Glory And Gore

Chapter Four

"Perhaps we can make a deal?"

The supplies alone were worth looking into it. Loads of them. Whatever he wanted, Levy was sure that an agreement beneficial to both parties could be made. Short of doing anything remotely ridiculous like ridding them of a walker infestation... or the raiders.

Levy sat down, and she stared at Shane. He crossed his arms and stared right back. She was willing to take the risk, to come to an agreement, but he was Shane Walsh. He was the one who made the final call on a lot of issues pertaining to the group, once he took everyone else's words into consideration. If he said no, one final time, then that would be the end of it.

"Lev, you sure about this?" he asked after a few moments.

"Am I sure we need some of these supplies, and this guy is offering some sort of deal?" Levy scoffed, and she looked across her to the man. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "It's worth looking into at least."

"You're the boss," Shane sighed, and he sat down. "Name's Shane Walsh."

"Levy Miller," Levy added, and he nodded.

"Uhh, Lucas. Lucas Baker," he said awkwardly, and he cleared his throat. "Look, this is... Wow, okay, I don't know where to actually start."

Levy looked at Shane, and he glanced back at her. His eyes told her to deal with it, and she rolled her own before she said, "What do you want from us? Sounds like as good a place as any to start."

Lucas nodded, and he bit his lip. "Uhm, well, I'd like to see if we- Kendra, Uncle, and I- could join your group...?" As soon as he saw the distasteful looks on Levy and Shane's face, he quickly moved forward. "Listen, Uncle is- well, he's unstable. Some sort of mixture of different mental health disorders. He's a nice guy though, non-violent, until someone is in danger. He's coming off really nice and-and naive, but he's capable of a lot. And, regardless of what he just said, he's really good about sticking to treatments- including therapy, you know, before the world went to shit."

"Sounds exactly like the person we want around us," Shane muttered sarcastically. Levy elbowed his side, glaring at him. "Fine. Keep going."

"He used to help out and feed the neighborhood kids. Parents working all the time, not great homes, even just to do it. Kendra and I were among them. When everything went down, he... Well, he helped protect us." He shifted again, especially as he heard bickering upstairs. "Uncle is a good fighter. He's great to have on your side when shit's going down."

Levy tilted her head and glanced around. "So you're local?" Lucas nodded. "Which means you know what's been hit and what hasn't. As well as who is in the area."

"Levy," Shane warned quietly.

"Mostly. I didn't know about you guys," Lucas admitted quietly. He looked up at them beneath his hair. "Did... something happen?"

She stared at him evenly. "Yes."

"Levy." Shane was louder this time. Levy spared him a glance, and he glared at her to stand down. Levy kept her mouth shut, the only indication she'd go along with it. "Nothing happened worth talking about. Levy's just talking about a couple people we saw."

"Probably Katrina's," Lucas said with a nod. He frowned as he continued. "Not a great group. Whoever was left, Katrina saw to it that they either joined with her, or they were killed. Uncle was the only one spared, and Kendra and I stay out the way."

Levy nodded as she took in what he said. A dictator then. Those usually lasted the longest, but cruel ones never made it too far. Still, it didn't make Levy want to encounter the group again. Especially with the added "everyone joins or dies" warning.