[b]Scouts - The Pub - Alex[/b]

Jamie had his face buried in his hands when Alex and Chris entered the kitchen. Hazel ran back and forth throughout, looking more busy then the few items on the stove would suggest. She sighed multiple times to herself, perhaps frazzled by the storm and all her sudden guests. When the scouts began speaking, she stood by the stove and tried not to appear too interested in what they were saying.

Jamie lifted his head slightly, one eye peering from over his hands to look at Alex and acknowledge that he was listening. When Alex finished, Jamie shook his head. "I don't know. It was where we all separated. We didn't get far before something almost ran over us. I don't know what it was, I guess the wind chucked it through the air, but it--"

"That's not important, Chris said impatiently. "When did you split up?"

Jamie looked up and glared, but he meekly looked down at the table when he remembered [i]he[/i] was the problem here. "I... got hit or something. I kept moving, but I-I was disoriented. When I realised I was alone, Rudy... Rudy was gone." He let that sit for a moment and silence stretched out between them. The kettle on the stove began to whistle and Hazel hastily grabbed at it.

"Anyone want tea?" she asked. Her voice sounded shaky.

Chris almost laughed. "I think Jamie needs some." Jamie nodded his head in agreement and Hazel worked quickly to pour him a cup.

"I don't think Rudy could have gone far. He didn't... have a car like we did, after all." Jamie paused to blow at his steaming cup. "We have to find or, or... I'll feel awful."

He'd be feeling [i]very[/i] awful, Chris thought. Once Enrique got a hold of him, anyway. "I have to agree," Chris said, turning to Alex. "He's probably holding out in one of the houses around there. A sturdy one."

---

[b]Shannon - New Orleans - Danny[/b]

They'd managed to barricade the doors and windows on the first floor with furniture. It seemed this space had been used as a dentist's office before it was abandoned. There had been a waiting room for them to take from and a kitchen with large appliances. Of the dentistry equipment, neither Shannon or Danny had much idea what was useful and what was not. Danny packed away most of it anyway, saying that someone in Outpost could probably make use of it. There wasn't much [i]food[/i] around, which had become far more important now that they were simply waiting for the storm to end. They sat in the waiting room-- now bare from their barricading-- and did what people had always done in waiting rooms by waiting away the minutes. They didn't know what to say to each other, which reminded Shannon of that day back in Haywood. In all her life, she had never thought her friendship with Danny would degrade into this awkward mess.

"So, who's the kid?" Danny eventually asked, almost making Shannon jump. She had been so lost in her thoughts that Danny's voice felt like a heavy drum in her ears. She turned to blink at him before she could interpret his question. James, who had been clinging to her for some time, finally spoke up. "I'm James," he said, practically scowling at Danny. Danny scowled back, an expression she remembered seeing often from him. "[i]And[/i] I'm not really a kid. I'll be fifteen soon."

Danny laughed. "Great. Sorry, you're still a kid, kid."

James moved slightly to get out of Shannon's grip, but she held tightly on to his arms in retaliation. She wasn't sure why he was acting up all of a sudden. Perhaps everything was finally getting to him. "We've been taking care of each other," she said smoothly. "We've been together for a while now." Well, when she thought about it, a month or two nowadays felt almost like years. "You didn't meet him back in Haywood because things were so busy, but... he was there."

Danny's expression softened as he listened. He stared at James, who relaxed as well. They both only cared if [i]she[/i] spoke, she realised. How very [i]male[/i] of them. "You said you were on a supply run or something?" she asked, hoping to get Danny talking.

He nodded and took his sweet time responding. He eventually leaned his head back against the wall and said, "A [i]routine[/i] supply run. They [i]tend[/i] to go badly lately because everyone is on edge now. The old guys don't like working with the new guys, the new guys are afraid of Enrique, blah blah blah, some dumb sh--" He paused and looked at Shannon. She shook his head, knowing he was asking if he could swear or not around James.

"People are scared of Enrique?" James asked, unaware of the silent moment between them. "He was nice to me. He gave me chocolate."

"Yes, but he also killed a few people," Shannon said. "People are complicated sometimes, James."

"Er, wait..." Danny ran a hand through his dark hair. "You two have met him before?"

Shannon nodded. "It was a while ago... Before we even got to Haywood. He broke into...a garage a friend of ours owned." [i]Daniel[/i]. "We didn't trust him much, so we had to leave him behind. When we ended up in Haywood, there was a group getting ready to attack Tyler's group, and I heard Enrique ran into them. They all thought he died during the fighting."

Danny nodded slowly, as if he was thinking on a tough subject. "So he went to attack Tyler, but ended up on his side. Hm..." He shook his head. "You really only ended in Haywood recently? Have you been wandering around for months?"

He said it Shannon, but James responded. "The longest I've been with anyone has been with Shannon." Then he went quiet. "... She was there when I... my parents..."

Shannon pulled him closer and he sniffled. "We saw James' parents, but they were already gone."

Danny nodded. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I... miss mom and dad," he said.

He was talking about [i]her[/i] mom and dad, she knew. Danny had hated his parents, but hers had always treated him like he was their own. He'd started calling them mom and dad long before the apocalypse came. Thinking about them was the last thing Shannon desired to do. She supposed she'd never find out what happened to them, even if she miraculously found herself back in NYC. She felt like crying with James all of a sudden, but she fought the urge. Instead, she only looked down, choosing to not respond to Danny. After a moment, he got the hint and turned away from them, allowing silence to take over once more.