Claire’s mind continued to dwell in the past somewhat as she listened to the others, things she’d rather be forgotten springing to mind at the thought of what might happen if things went badly. She snapped out of it when there was a small silence. She quickly realised that they were all looking at her, having just asked her a direct question. Feeling a slight twinge of guilt at not paying attention she clenched her jaw as Winterbourne repeated what Anna had signed, a slight smirk on his face. 

“It’s this way” she said flatly turning as she did, leading the way towards the main exit of the church. It was a short way to the entrance of what was once a busy multi-story shopping complex, only having to cross the mostly deserted street before it loomed above them. Its exterior had been made of mostly large glass panels, but in the short time since the blackout most of them had been cracked or smashed altogether. The inside was littered with broken glass mingled amongst the thin layer of snow that had penetrated the broken skylights, giving the whole place an almost surreal an otherworldly appearance. The numerous shop fronts had all been looted and vandalised, picked clean by criminals and scavengers alike. A few shady looking individuals were loitering around one or two of the shop fronts, they did nothing but look away once they saw the large group passing through looking as imposing as they did together.
The bus complex on the other side was almost as equally destroyed, several of the busses completely burnt out and many other damaged severely. Towards the back of the complex there was a covered garage and only just noticeable was another bus that seemed to have escaped most of the chaos, the only sign that it had been touched was that the side of it had been creatively spray painted with the words ‘Vandalism and stuff’. Other than that it look completely fine. Glancing around once she moved into the garage and pulling the Skeleton-Jack she had been given from her pocket and pushing it into the lock next to the door. It turned seamlessly in the lock and the hydraulic doors activated, opening quickly as the lights inside the bus buzzed to life for one brief moment before flickering out. The electrics were probably all shot, but at least the engine should still run fine providing the Jack worked. Without looking back she climbed onto the bus and opened the small barrier that divided the driver’s seat from the passengers before seating herself and quickly adjusting the seat and mirror as the others climbed aboard.