While Noah was able to sleep without any worries, fully confident in not only the barricade created by Arachne, but also the power and trust of his creatures to be able to protect him. There was a group much larger than his who weren’t able to have that same luxury.
Currently, the group is now residing in an apartment complex barely a mile away from the station. The building itself appeared to have been ransacked, with signs of previous looting evident throughout. Windows were shattered, doors broken off their hinges, and personal belongings were strewn across the hallways. Despite the disarray, the structure itself remained intact, and they had managed to fortify the main entrance. Using furniture, debris, and whatever scrap materials they could gather, they stacked makeshift barricades against the doors and stairwells, securing their position as best as they could.
The atmosphere inside the building was tense. Conversations were kept low, mostly whispers, as the majority of the people there were frightened beyond their wits, fearing that drawing attention could mean the end for them.
In an apartment on the last floor of the three-story building, a room that was facing the street, a small group lingered, while three individuals held the spotlight from the other surrounding figures. The light source in the room was only being outsourced by the moonlight hitting against the curtains. Although the electricity in the building was still working for now, no one had entertained the thought of using a light source within the building. Anyone who has survived this far had a clear understanding that zombies were at least attracted to noise, but there was still the off chance that light also served as an alluring feature for them. And if that wasn’t enough, the creatures that lurk in the night; the bugs that were overzealous in their pursuit to reach any source of light in the night, they wouldn’t dare take the chance, not after what they went to.
As their figures were slightly hidden behind the shadows, their silhouettes were unable to hide their inner turmoil.
One of the figures stood closest to the window, peeking through a small crack between the curtains. His expression was unreadable, but his posture gave away the anxiety gnawing at him. He cursed quietly under his breath, pulling away from the window to face the others.
"The streets are crawling with them," he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. "We haven’t encountered any of them all this time, why now? What attracted these bastards here?"
The man’s words were centered more to himself, but the contents of what he was brewing didn’t help ease the gloomy atmosphere in the room.
The woman, who stood in the center of the room brooming over her own thoughts soon glared in the speaker’s direction. Her expression made it clear that this wasn’t the first time the speaker went on a very similar rant.
"Peterson, Enough!" The woman snapped. Her sharp gaze pinned the middle-aged man where he stood, his pace halting as he met her eyes. "You’ve said that already, a dozen times....If repeating it hasn’t changed anything now, then there’s no reason to keep repeating it."
The man clenched his jaw but said nothing, turning away to glare out the window again. His frustration was evident in the way his fingers grabbed at the fabric of his pants.
What do you want me to say?" he finally muttered, not turning to face her. "That I’m scared out of my mind? That I don’t see a way out of this?"
"You don’t need to say anything," the woman interrupted, her voice firm but not unkind. "We all know what’s at stake. But spiraling isn’t going to help anyone."
Peterson huffed, his fingers still gripping his pants, but he didn’t argue. He knew she was right. Still, the pressure of the situation weighed heavily on him, and venting was the only thing keeping him from completely unraveling.
His body was no longer weak and tattered from the earlier battle against the insects. However, his strength was severely handicapped; not from the injuries as one would imagine, but because their ammunition was barely nonexistent. Without his guns, he felt inferior to even the most common unevolved zombie. Fear is what led him to continue on his emboldened charade of not listening to Raven from the beginning, even encouraging his followers in his footsteps to continue to rely on their firearms. Though, his earlier accomplishments were what led him to even becoming one of the most elite of their group. Now, without his weapons, he couldn’t instill himself with the courage to engage in a close quarters battle against any zombie in fear of their infection.
Peterson’s frustration flared as he glanced at the third man, whose calm demeanor seemed almost mocking in contrast to the tension in the room. The man, tall and broad-shouldered, sat with his arms crossed, his face unreadable and his dark eyes steady. Unlike Peterson and Raven, he didn’t appear troubled by their situation or the danger lurking outside. His stoicism, rather than providing comfort, only deepened the divide between them.
"How the hell are you so calm?" Peterson spat in hushed anger, unable to contain himself any longer now that he found a scapegoat to redirect his fear and inability. "Levi? Did you already give up? Don’t you get it? We’re trapped, outnumbered, and without our guns. How will everyone else be able to defend themselves? Defend their loved ones and the innocents that we swore to protect? How can you just sit there like none of this concerns you?"
Levi, seated calmly against the far wall, slowly lifted his head to meet Peterson’s furious gaze. His expression remained neutral, as if the weight of Peterson’s accusations barely registered. He took a breath before responding, as if doing so was only a hassle.
"What face do you want me to have then, Peterson?" Levi scoffed as he stared him in the eye. "As far as I can recall, I never swore to protect anyone. But I think you are misinformed about one thing...as usual..." He muttered the last bit under his breath, his eyes peering out the door leading down the hall that held certain occupants ’sleeping’ in the other rooms.
Peterson stiffened, his eyes narrowing at Levi’s dismissive tone. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he growled, fists tightening at his sides.
Levi’s gaze returned to Peterson; his calm demeanor unshaken. "You’ve always seen yourself as some kind of hero, haven’t you? Believing you’re still the law and order of a world that you believe even cares about your sword duty? That world doesn’t exist anymore. We’re on our own here."
Peterson’s eyes flared, but Levi didn’t flinch, continuing in his unbothered tone.
"And I shouldn’t have to mention how worked up everyone is. Our group is weak now, but don’t be so dense, forgetting all of the people who are gaining powers that could even rival ours as we speak."
"Oh! And Peterson...." Levi’s punchable face returned, his smirk showing that what he was going to say next would most likely hold a deeper meaning than what he led on, a smirk that Peterson despised with his very being. "Pray and hope that those kids who tagged along with that ’monster’ will allow you to continue whatever leadership you continue to hold onto."
His eyes then wandered over to Raven. "Even you Raven, those kids might put us to shame. But you know what? That’s exactly what I’m hoping for."
The smile he now wore, accompanied by his deceitful eyes now made Raven tense up from an underlying threat that might not be true. But when it came to Levi, she couldn’t just brush it off as mere banter."
"What exactly do you mea-"Her questioning was interrupted when a set of footsteps echoed outside of the door. Accompanied by the sound was a faint glow of a blue light that contained hints of gold. The glow was not even brighter than a small candle, but even from outside of the room, the people inside felt a warmth that instantly began to soothe their fatigue and constant tension that had gripped them all. Even Peterson, who moments ago had been bristling with anger, felt his body involuntarily relax. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ n̷o̷v̷e̷l̷f̷i̷r̷e̷.net
The room fell silent, all eyes on the door as the light continued to grow slightly brighter. As soon as the light reached the door, the light no longer moved, stopping at the same time as the halting of their steps.
"Mark, you should turn that off before you go on there."
"Sorry Jas, I had already gotten used to it and forgot."
The unknown figures halted only for a moment. Their banter was clearly heard by the others in the room. The moment the light subsided, everyone who was affected before now felt empty and confused, craving for the source of warmth once more.
Before Raven or anyone could make sense of the voices outside the door, the door swung open, revealing a young man confidently stepping into the room. He was tall and athletic, with an air of authority that seemed to draw the attention of everyone present. Behind him followed a diverse group of six others, all around the same age. Each person followed behind the leading figure with a display that clearly recognized the young man as their leader.
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