[M] Awakening of Dreams and Nightmares (Etoile&LuckyCharm)

[Etoile Mizu]

Rated M for violence, gore, language, sexual content, and adult situations.

Alice frowned a little as she grabbed all four of her black duffel bags and headed down to the parking garage near her apartment. She didn't know how she managed to carry all four at once, but she was frantic about something, but not even she realized why she was so frantic. Her long blond hair tailed behind her and was only a little tangled today, most of the time if she wasn't stressing about how she looked it was tangled for whatever reason. It was starting to rain outside, it wasn't bad yet but as Alice had been observing the weather recently, it was going to be a big storm.

She managed to get to one of her cars soon enough. The car she had decided was her favorite was the grey 2010 Ford GT Mustang. She put the duffel bags in the back seat. She already had the trunk of the car loaded with various things. She quickly adjusted her outfit (http://www.polyvore.com/idek_31/set?id=50666867), throwing a jacket on before she got into the driver's side of the car and just started to floor it. She managed to get to the highway without feeling paranoid about what could jump out from the sides of the road and attack her.

With that though she turned on the radio and just drove, drowned out in her Falling In Reverse cd. She drove for hours only stopping once or twice to use facilities or change the music that her car was blaring. The sound system was nice though because despite it's loudness no one or nothing could hear it for a long ways and nothing would be fast enough to catch up with her. There were no police officers around, nor were there other people, why follow the speed limit?

It was when she spotted another figure towards the Oregon border when she started to panic. Alice hadn't seen anyone that life like in ages, she slowed down dramatically and turned her music off and watched as she approached the female figure that walked towards her. "Are you alive?" She asked quietly to herself, one hand was still on the steering wheel. Her other hand was on a pistol in her pocket. She quickly rolled the window some what down and pulled over getting out of the car quickly and walked towards the figure with a pistol in both hands pointed towards the woman. "Are you infected?" Alice called out in a more serious tone, she could act pissed off, but if the person was infected they would react badly to that.

"If you aren't infected you can come with me, I'm heading in an opposite direction, but hell you look like you need a lift." She forced a sarcastic smile and put her guns down holding them up in the air to show that she meant no harm unless something was pulled on her.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara looked up from her book up to the window from the laundromat. She sighed, looking at the rows, and rows from each side of the highway was clogged with abandoned cars. It was a sad, and depressing sight. She used to work at a gas station not far up the highway... This had always had bustling life, from across the border. The thought made Clara smile, but one look at the cars yet again made her frown. Sighing, she shut the book that she was reading and tossed it aside on the floor. Not like she, or anyone cared. Everyone was dead. She hasn't seen a living soul since Washington, and he was pretty much dead in the first place. Getting up from the bench at the end of the store, Clara made her way back to the entrance. Pushing the door forward, she heard the tiny bell above it ring and cling.

Clara hasn't travel far, in the two weeks that she's been walking on the abandoned highway. Of course, she had enough food from the restaurant's and other food places placed on the highway for visitors. Sadly, that wouldn't be happening anymore. She had seen however a few of those... zombies shuffling around. With no sense of direction, or purpose. Heh, zombies. Who knew. They haven't seemed to caused trouble to her yet, but she knew what they were capable of in a horde. Something, that she would hope to never face. But, something did bother her. She couldn't be the ONLY person that survived this. Can she? What if she is? Those, and other thoughts ran through her head, as she seemed to almost mindlessly walk along the road. What also Clara wondered, was if the Military was doing anything about it. Are they rescuing people maybe? Again, Clara was short on answers. Her guess was as good as anyone's... anyone's. She wished she could see anyone. Her mother, her little sister... her father. Clara sighed, and wiped the single tear that ran down her cheek. They are dead. There is nothing that she could do to bring them back. Ever.

Continuing on the road, she reached into her pocket and grabbed a small quarter. She'd always flip it with her thumb when she was bored walking on the highway. Which she always was. Flipping the coin gave her a small comfort. A activity to distract her from the gruesome, and evil world that has become. Still, maybe there is good in the world. She just wanted some company, someone who she can talk too. Not like an imaginary friend, but a real person. A person who can give their own honest opinion on the subject of the conversation. Not some imaginary opinion that she made up in her head. After about twenty minutes of constant coin flipping, she stopped and looked down into her palm at the rusty quarter. It was her first quarter ever earned when she worked with her Uncle and Aunt so many years ago. She was six... or maybe seven. She kinda lost track of that stuff. No point in remembering something that no one will ever know. Clara crunched her fingers together into a fist, and shoved the quarter back into her pocket.

After an hour or so, Clara was doing something she hadn't done in a very, very long time. She was humming a tune in her head, she wasn't particular tune. It was more, randomly generated in her head than anything. Even though she knew a lot of songs in her head, from constantly hearing them over the radio in the small market back in her hometown, Salem, Oregon. Clara had actually began to skip like an idiot to the tune in her head... why was she acting like this? After the thought, she immeditly stopped skipping and began to walk normally again. Shaking her head, and for whatever reason, blushing, she continue... until something caught her attention. A car. A CAR! Clara immeditly turned around to see the Mustang pull up beside her. It looked older, like a Ford GT. But, she wasn't very sure about the exact model. Clara's heart began to beat against her chest roughly, and chills ran down her spine as she waited for whoever was in the car to step out. When the door opened, she jumped back slightly. The noise freaked her out for some reason, but she saw that it was a woman who stepped out. Long blond hair, with piercings and tattoos... great. Then, she saw it. The pistol was brought up. Clara immeditly held her hands up. Was this how was she going to go? Getting shot? However, when she asked that if she was infected. Her brows furrowed, kinda confused at the question. She answered, anyway, "No," Clara simply said. She wasn't about to joke with a gun in her face.

When the woman said that she could come with her... Clara felt like she wanted to jump for joy, but the sudden movement might get her shot. After the woman put her gun down, Clara breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, if you're headed towards Oregon, good luck. The highway is clogged by abandoned cars a few miles back. You're going to have to take a different route," Clara said seriously. But she couldn't help but show a smile. A real person. It was almost as if she was dreaming. Hell, maybe she was. But, she knew it wasn't a dream, this was real to the bone. "Yeah... thank for the lift, Mrs...?" Clara asked, as she lowered her hands also.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice sighed and put her guns in her pockets. "Just get in the car." She muttered as she walked towards the drivers side of the car again. She didn't want to go through introductions quite yet. She probably seemed bi-polar or just really defensive to this girl though. She didn't want to come off as a bitch, but in these times she had become rather reclusive and didn't talk to anyone so to suddenly have someone around was just a little strange. She sighed once the woman got in the car,"Sorry. I realize I can be a little bitchy, but it's weird to have someone around that actually responds to you after so long." She sighed a little,"You can call me Alice, but it's Ms. Not Mrs. I didn't get that far in my life before all this happened."

Alice started to drive back towards Seattle and decided that they would head farther East that seemed rather stupid considering the outbreak happened in Colorado, but they could circle back and head back to wherever. "Did you have anywhere you wanted to go? I can take you there and you can do whatever business you had. I was heading for Salem myself... wanted to see if there was anyone else that lived in this madness." Alice sighed as she realized that she was talking a lot. It was just her head trying to readjust to other humanity once again. "Sorry if I'm babbling." She muttered annoyed with herself. She just drove in silence and listened to whatever her unnamed companion was.

There were a lot of places they could stop now that Alice thought about it. Montana was desolate enough that there wouldn't be any zombies around, and if there was there wouldn't be many, but then there was the issue of the government... actually. The government probably wouldn't even care about Montana. Depending on what the woman said though would determine Alice's plan of attack. She could live on her own, and she could more than likely manage with one other person.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara raised an eyebrow at the sudden attitude of the girl. Was it something she said...? Oh. Maybe she had a boyfriend, or husband or something... Clara felt pretty bad that she already had a bad start with the only person she's seen in the past few months. She'd just stay quiet through the whole trip. Clara didn't want to piss off this women more then she'd wanted. So, slouching slightly, she walked over to the passenger side of the car and got in. She was instantly met with cigarette smoke and... other smells that she couldn't identify. It might be possible this woman was bipolar, and probably also had anorexia because of how thin she looked. Clara also couldn't help the multiple scars that she had on her arms. Was she infected, or were they from something else? She was going to ask, but decided not too. She wouldn't risk pissing off the only person she's met so far.

Clara glanced over at the woman as she apologized. But, she understood. It was really, really weird to actually be talking to someone. Someone living, and not a zombie of some sort. Clara sighed before she turned her head to face the woman once more as she announced her name. The woman, Alice, also said that she never got that far in life. She did look young, maybe around her age, but she wasn't very sure to start guessing. "I'm sorry... and I'm Clara," She murmured, and shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Clara was going to admit, she was deeply nervous. However, something caught her attention. Why did she apologize to her? The thought circled her head until she just gave up. Clara sighed and looked out the window as they started to drive.

