The sky was painted a soft, blushing pink as the sun slowly rose, and the grass was coated in pleasant chilled dew. If there were birds, they would be singing and whistling along with the wakening of the Earth. The clear air blew with leisure, and the charming morning had all the makings of being a lazy, curl up in bed with a good book, day.
And Nico di Angelo was stabbing his knife through the forehead of a middle-aged woman.
The birds weren't singing because the birds had disappeared a long time ago and while Nico wasn't sure where they went, they weren't here anymore. Nico scowled and kicked the body off his blade, frowning at the clumpy blood that was left in its place.
"Nico!" He looked over his shoulder and Reyna was glaring at him. Nico cast a quick look over the field, checking for anymore possible threats, before striding over to her.
"What?" His voice was rough with the hours of sleep he'd barely managed to get.
Reyna shouldered him, "That was stupid." She hissed, "You didn't need to go after that one. You're just being risky."
Nico rolled his eyes, "It's almost like I'm making my own personal decisions."
Reyna dug her tongue into her cheek, "You need to consider that your own stupidity is going to get yourself killed."
Nico sighed, glancing around the perimeter. "I'm not going to-"
The leaves crunched behind them and they spun, arm to arm with ready weapons. Jason emerged from the trees, his hands up in mock surrender, a sheepish smile on his face.
Reyna sighed even louder then she had with Nico. "Announce yourself." She told the other boy through clenched teeth. She lowered her gun, just barely, so it wasn't pointed directly between Jason's eyes.
Jason put his arms down, and his hair was wet and dripping into his eyes. "I wanted to catch a quick bath before Percy got up." He rolled his eyes, "I swear that boy could spend hours in the river without getting tired."
"We could have shot you." Reyna told him, turning back towards the field. Nico followed her example, greeting Jason with a nod.
"Any action?" Jason questioned, shaking out his hair before coming to stand with him. He was all business now, his spine straight and his words pointed. He squinted and Nico briefly wondered where he had misplaced his glasses this time. Perhaps Leo stole them again - he was always trying to prank laughs out of them.
"Quite a few last night. Seven of them during the first shift and another five during the second." She cast a look over to Nico, "Only one during the morning shift, so far, thanks to di Angelo's recklessness." She waited until Jason looked back at her before continuing her report. "They're increasing." She talked over Jason's sigh, "That's nearly twice as more than last week, and triple the week before. They're being attracted to something."
"They're attracted to people." Jason told her, as he has been telling her for days. "There are people here. We'll set up heavier shifts and tighten up the perimeter. Hedge has been dying for more rooftop shifts, so we'll give him some more nights. I'll have Leo check the fence for any breakthroughs and have Annabeth play with the guard rotation, but that's all we can do right now." He wiped a hand over his face, "Percy and I have been over this, and this is all we can do. I've told you this."
"What about the cars?" Nico found himself asking. He was surprised at his addition. Although he was never shy around the group, especially these two, he had never bothered to contribute to whatever power-play-of-the-day they usually fought over. But Reyna was right, the bodies were increasing, and Nico was tired of killing off bodies shorter than he was. Both of their eyes flashed to him and it was Reyna who questioned him, her eyes careful and narrowed. "What about the cars?"
Nico licked his lips, "There's cars everywhere, they're basically overflowing the parking lot from the time when this was supposed to be a safe haven. So why don't we get a few and block off a few of the weaker sections of the fence?" Nico avoided the urge to look away from their double intense stare. He usually avoided talking strategy with them because he couldn't stand how heated and short they got with each other.
Reyna stared at him, and her mind was working through the logic on the idea. "How would we do it? We've already sucked most of the gas out of them already." Jason nodded as if he were thinking the same thing.
"Leo can hot wire." Jason added after considering for a moment, "And they wouldn't need much gas if they're only going a couple yards. We can push them if we need too."
"Annabeth can probably pinpoint where - " Nico cut himself off and looked over to the side of the field. The soccer field was usually pretty quiet - a few stragglers limping from the back woods every once in awhile, but they would eventually just get tangled in the goalie net before someone could take care of them. Reyna and Jason followed his example, both zeroing in on some impossible noise. They heard it again - a distant, but remarkable, scream followed by a few shouts.
They didn't need to jump into action - these days their bodies were in the hyper awoken state of near flight. Their feet stood on edge, and their muscle tensed with the active flickering of their eyes. He and Reyna took off, weapons at the ready, and Jason stalled for a second to yell over to Frank and Annabeth, who were guarding from the roof before joining Nico and Reyna. They ran into the woods, still unsure if they were fighting offense or defense, but needing whomever was making all that noise to stop immediately.
