"Perhaps we can make a deal?"
The supplies alone were worth looking into it. Loads of them. Whatever he wanted, Levy was sure that an agreement beneficial to both parties could be made. Short of doing anything remotely ridiculous like ridding them of a walker infestation... or the raiders.
Levy sat down, and she stared at Shane. He crossed his arms and stared right back. She was willing to take the risk, to come to an agreement, but he was Shane Walsh. He was the one who made the final call on a lot of issues pertaining to the group, once he took everyone else's words into consideration. If he said no, one final time, then that would be the end of it.
"Lev, you sure about this?" he asked after a few moments.
"Am I sure we need some of these supplies, and this guy is offering some sort of deal?" Levy scoffed, and she looked across her to the man. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "It's worth looking into at least."
"You're the boss," Shane sighed, and he sat down. "Name's Shane Walsh."
"Levy Miller," Levy added, and he nodded.
"Uhh, Lucas. Lucas Baker," he said awkwardly, and he cleared his throat. "Look, this is... Wow, okay, I don't know where to actually start."
Levy looked at Shane, and he glanced back at her. His eyes told her to deal with it, and she rolled her own before she said, "What do you want from us? Sounds like as good a place as any to start."
Lucas nodded, and he bit his lip. "Uhm, well, I'd like to see if we- Kendra, Uncle, and I- could join your group...?" As soon as he saw the distasteful looks on Levy and Shane's face, he quickly moved forward. "Listen, Uncle is- well, he's unstable. Some sort of mixture of different mental health disorders. He's a nice guy though, non-violent, until someone is in danger. He's coming off really nice and-and naive, but he's capable of a lot. And, regardless of what he just said, he's really good about sticking to treatments- including therapy, you know, before the world went to shit."
"Sounds exactly like the person we want around us," Shane muttered sarcastically. Levy elbowed his side, glaring at him. "Fine. Keep going."
"He used to help out and feed the neighborhood kids. Parents working all the time, not great homes, even just to do it. Kendra and I were among them. When everything went down, he... Well, he helped protect us." He shifted again, especially as he heard bickering upstairs. "Uncle is a good fighter. He's great to have on your side when shit's going down."
Levy tilted her head and glanced around. "So you're local?" Lucas nodded. "Which means you know what's been hit and what hasn't. As well as who is in the area."
"Levy," Shane warned quietly.
"Mostly. I didn't know about you guys," Lucas admitted quietly. He looked up at them beneath his hair. "Did... something happen?"
She stared at him evenly. "Yes."
"Levy." Shane was louder this time. Levy spared him a glance, and he glared at her to stand down. Levy kept her mouth shut, the only indication she'd go along with it. "Nothing happened worth talking about. Levy's just talking about a couple people we saw."
"Probably Katrina's," Lucas said with a nod. He frowned as he continued. "Not a great group. Whoever was left, Katrina saw to it that they either joined with her, or they were killed. Uncle was the only one spared, and Kendra and I stay out the way."
Levy nodded as she took in what he said. A dictator then. Those usually lasted the longest, but cruel ones never made it too far. Still, it didn't make Levy want to encounter the group again. Especially with the added "everyone joins or dies" warning.
"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."
"Yeah. It does sometimes feel like we've been together the whole time," Shane admitted. He heaved a sigh and shrugged. "Let's hope it works out. If not, well, we know how to get rid of people we don't like."
"Is Officer Walsh condoning murder?" Levy teased quietly so the others couldn't hear.
"Officer Walsh is condoning whatever it takes to survive," he retorted, equally as quiet. Levy smiled up at him, and he grinned at her. His eyes were happy at the idea of more joining the group, overshadowing the fear and doubt he had to be feeling. "Let's move it. Everyone's pretty excited."
Rory had just finished cleaning out the third room when he heard Shane's voice down the hall. "So, as you can see, we've got it under lock and key here. Each of you can have your own room, and there's no shame in sharing. I share with Maverick, the sisters share, and so do the brothers. Cas and Ae Ri do too."
