"Marcus, Seren, if we decide to take the lives of these people, then we would be no better than them."
"Yes, Anne, and then they would probably kill us without an ounce of remorse..." Anne was shocked by Marcus' words.
"Marcus... we do not need to do this."
Seren looked confused but did not react at first. "Anne, I have to be honest, these raiders are immoral subhuman trash who need to be disposed of." Seren finally commented bluntly before turning to look at her again.
"Exactly. We cannot let these freaks keep terrorizing innocent citizens." Marcus continued angrily.
"WHAT WOULD WE BE IF WE KILLED OTHERS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A GOAL?" Anne argued, infuriated at how easily her friends could suggest such horrific ideas. "Those poor souls were once normal, no matter how terrible they acted, they deserve justice, not this."
Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Fuck that. Our mission was clear; retrieve vital supplies and keep our group safe, and if killing this scum to do so... so be it." Marcus announced fiercely.
"Killing a group of strangers without knowing who they really are does not justify this senseless death and carnage." Anne began to walk away. She'd heard quite enough from Marcus and Seren. Marcus and Seren shared glances, then sighed as Anne stomped off into the darkness.
"I'm done talking. This is madness."
"MARCUS AND SEREN I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU TWO!!" Seren ran after his friend following close behind trying desperately to catch up to her. Marcus did not pursue and instead stayed behind contemplating his actions, but eventually came out of his thoughts to gaze around at the chaos he had created.
"You're lucky that one of us is compassionate enough to let the scum of the Earth live. If you know what's good for you, don't chase us." He sneered. "Because if you do, I promise I won't show any restraint when I kill the fuckers next time we meet."
"If you are foolish enough to make me angry, there won't be a second time for you."
Marcus growled bitterly and then went running towards Anne. "Anne, when I took you guys in, what did I say the conditions were?" Anne did not respond; instead she kept on walking as though none of what happened before actually mattered.
Marcus chased after her once more and stopped right behind the girl while catching his breath, "HEY ANNE! Do you even remember my conditions? Do you remember what they were?"
Anne stopped walking and turned back to glare at Marcus. Her eyes burned furiously and tears glistened down her cheek. Her fists clenched together and her nails dug painfully into her skin.
"Marcus..." she started, gritting her teeth, "Tell me, why would I go against my moral compass to satisfy a murderous animal such as yourself?"
"I did this all FOR YOU!!!" Marcus screamed. He shoved Anne backwards and began stomping towards her, clenching both fists tightly. He raised them high in the air ready to attack.
As he began walking forward his face fell and his arms hung loosely at his sides. All at once the rage in him faded away leaving behind nothing but pure guilt and regret.
He had never acted this way toward another living soul and it brought a wave of shame and shame for him to feel as well. Marcus crouched down low until his head touched the earth. He breathed deeply trying to clear the anger from his body.
"Jesus, what am I thinking." he muttered.
After he calmed himself completely Marcus raised his gaze upward towards Anne's tear soaked cheeks. They were glowing brightly in the pale moonlight.
"The only thing that killing leads to Marcus, is more killing." Anne sniffled. "Stop making excuses."
"You have to understand Anne, this is the end of the world that we are talking about here, there is no such thing as a moral compass. You either survive, or you don't." Marcus tried desperately to reason, he did not want her to think he was cold and unfeeling.
"I understand that, but I came here to save lives, not take them. It's wrong." Anne spat and continued forward.
"We can talk about this later Anne." Marcus' expression was cold. His features hardening into something deadly. Anne didn't speak for the rest of the night, merely kept her gaze locked ahead.
"I know you guys love to argue, but we need to find some place to rest, it's night and all that fighting has me drained." Seren looked over his shoulder making sure everyone understood what he said.
He put one arm around Marcus while nodding towards Anne and winked mischievously, "you don't want us being caught out in the middle of the night, especially if there's raiders nearby."
"He's got a point."
"That settles it, let's get moving and find shelter fast." Everyone nodded, and the group began heading off to find a place to spend the remainder of the evening.
"Fine."
Anne sighed defeatedly, her shoulders sagging low. She wished she hadn't been so foolish.
That night passed by in silence. The wind whistling loudly outside caused her shiver constantly, which she knew would make her tired quickly and when it came to resting comfortably it was nearly impossible. The longer she thought about her dilemma, the more irritable and uncomfortable her situation became. "Damn it!" She cursed under her breath. She slammed her foot into the dirt with a heavy kick sending dust particles and tiny pebbles flying across the ground and then swung her arm at the air. She wasn't satisfied yet; no matter what she did she couldn't keep her emotions under control.
"Even Anne gets angry, who would've known?" Marcus chuckled. Anne turned sharply towards him, her mouth agape, ready to defend herself, but instead was greeted with a huge grin and eyes full of mirth. His face glowed with amusement, making his blue-grey irises dance wildly in their sockets, creating the effect of a hundred suns coming forth together and melting any bad memories that lingered in her mind away forever. "Shut your mouth." Anne hissed, throwing her head towards Marcus so fast it was almost violent.
Marcus raised his hand and shook his finger side to side signaling for Anne to wait.
"Hold on Anne, Seren, something isn't right here."
"Marcus chill out... you're scaring me." Seren mumbled out his complaint through clenched teeth. "You need to calm down."
In front of them, a tree began to levitate.