Broken Realities: What-if

Author note at the end. Enjoy.

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤ ◢◤

Larry's life ebbed away as Lilly desperately tried to stem the flow of blood from his neck wound. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the sounds of panic.

Lee, still pinning Alex to the floor, looked up at the others with a mix of horror and disbelief. "Kenny, we need a first aid kit, now!"

But Alex shook his head, muttering "It wont work." Though no one paid attention to him. Kenny, his face ashen, nodded and scrambled to find the medical supplies. Carley moved to help Lilly, applying pressure to Larry's wound while trying to comfort the distraught woman.

Glen, who had been frozen in shock, snapped out of it and moved to help Lee restrain Alex in case he ever surprised someone like that ever again. "Alex, man, what were you thinking?" he asked, his voice trembling.

Alex's laughter had subsided, replaced by heavy breathing and a wild look in his eyes. "He... he would have killed us all," he muttered, his body going limp beneath Lee's grip.

As Kenny returned with the first aid kit, the group worked frantically to save Larry's life. Carley, with her steady hands, took charge of bandaging the wound while Lilly held her father's hand, whispering desperate pleas for him to hold on while the older man simply chocked on his own blood, eyes frantically darting in every corner of the RV. Well, as much as he could see.

The next few minutes were a blur of activity as they fought to keep Larry alive but it was in vain as the man's body felt colder with every second.

As the immediate crisis began to subside, the gravity of what had just happened settled over the group. Kenny, his hands shaking, looked at Alex with a mix of fear and confusion. "Kid, what the hell happened to you?"

Alex, now sitting up but still restrained by Glen, stared blankly at the blood-soaked floor of the RV. The manic energy that had possessed him moments ago seemed to have drained away, leaving him looking small and lost.

Lilly, her voice hoarse from crying, turned to face Alex. Her eyes burned with a mixture of grief and rage. "If he dies," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "I'll kill you myself."

Though Alex didn't say anything, he glanced back at the older woman, eyes dead, yet not a single thing hinted at the fact that Alex had given up. Instead, they looked calculated, calm, as if his previous madness didn't exist.

As Larry's breathing became silent, Lilly's grief turned to fury. She whirled around, her eyes locking onto Alex with a murderous glare. "You!" she screamed, lunging towards him with outstretched hands, intent on inflicting pain.

Kenny and Lee reacted instantly, intercepting Lilly before she could reach Alex. They struggled to hold her back as she thrashed against their grip, her anguished cries filling the confined space of the RV.

"Let me go!" Lilly snarled, her voice raw with emotion. "He killed my father! He's a murderer!"

Carley stepped between Lilly and Alex, her hands raised in a placating gesture. "Lilly, please. We need to calm down and think this through."

But Lilly was beyond reason. "Calm down? He slit my father's throat! How can you defend him?"

Alex's voice, unnervingly calm, cut through the chaos. "He would have left us all to die. He pushed Lee into the walkers. He was a liability."

His words only fueled Lilly's rage. "A liability? He was my father! You had no right!"

The shouting match escalated, with Kenny and Lee struggling to maintain order while still restraining Lilly. Glen and Carley exchanged worried glances, uncertain of how to defuse the situation.

Suddenly, Alex's voice rose above the din, cold and decisive. "Get out."

The RV fell silent, all eyes turning to Alex in disbelief.

"What did you say?" Lilly asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Alex met her gaze unflinchingly. "Get out of the RV. Now."

Kenny released his hold on Lilly, stepping forward. "Now hold on a minute, kid. We can't just-"

"Her or me," Alex interrupted, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Choose."

The ultimatum hung in the air, heavy with implications. Lee, still holding Lilly back, looked between her and Alex, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.

"Alex, man, think about what you're saying," Glen pleaded, his hand still on Alex's shoulder.

"We can't just throw someone out," Carley added, her journalistic instincts kicking in. "We need to discuss this rationally."

Kenny ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in his voice. "Damnit, Alex. We've got a safe place to go back to. The farm, remember? We can't start making these kinds of decisions now."

At the mention of the farm, a flicker of something –doubt and recognition – passed across Alex's face. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the same cold determination as if steeling himself.

"Precisely because we have a safe place that she needs to get out." Alex said firmly. "She's a threat now. Her father was ready to save himself while letting us die. I took care of it."

"Alex." Lee interrupted, voice calm as the tension in the RV kept getting higher but Alex continued. "I saved us from a traitor before he could jeopardize everything."

"Alex." Kenny, this time, called out, already walking towards the boy. "Now that I've killed her father-" Kenny grabbed him by his shoulder, shaking the young man who wasn't meeting his gaze. "She'll d-"

Before Alex could finish, he was sent flying and landed on his back, his left check blaring in pain and his tongue tasting something metallic.

The RV erupted into chaos once more. Glen rushed to Alex's side, while Carley moved to restrain Kenny, who stood over Alex with his fist still clenched.

"Kenny!" Lee shouted, releasing Lilly to intervene, the machete forgotten. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kenny's face was a mask of fury and disbelief. "He's lost his damn mind, Lee! I'll make him snap back to his sense."

