The girl seemed harmless. What had been her name? [i]Rhiannon?[/i] What a pretty name. It reminded him of a pop star from Barbados that he rather liked, not that he would admit it to anyone. Anyway, he was glad he hadn't picked up that pipe. Why would he even need it against a defenseless girl?

Her family situation, or what little of it that she had revealed, didn't bother him. Growing up, a couple of Tim's friends had gotten in trouble of the law. At the time, Tim had only had three friends, so he felt that their punishment had been undeserved regardless of their crimes (one had gotten in trouble hacking computers, the other hit his third strike selling crack cocaine). 

"Um, I think there were some supplies back there. With...the, uh, body." He gestured sheepishly behind him. Now that he was actually talking to someone, Tim felt his panic going down. No need for a meltdown. [i]Yet.[/i] He took a deep breath, though the air still smelt awful, and felt his pulse go down. The dull thud of a headache still pulsed, but he could deal with that later.

"I thought I heard some shouting a couple minutes ago. It was really muffled, but there must be more people down that way." Tim looked down the hallway, trying to squint so he could make out anything weird in the shadows. He wanted to ask for a sip of Rhiannon's water bottle, but from the defensive way she held it, he suspected it was better to ask later.

"I'm up for some exploring I guess. I feel better now that I'm not alone. This is all really weird. Must be a prank if it's not a dream."