𝙵𝙻𝙴𝚂𝙷 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙱𝙾𝙽𝙴 | 𝚃. 𝙾𝚃𝚃𝙾 𐂃

- The Otto's -

"Walker seemed appeased by my offer to give him our bottled reserves." Troy stood at the sidelines of their living room, watching his older brother with unblinking eyes. It's been three whole days since his betrayal to cross sides and sabotage his plan to fight the Nation head on. The suggestion sounded ludicrous, entitled and Troy tried his best to snap at Jake's weak mentality. Their father, luckily, shut down Jake's suggestion they offer their water reserves to the Nation his face scrunched up in disgust.

"No!" Jeremiah whipped halfway around, glowering his eldest son up and down at the idiocy of his idea. "We might need them and they sound desperate."

Jake looked exhausted and it wasn't just because of the long trip back and forth and the time he'd been at the Nation. He had to convince his father or else all their sacrifices were for nothing. There needed to be more than fighting, surviving and taking actions based solely on survival. "They are. They're ready to take it from us if we can't come to some kind of agreement."

Troy couldn't hold his tongue anymore and his voice dripped with sarcasm, "they already tried to take the Ranch from head on when we were fighting them... hell, we'd have won if you didn't betray us- your people and pull what you did." His accusation near the end was hot and brittle with fury. Meeting his brother's pale blue eyes head on, Troy raised his chin, jaw tense and the expression within them reeked of annoyed disdain for what his own blood did. "We had a plan and you ruined it."

"Just because you thrive on bloodshed and violence doesn't mean it's the only option little brother." Jake gave Troy a look. "When I heard what Walker did to the Trimbols, it made it more urgent to form this parley and do better. I'm trying to protect the Ranch with a long-term solution." Jake justified in an accusatory tone, which only drove the hot coal behind Troy's eyes to its next boiling point.

Troy scoffed, "the hell do you know about it? You haven't a damn clue what this Ranch is about! You never did and now you're ruining our chances of survival and put us at risk with a madman who'd scalp you... and you know what you'd let him. What's does your death wish look like?" His voice was lower now, a bit more controlled, but still seething with anger that is now Jake's target. How hypocritical and naïve was his brother?! He couldn't believe his father looked to him to lead this place when he was never here in the past. Now Jake dared to spout nonsense about him not protecting the Ranch when all he did was preach diplomacy and peace as if they were in fantasy land? Troy knew he was the one that always protected the Ranch at any cost, but he was the problem?! Troy closed the distance between him and his brother and briefly glanced ignoring his father and everything else around him, the anger slowly simmering in his gut.

"You gonna fight for what's yours like I have or you gonna surrender it like some coward, huh?" He asked his brother. It was a question that had been on his mind longer than today, even before the end of the world. Heck, ever since Jake left for college, studied to become a layer, he'd secretly admonish his brother for not ever being here.

"That's not your call, is it?" Jake answered back, knowing that his younger brother simply wanted to get a rise out of him. He knew Troy like the back of his hand and the hurt of losing his best friend had cut deeper than a knife in the back. Him going to the Nation felt like betrayal to Troy, but it wasn't

"No. You gonna fight or you gonna surrender?" Troy repeated the question and stepped even closer to his brother who wasn't falling for his taunts. Inside, he sneered as Jake wasn't even motivated or angry enough over the fact that he just left them defenseless, weaker and treated the Ranch as a joke... a hobby. This was his home!

Then Jake said something to Troy that did hit a nerve, "you're not in charge are you?" Flexing his fist, Troy finally let his anger get the best of him and slammed his fist down on Jake's face.

Angrily, Jeremiah darted towards his son. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, raising his hand and hit Troy across the face.

"Dad, no!" Jake called, but his father wouldn't listen as he continued to hit Troy a second time. He got between them the third time Jeremiah wanted to strike his brother. "Dad stop!" Jake put himself as a shield between his father and Troy and pushed the elder man back, panting roughly.

"God damn it!" Jeremiah cussed and cradled his beating hand. His body wasn't pliable anymore and Troy had grown and became sturdier. Grinding his teeth, Jeremiah looked up at his sons. Troy; the chip on his shoulders and Jake; the weak crybaby. He'd always seen them as children, didn't think of them as men and came to mind on his sober days. Jeremiah jabbed a finger at the two and his tone darkened, "we're not attacking. The Nation's on sharp again and will think twice before coming back. You go and focus on the tasks that I gave you boy or I swear to god." He then glowered at Jake, "our water reserves stay here. We might need them."

"We have the wells-"

"And if they go dry? Have you ever thought about a possible drought coming? Water is the new currency and I'm not going to waste all of that with those assholes."

"And risk war?" Jake asked in disbelief at his father's pride.

"We're already at war! Always have been even before the Apocalypse! You think they'll be satisfied by one drop and not demand a gallon?" Jeremiah palmed his beating hand and tauntingly asked his eldest, "the bleeding hearts of those savages finally got to you Jake?"

"Dad we can lose everything if we can't make room to meet the Nation halfway."

"We already lost Phil, Vernon and his family! They're here to slaughter us and I'll let this place burn before I ever give it up." Jeremiah sneered, ending the conversation once and for all. "I'm still alive and this is my property and the two of you best get that through your minds."