The Regulator (Complete First Draft)

Chapter 33: Andrew - Regulations

“Christ, Nick.” Andrew said. “Don’t hit the dude.” Andrew took his hand off of Nick’s fist and Nick settled down and relaxed. He stared at Andrew, completely stunned. Andrew could feel all the eyes in the mess hall on him as well. “Missed you too.” He sarcastically said to Nick. Nick just kept staring at him, completely surprised by Andrew’s appearance. He was clean shaven, freshly bathed, his hair combed. He was wearing one of the blue camp staff t-shirts and some jeans. He looked like an entirely new person. Andrew could feel the rest of the room staring at him just as intently as Nick was. He turned to Tom, “Go grab some food. You and your fellow workers deserve a meal.” He said. Tom looked visibly weak, and so did the rest of the workers. They needed food, he could tell. Andrew then looked at Nick one last time, shooting him a glare before walking down the aisle of the silent mess hall and sitting at his group’s table. “What’s for dinner?” he asked. James, who sat beside him, shifted in his seat so that he was closer to Andrew, almost leaning on him.

“Beans... like most nights.” Monica said, cautiously. She eye’d Andrew, curious as to why he had made such a sudden and rapid change. “Why are you here.”

“Because. I have job. I have a duty for these kids.” Andrew said. “But I also need to talk to you, Brad, and Nick after this. So if you could go tell them, that’d be great.” Andrew said. He was sincere, he needed to talk to the three of them, but at the same time he wanted alone time with his group. Monica took the hint, got up, and left.

“What’s the job?” Danny asked, his curiosity suddenly peaked.

“Yeah, what is it?” Niko asked. Andrew took a deep breath as he began speaking to the group. The mess hall was buzzing again with chatter, but he could tell he had the boys attention.

“I’m not going to lie to you anymore. No more hiding things behind curtains. You boys are young, but you deserve to know what’s going on.” Andrew said, as he did the sounds of the mess hall intensified. Shouting and laughter filled the air. “Let’s all step outside, we can come back and finish eating in a bit.”

Outside, the boys sat at a round, wooden, picnic table just outside the door to the mess hall. Andrew sat down with them. The boys were all dead silent. It was partially due to anticipation of what they were about to be told, but also partially because they knew it was serious. Andrew took one final deep breath, and began.

“The world we live in is no longer safe, but I’m pretty sure you could already tell that. The monsters we hide from, the monsters that attack the camp, that want to attack us, are people. Well, they used to be people.” Andrew began. The boys continued to be silent, but Andrew could see in their faces that they were already finding this information difficult to comprehend. “The monsters want to eat people, which is why they try to bite everyone they see. If they bite you and you get away you become sick. You slowly die, and it’s not an easy process at all. You get a fever, runny nose, a cough, a headache... you’re bones feel like they’re made of glass and every movement hurts.” Andrew continued.

“Is that what happened to Zach?” Jaxon asked, quietly. It was almost a whisper. Andrew could tell that he wasn’t taking this well at all.
“Yes. In some ways. Once you get sick enough you die, completely. You’re just gone. And then a couple hours later... you’re body stands back up and tries to find more people to bite. You become what is called Undead.” Andrew said. Niko and Anthony turned away from the table briefly and Jaxon put his head in his arms. Seth, James, and Danny however didn’t move, listening intently. “They’re also called Walkers, Zombies, Geeks, Monsters, Ghouls, Fiends... a lot of different things. They’re all the same thing though, a walking dead person. They’re all dangerous, no exceptions. Do you all understand?” The boys shook their heads. “The only way to kill a Walker is to shoot it in the head. If you cut off an arm it won’t do anything. Stabbing it won’t do anything. They don’t feel pain and the brain is keeping them moving. Destroy the brain, you kill the Walker... and that’s what Zach wanted me to do. He had me shoot him in the head so that he wouldn’t come back as a Zombie.” Andrew said.

Jaxon threw up. Andrew heard the noise before he saw the throw up spill out from under the boys arms. Anthony and Niko leaned over the benches as if they were about to do the same. Danny, James, and Seth even looked a little sick at this point.

