The sudden rustling of the garbage bags made her jump back. She clenched her teeth, waiting for whatever was waiting to show its, hopefully not horrible, face. Her hands were trembling from holding onto the knife tightly as she prepared herself to either fight or sprint from whatever was there. Her mind and heart were racing in fear while another painful pang from her stomach washed over her again. Her body was aching and she felt weak in general and she feared that she'd collapse from the fatigue. 

Everything moved in slow motion until she saw the gun raised against her and the peek of a little girl's head over the garbage. The breath she didn't realize she was holding was let out in a sigh of relief. But she knew she couldn't let her guard down just yet. This child was probably scared and from the looks of it just as mentally and physically exhausted as she was. And she would rather not have to deal with a gunshot by a scared child. She began to examine her options. How should she go about this? She looked to be alone, and for all she knew her parents were likely dead or looking for her. Jess didn't really enjoy people, much less children, but she felt she knew how the child was feeling. Alone and scared. No one to be with in a world where it's kill or be killed. 

"Put down the gun sweetie." she said in as sweet and gentle of a voice as her tired vocal chords could let out. She placed the knife down as slowly as possible, watching the child intently. "I won't hurt you, I promise. My name's Jessica. What's yours?" her eyes pleaded for the child to listen to her.