The farther Noah and Levy pushed into the commercial district, the more walkers they encountered. Not enough to overwhelm them, but enough that neither could afford to let their guard down. It was only after they crossed a few dozen meters that they met more walkers.
The pair wandered from the entrance of an abandoned parlor. Noah met them head-on, weaving around the first before driving the steel tip of his spear through its temple. He planted a foot against the corpse and pulled the weapon free just as the second reached him.
Levy moved in from the side, burying his knife beneath the walker's jaw.
The creature slumped forward.
Neither lingered as the longer they stood in one place, the greater the chance another walker would wander over after hearing the commotion.
They continued down the sidewalk, dispatching the occasional strays that crossed their path, and for a while, that was it.
Journey, find a walker, kill it, continue.
The streets remained eerily quiet after the gunshot, much as they had been when they'd first entered the commercial district. Most storefronts had already been ransacked, while the few that remained intact offered little worth risking their lives over. Noah occasionally slowed to glance through shattered windows, mentally noting places that might be worth revisiting if they ever found themselves short on supplies.
Along with the pharmacy store they had passed by, the hardware store, bookshop, and electronics store were noted. Each could potentially prove useful in different ways.
The hardware store had tools they could use to reinforce the house and surrounding area. The books from the bookshop would keep them entertained once the power finally chose to give up on trying, while the electronics store was kept as a precaution.
However, with the resources in their bags, they simply didn't need anything badly enough to stop and search them now. Searching the area was still optimal.
As they rounded a corner, movement caught Noah's eye. Three walkers emerged from between a row of abandoned vehicles, the rotting skin of their faces hanging loosely from their skulls.
"Three," he said. His spear spun in his hand, stopping with a low whoosh.
Levy made an attempt with the knife in his hand but ended up almost dropping it in the process.
"Ahem, I'll take lefty."
Noah nodded, suppressing a smile.
He closed the distance first, his spear slipping between the walker's raised arms before piercing through its skull in one clean thrust. The body folded onto the pavement, and immediately he turned toward the second.
The walker lunged with outstretched arms. Noah sidestepped the attack—its hands just inches away from his—before sweeping his spear across its neck. The blade bit deep enough to drop the creature before it could recover.
Behind him, Levy finished his own fight. The walker collapsed onto the pavement, blood seeping from the wound in its temple.
Noah had already begun to turn away when Levy's expression suddenly changed into something of panic.
He hadn't noticed it at the time, too preoccupied with his own fight, but a walker had emerged from the same corner they'd turned moments earlier and now staggered until it was just a few feet away.
Levy pulled back to launch the knife at the walker, but before he could release it, a faint whistle cut through the air.
Thwip.
An arrow struck the walker, bringing its movements to a halt. It stood motionless for just a moment before collapsing backward.
Noah instinctively raised his spear, though a beat too late.
"What the fuck..."
The walker didn't move, nor did the two staring at its dead body—specifically at its head.
Noah approached cautiously. A single arrow protruded from its right eye, the shaft quivering for half a second before finally going still.
Neither of them said a word. Noah crouched beside the corpse and examined the wound. The arrow had entered cleanly, striking exactly where it needed to.
One shot.
No second attempt.
One death
Levy slowly turned in a circle, scanning the rooftops overlooking the street.
"Did you see where that came from?"
Noah shook his head.
"No. I didn't even hear the walker behind me."
He reached toward the arrow, his fingers hovering just inches from the shaft before he stopped himself.
Whoever fired it would probably want it back.
Noah rose to his feet and looked up at the surrounding apartments and multi-story buildings. They offered plenty of places to hide—balconies, office windows, rooftops, fire escapes. Any one of them could have given whoever fired the arrow a clear line of sight.
"I don't see anyone."
"Neither do I."
"You think they're still here?"
Noah didn't answer immediately. His eyes returned to the arrow and the blood pooling on the walker's eye.
Whoever had fired it had placed the shot with incredible precision, and if arrows were anything like the weapons they carried, they weren't something a survivor could afford to abandon.
There was a good chance the person was still nearby. More importantly, there was a good chance they'd been watching them for a while.
A breeze swept through the empty street, sending abandoned flyers skittering across the pavement.
Nothing stirred.
No footsteps. No voices. Only the distant groans of walkers echoing between the buildings, carried faintly through the empty streets.
Noah tore his eyes away from the rooftops.
"...Let's keep moving."
Levy nodded, then made one last glance at the fallen walker, shaking his head.
They continued down the sidewalk, both of them noticeably more alert than before. If that wasn't a wake-up call, they didn't know what was.
Neither of them spoke for several moments, but it was ultimately Levy who broke the silence.
"That was hell of a shot."
Noah nodded statically.
"Yeah..." He continued, "Whoever they are, they're good."
"Very."
The thought that kept their brain on high alert was simple: whoever had fired that arrow could have just as easily aimed at them.
Noah kept his spear at the ready as they continued through the ruined commercial district. Neither of them noticed the faint silhouette watching them from an apartment complex.
By the time they reached the next intersection, the rooftop was empty.
Levy glanced back one last time.
"Think we'll run into them again?"
Noah adjusted the grip on his spear.
"I don't know."
Levy hesitated.
"...Would you want to?"
Noah thought about the question.
Another survivor could mean help, like the one they'd encountered before. Someone with a ranged weapon could be invaluable. But they could just as easily mean trouble.
"We'll find out eventually."
The two continued deeper into the commercial district, disappearing between rows of abandoned storefronts and broken-down cars. Behind them, the fallen walker lay where it had collapsed, blood slowly pooling beneath its head before spilling across the asphalt.
Several minutes passed when a lone figure dropped silently onto the pavement.
Gloved fingers wrapped around the shaft of the arrow before pulling it free with practiced ease. The figure crouched beside the corpse and searched it quickly. Nothing useful.
They rose and looked toward the street Noah and Levy had taken. For several seconds, they remained completely still. Then, as quietly as they had appeared, they disappeared back into the maze of buildings.
Unbeknownst to Noah, his suspicion had been correct. Someone had indeed been watching them.