AN:

Chapter 18: Decisions

After the gate was secured they headed toward the house. Scott fished a salvation crystal out of his pocket and activated it.

Frank looked at him curiously. Scott said, "I don't know what's going down tonight, but the last thing we need is a monster attack on top of it."

The big man nodded slightly, but said nothing. It made perfect sense.

Once the group re-entered the house, they were greeted to the sight of Daniel and his group regaling everyone with their tale of crossing the city. A few people glanced up at Scott as Daniel spoke, but they looked away quickly.

The new arrivals took their time informing everyone of their harrowing trip. From what they said, it sounded like they had slain everything in the city six times over. It rang a bit hollow in Scott's ears.

Daniel finished speaking and asked how things had been here. He spoke as though he had always been there. The tone irritated the hell out of Scott, but he held his tongue for the moment. The two had not parted on good terms, but he would not be the one to instigate trouble if he could help it. Now was not the time to cause problems among the survivors.

Several people started to talk at once and Daniel asked them to settle down, like a patient father schooling his unruly children on the art of patience. His demeanor changed in the few days since Scott had last seen him. The man always seemed a bit aggressive, and had acted like he was a proper authority.

The fact that he was a police officer did lend some credence to that believe, but the way that he had gone about doing things did not sit right with Scott. The truth was, that several of the people in the room who had been angry with Scott seemed a bit put out by Daniel at the moment as well.

Daniel, as Scott briefly knew him, came off as aggressive, but probably focused on helping people. He was merely an ass about it. The Daniel who walked through the gate was different, however. This man was smug and condescending instead of controlling and assholish. Perhaps that was his true nature after all?

Finally it got to the matter of Scott’s deal with the lizard people. Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t sound like a good idea at all.”

“That’s what I said!” exclaimed Manny.

Daniel nodded to him. “What’s to stop them from attacking when we cross the bridge anyway?”

“Nothing, that’s what,” said Hector. His brother Manny nodded rapidly while standing behind him. A few of the others nodded as well, but not all of them.

Scott remained quiet and allowed people to speak. He made a decision without consulting anyone. He saw no reason not to allow discussion, so long as it led to a better understanding of the situation.

It was not until Daniel said, “We’ll have to see about clearing them out tomorrow,” that things took an ugly turn.

“No, we won’t,” said Scott flatly. All eyes turned toward him, save for Daniel.

Daniel blinked, slowly, and then turned toward Scott as though he had finally noticed that he was in the room. “Well, if you don’t want to help that’s fine.”

Scott stared at the man for a moment. “Harley. What five people have the highest level in this room?”

The little girl spoke up. “Starting from highest to lowest: Master, Frank, Harley, Rosa, Harold. Harley and Rosa are equal level.”

“What?” asked Daniel in surprise. His eyes widened perceptibly at that announcement.

“Harley, what level is Daniel?” asked Scott.

“Daniel is level six, Master,” said Harley.

Daniel frowned and looked at Scott with baleful eyes. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

Scott gazed impassively at the man for a moment. “Harley, what is the average level of the people in this room?”

“Four, Master,” she said.

“What was the average level of all monsters that you scanned when we crossed the bridge earlier today? Try to compare what the higher tier monsters would be considered if compared to a first tier one." said Scott. He was not sure she could do that, but it was worth a try.

"The average power level of the seventy-eight monsters detected as I crossed the river was twenty-six.” said Harley.

Scott tried to hide his surprise. He almost succeeded. What the hell else was in the area? Did Eloa cause that massive uptick in overall level, or was there something much stronger than her lurking about? There were no doubt several second or even third tier monsters in the area. It was something to consider for the future.

Daniel swallowed slightly then said, “An obvious lie to protect your monster girlfriend.”

“Harley, what level is Craig?” asked Scott.

“Before you answer..." Scott swept his eyes over the crowd. "I want to point out that he claimed he was level six the night before last, and he was supposedly fighting many monsters as he crossed the city, alongside the still level six Daniel.”

