Chapter 471: Handling Brad’s Gang

After leaving Rebecca with Rachel, I headed back toward the Whitesun Hotel in silence.

The two sisters needed time alone.

Rebecca had learned too much too quickly. She needed to hear Rachel’s side without me standing there, making things even more uncomfortable. Rachel knew her better than anyone. If anyone could make Rebecca understand that this had not been some joke or betrayal, it was her.

So I left them.

At least for now.

The Boardwalk was already becoming busier as I walked back.

But then I heard shouting.

"You are just leading us down the fucking path of destruction and death, Margaret!"

Brad’s voice carried across the street.

I stopped.

My expression tightened immediately.

Up ahead, near the entrance to one of the buildings being prepared for Boardwalk survivors, Brad stood with Billy and Kyle. They were facing Margaret.

Or rather, they were lashing out at her.

Margaret looked calm despite the three men shouting at her. Clara stood nearby, clearly having arrived only moments earlier. A small crowd had formed around them, including a couple from the Boardwalk who stood off to the side with their belongings at their feet.

They looked uncomfortable.

Embarrassed.

"What happened again, Brad?" Margaret asked. "Please calm down."

"I won’t fucking calm down!" Brad snapped.

He pointed toward the couple.

"Why do we have to take these people to our place?"

The couple flinched.

Margaret looked toward them, then back at Brad.

"They lost their home," she said. "We’re giving them shelter. Giving shelter to people in difficulty should not be a problem."

"Are you seriously asking why it’s a problem?" Billy stepped forward.

He glared at Margaret.

"Callighan wants the Boardwalk people dead. And now you’re bringing them into our home."

His voice rose.

"What do you think will happen? Callighan will follow them. He’ll come for us too. You’re inviting the threat directly to our doorstep."

Margaret’s expression saddened slightly.

"These people did not cause the attack," she said.

"But they brought trouble with them!" Kyle scoffed.

He looked at the damaged streets around them.

"Several of our people died. Don’t you remember?"

"And whose fault is that?" Margaret asked quietly.

Kyle’s eyes narrowed.

"Yours."

The people around them went silent.

"You and your stupid, happy little policy," Kyle continued. "You’re too old for this now, Margaret. We should have changed leadership after the disaster in Jackson Township."

"Hey!"

Clara stepped forward immediately.

Her expression hardened.

"Is that how you speak to your elders?"

Brad, Billy, and Kyle looked toward her.

Clara did not back down.

"You are blaming Margaret for what happened in Jackson Township?"

"Of course we are," Brad said.

He did not even hesitate.

"We could have avoided a lot of problems if we hadn’t gotten friendly with Ryan and his group of freaks. Since they came, everything has gotten worse."

His eyes moved briefly across the damaged Boardwalk.

"And Margaret keeps making it worse by inviting more people in."

He pointed again toward the couple.

"We have to survive winter. We don’t have unlimited food. We don’t have unlimited space. We don’t have room to keep taking in every random person who needs help."

The couple looked down.

I felt anger rise inside me.

Not because winter was not a real concern.

It was.

Food would be harder to find. The gardens would slow down. Heating, shelter, medicine, and supplies would all become more important.

But Brad was not worried about food.

Not really.

He was using fear as an excuse to attack Margaret.

"We survive together, Brad," Margaret said.

"That’s how we survive."

"No," Billy replied. "That’s how you get everyone killed."

Clara stepped in front of Margaret.

"Don’t you have anything better to do than create problems?"

"We’re worried about our fucking lives," Kyle said.

His voice was sharp now.

"And you should be too, Clara."

He pointed toward the Boardwalk’s damaged streets.

"That Screamer went off right next to us. We all heard it. We saw what it did. You want us to stand around and act calm while people bring more trouble to our community?"

"Yeah," Brad added. "We might be next."

He clenched his fists.

"And this time, we won’t get through it."

Margaret did not say anything.

Brad took her silence as permission to continue.

"I’m not going to stand here and wait for that thing to happen again," he said. "We should have talked things out with Callighan from the beginning instead of getting friendly with these people."

He glared at the Boardwalk couple.

"Getting friendly with Callighan?"

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Everyone turned.

Brad’s gaze immediately locked onto me.

I had tried to stay away from Margaret’s community since admitting the truth about Kunta. I had accepted responsibility for hiding things. I had accepted that people did not trust me, and that I had given them good reasons not to.

But I could not stand there and listen to this.

Not when they were attacking Margaret for helping people.

Not when they were talking about Callighan as though he was someone who could be reasoned with.

I stepped closer.

"You want to make peace with Callighan?" I asked.

Brad’s eyes narrowed.

"You think he will just let you live because you ask nicely?"

Nobody answered.

I looked at Billy and Kyle.

"You want to get friendly with the prisoners around him too?" I asked. "The murderers. The rapists. The worst kind of scum that follow him because they like having power over weaker people?"

The couple beside Margaret looked toward me.

Clara’s expression became more serious.

Brad’s face darkened.

"You think Callighan is going to accept peace because you’re scared?" I continued. "He sent the Screamer. He used Infected to tear through the Boardwalk. He nearly got hundreds of people killed."

My hands slowly clenched.

