Conflict

The group had continued forward from the small shack, not finding anything substantial but the group was able to rest for a short while.  It went a long way with Rebecca.

Her being pregnant is showing down the group though. And she looks ready to burst at any moment. Go figure.

But they made it to the ski lodge. Levi gave a quick glance at the machines, ones both mangled on the ground and still attached to the cables above, wondering just what they were used for.

Luke gave him a quizzical look, being the closest to the soldier and seeing the curious but otherwise stone look on his face. "Haven't seen a ski lodge before?"

His face went back to impassive impressively fast. "Never even heard about it 'til now. What was it for? Doesn't seem to be used for any meaningful transportation."

"Well it was used for getting up and down this slope without having to walk back and forth." He said and smiled. "It would've gotten old quick."

"Up and down the slope." He looked down at the ground below him and then turned to see it go all the way down; the way they had started. "Why would people go up and down over and over? What was the point?"

Luke gaped at him. "Damn, you seriously haven't heard of skiing?"

"Who hasn't heard of skiing?" Alvin asked, having heard only that tidbit of information and he had said it so loud that the entire group was now listening.

Levi stayed quiet briefly, eyes flickering to look in annoyance and then commented. "I haven't. Looks like a waste of time."

"It's fun." He looked down to Clementine, seeing the sincere look on her face. "I've only been once though."

"What are we going to do from here on?" Nick asked being once of the last to get up the slope. "We can't break in. People might be inside. It's too risky."

"I'll check it out. Alone." Levi added the last bit with a certain finality, showing he wasn't going to change his mind. But not all of them got the memo.

"Whoa, what?" Luke said. "Why the hell should you go alone? I'll come with you."

"There's no need to volunteer. I spoke my mind already."

"I'm sorry but who made you leader?" Rebecca asked, getting fed up with being ordered around. "We get that you're a soldier but we don't know you all that well. We got just by on our own. You can't expect us to just follow you."

Levi was silent for moments before walking up to the women before he was staring directly into her eyes. Part of him enjoyed the look of caution he caused in them despite being shorter than her.

"I'm a soldier." He said. "With survival and many other things none of you compare to me. You might've gotten by on your own but you'll succeed better if I lead. And Pete put me in charge before he died. He told me to get you to the North so that's exactly what I'll do. Whether you like it or not."

"Who are you people?" Levi turned to see a gun pointed in his face. Levi grudgingly chose not to move, not wanting things to escalate more than just pointing guns. The man didn't seem bloodthirsty or he would've started shooting when he was turned around.

The others weren't on the same page.

Things escalated quickly as Nick pulled his gun and the others there weapons. The situation quickly escalated in a screaming match, both sides telling the others to put there weapons away.

"Oi!" Levi yelled out to his people. While they weren't his team or anything, he was leading them and as such would tolerate no amount of insubordination. They would follow his instructions. "What the hell do you think you are doing?! Stand down, Nick!"

"Nuh uh," he muttered shaking his head. "No way! These motherfuckers pointed the gun at us first!"

"I'm telling you to stand down." Levi nearly growled, his irritation reaching a high. "I won't repeat myself again. I mean it."

He would not have to chance to heed Levi's warning as Clementine finally broke through the crowd of adults and locked eyes with a familiar face. She felt her breath hitch in her throat and seize up but she forced out a word. "K-Kenny?"

The older man lowered his gun, just as shocked as Clementine was and stared at her as if what he was seeing wasn't real. "Clementine? I-is that you?"

She said no more, running into his arms and holding him tight. She almost cried at the emotion running through her. She thought he had died. And he had reminded her of her time with Lee.

"Clementine you know him?" Alvin asked, surprised at the usually reserved girls' reaction.

That's good. Levi thought. One of the main aggressors had something else to focus on and it seemed to calm everyone down. Levi stalked over to Nick and snatched the rifle out of his hand before shoving him into the side of the cabin, interrupting the moment between Kenny and Clementine and gaining everyone's attention.

