Today was the day. They were finally making it to Moose. Joel didn’t think Maria and Luca had gotten lost on their way there, but he was hoping they’d at least learn something helpful while at the settlement. 

Levi was already pacing around the motel parking lot when Joel left his room. The blisters on his feet were throbbing, but he didn’t complain. He was determined to make this day a good one. 

He’d taken some food out of his bag and thrust it at the demon before he could say anything.

“I know you don’t need to eat as much as me, but please take some. I know we cleared the air last night, but It would still make me feel better.”

“So the food is a peace offering?” he asked. 

“Something like that.” 

Levi reached out a long nailed hand and took the dried meat he’d been offered. He gave it an experimental sniff before opening his mouth. His jaw unhinged wider than a humans, putting all of his razor sharp teeth on display as he tossed the food in his mouth. 

He chewed for a moment before turning his head thoughtfully. “Mhmm. This actually isn’t bad.”

A pleased smile spread across Joel’s face. “It’s elk jerky. The twins made it. It’s one of the things they sell out here.”

Levi took another piece, seemingly less worried about ‘wasting resources’ now that he knew how delicious they were. 

“What else do they trade?”

Joel thought back to the small wagon they’d packed to the brim before leaving Skyline over a month ago. 

“They sell the meat and pelts of the animals they hunt. They also make reusable animal traps that people like. We have a sourdough starter in the kitchen that they’ll take pieces of. Oh! Also, Sandra makes soap that she lets them sell. It’s always a big hit.” 

“Lavender scented?” Levi asked. 

“Yes. How did you know?”

“It’s what you smell like. You smell like that and,” Levi tilted his head and sniffed the air. “Petrichor. Like the Earth after it rains.” 

Joel felt his cheeks flush at Levi’s words. Levi noticed how he smelled? He supposed he should just be grateful the demon hadn’t said ‘sweat’; he’d been doing a lot of that lately. 

Joel had been worried things would be weird between him and Levi after their fight, but everything seemed to be business as usual. If anything, the demon was acting friendlier this morning. After their heated discussion and later apologies, their tenuous acquaintanceship had become stronger.

The pair continued to make idle conversation as they reached the main highway. Levi’s shortcut had finally run its course, and they now took the main road they’d started on. 

The settlement of Moose had once been a rest stop. Before the world ended, travelers would pull off the I-25 to gas up their cars, grab some fast food, or stay in one of the two motels that were built there. The highway was long and desolate before and after the town and, unlike larger cities, it had been untouched during the wars. 

Joel eyed the faded, green exit sign that signaled they were only two miles away from their destination. Like Skyline, someone was always on watch for newcomers and they were getting close enough to be spotted.

Joel turned to the hulking demon beside him. “Where should I meet you when I’m finished?” he asked. “By this sign?” 

Levi tilted his head in confusion, his pointed ears twitching. “What are you talking about?”

“While I’m in there looking for clues and talking to people. What will you be doing?”

Levi scoffed at his question. “You’re not going in there alone. I’m coming with you.”

Joel paled. “You can’t be serious.” When Levi said nothing, Joel clutched his hands to his chest. “No one is going to talk with you around.” 

Levi’s sharp features pulled into a smirk. “There’s no way they’d be openly hostile with me, but don’t worry. I can blend in as a human if it worries you.”

Joel’s eyes raked over his traveling companion– his enormously tall, black horned, gray-skinned traveling companion. His companion who was now pulling a hooded cloak from his bag. 

“Is this a joke? Levi, tell me this is a joke.”

Levi tsked at him while pulling on his covering. It took all of Joel’s willpower not to laugh. 

“Ta-da,” the demon said, looking pleased with himself.

Levi was smart. He couldn’t possibly believe that this would work as a disguise. Sure, most of his body was covered, but he was still well over six feet tall. His black, textured horns curled back like a rams, but they still raised the fabric above the top of his head, giving it an uneven, lumpy appearance. 

“Levi, no.” 

“What? Everything demonic is covered.”

Joel couldn’t decide between laughing and crying. “The horns are covered, but definitely noticeable. Also, you do realize that humans don’t have horns or gold and black eyes, right?” 

Without hesitation, Levi plucked the sunglasses from Joel’s face, shoving them up the bridge of his proud nose. His face pinched in concentration before his horns vanished, letting the hood of his cloak settle flatley atop his head. 

 “Okay. Now, everything demonic is covered.” 

Joel could feel his jaw drop. His fingers twitched, curious to stroke the air and see if those large horns were truly gone. “How did you do that?”

