9.

It took two full days to work their way back to Homebase. Santi was in no hurry, enjoying the time with his family in the relatively peaceful countryside. The mass of wounded slowed them, but Penelope helped them back to health with her skills over the days.

There were no monsters or beasts or curses. Just the wilting vegetation across the countryside, the smell of rot beginning to suffuse the area. There was a tranquility to it that soothed an ache in Santi’s heart as he got to just enjoy his time with his family.

His family’s reaction to Homebase was underwhelming, just a few nods and his Mom muttering something about it being untidy. There was a pall hanging over the camp, a nervous energy as everyone walked through the gates. It didn’t take a genius to figure out something bad had happened.

Santi didn’t bother talking to any of the regular guards. He had no doubt that the remaining members of the council would be more than happy to tell him what they had done. Most of his family’s camp were led away heading toward a series of houses while the wagons were trundled over to Homebase itself. Their supplies were desperately needed.

Daniel and Chloe kept next to his side as they walked through the warm halls of Homebase. His family trailed behind them with Penelope behind them all. Santi was going to pull strings to bring his family into better housing, closer to Homebase rather than on the outskirts of the camp.

“Somethings off,” Santi muttered out loud. The tension was thick enough he could cut it with a knife and it grated on his nerves.

“Why do you say that?” Bianca asked. He had to remember that nobody could come anywhere close to his stats, his perception alone was probably close to double everyone else's. The minute differences in posture, the tenseness of their shoulders, their downcast eyes, all of it painted a picture of something wrong.

“Place is tense as hell,” Santi observed. He couldn’t be bogged down in the explanation. The building was small enough that it didn’t take him long to find Tank.

“Tank, what’s up?” Santi called out from across the clinic filled with patients. There were a bunch of patients, way too many patients. The room was packed shoulder to shoulder with the injured people.

“Distribution team. Abraham’s guys were ripped apart when they went in,” Tank barely looked up from kneeling next to a pile of bandages that had some remnant of humanity inside of them.

“Rayleigh?” Chloe blurted out instantly, coming alert with speed.

“She’s fine. She went with the downtown team.”

“Abraham?” Santi asked, just slightly hopefully.

“He was downtown too. It was Trevor and Beto who went to the distribution center. Beto’s dead. This is Trevor,” Tank waved a bloody hand at the figure on the cot. Penelope pulled away from the group and got to work on the patients immediately.

“War council?” Santi asked.

“Yeah, they’re all down in the meeting hall. Things are almost stable here, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“Alright.” Santi turned back to his family and offered apologies.

“You get to meet all the leaders at the camp, I guess. We don’t like Abraham,” Santi informed them.

“Understood,” Bianca said with a nod while his parents looked confused but supportive.

The council chamber was a somber area. The quick walk had shown empty halls and people with little to no foot traffic. The doors were shut but Santi blew through them without waiting to enter with his family and team trailing in his wake.

“I can’t leave you alone for more than five minutes, can I?” Santi said as he marched in.

“Not the time!” Marisol snapped, then looked at them shocked as more people trailed behind him.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Who are these people?”

“My family. My Mom and Dad, Garbielle and Vicente. My sisters Bianca and Yessenia. You know Chloe and Daniel,” Santi introduced everyone.

“Are you ever not a smartass?” one of Marisol’s daughters muttered. Santi couldn’t remember what her name was. Veronica? Santi dismissed it.

“Want to tell me what happened?”

“There was a rift there. The team got too close,” Helena sounded exasperated.

“Ohhh, you know, I remember saying something like that.”

“Are you really being like this right now? People are dead,” Marisol hissed, her face distorted with rage.

“Yes, yes people are dead,” Santi whispered. It was so pointless, leading these fools around and not having them simply do what he said. If they just listened to him, they’d have a better chance of survival. But no, they knew better than him. They knew what to do. All they had to do was to shut-up and obey.

“They’re dead because you let it happen. Because you didn’t listen to me. I want you to remember this. I told you not to go there. I! Fucking! Told! You!” Santi hissed in rage, his face contorted with anger.

Marisol recoiled and even Helena looked askance at him. The two daughters slunk away. Santi could feel his power rising, the mana in him stirring as he lost control of his temper.

“This is what we’re going to do. I am now in charge of any expeditions. No one goes out without my approval. I will be taking my team and clearing the rift. Find a way to get Tank free of the infirmary. Also, I’m taking one of the houses on this street for me and my family,” Santi told them. It felt so good to just finally just do something. No backroom politics or hoping someone would side with him. They were incompetent and he couldn’t stand to see more corpses because of people’s idiocy.

Santi left the room in a stormcloud, his mind clouded with the sheer mind numbing anger. He could tell people were behind him, he could feel their inquisitive eyes and concerned looks. He knew he was acting poorly. He just didn’t care.

He went to his room and emptied it. Natural treasures that had been stuffed into garbage bags. Spare weapons piled into corners, a few half empty packs, a package of water, granola bars, and some blankets mounded up in the corner. All of it got grabbed up and shoved into willing hands and they went off and out.

There was a series of homes close to the base that had been cleaned out and left open for the council members. Nobody had really objected that much, even if the council lived inside of Homebase for the most part. The fact that Tank and Santi were two of the most respected and powerful people at the camp helped.

His family kept quiet until the door to the house was shut before he started getting questions. Daniel and Chloe had followed him but abandoned him the second his family started to tear into him.

Dad just stood and watched with a disapproving look while Mom tore him a new one. Bianca and Yessenia watched with a mix of consternation and support of their mother. Santi let it wash over him. What were harsh words in the face of having them back?

“I’m sorry. It’s inexcusable to talk to them like that. I warned them though. I told them not to go there and, yet, they still did it. They got them killed.”

“A leader does not scream and berate others, mi hijo. If you wish to be a leader, you need to inspire. Nobody is inspired by someone screaming at others. They may fear them, but they will not respect them,” Mom said firmly. She spoke the truth, in all its unvarnished glory. Santi knew it too. He had known great leaders and fearsome commanders. Men and women who would both make others obey with a word, but only a few had those who would willingly fight and die for them.

Just another thing he had to do. Another way to grow and change.

“I’ll be better. With you all here. I can be better.”

“I don’t know, it was kinda cool you just tearing into them,” Cam muttered as he walked around the kitchen.

“Cameron, not now,” Mom snapped. Cam ducked his head and nodded as he went around the corner to keep checking out the house.

“Cam! You, willing to go with me tomorrow to check out the rift?” Santi yelled at his retreating back. Cam just stuck up a thumbs up and Santi was back to trying to settle his family into the house.

“Of course! I want to see you in action!” Cam said as he started to trudge up the stairs to the second floor. Chloe and Daniel stood in the corner of the room with wide bugged eyes as they witnessed Santi getting absolutely shredded by his mother and sisters.

“Aside from the absolute ass kicking you took from your mother,” Cam said as he walked away. Santi rolled his eyes but the smirk his Dad had stung.

“You two. Grab the gang. We need a full raid team. Plus our regular team.”

“You got it, boss,” Chloe said. The sarcasm dripped from the word boss as Chloe smiled widely. Santi closed his eyes and leaned against a wall. Rescuing his family was without a thought the best thing he had done. Even if the teasing and harassing were going to be cruel and unusual