Episode 9: Play Your Cards Right

Episode 9

"Play Your Cards Right"

(Bay)

I woke up the next morning and immediately went to go start setting up Cora's big machine gun on the roof of the mansion. I thought this was a great idea, it could give us cover fire and take our a chunk of the Lockwood soldiers if they ever do decide to attack. I went to the armoury and grabbed it, it was a pain in the ass to lug it all the way up to the roof, but I did it. I then mounted it on the roof and got wooden boards to support it. I drilled the boards to the roof and made sure the machine gun was secure. I moved the gun around, scanning the whole yard. The big machine gun spun around with ease. I could cover the whole yard with this thing. It felt secure, so I was just crossing my fingers it wouldn't fall off and break. Then I started loading bullets into the machine gun, that's when Kayla showed up. She scared me, I didn't expect anyone to climb up here with me.

"Geez Kayla! What are you doing up here?" I asked, caught off guard.

She chuckled and climbed all the way up, sitting beside me.

"Do you parents know you're up here?" I asked.

"No, but relax. I'm fine up here. When did you become so strict? I thought you were cool."

"Oh come on Kayla. I still am cool. I just wanna make sure you're safe."

"Everyone treats me like I'm still a little girl," she said, "Yeah I'm young, but I know I am much stronger than my age suggests. I've made it through so much. You know that. I think a little climb to the roof will be alright."

"You're right," I sighed, "but you're still not invincible. You need to understand that too. One mess up and you're done. It doesn't matter how far you've made it. And especially with Lockwood probably showing up any day now, you need to be extra careful. These guys are serious, I've seen them in action a few times when I used to roll with Ryder's gang. Lockwood makes the bandits look like a bunch of preschoolers. Ryder's group was a hard enough challenge for us, so imagine what going up against Lockwood will be like."

Kayla nodded, she then grabbed the machine gun and started looking around the yard with it. She was trying to distract herself.

"Then how can we beat them?" she asked, "if they are so bad, how do we even stand a chance. We only have a few people left in the group. Why are we even trying?"

"I don't know," I responded, "I guess we've all just seen how horrible the outside is. None of us want to go through it again."

"Maybe my dad is just hoping they won't attack." Kayla said.

"I think we all are."

"So if they attack and we actually manage to fend them off, they're just gonna keep coming," Kayla started, "and keep coming, and keep coming. They'll come back stronger each time. There will be a time when we can't fend them off. We'll die."

I sighed and just sat there, Kayla was the most logical person out of the whole group. She knows exactly what's going to happen. I think Jeff is just too scared to face the facts, and he wants to keep the mansion for as long as possible. But there will come a day, when Lockwood shows us all true fear. The worst part is, I think that day is right around the corner.

(Elise)

I sat at a campfire in the middle of the woods. It was morning, and I was cooking up breakfast. I lived in a small little camp, one fire pit with one tent, and one table with a bunch of different skinned animals lying on it. All waiting to be cooked and eaten. I had stuck a stick through a squirrel and was roasting it. I had done well for myself. I mean, I wasn't dead yet, I guess that's good in anyone's book. But I still had this rage inside of me, I was still angry. I was still angry at Jeff for ruining my life. A long time ago back in the cabin, when I brought his group in during the harsh winter. I lent him a helping hand, and he broke it. He went crazy and tried killing me, then he killed my husband Terrence. After we kicked him out, my own son burned our cabin down in frustration of his fathers dead. I didn't blame him, I was mad too. Then his group brought me to a mansion. I thought it was a fresh start for me and my boy, Ryan. I thought I could put everything behind and move on. No, that's not what happened at all. One of the group members, Brandy. That kid killed my Ryan. He beat him to death, I lost the last thing that mattered to me in the world. I couldn't believe it. I left the mansion after that because enough was enough. That group was bad. Jeff's group was bad. Now here I am, living in the forest, alone, angry and broken. Someday I will go back to that mansion and kill everyone there. Everybody who wronged me, I will kill the people that ruined my life.

Just then, I heard the sound of a stick snapping behind me. I instantly reached for my pistol and turned around. I pointed it at where the sound was coming from. There were a bunch of bushes in the way, something was behind them though.

"Come out!" I demanded.

"Are you gonna shoot me?" asked a man's voice from behind the bushes.

"I don't know. Are you gonna hurt me?"

"No. I'll come out, but don't shoot alright?"

I didn't respond after that. I just kept my hand wrapped tightly around the pistol, my finger on the trigger. I wasn't taking any chances. That's when the man slowly walked out with his hands in the air. He was an odd looking man. He had long brown hair that reached his shoulders. He had a white dress shirt and skinny jeans on. He smiled at me, his teeth looked horrible.

"Ryder," he said, "nice to meet you, and you are?"

(Charlie)

I was in the lobby of Lockwood. Everybody was there, I organized a very special announcement for today. I was standing on the balcony overlooking the whole entire lobby, with everyone standing around looking up at me. Beside me on the balcony, were my replacement managers. People I made sure I could trust. Colin, Wallace, and Alex. All three of them were Lindsey's replacements. I decided to upgrade my security by getting three managers in the place of one. I still am not sure exactly what I'll do with Brad. I don't know if I can trust him. He knows too much, and I know he doesn't like me anymore. Not after what I made him do. Maybe he'll just have to be eliminated as well. I don't know how I'll do it, but I'll find a way. But for right now, I need to focus on eliminating Jeff's group. That is why I gathered everyone here today. I leaned on the railing of the balcony and looked at everyone. There was a microphone sitting on the railing for me to speak into. I cleared my throat and everybody went silent, waiting to hear what I had to say.