"Hey, what the fuck are you doing?!" Nick asked.

"You must've didn't hear what I told you back there." Levi threw the gun to the side so hard that it skidded across the ground for meters. "When I say stand down I mean for you to stand down fucking immediately! You put everyone at risk with stupid shit like that!"

"Y-you don't get to boss-"

"I'm in fucking charge. Just like I told the women." He got up into Nick's face, his cold gaze stretching over his form. "Whether you like it or not. Pete put me in charge and begged me to get you all to the north, and that's exactly what i'm going to do."

"Hey, you should stop." Levi turned to see one of Kenny's men come up to him. It wasn't aggressive in the slightest so Levi allowed it. "There's no need for violence. He's just nervous and scared. We all are."

Levi clicked his teeth, relenting for now. There was no reason to bite back at the older man and Levi could always talk to Nick any other time. He couldn't stand insubordination. "Whatever." He muttered walking away.

"Well, you guys come on in." Kenny said, surprising them all. "I won't let Clementine stay out here any longer and I can tell she won't let you all stay out here for too long. We've got plenty food and water so what do you say?"

"I'd say I'd be happy to." Luke said, putting away his sword. "Thank you. Really."

"It's no problem." Kenny said before looking over at Levi. "But will your leader be fine with it? We don't wanna ruffle his feathers again."

"Have anything with tea in it?"

XxX

It didn't take long for everyone to settle in and get comfortable. The lodge was big and cozy and Levi found it easy to find somewhere to be by himself after spending days watching over what seemed grown ass children who argued over just about anything.

He took a sip out of the mug in his hand, the tea calming and clearing his head. He wondered where they would go in the north, because now that he thought about it he wasn't told where exactly he would be bringing them.

Dammit, Pete. You couldn't be more specific, huh?

Regardless of that he still had to find a way to get back home, and hopefully not have to worry about giant ass titans trying to trample them. His mind unconsciously went to thinking about the giant furry hairball who called himself the Beast Titan. He thought about so much pain he could inflict on the blonde and relished those thoughts. It was his fault why he was trapped here in the first place.

Speaking of fighting... he turned around briefly, eyes scanning his ODM gear that seemed to go untouched at the door. He wasn't leaving the living room, not with his things down and not when he didn't trust the group himself. Mutual trust had only been built because of Clementine's relationship with Kenny.

"Hey, uh-"

"Levi." He helped, not looking to see Kenny's girlfriend but knew it was her because of her voice.

"Levi. It's almost time to eat."

"Thanks. I'll be down in a bit." He said and took another long sip out of his cup. He almost sighed when the women hadn't moved along. That meant she wanted to talk to him. "What?"

"I heard from the others that you are a soldier. I don't mean to pry and all but what's with the gear you were carrying around? For the life of me I can't understand what it does."

"As long as it can kill walkers then it shouldn't matter." He dismissed. She looked to curious for her own good.

She sighed but didn't outwardly show any angry emotion at being dismissed like that in her own place. "Well, dinner's almost ready. You need to eat." After that Levi was left alone to his immediate satisfaction.

A couple of minutes later, dinner was called and Levi wanted to ignore it until his stomach growled profoundly. He wasn't stupid. He had eaten the least the five days they traveled through the forest and he knew that eventually he had to eat. He wasn't a fool. He knew the limits of his body very well.

He walked down the stairs, finding his group at one table and the group they stumbled by at another. Clementine was sitting down, most likely catching up with him. Levi decided he would take a seat at Kenny's table, it was much less crowded and maybe he would get some peace and quiet for just a little bit.

Levi sat down on the very end of the bench, not looking at anyone else at the table and keeping to himself. He'd already grab his plate of peaches and while he didn't know if it was good or not or what it was the others seemed to enjoy it so he'd give it a try.

It wasn't long until he was fully digging in. The taste was... different. In a good way. He'd never tasted something as sweet as he was now. Unfortunately, it was ruined.

