AN: So, happy people, here we go. Oh I do want to remind everyone that I think at most a week, perhaps ten days at absolute most, might have passed since the end of the world. Most of the last several chapters happened over the course of a handful of days. Keep that in mind as you read.

Chapter 17: Hail the Conquering Hero

The air was alive with curses and objections inside the dining room of the survival camp manor. Imprecations, shouts, and all manner of obscenities echoed throughout the building as people angrily argued over the current situation.

The small gathering of humanity originally went into an uproar when they learned that Scott made a deal with a group of monsters. After he calmed them down and they begrudgingly accepted the truth of the current world, another question ignited the firestorm of scandal and controversy once more. They demanded to know what toll Scott had to pay for their access to the bridge since something might happen to him in the future.

“You actually had sex with one of those damned crocodile heads?” asked Manny in shock.

“She didn’t look like the others,” said Scott. He had already told them that, but they did not necessarily believe it. Only he had seen her after all.

“That’s disgusting. What if your dick rots off?” asked Hector.

Tammi shouted, “There are kids here!” Strangely, she shouted it to Scott instead of Hector.

Scott rubbed his head. “Yeah, and they’re here because of the deal I made.”

“You could have just killed them like you’ve done to everything else,” she said accusingly.

“Oh yeah? Have you ever fought a boss monster?" asked Scott in as calm a tone as he could muster. The crowd calmed slightly, but there were still unasked questions blazing in the eyes of many of the people gathered.

"Eloa isn't just some random scrub boss either, she's a tribal leader. I'm pretty sure she could have torn me apart with little effort.” remarked Scott. During their tender moments he had considered the sort of power that she had to possess. Lizard men were better than goblins on average. If their second tier warriors could use area of effect breath attacks, what the hell could their queen do? He would not know for certain without fighting her, but she was something far outside his ability to deal with.

She was a fourth tier monster. According to what she told him during their quiet moments that was the top tier for lizard men unless they ran multiple tribes. Scott had gotten a lot more from her than merely access to a bridge. She had granted the first real information he could gather on how monsters actually work.

Monsters grew and changed to stronger forms at certain levels, and then their level was reset. She had not said it specifically, but from what she told him he was still certain of the fact. It was the only thing that made sense, unless some monsters simply spawned at a higher grade. That was also a possibility, perhaps both methods were true.

Of course, he only knew the surface information. There was only one possible way to learn more, and that was to continue speaking with the monsters to discover the secrets of their people.

“Oh yeah, what level was she?” asked Frank.

“Eight,” said Scott. "She was level eight."

During their sweet moment, he had managed to look at her actual information. It was surprising, but food for thought.

“The… You can’t beat a level eight lizard man?” asked Frank.

“She’s a level eight Lizard Queen, Frank,” said Scott.

Frank did not seem to know the difference, but he did tilt his head to the side in a thoughtful manner. "I've never seen one. What's the difference?"

Scott looked to Frank and then around the room at the others. "The Hobgoblin leader I beat was a second tier monster. I'm sure of it. The difference between it and a regular upper level goblin was clear."

"Right," said Frank. "You beat that guy, so..."

"Eloa is a fourth tier monster," said Scott quietly. "Her level is nearly the same as that hobgoblin, but she is two tiers higher. If she were a goblin, she would be a boss monster who was the boss of that hobgoblin's boss."

Frank's eyes went wide. A normal level eight goblin would be a serious problem for him. He did not want to think what the boss of a boss' boss would be like.

“Worse, lizard men are simply better than goblins in general. Even their second tier fighters have strong area of effect breath powers and they hit hard," said Scott.

He pressed onward with his explanation before anyone could question him. "She would be good to ally with, if for no other reason than it will keep random monsters from crossing the bridge and attacking from that direction,” said Scott.

“Bullshit. You’re just saying all that to make us go along with this!” exclaimed Hector.

“If you don’t want to go along with it, don’t use the bridge,” said Scott.

“They’re monsters! They eat us. They don’t get to do whatever they want,” said Manny.

“Fine. You go kill them and take the bridge. After you do that, you keep holding that bridge against every other group of lizard men who comes along. Be sure to remember that all of their tribes will know that you refuse to negotiate, and break treaties,” said Scott.

“Chickenshit!” snapped Manny.

“The hell!” snapped Frank. He stood up quickly from the table and glared at Manny. “What’s your damned problem?”

