[M] Zombie Apocalypse RP [IC]

[MatrixOne]

Rated Mature for bad language, descriptive violence, and I guess drugs and that sort of stuff.
Please keep the romance PG-16, though. :3
Link to the OOC Thread: Here (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42277)

***

It was the seventh day of the outbreak, and the world already started to crumble.
During the first three days, nearly all the large cities got overrun. At the end of sixth day, the plague was everywhere.

Lia was fortunate enough to have survived the initial outbreak. And not just that.

She was in a plane crash just a day ago. Far away from home, in a country she's never actually been to.

She knew what was going on. It was just like in the movies...

"What is the matter, Tex?" She asked in English. She had to practice, in case she meets somebody who hasn't turned...
She had perfect American accent. Her father always told her the accent was critical, and made sure she had it.

As soon as the morning light could be seen through the holes in the rusty shack she hid in for the night, her dog Tex wanted her to get up and move. He must have sniffed something out. Perhaps something useful.
So, finally, Lia left the shack, looking around. Pieces of the crashed jet were scattered around, even though most of it landed in the lake. One of the engines laying in the middle of the road was steaming, creating a straight beacon of smoke. If there was anyone in the area, they were sure to see it. Perhaps they'll come to offer help? And maybe they'll hope to loot the crash site?

Tex let out a quiet, half-muffled bark to get Lia's attention. She turned to see in the direction he was looking.
She saw one of the walkers approaching the shack.

Most of them were gathered around the crash site. There were around fifteen, but she didn't feel like counting. The shack was near a medium-sized lake, with forest from one side, and an asphalt road leading forward into the hills. Most of the walkers were in the woods, but the mentioned bunch left to investigate the crash site.

Lia froze up, unsure what to do. Tex didn't leave her side.
The zombie walked past the shack; His attention was drawn to the crashed jet.
"We need to leave" She told Tex quietly, and when the danger cleared, she moved away from the shack, trying to find a higher point to look around from.

One of the hills seemed to be just fine for the job. There were no zombies out in the open there; It was safe, so she didn't have to sneak around anymore, and she stood on the hill, trying to see where the road leads.

Then, she noticed movement on the side of the road, in the distance. It was a survivor; Had to be. Zombies didn't walk like that.
She didn't care if the person was friendly or not. Human is human.
She started running in the direction of the survivor, and when she was close enough for her speech to be clearly heard, she decided to actually say something.
"I..." She started, but was unsure how to begin. "...Hello" She finally said. "I am unarmed"
This was pretty stupid to say, since she had a gun and a knife. And a dog.
None of those were currently in either of her hands, though.
"I am also... Lost"
___________
(First person to post 'me' in the OOC gets their character be the encountered Survivor. o_o)

[Lord Tully]

"And on the seventh day it was all still shit." Jacob said to himself as he walked down the road, though it wasn't as shit as it cold have been. Jacob had been walking for most of those seven days, but he had run into a minimum of zombies, and unlike some poor souls he hadn't been forced to put down anyone he knew. At least he still had some food and water on his person.
"Hmmnn ow." Jacob's yawn was cut short as his extremely dry lip cracked and re-opened the small gash there, Early the day before he had be running the the woods escaping some particularly persistent zombies when a branch caught on his lip ring and tore it right our of his face. Not only did it still hurt but his lips were very dry and kept cracking it open. After taking a drink of water Jacob stopped to take stock of his supplies, still had a few days worth of prepackaged food, but water was running low, "That's fine, I've got metal canteens, I have a lighter, just need to boil everything from now on." Jacob said to himself, he'd found that saying his thoughts out loud helped him remember important things.
"Just need to find a stream or lake or something." 'Jacob' had never been this far away from home before, even if he had things look vastly different on foot then they do speeding by in a car. "What's that?" he said looking up to see a small trail of smoke in the air, it looked like it was coming from a couple miles off but it might mean people. "Please mean people." he said as he slung his lighter-by-the-day backpack over one shoulder, took his rifle off the other and started walking down the road towards the smoke. Jacob hoped that the smoke was coming from somewhere near the road, it wasn't as heavily wooded here as it had been for a while, but 'Jacob' still preferred to stay out of the trees if possible.

After about another hour of wondering towards the smoke, Jacob could tell that he was getting closer now and a sign told him that there was an exit a few miles further. "Please god mean people." Jacob repeated, he hadn't met a single survivor in all 7 days and was starting to wonder if anyone else had survived, out of 7 billion people stupid little Jacob Holmes couldn't be the last one, right? The existentially terrified question was answered soon as Jacob heard movement and brought his rifle's scope up to look for it's source, it wasn't long before Jacob could see a small redheaded girl running towards him. She was clearly unarmed so Jacob lowed his rifle, though only a little.

When the redheaded girl finally got close enough to talk Jacob visibly tensed up when he saw that she was accompanied by a rather large dog. Jacob had never been a fan of dogs, but lately that dislike had grown into something more of a fear. He eventually able to push down his fear enough to respond his voice a noticeably deeper then it would be if he were well rested. "In all honesty I'd be shocked if you weren't lost miss." Jacob pulled his eyes away from the dog to actually get a look at the girl he was talking to. Good god, she looks even greener then I am He thought, if he had to guess it looked like this girl had somehow avoided the world going to shit until only yesterday or the day before. If nothing else she was much cleaner then he was..

"Is that animal safe?" Jacob then asked gesturing to the girl's dog, "It hasn't been bit has it?" Despite not liking dogs, Jacob really didn't want to actually kill the thing, but he wasn't taking the risk of traveling with an infected animal. God only knows what this zombie thing did to other creatures.

[MatrixOne]

Lia was very happy that the man she had just met didn't attack her on sight.
She did not answer his question at first, taking the time to look him carefully up and down. The man sure seemed to handle himself well, giving off this kind of a 'badass aura'. Lia was relieved just to be in his presence.
"It..." She started the sentence, trying to remember what the question was about. "It has not been bit. His name is Tex, and he shall never hurt anybody that is of no threat to me, or otherwise not made a target by me" She was speaking slowly, but clearly, in a silent, calm voice, even though she wasn't very calm. Her vocabulary was surprisingly good.

Lia moved closer to the man, Tex being right behind her.
"My name is Lia. The smoke trail you see marks the location of a... crash site. The plane crash occurred yesterday. Me and Tex are the only ones who made it out alive..." She paused for a second, trying not to think of that fact. "I... I believe there is not much to be found there, aside from the infected. The majority of the wreck has landed in water, as you can probably tell by looking at me"
Her hair was still somewhat wet, and she was cleaner, as 'Jacob' noticed.
"I have spent the night inside the shack, hoping somebody would come to aid, but so far, you are the first non-infected I have met"

She looked 'Jacob' in the eye, and a small smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
"I am delighted to make your acquaintance"

Tex silently 'ruffed' again, letting Lia know of a danger nearby. Indeed, two walkers must have noticed the two humans standing on the side of the road, as they started approaching Lia and 'Jacob'.

[Lord Tully]

"Hmm." Was all that Jacob could respond with at first, though the girl spoke well she sounded slightly different. Maybe English is a second language? was the only thing Jacob could think of, though she didn't seem to have an accent. It didn't matter too much though, she could speak English well enough for Jacob to understand, so that was a start. "That's good, if he's safe then maybe it's a good idea if we stick together for a bit." Jacob didn't want to sound forward or anything but it was simple math, two people traveling together had a better chance then just one.

Jacob couldn't help but frown at Lia's story, he'd been lucky he'd been pretty much on his own from the get go, this girl lost people and was there when it happened. "Well at least you weren't hurt. I'm Jacob by the way." he said realizing that he probably should introduce himself, "It's the same here, I've barely even run into any infected people so far. I was starting to think I was all alone out here." Even though he was starting to make peace with that fact, a tiny edge of fear still came through when he actually had to say it.

When Tex gave a quiet back Jacob looked to see that a pair of the infected had taken notice of them, "Alright, just back away slowly." he said instinctively putting a hand out to start pushing Lia along, "They're not very fast so we don't need to draw attention by running." Jacob began backing away from the zombies himself, he didn't know how many were nearby so he didn't want to just shoot them unless he had to, "Follow me and keep an eye out for any more movement." He told her turning around when they were a reasonable distance away, he quickened his pace a little then from before, but did not quite go into a jog.

[MatrixOne]

What Jacob said was reasonable; It's best not to draw attention. So, Lia followed, but when they started getting away from the crash site, she was getting increasingly worried.
"Hold on" She said, gently pulling Jacob's hand to sign him to stop, as he was leading. "I... I think if anybody is alive, like us, they might notice the smoke. They would approach the crash site. You yourself said sticking together is not a bad idea... Then perhaps if there is more people to stick together with..." She did not want to hinder Jacob's plans, but her idea of safety was - people. "People are sure to investigate. Perhaps they shall know more of the state of the nearby cities than we do. It would be unwise to squander such an opportunity"
She looked at Jacob, hoping for some kind of affirmation. Tex sat down next to Lia, also looking at Jacob.
"Wouldn't it?" She asked silently, letting go of Jacob's hand.

They were now on the other side of the hills. The two zombies gave up chase, and joined with the ones near the crash site.

[Nori]

Somewhat nearby, but still a fair distance away, a young man was roaming the wilderness. Well, in the woods at least. He had been following the edge of a rather large lake for what felt like hours. And despite this, he felt as though he were going in circles. It was probably just the forest getting to him, but he still felt unnerved.

And he should be. What, with zombies running about like wild animals. Not running, actually. They were pretty slow. or, at least, the ones he had seen thus far had been. He thought it would actually be quite funny to tease them. Draw nearer and nearer to them, then leap back at the last possible second. It sounded like a fun way to pass the time.

But he wasn't going to risk it. It had been... how many days had it been? Probably just a few, and yet it felt like more. The house had burnt down... why couldn't he remember? He probably just wasn't paying attention to the days and nights. What was more important right now was surviving. And finding other survivors. Those were his missions.

He could remember the day that he was first on the run, when he was pushed into the wilderness. He had seen the smoke. He had smelled it, too, even though he was a good two or three miles away then. Speaking of smoke... He looked up to see smoke rising high into the sky. He stopped walking, and the stick that he had been dragging absentmindedly along in the muddy banks dropped from his grasp. Was there a fire nearby?

If there was, he wondered if there were zombies in the area. Then again, zombies were stupid. They wouldn't know how to build a fire. Maybe they had messed with something that had caused a fire? He didn't know, and he wouldn't be able to unless he approached it. Maybe another survivor in the area...

He looked back towards the stick and was about to pick it up when he saw how muddy it was. He didn't want to get his hands dirty, both literally and figuratively. He knew that he would have to eventually, though. He could spare zombies, no matter what.

When he stepped out of the giant shadow that belonged to a looming tree, his appearance was revealed in the light. He was a young man in his early twenties and looked very well-dressed to be wandering around in the woods. He had vibrant, wavy blue hair and eyes to match. His clothes were rather regal, although he was definitely no prince. He wore an elaborate dark blue silk coat over a more simple black button-down. There were lighter blue ruffles at the chest of the vest.

His pants were simple and black, and they looked snug on his legs. Dark black boots with heels and blue trimming were on his feet, covering up just barely past his ankle. Some accessories that he had on his person were black, thin gloves, a small black and blue hat, and a dark eye patch. He seemed to really like the color blue, and the clothes did look very becoming on his thin frame.

Strapped to his back was a long, gleaming sword which he promptly grabbed and held tightly. He didn't use it often; only when he had to. And if there were zombies, he would need it most definitely. He ran towards the place where the billowing smoke was coming from, the weapon held tightly in his hand. He was pretty fast, and he got to the edge of the forest in just a few minutes. He had been fairly close to it in the first place, though.

Upon seeing the crash site, his heart lifted a little. Maybe there were survivors nearby! He wasn't so much worried about himself then he was about others. They came before him, after all. He could handle a few zombies if it meant that he might be keeping someone else safe.

But there were simply too many here. Sure, they were stupid and slow, but they could still be harmful. The last thing he needed was to get bitten by one. His eyes narrowed, and he stayed hidden in the shadows of the trees as he thought of his options. "This place isn't safe. I wonder if others are nearby?" he murmured aloud to himself, albeit in fluent Japanese. There was absolutely no reason to speak English when he was by himself.

If only he had a gun. Then he could handle these zombies. He moved some in the shadows, taking a step back into the woods. His sword was raised in defense as he scanned over the area before him. There was a road that led into some hills. He couldn't quite see that far with only one eye and such. There was also a shack; it seemed abandoned, but you could never know. Was there a way around the zombies? There surely had to be. He just needed to find it.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob opened his mouth to say 'no' but closed it and thought about Lia's idea. After a few moments he had to nod, it was a sound idea, "That actually makes sense." he said, he was about to continue when Lia let go of his hand. He only realized she'd even been holding onto him now that she'd let go Does she already trust me or something? he thought, after barely a moment's pause Jacob spoke "There's a problem though, you said there was a shack near the lake you crashed in, but you also said something about infected. How many are there?" his voice was serious but he tried not to come off as mean. "I only have so many bullets and I really can't spend them all at once."

Jacob then looked back the direction the came in, "It looks like our pursuers gave up." he the looked back at Lia, at thought for another moment, "If you can show me somewhere where I can at least get a good look at this shack you've been staying I might be able to think of something."

[MatrixOne]

Lia led Jacob to the hill from which she spotted him not long ago.

From there, the crash site was easily visible, along with the seventeen walkers scattered around the area.
There was not much cover; Forest from one side, and the hill Lia and Jacob were standing on, from the other.
"You are considering... Killing them?" Lia asked. She's never seen a walker being killed before. She shivered at the thought, but she knew they were not people anymore. "Perhaps... There is a way of... accomplishing this task without using up excessive amounts of ammunition"
She kneeled down. "The airplane I was the passenger of had been refueled prior to takeoff, and additional fuel canisters had been loaded to... aid with surviving in my father's bunker"
She mentioned the bunker. That was sure to get Jacob's attention...
But was it safe, really? They never got there, and Lia had no clue where the bunker could be.
It might as well be overrun by now.
"I believe the fuel canisters are scattered around the site. If we could, perhaps... Draw the infected into one location, and use the fuel in order to light a fire... It would not be as loud as an explosion, and additional smoke might just provide the signal we need to gather the remaining survivors in the area"
Lia spoke slowly, trying to articulate her thoughts properly. "But we may not be able to do this alone. I... I do not think I can handle being... bait. We would need someone else, another... Survivor"

Then, Tex informed Lia and Jacob of noticing something. She instantly turned to face the direction in which he looked.
"What is it, boy?" She asked, still not seeing it.
Then, she noticed him.
"Look!" She pulled at Jacob's hand again to get his attention. "I was right. There is somebody over there. In the shadows, with a blade at the ready"
A small smile appeared on her face again.
"That stranger might be exactly what we need in order to accomplish the task!"
She let go of Jacob's hand, feeling embarrassed for holding it again.

[Nori]

The young man was just about to rush at the nearest zombie when he spotted Jacob and Lia. His eyes widened, and the blade almost fell from his hand. Was he dreaming? Was he really just sleeping off somewhere, and he was imagining all of this?

He couldn't think of a time when he had had such good luck. But, then again, these survivors might be not so friendly... He paled at the thought, and the grip on the sword tightened. He didn't want to hurt anyone still living. But if they dared to attack him, he'd have no choice.

But they seemed friendly. Blinking back the shock he felt, he hurried out of the shadows of the trees. He ran right at one of the walkers that had its back to him. There was only one way to kill a zombie, his father had reminded him before leaving the house. He raised the blade and stabbed it right into the walker's head. He heard the sickening crack of the skull being shattered, and he nearly gagged. He hated doing this, but it was the only way.

He tugged at the sword until it finally came back out. It was covered in blood and brains. He turned slightly green, and he rubbed the blade on the ground until at least some of the blood was off. He could wash it in the lake when he was finished. Not too much water, though, or it would rust.

He looked back towards Jacob and Lia. He then noticed the dog. That animal better not be infected. Animals could get infected, but it wouldn't show. His father had told him that. His father was obsessed with zombies. He was usually kind-hearted, but if any animal was infected, he wouldn't think twice about killing it.

He easily dodged another zombie, swinging his sword with such force that the walker's head was taken clean off. It made him sick to do this. He wouldn't have to kill all of them. Just make a clear way towards the survivors. Good thing the zombies were rather scattered.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob followed Lia to top of the hill and crouched down low to the ground to survey the scene around the shack, "No, I don't think I have enough bullets for that. They'd also just come after the sound, and I don't know if we can avoid that many of them." he then listened to Lia's other ideas, but his ears definitely perked up at the mention of a bunker, "Bunker?" Jacob stood up full and looked Lia in the face, "Do you know where the bunker is? How big is it, how much food does it hold, how many other people know about it?" he rattled off his questions so fast he almost didn't hear her idea about the fuel cans.

"Depending on what kind of fuel it is it could be used for some kind of fire, but definitely not as a weapon, trust me Lia, setting these guys on fire is a completely terrible idea." Jacob said right before Lia pointed out what might be another survivor. "Is that a fucking sword?" Jacob asked not entirely sure if he really was seeing what he thought he was seeing, "Does he think he's in some kind of cartoon?".

Lia caught Jacob's attention when she grabbed his hand again "Yeah hopefully he's more useful then those clothes make him look." He then snapped his attention back to the survivor when she let go, apparently embarrassed "Well he's definitely got their attention, maybe with him distracting them we can deal with... Aww shit, no you idiot not over here!" he called out though he didn't think the other survivor was close enough to hear. The strangely dress man seemed to be trying to lead the Walkers in their direction. "You might not want to look." he said as he dropped prone to the ground to have a more stable shot. He waited for a Walker to get more dangerously close to the survivor before letting off a shot.
His rifle was a small caliber so the Walker only gave a slight jerk of their head before collapsing, "Come on D'Artagnan move your ass!" he shouted at the top of his lungs before dropping a second zombie before rising a to one knee and gesturing the man towards them. "Take the dog and move to a safe distance, I'll be right behind you." before bringing his rifle back upto his eye, "Who wants the next one?" he whispered wanting to wait for a Walker to actually get close to the survivor to fire again, Jacob wasn't going to pop off a bullet for every single one of them.

[MatrixOne]

When Jacob stood up, questioning Lia about the bunker, she also assumed a standing stance, and backed away a little, Jacob's questions and tone scaring her a little.
Tex also backed away, never leaving Lia's side, and let out a growl towards Jacob.
"N-no..." She started, unsure what to say. "My father was the last one to know of its whereabouts, and he is..."
She didn't finish.
"Please. I really do not know. We were supposed to find it after landing... It seemed pretty defensible on... the pictures"

***

"Is that a fucking sword?"

"I believe so!" Lia was a bit excited, watching the man go through the walkers, one by one. The man fascinated her; His clothing, looks, fighting style, it was all foreign to Lia, but incredibly amazing to watch.
"Is he coming towards us?" Her voice sounded a bit worried; The walkers started to take notice of his actions.

"Ah!"
Lia covered her ears when Jacob fired the weapon. She has never seen a weapon being discharged, not in reality, and not from such a close distance.
She decided to do as Jacob said. Leave the fight to the ones capable. She took a few steps back, watching the surroundings carefully.
A few more walkers started coming out of the woods, attracted by the gunshots.
The entire group was now formed, and all of them were coming towards Lia, Jacob and the survivor with a sword.
"There is a gas station over there. Perhaps we could retreat and hide inside?" She pointed at the gas station that was behind them, a five-minute walk away along the road.

The station was a little run-down and had already been plundered of fuel and most of the food, But there were a few bags of chips and cans of beer left. Also, some stuff like candy and other items that might be of some use, such as duct tape.
And, there was a white jeep wrangler (http://static.cargurus.com/images/site/2009/03/28/13/02/1999_jeep_wrangler_2_dr_sahara_4wd_convertible-pic-49530.jpeg) parked outside, with the keys to it being on a walker, who was trapped by the seat belt. The poor man must have been eaten alive while trying to start the car. Luckily for Lia and the rest, he was the only walker in the immediate vicinity of the gas station.

The issue with the jeep was that it had no doors, and thus, not much cover from the walkers.
Also, no fuel, and the station was dry. Though Lia did say something about fuel cans...
...Back at the crash site.

***

There still were a few relatively safe places for survivors to find. One of such places was the large water tower (http://www.burton-on-trent.org.uk/wp-content/images/Waterloo/WaterTower.jpg), which looked at if it was part of a castlelike structure, despite towering over a large chunk of flatland all by itself.

It was fairly defensible, the walkers could not access the windows, and the access to the roof was clear, were you to shoot out the lock. The view from the rooftop allowed anybody to survey the area; It was all flatland around the tower, save for a couple trees and a curvy road leading to the lake near the forest, where the crash was.
The tower was less than a mile away, and anyone could still see the smoke from the rooftop.

Inside the tower there were a few beds, and, well, water. A lot of it, though the supply was not unlimited. The people who have occupied it left in a hurry, leaving behind a half-empty pistol magazine.

The problem with the tower was that it had only one entrance, which also was the exit. Of course, it could be left and entered through one of the windows, had the survivors found a rope or something, but it was still a bit inconvenient.

Also, the chunk of flatland was 'trapped' between two faraway sections of the forest, and walker groups sometimes moved from one to another, passing right next to the water tower.

________________
Okay then! I've added that water tower so that a player who has not yet started in the IC could find it and hopefully provide assistance or something. The forming group can hole up here for the first few days ;q.
The gas station can be seen from here, but Lia and the others are a bit too far away to go to the tower or even notice it. Besides, they're in deep. o_o
Whoever wants to start off by finding the water tower, please post in the OOC so that there's no confusion ;q

[Craze]

Redgie sat on the large and high platform of the Water Tower. He chewed on his last bit of sandwich as he reloaded his crossbow and crafted some custom bolts. He had been stuck up here for a while; his apartment was heavily crowded with walkers. At day 1, he took measures by barricading the doors and windows, but it was not enough. The walkers still surrounded the building, making it tough for Redgie to survive. He had to go out some time, or he would starve to death.

Redgie decided on day 3 that he would use the rooftops. He climbed all the way up through the emergency ladder, and went further from the rooftops until he was far away from the walkers.
After struggling through a few forests and landscapes for 2 days, he finally managed to get to the Water Tower and barricaded it well. He had a great view from up there, but still not enough food; his last sandwich bags were nearly empty.

Redgie was just about to scavenge the area, as he noticed the gas station from a distance. Were those... survivors? They must be, they walked differently. Redgie could see a group of walkers close to them. Crossbow in hand, he aimed it at the group of walkers and started to snipe them down, one by one. All headshots.

[Tally Cat]

Ember was inside of the gas station, looking for water in the freezer. She found a small bottle of Poland Spring water that seemed to be forgotten by a raiding party, as many other things had been taken and the bottle was on the ground. She was just lucky it wasn't broken open.

"Well, I haven't had water in about ten hours, it feels like, so I might as well have some..." she said under her breath to herself. She put her assault rifle over her back and opened up the bottle, taking a sip. It tasted just fine, so she figured there was nothing wrong with it. She stood up after a moment and immediately ducked back down when she caught sight of a small group of survivors and a dog outside. "Let's just hope their friendly," she said, not being particularly in the mood to kill anyone today. She looked over to get a better look at the group. A young girl seemed to be the owner of a dog. That was good, stray dogs were vicious animals. She couldn't tell much about the others from this distance. She was quite anxious to meet them, though not in a good way.

[Nori]

The young man with the blade looked towards the hill once more. He saw Jacob shout something, but he couldn't quite hear it from the distance. Either that or he simply didn't understand Jacob's words. He lowered the sword some, temporarily forgetting about the walkers around him. But when one of the brushed its hand against his arm, he was back into action. He swung the blade once more, jumping backwards as he did so.

He couldn't fool around like that. He'd get bitten within minutes if he did. He got lucky that time. He was about to turn back to the hill when the shot from Jacob's caliber rang out into the air. Damn, that was loud! He winced, his eyes screwed up in pain for just a moment. It was probably much louder for the two and the dog on the hill. He looked towards the zombie that had fallen dead to the ground.

Guns seemed to do a lot of damage. Maybe even more so than his sword. He wished he had such a weapon. But, then again, he hadn't the faintest clue on how to use one. He would probably hurt anything other than the zombies before finally getting it right. He'd better just stick with his blade.

He heard Jacob shouting something once more, but the ringing in his ears was unbearable. It seemed to be English... Well, of course, they were in America. He also noticed that the man with the firing weapon was gesturing him towards them. He felt a little more intimidated by this man. Jacob's weapon frightened the peculiar man, but he felt like he could trust him. As well as the girl, who had started heading off. Must be finding a safe place...

He stabbed at another zombie after snapping out of his daze. Right between the eyes. Blood spurted everywhere, and got onto his face. He gagged once more, hopping away. Damn, this was messy. He wiped the blood off of his face with a hankie from his breast pocket. Another gunshot made him jump, and he took a few steps toward the hill where Jacob was firing. He couldn't let the walkers get too close.

He slaughtered another, and another. He already felt tired. He hadn't eaten anything in a few days, after all. He had hunted a few times while in the woods, but he wasn't very good at doing so, unfortunately. Killing never interested him much, but now it seemed to be a regular part of his everyday life. He would have to get used to it, or he would be killed. Or worse; turned into one of them.

He shivered, stabbing at another before hurrying towards the hill, swinging his sword before him. There couldn't many more, now. He had killed so many already, and with Jacob firing his gun, there simply couldn't be many left. There had been at least ten when he first exited the woods. One or two would've been much more easy and to his liking. But that was simply too much to ask for, so it seemed. Another zombie fell to the ground. Dead like the rest of them. He hated doing this. But he sort of had to.

[Lord Tully]

"Three, that's three bullets I've used for you." Jacob muttered to himself after his third shot rang out, when the oddly dressed man had gotten closer Jacob rose to his feet and started down the hill. "Come on, there are too many of them." he said, seeing that there were still about a dozen walkers still standing, though that may have been his mind exaggerating a bit. Instead of waiting for a respond Jacob grabbed the other man by the arm and yanked him back away from the walkers, "Gas station that way, move!" Jacob ordered as he pushed his rescue up the hill ~Was I always this 'take charge' before?~ he thought as he turned back and leveled his rifle at the remaining walkers, he didn't want to use any more bullets then he needed to so he backed his way up the hill.

To Jacob's infinite surprise out of nowhere the Walkers were sprouting arrows from their heads, "What the shit?" he muttered looking around to see where they were coming from, he didn't see who was shooting but they certainly could see him well enough. Not entirely sure what to make of this, Jacob decided to take advantage of the new fighter and turned to run to the gas station Lia had pointed out, "Hurry up man, I'm not coming back for you if you fall behind." Jacob told him just in case the man was still reluctant to leave the fight, though that was probably untrue, Jacob wouldn't feel right if he left someone to die.

Running for the first time that day, Jacob fled down the road not bothering to make sure the other man was following and soon enough caught sight of the gas station, "Oh thank Christ, a car." he said when he spotted the Jeep that had been left behind, "Please have gas, please have gas." he muttered as he approached the vehicle, "Lia are you alright?" he asked as he reached over to unhook the dead driver from his seat only to have the man start moving at the sound of the latch.

"Ohh shit!" Jacob cried out jumping back so suddenly he fell straight on his ass, dropping his gun in the process. Jacob had never seen a Walker this close before so it to say he was frightened didn't quite say it, but his instincts decided on 'fight' instead of 'flight' so without thinking he pulled his hood tight to cover most of his face and unhooked the long tool he's strapped to the outside of his back pack. Quickly scrambling back and onto his feet, the walker had managed to struggle free of his seat and was tumbling out of the jeep, using that to his advantage Jacob gave it a good upward swing to the head as it fell, and using the blunt end, delivered two additional blows to the creatures upper body. To finish it off Jacob shifted the tool in his hands and drove the claw end into the walker's skull, the resulting crunching noise and splatter of blood brought the young man crashing into reality.

Suddenly everything was a bit too much for Jacob, after a couple seconds of heavy breathing Jacob dropped the tool, still stuck in the walker's head, and ran off several steps before throwing off his hood and vomiting. The smell of the body, the feel of its head giving way, and the fact that he now had blood all over himself, all of it was absolutely disgusting, luckily Jacob's stomach was mostly full of water, "Oh god, oh god, oh god." He repeated a couple of times, how anyone could do that without getting sick the first time was far beyond Jacobs ability to understand.

"No, no, you are not fainting over this, you will be fine." Jacob told himself, forcing his breathing back into a normal rate, "Is Zoro still with us?" he asked looking back up remembering that he and Lia just found another survivor.

[StormWolf]

"Uncle Nathan, why did we leave the car behind?" a young girl's voice called out as if the world had yet to turn to complete shit. Her guardian and traveling companion, her dear and broken uncle Nathan, pulled his eyes from the road and looked Maria in her big green eyes. He did his best to smile for her, managing a slight upward turning of his lip,

"Ran out of gas, sweetie, and the nearest station is over yonder." He pointed up the road towards where they were walking. As much as it pained Nathan to admit it, the Impala was too far behind them to warrant spending so much energy getting a few gallons of gas then marching back. There might be food and enough fuel to either weaponize or keep to barter with a less-than-friendly survivor. While Nathan would just as soon slit the throat of the opposition, he couldn't kill every passer by, at least for Maria's sake.

"We aren't going back to the car, are we?" Maria said solemnly. She liked the Impala. The force of the engine and the smell of the leather reminded her of her dad. It was her dad's car, after all, that he had given to Nathan a few years after Maria was born, trading it for a mini van. She didn't know her uncle that well, but despite his gruffness and the constant mean look on his face, he seemed like a good person. He was a soldier like her father, after all, so why wouldn't her mother let her see him?

"No, Maria..." said Nathan, forlorn at uttering the words. It made the horror of leaving the family car on the side of the road to rust and collect pigeon shit. "We're going there to get some food and other essentials. Then we'll keep walking." Nathan kept his eyes trained on the objective, hand brushing grip of his pistol strapped to his right thigh. The heat was starting to bear down on him, the rolling grass along the road shimmering, starting to look like sandy dunes at the corners of Nathan's vision as it started to shake. Damn it... Nathan cursed to himself. He knew this feeling. The onset of a hallucination, the subtle shake of his hand and the tightening, panicky feeling in his chest. There were times when even Nathan would be surprised by what would set off an episode, but he needed to take his meds. Soon.

Crack!

There was the thunderclap of a gunshot in the distance, jarring Nathan's vision and making his heart race and his breath quicken.

Crack!

Another gunshot. Nathan's hand was about to snap to his gun when he felt Maria's soft little hand grip his, pulling his attention to her. Fear was there in those innocent emerald eyes, a childish horror and confusion behind what was making those sounds. Nathan knew exactly what is was, though. He knew the sound the round made, the jolt of the rifle against the shoulder and the faint ping of the brass bouncing on the floor. Nathan gave Maria's hand a little squeeze,

"Don't worry, Maria. Just stay behind me, keep your hand on my pack, and stay low."

Crack!

Nathan winced, this time, his hand shaking as it clasped his .45. Drawing the weapon and thumbing the safety off, he crouched and advanced, staying at the ready. The closer he got, the louder the clamor became. By the time the two remaining members of the Booker family got to the gas station, Nathan could hear people calling our to each other, all over the ghastly moans and screams of the walking dead. Keeping low, Nathan stepped through a broken window in the gas station, pulling Maria in after him. The monsters outside could wait, they were someone else's problem for now, and Nathan wanted to keep it that way. The horde was coming their way, though, which meant they needed to move fast.

"Maria, stuff your pack with what you need. Five minutes."

