Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 644: Slave traders Vs Zadok.

The wind pushed dust across the broken highway like a lazy ghost.

On one side of the road stood Zadok and his men_ a few remained, guns raised and faces hard as old leather.

On the other side stood the superhuman traders, tall men with scarred faces who looked like they had survived too many fights and enjoyed the next one already.

Between them stood three miserable prisoners. Ceaser Rommel, once one of the most powerful men in the country. Now, he looked like a frightened goat at a slaughterhouse. His clothes were torn, his hair dusty, and his hands shook so badly he kept rubbing them together like he was trying to start a fire. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Next to him were Zadok’s prisoners, Linda Bing with her wrists chained together. She had stopped crying after being captured and now simply stared ahead with hollow eyes. Dustin stood beside her. He looked worse than the others. His face was swollen, one eye almost closed, and dried blood covered his shirt. Somehow, he was still standing but barely. If only he had not tried to resist being Zadok’s captive two days ago, then he would not be in such bad shape.

From the broken second floor of an abandoned gas station nearby, a group of teenagers watched the entire scene like it was the most interesting show in the world. They crouched behind cracked walls and shattered windows, dirty, hungry, and curious. Their leader sat cross-legged on the window ledge chewing dried meat slowly like he had nowhere important to be. It was Emmet Jotter.

He had messy hair, sharp eyes, and the calm smile of someone who had done terrible things and slept very well afterwards. Beside him crouched a girl named Estella with her arms crossed, looking irritated. Somehow, that made her brown freckles more prominent.

"What do we do?" she whispered.

Emmet didn’t answer immediately. He leaned forward slightly, studying the scene below. "I know that man," he said finally.

Estella squinted. "Which one?"

"The one shaking like a broken washing machine." Emmet pointed at Ceaser.

"The old one?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

Emmet grinned slightly. "Someone important, did you not ever watch the news?"

Behind them one of the boys nearly choked. "No.....too much homework dude!"

"And which kid our age watched the news?" Another added. There were other interests to pursue before the apocalypse arrived. Things like games, snacks and more games.

"Shhhh!" Estella slapped his arm.

Emmet kept watching. "I heard my father say he named himself president and our country was going to go to hell because he did not know how to balance wars and the economy." he shared calmly.

The other children looked at him in wonder. Emmet had brought them so far that he looked like a god in their eyes. Their merry band of thirty-six all depended on him for guidance.

Down on the road Zadok suddenly kicked Ceaser forward. Ceaser stumbled and almost fell face first in the dirt. "Take those two," Zadok told the traders, pointing his gun at Ceaser and Linda. "They are Superhumans. You will sell them at a good price. You do not have to pay us anything. They will do well at the Superhuman market."

Upstairs one of the kids whispered, confused. "What is the Superhuman market?"

Emmet frowned. "Where people like you and me are sold.... keep up. All those traffickers we dodged and killed were hunting for superhuman children and adults."

The tall leader of the traders laughed loudly. He was huge, with deep cut marks across his face like someone had tried to carve a road map on his skin. "Why would we take just two," the tall man said slowly, "when we can take all of you?"

Zadok blinked and the confidence slowly drained from his face, they were low on ammunition, hungry and tired_ not in the condition to fight.

Ceaser began shaking harder. "Oh no," he whispered to himself. "Oh no no no." He suddenly dropped to his knees. "I can give you a better deal!" he shouted quickly. If they said yes, he would kill Zadok the traitor first. How dare he try to sell him to slave traders?

One of Zadok’s men lifted his gun and smacked Ceaser hard on the back of the head. "Shut up!"

But the tall trader raised his hand. "Wait. "He tilted his head slightly. "Let him speak."

Ceaser immediately crawled forward like a desperate salesman at a dying market. "They are not telling you everything!" he blurted loudly.

Zadok’s eyes widened with fury. "Ceaser shut up_" Moon Raine was the golden ticket for whoever found her. Giving her up was out of the equation.

"We are looking for a woman!" Ceaser shouted quickly. "Moon Raine! We want the 30 million bounty which is on her head. Not just the money but supplies too and a place to live in Fortress four. The Quinn’s have money; they are the ones looking for her. She is part of their family."

Zadok cursed, wishing that he had let the yellow man kill Ceasar when they had the chance.

The traders exchanged curious glances. Even Emmet upstairs leaned forward slightly with interest. He knew where Moon Raine was and who had her. He also wanted that man dead.

Ceaser pointed shakily at Dustin. "That man is her father! He can be used to lure her out."

Dustin slowly lifted his head. His eyes were empty and tired. He said nothing. This was like a game of chess, and he was a pawn on a table. Whoever won would take him.

The traders suddenly burst into laughter. Not normal laughter. The kind that made everyone uncomfortable.

"Moon Raine, the tall man repeated with delight. Without warning he raised his gun.

Bang.

Zadok fell instantly.

His men barely had time to react before the traders opened fire. Gunshots exploded across the road. Bodies dropped into the dust.

Ceaser screamed and covered his head while Linda cried out in terror. Regret filled her soul. If only she had stayed at her school!

Within seconds it was over. Zadok and all his men were dead. Only Dustin stood trembling in the middle of the road.

The traders lowered their guns slowly. One of them grinned. "Well," he said proudly, "that was easy."

Upstairs Emmet sighed. "Well, that ruins my mood."

Estella looked at him. "So?"

Emmet stood up slowly. "Time to ruin theirs." He looked at his group and smiled. "Kill everyone except those three."

"Emmet says we kill the traders." Estella repeated to the others as if they did not understand. "Lambs and wolves, assemble."