Austin started to relax just as Justin’s stance returned to its usual position. So it seemed that despite having a phone almost identical to his, the little bauble that it came with was a different shape. Now, did that difference mean something? He had a skull on the end of his versus the half-heart at the end of Austin’s. 

[color=magenta]  “Hey man; no harm, no foul,” [/color] Austin grinned while his hands found their way back to his pockets, [color=magenta]  “If you got a phone, then I’m guessing you probably got a similar message-“[/color]

 He was trying to access more information when he realized that Justin’s light had lit up. Austin had to squint just to see past it. His eyes had just grown accustomed to the dark dwelling, and the blinding light was not doing much for his vision. But when Justin made a tiny yelp and his position moved, Austin swung around to see the girl with the mattock. One hand was blocking the light from her face as the other lifted the mattock above her head.

 At first, Austin braced himself for whatever plan this dangerous intruder had, but it only took a moment longer before he realized that her positioning was not aggressive. The way she stood, and the shaking of her voice suggested that she was protecting herself, if anything. Survival of the fittest didn’t necessarily mean a direct jump to an offensive. Just by looking at how she stood and talked, already he could tell that her emotional and mental values were pretty high on his ranking. The fact she was willing to use a heavy object like that one suggested that those values were probably a 6 or 7 out of ten on his own scale.

 That wouldn’t be a problem. He was more worried about what the presence of the mattock was doing to everyone’s psyches. Already Justin had proven to be somewhat fragile in his current state, ready to lash out with large amounts of adrenaline if people violated his personal space. Who knew what would happen if that weapon stayed around to agitate everyone.

 But as she talked, her voice slowed down, and her weapon lowered to her side. She was proving to be pretty reserved. Honestly Austin couldn’t blame her for the self-defence. If he had a mattock, he would’ve brought it with him too.

 Instead all he got was an expensive paper weight.

 Again, Austin found himself revealing his hands. The sooner he could present both himself and Austin as victims of a similar fate, the better it would be for all three of them.

[color=magenta] “Look, we’re in the same spot as you. It’s been a rough few hours for all of us,” [/color] he nodded, [color=magenta] “Did you get that axe with a box? And if so, did you have a phone and a mission?”[/color]

 He was getting quickly to the point. His questions had to be rapid like a hornet sting if he was going to retain any sense of sanity or order between this triangle.

 As it stood, both of the other humans in this circle were wild cards, but Austin couldn’t believe that either was malicious. Both were just as lost and confused as he was.

[color=magenta]  “If we’re going to figure this all out, we should pool our resources. If you got the same thing as us, what did your phone say? Are we wiling to at least work together to figure out what happened?” [/color]