Note: Chronologically, chapters are months or weeks apart. Seasons changes, things are different, etc. Just to clear up any confusion.727Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfUd8F5TxR
Lexi yanked the wood door open, her knife held out at the ready for any sign of zombies. The little cabin was empty, though smears of blood painted one side of the wall. Sighing, she grimaced, putting away her knife as she closed the door behind her with her foot. So much for a clean place to stay the night.
The one-room cabin looked comfortable enough. There was a queen sized bed centered against the back wall, with two nightstands on either side. Each one had a lamp standing atop it, though without any power they were little more than just decoration. Walking further in, she turned and saw a small kitchenette near the door containing a sink and small gas-powered stove. Atop one of the burners was an old pot, and she went over to look inside. Thankfully, there wasn't any rotting or spoiled food on the inside which would have rendered it useless to her.
Unpacking her things and tossing them on the bed, she took out a can of soup and a water bottle, placing them on the small counter beside the stove. Grabbing the pot, she returned to the door and stepped down from the little porch, her boots crunching in the snow underfoot.
Winter had set in early this year, and the countryside had been blanketed in a thick coat of snow the week before. She'd noticed the steady drop in temperature well before the snow fell, and was thankful she'd been able to find a winter coat and sturdy boots in the city.
Lexi made her way to the small lake within sight of the little cabin, thankfully not too long of a walk there. Her breath came out in puffs, and she flexed her fingers inside her gloves. They stung from the cold.
Reaching the edge of the lake, she stooped down and filled the pot halfway with water, sloshing it around to clean out the dust. Repeating the action a few times, just to be sure there wasn't anything dirty inside, she dumped the rest out and began walking back towards the cabin.
The city had proved to be full of useful supplies, but after another month of squatting in abandoned apartments and scavenging what she could, she noticed the zombie activity slowly growing, probably due to her constant moving from place to place in search of stuff. Lexi had decided to move on, right after finding suitable winter clothes of course, during what was then late August.
Now, fully into the freezing snowstorms of October, Lexi had moved on from the city. It wasn't as if she'd planned to stay there very long to begin with. Early on in the outbreak, the government had organized and broadcast the coordinates and locations of several supposed safe houses from the shit storm brewing throughout the country. There were some all over the country, various military bases and government properties transformed into what they called 'a sanctuary for survivors until the outbreak could be contained.'
Sure, that had been almost a year ago, but Lexi was hopeful. Sort of. Her faith was running thin. At some point she hoped to come across one of these secure bunkers. There was supposed to be one not too far to the north, in Ohio. It was her last hope that humanity may be able to recover from the disease that had turned the dead into flesh-eating monsters, it it hadn't been killed off already.
Shaking off her thoughts, she tromped up the steps of the cabin, carrying the now-clean pot, setting it atop the stove with a clank. She poured the contents of the soup can into it, adding a little water so it wouldn't be as thick. Crossing her fingers, she turned the little knob that controlled the gas and waited, smiling when the adjustor clicked before small flames appeared underneath the pot. It seemed the gas line connected to the propane tank outside was still functional, and she let out a breath.
While the soup heated up in the pot, Lexi went over to the bed, taking off her heavy coat and laying it on the bed. The brunette dug a blanket out of the bag, wrapping it around her shoulders with a shiver. The cabin walls didn't exactly keep out the cold from outside, but hopefully the stove would heat the inside a little better after her meal was cooked. Already the lovely scents of the tomato soup were wafting to her nose. She breathed in deeply, her stomach grumbling in anticipation.
Looking down at her clothes, she realized that her shirt was a little dirty from falling in a patch of mud while finding this place. Unbuttoning the top, she shrugged out of the blanket and took it off, revealing the white tank top below. As a second layer of clothing it didn't do much, but it was all she had. Tossing the dirty shirt onto the floor, intent to wash off the mud in the snow later, she rewrapped the blanket around her shoulders and returned to the stove.
She found a stray spoon in one of the counter drawers, wiping it off on a towel before stirring her dinner around, happy to see small bubbles rising at the edges of the pot. She just hoped the propane outside would last long enough to fully cook her dinner.
Lexi's eyes widened, hearing the fast steps of several feet outside. Now, of all times? Just great. She rushed back to the bed where her handgun lay, the safety on. Before she was able to grab it, the cabin door slammed open, several men filing in all armed with large guns.
"Ah, ah! Stop where you are, sweetheart." The one in front said, pointing some sort of shotgun at her chest. Freezing in place, her arm still out to grab the gun, just mere inches from her fingers being able to brush the handle, she eased up, straightening with the blanket all the while wrapped around her shoulder. At the intimidating men surrounding her, she lifted her hands, the material fluttering to the floor around her feet. With a gulp, she realized that her black bra was easy to see underneath the light colored tank top, and mentally cursed at her stupidity. She'd gotten too comfortable.
