UNDER EDITING 𝐺𝑅𝐴𝑉𝐸 𝐷𝐴𝑁𝐺𝐸𝑅 | 𝐴𝑃𝑂𝐶𝐴𝐿𝑌𝑃𝑆𝐸 ✔︎

Confrontation

(Cooper's POV)

Making my way to Carlos' office was a bit nerve racking. How do I confront him without coming off as accusing? My mind rattles a bit until I reach his door.

I give two quick knocks before hearing a "come in."

"Ah, Cooper! What brings you here on this wonderful morning?" He can be annoyingly happy sometimes. "Uh... yeah. I just had a few things to discuss if you aren't busy?" He shakes his head with a grin. "Of course not! Have a seat." He waves towards a chair placed in front of his desk.

I give a nod before plopping down. Let's get down to business.

"So, what exactly has been troubling you?" Carlos tilts his head with a smile. I clear my throat. "Well, Jasper and Noah told me they discovered something familiar while we were in your office the other day."

"Familiar? I don't really have much in here just some junk I still need to get rid of and my supplies." He chuckles. Fuck it, let's take a chance. "Well I know it's not my place, but... would you mind if I take a look around?" His smile drops. "Do you not trust me Cooper?"

I wave my hands. "No, of course I do. It's just, if there's really nothing to hide... then what's the trouble in looking around?" I raise an eyebrow.

He clears his throat and his face becomes a more nervous look. "I think we're done here. I have a lot of work to do and I think you should leave."

I give him a questioning scowl. "Didn't you just say you weren't busy?" I cross my arms. "Well I've realized some unfinished work. Now.." He stands up. "I'm going to need you to leave before I call someone in here to get you."

I slowly stand up and make my way to the door. He's never going to let me back in here if I leave now. Once approaching the door, I reach for the handle. "Excuse me? I don't mean to be rude but hurry up." Carlos' voice shakes a bit.

I reach for the handle, and rather than opening the door... I turn the lock.

Carlos let's out a shriek before I sock him in the nose, knocking him out cold. I grab him from under his arms and drag him up to the wall, propping the limp body.

Okay... a so called "junk box" full of items from our camp. I tread around the room, looking everywhere.

After what seemed like hours of searching, I catch a glimpse of something. A beam of light reflecting onto me, coming from under Carlos' desk. I get on my hands and knees and grab at whatever the thing was.

Sure enough, a "junk box" filled with old trinkets, toys, and... junk. I glance at Carlos to makes sure he was still out of it. I slowly pull the items out. One by one, they get more familiar.

Okay... so I have proof. But what do I do with it? I don't exactly know if Jeanine was in on this, or the rest of the town for that matter. If I go around telling people about my theory of Carlos slaughtering my people, how will people react? Bad. So what exactly are my options?

I glance at Carlos again and tilt my head.

Short time skip~

I glance over to Carlos who has finally stirred awake. Muffled yells come from behind a cloth I placed on his mouth. He is tied up with a spare rope.

I make my way over to him, as intimidatingly as possible. I grab his shirts collar and pin him up against the wall. "Okay Carlos... let's talk about this again." He gives me a terrified look. We're getting somewhere.

"Why do you have things that belong to my people? Especially if you stated that you never came into any contact with anyone."

I take out my pocket knife and and flip it open with ease. I wave it a bit. "Isn't it pretty? I just sharpened it this morning." I smile. I hold the knife up to his neck before lowering the cloth from his mouth.

"Say one word, and you're done. Only speak in whispers and only when I tell you to. Got it?" I growl.

He shakily nods, still eyeballing the blade below him. "Now... tell me what I want to know."

"Cooper... none of this was my fault. It wasn't meant to be anyway! It's all a mis-"

"Shut it. Tell me what I want to know."

"I... alright. We did come across a group of people."

"My group of people."

"Y-yes... your group. We didn't know it at the time. We were desperate for supplies and extra rations so we did what we had to do."

"So you had to brutally murder my people? Bashing heads and simply letting them turn?!"

"We asked kindly for supplies but no one would give in. And... I wasn't even the one who initiated the murdering. I-I haven't even killed a biter before, let alone a person. The security here went crazy and I just watched it go down..."

I hold the knife a bit closer to his freckle covered neck. "There were families, children, and even a pregnant woman. Our group needed those things so much more than your asses."

I lift Carlos off the ground a bit, lowering my voice to a whisper. "Here's what you're gonna do for me and my family." I growl.

An audible gulp escapes him and I continue.

"I won't kill you if you can get Me, Lexi, Jasper, and Noah out of here without any questions asked. We want a vehicle with a full gas tank and one weapon for the each of us. We also want a box of that food your always giving out like toys on Christmas."

He gives a terrified thinking face before hesitantly nodding. I lower him back to the ground. "Good. I'm keeping your hands tied but I'll untie your feet so you can walk. This knife is never going away so don't try shit."

"L-let me radio one of my guys... I can get you your things faster. He won't even know what's happening."

I ponder that thought for a second before nodding. I grab his walkie talkie off of his desk and hold it up to him while pushing the button.

He explains to the man where to bring our things, just telling him that we're going on a supply run.

"Copy that, the vehicle should be at their home soon enough along with the weapons and food supply." The voice says.

"T-Thank you Jay. I'll talk to you later."

Then the radio switches off.

"I'm surprised you haven't tried anything. You seem pretty demeaning." I say while tying him up again.

"I'm smart, I'd rather not be dead. It's much easier to get you guys out of here alive then try anything and end up dead. And... I'm truly sorry for what happened. I've felt terribly about that ever since it happened. I don't know where things went wrong."

My face turns a bit more sympathetic. This weasel is just walked all over in his own community? Jesus.

I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose. "Carlos..."

He looks up at me with an inquired expression.

"...Thank you. And I'm sorry."

And with that, I sock him in the face again.

A/N~ I FEEL LIKE I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FOREVER BUT I LOVED WRITING THIS CHAPTER. I GOT TO SHOW OFF HOW BADASS COOPER IS.

ANYWAYS PLZ LMK ANY THOUGHTS IN THE COMMENTS 🧟‍♂️💕