[center][b][h3]Ashley - Mall Parking Lot - Rex / Katie[/h3][/b]
[@RedVII][@Belle][/center]

[center][i]"Identification of suspects does not pertain just to their appearance at the scene, nor their driving licenses or their passports. It also pertains to their actions, what they're doing before, during and after the scene. Grandma can be more suspicious than Steve if grandma has a loaded rifle."[/i][/center]

The words of Ashley's instructor were meant for policing duties, for a civilised line of work, but they still held true in the apocalypse. Not everyone was who they appeared to be, and anyone could backstab her. Ashley found it hard [i]not[/i] to trust people, but she knew how desperate things could be. She knew she had to be prepared for anything to happen. But knowing she had to be prepared was different from actually being prepared. She never knew where trouble could come from. That, too, was true while she had been policing the street. But this time, she had no partner, no backup to call upon. She had her belt, which helped with storage, and she still had her badge, for what little it did. But there was little point in calling herself a police officer. Handcuffing a walker was only fun to imagine, not do, and she certainly wasn't wasting her only good pair of cuffs on one for a gag.

Policing and handcuffs were great for control. The apocalypse was better. It controlled fate. The world was far past handcuffs.

The mall was the best bet for supplies. Even if the mall had been looted, there was always something special tucked away for the taking that someone had missed in their scramble for supplies. And even then, the buildings [i]near[/i] the mall were a great place to look. Everyone went straight to the mall, leaving other places less searched. She had found a few prize pieces of food hidden away at the back of the highest cabinets. And even if she found something, someone else would come by and find something else [i]she[/i] didn't find. Such was the nature of multiple people searching the same place.

A scream and pair of gunshots broke the quiet air of the parking lot. Ashley flinched, moving behind a car to hide and assess the situation. The dead that were the main display in the mall's parking lot began to shamble toward the source, and Ashley thought she saw other movement within parking lot, but wasn't sure. She figured she would wait for the walkers to pass before continuing on her way, so she remained in place, peeking out from behind her cover and hiding place every so often to check if the coast is clear.

It was then that Ashley heard the yelling of a man, obviously chasing after someone. She peeked out of cover again to observe the situation; a girl, being assaulted by a much older man. She knew who the threat was here, and grasped her pistol in her hand, ready to help... Only for someone else to beat her to it. She remained in cover, observing as a bolt whizzed into the man's shoulder and a dog, a German Shepherd, went for something she was grateful not to have. As the man sang his tune, a man made his way to the to the girl and spoke to her.

Despite the man being the girl's saviour, Ashley still had worries. It was always a possibility that the girl was just ending up switching from one man's treasure to the other's. Ashley kept her eyes above the hood of the car, silently watching the pair, her sidearm at the ready in case things went south for the girl once more.

[hr]

[center][b][h3]Jasper - School Bus - Nobody (Jessalyn - a few blocks away)[/h3][/b]
[@Belle][/center]

Jasper knew that any kind of shelter that he could search might have something inside that was worth entering, even if that was just shelter from the outside world and a roof over his head, which usually turned out to be the case. He was just too young to have any use for larger things, and had to focus on the necessities; food, water, and anything that could be a tool that he could use. He still hadn't found any rounds for his gun, but that was unsurprising. Nobody was going to leave bullets around, not when they could use them.

Despite this, he still had the pistol in his hand when he was entering a store or any other dangerous place. He knew that if he came across anyone that was human, anyone that was [i]not dead[/i] and presented a threat to him, he could [i]try[/i] and convince them that the gun was loaded. There was a magazine in the weapon, it just had no rounds to go with it. With luck, a potential threat wouldn't call his bluff and instead retreat.

A building that seemed to be damaged by the impact of a school bus presented itself as a good place to search for something. Such an event occurring meant that the building most likely didn't have any undead inside of it, as they probably would have cleared out by now. He makes his way into the building, holding his harmless weapon at the ready. He kicks over a bit of debris to make a little noise, and after hearing no response, assumes that that the building was clear of any walkers. Taking a moment to check what his options were, he decided to look in the bus first, figuring that it was the safer bet; the seats being out of the bus meant that there was probably not a walker inside - and whoever was living there was probably dead, just like everywhere else.

He made his way through the chairs, pushing one or two over, mumbling to himself quietly before he peeked into the bus. It didn't seem like there was anybody inside. A smile met his face as he realised his luck. A sleeping bag, boxes of various supplies, and some cans that obviously held food, he had hit the jackpot. He took off his bag, sitting down and starting to pick through the supplies, putting some cans in the bag while examining other bits and bobs to see if they would be worth taking.