"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."
-Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Hunter walked down the gravel road in the woods. He had a duffle bag on his back.
"Damned metal. Too bloody heavy. At least we can finally get out of this hell hole. Head to a smaller community."
Hunter walked up to the truck he had hidden. He set the bag down and started to remove the tree branches he had placed on the truck to hide it.
No walkers had gotten to the truck.
He glanced into the side mirror. A dull glow reflected off of it from where his eyes were. He snarled at them.
"If you turn into a nightmare while at the base, I will personally tear out your own heart and crush it," he snarled.
Hunter turned away from the mirror and went to the bag on the ground. He took out tools and some scrap metal. He started with the holes in the sides. Once those were done, he went to the motor and started to look around where it was broken. Hunter found the area.
"Good thing I found what I need for that," he said to himself.
He put the engine back together and he tested it by turning the key and starting the vehicle. It rumbled and started.
"That's good, that's good," he whispered.
He turned off the vehicle. As Hunter was putting the branches back on the truck, he noticed a wire in the wrong place.
"What the-"
He grabbed the wire and found where it was supposed to go. Hunter attached the wire and sparks flew everywhere. It burnt his arm. Hunter just yelled. The curse word he hollered, echoed through the forest. If there was any living humans near by, they might have turned the other way, because it didn't sound anything like a human. Hunter held the burnt limb and growled.
"Shit, I think even the walkers would understand that sound."
Hunter did a quick glance around him, no walkers.
"Good," he said, then continued hiding the truck.
Once he was done, he hid the bag of tools and scrap metal under the truck and he left. He started talking to himself
"Wonder if Levi is back in the land of the living?"
Then he started laughing maniacally.
Tori placed the cool, damp cloth on Levi's forehead.
"You need anything?" Darcie asked from the door.
"Yeah. Make sure no one comes in here. Pretty much all of you guys lack compassion," Tori instructed.
Darcie nodded and exited the basement, shutting the door behind her. Leo and Travis had moved Levi's unconscious body to the medical ward. Dawson had already checked as much as he could. He couldn't do any more tests until Levi was awake.
"Can you just wake up already?" Tori asked the unconscious body.
Levi stirred slightly. Tori dabbed the cloth slightly on his forehead. Levi's grey eyes slowly opened.
"What the fuck? Where the fuck am I?" Levi asked.
"You're in the medical ward."
"Why?"
"Take a guess. I'll give you a hint. It has to deal with the psychopathic blonde in your family."
"Hunter punched me in the head?"
Tori nodded.
"Why are you here? Don't take that as an insult, I'm just asking because Dawson does the medical shit," Levi explained.
"He just went upstairs a few minutes ago. And it's not like I'm doing anything major. I'm just dabbing a cool, damp cloth on your forehead."
Levi groaned.
"I'm going to fucking kill Hunter. That's so humiliating," he groaned.
"Whatever the hell has hurt you isn't important. Whatever beat you down isn't important. It's about how to build yourself back up that matters."
"When the hell did you become so-" Levi paused to think of the right word. "Deep."
"Philosophical is the word you're looking for. And what do you think Darcie and I talk about all night? She and I stay up talking about deep and meaningful shit."
"You two don't sleep? God. You two are going to turn into Hunter."
"We do sleep, it's just that the group's curfew is too early for us so we stay awake and talk for a couple hours before falling asleep."
"Wait a minute. Go back a bit. Did you say that Hunter doesn't matter?" Levi questioned.
"That's not what I mean. I mean that Hunter punching you and knocking you out doesn't matter. What matters is that you don't let this affect everything you do."
Levi sighed and wasn't convinced.
"Think about Kaylie."
That got Levi's attention.
"What would happen to her if you became emotionally weak? She would need to turn to someone else as a role model. She may turn to me. That wouldn't be bad. But what if she turned to Hunter or Darcie as a role model-"
"Don't continue. I don't want to think about how terrible Kaylie could turn out. Imagine if she turned out like Darcie. Or worst, Hunter."
"Okay. Now, I want to smack you."
"Why?"
"You insulted my best friend."
"But you-"
"I can insult her because of our relationship."
Just then, the door opened. Darcie was latching onto Dawson's back. She was making his life as difficult as she possibly could. However, he wasn't struggling because he was built enough that it was nothing to him.
"She said let no one down here!" Darcie growled.
"Tori, am I an exception?"
"Well you are the medical expert so-"
Darcie flipped Tori off as she jumped off of Dawson's back.
"You ready to go?" she asked Tori.