"You're the leader of the group, right?"

Levi stopped mid chew and looked over to see who was speaking to him. It was Kenny, the same man who had invited them to stay and rest. Levi finished his chew before opening his mouth. "Yea. I'm in charge."

Kenny nodded, leaning on the table a bit and Levi could tell he was being serious. "Where were you guys planning on going before you got here?"

"Up north." Levi crossed his arms, answering. "I was told that it was some sort of safe haven there. I was going to drop them off and then continue on my way."

Kenny shot him a curious look, eye brow shooting up. "Wait, what does that mean?"

"I'm not originally apart of this group. I'm an add on and the previous leader told me to get them north where it was safe before he died." Levi explained. "I made him a promise and I'll keep it."

"But you're going blind basically." Levi turned to the man who had heard Kenny call Walter. "You have no idea what's up there."

"I have an objective; and I will complete it. All the rest can be figured out once we reach there." It was better to leave that to when they actually got there. It was a waste of time regardless.

"Lots of people are traveling up north these days." Sarita said. "I just hope that all this isn't just a rumor and that we can actually find some hope for better."

Levi regarded her with blank eyes. "You plan to follow us?"

Kenny interjected. "No, we were already heading that way. Just stopped here briefly to have a place. If it's a safe haven I'm willing to find out what's it all about."

"That's fine." Levi said and stood up from the table. "Thank you for the meal. I'll take first watch." As he began to walk away to grab his gear, he was stopped.

"What do you mean, first watch?"

Levi barely turned to him. "Didn't they tell you? People are after their little group."

"People? What kind of people are we talking here?" Kenny asked, getting to his feet.

"Bad people." Clementine answered.

"Whoa, Levi, what's going on here?" Luke asked walking over behind him.

"You're not telling them, are you?" Rebecca asked, a nervous sort of look on her face.

"I am." Levi said, regarding the entire room. "I have a feeling they will follow our same path and follow us here. I have a bad feeling so I'm acting on it."

"You can't just do things without telling the whole group." Nick said.

Levi glared at him. "I don't trust your judgement, trigger finger."

Nick visibly looked upset and turned away from the situation.

"So what's this guy's deal? Why's he chasin' ya?" Kenny asked, getting back to the matter at hand.

"He has a past with them. If I can remember it was something about getting them back." Levi sent the group a look. "I don't know, nor care as to the why all I care about is getting to the north."

Levi walked away to the entrance and began to put on his gear and checked it all at the same time.

"Well he might not want to know but I do." Kenny told them. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"We don't have to listen to you." Nick told him aggressively, his temper taking control.

Kenny did not appreciate that and got very close to the man, a certain fire in his eye. "As long as you're in here I will know what's going on."

"Nick!" Levi yelled out, glaring at him as he strapped one of the gas cylinders on. "Stop fucking arguing with everyone that's says anything you don't like. What are you? A fucking child?"

Levi stood to his feet, already finished putting his gear on and stalked out of the lodge, muttering. "Fucking ridiculous."

Outside it had gotten much colder. Levi desperately wanted to use his ODM gear to clear his head but knew that gas was limited and obtaining more of it seemed nigh impossible. It wasn't likely in his opinion.

The crunch of wood in the distance stopped all thoughts and he froze stiff, not in fear but to listen. Only his eyes moved, swiveling to survey the area quickly and he listened closely for just one more sound. He suspected that the group that had been following them had finally caught up.

Luke came out onto the deck in a small sprint, slowing down when he saw him. "Levi, there you are. I thought- what's wrong with you?"

There must've been a weird look on his face for Luke to say that but Levi didn't even register it, nor did he look away from his surroundings. "Get your weapons. I suspect that Carver will be here shortly."

Before Luke could show his confusion aloud, Walter came onto to the deck. Luke turned to him and saw a combat knife in his hand. When he took it out of its sheath Levi turned to look, wondering what was going through his mind with such a look on his face.