"So you really make this place work?" The voice was accented- a third foreigner to join the group- and Rory leaned against the door as he waved at Shane. "Like, it's really truly possible to keep walls up like this?"
"Sure it is," Rory answered, attracting the attention of the three newcomers. He waved at them as they neared, peering curiously. When he saw they weren't exhausted or positively annoyed, he chuckled. "Ah, so I'll assume Jude and Zay haven't talked your ears off yet. They're usually the most welcoming to newcomers. Welcoming meaning, they're more annoying than a rock in your shoe."
"I heard that!" Jude called from further down the hall in her room.
Rory lifted his brows, and he gained a few chuckles from the group. "Just in case you guys don't want to share rooms, we just finished clearing some out. Anything you don't use, just put it outside, and Cas and I'll come pick it up in the next couple days," he said, lifting his arm in a goodbye.
"Way to introduce yourself," Shane commented, and Rory's face flushed. "Lucas, Kendra, Stu, this is Rory. Rory, meet Lucas, Kendra, and Stu, otherwise known as 'Uncle.'"
Rory dipped his head, choosing not to think too much on it. "Pleasure," he said simply, tilting his head towards them. "Oh, uh, Shane, real quick, have you seen Maverick? I need him to ask Levy something for me."
At the mention of that, the group of newcomers blinked and looked towards each other with confusion clear on their faces. Shane put a hand on his hip and shifted his weight on his legs, assuming a position entirely too familiar to him.
"Why not ask Levy?" he questioned, his voice serious.
"Well, uh..." How was he supposed to answer that? Levy just wasn't always approachable, especially since she'd been in a pissy mood since the other day when they fought. Sure, they made up enough for a run, but was she still in a mood? "I just thought that maybe she'd take better hearing it from him. She likes Mav way better than she likes me."
Shane's brow rose, but he let out a sigh and waved it off. "Mav's over in the front of the building, with Levy and Arch. Archer decided he wanted to train a bit more, and Levy agreed to help him."
Rory nodded once, and he set off. "Oh, uh, feel free to settle in whenever! Shane'll talk to air if you let him."
"Shuddup," Shane griped, and Rory still heard the smile in his voice. "Fuckin' pain in my ass, I tell ya."
Rory laughed, and he managed into a jog as he steadily made his way. He passed by Ae Ri and Zayden drawing in an old crossword puzzle book that had been quickly filled up in the first couple weeks of being at the school. They waved as he passed, and he waved back with a smile.
Cas was upstairs, actually seeming almost happy to do the job he was assigned when Rory looked up to salute him. That was what new people was doing right now. It was making everyone more cheery, more friendly, and just overall bringing up the mood of the place.
Hopefully, that memo had been passed to Levy.
Archer was sweating beneath the sun. Rory hadn't realized how much he'd grown until he stood next to Levy and was near her height, though he still looked as scrawny as ever before. He followed Levy's movements, the two lacking any weaponry of any sort of just learning the very foundational flow of the body and its movements.
Maverick, ever the guy to make a laugh, said, "You two realize you look like those psychos doing yoga in the park, right?"
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Pilates?" Levy shot back, sounding more sassy and creative than Rory was sure he'd ever heard before. Archer snorted to contain his laughter, his middle caving in with the effort.
Maverick gave her a flat stare. "I told you that in confidence, Lev. Confidence."
Levy laughed, the sound so carefree that Rory wondered if she was okay or if he was hallucinating.
Archer and Levy turned, facing Rory as he neared, and his little half-brother's eyes lit up as he saw him. He didn't stop though, moving as one with Levy as though it were starting to become muscle memory. Rory was pretty sure it was in the opening stages only because Archer stumbled and looked over at her every now and then.
"Hey, Mav!" Rory called out, approaching him after a few seconds of watching.
Maverick jerked his chin. "What's up?"
