Law sat with his back to house, his rifle in hand and loaded, ready for any sign of danger. Their little group had managed to find a small town along the road they were traveling. It wasn't large by any means, in fact it bordered more on the edge of a modern village than a town, really. But it had a local grocery store and other buildings lining the main street, with individual houses branching off on separate roads, so it would make do for the time being.
"Do we really need to keep a watch, Law?" Shachi asked, poking his head out of one of the bedroom windows, wearing a different set of clothes than before. "We haven't seen anyone around for awhile, and the zombies seem to be pretty calm around here."
"Better to be safe than sorry." He glanced over at his friend, who shrugged and returned back into the inside of the house to find a book or something else to occupy his time with. Penguin was already there as well, which left Law alone on the roof to watch the zombie shamble by in the streets aimlessly down below. He gathered his jacket tighter around himself. Even though winter was quickly turning into spring, the nights and mornings could still get rather cold.
Shachi was right. The zombies around here seemed less aggressive. He'd noticed that they all seemed to be unique to the regions in which they resided, which was very strange. Law had no way of explaining the occurrence, or even why it happened, but he did notice it. They seemed to retain a small inkling of their original personality. But only minutely.
They were holed up in one of the small houses lining the side streets of the town. The structures weren't built defensively, that was for sure, and they'd had to barricade a few of the weaker entryways into the house before deciding to sleep there. Law even had Shachi and Penguin hang up makeshift curtains to block the light from inside giving away their location to the zombies.
The small group of zombies that had chased them towards the house had dispersed, losing interest after they didn't hear or smell anything for awhile. They wandered off, probably forgetting that there'd even been people around to begin with. He noticed that they were only really dangerous once they sensed you, and were in pursuit. Get out of their sight and range of smell, and they quickly backed off.
A few of the zombies in the street below turned towards the end of the street, and they sniffed the air. Law frowned, noticing the sudden shift in activity. The few that sensed a change in the are began to walk towards where they sensed it, their soft groans punctuating every few shuffling steps. One didn't even have legs, but it dragged itself over the gravel street by its arms towards whatever had caught its attention.
Law tried to see what was causing the zombies to act up, but the fading light made it difficult to discern anything. While his vantage point gave him the best view of the street, he could only see so far down either direction. Whatever was causing the zombies to act up was out of his field of view.
Down at the end of the street were quick flashes of light accompanied by a series of loud pops. Every muscle tensed up, and he held his rifle ready for any sign of danger. The remaining zombies close to the house they were in turned towards the street, wandering to whatever the source of the noise was.
Law waited, wondering what was going on and who was in the town with them. About a week back, they'd seen a group of men and women from a distance, but never made themselves known. Perhaps it was them, though he didn't believe in coincidences, and wondered if they had been followed.
The noises and flashes of light soon ceased, but the zombies continued to wander in that general direction. They groaned and growled, dragging themselves past where Law could see. But something moving closer towards him caught his eye, and he swiveled his head to where it had been.
Another movement further left, and this time he was able to catch a flash of someone running behind the houses on the opposite side of the street. Law clicked off the safety of the rifle, looking ahead to see where they would appear next.
The person ran between two more houses, passing the house that Law and his friends were staying in, and further up the road. He didn't see another glimpse of whoever they were for awhile, and it took a moment for him to realize that they were either waiting behind the house he had seen them duck behind, or they had entered it from the back. There was a soft crack in that direction, and he figured they had opened a window or something similar to enter.
He was caught in a dilemma. Should he go after whoever it was and make sure they couldn't put his group in danger? Did the person even know they were there? What had been the flashes or light at the end of the street? Whoever they were had certainly done a good job of clearing the area of zombies. All of them had wandered towards the direction they had come from.
Still. Law didn't like not knowing who this stranger was and what their intentions were. It left too much up to chance, and he hated taking chances. Narrowing his eyes at the house he was sure they had hid inside, he brought up the rifle and peered through the scope at the darkened windows. The inside was black, and he couldn't see any movement from within.
His waiting paid off. What looked like a flashlight beam swept across the windows for a brief second, illuminating the glass and then disappearing once more. So, they were definitely inside.
