It’s Not Easy Making Money In the Apocalypse - It’s Not Easy Making Money In the Apocalypse – V4 - Chapter 37

As soon as Zara shouted out, every eye ended up turning our way. All it would take is someone from either side raising a gun and shooting, and we’d both be toast. It was a high-stress moment, and the two of us on opposing sides were right next to each other. If things were read incorrectly and either side thought that one of us was the enemy, we’d be in a great deal of danger. I had just decided I was going to start doing things safely and smartly going forth, and suddenly Zara is the one who starts acting foolishly.

“D-daughter!” A man steps out from the group hidden behind the vehicles.

“Daniel!” I heard Raven’s voice coming from the hospital.

Both of them turn to look at each other, while Zara and I glance at each other awkwardly. I was wondering if we should start heading toward our side, or if that would only cause things to escalate.

“What are you doing?” Zara shouted again.

“Ah… th-that…” The man looked down awkwardly. “You disappeared. We attacked and wiped out the beast camp, but you weren’t there. Instead, we found that… that human. They told us they could take us to their daughter, but it turned out to be a trap. This isn’t our fault at all.”

“You threatened to kill me if I didn’t provide you with your daughter!” Raven shouted back. “If I didn’t escape, you would have killed me!”

“At least I was speaking honestly!” He shouted back. “You filthy humans were being deceitful!”

“Dad! A human boy did save me though.” Zara shouted, stopping Raven from saying something that might start them shooting at each other again. “We… had to escape through an underground route. That’s why it took so long to return.”

“A boy!” His eyes shot to me, and those red eyes of a revenant made me feel a bit terrified. “This boy?”

She stood in front of me like she thought he might lift his rifle and fire. “Yes, he saved my life. Without him, the beasts would have killed me before you arrived.”

“That…” He sputtered, his eyes glaring at me like it was my fault. “Even if true…”

“The beasts are dead, and I’ve returned. Can’t you just leave it at that?” She demanded.

“Ah! B-but…” Her dad seemed to be reluctant to stop.

Is it because he’s hungry?

It was better not to think about their food sources. The revenants were far more sentient than I originally thought. They weren’t much different than people, so I didn’t like the idea of killing them. Well, I had killed raiders before, so it wasn’t like I wouldn’t if I had to, but I felt like Zara had saved me a few times too, and going to war with her family felt a bit wrong.

“Dad! If you keep fighting them, I won’t forgive you! Let them go!”

“Zara, you do understand. This is a group of traders. They have been treading over our ancestral land ever since that Rink was established. Now that we’ve taken care of the beasts, this is the best time to strike!”

“D-dad!”

“Zara, get over here and listen to your father.” He responded sternly. “You’ve already been off hunting beasts when you weren’t given permission. You very nearly ruined our invasion!”

I was starting to realize that matters were more complicated than they seemed. It wasn’t just a matter of Zara. It was a matter of territory. Zara had claimed the revenants had been struggling for a while since the beasts took over the hospital. I had been thinking they were just hunting the beasts, but it appeared like they were reclaiming land. Her capture had incidentally happened the same night the revenants planned to take out the beasts. They probably only found out Zara had been there after finding Raven.

Either way, I was beginning to get the feeling that he didn’t want things to end peacefully with the humans. He was using Zara as an excuse to wipe out the hospital too. He wanted to take over this entire route. Zara seemed a bit more naïve, looking back at me and then at her father in confusion. I could read his intent though, and I knew that I had no other choice. I summoned Anweil’s machete and then grabbed Zara and held it to her neck. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock.

“You think I’d just let her go?” I snapped, using Zara as a shield.

The indecisiveness in her father’s eyes left, and he lifted his weapon, snarling. “You dare?”

“D-daniel?” Zara gasped.

“Stay back!” Raven shot her rifle, nearly hitting Zara’s dad and forcing him to duck.

“Your father is looking for a fight.” I hissed into Zara’s ear. “Just trust me.”

Zara bit her lip, but she calmed down slightly and stopped struggling. I didn’t turn on the ion coating, so it wasn’t too deadly. It could still cut her neck, but it wouldn’t happen by accident. After a few seconds, her dad lifted his hand.

“What do you want?”

“It’s really simple,” I responded, edging my way over toward the hospital while using Zara as a shield. “This entire trade route is protected by me. I need it to establish my business. I’ve already seen some of your revenants on it before. I won’t have it. I want you to take your revenants and go somewhere else. Between the Twin Elms and the Rink, you won’t touch that route at all. If someone chooses to leave that route, then it’s fair game.”

He grinned, showing his sharp revenant teeth and looking extremely dangerous. “You think you’re in a situation to negotiate with me, boy?”

I shook my blade and snarled back. “Do you think you’re in a situation where you can negotiate with me?”

