Chapter 2 The Gathering

The scenery blew by in an array of colors. Levioth was pushing his supped up truck to even its limit. He glanced down at the speedometer and saw he was pushing 120 miles an hour. He sighed with a slight smile. If Mat had been with him right now Levioth was sure Mat would be chewing him out. His hand reached down to the stereo and flipped it on to play one of his rock cd's. "Yeah. Upside number one to traveling alone, I don't have to listen to Mat's crappy country." He said to himself as he spun the wheel and hit the pedals just right to spin his truck around the turn without loosing control in the slightest. He sped down the long stretch of road avoiding a wrecked police car on the outskirts of some tiny town that would have been lucky to make it on any map. "Up side number two, Drinking and driving is now available." He said with a large smile as he reached behind him and pulled out a bottle of hard liquor. He glanced at this clock and saw he had 20 minutes until they would leave. "You bastards better wait." He said flooring the gas again. 15 minutes later Levioth was fish tailing into a gravel parking lot of a tin building that looks liked it was used for some sort of manual labor work. His truck slid to a stop peppering the metallic exterior with small rocks. He sat in the cab of his truck for a couple minutes before deciding to kill the engine and head in. He stepped out holstering one eagle and keeping the other ready. He didn't see any vehicles and sighed. "Well hopefully they at least left a pack of smokes." He said softly to himself as he approached the door. He pushed it open and stepped inside looking around to make sure it was clear. He didn't see anything so he turned and headed up the steps to where the office was. As he opened the door he heard a round go off and the wooden doorframe next to his head splintered. He quickly moved back out of the doorway and withdrew his second D. Eagle. "I'm supposed to meet people here and I'm not a Zombie so why the FUCK are you shooting at ME!" He yelled around the corner his voice carrying into the room.

"Levioth?" The voice of Marshal echoed around the corner.

"Marshal I swear, I'm going to rip your heart right out of your chest for being a complete moron!" Levioth yelled heatedly into the room.

"It's Levioth all right. It's clear guys." Marshal said softly. Levioth turned around the corner scanning everyone in the room with his pistols. Marshal was behind a large desk; Jason and Shawn silver was the closest, kneeling behind an overturned filing cabinet; Carlos was in a corner of the room though Levioth was sure he had actually been somewhere else and had just recently moved; finally James was standing next to Marshal. "We were beginning to wonder if you would show in time." Marshal said in a very nervous tone. Levioth almost smiled at this. He was glad that even after all this time he still struck fear into even the most iron nerved person of the "team".

"First off your shots suck. And second off, why the hell were you shooting at me?" Levioth almost growled still debating whether or not he should just shoot one of them right now.

"Well we weren't sure if you were a zombie or what and figured it would be better to shoot first and apologize later." Carlos said calmly answering for marshal. Carlos had what could best be described as a normal accent. His father had been military Special Forces before he finally retired and move the entire family to this small town in the middle of nowhere. Levioth looked right at Carlos. He was a short and fairly skinny man in his mid twenties. He kept his hair short for god knows what reason, since he wasn't under his fathers control anymore, and he didn't have the mentality to be in charge of a retard, but he is an excellent shot. He was grasping his dinky little 6-shooter that he got from his grandfather.

Levioth rescanned the room to make sure everyone was ready to leave out. He noticed that Jacen was holding nothing but a bible and a backpack full of, what Levioth presumed was, clothes and other religious articles. Jacen is a 21-year-old religious fool whose only desire was to be a preacher and die.

He then walked over to Shawn who, like his brother Jacen, was holding a backpack and no weapon. He then hugged the young man who was like a brother to him, and probably the only person Levioth would give a shit about if he died. Shawn was only 16 making him the youngest in the group.

Finally he looked at James and Marshal. James in a lot of ways looks like the older version of Shawn, tall, skinny, long hair, and to much makeup. Levioth knew the difference especially since he saw the joint he placed behind his ear and the tattoo that made his arm look like it was always covered in blood. He is a pinpoint shot, with his bolt action .22, but it takes him a long time to take a shot, it always had.

