The End Of Life

Soon after everyone completed their lunch, they went back to the living room to continue the game except Mark who was sitting on the table while staring at David who was washing dishes. David asked his daughter to play while he would do dishes as he wanted to talk with Mark alone after he saw Mark not leaving the room. 

David washed the utensils before sitting in front of Mark with his head down. The aura Mark was giving out didn't allow him to speak. He just looked down like a kid about to ask something inappropriate. Mark continued to look at him, trying to figure out what is wrong with the dude. He sensed something was wrong immediately when he saw the forced smile on David's face when he walked in. 

"Tell me? What are you hiding and what happened earlier today?" he finally asked. The gentle-looking man simply had another feel to him after coming back. Seeing him made him remember a certain past. 

David finally looked up after hearing him. Mark's eyes were very intense, trying to look into him and figure out what was the deal. David took a deep breath and started telling the whole story from finding out only two people arriving in the city to getting attacked by Dereck and finally his promise to Gwen. As he finished telling about his promise, he looked at Mark and noticed how his expression changed. 

There weren't many changes when he mentioned the horrible things which happened to both the teenagers, but when he mentioned the promise, Mark's expression visibly turned grim. He knew Mark didn't like the promise. He kept silent, waiting for a response. 

"Why did you even go? That was just dumb. You should have just asked the people there if you wanted to know how they were. Going there even after you figured out how things went." He sighed and asked the middle-aged man before him. He thought even though David was an intelligent man, he didn't have the best emotional control. 

"I already told you these guys making it to the city camp with no problems is very tough and almost impossible. Why do you think I only maintain a few people when traveling around? It is precisely because I would have to worry less about escaping or running away when things get out of hand."

"I don't want to think about people when things get tough, it's about survival and a small group is the best. These guys traveled in trucks with many people in them. Of Course, it would be bad. I only told you about the camp because you were so eager to help them that I didn't want to push your thoughts down. They were just unlucky that they had to face the huge horde when they traveled. I mean, we didn't face any horde the two times we went on the same road." 

"As for them getting attacked by the gang. We can't do anything about that either. Now it's a dog eat dog world. You take everything you can get. As I said a lot of times. Survival comes first. Of Course, hitting them when they were low is still pretty bad. We can not do anything either. I know for a fact that the parents of both teenagers would have thought through before they started the journey. It's just bad luck." 

David felt terrible when he heard Mark's words. It was as he expected, Mark really did not have any hope for these people to reach the city unaffected. Mark was ruthless with his words and hit him hard. Hearing everything he thought was still painful. 

"To simply put it your way of thinking is naïve. The life you lived before was fine, I wouldn't say it was the best but compared to now. We both know it's a major change. People aren't as nice as before. You take what you get, if you want more, we fight. This is why I want to build my own base. I don't want to constantly fight." 

This was the last nail, as David stayed motionless in his seat. He didn't move, simply looked down in his own thoughts. Mark gave him time as he leaned back on the seat in his own thoughts. He felt bad for telling someone older than him that he was naïve. No one would like that, but David was different, and he knew that. 

As David was in his own thoughts about Mark's words, he remembered the promise and looked up. He hesitated a few seconds and then said, "Mark, the promise. Is it possible?" He really wanted the two people to take their own revenge. 

Mark looked down and heard David's question. He looked back up and said while sighing, "David, you know how hard it is out there. Those two kids might die. We aren't fighting against zombies, which move slowly and are only dangerous when we are near. These are humans and have guns like us. Two kids with barely any knowledge of fighting before this, it's hard. They would only drag us down and we would have to constantly look over their safety. I'm sure you want nothing to happen to them too."

David could only bite his teeth as he heard Mark spew out facts. It was true. He did not want anything to happen to those both kids. He was already a partial reason their parents and everyone with them died. Their death would be too much for him. But he didn't give up, he gave the girl a bit of hope and was going to stick to it.

"I'll take care of them. They will constantly be on my side. I'll keep my life on the line for them. So please, this one time. Those kids want revenge, and I saw it in that girl when I asked her. This could help them come back on the right track and their recovery. Please." He was trying his best.