"Okay!" Maria said in a frantic, hushed tone. She went about grabbing the candy and protein bars she could find while Nathan looked for some fluids to take his meds with. Nothing but beer. He wouldn't complain. Cracking open a Bud and popping the cap on his medication, Nathan popped two of the pills into his mouth and chugged down the piss-poor excuse of a beer. Crunching the can and belching, Nathan scanned his surroundings. Some hooded fuck ran up and started to mess with the rotting jeep driver only to have it lurch to life. In the chaos, Nathan looked to Maria, who was crouching in a corner, holding her knife. Nathan gave her a nod and pointed to a corner by the blown out windows. She moved quietly and assumed concealment there. Walking out of the station, the corners of his vision still haunted by the fading phantoms of his ordeals, Nathan cranked back the hammer of his HK and walked around the jeep, drawing his tomahawk from the loop on his belt. As the man cried for what Nathan assume was his companion, the Marine closed in like a wolf on a wounded elk. Approaching the man from behind with his pistol trained on his center mass, Nathan pressed the edge of his tomahawk against the hooded man's neck.

"Bad place to lose your nerve, stranger..." Nathan growled, his eyes wide and wild. It was a odd situation up in Nathan's head. Threatening someone's life right off the bat was no way to make friends, but deep down Nathan needed to kill. He never had a wife, hardly any girlfriends, his only one ended up marrying someone else. Killing, though, fulfilled him in ways very few people could. "Give me an excuse to pull this trigger... If your hand touches metal, I will fucking end you..." Nathan growled, the veins and tendons in his neck bulging as his body tensed, ready for anything.

[Craze]

Redgie already wasted four of his regular bolts on the walkers. But they did not go to waste; every shot was a headshot. Redgie had always been very accurate when it came to shooting.

Redgie decided it was time that he would meet up with the strangers, maybe help them even. As much as he appreciated the silence of being alone in the tower, he could use some company around him. He descended from the staircase and ran through the forest. He encountered some walkers on the way, but he ignored them and just kept running.

When he was near to the gas station, he started to become cautious. He literally crawled through the bushes, keeping every walker in vision. When he was behind the horde, he whistled on his fingers twice.

"Yo, fuckfaces! It's me you want!" Redgie yelled, and shot down three walkers with three quick shots.

[Medic]

Eveenix had been wandering through the abandoned hospital for a good thirty minutes at least, looking for any sort of medical supplies. She had found some gauze, and even a few steri-strips, but everything else had been ransacked. She was on the fourth floor when she finally spotted some pharmaceuticals across a supply room. Fuck yes, she thought to herself. Finally, something of use... Probably. She crossed the room, and picked up a large, orange bottle with no lid. Eveenix was tremoring in excitement. She had just found painkillers. Granted, the bottle was only half full, but it was something. "Hell yeah! Fuckin' love opioids," she said loudly in excitement. It had been a huge mistake. She heard a moan, and a zombie busted through a door nearby. She didn't know one had been that close. She had been quiet until now. The action of the zombie busting through the door startled the poor girl and she threw the painkillers at the zombie out of pure reaction instinct. As the bottle was halfway through the air, she realized what she had done. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, her mind kept repeating.

The bottle hit the zombie square in the face, and it stumbled backward a few steps as painkillers scattered all over the floor. A few skidded by her feet and she reached down and grabbed them as fast as she could. If there was one zombie, there was more. She wheeled around and ran out the door, stuffing the two-three painkillers into her pocket as she ran. Evee you fucking moron. You threw opiates at a zombie. You are such a dumbass. She could hear a few more zombies as she made a point to get out quickly rather than quietly. She burst through the front door and ran a few yards before turning to see the mob she had attracted. She counted four plus a few bobbing down the hall. She didn't want to stick around to find out how many more would show their ugly faces, so she turned and ran. "God damn it," she muttered. She had been so close to satisfying her little addiction. So close to not having to worry about her next fix for quite some time. Now she just had three of her little friends, and nothing else but a horde of zoms on her tail.

Evee pressed on aways, sure that those things were still following her. In fact, she was pretty sure she had attracted two or three more in her getaway. Coming through to a clearing, Evee came across a pair of zeds standing right in the way. "Awwwwww," she moaned out through her mask as she came towards them, unsheathing her katana from her back. "What the fuck are you doing here anyways?!" She didn't have the time for this. She ran past one, spun out of the way of an incoming hand, and chopped through the collarbone of the second zombie. Granted, it wasn't deadly, but it made it damn hard for the thing to reach at her. She pulled the katana out and ducked, spinning back around to unleash a backswing into the first zombie's neck. It dropped quickly, but the horde was closing in fast. She pulled the katana out, and simply kicked the other zombie to the side. "No time, buddy. Sorry," She called over her shoulder as she ran some more. A gas station was up ahead. No use now, since there was a mob after her.

Wait... Her eyes widened. Survivors! She turned back around. She couldn't lead a mob onto them, not in good conscience. She ran almost straight up to the mob, then veered left, staying just out of their reach so they would follow her. One or two wandered off, but the rest followed. She pulled up a katana and cut off one of the zombie's fingers with a loud laugh. "You stupid fucks," she said as she jogged backwards. "You guys are dumb. Really. I no longer believe in Darwinism. What evolution process made you fucktards, huh?" She laughed again. She found this quite exciting, actually. She should do it more often. She continued down the road, waving a hello to the other survivors as the mob of about seven zombies followed her before returning her focus to the horde. "Lovely. Now I just gotta get you guys out of sight, then I can run again..."

[Lord Tully]

Jacob had recovered from his vomiting spell and had finally managed to stand back straight when he suddenly felt sharp metal against his neck. He was about to shout in surprised but managed to suppress it down to a startled gasp. He'd gotten somewhat used to the threat the Walkers presented but this was the first time his life has been threatened by another human. Fighting hard to stay relatively calm, Jacob slowly raised his hands to show that they were empty, he couldn't see the man behind him but it was easy to guess that he was much larger then Jacob was. "Look, look man, I don't have anything." his voice just barely concealed his slight panic. "We didn't know this was you spot, alright? Listen, I've got some food and ammo in my pack, .45s you need those? Take 'em, fuck take my rifle too, you're probably better with it then I am anyway."

Jacob slowly and carefully gestured towards the rifle he'd dropped, careful to not to make any kind of sudden movements. he really wasn't 100% about giving away his only means of defense but if he walked away with his head intact he wasn't going to complain. Suddenly realizing that he couldn't see Lia from where he stood Jacob spoke with genuine concern in his voice, "Lia, get to somewhere safe, I can handle myself alright?" He may not have known her well, but Jacob didn't want his only companion in danger like this. "Listen man, we're just trying to survive, same as you. Just lower that blade, and maybe we can help each other?" As Jacob saw it continuing to try and bargain was his best option right now. "I'm good with machines maybe I can get this jeep running for you?"

[MatrixOne]

Things were happening pretty fast.

Just a few hours ago, Lia was afraid she'd be the last of survivors, afraid she might never see a human before.
Now, there were so many people, all working together, all helping each other out! Complete strangers to each other.

When a crawling zombie suddenly became a crawling zombie with a crossbow bolt in its forehead, Lia approached it carefully, trying to figure out the direction from which the bolt hit.
It came from the water tower situated nearby. Whoever was in there decided to help out the survivors without even knowing them!
It was as if a horrible tragedy such as this infection made humanity... Better somehow.

Tex noticed a woman leading a herd of seven zombies, and informed Lia of that.
Lia was unsure what the woman was trying to accomplish, but she decided to tell Jacob, who was busy trying to get that car to work.
She then noticed the muscular, blonde man putting a gun to Jacob's chest and a sharp axe of some sort to his throat.

Lia's thoughts of a 'perfect, better humanity' somehow didn't quite match with that.

"Lia, get to somewhere safe, I can handle myself alright?" Jacob said to her.

"W-what?!" She couldn't believe it.
The muscular man scared her, yes. But she felt like she owed Jacob, owed him for helping her out. She wasn't going to leave him in danger like this.
As soon as Tex saw the 'bad guy', he started growling at him.
"Tex, zostań*" She whispered to the dog in Polish, and the dog returned to her side immediately.
She approached the armed man slowly, but stopped a few yards away. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it was going to jump out of her chest.
"W-why would you do that?!" This was the first thing to say which came to her mind.
She realized that she was simply powerless. That nobody would fear her, nobody would listen to her. She was like a child, both to Jacob and everyone else.
Difference is, she wasn't a child anymore.

She swallowed, thinking about what she was about to do. The thought of standing up to the man terrified her, but the thought of Jacob being shot or chopped because she did nothing was worse than that.
So, Lia reached for her pistol. Her hands were shaking so much, she thought she was going to drop it.

The fact that she had never fired a pistol before didn't really help.
Her father did his best to get her accustomed to weapons, but due to strict gun laws in Poland, all she could ever shoot was a small-caliber KBKS rifle. Now, she had a pistol in hand, one that belonged to her father. Gun bought in the US.
She'd seen similar guns before, in video games mostly. But, as we all know, video games are not always realistic simulations.
In short, she had absolutely no idea how to use the pistol.
She pointed it at the ground, thinking it was pretty much ready to fire - she wasn't aware of the fact that the safety was on.
"I... I do not want anything bad to happen to any of us" She said in a shaky voice, trying to steady her equally shaky hands. "But I... I think you need to step away. We are all trying to survive. You'll never make it without the help of... Others"
She really hoped someone would come to their aid now. Perhaps the guy with that Katana. Or the sniper on that tower. Perhaps the person who had whistled to draw the attention of the remains of that herd, or the woman leading the other one.
Why is it that only Lia is here to help Jacob? She couldn't scare anybody but herself.
"...Please don't hurt him" She added quietly. "He is a good person"

_______
*Stay

Okay, StormWolf - I'm giving you permission to, uh, do something with Lia, if you want. I mean, something like take her gun from her, or take her hostage instead, or, I don't know, I'm sure you know your limits so just keep in mind I'm giving you permission here ;q.
Just careful, Tex might attack if Lia is attacked openly.

[Craze]

The small horde of walkers coming towards Redgie was of no trouble to him. He modified his crossbow with an automatic reload upgrade. After each shot, the crossbow automatically reloaded.

As Redgie walked through the dead walkers he had taken out, he collected the bolts. Seven bolts. There were two more bolts, but they were broken so he inserted them in his pocket so he could re-craft them later. Just as he was about to scavenge the area, he heard yelling in the distance. Not the yelling of multiple person, but of one person. The one thing he heard was the frequent amount of 'fuck' in her sentences. Redgie chuckled.

He saw the survivor in the distance. She looked like a survivor at least, unless the walkers started to wear masks with roses on them.
It seemed as if she could need a hand, as she was almost surrounded by walkers... Redgie sprinted towards her, but quickly slid to cover behind a car. He leaned his left arm on the car and placed his crossbow on top of his arm. This technique gave him a steady aim.

"Can't waste too much bolts..." Redgie muttered, and he shot down four more walkers. He noticed that one of the bolts broke off at touch with the walker's head. "That's another one subject for revival..." he muttered, and he left his cover position near the car.

He switched over to his knife and simplistic revolver, which contained about five bullets. Luckily, he always kept another pouch with bullets in his left pocket. He stabbed down a walker, then shot down another one. As he made his way through the walkers, he managed to stand next to Evee.

"Need a hand?" he asked, as he reloaded his gun.

[Medic]

Evee was having fun when suddenly one of the zombies was shot down. "Woah woah woah," she muttered. She looked off and in the time it took her to spot the man, four of the zombies had been shot down. She looked back at the horde she had collected and back to the man with the crossbow. The man moved quickly and stabbed down a zombie and then shot another one. There was only one left when the man asked her if she needed a hand. She pulled up her katana and, in a very bored way, shoved up through the zombie's head from its lower jaw. "Damn, man. You could've left me three or four, but I do appreciate the help. I was having fun though," she said. She pulled the katana out, swung off the excess gore, and sheathed it as she turned to the man. Evee stuck out her hand for a shake. "I'm Eveenix, ex-EMT, but you can call me Evee or Sunshine. Who are you, good sir? Be quick, there are people who need help up there," she said as she pointed towards the gas station down the road.


Her first impression of this man was not bad. He seemed friendly enough. He had helped her out, after all. He even walked right up and asked her if she needed a hand. His face seemed pretty trustworthy and something about him said "friendly" but sh couldn't place a finger on it. That might've just been her openness reflecting itself though. She was glad he had come along, as much fun as he had drenched, she would've needed help eventually. Better sooner than later, she thought to herself. Evee loved making friends, and hadn't had one since the Outbreak. Why not make one now? Or even more with those people down the road?

[Nori]

With the blade still clutched tightly in his hand, he followed Jacob's orders and began to hurry towards the gas station. He hadn't run in some time. Not since the fire from days ago. He stumbled, almost falling over right onto his sword. That would be a humorously pathetic way to die. Tripping and being stabbed by his own weapon because he was such a klutz. He wasn't that weak. Unfortunately, his clothes and general appearance did little to make him look strong. In fact, it only made him look weaker than what he really was. Perhaps that was a good thing. He wouldn't know.

He chased after Jacob all the way to the gas station, glancing over his shoulder every now and then towards the hill. Walkers were on the other side of it. Someone had been shooting arrows at them. He couldn't really tell who had been shooting them, or where they were coming from. He had simply fled the area as quick as humanly possible. He didn't have time to check every little detail of every little thing. Besides, whoever had been firing the arrows was quite a skilled archer and very helpful. He didn't want to take on any more zombies.

He turned back to look at the gas station once he grew nearer to it only to see a dead zombie with a tool sticking out of his head. Blood was almost everywhere, and Jacob retching all over the ground. He winced at the sight, and he slowly walked over towards Jacob and Lia. The young man patted Jacob on the shoulder a bit awkwardly. It was his way of comforting people. He was never very good with words, so he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his attention to the girl, an interested expression on his face. He studied her for a moment, his eyes oddly blank. He turned his head and instinctively stepped back when Nathan appeared to come out of nowhere and pressed the gun to Jacob's neck.

Where had this man come from? Who was he? Why was he attacking other survivors? What was the point in that? What was the point in all of these questions? The man shook his head slightly to remove the thoughts. There were so many survivors in this area... why here? What was so special about here?

"There's no need for that," he said to Nathan, raising his still-bloody blade towards the offender. It had been a while since he had last talked, and even longer since he had spoken English. His words were quite slurred and he sounded unsure of himself because of this; not like he took any notice. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, and he really didn't want to hurt anyone. Although, with people as tough as these, they'd probably kill him before he could even blink if given the chance and need.

[Craze]

Redgie stuck out his hand to shake Evee's hand. "Reginald." he said. "Or, Redgie, if you like. Redgie Campbell." for the first time ever since the Outbreak, Redgie let out a soft, friendly smile. This woman had a certain allure to her. Not a bad one, at that. Redgie felt pretty comfortable around this woman.

Redgie sheathed his knife, but kept his gun in hand just in case. His crossbow was sheathed on his back. He looked over to the gas station. He was there at first, but then there was no one there except for walkers. Now he could clearly see survivors in the distance. When he looked even closer, it almost looked like if someone was being held hostage.

"You're right, we should help 'em." Redgie said as he tied his dreadlocks into a tail, just to make it more comfortable. "Come on." he said, as he began running towards the gas station.

[Medic]

"I like Redgie, if you don't mind," Evee said. She smiled back, unable to help it, and shook Redgie's hand in a robust way. Yes, it would be nice to make a friend. Evee was ready to help this man survive and she had just met him.

"Come on," Redgie said as he moved towards the gas station. Eveenix, in fact, did not move. Instead, she dropped prone and pulled the rifle off of her back. She unfolded the stock and attached the barrel to the sniper. She placed the weapon's bipod - which wasn't even made for this gun and was quite wiggly - on the ground and she peered through the scope. She spotted several people. One was being held hostage. Evee adjusted the scope, then focused it on the person holding the hostage. There was no reason for that. This was a time to work together, not hold each other hostage. Fucker's finna lose his teeth, Evee thought to herself, quoting something her and her friends used to say. Holding someone hostage at this time seemed ridiculous to her.

Evee was ready to fire if things went bad. If the hostage-holder tried anything, Evee had it covered. Or, at least from what she could see.

[StormWolf]

"Leave the brass on the ground, hands behind your head..." Nathan glowered, his face turned down in a stony scowl. He was not proud of himself, but honor and pride took a back seat when wanting to survive. What if this guy spotted him or Maria n the gas station? What then? It was a rule he got drilled into his head by his DI in Boot Camp: 'You draw first or you don't draw at all.' With that in mind, the voice of a young woman rose up over the clamor of the approaching horde of walking dead. The straggling survivors that Nathan assumed were her companions resorted to mop-up duty, dropping the stragglers of the horde. Soon they would all bear down on him, but with what he had seen and heard, he was not worried, especially seeing some kid wielding a sword. Swords dulled, chipped, and ultimately became useless over time, especially the thin ones, and especially the knock-off kids these days loved to tote about, pretending to be their favorite cartoon character from Japan.

Nathan turned his attention to the girl with the dog. He pressed the edge of his tomahawk harder against his hostage's neck, the biting edge grinding against the jugular vein. Rather than point his gun at the girl as she shakily drew her pistol, Nathan just pressed his own handgun into Jacob's back,

"I don't doubt your word, girl. Holster that gun and he'll remain a good person instead of a good corpse." Nathan looked to the growling dog and sneered back. "Your safety is on, by the way." he said lowly. When she paused to look at the gun's safety, Nathan shoved Jacob to the dirt with a firm kick before dashing over to the girl. His rough, scarred hand gripped the pistol slide and deftly jerked it off of the main body of the gun, rendering unable to fire. "You're too young to play with these anyways." he muttered, slipping the pistol slide in his back pocket, keeping his head on a pivot and his own handgun trained on Jacob. That was when the sword-swinger showed up.

"There's no need for that," said the boy. What did he know? What did any of them know about survival? How many rounds had they burned through? How withered and worn would their weapons be - especially that fucking sword?

"There's every need for it when you're covering for more than yourself! Now back the fuck down before I snap that sword in half and give you a prostate exam with the jagged end!" Nathan turned his pistol to the boy with the sword, eyes cold and unforgiving, "Or do you really think you can swing that faster than I can pull this trigger?" Nathan's face was just as hard as his gaze, his mouth twisted in a snarl. Things were already more complicated than they had to be, and with how hopped on adrenaline these people were, he feared if Maria made the slightest sound she would open fire.

"I'm passing by to take care of me an mine, and you fuckers had to go John Wayne... God knows how many of those things are headed here now because of your bullshit. You head your way, I'll head mine. No hard feelings." Peering to the gas station, Nathan saw Maria slowly climbing out the window, clutching her knife in a white knuckle grip. Nathan's eyes tightened as she walked closer.

"We just wanted food and supplies..." Maria said lowly, her eyes wet with tears. She knew Nathan was rough, but she didn't expect him to be okay with killing people and taking their things. That was worse than stealing! Wouldn't he go to Hell for that?

"Maria, get back inside, its not safe." Nathan called out in a tight voice, casting a glance to his niece.

"No, Nathan! You're doing bad things! What would my daddy say?"

"He'd fucking agree with me... Hell, he'd be in that gas station with you ready to cap one of these three stooges."

"Nathan! Swear jar!" Maria shouted at her Uncle, stamping her foot, "You're being mean to me and to these people! You're a soldier! You're supposed to help people!"

Nathan snapped back at her this time, with a gusto he did not intend, "No, I'm supposed to keep you safe! I'll go to any length to do that!" Nathan's voice was rough and ragged, a raw nerve stuck. "I made a promise..."

"What about being a bad person?! You warned me about bad people when bad things happen, but you are becoming one of them!" Maria cried at her protector, her plea breaking through to Nathan, who lowered his pistol slowly, but still clutched his tomahawk. He shot Maria a sharp look that said, 'We're having a talk later'.

"I... regret... taking your companion hostage. To protect something - someone - you'll do things, horrible things, just to make sure they get a measly meal or a band-aid. I could have brained your friend and looted his corpse before he shit himself, but you can thank God I was made with some decency." Nathan walked backwards slowly, hand still on his pistol just incase someone decided to play John Wayne again. Maria moved as well, walking around the Jeep to reunite with her uncle, pushing her hand into his and pressing herself against his side, shy and scared.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob did as he was told, letting his pack fall to the ground for the man to loot and putting his hands behind his head. He couldn't fight back so this was his only option. "Goddamn it Lia!" Jacob growled under his breath when he heard her voice, from before the plague even up till now it seemed that no one would ever take him seriously when he said he could handle things himself. When he felt the blade press even more against his neck Jacob was about to yell at Lia to get out of here when the man taking him hostage shot out and disarmed her with an almost comical lack of effort.

Why am I suddenly the smartest fucking person around? Jacob thought as he then heard the man with the sword step in, "Gun beats sword, guy." Now that he had at least part of his hostage taker's attention off of him Jacob felt safe enough to speak a little more. Jacob did not move at all from his hands-behind-head posture but he did turn to glare at the man in blue, "You can blame our John Wayne impression on Yojimbo over here, I was shooting to save his stupid ass." Jacob didn't like to shift blame around, but in this case he felt it was rightly deserved. "So maybe trade me for him and we'll all be happy."

Jacob would have continued with his angry ranting when he heard a very small voice come from the gas station's main building. A little girl? Fuuuuck this just makes this complicated. Jacob took a few deep breaths to bring his temper down. He did not speak as he watched the exchange between Maria and Nathan as they called eachother. Eventually Jacob felt safe enough to slow, very slowly, lower his hands but still held them out to show he wasn't a threat.
"Hey, I understand that just fine, I've got people I'm kinda set of looking after to." Jacob inched a bit closer to Lia and his other companion, he'd need to ask for a name eventually. "So let's just all calm the hell down so we can all keep looking after eachother, sound good?"

Jacob slightly turned his head towards Lia and said in a lower voice, "Next time I tell you to get somewhere safe, you listen. I don't want either of us die out here just cause you thought you could play hero. And you!" he turned his head to the other man, "If you ever try and pull something that stupid again I'll kill you myself and improve the gene pool."
Jacob then turned his head back to the man and his, sister maybe? "Thank you Maria, I think you just saved my life just now." he said hoping that speaking to the girl wouldn't earn him a bullet between the teeth, "Nathan, if you can give my friend her pistol slide back, we can just go. Does that sound good?"

[MatrixOne]

"Your safety is on, by the way." The man said.

My what?
She turned the gun to see its side, and after she glanced back at the man, he was right next to her.

Her gun became useless before she could even respond in any way to what happened.
That man, he didn't even care to look at her. He turned to face other threats, leaving her, disarmed, standing right next to him.

She felt defeated and humiliated.

When the man backed away to get closer to his kid, Lia ran up to Jacob.
"Are... Are you okay?" She asked, tugging at his sleeve.

"Next time I tell you to get somewhere safe, you listen" His response hurt her even more than the humiliation from a moment ago.
All she wanted to do was help him. She was terrified that he'd be hurt, so she pushed herself to turn the man's attention from Jacob, and the man did leave Jacob alone, didn't he? And Jacob was angry at her?

She really wanted to tell Jacob to go fuck himself. It wasn't exactly her style, though, and with all the shit going down around her, more conflict would just complicate things. So she suppressed her anger, though it was clearly visible in her eyes.
"I... I see" She responded quietly. "If your perception of the surroundings was more sufficient, it wouldn't have come to this" She added in a hurt voice, then slowly turned away.

She glanced at the kid and her protector.
That girl ruined his plan, just like Lia did by disobeying Jacob. She was just as useless as that damn little girl.
Lia's father's gun felt so heavy in her hand. Like a burden, a responsibility that apparently, she wasn't ready for.
She gently laid the gun on the ground, giving it a nudge in the soldier's direction, and backed away, giving the man a hurt look.

Tex was still waiting where Lia had told him to stay, when she was trying to help Jacob. Lia kneeled next to the dog and hugged him tightly, closing her eyes.
The people here, they all treated her just like the people back home. Like a liability, a burden, a damn child. And maybe they were right to do that.

No matter what, Tex was always there for her, never leaving her side unless she specifically ordered him to. She felt like she was hidden from all the humiliation and ungratefulness when she was close to Tex.
A small tear rolled down her cheek, but she wiped it with her hand, standing back up.

She approached the guy with the sword. He took even more hate from all the people around him, and he wanted to help, as well. She could relate.
"I am very appreciative of your support" She said quietly and passed by him, deciding to go and greet the survivor who was coming up the hill now.
She noticed that he was carrying the crossbow. So he was that sniper who helped them take out the walkers.
She smiled warmly to greet him, trying to forget about her anger.
"I am very glad to meet you. I also wish to thank you for aiding us in... Eliminating the infected" She said. "What is your companion doing? Is he going to shoot us?" She asked worryingly, looking at Evee who was aiming through her gun out in the distance. She couldn't quite see Evee aside for the gasmask, so she made a guess about the gender. Wrong guess, but she didn't know that.
"Please tell him to not shoot us"

[Craze]

"Yeah, I'll tell her." Redgie said. He smiled at Lia. Another friendly survivor. "I dono't believe we've met. Name's Redgie. Redgie Campbell." he shook her hand.

Then, he whistled on his fingers towards Evee's location. "Hey, Evee, the coast's clear, you can come out now!" Redgie stared at her location for a while, then turned back to Lia. "Don't be afraid of Evee over there. She swears a lot and she's a real nutcase, but a good one."

[Medic]

Evee quirked an eyebrow. Now everybody was communing over there? Hummm... Alright, I'll buy it, she thought to herself. She stood and folded the stock on her rifle, detached the barrel, stowed it, and then began her walk over. She waved at everybody, a smile only told by the narrowing of her eyes and the heightening of her cheeks behind her mask. Evee waved at everyone as she approached. "Hi, I'm Eveenix," she said. "You can call me Evee or Sunshine," she said. Now her face became inquisitive. "What was just going on? Is everything alright? I was afraid some real shit was about to go down," she said solemnly. "I was a tad worried."

Evee looked down at her suit. She zipped open a pocket and pulled out one of the painkillers from earlier. She pulled her mask down around her neck, popped the pill, and replaced the protective yet decorative covering. "I've been on edge for a good three days now," she muttered.

[MatrixOne]

Lia was a little surprised when Redgie shook her hand. She wasn't expecting anybody to take her seriously anymore.
But Redgie being so open and nice made her like him instantly.
Tex carefully approached him and sniffed his hand, adding him to the 'friendly people' list. Jacob figured in Tex's 'better watch closely' list as of right now, and the guy who charged at Lia earned his rightful place in the 'I'd gladly rip his throat inside out' list.

"Excellent marksmanship" Lia complimented. "I am hoping you shall stick around. Not everybody here is as trustworthy as I would like" She lowered her voice. Sure, she only met the guy, but he had this positive air about him. Tex sensed it, as well.
"This is my first day, out here" She said, trying to start a conversation. She was hoping someone would notice her as a human being, not just a problem to deal with. "My home country was in Europe. The infection out there was even more advanced than out here, but I was lucky enough to gain access to a private jet, thanks to my father's connections. We were supposed to reach a safe haven prepared beforehand, in this country. But the plane crashed yesterday, and me and my dog Tex were the only ones to make it out alive" She told Redgie her story. "How about you? Is it just you and your friend?" She asked, looking at Evee.

Lia's first impression of Evee was pretty negative. Like, why would she wear a gas mask? Also, calling herself 'Sunshine'. And what seemed like a drug addiction.
All this made Lia decide to keep away from Evee. Not like Evee would notice her, anyway. Those kinds of people never did. All they could ever notice were themselves.
"The sun is setting" Lia noticed, tugging at Redgie's sleeve gently. "Could you... Please come with me? As these people argue, we could make sure the interior of this gas station is safe for the night. I... I do not want to spend another night in this shack. And... As you can probably tell, I am not the most proficient in combat"

__________
I know I'm pushing the time of day a little too unrealistically, but I'll be doing that to force our group to alter our behaviors, like right now - to make them team up to survive through the night. Assume more walkers leave woods during the night. Also, at night it's cold, so something like a fire would be a good idea, unless you're in a gas station or something.

[Nori]

The young man was hurt by Nathan's exclamation, but it quickly evaporated into anger and annoyance. What the hell was this guy's problem? Who shoved a fucking pole up his ass? It wasn't his fault that he didn't own a fucking gun like the rest of them. It was the only thing he had, and he was making do with what he could get his gloved hands onto. So he didn't have a gun, or any other useful weapon. Big deal. At least he had something. He had survived for this long. Although, admittedly, he might not have been able to take on all of the zombies from earlier. Jacob did most of that. But he hadn't asked for the other's assistance. He could have left the young man there. He didn't have to help.

At Jacob's comment, he threw the man a hurt expression, and he lowered his sword unconsciously so that the tip touched the ground. What the fuck did he do to make everyone hate him so much? Fuck him! He was only trying to help. He didn't know everything about stuff like this. He couldn't help that. He wasn't a fucking expert when it came to situations like these. He was trying to help in the only way he knew how. Yet no one seemed to appreciate that, and it hurt.

His head turned from Jacob to Maria when he saw the girl walk towards them. His expression softened at the sight of her. He listened to her and Nathan talk to one another but only understood parts of it. So it seemed Nathan was only trying to protect the girl. That wasn't a very good excuse to attack and threaten other survivors, though. Nathan should honestly be more concerned with zombies, not humans, but he didn't dare say that aloud for fear of getting his head blown off.

He was grateful towards Maria because she seemed to talk Nathan out of whatever it was that he was planning to do. At least Jacob and Lia were safe. Normally, he couldn't have cared less for people who weren't appreciative of his efforts. He was trying hard, but it seemed if he did that, he would only wind up dead. Perhaps he should stop trying to help out, then.

Maybe they did have a point, though. He was quite sensitive, and he hated being treated like trash by people he was trying to help. Was he just a scapegoat for the others' problems? Maybe he deserved to be treated like this. Maybe he needed to try harder to make them happy with him. He didn't want to go off on his own again. He hated being alone. It scared him, even more so than the zombies did.

He hung his head in shame, allowing his hair to hide his features. Why couldn't they like him, and they could all get along? That seemed like a bit much to ask for, and the Gods watching over them obviously weren't feeling very generous.

He glanced up from the ground that he had been staring at, to instead look at Lia as she passed him by. He understood what she had said, but... Had she really meant it? It made his spirits lift a little higher, and a small smile played on his lips. He hadn't smiled for... he didn't even know. It had been so bloody long. It was probably back at home when he last showed happiness, back before the zombies came. He let out a soft, quiet whimper. He missed his home. But there was no going back now.

Strapping the sword onto his back once more, he turned to see where Lia had gone off to. He noticed the survivor, and he turned away quickly. He felt the need to pull his sword back out, but he decided against it. He yawned widely, covering his mouth with his gloved hand. When was the last time he had slept? He didn't remember. He could never remember anything. Damn, he really was useless...

Frowning at the thought that he assumed must have been true, he looked at the gas station. It would be safer to sleep in there than outside. Maybe he could build a fire or something to keep everyone warm. It was stupid to get their separate ways, but he wasn't stopping anyone from leaving. They didn't show any care for him, anyways. Well, except for Lia. But she had probably just said that to make him feel better.

Scum, that's what he was. But at least he knew how to build a fire. That had to count for something, right? "Wrong," that mocking little voice in the back of his head replied. He really was going insane. And he had the other survivors and the zombies to blame for that. Maybe if he built a fire, though, they might be a little appreciative. He walked closer to the gas station, peering inside. Surely there was food inside. It had been days since he last ate, but he showed no signs of that. He had to act strong, to prove to the others that he wasn't weak.

But it had to have been at least five days since he last ate. He was starving, really, but he masked it well. He had to hide that. And the weakness he was feeling. He had to act strong, to prove himself worthy. Although he really couldn't have cared less if he died. They were all going to die eventually. There were too many zombies, and then they had each other to deal with. At least if he was dead, he wouldn't have to any responsibilities. No one would be mad at him, and if they were, he wouldn't know. Suddenly, that option seemed much more appealing to him the fighting zombies for the rest of his life.

[Lord Tully]

At Lia's expression of hurt Jacob immediately realized that he might have been a bit too furious with his words. "Aww, shit, Lia!" Jacob really didn't know what the hell to do, too sudden a movement might piss off Nathan, but he didn't want to alienate the one survivor he actually liked so far. Even though Jacob thought he deserved a chewing out it even stung a bit when his sword wielding companion looked at him hurt from the yelling, "God man, I'll talk with you second alright?" He then decided to risk going after Lia.