"Attention people of Lockwood," I started, "as you all know, we have had an ongoing disturbance outside of Lockwood's walls. Jeff's group poses a threat to everyone, and I am going to make sure he doesn't hurt any of you. He betrayed me, I was his friend, I let him in my walls and he spat all over it. Jeff broke out and caused a mess. He is now out there with his group, and he is causing trouble. It is only a matter of time before he attacks Lockwood again. We aren't going to let that happen, we will stop him."

The crowd cheered, they were just as furious as I was at Jeff. Their rage will soon be satisfied, because I am going to bring Jeff back here, and he will answer for what he's done.

"Now," I started, "as some of you might have seen, I have three new managers. Lindsey, sadly has passed away. It was sudden and unexpected, but she's gone."

The crowd looked around in shock, some people were even reduced to tears. I grabbed a handkerchief out of my jacket pocket and wiped my eyes.

"She was an excellent manager for Lockwood, and she will be dearly missed. She died peacefully in her sleep. But I know that if she was still here, she would be cheering us on. We are going to stop Jeff's group and put an end to the reign of terror he's been leading."

The crowd cheered even louder this time, probably even more angry at the fact that Lindsey died. I waited for the crowd to calm down, then I started speaking again.

"I have a small army of thirty soldiers outside. They are getting prepared for the attack we are launching on Jeff's base in the morning. We don't need too many soldiers. All we need it a quick operation to go in and stop Jeff cleanly. We will send them off in the morning, and they will bring back Jeff. He will pay!" I cheered.

I then walked away from the balcony as the crowd roared with excitement once again. My speech was done, and it couldn't have gone more smoothly. People are so easy to fool when they're angry. As long as the people of Lockwood have an enemy, it will be easier to control them. Once I bring back Jeff, I will look like a god. I can't wait.

Wallace came up to me while I was walking away from the balcony and he started walking along with me. I assigned Wallace to attack the mansion with the soldiers tomorrow. I want at least one manager there with them to lead them. This will also act as a trust test. If Wallace leads these soldiers cleanly, then I think I can truly trust him to be a full time manager.

"So," he began, "Jeff is the one with the scruffy black hair and beard. Samantha is the one with the long blonde hair, right?"

"Yes, make sure you capture them. I want them back here alive. Mess this up, and you can't be a manager. This is your chance to impress me Wallace."

"Of course, I can do this. Don't worry Charlie. But if I may ask, why do you want Jeff and Samantha back alive? Wouldn't you want them dead after all the stuff they did to you?"

"Exactly," I said, "they did horrible things to me and the people of Lockwood. I want them back alive so they can pay for their crimes. They're not getting off easy."

"Alright," Wallace nodded, "I'll go meet the soldiers outside."

I headed outside with Wallace and went to go talk to the soldiers. They were gearing up as the sun went down. They were going to camp out in the forest for the night and attack early in the morning tomorrow. When they saw me they all lined up and stood tall. I walked slowly, examining them closely. I wanted to make sure they were fit to attack Jeff's group. We can't mess this up. Every soldier was equipped with armour. They had navy blue uniforms, with white padding around their body and a white helmet. There was an 'L' on their chest to identify them as Lockwood soldiers. They were all equipped with an assault rifle and a backup pistol. Every soldier also had a hunting knife strapped to their waist. They looked ready for war, that's for sure. Once I was done checking over their gear, I cleared my throat.

"Alright soldiers," I began, "this is a very simple task. Go in, capture Jeff and Samantha, and come back to Lockwood. I need Jeff and Samantha alive. Kill anyone else who stands in your way. Just make sure you defeat them. Wallace here will be guiding you, listen to everything he says. He is in charge of you guys." I pointed over at Wallace.

The soldiers nodded and showed me they understood. That was all they needed to know.

"Good luck to you all. And don't worry, you all will be recognized for your bravery after this battle."

I then walked back inside Lockwood as Wallace and the soldiers headed out into the wilderness to bring Jeff back once and for all.

(Brad)

I climbed out of bed and rubbed my eyes in the dimly lit room. I looked beside me to see Jillian, who was still sleeping in bed. I yawned and stood up. Things went by fast, it wasn't long ago when I just met Jillian. Now we're in her room, in a bed sleeping together. I really did like her though. She was a pretty woman, and she was nice. I felt bad knowing all of this bad stuff about Lockwood, and knowing how innocent she was. She thought Lockwood was a great place, just like everyone else who has been brainwashed here. I feel like I'm the only one who knows of Charlie's lies and crimes. He is not fit to be a leader, he is the exact opposite of someone you'd want as a leader. A liar, and a killer. If we have any shot at successfully rebuilding civilization, then we need a real leader. We need a strong leader that will save everyone. I can't see Lockwood lasting much longer if Charlie continues to rule this place.

Charlie has slowly started excluding me from everything he does now, I don't even think I'm a manager anymore. I'm out of a job, and I'm just waiting for Charlie to kill me next. I need to get out of this place, but how? That'll mean saying goodbye to everything I know. I don't know how to survive out there, I really don't. I'll probably die within days if I'm lucky. Maybe I'll just get mauled by a strangler to minute I step outside these walls. Charlie has made it pretty clear to all the soldiers that I'm not as powerful as I used to be anymore, so I doubt any of the soldiers will listen to me if I order them to let me leave. I don't know what to do. I'm screwed.

Jillian sat up and rubbed her eyes. She then climbed out of bed and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Morning." she said.

"Morning." I replied, trying not to sound stressed out.

"What are you doing today? Wanna walk around the park some more?"

"I don't know," I said, "maybe not right now. You do your thing, I need to have some time to myself."

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I sighed and shook my head.

"Nothing, nothing is wrong. I just have a bad headache, I need some quiet time."

"Alright, well come visit me when you're feeling better. I'm off work all day today."

I nodded and kissed her, I then packed up and left the room