The Regulator (Complete First Draft)

Chapter 57: Andrew - A Fire Within

“Do you regret it.” The Bedlam asked, standing in the raised window of the barn. He looked in at Andrew, who sat on the floor among the blood and bodies that had been left there as a morbid relic to Brad’s failures.

“Should I?” Andrew asked, groggily.

“Only you know.”

Andrew was silent, and just pulled his knee’s up to his chin. The Bedlam sighed and looked out over the camp. It was quiet. Much to quiet considering the enormity of events that just took place. “Was this part of your plan?” Andrew asked.

“No, no. Your friend wasn’t supposed to die. It’s a variable. A cog fell out of place, but the machine still runs. Just a little less strength than before.”

“I don’t suppose you have some magic toolkit that fixes it up do you?”

“No. But in my experience, when one part falls out, you put a new part in. Maybe it’s different, maybe it produces slightly different results, but if it gets the job done than that’s good.” The Beldam answered, glaring at Andrew.

Andrew spread his legs out and began twiddling his thumbs, “Do you ever refer to anyone by name?”

“No. I’m not particularly fond of them.”

Andrew shook his head and pursed his lips, “So were you like, always crazy? Or did that just become a thing when the dead started walking around with the living?”

The Bedlam chuckled, “Funny, Regulator. But I believe you’ll find me to be not so insane sooner or later.”

“See, my name’s Andrew. This is what I’m talking about. Regulator is a title, not a name. Call me by my name, Andrew.”

“No. You’re the Regulator.”

“Where does that even come from? Why me? Why here? I’ve never even met you before!” Andrew said, standing up and shouting at the Bedlam. The Bedlam was un-phased. “I was happy okay. I just graduated high school, I was going to college, I was working a summer job that I actually enjoyed, I was with my friends, my family. The whole world goes to s***, and you just come and make it worse.”

“In what way have I personally made it worse?”

“If you never showed up, I would have never gone out to kill the Madman. I would have been here to help Brad. He wouldn’t have died!”

“But the three you saved at the house would have, as well as countless more who he would kidnap and experiment on.” The Bedlam stated, Andrew went quiet. “How many lives was your mentor worth? Three, four? Seemed to be about four or five, based on those men you gunned down. Depends on if the cripple lives much longer or not.”

“You gave the Madman Stuart, Emmy, and Jackson!” Andrew exploded, jumping up to his feet.

“But did I give him the others! The others you found locked in that basement!” The Bedlam’s voice boomed. It was commanding, threatening, and scary. Andrew actually felt a sense of fear as it echoed in the corpse filled barn. “The cogs turn the way they must and I insure they do. Your friends were merely there as part of the great mechanism. It was part of the plan from the beginning. From beginning to end I know every play and must insure it plays out that way.”

“You didn’t know about Brad’s death. You’re just some crazy person in a crazy world looking for anyone to listen to you.” Andrew said to The Bedlam through gritted teeth.

“Variables.” The Bedlam said, returning to his calm demeanor, “Unimportant Variables.”

Andrew breathed heavily, sighed, and sat back down. “Did you know about the apocalypse coming?” He asked.

“No. No I did not.” the Bedlam admitted. “But when it did, I finally discovered my true purpose on this earth.”

“Yeah? What was your purpose before the end of the world?”

“Nothing important. Nothing to be proud of. Just one of thousands of men who participated in history, but will never be remembered for it.”

“When this is all over, I don’t think there will be much history left to remember, so I don’t think you’re alone there.”

“There will be history.” The Bedlam said.

“Sure.”

It was silent in the barn. Andrew slumped his head in between his arms and the Bedlam sighed another breath as he stood in the window frame.

“Is this the custom then? Leave the bodies of your dead to rot and stink?” The Bedlam asked. Andrew raised his head and looked at him.

“No.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Then why?”
“The dead came, and we weren’t prepared. We just didn’t know what to do. These shambling people came to the camp and just started biting counselors and campers and anyone they could… they got like Thirty people before we managed to wrestle them all into the barn.” Andrew said.

“Why not kill them?”

“We thought they were just crazy, you know? Some kind of crazy assholes. We sent five more guys into the barn… one of them was my friend Eric. He was a great guy, always making some kind of random observation that just completely threw you off… they came out of the barn, said they had managed to tie up all the crazy people, but they were absolutely covered in bite marks and scratches. The only guy who came out okay was Nick, but he just looked like he’d seen a ghost or something. Pale white skin, wouldn’t speak, nothing. Our friend Ali got it the worst though. Whole chunks of skin just ripped out of her… blood everywhere. She was screaming like crazy.” Andrew continued. The Bedlam simply listened intently. “I got my group out of there. This just wasn’t something they needed to be around. Brought them to a cabin, told them to stay put. I got back and Brad is ordering anyone who’s been bit or scratched into the barn. People were looking sick, weak, barely able to stand. But in they went with those crazy people. Brad said it was just a precaution… but no one knew what we were trying to contain.”

“So then you killed them, spared them?”

“No. Brad let them die. He didn’t tell any of us. He just let them die. Slow painful deaths, some of the last to die probably died terrified. Can you imagine that? In a room full of monsters, your former friends, who want nothing but to rip the flesh from your bone. And there’s no point in escaping cause you’ll just die anyway. It was just unbelievable.” Andrew said, but then his tone changed to a much softer one. Much more somber. “Brad called for a staff meeting two days after he put the people in the barn. We had just spent two nights huddled with our campers as scream and gunshots filled the days and nights. He told us what was going on. The Dead Rising from their graves, attacking the living, turning the living into the dead… and then he asked us for help. Monica wasn’t having it, and most of the camp was with her… But Me, Nick, Brandon, and Gavin joined Brad. We killed everyone in here, without even a second thought. Our former friends. Gone. We came out blood everywhere… changed.”

