Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Chapter 265: Escaping Hawthorne

Zane's view of humanity had always been unhealthy. And though he had finally seen some light in the species, that in the form of the women who he had had grown to love. The man quickly reverted to his old ways the moment he was torn away from them.

Elena and the others might still be alive and living their best life without him. But that did not mean that strangers he met in his travels, ones who threatened his life at that, were to be considered as anything more significant than the dirt beneath his feet.

In fact, Zane had once more become rather emotionless, and callous, where in the past, when surrounded by his loved ones, he had gradually begun to show more and more emotion. But the brief time of his life, where he was not alone had quickly passed, far sooner than it should have.

And though he was now surrounded by new companions, he did not hold the same feelings for them that he did his previous ones. I mean, why should he? It was not like they had much in terms of ties to one another, besides the fact that they had previously been enemies.

With all of this in mind, he showed no form of care for the lives he took on this day. The Militia commander and his two guards could very well have families. Which could have indeed been the inspiration for their attempts to rob Zane at gun point.

But who were the people of Hawthorne to Zane? Nobody, he didn't know them. He had no obligation to give them his bounty. Nor could he be compelled to care about their insignificant lives. They were utterly meaningless to him.

So much so that he couldn't find it in himself to become angry at the entire town, for the sake of a few greedy individuals. He would not massacre Hawthorne on this day. I mean, why would he? Such an amount of effort, and what could he possibly gain from it?

No, Zane left that office, walking out of it with the blood of his victims freshly staining his clothes. And he did so with his sickles in his hands and his hood pulled over his head. The fact that gunshots had rang at such a close distance, and yet Zane was the one who emerged looking like a literal grim reaper was enough to send fear into the hearts and minds of those who witnessed him.

Zane's cold and murderous gaze fell upon those who could muster the nerve to reach for their weapons. And in the blink of an eye, those men lost their hands. Yet Zane appeared as if he had not moved a single inch. All the while the men screamed in pain and horror over the fact that they were now crippled for life.

Anyone else who could have found it within themselves to muster the courage necessary to attack Zane suddenly lost any willpower they may have had moments before. And thus, after leaving three dead bodies, and a number of crippled men behind. Zane made one last statement as he walked towards the front door of the command post.

"I'm going now… Let this be a warning to you all. Anyone who tries to stop me from leaving, whether they be a man, woman, or child will lose their heads. Do you understand what I am saying?"

The callousness of Zane's voice as he threatened to massacre an entire town including the innocents within it was enough to make the men cry in fear. One of them, luckily, had enough sense to get on the radio and order the other militiamen within Hawthorne's borders to let Zane pass without incident.

The moment Zane exited the door, he found that much of the town's inhabitants had gathered. After all, the gunshots were an obvious indicator that something had gone wrong. Zane looked to his left and right. He saw armed men standing by the wayside with their weapons lowered.

Fear existed in their eyes as they gazed upon the angel of death incarnate. Word had rapidly spread of what Zane had done. And what kind of monster he was. Other than these militia men who wore a mixture of camouflage uniforms and civilian clothing. There were civilians staring at Zane and whispering as he passed them by.

A mother could be seen within Zane's peripheral vision trying to shield her young daughter's eyes, so that she did not have to look at the man who was covered in human blood. Zane shot the young girl a gaze, causing her to break out into tears, while hiding her head in her mother's bosom, which was the only place she felt safe while gazing upon this blood-stained fiend.

Zane did not react to this in the slightest, and continued walking slowly towards Hawthorne's southern gate, which was already opened, waiting for him to pass through. And once he did so, Zane did not give a second glance back towards the small community of survivors.

Nor did he give them, or their chances of enduring through this apocalyptic world a second thought. Whatever business they had, it did not involve him. And the only reason he stopped by was because it lied on his path southward.

Zane would eventually manifest Gwen and the others once he was out of sight, where Eliza would quickly bitch about the mercy which Zane had shown the townsfolk.

"Why the hell did you spare those livestock? They tried to kill you! Shouldn't you have made an example of them so that the other cattle in this world don't get any bad ideas?"

Zane did not even suffer Eliza a glance, an act which caused her to only grit her teeth and curl her fists. When it was apparent that she was about to scream at Zane for ignoring her, he cut her off with his answer to her question.

"Why should I bother exacting such effort? Unlike you, I don't dine on the flesh of ordinary humans. It serves me no purpose. Only if they were awakened would their flesh serve any benefit to me. And even then, it would only be their crystallized hearts.

Our goal isn't to leave a noticeable wake of destruction in our path. Or would you like the other Horde Kings to suddenly learn of our whereabouts, and the direction we are headed?

When that Ghost found us, we still had the opportunity to head in multiple directions. But now? There is only one path to follow from here on out. And I'd rather avoid whichever of your siblings that is in charge of Vegas learning that I intend to visit his or her territory.

Such a powerful individual could easily spell our doom. Vegas is no third rate city like Reno is. Whoever is in charge should be much more powerful than Bartholomew, right? I mean it is Bartholomew, the name you gave to the Horde King in charge of Reno?"

Eliza remained silent. She was starting to understand why she had lost to Zane despite him being vastly inferior in terms of strength when they had fought all those months ago. Unlike her, Zane did not let his emotions get the better of him. And instead coldly thought the potential consequences which each action he took could result in.

This was why he had chosen to go to Elysium. There was indeed a risk Lilith would be there, but without knowing the true nature of Elysium. Zane's calculation of risk versus reward was incorrect due to the critical information he was lacking to make such a proper assessment.

I mean, from what he knew, Valeria had an association with Lilith, sure, but the odds of Lilith actually being present in Elysium were incredibly low. Or so he thought. It turns out that was a miscalculation on his part. And he had paid the price for it.

But just because the man had miscalculated, did not mean that he had not properly thought through the risk versus reward of visiting Elysium. He was just operating on incomplete knowledge, which though he himself may not know it, was purposely done by his mother.

As for Gwen she quickly clung to Zane's side, voicing support for his decision, all while teasing Eliza on her hotheadedness.

"See Eliza! This is the greatness of our Big Brother! You could learn a thing or two from him about properly controlling your emotions! If you had learned that lesson earlier in life, you might not have so carelessly lost your head!"

Gwen quickly covered her mouth after saying this, with an expression that deliberately was provoking Eliza. And as if to prove her point, Eliza quickly lashed out at Gwen, trying to attack her, while Gwen herself effortlessly dodged the attempts on her life as if they were nothing short of being adorable.

"You fucking bitch! How can you say such a thing when you're in the same situation I am? I'll skin you alive!"

Surprisingly, Zane was not the only one who was staring at the two girls as if he had endured enough of their shit. And the other siblings of Eliza and Gwen sighed in relief when Zane issued a command to cease their hostilities.

"Enough! Both of you!"

As if compelled by a supreme being, Eliza suddenly ceased her actions, and bowed her head in deference to Zane, despite every nerve in her body screaming in resistance. As for Gwen she voluntarily apologized for provoking Eliza, as it was her intentions to get on Zane's good side, and clearly she had taken her teasing too far.

"I'm sorry big brother… I was just trying to have a little fun. The road is so dreadfully boring. But you are right, I went too far, and I will try to do better in the future…"

Zane did not respond to this, and instead continued to walk forward. Whatever his thoughts were in that moment was his alone.