"No sudden movements, now." The one who had spoken grinned wickedly, keeping his weapon trained on her, slowly walking through the cabin. His men, a blonde with a crooked nose and a nondescript redhead, fanned out on either side, brandishing various guns of their own. Her eyes followed them, standing still just in case. "Didn't your mommy ever tell you to share with others?" He chuckled darkly, still coming closer to her.
"Well, as you can see I wasn't exactly expecting company." She replied bitterly, glancing towards the food still cooking on the stove. The man, sporting a thick fur coat and black leather biker gloves, turned to inspect the stove.
"Aye, it's a shame. Doesn't look like that'll feed too many of us here." His beady black eyes swung around back to hers. "But you seem like the kind of gal that'll be generous enough to let us have it. Hmm? After all, we are your guests." She stared at his nasty face, the mustache no more than greasy tufts of black hair above his upper lip. It wasn't too attractive.
"We've haven't had a bite to eat since last week." One of the other goons supplied, shifting back and forth on his feet and handling that gun a little too eagerly for Lexi's liking. She took in their collectively well-muscled and pudgy physiques, showing her doubt through a raised brow. They didn't seem to care whether she believed them or not, since none of them looked rather concerned about her in the first place.
Lexi's eyes glanced around the room, trying to come up with a way out of this situation, preferably not getting killed. All that came to mind was the window on her right, but by the time she even ran over to it they'd just shoot her in the back. Scowling, she cursed under her breath. There didn't appear to be a solution to her little predicament.
"Why don't we just kill her, boss? She's got a lot of stuff in that bag over there." The other one quipped, pointing over to the bed where her pack lay open. The blonde one fidgeted with his gun and licked his lips in anticipation, as if he'd eat her himself. Her nose crumpled at the thought. The boss tilted his head, looking at her stuff and smiled.
"That's not a bad idea. But, she's a nice looking thing. Might be worth something alive, too." His beady eyes leered at her thin top, no doubt taking in the softer black material visible underneath.
Lexi watched as several other people approached silently from behind them, holding guns of their own. Her first instinct would be to widen her eyes, or say something, but she didn't want to alert the men currently holding her up. They closed the distance behind the mystery men, raising their guns.
"Drop the weapons." A gruff, yet strangely familiar, voice demanded, chambering a round in his rifle, aimed straight at the back of the boss's head.
The two not-so-smart ones turned, dropping their weapons to the ground in fright as they stared down the business end of much bigger guns, carried by two men wearing hats. One said Penguin on the top, the other was a plain blue.
The boss froze, but kept his shotgun trained on her. Lexi tried to identify the one with the rifle but couldn't see their face from behind the ugly man's bigger profile.
The boss glared at her, then she saw a spark of defiance in his black eyes, and he swung back to shoot his ambushers. A part of him must not have believed they would shoot, but that mistake would prove fatal. Lexi dropped to the ground, covering her head with her hands as a loud shot rang out, and blood splattered all over the floor before her.
His head now sporting a sizable whole where his brain should have been, the man's body crumpled to the floor, his weapon dropping limply from his hands in a pool of his own blood. The other two grunts screamed in fright, staring down at the body of their leader. Lexi heard the cock of another weapon, probably one of the hatted men.
"Take off your packs." The voice said. Shivering, the men did as they were told. Lexi felt two thuds on the floor.
"Leave, and take him with you." The gruff voice from before said. The other two thugs whimpered, hesitating only another second before grabbing an arm each and dragging the body out of the cabin, a smear of blood in their wake.
Lexi glanced up, not altogether sure of what her fate would be. Her circumstantial saviors could simply mean to kill her now, intent to take this cabin as their own to stay in for the night. At first she didn't recognize the man, his clothes different than the first time they'd met. But her eyes widened in shock when she laid eyes on a familiar face.
"Law?" She questioned, standing hesitantly. Surprised at the use of his name, he narrowed his eyes. He seemed to realize who she was after a moment of confusion, one brow raised. It had been a few months since she'd last seen him, but to come across him once more was a true surprise.
His sword from before was still strapped on his back, the rifle still in his hands. He didn't lower it.
"Lexi, wasn't it?" He said softly, a tiny smirk of amusement settling his features. She couldn't help but smile, even still fearful of his intentions.
