The sun dipped below the horizon, casting an ethereal glow over the dead city of Macon. The air was crisp, carrying a sense of anticipation as a young boy, Shawn Everett, stood only a few feet away from the glass bottles his mother had lined up for him. His fingers wrapped around the cold metal of the gun, his hands trembling ever so slightly. He knew this lesson was important, that it held the key to his survival, as well as his mother's...

LAYLA: Take a deep breath, steady your aim, and squeeze the trigger gently.

Shawn nodded, his young face a mixture of determination and trepidation. In that moment, time seemed to stand still. Shawn's finger caressed the trigger, his gaze unwavering. He visualized the path of the bullet, the trajectory leading to the shattering of glass. He exhaled slowly, the weight of the world on his small shoulders. Once he was ready, he took the shot

*BANG!*

The gunshot pierced the silence, echoing through the desolate streets. The bullet whizzed past the bottle, missing its target by a hair's breadth. Shawn's brow furrowed with disappointment. Layla, ever the pillar of guidance, placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder, her soothing voice filled with reassurance

LAYLA: It's alright, Shawn. Everyone misses their first shot. Take a moment to center yourself. Breathe. And remember, accuracy comes with practice...

Shawn nodded, his young eyes reflecting a mixture of frustration and determination. He knew that this was only the beginning, the first step in a journey towards self-reliance. He took a step back, realigning himself with the bottles, a renewed focus etched on his face. channeling his father's resilience and his mother's unwavering support. He aimed at the nearest bottle, the weight of the gun becoming an extension of his arm.

*BANG!*

Once again, the bullet missed by a hair, Shawn's anger then reached its tipping point as he stomped his foot in frustration

SHAWN: Gosh this sucks! I'll never get it at this rate!

LAYLA: Not with that attitude

SHAWN: That's easy for you to say!... (Mumbling) I bet dad was way better at this the first time

Out of nowhere, Layla burst out into hysterical laughter at her son's statement. Shawn raised a brow, wondering what was so funny about what he'd said. Layla collected herself, wiping away a tear as she spoke...

LAYLA: Y-Your father *Giggle* Lee didn't even know how to hold a gun when we first met. Besides, I was the one who trained him, and trust me, you're doing better than he did

The thought of his father struggling with a gun was a foreign concept to the child. To Shawn, his father always seemed capable of just about anything, so to hear this, Shawn's frustration began to fade, replaced by a glimmer of curiosity and a renewed sense of determination.

SHAWN: I want to see you do it

LAYLA: Oh?

Shawn nodded before handing his mother the revolver

SHAWN: Show me, I want to be just a good as you

Seeing the resolve in Shawn's eyes, Layla complied. Taking the gun from her son's hand, Layla raised the weapon toward the bottles...

*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*

Shawn was taken aback as he watched his mother effortlessly dispatch each of the bottles with pinpoint accuracy. Her intense gaze softened as she turned back to Shawn

LAYLA: That came from years of practice, perseverance, and learning from my mistakes. I wasn't born a sharpshooter; I became one. Listen, this isn't some big action movie, you aren't going to get everything right the first time. So keep practicing, keep a cool head, and in no time you'll get as good as me...

She handed the weapon back to Shawn. He took a deep breath before speaking

SHAWN: We got anymore bottles?

Layla smiled

LAYLA: That's the spirit

Elsewhere...

Amidst the ruins of a once-thriving city, a family was huddled together. The father, John, clutches his wife's hand tightly, their children, Michael and their five-year-old daughter Emily, standing close by. The air is heavy with tension as the distant groans of the walkers echo through the streets. Suddenly, a group of soldiers emerges from the shadows, their worn uniforms bearing the signs of the ongoing struggle. They approach the family cautiously, with their weapons drawn

JOHN: Oh thank god

The father stepped forward but stopped as one of the soldiers shouted

SOLDIER #1: STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!

John complies with the soldier's demands, backing away a couple of feet with his hands raised in the air. The soldier then turned toward one of his comrades, nudging his head in John's direction for a search. Soldier #2, a stern-faced man with a scar running across his cheek, steps forward, eyeing John intently. He begins a thorough search, patting down John's body for any hidden weapons or signs of infection. The tension in the air is palpable as the family watches anxiously...

SOLDIER #2: Have any of you been bitten? Infected?