Marshal stepped forward slinging his 30-06 over his shoulder. Marshal was the only one in the group that shaved his head, because he says he hates how curly it is. He was the most intelligent person there too, with his brilliant computer and hacking knowledge, which was only topped by his love for explosives. It was no wonder that he had a dozen grenades around his waist like a belt.

"So what took you so long Levi." Marshal piped in finally breaking the silent.

"Had to stop to pick up some booze and smokes, which the store was out of. Damn vultures." Out of the corner of his eye he caught the faint twitch of a smirk flash across James's face before disappearing. Levioth didn't need to ask. He already knew what James found funny about his last comment. They had both broke into an old abandoned convenient store one night just to steal whatever was inside not need any of it. Basically, just because they could.

"Oh, right" Marshal said at a loss for words. Levioth knew instantly that he was worried about how hurt they would get when he started getting hit with his nicotine cravings. He had always been a bit "rash", and he even prided himself on that, but without nicotine in his system, well that's when he became a real beast.

"Here you go." Carlos said as he tossed a pack towards Levioth who caught it without even turning his head. Levioth didn't show it but he was slightly confused at this gesture since Carlos himself didn't smoke, or at least hadn't ever smoked while he lived in this sad excuse of a town. Levioth simply opened the pack and pulled out a cigarette lighting the end of it and taking a long drag. He smiled softly as he felt the comforting effects of smoke filling his lungs pumping his system full of nicotine. "So where to now?" who the hell asked this

"Cottonwood" Levioth replied paying little attention to the group but instead staring at the end of his smoke, which was almost gone already.

"Cottonwood?" Marshal asked with a raised eyebrow.

"An out of the way town in Arizona." Levioth said answering the question.

"Ah, Arizona, so uhm…what about…" Marshall began but was cut off by Levioth.

"We're heading to California first. We have some people we need to pick up there and your friends can hold their own. No since for us to go north, then south, then north again. We will move to Cali. Where we will pick up a couple people if they are still alive and then move through Colorado on our way to Canada." Nobody spoke as Levioth told them what was going to happen. A few appeared to not agree with this plan of action but nobody spoke. They had all learned to not back talk Levioth or else risk, at the best of times, him leaving them behind. Worst-case scenario, he would have beaten them all to a fine pulp. Levioth finished his smoke and tossed it to the floor placing his foot over it and grinding it out. "So if there is nothing else lets get moving." Levioth suddenly realized he hadn't seen any vehicles on his way and wasn't exactly sure where they were. "Where's the cars?" He asked simply looking around the all but empty building. For the first time since he had arrived Jason stood and spoke.

"Well we didn't know what would be in here and so I thought it would be wise to park down the road and sneak here so we could see what we were up against." He said in his holier than now tone. Levioth stood there for a second simply looking at Jason and then in a flash had spun and gripped the side of Jason's head slamming it against the wall. Not enough to cause much damage but enough to give him one hell of a headache. Jason in turn stumbled backwards tripping over the filing cabinet and falling to the ground. "What was that for?" Jason asked obviously still trying to figure out exactly what had just happened. Nobody else in the room though seemed to surprise. In fact Shawn was smiling at the sight of Levioth humiliating his foolish older brother.

"THAT, was for you being a complete and total moron. We will need to move fast, to get places in a hurry and move out at a moments notice. We're not against thinking humans where a strategy like this might be wise…we're against zombies. You park where you're staying in case you need to run." Levioth said casually as he pulled out another cigarette and lit it.

"If it's God's will then it will not matter where we park for he will protect us." Jason said boldly to Levioth who just smiled.

