"What the hell is going on?" Ryan asked.
He looked at Elena first.
"This moron tried to force us to hand over our supplies," she said flatly.
"And as you can see, that went over great."
Ryan glanced at the man standing across from Marcus.
He was almost as tall as Marcus, but the similarities ended there.
The man was middle-aged with a pudgy face, patchy beard, and a large round stomach straining against his shirt.
"This moron," the man said angrily, not taking his eyes off Marcus, "is talking to the man in charge of supplies in this place."
Ryan blinked.
He didn't immediately see the issue with handing supplies over to the settlement. After all, they would benefit from the shared pool anyway.
"So what's the actual problem?" Ryan asked.
"Well—"
Before Elena could finish, Marcus cut in.
"We heard from some of the people here that he's rationing the supplies."
Marcus jabbed a thumb toward the man.
"But that's only for everyone else. Him and his family are eating like kings while the rest of the people barely get anything."
Ah.
That explained everything.
This situation wasn't new to him.
In his previous life, corruption had been everywhere. The apocalypse hadn't erased human greed — if anything, it had amplified it.
"That about sums it up," Elena said.
She tugged on Marcus's arm, trying to pull him back from the confrontation.
"Even now there are still people who only think of themselves."
Alice shook her head quietly.
"It's always during times like this," she said softly. "When people show who they really are."
Ryan finally stepped forward.
"Now listen here mor—"
"My name is Simon!" the man snapped, his face turning a deep shade of red.
Ryan didn't even blink.
The room seemed to tighten around him.
"We're not handing our supplies over to you," he said calmly.
"So here are your options."
He raised two fingers.
"First, you walk away now… and maybe rethink how you're running things."
One finger lowered.
"Second…"
Ryan lowered the other finger.
"You keep pushing this, and you won't be walking away."
His eyes didn't leave Simon.
"You'll be crawling."
For a moment the gym fell silent.
Then a loud laugh burst out.
All eyes turned to Marcus.
"I like the way you work, Ryan."
Simon's face darkened even further.
"You think you can just walk in here and threaten us?"
Ryan slowly looked around the room.
Four men stood behind Simon.
Each of them held some kind of weapon.
A baseball bat.
An iron pipe.
A wrench.
And a heavy chopping knife.
Ryan nodded slightly.
"Actually… yes."
He began slowly circling the group, keeping his eyes on the armed men.
"Let me tell you exactly how this plays out if things escalate."
He pointed toward the man gripping the baseball bat.
"You'll probably attack first."
A few of the survivors shifted nervously.
The man stiffened slightly.
Ryan continued calmly.
"But before you take two steps…"
He pointed toward Elena.
"Elena will have you on the ground."
He shifted his gaze to the man holding the wrench.
"You'll try to help him."
Ryan pointed toward Alice.
"But Alice will wrap you in vines so tight you won't even be able to breathe properly."
Alice didn't say anything.
Green mana was already swirling lazily around her fingers.
Ryan turned to the last two.
"That leaves you."
He nodded toward the man holding the knife.
"Robert will deal with you."
The man startled slightly when he noticed Robert standing only a few feet away.
And finally Ryan looked at the man holding the pipe.
"And you…"
Ryan rested the spear lightly against his shoulder.
"You're mine."
Ryan finished his slow circle and stopped in front of Simon again.
"Now the interesting part is…"
Ryan glanced toward Marcus.
"They'll all probably be fine."
Confusion flickered across Simon's face.
"…What?"
Ryan nodded toward Marcus.
"You won't."
Simon slowly turned.
Marcus was standing right behind him.
Grinning.
"You see," Ryan continued calmly, "we can all hold back."
"But Marcus…"
Ryan shrugged slightly.
"…has trouble with that."
"Hey!" Marcus protested.
A giggle escaped Alice.
Even Elena was smiling slightly now.
Ryan looked back at Simon.
"So."
He spread his hands.
"Which option do you want?"
Simon stared at him for several seconds.
Then his jaw clenched.
"Fine," he spat.
"But this isn't over."
He turned and stormed away with his small group trailing behind him.
Marcus burst out laughing.
"That sounded exactly like the bully in every bad movie."
He slapped Ryan on the shoulder.
"I love it."
Ryan sighed.
This was going to become a problem.
A bell-like giggle echoed inside his mind.
[I think you handled that rather well.]
Oh?
[Yes.]
Iris sounded amused.
[No one died.]
Ryan raised an eyebrow slightly.
That's your standard?
[What better standard could there be?]
She laughed softly.
[Knowing you… that's practically a miracle.]
Ryan snorted.
I haven't even killed anyone.
[Maybe not in this timeline.]
Ryan chose not to respond.
Instead he turned toward Elena.
"Where's Captain Ward?"
She gestured toward the far side of the gym.
"Last time I saw him he was talking to some people near the entrance."
Ryan nodded.
"It looks like I need to have a conversation with him."
Because if Havenbrook was going to survive…
Some things were going to have to change.
Author's Note:
Power isn't just about strength…
It's about control.