Chapter 84

Chapter 84

The night was surprisingly quiet, almost peaceful on the way back, but it was a uneasy quiet akin to various monsters staring each other down and not wanting to make the first move. John could feel it in the air. The tension causing a slight tingle on his skin and hair to stand slightly on end but ignored it in its entirety, even keeping his chains tightly wrapped around him and preventing them from clanging in order to keep the peace of the night.

"Hey! You! Whatcha think your doing! Are you mad or something? Quickly get over here!" A voice ahead and to his right called shattering the silence, there muscular figure faintly visible in the little moonlight peeking through gathered clouds.

Glancing over John gave him a tired look before continuing forward, intending to walk past him and head home only to be roughly grabbed by the figure and pulled over into the building.

With a growl John's chains sprang to life, some wrapping the figure with there points aimed at him, the rest responding to previously unseen threats pointed to the figures coming into view behind the muscular man.

"Let him go now or I will cut you down where you stand!" A shaky voice said to his side, a sword pointed at john, looking around he counted 6 people including the currently held muscular man.

They were mostly using swords, but he could faintly see one with a axe, looking closer in the shadows behind them on a shelf practically cloaked in shadows was a crouched figure making a secret seventh person.

"Calm down, put your weapons away." The muscular man began and silencing them with a glare before they could speak, reluctantly they lowered their weapons but didn't put them away, rather keeping them in hand and ready to strike at a moment's notice should it be required.

"Could you please let me go? I didn't mean to surprise you like that but its not safe or good to be out on the streets right now, a goliath is going to be here soon and many groups who came from all over the place and from various factions are all currently waiting to get a crack at it, some of the less savoury types have also come, hiding a bit further out to try and pick off people well they fight to loot them but are also the only reason the various people around here haven't began to fight one another, no one wants to weaken themselves before facing the goliath even if there enemies are near. A person like you on there own would be a prime target for the damn vultures waiting to kill and loot which is why I pulled you over when you ignored me. Look I'm sorry if I startled you, lets try again. My names Jamal, I'm the leader of this little rag tag group here and were probably the smallest group here." He explained with a small smile.

Looking around John tried to see what he could about the people here, 5 muscular black men including Jamal and a women with a Axe to the side, he couldn't make out the figure in the back but his gut was telling him they meant no harm, slowly he put Jamal down and retracted his chains but keeping them ready should they be needed.

Each man seemed to have a shaved head except for a small patch at the side, here forms muscular and strong, there skin having a slight sheen to it giving them a luster, thick jackets all with the same kind of mark and all in shorts. The only visible women seemed to have mocha like skin, hair tied up behind her in braids and dressed similar to the men, a look of disdain though flashing across her eyes when she looked at John but honestly, he couldn't care less.

"Look, I appreciate the kind intentions but right now I don't give a damn, if they try to attack me, I will fight back, if they try to kill me, I'll kill them in return, I need to learn to become numb to killing and taking life, my hesitation has cost me to much already." John tells him getting ready to leave only for Jamal to put a hand on his shoulder stopping him and really showing the hight difference as John only came up to just under his chest and making him wonder how his chains managed to pick up this large guy.

"It seems like you've been through a lot but doing that isn't going to help, all it will do is turn you into a monster, being able to still feel remorse, pain and all that from taking a life shows your still human, when you lose that though is when you stop being human. As for the Goliath raid why don't you slip away after it starts, it would be safer that way and this can give you some time to think and get your thoughts in order. Here, it was a bitch to get this, but you seem like you need something to settle you, id over some alcohol but that's starting to become real hard to find and its prices are rather mad." Jamal says to him, trying to have him see reason and even reaching into his satchel at his side and pulling out a cold energy drink and offering it to John with a smile and small laugh getting a tsk from the women at the side who walked away deeper into the building.

"Why are you doing this though? What do you get out of it?" John asks opening the can and beginning to drink it.

"Nothing, but sometimes we have to help each other, especially with the way the world is now." Jamal began, his gaze going to the cloudy sky outside. "I mean I heard there's even these strange walls over the edge of entire country and the few people still in contact with other countries said that they had the same wall, right now we're all just ants and humanity has been reset, from the top of the food chain to the bottom, maybe it's a punishment for our ignorance or just a sick joke, either way I feel we need to stand united for this." He continued but with a bitter laugh at the end.

"I know that sounds sappy and pathetic, you can laugh if you want, feel free to judge me as well if you'd like. Just take it as a soldiers rambling." He finished looking at John.