The very first priority after Lexi's awakening was figuring out how the hell to get her collar off of her neck. Had they access to power tools, not to mention electricity of any kind, it wouldn't have been as difficult a problem to solve. However, without any heavy equipment at their disposal, they had to resort to the simple tools they had available: hammers, nails, wrenches, screwdrivers, handsaws, files, and assorted pliers, none of which were too suitable for the job.
Margaret suggested they have the construction team try their best at wrenching the thing off, seeing as they had the best equipment available, to which Lexi maintained that silent fear at being approached by any of the members of the camp. Realistically, she also didn't enjoy the thought of having sharp tools right beside her exposed neck…and body, for that matter. Penguin and Shachi she didn't feel too uncomfortable wearing her bikini around, but the other two were strangers and she didn't know what kind of people they were. The shirt Margaret tried giving her wouldn't fit over the collar edge, so they had to remove it first. Damn.
The best compromise they could figure out was for Lexi to hold the blanket around her to cover her as best they could, but leaving her shoulder and head exposed so they could try cutting away at the metal. So saying, Lexi found herself sat on the grass in the space between two of the trailers at the back of the camp with four men hovering around her holding various tools and instruments.
Law stood a few feet away, leaning on the nearest wall, just in case anything went wrong and the brunette got injured in any way. He trusted the team not to recklessly go at the task at hand, but accidents could always happen.
"Hmm…nothing too sharp and jagged, or we might slip and accidentally cut her neck." Alejandro commented, inspecting their tools for the best one for the job. It seemed most of them didn't fit the bill, because he removed several from the pile and placed them behind him.
Penguin and Shachi were doing the same, testing metal files against the collar to see how well it would go through. Hands kept grabbing, pulling, and holding the metal collar in place, and Lexi winced at the grating sound of metal right next to her ear. She said nothing though, too terrified of moving her head too much and being stabbed in the neck by a saw or blade.
"Excuse me, miss." Terence said, tapping her on the shoulder lightly. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, trying not to move too much. "Is there any way we could lift part of the blanket up behind the collar? It might protect your neck if one of our tools were to accidentally slip."
Lexi thought about it a moment, looking down at the blanket in silence and moving a corner up as much as she was willing to allow without the men seeing too much of her chest. They helped her tuck the edge of it between her neck and the metal, giving her a small but more comforting amount of protection while they worked.
"Alright, Alejandro? Hold that side in place so it doesn't move. We're gonna try working on this side." Shachi instructed. Lexi felt the right side of the collar stay firmly in place, and the left side began to shift up and down as they began grating the top edge of the metal. It was loud and shrieked to a painful degree as the metal file scraped against the metal collar, and she closed her eyes instinctively in an effort to lessen the noise.
"Easy there, I think it's working a little." Penguin reassured in a low voice, continuing to file away at the collar. Lexi swallowed thickly, opening her eyes into slits to stare off directly in front of her. Law stood in view, arms crossed as he casually leaned on the trailer. He caught her eyes and gave a reassuring grin, hoping that his confidence in his friends somehow translated to her. She responded with a tiny smile, appreciative of his silent gesture.
For several minutes the men filed and filed in an effort to cut through, but with a sigh, Penguin sat back on his haunches and stopped filing. "Nah, it won't go past that point. The teeth aren't deep enough to get any further."
"Don't we have a sharper file lying around?" Terence questioned, scratching his head as he inspected the work so far. Lexi couldn't see anything, feeling strange having all of them look intensely at her neck.
"Um…there might be one in the storage box, but we grabbed pretty much everything we found." Alejandro answered with a shrug. "Unless it was misplaced I doubt there is one."
"Hey wait…" Terence paused, tapping his chin thoughtfully and readjusting his glasses. "I helped Marve with some of the outer wall edges being too sharp a few days ago. The guards would cut their arms as they passed by sometimes. I might have left the file on top of one of the trailers."
"I'll go see if any of the guards have seen it." Shachi volunteered, standing from the grass and running off to find Marve. The men watched him leave before looking back at their tools and Lexi.
