Peterson’s eyes narrowed as he considered Levi’s words. "You’re suggesting that these people might be a threat to us?"
Levi shrugged. "It’s a possibility, power is a mysterious thing." As he spoke, his body shimmered before his body seemed to displace, a version of himself walked out from his body before returning to face the original.
"If I was given a power that had the potential to put everyone at my feet, then I would have already taken over this base for myself." He nonchalantly said, remaining willfully ignorant of the others demeanor shifting towards him.
"Heh, don’t take my ramblings so seriously. All I’m trying to get at is that power changes people....more for the worse than better. For instance, Mr. Law and order, I guarantee that if you had that power, then I wouldn’t be standing here as I am now. I would probably still be in that container of a cell, or maybe even killed if I were to still go against you." Latest content published on N()velFire.net
Peterson’s body stiffened, he tried to mask his discomfort with a neutral expression, but the unease was clear.
"And you..." Levi turned his attention to Raven. "Do I even need to go on? How many people would’ve already died by your hand if you didn’t need us? How many people would be forced to give up their weapons, all because of those damn chests?"
Raven’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t immediately respond, her jaw tightening at Levi’s accusations. The truth in his words stung, even if it was buried beneath layers of cynicism and provocation.
Levi continued, his voice still detached from the current tension. "The fact is, we’re all playing nice because we need each other. But if someone out there has the power to take down those zombies without breaking a sweat, then the balance of power shifts drastically. Instead of seeking to help them, I suggest we try to gain information instead. But more importantly, we need to strengthen our defenses and prepare for the worst. If these people are hostile, we need to be prepared to eliminate the threat together."
Peterson exhaled sharply, trying to dispel the tension building within him.
Raven finally spoke up, her voice edged with frustration. "We’re not going to start a fight without knowing who or what we’re dealing with. We approach cautiously, find out who they are and what they want. If they pose a threat, we deal with it then. But we don’t make enemies without reason."
Levi smirked, seemingly satisfied with her response. "Fair enough."
Peterson nodded, his resolve hardening now that he was assured their actions wouldn’t go against his ideals. "Alright. We’ll prepare for all possibilities. Raven, your team is better suited for this, take a small team and scout the area. Find out what’s happening. Levi and I will coordinate the defenses here."
As Raven turned to gather her team, Levi’s final words lingered in the air. "Just be careful out there. We don’t know what kind of people we’re dealing with. And remember, trust is a fragile thing in times like these."
Raven’s eyes narrowed in contemplation while jumping off of the rooftop with seemingly practiced ease, leaving the two leaders to sort out the mayhem of the ending fight.
Raven headed towards her team, her steps almost weightless as she glided towards them with great urgency. Despite her team being on edge while also tending to their wounded and some even grieving for their lost companion, their posture straightened up as they saw their leader approaching.
"I’m sorry that I can’t give you the time to properly grieve Veronica’s death. Your lives mean more to me than anyone else. And it’s because I care, that I need a select few of you to come with me immediately." Her urgency sparked a wave of unwavering support from her once vulnerable members, each of them spontaneously took a step forward, almost with one mind, moving in unison. The only discrepancy in their movement was the "man," decked in the same gear as the others, standing behind one of the women in particular. His hollow gaze and pale features gave away the fact that he was one of the undead. A man, now a zombie, that was tamed by the petite woman standing in front of him.
The zombie was the woman’s older brother, who sacrificed himself to save her before being infected. Because of his new identity, the zombie was a big factor in their success when leading the attacks. Despite being controlled by a human, other zombies weren’t able to distinguish between a regular zombie and one being controlled. Only in a situation similar to Fenrir, where the creature’s body was full of life, would the zombies have the urge to view the opposition as its meal.
Being one of the first people to ever tame a zombie, the woman was bestowed a hidden achievement; granting her zombie the capability of learning and reasoning. The zombie was no longer her brother, resembling more of a blank slate that wasn’t driven by its racial traits. And because of its newly acquired comprehensive ability, the woman was able to teach her zombified brother to clumsily wield a weapon of its own.
