Law could see the confusion in Lexi's eyes as soon as she woke up that morning. His back leaning against one of the cubicle walls, sword sat across his lap, her movement had shifted his gaze from the doorway to the stairs back to her sleeping form. The brunette had a habit of tossing and turning in her sleep to begin with, as he'd noticed throughout that night, but this seemed a bit different than the ones before.
She rubbed at her face and stretched, then blinked a few times when the light streaming in through the second-floor window was brighter than she'd anticipated.
Her brow furrowed immediately.
"No one woke me for watch?" She asked, propping herself on one elbow.
He shook his head, not saying anything. Lexi sat up straighter, tugging the blanket around her body to keep out the chill. Before he could go back to his task, she peered into his face and her frown deepened.
"Did you watch the whole night?"
He didn't have to answer, as the weariness behind his eyes and his silence were proof enough. She sighed, shaking her head.
"You're gonna be dead on your feet today, Law."
"I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway." He reasoned. "I thought it better to let you all get your rest. Besides, I've never been a stranger to insomnia."
She met his gaze for a few seconds. "It's because of Brittany, right?"
Law wasn't sure how she would take his answer, uncertain how she was feeling about the black-haired woman and her entourage downstairs, but felt it was pointless to lie. He nodded.
Lexi mirrored the gesture, looking down at her lap solemnly, before scooting over to sit beside him. He moved his sword so it wouldn't accidentally injure her. For a few minutes, they just sat there, waiting for the boys to wake up. It was still a bit early to go out to scavenge, and since Penguin had been drinking quite a bit, he knew that even a few extra minutes of sleep would go a long way towards his inevitable hangover.
"I don't know what to do about her." Lexi said suddenly, but didn't look at Law when he glanced her way. The brunette looked distraught just by profile alone. "Especially if she asks me to go with her."
Something panged deep in Law's chest when she mentioned what he'd been worrying about all night long. Watching them talk and seeing Lexi slowly warm up to having Brittany around was causing him more grief than he'd care to admit.
And even when he was left alone with his swirling thoughts while on watch, he couldn't help but wonder if Lexi would leave them to go with her, if given the opportunity. They'd grown close to her in the past several months of surviving together, but perhaps that didn't hold up so well when compared to the bond of her former best friend.
"Why is that?" He ventured to ask, wanting to know her thoughts on the matter.
Lexi shrugged. "I've never been particularly good at telling her no, and whenever I did, she had some good reason why I should."
"That sounds like manipulation."
"I know." She sighed. "I always told myself that Brittany had my best interests at heart, and that I would be more like everyone else if I followed her lead. She grew up in the rich, social family. I grew up poor with my grandmother who had PTSD after my parents died. I figured maybe her good fortune would rub off on me eventually."
"What made you two friends? You don't seem to have much in common." He stated.
Lexi tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "We were both in the medical program in college, and we both liked running. We'd bump into each other on runs sometimes, and we eventually just decided to start running together. We hung out all the time after that."
Even while remembering what he assumed were her fond memories of the woman, she still looked unhappy.
"I think I began to realize that Brittany just likes to have her way when we were surviving together. She started running out of reasons for why my way was the wrong way after a few months. It was hard for me to believe that she knew what she was doing, rather than just doing whatever she wanted.
"But seeing her last night...she seems more like the person I used to know back in college. Maybe she's...gotten better? I don't know..."
After yesterday's argument, Law wanted to be careful how he phrased his concern. "It sounds like you're just grasping at straws, Lexi."
"Yeah..." She nodded sadly. "Maybe..."
"Do you feel trapped with us?" He asked, and she hastily looked up at him.
"No."
"Does it feel like we forced you to stay?"
Her head shook adamantly. "It's nothing like that, Law."
"Just making sure."
She kept his gaze for several seconds, before smiling. "You three are still the best people I've met in this fucked up world. I don't take our friendship lightly, you know. Even if Brittany was my best friend, you've honestly done more for me than she has, and I won't ever forget that."