"Don't worry, we'll get that thing off you one way or another." Penguin promised with a smile. Alejandro and Terence both nodded in agreement, and Lexi smiled nervously back, still playing up the terrified lone survivor who had no idea who these people were or where she was.
It took most of the day, in addition to the four men changing off taking turns filing away at the collar. They'd been able to find a sharper file, which had fallen between the gaps of two of the trailers. With the deeper-toothed file, they were able to cut deeper into the collar, though not all the way through. The sides kept getting caught in the middle of the metal, and was difficult to push further down past a certain point.
The boys had the brilliant idea of trying the handsaw down the rest of the way, now that they had a guide to go from, but Lexi wasn't too sure about that. They definitely tried, but the angle of the metal, and with it being so close to her neck, they didn't have the proper room to fully utilize the saw, and so they moved onto something else.
Law still stood nearby, watching them try figuring out how to cut further than halfway. Lexi stole glances at him occasionally if only to reassure herself that someone was there to help her if they did unintentionally stab into her neck. His calm exterior proved to keep herself calm through most of the ordeal. Something about him being there just settled some of her nerves.
Finally, they figured out that filing away at the edges to widen the space they'd created was the best, albeit the slowest, method of getting the thing off. Once the space was widened enough to fit, they made it through the other half of the collar without much problem, granted they filed away the sides as they went to make more room.
It was with much appreciation that Lexi felt the file cut through the last sliver at the bottom of the collar, and the boys pried at each side of the collar to widen the gap so she could pull her neck free of the metal cuff.
"Almost, just a little more." Terence gruffed, pulling with Alejandro and the others to widen the gap they'd made. The metal didn't bend easily, but with the combined strength of four men, it slowly gave way, centimeter by centimeter.
"Come on!" Shachi cried in frustration, putting as much effort as he could into pulling. It bent a tiny amount more away from each other, and Lexi felt along the sides to see how far apart it was. It was close, but she might be able to squeeze through it. The edges of the metal scraped her neck and left red marks but all she cared about was that the damn thing was off, never to be put back on her neck again.
Immediately, her hands went to rub at her now exposed neck, feeling strangely yet comfortingly empty without the metal surrounding it all the time. An ecstatic laugh escaped her mouth as she reveled in the feeling of freedom. The construction team gathered their tools and took a few steps back, allowing her the time and space to enjoy her newfound freedom. She smiled in relief, looking up to the men who'd spent their day helping her.
"Thank you…" She whispered in genuine happiness. They nodded with smiles, before heading off to go back to whatever jobs were waiting for them. Penguin and Shachi looked like they wanted to stick around, but Law shook his head, knowing that being too familiar with her may draw suspicion.
"Come on, let's get you into those clothes Margaret got for you."
Lexi sat crossed-legged on the medical cot, outfitted for the first time in over a month in pants and a real shirt. Law had also found one of Shachi's hoodies from his bag, giving her extra warmth and comfort. She nuzzled into it, thankful that it shielded most of her body, as it was slightly too surreal, almost. She kept moving around, suddenly not so used to having the feel of cloth over most of her skin. It itched just to wear, her skin not quite used to being covered in material all the time, but she didn't mind. The feeling of modesty and privacy it afforded her were more than worth the small discomfort.
Tara, the redheaded nurse that worked with Law, as she'd proudly proclaimed when they'd first met, had been keeping her company the last hour or so while Law went to get his dinner. It was nice to hold a conversation with someone who hadn't given up any chance at escape or who thought that life was no longer worth living. So, even though it was awkward and largely one-sided, Lexi enjoyed making small conversation to pass the time.
"You've really had that collar on for like, a month?" Tara interrupted her thoughts harshly.
Lexi nodded, not really too keen on talking about the subject. Sure, it was great to talk to someone, but when the conversation kept revolving back around to her time with Damien's group, it was quickly losing it's appeal. Though, Tara didn't seem to quite get that message, continuing on without realizing Lexi's discomfort.
Tara was nice enough, she just didn't seem to realize how annoying her forwardness and bluntness could be.
"Did they ever let you take it off? How did you survive? Oh, how many of you were there? How did you escape? Was it difficult to sleep while you were there?"