"Well then if I were you I'd start worrying seeing as how well he just protected your head from that wall. Either way we need to be moving. You can all climb in the back of my truck and I'll drive you to your vehicles. Let's go." And without a second glance Levioth turned and walked out of the room heading for his truck. He heard everyone rushing to grab their gear and follow him in fear of being left behind, which he would do without a second thought if they slowed him down. He casually puffed on his cigarette as he reached the door and pushed it open, he was halfway to his truck when he realized that there was a soft moaning sound coming from behind him. He pulled out his pistols and turned scanning the area. He didn't see anything but slowly inched to his right so he could see around the corner. As he moved he slowly began to make out the form of a female covered in blood. Had she still been alive she would be very good looking. Even in death her face was soft and had a strange elegance about it. Still, she wasn't alive and without a single emotional drawback Levioth fired his weapon sending a round through the head of the girl turning the once beautiful face into a gaping hole. He listened softly but didn't hear anything else. Still if one had found them here it wouldn't be long for others to follow. Everyone came storming out of the building weapons at the ready (except for Jason and Shawn) as Levioth made his way back towards the truck smiling slightly. "Ah, nice of you all to join me. Hope in we're leaving," He said as casually as he could as he began climbing into his truck. The rest of his "team" seemed too surprised to move until he started the engine at which point everyone rushed to toss their gear into the back and climb in. Shawn made it to the cab first forcing everyone else to take the bed of the truck. As soon as everyone was in Levioth floored the gas pedal as Shawn directed him towards where they had parked. It took only a couple minutes to navigate the back roads to where they had parked. It wasn't a bad spot to park either, a grassy meadow without much coverage for zombies to be lurking behind. Levioth threw the car into park but didn't turn it off as he climbed out. Helping them move the equipment. It seemed everyone had grabbed only what they could carry and what would personally use. That had to be the biggest difference between Levioth friends and Mat's. Where Mat would stock up and make several trips to have more than enough ammo and weapons, planning and stocking up for several people, Levioth's friends worried about themselves. It was such a small thing but revealed the major strategic difference. Mat's team was just that, a team. They worked together and watched each other's backs. They were efficient and determined. As a group mat's team was a force to be feared but they had one large weakness. They had trouble watching their own backs. If separated they would be in major trouble. Though as a team they were more effective than any single member of Levioth's group alone, one on one could not only handle but also excel by themselves. Levioth was sure that if they even tried to work as a team it would just lower their combat abilities. After a few minutes the supplies had been moved into the two other trucks and Levioth was ready to move out. Six people for three vehicles, that meant two per truck, which was just fine. One could sleep and the other could drive, it would work well enough. The problem was deciding who traveled with whom. "Alright, Shawn your with me. Jason you ride with James. That leaves Carlos and Marshall together. So let's get in and get going." Levioth finished. Everyone started to move except Jason who decided to once again open his mouth in protest.

"Why do you get to choose who travels with whom? Why not let us decide who to go with?" Levioth sighed softly but waved for Jason to follow him. Jason walked a couple paces behind Levioth as he approached his truck. Levioth walked up to his door and leaned against the truck urging Jason a little closer. Just as he came within a few feet of Levioth he threw the door open slamming it into Jason's head knocking him out cold.

"That is why." Levioth said to the unconscious Jason. "Because you're a moron and I'm not." Levioth then waved at Marshal and Carlos to move Jason to James's truck and after tossing the unconscious Jason not so tenderly into the passenger side of the cab they all started up their vehicles and pulled off on their way to Cottonwood.

