PART ONE
Her eyes pierced through the dark street, settling on the dangling and decrepit sign of the pharmacy, it's neon long having been used up and the colors fading rapidly with each rain that came down. From behind the overturned and burned-out car on the opposite side of the road, she could spot the large white metal shelves inside the pharmacy, hopefully still full of medicine and other health supplements.
If the city hadn't have been so populated when the outbreak hit them, this wouldn't be so dangerous, she thought, eyes catching movement to the side. Two shambling figures, slow and mindless, meandered their way across the sidewalk. Their ashy gray skin and torn sections of flesh looked even more disgusting and menacing in the dark. Zombies. Even from a distance, their ragged moans carried on the wind, and she winced at the sound. Lexi never could get used to their sounds, the thought of them having once been people still at the back of her mind.
They walked their way across the road, to the right of the pharmacy, until they disappeared behind the buildings on the other side. At least she knew they were there. The silent and unseen ones were the most dangerous. And she could handle just two, idly touching the handle of the hunting knife on her belt. Any more than that and things could get complicated.
Deciding that she'd waited long enough to survey the location, Lexi hoisted up her trusty AR-15 and rose from her cover behind the ruined car. Her boots made only hollow thuds against the ground as she half-walked, half-jogged towards the next available object to hide behind. This car, once a bright red, wasn't burned but scratched all over the sides and doors, crushed beyond use. From this new vantage point closer to the street intersection, she dropped a knee and peered over the wreck.
To her right she could see the two undead from before, still oblivious to her presence. Her gaze swung left. Further down there was a group of four or five more zombies, still quite a ways and of no concern to her if she was quiet enough. Some stood, swaying with the wind, while the rest shambled aimlessly in the street.
Lexi trained her eyes on the drug store entrance, not seeing any significant defensive value in the glass thing. She sighed, reaching for the pack on her back. It was lighter than she would have liked it to be, but that was why she was braving the more dangerous streets of the city to begin with. Having little food or medicine would kill her off far quicker than those mindless husks of what were once human. Unlatching the hooks, she opened the flap, reaching inside to grab her thick padlock, the key dangled on her necklace so she wouldn't lose it.
It seemed she'd have to improvise some sort of barricade once she got inside. She didn't like using her padlock very much, simply because in a tight spot it was very easy to forget about it. Pharmacies usually had large metal shelving units that held the medication. Lexi didn't know how heavy they were, or how loud it would be to move them, but maybe it would work out to use those instead. But all of that was warranted on the door being open. There was no telling what the state of the door or inside would be until she actually got there.
Adjusting her army cap in place, and double-checking her assault rifle, she watched only for a second longer before ducking out from behind the crushed car. Kicking away trash and debris from underfoot, her ear was trained on the two closer zombies, waiting for that distinct wail that they'd picked up her fleshy scent. In this moment, the darkness aided her, shielding her from the diminished sights of the moaning and groaning undead. It also looked like the ones further down hadn't spotted her, for which she breathed a sigh of thanks. Her hurried steps took her straight to the door, grabbing the handle with a quick tug. It stuck.
'Dammit.' She thought, scowling at the thing and dropping to a crouch on the ground. Of course it wouldn't be that easy. She reevaluated her options.
Looking around, there was a chain-link fence directly next to the pharmacy, maybe blocking off a back-entrance in the alley. It was worth a shot, since she wasn't getting in through the front anytime soon without alerting all the cannibalistic creatures on the street.
Strapping her rifle across her shoulders, she stuffed the padlock in her pocket and grabbed onto the fence, hoisting herself up. The links shook with a soft rattle, but that was enough for the two closer ones to hear, and they groaned loudly. Throwing care to the wind, Lexi scrambled up the fence as quickly as she could, hearing the fast footsteps quickly approaching her. It seemed they had alerted the other group, because she heard load moans further down the street coming closer as well.
Ignoring that paralyzing fear in her heart that she wouldn't be fast enough, she continued to climb, finally reaching the top and swinging her leg around to the other side.
