Shachi slipped in through the open window of the apartment complex's hallway. He paused, low to the ground, just listening for zombies or others that might have found this place during their absence. Nothing, so he began creeping closer to the end of the hall.
It had only been a few days since they last stayed here, what felt like a lifetime ago, but in that time anything could have happened. He didn't want to take chances and be caught unprepared. A knife in the back was never a preferable outcome.
Reaching the last apartment on the left, he held his knife at the ready, reaching for the door slowly. He twisted the knob silently, pulling a little to open it just a crack. The hinges were rusty after so much time without care, and the loud squeak was unavoidable as he pulled it further open. He winced, easing it as gently as he could to lessen the noise.
The living room's window let in enough light to see by, and Shachi let his gaze flit around quickly, again listening for any out-of-place creak or bump inside. Nothing so far. Just the same dusty couch and long-useless tv set up. A few of their blankets still rested on the cushions.
Shachi checked the back bedrooms one at a time, knife gripped loosely in his hand, but there was no intruder to be found. Just dust and silence. After several minutes of tense searching, he came to the conclusion that he was indeed alone inside.
He relaxed a bit, looking around the apartment that they'd used for the past few weeks. It was just large enough to comfortably fit everyone with room to spare, sporting two bedrooms and an average size living room and kitchen. They'd managed to clean up the trash while they had occupied it, and it was looking as it would have before the dead rose. Lived in and tidy.
Everything as it was. Except...
The redhead frowned, staring at the coatrack where he had left his extra jacket before they'd left for their scavenge location. The peg was now empty, missing all of their jackets, now that he really looked at it.
A sinking feeling rising in his gut, he looked around the place with a new set of criteria, cataloguing everything that should have been there but wasn't. The hydration pack that Penguin had found on a previous outing. Law's survival knife that he'd tucked in the couch cushion to hide while they were away. His own compass and Swiss army knife. And Lexi's Rubix cube among other things. All missing. Taken.
He supposed they were all things they could eventually replace, but in his panic, he thought to hurry to the kitchen to check their most important supplies. Law had found a small padlock from a department store and used it to secure their food and water in a cupboard, both to discourage them from frequent snacking and to keep them safe if anyone came snooping while they were away.
The lock was gone. The corner of the cupboard he'd secured it to was bashed open, bits of the splintered wood on the counter and linoleum floor. Shachi swallowed, and looked inside to find it completely empty.
All their food. All their water. Gone. He balled his hand into a fist and bashed it against the counter.
"Fuck!"
The creak of the house's door made Penguin look up, holding his pistol at the ready in case any of the raiders had survived the horde and made their way here. It was just Shachi, returning from his trip to their shelter, and he lowered the weapon back down to his side. "Any trouble?" He asked quietly, mindful to keep his voice down.
Shachi picked up on his volume and stilled. "No. Are they still asleep?"
"Yeah." He gestured to the living room and they both popped their heads around the corner, spotting Lexi and Law both still sleeping on the couch.
Law was rested against the armrest, covered in a blanket. Lexi, who'd originally leaned against the opposite side, was now nestled up against his side, looked decidedly comfortable and warm in her own blanket. They hadn't moved much for several hours, though the boys were content to let them sleep as long as they needed to.
Penguin hadn't felt the need to move them to beds since they'd both promptly fallen asleep after having something to eat and drink the night before. No need to interrupt a restful and nice moment for them. He only hoped waking up beside each other wouldn't cause their awkwardness to increase.
"Did you get more food?" Penguin asked of his friend, leaving their friends as they were.
Shachi sighed, gestured for him to go back into the front foyer area so they wouldn't accidentally wake up the others. He struggled to find a way to ease into the bad news, so he just offered it up as it was instead. "It's all gone."
Penguin tensed, eyes wide. "All of it?"
"All of it. The lock was broken when I got there. Someone came through and cleaned it out, along with most of our stuff." He reported, watching the full extent of the news hit his friend.
The hatted man's mouth went into a thin line, and he began pacing in place. Hands went from scratching his neck to propping themselves against his hips, then to dragging down his face. He couldn't sit still, unsure of what to do now that they were completely out of supplies.
"Was there anything left at all?" He decided to ask first, voice barely above a whisper as he processed what was being said.
"Just a few blankets and Law's backpack that he hid underneath one of the dressers." Shachi said, hefting up the bag in question. It was uncomfortably light. Penguin reached out and checked the contents.
"Shit...that means they got most of our weapons, too." Penguin bitterly said, rifling through the remnants of their stash with disdain. "Fucking raiders...how did they manage it?"
Two pistols with the corresponding boxes of ammo, a few knives, and a fresh change of clothes for Law. A quick search through the smaller pockets only revealed the stone he used to sharpen his sword and a handful of granola bars that were stale, hard, and no more than a wrapper full of crumbs by now.
"This is bad..." Penguin surmised, zipping the bag back up and setting it on the floor. "This is...really bad."
"I know." Shachi said, nodding slowly. "With what we have on us right now, it'll be enough for a week I'm guessing. Maybe we can replenish some of our supplies by then."
"Maybe, but...we've searched through a good portion of the city already. Other than the warehouse and the water bottling facility, there wasn't much else." Penguin reminded with a shake of his head. "It's a slim chance at best."
"Not like our survival hasn't always been more than a slim chance."