“What does Craig’s level have to do with anything?” asked Daniel in confusion.

“Craig is level six, Master,” said Harley.

Craig snorted then shrugged. "Whatever. What's the point of this?"

"Yeah, why you gotta keep causing problems?" asked Manny with a growl in his voice.

Scott didn't even bother to acknowledge Manny. Instead, he looked Daniel in the eyes and said, “Right. So, all those shiny new bits of armor and accessories, I’m guessing the people gladly gave them to you before you made your way here? If you earned them yourself then your level would be much higher.”

Daniel stood up. “What are you trying to say?”

“I thought it would be obvious? You convinced those poor bastards who believed in you to give them all their stuff, and then traipsed off here while you left them behind to fend for themselves,” said Scott.

“Just stop it! Stop lying!” Tammi shouted at Scott. Her kids joined in on the shouting, save for the eldest daughter and her school friend. Those two merely kept quiet and looked at each other with nervous glances.

"I won't stand for being accused of something like that!" snapped Daniel. He glared hotly at Scott and leaned forward.

“Where’s Martin?” asked Frank coolly.

“He’s protecting the place we set up near the shopping arcade,” said Daniel in obvious annoyance.

Frank glanced down at the boots Daniel was wearing. “If he’s protecting a place in the middle of town, why do you have his boots? Won’t he need those?”

“These are my boots! Look, I’ve had about enough of this crap. We’re tired, hungry, and had to go through a lot to get here. We need to eat and look over the plans for the duties around here.”

Scott quirked an eyebrow. “Rosa. Whose house is this?”

“It belongs to my father,” she said confidently.

“As the daughter of the owner of this house, do you have any unwanted house guests that you want removed?” Scott let his blade drop toward the ground and then he gripped the handle tight.

“I’m getting there,” said Rosa.

“House guests? Hah! This place is now under the jurisdiction of the Alpine Falls Police Department for use as an aid shelter.” said Daniel matter-of-factly.

Scott laughed so hard he thought that he would pass out. “You don’t declare a damned thing.”

“Hey! Hey!” snapped Craig. “You can’t decide shit! This is a police matter.”

The people in the house save for the small group who stood with Scott, began to nod their heads rapidly in agreement. It was funny what a uniform could do.

Scott glanced over to Rosa. “Hey Rosa. You there, yet?”

“Getting there,” she said.

Daniel glared at Scott once more then said, “Look, we don’t want any trouble. You just need to calm down, sir, and let us do our job.”

“I’m calm. I’m also telling you that you’re not in charge of anything around here. You stay, you follow the rules. Everything is fine. You don’t follow the rules, you leave,” said Scott.

Daniel blinked and then started to laugh. “Where the hell do you get off?”

“You have a lot of nerve for a guy who wouldn’t even go get his family, but had no problem fucking his sister-in-law,” said Scott.

The room became deathly silent for a moment. Daniel pulled his gun from his holster and pointed it at Scott. His face was bright red with rage. “Get the fuck out of here or I’ll-”

Scott smirked at him. “Continue to be fucking useless?”

A shot rang out and Scott’s head was knocked back with great force. He staggered back two steps then stopped. He leaned his head around and his smirk got bigger. A bloody gouge had appeared in his skull. The minor, but horrific looking, injury stood as a testament of what just happened. “Well, officer friendly. Looks like you just attempted murder because some guy told on you.”

Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Impossi- Impossible! This gun is twice as strong as…”

Scott stalked forward and two more shots rang out. They hit his armor and flattened out uselessly before falling to the floor. Scott’s fist lashed out and whipped across Daniel’s face hard enough to knock a tooth loose.

The freshly made injuries on both Scott and Daniel faded away in a sparkle of light a brief moment later, as the salvation crystal did its work. It kept monsters out, and kept people from dying while under the influence. Injuries taken outside the salvation crystal field would heal at a somewhat accelerated rate inside the field, but injuries originating inside the field would fade away altogether.