"Where are we going?"
"Hunter disappeared this morning and no one has heard from him. He didn't do his weird little walker run and people are starting to freak out. You and I are supposed to go look for him. Once Dawson's done his last few tests with Levi, he and Anthony with be going out, then Travis and Leo will head out."
"Wait a minute. We're leaving Levi here alone. Need I remind you what happened the last time someone was left alone?" Dawson asked.
"I'd prefer if you didn't, but we're leaving Kaylie with him. And before you say 'But Travis is still recovering. He's lucky I'm letting him hang out upstairs,' he and Leo are taking the closest ring and being extra careful with Travis' condition, Tori and I are taking the surrounding ring, and you and Anthony are supposed to check the surrounding forest going as far as the backup base," Darcie explained.
"I just need to check for a concussion," Dawson explained. "Then we can go."
He grabbed a small pen light.
"Levi, I need you to look at me," Dawson instructed.
Levi turned his head to look at Dawson. Dawson turned the light on. His pupils quickly dilated.
"No delayed reaction," Dawson stated. "Just a bit of bed rest and you'll be fine."
"Bed rest. Yeah right. I'm not staying here while you all get go Hunter hunting," Levi argued. "This isn't a common thing. I'm not missing out on it."
"Sorry Levi, but you are. And you don't have a say in it."
"You can't tell me what to do!" Levi yelled. "I'm older."
"Yet you handed the title of leader to Travis, willingly I might add, and we decided to go by group seniority. Sorry Levi. I've been a member longer. Plus, I'm the medical expert," Dawson argued. "We'll be back by sunset. Go upstairs if you want but take it easy."
With that, the blonde male and the two females stood up and went upstairs, leaving Levi alone with his thoughts.
"Being left alone with my thoughts. That's dangerous," Levi muttered to himself.
Oh, shit... I better not become like Hunter! He's rubbing off on all of us, Levi thought to himself.
Dawson and Anthony reached the edge of the trees.
"Why are we here?" Anthony asked.
"Because you don't pay attention."
"What?"
"My point exactly."
Dawson lead Anthony into the trees.
"Do you really think-"
A piercing roar like yell filled the air. Anthony clung to Dawson. The blonde shook him off with a glare.
"You are a fucking wimp. Man up!" Dawson growled.
Dawson pulled his gun out and started to walk deeper in the trees. Anthony chased after them.
"Fuck!" a voice screamed.
"That's Hunter," Dawson exclaimed.
The blonde took off in a sprint. Anthony soon did the same. They came across Hunter hanging upside down, caught by one of his own traps.
"Hunter?" Dawson laughed. "How's it hanging?"
"Shut up and help me. This is nearly impossible to get out of it. It was set to catch a gran- walker," he corrected.
Dawson laughed.
"And how do you get someone out of the trap without wrecking it?" he asked.
"You don't. You kill the walker then rip its leg off. And I really don't want to lose my leg to get down," Hunter whined.
"Do you have a knife on you? I've had to perform surgery. I'm pretty sure I could use surgical precision to release you from the trap," Dawson suggested.
"You are not taking my leg off with 'surgical precision' to get me out of this!"
"That's not what I meant. I meant that I can tamper with the trap to force it to release you."
"If you're so sure you can do it, shut up and get me down," Hunter growled.
He threw a knife at the blonde who caught it by the handle. Dawson went to climb the tree but Anthony grabbed his arm to stop him.
"You know what? I don't like his attitude. Maybe we should leave him here and let him try to figure out how to get himself down," Anthony suggested.
"Well then, maybe I won't tell you about the walkers that are heading this way because I yelled. Whoops," Hunter said.
"Should we just run and leave Hunter for dead?" Anthony asked.
"I don't know about you, but I don't want to die by Levi's hand so-"
Dawson grabbed the knife and started to climb the tree. Anthony looked at the blonde male who's face was starting to go red from the blood rushing to his face.
"So how's it going?" Anthony asked.
"Shut up. Let me make this clear. Right now, I don't think of you as a member of the family. You need to prove to me that you are dedicated to this group. You need to-"
Hunter was cut off by his trap releasing him and him falling on his shoulders and back.
"Ow," he moaned.
Dawson jumped down from the tree and landed on his feet. He offered Hunter a hand which the older but shorter took. The two blondes took off in a sprint.
"Wait up!" Anthony yelled before following them.
"This is stupid and pointless. Hunter's a big boy. Why do we have to look for him? Why can't we just trust him to be back before midnight?" Leo growled.