It was trouble, no doubt.

"You know, we had another member of our group." He began in an almost transparent like voice. He seemed like he wasn't there almost. "I was the one to give him this knife. Funny how you guys somehow have it."

Levi clenched the back of his chin tightly. Shit! He thought. He already connected the pieces. He had killed the man who had been apart of their group.

Luke seemed to put the pieces together as well and tried to placate the man, holding a steady hand out and approaching him. "Hey man, just calm down and put the weapon away. There's no need for this."

"I'm a man who doesn't enjoy violence. I-it's a horror no one should experience." The tension fell down significantly when he resheath the blade. "Can you tell me how this happened."

Levi could tell by the way his voice shook even though he tried to reign it in that he was struggling with grief and also struggling to keep himself from getting violent. Levi was glad. He didn't want to kill another just to keep his own group safe.

Crack!

Another snap in the distance drew Levi's attention and a bang went off. As if in slow motion, Levi saw the three bullets, all of them traveling to the three of them standing outside in the open. Dammit! He'd seen this coming. He knew someone was out there and he got distracted.

He twisted himself and leapt forward to smash into the closest person near him. "Get down!" He rams into Luke saving himself and him from getting a bullet to the head. Walter was not so lucky. His body dropped with a thud and Levi stared in anguish at the blood that dropped down his face, the bullet still lodged into his skull.

"Shit!" Luke curses and tries to scramble to his feet. Levi gets up first and grabs ahold of him just as bullets start ringing out from the trees. He shots them up with a quick blast of air and they land harshly on the slightly slanted roof. The both get low at the same time, ducking under bullets that slice through the air and the building, sounding like small pings zipping through the air.

"T-they're shooting!" Luke exclaims, confused. "I thought that he was trying to capture us not kill us."

Levi's eyes narrow and he brings his up just to see above the building only to nearly slam it back down to the ground when bullets rang out and almost took his head off.

"Yea, this is Carver's doing all right." Levi muttered for Luke to only hear. "We've gotta move. If my theory of their positions are correct, then they are only in front of us but are moving to circle the entire building. We got lucky we were outside. They got trigger happy and gave their locations away before they could circle around the entire building."

"You're right." Luke said with widened eyes. "You're using where they were shooting from, right?"

"Yea." Levi nods. "But we still are vulnerable. We lost visibility on them and I know the other heard those shots. If they come out of the building to investigate, they will get their heads blown off."

"Then we need to find a way back inside and keep them all there." Luke says. "We can make a stand in there."

"No." Levi immediately shots down. "Too many exits and not enough cover. It's too open in there. Our best chance is to fight outside and engaged them directly." Levi sighed and looked at Luke. "Listen, this might be weird but I'm going to get us behind the house and break through one of the windows to get in. You have to hold on to me right unless you wanna break your neck."

Luke sighs himself, and moves over to Levi before wrapping himself around the older man and grabbing the other side of his arm to have a better hold. Both of them looked away from the other as much as possible and Levi triggered his gas mechanism as soon as he got used to the extra weight. He flipped both of them over the back of the building and shot his wires onto the side of it, aiming to go into the window. His targeting was perfect and they shot into the window, shattering it as the they went threw and Luke yelled out as he let go and hit the ground harshly while Levi landed safely on the ground.

Standing up fully and off the living room floor, Levi barks his orders. "Get away from all windows and glass doors! Don't try and go for your weapons! They'll shoot anything that moves!"

"Hey! What the fuck is going on?!" Kenny yells, rushing over to Levi.

"It's fucking Carver, that's what!" Luke yells back. "We need to get away from these windows or we'll be blown away!"

"Wait, where's Walter? He went out with you guys, didn't he?" Sarita asks after looking around and not finding the 3rd member of their group.

Luke visibly looked upset but Levi doesn't bat an eye. "He's dead. Those fuckers shot him right between the eyes."

