The crowd gathered as the day faded into evening, the air thick with quiet anticipation. The wooden stage, hastily built but sturdy enough, stood at the center of the encampment. Survivors trickled in from all directions, drawn towards it by the promise of something they hadn't had in days—certainty.
The group remained near the back, positioned where they could see without being seen too easily. Victor's gaze swept the gathering, noting the way people moved.
There was a sense of relief here, a fragile hope clinging to the edges of exhaustion. These people wanted to believe in something, and Richard was about to give them exactly that.
Ethan folded his arms, his expression sceptical. "Feels like a rally."
Lily looked over at him. "That's the point."
Maria stayed quiet, eyes flicking from face to face with maternal desperation, still searching. Sam, meanwhile, kept his focus on the stage, watching the final preparations.
Then, as if on cue, Richard stepped into view.
He moved with an easy confidence, his steps deliberate, controlled. He was not just a man walking onto a stage—he was a leader assuming his place.
The murmurs in the crowd quieted. People turned to face him. Some stood straighter. Others leaned forward slightly, unconsciously drawn in by his presence.
Victor exhaled slowly. He has them already and he hasn't even spoken yet.
Richard surveyed the crowd for a long moment, letting the silence settle. Then, with a small nod, he began.
"We were not prepared for this."
His voice carried across the gathering, strong yet measured. "None of us were. The world as we knew it—our homes, our routines, our lives—it was all ripped away without warning. And in the days that followed, we learned the truth."
A pause. A slight shift in his stance.
"Survival is not guaranteed."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. People nodded, some looking down as if remembering what they had endured.
"But we are still here," Richard continued. "We did not crumble. We did not give in to despair. And that means something. It means that we have a choice to make."
His eyes swept over them, his gaze locking onto different faces. "Do we continue living like this? Wandering? Scrambling for food, sleeping in the dirt, hoping that tomorrow will be just a little easier than today?"
Another pause.
"Or do we build?"
The murmurs grew louder this time—interested murmurs.
Richard took a step forward. "I refuse to believe that this world is nothing more than a wasteland. I refuse to believe that we are doomed to be scavengers until the day we die. We were meant for more. We _are_ more."
A flicker of intensity entered his tone, just enough to make his next words hit harder.
"We are the foundation of what comes next. We will reclaim what was lost. Not as isolated survivors. Not as frightened individuals. But as a civilisation. A society. A people."
The murmurs turned into quiet agreement, a slow but steady shift.
Richard let them feel it. Then, he made his final push.
"There is a place for all of you in what we are creating. A home. Stability. Purpose. A world where you will not have to live in fear every single day. This is not a dream—this is a promise."
Silence.
Then, applause.
Scattered at first, but it grew. Some clapped hesitantly. Others more confidently. A few shouted their approval.
Richard remained still, letting it wash over him.
---
Victor remained impassive, arms crossed. _Good speech. Too good._
Ethan scoffed under his breath. "He makes it sound easy."
"It's not about being easy," Walter murmured. "It's about being possible."
Maria, still distracted by her own thoughts, barely reacted.
"He's selling an idea," Sam said quietly. "Not a plan. He didn't say how he's going to do any of it. Just that it will happen."
Lily exhaled. "And that's enough for most people."
Walter nodded. "The question now is whether or not he can actually deliver."
The energy of the crowd had shifted. People weren't just listening to Richard anymore. They were believing him.
The group exchanged looks but remained silent.
For now, they would watch. They would wait.
And they would see what Richard's vision of the future truly meant.
---
The speech ended, but its impact lingered. Even as the crowd began to disperse, murmuring amongst themselves, there was an undeniable shift in the air—an unspoken belief that maybe, just maybe, Richard could be the one to bring back what they had lost.
The group remained where they were for a moment, watching as Richard stepped down from the stage. He exchanged a few words with his closest followers before moving towards a large tent near the centre of the camp—his base of operations, no doubt.
As the last remnants of the gathering scattered into the night, the group made their way towards a quieter part of the camp. They weren't officially assigned a place to sleep, but no one seemed to care where they settled as long as they didn't cause trouble.
They found a relatively secluded spot beneath a large tree at the camp's edge. The night was cool, and without the threat of monsters, it was almost peaceful. But still, they took no chances.
They set up a watch rotation, taking turns staying awake in shifts. Victor took the first watch, then Ethan, followed by Maria, and finally Lily. By the time dawn arrived, they had all gotten a few hours of rest.
---
The early morning light crept through the camp, casting long shadows over the rough shelters and scattered supplies. The air was still, save for the quiet hum of movement as people began their daily routines.
The group gathered near their resting spot, keeping their voices low.
"Right," Victor started, "we need to figure out our next move."
Maria was the first to speak. "I want to keep searching for my children. If they're here, I have to find them."
Ethan nodded with straightforward solidarity. "We should all be looking for family and friends. We're not the only ones who made it this far—there's a good chance others did too."
