Chapter 48: The Bearded Man
1114 Words
As Richard looked up, he forced himself to smile. “I’m from building number 14,” he said. “I just want to pass through here.”
The man closest to him – the apparent leader – looked to be about forty years old. His height was around the same as his, 5 foot 11 inches. He was wearing an expensive outfit from Jack Wolfskin’s outdoor summer line of apparel. He had a full beard and he was carrying a kitchen knife.
The bearded man looked at Richard skeptically and said, “Building number 14? That’s in the west blocks. Why did you come here? We saw how fast you were running, so we know that you’re not normal.”
“I may not be normal, but I am no threat to you,” Richard said. “You don't have to worry about me, but I do need to go now. Please, excuse me.” At the moment, they were blocking his way, and it was easy for him to guess why they were there.
In his previous life, at the beginning of the doomsday event, mutant creatures hung around and attacked people everywhere. In order to survive, people formed small groups and shared apartment buildings. In his last life, he had even been a part of one such group – and had his luck been better, this tactic would have actually worked for him. After a few battles, though, he failed to get an important position in his team. Furthermore, because of Radiation D, he became an incomplete waste of flesh, and his team finally abandoned him. “Dead Weight” is what they had called him.
The group in front of him had nervous expressions on their faces, and their leader was trembling slightly. Teams like this were not powerful, and without a strong leader, their team would collapse when danger came.
“Where are you going?” asked the bearded man. “Don’t you know that the animals have been attacking people? Several of the older guys in our building were attacked and killed. Listen. If you don’t hide, you will end up as dead as these animals you just killed.”
Richard nodded and said, “Thank you. I appreciate the warning, but I really do need to get going.”
When they didn’t move, Richard pulled out his pistol. He aimed it at the ground near their feel and fired three times. The strangers all jumped as dust kicked up around them. One of the men squealed like a pig and two of the women began to wail. “We’re dead!” they cried. “Dead, dead, dead…”
There was a tall man in the back, and he pushed himself to the front of the group. “Look at the gun,” he told his friends. “I think it’s a police officer’s pistol!”
The bearded man squinted as he tried to get a better look at Richard’s gun. “Why do you have a police officer’s gun?” he asked. “I don’t think you’re a cop. So, who the Hell are you, and where did you come from?”
The tall man frowned and said, “A group of police officers went into building number14 the other day to arrest a criminal. Are you the one they were looking for?”
“My pistol is none of your business, nor is my identity or affairs,” Richard growled. He was getting impatient. “Just let me by, and there will be no trouble between us!”
The bearded man looked at the tall man and said, “We can't let him go. Not only is he armed, but he must know where more weapons are. We must force him to tell us where they are. If we had guns, we might stand a chance against Todd. What do you think?”
Richard was secretly pleased by the bearded man’s response. Maybe he has some backbone after all – he thought – If I had more time, I might want to recruit this man. He could make a good follower.
Richard sighed. Even if he had more time, he doubted it would be easy to persuade the bearded man to join his rank and file.
“You’re right,” the tall man replied. “We can’t let him go.”
Richard shrugged and said, “Fine, let’s do this the hard way.” He had already given them their last warning. So, without any further warnings, he lifted his pistol, aimed it at the tall man’s head, and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the bullet leaving the chamber was deafening, and it flew true. Much to his surprise, though, it did not make its mark. The bearded man pushed the tall man out of the way. “What the f**k?” Richard muttered. He had never seen such a thing, and up until now, he would have said that it was impossible. “What are the odds?” he muttered as he prepared to take another shot.
“Don’t do that,” the bearded man said. “This is a big misunderstanding. Donald is a good guy!”
Richard was still in shock. “Who is this Todd guy anyway?” he asked.
Donald: “He is the captain of the security guard team in our community. He is from the northeast, and he is in his thirties. Have you heard of him?”
“Yes,” Richard replied. “I know of him. Tell me more. But get to the point quickly. You guys are really wasting my time.”
Richard knew Todd from his previous life. The man was bald, and he had a ferocious appearance that included two birds’ eyes. When Richard moved into the Villa Zone, Todd had been on duty, and he had personally led Richard to his new house. Thus, Richard had gotten a good impression of Todd.
Donald: “Todd came to our building yesterday with more than a dozen security guards. He said that because the mutant creatures had attacked some of the residents, the security team would temporarily establish a special patrol. He required three adult men from each building to join in.”
“…And?” Richard prompted. So far, he had not heard anything unreasonable.
The bearded man took a deep breath and continued the narrative. “And nothing,” he said. “Actually, the arrangement is fairly good. Our blocks are full of terrible mutant animals now. It is necessary to organize some people to ensure the safety of everyone, but it needs to be fair and voluntary. In our apartment building, most people are either elderly or are children. Furthermore, young people are concerned about their families, and they do not want to go out on patrol. Thus, we have only two volunteers. One of them is me, and the other is Leon Jason. He lives on the fourteenth floor.”
“And where is this Leon Jason character?” Richard asked.
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