Making a decision, Law sat up and made his way to the open window where he'd climbed onto the roof from. He jumped back inside the guest bedroom and shut the window behind him.
Heading downstairs, Shachi and Penguin seemed to catch on that something was up. "Hey, did something happen?"
"There's someone in the house further down the street from us." He explained, and his two friends stood up from the couch where they were playing a game of cards.
"Who is it?"
Law shrugged, shoulder his rifle and going into the kitchen. "I don't know. They were fast, but it looked to only be one person." Law opened the drawers until he found the knives. Selecting one that was a good size and sharpened, he tucked it into his belt and closed the drawer. "I'm going to check it out and see if they are dangerous."
"We'll go with you." Penguin offered, preparing to stand, but Law held up his hand to stop him.
"It'll be faster and safer if I go alone. And I don't want whoever they are to know that we are here. Having three people there will be too much noise." He reasoned. Even though they didn't like it, Shachi and Penguin nodded. Law was the leader for a reason, and what he said rang true. They'd survived this long based on Law's instincts, so there was no reason to question them now.
"Alright, but if you're not back in ten fifteen minutes, we're coming to look for you." Shachi argued, and Law reluctantly nodded agreement. He couldn't do anything about it even if he were to tell them no, so there was no use in protesting.
"It's the red brick house two down on the left, with white porch steps." He supplied, moving to the back door to exit the house. Even though the zombies had moved further down the street, he didn't want to be taken by surprise by any that had lagged behind.
Closing the back door behind him, he moved around to the side of the house where a gate sat locked. He unlatched the lock, cracking it open to peer out into the street as quietly as he could manage. There were no zombies in sight, so he slipped out from the backyard and made sure to lock it behind him, in case a few returned later.
Taking a position on the side of the house, he peered around the corner down the street, where he could see a large gathering of zombies far away. They weren't a threat to him at the moment. The other end of the street was clear as well, so he jogged to the other side of the street, ducking behind the house across from theirs and stopped, waiting for any indication that someone had spotted him. There was nothing.
Taking the same route the stranger had to reach the red brick house, he crouched behind the fence, seeing a hole that they had probably crawled through to get inside. Making sure to keep his gun in his hands, Law stooped to make his way under the hole, and remained crouched as he entered the back yard. There was no light coming from the windows he could see, but that didn't mean he was being watched.
Jogging to the edge of the house, he knelt beneath the window, too low to be seen through the glass. He paused and listened, trying to hear any sound on the inside. There were a few bumps and thumps, but they sounded distant, perhaps on an upper floor.
Eyeing the back door, he debated whether he should leave now, and remain unseen by whoever was inside, or make sure they weren't a threat to his men by either killing the occupant or at the very least threatening them. From his position here, Law still had no idea if they were friendly or not, and figured either way he'd have to go inside.
He sighed resignedly. So much for keeping themselves to themselves.
Idly, he remembered then that he'd left his sword at the house, and cursed himself. All he had in terms of close combat weaponry was a kitchen knife. Oh well, no turning back now.
Shuffling to the door, he gripped the knob tightly and slowly turned it. The door opened without a sound, and he wielded the knife as he entered the darkened kitchen it lead to. His boots made only the softest of sounds as he gently eased into every step, making sure not to alert whoever was inside to his presence quite yet.
Law glided into the next room, a living room, and scanned the darkness intently. No sign of anyone, though he did spot a few muddy boot prints on the wooden floors. Narrowing his eyes, he saw a staircase leading to the second floor, and then heard another thump somewhere above. Normally, he'd check all the rooms on the first floor before going to the second, just to make sure nothing could surprise him from behind, but he knew that this person was alone, and so set forward towards the stairs next.
He kept up his technique of concentrating on every footfall he placed onto the wooden stairs. Luckily, the house seemed to be fairly new, and the wood didn't creak under his weight. In no time, he'd made it halfway up. Rifle still at the ready, he began to ascend the second half.