“The horns are on a different plane of existence. I just don’t do it often. Makes them itchy.” 

Joel gaped at him. Yes, the disguise was better, but…

“You’re still being ridiculous,” Joel chastised. “Just stay here.”

“I can blend in fine. I’m more humanoid than most demons.” While it was true that most demons had a more animalistic appearance, it didn’t mean that Levi would blend in ‘fine’. 

Joel could feel his patience wearing thin. He was getting tired of arguing. “Levi, you need to stay out here where no one can see you. Please.”

“Even if they do figure out I’m a demon, no one will be aggressive towards us. I told Nan I was going to keep you safe and find your friends. I can’t do that from out here. I am going with you.”

Joel took a step back, trying to take in the costume with fresh eyes. No one would mistake him as an angel, his lack of halo assured that. The hood cast a shadow over his face, masking the true color of his skin. He supposed someone could possibly mistaken him for a large, sickly adult. His pitch black hands peeked out of his sleeves, but they would probably look like gloves to the untrained eye. 

Joel exhaled deeply, accepting his defeat. He didn’t know Levi well, but he could tell the demon was stubborn. 

“Keep your face tilted down so no one gets a good look at you. Also, hunch your body a bit. Try not to look so tall.” 

The demon did as Joel instructed. The two mile walk to the settlement was tense. Joel repeatedly reminded Levi that he would do all the talking, and that he shouldn’t engage with any of the settlers. 

“What’s your plan?” Levi asked eventually. “To get information?”

“There’s a man named Tony that lives in Moose. He fancies Maria, so I’m sure he talked to her while they were here.” 

“Ah. Are they an item?”

Joel huffed a laugh as he shook his head. “No. She’s told him she’s ace before, but that hasn’t deterred him from trying to pursue a relationship.” 

“To be fair, asexual people can be in relationships.” 

“That’s true,” Joel agreed.

For a while, Joel himself had wondered if he could be asexual. He’d kissed Nikki, but had never wanted to take things further. Still, he craved the concept of a romantic relationship, and physical intimacy. His favorite books from the library were always romance novels. They filled him with yearning and lust. He’d touched himself more than once while reading, but always wished it was someone else's hand. Whose, he wasn’t sure, but every fantasy held the idea of another person. He’d talked to Maria about it at length and come to the conclusion that he was probably pansexual, or possibly demisexual. 

“I know that romantic love and sex are different,” Joel continued. “But she definitely doesn’t want either from Tony. I think–” 

Joel stopped talking when the sound of a horn blasted through the air. “They’ve spotted us.Keep your hands up as we approach. Let them see that we aren’t armed.” 

Moose was surrounded by a double chain link fence with barbed wire to deter animals and unwanted visitors. Someone was already waiting behind it when they arrived. 

“Stop where you are!” A severe looking woman said. She held a large rifle with both her hands, and was currently pointing it at the pair. 

Joel stretched his hands higher above his head and silently urged Levi to do the same.

“We mean you no harm,” he said to the woman, whose finger was already resting on the trigger. “We’re here for information. My name is Joel, I traveled here with Maria and Luca Lopez last year.” 

Recognition sparked in her eyes as she looked at Joel’s face. She then pointed her rifle at Levi. “And who’s this?” 

Joel swallowed thickly. He could feel sweat starting to prickle at his brow. “He’s just a f-friend of mine from Skyline. He’s here to make sure I’m safe.”

The woman kept her rifle pointed directly at Levi, but turned her head back towards one of the buildings. “Get Moe!” she called out. 

Moe was Moose’s leader. He looked older than Nan, with gray hair peppering his beard and brow, but despite his age, he was fit and well muscled. Moe had come to Skyline before to meet with Nan in her office. About what, Joel wasn’t sure. The man hadn’t traveled alone then. He was accompanied by two people carrying guns, just as he was now. 

“Joel,” he said, slowly approaching the metal barrier. He was taller than Joel remembered, but that might have been the combat boots. “It’s been awhile.”

Joel gave a sigh of relief at Moe’s friendly tone and demeanor. “I’m surprised you remember me.”

The older man chuckled. “We don’t get a lot of visitors out here, but the scar does help.” His eyes roamed over him. He turned to face Levi, and his gaze suddenly became cold and his nose twitched with irritation. “With a bag that small, it doesn’t seem like you’re here to trade. What do you want?”  

“It’s about Maria and Luca. They never came back from their route. We’re trying to get information about where they could have gone. Did they come through here?”

"Yeah, a few weeks ago. I don’t know what you’re hoping to learn. They made their trades, stayed the night, and left the following morning, just like they did when you came with them. There’s nothing else to know.”