She couldn't look away from his gray eyes, hoping he'd understand that she didn't want to leave them, especially after everything they'd done for each other. For the longest time, she'd seen Brittany as a figment of her past that never needed to be thought about again. Those memories had been safely tucked away in the furthest part of her mind to reflect on in moments of solitude. Having her show up unexpectedly, alive and well, had thrown her through a bit of a loop.
But it didn't mean Lexi didn't care about her. She really hoped that Brittany had changed for the better. Some small part of her even tossed around the idea of merging their two groups together and surviving together after that. Unfortunately, she knew Law would need to see solid proof of her genuineness in order to begin trusting her or her companions even a smidge, meaning that the possibility of combining their numbers was nigh impossible. They had attempted to rob them at gunpoint the first time they'd met, after all.
And even if Lexi had denied her attraction towards Law to the black-haired beauty the night before, the small pang of pain that had developed in her chest at the thought of leaving her three male companions was very real. She didn't want to leave them after all the time they'd spent together. Not only that, but she was curious to see if her feelings to their leader were reciprocated, because there were moments she could definitely recall where he'd seem to linger his touch or watch her a little longer than was necessary. They were small things that she couldn't call proof, but that certainly caught her attention.
Like now, as Law's gaze broke her own to glance a few inches down, before jumping back up to her eyes. She wondered if he even knew he'd done it, but she'd seen it. It was there. That small moment where he'd been possessed to look at her lips. And now that it was on her mind, she couldn't stop herself from looking at his own-
A feminine laugh downstairs caught their attention, and the moment was broken between them as they both looked towards the stairwell entrance. Their unexpected company from the night before was apparently awake.
Law cleared his throat awkwardly, turning to look out the window. "It should be bright enough to safety travel outside now. We should wake the others up."
He stood with his sword, not giving her a chance to answer or see him hastily swallow down his moment of weakness.
"Yeah. Ok." She agreed shyly, watching him go before going over to her pack.
"Fucking hell..." Penguin moaned, holding his head as they broke the lock on the door to the warehouse. "This is gonna suck."
"No one made you get drunk last night." Shachi remarked offhandedly, stepping past his friend to shine a beam of light into the first area of the wholesale inventory warehouse they'd decided to scavenge. "That's what you get for trying to impress a girl."
"Quit talking so loud..." At least the inside of the building was darker than outside. The sun had been blinding him since waking up and walking outside that morning. He was also too hungover to reply that he hadn't been trying to impress Natalya at all, and had simply wanted the relief of forgetting things for a night.
Lexi walked next to him and flashed him a sympathetic smile, before going further inside. At least someone felt bad for him.
The warehouse was still mostly stocked with boxes, but many had been cut open, their contents spilling out on the floor. The place was huge, the large metal shelves reaching up towards the ceiling. Lexi had never been inside one before, and she could only imagine how they actually transported things in here.
"What sort of stuff did this place store anyway?" Shachi mused, gazing upward at the towering rows of boxes. Most lacked labels or markings of any kind to determine what they contained.
Law shrugged, walking a few paces ahead of them with his sword ready for anything. "Not sure. Could be hundreds of different things, or all of the same. We'll probably just have to open some boxes and see what's inside."
"Think of it like opening birthday presents." Lexi said cheerfully, taking her knife from the hilt on her belt and walking over to the nearest box. She started cutting through the tape as quietly as she could, since they could still hear the distant moans of zombies somewhere inside the building.
Law gestured to the next shelf of boxes next to them. "We want to make this as quick as possible, so open your own, but keep close and pay attention to any nearby sounds." He instructed, and they set to work.
Lexi stood next to Law as they sawed away at the tape and plastic strips holding the cardboard flaps together. They were concentrated on their work and didn't say anything. Lexi was inclined to look his way just to see those gray eyes again, but thought better of it. She didn't want to come across as creepy, or even pushy, so she shoved the urge down and focused on opening her box.