"You don’t negotiate with someone like that. You don’t trust someone like that."

Billy spat near my feet.

"You have no fucking right to talk about our future."

His eyes burned with anger.

"Traitor."

"Call me whatever the fuck you want," I said coldly.

Traitor.

Maybe they believed it.

Maybe, after everything I had hidden, I had earned it.

But that did not give them the right to stand here and tear Margaret down for helping people.

I looked directly at Brad, Billy, and Kyle.

"Lashing out at Margaret because she’s giving people shelter and food?" I asked. "What the fuck is wrong with all three of you?"

None of them answered.

I pointed toward the Boardwalk couple standing nearby with their belongings.

"If the roles were reversed, you would be the ones begging for help," I continued. "And you would probably be worse than them."

"Shut the fuck up, Ryan!" Kyle shouted.

His face had gone red with anger.

"You’re an outsider! What the fuck would you know about our fear?"

He stepped forward.

"You aren’t even human. You’re just a mutated monster who can’t fucking die. But we can. We die. Unlike you."

The words hit a nerve.

Not because he was completely wrong.

I was different now.

Dullahan had changed my body. I could take injuries that would kill normal people. I healed faster. I could fight Infected without being torn apart in seconds.

But I was not invincible.

Gaspar had proven that.

Ravager had proven that.

I could die.

And lately, I had been thinking about that more than anyone knew.

Still, I did not let any of it show on my face.

"You’re talking a lot for people who have done nothing to help," I said.

I stepped toward them.

"What have any of you done since the Screamer attack? What have you built? Who have you protected?"

Kyle’s expression twisted.

"You think we owe you something?"

"I think you owe this community something," I replied.

My voice remained low, but every word came out sharper.

"All you do is stand around complaining. You gather your own little gang, spread fear, create problems, and attack people who are actually trying to keep everyone alive."

I looked from Billy to Kyle, then to Brad.

"You don’t help rebuild. You don’t volunteer for guard duty. You don’t help the injured. You don’t go out to protect anyone."

I took another step closer.

"All you care about is yourselves."

Billy’s face darkened.

Then he suddenly rushed at me.

"You fucker!"

His fist came toward my face.

I sidestepped it easily.

Before he could recover, I drove my fist into his abdomen.

Billy gasped.

All the air left him at once.

He folded forward, hands moving toward his stomach as he stumbled back and dropped onto the ground.

The crowd around us went silent.

Kyle reacted next.

He rushed toward me with his fist raised.

I caught his hand before he could hit me.

His eyes widened.

Then I twisted his wrist and pulled him off balance.

Kyle cursed, trying to resist, but I kicked the side of his knee.

His leg gave out immediately.

He dropped to one knee with a pained groan, his free hand pressing against the ground.

"You’re showing your true face now, huh?" Brad said.

He glared at me with hatred.

"You bastard."

I turned toward him.

"Maybe I should have shown it to you sooner."

Brad’s fists clenched.

"All you do is shout," I continued. "You scream at people working harder than you. You blame Margaret because she has the nerve to help someone. What exactly do you want?"

Brad did not answer.

"If you’re so scared," I said, "then leave."

The words made several people nearby react.

Brad’s expression tightened.

"Go survive on your own," I continued. "Build your own community. Gather your own group of idiots around you. But stop standing here and making life harder for people who are actually trying to protect others."

Brad gritted his teeth.

Then he moved.

His punch came faster than I expected.

I stepped aside, avoiding it.

But Brad did not stop.

His other hand grabbed the front of my shirt and yanked me forward.

He tried to pull me down for a headbutt.

I caught his head before he could strike.

Brad’s eyes widened.

Then I shoved him away.

He stumbled backward and fell hard onto the ground beside Billy and Kyle.

For a moment, nobody moved.

Brad sat there glaring up at me, breathing hard.

Billy was still hunched over, trying to recover from the punch to his stomach.

Kyle remained on one knee, holding his wrist.

I looked down at all three of them.

"Behave yourselves," I said with a threatening tone.

"Otherwise, community or not, I’ll throw you out myself."

Brad’s glare only deepened.

But he did not get back up.

He did not try to attack again.

I turned away from them and looked toward Margaret.

"You’re too kind to them," I said.

Margaret let out a quiet sigh.

"I know."

Clara stepped forward, still glaring at the three men on the ground.

"You did good," she said. "Honestly, I’d rather see them out."

Margaret looked down at Brad, Billy, and Kyle.

For a second, I thought she might agree.

But then she slowly shook her head.

"We cannot do that," she said.

Clara frowned.

"Margaret—"

"I know they are scared," Margaret continued. "And I know fear makes people say ugly things."

Brad looked away.

Margaret’s voice stayed soft.

"I believe they can still change."

I did not know what to say to that.

Because I did not believe it.

Not really.

Brad, Billy, and Kyle had been causing problems for too long. They had blamed Margaret for Jackson Township. They had blamed her for helping my group. They had blamed her for taking in Boardwalk survivors.

And now they were talking about surrendering to Callighan.

Maybe they were scared.

But fear did not excuse everything.

I looked at them one last time.

Then I sighed.

There was nothing else I could do here without making the situation worse.

So I walked away.

Behind me, I could still feel Brad’s glare against my back.