So Help Me God

***So Help Me God*** is a standalone mini-series of *The Walking Dead by EDStudios*, featuring the backstory of Antony Eden and his allies, the founding of the Government, and the origins of Eden's bat Sasha.

## Plot

*You know the monster that died at Veteran Ranch. But you do not know the story behind him. In the ruins of Washington D.C, a young man searches for a beacon of hope. The stench of destiny surrounds him...and will shape the leader he will become.*

## Synopsis

### Chapter 3

Many years later, a dirty, heavily bearded Eden breaks down the door of the Library of Congress. He kills a few weakened walkers within and sits down at the table he often read at before the outbreak. He breaks down in tears, all of the chaos and trauma finally weighing down on him. He stops crying once he hears a noise upstairs. He grabs his weapon and heads up the staircase, finding the reanimated body of a woman who hanged herself. Recognising her, he apologises before he puts her down.

A few days later, Eden comes across the Lincoln Bible, the Bible Abraham Lincoln used in his inauguration. Smiling, Eden places his left hand on the Bible and raises his right hand before reciting the Presidential Oath of Office. He tears up and opens his eyes, exhaling with newfound purpose. He smiles before walking away. As he approaches the staircase, he hears a hail of gunshots outside.

### Chapter 8

He repeatedly brings his bat down on Jason's head, smashing his skull until he is unrecognisable. A smile slowly appears on Eden's face. As he recovers, the rest of Jason's group make a run for it, but two of them are killed by the traps surrounding the camp. One evades the traps, but Eden guns him down. He turns to order the crowd to stay where they are and walks over to the barbed wire fence. Eden grabs a mound of barbed wire and wraps it around his bat. He tightens the wire and breaths deeply. His work completed, he returns to the crowd and proclaims that the thieves were weak and deserved to die and that the group had an obligation to kill all those that would do them harm.

That night, when Victor gives Eden his report, Eden reveals that he knew that Victor was the true culprit. Victor asks why he didn't expose him, to which Eden replies that he needed an excuse to kill Jason for everything he had ever done to him.

### Chapter 9

Around 8 months later, D.C is covered in snow. The camp has expanded and is bustling with traders. At the top of the monument, Eden looks over the camp, tightly gripping his bat. Dylan appears and gives him the results of a census they conducted, counting the camp's population as 200 people. Eden summons the rest of the council, with Dylan delivering the camp's overpopulation problem. Aurora suggests leaving the city, but Eden points out the Capitol Building, just on the other side of the Mall, and details a plan to clear the building of walkers and move the camp there. He preaches about the symbolism the building can offer to other survivors and convinces the council to support him.

### Chapter 11

Eden places his bat on a mount and covers up the hole with plaster, sealing the weapon behind the wall.

### Chapter 12

Two years later, the new community at the Capitol Building is thriving.

### Chapter 14

As he walks past the mirror, he corrects his posture so he stands to his full height. He turns down the collar of his coat, mirroring his appearance in the main series.

Eden places his left hand on the Lincoln Bible and raises his right hand as instructed, before reciting the presidential oath once more.

### Chapter 16

Eden stands over John's corpse, still covered in his friend's blood. He closes John's eyes and heads back to his office. In a rage, he destroys his desk, smashes a hole in the wall, and retrieves Sasha.

Eden returns to the chamber and fires another shot, bringing the room to silence. He orders Aurora to put Joshua and his family on their knees. Eden removes his coat and rolls up his sleeves before he introduces his weapon, "*It's time I told you about Sasha...*". After a brief monologue, Eden brings "Sasha" down on Joshua, caving in his skull but leaving him alive. As Joshua begs for mercy, Eden promises to take away everything Joshua loves and shoots his wife and children dead. As Joshua screams, Eden rallies the people around him and proceeds to bash Joshua's head until he is unrecognisable.

## Credits

### Starring:

* Antony Eden
* John
* Marcus Aurora
* Victor Valkyrie

## Trivia

* The title from the story comes from the US Presidential Oath, which Eden reads to himself upon finding the Lincoln Bible and foreshadows his future role as leader of the Government:
	+ "I Antony Francis Eden do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. **So help me God**,"