An odd silence fell over the room for a moment when Nate opened his mouth, most likely using scare tactics, or just being Nate. But the idea of some unknown “man in the shadows” didn’t sit well with Vincent. He wasn’t one for surprises, unless they included a stripper popping out of a cake, but that wasn’t the case now, probably never again considering where all of this landed him. He held Jennifer’s hand, as even she seemed considerably unhinged by the ordeal, and was shaking a bit, no doubt partly from lack of food. Being [i]city folk[/i], her and Vincent were both out of their natural elements, and the middle of nowhere was definitely the last place Vincent would have wanted to go.  

“Sit tight” He said to Jennifer, as though she had much of a choice to go anywhere else. 

Vin got up and headed over toward the kitchenette that Eli had mentioned. For whatever reason, he was rather impressed by the guy’s laundry list of awards and commendations, which also left him with two thoughts: [i]either this guy will be a huge help to the group, or he will go ballistic and kill everyone.[/i] The latter thought, of course, causing a lump in his throat to form as he passed the rough looking soldier. Instead, he focused on finding something to eat and maybe even a drink to take off the edge. 

“So...what the hell is an ‘M-R-E’?” He said outloud, cutting through the otherwise dull chatter between Eli and Nate, as he rummaged through the few cabinets he found.  “And why doesn’t it sound all that tasty?”

Vincent opened a small pantry closet, and initially didn’t find anything of interest, but as he pushed a few old rusted cans of what could have easily been [i]pre-civil war[/i] green beans aside, he noticed a rather large mason jar with clear liquid and a sealed lid. “Now what do we have here…” He mumbled as he pulled the jar out and held it up to the light, noticing the contents were about as clear as they come. 

“Any idea what’s in here?” He asked while in the middle of trying to loosen the lid, which unscrewed rather easily after a few seconds. “Whoa!” His nose scrunched up and eyes squinted at the pungent aroma that flowed out of the jar. “Holy shit, this stuff smells like paint thinner and apple juice!” He exclaimed in between choking on the harsh fumes.

“Who wants to try it first?” He grinned, hoping to break up the monotony in the room.