"Uh…" The brunette started, leaning further into the side of the trailer in an effort to maybe shrink out of existence and not answer the questions. Tara's pushiness wasn't really prompting her to talk about the subjects. Lexi ended up just shrugging away like it didn't matter. "Yeah, I guess."
Tara didn't seem to notice that the reply hadn't answered all of the questions asked, and she just kept going with the constant questions, one after another, with Lexi giving vague and unhelpful answers most of the time. The prying was getting a bit bothersome, but Lexi understood her curiosity. Not much happened gossip-wise anymore. Ladies had to get their topics of discussion from somewhere. That didn't mean she was willing to be the hot topic between the women of the camp.
Thankfully, Law returned soon after, giving Lexi a break from the redhead for about an hour or so. Tara stood and left the trailer to get her own food, leaving Law and Lexi alone together again. He carried a small plate of food with him, no doubt intended for her.
"How's your neck?" Law asked, inspecting the slight redness to her skin where the metal had scraped across it. She rubbed the skin at the mention of it.
"Better. Hell of a lot better now that the damn thing's off. A weight has been lifted. Literally." Lexi chuckled, accepting the small plate of crackers and an apple. She raised a brow at the fruit, pointedly giving Law an expression of doubt. "Where'd this come from?"
"Woodsfield has a garden. It produces the majority of the food we eat here." He explained, grinning as the doubt turned to surprise and the evident appreciation of the food as she took a large bite from the apple. "Sometimes, if we're lucky, the hunters find a deer or other game animal, but we haven't seen one for awhile, so it's mostly fruit and vegetables, plus whatever canned stuff we find while scavenging."
"Mmm." She hummed her delight, chewing absently at the fruit. "This ain't bad. God, I haven't eaten real food like this in…a helluva long time." She admitted, shaking her head slowly back and forth as she savored the flavor. The juice alone was enough to figuratively take her breath away. Food in the zombie apocalypse was sparse and dry. The real juice of a genuine apple was enough to kill for.
Law regarded her for a moment, before going to sit on the nearest chair, facing her with his legs crossed at the knees. "I take it you met Tara?" He began with a grin. Lexi rolled her eyes dramatically, mouth too occupied with eating her small meal to say anything, and the doctor chuckled. "Yes, she tends to have that affect."
"I couldn't tell if I was a part of the conversation or not." The brunette joked, wiping the back of her mouth with the hoodie sleeve, then, realizing what she was doing a bit too late, paused with a glance at the fabric. "Oh, whoops. I forgot this isn't mine."
Law waved the concern away. "He won't mind. Hell, the thing's never been washed, what difference does a little spit make?"
"True." She shot back with a smile and a laugh, finishing her meal with a few bites of the last cracker on the plate. The vibration from her laughing made the wound in her side ache, and she hissed in pain.
"Careful, don't move around too much." Law advised, seeing her reaction to the pain in her side. She nodded silently, pressing a gentle hand to her own torso in an effort to dull the sensation.
They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments, nothing having to be said to enjoy the other's company. Lexi felt much more at ease about her situation knowing that Law, Shachi, and Penguin were there. At least she had allies, as unexpected as they may be. Had they not been there, Lexi was sure she would've been looking for an escape by now. But…maybe she'd try to stay as long as she could. If only to see them a little bit longer.
Law himself was more at ease than he had been in the past two weeks of living in the camp. For the time being, he could pretend that there wasn't a time limit to Lexi staying at the camp. For now, he could keep her in the infirmary under the guise of not being healthy, and that was enough for him. But, before her time was up, Law was determined to make Margaret see how valuable Lexi was to the group. He'd make her see reason, or…
Well, he wasn't sure what.
They'd sat there in silence a while, neither feeling the need to fill the void, before Lexi eventually tilted her head with a rueful smile, looking away nervously. There was still that unspoken topic hanging between them, and she'd expected him to at least bring it up by now. She took a breath, almost expecting the worst. "You're…not gonna ask?"
She cautioned a glance up at him, but he wasn't angry or threatening. Not that she'd expected him to be, but she was surprised he hadn't at least asked the same questions everyone else had. He only shrugged, crossing his arms and looking away a moment. Maybe he felt for her, or maybe he was just uncomfortable at the topic. She wasn't sure.