Lilly, momentarily forgotten in the commotion, slumped against the RV wall, her eyes never leaving her father's lifeless body. The fight seemed to have drained out of her, replaced by a hollow emptiness as she watched her father's blood-soaked body.

Alex, propped up on his elbows, spat blood onto the floor. His eyes, once cold and calculating, now burned with a mix of anger and… fear, even desperation.

"You don't understand," he said, his voice hoarse. "None of you understand what's at stake here."

Glen helped Alex sit up, his face a mask of concern. "Then explain it to us, man. What's going on in your head?"

Alex looked around the RV, taking in the faces of his companions – Kenny's anger, Lee's confusion, Carley's wariness, Glen's concern, and Lilly's emptiness. For a moment, the mask slipped, and they saw a glimpse of the scared young man beneath.

"We can't afford to have wildcards," Alex said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Not now. Not with what's out there. Larry was willing to sacrifice us all to save himself. Lilly... she'll never forgive this. She'll be a threat to all of us."

Lee knelt down beside Alex, his voice gentle but firm. "Alex, we can't just throw people away because they might be a threat. That's not who we are. That's not who you are."

"He's right." Glen continued, squeezing his shoulder. "Don't you remember the reason why you wanted to be a doctor in the first place?" Immediately, as if a memory was unlocked, he remembered.

He "remembered" how his parents got into a car accident. They died, leaving him alone at the age of 16. How he pushed himself to finish his studies.

How he paid doctors to be their shadows in the surgery rooms with the same money his parents left him. 50 000$ and all of it gone because he wanted to help others, care for them. Yet here he was, throwing it all away.

"Isn't it?" Alex asked, his eyes meeting Lee's as to answer the man's question instead of Glen's. "We're in a world where the dead walk, Lee. The rules have changed." He looked at Glen, "We have to change with them."

As if to support his point, "Dad?" Lilly called, seeing her father's body move.

The tension in the RV reached a fever pitch as all eyes turned to Larry's body. A collective gasp rippled through the group as they saw his fingers twitch, then his arm, and finally his whole body began to convulse.

"No..." Lilly whispered, her voice a mixture of hope and horror. "Dad?"

But Alex's voice cut through the moment, sharp and urgent. "Get away from him! Now!"

Kenny, reacting on instinct, pulled Lilly back just as Larry's eyes snapped open. But these weren't the eyes of the man they knew. They were milky, unfocused, filled with an inhuman hunger.

"No way," Carley gasped, retreating a step in shock.

Lee, his face pale with shock, reached for the discarded machete. "Everyone, get back!"

Larry's reanimated corpse lurched upward, a guttural growl emanating from his throat. His hands, once clenched in pain, now reached out.

In the confined space of the RV, panic erupted. Lilly screamed, a sound of pure anguish that cut through the chaos. Kenny struggled to hold her back while also trying to put distance between them and the walker that had once been Larry.

Alex, despite his weakened state, scrambled to his feet. "I told you," he said, his voice a mix of vindication and fear. "I told you the world changed."

Lee, machete in hand, stood between the group and Larry's animated corpse. "Kenny, get everyone to the back of the RV!"

As the others retreated, Lee faced the grotesque sight of the former survivor turned monster. With a grimace of determination, he swung the machete, aiming for Larry's head. "NOOO!!!" Lilly screamed, once more, her hopeful eyes dying as her outreached arms fell in front of her.

The blade connected with a sickening thud, and Larry's body crumpled to the floor, finally, truly lifeless.

In the aftermath, the RV fell into a stunned silence, broken only by Lilly's quiet sobs and the heavy breathing of the survivors.

Alex, leaning against the wall for support, looked at each of his companions in turn. "Now do you understand?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "This is what we're dealing with. This is why we can't afford to be sentimental. Not anymore." He spoke, but it seemed like he was talking to himself.

Carley, her journalistic instincts kicking in despite the horror, turned to Alex. "You knew this would happen. How?"

Alex shook his head, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "I didn't but I suspected it."

He wiped the cold sweats on his forehead as his eyes remained on the body. "Whatever this infection is… It shouldn't have spread this far unless it was intentional."

Alex's words hung heavy in the air, the implications of his statement sinking in. The group exchanged uneasy glances between each other and the dead corps in the RV, processing the horror of what they had just seen and the chilling possibility Alex had presented.

"What do you mean, 'intentional'?" Lee asked, his voice low and cautious.

Alex leaned heavily against the RV wall, his eyes unfocused as if seeing something beyond the confines of their temporary shelter. "Think about it. The goal of any virus is to spread as much as possible, right? But this... this is different. It's too inefficient if the only way to turn is a bite while still being too widespread…"

"To what? End the world?" Kenny scoffed, but there was a tremor in his voice that betrayed his unease.

"That's insane," Carley interjected, shaking her head. "You're talking about some kind of doomsday scenario. That's the stuff of conspiracy theories, not reality."

"Yeah? Then why did no one get any help from the military, the government?" Alex started; hands clutched. "I bet we could clean Macon city in its entirety if we just get rifles and ammos. Us, stupid, fucking, civilians with not even a basic training."

