Out of everyone, Jaco personally felt like he was the one who most disliked what was going on. In his own mind, he was currently facing his own dilemma of conflicting emotions. And, of course, it all had to do with Evelyn and the Chosen Few.

On one hand, his policy for the Chosen had effectively become kill on sight whenever possible. He had internalized a justification that they were all nothing but a blight that needed to be expunged. Something which was just further reinforced by his own gut instincts. Whenever Jaco interacted with the Chosen, he had almost always been filled with a sense of utter disgust.

Which was a part of why it’d been relatively easy for him to personally justify their deaths at his hands. Why he had so quickly been able to get over the idea of killing another human, and instead see it as an act for the sake of the greater good. But then there was Evelyn.

When it came to his internalization of a garden, there had been two main aspects. The garden itself that needed to be protected, and the weeds who needed to be viscously torn from the earth and cast aside. Yet within that mental image, just where exactly would someone like Evelyn fall? That was the new kind of case he was still trying to internally address.

She was different from the other Chosen he’d met so far. Unlike the others, her presence hadn’t ever triggered that same gut feeling. As far as his Druidic instincts had been concerned, Evelyn was like the people of the camp. Someone that was just another survivor, and not a psychopath that earned his ire at first sight.

Yet on the other hand, it wasn’t like nothing could be done about it. Evelyn had admitted to being a killer under the Chosen Few. However, he had a gut feeling that something about the exact circumstances did feel off. There was just something about it that he couldn’t quite place, but was why he wanted more details.

Any semblance of a legal system would be difficult to make work in their new world. Like how would one even restrain a high Strength murderer in order to put them on trial? They had yet to find any artifacts that could act as supernatural restraints, and any mundane chains or such could easily be broken. And that was just for raw Strength, and didn’t even factor in the use of Abilities.

This meant that putting the other Chosen on trial would be impossible. That would require capturing them alive, which would be difficult enough on its own. Then there was the point of keeping them from simply breaking out and killing their captors.

However, this was another aspect where Evelyn could be considered a special case. She didn’t even have the willpower to defend herself against the swarm of undead. Much less try to escape or fight back, especially when she had already been the first one to decide that she deserved death. Now he just needed to argue that point to the other people around him.

“See? She’s even willing to admit it herself. Former or not, we can’t just let a member of the Chosen Few maintain her freedom,” Sam argued. Even after their previous back and forth, the Mage maintained keeping the tip of her wand targeted straight at the redhead.

“Why not?” Jaco asked. “She’s already turned in her sword of her own volition. And if she ever wanted to leave, she’s also had plenty of chances to do that already.”

Alex then shook his head. “Jaco, I’m sorry, but I have to take Sam’s side here. If she’s a murderer, she has to be held accountable for it,” the teen said as he glanced over at Evelyn, before continuing.

“Some of our own people are dead because of the Chosen. Good people who didn’t do anything wrong to deserve becoming victims. If Evelyn’s done the same to other people's friends and families, we can’t just let it go. It wouldn’t be right.”

“I’m not saying we should just let it go. Actually, here,” Jaco said. With a small gesture with his staff, he raised a patch of earth.

The Druid specifically pulled up a section that was deeper and would still be relatively dry. He then willed for its shape to be that of a crude seat for himself. Then just a moment later, he did the same for everyone else currently present. It seemed like they were going to be here for a little while. So they might as well sit down and get comfortable rather than just stand around.

“What I am saying is that we have a chance to bring some order back. To bring back a piece of civilized society with a legal process. If we aren’t forced to kill people on the spot in the heat of battle, then wouldn’t that be the better thing to do?” he asked.

Sam raised a question brow as she also took her seat. “As idealistic as that sounds, Jaco, that’s not really feasible. I can tell you for a fact that there aren’t any lawyers or judges in the camp. The closest thing we have are a couple former cops and I think maybe a single law student. So even if, if, we wanted to follow that idea, we just aren’t capable of doing it by the old world’s standards.”

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“Sam’s right,” Alex agreed as he too sat down. “And in my opinion, even a slapped together trial would only make things worse. Right now, only so many people actually know about Evelyn’s association with the Chosen Few. But after our members took time to grieve after the last attack, rumors have recently started to go around. High Level people don’t exactly grow on trees, ya know? Especially not ones that show up out of nowhere.”