"Yeah. I'm damn lucky you guys came along." She breathed out. Still, her eyes didn't leave the rifle still held up in his arms. Whatever respect that had been established upon their first meeting, despite the admittedly fragile trust they'd come to share, could mean nothing to him. She simply didn't know. It took a moment of thought before the sound of bubbling gained her attention. With a start, she rushed over. "Shit, the soup."
Ignoring the others for the moment and grabbing the spoon from the counter, she stirred the contents, hoping it hadn't stuck to the bottom. Luckily, none of it had hardened to the metal container and she turned down the heat.
"You know her?" The one with the Penguin hat asked, turning to their apparent leader.
"We met once. She isn't hostile." He nodded, finally easing the rifle up. Then, his gaze shifted to her, narrowing a little. "So far as I know." He placed the gun against the corner, straightening up and gesturing for the others to do the same.
The two shared a glance and shrugged, stacking their guns against Law's with a sigh. Lexi watched them become comfortable in the living space, somehow still able to feel at home despite the splattering of blood and brains all over the floor. Feeling a pang of disappointment as she realized she probably wouldn't be staying her tonight, she sighed. Though, that was if Law still intended to stay here, knowing she'd claimed it first. The chance that he'd simply move on, looking for other shelter, was immensely low. Any leader would put the needs of his own group above that of a lone stranger, she was sure. Besides, he did save her life. Lexi supposed that had to account for something.
"Well, I know it isn't much, but contrary to what that guy believed, I don't mind sharing my dinner. You guys did save my life, after all." She gestured to the pot of soup, gaining all of their attentions. The others looked rather excited at the prospect of a hot meal, but turned to Law, waiting for his decision.
"We would appreciate it." He finally said, nodding slowly. Giving a little smile, she turned and tended to the soup, finally satisfied with how hot it had become. Turning off the stove, she grabbed the pot by the handle and walked over to the middle of the floor, where Law's friends began wiping up the blood with rags from their packs.
"There aren't any chairs, so it looks like we'll have to eat on the floor." She shrugged, also holding up the spoon. "And this was the only one I found, so we'll have to share."
The others didn't seem to care, so she waited until the boys had cleared away most of the blood and guts, sitting in a small circle on the floor. Deciding that they looked a little hungrier than her, Lexi passed the pot to the one with the Penguin hat first, smiling as he took the offered food.
"This smells great, thanks." He grinned, taking a few slurps of the contents.
"When did you find this cabin?" Law asked suddenly.
"Not even an hour ago, actually. Those guys must have been following me." She grinned. "And I guess you were following them?"
"They led a whole group of zombies to our camp in the middle of the night! Destroyed half of our stuff, and we had to abandon the rest." The man wearing sunglasses grumped, adjusting his hat. "We went back later to see if we could salvage anything but it was all gone. Those bastards took everything."
"Well, at least you can get it all back, right?" She gestured to the two forgotten packs in the corner, and Law glanced at them. They looked full and heavy, and she wondered just how well-off this little group of men actually was.
"Hopefully." Law replied, inspecting the bags critically. "It's been several days, and who knows what they've used or thrown away since then."
"Hmm." She turned back to his two companions. "Well, I know Law's name, but what are yours?"
"I'm Penguin." One said. He passed the pot over to his friend with the sunglasses, who accepted the food eagerly.
"Shachi."
"Well, I'm Lexi." She smiled, nodding to the two. They gave a grin back, and she looked back towards Law. He narrowed his eyes, watching the exchange. She perked up, thinking of something.
"Oh, did that person who was sick get better? Did they survive?"
Penguin perked up, tilted his head. "Sick? You mean me?" Lexi turned to look at him, seeing the downturned corners of his lips. It seemed he was a bit confused. "I had a pretty shitty virus awhile back, but how'd you know that?"
Lexi opened her mouth to respond, but Law beat her to it. "Lexi was the one who gave me the medication." Penguin's confusion seemed to clear, and he grinned.
"Eh? Really, it was you? Well, I guess I've gotta thank you for that too. If it hadn't have been for those antibiotics, I would've probably been a goner."
"Well, I'm just glad I was able to help. God knows we have to do everything we can to survive nowadays. It's getting tougher." She muttered, looking away with a blush.
Truth be told, she hadn't expected giving him the medicine to work much. Sure, she still wanted to help Law out back then, but with the way things were now, realistically she expected it to be nothing more than a kind gesture. Her delight at seeing a fully recovered Penguin made that day those few months ago well worth it.
And, she hadn't expected a thank you for it, but that was appreciated too.
The pot made its way to Law now, and he accepted it without a word. Lexi couldn't see the remaining contents, and part of her worried that there wouldn't be much left at all. There was still the opportunity for Law's group to simply rob her blind, after eating her dinner and feigning trust. A part of her didn't believe they'd go that low, but one never knew.
