System Of The Undead

Chapter 164: Andre And Brayden

The trick that Jason used surprisingly worked and they all called it a night as everyone must be exhausted after fending off a horde.

Andre had bigger problems to worry about and that was how he planned to keep his unmasked men in check.

He made a conscious decision and knew that they could not always hide behind a mask; he was glad he made trade as Clementine might have saved the people in his camp.

That was his suspicion, he suspected that Clementine was the one that called them to arms due to her background in the military, this should be an easy feat.

Jason was the scapegoat which he planned to use to draw out Clementine.

Andre sat alone a few meters away from the camp, far enough not to be seen but close enough to be there if anything happened.

"Are you worried Andre?" A voice whispered behind him, it was a green-eyed man approximately the same age as Jason.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn’t, Brayden," Andre responded as Brayden sat beside him.

"You made the right call," Brayden reassured him.

"I know I did, I saw the bullet casings..." Andre said, suspecting it to belong to Clementine.

"So what’s the problem?" Brayden asked.

"I’m afraid I’m not enough to protect them anymore," Andre said with an exhausted sigh.

"That’s why you have us, isn’t it? We’re a family," Brayden was trying his best to reassure him.

Now wasn’t the time to falter, they still had a long road ahead and Andre was the only one suitable to lead them to the future that they desired.

"Family, huh?" Andre said, sounding uncertain of this word.

"Yes, family and it’s okay to ask for help. Even the Hulk couldn’t do it alone and that’s why he was in the Justice League..." Brayden said.

"It’s times like this that make me want to beat you to death, Hulk isn’t even in DC!" Andre barked.

"You sure? I could have sworn I saw him fighting Superman," Brayden said and in that moment, Andre knew what it was that he was doing.

Andre smiled as he took a deep breath.

"You’re right, he did fight Superman and Omni man," Andre was ready to play along.

"No stupid, Omni man isn’t in their verse," Brayden fired back.

"He calls me stupid but..." Andre muttered.

"I know things are tough and the responsibility on your shoulders is something I couldn’t handle but we need your leadership now more than ever... Jason, Clementine, and Franklin have helped us and I think it’s a good thing the others are willing to protect themselves," Brayden declared, changing the topic.

"Good thing? How’s it a good thing? The old are fighting for themselves because we can’t protect them?" Andre was showing his more humane side.

"You’re looking at it wrong, Andre," Brayden said.

"How so?" Andre asked.

"The old aren’t protecting themselves, they’re protecting us and everything we have built together. Instead of running, they stood and fought so we would have a home to return to," Brayden gave him a different approach and this seemed to ease Andre’s mind.

"You always know the right words to use, Brayden. You should have been the one to lead them, not me..." Andre suggested. He made a lot of questionable choices but that was ultimately for the good of his camp.

"I have the words but I don’t have the action needed to back it up... I’m the Bruce to your Hulk," Brayden said.

"What’s with you and Hulk today?" Andre asked.

Before the conversation could go further, someone joined them.

"Hey Andre... Brayden," A voice called out to them.

The men looked over their shoulders.

"The next batch is ready," The man said.

Brayden and Andre walked in the direction of the voice until they were ultimately in front of the shed.

Andre looked over at Brayden and he nodded, he knew he had to do it and Brayden was always there to give him the support he needed.

"You have to be the one to do it," Brayden encouraged him to which a disgruntled Andre sighed.

"Everyone stay outside, I have got this," Andre said and they did just that.

Andre entered the shed, the shed rumoured to be responsible for the killings of humans.

There was an elderly man, bound on a table as Andre walked towards him.

"I’m sorry I’m late. You must have been in pain..." Andre said and the old man simply smiled.

"My wife is a bigger pain in the ass, you’re fine kid," The elderly man joked but the tone he used didn’t imply that he was in danger.

"How’re you feeling?" Andre asked and the man didn’t have a response to this question.

He didn’t know how he was doing but his body was numb so that couldn’t be good.

"I could be better but I also could be worse," The man responded before coughing profusely, blood spilling from his mouth.

"I’m afraid I can’t wait any longer," The man said and Andre knew what had to be done.

It didn’t matter if they were bitten or not, everyone turned upon death and this was something Andre had experienced numerous times.

There was no way to stay uninfected in this world because they were now living in the world of the dead.

He wasn’t going to risk it and this was why he had set this up, a place where he granted the sick or doomed a place where they could be put out of their misery.

Andre looked exhausted but he was also glad he could help this man die a dignified death.

He picked up the knife on the table, it was a unique knife with excellent piercing ability.

This meant it could rip through flesh with relative ease, something that this man needed right now.

"Are you ready?" Andre asked and the man nodded with a smile right before coughing aggressively.

"I-I’m ready... I have already told my family goodbye, they promised they wouldn’t be joining me soon so I hope I can find another woman to keep me company until she comes," The elderly man joked.

"Are you sure that’s a good idea? From what you have told me, your wife will kick both your asses," Andre said, sitting beside him as they had one final conversation.

"I will be glad, if I’m being honest I don’t think she will meet me in paradise. She is far too mean a woman," The man teased, his wife was right outside.

She was hearing every word and a smile was on her face throughout.

"I know she will change her ways now that I’m going to die. She has to be on her best behaviour if she’s going to meet me in the afterlife," The man said.

"I’m sure she will," Andre reassured him, there was nothing that could be done as silence soon filled the room.

It was time and Andre knew just where to impale, he turned the man over gently before plunging the knife into the nape of the neck, instantly killing the man and making sure that he felt no pain.

This was what this shed was for, there was no cannibalism going on as these people weren’t cannibals.

Andre sighed, he was tired of the killing and the stress was slowly accumulating.

"Fuck, I really don’t think I can do this anymore," Andre whispered to himself with shaky hands.

-

Jason was back in his tent but this time, he had an unlikely guest in Clementine.

Clementine wanted to have a chat with him even though Jason tried to blow her off.

"What is it, Clementine? Are you missing me already?" Jason teased but Clementine was in no mood for jokes.

She wasn’t going to ask Jason directly because she knew if he was hiding it from her then it was because he didn’t want to tell her.

And Clementine didn’t want to put him in a position where he would have to lie to her.

"Jason, what was that in the hospital? That wasn’t normal," Clementine used a different approach to seek the answer she was looking for.

This was the incident at the hospital, it might be a problem considering that Franklin saw it.

She also had no idea what Franklin told Andre but she hoped it wasn’t what she was thinking.

"There is a lot I want to tell you but I don’t quite understand it myself. I just need you to trust me right now because I’m trying to understand it myself but I will tell you one important thing..." Jason said and Clementine was relieved that he was direct and straight to the point.

He didn’t try to deny it either, this showed that he knew what she was talking about.

"That is?" Clementine asked.

"The fragment, it all lies in the fragment..." Jason said and Clementine realized what it was that he consumed, it was this fragment he consumed but was it also responsible for his enhanced movements? Clementine made the correct assumption, it was.