Joel could feel his stomach drop. “Was there anyone they talked to? Anyone that might know more? Maybe Tony?”

“He’s in his room.” He looked over the pair with an assessing gaze. “You can come inside, but your friend will have to wait out here.”

“No,” Levi said firmly. His voice was practically a growl. The menacing tone caused goosebumps to erupt over Joel’s skin. 

“Yes, that works,” Joel said brightly, ignoring Levi’s proclamation. “Let me just talk to him first.”

Joel grabbed Levi by the edge of his black cloak, pulling him a few feet away from the fence to whisper in his pointed ear. 

“What are you doing? We need to follow their rules. This is our chance to learn something!”

“I don’t trust their leader,” Levi grumbled. “There’s something off about him. It feels devious that he’s trying to separate us.” 

“You are a stranger here, and an oddly dressed one at that. Can you blame them for not giving you a warm welcome?” Levi made a grumbling noise as Joel persisted. “This should only take a few minutes. I won’t cause any trouble for us.”

“Joel, I don’t think—“

“Please?” Joel interrupted, his eyes large and pleading. “Please don’t be stubborn about this. It’s important to me.” 

Levi’s jaw ticked while his nostrils flared. “If you’re not back in twenty minutes, I will come looking for you.” 

“Noted.”

Joel turned around, plastering a big smile on his face. “My companion is happy to wait out here.”

“Good,” Moe said, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Jenny, keep your rifle pointed at the newcomer. Joel, you can come ‘round to the entrance. I’ll personally escort you to Tony’s room.” 

Joel could tell Levi was annoyed, but true to his word, he still kept his arms dutifully raised and his cloaked head pointed down.

Joel walked around the perimeter of the fence until he reached a swinging door that was kept shut with nearly a dozen locks. Moe unbuttoned the top of his camo shirt, revealing a swath of thick gray chest hair and a necklace weighed down with keys. He went through each lock until the wrought metal swung open with a loud squeak of protest on its rusted hinges. Joel stepped through the gate, officially entering Moose. 

Faces popped into dirty windows as they moved by the first motel. Joel knew that Tony didn’t live there. He resided in the far shabbier building behind the old gas station. 

“Is it like you remember?” Moe asked him.

Joel’s eyes scanned the settlement. A year of aging had weathered it somewhat, but it looked nearly the same. At the center of the camp, was a life-sized bronze sculpture of a Moose, from which the settlement got its name. Unlike the aging buildings, it appeared to be newly polished and gleaming in the sun.

“Yes, very similar,” Joel answered. His eyes drifted back to the fence, but Levi could no longer be seen. They were on the far edge of the settlement and the squat buildings were blocking his view. 

They reached the external staircase of Tony’s building and Moe instructed him to climb. Joel paused. 

“Oh. Did Tony change rooms?” he asked hesitantly. 

“No.”

“But–,” Joel started, trying to flip through the pages of his memory. “I thought his room was on the first floor.”

“You thought wrong,” Moe said with a chuckle. “You’ve been here once, I’ve lived here for almost ten years.”

Joel supposed he could be wrong, but his memories from his trip were so vivid. It was the first time he’d left Skyline to visit another camp. Even though he’d been scared, he cataloged every moment eagerly. He often thought back to it when he was bored, like a movie he couldn’t stop rewatching. 

Joel dithered at the bottom of the stairs, watching as Moe ascended to the top level. He didn’t move until one of Moe’s companions poked him with the butt of his rifle in the back.

“Move,” the man said harshly.

Joel jumped at the touch before jerkily ascending the stairs to the second floor. The external hallway was covered in stained, threadbare carpet. Joel watched his feet as he walked, until Moe stopped in front of a door with a faded 10 painted on the front. 

Moe unbuttoned his top, pulling out his necklace of keys once more.

“You lock Tony’s door from the outside?” Joel said. He could feel his insides panic. This seemed wrong.  “I–I think I’d like to leave,” he said shakily. “Maybe Tony could meet me outside the settlement, or we could talk through the fence.” 

Moe gave a loud bark of laughter. “Don’t worry little guy, this is just a safety precaution.” The door swung open noisily as Moe nodded at his companions, who each grabbed Joel by a different arm.

“Wh–what,” he stuttered. “What’s—,”

“Shhhh,” Moe hissed as his guards pushed Joel through the doorframe. He stumbled on the torn up carpet and fell to his knees as Moe shut the door, locking the four of them inside the shabby room. “This will be easier if you just cooperate.”