After 10 hours of driving and a few stops for "Supplies" they were rolling into Clovis New Mexico. Shawn and Levioth had worn out just about every topic they could think of and were now on their fifth CD. They were making decent time though Levioth was slightly annoyed knowing he could be going faster. He was a very good driver and could take these back roads at near suicidal speeds without much thought. The others though weren't that good so he was forced to travel slower in order to keep the group moving forward. They had gone through several towns not once seeing anything that suggested life whether that be alive or just undead. Levioth wasn't sure if this was a comforting fact or something to be worried about. Either way the end was the same they had to push forward. As they entered the city limits Levioth tensed again as he had done every other time they had entered a populated area. With each town that just meant that there was that much more that could go wrong. He check his fuel gauge and though it said he had half a tank he didn't know where the next station would be so once again he signaled a stop and they all pulled into the station at the edge of town. Levioth was the first to get out already holding both Eagles dangerously in front of him. He didn't see any movement and let a sigh of relief escape him. He wanted to get into some sort of engagement but he also needed to get to Mat. He was sure mat and the others could handle themselves but the thought of having to make his way with just these morons would be too much for even him to deal with. Levioth holstered one eagle as he opened the gas tank and placed the nozzle into his tank and pushed the button. Once again nothing happened so he signaled for everyone to wait and he headed inside to turn the pumps on. He heard them all start talking again and grunting as they stretched from the long drive. He was glad they hadn't begun complaining yet because THAT was something he really wasn't going to put up with. We except for Jason anyway who bitched about being attached with a door every chance he got. Levioth entered the store with one eagle held loosely in his hand and made his way behind the counter. As he turned around the edge he stopped cold. This was something he hadn't seen yet and was, to be perfectly honest, surprised. There behind the counter was an older man a girl about 16-17 years old and a nine-year-old girl. All huddled together staring at him terrified. The two girls appeared fine though they had a little blood on them. The old man though was looking slightly pale. Levioth thought about just playing it safe and shooting them all right now but then he would have to explain that move to the others and he really didn't feel like it right now. He decided to call the only person they had who could pass as a medic and that was James. "JAMES! GET YOUR SORRY ASS IN HERE!" He shouted. He saw through the window everyone's heads lift and weapons tense as James rushed into the store. His reaction was like that of Levioth's, one of complete surprise.

"Wha…What do you need." James stuttered softly not taking his eyes off the people.

"I'll cover you, check them out." Levioth said removing his second eagle and pointing it at them.

"Please…..please don't hurt us. We wont stop you. Take whatever you want just don't hurt them." The old man said weakly. His skin color, weak voice, and the amount of sweat on his brow were all bad signs. Either the man was having a heart attack or he had been bit.

"Don't be a fool old man. I don't want to hurt you. Well I do, but they wont let me. We just want to see if you're hurt. You're not looking too well." Levioth said. He hadn't exactly lied. They did need to see if he was hurt, by a bite. He just had…forgot to add that if the old man was infected they were going to pepper the room with his brain matter.

"We're fine. Just leave us alone!" the older girl said to Levioth who for the first time actually looked at her. She wasn't ugly but he had defiantly done better.

"Hey, it's okay. We just want to help. If you haven't noticed things are going kind of crazy and those few who aren't total 'nutters need to stick together you know?" James said softly to her. Levioth was suddenly very glad that James was here. If it had been just him he would have said screw them all with that last comment and started shooting. In fact he still wanted to but watching James work his brain on these people was just too juicy to pass up. Besides, the older one might be a good lay. He smiled at his last thought.

"It's granddad. They hurt him when he was trying to help us. They were bad people." The little girl said to James who just smiled reassuringly at her.

"Yes, I bet they were. Did they hurt you though? Did they scratch or, uh, bite you?" he asked in a very soft voice but the little girl shook her head hard.

"Nope. They tried but granddad stopped them. He was a soldier you know!?" the little girl replied.

"You don't say. Well, are you hungry or thirsty? I've got a friend outside that has some water and snickers you can have. Why don't you go outside and ask for Carlos." James replied trying to get the little girl out of the way with a reassuring smile. The little girl looked up at the old man who gave a soft nod with a smile and she ran outside. Levioth saw the others look a bit surprised but Carlos did really well by lifting her into one of the trucks and handing her the water and candy.

"And what about you miss? Are you hurt?" James said to the older girl. Levioth kept his pistols down but was ready. The old man wasn't looking much better and the older girl didn't seem to be liking them very much.

"You know, we heard about the riots and attacks on the radio. We didn't have any problems though until some strangers came driving through here and crashed a short distance up the road. The kids jumped out and started attacking everyone in site. They brought this problem. Outsiders not much different than yourselves." At this Levioth felt his heart skip a beat. Had Mat's team been infected already, and here he was trying to reach them. It seemed Mat wasn't as ready as he had thought.