The sidearm Daniel had been using was taken from him and it was tossed over to Frank. The larger man pocketed it and waited to see what Scott would do.

“You tried to kill me over an argument. Most of these people here, they won’t realize how much of a piece of garbage you are despite that. Hell, some of these bleating sheep will probably think you were justified.”

Scott gripped the man by his uniform and lifted him upward before he continued. “They’ll make excuses. They’ll see that stupid uniform of yours and try to pretend that it means that the cavalry is going to ride in sometime soon and make everything alright again. You’re making things harder for them than they have to be because you’re a self-aggrandizing little shit.”

He stared into Daniel’s eyes and said, “This is Rosa’s house. She’s waiting for her father to come home. Be respectful. Mind your fucking manners, and act like you have some sense.”

“I’ll tell you right now though, and this is a promise that no amount of ameliorating circumstances will change.” Scott leaned forward a whispered in Daniel’s ear. “I told you once before, you son of a bitch. If you tried this sort of shit again, I'd kill you."

Daniel coughed a little and tried to shake his head. Scott whispered again, "I spared your life today because your kids are watching. You aren’t much, but you’re the only father they have. You pull a weapon on me again and I’ll cut your damned head off. I don’t care whose daddy you are."

Scott shoved him back a little, manhandling him like a ragdoll. The rest of the eyes in the room were glued toward the monster in their mist. They had just witnessed him completely ignore three shots from a gun. He had even taken one right between the eyes, and it did not even knock him down.

"We should all be working together, but people like you just don't fucking get that, do you? It's not about you. It's about everyone pulling their weight and making it through,” said Scott.

“Don’t….” said Daniel shakily.

Scott watched the man begin to shake to match his voice. “Don’t?”

“Please don’t… I- Just…” said Daniel.

“Tell me something. The other people with you. What happened to them?” asked Scott.

Daniel refused to answer, but his eyes began to slowly brim with tears. Scott looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.

“If they’re still alive, nod your head,” said Scott.

Daniel closed his eyes. His head did not move in the slightest.

Scott looked at him for a moment then turned away. There was no point in continuing that line of questioning.

"Please..." whispered Daniel hoarsely.

Scott tossed him back down on the couch then snorted derisively. He knew what the man was trying to say. Daniel was doing his best to suck it up and beg for his life.

"I should kill you, right here. Right now," said Scott. He rotated his bush axe in his hand then pointed it at Daniel. "You probably planned to put a bullet in me from the start, right?"

Daniel's lower lip trembled and he looked away. All sign of the smug man from before was gone. He knew the truth. No matter how strong he thought he was, he was not in the same league as the monster with the bush axe.

"Hey, man..." began Craig.

"Fuck off, Craig," said Scott. He kept his eyes trained on Daniel the whole time.

The sound of whimpers and soft little cries reached Scott's ears. The littlest daughter of the asshole clan was crying against her mother's side. The big bad scary man was going to kill her daddy.

"Please don't..." said Anna. The elder daughter spoke in a shaky tone of voice, but her eyes pleaded with Scott.

"You saw what he did," said Scott evenly. He then looked up and into the eyes of various people in the room. "You all saw what he did."

"Hell, it's not even the first time that he's tried something like this," said Scott.

Tammi cried out and shook her head. There was nothing anyone in the room could do. She looked over to Frank. "You work with my husband. You're a cop, too! Won't you stop this?"

Frank eyeballed her for a moment then said, "I just retired. Go ask Martin to help."

She drew back a little, and looked as though she was about to start hyperventilating. No help was coming. Her husband was about to be murdered and no one would stop it.

"You see that?" asked Scott. He lightly kicked his foot out and tagged Daniel in the shin. "Your family is begging for your life even after you did fuck all to find them."

"Fucking stop!" cried Tammi hysterically. She started forward but fell back a little when Scott's head snapped toward her, his eyes blazing furiously.

