Joanna kicked her feet up on the small, round table before her, leaning back in the wooden chair and rocking it back on its back legs. It creaked in protest, a warning that it may give out, but she ignored it as she ran a rag along a bolt for her crossbow, being careful as she cleaned the tip of it. The sun was setting outside, the sunlight slowly disappearing as it lowered itself. She stared out the window for a moment, watched how shadows began to stretch before looking back down at the task of cleaning off the bolts.

They- well, actually, Joanna had got a window opened to an apartment on the top floor; turned out, the fire escape was attached to an apartment complex. After her and Ash had made sure the small apartment was cleared, Ash went on the hunt for more food while Joanna blocked the doorway leading into the hallway with a bookshelf that had been in the living room. She hadn't dared open the door and she had tried to be as quiet as possible. If there were enough of those things outside the door, she didn't want them banging on it. The backdoor to the store had been steel; this one was wooden and would easily break underneath the proper weight and push.

Even just one could get through a wooden door, if it was determined enough. She knew that. She subconsciously popped her right ankle, remembering when she had hurt it when she dropped from that window. It still ached if she was on it too much. Which was everyday but it was a easy pain to ignore. She glanced over at the couch a few feet away from her; the kid was passed out cold on it. He had obviously been exhausted and she had said she'd do first shift. She wasn't going to risk both of them falling asleep and one of those things possibly getting in. Or more than one, since they usually ran in herds.

The room was growing darker, the sunlight beginning to not stream inside anymore, and she sighed softly. She put her feet on the ground, letting the chair slam back into the wooden floor. Ash barely flinched; she didn't like that. In this world, you had to be alert, ready to jump up at a moment's notice. At least he kept his shoes on. Before she lost the light, she put her bolts up and readied her crossbow. She laid it on the table in front of her, in easy grab in case she needed it, and leaned back for a long night. She didn't plan on waking Ash. He had looked too tried, like he hadn't been sleeping well, and Joanna wasn't willing to travel with someone who wasn't alert and ready for anything.

Honestly, she could have kept going on her own. She wasn't sure where she was going; it was more just surviving. She didn't have a set location in her mind. She was just trying to live. She hadn't expected to be in a grocery store, crouched down behind shelving and searching for food, only for another survivor to enter. At first, she had thought about not coming out. She hadn't traveled with another person but that didn't mean she hadn't bumped in to others.

She had bumped into a group of four, at one point. She had traded three cans of food for a pack of cigarettes, which were gone now. She tried to not think about that often; she was craving cigarettes and it sucked she didn't have them. The group hadn't been harsh; shaken, sure. Wary, of course. But rude? No, they had actually been fairly nice

She had been surprised, admittedly. And she had realized that group was rare because the next group she had ran in to were not nice. They had tried to mug her. Well, one of the guys part of the group had tried. But she managed to get away, after pistol whipping him and even getting the crowbar he had hit her in the ribs with before fleeing. She still had a bruise on her ribs and it ached when she twisted or stretched a certain way. She still remembered the sudden burn and pain when she had jumped up to grab the ladder of the fire escape.

She wasn't sure how long ago that had happened but she knew the guy hadn't been alone. When she was running away, she had heard someone shout that wasn't the guy she had laid out on the ground. They were idiots, obviously; making so much noise with those things running around was asking to die. But when she had seen Ash, quietly shuffling through the shelves, she saw how young he was. He looked like he was only six or seventeen. He looked ran down, worn and tired, pale-faced and dark bags under his eyes. She shouldn't had cared. She should have just kept hidden and waited until he left.

She wasn't willing to trust him immediately. She wasn't going to step out and shake hands with the damn kid. She wanted to show him she could defend herself and that she would shoot if he tried anything. Or hit him with her crowbar. She had killed those things, for survival of course, but she hadn't killed a human... she had hurt that guy who had attacked her but killing? No. She wasn't sure if she could kill a human. It was bad enough those damn things use to be human. She didn't think about that often; she made herself not think about it often. She wanted to live and she wouldn't let her emotions get in the way of that.

