91 Chapter 91

- Narrator -

Fernando and Felipe were surprised at the state the town was in. They've been there before on a mission, the very same one they were on at the moment, yet they had been forced to go back with their tails between their legs. The place was a lost cause before, a horde so big that approaching it was suicide. They've left it for a while now, expecting the walkers to disperse after some time, but they still expected they'd have to fight for their passage through the streets. What they didn't expect was for the street to be as empty as they were right now.

They slowly walked through the empty streets expecting to crash into a big party of walkers, a scenario that has happened to them time and again, one they lost many friends to. The silence terrified them more than anything by now, so they were expecting the worse. Eventually, they seemed to agree that the place was as empty as advertised, so they headed for their real target: the hardware store.

"Looks like we're finally getting those solar panels, huh." Fernando spoke with a grin, growing excited at the prospect. Everyone missed electricity and all the wonders it brought with it if only to watch movies once again. They had no form of entertainment that didn't involve physical activity, and card and board games grew old very fast.

"Looks like we also got trucks waiting for us, ese." Felipe cheered, taking a sip from his driving whiskey flask.

Xenon and Shane were in an incredibly sour mood at the approaching vehicle. This was a mission they hoped they could finish as fast as possible and get home because of its dangerous nature. They were too far away from home, and any altercation they had would not bode well for them, regardless of their overwhelming numbers. Even if they won, they might end up losing valuable materials or blocking their exit route by attracting walkers toward them.

They got outside in the open once they noticed the car was slowing down, indicating they were fully intending on stopping at the same hardware store they were currently occupying. Both newcomers seemed taken aback by this new revelation, communicating silently by throwing each other side glances.

Xenon narrowed his eyes at them, their outfits, tattoos, and looks would give anyone an uneasy feeling. He has measured them before they even stopped, deciding on how to best deal with the situation, ultimately cursing the moral shackles of his group for prohibiting him from certain courses of action. He had been slowly changing their vision, but he knew they were still not at a place where he could tell them to kill the two newcomers with cold blood. He knew they would be extremely wary of them, that's for sure.

While Shane had his gun in his arms ready to shoot at any moment, Xenon preferred keeping it strapped to his back, knowing it had a better effect than appearing uncomfortable in front of potential enemies, a fearless front giving him a better intimidating factor.

"Look Felipe, new faces. I've never seen you around here before, ese." Fernando said easily with a smile, his posture suggesting he hadn't a single care in the world, completely ignoring the heavy gun ready to blow his face.

"The place is closed for visitors right now, *ese*. Why don't you come back at another time?" Shane said aggressively.

"Woah, calm down, ese. Getting angry is bad, you know. It's bad for your health, ya know." Felipe said, taking a sip from his flask. "We're not here on a visit. We came here to make new friends, ya know." Shane did his best not to escalate the situation, opting to let Xenon talk this time.

"I believe you." Xenon said with the fakest of smiles. "But we're not interested, so it seems you've wasted the trip. Why don't you get in your car and start driving, save yourself some time, and get home early?"

"Now now, don't be like that, ese. This is the end of the world. Us living gotta stick together, ya know?" Felipe nodded wisely at Fernando's words. Xenon narrowed his eyes at them, the gears of his mind running at full throttle. The situation did not bode well for them, the two clowns were far more relaxed than they were supposed to be. Were they buying time?

"I don't have time to play games with you. What do you want?" Xenon said calmly, not wanting to let them lead him on.

"We don't want much from you, ese." Fernando understood that their act should come to an end, as any further would not play in their favor. "We came here to get some stuff from our store, but you're a bit in the way."

"Your store?" Xenon chuckled. "That's funny."

"Are you making fun of my brother?" Felipe suddenly said, looking at Xenon and Shane menacingly.

"Yes." Xenon raised an eyebrow at him. "You're both clowns, and as amusing as it would be to listen further to you, I've got shit to do, so you better start talking and talking fast because I'm running out of patience."