"Figured you didn't want to talk about it."
"Well..yeah…I was just surprised is all. I know how cautious you are about things. I thought you'd be one of the first people asking me, heh." She laughed without humor and looked away again.
"It's not that I don't care…I do." He responded, looking back at her with concern. "But if you've avoided the question from everyone else, I assumed I'd be no different."
"Yeah…I guess so." She agreed, sighing in relief. Granted, Lexi would have been immensely more inclined to lay out her heart and soul had Law asked and pressed the issue. Out of everyone alive today in the world, there wasn't anyone she trusted more than him, even if she only knew him to a small degree. Actions spoke louder than words, and Law's portrayed him as a very…honorable man. Someone who protected those he cared for and was indebted to, though she did wonder which of those categories she most fit into in his perspective.
It was a major comfort to know Law understood. The fact that she didn't have to explain herself…that was much more than what she could ask for. "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet." She finally said.
"That's fine. When you are, then you can tell me, if you'd like." He sent her a reassuring smile. Despite not saying anything too personal, Lexi still felt rather vulnerable in that moment, but not unsafe or scared. The sensation was strange to describe other than…her mind and soul lay bare, if only for a moment, in his presence.
"Thank you…"
"However," he started, catching her attention again, "if these guys are still out there somewhere, they're probably still looking for you." He stated softly, as if testing the waters.
Lexi had a feeling she knew where he was taking the conversation, and didn't say anything to stop him.
"Can you tell me anything that might help protect the camp? We may also be in danger, simply by having you here."
She nodded. They'd helped her this far, they deserved to know at least a small portion of the story, but not all of it. "Damien's group…they don't really have a name. Just sort of refer to themselves as 'the group.'" Lexi air-quoted. "In total there's…maybe 50 or 60 of them? The party that was following me couldn't have had more than ten men. They were just scouts.
"Even just the ten that were following me are all armed. All of them carry weapons, pretty much at all times. I don't think I've ever seen them without a gun or a knife."
Law nodded in understand, alarmed that a group who was apparently hostile had so many to their numbers. "Anything else?"
Lexi thought about it for a moment, eyes flicking back and forth as she tried to remember if there was anything she was missing. "Well, other than the fact that they're all armed, they are extremely dangerous. Unless Damien takes an interest in something or someone, they usually kill men on sight."
"And the women?" He prompted, knowing as soon as he'd said it that he was treading the fine line between what she was willing to say and what was saying too much for her comfort.
"…they keep for themselves." Was all she supplied, unwilling to look at him. Law nodded, not pressing any further. That was about as much as they could have expected from her. They knew numbers. They knew they were armed. Very important information to have.
The heavy moment passing, Lexi looked out the small window of the trailer and surveyed the camp with interest. There were a lot of questions she had yet to ask, and Law's brief explanation of the situation when she'd first woken up hadn't filled in all the gaps. Besides, maybe this was an opportunity to get to know them a bit better, and redirect the attention from her to something else.
"So, how'd you guys end up here anyway? I though you wanted to go it alone."
"Ah, about that…" He started, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Oh, is it an embarrassing story?" She smirked as she leaned forwards on her arms, finding a chance to tease him. "I hope it is."
"Hmph." He raised a brow incredulously at her, shaking his head a negative. "Nothing so interesting. It was about 2…maybe 3 weeks ago. We were out of food, starving, and we wandered into this town about a half hour that way." Law pointed in the general direction of the town, and Lexi nodded her understanding. "There were these two men shouting to another survivor to come with them to their camp. Said they had food and water, and a place to stay."
"And you just believed them?" Lexi raised a brow, thinking that such behavior was very unlike Law's normally cautious and untrusting personality. "Just like that?"
"Of course not, but it's not like we had a lot of options at the time." He shrugged. "Anyways, we followed them back here to the camp, and Margaret let us in. Gave us a meal and a place to sleep for the night. We had to prove we could be useful to the camp, but the test was simple enough."
"I guess…but what made you stay?"
"…" Law stayed quiet a moment, and Lexi saw the unmasked shame in his eyes, even as he looked away from her. "It wasn't what I wanted. Shachi and Penguin decided they wanted to stay here, I was adamant we move on. That…didn't go over very well."