He leaned in. "So what kind of mood is Levy in?" Maverick rolled his eyes and glared at him. "What? I don't want to get yelled at today. Cas is still shaking from yesterday!"
"That wasn't even her being mean," Maverick grumbled, and he blew out a breath. "She's in a better mood than usual. New people around that she got to vet and bring here herself has her feeling like she's accomplished something today."
Rory nodded. "Good to know," he said before stepping away from Maverick. "Hey, Levy, I got a question for you when you're done. Let me know when you have a minute."
Levy looked to him, and then to Archer, who continued moving through movements she abandoned. She watched him for a few moments, even as he began hesitating and seeming unsure of himself, becoming choppy and out of rhythm.
"Trust yourself, Arch," she said, just loud enough that Rory could hear. "You're doing great."
He grinned at the praise, and Levy left his side to approach Rory. Her ponytail swished from side to side as she walked straight up, her eyes drifting from him to Maverick a few times before stopping solidly between them.
"What is it?" she asked, concise, but not rude.
Rory scratched behind his head. "So, it's a lot to explain, actually, but I need you to help me with something, and only you can do it."
Levy raised her brows. "O... kay?" She raised her finger and turned to Archer. "Hey, when you're finished, that's it for the day! Keep up the hard work, and you'll soon move on to the real thing." He grinned in reply, and Rory grabbed her arm to tug her before Archer could decide to join them.
Levy followed the brisk pace that Rory set. He went past the main halls they used and towards the side of the school that they never used because it was just extra space. There were some extra supplies stored there, but they were smaller things: razer blades, scissors, random screws. Nothing that made an actual difference.
Rory opened one of the closet doors, and he pulled out a cart full of supplies that were... more frivolous than the others.
Levy stared at the cart, and at him. "What the fuck am I looking at?" she asked, clearly unamused.
Rory took a deep breath, and he smiled at Levy. "You, my friend, are looking at the decorations for Archer's birthday party."
Levy had no idea why Rory thought she'd be the perfect person for his newest mission, but she was beginning to wonder how to erase those characteristics so she'd never have to do something so fucking stupid ever again.
Rory had absolutely no sense of how to decorate for a party. The things he took were more for a toddler than for a teenage boy. So Levy, upon seeing the tackiness of it all, threw it out without a second glance. She set off on a course for Shane, dragging him behind her.
"Shane!" He turned his head when he saw her, and he seemed even more surprised to see Rory behind her. The three newcomers were no where to be seen, but Levy doubted they weren't being taken care of. "Long story short, I need to go on a run."
"What the hell for?" Shane questioned.
Levy looked at Rory, who was still blushing from Levy promptly destroying his taste in decor. "So, it's summer, which means Archer's birthday is sometime soon, right? I wanna, you know, throw him a little party. Just something to lift up his spirits, keep us feeling good, and... yeah."
"So how'd you rope Levy into this?" Shane asked, with a knowing glance in her direction. Levy tilted her head and rolled her eyes as she suppressed a smile desperately trying to make its way on her lips.
"I just... asked?"
Shane chuckled. "Alright. But I want you to bring Ae Ri with you. She's been looking for a new piece for her room, just won't say anything to us. You know how shy she is," he stated, and Levy suppressed a sigh.
Levy knew she was definitely one of the more capable ones of camp. Levy was sometimes overly capable compared to those around her. But that didn't mean she always wanted to go on runs with people who weren't on her level. At least Cas and Rory had both killed walkers before, and Ae Ri had yet to do even that much.
Ae Ri was sweet. Levy wanted her to stay sweet. But she didn't want a walker to break into camp and kill Ae Ri because Ae Ri was too scared to do anything or too inexperienced to handle herself well.
"Shane, a second?" Levy asked, lowering her voice. He looked towards her, then around, and he nodded to Rory to leave. As soon as he was gone, she expressed her worries. "Ae Ri still hasn't killed a walker."
"No, she hasn't," Shane admitted with a sigh. "And that's gonna have to change soon."