The noise upstairs had stopped, and he stopped as well, waiting for signs that he'd been heard. There was nothing. Narrowing his eyes, he shifted his grip on the rifle. He was effectively stuck in the middle of the stairs. He couldn't be positive whether whoever was there knew he was following them.
Dammit. He thought, gritting his teeth. He'd have to make a choice. Taking a silent breath, Law started up the stairs again, putting extra care into making sure no noise could be heard from his feet.
Law made it to the top, where there was carpet beneath his feet, thankfully. It was a strange house design. Feeling more confident now that his steps were muted by the thick fibers beneath his feet, he held up the rifled and entered the first room he came across on the left.
It was a bedroom, but no one was inside. It appeared that the stranger had already ransacked it, as some of the drawers were open or empty. Law circled the bed on all sides he could, just to be sure no one was hiding. Satisfied that the room was empty, he went to search the next one.
Another bedroom. It looks searched as well. A quick check revealed that it was also empty. He moved onto the next room, the door open, and stepped through, always wary of what was in front of him.
He stepped past the doorway, eyes scanning the room, but there was nothing.
The click of a gun being cocked made him freeze, and he felt something cold press against the back of his head.
"Kneel on the ground, and put down the rifle." A female voice demanded. He stood unmoving, debating whether he could take on the woman behind him if he acted fast enough. Whatever weapon she had aimed at his head was small, by the size of the barrel being pushed into his scalp. Still, he was caught in a dangerous situation.
Where did she even come from? He questioned himself, swearing that he'd checked all the rooms behind him. His eyes flicked back and forth at the room in front of him, trying to find a way out.
"I won't repeat myself." She added, pressing the gun a little harder into the back of his head. Law figured that if the woman behind him was intent on killing him where he stood, she'd have done it already. Still, if prompted, he was sure she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger. And he wasn't confident his reflexes were that fast, if he were being honest. What a predicament. Sighing, he clicked on the safety of the rifle, slowly dropping to his knees on the carpet floor.
"Put the gun on the ground, and push it away."
Whoever she was obviously wasn't taking chances. Smart on her part. Doing as she said, Law placed the gun onto the floor and shoved it out of his reach. He held up his hands to show he was unarmed, well, accept for the knife in his belt, but it seemed she had already noticed that.
The gun still against his head, he reached down and slipped the blade out of the loop, stripping him of his last weapon. When she didn't see any other weapons on his person, she spoke again. "Stand up and turn towards me."
Hands still up above his head, he climbed to his feet, taking his time to turn in place to face her. The first thing he noticed was the barrel of the pistol still aimed at his head.
The second, was that he recognized her face.
"Lexi?" He quirked a brow, frowning deeply. She hesitated, lowering the gun just a fraction. But she immediately brought it back up.
"Law?" Her confusion was instantly replaced with suspicion, and she took a small step back, just in case. "Why are you here? Have you been following me?"
Law's own frustration returned, and he dropped his hands. "I should be asking you the same question."
"What? You were the second one to come to this house, therefore, you were the one doing the following." She still didn't lower the gun, a fact he took note of.
"My group is taking shelter in a house further down the street. We arrived before you. So, you were the one following, intentionally or not." He explained. "I saw you run behind the houses and had to be sure you weren't a danger to my friends."
"Have I ever been hostile to you and your friends?" She asked critically, feeling a bit insulted that he still held not even an ounce of trust in her. He scoffed, crossing his arms.
"I didn't know it was you. And even if I did, one can never be sure."
Lexi sighed, rubbing at her temple. She seemed at a loss for what to do, but he gave a glance at the pistol still pointed at his head. "Are you going to put that down?"
Sending him a withering glance, she blinked. "Can I trust you?"
"Yes." He replied, and she quirked an eyebrow.
"Should I trust you?" At that, he shrugged.
"Probably not."
Law watched her eyes, seeing the internal struggle of what to do. He was positive she wouldn't kill him, or injure him, or rob him. From the two times they'd met before, she didn't seem like that type of person. Besides, she was now aware that killing him would mean Shachi and Penguin would be after her for revenge.
After a while she closed her eyes, looking much more exhausted than when she'd first stopped him. Shaking her head, she lowered the gun, putting the safety on and reattaching it to her belt. Law relaxed, no longer worried that she posed a threat to him.
