“Hands! Let me see you’re hands!” “Put your hands behind your head and get on the ground.” “Hey, I see you moving towards that truck. Back off!” “W-we didn’t know he was going to try killing people, I swear!” “I-I didn’t sign up for this!” “Oh my god! Brian’s dead!” “Police brutality! Help!” “SHUT UP!” I screamed over everyone else's yelling as I looked at the two leaders.

“Put your guns down and let’s talk this out like civilized people. It was obviously a mistake to come here and try to take over the base without realizing there are police. At the same time, we’re going to need more people after the hail and blizzard, otherwise we risk being overwhelmed anyway. Do we have a mansion they can bunker down in?” I asked, not really following what’s been happening with the other mansions closely.

We couldn’t take them prisoner for showing up; the only person who really tried anything is dead on the ground. Sure, we could send them away, but that would be a mistake now. The biggest threat right now wasn’t small coordinated groups like this, it was the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people overwhelming us when we didn’t expect it. We needed to desperately protect this land, and the more people who are part of our group at the beginning, the better.

They began to talk and make deals, but it was clear to me that the security guard was upset that he couldn’t just throw everyone out. He was going to be a problem in the future, and I was half tempted to shoot him. That was before an old, short, fat man came outside in his underwear and an expensive dirty robe. “What the fuck was that about!?”

He held a barking pomeranian in his hands as he screamed out. “I told you I don’t want anyone living in my home already! Get the fuck out of here!” Once again, I left the mansion housing be left to Vicky and the sheriff, so I didn’t know that one of the mansions didn’t have a single extra person inside until he said so himself. I moved over to Vicky as the angry man, the chief, and the security guard all spoke/yelled to each other. 

She had come out at some point after I killed the other guy, and the police started yelling. “So… What’s his deal?” I asked her. She gave an exasperated sigh. “He’s… Ugh, he’s hard to deal with. He lives by himself and just recently retired. No matter how much I asked him, or told him how necessary it is to have men move in, he just remained stubborn and either yelled at me or ignored me.”

“You fuckers can take my home from my cold dead body! I won’t let anyone live inside, I’d rather burn it to the fucking ground then give up something I spent my life to afford.” Vicky whispered to me again. “He’s a shady contractor. He made his millions bidding on jobs, then doing cheap/shoddy work or just outright refusing to finish unless he was paid more… Honestly, it’s impressive he could afford this house with just that; he had to be doing other shady things behind the scenes as well to live here.”

He was probably the one they made an example out of in the first timeline. People like him, who don’t see the writing on the wall, don’t live very long. For the next year or so, we’d see people die over and over again, thinking that the world was still civil, thinking that their opponent wouldn’t pull the trigger. People would grow more and more evil, more and more desperate as the food supply dwindled.

You could already see it in the argument they’re having right now. If the police weren’t here, he’d be dead. Not only would he be dead, but he wouldn’t have even gotten a chance to make an argument. The security guard was as red as he was as they yelled back and forth, the police chief forced out of the confrontation as he still behaved civilly. This couldn’t go on. I sigh as I whisper to Vicky. “Put your hands over your ears.” She didn’t know what I meant as she asked. “Huh?” “Put your hands over your ears, I’m going to kill them.”

Now louder she asked again. “You’re going to kill them?” I warn her one last time. “Cover your ears or they’ll ring because you're a base human.” I don’t give her a chance to give me away as I move forward a few steps. The two kept arguing, not realizing that their fates were already sealed as a gun materialized in my hands.

I yelled out. “Ahh, there’s a spider!” Then I fired two bullets, right between both of their eyes as they turned to look at me. Once again, everyone went silent, even the dog in the dead man's hands, as the situation kicked in. “I think I got the spider guys.” Everyone pointed their guns at me now. I heard Vicky scream behind me. “What the shit Danny!” With a smile on my face at the gallows humor I used, I couldn’t help but mock them.

“Go ahead. Point those weapons at me if it’ll make you feel safer.” The police chief came charging up on me as he yelled. “STOP KILLING PEOPLE! You’re under arrest.” I was taken aback slightly. Didn’t he realize I did this whole song and dance for his people? How many times have I saved this guy, and he still thinks he can put me in jail? If his daughter wasn’t a hot piece of ass I was fucking, he’d be dead along with the other three so I could put someone closer to me as the leader. No, I’d have killed him far earlier, or just let him die; he didn’t realize how lucky he was.

I really thought he knew what was up with how crazy things have been, and that life would never be normal. I couldn’t help but respond incredulously. “Really? I’ve saved you and your daughter's lives multiple times… I just saved you from being shot four minutes ago, saved the lives of your people, and you’re going to put me in jail for solving one of your problems?”

He gulped, his hands shaking as the gun was still pointed at me. I could only shake my head. “I thought you were smarter than that. If you really think you can put me in jail, you’re more than welcome to try, but…” I moved close to him as I was speaking loud enough for everyone to hear, I wanted only him to hear my threat. “If you think just because I’m fucking your daughter, I won’t kill you if you become a problem… You’re right, I’ll just cripple you… But that security guard wouldn’t just cripple you. He’d kill you and your men the first chance he got to take your place.” 

I grabbed him by his shoulders as his gun went down. I could see it clicking in his mind now. I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “The man who owned that mansion would never let people live there; he had to be removed. By the time you finally decide we can’t have selfish men like him here, the lack of housing would have become a much worse problem that I solved right now… Think about what I did from the perspective that a thousand people are going to be at our doors begging for food because we’re the only place that has any, and they’re willing to kill our people to get to it, and then tell me what I did was wrong.”

I walked back towards our mansion. “I’ll be inside if you decide to send me to prison. That mansion is free for people to move into now, you should get everyone on the same page that the house comes with a job of protecting this area when the people come. I’d just like to remind you that the hail is going to come in a few hours… Most of the windows have been blocked, but… Be inside before it starts.”

I wanted to just go inside and take the rest of the day off. The whole situation put me in a bad mood as I tried to ignore how much I’ve done for them already, especially Mr. Lopez, and they just ignore it and freak out whenever I kill a few people. What ungrateful bums.