Remember The Monsters?

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Dexter glanced between the governor and Sarah who immediately made her way down to him as the killer followed. He then watched as she gave the other man a friendly hug, entirely oblivious to the tension between the two men in her current weakened emotional state. Likely brought on from the nightmarish last few months of travelling she had endured. “Philip! I was just talking about you! I’m doing okay, I just wanted to thank you again for taking us in, me and Danny, you saved us.” Dexter raised an eyebrow, both him and the governor really knew what had in fact happened the day they found her along with the remaining members of her group. She had simply been told that a horde of walkers had attacked the truck carrying the rest of her family and friends, killing them all, when it had in fact been the governors own men who had shot them all dead after she was taken from the area. Sarah and her son had only been spared because of the governors own orders to take any children found back to the camp, they were becoming such a rare find. With so few kids even in the Woodbury camp making it to adulthood, it made sense, yet had he been ordered too, Dexter would have killed them both too without question if Blake had given the order. He nodded at the other man in a slightly stiff greeting. “Sir, I’ve been around and checked all the perimeter’s, the barricade’s secure, there were one or two walkers in the area earlier, nothing serious, I took care of it. But we seem to be running short on a few supplies, certain canned foods, soups and beans, but theres enough to last another two weeks, I thought I might head out hunting later, with your permission?”

It had now been almost a year since Dexter had joined the group at Woodbury and gradually the people there had grown to accept and even trust him. He now liked to spend most nights stood on guard at the barricade and sometimes head out during the day with a group of the governors men to forage for resources or even seek out nearby camps to plunder. Though that bit of information was kept secret from the rest of the group, but occasionally they would bring back a few survivors whom they decided to spare, mainly women and children, which Dexter couldn’t disagree with. Yet he still found it strange even after so many months coming home to the camp to a heroes welcome after having just slaughtered another camp full of mainly unarmed, innocent people, it was just one of the few things he would have to get used to in this new world he assumed.

As he observed the people of the town all going about their business from his usual watch position, he noted a few of the new faces, just new cattle that would likely be made to live under the governors control for the rest of their short lives. They were effectively slaves without chains, yet for the most part they appeared happy and content, Dexter could only assume they just enjoyed the security that the governor offered them. The serial killer was so distracted that he didn’t notice the woman as she stood next to him, finally speaking up. “Nice night?” Dexter raised an eyebrow at the remark before responding. “Yes it is. Sarah isn’t it? How are you and your son settling in?” She smiled and nodded. “Fine, the people here are all so nice.” Since she had arrived at the camp, Dexter had the strangest feeling everytime he looked at her, like he didn’t know whether he wanted to kill and cut her up into lots of small neat pieces or just send her chocolates and roses, probably both. “Well if you need any help, just ask me anytime?” She smiled again, entirely oblivious to his dark thoughts and the fact he had been stalking her for the last few weeks. “Thank you Dexter, thats sweet of you.”

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Dexter silently observed the governor as he called out to his people, trying to reassure them, even when the serial killer knew that no one would ever truly be safe again in a world like this. As the situation was resolved and the leader sat back down, Morgan noted that he didn’t look him in the eye. Was this it? Was he going to refuse and then have him killed? But as the other man suddenly agreed to his request, a warm relief washed over him as he then smiled widely. “Oh, I think you will find that ‘effort’ is what I’m best at Sir. How about the last day of each month? Midnight is my favourite time.” Dexter reached out with one arm across the table to firmly shake Blake’s hand in a cryptic ‘thank you’ mostly for not simply having him dragged out into the forest and shot. The leader of Woodbury had to trust him, at least in some small way and the killer had no intention of betraying that trust, his life now depended on it. Suddenly the sound of another gunshot rang out, followed by a few more, this time Dexter stood up, maybe this would be a good first opportunity to prove his worth to the people at the camp. “Maybe I should go take a look?”

Picking up the sharp steak knife beside his plate, Dexter got up and jogged off towards the sounds of the gunfire. Reaching the barricade, he glanced up at the men stood on guard appearing tense with their weapons aimed over the wall as he quickly made his way up, climbing up onto the large tyre’s that had been stacked on top of one another. When he got to the top he looked over the barrier only to see a large horde of walkers were headed toward the town, maybe 20 or 30 from what he could tell. “I got this.” He remarked, half listening to the urgent protests of some of the guards as he leaped down to the ground before quickly darting into some nearby trees as the horde turned and pursued him into the darkness of the forest. The occasional sounds of rustling and slashing was all that could be heard before Dexter then reappeared from the treeline ten minutes later, pausing to kill one of the few remaining walkers that had lingered behind on the road, ramming his now blood soaked BBQ knife through its eye socket. Leaning against an abandoned rusty car to catch his breath as he looked back up at the guards on the barricade, calling out. “I WAS GOING TO GO BACK FOR SECONDS, I WANTED TO TRY THE PORK CHOPS, BUT I NEED A CLEAN STEAK KNIFE!”

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The other mans confusion at his unusual request didn’t surprise him, yet trying to explain himself, he knew would prove more tricky. “Yes, we are very much the same Phil, thats the reason I’m asking you this one favour. I know that you want me to stay here and permanently join your group, you would be at a great advantage with someone like me around, with the unique skill set I have to offer, we would be a very strong team.” Dexter briefly raised his head as he heard a single gunshot in the distance, probably one of the governors own men plugging a stray walker over at the barricade that lead into the town. “I never thought I would say it, but maybe what the world needs right now is more cold-blooded killers like us, people who are ready and able to make the hard decisions when we have too.”

Dexter noticed that the other man appeared almost ashamed of the things he had done, he had to wonder whether it was an act or whether the governor truly felt some small amount of guilt. Dexter had also done terrible things, yet he had never felt an ounce of remorse, so perhaps Philip Blake was a slightly better person than he was. “You know how people smoke cigarettes for stress or do yoga? Killing for me is my medicine, its what keeps my mind balanced and in check. When that last breath leaves the body of one of my victims, its like an adrenaline rush, its the only time I ever feel alive and for a period of time it keeps me a sane and fully functioning human being. I know you care about your community, that you want to keep them safe. So if you really want me to stay here living amongst them, this is what I need. I don’t feel its too much to ask considering what you would get in return, my vast survival knowledge and substantial personal protection. All I want in return is a person a month for my ritual, a man or woman, I’m not picky and I would take them out to the cabin to do my business so no one here would be any wiser.”