It seemed that they were headed back inward towards Washington. Maybe towards Tacoma, or Seattle. Probably Seattle. However, as they turned directions, she wasn't really sure where they were going. She guess anywhere would be a better explanation since Seattle was big, which means zombies. It seemed Alice was on the same path as her. To survive. Clara looked over to Alice when she asked if she had, or wanted, to go anywhere. When she mentioned Salem however, she simply shook her head. Clara wanted to tell her, but she promised herself that she wouldn't talk. It was already awkward enough, but when she apologized for babbling, she once again just stayed quiet and stared out the window.

After about an hour of awkward silence, Clara needed to talk. It was sort of bubbling inside of her, wanting to release an array of unneeded, and inappropriate questions. Though, Clara started simple. "I'm from Salem, it's bad down there too," She said, almost in a whisper. Clara wondered where they were going to go. The zombies were probably everywhere now, and the Military is probably trying to cleanse them. It seems to not be working so far.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice stayed silent for a lot of the drive. "It's nice to find someone else alive out here. I was really starting to think I was the last one left out here." She frowned a little as she stared at the open road ahead of her. "And since I don't think either one of us have anywhere we need to go, I think Montana would be our best shot, it's lowly populated and the government ignores it because it's a mostly agricultural state, thus we wouldn't have to worry about massive hoards of zombies attacking us. Seattle was bad too but I managed, the zombies are starting to act nocturnal in certain areas which I find strange, but I can't dictate what they do to an exact point." Alice sighed softly.

She hated the awkward silence, so she turned her music back on. It was a different cd now, One Republic. It was probably the most depressing disc ever to listen to but Alice wouldn't' change it until it was all over. It was probably one of her favorite albums lately. She had her phases, but she could afford that. Not only did she possess a very large collection of music, she could always rob a music store, wasn't like anyone was going to stop her. She sighed a little. "So... Clara. You don't have to tell me much... but can I know at least the basics about you, considering we're going to be traveling together and I want to make sure I didn't pick up a hitchhiking axe murderer if you know what I mean." Alice looked over at Clara smirking as she mentioned the last comment.

Alice sighed once again, she didn't know how to act around Clara. It was strange not being on her own. She still was having problems believing that Clara was real. She knew it was real though, sure she had been known to hallucinate in her life time because of paranoia and schizophrenia but Clara had to be real. "Um. Are you alright if I have a cigarette? I'll open the window. I just need to relax a little, I'm having a hard time accepting that all this is real." She muttered. She was being completely honest with Clara at that point. What was she suppose to do, make up lies so she sounded like she was a princess before the outbreak? She couldn't even pass herself off as a Princess if she tried. She didn't have that many tattoo's but her piercings and dark make up made her look pretty sketchy for a princess.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara had her forehead rested in her palm before Alice's words ripped through the nice and quiet atmosphere of the car. Clara could clearly relate to Alice, because she was also alone since this whole thing started. "I... I know what you mean." Clara cleared her throat, trying to break the awkward tone in her voice. She really didn't know what to do, really. This was all new to her, well, not really but it's been so long since she's actually talked to someone. It felt weird, but in a good way. As Alice mentioned Montana, it actually seemed like a good idea. Montana was littered with farms. If anything tried to get past the open fields, they needed to do so incredibly stealthy. From what she's seen so far, zombies don't really care if they're known to the whole world. So, Clara nodded and looked towards Alice, "That's a good idea, and we can pick up supplies and gas along the way. Also..." Clara started, but sighed and looked away. "Thanks for picking me up... I thought you'd probably just drive by me, and not give a flying fuck about me either," Clara said softly. It was true, and to be honest, Clara thought that the car was just a hallucination at first, but she was really happy someone else had survived this too. It wouldn't just be her, it would be her and Alice now.

The sudden sound of music blared through the car, and it made Clara jump literally out of her seat. After realizing it was just the music, she settled down back into her seat again. "Jesus, that scared me," Clara mumbled. She had noticed the band that was playing, One Republic, though she didn't know many of their songs, or Albums for that matter, they were good. So Clara didn't mind. She had noticed that Alice was sighing a lot also. She couldn't blame her, Clara was pretty awkward to be around, or to even talk too. Clara was just that kind of person, an "outcast" even her looks were overcame by her nervous and awkward personality. Suddenly, Alice broke the silence between the two once more, and she wanted to get to know her more. This surprised Clara, and got her off guard. She wasn't expecting this sort of thing, and she chocked "Uh... um..." She managed to get out, before Clara sighed and looked over at Alice, with a serious look. "Well, I played track and field in High school through college, I'm trained to use a rifle and had some practice with a handgun, and..." Clara stopped suddenly, going back to Alice's sarcastic comment about the axe murderer... she did murder her mother, and her little sister, but what was she going to do? Leave them like that? Clara took a deep, and shaky breath. Wiping a small tear that tinkled in her eye.

This whole thing was just so strange, Clara had no idea how to talk to Alice, or even act around her for that matter. She had been wondering if this was a dream this whole time, but she knew full well that this wasn't. Clara was awake, and she was really with Alice. However, something had occurred to her. Normally, before the outbreak, she would view Alice as a obviously abnormal, but probably... wait, what the hell was she thinking? Clara shook her head, to get the thought out of her head. "Wow, you only knew Alice for about an hour and a half and you think you're better than her? YOU MURDERED YOUR MOTHER AND LITTLE SISTER!" She yelled at herself in her head. Clara's thoughts were interrupted when Alice asked if she could light a cigarette, that she was having a tough time trying to accept this is all real. Clara nodded, "It's fine," She said in a shaky voice. If Alice didn't know something was bugging her, it was obvious now.

Clara looked out the window, starring at the trees as they drove by them. "Alice. Do you mind if I tell you something? Between you and me?" Clara asked, as if the world hasn't gone to hell yet. "If a loved one dies, and turns into one of those zombies, does it count as murder if you shoot them?" Clara added. She didn't know how Alice would react, but hopefully should wouldn't catch on to what she was saying. Well, of course she would. No one is that stupid. Clara sighed shakily. She was already nervous enough about her, and if she would leave her alone again on the road. The very thought made her skin crawl, and butterflies rampage in her stomach.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice sighed a little as she listened to all that Clara said and just stayed silent for herself. "We have plenty of supplies in the back seat and in my car, we won't need to stop for a long while though which will be good. We can't afford to stop long anyway, it's better to stay in motion at all times." She sighed a little. She knew that she sounded ridiculous, but she was write, zombies and the government would do anything to get their filthy hands on them. Alice had always hated the government, they had all these relief programs that were full of shit. She frowned a little to herself though, the government was killing civilians, she had seen it with her own eyes. "And you're welcome, honestly I don't think I could have not stopped. I'm starting to lose my mind just talking to myself half the time." She forced a smile. She sounded insane, she knew she did.

Alice listened to what Clara said about herself. She looked like she could be a good runner, and it was always useful to be trained in weaponry, however Alice knew that Clara hadn't expected all this to happen while she was training, at least she hoped that Clara didn't expect this to happen. Alice herself was shocked that all of this had happened, it was strange, the world was already so messed up and then it just got even stranger and more messed up. She had holed herself up in her apartment when the outbreak first happened. She had watched people just going about there regular day only to get attacked right where they walked and bitten. She frowned at the thought. She had seen so many people die... she hated that. She was always the kind of person who cared about others more than herself and to see so many dying while she hid was startling for her.

Alice had kind of lost herself in thought. She wanted this to be a dream, the outbreak, it wasn't fair. Sure humanity had it coming, but so suddenly with no warning... it had been awful. She sighed a little, when Clara answered her question about cigarettes though she lit one up and started to smoke, it almost instantly relaxed her which was fantastic. It hit her so quickly because she was so thin though. Alice caught onto Clara's uneasiness and frowned a little bit. She wondered what all was running through Clara's head and felt sorry for her but knew there wasn't much she could do.

When Clara asked her if killing loved ones after they had been turned was murder she frowned. She knew exactly what Clara had done but wasn't going to judge her for it, it was a justice to save those. "That's not murder," Alice muttered," You can't murder someone who was already dead... Clara, I'm sorry you had to do that to the people you loved... but taking them out before they hurt anyone else was the best decision you could have made." She frowned a little and shot a sympathetic glance at Clara.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara raised an eyebrow curiously when Alice said that she had all the supplies that the needed in the back. She wasn't going to doubt it, but that must have been a lot of gathering, and looting to get what they needed. Especially for two people. Sighing lightly and frowning, she returned to looking out the window. The trees somehow calmed her down, for some odd reason. It was a sick sort of comfort. A fake safety that you think you have, until it's too late. That's what happened back at her home in Salem. They thought they were safe from all this. Oh how wrong they were. It cost her mother and little sister's life because of it. Clara knew she couldn't keep beating herself up either, it would only distract her from the true meaning of the here and now. The only thing Clara could do now, was just forgive and forget. That's all there is too it. When Alice said about how she couldn't stop, Clara couldn't help but smile slightly. She had really been the same way, talking to herself. "I was pretty much the same way, really. I found myself even talking to a quarter. How stupid is that?" Clara chuckled.