Jason wordlessly cut down a teenage girl who was coming at them, her crooked, decaying teeth snapping before Jason slid his knife through her decaying bone. They ran, only slowing down for a moment to put down every walker they came across.
The trees weren't that thick, and the woods weren't that big, so it took only a few minutes of running until they reached their target. Nico skidded to a stop, clenching his blade to his leg to keep it from bouncing all over. The area wasn't overtaken by the undead - not like the major cities were - but there sure as hell was a fuckton more than usual in this area. He began cutting down as many as he could - knees first and then the headshot - not even registering the rotting faces.
Until he came across a fresh one.
"Whoa." She dunked out of the way of his flying blade, "Watch where you're goin!" She glared at him, flicking her braids over her shoulder and rejoining the fight. Nico ignored her and let Jason take his spot, making a mental note to avoid killing any actual people.
They fought through the crowd, occasionally coming across another unfamiliar person. A pair of brothers fought well, even cutting down a rotter before it could sink its nails into Nico's shoulder. Nico nodded in thanks, approval for the pair growing as they simply smiled a bit roughly and decapitated a walker.
He wasn't surprised to see Percy and Frank joining the fray, but he was surprised at how quickly the crowd was taken care of after that. Braids was the one to cut down the last walker, a quick bash to the forehead, before they were all taken care of. She turned, breathing heavy, and seized them up. Nico joined Reyna and Frank, who stood tall and proud, and waited for Percy and Jason to saunter over.
"Who are you?" Braids spoke clear and without hitch despite her heaving chest. The brothers - their alikeness in appearance being the only conclusion - stood at her side with another frizzy haired girl. They took together with familiarity, and Nico would guess that they'd been together for awhile.
The three - Percy, Jason and Reyna - shared an uncomfortably long stare before Jason and Percy nodded, almost simultaneously.
Reyna stepped forward, "My name is Reyna, and these are my people. We heard the commotion and came to investigate. We had no idea that your group was here." She said that last part to Percy, who was last in charge of the last perimeter check. His ears reddened, but he didn't say anything.
Braids watched at them for a short moment before snorting loudly - and some of the tension began to bleed out of the air. "Good thing you came, too. I'm Piper." She rested her knuckles on her belt, "This is Travis, Connor, and Katie. We've got a few more on a run." She added this with purpose, as if to remind us they had backup.
Reyna nodded, short and curt, "What is your business in the woods? It's not the ideal location for settling camp, especially with the thick trees." Reyna gave her a look that reminded Nico of how Reyna used to be in the military. "What are your people doing here?"
Piper didn't respond right away, either collecting her thoughts or making up a lie. "We're simply trying to make it -"
A scream pierced the air, and they were all ready in an instant, as if another herd was coming straight for them.
"It's fine." The girl - Katie? - said immediately, positioning herself between the groups. "It's someone in our group."
"Were they bit?" Percy followed up, his eyes darkening.
One of the brothers rolled their eyes, "No. Do you really think we'd keep them around?"
Reyna interrupted before Percy could retaliate - probably with something sarcastic - and glanced around.
"This is too much noise. Jason, set guard with Frank around the area while Nico and I assess the situation. Percy, will you update the others?"
Percy nodded, but Piper and her group didn't budge. "We're not a situation to assess. Why should we let you anywhere near our people?"
If Reyna were the kind of person to roll her eyes, she would have. "If we leave you'll have another crowd on you within the hour. And," She spoke the next words carefully, "We may be able to help."
Piper chuckled, "While I doubt that, you're right about the walkers." Piper gave instructions to her own members before leading Nico and Reyna away. Nico discreetly drew a pocket knife, keeping it hidden in his sleeve. Pocket knives weren't much good for braining a walker, but, if needed, it would stab Braids just as fine. She led them not too far - a minute walk, tops - and stopped before a rundown RV. The tires were flat; the windows were mostly broken with dirt and grime covering every surface of the vehicle.
Piper sighed and cracked the door open slowly, as if doing so pained her, and the sounds of pain became even more louder. They climbed the few steps, the air somehow becoming hotter and more humid.
Reyna leaned in, "Is she…." The woman screamed again, this time muffled. Nico reached the last step, still mostly hidden behind Reyna.
"Yes." Piper responded, and Nico ducks around them so he can see.
"But is she…?"
"No." A new voice responds, just in time for Nico to emerge and catch a glimpse of too-blue eyes and freckled, tanned skin. "She still has a few more weeks. It's just, all the stress and activity…"
He trails off and Nico sees behind him, the cause of all the noise. A thin young woman, covered in sweat, with an impossibly swollen stomach. A girl flutters behind her, pressing a wet cloth to her forehead and whispering words into her ear. The woman cries, pressing her hands to her belly and whimpering.