Safely able to look behind her, she watched as the two terrifying monsters ambled along towards her position, and she swung the other leg over the top, clinging to the metal fence as she climbed down the other side.
Once she was down far enough, she let go of the fence and dropped the rest of the way, hitting the ground seconds before the two slammed against the metal fence, clawing through the links to snatch at her. She backed away, catching her breath. Not far behind these two came the other group. They crowded around the other two, groaning, moaning, and snarling at the flesh and meat out of their reach. The chains bent towards her under the piled weight of their bodies, and she feared they would push the whole thing over, or create a hole in the bottom large enough for them to get through.
Staring at the creatures, she pulled on her pair of gloves and zipped up the leather jacket, covering every bit of exposed flesh on her arms as she could. Survivors of the outbreak had found out very quickly that even a tiny scratch from one of the infected could turn you in a matter of hours. It was better to avoid close combat with them in the first place, but firing off her gun in the middle of the infested city was not a good idea.
Lexi pulled out a bandana from her bag, the stench of all those rotting and disgusting bodies sending a wave of nausea through her. No matter how often she came into contact with these things, the smell was the worst, and it seemed to be unique to each one. The usual rot and ruin was there, but whatever they'd before seemed to have an influence on their stink as well. The closest thing she could compare it to was a mix of rotting fish and raw sewage, all mixed together.
Tying the thin fabric around her nose and mouth, she pulled her knife from her hip and slowly approached the fence, keeping her distance from their hands. Then, almost as an afterthought but a good idea, she began cutting off their hands one by one, eliminating the possibility of being grabbed or scratched. They fell to the ground with disgusting thuds, piling up on the opposite side of the fence from them, until all 12 or so hands had been severed from their bodies.
The hungry creatures did nothing but continue to moan, snapping their mouths as if to eat her from this distance. Lexi waited until one of their heads were directly against the fence, before her knife buried itself in it's brain, pulling it back to safety before they could bite through her gloves. Immediately it went limp, the moans coming to a stop. It's handless arms slipped through the links as it fell to the ground, but the others simply stepped over it's fallen body to try to get closer to her.
Lexi waited patiently as she carefully killed each one, always mindful of where her hands were in relation to their mouths. If you didn't take every precaution, one slip up could cost you your life, after all.
Finally, the last moans died away, the zombie slumping to the ground with the other five, and Lexi let out a sigh of relief when all was quiet again.
Pulling away the bandana, she used it to wipe off the blood from her blade, reattaching it to her hip once it was clean. Turning to the back of the small alley, she saw the door set into the brick wall of the building. Approaching it, she turned the knob, smiling when it opened after a little shove of her shoulder.
Pulling her knife once more, she crouching in the doorway, listening for any sign of those rotting things inside. After several seconds of silence, she finally shut the door behind her, dropping to the floor to rummage through her backpack again. She pulled out the flashlight, flicking the switch on and straightened again, pulling the straps back over her shoulders.
Lexi slowly moved the beam through the interior of the place, looking around. The inside looked relatively untouched, having seen more trashed and scavenged places in her travels before. The locked entrance must had deterred many a scavenger in the past. Most of the shelves were empty, so someone had gotten in before, but there were a lot more places to look throughout the building, so she systematically searched each one.
There were a few bottles of tylenol and generic antibiotics that had rolled under the third shelf, and she stuffed those in her pack. An opened bottle of birth control pills had spilled all over the floor and bottom shelf of one of the units, but she ignored that. Her quiet steps took her through aisle after aisle, snatching up all the pills and bandages she could find. Whoever had gone through here before must have left in a hurry, since there was still a lot of supplies left behind.
At the back shelves, it seemed more of the medication had been forgotten or ignored. There were several bottles of cream and ointment, and she took those as well. You never knew what would come up, and she wanted to be prepared for anything. For what she had expected to come away with in this pharmacy, she was pleasantly surprised by the amount of supplies still left there, and her pack was soon feeling a lot heavier than before, a comforting weight.