Now with her full mind back together, she began to look around the car. It looked almost brand new, but it didn't seem like it at the same time. As of course, there were multiple bags in the backseat, and multiple CD cases were stacked in a neat pile in the back also. It gave her a little smile. It made her think of her little sister. She had a lot of CD's too. She'd always have something playing during the any time of the day. Clara looked over to Alice, who seemed to be heavily focused on the road. Which was good, but she couldn't help but... try and figure Alice out. It was a personal habit of hers, and it usually got her into trouble most of the time. "Well... Alice, I'd like to know more about you also, as I'm pretty curious about you in particular," Clara admitted. No point in lying now.

When Alice lit the cigarette, she covered her nose and mouth with her shirt. She didn't like smoke, as she had asthma since she was a child and not being able to breath in track and field could instantly produce bad results. Or even getting sent to the hospital with an asthma attack. But, she isn't going to start annoying Alice right now. If she wanted to smoke, she can. Clara was really a guest after all. Clara ran her fingers through her hair. Mostly in stress, but with a slight annoyance also. Looking out the window, they pasted by a few lone buildings, a farm house, and a few other things. Clara slowly let her shirt slide down from her nose and mouth, as she didn't seem to be affected by the smoke. Clara leaned forward and unbuckled her backpack from her torso, as it was uncomfortably scraping against her back. Turning slightly, she placed the backpack next to the duffel bags, "I hope you don't mind, it was just uncomfortable."

Clara immeditly glanced over when Alice muttered that it wasn't murder. Clara felt an instant rush of relief, as if this had been plaguing her for years, when in total had only been a few months. It was much needed. Clara took a deep breath and smiled, only to fade away after a few moments. The memory of shooting both her mother and little sister came back, and she immeditly looked away. Clara couldn't help but feel a slight tear run down her cheek. Even though it wasn't her fault, she couldn't leave them like that... just lifeless bodies shuffling around only to full their endless hunger. For some reason, she felt embarrassed. It was mostly to the fact that she's actually had a chance to talk about it maybe. Clara had been really repressing it, as this was the first time she had actually thought about the incident. Clara didn't want Alice to think she was a weak, emotional break down. "I'm sorry... it was just... never mind." Clara sighed and roughly wiped away the tears. After an hour or so, she saw that the sun was setting, and Alice looked... well, tired. She was too, but at least she had slept a little bit before and after Alice picked her up. It looked like she hasn't slept in days. "If you don't mind, I can drive through the night while you get some rest... if you want," Clara murmured.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice was just driving, her knuckles white from grabbing the steering wheel so tightly. She had always been paranoid about driving since the outbreak, she didn't want to die because of something that was entirely her fault, for example a car accident. As the night came though she began to grow a little more paranoid about things. She listened to Clara and couldn't help but smile though,"I've been talking to various objects, so your quarter story doesn't make you sound stupid at all. You get lonely, everyone does." She sighed a little and continued to drive. She had finished her cigarette and closed the windows turning the ac on though so it'd be a little cooler in the car. Alice's nerves were slightly impaired so she got hot a lot easier than she got cold which was really unfortunate in the summer time.

Alice noticed Clara looking around the vehicle and didn't blame her for being curious or paranoid, she didn't know what emotion was going through Clara's head. If she was Clara in that situation though she would have done the same thing, searched through the car seeing what kind of person the driver was. "Well, if you want to know a little about me... I didn't really play sports in high school, I graduated with a 4.0 and was more of a theatrical and musical person. I've lived on my own since I was 17 and worked two jobs to help pay the rent... That might sound not so great to you, but for me it was the first year that I knew what it was like to actually live." She sighed,"I'm a bit... abnormal if you haven't noticed, but there's a story behind my cover." She sighed. "We'll have to get into that at another time though."

She closed her eyes for just a second, but a second was enough to have the memories flashing through her head once again. She hated remembering, she was so haunted by the things that had happened to her in her past. All the pain, the death threats, the violence just waiting to explode. She frowned a little and didn't let any other emotion show though, she didn't want Clara to think she was a baby... which she very well could be if her mind continued to flood with emotion like it was starting to. Clara was obviously going through some emotional things too though as Alice looked over,"Clara, it's okay, you can literally talk about anything you need to. I know this sounds weird, but we've got to stick together and be a team in this now."

When Clara offered to drive Alice smiled a little and slowly brought the car to a stop. "Well, let me tell you one thing... if you crash this car, and we live... you owe me... big time." She got out after that and quickly switched spots with Clara and laid back in the passenger seat of the car. She was glad that Clara noticed her tiredness although she really didn't feel anything. She had gone days without sleep before without a single problem but it was probably best of her to rest before the tension in her mind got to high.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara listened to what everything Alice had to say. She smiled when Alice said that she had been talking to various other things. It wasn't surprising really, mostly to the fact you do that sort of thing when you're alone. Clara watched Alice flick her cigarette out the window, and turn on the ac. She had to admit, it was really a wonderful feeling of cool air against her skin. It had been dreadfully hot outside that day, but they had been really using Alice's rolled down window to cool down. Which was fine, but she preferred the ac much better. Clara listened to Alice as told a little about herself. She was really impressed, really. A 4.0 in high school can get you places. Sadly, even if she did go to college she wouldn't have finished and she worked two jobs. How was she so skinny? She probably had a lot of stress. Going into the world at 19 without some help is incredibly hard. Clara had to find out the hard way.

Clara noticed that Alice closed her eyes for a moment, and her knuckles tighten around the steering wheel. She was remembering some things too. Clara couldn't blame her, she had started this whole thing with a stupid question, and she didn't want to affect Alice in any way. So Clara decided she'd drop the subject for now. It wasn't something that they should be talking about when either of them were driving. Clara laid her head back against the seat, thinking about her past once again. She closed her eyes, thinking of the faces of her family. What was strange, was that she couldn't remember them. She couldn't remember her own family's faces, or their voices... what was wrong with her?

Clara had actually fallen asleep until Alice's soft voice awoke her. She said that they could talk about anything, but she knew that she couldn't do that right now. "I would love to talk sometime, but we should wait until we're off the road. Getting emotional right now wouldn't be the best idea." Clara said lightly. It was weird, that she was so open to this sort of discussion. Probably before the outbreak, she wasn't like this. But what did she know, maybe she was. "Thanks Alice," Clara added. She was really grateful for all of this. Really, she was. Though Clara had no idea of this was going to last very long. For all she knew they were going to part at Montana, but something told her that it will last much more longer than that. Clara smiled and turned to Alice. "If you need to talk about anything too, I'm here," Clara said, with a slight smile.

Suddenly, Clara noticed that the car had stopped. She looked over to Alice as she said if she crashed the car, she would owe her. Clara only rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I don't think crashing the car would be very good, now would it?" Clara said sarcastically. It had been the first time she had actually and genuinely been happy. With the mood to even be sarcastic. After changing seats, Clara brought the car to a steady 60 miles per hour. Easy enough. Continuing along the road, Clara would steal glances over to Alice, to make sure she was alright, but to also look at her tattoos and piercings. In a way, she felt bad for her. From what it seemed, her life was horrible. While Clara's had a pretty good life so far, with a few bad things have happened to her. Not like anything horrible. Clara turned to face Alice, who seemed to be sleeping and smiled. After a few more moment, she turned to face the road. Continuing to drive.

After about so many hours, Clara lost track. The soft rumble of the car was only the really thing that kept her awake at that point. However, she noticed something light up in the distance. Clara saw beams of red light glow through the dark sky. The sudden light up was from the sun trying to rise over the mountains. Clara drove and watched as the sun slowly peaked itself over, until it was officially shown. This made Clara smile widely. She's seen a few things before that were amazing, but the sun always got her. Especially now, that she was al-... with Alice. In this forsaken world. Clara turned to see that she seemed to still be sleeping. Figuring she'd just let her sleep, Clara continued to drive. A few more hours couldn't hurt.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice had kind of stopped talking and eventually fell asleep. She hadn't really slept in a long time, hell she couldn't even remember the last time she had stopped to sleep. She was always watching and observing the broken world around her apartment. She was afraid that if she let herself fall asleep or let herself get distracted for just one moment that she would lose everything that she had survived for. She had been that way before the outbreak though, memories haunting her at every turn. Alice even had nightmares about her past tortures, it wasn't unusual for her at all. It had almost gotten to the point where she could sleep but never regained energy for the time she had used to sleep.

