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 special 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 useless fucking 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 to be a better person than either of you," said Scott.
He allowed his words to trail off for a moment before he continued, “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. The big man shook his head. "Not it."
He nodded to the man then looked to Harold. "I don't think my blood pressure could handle it," admitted Harold.
Rosa snorted at him when he looked at her. It was answer enough. None of the people he might trust to at least pretend to give a damn about the people gathered wanted the job. So, he turned to the others and stared openly at them for a moment.
No one suggested that they wanted to be in charge. Scott looked to the other side of the room. "Any of you want the job?"
"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?" a
sked 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."
"Yeah. I'll keep fucking you guys by clearing monsters, making security agreements, finding food, and generally keeping your tired ass alive," said Scott with a loud snort of derision. After a brief moment passed he looked Hector in the eyes, "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."
"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."
"So, what are these so-called house rules?" asked a younger woman.
"This is Rosa's house. No ripping it apart, or whatever, without her consent. If you choose a leader, that leader has to make decisions for you. They don't make decisions for me, though," said Scott before he took a breath. "Also, that bridge is our lifeline to the other side of the river. Leave the lizard folk there alone. If you don't want to deal with that then take some supplies and find somewhere you like better. It's not like I forced anyone to come here."
"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. All this arguing needs to stop, though."
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 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 no one else chose 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. 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 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 to 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 and back quicker on our own.”
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 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. Outside of the occasional pop-concert the ghouls only seemed to have 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 the hunt. It was exhausting work, but with his restorative potion they were able to continue with no problems. Once they were near the shopping arcade, 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 strewn about the area.
Earth Tactics Advance: Volume 1 Page 32
