"Well, I guess it could be worse." Carter shrugs. The sun is barely up, and all of the Hunters are gathered outside the gate. Adam feels a small sting on his arm and swat away a mosquito. People would kill for bug spray these days. Just one of the many things everyone took for granted when the world was normal. He turns to Carter.
"What do you mean?"
Carter sighs, "I don't know. I kinda liked the freedom we had when we were just allowed to explore and scavenge on our own. Now we're put on what, babysitting duty?"
Caesar had just explained the new assignment a minute ago, and is now flipping through a notepad, trying to find something.
"Think of it more as 'training a new generation'," Adam whisper sarcastically. "We're trying to help these people survive you know. Not everyone is as naturally good at getting out of trouble as you are. Maybe you can pass your skills on."
"I doubt that. Besides," Carter grins, "Why would I just give my secrets away? I'd rather charge for my services, thank you very much."
Adam is about to respond but then Caesar clears his throat. "All right then, here are the groups I've put together. I tried to match them the best I could. I made a few adjustments, and I decided to give each group two Hunters to oversee them."
All of the group begins murmuring to each other, with questions and comments.
"You won't be paired with your usual partners. The goal of this is to increase connection between all of you. Camaraderie, if you will. As well as making everyone stronger."
The Hunters all stand in a group across from another group of people. The new trainees. Adam looks them over. A lot of them don't look ready for this, as if getting up early was the biggest challenge of the week. But then there are a few who do. There's a football player he recognizes from school. Brock, maybe? Sounds like a football player name. He's tall and strong, perfect for combat, but he's arrogant and headstrong. There's a woman who looks to be in her late twenties. She's standing straight up with her hands on her hips, her black hair pulled up in a ponytail. Adam doesn't recall ever seeing her before, but there's something about her that stands out from the rest. She looks eager, almost, like she wants to be here. There are a few others who strike out from the rest, but Adam snaps to attention as Caesar claps his hands.
"Now comes the fun part." He begins to read from the list, "Mia and Angie, you'll be the first group," I glance at Angie who has her arms folded and simply nods. "Ronny and Leah, Carly and Jackson, Darya and Evelyn, Jade and Rowan...," He continues on, "Adam and Carter."
Carter nudges Adam with a smirk, "Well at least I'll be able to blame you when everything goes to hell."
"Yeah right." He mutter back. This might not be so bad after all, Adam thinks to himself. There were a few Hunters who he really didn't want to be paired up with, but working with Carter may actually make this fun.
"Ok, now for the trainees." He begins going down the long list. Apparently there's twenty four people eligible for this. Which means each group will have four members. Angie and Mia get put with an older man and that football player. Adam could almost sense the frustrated sigh from his sister. Nothing pisses that woman off like overconfident pricks. He'll probably hear a plethora of complaints about the pairing later that day. The list progresses at random, and reaches Adam's team. "Adam and Carter, you'll be joined by Luciana and Thomas."
The woman who Adam saw before begins to walk towards them, as well as a young boy. He looks to be about thirteen, maybe. Luciana approaches with confidence and a smile, while Thomas walks over with his gaze cast towards the ground. They join Carter and Adam, and each of the groups has spread out a bit.
"This morning you'll be going on a...test run," Caesar states, hands behind his back. "There's a neighborhood not that far from here. It about two miles away from our camp. You're going to treat it like a supply run. Search houses, loot them, and kill some zombies if you have to. Ya'll need real experience if you want to get stronger. And this will definitely help."
Adam look at Carter, an eyebrow raised. There's no way everyone will make it back from this. Simply looking around, he can tell who might not return. Adam feels terrible for thinking this, but can't help it. But then a realization hits the young man. Caesar is trying to weed out the weak. He glances at Thomas, who's still looking at the ground, completely silent. This poor kid. This...this isn't right. He shouldn't have to do something this, not yet at least. I make a silent promise to Thomas, and myself. This kid is going to make it. And I'm going to teach him how to survive.