"How'd you sneak up behind me?" He wondered aloud, and she tapped her hand against the door.
"Hid behind it." Raising a brow, he thought back to his other question.
"And the noises and lights at the end of the street?" She smiled a little then, reaching around to grab something from her backpack.
"Fireworks." She responded, holding out the pack of dozens of firecrackers that she'd used to create her little show. "The zombies respond very well to light and noise. I found these babies in a grocery store last week. They make excellent diversions for when I need to escape or get by places."
"Hmm." He hummed, taking note of her observations. He ran out of things to ask, and she wasn't exactly in the most talkative of moods. She placed the fireworks back in her back and that neutral expression from before returned to her face.
"Why are you here?" She questioned in a quiet voice. He noticed she kept rubbing at her eyes, probably from lack of sleep. His medically inclined gaze picked up on the smallest details.
"Like I said, I couldn't be sure who you were, so I had to make sure you weren't a threat to the others." Law went to pick up his rifle, eyeing Lexi cautiously as he did so. She didn't seem concerned, only watching him pick it up with those bags under her eyes. He frowned. She was in worse shape than he thought.
"Well, I'm not." She said in reply to his reasoning. "So you can go back to your group now." With that, she turned and entered the other room that Law hadn't checked. He followed after her, watching as she emptied the last of a drawer out. Her bag didn't look very full, a testament to her physical condition as well.
"You look awful." He commented, leaning against the doorframe. His words were met with an unamused stare.
"Thanks." She said sarcastically, finishing stuffing the blankets into her bag. "The zombie apocalypse really does wonders for my complexion."
Law scoffed, unimpressed with her attempts at humor. The man shook his head, crossing his arms. "When's the last time you ate? Or slept properly."
She shrugged, scowling at him angrily. "I started getting low on food and water a few days ago, so I've had to ration. There's not much I can do about that, so what's with all the questions?"
Law raised a brow, wondering where all this aggression was coming from. It almost seemed like a completely different person. She almost could be, with the amount of weight she'd lost since he'd last seen her. She was much skinnier, her face losing some of its tone, her skin taking on a ghostly-white pallor.
He also didn't miss her lack of an answer for his second question, and wondered if she simply forgot or intentionally avoided it.
Noticing his silence, she sighed, rubbing at her eyes again. "Sorry…" She muttered, swaying away from him and back towards the hallway. "You didn't deserve that."
She began to descend the stairs and he followed, trying to come up with a response. At least she was aware of her blatant bitchiness, though he couldn't really fault her. After months of surviving, even Law had to admit it was getting harder for him to resist snapping at Shachi and Penguin every once in awhile. They reached the bottom of the steps and she made her way towards the darkened kitchen, shrugging her pack onto the counter.
"You won't survive much longer in that condition." He noted softly, making her pause in unzipping the bag. She wouldn't look him in the eyes. Law wasn't one to mince words, and he knew this could sometimes frustrate others, but there was no easy way to put it. In her state, she'd sooner pass out while out on a supply run, just to be eaten by those monsters.
"I know." Was her quiet response.
They stood in another thick silence, with Lexi sorting through the stuff she'd found and Law simply watching. He couldn't quite figure her out. The first few times he'd met her, she'd been so full of spirit, so ready to take on the world and survive.
This woman, this utterly defeated and exhausted woman, was not the Lexi he knew of. This one…something had changed between those months ago and now. And Law was always a curious person.
"You've changed." He stated, but she didn't bother responding. "What happened?"
She was quiet for a long time. Several minutes perhaps. So long, in fact that Law thought she was simply pretending not to hear him. Frowning, he was about to say something, but noticed that she'd stopped taking things out of her back, her hand gripped tightly around a shirt she'd stuffed inside.
She was shaking.
"Lexi-" He started, reaching out a hand to steady her, but her voice made him stop.
"I came across this woman and her little girl, a couple months back. They had supplies, but they weren't good at surviving. I offered to protect them until we reached the next town, and in exchange, they let me share their supplies." Lexi swiped a hand across her face, and he realized she was crying.
