I lived my life by the golden rule. I believed in law and order. I believed in the goodness of  man. I believed that God had a plan for us all. How quickly those beliefs can change.

Sure the Outbreak affected us all. We lost many loved ones to the infection. We watched towns fall and governments crumble all to the mindless walking dead. I guess you could say I was one of the lucky ones though, not just because I survived, but because my lovely wife and three kids survived with me. It was an imperfect life in a less than perfect world, but at least we shared it together.

We had found sanctuary in a small community. We worked hard, we provided for each other. We continued to love, laugh and live. Our group survived on trust and practiced an open door and open arms policy for all new comers who would stumble into our folds. Never had the leaders of the brotherhood, of which I was one, voted to exile a member from the safety of our walls. Though that decision is one I would live to regret.

It was December 18, 2015. I was in a meeting with other community leaders. The topic for discussion was one Matthew Johnson. Complaints, acquisitions, and grievances seemed to be mounting against the young man. It was a heated dialogue amongst the seven members, and when the vote was cast about the future of this man, the results came back all knotted up. As President of this council, the deciding vote was mine. As I mentioned above, I believed in the goodness of man. I believed in the Golden Rule. Thus,I could not, or would not, sentence one to be cast out into a likely death. Young Matthew was allowed to stay. I blame myself to this day for that fact.

Two days later, December 20, 2015, my life changed forever. I had thought the walkers were what I needed to fear most. The mindless creatures who only craved the flesh of those of us that still functioned as humans. But how wrong I was. They were easy to deal with. Bullet to the head. Baseball bat brought down on a skull. Knife to the temple. All straightforward ways to deal with them. Little thought needed to be given. You destroy them, before they kill you. Sadly, I found out to late that us, the humans, were really the ones to fear. I lost everything that day. My wife, my kids, my sense of community, all at the hands of a gun wielding Matthew Johnson. It seemed he wasn’t a nuisance. A young man trying to find himself. No. It seems he was indeed a lunatic, a blood thirsty one at that. He took so much from me, leaving me just one thing to take in return, his life. With careful aim and a single bullet to the head, the rampage ended, albeit far to late.

I left then. Left immediately. Walked out of the secured fortress with nary a look back. Nothing but the rifle and the clothes on my back. I wandered in hopes of death. The guilt weighing me down. The knowledge it was my fault that so many others had perished. I wandered for over a month, until the day I found Arklay.