The room was slowly draped into darkness, until she couldn't see a thing. Out of all the things she had found, she hadn't found a flashlight yet. She doubted the kid had one and wasn't going to wake him up. Instead, she let her eyes adjust the best they could and ran her hand along her crossbow, to reassure herself it was there. She glanced in the general direction of the couch and wondered what the hell she was doing with this kid. When she had first seen him, she thought maybe he could hold his own. After all, he was surviving this, so it was almost natural to think that.

But then she had pointed her crossbow at him and the way he held the gun... how the safety was still on... yeah, she realized that he couldn't hold his own and he had been floating along on luck this whole time. Maybe she was judging him too fast. But the way he attracted those things and almost got them killed... she thought she had every damn right to judge him. 

She knew why she came out instead of staying tucked away in the corner, waiting for him to leave. She had been lonely. She had felt bad for the tired-looking kid. Those were the two main reasons. She hadn't had true company since the day it happened. The group of four, she could have went with them. But four people were too many, actually. That was more of a risk, in her opinion. She had moved on as soon as their trade was done. But Ash was one person. And he had looked like he was ready to fall flat on his face and sleep, no matter where he was. She wasn't surprised he had agreed when she said she'd take first shift, had fallen on the couch and been asleep in seconds. Maybe he felt more comfortable having someone watching over him, too.

She didn't really want to think of the reasons, though. Because now she was stuck with this kid. She had to train him, at least a little. He needed to be more aware of his surroundings, needed to learn to be properly threatening with that gun. She couldn't teach him how to actually shoot it. She wasn't stupid, they weren't going to fire off a shot. But they could do one with the magazine out and the chamber empty. That'd be okay. He needed to know how to aim, too. 

She should be annoyed at all the things she'd have to teach this lucky boy. But actually, she was... okay with it. She wasn't sure how long it had been since all this happened but... company was nice and this was giving her something to do, other than surviving and thinking of everything she had lost. She reached up, beginning to twist the golden chain on her neck around her finger, the little golden heart barely noticeable as she twisted it around her finger and released it at a quick pace. She didn't even notice she was fiddling with the necklace as she stared into the darkness. She wasn't tired; she hadn't slept much before all this, knew she wouldn't now. So, she played with her mother's necklace and just waited for morning.

--

She waited for the sun to be higher in the sky before waking Ash. She didn't want him to sleep too much. He'd just be sluggish. She wandered over to the couch and paused; Ash's left arm was above his hand, his left hand hanging off the arm rest. From the sunlight streaming in, the silver ring on his left middle finger gleamed, catching her eye. She wondered briefly who gave it to him before deciding she didn't care. She shouldn't care. She didn't need to get too attached to the kid. She might want company but that didn't mean she wanted attachments. She had already lost too much. 

"Hey." she said, kicking the couch hard enough to make it shift. Ash jerked, rolling to the side and nearly falling off the couch; he caught himself last minute and looked up with wide eyes before his shocked expression turned into a glare.

"Good morning to you, too." he snapped, leaning up and rubbing his face. He ran his fingers through his hair and blinked a few times. "Wait, you didn't wake me up...? I thought I was taking second shift?" he twisted his body to look up at Joanna.

Jo shrugged. "I was wide awake." she said, walking over and opening her backpack. "Let's see; we got beans or... beans for breakfast." she turned to him with two cans in her hands before tossing one to him. He caught it easily and she was glad he had good reflexes, at least. She walked over to him and held her hand out.

Ash was staring at the can and then noticed her outstretched hand, obviously wanting something. He looked up in confusion. "What?" he asked, not understanding what she wanted.

She made a sound like she was annoyed and rolled her eyes. "Give me ya damn knife. I've been havin' to use my damn crowbar to open cans and wastin' food while at it, too." she explained sharply, as if Ash should have known that. He began to reach for the knife in his backpack, which was propped against the couch, before pausing for a second. Joanna frowned. "I saved ya goddamn life and you ain't gonna give me a simple knife?"

Ash turned back to glare at her. "I would have made it out of there with or without you." he said defensively. Joanna was beginning to change her mind on this company. The kid was acting strange and she didn't like it. She was calling the shots because she knew what she was doing. 