"The others? How many were there?" Levioth asked carefully trying not to give away too much by his tone.

"Three. There were three of them packed into a tiny mustang." Levioth ignored the rest. It wasn't Mat and so he must still be okay or had come through before the infected others. "I'm not stupid. I've seen movies. I know what you are doing. You want to kill my Grandfather because he has been bit. Well those are movies. This is real life. Zombies don't exist. This is just some sort of new drug that's making people go crazy." Levioth couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing, a cold ruthless laugh.

"Drugs? You actually believe that?" He continued to laugh. "Hunny, I've been through Oklahoma, Texas, small towns and big cities. It's the same everywhere. Once bit you turn into a zombie. This isn't a drug, or some other normal and simple thing to explain away. It's zombies. The dead are coming back to life and feeding off the living. Your grandfather appears to have been infected so of course we need to get rid of him before he becomes a risk to us all." The girl suddenly reached up and hit a button and the beeping of the gas tanks stopped and Levioth noticed that those outside noticed and began pumping the fuel into the vehicles.

"There. Get your gas and leave so you wont have to worry about it." The girl spat at him angrily. It was James's turn to talk though as he piped in stopping Levioth from replying.

"What about the girl? That little girl outside, what if were right. Are you willing to risk her life on the idea that we are wrong? What if your Grandfather does turn into a zombie and gets to her first. Do you want to be the reason that she gets ripped apart and experiences that kind of pain? Can you afford to risk it?" He said calmly and simply. But this time the girl didn't reply it was the old man who spoke next.

"Go. Meagan, they may be right. It's only been a few hours and I'm already feeling too weak to move. You and your sister need to save yourselves."

"But grandfather, What if their wrong. What if they are wrong and the radio is right? What if this is just some new drug and in a few days everything is back to normal? We don't even know these people how can you just tell us to go with them?" She said softly turning to her grandfather speaking in an almost pleading tone.

"Because, I've seen all sorts of things hunny. I've fought on islands here all the way to Japan. I've lived through the 60's when drugs were everywhere and not once have I ever seen anything that causes people to so much as bite another person much less eat them raw. And if this is just some sort of drug or whatever and I recover and everything goes back to normal I'm sure this fine young man will bring you straight back here. Wont you lad?" The old man asked James with a weak smile.

"That's right sir. You have my word. If were wrong we will bring them straight back here. But, with all do respect, were not wrong."

"So your going to shoot him and then if you are wrong we don't have anything to come back too. I'd rather die then be left alone." She said as tears started to fill her eyes.

"Look I swear we wont kill him" James said. Levioth turned his head so quick he was sure he had almost gave himself whiplash "We'll leave him here and if he gets better and everything gets better we will drop you back off here." James said more to Levioth than to the girl. Levioth just shrugged but didn't put away his pistols. The girl looked from Levioth to James and finally to her grandfather who just smiled and nodded gently. The girls gave him a soft kiss on the forehead and joined her sister outside. They all sat there quite for a second until the old man finally spoke.

"Take care of them would you? Protect them where I couldn't. Their parents…they rushed those outsiders to our medical station and we didn't see them again. Next thing we knew people were covered in blood and attacking everything in site. I was bit when I got between our neighbor and little destiny there. Just, take care of them." He coughed a little as he finished but Levioth didn't care. The nine year old was going to be a pain but maybe her older sister would make up for it in other ways.

"We will do what we can, but your not going to get better. You're going to turn into one of them and then if others come through your going to attack and kill and cause more pain yourself. Why don't you just let us end it now?" James asked politely

"No, I've never asked another to take care of my responsibilities before and I'm not going to start now. I've got a shotgun under the counter here. I'll let you leave and after your gone I'll take of it myself." He said pulling down the weapon weakly. James nodded and looked at Levioth as if asking what to do.