"We can't trust him. That's why. We know he lies without difficulty and he keeps more secrets than anyone else in the group," Travis explained.
The black haired male pushed his hair off his face. The emo style fit his look, but it was hell as soon as it was hot outside.
"You know if you want short bangs, Darcie or Tori will cut them for you, right? You don't need to keep suffering with the emo flap," Travis asked.
"I know but I like my hair style."
"You're a loser," Travis laughed.
"But I'm your guys' loser," Leo said with a smile.
Leo pushed his bangs off of his face again and looked at Travis. His eyes were facing forward.
"Have you ever wondering what Darcie and Tori get up to?" Travis asked out of the blue.
"What?"
"Darcie and Tori. When you think about it, they're roommates, best friends, and they hunt together. They spend pretty much every moment of every day together. What do they talk about? What do they do?"
"Travis, the girls are dedicated to the group. If you're questioning their loyalty, you are the one having a problem. As for conversation, I have no clue what they talk about. And before you deny that you weren't thinking that, I could easily see through to what you really meant."
"I should be allowed to be concerned about Darcie. She's my baby-"
"I'm going to stop you right there."
Travis gave Leo a puzzled look.
"Travis, you called Darcie your baby sister. Correct me if I'm wrong, but she's fifteen. She isn't a baby anymore but you still baby her. You could very well be the reason Darcie has a rebellious 'I don't give a shit' attitude. Maybe, you need to let her grow up a bit. Little sister is a yes. Baby sister is a hell no. I know you think I'm not qualified enough to give sibling advice but I had a twin and an older brother. Trust me, the best way to make sure you don't question her loyalty is to make sure she doesn't have a reason to make you question her loyalty. As for Tori, she tries to keep Darcie happy. Happy and free Darcie means no obvious problems."
With that, Travis stopped. Leo, however, kept walking like his speech was no big deal.
Levi glared at the roof. He didn't want to be in the basement.
"Damn them all to hell. Kaylie, what do you think we should do?" Levi asked his little sister.
"We could get our supplies and take Hunter with us if we leave. Don't know about you, but I think we won't get that far because of my leg," Kaylie said.
Levi sighed. He and Kaylie have been planning out everything of an escape. They were going to leave in the middle of the night with Hunter and the supplies they had brought into the group. Now, they had to wait a few weeks until Kaylie's leg fully heals. Kaylie watched a bug crawl across the floor.
"Do you think they found Hunter yet?" she asked Levi.
"Probably, he is the only one who could get away so easily because he is the only one that goes so far out of town, but most of us know he always comes back," Levi said.
"Most?"
"Yeah, most. Travis doesn't trust Hunter. Darcie hates him. Dawson and Anthony are sitting on the fence with trusting and not trusting Hunter."
"So you, me, Leo and Tori trust him?"
"From what I know. I don't know if Hunter trusts himself."
Kaylie threw a knife at the bug on the floor and it cut in half.
"Walk much?" Darcie asked Tori.
"Shut the fuck up," Tori growled as she stood back up. "That hurt."
"Well the rock was bigger than yo-"
"Shut up. It was rough and it was just longer than me. We don't know if the whole rock is bigger than me. We would have to dig it up to see if it's bigger than me. And, before you start, we are not wasting the rest of today trying to dig up a rock to settle an argument."
Darcie suddenly whipped around and looked behind them.
"Follow me," she whispered.
Tori gave Darcie a look but when she started to run, Tori did the same thing. Darcie jumped up and grabbed a ladder. She climbed it and Tori did the same but with a little bit of difficulty. The two were on the roof of some building. Darcie laid flat on her stomach and looked over the edge of the roof. Tori laid down next to her.
"What are we looking for?" Tori whispered.
"Hunter."
"So why are we up here and hiding?"
"Because he was found and I don't want to be."
Tori tried to follow Darcie's eyes. Once she saw Hunter, she noted he was with Dawson and Anthony.
"Okay. I get that you have issues with Hunter and Anthony, but do you really have issues with Dawson? If you really have this many issues with people in our group, maybe it's time we pack up and sneak away. We don't share a room with anyone else. No one would know."
"I don't know Tor. You're usually the one saying we should stay because I have Travis and I shouldn't leave the only family I have left. And this and that and blah blah blah. Why do you seem so ready to leave?"
"I'm not. I'm terrified. However, you are my best friend. I would walk to the end of the world to keep you happy. If you want to leave, we'll pack up and run. We can find a different group or we can manage ourselves. I don't care. Let's do it. Let's shock the group. But, it's up to you. If and when we leave."