"Why you fuc-.."

"Felipe!" Fernando stopped him from assaulting Xenon, noticing he was seconds away from getting his face blown away by Shane's rifle. Xenon was not impressed by the attempt, his opinion of them as clowns slowly cementing itself in his mind. "Listen, the place is very big. I'm sure there is enough for all of us. What do you say?"

"I say you're free to take whatever you want from it once we leave." Xenon said with narrowed eyes, having no intention to share their loot. "In the meantime, stay out of our way."

"We found the place first!" Felipe snarled angrily. "Now you just wanna rob us?!"

"You found it first?" Xenon raised an eyebrow. "Then explain to me why are we on this side?" He motioned to the store behind him, clearly indicating that his words made no sense.

"We came here before you to get some stuff. Place was filled with walkers. Now we come back to find you planning on taking everything for yourself!" Felipe spoke through gritted teeth.

"You got that one right." Shane smirked. "The place WAS filled with walkers when we came here. And unlike you, WE took care of it. Ergo, the place is ours. Comprendo, ese?"

"Wait, you took care of all the walkers in town?" Fernando was astonished at his words, thinking through the implication. He didn't see any traces of combat, which means it isn't likely they fought a horde that big. That could only mean they led the walkers somewhere else... But who would be ballsy enough to pull that off? It was practically suicide to get followed by those numbers...

"Gentlemen, this conversation has lasted enough." Xenon said with finality, putting his hand on his pistol. "Leave. Now."

"You sure there ain't no way to get some of them solar panels?" Fernando asked, having realized by now it was their target as well. He could see it was the only thing they've loaded on the trucks so far, so it was the most likely scenario.

"I'm afraid that can't happen. We need those panels. Try at another store." Xenon shook his head.

"We could trade you for them, you know. What do you need?" Fernando added, making Xenon frown. He was slowly realizing how desperate they were to get their hands on them, and desperate men tended to take drastic actions...

"We don't need anything, and we can't trade you the panels. Our group is too big, they'll barely be able to cover our consumption." Xenon remarked, trying to intimidate him with their 'numbers'. And he was technically correct, their group was indeed very big compared to the others.

"Where is your group at?" Fernando asked nonchalantly, looking around to seem disinterested in the answer.

"None of your business." Xenon smiled, his grip on his pistol tightening visibly.

"Well..." Fernando sighed. "We tried, Felipe. We gotta tell the governor it's a no-go." He shrugged. Unknown to everyone else, alarm bells were ringing in Xenon's head. 'The governor...' that was a word he was too familiar with... He already knew these two were up to no good, but now they seemed a lot more dangerous than they appeared...

Fernando and Felipe got into their car and drove away, leaving a frowning Xenon and Shane behind. Daryl slowly approached them.

"You should've just killed them." Daryl offhandedly remarked.

"Agreed." Xenon nodded. "But our people are not ready for that. They'll start calling me a psychopath before I could blink."

"Why do you care what they call you?" Daryl looked at him weirdly. "Fuck all of them, what are they gonna do about it?"

"Plenty." Xenon shook his head. "I need them to trust me if I'm gonna make sure they stay alive, that way they are willing to listen to me. You don't do that by appearing a tyrant."

"Just say the word next time." Shane informed him. "I don't mind doing the dirty work. You can claim you didn't tell me anything."

"Thanks." Xenon chuckled. "But that's not gonna work either. You do that, I'll be forced to keep you confined to the base. And you're more valuable than that." Xenon knew it was no use crying over spilled milk, so he started thinking about their current situation instead, what he could do to deal with whatever plans they had in store for him. After a few minutes of thought, he announced: "The three of us will stand watch, keep your eyes open. I'll go a bit deeper, see if I can find any of them in the area. Tell the others to pick up the pace. Get this done as soon as possible. The sooner we leave, the safer it will be."