“I’m sorry, I had to tell you guys that. That’s probably the hardest part to swallow. We aren’t done yet, but i’ll get some paper towels and be right back.” Andrew said. He got up and walked towards the door of the mess hall, but as he got there, Gabi opened it up and handed him a roll of paper towels. Ivan was standing there as well. “You two been listening to the whole thing?”

“Pretty much, but I’m pretty sure we already knew.” Gabi said, somberly. She crossed her arms and leaned against the door. Ivan just glared at Andrew, not saying a word.

“He didn’t blame you.” Andrew said, looking Ivan in the eyes. Ivan’s face completely dropped. “He didn’t blame anyone for his death. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. You were his best friend, but it wasn’t your fault. He wanted you to know that.” Andrew said. Tears welled up in Ivan’s eyes, but they did not stream down his face and he continued to not say a word. Andrew turned and walked back to his group.

Back at the table, Andrew wiped Jaxon’s face with the paper towels before cleaning his arms and the table. There was nothing he could really do about Jaxon’s shirt at this point, so he sighed and went back to his seat. The boys all looked at him again.

“The reason I told you this is because I’ve decided you need to learn to defend yourselves. This is a harsh and dangerous world, but I’m not going to lose any of you. I’m going to keep you safe, and you’re going to keep each other safe.” Andrew said. The boys all seemed to sit up straighter, the color returning to their faces, as if they were all suddenly determined to accept this challenge. “For the foreseeable future, we are going to do weapons training every other day. Shooting in the mornings and knives or blunt weapons in the afternoon. There won’t be any living targets, don’t worry, but I want you guys prepared for this new world.” Andrew said. He suddenly heard footsteps walking up behind him, and turned his head ever so slightly to see that it was Gabi and Ivan. He didn’t acknowledge them, but he didn’t tell them to leave. “You’ll then have survival training with Brandon at night. He was a boy scout, an Eagle actually, and fancies himself a survivalist so he’s going to teach you everything he knows.” Andrew said, looking around. The boys all looked determined, and when he looked back at Gabi and Ivan, they looked determined as well. “Finally, we have seven new rules.” Andrew said.

“Rules?” Anthony moaned.

“Yes, Rules.” Andrew said. He began to smile ever so slightly. Rule number one, love life, friends, and family.” Andrew said. The boys gave him a confused look.

“Family?” James asked.

“We don’t have any family anymore I don’t think.” Jaxon said, somberly.

“You are all family now. You are all brothers.” Andrew said, he then turned slightly to Gabi, “And I guess you have a sister too, if she want’s.” He added. “You are to love one another like Brothers.. Of course, I can’t force you too, but if you act like brothers, if you help each other through this, we will all survive.” Andrew said, “Rule number one is to remind you that the world is still a place we can make good. Love the life you are still living, love your friends you survive with, and love your brothers.” Andrew said. The boys looked around at each other and Ivan and Gabi took seats at the table.

“Rule Two.” Andrew said, “Smile, walk tall, and keep it clean. This goes with love life. Stay clean, don’t let yourselves become... what I was these past couple days. Stay above it, keep yourselves together.” Andrew continued. “Rule Three, be passionate. You’re are still on this earth. You are here for a reason. Never give up, never let this world beat you.”

“I won’t.” James said, Anthony looked at him and nodded his head. The others soon nodded as well. Andrew smiled.

“Rule four, say ‘thank you’ at every chance you get. People need everything they can get to keep going, do your part and give them a little something.” Andrew said, each kid nodded their head. “Rule five, this is a challenge, not a punishment. We will get through this. We will survive.”

“We will.” Jaxon said, sitting up tall in his seat.

“Rule six, have goals. Set personal goals for yourself to achieve. Wether it’s to become a better shooter, to help someone everyday, to learn more however you can. Keep goals. You’ll need something to keep you interested when you’re not busy fighting.” Andrew said.

“Save people.” Ivan said. Andrew looked at him and nodded.

“Protect my friends.” Anthony said. Niko patted him on the back.

“Learn.” Gabi said, Andrew nodded at her as well.

“Rule seven, fight. Fight the dead, fight for the living. Even when everything seems hopeless, never give up. We fight, fight, fight and when we can’t fight anymore, we fight anyway.” Andrew said. The kids all nodded their heads in silent agreement. “Good.” Andrew said, “But enough serious talk, let’s go enjoy some food.” He said, smiling.