"Hey Lia, please." Jacob said as he went up to her, "Look I'm sorry I snapped like that, alright?" he managed to get out before noticing that two additional people had joined her, "Wow you people are just coming out of the wood work today aren't you?" he asked rhetorically. He didn't mean to sound too blunt but after 7 full days of complete loneliness having this many people show up all at once was an unusual experience. Turning his attention back to Lia Jacob continued his attempt at an apology, "Believe it or not Lia I really was trying to watch out for you back there. You're the first person I'd met in 7 days Lia, I don't want you getting killed because of me."

Feeling an intense headache coming on Jacob raised his hands to his temples and looked at the other two survivors. "Hi I guess," he said to them noticing they they were armed with a cross bow and another sword, "And here I thought fighting ready swords were a rarity." Despite his intentions his eyes were drawn to the female with the sword and gas mask, when she pulled down her mask a moment to pop some painkillers something about her calmed Jacob down quite a bit. "I'm Jacob, if we all live long enough for it to matter." he said introducing himself, "You're quite a shot with that crossbow, I have no idea where you were even shooting from."
At the mention of the sun setting Jacob turned back towards the gas station, "Maybe this Nathan guy will be willing to talk it all out if we appeal to safety in numbers. What do you think Lia, do you even want to try and trust him?"

[MatrixOne]

"Look I'm sorry I snapped like that, alright?" Jacob's apology surprised her. It made her happier than she thought it would. Also, she didn't like being angry. She was more than willing to forgive, though she'll still remember that.
"...Alright" She responded and smiled softly. "I believe the soldier was just trying to look out for that girl. Perhaps it was not the best way of doing so, but I can not question his intentions towards the girl" Lia said slowly, trying to articulate her thoughts. "He could turn out to be a decent man. We can not judge him based on one unfortunate interaction... Though I would understand if you were not willing to welcome him with open arms, considering what happened..."
Lia decided to go and talk to Nathan before he leaves.
"Redgie, there is something I need to do. If you are willing to check that gas station out, I'll gladly come with you after I am done" She smiled and followed Jacob over to Nathan. As she passed Darkus again, she stopped for a second.
"Come with us. If all three of us ask the soldier to stop the hostility and aid each other with survival, he might be more willing to agree..."
She then told Tex to stay. The dog got real angry as soon as Nathan came into his view, and Lia couldn't blame Tex for that. He didn't move from the spot Lia left him in, but he was watching Nathan very carefully.

Finally, after all that, Lia slowly went over to Nathan. Looking down, she noticed the gun she had dropped earlier. She didn't pick it back up.
"...Excuse me" She started quietly. "I... I know you may think of me as weak or otherwise incapable of surviving on my own..." Her tone was quiet, a little sad. She didn't want to look in his eyes, so she lowered her gaze, staring at the ground at her feet, and the slideless pistol laying there. "But I implore you to look at all the survivors gathered here. The more of us are around, the better the chances of surviving" It was pretty simple to her. "You can not hope to protect that little girl all by your lonesome, either. I do not care what you think of me, I... Want you to stay with us"
She said that, forcing herself to look in his eyes. He seemed scary to her, but... Capable. Very much so. Perhaps also a little unstable. And an asshole. But Lia could handle assholes as long as they were working for the group. "Also, is the gas station safe? We need to spend the night somewhere..."

[Craze]

Only when his hand got 'examined' by Tex, Redgie noticed the dog and took back a few steps in fear. He still wasn't over his fear for dogs, but it wasn't as worse as it was before. After the dog proved to be friendly, Redgie came a bit closer. But he was still very cautious.

When Lia approached Redgie's sleeve, he felt a little warmer. Her hands were pretty gentle, but he could also sense her fear. "I'd love to. All these days spending by myself..." Redgie looked around for any walkers, then approached the gas station. The door was barricaded by a few wooden planks.

"Just a sec." Redgie said as he sheathed his gun. He pressed his hands underneath the wooden planks and tore them off. They were pretty rotten, so they were easy to remove. After the planks were removed, Redgie gestured Lia. "Alright, let's go."

[Medic]

Evee had not much to say. The little girl, Lia, was from Europe. Evee found that interesting. However, the girl also shied away from Evee and it was noted. The man, Jacob, however, seemed more interested in anything Evee would have to say. She even made short eye contact with him. Huh... He is a cute man, she thought to herself, though she would never date a guy ever. Lia was cute, but Evee had no interest in dating someone who shied away from strangers that seemed different. Not like it mattered to her. This was a zombie apocalypse, not Romance Island.

Evee shook her head. While she got lost in thought behind the mask of roses, and the metaphorical mask of her painkiller, everyone else was moving. She blinked and began to move behind them, not really feeling, just thinking. She was examining everybody, making assessments now. Her brain was clearer without the need for the pills. It seemed as though all these people had just met, yet they wanted to sleep in the same place. It didn't make much sense to Evee. She'd rather spend the night alone, but something about Redgie had gained her trust. If this was all some big, elaborate trap, she would want to be able to help him out if need be. Evee checked her pocket. Two painkillers. If I try really hard, that can last me this week, she thought to herself sadly. She wished more than anything she had never started this addiction in those few months before the outbreak. It had been somewhat of a mistake, but now it had her by the throat. She would die without opiates or a synthetic opiate.

She shook her head again. Damn it, Evee. Pay some fucking attention, she said to herself. It was hard, now that her mind was clear and there were no pressing tasks at hand. Now her brain would wander for hours until a distraction arose. She needed a moment. "Excuse me," she said through her mask. She walked away about 8 or 9 feet, and stood with her back to everyone while she fought something inside of herself.

[Nori]

The young man was snapped out of his thoughts when Lia passed him by again. He had kind of been zoning out for a second there, staring off into nothing as though it would resolve each and every one of their problems. It took a moment for him to register what she had said. By 'soldier', he was sure that Lia was referring to Nathan. The asshole that he couldn't care less about.

He thought that that was a horrible idea. If Nathan was going to act like that, then he might as well be on his own. At least he had actually tried to be nice to the other survivors instead of attacking them at first ducking sight. He didn't want to be around Nathan, whether the man agreed to be more kind and help out or not. The man seemed a bit mentally unstable. That made the well-dressed man worried and scared to the bone. But he would never admit to this fear. It would feel like he had lost the battle raging inside of the back of his mind.

But he didn't want to say no to Lia. She was kind, at least. He was about to pull his sword back out, but again decided against it. He didn't want anymore jeers about his weapon, so it was best to leave it strapped to his back. But he still didn't feel safe without it, especially around people like Nathan.

He walked slowly and hesitantly after Lia had gone over to speak with Nathan. He stayed a few feet behind her, arms crossed and eyes directed downwards. He glared down at his shoes, listening as Lia continued talking, trying to convince Nathan. He didn't want Nathan to stay, but he wasn't about to say anything. He just hoped that the man would said no and leave, or would give in easily.

And he didn't want to talk to him, either. His English was already bad enough. He could only understand half of what Lia was saying, but he still understood what was going on. It was obvious, anyways. And he just didn't want to talk to Nathan in general. He didn't want to anger this man or Jacob any further. He had already done enough of that, after all.

The main reason that he had agreed to come over here was because he didn't want Lia around Nathan by herself. He liked the girl, in a friendly way because she was sweet. He would get more than a little upset and angry if Nathan dared to hurt her. And while his sword wasn't a very good weapon compared to guns, and he was pretty much useless, he still offered his assistance. Whether people appreciated it or not wasn't his problem.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob smiled a bit when Lia seemed to forgive him and still trust him, "I agree, he's more then a bit gung-ho about it but it really does look like he's just trying to look after the girl. Might be an asshole, but he's a well-intentioned asshole." Jacob agreed as he followed a couple of steps behind Lia, hoping that the extra distance would give him time enough to draw his pistol if he needed to. "I'll be right behind you the whole way." he said to reassure her.

After a few steps Jacob heard a muffled voice behind him and looked to see that the masked woman had walked away a good distance. She looked like she was trying to sort something out mentally though Jacob could only guess at what, normally he would ask what what was wrong but now he needed to back up Lia. I'll ask her later. he thought before he called to her, "You should probably stay where we can see you, it's getting dark soon and you don't want to get lost out here." Was all he said before turning back to walk behind Lia.

Jacob stopped a good distance from Nathan, he didn't want to get too close and aggravate him again, but he was still close enough to speak if he needed to. Noticing that the swordsman was near him again Jacob spoke in a hushed voice, "Look, I'm sorry I was so harsh on you, but so far none of your actions have done anything except hurt my own chances for survival, or nearly get yourself killed." he was blunt but he didn't speak sharply, Jacob really didn't want to piss off the guy enough to take a swing at him. "But it's probably not your fault that you have no idea what you're doing, so if we live until dawn I'll try my best to help you. I have to ask this first though, did any blood get in your mouth when you were fighting the walkers?"

[Craze]

Redgie did not bother to join in with the conversation. He didn't even know what the discussion was about anyway. After removing the planks that barricaded the gas station, he gestured the others. "Hey. You guys gonna come or what?" he said impatiently, while he already went into the station.

It was very dark inside. Redgie tried switching on the lamps, but the power seemed to be cut off. He crouched to adapt a more silent approach, in case there were any Walkers. After scavenging the station, he didn't find any Walkers. "Hello? Anyone in here?" he asked, not to a specific person but to anyone who would be able to hear him.

[StormWolf]

With the lull in action, Nathan grimaced at how everyone seemed to come together like some happy goddamn family. Were they so blind and easy to trust? Even him, after he was more than ready and willing to send one of their heads rolling down a road-side ditch. Heads would have rolled if it wasn't for Maria's intervention. She clung to Nathan' side now, as wary of these people as he was. He could not see any of them lasting long, together or alone.

"Come on, Maria." Nathan said lowly, giving her hand a light tug as they started to depart. Hopefully, no one would make a fuss about it, and the pistol slide still in his pocket would be something he could trade or barter with should he come across another survivor. They had started to head on down the road when the girl he had disarmed approached him,

"...Excuse me, I... I know you may think of me as weak or otherwise incapable of surviving on my own... But I implore you to look at all the survivors gathered here. The more of us are around, the better the chances of surviving. You can not hope to protect that little girl all by your lonesome, either. I do not care what you think of me, I... Want you to stay with us" The girl, Lia, said. She really was a long-winded one, wasn't she? Most pretty girls were. Nathan sighed and stopped, turing around to look Lia flatly in the eyes. She wanted him to stay? After all that had happened, she wanted the 'axe killer' archetype to join her group.

"Listen, girl... you seem sweet and all," Nathan started, his tone of voice was as flat as it was deep and gravely. He reached into his back pocket and procured the slide to her pistol. "But a pack is only as strong as its leader. Who is going to be the leader of this merry little band?" he quirked an eyebrow and tossed the slide to Lia for her to catch.

"Will you lead them? Braveheart, over there? Gas-Mask-Girl? Say you do become a cohesive unit and your start surviving together. I'm proof enough that the most dangerous thing out here isn't the walking-goddamn-dead. These things are stupid, they are slow, and they move at you in a straight line." Nathan let go of Maria's hand as he walked forward, closing the distance between himself and Lia, "God have mercy on you if you come across another survivor more desperate and less moral than I. Your boyfriends will have it the easiest. What to you think some poor sap who hasn't stuck his prick in anything for a week will do when he comes across the helpless likes of you?" Nathan was borderline in her face like the Drill Sergeants did to him, but Nathan was not yelling. He was not keen on giving away his position in enemy territory, which was potentially everywhere. Especially at night.

"Or maybe you know this already, and that is why you want me around? Someone who has no problem killing the living as easily as the dead." Nathan said in a low tone, glowering.

"Nathan..." Maria said behind him, her voice was tight. He knew the tone. She was in pain. Her immune disorder was causing her some heavy discomfort. Probably making her joints flame up after so much walking. It started dawning on Nathan slowly. This was their first day without the Impala. They ran out of gas half way through the day and Maria had already taken some of her meds for her condition after a few hours of marching. If they kept on, she'd burn through her meds at an alarming rate.

"Nathan, I'm hurting..." Maria said again, her voice tighter mopey. He could hear it on her voice now. She really was in pain.

"I'll stick around for Maria's sake. I won't be giving up our rations, meds, or ammo. Is that clear? We're going to pull our own weight and I'm not going to keep anyone from sinking." Nathan folded his thick arms over his chest for a moment, studying Lia intensely with his penetrating blue eyes. Taking a breath, he extended a hand, albeit begrudgingly.

"Do we have a deal?"

[Medic]

Evee listened to the speech inside the gas station. It was necessary, as she was trying to figure out how to say the same thing to everyone. To be honest, the only person she liked at all in there was Redgie so far. Everyone else seemed off-kilter, or disgustingly judgemental. Evee hated that.

The young woman stepped away from the gas station and listened to the night. She would not be able to sleep tonight. She figured she may as well keep some sort of watch. Evee began to walk in circles around the gas station, kicking trash and thinking. These people. They all just met and they expect everyone else to not kill them in their sleep. That one person just took somebody fucking hostage. And now it's all cool or something like that. Makes no sense to me. I'd rather spend my night back in the hospital, thanks, she thought to herself. I'll just stay up tonight. Tomorrow, if no one stabs me in the back, I'll sleep. Besides, it's probably only going to be for tonight, right? Evee paused her thoughts, realizing she was thinking too hard. "Calm yourself, Evee. Calm yourself."

The poor girl took a deep breath and kicked another piece of rubbish. This was all new to her, and she wanted to trust people, but then again she didn't want to trust anyone. Not again, at least. It's okay, Evee. You'll be okay.

[MatrixOne]

Lia listened carefully to what Nathan had to say. She was still a little afraid of him, but she knew he wouldn't do anything too cruel with that little girl around. Also, she knew there was good in him; This weird kind of good that gets shit done when other kinds can't.

"Who is going to be the leader of this merry little band?"

Leader. That was a good question, really, but Lia was not sure of the answer.
"Different people are proficient at different tasks" She just said. "I believe we'll know when to step up"

"What do you think some poor sap who hasn't stuck his prick in anything for a week will do when he comes across the helpless likes of you?"
Nathan was trying how she'd react, trying to break her. Sure, she seemed shy and all, but she wasn't weak-minded.
"I would not be helpless if I had you to count on" She just said quietly, still looking in his eyes. She didn't let his straightforwardness scare her.
Also, she made no effort to catch the pistol slide, which resulted in it colliding with her shoulder. The thing was heavier than she imagined, but she didn't really care about the gun. She could be useful without it... She just needs to find out how. She hoped someone else would pick up the gun. Someone like Jacob or Redgie.

She delicately shook Nathan's hand, but let go relatively quickly. Not like with Jacob.
"It is getting late. Me and Redgie will check the interior of the gas station, and if we deem it safe enough, all of us could spend the night there. And if trust is your worry, I can not vouch for everyone, though betrayal would simply be unwise, given the situation. It is best to stay together, and trust is sure to develop eventually" She smiled. "You should try it some time. Not everyone is out to kill others; Take me, for example. Could you... Trust me?"

Redgie was calling for her, so she smiled to Nathan again, and went back to Reginald, giving Jacob a look which spelled 'victory'.
Tex immediately returned to her side.
"Okay. Let us investigate the interior, although I believe there is no risk of danger... That little girl was in there, after all" She said, peeking inside. It was... dark, now that the night was coming. Of course, there was no power.
"I heard of some states having laws regarding requiring backup power capability at some gasoline stations. Perhaps we're in luck..."
Yes, they were, because there was a backup generator around the back of the station, though Lia didn't know of that. They'd have to look around and if they find it, start it somehow. There was a 'sleeping' walker right next to it(sleeping, as in - he appeared to be dead). He'd wake up if anybody were to approach it.

Nathan's first question got Lia thinking a little. Who would be the leader? What qualities does a leader need? Strength, survival skills, combat proficiency... It was something she didn't have.
But, there were also her efforts to form this little group - like persuading Nathan to stay and help out. Her plan got them to the safety of the gas station. She also had a few rather good ideas, which was helpful, to say the least.
She wasn't useless. And, if she keeps up the good work, people may actually listen to her. Of course, becoming a leader would be impossible, simply because of narcissistic tendencies of men in the group. But she could try her best to help, hoping for 'her best' to be enough.

[Craze]

"Splendid..." Redgie muttered when they found out there was no power. He managed to pick something up from the conversation between Lia and Nathan. Leader... Leader? Why would we need a leader... You can achieve more if you work together instead of following orders. At least, that was Redgie's opinion. Then again, what did he know about leadership...

He proceeded through the gas station interior with Lia, keeping her close to him at all times. Not to make him feel safer, but to protect her. If there were any walkers around, he was not going to let them get to his companion... not again.

Not again? Redgie remembered his days on the battlefield. The stench of corpses and overheated guns, the smoke clouds in the air and the screams of desperate soldiers trying to make a living by fighting for their country.

Luckily, Redgie had a companion in times of war. Dave... Yes, that was his name. Dave. The only real friend Redgie ever had since he moved to America. Best friends and brothers in arms. A friendship that would last forever... Or, at least, so he thought. In the heat of battle, Dave offered a chance for survival. "I'll go first to distract them. When they waste their ammo, we'll go together and kill 'em all." Redgie agreed to it, but secretly he didn't think it was such a great idea.

Then it happened. Dave left his cover position, and then a shot. A gunshot that Redgie would remember the rest of his days. Their days were over. Dave was no longer his friend.. his brother.

Dave was dead.

Redgie shook the thoughts out of his head. He had more things to focus on right now. As he scavenged the station, he noticed a barricaded door in the back. He looked through the keyhole to see what was in there. Of course, the keyhole wasn't big enough to reveal the sleeping walker in the corner.

"Hey, come check this out." Redgie said, as he gestured Lia. "There's some supplies in here... mostly food and ammo. And.. and there's this strange pad on the wall... looks like a generator."

[MatrixOne]

As they were searching the gas station, Lia decided to try and get to know Redgie better. He seemed like a good person, the kind she would want around.
"Hey" She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention, like she usually does. "Are we... The first people you came across? Since the outbreak... It must have been difficult. My first encounter with the infected was today, though I was preparing for it... I'm just glad there are people like you around"

Lia peeked through the keyhole. It was pretty dark in that room, but she could make out a few silhouettes. That thing which looked like a fuse box must have been the backup power switch.
She tried opening the door, but it was locked.

For a second, she thought about asking Redgie to pick the lock, but she decided it would sound kinda racist. Better appeal to his strength.
"Um" She started, unsure how to word it. "Perhaps if we were to apply... Sudden pressure, the lock would give way? You seem capable of that" She said quietly, basically asking him to punch the door down.

[Craze]

"Pretty much." Redgie briefly answered Lia's question, but then he decided he might as well tell her. "Ever since the outbreak, I've spent my days alone. And even though they were only about four or five days, it's enough to make you crazy. Made me realize how important social contact is... it changed me. Somehow..." he looked at a poster of a movie that was going to be released this year. "Underground". A movie about a zombie outbreak... How ironic. Redgie knew people often fantasized about zombie apocalypses, but he never thought it would actually happen.

"Perhaps if we were to apply... Sudden pressure, the lock would give way? You seem capable of that" Lia briefly asked him. Somehow, it made Redgie smile. There was something in her voice, in her personality, that made him smile. He never met anyone like her. Or maybe he did... it's strange. How a zombie outbreak changes you. The loneliness makes you realize how much you appreciate those around you...

"I can try..." Redgie muttered. But before he went zealous, he inspected the lock. "It's pretty simple... and rotten, too. Should budge easily." Redgie took a few steps backwards, then rammed his shoulder into the door. The door budged, but the lock didn't break. He tried again. And again. And again. At last, the door budged and the lock broke. The door slowly opened, revealing more of the room. But it was still very dark, so it was hard to see what was actually in the room.

"Ack..." Redgie exclaimed. He felt his shoulder. Blood.

[MatrixOne]

"Social contact..." She said quietly, thinking of what her 'social contact' was like during the past years.
Not very well. "...I suppose you are right. It is all about finding the right people" She concluded. If it weren't for the zombie apocalypse, she'd still be that lonely girl who only has her dog as a friend. And it's not like she was happy about the apocalypse, or anything... But her father taught her to always look on the bright side. No matter how tiny it was.

She took a step back when Redgie was dealing with the door.
"You did it!" She was pretty happy when he finally managed to break the door open. "I knew I could count on you" She added, hoping her gratitude would make up for the hurting shoulder.

Next, Lia peaked inside, letting the moonlight enter through the window.

The sleeping walker was still there, motionless, though the noises slowly started to make him more and more aware.
Lia entered the room, and first thing she did was flip the switch.
The generator started running, and a few seconds later, the lights all around the inside and outside of the gas station began coming online. They were a little dim, since the generator wasn't super powerful, but they did their job. Some of them might have been too bright, even. The station was now the brightest spot around, and it was sure to draw some walker attention if not dealt with.
Lights weren't the only things that were powered; The fridges, the TV, all the electronics were working, though the TV only had a looped government message going, and the fridges were empty.

With the light fully online, Lia could finally look around the room. The man she thought was dead seemed to have been hiding out here for some time before he was zombified, probably by bite, and after his death, the supplies were left over. Five 9mm pistol rounds, and a lot of cans of some kind of food. Lia wasn't quite sure what it was; She never ate those kinds of things, but there were eight cans, enough for three-four people.
Also, the guy had no gun, even though there was ammo here. All he had was a cell phone.

As Lia was looking through the stuff, the walker finally started getting up. Tex noticed that immediately and barked to notice Lia, but she was too close to jump away, and the walker grabbed her.
"Ah!" She gasped, holding him by the rotting neck, trying not to let his teeth near her.
Tex bit the walker in the leg, hoping to draw its attention away, but it didn't work well.

________
The others can kinda notice the light. Take care of the visibility problem and go to sleep is my advice ;q.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob tried very hard not to roll his eyes at Nathan's answers Yes thank you for going over the blisteringly obvious for us. was what he wanted to say, but what he got the chance he put it in a more diplomatic way, "Yes, we are well aware of many of these facts Nathan, and yes again, this is exactly why it's a good idea for us all to group together." he said in a voice trying to stay neutral, "I could survive pretty well on my own, but you saw how easy it was to sneak up on me. Not so easy to sneak up on a group of 7 and you're actually trained for that sort of thing." He then lowered his voice a bit, "And if god forbid we do run into someone crazy or desperate, you traveling with us means 6 armed bodies between them and her instead of just one." He gestured a bit towards Maria, Jacob could only look at her with sympathy before returning his voice to a normal level. "I'm fine with not sharing, just as long as you don't try to kill me again I'll be fine."

After scooping up Lia's pistol slide Jacob walked over to pick back up everything he'd dropped when Nathan first jumped him, "As for 'leader,' I think I can manage, but if you want it I won't argue much, just remember that we're civilians." he said going back to the halligan that was still sticking out of a Walker's skull "Not an excuse, just a fact." the weird crunchy noise that came from pulling the tool out of the Walker's skull was sickening, but Jacob resisted this time. "I'm gonna go check on Gas-Mask, I'll see you guys inside." With all his possessions back on his body, his rifle slung next to his backpack where it should be, Jacob walked back to where he'd last seen Evee, a good distance away from everyone else.

When he saw her she seemed a bit agitated about something, not wanting to seem confrontational Jacob spoke in a softer voice then normal, "You ok Sunshine?" he asked in as friendly a manner that was appropriate for someone you'd met minutes before. "Light's going to be gone pretty soon so you should probably get inside." Almost as if they'd been waiting for a cue, the lights inside the gas station came on, they weren't the brightest lights but they were bright enough for Jacob to tell how many were inside. Jacob smiled at the sight of light then turned and smiled at Evee, "Come on, let's talk inside where we won't get interrupted by undead." he said gesturing for Evee to follow, but when he turned he saw a walker inside and it had grabbed hold of Lia. "Come on!" he said with a great deal more urgency as he pulled his Halligan out from his pack again and started running towards the Gas Station, hoping to be fast enough.

[Craze]

Redgie jumped as the walker randomly 'appeared' out of nowhere. "Fuck!" he exclaimed. As a reflex, he immediately drew his knife and plunged it into the forehead of the walker. "Let go, you dead piece of shit!" Redgie yelled, while he kept stabbing the walker.

At long last, the walker finally gave up and died. The blood gushing out of its forehead, dripping alongside its cheeks. Redgie's arm was also covered in blood from all the stabs he had taken. He grabbed Lia's arm and pulled her up, gently. "You alright?" he asked.

[Medic]

Eveenix smiled behind her mask when Jacob called her sunshine. She was about to speak, but thought better of it when Jacob said they should go inside. "Yeah, it is getting dark," was all she said. They were soon cut off by Jacob sprinting towards the gas station, a zombie grasping the girl, Lia.

Evee sprinted, sword unsheathed, into the gas station. Redgie had killed the zed before she could get there. Too bad. Some action would have been real nice. Evee had her katana at the ready, standing, her eyes on the lookout for any more zombies. After seeing none, Evee pulled her mask down off of her face. "Are you okay," she asked Lia, her hands still holding her katana. "Were you bit, Redgie?"

The girl was worried about the two, though she hardly knew them.

[MatrixOne]

Seems like Redgie went a little too hard on that walker, spraying blood all around. Lia wasn't exactly a coward, but seeing someone get stabbed repeatedly from this distance is... Unsettling, to say the least.

She backed away from the dead walker, trying to calm down, and noticed all the people coming here to help.
"I... Yes" She answered Redgie's question, but said nothing when Evee asked the same.

Evee. So, she took off that mask of hers.

Lia had a bad feeling about this woman. Why, she did not know. But something was telling her she was trouble. Not 'Nathan' kind of trouble, though... It was difficult to explain.

The fear from the close encounter with the walker was gone, replaced with this weird dislike for Evee.

Lia felt like she needed to say something to her. Perhaps let her know of what she thinks of her, even.
"...Surprising change of heart. Your earlier behavior led me to believe that pills were your primary concern" She said quietly, looking at the ground. She rarely felt the urge to insult somebody.

Lia was a weird girl; The things she does are difficult to explain even for her, but she does what she feels is right. Trusting Nathan was right. He's just looking out for that little girl. But this Evee? Hanging around a group, but not interacting for a long time... Watching them from afar. Hiding her identity. Drug abuse.
Whatever it could mean, trusting Evee isn't right.

Lia left Redgie, Evee and Jacob to themselves, and entered the now brightly lit gas station, taking Tex with her. She just wanted the night over. The next day was sure to be... Interesting, to say the least.
She knew she shouldn't think of it as some kind of adventure. But living a boring, uneventful life can make a person long for something different.

***

There was enough food in the generator room to spread through the group evenly. Even Nathan got a portion, as a gesture of good faith. But it was a tiring day, and the chats were not particularly lively.

Lia found a secluded corner, where she laid on her side, hugging Tex tightly, and closed her eyes to get some rest before the next day. Some people were on watch, others were sleeping, others were chatting, others were sitting in seclusion. Typical first night.

In the morning, Lia was awakened by the sounds of fighting. The walkers were occasionally passing by the gas station, and it was unsafe to stay here for long.
Others were checking the station for other items of importance, and Lia decided to help with that. She found nothing much, other than a newspaper of some kind. She decided to see if it said anything about the plague, but no luck.
But, there was one thing...
"Hey, look! It's a map!"
She spread the page on the ground, showing points of interest.
"This would be the lake, the station and forest around" She pointed at the places. "According to this map, there is a hospital not too far from here, a water tower, and a lumber mill. Perhaps one of those places still has supplies left? Additionally, the mill seems rather defensible from this picture"
Of course, it was the hospital Evee was in. Not much left there. And as for the water tower, the group was a little too big for all of them to live in it.

[Medic]

The insult stung Evee, hard. The pain was visible in her eyes and her lips. The girl opened a can that she did not want to open.

Evee slowly sheathed her katana and turned to walk away, but stopped. She wheeled back around with a calm expression. "I will have you know, Lia," she said with a tad of venom, "I developed my addiction in the line of duty. I was an EMT, you see. And a good one. I was a damn good paramedic. But one day, while speeding someone back to the hospital as they bled away quickly in the ambulance, our vehicle was hit by a drunk driver in a large truck. I suffered quite an injury, a broken hip and leg, but came out okay. The hospital I was put in fucked up, misread the charts, and gave me opiates to kill my pain. They didn't realize I had a severe genetic problem and giving me opiates would fuck up the chemicals in my body. My body no longer makes natural painkillers, so if I don't take these little pills, even the wind feels like it's ripping the skin from my bones." Evee's calm tone was replaced by one of serene sadness. "So, next time, before you judge someone, make sure you get the whole story." Evee put her mask back on, turned, and walked out of the gas station. She stopped and called over her shoulder. "I'm glad you didn't die, Lia." Then she continued walking away from the scene, her thoughts racing and her heart pounding. She needed to lay down and breathe. She needed someone to talk to.

[Lord Tully]

Evee it seemed was faster then Jacob, but he was hot on her heels when the two of them reached Lia. He sighed in relief when he saw that Lia was alright, "Nice looking out Redgie." he said walking over to make sure they were both alright, "Either of you get blood anywhere?" Jacob asked before looking back to Evee and seeing that she'd taken her mask off again. Her appearance didn't take him quite as off guard as the small glimpse he had gotten before, but she was definitely an attractive woman.

Then he heard Lia's comment about Evee's pills, and the entire energy of the situation changed. He understood Lia's concerns, if Evee was an addict that would just cause problems down the road, but he wanted to bring that up a little easier then that. Jacob could only listen as she explained her situation and couldn't help but feel sorry for her, she seemed the type who hated to be pitied, but he still felt sorry for her. When Evee was done and had walked away Jacob leaned a bit towards Lia, "I didn't think it was in you to be that harsh Lia." he said honestly, not sure what to make of this seeming personality shift, "It's probably good you grow a small mean streak but save it for better targets. Ohh and this is yours." He said handing her the pistol slide he'd picked up, "Maybe next time you'll get a chance to actually fire it." he told her encouragingly as he followed after Evee. "I'll be back in a minute."

When he caught up to Evee it was extremely clear that she was upset, he wasn't the best at dealing with upset people but he was the only one there so he tried. "You should probably lay down a bit before you have a panic attack." Not the best of openings but he really did want to help, "Lia didn't really mean anything by what she said." he continued, "It's just hard to trust people right off the bat right now, and she was only introduced to all this shit yesterday." he didn't want to sound like he was making excuses, but that was probably how it sounded regardless. "If you did have an addiction it would cause nothing but problems, problems that we can't solve out here." Jacob tried to soften his tone a bit, "I'm sorry all of that happened to you Sunshine. But if it means anything I'll send any painkillers I find your way."

[MatrixOne]

Lia had no way of knowing her words would hurt Evee so much.

She remained silent and expressionless throughout Evee's monologue.
The insult actually proved beneficial, because the girl spewed a very important secret; Her biggest weakness. Lia made a mental note of that.

Of course, the whole incident didn't make Lia any more empathetic towards Evee. She made no apologies for voicing her thoughts.
So, two people in the group are unstable. And they are both soldiers. But both of them have weaknesses... The girl - pills, the man - Maria. With luck, this will be enough to keep them in check if Jacob and Redgie fail at it...
She was prepared. It felt good; No one else in the group thought of that. Jacob dashed after Evee, trying to apologize for Lia. As if she did something wrong.

She inched herself closer to Redgie, hoping at least he wouldn't leave her alone now. After all, it was her idea to check for generators, right? Or did everyone forget that just because she said something inappropriate?
"Are... You planning on following them, as well?" She asked Redgie quietly. "I was not aware of your friend's condition. Though, I would expect army veterans to be somewhat more resistant to verbal abuse"
Of course, that Evee said she was a paramedic. It could mean many things, such as administering shots in a camp while the real soldiers are risking their lives. Getting hit by a drunk driver seemed like a stupid ending to an army career, as well. But Lia kept that to herself for now.

