Uncertain Times Ahead (Rewrite)

"Get out," Levi said to the woman sitting in the back of the van. She complied but he noticed her eyes had a red tinge. Levi didn't say anything about it though, and instead kept his cold gaze fixed on her.

"Garett, you and her take the supplies inside, get the others inside to help as well. I'll stay here and deal with the infected," Levi said, brandishing his sword and decapitating an infected that had gotten close.

He nodded and killed the engine before he jumped from the vehicle shouting to the woman, "Grab what you can and follow me." She flinched and followed his orders. Grabbing a box before obediently moving after him into the building.

Levi remained and began clearing the stragglers attracted by the noise of the engine. Compared to the group earlier, the infected that approached now were easy to handle.

It didn't take long before he'd cleared them. Although he could still see a few making their way towards him from further down the street. Soon Garett returned with Ricky, Eddie and the woman, whose name they still hadn't got. And once more began ferrying the supplies into the building.

They moved fast, grabbing as much as they could, feeling exposed while out here. The beheaded corpses of infected that Levi had killed near the rear doors didn't help either–nor the nearby dragging legs and snarls of infected still nearby.

The pressure of death could be a great force to make people work. They dragged the supplies into the apartment so fast, that even Levi was taken aback. Everyone was happy with their triumphant return with the supplies. Setting some of the group's worries at ease. Though there were a few curious glances at the new arrival, which made the woman squirm. Most tried not to be overt, but the hushed whispers and stares were hard to miss.

When they closed the doors, everybody helped carry the supplies up from the bottom floor—placing them into Levi's apartment, where he could keep a firm control over them. And made sure to tell Maggie to take inventory of what they had stored, so they could ration the supplies to last. After all, he didn't want to go out any more supply runs than was necessary.

He also needed to begin barricading the lower floor and blocking the bottom stairwell. But he didn't want to leave without finding out a little about the new woman they had taken in. And he waved off Garett, Ricky, Eddie and Marcus to begin without him, telling them he'd be down in a minute.

Before leaving, though, Garett walked up to Levi and whispered to him, "You suspicious of her?"

"Not suspicious. I doubt she has bad intentions. But you saw the girl in the store. In times like these, you never know what's in anyone's mind. I've been to places like it before. You can't trust strangers' intentions," Levi said. Making Garett focus on the woman who looked uneasy while speaking to Elise.

"I'll speak to her, and see how she responds to some questions. I can be pretty good at reading people. But regardless, we're gonna need to watch her for a little while." Garett turned to him.

"I'll keep an eye on her while you're gone tomorrow. I'll tell you if I see anything amiss," Garett said, tapping Levi's shoulder and walking away to join the others barricading the bottom floor.

Levi watched her a bit more from the side, looking at her interactions with Elise. Elise seemed happy to have another woman besides Maggie, who was oftentimes floating around Levi, to talk to. And her enthusiasm seemed to thaw the woman's unease, getting her to open up and reveal her name. Abigail Winters.

Having seen enough, he sat on the opposite from Abigail, causing any conversation between the two girls to stop. Their eyes moved to him. He met her gaze, giving her a small smile. She returned one in a strained fashion, her eyes averting away, struggling to maintain eye contact.

"Abigail, was it?" Levi asked, making her eyes return to him. Her hand grasped her wrist tight, trying to stop the trembling.

"Yes," she responded. Trying to sound relaxed, but her voice hitched, making her seem like a cornered animal.

"Well, Abigail. How'd you end up in that little situation earlier?" Levi said, his eyes watching the woman's reaction with an icy calm.

"How I ended up getting chased," she said. Gulping as she looked down at the floor, "I… I live with my parents. My dad. He became one of them. He hadn't been well, and he ran a fever. The next thing I knew, he attacked Mom. Began tearing her apart right in front of me," She said, her eyes becoming watery as her voice quavered.

"I tried to stop him. I tried to get him off her. And he turned to me… He came for me. But my mom… She stopped him. She was bleeding. She jumped at him. She stopped him from getting me…." She started before she trailed off, her breath becoming ragged as she gasped for air. Struggling to even speak over the evident panic.

Levi watched her breaking down, the suspicion that had lingered in his eyes no longer present. Before he got up, saying, "She's hyperventilating. Elise, calm her down. I'll leave for now, to help the others." Leaving Elise to deal with Abigail's breakdown, as he left the apartment.

—

Later that day, the group managed to completely block off the lower floor barricading all entrances. Eddie had also moved the van outside and parked it right in front of the front door. Thinking it should prevent anyone from attempting to enter, infected or otherwise. He ended up having to circle the block into the alley and scale the rear fire escape.