"This run might not be as easy as we think," Levy warned, and he nodded his head. "I understand that Ae Ri is sweet, the little sister of the group. But she won't be the little sister if she's dead."
Shane stared at Levy, and she knew he was analyzing her. He wanted to know where these concerns came from, what the motives were behind them. He was a cop. He had seen far too many shitty people do shitty things for shitty reasons. Levy hoped he didn't consider her one of those people.
Levy waited. His judgement was the permission she needed.
He nodded his head eventually. "Do it, Lev. You know how." And he walked away, as if he didn't want to see the action itself.
Levy looked down. It was probably a good thing the group already hated her.
Ae Ri wasn't a strong person. She was prone to crying too easily, and she was definitely someone who froze in the face of fear. She lied to make sure most people weren't worried about her. And she relied too heavily on Cas sometimes. Ae Ri knew she wasn't a good survivor.
Still, she felt better going out, when Rory was there. He had a way of easing her fears, her panic, of keeping in eye sight and protecting her. Ae Ri wasn't sure about Levy- she had only been on a small group run with Levy once. Levy was always so independent that it wasn't uncommon for her to just disappear for periods of time and show up later.
"Thank you for letting me come," Ae Ri said quietly once everyone was settled in the car.
Rory grinned, even as Levy made sure everything was fine before setting off. Rory said, "Well, it's not like you ask for much anyway, Ae Ri. Shane mentioned you wanted something, so we thought why not invite you?"
Levy hummed in return, and Ae Ri was fairly sure that Levy hadn't thought anything about it. If she did, she certainly wasn't going to let any of them know.
"Why... were you already going out?" Ae Ri asked tentatively, always more talkative with Rory around. "I mean, Levy and Shane brought back so much today. Plus the new people."
New people. Ae Ri was excited, but she was anxious too. New people always brought changes to the group, to the dynamics, even to the priorities sometimes. It was just three, but three seemed to be a lot of people these days.
Rory was smiling, a bit happier. "Arch's birthday is somewhere around here. I got some decorations, but Levy didn't approve."
Levy scoffed. "It looked like you were planning a toddler's birthday. Archer is turning, what? Fifteen?" Ae Ri saw her roll her eyes in the mirror. "No way in hell am I letting him have a party with that shit."
"You get along with Archie?" Ae Ri asked, and Levy's gaze flicked up to hers through the mirror, and then back down to the road. After a moment or three, she felt stupid for asking. "Right... you guys have been training together."
Rory's smile was more strained. "What Ae Ri means is... Well, you just..."
"I know what she means." Ae Ri sat back and ducked her head at the cold tone of Levy's voice. "I'm reserved, not a fucking idiot."
"Whoa, chill, chill," Rory said, his voice going high for a moment. He cleared his throat. "She didn't mean offense by it, Levy."
"Oh, so I'm being sensitive?" Levy's eyes flashed to Ae Ri's again, but there was mischief in them this time. Ae Ri ducked her head again to hide her smile.
Rory scrambled. He didn't dare look to the girl beside him as his mind raced to find a way to un-offend her. "No! No! No, that is not what I said. I said... I said that you misread her tone of her voice."
"Oh, so I'm incapable of reading social cues now?"
"Levy, that is not what I meant! I'm the stupid one here!"
Ae Ri's giggle gave it all away, and Rory finally looked at Levy. His jaw dropped when he saw the smile on her face at having finally been caught making him flustered and run around for words. He gently pushed her shoulder, and he laughed a bit.
"Fine, you won that one," he said, and the smile on his face was one Ae Ri would have fought for.
"Of course I did," Levy stated, "since you called yourself stupid."
"I'm not gonna live that one down, am I?"
She shook her head. "Not no but hell no."
Ae Ri laughed, and soon the car settled into a gentle silence. Rory hummed to himself some, completely off key and out of tune with any song Ae Ri could remember. Still, it was pleasant, and Levy would sometimes glance over at him as he looked out the window.
