The return trip to Bunker City was deathly silent with neither Kyle nor Daniel speaking a word about what they'd seen or what they intended to do about it. They crossed the perimeter wall without saying anything to the guards, heading straight for the assembly hall to make their report.

***

"How many weapons do they have to direct against us?" one of the community leaders asked when the large chamber had been called to order.

"Their arsenal is significant," Kyle answered simply. "You cannot hold against them."

"You seem to doubt our resolve and our defenses," the Mayor suggested.

"No sir," Kyle immediately denied. "When we were approaching the Citadel, one of their soldiers found a zombie near our position and killed it with a rifle on full automatic. As you know, with bullets in short supply and no one manufacturing more, wasting a single round of ammunition is unthinkable. There are two possibilities. Either the guard was a rookie who didn't know any better, or the Citadel has bullets in such a great quantity they can afford to waste them without worry."

A nervous ripple passed through the crowd with whispered discussions quickly erupting across the room.

"Considering the amount of equipment and weapons they were stockpiling, they're coming after us with everything they can," Kyle finished. "We don't have enough people or weapons to fight them."

"We're in a corner," Daniel added. "We can't run as we have nowhere to go and too many hostiles prowling the world to allow us the time to set up somewhere else safely. There is also no guarantee they won't follow in retribution for the killing of their messenger. Running for our lives or staying to fight an impossible battle are the only two choices we have."

Whispering in the crowd was quickly replaced by angry and fearful shouting as panic set in and they looked for someone to blame. They found their target in Kyle, and many rushed forward to lay hold of him.

"Guards!" the Mayor shouted, and armed soldiers charged through the doors to forcibly restore order and protect Kyle from the mob quickly forming and threatening to kill him on the spot. Although the crowds were restrained, their hostility endured.

"You two are to come with us," one of the town leaders ordered. Like all the town leadership, she wore a simplistic attire of a white linen shirt and black pants. One of the things setting her apart from the others was the bright red hair braided halfway down her back, and it whipped behind her like a snake as she spun around and led the exit of the leadership through a rear door and into private chambers.

Daniel and Kyle were escorted to the rear door, guards pressing around them on all sides to keep the angry crowd at bay. A very animated discussion between the city leaders was already underway when Daniel and Kyle were dragged in, only letting them here the last of what was being said.

"We can't give in," the redhead stated firmly. Megan Conners was reported to having a fiery temper, but her devotion to the city was unmatched. At thirty years old, she'd managed to accumulate a very impressive record in her years of service to the point it was a near certainty she'd be Mayor after Bergstrom left office.

"What would suggest?" the Mayor demanded. "If we don't impose some kind of penalty, the city will enact their own form of judgement the moment he's left unguarded. Are we supposed to keep him watched at all times, or perhaps place him in protective custody?"

"Let him go and shoot the first person who tries to harm him," Megan suggested casually. "If rule of law is to be maintained, we can't have people taking matters into their own hands every time a judgement is rendered they don't like."

"If justice is to be maintained, there must be punishment for crimes," the Mayor countered. "Kyle, you made a mistake shooting that man, and as you can tell from the crowd's response, we can't let this go unanswered."

"He made no mistake," Megan argued, her hands clenching into fists.

"The people say he did," Mayor Bergstrom insisted.

"They're wrong!" Megan shouted. "Are we to uphold justice or merely the whim of the crowd?"

"We can't be trying to put down a riot just as the enemy force engages us," the Mayor pointed out. "It's already an impossible fight, and we need everyone focused on the task at hand. In order to do that, we must quell any dissent immediately. The best way I can think of is to enact some form of punishment in order to diffuse this situation."

"He's fought for this city since its founding," Megan reminded. "Are we going to turn our backs on him?"

"He's sacrificed much for this city, and he must now do so again," the Mayor softly, his gaze dropping to the floor. "If there were any other way, I wouldn't do this, but I must think of the city as a whole."

The Mayor looked toward Kyle. "Because of your actions, many people may die who wouldn't have otherwise. For this crime, and by my authority as Mayor, you are hereby exiled from Bunker City, effective immediately. Guards, remove him."

Strong hands clamped down around Kyle's forearms and pulled him toward the door, dragging him from the council chambers and past the angry people of the town he'd spent years defending.