"Yeah, sure, okay. I believe ya. Now knife." she said, not in the mood for arguing. She'd kill for a steak or some ice cream right now. Beans was a food that should not be eaten everyday. But it was what she had, if she couldn't find a piece of fruit that was still good. Ash rolled his eyes but handed the knife over after that, not looking at her. She ignored his mood, setting the can down and using the knife to cut the top off. "Let me guess," she began slowly, popping the top off before handing the knife back to him, "Ya ain't a mornin' person?"

Ash's lips twitched slightly upward before he covered it up with a frown. "Not really." he said, using the knife to pop the top off of his own. Well, at least he knew that. Joanna was afraid she'd have to do that for him; maybe even feed him. She was seeing him as helpless and while she shouldn't be, she couldn't help it. After witnessing what she had, it was what she had pinned him as. She had always been like that, quick to judge and to keep judging.

She fell back into the chair and began to eat, not replying to him. They ate the beans in silence; she could tell Ash didn't enjoy eating with his fingers. Honestly, Joanna didn't care. It got food in her stomach. If she didn't have too, she wouldn't even eat. But she wasn't going to let herself pass out one day from an empty stomach. She worried more about water than anything, though. "Well," she said, setting the empty can on the table and wiping her fingers on her jeans, "I'm gonna show you how to load, reload, make sure the safety is off, and aim and then we can move on."

Ash nodded and grew quiet a few seconds, obviously in thought as he set his can aside and wiped his fingers on the couch. "Where too?" he finally asked, looking over at Joanna. She stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging and standing up.

It was a reasonable question. But like hell she knew the answer to it. She didn't believe there was anywhere safe. The military had fallen early on, she wouldn't be surprised if safety areas they had set up had fallen too. She wasn't even sure where to look for those and so, she was just going where she felt like. "Hell if I know. Somewhere with more food? Now c'mon, let's get this over with." 

It didn't long for Ash to grasp the basic concept of a gun. Actually, it surprised Joanna, how quickly he caught on and got it. How quickly he slipped the magazine inside and cocked a bullet into the chamber. She didn't show the surprise though. She realized she had underestimated him. He was smart. He was adaptable and that, that she could work with. After they were done, she decided it was time to move on. While the sun was still bright, she wanted to find some more food.

"We aren't going to practice anymore?" Ash asked while Joanna opened the window. It barely squeaked but when it did a little, it made her grit her teeth. The smallest noise could be a death sentence these days.

"Nah. You're good." she said before she slipped outside, onto the fire escape. She didn't want to talk about it. She wasn't good at handing out compliments and so she didn't want to say why they finished so quickly. She honestly expected it to take half the day, to get him to get pretty good at using the gun. And even, using a gun took practice, took time to really grasp and use well. She hadn't expected him to be an expert by the end of this little training session. And he wasn't but he was better than she had expected.

They went to the bottom of the fire escape and Joanna frowned when she saw the ladder was pulled back up. It'd make a lot of noise once it was let down. She wasn't willing to go through the apartment complex, though. She liked being able to see what she was dealing with, liked seeing more open surroundings. Hanging around in Dallas wasn't doing her any good but she found food a lot easier. She glanced back at Ash and shouldered her crossbow. "Move fast and quiet," she told him before letting the ladder drop.

It crashed loudly against the ground and she was going down the instant it hit. She hit the ground jogging and Ash was right on her heels. The kid could move and that was a good thing. She went behind the apartment complex, glad to see none of those things, and kept moving quickly. She didn't want to risk being near the area if any of them popped up. She slowed her pace once they ran behind another building and began to move slower, crossbow out, and in more of a crouch. Ash mirrored her, she noticed, and she was beginning to like his company more and more. She peeked around the corner, seeing none of those things, and began to move across the street. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going. There was a clothing store down the street, what looked like a deli shop. She ducked behind a car, front of it twisted around a street pole, and waited for Ash to join her. "Wanna try for that deli shop?" she asked, motioning down the street to it. 

From what she could tell, the windows looked to be intact. Maybe there was still food inside. "Sure." Ash replied, eyeing the street around them. He kept an eye out, she noticed, he just needed to be more careful. Maybe it wasn't just luck this kid had been floating on; he still had to learn some stuff, though. She nodded, not saying anything else, and began to move down the street towards the shop, Ash following her closely with his knife out and ready, gun in reach too.