Also, Jacob. Didn't Lia make it clear enough that she doesn't want the gun slide when she dropped it?
She closed her eyes, trying to figure out what to do next. Everyone was underestimating her just because she seemed to be weak and quiet. But weak-bodied doesn't exactly mean weak-minded, does it?
Though it was surprising how Jacob would care more about a few mean words towards a stranger than finding food and providing light for the entire group.
The walker's blood was still fresh on Lia's shirt, but Jacob just left her.
It was frustrating, but Lia did her best not to be emotional. Maybe he'll notice. Maybe he won't.
"People are complicated" She concluded, giving Redgie a little smile. "And I certainly am no expert"

[Medic]

Evee sighed when Jacob approached and she pulled her mask down to speak to him. "For one, I won't have a panic attack. Thank you, though, but I am perfectly calm. If I let a few mistaken words give me a panic attack, what does that say about me?" Thr girl paused for another moment or two. "I understand the problem with my... Problem," she said carefully. "But I assure you I can take care of myself. It's not a horrible addiction. I swear. I only need one of these little guys every five days or so." Evee knew damn well how severe addictions could be, and hers was not severe. "But then again, it really isn't my fault, and people have been putting it on me my whole life. It just gets... Annoying," she explained tactfully.

"anyways, thank you for your concern and your offer. I really appreciate that. I understand the problem, like I said, but I can't stand ignorance or lack of tact, that's all. I'm sure you understand." Evee stopped and turned to Jacob. "You seem like a very kind but misunderstood person yourself. Just an assessment... We may have more in common than either one of us knows, though..." Evee gave a real smile now. "Thanks. I feel better."

[Lord Tully]

Jacob just listened and nodded, he was happy to hear that she wasn't quite as upset as she seemed. What she said was true, as much as Jacob hated to think it, if Evve was that vulnerable she could be a liability. He could help but chuckle a bit at one point, "I hate 'um too but ignorance and lack of tack are two things that we're practically going to be drowning in for a good long while Sunshine. You should build a tolerance for it now around people who won't shoot you if you get a little angry." When Evee brought up the idea of the two being more alike he couldn't help a slightly nervous looking smile, "I suspect that's true, look hard enough and you'll be shocked the things you share with some people. I mean I hear Mao Zedong liked a lot of the same operas that I do." he joked smiling back at Evee.