Law finished his box first, and opened the top to reveal a stack of plushies you'd find at an amusement park game stall. He abandoned it where it sat and went onto the next one.
Lexi's was next, and she pulled out a bright pink fuzzy pillow. Out of instinct more than anything, she held it to her chest and squeezed, feeling the soft fuzz against her skin.
She looked over and saw Law staring at her with a funny expression, and she smiled. "What?"
"Nothing." He said, but she could see the hint of a grin wanting to uplift the corners of his mouth.
Pouting, she dropped the pillow back down on top of the box and went to the next one.
Many of the closest boxes were filled with very similar stuff; plushies, pillows, blankets, novelties knick-knacks which held no functional use to them. Box after box turned up a dud. They ran out of reachable boxes on this aisle, and so went to the next one to begin again.
"We're gonna be here for hours, aren't we?" Lexi mused, pausing in her cutting to look down the dozens of aisles that she could see from her spot. And even then, there are dozens more that she couldn't see outright.
"If we don't find anything soon, then probably." Shachi said, slicing the last bit of tape off of his box. A bunch of packaged boxes of magic kits fell out all over the floor. "Oh, hell yeah." He said, picking one up with a grin and inspecting the back side.
"You gonna make the zombies all disappear with a wave of your hand?" She asked in amusement, watching him as she continued to cut her box open.
"Nah, but man...brings back memories." He said, letting his gaze linger on the box a bit longer before letting it fall. It landed with a thud on the rest of them. "I got grounded a lot for having one of those."
"I can imagine." Lexi chuckled. "I always wanted one, but we couldn't afford it. Plus, I'm no good at lying."
"Lying?" Shachi shook his head, flourishing his fingers dramatically. "It's all about distraction, Lexi. There's no lying involved."
"Oh, sure. Then tell me how to do all your magic tricks." She said, popping open the next box. Nothing but novelty socks of all assortments of colors and pattern. They looked too thin to be of much use, so she went to the next one.
"A magician never reveals-"
"-his secrets, yeah, yeah." She finished, laughing under her breath. "You big liar."
"It's not a lie! Just...not disclosing the information!" He explained.
"Still a lie of omission." She said, already working on her next box.
"Whatever." Shachi gave up trying to argue his case and just shrugged with a smile. He went back to working, going across the aisle as all of the other boxes besides the one Lexi was opening were already opened.
Once the last piece of tape was cut, she opened up the flats and gasped in excitement. She pulled a rubik's cube from the top and smiled. They were packaged with the sides in uniform order, and she was tempted not to touch it, but she moved a few rows and began randomizing the colors. She'd have one of the boys do it later so she could return them back into order. It would be a great time waster when they found themselves back at the office.
Stuffing the cube into her back, she hurried over to the next aisle to check what was in those boxes. Law was already there, opening the first box in the row. Shachi and Penguin had elected to take the aisle next over, talking quietly between themselves.
"Having fun over here?" She asked him. Despite the circumstances, she was having a good time herself. It was sort of exciting to see what they'd find, a surprise in every package.
"The grandest time." He said blandly, moving onto a new box when he wasn't satisfied with the contents. Obviously he didn't think it was as entertaining as she did.
"Oh, come on. You have to admit this isn't all that bad."
He glanced at her with a raised brow. "I'd be in a much better mood if we actually found something of value. At this rate, we'll waste our entire day without finding anything. And I still want to get back to our shelter before your friend does."
He didn't trust her not to keep her word. Though she'd promised to keep her search to the Eastern side of the city when they'd departed that morning, while Law's group scavenged the Southern portion, there was always the possibility that she'd just 'accidentally' find themselves in the same spot, taking the same supplies as his group.
"Don't be such a downer. We just have to keep looking." She said, refusing to allow his doubt to affect her pleasant mood. She managed to get her box open and froze at seeing the contents.
Dozens of pairs of fuzzy handcuffs sat inside, in colors of pink and black and purple. Images of close-ups of sensually dressed women's thighs or shoulders were printed in the corners of the packages.
