[i][color=ed1c24]Western Missouri.  November.[/color][/i]

Fuad sat away from the fire where a Terry was laying on the floor.   The hastily built shelter was exceptional compared to most.  They’d found a few large pieces of plywood nearby and dragged them back into the forest.  They stacked them, threw some foliage around them, and were very well hidden and also very well insulated.  The fire heated the place fairly well and the 2 pieces of wood did a good job at reflecting the heat, so all in all, it was a comfortable enough night.  

He yawned stared at the fire blankly.  His ears were perked up as on a dark and snowy night like this, you could see almost nothing but hear a good amount.  There was enough snow to crunch under foot, but also not enough to cover branches that could be stepped on and snapped.  So he stared into the fire in silence, shotgun rested at his knee, pointed at the entrance to the shelter, conveniently, and his thoughts started to drift.  

For some people it was dangerous to do so.  Many people would drift into their thoughts and lose track of NOW, but Fuad never had that problem, luckily.  He could be immersed in his thoughts but was always aware.  Always listening.  Always looking.  It seemed Terry was the opposite.  Sometimes, just talking to Fuad was enough to have him lumbering into things, or raising his voice, or walking around a corner into a zombie.  

They were an interesting duo, opposites in many ways.  Fuad was smaller of stature and young whereas Terry was an older man, and also wide and burley.  Fuad was generally cautious and aware.  He used patience and was willing to wait and see things out.  Terry was angry and headstrong and if he saw a zombie, he more often than not would simply charge forward to smash it.  

They both were survivors though, and both were a lot more hesitant around people.  People were different.  They were savage animals, but with cunning and intelligence.  You could walk away from zombies, you could hide from them, trick them.

Humans were the real danger.  

He sighed mentally and leaned back.  As he looked into the fire, his thoughts went to the night of the bombing.  He could hear the jets, see them streaking across the night sky.  He could feel the concussive force as he watched.  Then, he remembered the night sky lighting up.

He shook his head to clear the thoughts and reached for his toothbrush.