They stood there, thoughts swirling around their new and terrifying situation. 48 hours ago, they'd been in the best position they could have possibly found themselves in. Now? They were back to square one, as if the past month here hadn't ever happened at all.
Then, Penguin latched onto an idea. "The raiders house probably still has stuff in it."
"It's swarming with undead." Shachi said bluntly, a deadpan expression on his face. Had he completely forgotten last night's little ambush? "How do you expect us to get in there with 50 zombies occupying it?"
"We just cover ourselves in guts again, blend in, and bring things out one by one." He said with a shrug. "Yesterday proves that it's not a bad camouflage."
Shachi shook his head, not liking the idea. "We have no idea how much stuff the raiders even had. They could have been in just as bad a spot as we are now."
"It could be worth a shot."
"Or, it's way too dangerous to even try. The moment your cover starts fading away, we find ourselves in a feeding frenzy." Shachi pushed vehemently, knowing if he didn't provide good counter points against the plan then Penguin would offer to just go himself. "Plus, Lexi and Law need time to recover. We can't be leaving them alone to fend for themselves right now."
"Then I'll just go alo-"
"No." He said, not even letting Penguin finish the thought. "You were already pushing your luck by going out there and gathering a fucking zombie parade. We had no other choice then. Now, there are better options to consider."
"We're stuck here, god damnit." Penguin pressed, gesturing to the house they were currently hiding out in. "Like you said, they need to recover first, and that house is the closest and best chance of finding supplies. What else are we supposed to do until they get back on their feet?"
"We're ok, Penguin." A female spoke.
They both turned, and Lexi stepped into the foyer wrapped in a blanket. Only a few steps behind her was Law. They still looked a little worse for wear, but nowhere near as tired as last night.
"A little food and water and we should be ready for anything." She finished.
"Guys..." Shachi started, unsure of what to say at first. Chances are their discussion had woken them up from the living room. "How much did you hear?"
"Enough to know that we're in a bad spot." Law said, sighing sadly and crossing his arms. He leaned against the wall beside the window, checking to see that there weren't any zombies around. "But I agree with you, it would be too dangerous to go back to the house, even with the camouflage tactic."
"Well, what do you think we should do?" Penguin threw his hands up in surrender, knowing that he was outnumbered here. "I'm running out of ideas here."
"Move on." Law replied immediately, eyes locked on the window of the house opposite, and for some reason he was unable to look away. There was nothing there, but the pull to stare at it was stranger than his will power to avert his gaze.
"Leave? We haven't picked the warehouse clean yet, and the water bottling facility still has plenty of water." The hatted man pointed out. "Are we really ready to leave those behind? It's the best sources of food and water we've ever had."
Law frowned, finally able to break away from his staring to regard them. "I have a feeling the raiders who kidnapped us and the group who ransacked our supplies aren't related. The timelines don't make sense, and if they did end up finding our stash anyway, there would have been no reason to keep us alive that long."
"...that does make a bit more sense." Shachi supplied, thinking about it."
Law nodded. "If that's the case, then the city is becoming an uncomfortably dangerous place to be."
"Things could escalate into a territory war if we decide to stay." Lexi supplied, and Law continued.
"At the very least, we would need to find a new shelter. The apartments are already compromised, and with this new, unknown threat somewhere in the city, I don't think that food and water would be worth the risk."
"Where would we go?" Shachi asked.
"It's never really mattered before." Lexi said with a shrug. "Let's just pick a direction and go."
"I guess, but...with our supplies now, would we make it to wherever we go next?" Penguin's protests were becoming less effective, as he grew to realize that leaving was their best option, but he still wanted them all to think it through as much as possible.
"We'll scavenge along the way, like we've always done." Shachi said.
"If I can also say, frankly" Lexi stated, looking down at the ground with discomfort, "I'm sick of this fucking city. I don't want to stay here and have to think about...what happened. I want to get away from...all of it."
None of them had to ask what she meant. And now, being kidnapped on top of it all? Penguin could see her motivation to leave was more than just the threat of another group somewhere in the city. It was hard to deny her that, and he felt most of fight leave his body.
A short silence followed her plea, but she looked up and shook her head. "I don't want that to be the only reason you change your mind. So please don't base your choice on just that."
Penguin nodded his understanding, but he wasn't sure how well he could keep to her request. Sticking around in a place that caused her pain wouldn't sit well with him in any scenario.
"We don't have the luxury of waiting around to make a decision. The longer we stay here, the less time we have to replenish our lost stuff." Law said softly, glancing around at them. "Should we vote now?"
"I say we go." Shachi said confidently, and Lexi nodded along.
"Me too."
"I agree we should move on." Law said, and he gave Penguin a patient look. The hatted man chewed his lip carefully but eventually sighed, suppressing the last bit of himself that thought it was best to stay, but nodded in the end.
"There might be good supplies here, but...like you said. It's more dangerous than it used to be. And, it's probably time to move on."
He could see Lexi's relieved smile despite her attempt to hide it behind the blanket. Well, at least she would be alright, he thought. The decision sunk in, settling in their bodies as the realization that their nomadic lifestyle would once more return. No more returning to a safe place every night, at least for now.
"Ok." Law said with an understanding nod. "We'll take a second to rest and eat something, each of us. Then let's get moving."
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