"You stop," he said as calmly as he could. "Stop making excuses for this thing."

Scott looked down at Daniel. The man squirmed a little and drew back as far into the couch as he could. "You should know... I had a daddy like you. Pure garbage. He'd have rather been anywhere but home, too. His dick sure wanted to be anywhere but home."

"Luckily for you, grandma raised me better person than either of you," said Scott.

“Realize that you don't run anything here, and never will. Don’t put your dick in your damned sister-in-law, and be the fucking man that your family needs. That’s all you have to do to stay alive and be welcome in this house.”

Scott blinked then glanced over to Rosa. She nodded her head, and he turned back to Daniel. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his last prepared restorative drink. “Drink that before you lose any more of your teeth, and go spend some time with your family. You're not worth a fart in a tornado, but you're the only father they have.”

Daniel nodded shakily then closed his eyes. He did not manage to say thank you, and Scott did not expect one. Daniel had less gratitude in him than a one-legged lizardman.

Scott released a breath that he was not sure he had been holding in, and then addressed the crowd. "You people are going to be the death of me, yet. God damn you all."

"What...?" asked one of the women. The group slowly began to speak up now that the tense moment had passed. Most of them could not believe what they had just seen.

"I thought he was going to kill him..." said another woman.

Scott sighed. "Seriously, you people are going to make my damned hair fall out."

"Look, you all need to figure out what the fuck you're going to do. So, figure that shit out. When I get back, it better be sorted or I'll sort if for you," said Scott.

"What do you mean by that...?" asked Hector.

"If you're staying here, there won't be any more bullshit like this. If you're not staying here, don't be here when I get back," said Scott.

The crowd grumbled a bit, but no one spoke openly. Scott did notice that Sharon attempted to join Tammi and Daniel, but Tammi's sudden glare made her step back. There was no loving reunion there at the moment.

"You can't just expect us to pack up and leave," growled Hector.

"I expect you to make a choice. If you stay, you play by the rules," said Scott.

"Who makes those rules, you?" asked Manny.

"Yes, Manny. I make the rules," said Scott flatly. "Unless someone else wants the job?"

Craig raised his hand and started to speak up, but Scott pointed his bush axe toward him. "Craig, you ask for the job and I'll fucking kill you."

Craig lowered his hand and coughed twice. Scott looked to Frank, and then to the others on his side of the debate. "Any of you want the job?"

No one suggested that they wanted to be in charge. Scott looked to the other side of the room. "Any of you?"

"Fuck it. I'll do it," said Hector.

"Alright," Scott looked at him casually. "So, lead."

"Yeah, like you'd really let me," said Hector with a snort.

"Why not? You didn't shoot me in the face." Scott shrugged then waved him off with one hand. "Why not let you be responsible for what might be the only living members of the human race within a hundred miles," said Scott simply.

"You'd listen to me?" asked Hector.

Scott barked out a laugh. "Fuck no, Hector. I don't care if you're in charge of other people, but I'm the one in charge of me."

Hector frowned at him then shook his head. "What good is it then? You'll just do what you want, and fuck the rest of us."

"Look, man. I don't want to be in charge of anyone. I just want to make sure everyone is on the same page. I do what I want, but the rest of you can do whatever you want to do as well. Just don't expect to come running to me for every little thing if you decide to elect someone else to run things for you," said Scott.

"Sounds fair..." said one of the women.

"You should also know that, this is still Rosa's house. If she doesn't want something to happen, I damn sure won't let it happen," said Scott.

"Here we go!" exclaimed Manny. "I knew it."

"No one's stopping you from picking a leader and moving somewhere else. The whole damned city is littered with empty houses, some have walls. You stay here, you play by the rules of the house," said Scott.

"So why bother asking us to choose a leader?" asked another man.

