MLPH C1, P2- "Reunited"

"Reunited" is the second Part of "ML: Patient Hope" 's Chapter I. It was released on 02.05.2020.
== Plot ==
Just as he is about to be killed by a small band of undead, Jared is saved by a mysterious man. A familiar face who eagerly tends to his wounds and helps him out.
He agrees to travel with him out of the city of Paris while he promises to help him find his family afterwards.
A new, strong friendship blossoms between the two boys.
== Plot ==
Jared sighs.
"Thank you for the help!"- He says.
The man smiles.
"No problem!"- He responds- "I'm always eager to help citizens out!"
As they drive to a safer location, Jared has the chance to look at the young man and recognizes someone who he has met before.
"Umm."- He says- "What is your name, if you don't mind me asking?"
The man turns around and smiles.
"Oh! With all of this madness around us, I didn't have the time to properly introduce myself. I'm Deputy John Braveheart, or just John. I'm a Sheriff's Deputy."
"John... "- Jared mutters- "That name sounds very familiar. Have we met before?"
John shakes his head.
"To be honest with you, I don't know. I've met so many people in my career that I can't recognize most of them if I see them again."
"So, I'm not sure. Sorry."
Jared smiles.
"It's okay. If I've met you before, I'll probably remember more about it soon."
"Yes. You're right."- John says- "But first, you must get some new equipment. Civilians are issued certain supplies before they're sent on their way."
"But you know what?"- He whispers to him- "I think that I'll let you stay with me. Working with a partner is better than working alone, after all."
Jared smiles and looks ahead.
After a few hours, Jared and John reach one of Paris's police stations.
As they take a look inside, they realize that it's empty.
"Tsk. Cowards."- John mutters- "They evacuated without me."
Jared looks around, a little afraid about what happened.
"Why isn't anyone in here?"- He asks John.
John shakes his head.
"Well, you see, my comrades were in the middle of an evacuation. The city is becoming a literal deadzone and they decided to flee before they got killed. Most of them did so, but some of them stayed behind."
"They told me to get my equipment and join them, if I want to live. While I was in the middle of doing so, I saw that you were in danger. So I quickly took one of the police cruisers and came to the rescue. It seems like, in the middle of the commotion, my surviving comrades assumed me dead and fled without me, like the cowards that they are."
He throws his pistol to the ground.
"Curse them for abandoning us here!"
He turns to Jared.
"Alright, umm... "
"Jared, sir. My name is Jared Kaos."
"Alright, Jared. Do you have any weapons currently with you?"
Jared nods.
"Well, I do. But it's only this little guy... "
He pulls out the pistol from his belt.
"This used to be my father's. I found it on his bed and I escaped with it. After I was forced to shoot one of those... things."
John nods and smiles.
"Looks like you were in more trouble than I was. I also heard a loud crack of glass coming from your house. What happened."
Jared sighs.
"Well, after I killed the undead person, more of them surrounded me. I had nowhere else to run, but through the window."
"A risky tactic, I have to say. But at least it worked."- John responds.
He looks around the room and opens a locker.
"This used to be my friend's locker. His name is... was Johnson."
"Anyway, help yourself with whatever is in there. I'll have a look at what is left in the armory."
Jared nods and looks inside the open locker.
Inside, he finds a bottle of water, some junk food, as well as a shotgun.
"Ugh. This thing's heavy!"- He exclaims as he picks it up and lifts it in the air.
Just as he does, he hears a scream coming from nearby.
"It came from the armory!"- Jared realizes and runs towards the door.
He sees that it is open and goes inside.
There, he sees John who is being attacked by an undead man.
As the undead man tries to maul the grieving John, he does not fight back. His eyes are closed and he awaits his undeniable fate to take him away from this world.
"John, stay back!"- Jared yells, forcefully pushes John out of undead man's way and shoots him in the head with the shotgun he acquired just a few moments ago.
As the undead being falls back, dead, John falls to his knees and begins to cry.
"John? Is everything alright?"- Jared asks him.
However, John does not answer.
Jared bends down and looks at the now-deceased undead man.
He notices that there is something pinned to his shirt and looks at it.
It is a name tag! And it has the name "Pvt. Johnson" written on it.
Jared looks back at John.
"Goodness gracious, John."- He says- "I'm so sorry for your loss."
John nods tearfully.
"He was like a father to me, Jared."- He says- "So caring, so kind, so... brave."
"And now he's gone. I'll never hear his kind advice. I'll never share my problems with him. I'll never get a reassuring hug. Never."
Jared nods.
"I know how it feels. In my dream, I also lost people that I cared about. Many people who were very close to me. It was painful to lose even a single one of them."
John stands up.
"Anyway, we need to go. This city is not safe anymore, and we need to run away as soon as possible."
He rips Johnson's badge off his shirt.
"But first."- John says- "I'll keep that as a memento."
He holds Johnson's left hand for a while.
"Rest in peace, old timer."- John mutters- "I will never forget you."
Meanwhile, Jared wipes a tear from his eye and looks at the empty lockers around him and John.
"John, those lockers are empty."- He says to his new friend.
John grins.
"Oh, they may be, but I've got one locker here that is not."
He pulls out a small key from his pocket and opens one of the lockers in the far left side of the room.
There, Jared sees a huge variety of weapons. Shotguns, pistols, knives, as well as a huge amount of ammo.
Along with those things, there is also a lot of food and water.
"My colleagues called me a madman when I told them that I was preparing for the apocalypse."- John says as he slowly takes the supplies out- "They told me that I'm exaggerating, that nothing bad will happen. That the world won't face such a crisis."
"Well, they were wrong! Now here I am and there they are, running away to save their own skins like the cowards that they are! Fools, I tell you, my friend! Fools!"
Jared nods.
"So, we're taking everything?"
John nods.
"My cruiser is big enough to carry everything here, along with whatever else is left behind by my former colleagues. Get ready, Jared, because we have a long road ahead."
"And we need to be prepared for the worst to happen."
Over the course of two hours, Jared and John work together to bring the supplies from the locker (along with whatever else is currently in the armory) into the cruiser's trunk.
"Alright!"- John exclaims- "I think that's everything!"
He turns to Jared.
"Are you ready?"
Jared nods.
"You know it!"- He says.
John smiles and looks at the sun.
He realizes that it's going down.
"There's not much time before it becomes night. We need to hurry and get out of here soon."
Jared shrugs.
"You're the one who is driving the car. Get us out of here."
John nods.
"Let's do this."- He says and starts the engine of the car.
Soon, they leave the police station behind and ride off into the sunset.
== Trivia ==
* The title of this Part- "Reunited" is a reference to the friendship between Jared and John in the original "Miracula Luxia" story and how it feels like the two have reunited, although they don't even know each other here.