“He is! He acts like he’s in charge of everyone!” shouted Manny.

Frank started to say something, but Scott waved him off. “That’s a fair statement. So, let’s see what people want.”

Scott stood up and said. “Everyone’s here right except the people at the tower?”

There was a murmur of agreement. Scott nodded. “Then let’s have a vote. Everyone in favor of me staying here and making decisions raise your hand.”

Scott did not vote for himself. He merely looked around to see who wanted him as their leader. Frank, Rosa, Harley, and the Weiss family raised their hands. Surprisingly, Tammi and her family did not. That did not sit well with Scott, but he did not engage her about the matter at the moment.

“So, everyone else doesn’t want me in charge? Is that so?” asked Scott.

Hector and Manny nodded readily, the others were a little slower about it, but they agreed. Scott looked back and forth among them then sighed. “I see. There are enough people here that even if we get a vote from those outside, that’s the majority vote.”

“See? You ain’t in charge,” said Manny in a smug, self-satisfied tone.

“You’re right. You people can leave any time you like. Feel free to take any equipment you came with and one day’s rations,” said Scott reasonably.

“The hell we are! You go!” snapped Manny.

Scott laughed. “Or what? Were you dropped on your head as a child?"

Manny started to say something, but Scott cut him off with another wild laugh. He waved his hand around and tried to catch his breath, "Give me a minute. This is the funniest shit I've heard all day."

The gathered, with few exceptions, began to grow agitated and drew closer to each other. Fortunately for them, Scott was still somewhat mentally stable. "Let me run down the list of reasons why I don't give a fuck about your demand for me to leave."

Scott cut his hand through the air then said, "I’m the one who planned the evacuation to this place. I’m the one who cut a swath through town that let you even be here."

He jerked his thumb toward Tammi. "I’m the one who got these apparently ungrateful bastards across the river after saving their lives."

Tammi made a squawking noise, but did not speak up. Scott ignored her and continued. “There's also the fact that every single person here who can fight worth a damn, including the woman who owns the house you’re squatting in, sided with me.”

The room was left in stunned silence for a moment. No one was certain what would happen next. The situation was tense, and filled with danger.

He leaned forward and stared at the man. “What exactly is your problem with me, anyway? What did I ever do to you, but help you?”

Manny turned bright red and looked like he would explode at any moment. Finally, he shouted. “You’re nobody special! You weren’t a cop or even a fucking soldier! Where do you get off thinking you can be in charge?”

Scott looked at the man as he shook in rage. “What you mean is, how come I’m in charge when you can’t be?”

Manny snapped his mouth shut and growled a little. It was obvious that he wanted to argue, but he couldn’t.

“Do you want to be in charge Manny?” asked Scott.

Manny looked down. “I…”

“I’m not trying to belittle you. I’m asking you an honest question. The world has changed. I don’t know what you were before but you can either be that guy again, or someone else. I chose someone else,” said Scott.

Hector reached out and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Let it go, bro.”

“You know, nothing’s stopping you from going out and getting stronger. It wasn’t easy for me either at first.”

Manny snorted. “Right.”

“Want me to take you hunting? I’m supposed to go out with Rosa later.”

He shook his head. “No…”

“Yeah, well, remember I offered to help you get stronger,” said Scott.

“Whatever, man. Just, do whatever,” said Manny before he knocked his brother’s hand away and started to leave the room. Scott glared at him and moved toward him at a speed far too quickly for most of the people in that room to deal with. He blocked the man’s path and pushed him back, hard.

Manny cried out as he fell to the floor in a heap. Hector moved forward with a shout. “Asshole!”

Scott whipped his blade up and pointed it at the man. Hector stopped quickly and back-peddled. “I’m not going to deal with this passive-aggressive bullshit. The world fucking ended, get over it.”

“Language,” mumbled Tammi.

Scott ignored her again, though she was sincerely starting to get on his nerves. Instead, he shook his blade at the men before him. “Do you know what it fucking took? Do you? I had to kill hundreds, maybe thousands of those things out there to get to this point. It still isn’t enough!”

He took a menacing step forward, and various people in the room drew back in horror. “They may have been monsters, but a lot of them could talk. They could plan. They have fucking dreams and hopes for their people too, you whiny little shit!”