"So, where are you from?" Shachi asked, leaning back against the front of the bed to get more comfortable. Lexi turned to him with a smile.
"West Virginia, a little town called Bakersville. It's above 100 miles south of here."
"Well, how'd you end up all the way up here?" Penguin asked next.
She settled back into the kitchen counter behind her, drawing her knees loosely to her chest. She shrugged. "Well, even though a small town isn't that populated, there aren't many supplies there either. After awhile finding food became a bit more difficult, so I started moving north. There were a few other towns nearby, and I stayed there for awhile, then when things got tougher, I'd keep going.
"By the path I've taken so far, if I keep going, eventually I'll end up at the air force base in Ohio. It's the closest safe zone that I know of."
She saw Penguin and Shachi exchange a look, and Law's eyes had narrowed. Raising a brow, she crossed her arms in front of her legs. "What?"
Law shook his head a moment. "What makes you think the place is even still operational?"
"It's been over a year, Lexi…" Shachi admitted, but she shook her head with a sigh.
"I understand that. I know I'm being too optimistic about it. But if we're gonna survive all of this, mankind I mean, then I've gotta believe in something. And right now, I'm holding out hope that someone somewhere is starting to get things put back together."
No one really knew how to respond to her reasoning, simply because they didn't want to crush her already-wavering hopes. An awkward silence blanketed the room, interrupted only by the clank of the spoon hitting the edge of the pot, and Law passing it to her. Not looking at any of them, she took the offered food and peered inside. Raising a brow, she was surprised to see a lot still left over, more so than she would have expected, considering three other people had already eaten from it.
Had they intentionally eaten less to leave her more?
Frowning guiltily into the pot, she glanced up at the others, who were preparing to stand up and move to the two packs on the floor.
"A-are you sure you guys ate your fill? There's still quite a bit left." Shachi turned and gave her a grin.
"It's alright, Lexi. It was your food to begin with anyways. We'll be fine."
Silenced by his reassurance, her eyes returned to the food. Her stomach grumbled its agreement, and she reluctantly began sipping away at the still-hot contents. Her food supplies were running a little low, so she'd been rationing out most of her cans. Not to mention having it heated by a stove made it taste leagues better than when it was cold. Her hunger and the heat getting the better of her, she scarfed down the remaining soup in a matter of minutes.
Once it was empty, she glanced over to the three, watching them pulling various supplies out of the packs, no doubt taking inventory of everything that had been stolen from them.
Lexi stood and turned to the sink, placing the pot inside. "Is everything still there?" She asked over her shoulder. Not wanting to waste precious water, she decided that cleaning the dishes would have to be done with snow from outside instead of her remaining water bottles.
"I believe so." Law commented, still placing flashlights and other oddities onto the floor in an organized manner. "Unfortunately, it looks like they helped themselves to our food supply. Thankfully not all of it." He pulled out a few cans of food, but only a few. He was right, they were running dangerously low, just as Lexi was.
Them going through the packs on the floor reminded of her own still sitting on the bed, zipped open from when she'd looked through it before those thugs tried robbing her. With a small sigh, she realized that now would probably be the time to leave. They'd had their meal, and there were no other signs of danger. It would be best to leave sooner rather than later, so she would have light to search for another shelter.
While the others were distracted by their stuff, Lexi made sure to gather her things, throwing on her heavy jacket and zipping the bag up. With a small sigh, she shrugged it over her shoulders. Leaving the safety on, Lexi slipped the handgun behind her belt. She missed the familiar weight of her AR-15, but it had jammed awhile back and she had been in too precarious a situation to retrieve it. She'd had to leave it in that warehouse, which in the end had proved to be a waste of time. Scavengers had emptied it before she'd checked it out.
Double checking that she hadn't forgotten anything, she started towards the door. She was able to turn the handle without attracting attention, and she slipped back out into the snow. She made it several steps before Law's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Leaving without a goodbye?" She turned, seeing the slight suspicion in his eyes, offset by the teasing smirk. He had his arms crossed, watching her curiously. Turning, she gave him a little smile in return.
"Well, you can't really say anything about that, considering our first meeting." She teased, referring to his disappearance act in the apartment months ago, leaving only a note in his wake. Which she still had in her pack.
"Fair point." He nodded after thinking about it for a moment, leaning against the railing on the wooden steps. "Regardless, night will fall in less than an hour. Where do you expect to go?"
She shrugged, looking out over the snowy landscape and the lake further down. "Not quite sure. But if there's one cabin, there's gotta be more, right?"
He raised a brow but didn't respond. She sighed, adjusting the strap on her shoulder awkwardly.
