A Survival Lesson

The entire dinner seemed to chill when Chris asked Dominic for an explanation about the situation on the front lines and why it was sometimes necessary to kill people.

"You don't have to do this, Dominic." Travis didn't want Dominic to get upset by his son's words, but from the latter's expression, it seemed there was nothing he could do to calm the situation.

Dominic wiped his mouth with a napkin, looked at Chris, and said, "How do you think you're still alive? It's a question you should ask yourself every damn day of the extra life you have. How do I have hot water and fresh food? If I were in your damn place, I'd ask myself the same thing every damn day. Damn it, how do I have this peace around me?"

"Not now..." Alicia, who had been seeing better behavior from her mother towards Dominic, was upset by what was happening.

Dominic looked at her and said, "Come on, Alicia, Chris needs to know."

"I don't think this is the best moment." Madison wanted to calm the situation, thinking she had control, but she was wrong.

"I decide when it's the damn moment!"

Crack!

The glass in Dominic's right hand shattered due to the force he was exerting. Without caring, he pointed at Chris with his bloody hand and said, "If we let those rapist dogs, murderers, cannibals, and damn looters stay alive, they'd be cancer that would eventually affect us all."

"They kill children, rape women, and abandon the elderly... Damn it, do you even understand that outside these walls, there's nothing but death?" Dominic stood up, walked towards Chris, who seemed overwhelmed by the murderous look he was giving him, and didn't make a move.

Travis clenched his fists but did nothing; his son was certainly an idiot. He knew better than anyone what Dominic had ordered to keep the Unification united and prosperous.

No one but the mentors knew what Dominic, as General Commander, had done to save thousands of lives.

Nick continued eating. To him, what was happening was like an incredible show. Obviously, his sister's boyfriend was amazing; his way of seeing the world was years ahead of all of them.

"Look at the table and tell me, what do you see?" Dominic grabbed Chris's head, staining it with blood, and asked in a louder voice, "What do you see?!"

"Food..." Chris wanted to move away from Dominic, but his strength was superior, so he couldn't do anything.

"Exactly. How do you think you can get food right now?" Dominic waited for a response.

Chris shook his head and said, "I don't know, damn it."

"Nowadays, you can find two types of people inside the refuge we've created. The first deserves everything we offer here and knows perfectly what needs to be done to defend it, and the second thinks the world is still as it was before."

Dominic paused and said, "Normally, the second type of person I just mentioned dies out there... But look around; you're lucky; you have the chance to have an opinion because, inside here, you're very safe. But I'm sure if you were out there, you'd already be dead, along with your entire damn family."

"Don't talk to my son that way!" Travis shouted, hitting the table.

"Speak again, and the least I'll do is rip your son's damn tongue out!" Dominic pulled out a large black knife and pointed it at Travis, who fell silent after that.

"Alicia, I think the dinner should end." Madison wanted her daughter to try to take Dominic away from here.

Alicia stood up, took a handkerchief, and wrapped it around Dominic's hand, who had stabbed the knife into the wooden table they were eating at.

"If you and your stupid son disrespect me again, you'll receive a punishment. You'll be sent to the frontier bases and see the privileges everyone has right now." Dominic looked at Travis with severity, hoping he understood.

Travis nodded. He had momentarily forgotten that Dominic was the leader of this entire refuge and that his word was like an unrevocable order.

Chris ran out, unable to stay another moment in this place.

Travis apologized and went after his son.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, Madison, but Chris needs to understand. I heard he's trying to organize protests over the supposed deaths we cause outside the community. If this continues, your husband will lose a son," Dominic said, taking the knife from the table.

"I'll tell Travis..." Madison said she was a bit at a loss for words at this news.

Nick watched as his sister left with Dominic and said, "Chris is an idiot; he deserved it."

"Yes, but this went beyond what we can control."