He slammed the shaft of his blade down against the floor then pointed at Manny as he writhed around. “They’re monsters, but they’re people too. Some of them used to be our fucking friends and neighbors. Did you forget that?”

Daisy started to cry and a few of the others looked ready to do so as well. Scott was scaring them terribly at the moment.

“You don’t want to follow me? That’s fine. I don’t expect anyone to do anything they can’t do. I don’t even call fighting the things out there a brave thing to do. It doesn’t take guts, it takes insanity!” he said.

The gathered people could certainly believe the last part. It was no wonder that Scott had become so strong. The insanity practically radiated from him.

“Every single time that I fought, there was a chance that I would take my last breath.” Scott took a step forward and loomed over the man lying on the floor. “I’m not the sort of person to care if you think bad about me, but stop being such a damned hypocrite about it.”

Manny shouted at him and started to cry. Scott stared down at him and shook his head. “It’s not my fault that you can't pick your sorry ass up and cope with reality, deal with your own damned insecurities.”

He turned away from the stunned people in the room. His voice became cold, hard, unforgiving. “This is the warzone at the end of the world. You can go out there. You can fight. You can kill, or you can die. No amount of democracy in action is going to change that.”

Scott glanced back over his shoulder. “You don’t want me as your leader? Who says I want any of you pathetic leeching assholes to follow me anyway? Most of you have acted like nothing but a god damned burden.”

"Someone save me," said Scott with a sigh.

He then snorted and shook his head before he continued to rattle off a list of things. "Someone guide me to a safe place. Please help me. Please feed me. I can't wipe my own god damned ass anymore; show me how."

He looked away then snorted. "Get off your fucking knees and live. The world changed, but you can still live a good life. It's hard, dangerous, but you can do it. Believe it."

"If some random asshole like me can do it, anyone can," said Scott with a small tired laugh.

“I’m heading out to hunt. Anyone who wants to go with me, can. Anyone who doesn’t may want to remember that there are leaders of those monster groups out there that are probably as strong as that girl who lives on the bridge. Some might be stronger.”

Her gripped his blade, swung it over his shoulder, and strolled out like a boss. Harley wasted no time in following her master. Rosa and Frank glanced at each other, and then walked out. In the end, the Weis family joined them as well. Everyone else remained behind.

Once out of the house, Scott stopped and called up to the security tower to see if anyone wanted to go hunting. Hana joined them with one of Scott’s firearms.

Hector came running out of the house, shouting. “Don’t give him those guns! They’re for everyone.”

“Everyone? I’m the one who got those things. Hell, that rifle up there belongs to Harold,” said Scott.

Hector glared at him. “Just like Daniel said! You’re selfish and only think of yourself.”

“Yeah, because when he demanded that everyone give the stuff they had collected to him, he was so damned selfless,” said Scott. Had this guy not heard one damned thing that he just said a moment ago?

“What are you talking about?” asked Tammi as she came through the door. Now, she wanted to actually have a conversation.

“Daniel’s your husband, right?” said Hector. “He wanted this guy to give him his stuff since the police could use it better, and he wouldn’t do it.”

Scott reared back and laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. “Use it better? Use it fucking, better? Craig shot me in the face with a damned shotgun and it didn’t do a thing to me. I put Daniel on his ass after he tried to force me to give him the stuff I earned through my own efforts.”

“You attacked my husband? What the hell is wrong with you!” cried Tammi.

"Do you hear yourself woman?" asked Scott calmly.

"I've heard enough of your bullshit! I can't believe we thought you were a nice guy, but if you attacked my husband you're just a pi—" she began to say, but Scott cut her off mid-sentence with a barked laugh. “Fuck your husband."

Tammi took a step back and glared at him. Scott did not give a damn about that, however.

He continued, "I didn’t see his control-freak ass come in swinging at that barn. I didn’t see him save your daughter from that car."

Scott glared hatefully at her. His patience had run out with ungrateful people.

"He wasn’t the one who walked you across fucking zombie land, and he didn't give you a safe place to stay for a few days while a better place was prepared. He damned sure didn’t walk you all the way out here, either!” shouted Scott, finally unable to hold in all of the anger that had built up over the last few days.

“Because he didn’t know where we were!” she snapped.

“The hell he didn’t! I gave him the fucking address of my house when we met!” snapped Scott.

