[b]Clayton Burrows – Gas Go Markets Station Inside – Ada Cinet[/b]

"Bit late for that, ain't it?” Ada said aptly. "Yeah, 'bout as ready as I'll ever be...", replied Ada to Clayton’s previous remark. Her southern accent became more noticeable the more he talked to her.“Although... You're down a car, right? Unless you planned on hot wiring another one in the dark... in the middle of all this... maybe we should stick together? For the night, at least-- more power in numbers and all that. I'm sure you already know that alarm'll attract more'n just the sickos."

“If I knew how to hotwire a car, I’d probably be in Mexico right now. It was a goddamn fucking miracle I found the keys for that screaming piece of crap outside.” He then gave another sigh and looked at Ada. “I’ll help you get away from here as far as possible but in the morning, I’ll be on my way. Nothing against you, I just prefer to be on my own.” He gives a compunctious shrug and proceeded into the centre of the beast.

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[b]Clayton Burrows – Gas Go Markets Station Outside – Ada Cinet[/b]

As Clayton opened the door, the many groaning faces of the old world stared right back at him, showing an unending blood thirst that will never be quenched; this the first time that Clayton has felt true fear in the new world. One suspicious movement and he’ll be joining them in their march, a fate that neither Ada nor Clayton want to join. It is of the utmost importance that they do not cough, sneeze or even flinch. He’s studied these creatures before but not like this. The smell is a good strategy but it still only gave a very thin sense of security. To Clayton, it feels like he’s swimming with Jaws in a tiny wooden canoe. 

They started walking very slowly through the crowd. Their grey and hungry eyes looked into Clayton’s own, he quickly looked away before drawing any unwanted attention. He tried matching his pace with the walkers, most didn’t seem to notice their true identities but an occasional one gave an odd look at them now and again before figuratively shrugging it off. If they hang around for too long, it’ll only be a matter of time before one of them gets wise. Even with all the fear that possesses his body, he couldn’t help but admire them. It was like watching a lioness hunt in the world. He’s watching these creatures in their natural hunting form, adapting himself for both survival and deep observation. He felt like Dian Fossey or Timothy Treadwell; although he hoped their fates wouldn’t become his, especially Timothy’s. 

Shuffling through the crowd was like trying to defuse a bomb but he and Ada were making steady progress through the undead crowd. Most people in his position would try to refocus their mind on something else but all Clayton could do was look at them. Such a disgusting and menacing creature but yet, impossible at the same time; his admiration extended greatly towards them but it was an opinion he kept to himself. Most groups would probably freak out at how he saw them. According to a very controversial book called the Bible, we’re all shaped in God’s image. Do Walkers count too? This was a conversation to be had for another time; right now he needed to push through the bloody waters of terror.

Clayton could see the crowd was starting to thin, he and Ada were near the finishing line. He started increasing his pace as the space around him started to feel less claustrophobic. The best thing that needed to be done is to get a change of clothes and to find some place to stay for night. Either that or find a ride out of town. Clayton votes for the latter. Sometimes you need to be cautious when dealing nature; he didn’t want to get too comfortable like Timothy Treadwell. He gave a quick but cautious look behind to see if Ada was still following from behind. Fortunately she was still there but the distance was slowly starting to gape. He was moving too fast. It wouldn’t be fair to Ada to abandon her, the last thing he needed is another ghost. 

In the final few metres before walking out of the crowd completely, Clayton stopped as the sudden deathly sound a doggie’s chew toy hit the sole of his foot. An injection of fear jumped the hairs on Clayton’s beard as some of the Walkers looked behind in attention. They moved their head in curiosity and it almost seemed like they were having second thoughts. He could see in their eyes, their primitive analytical thinking working things out. He looked behind to see Ada darting a look at Clayton. It was a mix of fear and surprise. Clayton’s mind was rushing as he tried to think of something to distract them but he couldn’t anything without attracting unwanted attention. He did the only default thing he could do: he froze. Ada did the same thing when hearing the sound. As he stared back at the slightly alerted Walkers, some of them just returned to wander aimlessly to the gas station but there was one that continued to look back at Clayton in the eyes. He felt cold and empty as he looked into its eyes. The life of a dead man stared back at him. He felt honoured in a way. As the creature moved it’s head slightly to the left, he did too. It seemed he was communicating with it. Do these things have their own speech system? Are they innocent in a way? People see sharks as terrible monsters but most of the time they act on instinct that’s out of their control. Must we penalize the Walkers in the same way?

The creature eventually returned back to it’s brothers and sisters. As it did this, Clayton gave a massive sigh of relief and then whispered to Ada. “Alright, we should be in the clear. Follow me and lay low.”

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[b]Clayton Burrows – Bandera Pharmacy (Across the street from the Gas Go Markets Station) – Ada Cinet[/b]

Clayton continued to lay low as he pulled up the shutter of Pharmacy. The lock had been busted but as long as it stayed on ground it didn’t matter if it can be locked or not; as far as he could tell, Walkers couldn’t lift things. He looked at Ada and gave a nod to go inside. After she cautiously went in, he looked behind him and shut down quietly. Thank fuck the creatures were near blind otherwise the dark would be useless at covering their movements thought Clayton. It was dark inside the Pharmacy. It had many shelves and a counter at the back but slim pickings had been left here. Looters from the look of it but nobody seemed to be home though. “Hello?” mildly shouted Clayton. He tried making it loud enough to be heard inside the pharmacy but not from across the street. He listened intently for any whisper of sound; Walkers aren’t the most graceful of creatures. He then darted a quick look at Ada. “It should be alright, don’t let your guard down though.” He then started moving forward into the Pharmacy, heading towards the counter. The stink on his clothes were starting to stain; he should probably find some new threads.

Clayton felt that they should get out outta town as quickly as possible and find a place outside of town to lay low for the night. He didn’t think it was a good idea to wake up in the morning and find Walkers banging on the shutter grates. However, he needed to ask Ada’s opinion as well. He promised he’d get her out of town and he was always taught to keep to your words. He slowly turned around and looked at the young girl.

“Alright Ada…what should be our next step?”