“Really? I mean, I was a relatively high Level person that showed up out of nowhere. And I don’t think people had that reaction to me,” Jaco replied.

Alex shook his head. “That’s because the Chosen weren’t really known back then, remember? They were a dangerous group that only the top members of the camp knew of. At the time, all the common people knew was that there were some bandits in the city. But now that everyone is fully aware of the Chosen and their cruelty, of course they’re going to be more wary of powerful strangers.”

The teen had a point with that one. Up until recently, the majority of the camp had simply stayed in place. Most of them had been until the encampment’s safety from the very first days of the Apocalypse. So for that time, they had been able to afford to be a bit naive. Especially so when it came to dealing with other human beings.

But now things had changed. Awareness of the Chosen Few was now common knowledge, and everyone knew that they were a group of murderers who sought to slaughter them all.

“Alright, I think I see what you’re saying now. If we try to have any kind of trial, everyone will know. And if people know that Evelyn’s a member of the Chosen Few, things can go bad very, very quickly,” Jaco said as he leaned back.

The attack of the undead horde led by the Chosen was still fresh on people’s minds. Their mental wounds were still recent enough to not even be considered scars yet. From what Jaco understood, a large chunk of the camp’s population was either dead or still missing.

The reality was that the Apocalypse had only been going for two months. Many were still grieving those that they had lost on the day that changed their lives forever. In the time that passed, this group of survivors had relied on each other and formed into a community. But now several of these close friends to support one another were dead. And when it came to these losses, they were still processing their deaths and still hadn’t time to truly grieve them.

Sam nodded. “People will vent all their rage onto Evelyn. We might not even get the chance to actually do a trial if things devolve into a full-on riot. That kind of chaos and instability is the last thing we need right now. That’s a big reason why we shouldn’t have one, and should just deal with this now before people inevitably learn of her association with the Chosen. Removing her now is just the best way for everyone.”

“And by remove, you mean kill her. Just like that, out here away from the camp where nobody but us will know what happened?” Noah asked. The leader of the encampment had been quiet, but now chose this moment to join in.

Evelyn, on the other hand, had practically sunk into her seat. Even as the subject of the conversation was about her own life or death, she seemed completely withdrawn. Though her fate was currently being decided, she was making no obvious attempt to voice her own thoughts.

Jaco almost couldn’t believe it. Was this truly the same person he met not that long ago? When Evelyn first woke up, he would have described her as fiery and confrontational. But since the attack by the Chosen, she had kept to herself. Now that trend in behavior had continued all the way to the point of diving into the deep end. He couldn’t even the kind of guilt it would take to seemingly not even engage with the conversation if you’d basically be executed.

Which all the more cemented his feeling that there was more to it than what Evelyn already said. When it came to doing wrong, Jaco believed that it was just human nature to fudge the facts.

Those who were just trying to get away with a crime would downplay their involvement. Conversely, someone who already judged themselves as guilty would only burden more responsibility onto their own shoulders. But as Jaco was having his own thoughts about this, the conversation continued.

“What else are we supposed to do then, Noah?” Sam asked. Her frown had only deepened. But at the same time, it was then that she decided to finally lower her wand.

“I’m not sure yet. Both you and Alex make your own point. But I can’t help but agree with Jaco on something. We live in a new world that thrives on violence, where killing results in an increase of power. This is the environment that those like the Chosen thrive in because they’re fine with violence and killing being the solution to everything.” Noah paused to take a deep breath.

“If we wish to call ourselves different from those that live in violence, then we must maintain the self-awareness of recognizing when it’s too easy of a solution. To remember that it should be a last resort when faced with no other choice, not the first. Monsters and undead are one thing, but this is something else. I agree that we can’t just let Eveltyn go, and there should be consequences for her past actions. But rather than kill her on the spot, a punishment can only be properly made after we determine the crime.”

Jaco breathed out a small sigh of relief. He’d been afraid that he would be alone in this argument and be forced to either dig his heels in or eventually acquiesce. But it looked like Noah was of a similar mindset. And considering his position as the camp’s leader, that was a very important voice to share his arguments.

“No matter what happens to me…” Evelyn began. The sudden interjection by her immediately drew everyone’s dedicated attention. “But now that you’re all aware of who I am, there’s something important you should all know.”

“And what would that be?” Noah asked. The redhead then looked up from the ground and looked the camp’s leader in the eyes.

“The final plan of Levi and the Chosen Few.”