Today we are here with Sergeant Richards the hero of The Dead War Series. We will ask him a few questions about the early days of the war and why he became a special forces scout. TDWS refers to the blogs title The Dead War Series.
TDWS: Sergeant Richards you have been lucky enough to survive this long in The Dead War. Why is that?
Richards- Because I’m afraid.
TDWS: Afraid?
Richards: Yes Afraid. It’s amazing how fear can keep a mother fucker alive. Many think of fear in a negative way but a scout soon learns that it helps him stay alive.
TDWS: Interesting. How were things early on here in Newark when the virus or whatever it is broke out?
Richards: It was weird here in Newark. We knew it was happening but it was happening at such a slow pace at first that many didn’t take it that seriously. In New York and Philly it was tearing through the populace but here it crept up slowly until that one day it just exploded.
TDWS: That one day. What was it like?
Richards: It was crazy. I thought the world was ending. It spread so quickly that we on the police force were caught completely off guard. We were literally overwhelmed in hours. We couldn’t even protect ourselves let alone the citizens. Many of the people committed suicide, some alone but others in huge groups.
TDWS: Why so many suicides early on?
Richards: One thing the scientist did realize was that the virus didn’t reanimate those that were already dead. It could only be passed on by a bite from the dead to the living. Many decided they would go out on there on terms.
TDWS: Why didn’t you consider killing yourself?
Richards: Who said that I didn’t?
TDWS: How did you go from wanting to kill yourself to joining the army?
Richards: a year into this shit I hooked up with a few former cops and their families. We actually made a little safe enclave in an old forgotten school that was boarded up. We were able to hold off the dead but I started to feel like we were just surviving not living. Eventually the dead got in and after me and others escaped we heard rumors about the army recruiting. I was tired of running so I decided to join up. The rest is history.
TDWS: What was it like fighting the dead?
Richards: A fucking mess. The sergeants and officers who trained us were battle tested having fought in the African Conflict but they taught tactics that were of use against the living. The sheer number of the dead was also a major problem. The first year we thought our unit was named retreat because we heard the word so much.
TDWS: Do you enjoy killing the dead.
Richards: At first yes. I felt like I was taking revenge for everyone that they had killed including my family. But soon you start to realize that it’s not really revenge.
TDWS: How so?
Richards: Think about how can it be revenge if you are putting some poor bastard out of his misery? By killing them we are putting them at rest.
TDWS: What unit were you first assigned to?
Richards: Bravo Company 22 Battalion, better known as the Newark Hellcats. I was assigned to the second platoon under Sergeant Ridley. She’s a tough bitch and I mean that in a nice way.
TDWS: What happened to them?
Richards: Last I heard they are still going strong. They are taking forward positions in the war here in Newark. It’s been almost a year since I have seen them though. We were a good unit. I liked it there.
TDWS: So why become a scout?
Richards: Wasn’t my choice. None of us were exactly volunteers. We were selected by our company commanders and sent to Fort Dix for training. But this time we were trained by soldiers who were battle tested against the dead.
TDWS: What’s it like? Being a scout I mean.
Richards: It’s weird. You learn to stay alive on your own and when you encounter the dead you sometimes wish you had help but you have been fighting alone so long you don’t trust anyone but yourself.
TDWS: How is it when you are fighting alongside other troops?
Richards: Hard. I have to remember that they are friendlies with me and every creature moving is not trying to take a hunk out of me.
TDWS: Have you killed friendlies before?
Richards: To be quite frank with you, yes. I have had to and to kill other humans who are not so friendly.
TDWS: Humans that are not that friendly?
Richards: You know cannibals, warlords and their play armies, shit like that. Hell, I prefer dealing with the dead. At least I know what their agenda is.
TDWS: You are painting a bleak picture. Do you think we can win this war?
Richards: Early on I would have said no and I honestly believed that just surviving another day was a victory. I remember early on that we all thought it would be like some “28 Days Later” shit and that the daed would all just drop and it would be over. We soon realized that’s not going to happen and once we really started to fight back I saw something starting to return.
TDWS: What is that something?
Richards: Hope. As long as we have hope and keep fighting we will overcome the dead. We will rebuild our world.
TDWS: I guess that’s a good note to end our interview on.
Richards: Okay. I have a war to go fight anyways.
Buy The Dead War Series here for $1.50: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006YEKJXO
African American Reports 