The Regulator (Complete First Draft)

Chapter 4: Andrew - Low Level

Andrew walked casually toward the dimly lit cabin. Andrew could see the light dancing around the interior as the lanterns burned, and silhouettes of the kids running through the windows. For a second he smiled, it was almost peaceful. The cabin was raised slightly off the ground on supports. It had a small deck on the front, a much larger side deck, a big main room, a side room, and a small bathroom. Andrew climbed the stares up to the front door, passing by a faded sign that read “Nature”.

Andrew slowly opened the front door, entering the main room of the cabin. Seven beds were pushed up against the walls, each with it’s own personal cardboard box night stand and thick comforters recently “borrowed” from the local Bed Bath and Beyond. The floor was, for the most part, covered by a dirty, yellow carpet. The carpet didn’t fit the room though, especially under the beds, where the old dirty floor boards could be seen. A single lantern hung from the ceiling, as the generators weren’t hooked up to the Cabins yet. Andrew was standing in the short entrance hallway. On his left was the bathroom door and on his right was the side room door. All the coats were in the side room, as well as a table with nine chairs.

Andrew’s sudden arrival startled the kids, who had been running around playing tag and jumping on beds. Jaxon, who had been mid-jump as Andrew walked in the door, crashed on to the ground with a loud thump. Seth and James were in the middle of the room, looking dumbstruck. Niko was lying on the carpet in shock, as Anthony and Danny stood frozen like statues above him, holding towels that they were clearly going to hit him with. Andrew sighed.

“I can’t leave you guys a lone for five minutes can I?” He said, playfully. He wasn’t angry, rather, he was entertained.

“Okay!” Jaxon screamed, “I know what it looks like! But literally trust me, it was all Anthony’s fault!”

“Dude!” Anthony shouted, betrayed.

“You don’t even know what literally means, do you?” Andrew asked Jaxon, a smile on his face. Jaxon stood still, dumbstruck for a second.

“Okay... no but, but still!” Jaxon said.

“Still?” Andrew asked. Jaxon gave Andrew a confused look, like he was trying to say something but just couldn’t think of anything. “Yeah, okay. Let’s not destroy the cabin anymore guys. Tag’s fine, indoor tag is fine, running around jumping on beds and smacking each other is not fine. Not cool.”

“Sorry...” James was the first to say, the other boys soon followed suit.

“Don’t worry about it, just don’t let it happen again.” Andrew said, sympathetically.

“It’s not late!” Anthony piped up.

“It’s late enough, come on, we’ve got stuff to do tomorrow. You’re gonna need your rest.” Andrew said, trying to discourage them from staying up any later. One by one, the kids walked towards the bathroom to brush their teeth for bed. Anthony stood defiantly.

“You can stand there all night, Anthony, or you can get ready for bed. Your friends aren’t gonna back you up.” Andrew said. He had the power here, Anthony had none.

“They aren’t all my friends.” Anthony snarkly said back.

“Oh boo-hoo, Jaxon gave you up.” Andrew remarked, mocking him.

“Hey, he’s not my-” Anthony began to say, when Andrew and him heard a distant gunshot ring out. They both froze, and Andrew heard the sink in the bathroom turn off. Andrew quickly turned to Anthony, “Go to bed.” he said before heading out to the front porch. Andrew grabbed a communication radio off the shelf, something the camp used to keep in contact over the large property.

“What was that?” Andrew heard his friend, Ray, say over the radio.

“It was a gunshot, is everyone alright?” Andrew heard another friend, Johanna, ask.

“Stay calm, I’m sure everyone’s fine. Everyone count your kids and stay indoors.” Andrew quickly said over the radio.

“Roger that.” Brandon, a third friend said.

“You really wanted to say that.” Ray piped up over the radio.

“Shut the f*** up, Ray.” Brandon replied.

“Heeeeey.” Ray whined into the Radio.

“Ray.” Andrew said.

“Yeah?” Ray replied.

“Shut the f*** up.” Andrew said sternly.

“Oh...” Ray said, before going silent.

“Monica or Brad, Monica or Brad are you on the radio.” Andrew asked. “Monica or Brad, Monica or Brad are you here.” No response. Andrew flipped a switch on the radio so it switched to the second channel. “Monica or Brad, Monica or Brad are you here.” Andrew repeated. There was silence for a second.

“I’m here.” Monica soon said.

“What was that sound? A gun shot?” Andrew asked.

“Yes, Brad shot a walker. Stay on your toes, that shots gonna attract every dead guy in the surrounding area.” Monica replied.

“Let’s hope not.” Andrew said, switching the radio back to channel 1. “Nick.”

“Here.” Nick replied.

“Low level threat, get you’re people ready.” Andrew said.

“All militia, all militia. This is a level 1 alert. Be prepared for a possible attack at some point tonight. Stay in your cabins and stay armed.” Nick relayed over the radio.

“Nick, you heading to take Brad’s position on the platform?” Andrew asked.

“Yup.” Nick replied.

“Alright, cool. Be safe.” Andrew said.

“I will bro, no worries.” Nick replied.