บท 408: The burden of leadership

In difficult times, everyone needs someone who is capable of leadership, who can remain level-headed, and who is willing to pull the trigger even in the face of danger.

Airon knew that being the leader of the SCT was not easy. Every day, he carried the weight of the organization on his shoulders. He could be considered the beacon of hope for many people in a world full of the undead, where only death and destruction remained. And every day, he made decisions that impacted the lives of thousands of people.

It is true that Airon was prepared for this, but sometimes he questioned himself, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Was it worth sending so many soldiers to their deaths for the sake of humanity? Was there a better way to protect our people?

Airon felt responsible for every one of his actions, and that's why he always took the lead. But he knew that even this was not enough to prevent losses. After all, not everyone can be saved.

When he understood this, Airon made the most of people's sacrifices and since he arrived, he always put himself in the most dangerous places, eliminating dangerous walkers.

During this time, he also had discussions with Joel and Tommy, who remained in South Carolina while deciding whether to join Ellie at the central base to begin an in-depth investigation to see if a cure existed.

Airon didn't want to be too heavy-handed, even though he was interested in a cure. He knew that it wouldn't matter if powerful organizations like the CRM existed. Peace would not exist, and a cure would not be particularly necessary if the world wasn't in a stable balance.

...

"The variants of normal walkers are the problem. Unlike the slow and rotting walkers that you can find everywhere, the special infected that mutated in unknown ways are the main problem."

On top of a clean and active building by the SCT people, Airon was talking to Joel and his brother Tommy about the decision they will make.

"I'm not denying that the cure is the main focus, but a cure will be useless if there are dark organizations... Cannibals, murderers, suicidal religious cults, all sorts of crap that you can now find anywhere."

Airon smiled and said, "I don't deny it. I could bear it that the world before all this was just as dark as it is now, but at least we were ignorant idiots about the situations around us. As long as it didn't affect our lives, what should we care about?"

"You're really an unpredictable man, Airon..." Tommy looked at his brother and then at Airon.

"Oh, why do you say that?" Airon was interested in this.

"Not all leaders are willing to always go ahead. Most of the ones we've encountered always stay inside their bases while others die outside." Tommy had a lot of experience and knew that even in CRM colonies where the military wasn't as concentrated, things were like this. But recently he met a man who was not like the others.

"Many say that if I die, the organization would fall into an abyss... But really, what I think is that's too dramatic. There are good men in the world who can replace me." Airon said with a somewhat lost look.

At this point, Joel said, "Maybe you're right, but there are no two people alike in this world."

"I've already made my decision. I've been searching for a way to help the future of humanity all this time, but I always chose the wrong place. So if you agree, I'll follow you." Said Tommy with a determined look.

Airon and Tommy's eyes met, and after a few seconds, Airon smiled and said, "A man like you will serve in my organization, so you're welcome."

"I'll help too, but I want Ellie to be in a less intense place than this. They can take her blood to experiment with cures as long as her own decisions are respected." Said Joel with a serious look, continuing, "If you think you can accept that, then we'll join you."

Upon hearing this, Airon nodded and said, "You're all welcome, and the situation with Ellie will be kept secret, and no one will talk about her. I promise."

By the time everyone finished talking, the Miller brothers left, and at this moment, Airon smiled coldly, "A sniper as good or better than Jon Seda has appeared. This is incredible..."

"Now, we must consider that with these big moves, the CRM can find us at any moment, but considering that the Commonwealth was not found even with a population of 50,000, it's hard to imagine that something like that happened..."

Airon knew he had to be prepared, which is why he placed many anti-aircraft missile defenses to eliminate both fighter planes and helicopters, and he had also placed turrets where soldiers operated.

"The S.C.T. is not the Commonwealth!"

...

Two hours later.

Central Columbia Zone.

Many of the buildings had been cleared, and others were sealed until they were cleaned. The city's avenues were sealed with containers, and now there were checkpoints.

The streets, on the other hand, were cleared of all traces of corpses, and the walkers that had been taken from this place were taken to the central base to be turned into energy.

At this moment, after taking the entire city, Airon stood on the rooftop's edge, overlooking the ruined city. In the distance, he could see the faint outlines of some walkers stumbling inside buildings, looking for food. It was a harsh reality, but he and the others had become accustomed to it.

He turned to the group of soldiers he had behind him, a mixture of experienced veterans and new recruits. They all admired him as their leader, trusting him to make the tough decisions that would keep them alive.

"Listen carefully!" Airon said, his voice catching everyone's attention. "I know we live in a world where death is a constant presence. It's easy to become insensitive to the loss of lives when it happens around us. But I want to remind you that every life is valuable. Every person, regardless of age, gender, or any other nonsense, is a tragedy to lose fellow humans to walkers."

"Since the beginning of the end of the world, everything has been chaotic. People were dying left and right. But we refused to give up. We knew we had to fight for our survival and that of the civilians."

"We formed S.C.T. to gather the best soldiers and strategists in the world. We trained hard, fought harder, and sacrificed a lot for the sake of humanity. And we have survived. But at what cost?"

"Every day we lose more soldiers. Friends, comrades, brothers, and sisters in arms. It tears me apart to think that we are sending so many people to their deaths."

Airon paused for a moment, letting his words sink into the minds of everyone present. "But I want you to remember that we're not just fighting to survive. We're fighting for the right to live. To have families, to build communities, to create a future for ourselves and our children. And we can't do that if we lose sight of the value of life."

Airon looked back towards the city, his eyes scanning the streets for any sign of movement. "We have to keep fighting. But we also have to remember why we're fighting and dying. We can't become like the walkers we're trying to survive against, killing anything in our path without thought. We have to hold onto our humanity, our compassion, and our hope."

The soldiers nodded, some of them looking at Airon with a newfound respect. They had joined S.C.T. to fight, but they had also joined to protect what they loved. Airon's words reminded them of that.

"We will make difficult decisions!" Airon continued. "We will have to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good. But we will also honor the lives of those we have lost and fight to preserve the lives of those who are still with us."

The soldiers were filled with pride, a little more determined. They were ready to face whatever came their way, knowing that they were fighting for something bigger than themselves.

"Let's clean up this place completely and move forward!"

"Glory to humanity!"

"We are S.C.T.!"

"We protect the future, create the path, and destroy our enemies. We strengthen ourselves under the blood of the walkers, and when they touch one of ours, they will suffer the harshest of vengeance!"

All the soldiers cheered with tears in their eyes, feeling that everything they had done was worth it when they saw the survivors' faces full of joy.

Airon's eyes scanned the crowd full of pride, realizing that he had created true monsters in combat.