Glory And Gore

Chapter Four

"How's she take to people moving in?" Shane asked.

Lucas shrugged. "No one's tried."

So they were the first. Shane would have to set a precedent, and Levy wasn't sure how she felt about that. This sort of thing got people killed. And if her people were killed...

"Lucas, you sure that's how you wanna go about this?" Shane asked, leaning forward.

Levy hid a smile as Lucas nodded. "I'm sure. We need numbers. We need... we need people we can trust," Lucas said quietly.

Shane nodded his head. "Then it's settled. Let's pack everything up, and I'll contact my people to let them know we're coming. Levy, mind helpin' him?"

"I'll get Kendra to help too. And I'll tell Uncle to grab the car 'round back. He'll... want to bring a lot of stuff, if that's alright?" Lucas asked, a bit hesitant towards the end as he realized he couldn't just make that decision.

"That's fine by me. We siphon the gas out, though. Keep it together so anyone who sneaks in can't find it as easy, and it makes our vehicles harder to steal," Shane stated, and Levy stood up. She had no idea where to even begin with the pile of shit in front of her. "I'll be outside. You know what to do, Lev."

Levy didn't answer, not as she began stacking things together. Lucas excused himself and went upstairs, and Shane kept the door open as he radioed Maverick. Levy listened in.

"Hey, uh, Mav, you there?" Shane asked, already scratching the back of his head.

"I am. What's up?" Maverick asked, sounding a bit out of breath. Maybe he was exercising. He had a tendency to do that when Shane and Levy were on a run.

Shane sighed. "This place was a good call. But there are people here. Group of three."

"Please tell me you did not adopt more kids," Mav begged, and Levy contained her laughter only to a snort. She felt Shane glare at her, especially as she pretended to have not heard a thing. "Alright, alright. I'll get Rory to help me clear some rooms, Arch too. Ae Ri can search the inventory for some blankets."

"One's a bit... eccentric," Shane warned.

"Great. Wouldn't be anyone you brought if otherwise," Maverick replied, and Levy smiled to herself. 

It was only when a pair of arms began helping that Levy realized they were downstairs. They were quiet, rushing around, acting as if they thought the two couldn't change their minds if the work was already done. She glanced up to see the black woman- Kendra- looking at her.

"Between you and me," she said quietly, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear, "your group good?"

Levy didn't have to think about it. "Shane comes off mean and hard, but don't let that fool you. You'll actually be among the older ones. You're, what? Twenty?" Kendra nodded. "Closest to you is Rory. He's twenty one."

"How old are you?" Kendra asked with a frown on her face.

"Seventeen. I think." Her birthday was somewhere around here. "It's a weird group. Lots of coincidences. But it's good. Shane is good. Maverick's good. I like to think I'm good."

Kendra nodded, just the once. "Okay." She blew out a deep breath. Levy pretended not to hear as she whispered furiously to herself. "Let's do this. Please be a good thing. Please, please, please."

Levy picked up her full crate and approached Shane. "Everything good back home?" she asked, and he nodded. She looked back. "Been a while since we added anyone. It's just been us for so many months that I forget other people are still alive."