At William’s suggestion, I run the first part of the meeting. I’m to act as the primer, bringing up the challenges we’re facing. He thinks it would be better for one of the civilians turned fighters to do this bit, as it will come off as more genuine.
I agree to it like the idiot I am. The others retreat to the edges of the stairs on either side of me, leaving me at the center of the metaphorical stage. William gives the signal, so I raise my voice and address the crowd.
“Everyone! May I have your attention?” I shout.
That’s about as ineffective as I expected. The people are talking to each other, a chorus of loud grumblings going up and down the street. But that’s what we have Karen for. I nod, and the woman steps up to my side.
“Quiet!” She yells, layering her skill on everyone. “The meeting is starting! Pay attention!”
The effect of her skill is like an invisible explosion, spreading silence as it washes out over the gathering. All eyes turn on the two of us, so I thank her with another nod. Karen steps aside, leaving me as the sole focus of the crowd’s attention.
I’m not the best when it comes to public speaking, but I take a deep breath and search for some words.
“By now, I hope it’s clear to everyone that the world as we knew it is coming to an end. We are under siege by monsters, with no one to rely on for safety but ourselves. I know it’s hard to accept it, but the sooner we do, the sooner we can start fighting back.”
I gauge the reaction of the audience. Some look shocked, the last bit of hope they held onto now shattered. Others are enraged, as if it wasn’t real before my words made it so. But the vast majority seem resigned, like they already made peace with the uncomfortable facts.
I go into detail about the most urgent problems, those being food, water, and ammo. We don’t have enough of either to last us through this first siege, let alone until the next one hits. The crowd listens, the looks on people’s faces turning grim.
“Luckily, we have a plan,” I continue. “All we need is some help to make it happen.”
With my part done, I look for William. This is where he needs to step in and detail our plan. Problem is that he and his men are gone, leaving only me, Karen, and Emily up on the town hall stairs.
“Mother fucker,” I whisper, shocked by his vanishing act.
He’s nowhere in sight, and the people look up at me expectantly. There’s no time for me to go looking for him and drag him back up here, this has to happen while I still have the crowd’s attention. I take a deep breath to calm my anger, and I continue.
“First things first, we need to consolidate what supplies we have here.”
I address the as of yet uncooperative store owners, hitting them with a dose of reality. Sitting on their stocks isn’t helping anyone. Will a mountain of supplies save them when the monsters breach our defenses? Who will they trade and barter with if everyone dies?
It’s an underhanded tactic, a manipulation of people’s fears, but I’m not exactly lying to them.
“So what? Will you just take our stuff?” A man barks from the crowd.
I’m glad he does, as it gives me a good launching point into how we’ll handle it.
“Nothing like that,” I assure him. “If you choose to help with your supplies, we’ll keep track of who contributes what. Then, after things calm down, we’ll pay it back.”
“And what if we choose not to help?” The same man asks.
That’s one of the questions I’m dreading, and part of the reason why I didn’t want to be up here for this part.
“We can’t punish people for not giving up their supplies,” I answer honestly. “If you choose not to help, then that’s the end of that. But think about the position you're in. You need us to bleed and die for your safety, and we're not obligated to do that.”
“Is that a threat? Will you let us die?!”
“No, but we can’t punish the fighters either.”
We go back and forth like this for a few minutes, and a few other store owners step forth, all of a sudden willing to negotiate. I propose a basic IOU system for now, and although they’re not enthusiastic about it, most people seem to at least accept it. Anyone that contributes, be that with supplies, labor, or manpower for the defenses, will be given bonds they can cash out at a later date.
I'm tempted to propose using said bonds as food stamps right away, but I decide against it. We have some elders and a bunch of children that can't work, so for now, the basics will have to be free for everyone.
“William's men will help you make inventories of what you have. For now, we'll use standard prices for the bonds.”
We put some finishing touches on the deal, and a few of the store owners ask about the possibility of being paid in system credits. I like that they're paying attention to those kinds of details, but we can't make any promises yet. We don't know anything about system credits, and anyway, it's something we'll have to clear with William.
With that settled, the meeting moves on to other matters.
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“We need more manpower, so anyone with useful skills, please go down to the police station at the end of the meeting. We have a few booths set up to process everyone's information. If you don't want to pick a combat class and join the defenders, there are other options. We need cooks, butchers, builders, and a whole bunch of other support classes. James and his friends can help guide you in your choices.”
A good portion of the people start complaining right away. They don't want classes, they don't want to deal with skills and levels. I try to speak, but my own voice gets drowned out. With a sigh, I turn to Karen once more.
She flexes her skill without a word, bringing order to the meeting.
“I know you're all afraid of the system,” I say. “That, or angry at it. And I get it, but you're doing yourself a disservice by holding out like this. The enhancements from the system are just a tool, nothing more. I can't force any of you to pick classes, but I really recommend it.”