A collective gasp went into throughout the room. And Kenny started breath fast, his face going red. "Fuck this! We'll pay them back in full!" Kenny went to grab his weapon at the front, despite Levi's warning and bullets rang through the glass door.

"Oh fuck!" He cursed, falling to the ground and clutching his shot leg. Levi saw Clementine already running to try and help and he ran forward as well, getting past her with ease and drawing his gun. He shot at where he saw the bullets came from, providing cover.

"Grab you damn weapons! I'll provide cover! Any of you who can't fight, get upstairs!" Levi ordered, not turning away from the wilderness.

Luke grabbed his weapon and with Alvin's help, they were able to drag Kenny away from the entrance right after he grabbed his own.

"Follow me, honey." Rebecca grabs ahold of Sarah by the hand and they both run up the stairs as Sarita gets on her knees to check her boyfriends wound.

"A-are you ok? Please tell me you are!"

Kenny grabs her hand and gives it a squeeze. "I'm fine. Just a flesh wound."

"Hey, Carlos! Get over here! We need a medic!" Luke yelled but the medic made no attempts to move. It looked like he was in a sort of trance. "Hey, Carlos! He-"

A loud whooshing sound, grabbed all their attention but none dared to look outside in fear of getting shot. "What the fuck is that?" Levi asks.

"That sounds like the fucking turbine outside. I think the storms' got it spinnin' outta control." Kenny says, laying up on the ground. "It'll draw walkers. We gotta get it shut down."

Gunshots rang inside the lodge, forcing the large group behind anything they could get behind. The bullets broke through walls and tore up furniture but no one was hurt.

"Where the hell are those shots coming from?!" Luke yells from behind the couch. Levi scrambles to him in time to push him out of the way of bullets, saving him yet again.

"Shut the fuck up." He yells in a whisper. "You're alerting them to where exactly we are."

Levi looks up, wondering if the wooden ceiling would hold if he were to hook on to it. There wasn't much room and he only had two shots from providing covering fire. He already promised himself one was for Carver, so the other would have to be used carefully and strategically.

"Girl," he says gesturing to Clementine who looked shock that he picked her. "And your daughter." He says, looking at Carlos.

Carlos immediately disagreed. "No. Sarah is not going out there. She'll get killed."

Not this again. Levi growled but made it a point to keep his voice low. "Listen. She's small, just like Clementine. I need her to sneak out while I draw their attention. Carver and his men are surrounding the building as we speak. There's too many windows. If we don't do something quick they'll fill us with lead."

"B-but my daughter—"

"I'll keep her safe." Levi promised. "She will come back to you. But right now this needs to happen."

Levi didn't budge when he was on the end of a furious stare, but it was filled with determination. "You better bring her back. Don't back down on your promise."

Levi stared back, wanting him to know just how serious he was. Then he nodded in all seriousness. "You can beat on it."

"But how are we going to get to her?" Alvin asked, through the sound of the whirling turbine outside.

"A distraction." Levi announced. "And we'll need somehow get to that corner." He pointed over to where the kitchen was. It had a large window but that was the only exit to where the outside was, far better than where they were.

"I'll go get Sarah alone." Clementine announced, much to Levi's surprise. He did not expect her to be as forward as she was. "They won't make it and only you can provide the distraction they need. I can get up there."

Levi felt her seriousness and nodded, he would allow her to move with that judgement. "Meet me back right here. I'll explain both of you my plan at the same time. We have to coordinate and move fast. No mistakes."

She nodded in assurance. "No mistakes." She was about to sneak away when Levi grabbed her arm.

"I go with my gut instinct." Levi told her. "My guts telling me to that you have something more than the rest of these people. I'm naming you my second in command." He thrusted a rifle in her hand. "Use that. When you get Sarah get outside and gain a bit of distance from here and then start shooting those fuckers. If you can get them to scramble and break formation we'll be able to escape and retaliate."

