The World We Live In | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 ♤

Chapter 10

"So you'll sacrifice two of yours just like that? It's funny because, uh, Andrew told me you and your men had a soft spot for Cristine in particular." The bones of his jaw twisted at Aaron's remark, but the rest of Troy's face remained impassive.. "I've heard some stories about your trials and tribulations... about the Indian tribe too. I get it, I do, and you'll get no judgment from me. We all did things to help the people we care about— things done for survival. Doing stuff like that with others creates a different type of understanding. You trust them with your life, and that's something no one can take away. So you'll have to excuse my French if I don't fucking believe a word you say. I'm giving you thirty minutes to give me a better offer, or I'll start cutting Cristine's fingers one by one."

"..." It was quiet after that, and Troy set the walkie on the reception desk. The lines on his forehead only deepened as he thought long and hard. Then, as if something funny lapsed through his mind, he began to shake his head at this twist of fate that led to their current predicament. "We brought these assholes right to our front door." Troy went out of his comfort zone and took a chance so they could strengthen themselves. It was something more agreed to, but he went against his nature and trusted outsiders. "Invited them into our backyard."

"None of us could have known." Cooper was the only one currently with him, watching but mostly waiting for Troy's next move. These people were serious.

"Yeah, well, we should have. Now we got a prick who wants all our stuff, or he'll kill Cristine and Hailey. They know our location. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they know when we take a shit." Rubbing the crease in his forehead with his thumb, Troy tilted his head to the side, listening and looked up at the ceiling as if the answer lay there and commented, "at least Nick and Blake managed to shut down the alarm."

"Should we call them in?" Cooper asked.

Troy shook his head. "Nah, only unless it's necessary. They call in first to minimize the risk of attracting the dead. Besides, these assholes are probably listening in on everything. Any luck with the trail?"

"Just as I thought, the sewers system stretches across the whole campus. It's connected with other buildings. We have some pretty solid clues where they headed and already eliminated two directions." Cooper showed Troy the map of the campus and marked a few buildings. It was still too many to check in the thirty-minute mark Aaron had given them, but it definitely narrowed down the range. Still, to Troy, it didn't feel like they were progressing.

"Right, keep following the tracks. Be careful of any obvious clues. I wouldn't be surprised if they prepared booby traps. It's something I would do. I'm going to check the buildings you marked. Maybe I'll spot something from outside... a way out or a chance. I'll think of something to stall this asshole."

~Flashback~

Troy grunted when Cristine slapped some ointment on his wound and hissed, "easy with that!" He shifted, eyes purposely raised at the ceiling of his home, so he didn't have to witness those eyes silently glower at him in accusation for handling things the way he did. Troy had his temperamental fits when things didn't usually go his way or when someone other than his father perhaps, challenged him. Today, that escalated in Troy, beating one of their newly vetted community members into the infirmary. Tensions were already high, and now this?!

Well, that's too bad. You did this all on your own." Cristine moved her hands over the blooming injury on his hands and cleaned it. Her expression was sour, and the way she clenched her jaw showed her exasperation with Troy. She wasn't even sure how that fight came to be, and she didn't care. Nothing excused Troy beating someone that wrong the person most likely suffered from a concussion. Just thinking about it made Cristine annoyed, and she asked, "what the hell pissed you off to lash out like the way you did?"