“Fuck it,” a man speaks up, forcing his way to the front of the crowd. “I'm a line cook, and the system recommends a class like that for me. I'll pick it and do my part, but only if you promise that I won't have to fight.”
Hands go up in the air all around the man, with others voicing similar opinions.
“I can't promise that,” I say, trying to temper their spirits. “We don't yet know if you can gain experience without fighting. But in the worst case scenario, we'll send you out with proper fighters to minimize the danger. They’ll do the heavy lifting, you’ll just have to deal the finishing blows to gain some of the experience.”
That gets a lot of people to back down, so I’m left hoping that the system does provide alternative leveling methods to the support classes. By all means it should, but we simply don’t know yet.
I work with the ones that are still willing to take the risk, coordinating them into some form of coherent plan. We have a couple of restaurant owners that will take over the day to day operations of feeding everyone, working with whoever will get relevant classes. It’s still a work in progress by the end and will need some more adjustments as we run into problems, but for now, it’s good enough.
“One last thing,” I say. “Does anyone here know how to make explosives?”
No one comes forth, though some people do look around, worried. I wait a minute, and when nobody speaks up, I continue.
“Don’t worry, you won’t get arrested or anything. From my personal experience, explosives work really well against the hordes. If anyone can make some, it would be invaluable for our defenses.”
A scrawny guy in a dirty hoodie raises his hand. He can’t be much older than me, and when I look at him, I realize I actually know him. Sort of. His name is K something, he was a senior in high school back when I was a junior.
“I…know how to make some stuff,” he says timidly.
“Awesome. Come down to the station and we’ll talk more details there.”
He nods, and with that, the meeting is concluded. I send everyone off with a final message.
“Even if you don’t want to get a class, there’s still work you can do around the safe zone. Again, I recommend using the system, but we won’t force anyone. And if you have any…unusual talents or skills, let us know. There will be no prosecution or punishment, anything might end up being useful right now.”
Some of the people nod as the crowd disperses. About half of them head down to the police station to be processed, and I hope that James and his friends are ready to handle all of them. We didn’t expect so many to cooperate, so he and his group might have to pull an all-nighter.
The explosives guy comes up to me, head held low and his hands in his pockets. The sight reminds me of a companion of mine that idles a little distance away, eager to take her place in my shadow.
“I’m Kurt,” the guy says, not looking up at me.
“Jack,” I answer, putting a hand out for a shake.
He’s reluctant, but he takes it. After we shake hands, I go right into it. I’m usually a bit less direct, but it’s been a long day and I’m tired of dancing around subjects.
“What kind of explosives can you make?”
“What kind do you need?”
That puts a smile on my face. We talk about it for a few minutes as the people slowly trickle away, and I tell Kurt my — our plan. If we can surround the safe zone with mines, we can whittle down any hordes before they hit our barricades.
“Can you whip up something like that in a hurry?” I ask.
Kurt mulls it over for a long moment before he answers. “Maybe? One of the classes the system recommends for me deals with explosives, so if I get a few levels, I might be able to make all kinds of bombs. But I’ll need supplies and equipment.”
“That won’t be a problem. William will give you an escort, so get a shopping list ready.”
Kurt nods and, without explaining how he knows any of this, he takes his leave.
I’m satisfied with the results overall, but I’m equally pissed with William for vanishing like he did. As the street clears out, I see him and his men at the back of the crowd. He gives me a slight nod, which only angers me further. I wave for him to come over, and he does so reluctantly.
“The hell, man?” I ask as he nears me.
“It worked out, didn’t it?”
I want to explode on him, but I take a deep breath and calm down.
“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t like it,” I say. “Next time, maybe give me a heads up before you send me down shit creek without a paddle.”
William chuckles. “I don’t have a paddle, either. Most people don’t. But I think you’re one of the few that do.”
I shake my head. That’s so very clearly bait, the man is barely holding back from going on some grand speech. He’s just waiting for me to ask what the hell that means, to give him the spark he needs to get started. But I can’t be bothered right now, I’m too tired. So, as payback for doing me dirty, I turn and leave.
Emily is on my heels in moments, and she lets out a soft sigh filled with so much relief.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I tell William. “I trust you can handle the rest for now?”
“Sure thing, boss!”
I whip my head around and find him standing at attention, salute and all. He has a shit eating grin plastered on his face, but I get the eerie feeling that he’s serious.
“God, don’t do that,” I complain, which only makes him grin wider. “Anyway, Emily and I will be skipping guard duty tonight. I think we’ve earned it. I’ll come looking for you in the morning.”
William lets off on the salute and barks, “I won’t disappoint you, boss!” That earns him a round of laughter from his men, but I still can’t tell if he’s serious or not. It’s hard to figure him out at times, his true intentions buried under layers of ironic humor and sarcasm.
But instead of saying anything else, I flip him off over my shoulder and keep going.
“Come on,” I tell Emily. “Let’s find a place to crash.”