Scott glanced at him. "Well, if you're leaving then you probably want someone to lead you wherever you're going. If you're staying here, then this bickering needs to stop and those of us who remain need to pull together. I'm fine with one of you being chosen as a representative for the interests of your little group, but we'll figure all of this out together."

"Where's better than here, though..." said one of the women.

Scott smiled at her. "There are other places, but as long as people can behave I'd be happy if most of you stayed."

He glanced over to Rosa and she nodded. She also smiled a little. It was nice of him to care about property rights. Though, she did wonder whether or not he used her as an excuse not to be as overbearing as he could be.

“Those of you who wanted to go hunting. If you still want to go, come on,” said Scott. "The rest of you, figure out what you want to do. If you're still here, then you mean to stay. Otherwise, be gone before we get back."

Scott banged the shaft of his bush axe on the floor to make sure he had their attention. "If any of you get cute and try to lock us out. Just remember what the road looked like on your way here."

His entire group followed him, all of the Weiss family included, and they headed out the door. The people in the security tower called out to see what had happened inside, Scott went up the tower and explained the situation.

As it turned out, neither of them were interested in leaving. They had come with Frank, and did not care much for Daniel in the first place. Scott instructed them not to give up their guns to anyone who asked for them.

Once they were out the gate, Harold said, “You got shot in the head.”

“Yep,” said Scott.

“Didn’t it hurt?” asked Rachel.

“Yep,” said Scott.

Harley led them around the area for a while, and the lower-leveled people continually swapped out usage of the gun while they hunted. They ran cross a few goblins, dozens of rats, and a pack of ghouls that had wandered away from town. All told, it was a fairly fruitful hunt. The low-level people had easily increased their level at least twice.

They returned to the house about two hours later, their pockets a little heavier, and their experience more impressive. No one challenged them upon entry, and the gate was left unlocked.

The people in the tower called out to them after they came closer. “A lot of people left and took some stuff with them.”

The house had been looted for supplies while they were gone. Other than the tower guards only two other people had chosen to stay. As for the supplies only the food and a few other things hidden in the panic room were left behind.

Scott sighed loudly. “I figured it would happen.”

“Good riddance,” said Harold.

Scott went outside and questioned the tower guards along with the other two people who had stayed behind. The ones who left had not left as a single group. Some of the people thought it better to be free of Scott and Daniel entirely. He did not blame them, even wished them well. Good riddance, and a happy life to them as far as he was concerned.

The remnants gathered round and discussed the situation not long afterward. Everyone who remained, decided that they would rather stay at the house than leave. Between them, they had seven salvation crystals. So, at least one week’s worth of monster protection was available if necessary. Food and water were easy enough to get, but what they lacked at the moment was combat equipment.

“I’m going to go shopping at the arcade,” said Scott.

“You think that’s wise?” asked Harold.

“No, but it’s necessary. There should be a lower number of bandits and goblins for the next day or two anyway. I'm pretty sure the people who just left will be too busy to try anything at the moment, too.”

“What would you buy?" asked Frank.

“I’d like to upgrade all my stuff, but right now I think we need to get a few things for everyone and focus on getting at least one more person to have higher-end gear. We keep doing that until everyone is outfitted decently with level ten stuff.”

“Why level ten?” asked Harold.

“Only a few of us have broken through the level-lock. Ten is a level everyone can reach at the moment,” said Scott.

“So, do you plan to get those people to level ten first and then keep training?” asked Rachel. She gave her father a worried glance before looking back to Scott.

“That would be best. Getting everyone to ten will take a while, but if we focus on getting level ten gear we’ll have a solid goal. Once everyone else catches up we can slowly start upgrade the level ten people to higher equipment while passing their outdated gear to the new folks,” said Scott.

“I’m assuming that everyone here is willing to fight?” he asked after a moment of silence.

They all nodded, or said something in agreement. “Good. The first few levels are easy to get. That’s the biggest priority. Weapons and armor are another priority. When I go, I intend to buy the strongest single piece of gear that I can afford. Whatever money is left over will be for less expensive items purchased in bulk that everyone can use.”

