Carter stopped beside a silver minivan that had been sandwiched between two cars. All the windows were still intact although the driver side door had been left open. It seemed it's previous owner had decided to ditch the van in favor of travelling on foot instead of being trapped in a never ending grid lock. He might have fared better than the rest.

[b]"No."[/b] Carter leaned inside the van and looked around. It was empty as well. [b]"That girl has always had a hard outer shell. The things she's been through, seen.. She doesn't let anyone inside her world... not anymore at least."[/b] As Carter spoke, he began to limp over to the next vehicle, a small white two door car. The windows were missing, giving him a clear view of the plethora of trash and debris that had been left inside. There were wrappers for potato chips, smashed soda cans, empty bags from fast food restaurants. Whoever had ownership of this vehicle before hadn't been one for cleanliness and it showed. However, Carter knew that one man's trash could be another man's treasure. People with similar disorganized lifestyles had a habit of stashing important objects wherever as long as it was hidden. It was a stretch but he figured that there may be something of value inside and this far in the apocalypse, Carter was willing to take more chances than he once was.

Reaching into the car, Carter pulled the door open and took a closer look inside. All the upholstery had been covered in a thick layer of dust and just breathing near it disturbed the otherwise clean air. Within a minute there was a cloud of dirt and debris crowding around his nose threatening to force out a sneeze. He fought through the urge, his eyes darting to and fro as he looked around for anything worth taking until they caught a peculiar glint under the driver's seat. Reaching for the object revealed a glass bong, and although it wasn't something he necessarily needed at the moment, what was inside intrigued him. There at the bottom of the glass was a single bullet.

[b]"We've been together for almost a year now and I still don't know much about her."[/b] He tilted bong until the bullet slide into his hand and held it up against the sun. 

[center][i]...9 millimeter...[/i][/center]

[b]"She's... a lot like this."[/b] Carter tossed the bullet to Ryan. [b]"Without something to point her in the right direction, she's just as lost as you and me."[/b]

[b]"Or maybe he's not as lost as we thought he is..."[/b] Clover cut in, her gun pointed at Ryan for the second time that day. [b]"I thought you said you were alone... so explain to me why there just happens to be another person walking down this road right after you showed up..."[/b] Clover finished her sentence with the sound of the hammer being pulled into place.

Carter looked down the road to see a figure moving toward them in the distance a few hundred yards away. Both Clover and himself had been surviving long enough to know the difference between the gait of the dead and that of another survivor. All three were looking at the later.