Her body froze when she heard a thump upstairs. Eyes to the ceiling, she recalled that from the street she could see an apartment or two above the pharmacy. This was probably family-owned then, with the previous owners living above their shop. Another thump above her head, and she automatically placed a hand on her knife, walking carefully through the aisle towards the back of the shop. There was a door with the sign in the middle that said 'Employees Only.' It was the only other door she could see. Getting closer, she saw that it was ajar a few inches, and Lexi's eyes narrowed. Someone was definitely there, whether they be alive or undead had yet to be determined.
Pushing the door open far enough for her to go through, she swung her flashlight at the steps leading up. They were free from debris and clean, except for very obvious muddy boot heading up them. She crouched down, touching the spots with a hand. The mud was dry, crumbling beneath her fingers. Too old to be the person she could hear walking around up there.
Straightening, she heard another thump and decided to investigate. Ascending the stairs quietly, she turned to face the landing up top, seeing two doors set apart in the hallway. They were numbered 1 and 2, and she assumed they were individual apartments. There was another thump, sounding suspiciously like a wooden object, and Lexi pressed her ear to the first apartment door, hearing nothing. Not in there. Swallowing thickly, she kept her flashlight beam close to her, not wanting to attract the attention of whoever was inside the second apartment preemptively.
Reaching the door of the second living space, she could hear the shuffling sound louder inside, of boots against tile and the opening and closing of cabinets. So, it was probably a survivor like her. She felt a bit of joy at the thought of someone else still being alive in this hellish world. Still, the very real threat still remained that the mystery person was hostile, or that she'd be robbed or killed for her supplies.
But, her curiosity won out. Nevertheless, she unslung her assault rifle just in case.
Pushing open the door with the barrel of her gun, she stepped inside carefully. The dark apartment showed no sign of life, litter and trash all over the floor. She remained quiet, though her foot brushed against the corner of the couch as she passed, creating a similar thumping sound.
The person stopped, all noise ceasing. They were in the kitchen by the sound of it, and she moved to circle around towards it, then stopped. Lexi licked her lips, deciding that simply taking the person by surprise would be a bad and possibly fatal idea.
"I know you're there, but I'm not hostile. I was downstairs scavenging and I heard you moving around."
Still, there was no sound from the kitchen. Obviously they didn't quite believe her. Though they had no reason to take her word for it. She'd react the same if the roles were switched. Still, if they hadn't turned the corner and started filling her with bullets already, that was also a good sign.
"We have no reason to trust each other." She said obviously, hoping to get at least some response from whoever was there. She didn't bother turning the corner to see them herself, they might take it as a hostile action and attack. No, she would let them come out. "I understand that."
She glanced at the floor, then her weapon. Sighing silently, she clicked on the safety of her gun and held her hands out harmlessly. Knowing the other person couldn't see that, she slowly crouched to the ground. "I'm going to put my weapon down." There was a thump as the metal hit the floor gently, and she rose back up, taking a few steps away from her weapon for good measure. "Full disclosure, I have a knife as well, but I'd prefer to keep that."
There was still silence, but finally she heard a scuffle of movement, and the figure stepped out cautiously from their position behind the counter.
It was a man, dressed in an dark blue shirt, and strangely spotted pants, their pattern mimicking that of a white and black hat strapped to his and lean, he held a sword in both hands. Her eyes widened, not expecting that in the slightest. Though, thinking about it, it wasn't such a bad weapon of choice. It gave him a wide range of attack. His hands were tattooed, his gray eyes narrowing as he inspected her hands up, showing to him she was harmless and unarmed. Taking in the gun laying on the ground a few feet from her, he stepped out a little more, though still not lowering his own weapon.
"Who are you?" He asked, his voice low. She swallowed again, eyeing the sharp blade of his sword.
"My name's Lexi."
"Are you alone?"
She nodded. "I travel by myself. And I don't have an encampment or company that I go back to, if that's what you mean. Lone wolf, ya know?" She gave a little grin, a sad attempt at humor. He said nothing. inspecting her equipment and the knife on her hip. "Umm…what about you?"