Well. It felt a little weird standing beside a box of handcuffs meant for bondage pleasure when Law was right next to her. She tried not to let the feeling make her face blush, but she knew the longer she just stared at the contents awkwardly, the more likely he'd see her discomfort. Best to just act like nothing was weird about it and move on. But she honestly couldn't help herself...
She picked one up and ripped it out of the plastic package, pulling on them to see how much they could take. For being a cheap product, it was surprisingly sturdy. Law noticed what she was holding.
"Do you see yourself needing those in the near future?" He asked curiously, giving her a strange look.
She shrugged. "If you take the fuzz off of them, they're just regular handcuffs. Say we have to subdue someone and don't have any rope around. Quick and easy alternative, right?"
Law could see the value in what she'd described, now that she mentioned it, but still. It was a little weird seeing her just holding them. Because the longer he thought about it, the more he started wondering if she was into-
With a shake of his head, he cut off his internal thoughts and went back to cutting his own box. He didn't miss the fact that she'd stuffed a few pairs into her bag, enough so they each had a pair.
For several minutes and multiple boxes, they both kept quiet, preferring to focus on the task at hand rather than the near-awkward exchange they'd just had. Lexi hoped that they would find something useful quick so they would have something else to pay attention to. The looming discomfort she felt was practically unbearable.
"I'm beginning to suspect that the aisles have a general theme to their contents." Law said suddenly, causing Lexi to turn around and see the small, black lingerie gown he was holding up. It was cheap and probably something you'd buy online.
She opened her box and immediately closed it, face going red for sure now. "Yeah. You're probably right."
He noticed her reaction and examined the box's sides to try to see what it contained, but it was written in Chinese lettering which he couldn't read. "What'd you find?"
"Nothing important...and nothing you need to know about." She said, putting the flaps back together but it was no use. She'd cut them all free of the tape holding them closed. "Let's go to the next aisle."
He just stared at her strangely, but let her retreat from the conversation. When she was safely on the other side of the aisle near Shachi and Penguin, he walked over to her box and peered inside, curiosity getting the better of him.
Ah. Right.
Vibrators.
Closing the box, he began his hasty retreat from the aisle as well, passing by the box of condoms he'd opened earlier. It was a good thing she hadn't noticed one of the missing packages from the top, or at the very least mentioned it. That would be a tricky thing to explain himself out of.
There was a handful of zombies that were trapped in the building with them, but they were spread out too thinly to be a large problem. The warehouse hadn't seen any structural or exterior damage, meaning there was very little chance that the place could be filled up with zombies as time passed. Anyone inside were probably workers that had all turned or survivors that had tried holing up here in the first few days of the apocalypse.
One by one, the group struck them down as they searched the many, many boxes inside the wholesale warehouse. They'd made good progress so far, with at least a few hundred boxes now open, but they still had a ways to go.
Law was desperate to find at least something edible in the contents of one of the boxes. It probably wouldn't taste all that great, but it would be something. Even Shachi and Penguin had stopped their back and forth bickering, which would normally please him, but he knew it was a sign that they were tired and becoming disheartened at their lack of success.
Lexi had been excited to begin with, but now she just opened boxes on autopilot, barely looking inside before going onto the next one. They were all growing weary of opening boxes. They all wanted a good find for once.
Realizing that each aisle contained a specific type of product, they were able to increase their search speed for something they needed. Rather than opening every single box, they'd open a few per aisle, and determine what it held, before deciding if it was worth continuing.
Late in the afternoon, Penguin finally found something.
"Guys, come check this out!" He called, and the others hurried over to his side, wondering what it was he found.
They all smiled at the sight of an entire box of packaged beef jerky, stacked in neat columns. It was probably stale and hard as a rock, but the only thing they could think of was the fact that they'd be able to eat for a month with the amount of jerky in the box.