The three males were just far enough that the two girls could make out what they were talking about.
"Before we found you in your trap there was this weird roar-type sound. Do you know what that was?" Dawson asked.
"A special walker," Hunter said.
"What kind of special walker?" Anthony asked.
"I don't want to talk to either of you because you dropped me on my neck, now it's stiff," Hunter walked faster and threw a quick glance at the buildings on the right side of the road. Yet, he didn't stop.
Tori and Darcie waited for the males to walk by.
"Did he see us?" Tori asked.
"He probably heard a bird hit a window," Darcie said.
"Is that your way of making fun of how fucked up in the head he is?"
"Pretty much. Did you hear him say that Dawson and Anthony dropped him on his neck? And about how Hunter had a weird trap set up to catch special walkers?"
"What does that even mean? Special walkers."
"It's Hunter. He probably dreamt them up one night and won't let the idea go."
"Changing the subject, want to go look for one of these traps?"
Darcie gave Tori a look. She looked in the direction the guys went. Once she saw the coast was clear, she turned back to her best friend.
"You know it."
Dawson, Anthony, and Hunter walked back into the base. Hunter walked downstairs. Dawson looked at Anthony.
"Stay here. I'm going to go find Travis and Leo. Once I send them back, I'll go find Darcie and Tori. They can't be too far, can they?"
"Who knows? They may have gone beyond their area. We won't know anything until you find them. Have fun. I'll be waiting for you to send people back."
Anthony walked down the hall and Dawson left the property again. The blonde didn't walk far until he ran head on into Leo. Neither were paying too much attention so Dawson's forehead collided with Leo's nose. Dawson put a hand to his forehead and Leo tried to the stop his bleeding nose.
"Are either of you two okay?" Travis asked.
"I'm oh fucking kay. Hunter's back at the base. I'm going to find Darcie and Tori. Leo, you interested in tagging along? It might be easier to find them with your help. If you don't want to, it's fine. Just thought I would offer," Dawson growled.
"Sure. I'll come. Trav, can you make it to the base on your own?" Leo asked.
"I'm not a baby. I'll be fine."
Travis walked off towards the base. He was mumbling to himself as he walked.
"What's his problem?" Dawson asked.
"I told him off and now he's pissed off."
"Okay well while we're out searching for Darcie and Tori, he'll calm down then be calm and happy by the time we get back."
"So, how are you?" Levi asked his cousin when the younger male walked down the stairs holding the back of his neck.
"Sore," Hunter grabbed a thin blanket off of a shelf and curled up into a ball on the floor. "And I think something's going to happen to Tori and Darcie."
"Why do you even care about Darcie? I can see why you care about Tori, she acts exactly like your sister, but Darcie? She hates you," Levi said.
Kaylie stared at Hunter. Hunter stared back.
"You guys are weird. Do you read minds or something?" Levi asked slightly spooked.
Kaylie then turned her head and stared at Levi. Levi almost jumped out of his skin.
"Stop that!" he said.
Kaylie went back to what she was doing.
"Hunter has weird eyes," she said.
Levi was confused but the blonde male just lay on the floor, trying to fall asleep.
"What do you mean Kaylie? Sure his pupils are broken, but what do you mean by 'weird'?"
"He has walker eyes," Kaylie stated.
Hunter raised his head. And glared at the child. Levi looked at his cousin's eyes.
"I don't see it."
"I don't care anymore," Hunter said burying his head into the floor and the blanket.
Kaylie walked over to Hunter and laid down on top of him, facing the ceiling above them.
"What was the world like before I was born and before the walkers came?" she asked.
"Well, I was only nine so I didn't know much about the world, but where I was born, people had jobs, families, pets, homes and cars. They paid for what they needed, they didn't have to fight like we do. Children went to school and learnt things from other people. Adults taught us a lot of things," Levi started.
"Yet this group only has older teens, not full adults," Hunter said.
"Anyway, before the apocalypse started, people in these parts didn't have to worry about horrible things, such as walkers or natural disasters. The worse we got were big thunderstorms that knocked out all power and small tornadoes. Life was better back then."
"Kids were raised by their parents. They weren't raised by their older sibling or an older friend. Children and teens didn't have to fight to live everyday. Other places they might have, but here, they didn't."
"And if this apocalypse hadn't started, we wouldn't be brother and sister, Kaylie," Levi said, looking over at his sister and his cousin.
Kaylie looked away for a moment, before looking back at Levi.
"What was my mother like?"