The lower stairwell was now also untraversable. They didn't know how effective it would be, but they were hoping they never had to test it and the infected wouldn't bother them. Though they were unsure whether that would happen or not. So they all paid attention when Levi gave them the plan in case the building got overrun.

At the very least, now they knew what to do in case of an emergency, and they could regroup if they split.

As the night crawled in, everyone winded down and gathered around the candlelit front room. Through the boarded windows, the sounds of helicopters flying overhead, screeching tires and gunfire seeped in. The radio Marcus played around with the only thing that took their minds off the noise outside.

The broadcasts didn't fill them with optimism, often repeating messages for evacuation. But it was better than dwelling on the warlike sounds that echoed throughout the city.

There were others still on the radio. Other survivors or stations gave updates on the situation. Personal stories and first-hand accounts of what people had seen. Some were startling, like the story of how somebody had seen a bisected corpse crawling towards them.

And although some in the group didn't believe it, Levi knew it was true. After all, he'd seen it for himself. These things were unnatural. Whatever rules governed living beings, these creatures didn't comply. They were the dead that walked the earth.

"Do you think everything will return to normal?" Elise asked, huddled in a blanket beside Abigail.

"It has to," Eddie said, his eyes distant.

"On the radio, they said the military had begun clearing areas. They've set up evacuation camps all over the city. I'm sure they'll take back control. We won't have to stay like this long," Elise said, hope in her tone, but her eyes were uncertain.

"You're right. We have to have hope," Maggie said with her characteristic sincere smile. Levi looked at her, his eyes unjudging, but when she met his gaze, her smile faltered. Others might not have read anything from that look, but she'd been with Levi long enough to know. He didn't believe it. Not one bit.

"Hopefully, seeing all the canned tuna we've got, if things don't get sorted soon, tuna will become a staple part of my diet. And man, do I fucking hate tuna," Ricky chimed in, getting a few chuckles.

"I'm surprised they had so much tuna. Didn't you go to the local grocer's?" Maggie responded, directing her eyes towards Levi.

"Yeah, we did." Levi said, "They said on the radio there were rumours and conspiracy theories about the disease online. Maybe the owner was someone who bought into the rumours and tried to prepare." That got a few thoughtful looks.

"Do you think it's true? That they've known about the disease for a while." Elise asked.

"Who knows. It wouldn't surprise me. This is the American government we're talking about. Lying is in their DNA," Marcus said, fiddling with the radio on the table, changing the frequencies.

"I doubt that. It spreads too fast. It would surprise me if it's been around for that long. If it was, why hadn't it spread earlier," Refuted Ricky. Not looking too convinced by Marcus, who scoffed.

"What do you think, Levi?" Asked Maggie, making Levi turn towards her and think for a second.

"What does it matter if it's true or not. It's spread now, and that's all that matters. What difference does it make whether they knew earlier or not," He responded disinterested.

"It does matter," Elise responded, her voice raised, "if they knew before. Then they hid it from us. Kept us in the dark. They need to take responsibility for the lives lost."

Levi gave Elise a glance and said, "Do you think things will stay the same after this?" getting a confused look from the rest of the group.

"Even if they fix the situation. Everything going back to normal is a pipedream. Things will change. And I doubt it'll be for the better," Levi said. The others frowned at him.

"If this disease gets sorted, don't doubt for a second that the country will be irrevocably changed," Levi finished, the silence palpable.

"You don't know that," Elise said, glaring somewhat at Levi, who ignored it unbothered.

"He doesn't, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. It's like the end of the world. Things don't stay the same after something this big," Marcus said, chipping in once again.

After his words, a silence settled, only broken when Garett entered the room. "Levi. Rick. You're up." Prompting the two men to rise to their feet and leave for watch duty.

—

The two walked together for a moment before Ricky spoke, "You're going out to search for our people tomorrow, aren't you?" getting a nod from Levi.

"Do you still think they're alive?" Ricky asked, uncertainty in his voice. Levi stopped and looked at Ricky. Doubts and uncertainty etched over all his features. He'd only seen Ricky acting lighthearted. This was one of the only times he'd seen him so down.

But he didn't know what he expected. Of course, he'd worry if his loved ones were still alive after everything that had happened. "I don't know. But if they're at any of the locations you've given me, we'll find them," Levi said.

This wasn't the response Ricky had wanted, but it was enough. Whose whole demeanour shifted in a second. He smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear that. I'll take over watch from Sergio. You take the watch by the fire exit."

Levi watched Ricky walk off and shook his head before setting off for his watch for the night.

---

Discord: https://discord.gg/yaY4fpUTNv

P*treon: https://www.p*treon.com/ForeignSeeker (5 chapters ahead)