She looked down at the rifle in her hand with a unsure look on her face. "B-but you just said we'd be moving at the same time-"

"I trust you're judgement." Levi answers. "When I saw that look in your eyes I knew you had what it took to survive. Get Sarah outside and get us the fuck outta here."

Clementine nods and suddenly points her gun up at the ceiling. Levi barely looked up in time before she pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the light above, lowering visibility in the room.

Levi was impressed. "I didn't think of that. Good work." He admitted.

She nods once more and takes off.

XxX

Clementine stops running and crouches down beside the pillar. With the big light gone they could all finally move without being immediately shot at. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to see him either.

She could feel her heart racing as she tried looking through the darkness, only able to make out the pillars and the stand for where the cafe was on the right. Moonlight made it a bit more visible, shining through the glass window and door.

Levi was right. There really are too many exits. She thought. She tiptoes over to another pillar across from her, nearly loosing her footing but steadies herself against the beam. Her eyes widen when gnarly sound of groaning fills her ears, a telltale sign that walkers were fast approaching. She peaks a look past the pillar and sees 3 walkers about to step into the building through the glass door.

They would be in her path to get to the stairs and while she might be able to slip past them, it was simply to risky to try when other enemies lurked around and minute sound was hard to hear because of the raging turbine outside. She grips the rifle tightly and holds it up, taking aim at the walkers. She waits patiently before taking three simple shots to the head, downing each one without much trouble.

She sees that it is all clear and makes a run for the next pillar and was able to get behind the last one just in time to miss a shot that would've gotten her in the neck. She nearly drops the rifle in her hand but holds it stiffly. She doesn't want to peak, if they have a visual on her then they second she moved out she would be shot. But she needed to move. She needed a plan.

How would she make it to the stairs without getting shot? Wait, a diversion! She could use a diversion. She looks at where the bullet went through the wooden pillar and saw that the man was a little to her right, which meant that he was seeing through the large window.

"Wait!" A voice yelled out. Clementine turned to the top of the stairs to see Rebecca with her hands up in a surrender like fashion. "I surrender. If Carver wants me then he can have me." She says as she walks down the stairs. Clementine wonders what she should do or say but realizes what is going on when Rebecca sends her a quick look.

Clementine's eyes widen a bit before she nods and grips the rifle tighter, shifting her position against the pillar so that she would be facing to the window.

"Step outside, slowly." A voice commands.

Clementine builds her bravery up before peaking around the pillar. Luckily, she doesn't get shot, to her relief, but she still couldn't see the man who had just spoken. It didn't take her long to plan her next move. From how she was positioned, she would be able to poke the end of her rifle out of the corner without being much out of cover and be able to aim. She gets down on one knee and positions her rifle right at the glass door and begins to listen closely for another voice. It was all she would need.

"I will." Rebecca relents, and comes down the stairs entirely. "Just don't fucking shoot me. I'm what you guys are after, right?"

"Yea, that's right." Clementine silently takes aim, moving it to where she thinks the voice is coming from but she waits to fire, wanting to be sure as this would be the only opportunity she would be given. "Come straight forward. Once you reach the forest then you'll-"

Clementine grunts as she lands on the ground, the blast from firing the rifle pushing her down. She cuts off the man, hitting him square between the eyes and he drops from the shadow of the trees.

"Shit!" Rebecca curses and runs over to Clementine to help her up. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Clementine forces out, using the pregnant women to get to her feet. "Follow me. We gotta get Sarah."

"Get Sarah?" Rebecca questions, racing behind Clementine as the run up the stairs.

"Levi said so. I'll explain when we get to her." They we're almost up the stairs when a crash that sounded like glass breaking broke through the silence.

Clementine sneaks a nervous glance at Rebecca who looks just as nervous as she did. She was about to take a brave step forward when a looming dark shadow covered the entire stairs.

Clementine looks up to see a knocked out Sarah in the hands of a man wearing a cowboy hat and a large grin.

"Hello, girly. Nice day for a bloodbath, ain't it?"