Rot & Ruin (Rot & Ruin, #1)(111)

too. “Kid wants to have a fireside chat, boys. Ain’t that cute?”

“Maybe he wants to know how to grow a set!” yelled one man.

“Maybe he wants to join,” suggested Vin Trang.

“Maybe he wants to cry about what happened to Tom,” offered the Hammer, who was scuffed and blackened, but did not look much worse for wear. He gave Benny a truly murderous look, and Benny

knew that if the Hammer got his hands on him, he’d make him pay very dearly for what had just happened.

Benny could have taken his shot when Charlie was turned away, but he kept hoping that Lilah would show up. One more diversion was all he needed to rescue Nix. But all he heard in the woods

behind him was the diminishing splat of raindrops on leaves and the moan of the wind through the trees.

Showing no trace of concern that a gun was pointed at him, Charlie turned back to Benny. “Sure, kid. … You got some burning question you want to ask, then ol’ Charlie’d be happy to

oblige. Charlie’s everybody’s friend.”

The bounty hunters all laughed at that.

“Why do you do this?” Benny demanded. “I mean, how can you live with yourself after everything you’ve done?”

The big bounty hunter chuckled. “Grow up, boy. You think I’m evil? Sure, you want to hang that word on me, because I use muscle to take what I want, but you don’t have a clue about how

the world works. It’s the same now as it was before First Night. Anyone says different is a fool or a liar.”

He took a step closer, and Benny reflexively backed away. Charlie looked pleased, and he bent forward and leered at Benny.

“You look at me and you see the Big Bad Wolf. You think I’m some kind of monster. Well, there’s a lot worse than ol’ Charlie out here in the Ruin, and I ain’t talkin’ about zoms. You

got no idea what evil is.”

“I’m looking at it.”


“Hell, boy, I ain’t evil. I’m just the guy that’s in power. I’m a conqueror, like all them great kings and generals in history. You want to call me evil because of Gameland? You think

that’s the height of evil? Boy, there are people who conquered half the world, slaughtered whole populations, wiped cultures off the face of the planet, and you know what history calls

them? Heroes! Kings, presidents, champions, explorers. You think America was settled by white men because the Indians invited us here? No, we took this land because we were stronger, and

that’s how every page of human history is written. It’s just our nature. We’re a predator species, top of the food chain. Survival of the fittest is written in our blood, it’s stenciled

on every gene of our DNA. The strong take and the strong make, and the weak are there only to help them do it. End of story.”

“You’re wrong.” The gun was getting impossibly heavy. Benny’s whole arm trembled.

“I can see it in your eyes, boy, you know I’m right. You’re so wrapped up in wanting to be a hero your ownself that you can’t admit it.” He took another step, and Benny yielded ground

again. It was that or pull the trigger, and he couldn’t make himself do it. Not yet. Charlie said, “I know they teach you pups history in school. They teach you about the old world, about

the heroes who built this great nation, blah, blah, blah. But do you think any general anywhere ever won a war without taking exactly what he wanted, whenever he wanted? Or without letting

his men have what they needed, whenever they needed it? All through history the winners ran rampant when they conquered a city or a country, and it was one big party—just as it should be.

If a man is going to put his life on the line, then he deserves some benefits. It’s only fair.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not some general fighting an invading army. You’re not freeing anyone. You’re not fighting for anything!”

Charlie’s face darkened. “Oh I’m not, am I? Well, learn a little of your own history then. I was there when we found Mountainside. Me, Charlie Matthias. I helped build that stinking town.

I scouted the first trade route through the Ruin. I brought the first wagons of supplies from the cities to help reinforce the fence. I was the one who raided the hospital and brought back

half a ton of medical supplies. Most of the men who protect the traders and city scavengers now work for me or were trained by me. And I brought more survivors, including a couple hundred

whole families out of the Ruin to Mountainside. I’ve saved more people than you ever met, my young pup. So don’t tell me I haven’t been fighting for anything.”

He took one more step, and this time Benny was too flummoxed to step back.

“Benny!” yelled Nix. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to confuse you.” She would have said more, but the Hammer flexed the massive muscles in his arm, and his biceps choked Nix

to silence. Benny licked his lips.

Charlie said, “Once upon a time I met a group of travelers in these mountains, who were half dead and running from a pack of zoms. A group that included a skinny Japanese kid and his baby

brother … and I showed them the path to Mountainside. So, boy, you want to get your facts right before you tell me that I ain’t been fighting the good fight. A hundred years from now, when