Hours passed and Alice was somewhat asleep but she was probably spending more time muttering things and having her nightmares. For awhile though she laid there awake staring out the window as the sun began to rise in the sky. It made her want to be sick though, she hated how there was such beauty in the world and then there were people like her father who ruined it for people like her. How could the sun be so beautiful when there were people in Alice's past situations in the present? If there was a god... why would they let such things happen to innocent people? She sighed a little and sat up in the seat of her chair. "Morning." She muttered softly as she remembered that she hadn't been alone, of course that should have been obvious to her since she was sleeping in the car and they were moving, but it made some sense at the same time. Clara wasn't a dream, and Alice just had to accept that.

She rubbed her eyes a little and reached into her dashboard drawer and got out some tissues to fix her make up. She knew that was ridiculous but she had appearances to keep otherwise she felt awful about herself. She had fallen into society's trap of never feeling good enough despite the fact that there were no other people around. It made her sad that she had fallen into such a stupid trap, but she was struggling with battles even now. She knew that Clara had noticed how thin she was and just waited to be questioned about it, it would happen eventually whether she asked, or Alice just had an emotional breakdown. "I'll drive whenever you want me to again, we shouldn't be too far from where we need to go though. I know Montana fairly well."

Well, Alice knew a few of Montana's cities well. Mostly Billings which was the largest city in the state yet only had around 110,000 people. It seemed like a desolate state compared to living in Seattle's Metro area. She sighed a little as she sat there in the car. She could feel her skin crawling and she felt just an ounce of hunger despite that it had been quite some time since she'd eaten last. Her body was always late to recognize things since she had been so damaged. "Clara, this might sound a little strange, but if you don't see me eat in the next few hours, would you remind me to. I forget sometimes." She had phrased the sentence so that Clara would know exactly what she was saying, she had an eating disorder. She had laid it out in a certain way though so it sounded less bad. She figured that was how she would have to do things around here since there was a seemingly countless number of things wrong with her.

[Lucky Charm]

As Clara drove, she continued to think about some things in her head. Mostly about Montana, the military and Alice herself. She didn't know why, but she felt... attached to her somehow. It sounded completely ridiculous in every way but she really did feel like it was that way. Somehow, their meeting on the highway was no accident. Clara shook her head. The idea was stupid, and probably not true. Than there was Montana. It was an good choice to go and stay, but they would have to live somewhere more dormant. Somewhere, the military can't find them. Yes, this also sounded completely idiotic, but what Clara heard what the military was doing to survivors... horrified her. She heard about the round ups, the shootings, the trenches... they tried to cover this up. Somehow though, it became out of hand. In mid thought, Clara looked over at Alice, who was still scrunched up into a little ball. Mumbling about her dreams, or more like nightmares. Clara felt awful for her. This whole time she's been complaining about the things she's done, or been through. Though from what Alice mumbled from her dreams, were nothing like she had faced. Her father constantly beat her. No mother for support, and her brother had left for some odd reason. Or her best friend, she wasn't sure.

Clara continued to drive, until the small view of a gas station appeared ahead. Suddenly, her stomach knotted up in an intense pain. Remembering she hasn't eaten in a day and a half, Clara winced, and lightly rubbed at her pain filled stomach to calm it down once more. "Foods coming, calm down," She whispered to herself. Approaching the gas station, she slowed the car down, eventually stopping it. Turning off the car, she glanced over to Alice. Who was still sleeping. Sadly, not peacefully. Frowning, she got out of the car and looked around for unwanted attention. Surprisingly, there weren't any zombies around that she could see, but Clara knew better. She leaned back into the car and lightly grabbed her backpack, which had a strapped machete to one of the hanging strings. Quietly as she could, Clara grabbed the machete, using her fingers she delicately untied the strings that were tight wrapped around the machete's handle. After that, she slowly and quietly shut the car door, and headed inside. Opening the front door, she was met with an instant smell of death and decay. Immediately covering her nose with her free hand, she slowly started to walk through the isles of the small gas station. After a few laps through the store, she found about a handful of small bags of chips, and some still cold soda. Laughing happily, she looked around for one more time before dashing back to the filled up Mustang. Clara quickly put the gas nozzle back in place and hopped inside quietly, trying not to wake Alice. Setting her stuff near her backpack, she turned the car back on and continued driving down the road.

Clara noticed and heard some shuffling from where Alice was sleeping. She looked over to the sleepy eyed, though awake Alice. Clara smiled lightly, trying her best not to make this uncomfortable again. "Morning," She replied. Clara saw Alice open the dashboard drawer for some odd reason, but when she grabbed some tissues, for what it seemed, to fix up her makeup. She tilted her head in confusion. Why was she worried about makeup now? It's not like anyone was going to see. Besides her, but I guess she just wants to keep up appearances for anyone else they meet on the road. Which actually makes some since. No-one is going to want to talk to two completely screwed up looking girls. She chuckled slightly, she'd fix up her's when Alice was driving. Clara nodded when Alice said just to ask when she wanted her to drive. It wasn't that she didn't want too, she didn't want Alice to drive, really. She still seemed so tired, even though she had just slept for over seven hours. Still, Clara knew that she would need to take a rest soon also.

Continuing the drive to Montana, Clara had almost fallen into a trance, of looking at the road when suddenly Alice's voice caught her attention again. She looked over and listened to what she had to say. Almost instantly, she frowned. Clara felt so bad for her, the things that she had to see and what happened to her. "I... I'm sorry I've been such a winy bitch lately. I'm normally not like that." Clara sighed lightly. It was true, she had been feeling so bad about herself that she hasn't even looked into the condition of Alice. "You talk in your sleep... I heard what happened between you and your dad. I'm sorry that happened too you, he's a cruel bastard and I hope he deserves whatever he gets."

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice was just sitting in silence lightly tapping the dashboard of her car. She had pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up and was just sitting there. She normally was like that if she wasn't observing or driving, she just lost herself in thought. She could have fallen back asleep if it wasn't so impossible for her. She sighed as she watched the outside world though and closed her eyes and turned her head down. She smiled a little, but it was more of a sarcastic smile or the smile someone makes when they're so angry for some reason that it's funny to them. She looked up and towards the road again when Clara started to talk. "Why are you apologizing?" She asked quietly before Clara continued her statement.

When Clara said she had heard Alice muttering about her father she grew very pale and looked away quickly. "Don't apologize for what's happened in my past, you had nothing to do with what happened so you shouldn't be sorry. I'm alive, that's all that matters right? That's what all the bullshit counselors say when nothing else seems to fix you." Alice sighed a little and ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry... I just. It's a lot to take in, you may have heard my mutterings, but you don't know the entire story, and frankly, I don't even think I could stay emotionally stable enough to tell it all at once." She sighed a little and looked at Clara, she still looked a little disappointed in herself for sleep babbling though. "I realize that I might seem like the most unreliable person to be stuck in a zombie outbreak with, and I apologize for that. I will fight to live, I've dealt with way too much shit in life to die now."

Alice rubbed her eye a little. "I'm so sorry that you heard that... I was planning on just telling you little by little at a time, but now I guess I'll have to give my whole little life story in order for anything to make sense. I can tell it, I'll be fine. I've had plenty of time to think it all through, two years since it all ended.. I've battled my way through life... never giving in and never giving up on anything but myself." Alice put her head down on the dashboard at that point as she had started to cry, once she started losing control over her emotions, all hell broke loose and she normally just sobbed for awhile. Her emotional and mental barriers growing weaker the more she was away from people. "You weren't whiny at all Clara, but I apologize if I get that way sometimes." I've locked it all away in my head from the day it started. I never told anyone because I knew they'd think I was some sort of freak. So... when I can't hold it in anymore I just kind of break down a little, like now for example."

It was obvious Alice was trying to pull herself back together as she sniffled with her face not visible to Clara. She hated that this had happened. She had just meant Clara and now Clara was just going to feel sorry for her and worry about her half the time. Alice knew that Clara had every right to be worried about her though, she was falling apart, she was alone and always had been, she needed someone there for her since no one had ever stood up for her other than the land lady that picked her up out of the alley and carried her to the hospital. Child services never did anything, she never understood why they didn't but it was too late for that now. Goddammit Alice pull yourself together, you look like a freak, you look like a psychopathic freak that is going to break down at any minute and kill someone. Think of Clara, do you think Clara feels comfortable with you freaking out like this? You wouldn't know, you're too self centered." Alice stopped for a moment as all the thoughts ran through her head. She sat back up with a completely bland expression and looked straight towards the road, tears still ran down her cheeks and her eyes were swollen and red which stood out a lot against her pale face. "Sorry." She whispered.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara was still driving the in mid-day sun, the warm rays lightly touching her warm skin. Ever so slightly heating it up to a perfect temperature. Earlier, she had taken her vest off and threw it next to her backpack, not wanting to wear it anymore. Clara had been blankly staring into the open road for almost 12 hours now, though, not feeling an ounce tired. She had been mostly thinking to herself; about random, stupid things that were irrelevant. She occasionally smiled, but only to be taken back by a blank expression once more. She thought about her family, thinking about if this was a dream, or this was not happening for real. Only to be brought back to the harsh reality of life. Clara leaned back against the seat, removing one hand from the steering wheel to rest it on her thigh. She was mostly doing this waiting for Alice to reply. It literally felt like hours before she spoke, but in real time it had only been a few moments.