He didn't bother to answer, but the tip of his sword lowered a few inches. It seemed he was beginning to trust her, just a little bit. Or, just thought that she wasn't much of a threat. Then, deciding something, he reached behind him and slid the blade back into its sheath, standing up fully. Lexi lowered her hands, still making sure to keep her right away away from the knife.
"How did you get in here? I watched the entrance for awhile and never saw you enter."
He glanced to the side, and she followed his gaze. There was an open window, with a fire escape landing right outside. Her confusion cleared, and she turned back to him. "The roof?"
He nodded silently.
"What's your name? You know mine but I don't know yours." He seemed to regard her for a moment before responding.
"Law."
"Well, a pleasure to meet you."
They stood in silence after that, neither one quite sure what to do or say next. Lexi glanced down at the floor, where her discarded weapon lay. "Can I pick that back up?" She pointed to the gun, and he simultaneously pulled his sword free again.
She only stared, waiting for some confirmation from him. Finally, seeming to trust her not to go shooting up the place at the very least, he nodded, watching intently as she lowered herself to pick it up. Careful to keep the barrel away from him, she slung it over her shoulder again, holding up her hands in surrender after, just to make sure he knew she intended no harm.
He sighed deeply, returning his own weapon to the sheath on his back. He kept his back away from her but returned to searching the cabinet he'd been working on when she came in.
"I've cleared most of this apartment, so I'll be on my way soon." He commented, inspecting a can of something from within, finally grabbing his bag and stuffing it inside. Lexi nodded, wandering over to the living room and looking around idly. There were a few picture frames of the previous owners. A mother and her children smiling with their faces pressed together. A wedding photo of the same woman, standing in her white dress beside her suit-wearing husband. They looked happy.
"Are you alone, too?" Lexi asked quietly, and Law paused what he was doing to glance at her. It was a long pause, and she almost thought he wouldn't answer. This didn't surprise her, seeing as he was even more untrusting of people than she was. Perhaps that was the smarter idea.
"No." He finally said, tossing away a useless empty can. "I have a small group."
"Have you ever travelled alone before?" She cocked her head, returning her attention to the black-haired man still rummaging through the cabinets. She thought about helping him search but eventually changed her mind, knowing he probably wouldn't be very comfortable with that, seeing as his trust in her was still about as far as he could throw her.
"Yes." He replied gruffly. She smiled, finding his voice pleasant.
"How different is it? Being in a group?" Her voice grew quiet, another glance at the picture frames. He stopped then, staring at her from the corner of his eyes. It seemed as though Law couldn't quite figure her out, but at least he seemed to be relaxing in her presence.
"It's a lot more responsibility." He eventually answered, checking the expiration date on a can of tomato soup. "More to scavenge, more people to feed, and the greater the risk of being spotted by those zombies."
"Those all sound like reasons not to be in a group." She smiled, crossing her arms. Lexi couldn't quite figure out Law either. So stern and quiet, hesitant to speak, as if saying anything at all could put him in danger. What did he think she'd do? Follow him back to his camp and murder them in their sleep? She pursed her lips, thinking that maybe that was exactly the reason.
"Even if they aren't blood, they're family." He replied, finished searching the cabinet and straightening from his crouch. Lexi nodded, though not entirely able to understand. Obviously those people, whoever they were, meant much to him, whereas Lexi never had that sort of bond with anyone besides her grandmother, and she'd died long before shit hit the fan.
"I see." She said finally, before finding another topic to talk about. "Well, what supplies are you looking for specifically?"
"Medicine, food, water, and blankets are my main priority." He turned to another cabinet, but found nothing. "One's been sick for awhile now." Law sighed sadly, as if he didn't expect the man to survive whatever illness he'd contracted. Lexi perked up, reaching for her bag.
"I found lots of stuff from the pharmacy downstairs. I can't really take it all and it sounds like you need it more than I do."