She took a step back like she had been slapped. “No…”

“That pathetic shit you married has known exactly where you were for days. His tired ass even knew I would be bringing you here if the situation worked out,” said Scott in a slow, heated, manner.

Tammi shook her head in response. It could not be true.

“He didn’t even seem fucking excited when I told him you were alive, and he didn’t want to fucking go with me to get you when I told him I would take him,” said Scott coldly.

“How dare you!” screamed Tammi.

“It’s true!” roared Frank. “I was there. Stop all this damned yelling, like you're a bunch of drunken rednecks, before everything in the world comes and fucking tries to eat us!”

“You just want to be up his ass!” snapped Tammi.

“Sharon’s with him, now,” said Frank coldly. “Daniel made sure to go get her.”

“Sharon? See, he went to get my sister because he could get to her!” said Tammi with a hint of vindication in her tone.

Frank stared at her. “We both know why. Right?”

Tammi’s eyebrows pressed together and she shook her head. “No, no…”

“He had taken her into the backroom when we left. Even this dumbass knows what we all heard.” Frank jerked his thumb at Hector. The dumbass in question winced and looked away. He had certainly heard a few things.

“You’re lying…” said Tammi.

“I wouldn’t lie about that,” said Frank.

“The hell you wouldn’t. You just want to buddy up to this… this…” began Tammi.

“Guy who saved your life, and the lives of all your family members, at great personal risk when he didn’t even know you?” asked Scott flippantly.

Tammi glared hatefully at Scott, but they both grew silent. It was funny how when faced with the ugly truth of her situation, she could not back down and admit that the husband she had depended on had been stepping out on her for a while by that point. It was easier to simply blame someone else, even if that someone had done nothing but help her.

Frank closed his eyes, and then quietly said something that could be heard easily over the deafening silence that had arisen. “My little sister is all the family I have. She was probably killed by this shit.”

Everyone looked to the man in expectation. He had just said something that seemed like he was on the verge of a revelation.

He continued, “I would do anything to have a chance to go get her, but she left the morning all this shit happened to check out colleges in California. She was in the air when it started.”

Tears flowed freely as the massive man allowed himself to feel the pain that he had been hiding for the last few days.

“Trying to cross the street could get me killed, but I would search everywhere between here and California if I just knew she was still alive. If I even knew where the plane landed… or crashed,” –Frank pointed his weapon at Tammi meaningfully— “this axe would take me anywhere I need to go.”

Frank stared at Tammi, “Daniel? He couldn’t even be bothered to keep his damned dick dry long enough to go get you and your kids when you were right down the road. He even had a fucking address and a guide willing to help him get there.”

Her turned and shook his axe at the people who come out to gape at the shouting hillbillies on the front lawn. “You hear that? You talk shit about a guy who’ll walk through hell for people he doesn’t know. He cut a path to get you here using a fucking garden tool!

Frank dropped the blade of his axe down and stared at several of them reproachfully. “Yet, the man some of you wish was here abandoned his wife and kids to fuck his sister-in-law.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” shouted a familiar voice from the gate.

Several gasps rose up as the new arrival made himself known. Daniel and six other people had arrived.

“Daniel?” asked Tammi in shock.

The children had heard everything, but the moment they saw their father they forgot it all. It wasn’t true, because he was here! They ran over to the gate as fast as their stats would allow, and then chatted happily with the newcomers.

Tammi staggered forward a few steps then ran toward her husband. Halfway there she saw the only woman in the group. It was her sister Sharon. She stood a little too close to Daniel for Tammi’s comfort.

Several other people from the group at the house ran over to greet them as well. A few asked questions about people who they did not see.

The gate was opened and Daniel’s group was invited in like conquering heroes returning from war. They had done little to deserve such fanfare, but it did not matter. Daniel and Craig, the only officers in the group, still wore their uniforms under bits and pieces of armor. Those uniforms were useless in the new world, but for those who could not let go of the old one they offered the idea of safety and security.

As the group walked through the gate, Daniel turned his head and smiled pleasantly at Scott for a moment before he turned away. The group that was left behind consisted of those who believed in Scott, plus two tower guards who were not really sure what was going on.

Scott glanced to what could nominally be considered to be his people. They looked to him and he nodded. Hunting would wait. A few things needed to be discussed with the new arrivals.

Rosa sighed. “Let me close the gate.” The group or hero worshippers had not even bothered to close it as they walked Daniel’s group back into the house.