"But we can't just focus on that," Lily added. "We need to watch him." She gestured vaguely in the direction of Richard's tent.
Sam tapped his fingers against his knee. "He spoke like a man with a plan. We need to figure out what that plan actually is. What resources he's using, how he's organising people, what his long-term goals are. If we stay here, we have to know what we're dealing with."
Walter stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Be careful. Just because this place is safe from monsters doesn't mean it's safe from everything else."
The group exchanged looks, silently agreeing.
Victor leaned forward. "Right, then here's the plan: We split up during the day. Maria, you focus on asking around, see if anyone's seen your kids or any of our people."
"Ethan and I will start talking to others, getting a feel for how people actually see Richard beyond the speech. Sam, you do what you do best—watch and analyse. See how resources are being handled, how decisions are being made."
Lily spoke. "And I'll keep an ear on what people are saying when they think no one's listening."
Walter exhaled. "And AJ?"
A small ripple moved through the air as AJ shifted nearby, still unseen by the camp at large.
"He should probably keep staying out of sight for now," Lily answered.
Walter hummed in agreement. "That would be best."
AJ gave a slight wobble in response, the slime-like equivalent of a shrug.
Victor stood, brushing dust from his clothes. "Let's get to work."
With their plan set, the group moved out, each heading in their own direction—ready to observe, investigate, and uncover whatever truths lay beneath Richard's promises.
---
Maria wasted no time. She moved quickly through the camp, stopping anyone who looked approachable.
"Have you seen two boys? Isaac and Noah, ten and twelve?"
Most shook their heads. Some barely acknowledged her before moving on.
It was disheartening, but she refused to give up.
She approached a group of women who were sorting supplies, speaking in low voices. "Excuse me," Maria said, her voice steady despite the turmoil in her chest. "I'm looking for my children. Have you seen any kids their age?"
One of the women, a short-haired brunette, gave her a sympathetic look. "There aren't many kids here. I think there's a family that arrived yesterday, but I don't know if they had children with them. You could ask Richard—he's been keeping track of new arrivals."
Maria forced a small nod. "Thanks."
She wouldn't go to Richard yet—not until she knew more.
---
Ethan and Victor worked their way through the camp separately but kept close enough to cross paths occasionally.
Ethan used a more direct approach. He struck up casual conversations with other survivors, testing the mood. "So, this Richard guy—he the real deal?"
The responses were mixed.
Some people spoke highly of him, claiming he had saved them from wandering aimlessly. "He gave us purpose," one man said. "Without him, I'd probably be dead in a ditch somewhere."
Others were more reserved. "I don't know," a middle-aged woman muttered. "He talks big, but I haven't seen much action yet. Guess we'll see."
Victor, meanwhile, took note of how things were actually run.
People worked, but there was no real system—at least not yet. Some gathered supplies, others reinforced shelters, but there was no set structure beyond following orders from Richard's inner circle.
He spotted a group of men near the center of camp who seemed more organised than the rest—Richard's enforcers, most likely. They weren't outright hostile, but they moved with an air of authority, subtly watching the camp's activity.
Victor didn't like it.
He's already building a hierarchy.
---
Sam positioned himself near Richard's tent, not too close, but close enough to observe.
Richard was inside, speaking with a few others—his inner circle, likely discussing logistics.
Sam noticed something important: Richard wasn't hoarding resources.
At least, not visibly. Food and supplies were distributed fairly for now. That was a smart move—keeping people content, making them believe in the system.
But Sam also noticed something else.
The best positions—shelter closest to the centre, access to fresh supplies—were already being claimed by those closest to Richard.
He's securing loyalty first. Then control.
---
Lily kept to the edges of conversations, blending in where she could.
Most people simply went about their business, but when they thought no one was listening, that's when the truth came out.
"I don't know," one man whispered to another. "Richard's smart, but what happens when someone disagrees with him?"
"You want to be the first to find out?" The other man scoffed. "Just keep your head down."
Another conversation, this time between two younger women.
"He talks like he has everything figured out."
"Yeah, but notice how he never really explains anything? Just a lot of 'trust me' talk."
Lily filed the information away in her mind.
---
Walter sat beneath a shaded spot, content to observe the flow of the camp. His years of experience told him one thing—this was still the calm before the storm.
AJ remained close but unseen, his body flattened low against the ground near the tree line, watching through the slight shimmer of his translucent form.
Even though he couldn't express it in words, AJ felt something off about the camp.
Not from the people, not even from Richard himself.
But from the way everything felt.
Like something was about to change.
---
As midday approached, the group slowly made their way back to their meeting point. One by one, they arrived, their faces filled with new understanding.
"We've got a problem," Ethan muttered, glancing at Victor.
"More than one," Maria added.
Sam crossed his arms. "Richard isn't just taking control—he's slowly building up a steady foundation."
One thing was clear—they couldn't afford to ignore it.