TWD - Zomboid - Chapter 270: Here Comes the Saint (Patreon)

Meanwhile, Strand spoke up. "There was something strange about that guy earlier."

"What do you mean?" Nick pulled on a fresh T-shirt. It was a little too big.

The white-armored soldiers had only given them a limited selection of clothes, and none of them fit quite right, so he simply picked one and wore it.

"He wasn't wearing any kind of night-vision optics. If he wasn't using thermal imaging, how did he pinpoint those people wearing walker skins so accurately? Something about it doesn't add up."

Nick shook his head. "Whatever the explanation is, he saved us. This outpost alone is better defended than the farm ever was."

"I'm guessing this really is just an outpost. The actual [Ark] isn't here."

"Maybe we really did get lucky this time."

Strand sat down without commenting further and ran his hand over the neatly made bed.

...

Before long, Madison and the others were brought over.

Luke hadn't even had a chance to speak when Madison cut in first.

"I have a favor to ask... We were separated from several of our companions on the way here."

She looked directly at Luke, her tone earnest.

At the same time, there was a faint sense of expectation in the way she spoke, as though it were only natural for him to agree.

"You have a helicopter. Could you... fly back and help us search for them? They might be trapped somewhere too."

Luke raised an eyebrow.

Seriously?

He hadn't even started questioning them, and she was already asking him for favors?

"If you already know it's an unreasonable request, then don't ask," Luke replied without hesitation.

Madison froze.

She clearly hadn't expected such an immediate refusal.

"Why?" Alicia protested at once. "You have a helicopter, don't you? All we're asking is for you to search the area while you're up there. It wouldn't take that much effort! People's lives are at stake!"

Here comes the saint.

Luke lifted his eyes and looked Alicia over. "Those people matter because they're lives, but the men on my helicopter don't? What about the more than two hundred people stationed at this outpost? Aren't their lives worth anything?"

"Rescuing your group already cost us manpower and supplies. What do you think this place is, a charity?"

"The broadcast made the rules perfectly clear. Reach the designated coordinates under your own power, then undergo verification. Those are the rules here."

Luke's expression turned cold. "We're not obligated to babysit anyone. Whether your missing companions survive depends on them. Understand?"

"You..." Alicia was left speechless for a moment. "How can you be so cold-blooded?"

"Cold-blooded?" Luke smiled darkly.

"You've only just met me after stepping through the Commonwealth's gates, so I'm not going to hold that against you." He pulled the Glock from his waist and slapped it onto the table. "Someone bring me a single person's share of supplies."

A soldier immediately brought over enough food and water for one person.

Luke pushed the gun and supplies toward Alicia.

"If you're not cold-blooded, then take these. Consider them a personal donation from me. I won't charge you a cent, and you won't have to degrade yourself begging anyone for help."

Luke pointed outside and lowered his voice.

"If you want to save them, go do it yourself."

"If you bring them back alive, I'll give you my position. You can be the Security Director."

Madison grabbed her visibly agitated daughter and took a deep breath, forcing down her own irritation.

She understood now.

The young man in front of her reminded her somewhat of Troy. Young, headstrong, and completely convinced of his own way of doing things.

If she couldn't reason with him, then she would go over his head.

"I want to see your leader!" Madison raised her chin, her tone firm. "This isn't a decision you can make by yourself. I want to speak to whoever actually has the final say."

The moment those words left her mouth, Leon, Sasha, and every white-armored soldier nearby turned to look at Madison.

Their expressions were strange.

Oh, this was going to be good.

Sasha couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen anyone dare challenge Luke like that.

The last time had been...

Actually, never mind.

Ever since joining the camp, Sasha had never seen anyone openly challenge Luke.

Madison became increasingly confused under all those stares.

What was that supposed to mean?

She had only asked to see their leader. Why was everyone looking at her like that?

Surely this young man couldn't possibly be the leader of the entire [Ark].

That was ridiculous.

He looked about the same age as Troy. At most, she figured he was someone like Jack, young and stubbornly committed to his own beliefs. The apocalypse had a way of teaching everyone eventually.

Luke grinned, deliberately deciding to mess with them.

He knew exactly who these people were.

They were the main group from Fear the Walking Dead.

Madison, Nick, Alicia... all of them came from Fear the Walking Dead, which existed in the same world as The Walking Dead.

The problem was that Fear the Walking Dead had no shortage of self-righteous do-gooders.

And stubborn ones at that.

First Madison, then Alicia, and later Morgan...

These people had to be out of their minds. Even in the middle of the apocalypse, they insisted on debating the value of humanity and whether morality still had a place in the world.

Luke unclipped the radio from his waist and switched to a channel right in front of Madison.

"Hey, Deanna!"

Luke spoke into the radio with obvious amusement. "I've got the leader of a survivor group here. She thinks I don't have the authority to make decisions and wants to meet the leader."

"So, what do you think? Want to come over?"

In the Commonwealth office, Deanna looked completely baffled.

"Everyone in the Commonwealth leadership knows I'm basically your subordinate. What leader is she asking to meet? The leader is already standing right there."

"I have no idea!" Luke replied. "They keep talking about bonds and all that, and now they want me to go out searching for their missing people..."

"She's got none of Ada's usefulness and all of Ada's attitude. What am I supposed to do? She's so intimidating I'm practically pissing myself. Listen, I'm shaking already!"

Madison's expression changed.

She wasn't stupid. She could obviously tell Luke was mocking her.

She stared at him in disbelief.

What?

No way.

He looked barely into his twenties. Maybe he came from some privileged background, but he carried himself with the calm confidence of someone accustomed to authority.

He wasn't much older than Troy or Nick.

"You..." Madison's voice came out dry. "You're the leader?"

"I'm not some 'leader,'" Luke replied. "In the Commonwealth, everyone calls me Director Luke. Nobody calls me 'Leader.' But if I raised my hand and gave the word, I really could mobilize a few hundred officers."

"Since when does leadership depend on age?"

"If it did, you're already halfway into the grave and practically menopausal, yet you can still run around just fine, can't you?"

Luke turned his attention to Nick.

Nick was a young man who had been through plenty. He could be decisive when necessary and had some real ability. He was promising.

Then there was Strand. He was extremely calculating. Someone like him couldn't be trusted with too much authority, or sooner or later he'd cause trouble.

Better to stick him in prison and seat him at the same table as Negan.

Alicia... a stupid do-gooder.

Madison was the type who could grow into a capable leader. She was actually pretty impressive, but she was the same sort of person as Joel.

For her family, she would gladly turn against the entire world.

That made her dangerous.

As for Tara, Yumiko, and Princess, they were genuine locals from this world.

What a strange coincidence.

Two protagonist groups that should never have had anything to do with each other had somehow ended up together.