Four pairs of hands eagerly snatched from the pile and filled their packs with the pouches of jerky, and a few were opened and eaten greedily. Lexi chewed on the tough jerky while laying on the floor, already having filled her pack to the bursting point. She ate in happy silence while the others kept grabbing them, content to lay there and take a small break for all their hard work.
Law thought that maybe they should have left more room for other items as well, but he figured that having too much food was never an issue nowadays. They could always come here again tomorrow and see what else this place had in store. Now that they'd found one thing, he was willing to bet there were more food stuffs in at least a few more boxes in this aisle.
For now, he was happy, and glad that they had some good luck on their side today.
It was close to sundown by the time they made it back to the office building. The zombies were becoming more active, roaming the streets in search of fresh meat at the same time they were making their way back to their shelter for the night.
Law took the lead, holding his sword at the ready and striking down any zombie that approached from in front of the group. Shachi and Penguin took up just to the left and right of him a few feet behind, keeping their focus on the alleyways where the dead could appear from out of nowhere. Lexi took the back, checking behind her every once in a while to make sure they weren't being followed or in case a zombie or two wanted to sneak up on them.
It was one of Law's favorite ways to travel, now that they had four members in the group. The diamond formation had them covered from all sides, and left them all feeling like their backs were protected in the event of a large horde of zombies.
"I wonder if Brittany's group is having as good of luck as us." Penguin stated curiously, eyeing the approaching sunset.
Law shrugged, not really in the mood to talk about her. After the long day of searching through hundreds of boxes, none of them really wanted to strike up a conversation, too focused on getting back to the office.
They neared the corner to the street that the office building was located. Law was first to round the edge of the brick building beside them, but stopped and stepped back behind the wall. He gestured for them to do the same, holding up one finger as a sign to keep quiet.
Shachi, Penguin, and Lexi all flattened themselves against the wall, hands hovering above their various weapons, at the ready for whatever had put Law on edge.
Their leader peeked out from behind the wall for a moment, watching whatever was there, before turning back to them and mouth words 'zombie horde.'
Just great. They were literally down the road from their shelter, and a horde was in their way. It would have happened eventually, what with all the movement they were doing within the city. Law took one last look before waving them back the way they'd come. He put some distance between them and the street before speaking to them quietly.
"Looks to be at least 50, all grouped up. Something might have drawn them over here. We'll have to take another street and go around."
"Damn, it'll be dark by then." Shachi said, shaking his head in disappointment. Law glanced at the sky as well, looking just as upset about this development.
"We don't have anything loud enough to distract them with unless we shout, which will just make matters worse. There's no other option." He said, and they all came to the same conclusion.
They backtracked to the previous street and turned towards the direction of the office. Because of the large group just one street over, there weren't many other zombies in the vicinity, the noise of them having already attracted those close by. They made it to the opposite end of the street, going one further just to be safe, before turning onto the street where the office was.
Law was very cautious about going in the direction towards the zombie group, always listening for the tell-tale high-pitched groans of those that had caught their scent or had prey within sight. Step by quiet step they grew closer to their destination, hoping that they wouldn't be noticed.
The office was finally in sight, with the group of undead figures shambling about 150 meters past that. There were some cars parked along the side of the road that provided them with some cover. Leapfrogging from car to car, they eventually made it to the entrance of the office without incident, and collectively released a pent-up breath as they stepped inside the shelter.
"Hiya, guys!" Brittany greeted them cheerfully from her place against the wall. Natalya and Candice were a few feet to her left, lounging around and eyeing them with little interest. "We were starting to worry you wouldn't make it back, what with that big herd that's settled in."
The brunette had a feeling her sentiment of concern wasn't shared by Brittany's friends, but decided just to let it go. "We had to go around them. Took a bit longer than anticipated."
Law's group made themselves at home in the small front area. He still didn't feel entirely comfortable with having the three additional women around, but there wasn't much he could do about it at this point. They knew where they were located, and killing them would no doubt alienate Lexi. What a predicament.