After turning back to the gas station Jacob gestured for Evee to follow, "Come on, let's at least spend one night inside before moving on." he told her before going back inside the building. "Sorry I left like that." he said to Lia, "I just didn't think it was a good idea for people to be outside tonight." Hoping he had made at least a temporary peace Jacob ate lightly before going to sleep behind the cashier's counter.
~~~
When it was morning Jacob as well saw a small number of walkers shuffling around outside and quietly moved over to Lia when he heard her speaking. He looked over he shoulder at the map she'd found and pointed to the water tower, "Our best bet would be to check that out. Depending on how much water's still there we could fortify it a bit and use it as kind of a base while we comb over the other locations. Place like that would be a magnet for other survivors though, some are bound to be less friendly then others." Jacob then looked around at the others, "Any of you come from around the hospital?"

[Medic]

Evee appreciated Jacob's company. In fact, it was incredibly nice after having been alone for more than a week now. She voiced this. "Ya know, Jacob, I'm glad you came out. I have no one to talk to as of late, and it sorta sucks. So I appreciate it, cowboy... Thanks." The man's slight humor and compassion shone bright in the dark, infected night. Evee put her mask back on after thanking Jacob, and smiled behind it. If only he wasn't a boy, he'd be real cute, she thought to herself slyly.

Evee followed Jacob inside of the gas station, figuring inside is better than outside as well. When she passed Lia, she smiled at the girl from behind her mask, her eyes light. She stopped and removed the mask, taking it fully off of her head. She put a hand out for the girl to shake, if Lia wanted to. "Look, Lia, I know we have differences. I know I have problems, but if they hold you back, then leave me behind. Okay? We have enough enemies as it is. Please, can we be friends? You'll come to love me, I swear," she said with a joking smile and even a small giggle. Evee would like to have allies, not living people after her throat along with the zombies.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Evee was silent as plans were being made, figuring her voice was unimportant at the moment. However, when Jacob asked if anyone was from the hospital, Evee nodded and whispered. "Me. I literally came directly from there. Place was crawling with walkers, had some med supplies I wasn't able to grab, but I got through by staying silent... Until the very end," she said with a tinge of ridiculousness in her tone. That hospital raid had just been totally messed up. Either way, she preferred not to talk about it and instead asked, "Why?"

[MatrixOne]

Lia was wrong to be suspicious of Evee, or at least it seemed that way. The girl was nice; Also kind of cute.
Perhaps a bit too cute? It was annoying how Redgie and Jacob seemed to be into Evee so much. Jacob, especially. And it's only been a few hours since they met.
Lia wasn't stupid; She was well aware of her own jealousy. Of course, there was no point in becoming enemies with Evee over something like that.
But she also didn't exactly like her, either.
Kind of a weird situation, but Lia was never good with people. She just did what she wanted, and rarely hid her emotions.
"I... I'm sorry" She said shyly, looking at the ground. "But I... I believe not everyone has to... Love you" She added quietly and paused, thinking of what to do.
She chose to just walk away to the other end of the room. Tex happily sniffed Evee's hand, but when Lia left, he followed her.
The situation was... Interesting to Lia. Rivalry tends to increase overall performance of groups; And Lia didn't have to be friends with everyone.
People who are nice and friendly were usually boring. Maybe not all of them; Redgie was cool, after all. But Jacob was apparently trying to keep peace in the newly formed group. It was a little frustrating; Didn't she have the right to dislike whoever she wanted?
She sat in a secluded corner, pondering on the events of the day.

***

The next day, after Lia had found the map, nobody noticed it was her, of course. They proceeded straight to planning.
She watched them closely.
When Evee mentioned the 'med supplies', Lia let out a quiet sigh. She knew what kind of 'supplies' Evee was after.

Jacob seemed to have an idea for the next destination, which was of course the opposite of Lia's idea. "I... suppose the water tower is some kind of a solution" She said quietly. She was sitting next to Jacob, so she put her hand on his arm to get his attention. "But, as you said, it is exposed. What if we need to escape... Or someone attacks? There is no place to move or maneuver..." She pointed out the cons. "Additionally, it is not very spacious. But... If you believe it is the right place... Then so be it... But is that vehicle outside operational? It could take us further out, if you would wish to consider that other option..."

[Lord Tully]

Jacob listened to Evee's reply and Lia's objections, "Well you are right Lia, the mill does look a bit easier to defend if this map is accurate, but water is going to be our most important resource. Over the next few weeks clean water's gonna get harder and harder to find, if we can stake a claim to a source like this we'll have a major head-start." Jacob stepped back a bit to keep from crowding around the map, and brought a hand to his chin as he thought over the situation. "We need to do this in an organized fashion, and search the area thoroughly before we move on, anything we can get now will save us looking for it later." Jacob then looked outside at the jeep.
"I can take a look at the jeep I was a mechanic so I know what to look at, if it works it could definitely help us." He then turned back to Evee as he remembered why he asked his question, "Well if you've been there you have an idea of the layout and how dangerous it is, and since you're an EMT you know what kind of medical supplies would useful for us. Once we figure out whether the water tower has enough water to be worth staying, I'm thinking you and Redgie could go there and clean it out."

He then turned to Lia and in the hopes of making a peace offering said, "Then we could go and check out the Lumber Mill, even if it's not my first choice there's bound to be something useful there. Plus it's a bit closer to the lake so if the water tower's a bust we can set up there and still have a source of water, though one we'd need to distill to hell and back before drinking it." When Jacob was finished he held out his hands to the group, wanting to hear what they thought. He was only taking lead on this because no one else had stepped up, but if someone else had a better idea he wanted to hear it.

[garnetfrog]

"Hello dead lands! This is Garett Evering speaking, today its sunny out and pretty warm so I suggest you all wear t'shirts and cargo shorts." Garett walked along the small forest road speaking into his crank flashlight as though it were a radio. "It's day seven of the outbreak and I must say, the zombie chicks are looking fine! I just walked past a beach party of zombies in bikinis and boy were they hot, hot, hot!" He grinned to himself as he walked along; he actually had walked past a zombie in a bikini. He found her eating what was probably her boyfriend at one point. "Careful though, flirting with these beauties could be dangerous! If you're walking through the forest I suggest you look toward where that twig snap was, avoid the rustling leaves, those aren't fluffy bunnies in the bushes!" He chuckled and put the flashlight back in his back pack. He smiled for a while but it slowly turned into a slightly depressed look. He slicked back his hair using his only arm, being his right, and sighed. "And remember folks, don't hesitate to kill. They're not human any more..." He shifted his pack so he could look at the hatchet on it. He had had to kill his mother with it.

He remembered the incident as though it had just happened. Garett had returned home from town after discovering that a zombie outbreak had occurred. Upon reaching the farm he lived on he found that the four farm hands had been shot to death, probably by his father's double barrel. He had rushed in side to see if his parents were alright only to find his mother eating his father in the kitchen. With out a moments hesitation he wielded the hatchet they kept by the door for cutting wood, and split his poor mother's head in two.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he walked as he remembered the horrific event. After he had recovered from killing his mother he had bashed his father's head in and buried all six corpses under the apple tree in the back yard. After raiding the town's police station and finding a G17 he had set out to find a way to Washington DC; he figured that would be the most defended place in the USA seeing as the government was based there.

Garett shifted the pack again and continued forward. After a little while of walking he came across a saw mill and decided that he would stay there for the night. He pulled out his hatchet and slowly crept up to one of the windows. He peered inside trying to show as little of his head as possible. Seeing no immediate threat inside; he tried the door knob. It was locked. He tried the windows but they were locked as well. He stood to think for a moment. "I could kick down the door... but then how am I going to seal the entrance? I could break a window. But the noise could attract a zombie... what about the roof?" He looked up at the building and decided to try to climb to the roof. A nearby stack of lumber made it easy to get his chest level with the roof, he then swung his legs up and rolled over until he was completely on the roof.

He looked around for anywhere he could get in on the roof but found none. There were no holes in the roof or skylights. Garett stomped in frustration and instantly regretted his decision. The roof cracked slightly and began to groan under his weight. "Fuck my life..." He said depressed. Not a second after he had spoken did the roof collapse. He fell through the roof with a loud crack and landed on his back. The ammo clips dug into his back making him uncomfortable but he was too stunned to move. "nnnnggg..." He finally groaned and rolled over to his left. Something stopped him partway though. He looked up and found he had landed within a foot of the saw mill's saw blade. He rolled away from it and stood up with eyes wide.

"Jesus..." He muttered. There was a clatter of wood behind him so he spun around to find a zombie limping toward him. He reached for his hatchet but found it wasn't there. The zombie grabbed him before he could react. Garett yelped in surprise and spun the zombie around with all his strength. It hit the sharp end of the saw blade and stuck there, its chest stuck to the blade. The zombie released him and groaned as it tried to dislodge itself from the wood cutting machinery. Garett backed up in fear and hit something solid. A whirring sound started getting louder and louder. He looked behind him and found that he had just turned on the saw blade by accident. "OH SHIT!" He cried out as he realized what had just happened. He dove behind a stack of logs and covered the back of his neck. The saw blade began rotating slowly and it brought the zombie up with it until it hit the other side. it began spinning faster and faster, cutting the zombie in two as it went. After a while the conveyor belt start and the zombie slowly slid into the blade. blood flew everywhere spattering the ceiling and walls in the red liquid. When the zombie stopped screaming and blood stopped flying Garett cautiously stood up. He hit the button again turning off the saw and conveyor belt then stepped around to examine the zombie.

[MatrixOne]

Lia had stated her opinion, and she did not want to argue. She decided to fall in line and do what Jacob says for now.

She noticed Jacob moving away from her. It kind of hurt her, but he was disappointing her more and more lately, so she said nothing about it. She just lowered her gaze.

"I am ready to move out" She said quietly, not standing up.

***

Jane and Diana were sitting inside the control room of the sawmill. They had just arrived, and decided to take a break from scavenging.
"Well, this whole outbreak wouldn't have happened if you eggheads could do your damn jobs" Diana sighed, leaning against the wall.

"Haha~! You're enjoying this more than you care to admit~" Jane laughed cheerfully.

"Right. I just hope I live long enough" Diana replied sarcastically, playing with her combat knife.

"Hey, you're totally unscratched! I'm the veteran here, haha~" Jane waved the hook which was where her left hand should be.

"Yeah, you got worked by a test tube. Over here, we've got a couple thousand more of..." Diana started the retort, but didn't finish, because one of the saw blades came online. "...The fuck. Are these things capable of cutting lumber to planks?"

"Sounds like one of them became a plank instead! Let's go turn off the saw before I lose another hand, haha~"
Diana reached for the switch, but the saw turned itself off before she could do anything.

"Now that's real interesting" Diana noticed something was off. "We best go see"

"Lead the way, then!" Jane grinned, opening the door for Diana, who shrugged and entered the 'saw room'.
There was one walker standing between them and the saw which came online.
Diana wanted to go around, but Jane decided to sneak up on him, and put her hook right through the back of his skull.

When she looked back up, she noticed the walker who got sawed in half.
"Aw. Messy" Jane said, stepping away. "But how'd that even happen?"
"Keep your guard up, I don't believe in coincidences" Diana warned.
"Haha~! You're so cute when you're worried about me~" Jane smiled brightly.

____________
They could be heard talking long before they'd reach the sawed walker, so I'm assuming Garett moved to a hiding spot to assess the situation. ;q
He can take Jane 'hostage' if he wants, but a friendly approach is also possible. ;q
If you haven't read Jane's and Diana's character sheets, read them *here* (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=42277&p=1423579&viewfull=1#post1423579)

[Medic]

When Evee had said medical supplies, she did indeed mean medical supplies and not painkillers. However, she did not realize how Lia had taken it. The only reason she didn't grab the supplies when she was there was because she just didn't have the room nor did she have the need for them. Evee agreed with Jacob's plan. She would've rather taken Jacob than Redgie, however. It wasn't anything personal against Redgie, it was just that she had taken a liking to Jacob and Lia seemed to have taken a liking to Redgie. Or what if I take Lia? Maybe I could make up for anything I did to offend her... Evee disregarded that thought. Lia wouldn't want to go with me. I know that. She'd much rather go with Jacob or Redgie.

"I don't agree with the pairing," Evee said out loud. "For one, I can handle myself. I went in and out fine, and I can do it again. Lia, however, refuses to shoot a gun. And I don't mean any offense to anyone, but Redgie is a damn good shot. I haven't seen you fight, Jacob, but I've seen Redgie kick some real ass. I suggest Redgie goes with Lia, and Jacob comes with me. Or, Lia goes with me. We could be in and out quickly and quietly. That's my only thoughts on this. If you guys think it's right for Redgie and I to go, that works too, but I know what's in that hospital and I would prefer a bit of surprise and a challenge. Redgie and I would just kill everything way too fast and it would be boring. In fact, I think Redgie would kill everything before I even got a shot in," she said, trying to compliment the man on his marksmanship.

"Anyways, that's all I have to say about that." She threw that out on a limb, and hopefully someone would agree.

[Craze]

A little awkward on the situtation as he was complimented on how good a shot he was, Redgie rubbed the back of his head and just gave away a nervous smile.

"I'm fine with anything. Pair me with anyone, or don't pair me at all. I'll go with anyone, anywhere. As long as we remain connected and surviving." Redgie adjusted a little crooked screw on his crossbow. It had gotten slightly damaged, but not much. Sooner or later, it was going to rust and he would need a new one. That is, if he didn't find any oil to oil it with.

"Shortly said," he said, "I agree with Eves, too. True, I might seem like I just shoot everything I see. But when it comes to an actual plan, we'll need to scavenge the area. Locate our enemies before we take them out."

[garnetfrog]

Garett examined the corpse he had just sawn in half unintentionally. He could see all of its guts and bones had been sawn clean through. It was bleeding quite a bit and a large pool of blood had already formed. Garett jumped when he heard voices coming from nearby. "People?" He whispered. He looked around for his hatchet and found it near the pile of logs he had been hiding behind. He quickly took it and attached it to his bag, he then pulled out his G17 and put two extra clips on the bandoleer that he had turned into a portable ammo rack.

Once he was prepared he hid behind the pile of logs once more and found a gap where he could see out without being seen. 'What do I do? Are they friendly? I hope I don't have to shoot. I hope they don't have guns.' He thought as he waited. He watched from his hiding place as two girls who looked identical came into view. One had a hook for a hand though, and the other looked like a tom boy. He stayed quiet and watched them. He happened to glance at the ground and saw a bloody trail of footprints leading to where he was hiding. 'Oh shit! Well... can't do anything about that now...'

[MatrixOne]

When Evee mentioned that Lia 'refuses' to shoot a gun, she started thinking. Was she 'refusing'? It wasn't an offer, it was a choice. She could choose to do that.
But was it the right choice?

...No. She just felt too weak to use it. She got played like a child by Nathan before.
But zombies weren't Nathans. Yet. Could she at least handle them?

"Maybe... We could try" She said, unexpectedly even for herself. "Redgie and Jacob would have a chance to get to know each other, and... Perhaps I should try and learn how to use that weapon. I may not always have one of you nearby... And since you know the layout..." She looked at Evee, unsure if she really wants to go on a mission with her.

Well, there's nothing wrong with disliking someone. But she can get over it and work with her, especially since Evee doesn't seem to mind.
Of course, the other possibility would be Evee trying to get Lia killed, but that's a rather... Extreme suspicion. And she always has Tex to help.
"...We can try"
She took out the gun and the slide, laying it on the ground in front of her. She stared at them blankly, unsure how to reattach them.

***

Diana blushed a little when Jane called her cute.
"Quit standing in the middle of the room like a damned idiot, it's not completely rid of these things yet" She finally said.

"Awriiight~" Jane answered happily, stepping back. "Hey, you're right! There are prints here! There must be more dead guys walking around~"

"Uh, yeah. I'd think you'd call them something more professional than 'dead guys' since you were, like, a scientist" Diana didn't pay much mind to the prints, and decided to just look around and spot any 'dead guys'.

"Aw, this egghead is deducing a clumsy survivor nearby!" Jane said loudly, looking at the prints closely.

"The hell do you mean" Diana asked. She was worried Jane would attract too many zombies with her constant loud talking.

"The dead guys don't walk like that~! They're, like, you know, limp and stuff. These prints look like something we'd make" Jane was actually pretty observant when she wasn't getting the attention of the entire lumber mill. "Hey, come out! We're survivors, too!" She shouted in the direction the footprints led.

It made sense, so Diana took Jane's hand and pulled her towards a stack of planks, just so she wouldn't stand in the open so much.
"You don't want me to come over there, so you better come out right now" Diana warned. She didn't want the two of them to seem like they're completely weak and defenseless.

[Deathbykimura]

sputter...sputter.. the engine of Mik's bike choked out the last of its gas, giving one final wheeze, before dying altogether. "Fuck.." The male's southern accented voice floated out, as he swung his leg over the Harley and picked up his pair of shiny nunchaku. Stepping into the middle of the street, the biker, clad in black, raised his hand to his forehead and scanned both ways down the street. No people, no walkers... Just garbage, and burned hulls of what used to be a truck and an SUV. It was then, as he scanned the street, that he heard the sound of a saw cut on.. Raising his attention to the nearby lumber mill. there ya go Mikhail... Gas he thought to himself as he set into a crouch and snuck his way behind the gigantic piles of logs silently.

Peeking out from behind one of the stacks, he watched a boy surveying the scene of a mutilated walker, and then spotted two females headed to check out the scene too. One of the chicks were incredibly loud, almost stupidly so... And as the other threatened the boy, a walker crept up behind them. Jumping up on the pile of wood, Mik twirled the shiny pair of nunchucks, and did a rolling flip off, before rushing toward the walker... His feet making no sound; that was until one of them made a sickening thud as it landed flush in the chest of the old mill worker. Knocking the corpse back into the wood, the hulking fighter placed himself between the girls and the corpse... and with a showy flourish of his weapon, he let the handle of one of the metal dowels land shockingly against the walker's skull... Leaving it limp.

"You should probably not talk so fucking loud... Miss badass." His southern accent warned.. As he stepped out and motioned at the boy. "Psst. Come here.." He said softly, before pushing his finger to his lips.

[MatrixOne]

When the man attacked a walker not far from the twin girls, Diana stepped in front of Jane, drawing her knife and pointing it at the guy.

But when she saw him, she got a surprised look on her face, and lowered her knife.
"Whoa, we're in luck. This guy's Mik Griffin" Diana said to Jane.

"More like Dick, haha~!" Jane commented, hugging Diana from behind. "How do you know all those weird people~"

"He's a world's martial arts champion, dummy" Diana sighed. "Kicked more asses than you have stuffed animals in your house"

"Aw, that's a lot of asses~" Jane giggled. "I'd say his lifestyle shows on his face! Haha~" Jane decided to insult him back, but she said it with such a carefree smile, it didn't even seem like she was particularly mad.

Diana shook her head, trying to hold back a smile. Jane's insults always made her laugh.
"Hey, Mik" She finally said. "I'm Diana, this is Jane. I'm a huge fan, she's a huge moron"

Jane smiled happily when Diana called her a moron.
She nodded energetically just to state that she agrees, and she decided to put her hand on Diana's head and ruin her hairstyle just for fun.
"...Stop it" Diana told her sister, but she only hugged her tighter. She was like a baby sometimes, even though their ages were exactly the same.

[Deathbykimura]

Mikhail stood there shaking his head as he listened to the two girls. He was shocked that one of them knew who he was, it wasn't very often that he ran across someone in the world who still did. Nodding, he took out a bandana and began cleaning the muck off the shiny metal handle of his nunchaku. "Hey, thanks. Not often I run into someone who gives a damn who I am, let-alone a fan.." His southern accent began, offering a clean hand to shake. Stuffing the bandana back in his pocket, the burly male spun his nunchaku in an expert, rhythmic combo... Before tossing them in the air. Catching them behind his back, he tucked them in the back of his pants and covered them with his biker jacket.

"So, my motorcycle sputtered and died up on the road, I heard the saw and thought I'd come find some gas." He began, taking a glance around the mill, chalking up mental notes in his mind of the layout. "You girls aren't in any sort of trouble or anything are you?" He added absentmindedly while his gaze was diverted to the surroundings. Turning his attention back to the girls, he folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the girls hook. Useful weapon, that was for sure. She must have been bitten. "We're ya' bit there ma'am?" He asked Jane, before turning back to look at Diana. Seeing as how, she seemed to be the non ditsy one.

[MatrixOne]

Diana freed herself from Jane's hug, and shook Mikhail's hand.
"Well, I'm glad it's you and not some killer on cocaine who found us, but I'm here to scavenge, too, and I don't plan on giving out my gasoline" She said and folded her arms. "Besides, a motorbike seems like a dumb way to go around"

"Yeah! It's even louder than I am, haha~!" Jane laughed, shaking his hand as well. "And it gives you no protection from the dead guys. Best leave it!"

"Yeah" Diana shrugged. "Are you heading anywhere in particular? I'd stay out of the cities if I were you. We were just in one. Lost a few people. Granted, they were dumb fucks, but still, dangerous to go there. We found some food here, but not much else, and the building next to us has too many zombies inside for us to handle them all" She pointed at the large vehicle hangar-like structure. Inside, there were about ten walkers. "All I have is a knife"

"And I have this cool hook! Sure, I got bit and a friend had to cut my hand off, but hey, now I don't need a knife to fight the dead guys, haha~"

"Sometimes I wish we weren't genetically identical" Diana sighed, but brightened up a little when Jane took her hand and smiled happily. "Anyway, we wouldn't mind company, if you're not in a hurry to go anywhere, Mik. Best to stick together, I guess"

[garnetfrog]

Garett peered over the pile of logs at the new comer and the girls. 'Perfect! Now they'll forget me and move on! Although, it would be nice to have others to talk to.' he thought. He slowly rose from behind the pile of logs. "Hey, uh... I'm Garett." He forgot he was holding a G17 and waved it in greeting. He watched the three people cautiously. He had come across other people like civilians watching him from their house or at one point the remainder of a police SWAT team, but he had never actually talked to anyone in a long time.

[Deathbykimura]

Mikhail's demeanor changed imeadiately when the girl stated he could have no gas. She seemed to think leaving his bike behind was a valid option, and from the steel-like hardened expression on his face, he made it very clear that it wasn't. "You honestly believe you can stop me from taking anything?" He asked with a scoff, raising an eyebrow. He had never hit a female, and never would. But sometimes a poker face was needed, because bluffing wins you chips. The pot in this case was the gas inside of that building. "My wife bought me that bike after our daughter was born...it's all I have left.. " he says, his steely gaze softening, as he looked away toward the building. "I'm trying to get to my parents... But knowing my luck their fucking gone too..."

Mik was known as the toughest guy in the world... But at this moment, anyone could tell that he'd suffered a lot since all this began. He was still lethal.. And a fighting machine, but he missed his family and losing that bike would be like losing the missing link of a world that he'd left behind. "Look... I'll clear out that building by myself if I have to.. I just need some--" he was cut off by the kid from the saw, waving a gun. Arching his eyebrow, he motioned the kid over and looked at the group. "You guys can stick together.. I'm not a group person.." Mik said with a shrug, before turning to walk off toward the hangar. He wouldn't allow himself to get attached to anyone again.. He always lost them. And he couldn't lose anything else

[MatrixOne]

"You honestly believe you can stop me from taking anything?"

So he was going to threaten Diana? No way is he gonna do that, champion or not.
"Hey, you're not getting shit from me" She took a step forward, but Jane stopped her, still holding her hand.

"What Diana meant was, we really don't have much, so we're not sharing out stuff! But we can share what we scavenge together~" Jane smiled cutely. Diana backed a step.

"Look, if some stupid family souvenirs are going to get an army of the dead down on your head, I'd say it's not worth it. Don't be an idiot" She said, folding her arms.

"Hey, ignore her" Jane let go of Diana's hand and approached Mik. "We're just bad-mouthed like that, we don't mean it~!"

Then, the guy waving a glock came out.
"Wah~" Jane got scared, hiding behind Diana, who raised her knife, though it wasn't the best of weapons against a gun.

"Hey, uh... I'm Garett."

Diana said nothing, also raising an eyebrow. He was harmless. And... Armless.

"Ahaha~! Hey~!" Jane went out in the open again, laughing cheerfully. "You got me scared, haha~! I'm Jane, this is Diana, and that's Mik!" She pointed at them with her hook as she said their names.

"He probably heard us talk, so there's no need for that..." Diana sighed, but Jane ignored her.

"Hey, you don't have a hand~!" Jane pointed out, as if it wasn't obviously obvious. "That's so cool~! Both of us can't do left-handed high-fives, ahaha~" She found that fact incredibly awesome for some reason.

"Don't say creepy shit like that" Diana said, but she found her sister's weird happiness somewhat funny.

Then, Mikhail started leaving, saying something about not liking groups.
Jane dashed after him and took his hand.
"Hey, don't go! We could really, really use your help! And you can have my share of gasoline, it's not like I have a car or anything, haha~" She smiled cutely at him, not letting go of his hand.

"Hey, don't turn your back to the guy with a gun" Diana warned, but she didn't really believe Garett could do anything bad. "...It's not like we need his help all that much"

"But he's super nice!" Jane insisted. "Well, he did sarcastically call me Miss Badass, but you call me worse names and I love you still, ahaha~"

Diana had no answer for that.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob rolled his eyes a teeny tiny bit when the replies came but wondered what else kind of reply he could have expected. Jacob shook his head and told Redgie and Evee, "I know that you two are plenty badass, just remember that you're not going have fun. You're going there to find pain-killers, bandages, antibiotics, shit like that." When he saw Lia having difficulty with her pistol he stepped forward to help her. He slowly reassembled Lia's weapon so that she could watch him do it, as he did this Jacob continued speaking, "Until we find some sort of weapons cache or something I'd say it is a very bad idea to go all cowboy and kill every Walker you see. Especially with a gun like Sunshine's, rounds for that'll be hard to find if you run out too fast." Jacob finished by cycling a round into the chamber of Lia's gun and handing it to her.

Jacob thought over the suggestions of the pairings, having Lia go with Evee would give them a chance to patch things up, Lia could learn some things by watching Evee and Jacob would get a chance to get a good read on Redgie. But she could also learn things going with Redgie and things seemed a whole lot smoother between those two at the moment and Jacob liked the idea of pairing up with Evee. "All good points." he said hoping it didn't look too long making a decision. Even before the outbreak Jacob was never the best people person, so quite suddenly he began to feel his self declared leadership under a lot more pressure.
After swallowing hard, Jacob decided which pros outweighed which cons and spoke, "Alright then, Lia you partner up with Redgie when it's time to head to the mill. Reg, if you could be bothered to teach her a little survival knowledge while you two are at it all the better." Jacob then looked outside, it seemed most of the morning's walkers had moved off to a safe distance, "That mean's Sunshine, I'll be coming with you to the creepy as shit abandoned hospital." Jacob said with an almost completely serious voice. "People sticking together are going to survive this a lot longer then people on their own, so I don't want anyone going anywhere alone unless there is absolutely no other option. Now let's gather up whatever else is left in here and go check on that Jeep, if something happens just shout I'll be right outside."
And with that Jacob hoisted his bag and gun up to his shoulder and walked out the door, quickly hopping up into the jeep to start looking for the keys.

[garnetfrog]

Garett grinned at Jane's remark about them not being able to preform left handed high-fives. "Heh, at least you still HAVE a left arm." He wiggled the stump where his arm attached to his shoulder up and down for effect. He then realized he was still holding his G17 so he stuffed it into his back pack along with the two clips of ammo he had attached to his leg. When that was done he looked up to find Jane holding Mik's hand. He frowned slightly at the two of them. "If you guys do decide to team up, I want in. you don't have a single gun among you and I'm also an ex-marine." He said. 'it's about now that, in every movie I've seen, a bad guy appears and the hero beats the crap out of it for emphasis.' He grinned imagining a zombie appearing just then and him beating the re-living shit out of it.

[MatrixOne]

Of course. If Lia says she's fine going with Evee, Jacob orders her to go with Redgie.

"Okay" She nodded. It was obvious that Jacob just wanted some one-on-one time with Evee. Who didn't.

At least Redgie was a cool guy. She didn't have to worry about her companion being suspicious.

She switched on the safety on the pistol. She didn't want to hurt herself by accident; The thing's not a toy.

"So, I am assuming Jacob will take the vehicle for himself, and we have to go to the lumber mill on foot"
Not what a leader should be doing, but... If not Jacob, who else? A bad leader's better than no leader.

It wasn't THAT far. The trip would take them an hour if they don't make unnecessary stops.

Lia, Redgie and Tex left the gas station.
"According to the map, the mill would be this way" She pointed at a backroad leading to the forest and took Redgie's hand, because she felt somehow happier like that. Safer, maybe. And closer to him. She enjoyed his company; She felt like he wouldn't fail her.

***

The mill is a large plot of land divided into four parts -
Campsite for workers, which pretty much means ten to fifteen tents and a swarm of walkers all around. This place contains food, some medicine and a couple useful items, and inside the biggest tent there's a rusty revolver with five bullets left and three more next to it, and a glock magazine with ten rounds in it.
The place is surrounded by a fence with a locked gate, so the walkers can't leave, but survivors can't enter, either. There are about thirty dead guys there.

The second part is the parking lot and a company house. There are a couple cars left on the parking lot, but only one was in good enough condition - a tiny smart (http://o.aolcdn.com/commerce/images/smart_09fortwo_angularfront_Regular.jpg) which is fully operational and nearly fully fueled, but the key to it is inside the big tent in the campsite.
There is also a large RV (http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/greenmobilehome4.jpg) parked right outside the campsite, but there was plenty wrong with it. First of all, the radiator wasn't working well, it had little fuel and one of the tires were flat.

The third part - a large building situated between the campsite and the parking lot. It contained a control room for the sawmill, a couple offices and a storage for the processed wood. That building was pretty much ransacked, but it was a good place to hole up - defensible, strong walls, most of the windows were boarded up, had a few entrances and exits, access to the roof and - surprise - working power. The place was running off its own generator. Meaning, working refrigerators and other kitchen stuff, lights and all the things like that.
Just a couple walkers were inside, the rest have been killed by Jane and Diana.
One could find some knives and a monkey wrench inside, which can be used as a weapon, of course...

The fourth part - sawmill and garage. There, there was a ton of lumber and saws and other equipment like that, and the hangar (which was locked with iron doors blocked by a shovel) had the equipment, with a lot of good melee weapons inside, such as axes, hatchets, knives, screwdrivers and other tools... Even a chainsaw. Also, two full cans of gas, a radiator which fit the RV and a... Shiny, unused bulldozer (http://img.directindustry.com/images_di/photo-g/bulldozer-20169-2685139.jpg). It hasn't been fueled yet, and the thing did chew through a lot of gas and was noisy as hell, but... Well, it was a bulldozer. Ain't nothing stopping THAT.
The garage had about 20 zombies inside. And those weren't just ordinary zombies, those were zombified woodcutters who were rather large, strong and stuff. A few of them were so tall, Lia would have trouble reaching to their heads.
And, just to spice things up, one of them was 'extra large', buff and tough. Treat him like a boss. And he'll take some punishment before going down, so don't just kill him with one attack ;q.

Here's a shitty drawing of the layout of the place:
http://i.imgur.com/EKD7coC.png

***

Diana looked at Garett, evaluating him as a resource.
"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be bad to have someone who knows how to use a gun with us" This was her way of saying 'welcome'.

"Haha~! Yeah, it'd be great! The more good people are with us, the better our chances~" Jane gave Garett a cute smile. "Okay, let's check out that garage! Let me tell ya, it's noisy in there~!"
She led Garett and Mik to the garage door.
"Don't bother with that RV, it's all busted!" She whispered, pointing at the car. "Listen~"
She put her hear to the iron doors. There surely were a ton of zombies there. Jane, Diana, Mik and Garett better not make too much noise, because the shovel which was blocking the iron double door didn't seem very solid.
"It's suicide, we only have one gun" Diana told Mik. "Don't play tough, you can take four guys at a time, but not twenty. We should look for some weapons around, I think there's something inside that house. Or maybe in the campsite"

"Aha! I saw a wrench in the house, but I'm too weak to hold it, haha~! I'd rather just use my hook!" She pointed the hook at Garett to manifest her advantage over him. "Ha! Back when I had a hand, people thought I was cute~" She giggled. "But now there are no people to tell me I'm not cute! Because they're dead!"
She sounded as if she was happy about it. She could maintain her joyous and carefree attitude at practically any time.

___________
I didn't proofread the post, because I'm in a hurry xD. Don't kill me over the mistakes.
Also, don't attack the garage zombies yet; Wait for Redgie and Lia to come, then you'll all do it. You can take on the campsite, though - herd them in one place, or attack from two directions. ;q

[Craze]

Redgie was teamed up with Lia. He didn't expect any different; Jacob seemed like he grew a bond with Evee; he even called her Sunshine. Redgie had doubled opinions about Jacob. To him, he was a mystery. He hardly knew anything about the man.

Redgie decided to wisely shut his mouth to prevent any unnecessary conversations, so he just went with Lia in the direction of the Mill. When she took his hand, he was slightly surprised. Did she trust people that easily? Not that Redgie wasn't one to be trusted, he just wondered how she managed to trust a person so quickly. Redgie was always very cautious, even when in a zombie outbreak.

"Right, um-" Redgie stuttered. "Are you experienced with weapons? Guns? You need to be protected somehow. I can't always play the bodyguard, y'know. I wish I could, but I gotta keep an eye out for my own safety." Redgie looked around while they walked. No Walkers in sight. Good.

He looked at the dog, Tex, for a second. Even though the dog hadn't harmed him or barked at him, he was still not over his fear for dogs. He would never forget that moment when a dog bit him. In his memories, his nightmares, the dog was not a dog. The dog was a demon, with fierce claws and humongous teeth. Tearing his flesh apart, bit by bit.

Redgie shook the thought out of his head. "C'mon, Redge." he thought to himself, "Don't chicken out, man. It's just a dog. Just a dog..."

[Lord Tully]

Jacob looked throughout the Jeep and could find no sign of the keys "Maybe I could hotwire it?" he thought out loud, deliberately ignoring the possibility that the walker that was once the driver might have the keys on him. As he thought over possibilities he reached down to the hood release button and walked around to the front to take a look at the engine. "At least it's intact." he said as he looked over the internal workings of the Jeep. As he worked he saw Lia and Redgie walk out of the gas station and start down the road, "Hey, where you going?" He asked honestly confused, "Didn't we all agree that we'd take the Jeep if it still worked?"

Suddenly facing the possibility that his plan was more complicated that it had sounded at the time Jacob waved his arms to try and get the pair's attention, "Hey guys you don't need to walk the whole way, I think this thing still runs." he called before whispering, "Aww I've fucked up already haven't I?" suddeanly taking control of this little groups started to seem like a very bad idea, even though he only did it because no one else stepped up.

[MatrixOne]

"Are you experienced with weapons? Guns?" Redgie asked.

Lia thought for a second before answering.
"Not particularly. I have been to a firing range on numerous occasions, but I only shot one weapon. It was a small, light hunting rifle with a scope attached. It was easy to handle... Just insert a bullet, fire, and pull back the... Thingy to eject the bullet" She described it, trying to remember every detail. "I... Have also played a few first person shooters, but I imagine the real weapons handle quite differently than they are depicted in video games" She smiled.

"I can't always play the bodyguard, y'know. I wish I could, but I gotta keep an eye out for my own safety."

"I understand. I do not have a father to look after me anymore. I need to be able to handle myself..."
She took out her pistol. It was heavy; Not scary, but... It felt like a responsibility. And she didn't want to fuck up.
But who's going to protect her? Tex?
Jacob?

Evee?

No. She had to be ready for every possibility. Even Tex could one day be gone...

"I do not know the stance. There surely is more to it than just aiming down the sights... And I am unsure on how the individual parts work. I know that if I pull the slide, a bullet will jump out through this port..." She tried to tell Redgie what she knew, which was not much.

***


"Didn't we all agree that we'd take the Jeep if it still worked?" Jacob shouted when Lia and Redgie left the gas station.

Lia gave it another thought; They were already heading out, and Jacob was changing his mind? But didn't he split them up?
"We... Did not" She answered. "If you plan on driving to one location, leaving us there, then going to the other, what is the point of splitting up? Additionally, it would be a waste of gasoline. And Redgie will try and teach me how to handle handguns on the way to the mill..."
She was still holding Redgie's hand.
"But if we find some items of interest, such as gas canisters or large weapons, we would need help to bring them back to the Water Tower. So... How about allowing us to proceed on foot, but picking us up with the vehicle later? We might also be in need of assistance, so it would be better to have backup scheduled for arrival just in case"

Her plan was... Good. It surprised even her.
Though, probably, Jacob would order something completely different, just like before.

[garnetfrog]

Garett examined the large metal doors and decided he wouldn't be able to sneak in. He'd cause to much noise and they'd be swarmed. "Alright. We should probably check out the tents and the out buildings first. Mik and I will pull as many zombies as we can away from the tents and get to a high spot where they can't get at us. Perhaps the side of the mill where they'll only be able to climb up two at a time. While we have them distracted you and Diana search the tents and pick off any stragglers. That's my idea, anyone got a better one?" He whispered. While he was talking he had picked up a stick and drawn lines in the dirt showing where they should move. Garett smiled charmingly at Jane. "Just my opinion cutie." He chuckled slightly at that.

[Deathbykimura]

Mik had only taken a few steps when he felt a hand slip into his. It had been so long since anyone had touched him, since anyone had cared or wanted him around. But this girl? She'd made an effort to keep him around.. and now as she coaxed him to stay and offered her share of gas he felt some sort of weird connection. Immediately, Mikhail felt the need to protect her and as she lead them over to the door, he kept his hand in hers, listening. "Fuck.. It sounds like tons of them." He whispers, before stepping back and looking at the RV. "That RV is our best option... I know about cars.. I could fix it up." He added as he walked over and surveyed the vehicle. He noticed the missing radiator, and the tire and looked around for a second, scratching his head in thought. There was a rack on the back that he could attach the motorcycle to, but there was already an idea cooking in his head. His wife wouldve wanted him to survive by any means necessary, and that bike was like a mobile bomb.

"It needs a radiator, and a tire.. But I think I can find the stuff around here to fix it. Lets round up some weapons, clear out the campsite.. them see about this hangar.it's going to be one hell of a fight... So stay close and watch eachothers backs." He instructed before turning to the guy. "And look here marine I don't need your gun. Don't try to act like you're some kind of one-armed chuck Norris, here to save the world. You're just as fucked as the rest of us, if not more so.. Anyone can kill one walker... We'll see what you can do against 20.. Hope you have one armed reloading down to a science." He said with lowered eyebrows, giving him a look that screamed 'stand down.'

Turning back to Diana, he offered his hand and gave her an apologetic smile. "Look, sorry. I've just lost everyone and everything.. You still have your sister, you have no idea what it's like to be alone... But I'll help you as much as I can. Lets hole up here and get that RV runnin' and I'll defend you as long as I can.." His voice was soft and nice, as he spoke... Then backed up to look around again. "Where do we start?"

