"Aaaaahhhhh!" The fat dude held his right leg with the gunshot wound.
"Are you f*ckin' nuts?" The other guys tried to quickly rush and hold Damian.
Bang!
Damian shot the left foot of the man that cursed out.
'...I was aiming for his abdomen.' He thought.
"Damian, what are you doing?" Mark rushed over before he could even set the load he carried down.
Everyone looked over because of the screams and gunshots. They just saw a tall man about 6'5 feet, drenched in a long black overcoat slightly bending to see the inside of a tent.
Stephanie, who was carefully watching Damian from the time he entered, wanted to rush to report the situation to her father.
David Dolan was already aware of what was happening from the screams and gunshots and came running over.
Damian stood up straight and stopped blocking the exit of the tent.
"Hie-Hieck!" The remaining three men that didn't get shot rushed out of the tent.
Every single person scanned Damian and all their eyes landed on his right hand. It was the hand that was holding the gun.
David Dolan grabbed his shoulder, "What is wrong with you?!"
"Urghh…" The two injured men cried as they got out of the tent placing their hands on their respective wounds.
Damian jerked and David Dolan's hand fell off his shoulder then he bent and looked into the tent again.
"I'm back." He said.
Arthur got up and looked at him. His eyes didn't look as dead as before.
"Someone should take these two to Ma'am Rose." David Dolan said calmly. Ma'am Rose was an old retired nurse.
The commotion died down and all that could be heard were whispers.
Stephanie dragged her father to talk to him privately.
"Dad, that man is crazy. We have to do something about him."
"Put yourself in that situation." David Dolan, who was leaning against a wall, calmly retorted.
"What?" Stephanie felt a strong sense of bafflement wash over her.
"Those guys were in his tent and were abusing his supplies. Then they even started talking nonsense. Damian refused to explain what happened and those men put themselves in the green light with their explanation.
"If you were the one and someone you didn't know was using your limited supplies in this apocalypse, what would you have done?"
"What? I'll be furious but it doesn't mean I'll shoot---" She paused when she remembered what she did to Arthur[1]. Damian and Mark didn't know her and she threatened to kill one of their people but they still ended up helping her.
David looked at his daughter for a while and said, "Look, I'm not trying to paint him green either. There were better ways to go about the issue with no one getting hurt. I know what you're trying to do Steph, and I'm telling you… stop it." He emphasized his last words then walked away.
Stephanie was just there, annoyed. Her father doesn't see how much danger this Damian Cross was harbouring.
…
Mark was helping Rachael set her tent. He didn't want to get involved in any of Damian's matters, lest he might just die for butting in.
"Is Mr. Cross always like that?" Rachael asked as she accompanied Mark.
"What do you mean by 'like that'?" He asked back.
"Cold. Angry. Not giving a sh*t." She answered.
"Haha, 'not giving a sh*t.' Hmmm… He's the one that brought up the idea for this place."
Rachael was taken aback.
"Other than that, I don't know. We just met a few days ago."
Rachael was in thought for some time.
"Annnnnd done!" Mark finished setting up the tent.
"Yayyy~" Michelle ran around it and was clapping, "This uncle is so strong."
* * *
Around 5:00 p.m.
"Ok, can everybody listen up?" David Dolan called for everyone's attention.
All the group members were out of their tents and were sitting on small retractable leather chairs.
"We're complete for now and we sum up to 37 people. Apart from kids, males are 17 and females are 16. Men will take turns scouting around the campsite while some will go above ground to gather supplies. It will be shared fairly, no one is exempted in risking their life. The men that are young and aren't married will go above ground, while the ones that are will scout.
"Some women are to learn under Ma'am Rose because we don't know the number of people that might get injured in one day. I do not want to stress Ma'am Rose and I'm sure all of you agree with me on this point. Other women will deal with taking care of kids and are to help set up new members brought in by the men.
"And I have been hearing complaints from some people that want Damian Cross to be punished or kicked out. For this matter, I will say: if you can punish him or kick him out do so, but the prerequisite is that… you can't force anyone to do so with you. And remember, I said 'if you can.'
"Now, let's get to work. All men come this way and all women should go to my daughter."
The whole sanctuary got busy. Apart from Damian and Mark.
Damian was sitting in front of his tent and staring at his phone, while Mark was just sitting there.
Shhhhrrrrrr…
Mark shifted his chair closer to Damian from time to time.
Shhhhrrrrrr…
Damian looked up and stared at Mark.
"Three women in their twenties were in my tent when we came back." Mark saw Damian grin as he finished.
"They were nice and we even chatted a bit before Miss Rachael called for my help."
Damian showed expression and Mark continued,
"They're pretty, honestly. And guess what?" He leaned closer and whispered, "They're still inside…"
"Cough… Cough…" Damian harrumphed then sat up straight.
"What's your problem?" He said, looking at Mark with a deadpan expression.
"Nothing nothing. I'm just kidding, they've already left." Mark raised his hands slightly as he explained.
"I'm not apologizing for pinning you against the wall. I think I understand why you killed it."
Damian faced front and didn't say anything but he was listening to what Mark was saying.
"I was married to an Asian American lady," Mark said, feeling proud, "But we got a divorce about two years ago."
"We have a daughter and uh… she'll be 9 years old this coming August.
"She was so sad when she found out we were getting divorced.
"My wife said I put my job in front of her and our daughter.
"At that time, I went on a raid and got shot. She was so scared and worried, but after I recovered she said she couldn't deal with the pain. I guess she just meant she didn't want to wait for the day two of my colleagues will come over to my house to deliver the news.
"You know, I understood her and it was obvious she wanted me to make a choice."
Mark smirked and looked at Damian, "The choice I made is obvious, isn't it?"
He stood up and tapped Damian's shoulder before he went back to his tent.
Just when he was about to enter Damian spoke up, "What's her name? Your daughter?"
"...Rebecca."
...
In the middle of the night, Mark unzipped his tent and carried a small bag then came out fully dressed.
He looked around in the dark and he could see clearly as though it was daytime.
Zip!
He quietly zipped his tent back up and tiptoed out of the underground sanctuary.
After walking for some time, when couldn't see the tent behind him, he got to the Spring Street Subway Station stairs that led above ground.
As he got closer, he saw a man wearing a black overcoat leaning against the wall.
"W-What are you doing here?" Mark asked afraid Damian thought he was running away.
"Carry," Damian threw a bag at Mark, "I hope you brought enough ammo."
Mark caught the bag and was taken aback, "Are… Are you coming with me?"
Damian just stared at Mark coldly. Wasn't the answer obvious?
"Don't forget. You're my captive." He said.
"Wh-What about Rachael and Arthur?"
"They're safe."
Damian stood up straight and walked up the stairs.
Mark saw the dead skinny demon's body and shrieked as its eyes were staring right at him from the distance.
"W-Wait for me." He quietly wore the bag Damian threw to him and ran up the stairs also.
The dead skinny demon's mouth then curled up into a smile.
...
[1] Referring to Chapter 7: The Prophet