"How's she?" Piper asks, coming up beside the woman and trying to press a water bottle to her lips.
"Better." The man tells her, messing with the IV that cut into her hand. His voice was unsteady with a lie and he clears his throat. "Better than an hour ago."
"Hear that, Mellie?" The girl with the washcloth whispered, "You're getting better."
"That's Will." Piper tells them as they're lead out of the RV, "He's our doctor. And that was Lou Ellen, we all try and help where we can."
Katie runs up to Piper and she becomes momentarily distracted by the other girl. Reyna turns to him and flicks her chin towards his sleeve, and Nico flicks the pocketknife back together before pocketing it. He knows the other girl enough to trust her judgment calls, and to follow them. She bends down to him, close to his ear and whispers, "What do you think of them?"
He turns so his lips are at her ear, "I think they'll do whatever they need to do to protect themselves."
Reyna pulled away, returning a single nod in acceptance. "I will go see Jason now. Please, gather the rest of their group and meet back here in 5 minutes." She said these words precisely, despite lacking the luxury of time telling. But he nodded, understanding, and did as she asked. It was only a few more minutes of quiet shuffling, interrupted only by occasional sounds of pain from the RV. Jason and Reyna returned, and she eyed you with kindness before she began to speak to Piper and her group.
"We have a setup." Reyna tells her, "And listen closely, because we will only offer once. We have food, clean water, and medicine." Her eyes flick towards the RV, and Nico knows this was intentional, to serve as a reminder of what they need, "We need people, and you seem like the good kind. If you decide to join us you must follow our rules, and our schedules. Everyone is assigned a job, and everyone is required to do that job or else we have little need of you."
The brothers stood a little behind Piper, and Nico took that as meaning Piper was the leader. Piper considered this for a moment, "What kind of jobs?"
It was Jason who answered this time, "Guarding the perimeter, working lookout, mostly security stuff. The occasional laundry or dinner shift. A few runs to town, but that's mostly volunteers."
Piper nodded but didn't show any other emotion other than understanding. "Where is it?"
"I'm afraid we can't tell you that." Reyna answered, "If you decide this offer isn't for you, you'd be a security risk." Frank nodded in agreement, tightening his hold on his gun. They didn't need to be reminded of security risks.
"I would like a few minutes to discuss this with my group." Reyna nodded, taking a few steps back. Piper pulled her members close to her, and Nico was surprised to see Will among the few crowded close to her. He hadn't gone to the RV to retrieve the other group members, thinking they'd be preoccupied. Lou Ellen was missing, and he assumed she was the one left to take care of Mellie. They only spoke for a few minutes, bickering back and forth while the tallest one of the brothers kept a close eye on them.
"We'll join you." Piper told them once they were done discussing, lifting her chin. "We'll be ready to go in about half an hour."
"What about your people on a run?" Nico spoke up for the first time, his eyes narrowing. He wasn't sure if he liked the other group yet, but he sure as hell didn't trust them so soon. He knew what desperation could do to a group of people.
Piper laughed, not unkindly. "Don't worry, they'll find us."
"How many are in your group total?" Jason asked
"Ten." One of the brothers answered, "We have three people out there."
Jason continued to converse with the brother, the other members rushing to strike down up their small temporary camp. Frank occasionally would add a comment but generally kept to himself, watching the woods around them and keeping a careful eye for any threats.
Reyna beckoned Nico over, "Will you run ahead and inform Percy of what has happened?" Her eyes flickered over to where Mellie was being lead out of the RV, whimpering. "And perhaps prepare the infirmary."
He nodded, keeping his own thoughts to himself. He took off, tearing through the woods faster than before, and he was lucky to only come across only one adult man staggering through the broken woods. When he reached their set up – an abandoned, cleared out elementary school – he wasn't shocked to see his entire group guarding the entrance, all with weapons ready and pointed. He caught Percy up on what was going on and repeated Reyna's suggestion for the pregnant woman.
"I'll prepare it." Hedge muttered, and this time he was surprised by the other man's willingness to avoid the action. The older man usually wouldn't want to miss a possible conflict. Hedge adjusted his baseball cap and dunked through the double doors, quieter than usual.
"Was that weird or was that just Leo missing something?" Leo asked, pointing to himself. "I'm pretty sure that was weird. Guy refuses to take any indoor duties for weeks and suddenly he can't wait to get inside?"
"That was kind of odd, even for Hedge." Annabeth remarked from her place on the bench. She had sprained her ankle a few days back and hadn't worked up to regular walking just yet.
They probably would have continued agreeing on the eccentric behavior of the adult, but the trees began to rustle, and the leaves began to crunch.
The new group had arrived.