They pulled to a stop in front of a huge party store. The doors were chained shut, and there was a warning spray painted on the wall beside them. The line of the last letter trailed off and down, the final word unfinished.
Levy looked at the doors, and at the store as a whole. Rory leaned over, serious now. "How are we playing it?"
"I would say look around back, see if there's a way the place has already been opened. But there's no point," Levy muttered in reply. "Two doors. Funneling won't work as well as last time. If we try to do it manually, those doors are glass. Could break."
"Sounds like we should leave it alone then," Rory muttered.
Ae Ri swallowed as Levy shook her head. "Not a chance. Ae Ri, with me."
Levy stepped out of the car with confidence, and Ae Ri was far more hesitant as she did the same. Levy walked straight towards a pile of wooden planks that were stacked together in a way that they made a platform. A tall platform. Just high enough to be safe.
Rory came from behind. "Whoa, Levy, what are you doing?"
Levy stopped in front of them, and she held a hand out to Ae Ri. "You'll be up there, making noise. Rory and I will take them out one by one once they're around here. You do whatever you have to to keep their attention, understand me?"
Ae Ri's heart pounded. She was probably in the safest position, but still. Rory and Levy would be on the ground, and this plan hinged on the two of them being able to kill all of the walkers. Who knew how many were in there?
"Whoa, Levy," Rory said when Ae Ri didn't respond. "That's a lot of faith in the two of us being able to kill so many."
At that moment, there was a growl from behind. Ae Ri lifted her arms, and her legs spread so that she could bolt at a moment's notice. Levy turned calm as ever.
"It won't just be the two of us," Levy said, and she marched right up to that walker. Ae Ri waited for her to draw her sword, or her knife, to draw something. But she didn't. She kicked the knee out from the walker, and it fell down in a perfect position for Levy to keep it immobilized.
"Rory, hand her a knife."
Rory's eyes bugged out. "What?!"
Levy was hard as ever. "Either hand her a knife, or I'm letting this thing go, and she can figure it out herself."
"Levy, you're insane!" Rory grasped for different reasons now. "I get it, Ae Ri hasn't killed a walker. There's a store full of them right now- but we can get this stuff anywhere! This doesn't need to go down this way, Levy."
"It's either this, or when one's threatening her life, Rory. Pick."
Ae Ri trembled. The sounds of walkers kept her up at night. The sight of one struck a fear so deep into her that she wasn't sure of how to move, of where to go, when to get away.
"Levy-"
Yet Levy, fearless, skilled, and commanding, was able to hold one in her arms without a worry in the world. All while Ae Ri had yet to kill one.
"I'm not ready."
Ae Ri was surprised herself that she said it. They weren't strong words, just as shaky as her body. Levy seemed ready to argue, her face turning a bit red, but she slammed her mouth back shut, still holding onto the walker. Still staring at Ae Ri for her to make the choice Levy liked better.
Rory looked between the two of them and turned away from them both. He sighed, rubbing his face, and then he did something Ae Ri wasn't expecting.
His knife lodged into the walker's forehead. Levy let go of it with an annoyed breath, glaring at him. The body dropped.
"Fine," she spat, slamming her foot down on the walker's head for good measure. "But if something happens to her, I want you to remember this moment."
Levy drew the knife from the head, and she marched to Ae Ri. Ae Ri wondered for half a second if she would be the one to suffer Levy's rage, but all she did was hold out the knife. Ae Ri accepted it, and Levy bent down, picking her up so she could climb the rest of the way to the top of the tower.
"I'm good," Ae Ri said, and Levy let go. She pulled herself the rest of the way. "Levy, I still-"
"If one is too tall or figures out how to climb, use that knife," Levy said, pointedly not looking at Rory. Ae Ri saw him shaking his head. "You've got this. Just make a shit ton of noise, and don't fall."
"Noise, no falling," Ae Ri muttered. "Okay."