"Oh…I see. What happened?" She cocked her head to the side, invested in what he had to say.
Law shrugged, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable. "I came to realize that they have as much a say in what we do or where we go as I. So I stayed, if only for their sake. Besides, it was that or leave them for good."
Lexi paused after he explained, taking in what he'd said. She could only imagine a man like Law having to swallow his pride, or choose to do something so against what his gut was telling him it filled him with apprehension. Not something she'd expected, but it only served to increase the amount of respect she had for him.
"You know, I think you made the right choice." She encouraged, sending him a small smile when he looked over at her. "Choosing family over what you think is right…that takes a lot of courage. It's not something you see very often anymore."
"Heh…maybe." He half-heartedly agreed, deciding to move on from that topic of discussion. He'd rather not dwell on his past mistakes for too much longer. "That's how it went, why we're still here. Not too exciting a tale, huh?"
"Damn. I was hoping there'd be more drama and suspense. Maybe a badass fight against hordes and hordes of zombies, or saving some damsel in distress." Lexi laughed, causing Law to roll his eyes. It was ridiculous how easy it was talking to the brunette. Had their conversations always come this naturally? Admittedly, there were a limited number of conversations they'd ever had with each other. It was difficult to remember, what with them being months and months apart from one another.
Though, they talked now as if no time had passed at all. How strange…but not in a negative way. He grinned with mirth.
"Sorry to disappoint."
"Make sure the next one is filled with action and…" The sound of the trailer door opening startled the both of them, and they realized that Tara was returning from her dinner. Just as quickly as she'd relaxed in Law's presence before, Lexi tensed up and returned to her act of being the scared-yet-slowly-accepting refugee who was recovery from her wound. "…I…just…don't want to talk about it…ok?" She finished her sentence in a strained croak, wrapping her arms around her knees and bringing them up to her chest.
Law sighed, feigning annoyance and rubbing at his face in 'frustration.' In truth, he had to hide the grin that threatened to show through as Tara approached the both of them. "Look…Lexi…" He paused before using her name, as if he had trouble remembering it. "At some point you'll have to tell us. The sooner we can figure out what happened to you, the better we can protect you. Understand?"
"What going on?" Tara inquired with curiosity. She noticed Lexi in a very defensive position, and Law agitated about something.
The doctor shook his head and stood, pretended to walk away to cool off, gesturing vaguely behind him in Lexi's direction. "This woman is being…difficult. She won't tell me how she got shot or by whom. All she'll say is there were about ten men following her."
Tara turned to Lexi, who only glared at the ground with tears in her eyes. Of course, they weren't real, but the redhead didn't know that. "I said I don't want to talk about it…" The brunette reiterated in an angry and upset tone. "Please…that's all I'll say…"
"Alright, you don't have to tell us anything else right now. Let's all just…calm down." Tara tried to lay a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder but Lexi shied away, pressing herself further into the side of the trailer. "Sorry…sorry." Tara backed away and followed after Law, who'd disappeared behind the curtain to the medication room.
"Why do you keep pressing her about it? She's crying!" The young woman whispered harshly, trying to keep her voice low enough so Lexi wouldn't hear.
"I'd think the safety of the camp is a bit more important than some woman's emotional stability." Law bit back with a glare, rounding in place to point back into the main infirmary room where Lexi was sitting. "Whoever gave her that wound can't be too far away, and I'm willing to bet they're still looking. Who's to say they won't show up here and demand to have her back, hmm?"
"Well…"
"And unless we know exactly who they are, how many they are, and possibly where they are, how are we supposed to do anything in the event that they do? The ten men she mentioned could have been a small search party. There could be dozens more of them for all we know."
"…" Her silence was enough of an answer to his question, and he nodded in conclusion to his own statements.
"Exactly."
Feeling like he'd played the part and showed the appropriate amount of concern for the situation, he sighed and shook his head in exasperation. "Maybe you can get more out of her, but she's testing my patience." And with that Law exited the room and walked past Lexi with a grin only she could see. Lexi gave him a secret thumbs up as he passed, never breaking character.
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