Dystopia

Chapter two! Yay! No sex again, but it's coming. There is far more backstory here than I can just type up in manageable chunks. I'm trying to get it written faster, but it's harder than it sounds. This is the stuff of a lot of people's nightmares. Our heroine will get some, no worries, and so will some other people! Please leave a comment and vote :) Thanks!

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He attached himself to her, becoming her bodyguard without a second thought. The other three would do the same when they returned from their duties, but a female in this type of area was an oddity, other than the very few female officers and the nurse. That thought gave him pause. There was supposed to be a nurse on duty twenty-four-seven.

"Deirdre?"

"Yeah?"

"The nurse should still be here, and probably won't know what's going on."

"We'll send someone over for her once we get to dinner. Everyone needs to know what's going on and be able to make some kind of decision about what they want to do."

He mulled the statement over. She had just shot four men, pretty much in cold blood, and now she was getting ready to give out some choices. This was a Deirdre he didn't know, possibly one that she had hoped was gone before he met her. This was someone he could respect, if possible, more than he already respected her. She'd done a lot for him in the past, but she'd driven here after a nuclear and biological attack to save a bunch of inmates.

If he didn't know her better, he'd have thought she was absolutely batshit crazy. From what he understood from her, though, she had logical thought processes. The biggest problem in her near future was going to come from the very small contingent of the Aryan Brotherhood who seemed to get their fingers into every prison in the U.S. The other races would deal with her just fine, although she might have to man up to the Mexicans a bit. After seeing what she'd done already, he wasn't really worried about that too much.

Mostly, Andre worried about the aftereffects of what she was doing. He'd only seen her as a nurse, only known her as someone who cared when no one else did. This was a different side to her Gemini coin, and the one that he didn't really believe existed even after she told him. This was the side, he instinctively knew, that she never let out. The side from the things she'd done in the military that she only ever half-discussed in a hushed tone of voice. He prayed for her then, like he'd never prayed for anyone before. She would have to be strong for them to survive this.

Fortunately enough, Officer Thomas had managed to get the nurse to the dining room as well. Andre smiled, it was clear that there was something going on there, and the young officer was hovering over the nurse. Deirdre took one look at the nurse and sighed. The girl didn't look amazingly competent at the moment. She shot a look at Andre.

"She's not in your league."

"I figured."

"She's not bad, just young, just inexperienced, and way too in love with love."

Deirdre rolled her eyes. "That's gonna have to stop. Do you know if she has any family?"

"Maybe parents, don't think she has a boyfriend other than about three of the officers, no kids."

"That's a relief at least."

He watched her straighten as she walked into the dining room. He was proud as he walked in beside her, not touching her, but obviously there, and looking murder at people he knew as troublemakers. Most of them looked away quickly. Andre was more than just a gang-banger here, he was one of the O.G.s. One of the shot-callers. Someone who got things done. He knew that Deirdre knew that about him, but realized that her trust of him was what had gotten him called to her. The fact that she knew he was running something here didn't hurt, though.

She stood there waiting until everyone quieted down, it didn't take long. Rumors had already spread courtesy of Officer Thomas, the grave diggers, and the three guys now holding the keys.

"Gentlemen." Her voice rang out over the crowd, it seemed rough and hard, unlike Andre had ever heard it. "There has been an attack on the United States. As of right now, I am not sure if the United States actually exists. I am positive that the Oklahoma State Government doesn't exist in any form as it did yesterday."

She stood patiently, waiting for the noise to die down. Most were shocked, some ecstatic. They didn't realize what it meant yet. Most of their families were dead, or worse.

"There was a nuclear explosion in all major cities of the United States today including Oklahoma City and Tulsa. In addition, there was a biological agent released along with this that had a very interesting effect on a concentrated population. They are calling it the 'zombie apocalypse'. It has, so far as I can tell, increased the animal nature of humans and decreased their higher thought processes. I have not seen a 'zombie' so I do not know if they are actually undead, which I honestly doubt, or if they are seriously infected with both the virus and radiation poisoning simply making their appearance that of a 'zombie'. I suspect the latter."

There was dead silence. Andre felt her shaking and laid his hand on her shoulder. He felt her take a deep breath and continue speaking.

"Most of the people I know are dead. Most of the people you know are dead other than those with us here and in the outlying areas. I came here, because total anarchy is reigning, and I believe that together we can form a force to be reckoned with. Often, Anarchy is ruled by the strongest, most cold hearted son of a bitch there is." She cracked a smile that chilled everyone in front of her. "I don't intend that should happen here, but I am not open to negotiation on leadership at this time." "What the fuck, you nigger loving cu----" The report of the .38 shocked most people as she simply drew and shot the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood in the face. He was standing less than ten yards from her. Brains and blood sprayed the men behind him.

"Now, we're not having any of that. There will be rules, and one of them is simple. United we stand, divided we fall. There is no more race. There is no more hate. We will work together or we will die. That is how the world is now. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Warden," came from Officer Thomas.

"Yes, Warden," came a thundering cry from the rest of the inmates. Andre squeezed her shoulder. She inconspicuously leaned into it.

"If you don't wish to stay here, that's fine. I understand some of you may have homes close to here, or may want to strike out on your own. I won't keep you here. You can pack everything that is in your possession, and you will need to leave by noon tomorrow."

A hand went up. No one wanted to offend her. She wished that she had it in her to smile.

"Yes."

"Warden how will we get where we're going?"

"The same way everyone's going to get where they're going when they're not on official business. On foot."

"But..."

"I'm not giving away vehicles, fuel, and food here. That is meant for people that decide to stay here with me and survive. If you leave, I will not be responsible for your food, transportation, and safety. I can't be. I must provide for the people who decide to stay."

"But how---"

"How are we going to provide? I have several ideas. I need these people to find a conference room after we finish eating and we'll go over some ideas."

There was some murmuring at that.

"Let's remember that for right now this is not a democracy. I'm taking people that I feel comfortable with and making some decisions. If you all can agree on some people that I don't know and send them along that'll be fine, too. I don't know everyone here, I don't know all the leaders, and I don't know the pecking order. I'm okay with that. If you can't decide on people we'll go with who I decide on and no one else. It's up to you." Her shrug was visible.

She looked out over the crowd. It was easy to tell from bearing who was who in this bunch, and she already knew a few of them. "Andre, Codis, Gandalf," she smiled at the old white man with the long hair and beard, she never could remember his real name, "and if you'll forgive my rudeness you, you, you, and you." She pointed out people whose names she didn't know, but who she was sure were movers and shakers by how they were standing, surrounded by their people. Another fortyish white man, a couple of Hispanic guys, and an Asian. They looked rather surprised as she picked them out, but Andre wasn't surprised at all. She'd always had good instincts.

The ones she'd picked came forward to where she was standing, and stood around the table. One of the other men went over to pick up a food tray for her and brought it back. He set it down in front of her, and she sat. It was then the men sat, and the rest of the men sat after that. She looked at Andre, and he nodded to her. She'd managed to take control of the camp, now it remained to be seen if she could keep it. He owed her though, and he'd help her until he was dead. He looked over at Codis and Gandalf, and realized they felt the same. Things in this fucked up world might not be so bad, after all.