<div style="text-align: center">《 MR. HALE 》
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


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</div></div><br/>Location : Abendblume Community<br/><br/>Raymond Bernard Hale sat on his balcony, overlooking what he'd built. The Abendblume resort had been a quaint place he'd procured when he wanted time away from Seattle. He had no idea at the time that it would be the biggest purchase of his life. It brought opportunity money could not, and seeing what he'd turned it into, he was proud. Keeping it, initially, had been the biggest hurdle, but he'd always spent the extra for a reliable security detail. The first thing he'd done was get his family out of the big city, to his resort, where he held Abendblume like some great fortress. Now, things had leveled off. It almost seemed peaceful, but Mr. Hale knew how quickly that could change.<br/><br/>Sitting beside him was an old friend and trusted guard. He'd taken the security position for the influential family shortly after his honorable leave of the US military and had worked for Mr. Hale for well over a decade.<br/><br/>"This will not go over well," the man voiced, a sigh of exasperation knowing he was not going to change Mr. Hale's mind once set on something.<br/><br/>"You know what will not go over well, Armando? Starvation under my protection. The longer we vacillate over the hard decisions, the quicker our own resources deplete. The numbers are plain to see. We are not sustainable at this level of population. Those that oppose? Send them too." Refusing stragglers entry had been one thing, but casting people out was something else entirely. Much of the territory surrounding Abendblume was destroyed or rugged wilderness. Where they might go, he couldn't say, but if they continued as they were, Abendblume would be another depleted building swarming with necros.<br/><br/><br/>Mr. Hale, having grown into a man of the people, presented it as something else entirely. He'd gathered his community in the main lobby of the resort, explaining that he had an announcement to make. His security was already aware that trouble may arise.<br/><br/>"We as a community have grown and prospered!" Mr. Hale started, looking to the faces smiling mostly back at him. "The world is changing. It is time for us to consider other possibilities. It had been my hope that one day expansion would be possible. We've been pressed to capacity, and so with careful deliberation, we've chosen a select handful to venture out on their own, to pave their own way." Whispers started immediately, and he raised his hand to quiet people before they had a chance to put the pieces together.<br/><br/>"I know, I know! We value family here, so of course I've made sure not to split up<i>established</i>households." By that he meant the families he brushed elbows with on a regular basis. Those that held the same values as he did.<br/><br/>"It is my hope that those chosen will start a family of their own." He motioned someone forward, who slipped a rolled sheet of paper into his hand.  "The names that I read will be given provisions and released outside of our walls. May we give them our blessing."<br/><br/>Momentarily distracted, Mr. Hale tilted his head to his daughter behind him, hearing her choked sob. She was a slender young woman in her early twenties, the youngest of his children, and easily the most sensitive. Armando handled it quickly, not wanting her to set the tone, much less go into full blown hysterics. Why her brother had told her the reality of the situation in the first place, he couldn't say. She was better off understanding the situation in a more positive light. The fairy tale surroundings had only made her forget about the harsh realities of living, at least until she had been reminded.<br/><br/>Mr. Hale cleared his throat and unfolded the paper, to read a list of names. Thirtythree names total. They were the useless, the troublemakers, a young man that had the misfortune of making eyes at his daughter. Those that were strong enough to appose him. Those that had disagreed with him. And those that he held no tangible leverage against. The disloyal, the untrusted, and the extra weight. For every one of the thirtythree there were two guards with the task of seeing them out and handling any disruptions.<br/><br/>"I was gracious enough to inform you early, so that you would have ample time to find shelter before the evening." If he actually believed they might prosper, and build their own community, Mr. Hale might have been worried for the future. Of course, he didn't think that would be the case. What he expected would happen was that the strong would abandon the weak, and the group would disperse and be of no further consequence to him. They would be forgotten, and the community of Abendblume would be the better for it.<br/><div style="text-align: center"><br/>
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