Clara listened painfully as Alice expressed about how she shouldn't be sorry about something that she couldn't have done anything, and how she thinks that she is unreliable. Clara almost could hear what she was saying. Almost as if, she'd be better off by being one of those zombies, or dead. Clara slowed down the car to a stop, turned it off and took the keys out of the ignition. She looked at Alice, with a mixture of blank and sadness expression. "Alice, I will never understand your emotions, your thoughts, your way of life. I will never know what it feels like to wake up each day, and try to figure out why does my father not love me. When my father died, I fell into a deep hole of anger, sadness, and regret. I went to counselors for my fathers death, and they always say: you have to move on, you have to forget Clara, you have to get on with your life. This is total bullshit. Something like that isn't something that you just wipe off the table and forget about it, It's with you, wherever you go and wherever you hide. No one will understand what it is like until they have actually gone through the same as me. As the same for you. I had to start wearing a mask. A mask of lies, I had to practice smiling in my mirror so when I did smile, none would question if I was alright or not. Of course I wasn't, but no one will ever understand the pain, and the anger of what had happened with my father. It became to the point where I needed a reason to get out of bed, and reasons to not kill myself each day. Just to release the tension of this horrible burden on me." Clara started, already in tears. But, she thought she needed to continue.

"Alice, if I had to choose between anyone else in the world and you, I would still choose you. What you've been through, and managed to stay alive through the whole thing... You, Alice, are probably the most toughest person I have ever met. You take in what would have sent others in an insanity spiral, and you have fought to stay alive. What happened to you, it didn't make you weaker, it made you stronger." Clara's looked downward to her feet. Not wanting to face Alice. However, she looked over to see that Alice had tears on her face still, with swollen eyes from the emotional breakdown. Clara leaned over and gave Alice a light hug. moving her hand up and down her back for comfort. "I know that you didn't have anyone in your life really care for you... I want to change that. I'm here now, and I want to help you in any way I can. I don't want you to beat yourself up for something that you had no control over, but I know I will never be able to help you with that... you have to help yourself with that Alice." Clara murmured.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice didn't know what to think when the car first turned off. She looked at Clara as she talked. Alice felt bad that Clara had lost her father, but she knew that Clara was right about a lot of other things that she had said. Alice appreciated how Clara said that she would never understand, she hated it when people said the opposite, people don't know shit. They think they know so much but it's never actually that way. Counselors had a warped view on life as well, they thought that every person almost wasn't a person at all. In high school she had a counselor that thought she was too strange and just kind of through her away seemingly, and that had hurt more than the woman could ever realize. The fact that even a counselor pushed her away stung a lot. She had begun to fall back down again lately before the outbreak. She had been cutting again in places not visible. Cutting on her wrist had been stupid, everyone treated it like a joke now anyway. Well they had before the outbreak.

Alice nearly started to sob again as Clara said that she would choose Alice and said that she was strong. Alice didn't feel strong at all, not even a little bit. She felt weak because somehow she must have caused all her suffering. She was still in her insanity spiral, she was cutting, she was destroying herself in ways. When Clara reached over and hugged her lightly Alice nearly lost it in a loud fashion, but managed to just cry silently on Clara's shoulder. "Thank you." She managed to whisper, she knew that Clara and her would be together, but she didn't think they'd actually have a relationship in which they cared about one another. "Thank you... that was probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me and meant it at least." She pulled away slightly and rubbed her eyes once again. So much for fixing her make up earlier.

Alice frowned a little when Clara said she couldn't help her with the fact that Alice was beating herself up though. She knew that Clara was right, but she didn't know if her will was enough to stop that thought. That thought was so common to her now, it just wasn't fair seemingly. She knew that she wasn't at fault for all the things her father had done to her, but why was it her out of three children. She was the youngest and new for a fact that her brother and sister weren't touched, in fact they had an ideal childhood. A family that loved them and supported them in their decisions but then there was Alice. It just didn't make any sense to her.

"We should keep moving." Alice said quietly after sniffling slightly and rubbing her eyes once again.

[Lucky Charm]

As Alice mentioned that they should get moving, Clara nodded in agreement. She put the key back in the ignition and started the car again with a roar. Once again, she brought the car up to speed and began driving in the mid-day sun. As she drove, she thought about what Alice had gone through, from her beatings with her father. Who in the hell would do such a thing? And with their child? Clara shook her head. People are fucking crazy. Of course, no-one is the perfect parent. But beating your child? How could you even live with yourself. Wishing she had the answers Clara decided to stay quiet. She wasn't going to start asking questions about Alice now, not to get her more emotional or stressed. Her stomach began to growl again, trying to get the attention of Clara. Or anybody, for that matter. Clara reached back behind Alice's seat and grabbed a small bag of Lays from the small pile. Bring the bag and putting it in between her thighs, she opened it up and grabbed a small piece and stuck it in her mouth. The light taste of the ship settled her stomach immeditly. She moaned lightly from the instant relief, and the taste. "Yummy."

After an hour or so, and her sweet little snack was long gone, she looked at Alice, who she hasn't even seen eat anything yet. She sighed lightly. Poor girl, she didn't deserve any of this, this cruel punishment from her father, and everyone else. She would have stopped to get something to eat, but she couldn't see anything in sight that would even closely resemble food. They were still surrounded by light plains of fields of trees, and the every once in awhile sight of a dead cattle, or a lone zombie. She was glad though, since seeing even one crepes her out and made her skin crawl. A horde of them... she would have no idea. She hasn't really seen a big group of them and doesn't plan too... hopefully.

After about 20 more minutes of driving, they finally reached it: Montana. The road sigh was distinctly ahead, with big white letters: "Welcome to Montana!" Clara chuckled slightly, even though they had that sigh up, she didn't believe they had many visitors that often. She looked in the rear-view mirror and saw that most of her make-up was pretty messed up. As the same with Alice's. Frowning, she continued to drive. As she said before, she'd fix it later. Clara continued to drive anyway, since it seemed to be the best option as she didn't know if Alice had calmed down or not. If she did, Clara would wait until the first town they come by to switch seats. They can get some food and a much needed stretch of their legs, also of course fix their make up. Clara thought about the relationship that Alice and her shared now, did it really mean something? Or was it some place holder thing that they'd have to keep until something happens? Sighing, Clara shook the thought from her head. If she was in trouble, Alice would help her. As the same with her. Smiling, Clara looked over to Alice, "We'll switch seats at the first town we come across. Than we can eat, and fix both of our makeup." Clara teased, still smiling as she looked back to the road.

It had actually been only about 30 minutes before they reached the very small town of Libby. Clara pulled over at the city limits as she looked over to Alice, "Alright, you know the way," Clara said softly, as she switched seats with Alice.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice stayed quiet the entire drive into Montana. She didn't want to say anything because she didn't want to risk having another emotional breakdown or anxiety attack. She couldn't seem like a total freak to Clara, she had already had her break down for the day, she could always break down when they got to Billings . She saw the chips that Clara was eating and felt her stomach kind of curl in a way disgusted by the sight of food, she was sick and she knew that the fact that food grossed her out was not a good sign in anyway. She sighed a little once again and curled up in the seat just waiting for them to stop in Montana somewhere. She watched out the window as they passed the occasional dead cow or lone zombie. She hated to look at zombies though, they disgusted her just as much as society had before the outbreak.

Alice knew that a lot of people disliked society but she hated it more than most. She hated the way that appearances were all that really mattered, she hated how people treated certain diseases and such as a joke, she hated that the perfect image for a person was so attractive to the point where it was extremely rare to actually feel perfect. But even people who were absolutely perfect felt the pressure to be more perfect. Alice hated bullies. She was always the victim growing up, at home and school. No one understood why she'd show up with bruises and cuts on her arms and legs. She was so young and it wasn't like she could do anything about it, when she got into junior high though she started to cover herself up so no one would see her. Everyone thought she was super catholic or something for being modest when in reality she was covering up the things that people would bully her for yet she was still bullied every day.