“And the bodies?”

“Let’s just say that every f***ing moment I sit here, I grow more and more terrified of the things that I did here. The things I became, and what happened to those people. I’m more terrified right now then on the first day. Or the first night. Or the second. And I don’t fear that these dead men will rise up and kill me. I fear something else, bad memories and awful circumstances. We all did. That’s why we never came back. Why we never cleaned up. Why we never told anyone else too.”

“What do you fear?”
“The soulless monsters that entered this barn and slaughtered a bunch of their former friends before they had any true justification to do so. In hindsight it was the right thing to do, but the circumstances left a mark.”

“You fear the Regulator.” The Bedlam stated, coldly.

“Yes.” Andrew answered. He looked up at the Bedlam who stared back down at him with cold eyes. It looked like The Bedlam was about to say something, when they both heard a knock come from the Barn’s front door.

“Andrew? Are you in there?” Gabi’s voice shouted, muffled by the door. Andrew stood up and slowly walked to the door, putting his back against it. “Andrew?”

“Yes.” Andrew said, calmly and weakly. He had his back against the door and was facing the Bedlam, who was still leering from the back window.

“Andrew.” Gabi’s voice got calmer and softer, with just a hint of fear in it. “Why’d you do that?” It was blunt and to the point. Andrew swallowed hard.

“Because I had too.”

“You didn’t.” Gabi said.

“They were dangerous. They killed Brad. They would have hurt us, they would have hurt you.” Andrew said. The Bedlam gave him an almost pathetic look. Andrew, gracefully, flipped him off.

“The whole camp wants you punished. Some of them want you dead. Annaliese doesn’t know what to do.” Gabi said. Her mind was racing and she didn’t know which topic to approach first.

“Is she with my group?”

“Yes.”

“As long as she and my group are safe every things fine. You should go too, you shouldn’t be here.”

“I didn’t come here for you too shoo me away.” Gabi said, defiantly.

“Why did you come here then?” Andrew asked.

“I don’t know…”

“Cause if you came here for some kind of confession, or for me to show any kind of remorse, you wasted your time. Maybe you don’t understand because you’re just a little girl, but I did what I had too do. Maybe the rest of the camp doesn’t see that, and maybe I’ll have to face the consequences. But I can rest easy knowing I did what I had too.”

“I didn’t come here because I wanted a confession.” Gabi said. Andrew heard her stand up, she had been sitting against the door right beside him. “I came here because I thought you did the right thing.” It was quiet for a moment, and then Andrew heard her footsteps walking away from the door.

“My you have a way with kids.” The Bedlam said, mockingly, only moments after Gabi was gone.

“Oh f*** off.” Andrew angrily demanded, pushing himself to his feet. “I used too.”

“Then what happened?”

“The world went to s*** and I had to actually take care of them.”

“You think you did a good job?”

“I did the best job I could.” Andrew said as if he was offended by the comment. “I kept them fed, I gave them a home, I gave them clean clothes, a place to sleep and bathe. I kept them safe from the horrors of the world we live in, both physically and mentally. I prepared them when no one else would.”

“And what do you have to show for it?” The Bedlam asked, grinning.

“f***ing nothing. I’m locked in a corpse ridden hell hole waiting for one of my friends to come a long and shoot me in the head.”

“And what happens then?”

“My group won’t last a month. I love Annaliese but she can’t protect them the way I can, she doesn’t have the skill. I’m sure Nick, Gavin, and Monica won’t give a damn about them anyway. They’ll all get killed and the others won’t even bat an eye.”

“Funny.” The Bedlam said, taking a small book out of his pocket.

“What?”

“Cell service is knocked out in Peakdale. Last word I got from the news was that the whole world isn't affected, yet, pretty much just middle New York. The effect kind of radiated out from Peakdale. It started here, pretty much the most important thing we know about it.” The Bedlam read aloud, Andrew gave him a confused look. “Last I talked to my Dad he was still with Mom and the sis in Keene. I'll get up there someday, but I have other responsibilities now. I can't leave these kids. I won't let what happen to the people in the barn happen to them. I'm keeping them alive. All of them. I'm getting them to safety, no matter what. James, Seth, Jaxon, Niko, Anthony, and Danny. All of them.”

“I did that.” Andrew said softly, under his breath.

“We'll stay at the camp for now. Brad needs all the help he can get. But once he's got this place nice and stable, we're leaving. It sounds stupid, but no place in the infected zone is safe. Just safer. We have to get to Safety. I will survive, I won't let this world take me. Or anyone under my protection. That is my promise. The Regulator, September First.”

“I signed it Andrew Stark.” Andrew said.

“Except Andrew Stark is not the one talking, and he’s not the one your group needs now.” The Bedlam said. He towered over Andrew, commanding him with a bellowing voice Andrew hadn’t heard before. “Not long ago I told you, I am not your friend. That does not mean I live to see you fail. I have an agenda I need to see fulfilled, and you are the key to fulfilling that Agenda. It starts here. Your group needs The Regulator, it needs that fire burning up inside of you. The very fear you claim is generated by the surroundings of this room. You have lost your leader, you may have lost your humanity, but you have not lost that. Your drive to survive. You bring the Regulator out, and put the cogs back in motion.” The Bedlam turned to leave the window.

“And if I don’t?” Andrew asked before The Bedlam jumped to the ground. He turned around and said in a chillingly cold voice.

“Then you might as well rot with the corpses.” With that The Bedlam jumped from the window and out of sight. Andrew stood for a moment, and reflected in silence.

“You gonna let me out?” He shouted. “Dick.”