A silence descends on the two groups, both tired from their day of scavenging and exploring the city. Law placed his back against a wall and sighed quietly to himself, glad to finally be off of his feet. They'd been standing and walking all day long, and despite being used to the physical toll, you could never really get used to the pain in your feet after having moved around so much.
He watched with interested as Lexi propped her bag up as a makeshift pillow and lay down on the floor, turning a rubik's cube this way and that. Penguin and Shachi were both sitting beside each other, eating from a packet of beef jerky. Their bags sat beside them, opened just enough that Law could see the dozens of packs they'd stashed there. He frowned, realizing that if he could see them, then-
"Woah, you guys must have found a nice spot for food." Brittany blurted out, spotting the jerky herself and smiling.
Damn it. Law cursed inwardly, hoping he could have kept their little food stash a secret. He wasn't feeling very inclined to share with Brittany's group what they'd found or just how promising of a spot it was. Too late for that now.
Shachi looked down at their bags, having realized their error. "Oh...yeah, we did, heh."
"Guess we just got lucky." Penguin supplied, hoping she'd drop it from there. They could both feel Law's disapproving stare piercing them from their left. They fucked up and he wanted them to know it.
But she unfortunately wasn't satisfied with that. "I know you guys took the south part of the city, but where'd you go? Maybe there's some more where that came from."
"We found a grocery store. Figured there wouldn't be much, but there was a pallet of jerky in a locked back room." Law jumped to explain before Shachi and Penguin could be seen floundering for an answer, or worse yet, spilling the truth. "Probably isn't anything left, though. We combed through that place."
Brittany shrugged with a slanted smile. "Ah, that's a shame. Well, I'm glad you found what you did."
Her and Law stared each other down, both knowing that he hadn't spoken the truth. He could see that she knew it too, aware of the fact that he was distrustful of her. But she laughed and waved away the tense moment.
"That means we both had great finds. My group found a place with tons of fresh water available, but we couldn't bring too much back. Not enough containers." She finished.
All their heads bobbed up at the word 'water,' as it had been a concern of theirs for awhile. While they had enough to get by, Law was always looking for a way to provide them with a steady source of it. They only found so many water bottles while out scavenging, and when they were out on the road, rivers weren't a common thing to come by.
"Where'd you find that?" Lexi blurted out before she could stop herself.
Brittany tilted her head, smiling sadly. "I'd like to tell you, but unless Law here is willing to be honest about where you found the food, I don't feel comfortable answering that question." Her eyes flicked over to Law, calling his bluff and forcing his hand in a sense. She knew she had the upper hand, and made that very clear to the rest of them.
Law said nothing, weighing his options as they were. It was beneficial to have a possible goldmine of food within reach all to themselves, but realistically, water was the most crucial resource they could have. It would only take a few days of dehydration to quickly kill them off. And much as he didn't want to admit it, they would run out soon if nothing was done.
They could push their hunger for a few weeks if necessary. And Brittany knew it. He didn't like the smugness behind those eyes of hers, or the way she dangled her knowledge over him like a prize to be won. He didn't have much choice than to go with her plan, but at least he could shift it to be more in his favor.
"How about a compromise?" He started, gaining everyone's attention. "Tomorrow, I take one of your group to where we found the food, and you take one of my group to the location of the water. They'll bring back whatever they can carry with them for their own group."
It wouldn't prevent them from knowing where the warehouse was, as he had no disillusions that whoever went with would inform the others of the location, but at least it would give Law another day to control it without worrying that the stash would be gone the next morning, with Brittany's group long gone packing everything that had been there before.
Candice scoffed, joining the conversation for the first time that evening. "You want us to believe you won't just stab whoever goes with you in the back the moment you get there? Yeah, right..."
"I could say the same thing." Law retorted, and Candice only glared in return.
"Law isn't like that." Shachi defended, and Penguin nodded, insulted by her words.
"Neither are we."
"We don't know that for sure." She shrugged nonchalantly, barely giving them a glance.
