Anjelica looked around at the abandoned streets. Cars were all along the sides of the road abandoned. Looks like people didn't make it very far. Should mean there should still be some food or supplies here, Anjelica thought to herself as she looked over at Michael. "We should stop here Mike." She said pointing up to a camping supply store.
"Sounds good." Michael said as he swerved slowly through the streets to avoid all the stalled cars in the street. "The door is still intact so its clear no one broke in. That's a good sign." Michael said as he pulled into the parking spot and looked around at the building. "We should still expect the damn walkers." He said as he opened his car door and got out of the car. Anjelica slowly followed him and they both walked up to the door of the store. They looked through the glass as Mike held the handle and Anjelica pulled out her sword. Mike pulled the door opened and Anjelica headed into the store looking for any walkers in the room. Michael slowly followed her also on alert for walkers.

It had taken them too long to get to Mason City since the last town they were at and the pair of friends were exhausted. They spent the last few days hiding out in the woods trying to scout out the area to see if there were any walkers left, but luckily for them there weren't any spotted. Walkers though were the least of their worries as other living people were at times scarier than the undead. Those who were left living after the outbreak six weeks ago became scavengers and there was only one rules that they all followed; it was the survival of the fittest.

Thankfully Fred was a tall, muscular semi-professional athlete who was intimidating enough in stature that no one really messed with the pair. Søren, being a semi-professional athlete too, was also athletically built, but didn't have as much muscle as his best friend. He had the height to match, but his frame wasn't as wide. His brain though on the other hand, was a bit larger and much more cunning.

With their baseball bats in tow the two men slyly and cautiously walked out from the woods to the backyard of a fenced starter home. Søren gave his red-haired friend a nod of approval as they moved closer to the sliding glass patio door. Inching up to the glass Søren peered through the door, scanning the inside to see if there were any signs of movement. "Looks like we might be in the clear. On my go, I'll cover you."

"Got it." Fred said, tightening his grip on his wooden baseball bat. The man had a gun strapped to his back, but it would have made too much noise if it was shot and drawing attention was the last thing the two men wanted.

Søren waved his hand and pulled the sliding glass door with all his might, hearing the lock break as a screw or something flew towards his face. Like he was Søren's reflex though, Fred slipped inside of the house with his bat at the ready to swing. If anything was jumping out he was prepared to smite them down with all his might. Søren fixed his glasses as they were tilted from the force he used to open the patio door, tightening his own grip onto his metal bat as he stood behind his friend.

"You check out the living room, I'll see if there are any supplies in the kitchen." Søren commanded, nodding his head to Fred. "Don't check out the bedrooms yet, I'd rather have your back when we check the rest of the house."

"I know, I know." Fred said, knowing full well what the routine was when they checked out houses. "I did see a camping surplus store or something down the road though, we should probably check that out after this."

Søren nodded in agreement, surprised that Fred had actually been paying attention to their surroundings. "Alright, let's get this done first."

Anjelica continued to search the store for any walkers. "Coast is clear." She said as she placed her sword back in the sheath behind her back. "Now lets see what gear was left behind." She said as she began to look at the shelves. There was ammo, a few guns, freeze dried meals, and a bunch of basic medical supplies. "We should take all we can carry." Mike said as he looked around for other gear as well. "You never know when this stuff could come in handy." He said as he looked back at the front door to make sure they did not get overrun.

As the two ex-baseball players scavenged through the house like vultures on a carcass they came up pretty empty-handed. They found a few non-perishable food items they could add into their rations, but nothing too luxurious was found. The house was empty and free of walkers as that was one of the plus-sides too. With their next plan of action already decided the two friends exited the house swiftly as they made their way to the camping supply store.

"We'll sneak through the back," Søren said, moving slyly across the parking lot as he led the way.

Fred followed in tow as he slid from empty car to empty car, hiding behind whatever he could to cover him from the wandering eyes, if there were even any. He knew that it was a lot better being safer than sorry when it came to stealth. Sure, sometimes they could look like idiots, but not dying made them be able to look like idiots instead of being dead. "I think I see something moving inside," Fred muttered.

"Probably a few walkers," Søren said, knowing to trust his partner in crime's word. "Just be extra careful when we get in there then." The man with the pair of glasses led them to the side of the building and with their backs against the wall they were a little safer. Nothing could really grab them from behind as the wall was solid brick and they just had to keep lookout for their sides and whatever was in front of them, which was a semi-empty parking lot.

As they neared the rear door of the small, camping surplus store Søren signaled for Fred to cover him as he began fidgeting with the door handle. "Remember, once it's open you go in and I'll cover you."

Fred nodded and watched as his best friend did his best at charming the door handle to move. It took a few moments before Fred heard something click and a smile appear on Søren's face.

"Ready or not," Søren said, "let's go."

"Can't be as bad as the house, we got nothing there." Fred sighed, tightening the grip to his wooden baseball bat as he slide into the backroom of the store.