When they passed the Montana sign Alice smiled a little, they were there in the big state of farms and nature. She had always felt a slight attachment to this state. She had only been here a few times but it always was so amazing, the nature there was so beautiful despite the cold winters that followed harshly. She sighed a little and heard Clara say that they would switch drivers once they reached some sort of civilization. Alice needed to fill the car up with gas and try to get some more gas as well and it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to eat either. When they stopped in Libby, Alice had already fixed her make up by then and looked slightly paler than she had before but it was alright. She drove a ways and stopped at a gas station. She managed to get some gas from the pump, it seemed like people hadn't had time to run away here because the pumps were still filled with gas. She just hoped they were like that all around Montana. She filled up a few other containers with gas as well so they'd have extra just in case despite the fact that her car had a huge trunk filled with supplies that would be useful to them.

She ran inside the gas station with a gun in her hands and found that there was nothing there at all and grabbed some food that looked edible enough. She walked back outside and got in the car before she started to drive again. "I looked at a map when I was in there. Based on calculations, We still have 9 hours before we get to where I think we need to go. We're going to Billings, it was the most populated city in Montana but that means they'll be more supplies there and maybe survivors if they were smart enough like us." She sighed softly and looked at the road ahead of her. She had eaten something but she felt sick to her stomach because of it. She just wasn't used to the texture or anything so it made her feel strange. She knew in her heart that there wouldn't be any survivors, but it seemed to be worth a shot.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara bundled up her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs in the seat. She had been looking out the window ever since Alice had started driving, and trying to sleep. However, sleep blew right by her. She had been thinking about what they were going to do once they reach their destination. There was also a lot of questions that roamed around in her head. Will there be survivors? Military? Maybe there won't be any more supplies? These, and many other questions bumped around. Still, Montana was a small state. There probably be as much supplies as they both need. To live off of for probably years, if the military hasn't taken it all.

Clara looked over when Alice pulled over to a gas station and rushed inside. Lifting her head up slightly, she wondered what she was doing. Though, when Alice came out with a hand full of food, she too a sigh of relief. She probably will never get used to people running off now. Even if it was Alice, or a zombie. Clara turned her head and rested it on the cold glass, looking out into the wide open field next to them. Which happened to have more dead cattle near the fence. She wondered about Alice again, and what this meant for the both of them. Obviously, they were probably not going to separate any time soon. Or never. But she wanted to know about Alice a little bit more, she was just curious about her past, really. Clara decided she'd wait until they got to wherever Alice was taking them. She looked over to Alice as she got back into the car, and drive off again. Clara returned to her position of resting her head on the window, looking out towards the empty fields. Again she caught herself thinking about family again. How she... shot her mother and her little sister. Their faces when they arose from their half eaten corpses in the living room floor, with the creaks and cracks of their bones as they tried to stand, and that terrifying moan... that moan, scared her the most. It constantly replayed in her head, scratching at her sanity with each and every thought of it. Clara shivered, trying to bring her attention somewhere else.

Their drive became an awkward silence once more. Clara had to admit, even though the silence was welcoming in an odd way, it also bugged her. She was afraid to stir up emotions again between the two, and thinking about those things right now isn't the best in mind. So, Clara kept to herself, thinking about those said things. Clara looked over to another lone zombie, shuffling across the road ahead. In which, they narrowly missed. However, the zombie looked unaffected, and continued walking across the road as if nothing happened. If only Clara was like that, not giving a care to world and only at the task at hand; Surviving, or for a zombie; Flesh. Clara sighed heavily, she turned towards Alice, "Don't you think that... it would be best to just end it? You know, stop caring about everything for once, and release all your pressure and worries with one, single, bullet," Clara asked. She knew she probably was sounding totally crazy at that point, but she couldn't help it. What was the point of continuing in a world that had already doomed itself?

Clara had actually managed to fall asleep in the car in her awkward fetal position she had on the seat in the car. She could possibly reason it because she hasn't really slept in 14 hours. But she didn't know how long she slept for. They were still driving, well it seemed that they were still driving. So they must not be near Billings, or maybe they are. Clara didn't know, nor did she want too. Clara sat upward in a fixed position to get more comfortable, and rubbed her tired eyes. She looked over to Alice. She frowned slightly, remembering what she said. "I'm sorry about the thing I said earlier... I was just thinking about my family," Clara said lightly. Did she really think about suicide? This made Clara shake her head. "Keep yourself together Clara, you have Alice now. You can't just give up because of whats going on, you're strong. Continue to be strong."

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice was okay with the silence for awhile, but it slowly started to terrify her as she drove. So once again she turned the music in the car on. She hated silence, she remembered all the nights where she'd lay in silence and only hear the cracking of the whip on her skin, because if she struggled, if she made a sound it would only be worse for her. She shuddered slightly but got herself under control as the music played in the car. "Sorry if the music bothers you." She muttered slightly. "I hate silence." She frowned to herself for awhile as she stared at the road ahead of them. She saw the lone zombie they almost hit but could care less about it, even if she would have hit it it didn't matter to her. It wasn't like it could chase them or anything. Zombies were slow and pretty worthless unless they were in a pack or horde.

When Clara mentioned her rather disturbing statement Alice just frowned, she didn't answer and let the awkward silence with music in the background take over the car once again. She was thinking about what Clara had said. She would have answered directly saying ending it wasn't worth it, but that wouldn't be honest of her. She had thought about ending it all, not with a bullet though. Alice wanted to go out in a very painful way. She wanted all the blood to be drained from her body, and her death wish of all time had been to die in the arms of someone she loved, but that was never going to happen now, there was no one but her and Clara running around. Alice's thoughts drifted for awhile longer while she watched the road.

She thought about her arms, because just the day or so before she ran into Clara she had done some serious damage to herself as she thought about suicide. She knew what it felt like to suddenly feel like you wanted to die even though you deserved to live or needed to live for whatever reason. Alice was all to familiar with hating herself every morning for not ending her life the night before. She frowned a little and looked down at her arms for a moment, they were covered up by her jacket, but if they weren't it would reveal the awful gashes in her arm as well as scars. They hurt every now and then but Alice managed to ignore pain half the time, it just reminded her that she was still alive in all this mess which was a blessing and an annoyance at the same time. She noticed that Clara had fallen asleep as well and smiled a little.

Alice sighed a little,"Don't be worried about what you said earlier, I didn't answer because you're not the only one in this car that has thought about ending it all with a bullet, well I didn't want to end it with a bullet." She frowned a little and pulled up the sleeves of her jacket revealing her thin arms and the red gashes on her right and left arm that looked like they would be painful to Alice if they were touched. "I did this maybe a day before I picked you up. It was after I did that that I decided I needed to get out of Seattle." She sighed a little. "I'm sorry you feel suicidal now Clara, but starting when I met you. I decided that I need to stop hurting myself, and I'm not going to let you hurt yourself either now. We're a team. We're going to survive for as long as possible."

[Lucky Charm]

Clara had been messing with her fingers as the awkward silence lingered on, with the only sound disrupting the quietness was coming from the music that Alice had put on. It didn't bother her, it actually gave her some more comfort then anything, especially since the silence between the two freaked her out. It was almost as if they only talked to each other if they needed too, which was fine, but it still bugged her. A lot. When Alice apologized to her about the music, she simply smiled. "It doesn't bother me at all, don't worry." Clara started, but looked towards the road ahead of them. "I hate silence too," She added, until a small sigh passed her lips. Her thoughts drifted back to Billings, thinking about where Alice was planning to go. She probably had a relative, or a friend that lived there. Or maybe she had a gut feeling that it would be better there or something. Really, anywhere was better then where she was. Walking on the road aimlessly, depressed and alone. Though, the alone part was gone now as Alice was here now. However, the overwhelming depression still got the best to her, even if she did try to cheer up by using anything. Mostly happy memories, but that didn't help at all.

As the silence continued, Clara got worried. Maybe her statement was rather... very disturbing to Alice. Did she think she was a freak? Probably. It wouldn't really surprise her, as she normally drives all the people that try to be friends with her away. She never could figure it out, but it seemed to be so obvious to everyone else, while Clara was so blind to even get a glance of it. Sighing sadly, but softly, she leaned her head against her hand which was rested on the door. Why was she so awkward, and why she couldn't just be normal for once. Her thoughts drifted in a out as they drove, thinking about stupid things about her past, trying to figure out what things went wrong in her life. A lot of what made her awkward about her love life. Since, it seemed that everyone had a boyfriend or a girlfriend in high school or college. Yes, it was a ridiculous thing to think about at the time like this, though she remembered all of her attempts at love, all failing miserably. She didn't even manage to get a boyfriend for crying out loud, and that was just the tip of the iceberg of her problems. Clara sighed heavily, getting the stupid thought out of her head.