JOHN: No, sir. Nobody here has been infected

MILLY: They're gonna take us to the safe zone, right honey?

John turned to see the desperation on his wife's face as she spoke, turning back to soldier #2, John pleaded

JOHN: We've been out here for months man, please, if you'd just take my family in I'd appreciate it...

Soldier #2 Ignored the man's plea, spotting the bag that their son was currently holding unto

SOLDIER: Hey, boy. What's in the bag?

The older of the two siblings clutched the bag tight as he spoke, his voice tinged with a nervous and apprehensive southern drawl...

MICHAEL: It's just some food and supplies we managed to scrounge up, sir. It's all we have left

The other soldiers laughed a bit, some of them mocking the boy's accent. Soldier #2 raised his hands to his comrades, telling them to settle down before turning back to the young boy

SOLDIER #2: Well, what are you waiting for? bring it over here

Michael grew a bit nervous as he turned to his mother for answers...

JOHN: Listen to the nice man's instructions Mikey

Upon his father's request, Michael stood, his sister Emily tugging at his shirt. While young, the girl could sense that something wasn't right, fearing for her brother's safety.

MICHAEL: Don't worry, Emily. I'll be okay. I just need to give them the supplies, and then we can go somewhere safe

With a determined look on his face, Michael carefully carried the bag of food and supplies over to Soldier #2. The other soldiers watched with curious eyes, some still smirking at the young boy. Soldier #2 took the bag from Michael's hands and inspected its contents. Both John and his son scowled slightly at the man rummaged through their belongings. tossing out whatever he deemed "Useless"

SOLDIER #2: Is this all you could find? *Sigh*

The family watched as he tossed the bag to one of his colleagues, John then took the opportunity to speak as Soldier #2 began to light a cigar...

JOHN: You're gonna take them to safety now right? we did everything you asked, nobody is infected, and...

SOLDIER #2: Safe zone? Oh I see, you think there's such a thing as a safe zone. Let me fill you in on something, pal. Survival is a luxury, and nobody gets to enjoy it for long.

The soldier's chilling statement hung in the air, sending shivers down John's spine. The realization of their vulnerability hit him hard, and he glanced nervously at his wife and children. Emily's grip on her brother's shirt tightened even further, sensing the danger lurking in the soldier's words.

JOHN: W-What do you mean? We did everything you asked. We gave you the supplies. Please, we just want to find safety for our family

SOLDIER #2: Lemme make this clear for you pal. I get where you're coming from, I really really do. I'm looking at your kid's who probably haven't had a real meal in weeks and I'm asking myself, I'm goin "What kind of MAN, can't keep his family fed?" Then there's your wife, It's obvious she's pregnant. So tell me something man, If... hehe, if me and my boys hadn't shown up, what was the plan? hmm?

John's heart sank as the soldier's words cut deep into his insecurities. He felt a mix of anger, fear, and shame swirling within him. He glanced at his wife, who stood only a few feet behind him, her face pale with worry. Emily clung tightly to her brother, her innocent eyes wide with apprehension.

JOHN: Mister, please. We've been doing our best to survive, to find food and shelter. It's been hard, but we've been getting by. We were hoping there would be someplace safe, someplace where we could start over and give our children a better life.

The soldier chuckled, his eyes gleaming with a hint of cruelty.

SOLDIER #2: Hope is a dangerous thing, my friend. It blinds you to the reality of this world. There are no guarantees, no safe havens. It's every man for himself. Tell you what though...

Soldier #2 spins on his heel, turning to his comrades with a devilish smirk

SOLDIER #2: I like to think I'm a nice guy!

A few soldiers share a laugh as Soldier #2 turned back to the family and continued, though this time, giving John a dead serious expression, with the voice to match

SOLDIER #2: I'm about to give you and yours all the hope you need. Now listen real close because I'm going to say this once...

*CHK-CHK*

Milly began backing away slowly, clutching her daughter's hand tightly as the family watched the soldier ready their weapons. John could feel his heart pounding within his chest as he'd now started piecing together what sick game the man had in store

JOHN: (Desperately) P-Please don't. Please don't do this man I'm sorry. We can just go. You won't see us again

MILLY: JOHN?

MICHAEL: Dad?

The soldier's cold gaze fell upon the terrified family, and a cruel smile played on his lips...

