Perhaps We'll Meet Another Day

Dystopian Justice

"Another two days walk should bring us home."

Lexi's ears perked up at that statement, still pretending to be asleep as Damien and one of his men walked by the group of four remaining women. Three captives, including Tara, had already been killed off for disobeying or resisting too much. The group leader and his second in command both passed them by without stopping or commenting on them at all. A welcome change.

The wind had picked up that night, the leaves on the forest floor rustling as they were sent tumbling against others. It made Lexi a bit paranoid, unable to discern the leaves blowing in the wind with the sounds of a stray, shambling zombie. With the sound as it was, any undead could just waltz up, surprising the group. Still, she tried getting her mind off of her fear and listen to the conversation between the men walking by.

"I thought we'd be bringing more back, to be honest. Might have to plan another outing soon after. A few new fresh faces will do our camp some good." Damien continued with a chuckle.

The second man said something that Lexi couldn't hear, and the rest of the conversation was lost as the distance grew between them. They'd just finished putting the tents up for the night, and she guessed they were both off to find their beds. Lexi squirmed in place, unable to stop the rising panic that they were getting closer to where she'd originally escaped from.

She really didn't want to go back. Not ever.

_________________

By the time they found the third body, Law was intent on giving Damien all the justice he deserved. He'd met his fair share of despicable people before, but none as sadistic and brutal as the man they were now hunting. The sheer number of bodies he seemed to leave in his wake was astounding, even by this fucked up world's standards.

Each time they rounded a bend in the trees, still following the trail the group of men and captives had left, Law tensed, seeing another naked body hidden among the leaves and dirt. Each time, he had that moment of slight fear that this time, it'd be her. It'd be Lexi. In which case, this whole hunt would be almost pointless. Despite Law vaguely telling Shachi and Penguin that they'd deal with the other women when it came to it, Law honestly had no intention of helping them further than depositing them somewhere they could probably survive. He wasn't keen on forming another township or add more to their group other than a single particular women in that group. He'd had enough of large camps for the time being. Hopefully his friends would agree.

The second woman had been a brunette, and his skin had crawled, almost hesitant to approach the corpse. Law had been astounded by how strong the panic he was feeling that it would be her actually was, and even more appalled when he felt a wave of relief that it wasn't Lexi each time they found a body, this one included. A woman had still died. It was still a loss of life. Technically, Lexi's life was worth no more than any of these people's...

But Law couldn't help but hold her just a bit above them in his list of priorities.

The sun had already reached it's peak in the sky above them hours ago, and it was now almost back down to the horizon. Every once in awhile, the bright rays would blind Law in the spaces between the trees. All three men were tired of the constant walking, but knew that the faster they caught up with the group ahead of them, the less likely that something would happen to Lexi or another of those women. Specifically Lexi.

Law felt like an asshole each time he reiterated that particular thought to himself, but eventually shrugged it away. It was what it was.

Judging by the frequency by which they came across the remains of Damien's camps, they could tell they were catching up. Law was willing to bet having the captives was slowing the group's progress by a large degree. At this rate, he imagined they'd catch up with them soon. Good, because the doctor was just itching to get his hands around the bastard's neck and deliver what he deserved by way of punishment.