Anjelica looked up when she heard a door in the back open. "We got company." She said pulling out her hand gun pointing it towards the back of the store as she looked for a good place for cover.

Mike looked around and leaned up against one of the shelves as he pulled out his SKS and getting it ready to go. "There is no way a walker could have opened the door." He said loudly enough for only Anjelica to hear him. She nodded his head and waited for the intruders to make their way in. In this world, you can never be to careful of anybody especially other humans. Anyone could fly off the handle in the time like this.

Slowly making their way in, Fred led with his bat in front of him, extending it out in case there were any walkers. Every corner was a dangerous one as you couldn't usually see at the other side if there was a walker there or not. The pair inched their way through the backroom as Søren had the rear with a bat of his own, tightening the grip to his as they slowly inched towards the front of the store.

"Doesn't look like there's any walkers, Sør." Fred sighed as they made their way through the backroom. The doorway into the front of the store was broken so there wasn't any real cover as the two friends made their way into the main lobby. They were in the tents section which had a few empty boxes but most of the things were still inside, being safe, secured, and untouched, which was a miracle in itself.

"Everything is still here," Søren said, shocked and surprised. He eased up on his bat as he lifted it to his shoulder, wandering around the tent section, browsing for anything that seemed portable and worthy enough for the two men. "We should check out if there are any flashlights or lamps."

"What about sleeping bags?" The red haired athlete muttered. "The little luxaries, right?"

"We need new lamps and lanterns* at night more than sleeping bags," Søren sighed. He knew that the morale boost the sleeping bags would bring would help Fred a lot along the way too, but they were also little luxuries for himself too. "But if you can find sleeping bags that are easy to lug around then that's fine too. We also need more oil or some flint."

Fred nodded and made his way towards the front of the store where he suspected the sleeping bags to be when he felt a tingle in the back of his neck hairs. Dropping his bat he made for his gun and backed himself up to the nearest hard covering he could find, shouting out to Søren, "Cover!"

Like a reflex Søren ducked behind the aisle he was in, reaching for his small pistol, readying it as he made his way slowly to the front of the shelf. He wanted to ask his friend what was going on, but he knew better. Be it walker or human, their best options right now were to be quiet and asses the situation they were in. If it was a walker it would have to a violent assessment, if it was a human it could go either way, that just depended on the other party.

Breathing heavily, Fred sat up with his back behind one of the displays, hoping that it was just a plain, old shiver and not one of those sixth senses that he had developed due to the outbreak.

Mike heard one of the men call for the other to take cover. "Easy now......we don't want trouble." He called out hoping the others would not over react. "There are plenty of things for everyone." He said wanting to difuse any possible tension early on. "We only pulled weapons for protection....if you drop your weapons, we will drop ours." He said looking around from his current cover with out exposing himself for a possible attack.

Anjelica could feel all the hairs on her arms stand up with fear....she had been robbed by humans really early into the outbreak and it has shaken her up ever since. If Mike had not found her walking along the side of the road....she would be dead.

Søren stayed quiet as he was further away from the action and sound of the voice that had spoken out to them. Slowly and silently he crawled away from the shelves and inched further away from the aisles. He hoped to catch the eye of his best friend, but also did it blindly, not knowing where Fred had jumped to for cover.

"I'm dropping mine," Fred said, it was more to tell Søren to keep calm rather than telling the man that he was trusting him with his deal of no weapons. "I'm getting up now." The red haired man slowly stood from his spot, with his back still against the wall and his hands up in the air. "I'm up with no weapon in my hands. Can I trust you to drop yours?"

Søren laid quietly as he watched his friend stand up, with his gun set beside him. The dark haired man sighed deeply to himself, cursing at how stupid his friend was being, throwing down his weapon, making him such an easy target to be taken out. Of course Søren wasn't going to let that happen. His hand was still on his pistol as he waited for the other man to do the same, acknowledging the deal he made with Fred.

Mike also stood up slowly placing his gun on the ground. Anjelica knew something was up. "You are not alone." She said listening to see if she could figure out where the other man was. "Prove that he has dropped his weapon as well then Anjelica will drop hers." Mike said calmly as possible. "We don't want any trouble....we just want to get what we need and move on." Mike said as Anjelica looked around the shelves trying to find the other person. It was weird with Anjelica, she had a sixth sense for it. The military would have loved to recruit her but she would not have been able to keep up physically.

"We want the same," Fred said with his hands still up in the air. A second stranger's voice appeared and shook Fred a bit, realizing that there was still another gun out there that wasn't on his side. They requested that Søren's gun be put down too, but Fred knew better than that. "We're all looking to get supplies without anybody getting hurt," Fred said, straightening himself out. "I put my gun down first, how about your guys drop yours and show us first, then we'll do the same."

Søren nodded his head, disapproving and disagreeing with Fred's tactics. Usually the plans were of Søren's doing, but right now with Fred in the midst of all the heat Søren let his best friend lead.

"I promise you we are no threat to you guys," Fred commented. "I know we all just want to get out of here in one piece."