Meeting The Leadership

In the common area of the dorm where Ally's room was, eight people had just seated themselves down around the table in the room.

In the room were the three fighters who led the settlement, Jerrod, Ally and the kids, as well as Grant. The rest of the room was empty and no one was allowed to enter until they finished their discussions.

Once everyone was seated, Scott was the first one to speak.

"Before we begin, I just want to thank you for helping fight the scorpion. If you weren't there, we would have had to abandon this settlement and relocate. Plus, it is very likely that at least one of us wouldn't have walked away from the fight."

Grant just nodded his head to show he appreciated the gratitude but it was unnecessary.

"Also, I heard from Jerrod that you contributed quite a bit of food to the settlement and I want to thank you for that as well. It has not been easy to feed the few thousand people of this settlement.

Which brings me to my first question. Are you planning on staying here Grant? We really could use the help and seeing how strong you are, we would be extremely grateful for the help."

Grant was still on the fence whether he should tell these people his true plans or not. From the few interactions he had with them, he could tell that they weren't power hunger warlords or anything. But that didn't mean he should put his full trust in them. He decided to be straight with them and see where the conversation went but not divulge too much information at the same time, at least pertaining to the dungeon.

"I do not plan on staying here. To be frank, if Ally, Rich, and Robin hadn't come here, I wouldn't be here right now. I only came to find them before I returned to where I am currently staying."

Hearing what Grant had to say, the faces of the three leaders darkened noticeably. A moment of silence ensued before anyone spoke up. Unexpectedly, the first person to speak was actually Ally.

"Grant, is there now way we can help these people? They have been nothing but kind too us since we arrived here.

I have met many of the people in this settlement over the past few days while distributing food, and no one has had anything negative to say about the people here. They have gone above and beyond in keeping the people well fed and safe.

I don't know much about what is going on with the world and everything right now, so I don't want to assume anything, but I do know, if it weren't for your help, we would have been long dead.

Is it impossible for you to extend your hand and help them as well?"

Grant couldn't stop himself from shaking his head and sighing audibly after she finished speaking. Even after everything that had happened too her, Ally was still willing to put her faith in people and try to help them. He couldn't understand how her, of all people, would be willing to extend a helping hand.

"I trust in your words Ally, but the problem is, we know nothing about these people. Just because they haven't done anything yet, doesn't mean they won't in the future.

No offense to the three of you, but I do not trust you. I have placed my faith in people blindly before, and it came back to bite me in the ass."

Grant knew it was quite rude to speak of the three people like they weren't even there, but he wasn't terribly concerned. He knew he held the power in this little negotiation because he was by far the strongest person in the room so he was willing to be a little more forward than he normally would be.

After being somewhat insulted by Grant's words, the three leaders remained silent, but Jerrod tried to reason with him.

"I do not blame you for your lack of trust, Grant. But we are nearing the point where things will begin to get very difficult.

Not only are we running low on food supplies, nearly all of the buildings we were using to house the survivors have been destroyed.

Plus, the monsters seem to be becoming increasingly stronger and with the storm, it was nearly impossible for us to go out and hunt, so our fighters levels have stagnated and we are unable to combat the monsters as easily as before. If we can even combat them at all, as evidenced by todays encounter.

If you would be willing to assist us at all, I would request you help train some of our fighters as you did with Richard and Robin.

They have done nothing but heap praise on you for being the one responsible for their current strength."

At first Grant just looked at the two kids sitting next to him with a smile on his face. He had never had any intention of getting as close with them as he was now, so he had never really put much effort into their "training" but nevertheless, they held him in high regard.

He knew how hard it had been for them at first, so he was grateful that instead of blaming him for putting them into dangerous situations and forcing them to kill monsters and zombies, they had nothing but appreciation.

Since Robin was the one sitting closest too him, he couldn't resist reaching up and patting her on the head to show his appreciation.

Robin just giggled while Grant was rubbing her head and didn't say anything.

"Let me ask you four a question.

Let's say I do train up some of your people, and you manage to stand your ground here and protect the survivors. What comes next? Are you going to try and conquer the area, expand to find more survivors, reform society?

And do you even know anything about The Path? Or are you just interested in surviving?"

The four people that the questions were directed at, exchanged glances for a moment before Scott spoke up.

"We do not have any plans for the future. We are only concerned with surviving right now. As far as expanding our power? I personally have no desire for such things. If anything, I do not want to be in charge at all, I'm old and I don't need the stress involved with handling all of the problems on a daily basis. Hell, I would "retire" today if I could.

The only reason I even accepted the leadership of this camp was because Carly, Toby, and I had been forced to fight our way out of my office on the first day and we had managed to level up a few times. As we saved more and more people, they started to call us the leaders, and when we eventually set up this camp, we fell into the roles.

I do know some people have expressed the desire to go out and search for family members or other people they are close with, but we do not have the manpower to help with that.

As for knowing anything about The Path, I know very little. Richard and Robin shared some information with us, but it was only about monster levels, Random Rolls, and credits. Which I can only assume came from you."

Carly and Toby were the next to speak after Scott and seemed to echo his sentiments. Although they seemed to be good leaders on the surface, neither of them seemed even remotely interested in the role. Which left Jerrod as the last person.

"Frankly, my only concern is the safety of the people here. My family is in this camp, and I do not want to see anything happen to them. Whatever it takes to make sure that they do not suffer, I will do it. As far as leading the people here, if that is what it takes, again, I will do it to the best of my ability."

Whether the four of them were speaking the truth or not, Grant couldn't say one hundred percent. But he could tell from their facial expressions and the fluctuations in their voice, that it was highly likely they had spoken the truth.

"I see. Thank you for your honesty, I know it must be difficult for you guys to have to deal with someone as young as me speaking to you as if I am your superior. I just wanted to give you a bit of a test, if you will.

If we could take a short break, I would like to discuss something with Ally and the kids before I decide what I do next. It shouldn't take more than fifteen - twenty minutes."

The four nodded their heads and stood up, before walking out of the room. They told Grant that they would wait outside for them to finish their conversation and he could come grab them when he was ready.

Once they had left the room, Grant turned towards the three remaining people, and dropped a bomb on them.

"Remember when you asked me what I've been up too, Ally? Well, I own a dungeon now."