Before Alex could continue, Lilly's voice cut through the air, raw with grief and rage. "Shut up! All of you, just shut up!" Her eyes, red-rimmed and wild, fixed on Alex. "You killed my father, and now you're spinning some crazy story? I don't care about your theories or your excuses!"

In a sudden burst of movement, Lilly lunged forward, snatching the blood-stained machete from Lee's loosened grip. With a primal cry, she swung the weapon towards Alex, her intent clear in her eyes.

Time seemed to slow as the blade arced through the air. Alex, still weak from Kenny's punch, could only watch as death approached.

But Kenny, reacting with lightning-fast reflexes, grabbed Lilly's arm mid-swing. The machete clattered to the floor as Kenny wrestled it away from her grasp.

"That's enough!" Kenny roared, his face red with exertion and anger. "We've had enough bloodshed for one day!"

Lilly struggled against Kenny's grip, her voice breaking as she screamed, "Let me go! He deserves to die! He killed my father!"

"Your father almost killed us all!" Kenny shot back, not releasing his hold. "Alex might be crazy, but he was right about that!"

Lee stepped between them; his hands raised in a placating gesture. "Everyone, please. We need to calm down and think this through rationally."

But Lilly was beyond reason. She stopped struggling, her body going limp in Kenny's grasp. When she spoke again, her voice was cold and empty. "Let me out."

"What?" Carley asked, taken aback.

"I said, let me out," Lilly repeated, her eyes fixed on the floor. "I can't... I can't be here anymore. Not with him." She jerked her head towards Alex.

"Lilly, you can't be serious," Lee said, his voice softening. "It's not safe out there."

"I don't care," she replied, finally looking up. Her eyes were devoid of the fire that had burned in them moments ago, replaced by a hollow emptiness. "I'd rather take my chances with the walkers than stay here with my father's murderer."

The group fell silent, the weight of Lilly's decision hanging heavy in the air. Alex, who had remained silent throughout the exchange, finally spoke.

"Let her go," he said quietly. "She's right. We can't coexist, not after this."

Kenny looked between Alex and Lilly, conflict clear on his face. "Are we really considering this? Leaving someone behind?"

"It's what she wants," Alex replied, his voice flat. "And it's safer for all of us."

Lee shook his head, disbelief etched on his features. "I can't believe we're even discussing this. We're supposed to stick together, to help each other survive."

"Survive what?" Lilly laughed bitterly. "A world where I'm alive with my father's murderer? No, I'm done. Let me out, or I swear I'll find a way to end this myself."

Kenny, his movements slow and reluctant, moved towards the RV door. "Are you sure about this, Lilly? Once you're out there..."

"I'm sure," she cut him off, her voice devoid of emotion, moving towards her father's body. "Just let me go."

As Kenny opened the door, the sounds of the outside world flooded in – the distant moans of walkers, the rustle of wind through abandoned streets, and the gunshots still happening in the distance.

Lilly tried to drag her father's body with her, but it was too heavy. "Let us." Kenny helpfully interrupted, with Lee, dragging Larry's body outside and gently putting it down. Meanwhile, Lilly stood at the threshold, looking out at the desolate landscape that awaited her.

For a moment, she turned back, her eyes sweeping over the group one last time. They lingered on Alex, a final flicker of hatred passing across her face before it settled back into resigned emptiness.

Without another word, Lilly stepped out of the RV. The door closed behind her with finality. As Kenny returned to the driver's seat, everyone else sat in stunned silence, each grappling with the fact of what they had done or not done.

Alex, expression filled with conflicting emotions, stared at the back window, watching as the RV distanced itself from the woman who had crumbled once more on the side of the road. He noticed a figure walking towards, limping and his body shivered at the realization.

But he didn't say or do anything as the walker surprised the woman in grief, taking hold of her. Alex turned around, his face pale, his throat tight, his chest beating. He killed two people that day in cold blood.

He had become a murderer.

'Their nothing.' The same dark thought whispered, comforting him. 'Zeros and ones, Alex. Zeros and ones…'

◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤ ◢◤

Author Note:

Hello, hello.

How are you guys. I hope you had fun reading this chapter. Regarding the announcement, I had about 2 guys wanting to cut the leg, everyone else said to continue. One even pointed out about potential complain if I cut it and if Alex survives some close call, more of you will call plot armor.

Anyway, regarding this chapter and the previous one, now that I'm thinking about, it's really dark. And... I'm worried with the way its going since I'll have to continue to stare at the abyss to write more in the upcoming chapters.

But I'll find a way to lighten it a little. So, you guys can take a fresh breath of air while also chuckle at some funny moments I'll try to implement.

Next chapter, farm scene, reactions, decisions to tell everyone else or not. AND introduction to the series' main cast.

I still havent watched the series... But.. I'll watch a YouTube video that points out some general events that they've gone through. Though gotta say, don't like Rick's wife so far. Actress, she's good, like her due to prison break, but this role, don't like her.

Hope you enjoyed, stay safe.

Author out.

Rick meme's here plz.

PS: any idea on how to move a "chapter" or post from one volume to another in Inkstone?