"Pharmacy?" He asked in confusion. She rummaged in the pack and walked over to the counter. At first he backed away, feeling unsafe with her so close. Then Law's eyes widened, watching as she set a couple bottles of antibiotics on the counter as well as a roll of bandages, a small container of hydrogen peroxide, and surgical tape.
"Oh, that's right. You came from the roof, so you probably didn't know. The bottom floor of this apartment is a drug store, maybe owned by whoever lived here." She shrugged, still searching the contents of her bag.
"I don't get sick very often and I've got more, so you can take these, really." She pushed them closer to him, snapping her backpack shut. Hesitantly, Law picked up one of the antibiotic containers and inspected the label. Then, with one more curious glance at her, he began shoving them into his own pack, a little of his concern edging off of his face.
"Thank you." He finally said, almost a whisper.
"I don't really have food or water to spare, but at least you can cross medicine off your list of stuff to find." She gave a little smile, then shrugged and backed away. It seemed that Law had finished searching this apartment, since he packed up his back and shrugged it back over his shoulder, pulling his sword from his sheath. Lexi stepped away, holding her hands up.
"Hey, you're not gonna rob me or kill me now, right? I've been nice, no need to resort to violence."
She blinked, seeing a small smirk light up his face, and he chuckled.
"While I may not trust you entirely, I'm not going to attack you, Lexi. Unless you give me a reason to. I'm checking the other apartment." With that, he stepped past her and walked out the front door, leaving her to jog behind him.
"Would you like some help?" She offered, standing beside him as they faced the other apartment door. He tried the knob, but it didn't open. He raised a brow.
"It would seem you are going to anyways, whether I want it or not." He stepped back, then brought up his foot and kicked in the door. It swung on its hinge, hitting the inside wall with a bang.
Inside, Lexi and Law saw two zombies, and at the sound of the door they turned and groaned loudly. Law stepped inside, facing the one nearest to him. Lexi was only a moment behind, drawing her knife from her hip and coming face to face with the other. She heard a sharp shing as his sword sliced the air, the thing's head falling to the floor with a thump.
Lexi's shuffled towards her with it's arms out, making to grab her but she sidestepped it and jabbed her knife in its skull, twisting to destroy the rotting brain inside. Its groan cut off midway, it crumpled to the floor with it's partner, finally lying still.
Wiping her blade on the couch, her gaze wandered over the floor, spotting the small razor blades littering the ground. Frowning, Lexi glanced at the zombies themselves, seeing evident slits in the wrists of the two they had just killed. The carpet beneath her feet was stained a dark red, two separate puddles bleeding into one. It was a sobering scene. She looked up, noticing that Law was watching her with a curious look. "What?" She asked, shrugging. He only shook his head, keeping his weapon drawn as they searched the rest of the rooms.
After several minutes it was evident that the two in the living room had been the only undead occupants, and they quickly put away their weapons. Law immediately went to the kitchen, while Lexi chose to hit the bedroom first.
The first thing she grabbed was the wool blanket crumpled in a ball at the foot of the bed, folding it so it didn't take up so much room. It was soft, and looked like it would be warm. Lexi already had one in her bag, so she'd give this one to Law. Next, her search took her to the closet. The bedroom had obviously belonged to a woman, if the tidiness and dresses hanging on the racks were anything to go by. She curiously looked them over, judging that whoever the woman was, she'd been a party girl. Half the dresses hanging were either skimpy, strapless, or no more than ribbons.
Lexi shook her head, moving onto the dresser. Perhaps there was a shirt or pants that would fit her, preferably a little more modest than the rest of her wardrobe so far. She glanced down at her own outfit, sniffing it with a grimace. It smelled about time for a change of clothes. Rummaging in the drawers, she held up a red, long-sleeved shirt, and some pants that looked likely to fit.
Unstrapping her knife holster and dropping the backpack on the bed, she shrugged out of her dirty, frayed blue shirt. It had lasted her a good month or so, but the edges of the sleeves and the collar were beginning to tear. The new red one was a button up, and she tossed it on. Tugging on the front and sleeves, she nodded, satisfied that it wasn't loose enough for one of the undead to grab on to, but not tight enough to limit movement.
