TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 251: Take Two Bullets and Test Your Luck (Patreon)

Ada was no slouch when it came to negotiation.

After all, years of working as an agent had left her with plenty of leverage.

“From now on, we can keep working together whenever it benefits both sides. But if you ever target Luke again, or try to bring down our home...”

Ada’s voice suddenly turned sharp.

“Then I won’t hesitate to drag you down with me. If it comes to that, we both go down.”

“I stopped caring about my own life a long time ago.”

Without waiting for Wesker to respond, she cut the transmission.

Silence fell over the speedboat.

Luis gripped the wheel, his back covered in cold sweat. He didn’t dare make a sound.

The Queen was pissed.

Even Luke was unusually quiet, simply watching the sunset.

Come to think of it, he had entered the village that morning and cleared the whole thing by evening.

By real-world standards, that had to count as pretty fast, right?

“Come here.”

Ada looked at Luke and tilted her chin when she saw him sitting there with his shoulders hunched.

“Coming!”

Luke immediately moved closer.

Ada had actually gone so far as to threaten Wesker for his sake.

That kind of devotion was rare.

Luke was more than willing to repay her enthusiasm with a few hundred million of his own.

“From now on, you’re all I have left,” Ada said seriously.

“You had someone besides me?”

Luke immediately looked offended.

“You bastard! I finally get sentimental for once, and you ruin it completely!” Ada glared at him.

“Hehe, I’m kidding. I’ll always be right behind you, no matter... what kind of situation we’re in.”

Luke put on his most serious expression.

Ada rolled her eyes.

Whatever.

Starting today, maybe she could finally find out what it felt like to have someone protecting her.

Luke pulled Ada closer.

Ashley kept glancing their way.

If only she could be that bold too.

...

Luke had been gone for less than a day.

But scattered groups of survivors were already arriving at the Commonwealth outpost.

That broadcast had sent ripples through the dead wasteland.

Even in the worst of times, there were always people willing to believe in hope.

Or perhaps they simply had no other choice.

If the alternative was death, they might as well take the gamble.

The first arrivals were small groups of survivors.

They came in twos and threes, dragging their families along with them. They were filthy, disheveled, and clearly hadn’t lived anything resembling a normal life in a long time.

They had checked the coordinates over and over before risking their lives to reach the outpost.

In less than eight hours, several dozen people had gathered there.

But the moment they arrived, they were dumbfounded.

Where the hell was the shelter?

This was just an abandoned outpost.

The perimeter had reinforced barbed wire, a few crude watchtowers, and heavily armed white-armored soldiers standing guard.

“This... this is Noah’s Ark?”

This place looked more like an outhouse.

“Didn’t the broadcast say you had walls, schools, even a hospital?”

“We crossed mountains and nearly got ourselves killed just to reach this dump?”

The survivors began to grow restless.

Disappointment turned into suspicion, then anger.

A large man who seemed to be leading the group shoved through the crowd and marched up to the entrance, shouting at the white-armored guards.

“Hey! We came because of your broadcast. Where’s the Ark you promised?”

“You call this a shelter? Get whoever’s in charge out here. I want to see your leader!”

“That’s right! Bring out the leader!”

“You owe us an explanation!”

The crowd quickly joined in.

Dozens of people were worked up.

It was already the apocalypse, and these people were still running scams?

Wasn’t that a little much?

The white-armored soldiers calmly raised their weapons.

They were simply following orders, keeping the agitated survivors outside.

Then the rumble of engines approached from the distance.

Several military trucks loaded with supplies rolled over the battered dirt road and stopped outside the outpost.

A broad-shouldered man jumped down from the lead truck with half a cigar clenched between his teeth.

He held an AK casually in one hand, and his stare was vicious enough that the survivors took a step back wherever he looked.

It was Merle.

He had only come out here to deliver supplies.

Instead, the moment he got out of the truck, he found a bunch of beggars surrounding the outpost.

Well, shit.

Merle had never seen beggars this damn demanding before.

His brow furrowed.

“Get the fuck out of the way!”

He fired a burst into the ground.

The crowd immediately recoiled.

“Who the hell thinks they can cause trouble on our turf? Who? Step forward and let me see how many lives you think you’ve got!”

The large man hesitated, but eventually stepped forward.

“You in charge?”

“Your broadcast said anyone who reached these coordinates could become a passenger on the Ark. And this is what we find? This dump? You people are scammers!”

“Yeah! Scammers!”

“Give us an explanation!”

Merle quickly figured out what was going on.

He slowly exhaled a cloud of cigar smoke and swept his gaze across the survivors.

His expression was anything but friendly.

Merle was no nice guy.

“You want to see whoever’s in charge?” He grinned, exposing yellow, smoke-stained teeth. “What makes you think any of you are important enough to meet our boss?”

Merle walked up to the big man.

The survivor stood half a head taller and was considerably bulkier.

Merle simply slammed his forehead into the man’s face.

“Bang!”

The large man toppled backward, clutching his forehead and howling.

The crowd started to surge.

But the white-armored soldiers immediately raised their rifles and brought everyone under control.

It had been more than a year since the apocalypse began.

Survivors weren’t exactly known for being obedient anymore.

Merle ignored the man on the ground and addressed the rest.

“Listen the fuck up! This place isn’t the shelter. It’s the first step in the screening process!”

“The walls, schools, and hospital from the broadcast are real!”

“But all of that is somewhere else. If you want into the Ark, you get screened first!”

“We’re not running a charity. We’ve got manpower, and we’ve got ways of dealing with trouble. Don’t think you can gather a few people, form some little clique, and start demanding influence around here.”

“My gun doesn’t care how important you think you are.”

Merle walked over to the gate and asked one of the white-armored soldiers,

“Where’s Commander Leon?”

“There’s a nest nearby, possibly a gathering point for mutants. The commander took a team out to investigate the threat.”

“All right.”

Merle nodded.

“I’m taking charge here until he gets back. Screen every one of them. I want their background, where they came from, everything.”

“If you’re genuinely here looking for a place to survive, you’re welcome.”

“You’ll get food, you’ll get water, and if you pull your weight, someone will eventually take you somewhere you can live a decent life.”

“But if you’re planning to stir up trouble or sneak inside to sabotage us, this wasteland has plenty of room for one more unmarked grave.”

The threat in his voice was unmistakable.

Merle wasn’t joking.

Next time, he’d ask the Boss to station Shane here for a while.

That cop didn’t waste time arguing.

Anyone causing trouble could take two bullets first and see how lucky they were.