Chapter 36: Chapter XXXVI - Baited
Noah blinked, the System interface vanishing from his vision as his attention was forcibly dragged back to reality. He glanced between Levy and Sage and smiled ever so faintly.
"I was just going through the other features we couldn’t get to earlier."
"And you thought that now was the perfect time for that?" Sage asked, one eyebrow raised.
"I have you two."
Noah returned the gesture from earlier, slipping an arm around Levy’s shoulder, leaving the two of them standing side by side with their arms draped over each other’s shoulders. He then glanced toward Sage, as if including her in his defense.
The moment the words left his mouth, Levy slowly removed his arm and took a deliberate step away from Noah, looking at him as though he had just uttered something blasphemous. Sage stared at him, too, her expression carrying the unmistakable look of: you cannot be serious.
"Hey, don’t try to pass the blame onto us just because you have a death wish," Levy said, pointing accusingly at him. "You’re the one with Enhanced Perception. Not us."
"I don’t know, dude," he said, keeping his pace. "All I’m saying is if you guys can’t protect me from a few walkers..." gesturing toward the walkers that were nearby, "...we might have to rethink some things."
Sage rolled her eyes at that, then turned forward, continuing her stride.
"If you’re trying to rage-bait him, just know it’s working."
Levy jerked his back as if someone grabbed the micro strands at the back of his head.
"Me? Rage-baited? You’re hilarious." He walked beside Noah once again, nudging at his side. "Right?"
Noah smirked and continued walking, leaving Levy alone with his realization.
I was baited.
- - - - - - - - - -
The walk back to Noah’s house took a little over twenty minutes. What had been relatively quiet streets on the way there had somehow become noticeably busier on the return, with walkers seemingly crawling out from every alley, side street, and forgotten corner to reclaim the roads.
Fortunately, none of them posed much of a threat to the trio.
With the three of them moving together, each armed and already accustomed to fighting the creatures, the walkers were more of a nuisance than a danger. Whenever Sage became too occupied and a group managed to wander too close, either Noah or Levy would step forward and put it down before it could get within striking distance.
On the rare occasion that too many appeared at once, they simply changed direction and kept moving. Running was always an option. Given the walkers’ sluggish pace, putting distance between themselves and a group of them was practically guaranteed to work.
But they figured why not clean the streets while they were at it. More importantly, every walker they killed was another bit of EXP.
So they killed them.
Again and again, they cleared whatever stragglers crossed their path, their progress only occasionally slowing as they dealt with the growing number of undead wandering the streets.
What had initially seemed like a deserted street was beginning to look a little more like the apocalypse Noah had expected—corpses scattered across the pavement, abandoned cars lining the roads, and walkers shambling aimlessly through the spaces between them.
Still, compared to everything they had already dealt with, the trip home was almost relaxing.
When the house finally came into view, both Noah and Levy let out quiet sighs of relief. After everything they had dealt with since leaving, seeing the familiar house waiting at the end of the street was a welcome sight.
Sage, however, remained between the two of them, her eyes wandering from one house to the next. It seemed she hadn’t quite realized which house they were headed toward until they stepped onto the front yard.
She slowed slightly, looking over the property.
"Nice place."
"Thanks," Noah replied.
Sage glanced over the house, taking in what little could be seen from the front. Despite everything happening around them, it looked relatively untouched. No broken windows, no damage to the exterior, and no obvious signs that anyone—or anything—had tried to force its way inside.
Noah turned his attention toward the house as well, looking over the front windows and door. From the outside, everything appeared to be exactly as he’d left it, which was reassuring. Still, appearances weren’t enough. He’d have to check the other doors and windows once they were inside to make sure nothing had gotten in while they were gone.
Satisfied for the moment, Noah pulled out his keys and unlocked the front door. The lock gave with a soft mechanical click.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside, pausing briefly to let his eyes adjust to the familiar interior before moving farther in. Sage followed close behind, her gaze immediately sweeping across the room while Levy closed the door behind them after he stepped inside.
Noah slipped the bag from his shoulder, letting it hang loosely from his hand for a moment before dropping it near the floor with a soft thud. The weight leaving his shoulder brought with it a small measure of relief, and he wasted no time making his way into the living room.
He practically collapsed onto the sofa, sinking into the cushions face first with a muffled groan. Levy wasn’t far behind. After leaving his own bag beside the door, he wandered over and dropped onto a couch as well, stretching his legs out in front of him.
Sage remained standing for a moment, watching the two of them settle in as though they had completely forgotten the apocalypse existed. Her eyes eventually drifted toward the clock on the wall. The hour hand had barely crept past two, while the minute hand had taken only three steps.
It was still early, yet somehow it felt much later. After everything they’d done since morning, Sage had half expected the day to be nearing evening. Instead, they still had hours of daylight left.
She looked back at Noah and Levy, both of whom appeared more than content to remain exactly where they were.
"You two look comfortable."
Noah shifted slightly against the cushions, his eyes already beginning to close.
"I am."
Levy nodded in agreement. "Extremely."
Sage rolled her eyes, but the faintest hint of amusement tugged at her expression. She walked over to the remaining sofa and sat down, finally allowing herself to relax now that they were safely back inside. For a brief moment, none of them said anything.
The house settled into a familiar quiet.
No walkers groaning outside the windows. No footsteps. <anno data-annotation-id="64bed938-0a5b-3387-8fd4-205ae90210ff" data-title="No weapons drawn or arrows aimed at anyone.">No weapons drawn or arrows aimed at anyone.1</anno>Just the three of them, sitting in a living room at two in the afternoon, trying to pretend that for a moment, the world outside hadn’t completely fallen apart.
<annotations style="display: none;">When I say this, I am not referring to the literal sound of weapons being drawn/aimed. I’m referring to the saxophones. Iykyk.</annotations>
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