Next she undid her pants and threw on the new ones, checking out how they made her butt look in the standup mirror that occupied one corner of the room. It was more of a habit than anything, but hey. It wasn't a crime to look good while surviving this hellhole. Grabbing another green shirt and pair of jeans to have as extra, she stuffed them in her bag.
She put her equipment back on and continued looking through the room. Under the bed was a pistol, and a box of 20 rounds. The nightstand had a flashlight on the top, and a box of cigarettes. Lexi didn't smoke but she wondered if Law or someone in his group did, so she picked them up. Opening the drawer in the little table, she stopped, staring at a little box it contained.
Glancing behind her, she picked up the box of condoms and shoved them in her bag, deciding that it was better to have them than not to. It was honestly the last thing on her mind nowadays, but…one never knew.
Double checking she hadn't missed anything, she gathered up the blanket and walked back to the kitchen, where Law was inspecting more cans of food and bottles of water. There was quite a few piled up on the counter.
"Wow, doesn't look like anyone's searched here before us." She said appreciatively. "I found these in the bedroom." She held up the blanket, setting it on the counter beside the food with the pack of cigarettes on top. He nodded silently, taking a moment to notice she was no longer wearing the same clothes as before, and she stuck a thumb to the hallway behind her. "I'm gonna check out the bathroom and that should be everything in here."
She turned and headed towards the door she'd seen before, grabbing her flashlight and shining it over the white sink. There was a half-used bottle of toothpaste, a toothbrush, and some mouthwash. Cringing, she picked up the tube of paste and the brush. It was disgusting but she couldn't afford to be particularly picky nowadays.
Above the sink was a medicine cabinet and she opened it, seeing very little in terms of useful supplies. A few empty bottles of prescription meds, a tylenol container with a few more left in it, and some acne cream. Everything but the empty bottles were thrown in her bag.
Giving the tub a routine check, she spotted nothing of use to her, or what she would assume to be useful for Law. Well, there was a bottle of body wash. Maybe he needed that. Grabbing it, she also picked up a roll of toilet paper besides the toilet, standing back up and heading towards the kitchen.
"Hey, Law. Do you need-" She stopped, not spotting him in the kitchen. "Law?" She frowned, looking around the living room but to seeing the man. Confused, she checked the bedroom but found no one. "Hmm." She hummed in disappointment. It seemed he had simply left, taken whatever supplies he needed and gone. It wasn't that surprising, really. He'd seem like the sort of person to just leave.
She returned to the kitchen, setting the body wash and toilet paper down, cocking her head when she saw three cans of food and two bottles of water sitting on the counter. The blanket she'd placed there before was gone, along with most of the supplies Law had been sorting through. Approaching the few left behind, she saw a piece of paper tucked under one of the cans and pulled it free. There was writing on it.
Take these, as payment for the medicine. Stay safe. -Law
She smiled, glancing up at the food and water he'd left behind for her. Folding up the note, she hesitated before shoving it in her bag alongside the supplies. A token to the memory of her chance meeting with the mysterious man. Her pack was considerably heavier than before she'd raided the pharmacy downstairs. And, she'd made a rather interesting acquaintance in the process.
Lexi looked through all of the cabinets in the kitchen just to be sure he hadn't left anything else for her. There was nothing, and she packed up her bag, zipping it tight and fastening the clasps. There wasn't much room left, and she felt comfortable to lay low for a day or so, keeping safe until she needed more supplies. Then, she'd begin scavenging again.
Deciding that Law's method of traveling by rooftop was a little safer than risking being spotted on the ground, she made her way back towards the other apartment where the fire escape was.
For as dangerous as it was, the city seemed to still hold a lot of valuable supplies. Lexi decided she'd stick around a while, just to get as much as she could out of it.
And maybe, just maybe, her path would cross with Law's once more.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
