch. He turned towards me, and our eyes met. "Why did you do it, Travis?"

"To save you. You know now what would have happened if she had not died, you would have as well, and I would be left alone in this world with no family."

Zane sighed. "Fine, let's talk about this later."

Zane quickly picked himself off his couch and walked over to the others. "My name is Zane."

He quickly went over to each, and they shook hands cordially. Zane also introduced the newcomers to Tim and Lauren.

After the nice exchange, we all sat down and began to talk. Jason enthusiastically turned to me. "I want to know several things from you, but first and foremost I want to know how you lifted that whole tree so easily!"

I smiled. "How many Zombies have you guys killed, and have any of them dropped stones?"

Jason nodded. "All in all, we have killed about twenty Zombies and have ten stones. Thanks to Ethan, we avoided the green light that was emitted by the Zombies. He has the stones stored safely now."

Ethan nodded. "So, why are you interested in the stones?"

"Because they are the reason that I am strong. You can consume the stones by touching them with your bare hands. I suppose you used a glove or something to touch them?"

Ethan nodded. "That's right. How would you avoid becoming a Zombie though?"

"The stone has a will of its own. A voice that speaks in your head. That voice will try to have you give into all the anger that you have ever felt. It may show you something that will make you angry. Do not give into that anger, or you will lose your mind."

Ethan nodded slowly. "Then I am going to try it."

Ethan reached into a bag and pulled out a small glowing stone.

'The stone is obviously from a Zombie that had not eaten many others. They would surely not have had a chance against the ones that had nearly killed us by the bridge.'

As Ethan touched a stone with his bare hands, he limply stretched across the couch he had been sitting in. I readied myself. 

'If he becomes a Zombie, I will kill him. If he does not, I will kill him later. He is acting too strange.'

For several minutes, he sat still. Suddenly, he sat bolt upright and took in a deep breath of air. He smiled. "Here we go again!"

Jason, who was sitting next to him, grabbed his shoulder. "Are you okay? What do you mean?"

Ethan frowned as he turned back to Jason. "Give me the other stones."

Jason had taken the bag away from him and his hand was creeping towards them.

I dashed up in between them and I grabbed the bag myself. I knew the attraction and addiction of consuming them. "Hold on guys. Before absorbing any more stones we have to make sure that Ethan is not unstable."

Ethan looked into my eyes and narrowed his own. "You were a tyrant then and you are again even earlier. Give me the stones. I know how to use magic."

I threw the bag of stones across the room and they hit the concrete with a resounding THUD. "How do you know me?"

Ethan smiled. "I am a regressor. I know the future. I know you."

He dashed from his position towards the stones. 

'See, here's the problem, if he thinks of me that way, I should kill him. I will get information from him first.'

I dashed across the hard concrete floor in a blur as the Mana raged through my body. I grabbed Ethan by his shirt, and I threw him hard against the concrete floor. He hit the floor and I saw his left arm bend under him unnaturally and then I heard it snap. The others behind me let out exclamations of surprise and I'm sure they were about to say something, but I spoke first. "Ethan, if you knew me, then you should have known that I would kill you for acting out against me. This is my land. If you don't want to follow my commands, then you can die or leave. By taking the stones which you all earned, you have proven yourself as someone who is greedy. You should have taught your fellow survivors. You said you know the future? Then why are you exploiting resources for yourself? Is there something that you are not telling us?"

I bent down and I grabbed his right arm. I pulled his other arm until it also broke. He screamed. Jason ran towards me. "What are you doing? Hear what he has to say before you do anything so rash!"

I turned to Jason. "I understand what you mean, but I don't care."

Jason just stood there behind me. 

'Smart choice Jason, I would have killed you too.'

I pressed my hand against Ethan's back. "Tell me what I want to know, or I will rip out your spinal cord."

I pressed his face against the floor so that his screams were muffled. "I - promiiissseee!"

I let his face up. He spoke slowly. "I don't trust anyone anymore. I can't, with my experiences. People in this world only strive for power, you wouldn't understand!"

I smiled slowly. "You piss me off."

I put my hand against the back of his neck, and I pushed down as hard as I could. His neck snapped and the skin there was pulped. He died.

Jason behind me was horrified. Everyone was horrified. I had become a monster. 

'No, I have always been a monster. Society is no more. I can do as I wish. I am the law. They will obey me, or they will die.'

In my head I thought I heard a slight chuckle, but maybe that was my imagination

I turned around. "Leave now, or follow me. New times call for absolute control. Whatever I say is law, I don't care what you were or who you are. I am your leader. I am your king. Serve me or leave and die a dog's death in the wild lands."

Jason turned to the others and they nodded. He turned back towards me. "He was selfish. We don't blame you for killing him. Give us a share, and we will follow you. We have nowhere else to go."

I nodded. "Good."