SOLDIER #2: Run

Milly's grip upon her daughter's hand tightened as she bolted away from the soldiers as fast as she could, though with her pregnancy, this proved difficult. Michael, seeing his mother and sister fleeing, began chasing after them. For a moment the boy stopped and turned to see his father, pleading with the man from a distance

MILLY: Don't stop, MICHAEL!

JOHN: Come on man this ain't right! you can't do this! You're supposed to be the good guys!

SOLDIER #2: Attention soldiers. ON. MY. MARK!

MICHAEL: DAAAAAAAAD!

John backed away from the man, now in a full on sprint as he prepared for the inevitable, trying with all his might to ensure that his family had some sort of chance at survival

SOLDIER #2: READY!

They got into a firing stance...

SOLDIER #2: AIM!

They each put the fleeing family of five in their sights, Soldier #2 then smiled to himself as he watched the family's futile attempt at escape, shaking his head in disappointment as he gave the order

SOLDIER #2: Fire...

https://youtu.be/Wu0epF6kRrc

Elsewhere...

Layla stood a few feet away, watching as Shawn and Vince argued over who was the better Invincible character. Battle beast, or Robot? But to Layla, the answer was obviously Atom Eve...

*Bang! bang! bang! bang*

Startled by the sudden noise, Layla ducked behind the ledge. Peering over to see that both Shawn and Vince had done the same

VINCE: Those were gunshots

LAYLA: Yeah, but a fair distance away, and obviously not meant for us

Vince squinted as he thought...

VINCE: Could be military

LAYLA: Could be a lot of things, military, other survivors... bandits

In the three months they'd been stranded in Macon, they'd come across tons of unique individuals. One of these "unique individuals" was a man by the name of Danny St. John, a man who claimed to have just lost his family, and whose dairy farm was overrun by walkers when an group tried to take over. Layla however, refused to be swayed by the man's story, scaring him off by the all to real threat of blowing his brains out. Something about the guy was off, plus his name was Danny, so she wasn't taking any chances...

VINCE: Well they stopped firing, maybe they were overrun? that kind of artillery, they've gotta have a vehicle

SHAWN: We can't steal people's stuff Vince...

As much as she wanted to agree with Shawn's assessment, she couldn't deny that this could be their last means of escape from this town. The time for being morally just in life was over, She and Lee had done that their entire lives and now look at them, scattered across the state of Georgia with no real guarantee of the other's safety. In truth, even Layla was starting to become doubtful in her husbands survival. Shawn looked to his mother for answers, fully expecting her to take his side on this...

LAYLA: You're right Shawn, it is wrong...

Shawn began to smile until...

LAYLA: But we've been stranded here for three months, and we're no closer to having made it to Savannah than when we came to Macon...

SHAWN: But...

LAYLA: No, no buts. You probably won't understand this right now, but one day you will, that sometimes you've got to do bad things, to protect those you love. Now go and grab your stuff, we're going to check and see what's what.

Without uttering so much as a word, Shawn stormed off to go and grab his belongings. Layla took a deep breath before Vince spoke

VINCE: I would've been fine if you sided with him Layla

She shook her head

LAYLA: I wouldn't have. We can't stay for too much longer. He may not agree with the means right now, but at the end of the day, if he wants to survive, Shawn has to play by this worlds rules. I've kept track of the days since the beginning, I don't even think he knows that his birthday coming up soon... he'll be nine in December

The ex-convict nodded, understanding the weight of Layla's words. They had all lost so much already, and if they wanted to make it out of this alive, they had to make tough decisions, even if those decisions meant screwing over someone else. Layla then stood, peering over the edge of the building and down at the walkers who shuffled about, due to the earlier gunfire

LAYLA: I won't let my son end up like that, now lets get going

Meanwhile...

On the cold hard streets of Macon Georgia, Three bullet ridden corpse could be seen lying in a pool of their own blood. The father, John, lay motionless with chunks of his own brain scattered around his now empty skull. A few feet away were the bodies of his wife, Milly, and his son, Michael. The son tries crawling away, choking on his own blood...

*BANG!*

but his life was quickly snuffed out as one of the soldiers put a bullet in his head

SOLDIER #1: That makes us tied

SOLDIER #2: Are you sure about that?

