I left everything but my knife back at camp as I headed over to the house occupied by the city people. I kept watch on the house from a safe distance. The moon was bright tonight, so the area was pretty well-lit for how late it was, which made hiding a little challenging.

The girl left maybe twenty minutes ago, and Levi came out once right after she went to smoke what looked like a cigarette. Those were rare out here in the wastes. You can find them in the most random places sometimes, but most were gobbled up immediately after the Swallowing, and especially during the wars, according to Geneva. I’ve had the chance to smoke one before. It made me throw up, but the feeling from it was a different experience than the moonshine Jack would make.

As I entered through the back door, the house was dark and quiet, but as I approached the living area, I could hear soft music playing from behind one of the doors. I assumed this was Levi, as the other bedroom door was wide open and a lantern-lit to cast a shadow on the opposite wall. The person in the shadow, who I assumed was Bear, was covered by a blanket and hardly moving.

As I took a cautious step forward to get a closer look, I felt the ground begin to give way and hurriedly pulled my foot back, but I was not quick enough, and like a puzzle, the entire rotten area crumbled into the basement, and I went right along with it.

I crashed landed on the pile of rotten wood and immediately could feel numerous places splinters had impaled me, “Fuck,” I groaned, rolling onto my back to see a shocked and equally confused Levi staring down at me through the hole on the first floor. He had a gun in his hand, aimed steadily at me, “Who the fuck are you, and why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I sat up with a wince, “City people walking the wastes is a dangerous feat.”

He became increasingly more hostile, “What do you know about the city?”

I shrug half-heartedly, “Nothing, I just know outsiders when I see them.”

He scoffed, “We’re the outsiders? I think you know better than I that you and everyone else in this country are outsiders. You wish you could be inside those walls.”

“Just like you are right now?” I laughed, and he looked taken aback, “You don’t have your walls to protect you now, city boy. Out here, you’re just like the rest of us. An outsider. So,” I stand on my feet and dust my pants off, “you gonna let me come up there, and we can have a civil conversation?”

Levi was hesitant, “You have any weapons on you?”

I crossed my arms; if this guy had any plans on killing me, he would have already; he needs me for something, “Of course I do! What idiot would travel the wastes without one?”

He rolled his eyes at my attitude, “Reach anywhere other than in front of you; I will introduce you to 9 millimeters of hot metal.”

I snorted and nodded, “Alright, dude, I would just like to get out of here. It smells, and I need to get some medicine before I get an infection.”

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“You have medicine?” He asked almost immediately.

Damn, I should’ve thought of that before, I knew they needed medicine for their friend, but I didn’t think of them needing my medicine. It would’ve saved me from sneaking around; I could’ve played the friendly neighbor and just went up to the front door!

“I mean, I don’t have any on me. It’s all back at my camp, but I can take you there, trade some stuff with you, and then I’ll be on my way.”

He pondered momentarily and then nodded, “Fine, I’ll come back and let you out. But try to pull anything an—”

“And you’ll introduce me to 9 millimeters of hot metal,” I droned, “I get it. Please quit the tough guy act and let me out before I grow another leg!”

The man finally obliged, and within minutes, the basement was filled with moonlight, and I could finally see some of my surroundings.

I made my way over to the doors and ascended the stairs just for Levi to grab one of my arms, twist it behind me, and plant the end of his gun into my back, “If you thought I would just trust you, you’re crazy.”

Anger began to rise in my gut, “I’m not scared of you, so if you think you’re doing this to intimidate me, you’re not. You’re doing more of the opposite, and if you keep that gun in my back, I think you’ll eventually understand what that means for you.”

Geneva taught me a lot of self-defense. Mainly disarming moves, but she included a few fatal ones for the dire situations where I had no weapons. We would run through so many different scenarios, and this was one of them. The way he had my arm twisted, the gun in my back, it’s like she prepared me for this day all those years ago.

Levi laughed, “I thought Minka was a good actor, but you just might top her. Threats from a female will never scare me.”

His comment made my blood pressure skyrocket; nobody should ever underestimate the power of a scorned woman, so I gave him a taste of what he thought was impossible.

I twisted out of his firm grasp and kneed him in the balls.

He immediately dropped his gun to hold his junk and cried out in pain, “What the fuck," He choked, "Why?”

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief, “You had a gun in my back, and you’re asking ME why?”

“I wasn’t going to hurt you; I was just making sure you weren’t going to run off.”

“You know, instead of being a dick about it, you could’ve just said, ‘Hey Alvina, could you please not run away?’ but no, you chose to insult women and threaten to shoot me over and over, so really, who’s fault is that? I’m not the one who made it a hostile encounter. You did.”

The man was still on the ground, probably not listening to a single word I’d said, groaning into the grass.

“Okay, well, I’ll let you handle... that. I need to go get antiseptic and pluck out these splinters,” I turned to leave but was stopped by Levi’s big, warm hand gripping my calf.

“No,” He used me and the ground to stand back up before picking up his gun and tucking it in the waistband of his jeans, “I’m going with you still. You might have to walk a little bit slower for a minute,” He winced, “You hit both my balls head-on, not even just one, both.”

I shrugged, not sorry for a second, “Next time a girl tells you you’re pissing her off, you should listen.”

Levi shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes. “No girl knows how to unwind like that or as quickly as you did; you’re just an exception.”

I hummed, “Mmm, every girl I come across is getting taught that move, so I can make sure you can’t do it to anyone again.”

“I don’t think that’ll be the only thing I won’t be able to do again,” he adjusted his pants, and I bit back a laugh.

Okay, perhaps I do feel a little guilty. I didn’t have to go as hard as I did, but genuinely, he was underestimating me, and he needed to know that wouldn’t fly if he wanted my help.

I don’t know how things are run in the city, but out here, there is no caste system; it’s survival of the fittest, and all in one second, everything can be taken from you.

Rule number one: Never underestimate anyone.