[MatrixOne]

"Hey, please don't be like that" Jane gave Mik a displeased look, not letting go of his hand. "Garett just wants to help, and his plan is really good! Just because he doesn't have a hand, doesn't mean he's useless" She was rather saddened by what Mik said, but her attitude couldn't keep her down for long. "Me and him make a two-armed double Chuck Norris, haha~"

"Enough about the damn amputees already" Diana said, frustrated. "It's getting old. The guy's plan is sound, I'm good with it. You two and Jane draw the zombies out, I grab what's in the tents and help you finish the rest of the zombies from the back. You can lead them to the saws and turn them on if you need extra cutting power"
She shook Mik's hand.
"I was alone for years and you don't see me making a big deal out of it. I only returned to her recently" She looked at Jane, who smiled back. "Just stick with us and you won't have a problem with loneliness"

"Unless we die~!" Jane giggled.

"...With your help, it may not come to that so easily. Either way, about that RV..."

"Aha! I'm so glad you know how to fix it~" Jane held his hand a little more tightly. She was a feely person, and enjoyed manifesting her happiness.

"Well, we need a tool to take a tire off, but it's in the building. There are tons of wrecked cars on the lot so we don't need to worry about finding tires. As for the radiator, that garage could have what we need. We'll get to it after we clear out the campsite"

"Sounds perfect! I'm good to go!" Jane waved her hook around.

"Then let's open the gate and draw'em out"

[Deathbykimura]

"No, wait a second.." He began, staring at Jane, then to the one armed marine, who's name he hadn't cared to remember. "You come up talking shit about how you have a gun, and were not capable of defending ourselves.. I've been kicking people's asses since shortly after I learned to walk. I have more awards, and championships than you could even begin to count.. Go ahead and pull that glorious gun on me... It will be the last fucking thing you do because I'll kick your fucking head off." He warned, staring the guy down. "I will not be talked down to, I don't care if you were part of the squad that captured saddam.. I'm not your fucking lackey, or private.. And if you have an issue, you can do one of two things.." Trailing off again, he held up one finger. "Eat a fucking dick.." Mik then held up a second, "or square up."

Lowering his hand again, he reached back and pulled out his nunchaku looking at the two girls. "Cool.. Good plan.. Lets go."

He waited until the other two were out of earshot, and stopped Jane whispering, "hey.. I'm not a bad guy.. I swear. That guy.. He just irks me. " Mik explained looking the girl in her eyes, giving her a warm smile. "I'll protect you sweetheart.. You and her. You're not going to die because I won't let it happen. Okay?" Biting his lip, mik reached up to ruffle her hair, gave her a playful grin and wink, then raised her hand, kissing it while it was still in his. "And for the record? You're still gorgeous.. Hook or not." Grinning, Mikhail let go of her hand and jogged to catch up... "I have an idea... I don't know what you guys think but.."

Trailing off again, he raised his bike keys. "Fuck the bike. You're right... But I think I could rig it up as a bomb... Drive it at them and jump off..?" He offered, before looking at the other male. "I'm tense, living on the edge.. And I'm an alpha male.. I don't take kindly to orders. We can coexist.. But tread lightly. Sorry for being a dick bu--" his apology was cut short by a zombie grabbing him from behind. Grabbing it's arm, the fighter used judo to flip the cadaver over his shoulder, sending it thudding hard on the ground. As it crawled toward Diana, he kicked it below the chin/jaw with a savage smack, sending it flipping to its back.

With a flourish of great expertise, Mikhail gave the chain-linked baton a twirl, then let it smash downward, caving in the cadavers skull with ease. Without another word, be brushed past the two of them and headed for the campsite.

[garnetfrog]

Garett frowned at Mik and opened his mouth to respond. After a moment of silence he closed it and shook his head. He knew that no matter what he said, this guy would try to beat the shit out of him. So instead Garett pulled out his hatchet and flipped it in the air while he waited. He turned to Diana after a moment. "I never said you guys were defenseless. I simply stated it would be good to have a gun around." He frowned and looked down at the ground. He rubbed out the small map on the ground.

Mik came back a bit later with Jane and began speaking but was cut off by a zombie grabbing him. After doing some martial artsy stuff he simply walked away, expecting everyone to follow probably. Garett smiled at the zombie on the ground. 'Yup, just like that in the movies. Except instead of the hero, it happened to the testosterone monster. Kinda like when the hulk took down that giant flying fish thing in avengers.' He had to try hard to suppress laughter.

[MatrixOne]

Mik's rant surprised Jane and Diana in a rather negative way.

"What a nuclear dickhead you are" Diana shook her head. "I can't believe I used to be your fan. I always thought you had heart, unlike most of the fighters on tournaments" She remembered Mik and his family back when he was in the spotlight. She wasn't one for feely stuff, but it brought a smile to her face; He was strong, but seemed kind. Happy.
Similarly to... Jane, actually. She's endured a lot, and what she lacks in muscle, she makes up for in determination and courage. And she's always been the 'good' sister. Sometimes like a child.

Anyway, Diana was displeased to see her idol become a massive douchebag.
"A gun can be more useful than all your training combined. Leave the guy alone, he's been more kind to us than you. And trust me, if he does something, I'll be the first to take him down for it"

At first, Jane said nothing, but let go of Mik's hand.
But she decided to finally throw in her opinion.
"Mik, please~! We need to co-o-pe-rate~! I'm already stuck with one jackass in the team, ahaha~"

"Hey!" Diana didn't quite like that comment. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Aw, nothing! You know I love you, haha~"

***

When Mik and Jane trailed off to chat, Diana approached Garett.
"You haven't tried to kill anyone or steal anything and you offered help, so you seem fine to me. Don't worry about Mik, it's his 'manly pride' talking. I ain't gonna stand for this shit if it keeps up, that's for sure" She glanced at Mik and Jane, only to see him kissing her hand.
"WHAT the fuck!" Diana seemed more surprised than she should be. "He's only lost his wife a couple days ago! Now he's willing to blow the motorbike in a giant fireball and get it on with another girl? Jane is mine" She was real frustrated.


Back to Jane and Mik.
When he kissed her hand and called her cute, she blushed, smiling brightly.
"Aw, that's so nice of you" She said a bit shyly. She was unsure what to think of him; One second he's all mad, now he's nice and polite.
She liked Mik. Diana was a fan of his not just because of ass-kicking, she also thought he was sort of handsome. And Jane was Diana's genetic copy, so she also found him rather cute. And she really liked people who were nice and helpful; Like him now, or Garett, who was more or less a mystery, but he offered his help and didn't insult Mik back.

They returned, and Diana dragged Jane away for a little chat instantly. Garett could hear what they were saying because she only cared about Mik not hearing.
"WHAT are you doing" Diana asked, holding Jane's arm.
"Haha~! You're so jealous" Jane tried to back away, but Diana kept holding her arm. "Stop it. It hurts"
"What about me? This guy's gonna come and go, I'll be with you forever. Think I'll just let you trail off with this asshole?"
"Hey, he's just nice to me, that's all" Jane smiled cutely, placing a shy kiss on Diana's lips. "Let's get back to getting stuff done"

Diana calmed down a bit and nodded.
Then Mik made some kind of an apology to Garett.
"Now that we're not jumping at each other's throats, we can finally..."
She couldn't finish because a zombie attacked Mik. The guy took care of things quickly, and proceeded to initiate the 'attack' on the campsite.
"Finally some action" Diana grinned, taking out her knife and joining Mik.
Before they opened the gate, she said to him:
"Don't touch my sister again"
Then, she kicked the door open, putting a knife through a walker's skull.

"Aw, they're getting all the fun~" Jane told Garett. "Of course they ignored the plan. Well, we should pick off stragglers and support them if they get overrun. Come on!"
She joined Diana and Mik in fighting.
"Let's split the herd, giving us more space and less dead guys to work with!"
She flanked around with Garett and attacked, killing another walker. That got the attention of a few more, and the herd started to split and fall apart. Out of fifteen, there were now eleven left.
"Shit, I need to pull back" Diana was getting overrun. "We can't just go hand-to-hand, moron. Let's double back to that sawmill and turn on the equipment"
She dodged a zombie. It was tough to maneuver between the tents.

[garnetfrog]

Garett opened his mouth to speak again but before he could everyone was running off toward the campsite. He shook his head again and whirled the hatchet one more time. He then stealthily ran around to the other edge of the campsite and got inside. He then slowly made his way around the tents, looking in them as he went for walkers. The first zombie he saw had its back turned to him so he snuck up behind it and smashed it over the head with his hatchet. It fell to the ground with a thud attracting the attention of a nearby zombie. Garett quickly hid behind the tent and waited until the zombie had walked over to the corpse. While it was looking down at the corpse of the zombie, Garett sprang out and cleaved its head nearly in two.

When the first two were down he moved on in a low crouch toward the other humans. A. Zombie was pulling itself toward the other three on its stomach because it was missing a leg. He snuck up behind it and stomped its head into the ground several times. He came up behind two more and bashed the first one's head with his hatchet. The second one received a kick to the back of the knee, a quick jab to the throat, and a stomp to the head. He then dashed into a tent to avoid being seen by other zombies. Inside was a small, green, rectangular box. He looked around quickly to make sure there were no zombies and opened it. Inside was a G17 clip with 10 bullets in it. He smiled and deposited the ammo into his backpack.

[Deathbykimura]

At this rate, Mikhail was getting pretty fed up with the bullshit that was already ensuing, courtesy of joining this "group." That's why, when it was time to fight, he let everything go. His arms and legs moved about in fluid, graceful, syncopated movements as he threw spinning kicks, combined with deadly precise spins of his nunchucks, taking down the walkers with ease. It was a lot easier than fighting combatants in the cage, these foes didnt think, these foes just came lumbering forward without a block, allowing Mikhail to land devestating blows which dropped them just as they reached him. Spinning again, the male let his foot travel in an impressive arch, smacking one of the undead right in the jaw; which disconnected from decomposition and flew a few feet to land in the dirt. Completing the spin, he came back around with the pair of chucks, and smashed the jaw-less zombie into oblivion... Scoring a fifth tally on zombies killed in the campsite.

That's when he saw Diana getting overrun. At that moment, his fight or flight instinct ate away at him; he could flee, and leave her to be eaten.. Or attempt to save her and possibly get eaten himself. Something deep inside of him urged him for the latter option, and screaming as loud as he could, he ran at the group, and began swinging his weapon with every bit of skill he had. "Just run... Go!!" He ordered Diana, as he stepped between her and the dead. He stood there for a minute, fighting them off while he gave her time to get out the path... Before turning and running himself, using parkour to run up the wall near the saw, and catapult himself backwards in a flip, landing behind the dead that had followed. "Hit the saw!" He let out in desperation, as he started kicking them back against the blade, smacking the ones that got too close with the cold, steel nunchaku.

[garnetfrog]

Garett exited the tent to see the remaining zombies following mik and the girls to the sawmill. "If they had just followed my plan..." He muttered. He was about to run and join them when he saw the door to the garage shudder as though something had thrown itself against it. "Shit! They're being too loud!" He ran over as fast as he could and wedged his hatchet in between the handles of the door. He then pulled out his pistol and leaned against the door with all his strength. A second shudder ran through the door but it shook much less violently.

On the ground nearby was a small metal rod that was about as thick as the handle of his hatchet. He waited until the zombies threw themselves against the doors again and dashed for the rod. He dropped his pistol and picked up the rod, turning around he smacked the hatchet away from the door and slid the metal rod in place instead. He then picked up his weapons and stood back.

[MatrixOne]

Jane noticed what Garett was doing, and got Diana's attention by waving to her.

"Help him! We've got this one covered" Diana shouted back, running after Mik.

Jane nodded, going back to Garett.
"Nice job! This thing should hold for now~" She smiled at him cutely. "Let's go check the rest of the tents! I think I saw you sneaking around, haha~. Did you find anything?"

Meanwhile, Diana ran in the control room and flipped the switches, turning on four of the saws. There were eight zombies left, all in one, large group.
They were banging at the door to the control room; Diana was trapped inside.
"Get their attention! Lead them away, to the saws!" She shouted, but Mik couldn't hear her through the glass.

***

In the meantime, Jane and Garett were looking through all the tents, one by one.
Jane found a revolver with eight bullets and a key to something which looked like a car.
Garett was told to check the smaller tents, one of which must have belonged to some kind of a guard, because it contained two handheld transceivers, a police baton and a small tazer. The radio transceivers' batteries were nearly dead, though.

Jane also found an apple and some canned soup. She couldn't carry all of it, so she cleaned the end of her hook and stuck the apple on it, taking the rest of the items and returning to Garett.
"You good in there? Need a hand? Haha~" She waited for him outside the tent. "We best see how the others are doing~!"

[Deathbykimura]

clank the sound of the metal weapon echoed through the mill, as it was knocked out of Mik's hand and slid across the floor near the saw. There was no retrieving it now, he'd just have to wing it, and use his hands and feet. As the saw cut on, Mikhail kicked one of the zombies square in the chest sending it stumbling back to a gory death, before looking up at the glass window Diana was perched in. She was motioning to something, and unlike most people, he didn't yell 'what?!' and look around dumbfounded. Instead, he used the powers of common sense and observation to let his eyes fall on the eight other zombies trapping her inside. Running over to the door, he kicked one of the walkers in the back, and began yelling at them, waving his arms to get their attention, before taking off again... Leading them back toward the saws.

Sliding to a stop in the dirt, causing a huge cloud to kick up shrouding himself and the zombies from view, he grabbed the closest one and used their clothes like a gi, to judo toss them into the saw.. Looking up.. He surveyed the other seven, and motioned for Diana to use the saw, "now!" He yelled, diving out of the way at the last minute with a roll. Not pausing he jumped the guard rail and ran for his nunchucks...

[garnetfrog]

"What I really need is an arm." He wiggled the stump of his arm at her again and grinned. "I found a clip for my G17, a couple of small radio things, a taser, and a police baton." He had stored most of the items in his backpack, but he still held the taser. He looked over at the mill. "Sounds like they're having a slicingly good time." He smiled a bit then frowned. "Wait, that didn't make sense..." He began walking toward the mill as he thought. He pulled his black fedora out of his bag and placed it on his head as he walked.

[Lord Tully]

Jacob stood there completely amazed at himself, Good God almighty, I'm even worse at this than I thought. All this time Jacob had thought that his suggestions and ideas were clear and easy to understand, but of course that couldn't happen. It didn't really matter whether He'd given his orders completely backwards or they were just confusing from any angle since now Lia had an even better idea than he'd had. "That's a good idea." he told Lia, "It's actually a much better idea than mine." His voice sounded slightly annoyed but it was completely aimed at himself. "Alright, since we know that this is here, we'll leave it as a back up for if we find something big. Great thinking."

Now thoroughly convinced that taking lead had been a terrible idea, Jacob closed the hood of the Jeep and turned back to the gas station, "Hey Evee, are you ready to go?" he called in now wanting more then ever to get moving.

[Craze]

Redgie smiled while he heard Lia ranting about 'pulling back that thingy to eject the bullet' and such. Clearly, she didn't have much experience with weapons. That didn't bother him though, she could easily be taught. Redgie handed her his small gun he kept in his pocket.

"Here. See those bottles over there?" Redgie pointed at a desk in the distance. On it stood three bottles, one of them knocked over. "Try shooting the first two. We can practice with a moving target later."

Redgie thought to himself for a second. "Hey, if you're a good shot, you can try my crossbow if you like."

[MatrixOne]

Jacob actually agreed with Lia's idea. She was sort of surprised. Pleasantly, of course.
"Alright. Please do not get hurt" She waved to him shyly and proceeded with Redgie.

When Redgie smiled as she was talking about her gun knowledge, she blushed, knowing she was making a fool of herself.
When he gave her his small gun, she took it hesitantly.
I have to try.

She took the pistol, making sure the safety is off and the bullet is chambered, and aimed at the bottles. They were relatively close, in the middle of the hill - someone was probably having a picnic when he realized the dead are walking, and there's no time for cleaning up the bottles.
She decided not to think of that.

Align the gun on the target...
My hands are shaking...
She held her breath. The hands were still shaking, but it felt like she can concentrate more. The gun was swaying a little, and the damn bottle kept getting off target. Even though it wasn't moving.

Remember what Father said.
Don't squeeze the trigger quickly, this is not a video game. If you press it too hard, your gun will move. Keep pressing the trigger slowly, let the shot surprise you. It'll hit its target.
But back then, she was using a hunting rifle, in a sitting stance. It had a long barrel, was steady, wooden and light, and had a big scope, and...

She started pressing the trigger, slightly, slightly...

The gun fired. The first bottle got shattered.

Don't relax just yet! Take the finger off the trigger first. You don't want to fire it by accident.
She did it and gently lowered the pistol.
"W-well... The infected are not... Bottles" She said, more to herself than Redgie, and took aim again.

She didn't want to fuck up not because she was afraid to fail Redgie. That, too, but it was the apocalypse. Ammo was important. She should make shots count.

She did everything exactly the same, making sure no step was omitted. Aim, hold breath, sway into the target, squeeze... Fire.

This took time. More time than anyone would take to shoot.

But she hit the second bottle. She did it.

Her hands were really tired from holding the gun. Her ears were ringing.
But she did it.
"I... Thank you" She gave Redgie the pistol back. "It is very kind of you, although I believe that crossbow weighs more than I do" She smiled cutely. "We should keep going before they come investigate the noise..."

***

Meanwhile in the Lumber Mill, Mik was getting shit done.
He managed to get the attention of the herd and move them in the vicinity of the saw. Diana flipped the switch and barged out through the door, ramming into the backs of the zombies and sending them on their way into the cutter.
"Whoa" She nearly touched the sawblade herself.

The rest of the zombies got... Well, sawn. A few were cut more or less in half, and were still trying to crawl, but Diana stomped one of them and threw her knife at the other one.
She didn't aim it very well because the knife missed and got stuck in the ground.
So Diana picked it up and finished the zombie off manually.
"Damn good job" Diana winked at Mik, cleaning her knife with her shirt. She was sprayed with walker blood all over, so she took off her shirt and flipped it inside out, using it as a towel to wipe the blood off her face. Not like she cared who looked at her; It was the apocalypse.
Besides, she had a bra on.

In the meantime, Jane and Garett got the stuff from the tents and returned to Diana and Mik.
"Wow, you look awesome in that hat! Like the detectives from the fifties~!" Jane complimented Garett, and when they reached Diana and Mik, she addressed them:
"Heeey~! Look what we have!"
She then noticed Diana had no shirt on.
"...Aww~. I guess I'm absolutely fine with that, ahaha~! Reminds me of that time we went to the beach in Miami" She commented.

"Don't even remind me" Diana answered, grinning. "Okay, guys. Let's get inside the house, see what we have and plan our next move"

***

"That's a lot of shit for a couple abandoned tents" Diana stored the items inside a backpack found in the house. "And we have a revolver. Too bad we'd probably go through all the damn bullets if we were to clear that garage... Sounds like there's a whole fucking lot of walkers in there. Maybe they were locking up the sick ones..."

Jane wasn't listening to their conversation; She was watching the entrance, making sure nothing comes to attack.

But suddenly, she heard something and rushed inside the house.
"Guys! There was a gunshot!"

"What? Where?" Diana stood up from the chair and approached the door, opening it to hear.

"Pretty far. Think it's that sniper we saw at the water tower yesterday?"
Jane was talking about Redgie; Both sisters could hear the commotion at the gas station, but it seemed like the survivors were killing each other, especially with Redgie shooting the crossbow (Jane thought it was a bow). So they turned away and went for the mill.
"Could be. But wasn't he using a bow or something?" Diana pointed out.
Then, another gunshot could be heard. It was Lia practicing her shooting on bottles; Of course, the sisters didn't know that.

The walkers in the shed were getting more and more aggressive. Even that iron bar wouldn't hold for very long.
"Maybe someone's in trouble! We should go see!" Jane wanted to help. Of course.

"Well, it doesn't sound like an army shooting rifles, bows and snipers anymore. There must have been a real shitstorm at that station yesterday, huh. I'm not sure if I want to get involved..."

"Yes you doooo~!" Jane hugged Diana from behind, putting her hand on Diana's shoulder and sliding it down her bare back.

"...We should ask the others. Stop it" Diana freed herself from her sister's hug and turned to Mik and Garett. "Think it's worth checking out? There's enough of us in the group, I'm not sharing our shit with anybody else. But if we sneak up on them, we could see if they're a threat or not"

"That'd be a good thing to know~!" Jane nodded, smiling brightly.

[garnetfrog]

Garett smiled like an idiot at her compliment and blushed a bit. He really liked his hat and was glad someone else liked it too. When he found out they had found a revolver he frowned. 'that's not going to be good for my PTSD...' he thought. He played with the taser as he stood waiting for a new plan to be made. When it was suggested that he and Mik clear out the garage he nodded. "Yeah, Mik can lure them out and I'll shoot them as I see them. I've got plenty of ammo, I can afford to fire off a couple bullets."

Garett nearly had a heart attack when Jane said she had heard a gunshot. "Are they close?" He asked nervously. He began to shake a little and he looked down at the floor. He HATED sudden loud noises. He gripped the taser tight enough that his knuckles turned white. He watched Jane and Diana move toward the door. "No... D-don't go..." He said pathetically. He shuffled a couple of steps toward the corner of the room and noticed Mik. "Please... Don't leave me alone..." He pleaded. He was afraid that if he heard a gunshot he'd become defenseless and easy prey for zombies and humans alike.

"We'll I think at least two of us should stay here in case... Of... Something..." Garett said. "I could stay here.... With someone..." He looked pleadingly at Jane and Diana. He was probably coming off as weak and a liability, but he did NOT want to die just because a gunshot made him unable to defend himself.

[Deathbykimura]

As Mikhail wiped off the bloody handle of his weapon, he caught glimpse of Diana's wink and gave her a charming smile. "Not too shabby yourself sweetheart." His southern accent replied, his green eyes glinting in the sun as he flashed her a wink of his own. Suddenly, she was taking off her shirt and his eyes traveled over her body slowly. "Uhm...damn--" he began, before suddenly being interrupted by Jane and Garett. They'd found a great haul in the tents, and Mik almost wanted to high five them himself. "Diana, you can have the gun if you want... You can use it to protect you and Jane.." He gave her another grin, and pushed it toward her.

Suddenly Jane was there, talking about gunshots and Mik's eyebrow quirked. "I agree with your sister Jane, I can't bat away bullets with nunchucks.. " he began, looking at the key. "This is the key to that smart car out front. We used to have one" he explained, handing it to Diana too. "It's your decision.. I'll go check it out if you want.. But I'm not Sharing with anyone else either," he agreed, putting the nunchaku away. That's when he noticed Garrett's paranoia. PTSD, of course... It made since with the trama to his arm. "Bro.. Stay here.. I don't need you getting shell shocked and getting killed... I'll go by myself if I have to. But about the hangar.." He began , biting his lip.

"I can set up my bike on the outside of the building, and shoot it to fireball those fucks... It would be easier than killing them all.." He offered, shrugging. Now they had to just figure out the order in which to do things. Hangar or recon first?

[Medic]

Evee had listened quietly to most of what went on after she had said her piece. Jacob was paired up with her, so Evee was glad she had said something. She was ready to move out, and she was more than eager when Jacob asked.

"I was born ready, Jacob." She also waved to Lia and Redgie with a friendly, "You two stay safe out there, okay?"

Evee liked these people. It was strange. Normally she wouldn't grow so fond of people so quick, but then again, this was the apocalypse. Friends would be needed to survive. They would need people to watch each other's backs, to give what one person doesn't have just out of kindness and compassion. That's the only way people would survive. At least, that's how it played out in Evee's mind. She closed her eyes for a moment, and opened them to look at Jacob. "Alright. Let's go."

[MatrixOne]

Jacob and Evee were ready to drive to the hospital.

It made sense for them to take the car, because the hospital was farther than the lumber mill.

The hospital wasn't very large; It's something you'd expect, here in the middle of nowhere. It was used only by one nearby town of Brightwood and to patch up hunters who got wounded in the woods and the like. That said, it was stocked up well before the outbreak... But as we know, hospitals are the first to be targeted by survivors, and Evee's been here before. The place was ransacked and overrun the last time she was here... So what made this time different?

Well...
Someone was there.

A survivor. He was organized and took his time to herd most of the zombies into a confined room, then escaped through a hole in the ceiling he had prepared earlier.
Having cleared the hallways, he could gather the leftover supplies and head for the roof, where a small helipad with a still-working air ambulance (http://www.transportcafe.co.uk/air_ambulance_service_helicopter/air_ambulance_angle_full.jpg) was situated. The thing was used for aeromedical missions to other towns and farther in the woods, when time was of importance.

Nobody took the heli before, because, well... Not many people are familiar with helicopter controls.
And our guy in the hospital had some basic training, but was no expert, either. But he was... Let's say, desperate. It's been only a couple of days, and he had already killed three other survivors.

He loaded his stuff on the helicopter. He decided to leave at night, simply because other survivors wouldn't be able to see where the copter is heading and follow him.

So now, our survivor - let's call him James for convenience - was sitting on the rooftop, carefully watching for anyone coming close to the hospital.
No way is he gonna let someone inside. He's got a Russian Dragunov SVD sniper rifle with a bipod and three mags with one of them half-emptied, which meant 24 bullets.
And he's going to shoot at anyone trying to approach the hospital.

***

Diana took the revolver and removed the used bullets, replacing them with new ones.
"Ha. With this thing, I've got our asses covered. Thanks" She smiled at Mik, grateful for letting her take the gun. "Also, good idea with the bike. That can help us with the hangar... But blowing shit up and making a lot of noise when there are possibly hostile survivors nearby? I'd say, we go deal with them first, save the explosive fun for later"

When Garett asked Jane and her to not leave him, Diana got angry.
"Get a grip on yourself. I thought you were a soldier, not a pussy"

"Hey! That's not nice!" Jane gave Diana a hurt look and put her hand on Garett's shoulder to comfort him.

"Whatever" Diana shrugged. "You can stay here with him. Mik an I have got this covered, you'd just get in the way anyway"

Jane didn't answer. She stood in front of Garett and stole his fedora, puting it on her head. She was a little shorter than him, so she stood on tiptoe to even out the difference.
"Heeey~" She looked at him and smiled cutely. "If we let Diana and Mik go meet strangers, this is surely gonna end in a bloodbath, haha~! She needs me to control her. But I'm not leaving you here alone, that's for sure! Sooo, just don't worry and come with us! It'll be fine, nobody fucks with Diana and Mik, ahaha~! And if I use my inborn charm, we might make a few friends instead of a few corpses, which will surely happen if Diana goes there without me~!"

"You mean I'm not charming enough? I've got charm coming out of my ass" Diana commented, grinning, as she looked around for a replacement shirt that's not covered in zombie blood.
She actually found something, but it was a men's white shirt. There was also a pressed suit; It probably belonged to the manager of this little company. Nobody needed it now, though; Diana only took the shirt and put it on, not bothering to button it up.
"Now I totally look like a dude" She sighed.

"Ahaha~! I wouldn't say that!" Jane looked at Diana from under the fedora, biting her lip. "I can still see your cute belly button!"

"Would you stop saying embarrassing shit like that and get a move on..."

[Deathbykimura]

"You mean I'm not charming enough? I've got charm coming out of my ass" Mik couldn't help but laugh a little, and his eyes drifted downwards absentmindedly. Catching himself, he shook his head and walked towards the door, stopping with his hand on the door handle. "either way, I'm going to see what this shooting is about; and as I said before, I can go alone if I have to. If I get shot, I'm gonna be one mad son-of-a-bitch though." He stated with a laugh, before giving the knob a twist and walking back out into the sun. Reaching into the pocket of his leather jacket, Mikhail fished out his aviators and slipped them on, then stuck his head back inside for a second. "By the way, I have some bottles of water, a few bottles of booze, and another shirt, if you need it.. in the saddle bags on my motorcycle.. I'll be out there by it." His eyes drifted to Diana at the last part, and he gave her a smirk before turning again and shutting the door.

As his feet scuffled through the dirt and gravel, on the way to his bike, Mikhail's hands practiced with his nunchaku. They'd become so fluid now; it was almost like all the years of using them had made them a part of his body. Almost like Jane's hook. Before long, Mik found himself doing twirs, and spinning kicks.. As he tossed the weapons Into the air and caught them. He really was a badass, and he knew it... But to him.. Being graceful and fluid in his fighting ability was just fun above all else. It gave him a means of escape.. And he took it every chance he could. Catching the metal batons together again, Mik put them away as he opened his saddle bag, rummaging around.

Finding a sandwich bag, he took out one of the perfectly rolled joint (something no one ever knew about him either) and lit it, as he swung his leg over the bike and sat down to wait.

[garnetfrog]

Garett clenched his teeth and didn't respond to Diana. He needed friends right now, even if one of them was the biggest ass hole he had ever met. He jumped a little in surprise when Jane took his hat off his head. He smiled a bit then nodded. "Alright, I'll come with, but I'll be next to useless in a fire fight." He tilted his head and looked at Diana. "Got charm coming out your ass eh? You should get that checked, could be a medical condition." He grinned and took his fedora off of Jane's head.

Garett clipped three extra clips to his leg and swapped the full mag in his gun for the one with only ten bullets. He then strapped his hatchet to an easy to reach spot and put the taser in his pocket. He thought for a moment then pulled off his hatchet. He held it by the blade with the handle toward Jane. "Here, an extra weapon never hurt." He smiled at her grimly.

[MatrixOne]

Diana followed Mik to the motorcycle, ignoring Garett's comment. She just gave Jane a 'keep him under control' look before she left the house.

She approached Mik and sat behind him on the bike, putting both hands on his shoulders.
"I once was in a shootout with a biker gang. Gotta tell you, their motorcycles were absolute crap compared to this one"
She smiled, leaning a bit forward to rest her head on Mik's shoulder. He could feel her body from the waist up touching his back...
Her and Jane really enjoyed physical contact with others. It was a sign of trust, even though Diana had problems trusting people. Still, Mik was alright. He didn't feel like a complete stranger, and he was strong and tough.

"Also, quit bullshitting about going alone" She said, raising her head. "We're a team. I can't leave that pussy Marine here alone, he'll get zombified and Jane will be sad as a result"

She noticed the joint Mik was holding.
"Huh. You best not smoke near Jane, she's gonna give you a whole lecture on how exactly you're going to die from it" Sounds like Diana has already heard that talk. "She made me promise not to smoke. I wonder how it'll work with you" She grinned.


In the meantime, Jane received a hatchet from Garett.
"Aww~. That's the sweetest gift ever~!" She was really happy about it. It wasn't what seems like the best gift for a girl, but given the circumstances...
And she did like the gift a lot. "I can now do some damage, haha~! And don't worry about gunfights, hopefully there won't be one! I mean, we're all friendly, right?" She smiled cutely, like she always does. "And please ignore Diana, she's impolite, but she doesn't really mean it! She just wants the group to stay alive and well, no matter the cost~! I'm sure she likes you just like I do, for real! Now come on~"
She gently attached her hook to Garett's sleeve, lightly pulling him toward the exit.

***

The four of them made their way to where they'd heard the gunshot. When they were halfway there, Diana decided it's best if they enter the woods to remain unseen. Luckily, the zombies were on the other side of the forest.
"Hey, I see someone~! There!" Jane whispered to Diana and looked at the spotted targets. When she saw Redgie and Lia, she looked at Diana with a worried expression. "Sis, please don't say anything..." She knew what Diana was about to say.

"Whoa, holy shit, there's a nigger next to that little girl" Diana seemed surprised.
Jane nearly facepalmed with the not-pointy part of the hook. She knew Diana was somewhat racist, and her jokes often got her in trouble.
"Sis..." She said quietly.
"What?"
"...Please"

Diana shrugged, smiling cynically. This was gonna be fun.

"Hey, I know who that girl is!" Jane said, pointing at Lia with her hook.

"The one next to the..." Diana started, but Jane interrupted her.

"Yeah! She's the daughter of a very wealthy businessman. He founded the plague research, and he was real paranoid about the plague. Turns out he was right to be, haha~! I remember he even had an underground bunker built just to defend himself against the dead guys"

"Bunker? Where is it?" Diana suddenly got real interested.

"How would I know? It wasn't my project. Maybe that girl knows"

***

Lia and Redgie were slowly following the main road to the lumber mill.
Tex smelled the twin sisters, Mik and Garett from afar, and he barked to get Lia's attention.

She looked at the part of the forest Tex was facing, but she couldn't see well from this distance.
"They would not attack from such distance" She said to Tex, assuming he was pointing out walkers. But Tex kept looking at the forest.
"Could you perhaps use the higher degree of magnification on your crossbow in order to survey those trees?" She asked Redgie.


Diana went prone, pulling Jane down with her.
"If that fucking dog gives our positions away, I swear I'll kill it" Diana whispered angrily, showing the others to get down. She used the sign they taught her in the Marines; Now Garett knew she used to be in the army, just like him.

"Please don't kill anyone~! This girl, Lia, is actually very friendly and nice! I remember her father talking about her a lot"

"Forget the girl, it's that bloodthirsty dog and the big nigger with a crossbow I'm worried about"

"Stop saying that~!" Jane put her hand to Diana's mouth to silence her. Diana didn't object; Just let Jane hold her hand at her mouth. She found the situation funny; They had the advantage on Lia and Redgie. Numbers, cover, guns... They had nothing to worry about.

[Lord Tully]

"Good, I'm thinking that we take the Jeep most of the way to the hospital, once we're done there, we pick up Lia and Redgie from the mill and drive to the water tower. Sound like a solid plan?" Jacob asked as he put his rifle and pack in the back of the Jeep and climbed in. As Evee spoke he smiled at the fact that even if things were rocky Evee seemed to care at least for the basic safety of everyone.

Taking the quickest route he remembered from the map, Jacob drove the jeep in relative silence, he was just glad that Evee had agreed to come along with him and seemed happy about it. When he spotted the hospital a reasonable distance away, Jacob stopped the jeep parked it a bit out of the way and climbed out, "If there's anyone in the hospital, approaching in the Jeep would call attention to us. And if we cut through the trees instead of following the road anyone on the roof would have a harder time seeing us." He explained before Evee could ask.

While he politely waited for Evee to be ready to move, Jacob looked over his rifle making sure it was fully loaded and the sights were properly aligned, "God I wish I'd invested in a cleaning kit." he said mostly to himself.

[garnetfrog]

Garett let himself be pulled along by Jane until they were outside. 'hmm, she's good at getting her way." he smiled at her then gently removed her hook from his sleeve. Outside he saw Diana talking with Mik near his motorcycle. Nearby the zombies were still trying to pound down the garage door. He looked around and found a couple of branches lying on the ground. He jammed a couple of those into the handles for a little extra strength before rushing to catch up with the others.

The four companions snuck up on the road and stopped near the edge of the forest. Garett pulled out his pistol and waited for something to happen. Jane pointed out someone on the road and he hid behind a tree. He peered out from behind the tree with his pistol aimed in the air. He almost choked in surprise when Dianna called one of them a Nigger. He turned and looked at her in surprise before she gave the military signal to get down. He instantly hit the deck and hissed, "what's wrong?" He wasn't very surprised that she was military, it made sense.

[Medic]

Evee agreed fully with Jacob's plan. "I think that sounds like a great plan there, sir," she said. Jacob seemed like a pretty smart guy, and she was sure his knowledge of simple tactics exceeded hers at least.

Evee didn't speak most of the ride either, though she really wanted to. It seemed Jacob had something on his mind though, and she would rather not interrupt. Instead, she looked about her and into her surroundings. It would have been a nice area if everything wasn't dead. Jacob stopped the Jeep a bit far off from the hospital, and immediately began giving tactical suggestions. Evee only said a few words, "Alright, if it so pleases you."

Evee motioned with her hand, and completely as a joke said, "Ladies first."

[Lord Tully]

It was nice to finally travel with someone who thought Jacob's ideas were good ones. The trip had felt a bit awkward since Jacob got the feeling that Evee had wanted to say something but just wasn't, but he figured that if she had something important to say she'd say it eventually. When she was ready to move Jacob visibly tensed for just a second at her joke, "I knew you were jealous that I was cuter then you." he responded trying to brush off the joke.

Taking the invitation to go first Jacob set off towards the hospital at careful pace, "Let's just take this slow, be careful of where you step and keep an eye out for any movement." he told her as he looked through his scope to try and get a read on the hospital. It seemed abandoned, but at this distance he couldn't say for sure, and there did seem to be something on the roof, a body maybe? "I think I see something on the roof, keep close to the trees just in case."

[Medic]

Evee seemed nonchalant about the whole thing until Jacob told her he saw something on the roof. I never checked the roof, she thought to herself. She hid out of sight, using a tree as cover and pulled her rifle from her back. She attached the barrel, unfolded the stock, and re-aligned the scope. She didn't look up, for fear it was a sniper, but she had her rifle ready. Just in case.

Evee moved up towards the hospital, taking quick steps between trees, and sticking close to the ones she came to. She would go as Jacob went, matching his speed, if only just enough to keep the same distance.

She feared the worst. What was on the roof? What could it possibly be?

[Lord Tully]

Being extremely weary now that he knew of a presence on the hospital's roof, Jacob kept himself low and moved carefully in between the trees. He also kept somewhere where he could keep an eye on Evee, if he heard a shot he'd need to react fast. Periodically Jacob would bring his rifle up to his eye to peek at the roof, but details were coming in very slowly. The pace at which he was moving was making the trip longer then Jacob would have liked, but it was still before noon and it was better then rushing and getting shot by some lunatic.

"Hey Sunshine, you want to take a peek at the roof?" Jacob whispered to Evee as he stopped behind a particularly large tree at what seemed to be half way to the hospital, "That scope looks better then mine, so maybe you'll be able to get more details" His rifle was pretty decent, but it was made for hunting while Evee's was a military piece, it should have a stronger scope.

[MatrixOne]

So Evee and Jacob chose a sneaky path.

It worked, because despite James's best efforts to notice anything approaching the hospital, he hasn't noticed anything.

But he saw someone else.
The hospital is sure to attract lots of survivors. Like this kid, no older than sixteen; He seemed to be very careless, running towards the hospital out in the open like that.
He was wounded. His arm was bleeding, and he was too far away for anyone, James, Evee or Jacob, to see what kind of wound it was.

Besides, it did not matter. As soon as James saw him, he pointed his rifle at him.

The kid got blinded by scope glint, and stopped running to see what's shining on that rooftop.

Then, James fired his gun. He missed the first bullet, so he followed it up with another, this time accurate.
The kid had no time to react; He got hit right in the chest and fell on the ground, choking on his own blood.
James decided it's unwise to waste any more bullets; The kid will bleed out and die anyway.

He resumed his patrol. Just a few more hours until the evening, and he can leave the hospital safely...

***

Jane thought for a second, trying to think of a plan.
"Okay, we need to talk with these people~! And Diana's better at shooting than she is at talking, ahaha~! I'm thinking she should stay here and cover us from afar! And Garett is a marine, so he's a great shot too, and he won't be in danger if Diana's with her, that's for sure! And me and Mik could just go and talk~" She explained.

"Not sure if I like sitting on my ass safe in the bushes while you are risk your life" Diana said.

"Aww~! But it's no risk if I have you to protect me from here, riiiight? Besides, I can handle myself! I have a hatchet~" She winked to Garett.

"...Fine, but if that nigger draws on you, I'll blow his brains out in an instant" Diana warned.

"Let's go~!" Jane offered her hand to Mik. "I'm sure they're all friendly!"

[Deathbykimura]