"You have fifteen minutes before ya'll will begin. Take this time to stock up on weapons and backpacks to carry what you find. Try to think through what you'll need if you run into any zombies."
Thomas flinches. The boy probably hasn't had to kill one yet. The first time Adam had to, he was traumatized. It was probably a combination of having to fight one for the first time, and the fact that it was his own father. He brushes that thought aside and refocuses on Caesar.
"Meet back here as soon as you're ready. Dismissed." He stands with his guards and motions a hand towards the camp. Everyone begins walking inside. I try to strike up conversation.
"Hey guys," I smile at my group, "So I'm Adam, and this is Carter. You're Luciana and Thomas right?"
Luciana nods her head, "Yeah that's me. What exactly are we doing again?"
"Ok," Carter begins, "A supply run is what all of the Hunters do basically every other day. We take shifts and trade off with other groups so we're not exhausted all the time," he explains. "We're just going to run to a local neighborhood, snag a few things, and run back. Simple as that."
"Right," Adam adds, "How's your cardio, we'll be running a decent amount."
Luciana tilts her head in thought, "Well, I used my YMCA membership like twice a week before the world ended. So I guess I'm not in terrible shape."
"That's great," Adam says charismatically and turns to Thomas, "How about you?"
He looks up nervously and shrugs his shoulders, "I played soccer sometimes after school."
"Awesome," Carter grins, "When I used to play soccer I was always the goalie. I definitely got hit in the face way more than I caught any shots. A few broken noses for a trip to state was a pretty good trade-off."
Thomas lets out a small laugh and Adam smiles. Who knows if this kid had anyone to talk to at camp. They reach the armory, where the other groups are already stocking up. In the back there's a massive, locked gun safe, which no one is given access to. Except for Caesar and his men. The rest of the Hunters have to choose melee weapons to take on runs. The collection is still impressive though. There are baseball bats, machetes, axes, knives, crowbars...you name it. Adam takes up his fire axe that he's used since his first day as a Hunter. It has this weird sentimental value. Angie says he should give it a name, but Adam still hasn't chosen one. Carter picks up a machete, and so does Luciana. She feels the weight of the blade and swings it slowly in a practice arc. She picks up a backpack and begins asking Carter questions. Adam gets the feeling that she's going to be able to hold her own out there. Thomas on the other hand. Adam notices him casting uncertain glances at all of the weapons.
"You see anything you like?" He asks while fastening his axe to a backpack before slinging the pack around my shoulders.
"I don't know," he shrugs, whispering. "I...I just don't know about any of this. I don't want to be here"
"Hey there," Adam says calmly, "None of us really do. But on the bright side, it beats being stuck at base all the time. You have me and Carter. We're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."
He perks up a little, "Well...ok."
"Great," Adam smiles, "I feel like you were good at baseball. You want a bat?"
He nods and Adam hands him one. The boy takes the object and looks it over, smiling faintly. The rest of the group finishes getting backpacks and weapons, and in a few minutes everyone is back at the gate. Adam stands facing Caesar and the road that they'll be venturing down. Carter stands at his right, Thomas at his left. Luciana on Carter's right. Adam looks around to all of the groups. Most of them look ready.
"Now that we're all here, let's get this started." Caesar shouts with an almost excited tone. "The goal is simple. Run to the neighborhood, take some shit, and come back alive. Any questions?" He waits a second, and someone raises their hand but he ignores them. "Excellent! The group that comes back with the best stuff also gets extra rations for the week."
"Oh we have to win now." Adam smirks and whispers to Carter, who rubs his hands together and nods.865Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHom7wNumfF
If there's anything that motivates people in the new world, it's food. Everyone else around them seems to become more alert. They want it too.
"Three!" Caesar shouts. Adam quickly gets into a running position. "Two!" He looks around. Carter grins at him and gives a small salute that almost makes him laugh. "One!" Adam glances at Thomas, his face surprisingly calm and focused. He'll make sure the boy comes back.
"Go!"
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