“Hehe… you may see us as something like humans because of our appearance, but we are faster, smarter, and deadlier than your kind.” He declared. “You forget that we just wiped out the remainder of the beasts. They had been our food source up until now, but we grew tired of them taking out territory. What you call a trade route used to belong to the revenant!”

“Belong to the revenant?” I sneered. “Your entire species only mutated into existence a short time ago. Before that, this city was owned entirely by humans. Don’t give me bullshit like ancestral home. It’s all just a big joke! You’re just mutants!”

“Daniel…” Zara spoke so slightly that only I could hear her voice, but she sounded sad.

It’s not really like I have a choice!

I wanted to tell Zara that, but as I side-stepped to the hospital, I ended up closer to the revenant group and I wasn’t confident the words I said might be heard by them. They were all watching me closely, looking for openings, and I couldn’t show any weaknesses.

“Look, if you want your daughter back safely, then you’ll promise to leave and avoid this route in the future. You can have the rest of the land. I’m asking you to just leave this route, and humans, alone. You can hunt anything else, and you can have the blocks all you want… except the hospital.” I explained. “And if you don’t… we’re not defenseless either.”

I nodded as several robots emerged from the hospital. The revenants were right. They were much stronger than a rag-tag band of merchants and their respective defenses. The only reason they hadn’t defeated everyone was that they were frightened of the robots in the hospital. The robots were programmed to guard the entrance. The revenants had been extremely careful not to get within their sensor range. Unless one of their bullets struck the robots and triggered them, they would continue their patrol despite what the humans did. However, I wasn’t just any human.

As soon as Cecelia was in range, we could connect to the network and she could bypass simple commands. She sent the robots all out, now facing the revenant. This certainly took away his former confidence. If the humans and robots fought as a single unit, the revenants would take many losses, even if his daughter wasn’t on the line. He looked at me with more hesitance this time.

“Even if I agree, how would you know I’ll follow what you say?” He demanded. “Once you give me back my daughter, I could turn around and attack you without hesitation.”

“You could…” I responded. “However, you won’t as long as your daughter is wearing this.”

I lifted something I pulled from my digitizer. When the revenant saw it, he hissed. It was a slave collar. I was glad I had several of those in my digitizer, mostly so I didn’t need to pay for them from Twin Elms.

“You dare!”

“I won’t put any restrictions on it.” I shrugged. “As long as you act properly, it’ll just be a necklace. However, if you betray us, I send the single and she loses her head.”

“Just a necklace?” He sneered. “You’ll be able to track us! Our entire colony will be vulnerable.”

“I’m a skilled hacker,” I responded. “I could shut off that function if you want.”

“As if I’d trust you!”

“Do you have any other choice?” I finally reached in front of the hospital.

With a few more steps, I’d be under the protection of Raven’s cover.

“Dad! I-I’ll do it!” Zara cried out.

“Zara… no!”

“Dad, stop! E-even if you chose to go back on your word… I’ll wear it anyway.”

He lowered his head bitterly in defeat, but after a few seconds, he looked up and nodded. I lowered the machete and stored it back in my digitizer. Zara turned around, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

“You ready?” I lifted the collar.

“I’m just a mutant, right?” Her lip shook.

“You’re not just a mutant…” I responded, lifting the slave collar and putting it around her neck. “You’re mine.”

I clicked it shut. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she didn’t say anything as I plugged it in and programmed it. After a second, her cheeks turned red and she looked away.

“Our people will starve.” She spoke bitterly.

“Maybe… they don’t have to.”

She looked back at me. “What does that mean?”

“Have you considered… trading for what you want?” I whispered a few words into her ear, and then let go and stepped back, jumping behind the barrier.

Zara continued to watch where I was hidden for a minute until her father called for her again. With a jump, she turned and walked away. As she reached him, her dad spoke in a voice we could hear.

“Foolish girl. You went from one cage to another. That human has your life in his hands. I hope you know now that humans can’t be trusted!”

“Don’t worry, father.” She glanced back my way. “I know who to trust.”

Their group finally started to retreat, and it was only then that the various people in hidden positions started to relax. I also started to relax until I felt a chilliness next to me. I turned to see Raven glaring.

“You seem close.” Raven declared.

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Did something happen down there?”

“It didn’t!”

Thankfully, I was getting better at lying with a straight face.

“Hmph… whatever. It’s almost daylight. There is still enough time for that.” She declared, standing up and brushing herself off.

“Enough time for what?” I blinked as she took out her knife and brought it to my throat. “Oh, that…”

After Raven finished with me, I left the tent to hear several of the guards hooting and whistling. She didn’t concern herself with privacy at all! Plus, she cut me with that knife several times. I’d need to take a RegenX if I didn’t want to scar.

Having gotten no sleep the night before, we started for our next day of travel. As we left the hospital and headed for Twin Elms, I couldn’t help but feel the eyes of a group watching us from the distance, although I was never able to see them. However, if things went the way I wanted, I might have a new trading partner soon.