Mikhail let out a soft sigh when He felt Diana's body against him, and bit his lip. "I just didn't want you or Jane to get hurt," he began to explain, taking Diana's hands and pulling them around his waist. He let them rest in his solid abs, and leaned back against her, enjoying the proximity and body heat. "I would go by myself if I had to... But thanks for being my side kick gorgeous." He added, before taking another hit of the marijuana. When Diana said something about Jane lecturing him, he let out a laugh and shrugged his shoulders, letting his free hand move over the skin of her arm absentmindedly. "Yeah, it won't work too well.. But I will try to hide it from her as long as I can," he assured her, before grinding out the roach, and tossing it aside.

Soon after, the group was on their way to do recon, sneaking through the woods and watching some young girl, and a jiggaboo with a crossbow. Mikhail almost pissed himself when Diana called him a nigger, and he had to bite his lip to stay silent. "Holy fuck... You hate them too? Mmm you and I are definitely gonna get along." He whispered in Diana's ear, his breath dancing over the skin of her neck. Suddenly, Jane was formulating a plan and Diana was staying behind with the scared marine. Narrowing his eyes, he looked over at Dianna and shrugged. "I'll keep her safe... I promise.."

Standing up, he took Jane's hand in his, and lead the way toward the survivors. Putting his hands up, he took a white handkerchief out of his pocket and waved it... The universal symbol for "don't put an arrow in my ass." While he shuffled towards them. "Yo! Friendly, don't shoot!" He let out loudly enough for them to hear. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest.. The last thing he wanted was to get shot now...

"I'm Mikhail... Light heavyweight martial arts champion of the world... And this is Jane, my adorable little hooked sidekick." He said with a charming smile as he approached the pair, making sure to keep his eye on the 'nigger' with the crossbow. "Do you really have to point that at me? You're making me nervous.."He stated nodding toward the contratption of flying eminent death.

[Craze]

(sorry for not posting in a long time D:)

Redgie nodded. He didn't trust this. He climbed on top of a car wreckage and then onto a higher platform above an abandoned supermarket. He took his crossbow and aimed it near the forest. He scavenged the area looking through his crossbow. He didn't see much, only birds and forest animals. No walkers.
"I don't see anything," Redgie said, "Dog must've barked at a bird or something." but Redgie still looked at the area, wondering if there actually was something there.

However, when he took a closer look, people started to come out of the bushes. Some kind of hokey-pokey with a white handkerchief came first, followed by a person in a hood.
"Do you really have to point that at me? You're making me nervous.."
Redgie didn't like the tone of this 'Mikhail'. He lowered his crossbow, but kept an eye on him. Redgie jumped down from where he was to take his position next to Lia.

"I'm Redgie. This is Lia." Redgie said, "What do you want?"

[garnetfrog]

Garett frowned slightly when he was told he'd have to stay with Diana but nodded in agreement. He aimed his pistol at the road and waited. He glanced over at Diana and whispered, "don't you dare take a shot for no reason. Also, why are you racist? It's like me hating you cause your hair's a different color, makes no sense." He turned his focus back to the road.

A moment later he heard the deep boom of a rifle going off in the distance. He tensed up. 'oh shit, what was that? It came from that way...' he glanced in the direction of the hospital then looked back at the road. The log he was crouching behind was rotten and had some holes in it. He looked down when he saw movement and found a small toad had climbed out of one of the holes. He smiled at it and watched it, he loved frogs and toads.

[Medic]

Evee heard the shot clearly. She used her scope to check the rooftop, but it seemed clear. No one was there. "What the fuck was that? Maybe someone's alive in there," she whispered to Jacob. "The roof's clear, I don't see anything. And there was no one here yesterday, at least to my knowledge."

Evee was now a tad confused. Someone had come here overnight and was inside. Was it a survivor? Would they raid Evee and Jacob for supplies? Were they friendly? Who were they? Evee's mind was filled with questions, which in turn tinged her with anxiety. She was unsure of how to continue, but did her best. "I'll move up, you cover my ass," she whispered to Jacob before sprinting forward and hiding behind a tree. She then took off again across to another tree until she approached the hospital entrance. She sprinted straight to the door, and used the doorframe as cover before beckoning to Jacob.

[MatrixOne]

Lia didn't hide when the two survivors approached her and Redgie. She stood right next to him, telling Tex to stand by.


Jane smiled cutely when Mik called her his 'adorable sidekick'.

"What do you want?" Redgie asked.

"Hand over your... Stuff!" She pointed her hook at Redgie with the brightest smile she could manage. Of course, she was too far away to even hope to reach him with the hook. "Ahaha~! Just kidding! We were passing by and thought we'd say hello! Gots a totally shady deal for you, haha~!"

As Lia listened to Jane, she kept thinking she knew her voice from somewhere.
The videochat with her father, that's where she heard it! In the background, in some labs...
"What kind of deal?" She asked.

"Well, there's this garage full of dead guys and there's good stuff inside~! We can share what we recover if you can help out with the cleanup, haha~"
She looked at Mik to see if he's fine with the idea.

***

In the Meantime, Diana was getting restless at the trigger.
"The hell is she doing" She saw Jane point her hook at Redgie.

When Diana turned her head to look at Garett, what she saw got her real mad.
"And what the hell are you doing?! Watch the damn survivors, asshole! I don't care if he's black, green or a ginger, if he touches Jane, I'll fucking kill him, that girl, and you for not helping out" She tapped Garett on the shoulder to get his attention away from the frog.

***

James was surveying the area and spotted Evee sprinting from the tree to the door. He took a shot at her, but the bullet missed by a couple yards.
"Turn away and leave, or you're dead!" He shouted from the rooftop, and fired again. The angle was obstructed and he couldn't see Evee, but he was surely gonna watch very closely, so Jacob would have to reveal himself to move up.

[Medic]

Evee heard a bullet hit the floor after she beckoned to Jacob. She hadn't even noticed the first one was directed at her. She heard the man yell down at her. "Turn away and leave or you're dead!"

Evee pulled her mask down, and motioned at Jacob to not move. "We're friendlies! We aren't trying to hurt you! We didn't even know you were up there. Just calm down, okay?" The ex-EMT made another motion for Jacob to wait. Maybe she could tlak this guy down. All the EMTs were trained to calm down the wounded who were freaking out or going into shock. she didn't know what this guy's deal was, but she may be able to calm him down.

[MatrixOne]

James started getting angry. He couldn't see Evee from this angle, but knew her approximate position judging by the voice.
"This place, and everything inside, belongs to me now. Think you can take me on? I'll fucking kill you" He shouted back, having the gun at the ready but not firing.

He was waiting for Evee to open the door; The explosive charge planted on the other side would surely wound her or scare her away.

He decided she wasn't going to show herself, so he decided to use the fire escape to descend alongside the back wall and sneak around the hospital from the back.
As he made his way down and between the trees, Jacob caught a glimpse of him moving into view. He was a considerable distance away and probably wouldn't hit him, but it was a chance.

[Lord Tully]

The sound of gunshots made Jacob freeze in place for a moment, "Oh fuck." he muttered there was now no question that some kind of sniper had taken up residence in the Hospital. By the time he'd processed this fact however Evee had already started running for the door, "Evee no!" he tried to yell under his breath as he tried to grab her to keep her in cover. Clearly however he moved too slowly, and could only snap back behind the tree and listen as someone took shots at his friend.

When he built up enough courage to look again, Jacob could see to much relief that Evee had made it to the door way of the hospital. Jacob could do nothing but look however, as he could see the man on the roof with his gun at the ready. There was no way Jacob could bring his own rifle up to take a shot and stay enough behind his tree to stay safe so Jacob only listened as Evee tried to talk him down. I guess not everyone's smart enough to work with a group. he thought as Evee's attempts seemed to fail.

An opportunity came however when the man backed away from the roof's edge, Jacob shouldered his rifle and moved out a bit to have a wider field of vision. He gestured for Evee to stay exactly where she was as he tried to watch the windows and edges of the building's walls for the man to show himself, while Jacob himself slowly made for the door. Luck was smiling on Jacob in this case as he caught sight of the man between some trees a considerable distance away. Immediately Jacob dropped to a prone position and started to inch his way forward if he stood still Jacob was confident that he could shoot the man from this distance. The man however was moving too much for Jacob to want to risk revealing himself.

[Deathbykimura]

When Redgie gave him a shoddy tone, Mikhail arched an eyebrow and folded his massive arms over his chest. "Look, I'd lose the fucking attitude 'bro'" he began, taunting the guy as he narrowed his gaze and stared a hole through him. It was true; at first, the pair had come over to strike up a peace treaty. Now, this uppity nigger was standing within striking distance with his crossbow lowered, and all Mik had to do was lash out wis weapon. "You really have no clue who you're talking to... And crossbow or not.. It's never a good idea to be a fucking douche to a multiple black belt and world champion fighter. Put the cross bow down.. I'll kick out your fucking teeth if you have an issue... Otherwise, shut the fuck up and listen." He directed, throwing the handkerchief on the ground and puffing out his chest. Stepping between the guy and Jane, Mikhail slipped his hand behind him and gripped the nunchaku just in case.

He'd promised Diana that he'd keep them safe, and if it took getting a crossbow bolt in the chest to prove a point, so be it. "We have some stuff. You help us clear a shed.. I'll ration you some. You don't get a pick in what you get..mor how much.. Like I said, I'll ration it." He began to explain, his sense of civility that he'd planned on showing, now ruined by this asshole's attitude. "I'd come over to offer a partnership, and maybe to see if you needed lodging with a group.. But I just don't like this fucking guy. You and the dog are welcome though." He added, giving the girl a smile.

Turning to look at Redgie again, Mikhail gave him a smirk and shrugged. "Gee... Shouldn't have been such a little cock sucker huh?" He taunted, before motioning to the other two without looking.

[MatrixOne]

Jane could hardly believe what Mik was saying. She didn't know how to respond, so she just stood there, shocked.

Lia had to look up to see into Mik's eyes, because he was a lot taller, stronger and overall larger than she was.
But what she said was rather surprising to Jane, too.
"Threatening us shall accomplish nothing. Unless you are indirectly requesting a fatal injury" Lia said, gently gripping her holstered pistol. Mik and Jane had melee weapons; They had guns. Redgie had a crossbow.

"Hey, can we... Not kill each other just yet?" Jane said to Mik, tapping him on the shoulder. "Save it for the walkers~"

***

James did not notice Jacob and continued his flanking maneuver, switching to his long combat knife as he moved between the trees. He noticed Evee, and was slowly making his way over to her from behind, where she wouldn't suspect him to be.

____
Here, an opportunity for Jacob and James to engage in melee combat and get Jacob injured. ;q
You can ignore it and we'll have plenty opportunities later in the fight, too, so don't worry. ;q

[Deathbykimura]

"For one," he began, his jaw clenched in anger. "I wasn't threatening you..I was calling this boy out." He explained, gesturing toward Redgie. "He's got such a macho attitude.. Who needs weapons? Put up your fists and we'll see what the fuck is up." Mik added, looking at Jane as she tapped him on the shoulder. "We came over to try to be civil.. We came unarmed and waving a white flag quite literally... And this guy still acts like we're in league with these fucking walking cadavers." He explained, shrugging. "I offered refuge for you and your dog.. I didn't threaten YOU once.. I have no issue with you."

Tilting his head, he let his neck crack and he gave another shrug. "If you're both going to be impolite and you don't need supplies.. We'll be on our way of course... But your weapons don't frighten me. I know this thing called Krav Maga? That means I can take weapons from people.. And stick them up their asses if I want. I wouldn't draw that pistol sweetheart." He said with a nod, giving another perfect smile. Folding his arms over his chest again, he looked at the two new people and raised an eyebrow. "So what's it going to be? We start over and treat each-other with some civility and decency.. Or.."

[garnetfrog]

Garett jumped in surprise and looked back to the road ashamed. "Sorry..." Was all he could say. He gripped the gun tightly and aimed it at the man holding the crossbow. The frog hopped away to his disappointment. He kept his gaze steadily on the road, not wavering once. He nearly face palmed when Mik began trying to be a bad ass. He was just coming off as an ass. "I swear, if he says one more threat I'm going to sneak up behind him and pistol whip him." He aimed the gun a little more to the left so that it was aimed in between Mik and the black man.

Meanwhile back at the sawmill a lone person was walking around looking for supplies.he wasn't very tall, was kind of skinny and wore large black framed glasses. On his back was a large backpack that contained a bag of beef jerky and a half empty water bottle. He carried with him an old musket he had gotten from a museum and an Indian tomahawk. He was not the brightest person, but wasn't stupid either. As he searched he came across the garage, a metal rod had been jammed in between the handles as if to keep something in. He listened at the door for a moment and, not hearing anything, took the rod from the handle and some sticks that had been jammed there too and tried the door. It wouldn't move. He pulled with all his might and heard a crack come from the other side. The door flew open and he fell on his butt. Inside of the garage were several zombies. He took his musket and fired it. He had never fired it before so didn't know if it worked or not. The gunpowder exploded and broke the barrel severely injuring him and breaking his glasses. He could see blurred figures coming toward him so he pulled out the tomahawk and swung. It missed and the zombie crouched down and bit into his leg. He screamed in terror and swung the axe frantically. He hit the zombie but it had been wearing a hard hat, the axe broke and ounces harmlessly off. Another zombie knelt next to him and took a chunk out of his neck. Blood spurted out every time his heart beat. He screamed a blood curdling scream so loud it caused birds in nearby trees to fly away in surprise.

[Lord Tully]

After crawling towards the sniper for a few moments, Jacob brought the scope up to his eye, lined up the dot with the man's head and squeezed the trigger. Only the trigger wouldn't move, he tried again, but it still wouldn't move, which flicked a switch in his brain causing him to leap to his feet and charge the man. Jacob didn't think of looking for what was wrong, the sniper was going for Evee with a knife, and she didn't seem to notice him yet. If one of his friends got killed because he was fucking around with his rifle, Jacob would hate himself for weeks.

In what felt like an instant Jacob reached the man and with an almost primal yell smashed him across the face with the butt of his rifle. Jacob then dropped the gun and after quickly punching him in the same side of the face, grabbed his knife hand and tried to hook a leg around his knees to get the man on the ground with Jacob on top. Even an idiot would know what kind of advantage a knife could be so Jacob tried to either turn the blade back toward his enemy, or take it from him entirely. "You think you can just kill people cause you want to? Fuck you! I'm gonna take your fucking eyes with this thing!" Jacob growled in a slightly hoarse voice as he struggled with the man.

[Craze]

"Gee... Shouldn't have been such a little cock sucker huh?" He taunted, before motioning to the other two without looking.

Redgie tried to keep calm, but he lost his attitude. "'Cause I'm black?!" he shouted. "Is that it?!" Redgie clenched his fists, but still remained next to Lia. "I'll tell you something; I had the fucking attitude because you make such a fucking macho appearance. You call me the macho? You call me the tough boy? In all honesty, the only macho kid I see here is you."

Redgie calmed down a little, folding his arms across his chest like Mik did. He looked at Lia. "I'll leave it up to you. I don't want to get in a fight, but if Bruce Lee here keeps on threatening me, I will." Redgie looked over at Mik for a second, but then returned to Lia. "Do you want to go with these people or not?"

[Deathbykimura]

Mik arched an eyebrow, and let out a scoff. "Why is it always that same damn sentence. No idiot, it's not because you're black." He lied, arching an eyebrow. "And you judged me because of my appearance? now who's fucked up?" He added, before swinging out his Nunchaku. "I came up waving a white flag.. the least possible macho thing int he world. It meant I came in peace.. I came to talk... you gave me this bitch ass attitude and pointed a bow at me.. so drop the bullshit act.. or we can settle it."

Looking at Jane, He bit his lip, before letting out a sigh. "Look man, the world has gone to shit.. people are killing each other, and we're losing our civility. I thought we could work together. Share and accomplish a common goal. I didn't expect you to be such a punk that I reconsidered reason. I'm sorry. Would you like to start over?"

Taking in another deep breath, Mik used calming tactics to avoid a fight. It wouldn't help at all in this situation, and he had to keep himself on a leash. "I'm just hostile because one wrong thing could kill any of us man... a bow being pointed at me makes me a little edgy. again, I apologize."

Stepping forward, he offered his hand; "I'm Mikhail... world champion MMA fighter.. and a nice guy normally. "

[Medic]

Evee honestly had had no idea that the man was sneaking around to take her out from close range. She had been too busy trying to formulate a plan. She had come up with a haphazard one, but before she could do anything, Jacob and the man were wrestling over the knife and one of them was yelling. Evee didn't respond very quickly, and took a minute before pulling the katana from the sheath on her back. She thought for a moment. Wait, they're so close together that if I take a swing, I'll hit Jacob!

Instead, she waited. It seemed like Jacob had the upper hand and was going to kill the other man. Jacob was on top and wrestling for the knife, so Evee decided she would wait until she was needed since she didn't want to hit Jacob.

[Craze]

Redgie was preparing himself for a fight. He was sure that one of them would get fatally wounded, until Mikhail calmed down. So did Redgie. As Mikhail came forward, Redgie started to grow a second impression about him. He seemed a better man, somehow.

"No man, it's me who should apologise." Redgie said, shaking his hand. "Name's Redgie. I never meant to threaten you, it's just..." Redgie sighed for a moment and wiped sweat off his forehead. He was clearly exhausted, not to mention frustrated. "...I lost my old man because of some racist bastards. I've been on my guard ever since. Not to mention my ma died... but that's a whole different story."

Redgie released Mik's hand. "I was wrong about you, Mikhail. And yes, I would like very much to begin a new start."

[MatrixOne]

Lia watched silently as Redgie and Mik went from hostile to friendly in a couple seconds.
"While the change of... Attitude is rather welcome" She said quietly, more to Mik than to Redgie. "I believe we should be on our way now..."

"And where would 'your way' lead?" Jane asked.

"...Away" Lia answered. She didn't like that question one bit.

"Awww. I was thinking more like... The lumber mill" Jane pointed it out with a devilish smile. "This road leads right to it. There's no way you'd be going anywhere else! And that's where we came from, so we can show you around if you like! Let me just get the rest of my crew back here~"
Jane signaled back to Diana. Redgie and Mik were no longer hostile, so there was no real need for sniper support.

Diana saw the signal.
"Come on, the situation's under control" She said to Garett and holstered her pistol and joined Jane and Mik.
"'Sup, guys" Diana greeted Redgie and Lia, trying not to seem too racist right now. She wanted Redgie's help with the walkers, after all.

"I know who you are!" Jane suddenly said, pointing at Lia.

"I am also aware of your name and profession" Lia replied instantly, as if she expected Jane to say that.

"Great! So we're all friends now, and you can trust us!"

"Hey, what the hell is that sound" Diana noted the sounds coming from the lumber mill. "Sounds like someone getting mauled!" She pulled out her pistol. "Fuck. So much for 'contained threats'. There was good shit in that damn sawmill"

"Aha! Counterattack, then! Together to victory~" Jane thought that joining forces is incredibly awesome.

***

Jacob's attack scared James, and getting hit in the face with the butt of a rifle didn't help his concentration, but the man wasn't going to give up and die.
Besides, he was older and stronger than Jacob. As soon as he got a grasp on the situation, he realized that this is probably gonna get Evee's attention, too. And fighting two survivors at once would be difficult.
He saw her standing with a sword. She probably wasn't sure how to attack.
"I warned you! Turn away and live, what's so difficult to fucking understand?!" He shouted as he broke away from Jacob's grab, and lunged at him with the knife, stabbing him once below the chest. He brutally kicked Jacob away and faced Evee.

"You should have listened. Now your friend's going to die, right under the god damn hospital. Ain't that ironic"
He had no other weapon than that knife, so he decided to return to the hospital, but Evee was in the way.
"Get out of here, or I'll kill you, too" He warned.

___
I don't know what kind of wound's treatable and which isn't, I hope this is fine. ; o
Evee can kill James, she has a sword.

[Medic]

Evee was pissed now. She had a newfound friend, someone who to talk to after what seemed like forever, someone who wouldn't really judge her. ... And this motherfucker just HAD to stab him, she thought to herself.

"Alright, bitchtits, listen up," she said, pointing the sword in a ready position. "That wound you gave him. It was grave, but nowhere near fatal. You missed his ribs, and stabbed on the wrong side of his heart. That blade is way too fucking tiny to pierce a lung, and your weak-ass arms don't have the manpower to push your Swiss Army pocket knife into my friend there far enough to do any long-term damage. Basically, you just gave him a bad cut that I have to take time out of my day to patch up. So fuck you and your establishment. I'm going to show you how you actually stab someone," she said as she smiled behind her mask and rushed James with the katana.

She swung left in a huge arc, but James dodged backwards. She zigzagged the sword up, to the right, and brought it down crashing into James' arm, which he threw up in defense. She severed his left forearm, and he dropped his knife in shock. She then ran him through clean with a quick stab in the chest, impaling him before pulling the sword from his body. An arterial spurt of blood burst from his chest before he fell to the floor, his eyes wide. Evee dropped the katana and ran to Jacob's side. "You're going to be alright," she said gently as she began to pull up Jacob's shirt. "I need to take this off and staunch the bleeding, okay?"

[Lord Tully]

Jacob struggled to get James on the ground, but James was much stronger then he'd seemed and Jacob wasn't getting the knife away as easily as though he could. James then broke out of Jacob's grip and something happened, suddenly time seemed to stop working properly, and Jacob's mind slowed. He could see that he was on the ground, though it felt like he was still standing fighting with James What's happening. he thought as his senses slowly caught up with his body.

He looked 'down' at his body to see that his hoody now had a deep red stain spreading across it, and zipping it open showed the shirt underneath had one even bigger. Past his legs, Jacob could see the almost embarrassing exchange between James and Evee and as a miniscule thought passed to ask Evee where she learned that, Jacob's brain decided to turn back on his sense of feeling. "Ahhh!" he groaned out as his hands went down to his torso. Jacob wasn't a stranger to getting hurt, but never to this extent and having it be a deliberate attempt on his life added a difficult to describe sensation on top of the pain.

As time started to run normally again Jacob saw Evee at his side "Evee, what happened?" he asked his brain still trying to take in all of the last few seconds. When Evee tried to take off his shirt, Jacob's eyes widened and tried to protest, but when he tried to move her hands away, a massive stab of pain shot through his side. Damn it, damn it, damn it! he wanted to scream, but all he could manage was a wordless call. Knowing that Evee was an EMT and that he'd probably bleed out or die of infection without her help, Jacob reluctantly let her remove his shirt.

And so Evee saw Jacob's truth, despite 7 long days of keeping up the charade, her chest revealed the fact that Jacob was in fact a woman. Her breasts were small, and it was almost trivial to hide her figure behind loose or thick clothing, but now that she was exposed the shape and proportion of her torso left little room to keep up the ruse that her name was still 'Jacob.' "I'm really, really sorry Sunshine." 'Jacob,' proper name Susan, told the woman standing over her, the combination of the rather cold air and the adrenaline screaming through her system causing her to shiver heavily, "I guess I fucked up a little huh?"

[Medic]

Evee's surprise was clear, just like the newly found truth. Jacob was, in fact, a woman. Evee took a moment to process this, then shook her head and continued pulling off Jacob's shirt. Her EMT training was kicking in and she refused to be distracted from the wound. She pressed "Jacob's" shirt onto the bloody wound and applied moderate pressure. "You were stabbed, Jacob," she said, to answer his question. "But it isn't that bad. You'll be quite alright. He missed anything major."

Evee then listened as Jacob apologized and asked if he fucked up. The medical expert only shook her head. "Don't apologize. People do what they have to do, what they want to do. Whether you had to dress as a man, or you simply wanted to, it makes no difference to me, okay? I see you pretty much the same, though now I realize why you were so cute to me," she said with a small giggle. "And if you're talking about being sorry because you got stabbed, don't worry about it. I've been itching to treat a wound for awhile." She was trying to calm down the wounded girl and make her ease up a little. Evee continued to apply pressure. "Once this stops bleeding a little bit, I'm going to wrap it with your shirt, and we have to get inside that hospital. There's gauze, bandages, and stitches in there."

[Lord Tully]

Stabbed? Oh yeah he had a knife, that's why I charged him She thought as the feeling of Evee pressing against the wound made her groan in pain. "You'll probably want to know, my real name's Susan." Susan told Evee trying to force her shivering under control and distract from the growing pain as the hit of adrenaline eased off. She thought back to high school classes on injuries and forced herself to focus on what Evee was saying, Susan didn't know if the stab was enough to put her in shock, but didn't really want to risk it.

It made Susan extremely happy to know that this surprise didn't alienate Evee as much as she thought it would, and when she said she thought Susan was cute she couldn't help but laugh. It was more of half a laugh cut off by her injury, but it was still there, "Well I'm glad I could help you get your weird doctor's fix." she told Evee only half joking, part of her wondering if Evee realized that what she just said was a bit bizarre. As she got a bit more used to the pain, Susan's shivering started to steady out, now it was mostly from the cool air, "I hope they have some spare clothes in there to." She said looking up at the hospital building, "I'm not sure if just my hoody is enough and I didn't think to bring a change when I had the chance." Susan then put her own hand on top of the shirt on her wound and tried to sit up. It hurt, a lot, but she'd have to get up off the ground eventually.

[Medic]

Evee smiled at Susan's real name. "Susan it is then." Evee also chuckled at Susan referring to her "weird doctor's fix." "I like to help people. I didn't mean anything by it," she said slightly sadly. She really hadn't meant for it to sound like that. Evee began to tie the shirt tight around Susan's body to cover the wound. She then stood up and held out a hand. "Come on, let's get you inside, patched up and clothed, before..."

Eveenix cut off her sentence and turned her head away to blush, using her hair as a cover. Her hand still out, Evee refused to let Susan see the tinge on her cheeks. Finally, she looked back and said "Sorry, thought I heard something over there."

[Lord Tully]

Susan winced a bit at Evee's response, "It's good that you like to help people, it's people like that who're gonna survive longer." She said a touch apologetically. When Evee offered her hand and referenced getting Susan clothed it suddenly clicked in Susan's head that she was topless save for her make-shift bandage. In an attempt at modesty Susan grabbed her discarded hoody and covered her chest with it while she accepted Evee's offered hand, not noticing Evee's blush or seeming discomfort. Once stood, Susan carefully worked her arms into the hoody's sleeves and zipped it all the way up.

"There, that's mostly better." Susan said before feeling a bit light headed, she was able to keep herself standing but she knew she wouldn't be able to move very fast for a little while and probably looked extremely pale. When Evee said something about hearing something Susan drew her pistol from her belt as a precation, and then carefully picked back up her rifle and backpack slinging them both over her back. "Hey Sunshine, we should probably try the ambulance entrance." Susan suggested, "They usually connect right to the ER, right? And we'll be able to check any ambulances still here." She looked at Evee with a slightly uncertain expression, "Sound about right?"

[Medic]

"Thank you," the EMT said. Eveenix looked away as Sarah covered herself with the hoodie. It was better than nothing, she figured. She listened carefully to Susan's plan.

Evee had just been thinking about that. "That's correct. It should be just around the side here, if I'm not mistaken," she said as she began to walk.

Eveenix liked the way that Susan called her Sunshine. It was an old name, one that she took comfort in. And Susan being the one to call me it makes it that much better, she thought to herself. She shook her head. That was ridiculous. Come on, Evee. Stop being a weirdo, she chided. "So, Susan, what made you want to be a man," she said, distracting Susan from the wound, and distracting herself from her own thoughts. The entrance was coming in sight.

[Lord Tully]

"Don't mention it." Susan told her, now noticing a slight change in Evee's demeanor, shrugging it off as an effect of seeing a friend get stabbed, Susan started to follow her pistol still in hand. Evee had been here before so she'd know at least some of the layout, that and being in top condition made Susan decide to let Evee lead instead of her.

Susan blinked a few times when Evee asked her the obvious question, she knew it was coming sooner or later, but she hadn't expected it to be asked so bluntly. Probably better to be blunt about it anyway. After collecting her thoughts for a second, Susan gestured back towards the chopped to pieces James, "That guy more or less." she said flatly, following up quick to avoid confusion, "Not him specifically, but when the world went to hell I figured that a good majority of the people I'd meet would be like him. Desperate, probably a bit crazy, eager to kill every other thing they see. I figured it would all go a bit easier if I was seen as a man then a woman, even if I was kind of a scrawny man." Susan swallowed a bit as she explained herself.
"I've always had kind of an ambiguous figure in clothes like this, and a slightly deeper voice, so really all I had to do was introduce myself as Jacob, and people seemed to buy it." As the pair approached the entrance, Susan gave Evee a sideways glance, "So you thought I made a cute guy huh?" That sentence had caught her interest, more the way it was phrased then the words themselves.

[Craze]

"Right, to the lumber mill then?" Redgie asked in general. Mik had gotten quite silent, all of a sudden. He still didn't trust Mikhail for a 100%. More like, 60%. Or 70%.

Redgie looked in the distance, to see if he could spot anything near the lumber mill. Nothing. He drew his crossbow, ready for anything waiting to attack. He slowly made his way, waiting for the others.

[Medic]

Evee nodded her head to Susan's reason for hiding her gender. "That's a damn good reason, and you did a damn good job." She paused for a moment. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," she said with a sly wink.

"I thought you made a really cute man. You see, I'm not actually interested in men," she said bluntly. "I'm more of a lady-lover, if I say so myself. It's not that I have anything against men, that's just how I am, I guess," she said softly. She began to blush, realizing what Susan may be thinking of her now. "I mean, not that I was... Ummm..." She flushed red, glad for the mask that hid her cheeks, and pulled open the entrance. "Nevermind," she said. "Let's just find you some bandages," she chuckled.

Evee held the door for Susan, then walked ahead of her, katana drawn. "Last I was here, there were walkers. Keep your guard up," she said. Evee walked through a small hallway, past the ER, and into a medsupply office. She knew there would not be much, but there was gauze and wraps, if only just enough for the wound. She pulled the supplies from a cabinet, and stowed them in her clothes. "Got these," she said. "Now just keep an eye out for stitches."

[Lord Tully]

It gave her an odd boost of confidence to hear that she had been a convincing man, "Thank you, I want to tell the others on my own terms as much as possible." Susan told Evee when she promised to keep her secret. Susan could not help but smile as Evee answered her question and seemed to get more and more flustered as she went on. It was almost hilarious to see this sword wielding bad-ass start stammering and blushing, hoping to calm her friend down Susan put her free hand firmly on Evee's shoulder.

"It's alright, I understand." Susan said in a firm but kind voice, "We can have a talk about this after we're clear of zombies and I'm not bleeding anymore ok?" Susan told the woman hoping to get her to focus. "We'll check to see about the ambulances on our way out, best stuff's probably in the Emergency and Operating rooms." she said expecting Evee to correct her if she said something incorrect. As they went down the small hallway Susan made sure to have her pistol aimed forward and carefully peeked into the rooms they passed. When they reached the ER Susan stopped to search it, "Let's at least stay within earshot, ok Sunshine? I'll come get you if I find anything I can't identify." Susan informed her friend before Evee disappeared into the supply room.

For the most part Susan mostly found tools, surgical blades, tweezers, and similar things that she wasn't sure could be useful, but Susan did eventually find a spool of thread that appeared clean enough for proper stitches. Along with the thread there was also a small bottle labeled Morphine, brought out for a patient that never got the chance to use it probably. Those being the only things Susan could clearly see the use in she made her way towards the supply room she saw Evee go to. "I found some surgical thread, but didn't see any needles, any luck with you?"

[Medic]

The hand on her shoulder was welcome. In fact, she leaned into it slightly, but not enough to really be noticeable. Evee was very glad she knew who Susan was now. It gave her comfort knowing there was another woman about other than Lia, since Lia seemed to be a tad less docile than Evee would like. Either way, she was glad to have Susan around.

"Yeah, okay," she said in response to Susan. "You're right. We can talk about this... Later," she hesitated. Susan was most likely correct, however, Evee spoke up and simply said. "If we can find the supply lockers, we'll have the best luck there. We may be able to get what we need without going to the third floor, though," remembering where her painkillers were, and also where the supply lockers were. But there were also walkers all over up there, so she didn't really want to go up there. She just wanted to get what they needed and leave. "Yeah, let's stay in earshot," she replied to Susan.

Susan returned with no needle for the stitches. "I found bandages, but we still have to find a needle. Honestly, I could do it with any sort of needle, but I would prefer a stitching needle. Come on, let's try to find an operating room," she said as she began to walk out of the room she was in. Operation rooms would be about halfway across the floor they were currently on, so not too far. "They aren't far. Keep an ear out for walkers though," she whispered.

[Lord Tully]

Susan smiled a bit when Evee seemed to focus, maybe she could get a handle on this leading thing. She listened carefully as Evee explained her plans and tried to think them through, "Sounds like a good idea to me." Susan said thinking about what might be on the third floor, "There should be plenty down here anyway." she reasoned as she kept with Evee.
Suddenly Susan remembered the Morphine, "Ohh right, I found this to." she said holding out the small bottle for Evee to take, "Let's see what we can do about syringes to we can actually use it." a bolt of pain coming from her wound as if to punctuate her sentence. At the mention of finding an operating room Susan slowly made her way down the hallway, following a sign that read 'Operating Room' with her pistol leveled in front of her, "Can you name me other kinds medicines to keep an eye out for?" Susan whispered hoping to get something to occupy her mind "All I know is Penicillin, and I'm not even sure how that's spelled."

[Medic]

Evee saw the small bottle of Morphine, and very much wanted to take it for herself. However, Susan needed it more than she, so Evee simply said, "You hold on to that for a minute. My pockets are getting full." Evee was very tempted by the Morphine, but refused to give in. Susan needs it more. Susan needs it more, she kept telling herself.
"Keep an eye out for more painkillers, not only for me, but for the whole group. They'll come in handy when someone gets injured again. Also look for antibiotics like Doribax, Cefzil, Ketek, and Amoxil to name a few important and common ones. Next of priority is non-narcotic pain meds, such as Motrin. I'm not addicted to those," she said softly. They were nearing the operating room. "If you find any meds, just read 'em to me and I'll tell you if they are important." Evee came to the operating room and set her hand on the handle. It was a heavy door. She pushed down on the handle and pushed her body into the door.

There, strapped on the table, was a zombie. It looked straight at Evee and moaned out, long and loud, and snapped in her direction. It couldn't break free of the restraints.

"Holy fuck," Evee whispered. "Do you see that? They must have strapped him down because he was being hostile..."

[MatrixOne]

When Evee entered the room with the zombie strapped to the table, someone else heard the zombie moan and Evee shout to Susan.

Turns out, the hospital can still be very surprising.

"H-hello? James, is that you?" A bald man in a white lab coat (which was now covered in blood) started banging on the door to the room Evee was in. "Y-you're not James...!" The man put tiny glasses on, ones that barely even fit on his nose. "You need to help me! This madman locked me in here with a zombie. I killed it, but now I am trapped in here! Please!"

***

Back in the lumber mill, taking on the released horde of zombies would be suicide and a waste of ammo.

So, the survivors split up. Jane, Diana, Mik and Garett went their way, Redgie and Lia had to return to the gas station.

The way back was pretty much the same, going alongside the forest, this time in the other direction.
They decided to turn in order to shorten the trip back, but the 'back road' wasn't exactly the best option, because inside the forest, there was a bandit living in a treehouse, ambushing anyone moving this way.

When he saw the two survivors, he quickly descended, coming up from behind them and aiming his revolver at Redgie.
"Now, hold it right there, good sir, or I will smear your brain across the ground over here, oh yes" His voice was shaky and unstable. He didn't seem particularly sane.

Lia instinctively clung to Redgie's arm, scared by the sudden threat.

[Craze]

With the revolver aimed at Redgie's forehead, Redgie had a sudden flashback. A flashback of a memory that he never wanted to remember, one that would be best forgotten.

"What's wrong, gramps?" one of the many thugs kicked in Redgie's father's stomach, causing him to spit blood over the pavement. "Now look what you did, you black bastard; you made the pavement all dirty! Best clean it up, huh?" Another thug said, lifting Redgie's dad up by his head and bashing the skull on the street. The thugs stood and laughed.

They laughed. They laughed, they laughed, they laughed.

And Redgie? Redgie hid in a corner. After all, what can a child do? They made him hide. They made him watch as his father clutched onto the last bit of rope that was left of his lifespan. His dad attempted to crawl away from the thugs.

"Oh, this nigger still has some life in him, huh?" one thug took a revolver and aimed it at the father's forehead. The other thugs backed away, their eyes becoming big. But before they could do anything, the trigger was pulled.
Redgie's father was no more.
"Shit man, you killed him!" suddenly, the thugs didn't seem so tough any more. They ran away in fear, vanishing in the alleyways...

Redgie did nothing. He didn't react to the man with the revolver. All he did was give him a dark stare. After a few seconds, he grasped the man's arm and twisted it around. The gun dropped from his hand. "Fuck off." Redgie said, almost breaking the man's arm.

Then suddenly, Redgie seemed surprised by what he was doing. He released the man's arm, sweat dripping from his brows. Redgie almost fell on the ground in panic, and he was suddenly heavily hyperventilating.

[Lord Tully]

Susan nodded and put the Morphine in her pocket, even thought Evee knew more about the stuff it probably was a better idea to keep from over burdening her since Susan had more room. She kept with her friend down the hall and listened to the names of the various medicines, a few of them were simple enough that she could think through the spelling, some others, maybe not. I'll probably just ask Evee about half the shit I find anyway. Susan thought, focusing on remembering what names she could to occupy of her mind a bit.

When they came to the door to the operating room, Susan tried to help Evee push the heavy door open, though in truth there was little she could do without aggravating her injury. When the pair entered the room, Susan looked at the strapped down zombie and grimaced, "Poor guy, was probably conscious for the whole time if they had to strap him down." She said a bit sad before drawing her hood up and tightening it to cover her face. She didn't want to risk the sound of a gun alerting the entire hospital, so Susan drew out her halligan with her free hand and raised it up over her head to dispatch the zombie. Before she brought it down though a banging at one of the doors startled her and she snapped her gun to aim it at the door. She could see another man through the window of the door, and wondered what to make of him.

"Alright, just calm down." Susan ordered not wanting the sound of his banging to draw attention. "Listen Doc, we can help you but first I need to ask you some very important questions, one, how do you know James? Two, did the zombie bite you? Three did any blood get in your mouth or eyes? Answer me and I'll let you out alright?" The man, who Susan assumed was a doctor by his coat, would need to answer carefully or Susan would have no problems either killing him or leaving him to rot.

[MatrixOne]

"W-what? I would never side with this bastard, he locked me in here with a zombie and stole everything I had! He said he'd use that helicopter on the rooftop to get out of here... Why? Do you know him? Are you with him?"
The man was pretty desperate; Seems like he was locked in there for some time. And it's not like James would feed him or anything.

When Susan asked about him being bitten, he backed away a little.
"It didn't bite me, I swear. The blood on my coat is... Not mine" He didn't elaborate who exactly that blood belonged to.

He sighed. It didn't seem likely that they would let him out.
"Have you seen anyone else? Other doctors, or maybe scientists? I was a member of a science team, sent to the hospital to gather samples of the infected so that the rest of us had something to work with in order to find a cure. I heard there was progress in our main lab, but after the comms were cut and the hospital got quarantined, I had no way of finding out for sure. Please, I just want to get out of here and find my friends"

***

The robber took a few steps backwards, surprised by Redgie suddenly falling over.
"Did I do this? Oh, my, I think I did! Had to be me! He touched me and fell, just like that!" He was grinning devilishly. "My touch is poisonous! Haha! Hahaha!" The man stared at his hand, feeling content about the 'newfound power'.

