“[i]I've been meaning to ask, actually, do you have a group or something you should be with who might be looking for you?[/i]”

Ash’s face fell slightly at the question, her eyes going slightly dark and her gaze falling to the floor once more. “I don’t know.” Rather than crying or getting upset though her voice had gone relatively deadpan. She wasn’t sure exactly how much she should tell them and how much to keep to herself. She didn’t think these people would hurt her friends, but you could never be sure anymore. “We were heading north when a large group of the dead separated us. The plan was to follow the river until we reached the lake. I was waiting for them when the dead started to swarm me. I don’t know if I missed them or they just hadn't made it to the lake yet.”

A long pause, her resolve seeming to weaken for another moment before she let out a long breath. “I don’t know if they’d look for me if I wasn’t there. I don’t even know if they’re alive.” There was a little shake to it, signifying underlying emotion she was not allowing to break through. She felt like she should be more upset about all of this, like there should be more of an outward reaction. But she had seen so much death. She had lost so many people. Maybe she was just too tired to cry anymore right now.

Thankfully dinner proved to be an excellent distraction, the mood lightened and with the attention of the room not so solely on her Ash felt herself start to relax a little. And the food was [i]good[/i]. It had been a long time since she’d sat down at a table and had a proper meal but it was nice. It reminded her of before the world became such a horrible place to live and she felt herself feeling full and satisfied for the first time in a long time.

Though it could only last so long. Once the meal was over she was escorted back to the room and left alone inside. It could be worse, realistically. But just something as simple as a door made the isolation feel so much worse than it was. She should have had the best night’s sleep she’d had in months, a proper bed, blankets, a pillow! But it was well into the early AM before she managed to doze off. All the shouting and banging from downstairs had finally quietened down and there was no more movement from outside. Every now and then she had gotten up to look out the window, just in case a familiar shadow was moving around in the darkness outside before exhaustion finally claimed her.