"Grab some food and other supplies and we will leave. Make it quick though." Levioth said turning his back to the old man and heading out the door. He approached Carlos and motioned for him to move away from the group. When they were out of ear shot Levioth began speaking. "The old man's infected. Were taking the girl and her little sister with us. You take the little girl I'll take the older one in mine. We have some things to discuss." He said with a sly smile.

"You know people are dieing all around us and the first one's we try and save is so you can get laid…why am I not at all surprised." Carlos said with a slight smile as well. James made his way out of the little gas station and began splitting up the snacks putting the largest amount in Carlos's truck for the little girl. Carlos and Levioth made their way back to the vehicles where the older girl was talking softly to her little sister.

"It's okay Destiny, were just going on a little road trip and Granddad said he would try and meet us when he started feeling better." Meagan told her little sister who had tears in her eyes.

"But I don't want to go. I want Granddad. If he doesn't come who will stop the mean people?" She asked roughly through little sobs. At this point Carlos knelt in front of her.

"We will keep them away. We got somebody who even the mean people are afraid of…see the guy with his hair covering his eyes…scary isn't he? He'll make sure the mean people stay away. Wont you Levioth?" Carlos said looking at Levioth in a pleading sort of expression. Levioth simply stared back at him then said.

"Let's get going. Meagan you're riding with Shawn and me. Hey Shawn," Levioth tossed him the keys "your driving." Meagan didn't look too happy about the seating arrangement but smiled softly at destiny as she buckled her in and shut the door. Levioth waited in the passenger seat as Shawn held open the door for Meagan to get into. Once she was in he closed the door and jumped in himself. "Go to US 60 west and follow it for a while." Levioth told Shawn who nodded and started the car and spun the tires heading down the road on the way to the highway. There were a few zombies in the street but thanks to the crash guards Shawn just slammed right through them and once again they were on their way. Levioth turned around in his seat and looked at Meagan. She just glared at him and he gave her a quick glance over. She had a decent body with dirty blond hair. She was petite with a cup size that fit her frame just fine. She had a nice tan and her ears were pierced. Over all she was the type a normal guy would marry, one that was a "good" girl. Finally Meagan couldn't ignore Levioth's wondering eye's anymore.

"Can I help you?" she said clearly frustrated and insulted.

"Oh I'm sure you could." Levioth said with a coy smile.

Meagan scuffed as she said "Pig."

"See, I knew it, even you country girls are all the same. Judging me before you even get to know me. All you see is shaggy hair and confidence in myself and you think I'm some sort of stuck up freak." He said turning away from her.

"I don't think that!" She said defensively.

"Oh sure you don't. That's why you've done nothing but look at me with disgust since you first saw me." Levioth said not even turning around. Shawn smiled to himself He had seen Levioth play this card so many times that he knew it was already over for her and she didn't even realize it.

"Well that's because you're a sexist pig who just wants to get in my pants." Meagan replied angrily.

"Really?" Levioth replied turning around again "And how do you know that? DO you know me? Do you know what my life was like growing up? I assume since you know so much about me that you know about how I've had to watch out for myself since I was 14, but since you know me so well you already knew all that." Levioth said turning his back to her again before grinning. So what if he lied to her, not like she was being fair herself. Well that's what he told himself anyway.

Meagan sat in the back seat thinking about what she had just been told staring at Levioth's back. He wasn't all that wrong. She had made up her mind about him the second she had seen the hair in his eyes and the baggy clothes. She didn't know anything about him. He had been looking her over but it could have just been because he was worried about her. Making sure she was fine looking her over to make sure there were no major cuts or bruises. Maybe she had been wrong about him. He had called the other guy in who was really nice. Maybe she had been all wrong about this guy. "I'm sorry. I've just had a really bad day is all." She said excusing herself.

"Yeah and mine has been dandy. Running from the dead is a great day, oh and my life has been perfect as well…yeah your bad day totally excuses the way you acted towards me." Levioth said smiling without even turning towards her. Sometimes he even surprised himself at how casual and convincing he made himself sound. Levioth leaned back in his seat watching the road ahead leaving Meagan to her thoughts.