CHAPTER 39 — Gunpoint Negotiations
Elion — POV
The silence in the pharmacy broke like glass.
Click.
The unmistakable sound of a round being chambered.
Every muscle in my body stilled, as Danger Sense flared in my head.
From behind a shelf stacked with dusty cough syrup and vitamins, a woman stepped into view— She was pretty, she had short brown hair, and a sharp jawline. she was maybe in her late 20's to early 30's, and she dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted, hungry, stretched thin by days or weeks of hell, but her stance was firm.
She held the gun like she'd used one before.
Her eyes flicked across each of us—Rea, Delilah, Alexiy, Meso—before locking onto me.
"Don't move," she said. "Not unless you want a bullet in your skull."
Her voice wasn't shaky.
It was tired, but cold. The tone of someone who'd aimed guns at people before and meant it. I could hear the steel in her voice. The determination to pull the trigger if needed.
For a moment, nobody breathed.
She arched a brow.
"What?" she asked. "Cat got your tongue?"
Her gun barrel ticked upward slightly, lining up with my forehead.
Rea shifted her weight. Delilah lowered her stance—ready but subtle. Alexiy looked between us nervously.
Meso… I sighed as I saw Meso smile like this was a fun social experiment, and not a life-or-death situation. While I did think I would survive if I attacked first with Frostwill I wasn't sure if I should attack now or not.
I straightened slowly, keeping my hands in view.
"I apologize," I said calmly, "I didn't realize this hospital was under current management. I assumed whoever locked this pharmacy up, had left long ago."
She narrowed her eyes.
"So you break in anyway."
"I'm practical."
"And a thief."
I shrugged. "In the apocalypse, are you gonna call the cops?"
Her grip tightened.
"Stop moving," she repeated.
"I'm not moving," I replied.
"You're talking."
"You told me not to move," I said, widening my eyes slightly. "You didn't say anything about speaking."
That earned me a split-second twitch of her eye. Not from amusement— but annoyance.
Good. Annoyance meant she wasn't immediately going to shoot. Yes I was definitely playing with fire by egging her on, I could tell she was different from the wanna be warlord. She seemed rational, logical. The type to be reasoned with.... but I need to know how far i can push.
I gestured slightly toward the supplies we'd gathered.
"What do you say to a trade?"
Her jaw ticked. "What kind of trade?"
"A simple and straightforward one," I said. "I can give you about a week's worth of food for the amount of medication we're taking."
Meso lifted an eyebrow but didn't comment. While Rea looked impressed and Alexiy exhaled slowly, tension losing her a bit at the idea of a peaceful negation. Delilah didn't even blink.
The woman's eyes flicked toward the pile of supplies we'd taken—antibiotics, morphine, saline, disinfectants, meds stacked in crates and on the floor.
Her brows pulled together.
"…Why are you taking so much?" she demanded. "How many people are with you?"
She pointed the gun right at my forehead.
I smiled.
"Well... as for why I'm taking so much, I doubt Big Pharma is going to be producing replacements anytime soon," I said lightly. "I'd rather have more than enough than run dry. As for how many survivors we have? You tell me yours first. Then I'll tell you mine."
Her eyes—clouded with exhaustion—sharpened.
"So you're trading information too."
"If you want."
She stared hard at me.
"…Let me ask you something," she finally said. "Before we trade anything."
"Ask."
Her voice dropped lower, her expression almost incredulous.
"Why aren't you scared? I have a loaded gun pointed at your head. I could shoot you dead. I could shoot your… girlfriends."
The room shifted.
Alexiy's face ignited red, as she blushed so hard I thought steam would come out her ears. Rea simply blinked once her face an unreadable mask. While Delilah stiffened, shaking her head slightly as if to say no-no- but no words left her open mouth. Meso Just burst into delighted giggles.
"Oooooh," she sang, "someone just acknowledged the man's dream harem. Elion! I told you you're a natural chick magnet~ Oh well, it's fine—I already know you love me~"
"MESO—" Alexiy squeaked.
"What?" Meso blinked innocently. "It's true~"
The gunwoman stared, confused. She probably just said the word as a joke only to realize there was some truth to her words in the sense that I was kinda dating Alexiy and Meso at the same time. I needed to have a sit down them tonight, before I turned Meso and added her into the 'Blood Family'.
Now wasn't the time tot think about at instead I tried to defuse the situation by simply telling her truth.
I laughed softly.
Then I let the air shift. Not violently, no this wasn't some overwhelmingly display of power. It was something to show, just enough.
My gravity field flexed—barely—and suddenly she staggered, knees dipping as though someone had placed a sandbag on her shoulders.
Her gun arm drooped— Just noticeably heavier than before.
She inhaled sharply, eyes widening.
