304 Path to the negotiations
Mathew and his companions followed Peter as he guided them through the insides of the survivor’s camp. Everywhere they looked, the scene was similar; walls that had been taken apart in haste, doors barricaded with whatever random furniture was available at hand, and windows boarded up with wood or metal plates. It made for a depressing sight that only served to highlight the struggles of those who had called this place home until recently.
The group walked on in silence; each lost in their own thoughts as they took in their surroundings. The state of disarray reminded Mathew of his previous encounters with survivors back in his original life. The same desperation could be seen here as well – it seemed that just about every person living here had given up hope for a better future and was simply trudging through life one day at a time.
‘I can’t forget,’ Mathew thought to himself. ‘I can’t forget about what I didn’t remember so far at all,’ he thought while taking a deep breath and holding in the odor of the place.
With no city services running, there was no plumbing. With water turning into a critical problem, locals couldn’t afford to waste it for cleaning themselves or their surroundings. And as a result of those sad aspects of the new reality, in the corridors of the block where Marcus made his survivor’s camp, the stink of human waste, sweat, and the accumulated dirt was prevalent.
In spite of all the stench, Mathew couldn’t help but admire the efficiency of the modifications made to existing architecture in order to make it easier for everyone to keep the place organized and well-defended. As they passed through a corridor, he caught a glimpse of an inner courtyard and noticed that the survivors had attempted to create a vegetable garden there. It was an admirable attempt, even if it seemed doomed right from the start due to a lack of resources and manpower; sparsely planted patches of dirt with just some struggling plants jutting out here and there serving as a testament to their efforts.
Yet, even if locals didn’t lack the manpower necessary to expand and maintain the garden nor the water or other resources necessary to keep it alive…
It was still way too small to feed all the people that Mathew was passing by! And what was even worse, it would take a considerable amount of time before the first vegetables would start sprouting.
‘Unless they find another, sustainable source of food, they will all starve out before the first veggies will appear,’ Mathew thought.
He also caught glimpses of people here and there – most kept their heads low, only glancing up at them briefly before quickly looking away again or even trying to hide themselves away behind whatever random items were within reach. Even so, Mathew could sense how on edge everyone was – all around him he felt tension radiating from those who thought that any strangers walking through their hallways might bring nothing but trouble with them.
Peter finally gestured for them all to stop in front of what looked like a shopfront with its windows boarded up with planks nailed randomly onto each other.
“We’re here,” Peter said as he knocked on one side of the wooden planks covering the window thrice. He then waited for two seconds before knocking twice more on another plank “Marcus should be waiting inside,” he announced as he pulled his fist away from the planks and pointed at the doors to the side.
Mathew and his companions followed the middle-aged man as he guided them into the shopfront where Marcus was waiting. As they stepped in, a tense atmosphere filled the room. The only light came from a few candles spread around the area, casting an eerie glow that highlighted details that would have otherwise been lost in darkness.
In the center of the room, a large table was surrounded by Marcus’ “officers”. They had their eyes fixed upon Mathew and his group with an intensity that made it clear how seriously they were taking their job to guard their leader.
And the recent clash that nearly turned into bloodshed didn’t help in making their attitude more amicable either.
Mathew took notice of these officers surrounding Marcus; he knew these were people who had his full trust and regarded them as such – as “Marcus’ core”. He didn’t know what each one’s role was within this camp but still felt respect for each one regardless. These people had chosen to stay here even when other survivors ran away from this place months ago – something Mathew valued greatly, regardless if they worked under his potential enemy or not.
In the times of apocalypse, loyalty was something that one couldn’t undervalue.
Marcus himself sat in a chair directly opposite the entrance. He gave off an air of confidence yet also seemed wary about his visitors’ presence, no doubt worried about what could happen if things between him and Mathew went south. His arms crossed over his chest while silent tension emanated from him like waves on a stormy sea. It felt like everyone present was awaiting some kind of reaction or action from either side, leaving just silence heavy enough to drown out any further discussion until finally broken by Marcus’ voice, “Alright then…”
Marcus coughed, revealing a hint of a smirk for but a split second.
‘He enjoys this kind of air,’ Mathew thought, squinting his eyes just a tiny little bit. ‘He pretends to be wary… but he is right in his element.’
Mathew blinked… And Norbert finally found the opportunity to pass on his report.
“He has some sort of a trigger hidden underneath the table. It’s in his left hand,” the former policeman whispered in his ghostly form to Mathew’s ear.
Norbert’s voice cut off as soon as Mathew opened his eyes back up. But those few words he heard… they were more than enough for the young man to figure out how to start the conversation.
p AndD nOve1.cO,m Or, to be more precise, to convince him that being the first one to talk would be akin to suicide, no matter how the scenario would play out from that point on.
Seeing how Mathew had no desire to break the awkward and tense silence, Marcus sighed before leaning over the table.
“I’ve heard that you may have a way to deal with our shortage,” he started, cutting right to the chase.
Mathew smiled when he heard exactly the words he wanted to hear. Because there was one element of what he said back then that Marcus clearly omitted.
“And I remember agreeing on how I will be to address everyone at once about this topic so that not only I wouldn’t have to repeat myself twice but also could take the blame as the ‘bad guy’ behind the plan.”