Shaking her head, she continued. "We traveled together for a few weeks. Her name was Heather, her daughter was Charlotte, just an infant. She was the sweetest little girl I'd ever met. They'd tell stories about their life before everything went to shit, and I taught Heather how to better defend herself. It was a wonder they survived up until that point." Law suspected that she was getting sidetracked, and interjected.
"What happened?" He prompted again, and she tightened her fist on the shirt. Lexi still wouldn't look at him.
"We were holed up in a house, one that had a crib for Charlotte. It was safe, or at least I thought it was." Lexi took a deep breath, swallowing thickly. "One day, I went out to scavenge for supplies, and when I came back, the gate had been broken down. I guess Heather had been making too much noise, or attracted attention, because a horde of zombies had broken through and were pounding at the front door.
"I was able to sneak inside from the back, and I found Heather trying to keep the door pressed shut, so they wouldn't push through. But it was cracking and splintering, and there were too many." The brunette stopped, her eyes faraway, envisioning the scene for the thousandth time since it happened.
Please! Leave me and run! Take care of my daughter! Keep her safe!
"They broke through." Law guessed, shaking her from her thoughts. She nodded solemnly.
"Yeah, but through the windows on the side. She screamed at me to get Charlotte and run, even as they were…even as she died."
Law stayed silent, knowing all too well the fear of being in a similar situation. He was about to prompt her to continue again, but she beat him to it.
"I was able to grab her and get out without too much trouble. A few followed after but they were slow. We escaped into the forest nearby, and spent the night in a tree. It was uncomfortable, but we made do.
"After a few days, I began to realize that our supplies were running low too quickly, but Charlotte had to eat a lot so she wouldn't cry. After several days, I had to start rationing, but Charlotte couldn't understand, so she cried for food."
"I imagine that attracted the zombies." Law assumed, and she nodded.
"Before long, I only had one can of food left." She swallowed thickly again, finding that the words were getting harder to form. "We weren't near a town, and even if I found animals in the forest, she wouldn't be able to eat them. She was constantly crying, putting us in danger. I've never taken care of a baby before…We were both starving, I didn't know what to do"
Lexi sniffed, wiping at her face with her hands again. The memories were far too vivid and haunting, the baby's scream still echoing in her mind. "…I had to…to decide…" Her tears started fresh as the image reappeared in her mind, the same as all the nightmares.
"You had to choose, didn't you?" Law predicted. Wordlessly, she nodded.
"I left her underneath a blanket, at the base of a tree." Lexi sobbed. "She was screaming so loudly…"
"Nightmares. That's why you can't sleep." He reasoned, and she nodded again. He crossed his arms.
"Even if you had decided to give her all of your food, you both would have died out there. She wouldn't have survived if you had starved simply to keep her quiet." Law reasoned, but she couldn't bring herself to forgive what she'd done, and he knew that.
"I left her to die all alone…" She whispered, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to rid the sounds out of her head. "Heather trusted me…"
"What's done is done." Law concluded with a tone of finality. She said nothing, trying to stop her tears. "You are alive now, and they are not. How you live from now on is how you preserve their memory."
"I don't deserve-"
"Stop." Law interrupted, finally approaching her side. He was getting angry, wondering why she thought thinking these things was acceptable. Gripping her by the shoulders, he shook her gently, drawing her attention to his face. He stared at her grimly. "Just because you've done terrible things to survive doesn't give you the right to stop living."
"I-"
"Shut up and listen." He stopped her again, glaring at her bewilderment. "There isn't one person living right now who hasn't had to do sick, disgusting things to still be here. No one. Got that? Not you, not me, and not Penguin and Shachi. Nobody. So own up to your damn mistakes and live with it. That's the way things are now. And if you can't understand that, then perhaps I misjudged your worth when we first met."
Lexi stayed silent, eyes closed as she took Law's lecture full force. His hands still gripped her shoulders, but even his tight hold was strangely comforting. She hadn't been held by another person in a long time. The brunette let out a shuttered breath, nodding through the tears to indicate she understood.
