Can't Have Shit in Kentucky (Project Zomboid) ch.12 (Patreon)

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"Who are you?" Jackie asked quickly, her voice finding strength over the din of the news casters speaking in the radio, and the murmurs of her fellow Kentuckians. As eyes turned towards her, Jackie could not help but flush. She asked her question immediately and without thinking of what might happen next. Oh god, was that rude of her to ask? 

Her reply was a swift chuckle from the Buyer who shook his head. He answered, his voice reaching gentle levity. "I am a concerned citizen. And I have come here to do what I think must be done to make sure that this problem here does not become worse than it already is." 

"And this thing you have to do...what is that?" Roy asked, a level of suspicion and accusation in his question. The old driver could not help but feel vigilant at that frank admission. These people who often believed they were doing the right thing, only to cause more harm than good. 

If the Buyer was offended, he did not make any mention of it. He spoke frankly and truly to Roy. "To put a stop to this insanity. I know where this virus started and I am going to ensure that it burns." 

Even more murmurs came from the Kentuckians. Questions and accusatory looks came upon them. Jackie could only blink at that admission. The Buyer's men and women however, made no visible reaction. 

"You...knew?" Samson asked quietly, his voice a tremble. 

"Yes and no," quizzically answered the Buyer. Samson gave him a look asking for clarification. The Buyer gave it freely. 

"We all know about the smell that filled the air weeks ago," The Buyer began, "Tell me, are there any Rosewood residents here?" 

The Kentuckians glanced at each other, that was until Rachel raised her hand. She had been quiet for most of the morning, eating silently. "I'm from Rosewood," she said. 

"How bad was the smell in your neck of the woods?" The Buyer asked. 

"Bad, like the air was being choked," Rachel admitted. "I thought it was a gas leak at first but the entire town was sniffing it." 

"The reason for that, Miss, is that the origin of the smell is closer than you think," The Buyer revealed. "It came from a government facility just west of your town. A secret government black site that tested on animals and death row prisoners for the penitentiary nearby." 

He revealed that information freely and without hesitation. He spoke with confidence and with a strong matter-of-fact, utterly sure in his beliefs. That information was received poorly from the Kentuckians however. Men stood and hollered, levelling accusations at the Buyer. They could not believe this or accept it. It was unbelievable, it was crazy. 

Insane. 

The guards tensed, stepping forward to shield the Buyer but he held up his hand. "Call me crazy as much as you want but it does not change the facts." He turned to the cowboy who produced a briefcase out of nowhere. He opened it with a audible click. The Buyer reached in and pulled out papers and pictures. With them in hand, he turned towards Roy. "Sir, if you will?" 

Roy stood quickly, walking up towards the Buyer. His guards watched the old man approach their boss but the Buyer simply stood, holding out the items in his hand. The old man accepted it and scanned through the papers quickly. The more he read, the whiter his face became. Disquiet grew in the Kentuckians as they watched Roy's expression changed. Lowering the papers, he sat down and placed it on the table for the others to read. 

The Kentuckians stood up and leaned over it. Samson took ahold of it and read it aloud for the benefit of the others. "The facility is a large, multi-fenced compound. It has high towers at each side. It is lit well and the..." He leaned it, his words in disbelief as he continued. "Former guards are seen walking along the compound walls or perimeter." 

He glanced up. "Former guards?" 

"Look at the pictures," The Buyer said. 

Samson glanced down and did so. Jackie peered over and saw it as well. Well-produced pictures revealing a lit facility with high walls. It looked well-lit as the report said but there were other things that was just wrong to Jackie. The shambling and hunched military men standing by the walls or inside. Some of whom had blood dripping down their equipment. 

"Oh my god," someone whispered. 

"These were taken by Cowboy here," The Buyer revealed. "Him and his team went there, snooped for a few days and took pictures as well as videos." 

"That's right," Cowboy affirmed. "We weren't seen, thankfully. The entire facility is dead." 

Unease settled in Jackie's stomach as she processed the information she was receiving. From zombies to a conspiracy from the government to create zombies. They really were in a insane world for fiction to be made real. 

"But...but why?" Elis asked, his face heartbroken. And his morning started so pleasant with his friends.  "Why would the government make something like this?" 

The Buyer regarded Elis carefully. With a firm yet gentle tone, he spoke. "We do not know," The Buyer admitted. "The most likely culprit is the government or even some other group. As for why, biological warfare is likely. I cannot say on the specifics however." 

Biological warfare. That was something Roy was familiar. Memories of war flashed into his mind, of entire forests laid low as the Arsenal of Democracy laid Mother Nature low. A sigh escaped his lips, a tired sigh of an old soldier. Jackie reached out, planting a supporting hand on the old man. He looked up, smiled at her slightly, before looking back to the papers on the table. 

"You mentioned that there were other forms of spread. What were they?" Roy asked. 

"It's unconfirmed," The Buyer said. "Low quality meat from Spiffo's that had a rabid form of mad cow disease, improperly stored toxic waste that was viral, and more. It could be those, it could be not. But the most likely vector of transmission is that facility spitting poison into the air. I do not have to explain why its continuous fuming is bad news for everyone." 

Jackie and the others grasped at that The Buyer was trying to say. A facility constantly spitting the virus into the air. It could be carried high into air, and onto different continents. A poisonous fume that would turn otherwise normal and healthy people into monsters. 

"Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Samson asked again, his voice a tremble. Anger perhaps, at the Buyer's inaction. The Buyer however fixed him a look. 

"Would you have believed me if I presented this to the public?" The Buyer asked Samson candidly. Samson's tremble was muted slightly as he thought about it and shook his head. Jackie too wouldn't have believed the Buyer either. Zombies? Chemical weapons? That was simply crazy. 

"And that comes back to the reason why I am here," the Buyer continued, speaking up as the disquieted Kentuckians glanced at each other. "All of this; the guns, the men and this compound, I have built in Kentucky to deal with this threat. I am going to destroy that facility and burn it to the ground. I rather like my life, the comforts of civilization. I am not interested in living in a world where I have to deal with anarchy and the dead at the same time. I am utilizing everything I have in my disposal to deal with this." 

He glanced up. "You all can choose to stay here. I am not going to kick anyone out, not when the outside is clearly unsafe. But if you do, you follow my rules and pull your weight. If you wish to leave, I will not stop you I'll even give you supplies that you'll need." He fixed his collar, glancing at each and everyone in the room. 

"So, what will it be?"

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A/N: Revelations about.