"You gotta do what's best for your group, I get that. And it wouldn't sit right with me if I kicked you guys out in the cold, especially after you guys saved my life. So, I thought I'd make things easier and just sort of…disappear. What's that saying? 'The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,' isn't it?"
Law sighed again, glancing towards the interior of the cabin, where Shachi and Penguin were probably still looking through the stuff. "Have you considered the possibility of us sharing the cabin with you? Surely you don't think we would have demanded you leave?"
Lexi looked at Law with a knowing stare. She could see he was reluctantly, and indirectly, extending the offer for both groups to spend the night together. Just from his closed-off posture and uncertain expression, she could see he was only asking because he might have felt obligated too. Her kindness had inadvertently put his in a tough spot. He was the sort of person who didn't want to feel indebted to anyone. Lexi would have felt the same, she supposed, if she were in his shoes. Still, the fact that he'd stopped her to offer was a nice gesture, regardless of its sincerity, and she certainly did appreciate it.
"We both know you don't trust me that much yet." She answered quietly, chuckling a little. Neither confirming nor denying her accusation, he merely watched her, wondering what her decision would be. With another small smile and a wave, she turned and began walking in the opposite direction.
"Maybe next time." She called over her shoulder, trekking through the snow in her thick boots. It was much darker now than it was when she'd first found the cabin, and her claim that another had to be nearby was simply conjecture. She truly hoped it was possible, but she had a feeling she'd be spending her evening in a tree. There didn't appear to be any other means of shelter from the elements. As long as it didn't rain, she was sure she'd be fine. Hopefully.
Law watched the woman leave, intrigued by her unique character. Never had he met someone so willing to give up what she had for others, expecting nothing in return. That had been evident when she'd given him the medication, but sharing her food and her resting place that evening was a step further.
People didn't survive like that. Not in this world. At least, he'd always believed so, until he met her. By all accounts, Law believed that someone like that should have been dead long ago. How she'd managed to come this far was a mystery. How could she trust others so easily?
A part of him felt bad, seeing her wander away into the growing darkness, instead of demanding she remain inside the cabin where it was safer. But he hadn't survived this long with his friends by being overly kind. He could name more than one occasion where trusting another person would have gotten them killed. In his perspective, trust was something that had to be earned. And as cruel as it made him sound, Lexi hadn't quite earned it yet.
His respect, however, was another thing.
He also wondered if she truly believed there'd be a next time. Did she honestly think they'd ever meet again? Tonight had been an unlikely coincidence in and of itself. But to see her another time yet again? He highly doubted it.
Strangely, a part of him hoped he was wrong.
After several minutes, she'd faded away from his sight, and Law returned to the interior of the cabin, shutting and locking the door behind him. He approached the packs and his two friends, seeing the damage on their previous supplies. They both looked to him expectantly, and he already knew what they were going to ask before they did.
"Where's Lexi?"
"She left." His response was not what they wanted to hear, obviously, as the two stood and tried finding her through the window.
"Is she crazy? It's almost dark in the middle of winter!"
"We have to tell her to come back. She'll freeze out there." They made to open the door, but Law stopped them.
"Leave her be. She'd long gone by now anyways."
"But-"
Law sighed, knowing that he would have to explain a little before they were satisfied. "Lexi is a lone wolf type of person. She's used to traveling alone, and she's survived this long on her own."
The two paused, their dejected expression not quite gone yet. "I suppose but-"
Law crossed his arms sternly. "Besides, just because someone feeds you doesn't mean you should trust them with your life."
They said nothing, staring at the floor begrudgingly. Their leader was right, of course, but Lexi had been nice. And they liked her. It felt wrong just to let her wander off into the snow as night approached them.
"I just hope she'll be ok." Penguin muttered, moving to put away their stuff back into the bags. Shachi nodded silently, joining in helping. Law watched them, deciding to inspect the cabin for himself.
He picked up the blanket on the floor, which had a copious amount of blood from the man she'd shot earlier. It was practically unusable now, and he tossed it into the corner. He saw a scrap of fabric on the floor, seemingly out of place. Raising a brow, he stooped to pick it up, holding it out to see what it was.
A woman's shirt.
Bloodstains marked the green material, and he could still feel the last vestiges of Lexi's body heat from the inside. It was ripped on the right sleeve, but other than that it was in relatively good condition.
Crumpling it up, he made to toss it with the ruined blanket, but hesitated. Law conveniently ignored that strange feeling in his gut as he stuffed it into his own pack, acting as if nothing happened. Shachi and Penguin didn't notice him taking the garment. Nor would he explain why he had it when they eventually discovered it.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