Clara sat up slightly and glanced over to her as Alice's also equally disturbing reply to her apology earlier. However, before she could say anything, Alice slid her jacket sleeves up her arm, revealing deep and painful looking scars of a knife of some sort. Even Clara got chills up her spine by the sight. Though, it did tell her something. Clara had been selfish, only worrying about herself, everything on this car trip has been about herself. She looked away, not wanting to look at the scars anymore. She listened to Alice's explanation of the scars, and how she was going to stop hurting herself, and her. "I'm sorry that I'm being so selfish and awkward... I'm really surprised you haven't left me yet. Everyone hates me on time or another." She murmured. Even though it was a cruel thing to say, it was true. No-one could stand her for more than a few hours, much less a day.

Clara remained silent after what she said. With slight tears of her past coming back to her. Remembering no friends, no family, no support... Clara sobbed silently into her forearm, not wanting to face Alice again. She knew this couldn't happen on a regular basis, but Clara had no idea why these emotions are so suddenly popping up, as if they were in a pressured bottle, finally getting released into the much needed space. Gushing out uncontrollably, with or without her consent. Calming down slightly, she lifted her head and stared at the road ahead, with slight red eyes and small sniffles. "You must think I'm pathetic..." Clara whispered, but loud enough for Alice to hear over the music.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice just drove for awhile, she head heard what Clara said about the music not bothering her and just smiled a little bit. She knew that she was being selfish though. She knew that she was awkward and always managed to bring conversations into a darker state which bothered people and made other people feel guilty and she didn't want to have that happen with Clara because she was all that Alice had left at that point. What was the point in driving her away as she had driven everyone else in her life that didn't beat her senseless on a daily basis. She frowned a little once again to herself as they neared the city of Billings. She really had no plan as to what would happen there, she just had a gut feeling that it would be less populated and safer than places like Seattle and Portland as well as places like New York, hell New York was probably an absolute nightmare as was Chicago, Denver, Houston, actually all of Texas, She wondered if the outbreak even hit Hawaii but she figured that a tourist had picked it up and brought it over or something along those lines.

Alaska would have been the state everyone fled to, some of them infected so it wasn't safe up there either. No one ever thought of Montana, she had people think that it was in Canada or was just a city in Colorado, it was a sad little state, isolated by stereotypes. The weather there was insane, could go from very warm and sunny to freezing in just moments. Alice knew of Montana because something about it had always stuck out to her. There was no one out there seemingly and Alice wanted to live a life of solitude after she finished college there. She would be so happy on a ranch taking care of things on her own. Sure she would have to hire people eventually but still. The isolation from an actual city sounded lovely.

Alice sighed a little and rolled her jacket sleeves back down. "Clara, you are not selfish. We all have are own demons that we deal with in life, all of our pain is different, neither one of us is selfish or awkward for telling or showing each other what our struggles caused. She smiled at Clara slightly. "This is like that situation earlier, where you told me that you wouldn't leave me and you'd choose me out of everyone else, I'd choose you out of everyone else. I'm glad I didn't pick up a psychologist because they'd just approach my issues in a more than likely offensive way and I'd hate that more than anything, you don't realize how grateful I am that I found you rather than someone else. There are so many different kinds of people out in the world that could have survived, like myself for example, if there was someone watching all this from the sky, they'd be shocked that I lived, I mean just look at me. Too thin, covered in scars and wounds, emotionally unstable, why does she get to live rather than me?" Alice sighed a little,"Okay look. We're making this a rule. No one is allowed to bring themselves down anymore. The world can around us can do enough of that without even trying. Let's just get to our destination, find a place to stay and relax for awhile."

[Lucky Charm]

Clara sat there and watched the ever so closer city of Billings, slightly rubbing her tired eyes from the lack of sleep, the emotional roller coaster from the entire car trip there, and listening to Alice. She was right, about everything she said. This can't continue with throwing around they're emotions. It will eventually effect them in the long run, and she and Alice can't keep these feelings overhead. Survival, that's the rule now. The only rule that they will follow until their last breaths, or where they wouldn't have to worry about the world now. Clara looked over to Alice and smiled slightly, nodding in agreement. Even though she just met Alice, she's already liked her. She was different, just like her. She knows what it's like to be an outcast, a person who doesn't restive the attention or is known around the world. Clara was happy that she met Alice, and no-one else. It was surplussing to her though, that she found her instead of the Military, or some jerks. "Alice, I'm glad I met you... I don't know what I would do if I met someone else. I'd probably be alone, again. Or dead, but you know what it's like... you know, to be different from everyone else."

Clara had something in mind when they actually get to Billings. It was kinda risky idea, but if they could pull it off, they could be set to live out in one of the ranches near the town. She glanced over to the window, looking at Billings in the distance. "I have a plan... it would be risky, but if we could pull it off, we'd be set to live at one of the ranches," She began, glancing over to Alice, "If we can find a working pick-up truck, we can fill it up from various things, like clothes, food, weapons and all sorts of stuff. But, we'd be making a lot of racket moving all the stuff. Also, we can bring it to one of the neighboring ranches, and if we need to go back, it wouldn't be so time consuming." Clara concluded.

Still, it would be really, really risky. If stuff where to happen, they'd probably have a huge mob of those zombies after them. They have guns and weapons, obviously, but in a large town like Billings... She wouldn't have to slightest clue as to what is lurking in there. Maybe even the military is there, but she somewhat doubted that. The military is probably at the hotspots, or the bigger city's. Like Seattle, Chicago, New York, San Fransisco, and other big city's. She had wondered what they would do if they military caught them, or worse... backed into a corner by those things. She forced herself to think about something else. Negativity right now isn't going to help, so thinking more positive is much better. Clara began to think about fortification plans, and escape routes. It kept her mind busy for the moment, until they could figure out what to do.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice sighed a little to herself, she knew that they weren't far from Billings at all now, and she was a little lost on what to do after that, her entire goal had to just get there in one piece and they were going to accomplish that. Alice was just the kind of person who set little goals for herself so if she messed up it wouldn't be the end of the world, she wasn't much of a risk taker despite the fact that she had tried to kill herself on multiple occasions. She listened to Clara's idea though and figured that it was actually a very good plan. "We can always hot wire a car." She muttered quietly. "But I think your idea is good, we'd be isolated enough that zombies wouldn't be much of a problem and we could always run back into the city to find things we'd need.

Alice smiled a bit to herself, things were actually looking up for once in her entire life and it was nice. "Clara, I think we're going to be okay. I realize that sounds ridiculous, but I really have hope for us right now." She sighed a little, she probably sounded like an idiot when she talked to Clara, she seemed happy though which was an entirely different world for Alice whose life had just been full of misery and hatred for most people in the world. But Alice liked Clara, Clara knew what it was like to feel hatred in the world, to see the world in a different way than the oblivious other population. Clara and her were similar yet different but that was okay. Alice hated people who tried to make things sound better, she hated the people who told her that things were going to be okay because it was mostly a lie. People thought things would be okay because they had gotten through a possible tough time but they never knew the exact situation. People knew names, not back stories and that was what Alice hated. She hated judgmental people who had never had a bad day in their lives and there definition of a bad day was a day that they broke a nail..

After what seemed like forever they drove into Billings, it was completely deserted, almost as if everyone had fled when they heard about the outbreak. There weren't many cars on the streets but there were full parking lots in the downtown area as they drove through. "What should we do first?" She asked quietly as she drove towards the lesser populated areas of Billings. Things seemed so quiet out here and it was strange, there were no zombies running around, there was the occasional stray animal running around but otherwise it was nothingness. Alice didn't know whether to take that as a good sign or a bad sign though.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara looked over to see the larger buildings of Billings soaring high above the others. They were finally almost there, but her plan was still on her mind. Get a truck, fill it with supplies, then go to one of the nearby ranches. It was really the only good plan that had been developed in her head, but there were other, more stupid ones also. So, Clara decided the best stupid one out of the group. Sighing lightly, Clara looked out the window into the plain open fields of farmland, that seemed to go on forever. She wouldn't like to have to plant seeds, or actually gather the growth when it came the time too. Especially on huge land like she was seeing right now, but the ranchers probably had lots of help for that. Still, it was only her and Alice that seem to still be alive at this point, and maybe they could grow a small little patch. Nothing big, but enough to get something fresh into her stomach. Fresh food... at the thought, her stomach growled loudly. Clara quickly held her stomach and blushed deeply. "It seems I'm still hungry..." She admitted. After this, she listened to what Alice said about her plan, and nodded. "Alright then, but we should worry about it when we actually get there."

Once again, they both feel into an eerie, and awkward silence. Though, it wasn't as bad as before however. The music was lightly playing in the background so it wasn't TOO horrible, but it was Alice who broke the silence. She talked about how they were going to be okay, and how she had hope for the both of them. This made her smile widely, as she had felt the same at this point. She liked Alice. It might have sounded weird, but she seemed to be much more different and compelling then other people in her life. She also knows what it feels like not to understand one another, which was one of the best positives. Alice also knew about the hatred of the world, and what it felt like to be alone. Clara glanced over to Alice, "I think so too. Especially now that we're near Billings... finally." She said, slightly sarcastic.