"Good, now grab your things." He released her shoulders and unslung his rifle from his shoulder. She opened her eyes, looking to him in confusion.
"What? Why?" Law's smirk returned, and he gestured to the back door where they'd entered the house.
"Shachi and Penguin are expecting me, and I'm not leaving myself in debt to you for giving up that cabin months ago. So, we'll give you food and rest, and tomorrow you can be on your way."
"But…we can't trust each other." She stated, and he only shrugged.
"Perhaps. But no one can fake guilt, Lexi. And remorse is one of the last things we hold onto as real people, and I believe what you said. Only a truly sorry person would admit to their wrongdoings willingly. Though only partially, you've earned my trust. For the time being." He added, making sure that she was still not what he considered a friend or close acquaintance quite yet.
Her eyes searched his, and he waited for her to decide what she would do. She stared at her open pack on the counter. Law was patient, but he was worried that the zombies she'd drawn away earlier would begin to trickle back to the houses before long.
She sighed, and he caught her eye. Using one hand, she wiped at the remaining moisture in her eyes, reaching for her stuff to repack her bag. "Alright, Law. You've convinced me. Besides, I did say I'd take up your offer the next time, didn't I?"
He grinned, remembering her last words to him at the cabin. Waiting for her to grab all of her things, she zipped up her bag and threw it across her shoulder. Taking out her pistol, she undid the safety and looked to him.
"That's everything."
"Let's go."
"We were just about to go looking for you! What took you-" Shachi began, but stopped when he saw a second person step inside behind their friend. "Whoa, Lexi? Is that you?"
Smiling sheepishly, she nodded, giving a tiny wave in his direction. Penguin shot up from his place on the couch, peering at her over the cushion.
"Lexi! You survived!"
"Yeah, I did. How have you guys been?"
They spent the next few minutes catching up with each other, and Lexi marveled at the way they treated her as an old friend who they'd known for years, even if they'd only met once. She told them about the places she visited, and they relayed adventures of escaping the zombies, or recounting the cool things they'd accomplished while out killing the undead.
Law watched from the corner, taking off his shoes and resting his gun against the wall. The knife stayed in his pocket, just in case, but he doubted he'd be needing it. His friends smiled and laughed, something he missed seeing so often. It was rare that they found something to smile at nowadays.
Penguin and Shachi were all too eager to share a can of food between them all, and they soon had broken open the can, passing it around the circle they formed on the living room couches. The stove wasn't functional but Lexi was too starving to really care what went into her mouth, so long as it was edible and kept her alive.
Law went up to the room on the floor above, returning with a water bottle, a little under halfway filled with liquid. He offered it to her, and she didn't hesitate in drinking as much as he allowed her, which was all of it. He reassured her they had plenty others.
Soon, she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, and promptly fell asleep on the couch, her head cushioned by the arm.
"Wow, she must have been exhausted." Shachi said, watching the sleeping Lexi breathe in and out evenly. Law got up from his chair and went to approach her.
"I mixed one of the sleeping pills into the water, so she could rest." Penguin raised an eyebrow.
"Umm, are you sure she would want us slipping medication into her food?" Law simply waved off his concern.
"She needs rest, or she won't survive out there. And Lexi doesn't have to know." He settled his arms underneath her knees and back, hoisting her into his arms as he walked towards the unused bedroom upstairs.
Laying her onto the comforter, he tried making her position as natural as possible, so she wouldn't wake up with sore muscles or joints. Shachi entered right behind him, holding her bag of stuff, placing it by the door and heading back downstairs.
Law watched her sleeping face, relaxed in a peaceful expression, for a few moments. Her chest rose and fell steadily. He couldn't seem to tear his gaze away, eyes drifting over the curves of her face, memorizing every feature.
Without really thinking, he brought up a hand, brushing away a few strands of hair that were out of place. Lexi didn't stir from sleep, not even a mutter, and he finally pulled away, composing himself.
You are quite a strange woman, Lexi. He thought, smirking to himself and turning towards the door. She groaned in her sleep, and rolled over towards where he stepped away. Law spared her another glance.
Strange woman, indeed.
ns 18.68.41.183da2