"You know," Brittany started, "there's no reason for us not to trust each other." She ignored the raised brow Law sent in her direction. "Lexi is a mutual friend of all of us, and I'm sure she'd want us all to make this work without jumping to stab each other in the back at a moment's notice."
A few pairs of eyes looked the brunette's way, and she shrank into herself, trying to avoid everyone's gaze. She really wished that Brittany hadn't put her on the spot like that...
"A friend of Lexi's is a friend of mine, especially someone who helped keep her alive up to this point." The black-haired woman continued diplomatically. "Butting heads is just gonna set us back and cause us all stress. Given the circumstances, we should work together to accomplish a lot more than we would otherwise be able to. There aren't many people left. We shouldn't let this world destroy what we used to be as people."
There was a small silence as everyone took in her little speech.
She's charismatic, I'll give her that. Law begrudgingly agreed that the sentiments she spoke of were true, but in application it wasn't so easy. Candice and Natalya also didn't seem entirely on board with it, but he knew they'd follow her lead no matter what. They were loyal to her, just as Shachi, and Penguin were loyal to him. And Lexi?
Well, these days he wasn't so sure where she leaned.
Rejecting her figurative olive branch would probably distance the brunette further, and he wanted to avoid causing Lexi to decide to go with Brittany after all was said and done. He'd gone to such trouble just to recruit her. Losing her now because of his own actions wouldn't sit well with him, and he had a feeling, deep down, Shachi and Penguin would blame him for it if she left like this.
"Alright," he finally nodded, "but I still insist on my idea. At least until we all get used to the idea of having each other around, just to ease everyone's mind."
Brittany's smile widened, and she nodded. "Of course, whatever makes you feel comfortable. It wouldn't sit right with me if we got off to a bad start to this partnership."
Law wondered if she knew how fake her smile came off to him, or how the too-sweet tone of her voice grated on his ears. Maybe he was just looking for deception in places it wasn't. Nowadays he honestly couldn't tell if his distrust of others was his own feelings projecting themselves onto everyone else. After Woodsville, he'd begun to doubt his own instincts a little.
"So, who's going with who tomorrow?" Candice interrupted, crossing her arms.
"I can take Lexi with me." Brittany offered. "If you're worried about safety, she would be the best choice, considering our history."
Law didn't see a problem with that, seeing that Lexi nodded to indicate she had no objections. He also knew that Shachi and Penguin could handle themselves here at the office with whoever of Brittany's group got left behind. They wouldn't get caught unawares, should things end up being a trick. "Fair enough. I will accompany whoever in your group volunteers."
Brittany turned to her friends expectantly, who looked back at her with equally neutral expressions. Candice and Natalya then shared a glance between themselves, before the Russian looked back at Brittany. "I will go."
Law wondered what sort of non-verbal communication had just occurred between them, but figured it was useless to wonder. The female leader nodded in satisfaction, then turned to him.
"Well, it's been settled. We should go early in the morning so we have plenty of time to get back before sundown. We don't want a repeat of today with that herd out there, do we?"
"I'm fucking tired..." Shachi admitted, yawning with a stretch of his arms. Penguin and Lexi both nodded their agreement, feeling the full effects of their long day. With a few stale goodnights to the others, his group trudged upstairs towards their sleeping area.
Even Law was feeling the exhaustion, having had no sleep the night before. He'd have to get at least a few hours at some point that night, meaning they'd have to set up the watch schedule again. He figured he could last another few hours and allow the others to get some rest after the long day they'd had.
A hand on his arm made him turn. Lexi inspected him with a critical eye, then smiled tiredly. "I'll take first watch."
He went to tell her no, but she was already raising a brow incredulously.
"Don't even start. You look like shit, Law. Seriously, get some sleep. I'll be fine for a few more hours, don't worry."
Her reassuring smile and the thought of just closing his eyes were too much for him to keep putting up a fight, so he nodded with resigned gratitude. She gave his shoulder a comforting pat, before letting him go towards his spot.
The others settled in while Lexi took her spot by the window, watching for any threat that might present itself.
ns 15.158.61.12da2