Lia was lost and unsure on what to do. She knelt next to Redgie.
"W-what is happening? Please say something"

The man started approaching her and Redgie again.
"Hush now, my child! The two of you have to die. I'm keeping the dog... Never had dog meat for dinner"

"Tex!" She called to her dog, and it jumped instantly at the man's throat.

[Craze]

The hyperventilating didn't last very long. After a few seconds, Redgie seemed to calm down. He stood up, taking his knife out of his pocket. While the man was being attacked by Tex, Redgie slowly approached the two with his knife.

"Tex, sit." Redgie said as if he had been training the dog for years. Redgie pressed the man's throat against the ground, holding up his knife in the air. "Listen, man. I'll give you a chance. You can either leave us alone... or you can die."

[Medic]

Eveenix simply looked at Jacob. She didn't trust this guy, not one bit. He was either infected or crazy to her, and she was ready to kill him if need be. She pulled the katana from her back and held it in a ready position. This guy had to be stringing bullshit. It had to be a trap.

"Tell me, who's fucking blood is that? What is this fucking zed doing strapped to a fucking table? What kind of twisted shit were you doing in here?" She was on the attack now. This guy looked shady to her, and she didn't like shady.

[MatrixOne]

Tex didn't react to Redgie's words.

"Get back" Lia ordered, and Tex stopped instantly, returning to her side.

The man started struggling, trying to free himself from Redgie's grab.
"Me? Die? Haha! You can't hurt me, this is impossible! I am immune, you hear me? Immune! They can bite me as much as they want, I'll never get sick! I could eat their flesh all day... But yours is a lot better. Fresh, that's right! Let go of me, and I will kill you both!" He screamed, but was a lot weaker than Redgie.

"This man is generating an enormous amount of noise. The infected shall approach our position if we do not relocate" Lia told Redgie, looking around carefully.
She picked up the revolver. It's better for her to have it than that crazy guy.

***

"H-him?" The guy in the lab coat got scared by Evee's sudden anger. "I'm a scientist, not a doctor! This is not even the wing where my lab is situated. I know nothing of what happened to this zombie, I swear!" He fell to his knees in desperation. "The blood on my coat belongs to a zombie. I had to kill it, remember? Please! Why would I risk my life by lying to you now? You have to believe me!" He pleaded.

The key to the door was laying on a metal tray next to the scalpels. She could free him, or throw the key away through a window...

[Craze]

"Then we better get rid of him." Redgie said, his voice monotone and dark. He raised his knife up in the air and pierced it into the man's throat. He stabbed him again and again, until he stopped screaming. Redgie wiped the blood off his face, putting the knife back in his pocket.

"I... I... Excuse me." Redgie said, running away to a corner. He leaned against a wall and threw up. He had never killed people before. Not like this. A few tears rolled over his cheeks.

[Lord Tully]

To try and pull Evee back a bit, Susan placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm on your side." she whispered so the man behind the door could not hear. "Hey doc, keep it together in there." She said in an encouraging voice, "I believe you alright? But you can't really blame my friend here, last guy we ran into tried to murder us, doesn't exactly put people in a trusting mood you know." She picked up the key and moved slowly towards the door, "I'm going to let you out, but I'm telling you right now that if I'm wrong and you are lying about the blood or you try and attack us, you will die." Susan added some extra emphasis to ensure the scientist understood her.

"Be ready." Susan told Evee in a low voice when she reached the door, "Back away from the door, I'm opening it now." Susan ordered as she slowly and carefully unlocked the door, and inch by inch opened it to let the man out.

[MatrixOne]

When Redgie just brutally murdered that guy with a few stabs to the throat, Lia backed off. She always thought of Redgie as someone calm and nice, and his behavior shocked her. Why does everyone have to be so evil?
"I... I suggested relocation, not... Murder" She said angrily. Why would he do this? It didn't even solve the problem, because zombies still heard the guy scream.

Slowly, they started coming out of the woods. For now, there were four, but more were surely on the way.
"We should move" She took out the revolver, just in case.

***

The scientist was losing hope, but when Susan actually opened the door for him, he rose to his feet.
"Thank you! I would have died in there" He looked at Susan with sincere gratitude. "I... Think I can do something for you in return. This bastard James was gathering supplies on the rooftop. He wanted to take what he could and leave at night, but he also talked about how he laid traps all around the place to prevent anyone from accessing the rooftop. But I know a special way to get up there, one used by the helicopter crew. It should be safe" He offered.

He returned to his 'prison room' to pick up the bonesaw (http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101205151657/deadrising/images/d/d6/Bonesaw.gif) which was stuck in the dead zombie's skull. Before taking the saw, the scientist decided to put rubber gloves on, so that he doesn't get blood on his skin.
"So, do you want me to show you the way?"

[Lord Tully]

With the door open Susan kept her gun trained on the scientist, he seemed trust worthy but the encounter with James made her wary. "If it makes you feel better I'm pretty sure this James is the guy we just killed outside, fucker stabbed me." she told him referring to the still relatively fresh blood stain on her torso. She then looked at Evee "It sounds like he's telling the truth to me." She said without lowering her gun, "Once you patch me up do you think we should have him lead us upstairs?" Susan asked, not wanting to sound like she was only thinking of her own ideas.

Then another question came to mind, "You said you had a lab here, what kind of lab, what were you doing here?"

[Craze]

"Shit." Redgie said to himself while he wiped away the puke from his mouth. He spat the last remains of vomit on the ground. Just as he looked up, he saw the Walkers nearing in the distance. He looked at Lia, then at the dead body on the ground. Fuck, what had he done? What had gotten into him? Redgie bumped his head against the wall. But there was no time to weep in a corner. There was danger nearing.

Redgie armed himself with his crossbow at the sight of the walkers. While running towards Lia, he shot down all four of them with extreme precision. All headshots. "Come on. Let's go! Move!" Redgie shouted, running away from the Walkers and grabbing Lia's arm.

[MatrixOne]

The scientist wasn't happy about Susan pointing her gun at him all the time.
"Would you cut it out? I have shown no sign of hostility, yet you keep treating me like some kind of monster" He took off his glasses and closed his eyes, trying to rest after being trapped in that small room.

He thought about what Susan said.
"At least that bastard got what he deserved. I wish I could do something to help, but I am a geneticist, not a surgeon"

He sighed and put the glasses back on.
"My name is Sten Watts. As I said before, I was part of a team devoted to curing this plague. We made some discoveries and were very close to a solution, but I lost contact with the rest of my team. Now that I am free, I may head to the lab to try and locate my colleagues. Who knows, maybe we will cure this plague after all? Now that we have enough test subjects..."
He drove the bonesaw into the skull of the zombie strapped to the table.
Its screaming stopped.
"Some people are immune. Can you imagine not having to worry about bites and scratches?" He sighed. "We had an accident in our lab, once. The youngest geneticist, also being the most brilliant, got bit on her hand. This is how we discovered that amputating an infected limb may stop you from turning. We saved her! Perhaps if she is still alive, we could try and find a cure. You two could help; And if we succeed, who knows? You may be heroes" He looked at Susan, hoping at least she would be willing to assist. "And the lab could be pretty defensible, if we manage to get ourselves in"

***

Escaping the zombies was not that difficult. Redgie and Lia managed to evade them.

A few minutes of walking later, they stumbled upon a small 'camp'.

There was a campfire, two tents and an old, but large RV (http://www.old41rv.com/images/rv.jpg).

Locked inside the RP, there were four zombies. The whole family which came here to camp. Two adult zombies, two child-zombies. They were locked inside.
The only way to access the RV would be to smash a window and unlock the door. But the walkers won't just let Redgie stick his hand there.

And shooting them was a bad idea; Who needs bullet holes in their RV?

No supplies were left inside the tents, but the car was fueled, in decent condition and the keys were inside. The only problem were the walkers.

___
We need that damn RV. xD

[Medic]

Evee nodded her head to Susan, motioning that she should put her gun down, then addressed the scientist. "Look, doc. We came here to get some supplies, and now we're here to patch up my friend. If you think you can create some magical cure, you go for it, but how the hell are we supposed to help? My only medical experience is as an EMT, not as a freakin' geneticist," she said. "And I'm not trying to be offensive, but what the hell can we do? If your lab is pretty defensible, then you should be able to handle it yourself. We let you out, blah blah blah'd for awhile, and meanwhile my friend here is bleeding. Please, if you have any info on where med supplies are, or if you're going to lead us past whatever traps that nutball has set, then do so. Otherwise, I don't think we have any business to conduct here. I don't want to be a damned hero, I just want me and my wonderful friend here to survive," she said bluntly.

She looked at Susan. "If you agree with me, then that's that. If you want to go to this guy's lab, which seems shady as is, then we can do that too but I'd prefer it if we didn't."

[Lord Tully]

At the scientist's and Evee's urging Susan lowered her gun, "Sorry, I'm just a bit paranoid after what happened outside." she said as she inched back towards Evee. Susan listened to both Sten and Evee speak and thought carefully on the choice in front of her, going one way or the other was a major decision, "Well Sunshine we already need to stick around to stitch up my side, we might as well take a look at those supplies he mentioned. But she is right Sten." she said looking back towards the Scientist, "If you know how to treat more immediate problems then we'll try and take you, but neither of us or any of our friends know a thing about genetics, especially on this level. We'd just slow you down if we tried to help." she sounded a bit apologetic to the man.

"But..." the gears inside Susan's head started turning. "If you could teach us all the ins and outs of this place, maybe we could redeploy the traps, bring Lia and Redgie here and use this as a kind of base. Sten you'd have safety in numbers, a few more genetic samples to work on, and Sunshine we'd have a slightly steadier supply of meds and stuff." She reasoned, not entirely certain of herself, "I saw a few animal tracks too, maybe after a while animals will come back and we'll have a better supply of food? And a hospital is bound to draw people, if they're cooperative maybe...?" Susan wasn't sure how best to finish that sentence to decided to let Evee and Sten think on it. Suddenly a pain jumped into her side, and she was forced to lean her back against the wall "Can we please get to the part where I stop bleeding?" she said to Evee, Susan tried not to sound desperate but she was starting to feel light headed and that couldn't be a good thing.

[MatrixOne]

Dr. Watts wanted to facepalm, but he somehow remembered that the bloody bonesaw was still in his hand.
So, for the time being, he decided to not let it collide with his skull.

"...That's not what I meant by you 'helping'. I can do the egghead part myself; I need help defending the lab and finding my colleagues"
When Susan offered fortifying the hospital, Watts sighed loudly.
"This place is ransacked, destroyed and draws too much attention. New survivors come here every day, and most of them much prefer shooting than talking. I wouldn't stay here any longer than necessary, if I were you"
He unlocked a barred door and stepped back, letting a zombie inside.
After that, he drove the bonesaw straight into the walker's face.
"Ugh. This way to the roof. If James had any supplies or medicine stored away, it'll be there. I'd advise getting up there before you bleed out" He said to Susan. "And you didn't tell me your names"

[Lord Tully]

Susan sighed and rationalized that scientists sometimes weren't the best communicators, "Ok if you can handle the genetic work on your own that's great, but exactly how smart are you?" she asked somewhat rhetorically, "These things take months to years under the best circumstances, even if you cut corners it'll still be at least several weeks before you have anything workable. As far as I know we are incapable of transporting all the equipment you'd need to work up a viable vaccine safely, so if you need us to defend you while you work, we're staying here." Susan stayed calm in her explanation despite being very annoyed that Sten didn't seem to realize this himself.

She sat down on a vacant operating table, "And survivors wouldn't be a problem, there'd be at least five of us instead of just one defending for one thing, and I'm willing to bet at least SOME of the people who come here will be willing to be cooperative. Only an idiot would think that being alone out in the woods is better then with 5 people in a fortified building" Susan reached down to check her makeshift bandage, it had stopped a good deal of her bleeding but not all of it. "If it's all the same I'd rather get this over with here and now if possible. If there are walkers on the upper floors I don't want to leave a trail for them to follow."
At the realization that she hadn't said her name Susan nodded, "You can call me Jacob."

[Medic]

Evee had been thinking quietly. Susan seemed right, but Evee didn't want to stay at the hospital. The woman felt as if they would draw way too much attention here. She decided it wasn't really her place to make this decision, as she was never good with long-term choices. She reached into her pocket and thumbed the last pill that sat there. She would have to take the damn thing soon. Fucking opiate deficiency, she thought to herself. She returned to the conversation. Susan was saying something about being unable to transport all the scientist's equipment and she sounded correct. Evee shook her head. "Can we discuss this later? My friend is bleeding out," she said to Dr. Watts sternly. "Help us get to the damned roof. We already let you out of the fucking room, now help us. I'm starting to get a little annoyed here, doc."

Hopefully that would get them on their way. Evee nodded at the scientist. "My name is Eveenix," she said.

[MatrixOne]

"Well, unless you need a guide on how to use the staircase..." Dr. Watts sighed, gently removing the tiny wire under the door and disarming the trap, hiding the grenade in his pocket. "...Then I suggest you make your way up"
He disliked that 'Eveenix' more and more. At least Jacob was reasonable, somehow.
"Ignorant and selfish, that's what you are. You get one chance to help undo the plague, and you squander it. Well, I'm not going to sit here while the world ends; I'll get to the lab alone, or die trying"
He disarmed another trap and kicked open the door to the rooftop. All the stuff I'd described earlier was still there; Also, the sniper rifle James left while trying to sneak up on Jacob.
And the helicopter, of course.

Suddenly... A dog barked. It was distant - somewhere in the woods next to the hospital - but everything was quiet enough that it could be heard clearly.
And it barked again. This was Tex; That's for sure. His voice is rather distinctive.

"Is this a dog?" Sten couldn't believe his ears. "Someone might be coming!"

[Lord Tully]

Susan gave a stern look to Evee, "Evee, calm down." she said in a strict even tone, "I'm not gonna bleed out any time soon, we have time to think." She tried to use reason on her friend but it seemed the damage was already done, Dr. Sten Watts was already pissed at Evee and stormed off to get to the roof himself. "Great." she grumbled, Susan forced her breathing and body language to stay calm to avoid agitating her wound, but she still sounded a bit mad. "I'd already suggested we stitch me up here to make things easy, but you ignored that and still snapped at him. He was already going to help us with the roof and the supplies, and now he might not help us at all."

Susan tried to be understanding of Evee's actions, but didn't quite get there, so she went over to the doors of the operating room, and closed them, barring them with an empty IV stand. "At least now we don't have to send him out of the room, there's bound to be surgical needles in here somewhere. I think I have a lighter if they need sterilizing." she said changing the subject, "Besides the thread and needle what else do we need?" she asked walking over to the surgical trays to look for the needed tools.

[Medic]

Evee waited until the scientist was gone before sweetly smiling at Susan, completely unaffected by the doctor storming off. If anything, she seemed incredibly happy. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but I didn't like his undertone, and so far, I don't like him." She felt the itching in her brain. She would take this pill after she stitched up Susan. "I just don't trust him yet. I tend to be aggressive with people whom I don't trust. We all have our ways of dealing with it, as you can relate," she said, hinting at the fact Susan dressed as a boy. She pulled bandages and gauze from her pocket and swept the operating table clean. "Lay down. We shouldn't need anything else," she said, patting the table. "I'll warm up to doc, I'm sure. But for now, he can deal. I never really set in stone that I didn't want to help him anyways. I'd love to help him, but I have other things on my mind at the moment and he was only pushing more in. I can't stitch you up if I'm thinking about so many other things."

[Lord Tully]

Evee might have had a point but that didn't mean Susan agreed or thought she was right, "I don't trust him fully either, but he's still our only source of help here. I hope he's still willing to listen once we get up there." she said as she picked up a small surgical kit (similar to this (http://www.steeles.com/steele_images/products/steeles/1410TC.jpg)) from the tray and brought it to Evee, "Here you go Sunshine, needles and such are probably in this." she said as she sat down on the indicated table and removed her hoody before carefully removing the t-shirt bandage that had been holding against it this whole time.
"I liked this shirt too." Susan said in a slightly miserable voice as she layed back on the cold operating table and braced herself for the stitching to start, the cold was making her shiver a touch though "I hope we can find some clean clothes in here somewhere, it's freezing around here." she added as she focused on one of the ceiling tiles to block out the cold and pain.

[Medic]

Evee simply nodded at Susan throughout her dialogue. She took the medkit and opened it, seeing all the goodies inside. "Ooo," she said excitedly. "Some cleansing spray!" She seemed more than happy to operate. "Be careful not to bite your tongue," she said softly. "This is going to sting," she explained as she removed the plastic cap to the alcohol-spray. She let the wound open a bit as she stuck her hand into Susan's. "Squeeze when it hurts," she said shyly. "It will help with the pain."

Evee aimed the bottle with her other hand and pressed the pump down. A light mist flowed and covered the wound. She braced herself for a tight squeeze from Susan. That really was going to hurt.

[Lord Tully]

Susan was beginning to get used to the cold, she still shivered but she was able to endure enough of it that she didn't really mind, "Just do it, you'll know if something goes wrong." she said as she listened to the bottle being opened, she trusted Evee all Susan had to do was lay there and wait for it to be over. When she felt Evee's hand in her's Susan took a deep breath and braced for the feeling of burning, Susan had gotten enough cuts to assume the spray was alcohol based.
As it turned out it was, a distinct, clean, burning sensation started screaming through the wound in Susan's side. It didn't hurt quite as much as Susan had thought given how bad the wound was, but it was still painful, she squeezed Evee's hand tight and kept herself to a low grunt of pain. "God you'd think by now they've have found a less painful cleaning solution." she said trying to keep her mind occupied with words, "About how long you think this'll take Sunshine?" Susan asked as she loosened her grip on Evee's hand.

[Medic]

Evee could tell that the burning was receding as Susan was able to talk and relax her grip. She withdrew her hand once Susan stopped squeezing and answered her question gently. "Not long. It was a pretty clean stab, so it'll be easy to stitch up." Evee took the stitching thread and threaded it through the surgical needle. She took the needle and set it next to the wound. "Ready or not, here it comes," she said playfully. She began to stitch the wound, quickly but carefully, and was done in about two minutes. She cinched the wound shut and cut the stitching thread, leaving a knot to hold the stitches together. She then took the gauze and placed it on the wound "to prevent oozing," she had said. She also took bandages and wrapped them around the gauze and around Susan's stomach and partly over her ribs, keeping the last wrap together with medical tape. She stepped back and examined her handiwork, clapping softly. "All done," she said as she cocked her head. "How's it feeling? Bandages too tight?"

[Lord Tully]

While Susan was encouraged by Evee saying it would not take long, it didn't quite seem true from her perspective. Afer the burning sensation dulled it was particularly painful, but it seemed to just drag on and on with this terrible poking feeling in her side. When the stitching stopped and Evee pressed gauze against her wound Susan almost jumped at the sudden sensation, she really hoped getting stabbed wasn't going to be a common occurrence. Susan sat up a bit to make wrapping the bandaged around her a bit easier, and when Evee announced that she was finished Susan was amazed that barely 6 minutes had passed.
After testing her flexibility a touch and finding it retrained Susan shook her head, "I'll need to get used to it, but I'd say you did fine Sunshine." she told the doctor before standing up and reaching for her hoody once more, "Once we're out of here we'll have to talk about repayment." Susan said as she worked her arms back into the sleeves and zipped up the garment, "I hope Sten's supplies include some spare clothes, with this hole in it my hoody might not last much longer and my t-shirt's completely ruined. Not exactly the way I want to break the news to Lia and Redgie you know?"

[Medic]

Evee nodded her head at the compliment from Susan. "Why, thank you very much," she said excitedly. She shook her head at repayment. "Please, no. You don't have to repay me for that. It's my job!" She also agreed with Susan about the supplies. "I could use a change of clothes myself," she said. "Not that they'd have anything my style, of course," she explained with disappointment. "Are you planning on breaking it to Lia and Redgie at all," she asked. She put her hand out to help Susan off the table. "come on, let's go see."

[Lord Tully]

"If that's how you feel then that fine by me." Susan said as she accepted Evee's hand to steady herself, she put the thought in the back of her mind for the moment though. As she strapped back on her pack and made sure all her stuff was it it's proper place Susan thought about Lia and Redgie, "Well yeah I was planning to eventually tell them. you and them are the first trust worthy people I'd met in a long time, I was just going to wait until I'd gotten a chance to see how loyal they are. Go through some hardships with someone and you get to see what they're made of you know?"

With the pain in her side now reduced to more of a low dull pressure, Susan walked over to the doors. "I'm ready to go when ever you are." She told Evee as she placed her hand on the IV stand but waited for Evee's word to remove it.

[Medic]

Evee nodded her head. That seemed appropriate. "Good. Lying to people is not always the right thing to do, especially when you trust someone," she said with a slight blush. She nodded her head at the IV. "You can remove that. I don't even know if we really needed it." She smiled at Susan. Was she developing a crush? Maybe it's just been too long and she's mistaking friendship for something else. She turned towards the door and took the last pill from her pocket and popped it as she walked. "Let's go check on Bill Nye the Science Guy and see what med supplies are upstairs," she said gently.

[MatrixOne]

Suddenly, the door on the other side of the room got kicked open by a girl. She had a gun, and pointed it at Evee right after entering the room.
"A-ha! Here you are!" She shouted, overjoyed.
It was, of course, Jane; One of the twin sisters.

Tex barked quietly and sat next to her. He was visibly weak; Maybe even bitten.

"Oh, and don't even think about attacking me! I have the element of surpriiise~" She seemed really happy with that fact. "Hey, I don't suppose you two would know the cute redhead girl who used to be the owner of this dog? She was with some big guy with a crossbow, too"

Then, she actually started noticing details such as blood being everywhere due to surgery being performed.
Zombie guts, too.

"Um, what happened in here..." She asked softly, slightly lowering the gun (but not hiding it; she still had it ready to aim and fire).

___
Time to kick this into motion again, then. ;q

[Lord Tully]

Susan just had to roll her eyes when she saw Evee blush, it was impossible to NOT see it from here. ~Christ woman, if you have something to say just say it.~ Susan thought with slightly annoyed tone, Evee had seemed slightly, off, ever since she found out that Susan was Susan not Jacob. But she figured this wasn't exactly the best time to talk about it, Evee would say something when she was ready or Susan would pull it out of her when they were somewhere safer.

"Sten said he'd make sure the way was clear of traps." Susan said as she removed the IV stand, "But lets keep an eye out in case he missed something." Before she could open the door however it was kicked open by some completely new person and the door knocked her aside. Susan wasn't sure if this new girl had seen her as she aimed her gun at Evee instead of herself. Susan was going to try and diffuse the situation calmly but then she saw Tex, who was quite obviously not this girl's dog, she changed her mind completely.

When the girl lowered her gun Susan took the opportunity to act, she grabbed the girl and pulled her away from the door, pressing her own gun against the girl's head, "Evee cover the door." She ordered not taking her attention off the new girl, "You know you really shouldn't brag about having the element of surprise. Now you have 5 seconds to start talking, who are you and where is Lia?" She growled. "I really don't want to blow you head off, but I promise you I will if you don't speak up."

[Medic]

Evee saw Susan get knocked aside, and kept her eyes straight on the new person. She slowly raised her hands in the air and waited for Susan to do something. Element of surprise, my ass, she thought to herself. She couldn't help but laugh to herself at the girl's face when Susan snuck up on her. She pulled her katana and moved to the door, closing it slowly and quietly before pointing her katana to the girl's neck. "You better start answering quick. I'm not the nicest person today," she said. This girl had Tex, Lia's dog... Evee didn't like that. As soon as she recognized the dog, she pressed the katana closer. "How the fuck did you get that dog, huh?"

[MatrixOne]

"W-wha..." One second, Jane was in control of the situation, the next - she got absolutely beaten by Susan's sneak attack.

Her back against a wall, her own gun pointed at her head and a shiny katana at her throat.

Jane took the finger off the trigger first.
"I... Um..." She stuttered. "N-nice job! You got me" She forced a smile. "Let's call it a draw... Pleeease?" She looked at Evee, since she was the biggest threat. "The dog, it, kinda... Survived. So I thought it'd lead me to any friends of that cute girl. And it did! See?"

Now, grabbing the katana would not be a good idea. Not unless one would have a metal hand, or something.

Oh, wait.

"A-ha!" Jane smiled devilishly as her metal hook for a hand collided with the blade of the katana, pushing it to the side for half a second - just enough time to put the finger back on the trigger and dash towards Susan, putting the gun to her chest.
"'Kay, Princess~!" She shouted to Evee and laughed. "Now that's what I call fun, ahaha~" She wrapped her left arm around Susan's waist, keeping the hook half an inch above her skin, just in case.
"So, how about dropping the sword? We can chat peacefully, you know! I'm a very peaceful person, sometimes! And nice, too~"

[Lord Tully]

There were a couple or words for what this situation, but whichever one you preferred it was slightly difficult one to get out of. Susan and Jane were pressed up against eachother, Susan had her pistol under Jane's chin, while Jane had her own gun against Susan's chest, plus some kind of hook just in the perfect place to pull her kidney out. If it came to violence it was unlikely either of them would survive. So Susan decided to try and bring the situation down.

"Nice trick," Susan said actually a little bit impressed, she then turned her head just a little bit towards Evee, "This is why guns replaced swords Sunshine." she said pointing out Evee's slight misjudgement in pulling her sword instead of her rifle. "I'm going to take my gun away from you face, in return you're going to let go of me. Sound good?" She suggested in a friendly tone, pointing the barrel of her pistol at the ceiling instead of under Jane's chin. "Now what do you mean about the dog? What happened to Lia and Redgie?"

[Medic]

Evee sheathed her blade. "If you must know, my rifle is not for this kind of range. When zombies broke out, I wasn't expecting to have to shoot people, thanks," she said with a touch of venom. She didn't like that the situation had slipped from her hands. Besides, her rifle wasn't even assembled. It was still in it's bag on her back. She shook her head once the blade was fully sheathed. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she thought to herself. She didn't like having her weaknesses pointed out, and she definitely didn't like that her friend was at gunpoint. "Let's all just calm the fuck down."

[MatrixOne]

"Sounds good~" Jane nodded, smiling brightly, and switched the safety on.
But she didn't let go of Susan.
"Aw, you're so warm" She told her, 'hugging' her a little tighter.

Awkward.

And then there was Evee. Jane decided to finally step away from Susan.
"I was hoping for a hook versus sword duel" She expressed her disappointment, but brightened up a second later. "So we're all friends now, right? Ahaha~, that was quick!" She looked at the dog. It was slightly confused with what just happened.

"Right, your friends! Sorry, they're dead~!" This was said way too cheerfully. Jane really didn't think of it as much of a tragedy.

"...Oh!" She realized that this would make her the number one suspect. "At least I think they're dead. I didn't kill them! Or, not both of them! I-I mean, only the crossbow guy, but I only killed him after he was zombified! So it doesn't count, right?" She said shyly. Her people skills were... tough, to say the least. "...Right?"

[Lord Tully]

Susan really did not like the way Jane squeezed her, both for her brand new stitches and for the fact that it was just plain awkward. When Jane released her Susan took a few steps back away from her to keep a better eye on her.

The news that Redgie was dead and Lia was missing hit Susan like a truck, she had to take a step back and leaned against the wall to stay standing, "God damnit!" she shouted more at herself then anything else, "I knew I should've gone to that fucking mill myself." Trying to pull herself away from a possible panic Susan turned off bits of her mind and started thinking up a plan of action, "Alright, first things first, we need to get to the roof and get those supplies, hopefully we can come to an agreement with the doctor." She then pointed to Evee, "After that we're are going to the security office and finding you a pistol or something that doesn't need fucking assembly. You're sword's badass and all Evee but Captain Hook here just proved that you need a second gun."
Susan then turned to Jane, "Alright, there's not much we can do about Redgie now, so our priority is finding Lia. You are coming with us and after we're done here, you will lead us to where you last saw Lia. I'm giving you a chance, I am more then willing to trust you right now, so think carefully about what you're going to do to keep that trust."

[MatrixOne]

"Scaaary~!" Jane nodded at Susan's 'threatening warning' about keeping trust. She didn't seem threatened. "Don't worry, I am very trustworthy! I'm sure we'll get along~"

When Susan told Jane about searching for Lia, Jane thought she was joking.
"Ahaha~! Perfect!"

She then realized that Susan was serious.
"...Wait, really? Even the dog couldn't find her. I'm telling you, they're dead! You think I'd give up easily? My sister was with Lia. There's really no way..." Her voice went a little quiet when she mentioned her sister. "Well, you're welcome to waste your time, if it pleases you! In the meantime, I'll be curing the plague~" She pointed her hand up, to accent the awesomeness of this noble goal. "Speaking of me being a brilliant scientist, what's that you said about a doctor?"

That's when Sten decided it would be best to stop listening in at the door and actually get inside the room.
"That would be me" He gave Jane a warm smile.

"Sten!" She hugged him very happily and very tightly.

"Pleasure as always, Doctor Savlonic" He patted her on the back. "I must say, having you here is a godsend. With you, we could actually try to cure this"

"So you two were helping him? I'm soooo sorry for nearly murdering you!" This time, she was honestly sorry.

"Well, I wouldn't say they were helping. More like, not giving a damn" Sten looked at Evee, displeased.

"Oh, so she's the problem! I get it! I, too, wonder why the cutest one has to be the most annoying, ahaha~" She commented about Evee.

[Lord Tully]

Susan gritted her teeth to keep from yelling too loudly, "Well apparently I care about my friend more then you care about your sister if this is all the time you spent looking." she said in a brief very not joky way. With the way she was feeling, combined with Jane's utter disregard for her friends, Susan was honestly debating whether or not to just kill Jane now but then Sten showed up. What followed but a bit of a hole in her 'killing Jane' idea.

"This was the young brilliant scientist you mentioned?" she said clearly not believing what she was seeing and hearing, "I'm so fucking done with this place." she said as she started to pace a bit, trying to think about what their next move was, but then she stopped at Sten's accusing them of not caring.

"Excuse me Sten, but please don't forget the part where you shot down the idea of us fortifying and defending this place while you worked. So far you've been the one who hasn't wanted help from us not the other way around." A slight twisting of the facts, but Susan wasn't going to stand by while they acted all high and mighty with Evee.

"Now which is it Doctor, do you actually want our help or not, because this indecisive act is kinda pissing me off." Susan said, wanting to actually get some closure in this whole situation. With his answer Susan might actually have a clear idea of what to do.

[MatrixOne]

Susan's comment about Jane 'not caring enough' hit a nerve.

She folded her arms over her chest, looking like a hurt puppy.
She kind of liked Susan for being the reasonable one, though, so she didn't 'bite back'.

"An army of the dead makes searching kinda hard..." She said in a sad voice.

Sten decided to switch the topic.
"She's the scientist. Without her, we wouldn't know damn near anything about the plague, and if anybody can cure it, it's her"

"Aha! At least there's no shortage of test subjects~" She instantly forgot about being sad. "I mean the zombies, of course, ahaha~! We never used live humans, I swear!" Her stuttering and pacing left and right didn't quite help with the aura of honesty.

"Excuse me Sten, but please don't forget the part where you shot down the idea of us fortifying and defending this place while you worked. So far you've been the one who hasn't wanted help from us not the other way around."

"It's a hospital, not a lab! For fuck's sake" Sten angrily kicked a trash can. "Go ahead, try and make a working pistol by using toy gun factory tools, I dare you" He shouted at Susan. "You're not doing me a fucking favor, so don't act like you are! Idiot"

"Sten?" Jane tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?!" He asked impatiently.

"Shut up" Jane said it with the cutest of smiles.

"I..." He wanted to object, but Jane gave him a dangerous look. "Fine. Do what you want, I don't care" He sighed, wiping the sweat off his face with a sleeve of his lab coat.

"Awright, you two!" Jane decided to sit on the operating table, preferably the least bloody part, and face Susan and Evee. "I know Sten looks like he's full of shit, but this hospital really isn't the best place to be~" She pointed her hook up to accent her words.

Sten folded his arms and leaned against a wall.

"Anyway, if you want to launch a rescue mission, I'm up for it~! Nothing like seeing the corpses of our loved ones to remind ourselves how lucky we are to still be alive" She was pretty serious about finding that... Reassuring.
Sten raised an eyebrow.

"But when we're done with that, there's a nice lab we could use! I know all the passcodes and stuff! It should be pretty defensible, really! And it has big beds! The three of us could fit in at once~!" That suggestion was as awkward as Jane intended it to be.

Sten facepalmed.
"Come on, I already told them about the lab. They refused to listen! They think this ruin of a building is better"

"Ahaha~! Maybe you're just not very convincing!" She nodded to approve of her own train of thought. "So~! It's too dark to leave right now, so we have time 'till morning to discuss tactics and prepare! Unless you want me and Sten to go and leave you alone, in which case, I'll be off immediately~" She hopped off the operating table and walked up to Susan. She somehow liked her. "And it'd be nice to know your names, too! I'm Jane Savlonic~"

The name 'Savlonic' was widely known in the world of science - but mostly because of Jane's mother, rather than Jane herself.
And it wasn't good fame. "Cloning scandal", as they called it - a woman who cloned herself and raised the clones as children. And those children would be Jane - and her sister.

[Medic]

Evee could feel the opiate pill kicking in as Jane, Sten, and Susan all spoke. It hit her pretty good and before long she was incredibly calm and unwound. She nodded at Susan when she suggested to find Evee a pistol. That would be... Efficient. She shook her head to clear it of muddled thoughts and walked over next to Susan. Susan was pacing, but Evee was standing there regardless. When Jane got too close to Susan, Evee felt a pang of jealousy and withdrew, standing farther away. She still said nothing.

Evee had nothing to say in the situation. She took the insults, the blame, and carried it as she looked away. Her only response was when Jane asked for their names. Without looking, in a calm, unpressured tone, she said, "My name is Eveenix. Eveenix Hale."

She walked out of the room slowly, but deliberately and began to explore the hospital. She really didn't feel like talking to Jane or Sten. Not because she was angry or upset, but because she was troubled herself.

[Lord Tully]

At this point Susan was seriously started to reevaluate how vital Sten's survival was. "Tell me Sten, do you understand why insulting the first person you've met in a full week who actually wants to try and actually help you is a bad decision?" How this man managed to survive that week with this kind of survival instinct was honestly beyond her at the moment.

Trying to bring the conversation back to somewhere reasonable Susan spoke on the Lab, "I never said this place was better, I said we don't have what we need to transport lab equipment. If you're going to dismiss what I say at least remember it correctly." It was men like this who probably drove people to mistrust science. "We have one completely open topped jeep with very limited fuel, I'd be shocked if it the tank lasted one full trip there and back. Meaning that even if you have the proper cases and shit, we'd have to carry most of your samples and equipment there by hand."
She examined Dr. Sten, "Depending on how much you need from your lab here, that could take days. Speaking of if this hospital is such a piss poor place for this kind of work why the fuck did you set up here to begin with?" She was actually kind of irritated by this point, it seemed kind of a gap in logic.
She then looked out the window, unfortunately Jane was correct, it was too late in the day now. Even if she could find Lia it would be completely dark by then and she'd just get lost herself. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Susan introduced herself, "My name's Ja-" She then stopped, "Fuck it, if Lia and Redgie are gone there's not much point. My name's Susan, Susan Holmes."

[MatrixOne]

"I don't really care about you anymore" Sten answered, folding his arms over his chest and giving Susan a bored look. He wanted to comment about how she looked like a guy, but he didn't want to upset Jane, who never liked unnecessary insults, no matter who was being insulted. "Now that Jane is here, I don't have to worry. I know she'll do what's best, and do it just right. If that means teaming up with you two, then so be it. If not, I'll be more than happy to get out of here and never see you again"

Jane nodded in approval.
"Now that's the right mindset! Let's start with the plan right away - stage one, talk as rarely as you possibly can~" She ordered, squeezing Sten's arm hard enough to cause some pain.

He wasn't happy with this, but decided to do whatever she says.

"Now please, get to the roof and watch for anything approaching the hospital" She let go of his arm.
Sten nodded and left. He didn't need Susan or Evee to like him; He wanted to cure the plague, and Jane knew exactly what to do. So he was fine with acting like a mindless tool, if it gets him closer to curing himself and her.

Jane waited for a few seconds after he left, to make sure he wouldn't hear her talk.
"He's not very good with people~" She commented, giggling. "I'm no psychologist, but he has some mind sickness~! I wish I'd read the files of my employees when I got them, ahaha~"
She grabbed a sharp surgical tool and started sharpening her hook. It seemed pretty sharp already, but she did it anyway.
"Before the plague spread, this hospital was the only one with a zombified victim. That's why I sent Sten here" She explained. "To grab the dead guy and bring him to our lab~! But now there's plenty of dead guys around, so we don't really need anything from here anymore! That's why we're reluctant to stay here; I could do soooo much more at my lab~!" She smiled at the thought. It looked pretty weird, her cutely smiling like that while sharpening her hand-hook.

Finally she was done, so she put the tool away, hopped off the table and stretched.
"Awkay, then, Susie! I have no authority to tell you to do anything, but if you'd be so kind to check on him up there, I'd be grateful~! I'll see how your friend is doing; She doesn't seem to trust me yet! I want us all to be on good terms~" She gave Susan a sweet smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you~!" She said with a little curtsy and went after Evee.

She opened the door quietly and trotted up to Eveenix.
"Hey, um, E...vee...nix" She had a little trouble with the name. "Ahaha~! Sorry! I think it's a very cute name~" That'd be her way of bypassing an embarrassing situation - by making it even more embarrassing. "Anyway, I just wanted to see if you're awright~!" She took Evee's hand, just like that. She was always overboard with the physical contact and gestures; Her sister got used to it, but others were usually creeped out. "I hear you need a gun! Well, I can lend you mine, if you like~! I prefer my hook, anyways! It's much more fun to watch them bleed up close than from a distance, I think, ahaha~"

[Lord Tully]

"Feeling's mutual Sten." Susan quipped as the scientist left the room, with him out of the room Susan felt like there might be a slightly larger chance of everyone getting along. "How in the world can some people be so smart and yet so fucking stupid at the same time?" she asked in regard to Sten, "I'm surprised that psycho from the roof didn't kill him in all that time."
She listened to Jane's explanation, and she seemed to be telling the truth, "Well if you can give me directions to the lab, I think I can trust you enough with our Jeep. Tomorrow I'll search for Lia while you guys set up at the lab, if I can't find her or your sister..." Susan left the sentence hanging, "I'm sorry I said you didn't care, I guess after a straight week of solitude in hell I'm just kinda desperate to keep my friends around." When Jane started to leave to go to try and patch things up with Evee Susan spoke one last time, "I think I could get to like you Jane, but if it comes to a choice of you or Evee I'm choosing her not you." Susan thought it would be better for Jane to know this now instead of be shocked later on.
With that Susan left the OR with her pistol drawn and slowly and carefully made her way to the hospital stairwell and made her way up to the roof. She stayed near the door when she reached the roof instead of approaching the man, "Let's get the obvious out of the way, I don't like you, you don't like me. But we both want to get out of this mess alive, so I suggest we start trying to work together."