[b]Tyler - Underground Arena - Lynn[/b]

It was the outcome Tyler expected, and the one he had hoped for. He had watched her intently and knew she had been squirming on the inside. Despite her confidence and her skills, for just a moment he had put her life in mortal peril.

It was almost intoxicating.

"That's right, go ahead and smile. Keep smiling, Lynn, because then I get to just wipe it off your face again and again." He started pacing around the arena, one hand on his chin. "You can go ahead and release the second one, now. And please step back this time." The raider did as he was told and all three men quickly backed off. As Lynn faced the second walker, Tyler continued to speak: "I still don't entirely understand what went wrong, Lynn. I told you - no, I [i]promised[/i] you - that you didn't have to become like those other women. None of them mean anything to me! Not one! All they are, are means to an end." He stopped now, staring at her skirmish intently. "You and I saw a future beyond all this. Where the walkers, the shamblers, and the crawlers were a distant memory." He began pacing again, his monologue becoming more animated. "But everyone stood in my way! First it was the strangers, then it was the acquaintances, and then even my [i]friends[/i]! If one can't build a new world with the men he stands beside, then he must entrust his vision to a new generation."

Tyler stopped now. "Lynn, my son believed in me. He loved me. He would have done whatever I asked of him. And so will all my other children. I just wish you understood."