"She looked like you, but she had bright green eyes and black hair. She was very friendly and protective of the younger ones of the group. Her name was Michelle. It's your middle name. She didn't know what your middle name should be, so she asked my mother and I to give you one. I chose Michelle as your middle name."
Hunter had basically zoned out after that. He was about to fall asleep when a sharp pain shot through his chest. His birthmark on his chest was causing it.
"Something bad is going to happen soon," he said.
Hunter sat up and Kaylie tumbled off of him.
"Darcie and Tori might be in trouble."
Hunter stood up and cracked his neck.
"Take someone with you. Make them think that you want to help find them," Levi said.
Hunter nodded and headed up the stairs.
"We have a problem!" Dawson yelled as he and Leo entered the base.
"What your problem? Where are the girls?" Travis asked he walked into the base entrance with crossed arms.
"That's the problem. We searched their entire area and they were nowhere to be found. We're scared they're gone rogue. And by that, we mean they're gone and they aren't coming back."
"What?" Travis yelled.
"Relax. They're on top of a building talking and acting like we don't know where they are," Hunter scoffed as he walked upstairs. "I'll come get them with you."
Hunter lead the other two out of the building and towards where he saw the girls.
"They're up there."
Hunter jumped and grabbed the ladder the girls climbed and started climbing it. Dawson and Leo followed him. They climbed into the roof and looked around.
"Haha, Hunter. You're hilarious," Dawson scoffed.
"I swear I saw them up here," Hunter tried to defend himself.
"Dawson, we need to give him a break. They may have been up here. They probably moved and are still on the look-"
A loud female scream filled the air.
"Oh shit!" Hunter yelled. "That sounded like Tori."
Hunter jumped across to the building next to the one they were on in the direction of the surrounding forest. He jumped off the building and started sprinting along the ground. Dawson and Leo climbed down the ladder as fast as as possible. Another female scream filled the air. It wasn't as high-pitched as the other one.
"Darcie!" Dawson screamed.
He picked up his pace and sprinted as fast as he could towards Darcie's scream. Leo caught up to him shortly.
"You need to stop denying you like her. It's so fucking obvious," Leo said in between huffs.
"Shut up," Dawson growled.
The three males entered the trees. They cut through until they saw a pair of older males dragging an unconscious Darcie and Tori away. Hunter pulled a gun out and shot the two males between the eyes. They slumped, dropping the girls in the process. The males approached the dead and unconscious bodies. Hunter ran to Tori while Dawson ran to Darcie. Leo sat down between the girls.
"We need to get the back to the base. We don't know what those assholes did to them," Dawson declared as he pushed some hair off of Darcie's face.
Hunter stood up, lifting Tori with him. Dawson stood up then lifted Darcie with a little trouble.
"Need some help?" Leo asked in general.
"No. Just make sure we won't have to deal with anyone or anything on the way back."
"Have either of you noticed how fucked up people intentions have become since the apocalypse struck?" Hunter asked out of the blue. "I mean, these guys could have wanted anything from the girls. They could have been bait, new teammates, slaves-"
"Shut the fuck up Hunter," Leo growled. "Let's not talk about how bad the situation could have been. Let's just be glad we got here when we did. Any longer and the girls and the whole team could have been screwed."
"Literally or figuratively?" Hunter asked.
"Stop talking. You aren't helping the situation," Dawson almost yelled.
"Shouldn't have done that. Also, Leo, you are terrible at watching for trouble." Hunter said.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
Hunter tossed his head to the left.
"Three walkers. I will advise you to run."
Hunter started jogging after he shifted Tori a little.
"Why do we have to run? They are walkers," Dawson said.
"New walkers!" Hunter said looking back.
Hunter passed Tori to Leo and took the gun. Dawson and Leo started to run as Hunter killed the walkers and chased the males.
"Dawson!" Leo yelled over the panic.
"What?"
"Tori's got blood on the side of her face!"
Dawson looked down and Darcie also had blood on her skull.
"Neither of them should!"
That made all three males pick up their pace a little more. Hunter was the first one to reach the base. He pushed the door open and ran in, leaving it open for the other males. He opened the door to the basement so Dawson and Leo could take the girls down there. They set them in beds.
"What the fuck happened?" Levi asked from his location.
No one responded to his question. They all just focused on their task. Dawson started to examine the girls. He started with Tori since she screamed first. He grabbed a damp cloth and wiped the blood away.
"Blunt force trauma to her head. An inch higher and he would've hit her temple and she would be dead. Nothing major. They wanted her unconscious," Dawson explained in general before turning to Darcie.
