The Protagonist System

I slowed the truck down as I approached the area where Jackson was. The loud sound of a hydroelectric dam could be heard, even through the closed windows, and I mentally prepared to see a lot of people. I also didn't want to start off on the wrong foot, so I stored my FEDRA uniform and stolen equipment, including my gun.

I was also tempted to stop and store whatever was in the back cargo area of the truck and chose not to. I was close to their settlement and I was sure someone was watching the road, so there was no way to hide it if I tried to hide something. I drove on at the slower pace and continued on until I saw a huge wooden barricade with large wooden doors blocking the road.

There were two people standing there on guard carrying rifles and one of them made a loud whistle sound. I brought the truck to a stop with my foot on the brake about thirty feet away and didn't do anything threatening or stupid, like turning the truck off.

A few minutes later, the large wooden doors opened and a group of people on horseback trotted out towards me. The doors shut behind them and I could see that they had rifles slung over their shoulders and pistols holstered on their hips.

I took out my wand and stuck my glove to the steering wheel and slid my hand out of it as I took my gun out of my inventory and aimed through the door. If things went bad again, I wanted to be ready. Shooting first always shocked people and I wasn't going to give up that advantage.

The horses surrounded the truck at a respectable distance and several of the men readied and raised their rifles. The man in the middle of the road trotted forward and stopped ten feet away from my window.

“Who are you and what's your business here in a stolen FEDRA truck?” The dark skinned man spat at me, his hand on his six-shooter pistol's grip.

“The passcode is 'Fuck the Feds and Flies' and I didn't steal the truck. It was abandoned in Boston, I put in the battery, and eventually made it to Bill's place.” I said and his eyes widened. “Yes, before you ask, he passed away with Frank when they didn't want to live without each other.”

“Prove it!” He spat and pulled out his gun to aim it at me.

I glanced at the men around the truck and they looked surprised he was so angry. “If you don't shoot me as I reach for the letter he left for me, I can.”

“Keep your other hand on the steering wheel.” He said and nodded at the empty glove.

“It won't move from there.” I promised and slowly lifted my other hand and showed it was empty, then I reached into my jacket.

They all tensed up, expecting me to pull out a gun or something. I grabbed the altered letter and very slowly slid it out, letting him and his men see that it was a letter and not a gun. They visibly relaxed and two of them put their rifles up.

“Here you go.” I said and held it out to him instead of throwing it. Was it petty to make him gome and get it? Yes, it was and I did it anyway.

He made an angry sound and the horse took several steps for him to get close enough to snatch the letter out of my hand.

I was very tempted to shoot him for that, except I was severely outgunned and at a distinct disadvantage. I could probably get one or two of them before the rest opened fire; but, I had no cover except for the cab of the truck and I knew the doors wouldn't even slow down a bullet, let alone stop it.

He holstered his pistol and tore the envelope apart, not caring that he was ruining the expensive parchment. His eyes darted over both sheets of the letter, clearly seeing that it was in Bill's handwriting, and he relaxed as a tear came to his eye. He knew Bill well apparently, maybe even in that way, and he looked up from the letter at me as the anger on his face slowly faded.

“Are you Eli?” He asked and waved the letter.

“The one and only.” I said with a smile. “You have to forgive me if I don't have any official paperwork. The feds didn't care that I was an orphan and didn't want anything to do with them and the resistance didn't care that I was an orphan and didn't want anything to do with them.”

One of the men barked a laugh and the guy next to him hushed him. “What? I was in the same boat. None of them would take no for an answer and I got away from them as soon as I could.”

“Me, too.” I said and waved. “I've got a couple of Twinkies left over from my stash that I can share with a fellow survivor.”

“You're all right, kid.” The man said with a smile and slung his rifle.

“Do you have any weapons on you?” The black man holding the letter asked me.

“No.” I said and several of the men frowned at me, clearly not believing me. “The shotgun is tucked under the seat to stop it from jostling around and maybe going off while I'm driving.”

My words made them all smile and a few of them nodded. Gun safety was very important.

“How much ammo do you have for it?” The guy I was now friends with asked.

“I've got four boxes of unused ammo and two boxes of spent shells.” I said, letting them know I was in some skirmishes without actually saying I was.

“You need to hand it over.” The black man in charge said. “No one can have live guns inside the compound.”

My eyes went to his pistol and then to the men around him with rifles on their backs.

“We only arm up when we leave the safety of the walls.” My friend said.

Since I didn't want to cause trouble, I sighed. “That's fair, I guess.” I said and held my hand out for the letter and he didn't give it back, so I stared at the black man. “When I leave, I'll get that and my gun back, won't I?”

“No.” He said and folded the letter to put inside his vest. “They're being confiscated, as is the ammo for the shotgun. Consider it a toll for staying here.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What if I don't want to stay?”

“That doesn't matter. You're here in our territory and you have to follow our rules.” He said, smugly.

“Your territory is outside the walls?” I asked, just to be sure.

“That's to protect the town and the animals from bandits and infected when they show up. We patrol this whole area, from the dam all the way up to the national park.” The idiot said.

“Okay.” I said and stepped on the gas. Since it was still in drive, the truck shot forward and they all yelled in shock.

The distance to the large wooden doors passed by almost instantly and the truck smashed through them easily. Several people screamed as I drove the truck down the main street and I skidded the truck to a stop. I stored my pistol and took out a normal shotgun and not my infinite ammo one, put on my glove, and hopped out of the truck.

“Hey, everyone!” I said and ran to the back of the truck and opened the doors. “I brought supplies here that your leader was going to steal from me, so you can have them instead!”

No one moved or said anything for several seconds, until they saw that black man and his posse riding towards the truck.

“Let's go!” A man shouted and ran over, as did his two friends. “Look at all this stuff!” He said and pulled out a box of trail rations and held it up. “There's gas, too! Hahaha!”

The truck was suddenly swarmed by people, adults and kids alike, and they fully stopped the black man and his riders from reaching me. I made a show of tucking the shotgun away and grinned at the man, whom growled angrily.

The supplies were quickly handed out and dispersed before the posse could stop anyone, which meant certain things were fairly restricted and they loved getting something they could use themselves or trade away for other things. The rounds of shoulder pats and thank yous made me feel a lot better about destroying the gate and the harsh comments the black guy received made me pretty happy. The gate was too flimsy to stop anything, anyway.

I pulled out the two Twinkies from my pocket and tossed them at my new friend, whom looked surprised by the gesture. “Do any of you know a girl named Tammy Miller? I have a message for her.”

The black guy cursed under his breath and slid off of his horse. He handed the reins to another man and glared at me.

“She's at the community centre teaching the kids.” My new friend said and munched on a Twinkie. “Damn, that's tasty.” He said and shoved the rest into his mouth. “Marius? Why don't you take Eli over to her, since she's your partner. We'll guard the road until the work crew can bring over some replacement logs to fix the doors.”

The black guy made another growl sound and started walking away. “Follow me.”

I quickly took off my platform boots and put on my sneakers, then followed him as I hung the boots over my shoulder to keep my hands free. “I suggest putting a second row of logs attached crossways to brace the doors and make them stronger!”

“Thanks for the advice.” My friend said and they trotted off back towards the town's entrance.

We reached the large building and I had seen several other things along the way, like a bar, a jailhouse, a general store, and a few other things that a budding town needed to survive. It had everything, including electricity and farm animals of all kinds, and the people looked happy.

The black man opened the door of the community centre and went inside without letting me go first. I didn't follow, because I knew he was going to ambush and attack me. It was the only explanation to not make me go first. It would also let the man shoot out through the door and not into the building, if he used his gun, which would have endangered the kids inside if he tried to shoot me in the back.

I heard a sigh from inside the building and the sound of a gun sliding out of a holster, then the black man stepped back out of the building with his gun aimed towards me. I wasn't an idiot, so I was already grabbing for it and he looked surprised for a second until my small fist slammed into his chin. His lights went right out and he dropped to the ground like a puppet with the strings cut.

I tucked his gun away behind my back and then kicked him as hard as I could between the legs. Unlike with Ted, I had learned my lesson and had no problem with disabling the jerk. I dug though his vest and retrieved the letter, put it away, and entered the community centre to look for a woman that probably looked something like what Joan did.

*

Tammy was reading to the little kids and making them laugh by using different voices for the characters, when she heard the scuffle near the front doors. She saw her man Marius for a few seconds, then he drew his gun and stepped back outside. A sigh escaped her and she closed the book.

“I'm sorry, I need to go check on Marius.” Tammy said and stood up to put the book back on the shelf.

The little girls giggled at her sneaking off to be with a boy and the little boys groaned with disappointment, because it wasn't fair that their pretty teacher already had a boy she liked.

Tammy mentally laughed at their reactions, knowing full well what the kids thought about her, and she walked over towards the door. She came to a stop when a short young man stepped inside and he stared at her like he knew who she was.

“Of course you would remind me Andrea. Who else would you look like?” He asked himself out loud and then he shook his head, as if he was trying to forget what he just said. He walked forward and held his hand out for her to shake. “I'm Eli Williams.”

“Tammy Miller.” Tammy said and shook the offered hand. “What can I do for you?”

“I have a message for you from Joan.” Eli said, his face sad.

Tammy sighed out loud. She knew it was going to be bad and she had expected it a while ago, considering the life her sister lived. “I'm going to need a drink for this.” She said and walked around him and towards the front door.

“Even your ass is the same.” Eli whispered from behind her. “Why is the world tempting me so much with the things I can't have?”

Tammy stumbled over nothing at those words, shocked that a teenager who knew better, would ever consider her wrinkled butt for anything sexual.

“Careful. There's a walking hazard coming up.” Eli joked.

Tammy stopped just outside the door and saw her man was unconscious on the ground. She stared at him for a few seconds and then glanced back at Eli. “Your work, I assume?”

“He tried to steal my shotgun and the ammo.” Eli responded.

Tammy frowned. “No one is allowed to carry firearms inside the walls.”

Eli took out her man's gun to show her and tucked it back behind his back. “I asked if I would get it back and he said he was confiscating it as a toll. I objected to that.”

Tammy sighed and walked around Marius' prone form to cross the street. “He had no right to do that. No one's supposed to be in charge and we have a committee that helps run things. It keeps everyone happy and reduces the problems we all have.”

Eli tapped her on the shoulder and she stopped walking, then she was surprised when he held out the handgun and the shotgun to her. “I have no problem handing them over. I just don't like getting robbed.”

Tammy took the pistol and tucked it behind her own back and waved the shotgun away. “If you can hide that on yourself without me noticing it, then I'm not worried you're going to use it.”

Eli smiled warmly and tucked it back inside his jacket, making the thing disappear. “Thank you.”

Tammy smiled back and motioned for him to follow her. She led him into a well stocked bar and he gave an appreciative whistle. She softly laughed at a teenager understanding what having all these different kinds of alcohol meant. After waving at a stool in front of the bar, she went behind it and grabbed a nice bottle of whiskey and a thick glass.

“Just one finger's worth, please. I haven't eaten supper yet.” Eli said and she laughed.

“This is for me, you little prick.” Tammy said, her voice full of amusement, and poured out three finger's worth of amber liquid into her glass.

“Hey, I resemble that statement.” Eli joked and Tammy made a snort sound, clearly fighting to not laugh, which made him grin at her. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a water container and he held it for a moment before he nodded at her drink. “Do you want a top off with cola?”

“As long as it's not diet.” Tammy said and put the cap back on the whiskey bottle.

“Bite your tongue, woman.” Eli said and poured some into her glass to fill it.

“Thanks.” Tammy said and handed him a glass as well.

Eli poured out enough to fill the glass and put the container away. He lifted his glass and she did as well. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” Tammy said and took a sip of her drink. She almost spat it out in surprise at how good it tasted. Her lips clamped together and she managed to swallow it, even if she wanted to just swish it around her tongue for a while. The warmth flowed down her throat and settled in her stomach, giving her a pleased feeling. “Mmmm.”

Eli chuckled and took a sip of his own glass. “I agree, it's a great vintage.”

Tammy giggled before she could stop herself. “I'd ask what brand that is if I thought you had any more of it.”

Eli smiled warmly at her and reached into the other side of his jacket and then shocked her as he pulled out a two litre bottle of Pepsi Cola. No one had seen one of those intact in almost a decade!

“I just so happened to come across a stash of these recently and brought a couple bottles along for my trip.” Eli said and set the unopened bottle on the counter.

“I'd kiss you if you hadn't beat down my guy.” Tammy said with a grin and took the bottle to set it beside the whiskey bottle.

“Eh, he deserved it.” Eli said with a shrug and took another drink of soda.

“Yeah.” Tammy said and took a sip of her drink. She gave him a pointed look for several seconds and then made a decision. She picked up her glass, the whiskey bottle, and the bottle of soda. Her nod to follow was easily understood and Eli went with her over to a small table at the side of the room.

Eli held her chair for her and made Tammy both laugh and blush, which made him laugh in turn. He didn't apologize for treating her like a date and sat across from her as she set her things on the table. He put his own glass down and waited for her to say something.

Tammy gave him another pointed look and then downed what was left in her first glass. Eli raised his eyebrows at her and she smirked at him as she made herself another drink with only one finger of alcohol. He nodded in understanding, because they were going to be there for a while.

“Before you tell me how my idiot sister died, why don't you tell me your story?” Tammy asked.

Eli took a sip of his drink. “Can I ask why?”

Tammy downed her second drink and sighed. “I want to figure out why you killed her.”

Eli opened his mouth to deny it and Tammy's hand darted out and slapped him across the face, stopping the words before they formed.

“There's no point in lying to me about it.” Tammy said and made herself another drink. “She's gone and that's it. All you can do now is tell me what happened to you and then you can tell me why she had to die for it.”

Eli rubbed his face for a few seconds, then he sighed. “I didn't even know who your sister was until about a week or so ago.”

Tammy nodded and took a sip of her drink and motioned for him to keep talking.

“I was being held in a Firefly resistance building and a deal went wrong with a local seller...” Eli started and then proceeded to tell her everything that happened.