Finally, they had both arrived at Billings. To her surprise, the whole city seemed to be completely deserted. Not even a zombie was in sight on the roads. There weren't many cars, so they must have fled west when the virus broke loose. Though, this could mean other survivors have came here too... Clara didn't know if that could be a great thing, or they should be avoided. She's seen what people do when they panic, and that was something that she would like to avoid at all costs. Though, there were animals here. So maybe there arn't any survivors. Still, they needed to be cautious about it. After driving through Billings, they finally came upon a parking lot in front of a small grocery store. Perfect. "Pull in there, there is probably a truck we can hot wire still parked."

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice nodded a little and parked in front of the grocery store, she went inside with two hand guns and started to raid what she could from the store. A lot of things were nearing expiration which wasn't good but all the canned foods and dry foods were alright. She grabbed quite a few of those and wondered if Clara had managed to find a truck, of course her car was always suitable they just needed to find a place and Alice could steal plenty of cars since there was no one around to tell her not to. She walked back out of the store and quickly filled up the remainder of open space in the car and then started to look around the area on foot for cars they could hot wire or steal if people were too stupid to take the keys before they ran to escape the virus and failed miserably anyway.

Alice smiled though as she saw a truck not far off,"Clara! I found something that looks like it could be useful!" She called out and held her guns ready just in case someone else heard her yell out that remark. Nothing. It was as if everyone had left there things and ran, but since they were some ways a way from the outbreak and such a small place maybe they had a warning, maybe they had all fled to Canada before it hit there. She wasn't sure of what happened and couldn't be sure since she herself had been elsewhere when all hell broke loose on Earth. She frowned at the thought and realized she was acting ridiculous right now. She seemed so happy and excited and that wasn't like her at all and it felt strange.

It wasn't a bad kind of strange, it was good, almost. It didn't feel right to be happy in all of this, not at all. It didn't seem right, or fair for all those people who had so much to live for but died. She couldn't be happy, it shouldn't have been allowed, so why did she feel like this? Clara. Hope of a new life. Not being alone because of Clara. Alice had stopped in the middle of the street as she got lost in her thoughts. She was brought back to reality though when she heard a moan, it was from far off, but it had brought her back. She raised her guns and shot at the thing, it was at least 25 feet away and she had noticed it, which was good yet strange at the same time. She looked around and that was all, just the one loner. She wondered where the rest of them were. The government hadn't been here, that was for sure.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara nodded back towards Alice, before she parked the car in-front of the grocery store. It was odd, really. Clara never thought of doing something like this in her entire lifetime... walking out in broad daylight, to search for a truck to steal. It was more funny then odd, however. Still, it was just something that possibly couldn't happen... but the zombies did. Sighing a little, she rushed off towards the front of the parking lot to search for the truck that could be used for supplies and other things. At first glances, it seemed the parking lot was mostly filled with broken or missing tires of trucks and cars. Scavengers of course, but Clara continued to hope for some sign of a working truck. Something made Clara look over to the entrance of the store, where Alice had just returned with what seemed like a whole new bag of goodies. Something inside of her suddenly jumped suddenly... like a new emotion appeared out of the blue... Clara knew exactly what it was, but she didn't know how to react to it. She stood, frozen for a couple more minutes, thinking about it for some odd reason. Clara felt Happiness, for once since this all started. She actually felt happy, and not depressed and sad about everything. She was happy for Alice, and herself.

Clara's thoughts were interrupted when Alice called out she found a truck that seemed useful. Finally. Clara smiled, slowly walking her way to where Alice called out, which was near the street at the other end of the parking lot. However, the sudden gunshot made Clara stop dead in her tracks, and she swore her heart skipped a beat... After another moment, Clara quickly ran over to where the gunshot was, hoping that it wasn't Alice... Clara threw the thought out of her mind, as she ran around another car. Coming close, she saw the body of a dead Zombie on the ground, and Alice standing beside it... "Jesus Alice! You scared me half to death!" Clara yelled, not with anger but more with a much needed relief. Clara looked over to what truck Alice was talking about... all the wheels were there, and the hood wasn't open so the scavengers... or anyone else hasn't gotten to this one yet. Good. Clara looked over to Alice, who seemed to still standing with her gun held up... "Alice?" Clara asked.

(Sorry for the short reply, gotta go to school.)

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice sighed a little as Clara came yelling. "Sorry." She whispered,"Let's just hot wire it and get out of here. I have a bad feeling about all of this." She muttered, she moved towards the truck quickly and managed to hot wire it in about ten minutes which wasn't her record honestly but it was enough time. "You can follow me in the truck, that sound okay? I know where there are some ranches around here actually." She muttered quietly looking at Clara. She seemed a little uneasy and anxious almost, she didn't know exactly why she felt that way though and she definitely didn't want to make Clara feel the same way. She took a deep breath though and managed to calm herself down, just that one zombie had set her off and she couldn't figure out why and she didn't want to stick around to find out why it made her so uneasy. She was scared that they were not only getting smarter, but she was afraid they were getting stronger as well.

Adaption of the virus could probably happen quickly as the world had changed so drastically just after the outbreak. The population of the human race had dropped drastically in the short period of time and considering how quickly everything else seemed to be escalating, it wouldn't be long until weird types of zombies started showing up around the place, different mutations based on the starvation and stamina. Alice was honestly terrified but didn't want to express that, she knew that she could easily break down right then and there about it though, but her and Clara both didn't need to see that or deal with it. She always had the night time while they were resting or something like that. She needed to wait until she knew they were safe locked up in some ranch somewhere or anywhere locked up that zombies couldn't get to them or surround the property. She slowly walked back to her car, her gun had never left her hand other than when she was hot wiring the car. Her grip on it was tight, careful but tight. She was ready for anything and everything unexpected. She couldn't risk losing the survivor she had found. She couldn't risk her only hope for a friendship.

[Lucky Charm]

Clara slung her head slightly as Alice apologized, knowing full well that she overacted. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to yell at you." Clara admitted softly. She nodded at Alice's suggestion to just get out of the city, but when Alice mentioned that she had a bad feeling about the whole thing, something started to creep up into Clara's mind also; sharing the same feeling as Alice had. The feeling only began to escalate as the time continued slowly by as the ten minutes of trying to get the truck started. After finally hearing the engine roar to life, Clara gave a small grin towards Alice, and nodded. "That's fine, but we should leave soon. I've got the same feeling as you do about this whole place." Clara said truthfully, getting into the truck after Alice had gotten out. She didn't know why, but something was bugging her. Which wasn't really uncommon, but it was such an odd feeling that she's never felt before. Sighing shakily, Clara shifted the truck into gear, and waited for Alice to get to her car.

As she waited, Clara looked over to the now abandoned buildings of Billings, thinking about mostly what it was like before the whole world was turned upside down by this virus... maybe she could ask Alice about it later whenever they get a chance to talk at the ranch. Even if they could get to the ranch tonight, they would have to return to the city to get more supplies. Or maybe in a few days, as Clara knew Alice's supplies - if she grabbed much more then Clara had thought - weren't going to last very long. Though, ranchers normally have their houses filled to brim all the time, as taking trips to the city can be tedious and time consuming, so they normally stock up each week. Clara sighed, as she hoped to whoever ranch we go to, has filled up their stock before the outbreak.

[Etoile Mizu]

Alice got in her car not commenting on Clara's apology. She quickly pulled out of the lot as well, but slow enough that Clara could follow easily, it wasn't like some other traffic was going to cut between them anyway though. Alice started to drive out of Billings in silence until the silence started to really bother her so she once again put another cd in the player of her car. She hated the silence, it brought her mind back to her past and bad memories, silence was awful and Alice didn't understand how certain people could enjoy it ever. Alice surely didn't enjoy it one bit.

She drove for what seemed like forever, but had really only been about forty five minutes when she found a large ranch that was completely deserted. She drove into the driveway of the house and quickly ran a perimeter to find nothing but a few stray animals that had been somewhat neglected, but there was no trace of zombie or undead in site. That was a promising sign she guessed and they were far enough away from Billings that she managed to calm down a little. She waited for Clara to get out of the truck before she wanted to tour the inside of the ranch, but all cars that had been here before the outbreak were gone now, everyone had deserted this place which was yet another good sign.

When Clara got out of the car though Alice thought she saw a shadow in the distance, like almost the shadow of a person but it had disappeared to quickly to really be something to worry about,"Let's check out the inside of the house to make sure it's not entirely trashed, from the looks of the outside though I think we'll be in good shape. This looks like it was deserted and the residents must have fled to Canada or some other place they thought they would be safe."