"What—what are you—?"
I took one slow step forward.
"You asked why I'm not scared."
I flicked two fingers, and thought of Telekinesis.
The gun slid from her weakened grip— smoothly, gently— and floated across the room, carried by invisible force until it dropped softly into my hand.
Behind me, I heard Alexiy gasped, shocked.
Rea tightened her jaw like she expected a fight. Delilah's eyes widened in silent shock. Meso made a pleased, scholarly "hmm~" sound.
I checked the firearm automatically.
It was loaded, and the safety off.
Dangerously careless… but understandable.
I flicked the safety on, then rested the gun lightly in my palm.
"Why am I not scared?" I asked calmly. "Because you can't kill me."
The words weren't arrogant.
They were simply true.
Her breath hitched.
I held the gun out toward her, grip first.
She stared, stunned.
"You're giving it back?" She seemed shocked that I was simply giving her gun back.
"Yes."
"I just pointed it at your face!"
"And now you know better." I chuckled. The truth was that while I didn't trust her, I wanted to give off the impression that no matter what she did, even if she had the gun, it sill wouldn't matter. Also if something unexpected happens I'd rather her have a weapon than not.
Her fingers closed around the gun slowly, unsure if this was a trick.
I didn't pull back.
When she finally took it, I stepped back to give her space.
"Well," I said, brushing off my hands, "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Do you still want to trade? Or should we just take the meds and leave?"
She flinched slightly at my casual tone.
For a moment, she looked at the floor—thinking, weighing fear against need.
"…I can't decide this alone," she said finally. "I need to speak with the others."
I tilted my head. "Others?"
Her expression shifted.
And I could see caution, and reluctance. However I also thought I saw something like hope in her eyes.
"There are a group of survivors… 61 of us. There are four of us who make decisions," she said. "Co-leaders."
I glanced at the group.
No objections.
I nodded.
"Alright then." I spoke in a commanding sounding tone, "Take me to your leader."
Her eyebrows rose. A complicated swirl of emotions flashed across her eyes— fear, relief, and irritation.
"…Fine," she said. "Follow me."
We left the pharmacy, the supplies in my Inventory, I was going to take them no matter what. But I wanted to see other survivors, and to complete the trade. The tension felt thick in the air.
The woman—she still hadn't given her name—kept the gun in her hands, pointed mostly downward but ready to raise if needed.
"Don't try anything," she warned.
"I won't," I replied.
Meso spoke in a cheerful whisper behind me. "I like her. She's so serious. I bet she's fun to tease." I sighed knowing Meso could be a bit sadistic at times... I just hoped she wouldn't do anything now.
Alexiy pulled Meso's arm to drag her back to be closer to the other girls, face still red, and not looking me in the eyes after the 'girlfriend' comment.
Delilah muttered, "Are we sure this is a good idea?"
Rea answered, before I could, "We're doing it anyway."
The woman glanced back. "Your group… how are you so calm?"
Rea answered again before I could, "We trust him."
The woman didn't respond.
I turned to look at the girls. While Meso I knew, and Alexiy I could understand, but the other two. I only really saved them spur of the moment, Rea from the wanna be, and Delilah as we drove by them. While I could understand some level of trust in me, sure. But this level felt weird. Knowing people put their lives in your hands... I wasn't going to lie to myself... It felt good.
And while I wanted to get to know Rea, and Delilah more, I also hadn't had the time. But if these people were going to trust e this much. Even if they didn't become my girlfriends I wanted to get along and become friends with them.
With my thoughts moving to plans on how I can start to build stronger bonds with my team, we walked deeper into the hospital.
The silence that had felt eerie before now felt heavy with presence—not undead, but human.
Signs of life appeared the farther we went:
Paperbeds dragged into corners, blankets stacked neatly, buckets of water, wet footprints in blood, a barricaded nurses' station, or lantern placed on a counter still on.
We reached a reinforced double-door set, barricaded with metal bars from the inside.
The woman knocked twice.
A voice answered from behind it—deep, male, guarded.
"Password."
She exhaled, then said:
"Greenlight."
The sound of metal scraped was heard as the locks disengaged. The doors cracked open.
A man peeked through—a broad-shouldered guard with a shaved head and a makeshift spear. His eyes flicked to me, widened, then narrowed.
"Who are they?"
"Visitors," she said. "They want to trade."
The man didn't look convinced.
Another voice spoke behind him—calmer, older.
"Let them in."
The guard stepped aside.
We entered.
A/N: hey guys so the Elion isn't some horn dog trying to get with every girl he sees. He's also not some hardened criminal. He's just an 'insane bastard' who finally got his wish to be free, so he's gonna do whatever he wants, get stronger, sleep with girls, fight badass fights. YK the stuff he's dreamed up.