SOLDIER #1: The fuck do you mean "Are you sure?" I killed the father and the son

SOLDIER #2: The mother was pregnant, and I shoot the little one, I doubt she'll survive something like that

SOLDIER #1: No fair man, you can't just go around giving yourself a two for one special, and if she did survive then its like I said, a tie...

Soldier #2 then proceeded to walk toward the forest with his gun slumped over his shoulder...

SOLDIER #1: Where the hell do you think you're going!?

Soldier #2 waved

SOLDIER #2: Gotta go confirm the kill! Regroup with the others and head back to base without me for now, see ya Tyler!

TYLER: Tsk!

Tyler turned to others and shouted

TYLER: You idiots can head back on your own, tell my father I'll be back later!

The other soldiers turned to each other and shrugged, having cleared the area of any walkers and procured more provisions for their camp. One by one they each headed back into the forest, leaving Tyler to chase after his comrade.

TYLER: Dammit Victor, wait for me asshole!

Deep within the dense forest, Emily, the youngest member of her recently slaughtered family, fought against the pain and dizziness that threatened to engulf her. Blood seeped from her wounds, staining her dress and leaving a trail behind her. Each step became a battle as her breathing grew increasingly ragged, matching the rhythm of her ever weakening heartbeat. The fear of being caught by her pursuers being the only thing that drove the girl to keep moving forward...

EMILY: *Huff* *Huff* *Huff* Ngh!

She stumbled forward catching herself against one of the trees, as she coughed up blood. Tears began flowing from the five-year-old's eyes as the reality set in, her family was gone, and now she was next. Every step became an agonizing ordeal, her vision blurring as the world around her swayed and spun. The weight of her losses bore down on her shoulders, threatening to crush her spirit. But amidst the overwhelming darkness, a flicker of resilience ignited within Emily's eyes as she heard a soothing voice, much like her own mother's..

????: The gunshots definitely came from this way, keep your guard up you two...

The small child continued toward the voice with her small hand outstretched and tears streaming down her face as she was too weak to cry out for help. Eventually, she found herself wondering out of the forested area, and out onto the sidewalk. Emily's eyes landed on a group of three, a woman, a man, and a young boy. The woman spotted the blood soaked child and ran towards her...

????: Layla hold on!

Emily felt her knees buckle beneath her as she fell forward, but before her face could meet the hard ground below, she was caught, landing in the arms of Layla Everett as her son and Vince ran up. Layla quickly began to assess the young girls wounds, tapping Emily's cheek in order to keep her conscious

LAYLA: H-Hey! stay with me alright!? W-Where is your family? What's your name!? who did this to you!?

With what last bit of life the child had in her, she turned her head to Layla. She began hallucinating, seeing her mother's visage in place of Layla's. She began reaching up with her small hand to touch her mother's face. Tears started falling down Layla's own face as she took hold of the small hand, watching as little girl uttered her very last words

EMILY: (Weakly) Why, momma?... w-why... did they kill...us, why did they do it? *Sniff*

Emily's grip weakened, her voice fading to a whisper.

EMILY: (Whispering) Momma... I'm scared...

Layla's voice trembled with raw emotion as she leaned closer, her tears mingling with Emily's.

LAYLA: Shh, everything is gonna be okay. You're not alone.

With one final, feeble exhale, her small hand slipped from Layla's grasp. The forest fell silent, and Layla closed her eyes, holding Emily's lifeless body close to her chest. The girls head rested over Layla's shoulder as in the distance, the sun began to set...

Shawn, who'd been watching from a distance, felt his heart race as he watched the girl who just a few years younger than him, die in his mothers arms. Vince clenched his fist, their inability to prevent the girls passing bringing forth a surge of anger.

VINCE: Whoever the sick bastards are that did this, are probably still in the area. Layla, we have to go, or else...

He stopped mid sentence, as in that moment, rustling could be heard from the bushes. Then, from those bushes emerged two men. A bald white man with a large scar running down the left side of his face, he looked to be in his forties. Right beside him stood another, much younger man in his mid twenties with dirty and scruffy blonde hair and dark brown eyes. They both had an air of menace about them, and their clothes were stained with dirt and blood. Vince and Shawn both Immediately drew their guns as the older man began to speak

VICTOR: (Menacingly) Or else what? go on, say it. I'm always open to new Ideas

A/N: Well shit...