Raven knelt down and whispered a prayer for the dead people.  She didn't know them, but this girl was right.  If she were dead amongst strangers, she's want the same thing.  A tear rolled down her cheek as she tried to be strong.  Even with these people around her, these strangers, she felt so alone.  She almost fell backwards from exhaustion, but Ethan caught her and set her upright.  "Thanks," she told him.

Johnny raised an eyebrow and nodded to the newcomer.  "That's him!" he told her.  It wasn't much longer after that, when the girl had pointed them in the right direction, that he realized this was probably the exact person James was aiming to find.  A bit of luck after all.  

"Thank you," Johnny told her as they began walking through the darkness of the trees.  "You must be the girl James was on about."

"Hopefully it's safe there," Ethan said, still helping Raven manage along.  "We won't be a burden, maybe we can wait this thing out until its over."

Raven rolled her eyes as she was then able to walk on her own.  "The military just bombed the city," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.  "I think whatever this is, it just started.  Sorry to rain on your parade, pal.  I don't even think we should stay out here long, it's just a matter of time before it comes this way.  If it hasn't already."

Ethan knew she was probably right, but he still kept a glimmer of hope inside.  He just wanted to find his wife and kids, but wherever they were, it would have to wait until tomorrow.  Searching out for them in the dark would just be plain dumb.  

"You live out here?" Ethan asked the girl.  "I came out near here a few times with my family.  We would ride horses on the trails.  They told me to meet them out here, God I hope they're okay."

"They might have been trying to get in," Johnny told him.  "The locals out here were making everyone leave."

"If that's the case, my wife would of made a camp nearby," Ethan said.  "She would, I know it.  First light, I have to go look for them."

"I hope you find them," Raven said.  "I'm Raven, by the way."

"Ethan."

"Johnny."


----------



"Name's Dallen," he told the two.  

After that, there wasn't much talking, at least from Dallen's side.  They walked for hours on end, until finally Dallen halted them.

"We're going to need to rest," he said.  "It's still a long way, no sense in rushing it."

There was a storage room nearby that the lawyer opened, using his pipe to smash off the handle.  It was small and dark inside, but enough to get the job done.  He lit his zippo so the two could see for a while.  Nothing much, other than a broken sink, some mops and a bucket.  A few other items sprawled about the floor.

"I'll take watch, you two should get some rest first," he told them.  "We should be safe in here tonight.  When we're ready, we go nonstop until we reach the woods outside of the city.  From there...hell, we'll have to figure it out as we go." 

The man sat down against the door, cracking his neck and wishing he still had cigarettes.