Regardless, the other women in the group accepted the zombie despite their negative experience with men and life in general, while they acknowledged Raven.
"Leader! Don’t belittle our loyalty to you, we trust any decision you make for us. Just give us the order and we will accomplish it." One of the most burly women righteously shouted. Beside her, the others voiced their undying trust along with her.
Raven’s eyes flickered with a strong sense of emotion. Gratitude and pride filled her as the once fragile and weak images of the women before her solidified into the strong women standing in front of her now.
The heartfelt moment reminded her of the heavy burden she placed on herself to carry their traumas on her own shoulders, and that very feeling quickly reminded her of their main priority.
"We need to scout the area, those zombies were attracted by someone and it is our job to find out who those people are and determine if they are friendly or potential threats. We approach quickly and cautiously, gathering as much information as we can, no matter how trivial you think it is."
The team moved out, no one objected or questioned her orders. The tension within the group was shaky to say the least, the lot they had to pass, the streets they had to cross, both were littered with the aftermath of the zombie swarm, but now the entire area was eerily silent. The once overwhelming noise of chaos was replaced by a haunting stillness that left many to succumb to troubling thoughts of the future.
Back on the rooftop, Peterson and Levi watched Raven and her team depart, one watched with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, while the other held an unreadable expression. Peterson, ever the lawman, couldn’t help but feel a knot in his chest. Keeping everyone alive from both the zombies and mutated animals was already hard enough, keeping the semblance of a stable society was even harder. And all of that seemed negligible to what he was feeling now. "I hope this doesn’t turn into something we can’t control," he muttered, more to himself than Levi.
Levi, on the other hand, seemed almost excited by the potential conflict. "It’s about time things got interesting," he replied, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Peterson visibly didn’t take the remark kindly, now that Raven was gone he remembered why he hated Levi so much. The guy was manipulating, calculating, and above all, he was consumed with chaos! Knowing that Levi had other intentions between Raven and the mysterious group sprung Peterson to act impulsively.
"What are you planning, you sick bastard!" Peterson yelled, holding in his hands a single-barrel shotgun, one that didn’t suit his ambition for civility. Witnessing the open threat, both factions’ followers remaining on the rooftops unhesitantly aimed their guns towards one another as if by second nature.
The officers stared down the heretic followers with a rising anxiousness, while Levi’s group were ready to risk it all, an unbridled twisted smile plastered on some of their faces.
Peterson worriedly glanced at the different standoffs happening around them. Reluctance finally won over, although he had faith in his trained men, how many "good" men must be sacrificed?
Peterson took a deep breath, his grip tightening on the gun. His grip threatened to break the gun’s stock as he watched the smirk on Levi’s face morph into a smile. "Stand down, all of you!" He commanded. His officers hesitated, their fingers still twitching on their triggers, but they began to lower their weapons.
Levi, watching the scene devolve, still held a trace of amusement as he raised his hands in a mock gesture for surrender. "Don’t shoot officer," Levi chuckled to himself, only to elicit a hardened stare. "Relax, I won’t do anything....at least personally. But I should be asking you the very same question, Pe-ter-son....What are you planning?
"Levi, I’m warning you! I will only endure so much. Spit it out now or I’ll be damned if I don’t take you down, right here, right now." Peterson’s breaths became hurried, his overstimulation leading to another emotional impulse, one that he wouldn’t be able to hold back.
"Do you think I’m lying?" Levi put on a hurt appearance before his signature inexpressive stare took over. "What do you think will happen? Sending the person who is more emotionally, and mentally unstable than the both of us to deal with this so-called threat? What if that person turns out to be a man? A man that won’t allow her to have her way like she has been able to do here?"
Witnessing Petersons face going from realization to shock and then eventually panicked regret, Levi relished in the thought of what Peterson’s expression would be if Raven really did poke the hornet’s nest.
"See? If anything goes wrong, then you are the only one to blame, just like before. I’m an innocent man." Levi’s cold expression was betrayed by the illusion of a smile within his eyes, filling Peterson with a profound dread and deeper anxiousness.