“Want me to go with you?” asked Frank.

Scott shook his head. “No. Thank you, but we need to make sure this place stays safe. Harley and I can get there quicker on our own. I can spend the time after arrival, hunting.”

Frank fished around in his pocket and offered him the money that he had. “If you’re going shopping for everyone then take this.”

After the others saw Frank offering Scott his money, they began to pull out coins as well. Scott looked at the group of people and asked, “Are you sure? You all earned that.”

“We’ll earn more,” said Harold.

Rosa smiled at Scott and said, “You’re going to get stuff for everyone, right? I can’t spend this at the house.”

That sentiment was shared among everyone in the group. Scott looked at them all then nodded.

“Well, if you’re going that far. Let’s go further. I have a handful of rings and a few random items that can be shared with the group now. If anyone has anything they aren’t specifically using, we can add it all to a pile and share it out,” he said.

There were several nods, and people started to fish around in their pockets. In the end there were six rings, a headband, twenty rifle rounds, and four bloodstone gems to be had. The group dickered on who needed what for a few minutes and then things were separated. Another few minutes of dickering passed when people realized that various equipment could better be used by certain people.

Scott kept his equipment as it was the best out of the lot and he was heading to town, but the handful of extraneous items that he had shared helped a lot. The best items went to the highest leveled people. The lower-level people were upgraded as well, because the higher level people had better items than before and some could be passed down. In the end, everyone was slightly better off.

After outfitting himself with a large backpack, making a bottle of restorative water, and snatching up some food and a salvation crystal, he and Harley buzzed through the front gate. They were on their way.

It would be dark in about six hours. Scott wanted to hunt before they reached their destination. Harley located several concentrations of monsters. They slaughtered them mercilessly along the way. They systematically killed off dozens of ghouls, a small group of bandits, and a party of goblins on their ride through town. The monsters were all fairly weak and easy to deal with for the man and his robo-loli.

As they got closer to the center of town, the groups of monsters began to grow in number. They were mostly ghouls at this point, which Scott liked to see now. There were no questions about their motivations. Ghouls seemed solely interested in hunting down and killing whatever they could. Even goblins seemed to have a sense of self. The ghouls only had a sense for meat.

Hours passed as they cleaned out various packs of ghouls. Hundreds of the monsters fell to his blade, and Harley's Loot Master, during that time.

Scott collected a few random items and a large amount of coinage during that hunt. It was exhausting work, but with his restorative potion they were able to continue with no problems. They stopped at the convenience store that had been used at a temporary base a few days prior. There were no signs of life inside, but blood stains and what looked to be bits and pieces of flesh were littered about the area.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to avoid giving in to his anger. Daniel had abandoned these people. He did not know how it actually went down, but he was certain that taking all of their things for his own had left them too weak to defend themselves. It was just a guess, but he held fast to that guess. It seemed like something Daniel would do.

“Sharing items is good, but not with a guy like you,” muttered Scott. The bloody giblets on the floor reminded him of the bitter truth of this world. Look out for yourself, or become something’s dinner.

“Master, there is a strong lifeform nearby,” said Harley.

“How strong?” asked Scott.

“Level ten, master.”

Scott thought about it then nodded. “Is it East of here, and a bit to the north?”

“Yes, Master,” said Harley without a hint of surprise that he knew such a thing.

Scott glanced to the back of the room. There was a doorway that led to the place where Daniel had cheated on Tammi recently. He felt dirty just looking at it. “Come on, let’s go.”

He had her change to human form. They snuck around the block then climbed up into the apartment that he used to observe the monsters in front of the shopping arcade before. He now had a choice to make. Did he kill off the big undead bastard down there, or did he wait till nightfall and try to make a mad dash in the hopes that the thing did not crush him before he reached safety. Either way, he was glad to see that the second one had wandered off somewhere. One of them was bad enough.