"They wanted her dead. Bullet wound to her leg, barely missing a vital artery. She also had blunt force trauma to knock her out. Closer to the temple than Tori's, but still not spot on," Dawson explained. "Leo, cold, damp cloth on Tori's forehead, dabbing until she's awake. I need to deal with this bullet wound before we lose Darcie."
Leo did as he was instructed. Hunter helped Levi up and they walked over to help Dawson but they avoided being in the way. Kaylie looked at the stairs as she heard stomping coming down them.
"People!" Travis yelled as he came in the room. "Shut the fucking door when-"
"Shut up, Travis!" Dawson yelled. "I need to focus."
"What's going on?" Travis asked Hunter and Levi.
"Tori's dying and Darcie might already be de-"
Levi cut Hunter off by sending an elbow into his ribs.
"He's exaggerating. The girls got jumped and are a little roughed up," Levi admitted.
Travis was about to start screaming at the males but stopped when he realized it was Darcie who was the main focus of attention. He moved to her side and took her hand in his.
All of a sudden, Tori sat up. She was struggling to catch her breath but she was awake. Leo grabbed her to trying to calm her down.
"Breathe. Just breathe," he whispered.
Her breathing slowly returned to normal. That's when Leo noticed bruising on her arms and neck.
"Dawson," he calmly said. "Can you take a second and check this out?"
Dawson turned away from Darcie for a minute. He took the bullet out of her wound and was cleaning it. He took a quick look at the bruises.
"Hand prints on both arms and neck. They tried to restrain her but she didn't cooperate. They tried to relax her by cutting her oxygen supply low. Wasn't successful enough so they must've used the blunt force trauma," he explained.
He turned back to Darcie. She now had his full and undivided-
"What do I do now?" Leo asked.
"Calm her down. We can question her later. I need to focus. We're losing Darcie!"
Travis squeezed his sister's hand while Dawson went back to attending her wound. Travis leaned down and started to whisper to his sister.
"Darcie, I don't know if you can hear me or not. If you can, listen to my voice. I need you to hold on. I can't lose you. You are my world. I love you. Please don't die. You may not need me as your older brother, but I need you as my little sister. Stay with me," Travis begged.
Leo looked at the siblings as Travis laid his head on Darcie's shoulder. He was falling apart and it was obvious. Even Hunter would be able to tell. His eyes drifted to Kaylie.
"Kaylie," he whisper-called.
The little girl looked up from the floor and walked over to Leo.
"I need help. Calm down Tori please. I need to talk to Travis," he whispered to her.
Kaylie nodded and climbed onto the bed and took Leo's job. Leo stood up and walked to Levi. He pulled him slightly away from Hunter.
"I need someone who's actually an older brother. We need to talk to Travis," he explained quickly.
He then turned to Hunter.
"Hunter. I know you have issues with Darcie but she needs a rock while we talk to Travis. Can you do that?"
"Of course I can't! Have you met me?"
"Well can you calm Tori down? If so, send Kaylie to be Darcie's rock," he demanded.
Hunter nodded and Leo immediately pulled Travis away from his sister.
"Come with me," he growled as he pulled Travis towards Levi then up the stairs.
"Anthony!" Levi yelled.
The older male released Travis and went to find Anthony and send him down to the rest of the group so he and Leo could talk to Travis uninterrupted. Leo, on the other hand, forced Travis into the main room and into the armchair. He sat down on the coffee table and forced Travis to look at him.
"Look at me. Don't get lost in your own mind," he whispered.
Levi walked into the room and sat next to Leo on the coffee table.
"Listen to us. This is how this is going to work. We will talk. You will not say a word. Once we are done, we will go downstairs and you can see Darcie again. Trust us when we say she isn't going anywhere."
"But what if-"
Leo lunged forward and put his hand over Travis' mouth.
"There will be no ifs, ands, or buts. You will listen to us."
"Travis, I'm speaking from an older brother point of view. Darcie needs you more than ever but we still need you as our leader. Darcie is strong. However, this hit a weak spot for all of us. If Darcie and Tori didn't make it, where would our group be? They are vital to our operation. Once they're gone, they're gone. There's no bringing them back. Right now, they aren't much use to the group. They need time. It's hard enough that we've put two members out of commission. We can't lose our leader of all people. Please stay strong. We'll get through this. We always do. Be Darcie's rock until she wakes up. She needs you. Despite how independent she is, this is the time you can play the older brother card. Stay strong and help Darcie become strong again. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand."