[IC] The Walking Dead - Among the Ruined - Season 3

[Atomyk]

Shannon - New Orleans - James

The morning stretched onward and Shannon's surprise company continued to sleep the day away. She couldn't turn away Rob and the other man last night in the rain, but she knew that eventually she'd have to tell them that they weren't welcome to stay. They hardly had the supplies to sustain more people and, besides that, Shannon was not exactly comfortable expanding the group. A larger group only brought complications and heartache, two things none of them needed right now. Of course, as Shannon continued to linger outside their tent, her resolve faded quickly. She didn't know what she would do if they argued about staying. She wanted to be strong after being weak for so long, but she knew it just wasn't in her. Her apprehension only grew the longer she was forced to wait, and Shannon realized she just really didn't want to deal with any of this at all.

She turned to James and touched his shoulder, waking him from his drowsy state. It was likely he didn't get much more sleep than she did the night before. "Go put a sweater on. I think it's time we go looking before the wind gets any heavier," God, did Shannon miss the days of weather reports. Some dull clouds had settled high into the sky, so Shannon reasoned that it would rain again soon. It meant they wouldn't be able to look for Valentina long, but hopefully James would understand. She smiled at the boy when he returned with a sweater two times his size and he managed to smile back. "Right, come on then," she said, placing a hand on his back and leading into the forest.

They made their way toward the city proper, as that's where Shannon reasoned Valentina would have went. It was only a short walk, as they wanted their initial camp to be close in case of an emergency. That was probably why the two men managed to stumble into the camp in the first place. When they eventually hit the streets, James wanted to head deeper in toward a business sector of the city, but Shannon decided that Valentina would be more likely held up in a more suburban location. They settled on having a look through each residence they passed, though Shannon insisted James stay behind her at all times. The boy had come a long way, but he still got afraid and nervous around firearms. Shannon knew they couldn't hold off on teaching him much longer, but a part of her felt like that would be taking away his last remaining innocence.

They weren't anywhere near close to clearing the street when the wind began to pick up and the sky began to darken. Neither Valentina or anything substantial had been found by the time Shannon realized it was finally started to rain outside. She swore under her breath, but James didn't say a word, only staring glumly out the window. "We have to stop," she said, pulling the hood on her sweater over her head. Shannon didn't like the idea of leaving Emma and the others alone in a storm so she felt that they were obligated to push through the rain in order to get back to them. James had no objections as he followed Shannon outside, though she could hear him whimpering slightly whenever a strong gust of wind hit them.

They had only just reached the tree line when Shannon was shoved backwards and slammed into James. They fell to the ground together, both unable to reorient themselves in the heavy winds. A cracking noise erupted from somewhere nearby and Shannon felt something heavy fall around her. James cried out and Shannon desperately reached out for him. He fell into her arms and held her tight, both unable to move. Eventually, Shannon looked up to find that a tree had toppled over mere feet away from them. She knew then that going back wasn't an option. Perhaps she knew that before, but she had to have at least tried. "Okay, come on! Come on! Move!" She yelled to be heard over the storm as she pulled James and herself up shakily. Her head down, Shannon then led James back toward the houses. If they didn't find shelter soon, Shannon was sure that they would be carried away by the wind and never seen from again.

---

Myriah - Outpost - Enrique

No one noticed her as she made her way through the tents with an umbrella in hand. The rain put mostly everyone's jobs on hold for the day, though the watchers and scouts were still required to keep Outpost secure. She had climbed on to the wall in order to speak with Elliot, who assured her that he was fine working in the rain. Myriah didn't like it, but she knew Elliot had something to prove so she refrained from arguing with him. From there, Myriah was at a loss for what to do with herself. She wanted to head to her cabin and work on her class itinerary, but she found she couldn't put her heart into it much. She'd worked so hard and did everything she could for this community, but all she had to show for it was blood.

And she couldn't tell a soul.

Who would believe her at this point? She could come clean about her hand in the mutiny, but that was more likely to get her ostracized than Matt. He could say that she had been working with Reggie and she knew it would be easy to convince everyone. She didn't much care for her own life if it meant revealing Matt for the manipulative man that he was, but she couldn't possibly sacrifice herself in vain. She had to stick with Outpost for as long as possible, until she could figure out some way to solve all of this.

She made her way to Outpost's gates and made small talk with the boys stationed there. They soon let her outside the wall where she found Enrique walking the perimeter. She twirled her umbrella unconsciously as she stared at him, her eyes examining his every movement. The way he carried himself, his posture and appearance. She tried to recognise some sign of the man that had attacked her a month ago, but she couldn't quite remember much about him. The event had happened so fast, and being knocked out didn't help Myriah's memory much. Enrique certainly had the right physique to match the attacker and, if Rudy's suspicions were correct, Myriah had to consider Enrique one of her top suspects.

As the man came closer to her, Myriah smiled. She took off her glasses momentarily to clean off fog from the rain. "So, how's the patrol going?" she asked. "Can't imagine it's fun being out here right now."

---

Tyler - Baton Rouge/Bingo Hall - Katie/Jacob/George

As Tyler waited for Katie to answer, he saw movement from outside the window. He quickly put a hand to his lips to tell Katie to be quiet before making his way toward the entrance to get a better look. From there, he saw a young man carefully making his way down the street. Then, the man stopped suddenly and did something Tyler couldn't quite believe: he answered his cellphone. It was something Tyler hadn't seen in what felt like forever. All he could do was stare out the window, his mouth slightly agape at this man talking on a phone. He watched as the man proceeded to stop paying attention to where he was going and walk out of sight. When Tyler heard a muffled crash from outside, Tyler turned to give Katie a quizzical look. He almost told her to stay with George while he investigated, but after his panic attack over her going to the bathroom, Tyler figured that wasn't a good idea. "We'll be right back!" he yelled to George he put a hand on the front door. "Stick with me, Katie." He opened the door to let her go first, his eyes narrowed on the kitten in her arms. There was no time to argue, he supposed.

To the side of the bingo hall was an alley with a rain barrel next to the building next door. It was toppled now, a large puddle formed around it. The man who had crashed into it was on the ground, so Tyler let out a heavy sigh. "Are you okay?" he asked, walking forward. He held out a hand for the man, his eyes looking to see where the cell phone had gone. Tyler didn't much care for interacting with yet another stranger, but if he had a working cellphone somehow, Tyler had to know what was going on.

[Myst]

Heather - building - Hank

The rain came on suddenly and quickly got very hard. Heather didn't have time to wonder if Hank had actually wanted her with him or he just had no choice. They ran for the protection of the nearby buildings. She stepped back when he told her to. Heather may not always agree with Hank, but she did listen on important things like getting inside a sturdy shelter.

It was dark inside and she had to squint to see.
"Looks like an office building," she commented as Hank started to search. After searching through a cabinent she opened her mouth to answer Hank's question only to come face to face with a gun barrel. The next moment she turned to see Hank get knocked out.
"Hank!" she cried out and tried to move towards him only to be stopped by the pervert with his groin grabbing. She glared at him darkly. Then what one of them had said finally sunk in.

Eat?
Eat... as in...
No. Oh god no.
This was not real. It wasn't happening. They had not just been captured by freaking cannibals.

With shaking hands she emptied her bag when told to. "It's just medical supplies," she said, not mentioning the pistol she had tucked in her jeans under her shirt. "I'm a nurse."
She tried once again to inch her way over to Hank only to be stopped by one of the pervy cannibals. "I want to make sure you didn't kill him you inbred bastard!" she shouted at the guy blocking her way only to get backhanded across the face. The force of it sent her reeling backwards onto the floor. She coughed, spitting out some blood as her vision got a little tunnel-y and the room spun. She felt a hand twist into her hair, pulling her face up.
"Don't touch me," she snarled at him. She suffered through a kiss from the guy that made her choke because of his foul breath. She felt his tongue trying to get into her mouth and bit it as hard as she could. The man howled and shoved her away from him and into a wall. She felt something pop in her shoulder as she hit the wall and fell to the floor.

"Yeehaw!" one of them shouted gleefully. "Kitty's got claws! Come on kitty-cat! Meow!"

Heather looked to Hank. His head was bleeding but it looked like he was breathing. She hoped he would wake up soon, but also hoped he didn't. If these men decided to rape or eat her she didn't want Hank to be awake to see or hear it. Part of her was afraid he'd do something about it and get himself killed, and a small part of her in the back of her mind was afraid he wouldn't do anything at all...

---

Katie - Baton Rouge - Tyler

Katie's eyes went large as her daddy started yelling again. Her mind went back to several months ago, to the last time he had yelled at her. Crying and whimpering, Katie crouched down and curled into a ball. Tears gathered in her eyes. She had promised herself and her daddy that she would not make him angry anymore. But she had once again. She was a bad girl. She didn't mean to be, but she was.

Hugging the kitten to her chest, Katie scrambled backwards under a table, hiding from her father's anger and yelling.
When he lowered his voice, she opened her tightly closed eyes and stared at him pitefully. "I'm sorry daddy," she said, hiccuping a little. "I just wanted to wash my hands and I heard something under a car. It's mommy and it's brothers and sisters were dead. Please daddy, please can I keep him? If I put him back he'll die."

[Rithas]

Rob-Woods-ITS PRETTY WINDY

Sure, he could handle bad weather. Rain and cold was just apart of his normal life. If he could use that as a brave notion. But, when a tree landed quite near him (and to be honest scared the shit out of him) He decided it was time to get somewhere safer then a tent. "That's it!" He screamed over the loud noise. A storm....of course. "WE'RE MOVING SOMEWHERE SAFER, WE COME BACK AFTER THIS CALMS DOWN!" He shouted. Perhaps they would be resistant. But right now he didn't think they would think it would be a bad idea. "NOW, COME ON!" HE screamed to the two of them. He wondered where James and Shannon was..."Now"

[HellHoundWoof]

Enrique-Outpost-Myriah

Enrique saw a figure approaching him and noticed it was Myriah, he pulled the tarp corner closer around him and walked up to her. He put on a smile and stood in front of her listening.

"I can assure you it's not as bad as it looks, the rain is good, keeps me awake. I've got the rest of us rotating around the walls, one of us is inside every hour or so. I'm not working them too hard, if that's what youre here to check up about."

[OutlawedPanda]

Emma - The Woods

Emma was sitting in her tent when the wind started picking up. It slapped against the sides of the shelter, and sent freezing chills down her spine. Whe the rain started pouring, she was glad that the tent was water resistant. However, the wind still froze the air and sent her into a shivering frenzy. She grabbed her sleeping bag, and wrapped it around herself, though it did little to warm her. All of a sudden, one of the wires that held the tent together caved in and snapped. Emma crawled from the tent into the rain, trying to assess the problem.

She reached down to grab the bent wire, attempting to straighten it out. Emma found that she failed when the tent came unhinged, and tumbled across the leaf-covered ground. It was at this time that she looked to the left, spotting a tall figure in the rain. Warily, Emma stepped closer, squinting to keep the rain from her eyes. Lionel Crowe stood drenched in the woods, watching his daughter. She stepped towards him, not caring that it was just a hallucination. The man's arm lifted and he pointed behind him, telling Emma to follow him. He started to quickly walk through the woods, and the girl followed the apparition of her father, not even considering the fact that she was leaving Rob and Markus behind. It was then that a voice cried out, but it wasn't her father's. "Emma!" Cried the voice of Daniel Crowe, but Emma could not spot her brother among the trees.

"Help him, Jane!" Her father barked. While she told herself it wasn't real, Emma's body took control and she ran in the direction she thought Daniel's voice was coming from. She stumbled but quickly regained her foothold. It was when Lionel disappeared, that she saw the cabin. She wasn't too surprised to see Daniel standing on the porch, waving for her to run to him. However, what did surprise her is that his late fiance, Casey, stood by him on the porch. The girl desperately picked up her pace and ran towards her brother, even though she knew it was all a vision.

As expected, she stepped onto the porch, and Daniel and Casey disappeared. Emma grimaced at painful memories, and proceeded to the cabin door. The wind slung the door inward, and Emma had to force it shut because of the harsh gusts. This storm was nothing to be toyed with. She glanced around the cabin; it was slightly chilly from the storm. There was, however, a fireplace that was filled with long-burnt-out wood. The only other room was closed off by a door. Emma reached to the knob, shoved it open and jumped back, however no threat presented itself. Once she wa sure that the cabin was clear, she glanced out the window. She decided that she could return to Rob and Markus when the storm subsided.

Pictures and Shtuff!

Daniel Crowe
Casey
Lionel Crowe

[Atomyk]

Myriah - Outpost - Enrique

Myriah nodded and paused to look down at her feet. "No... that's not why I'm out here. Or at least, my concern wasn't for your leadership skills." She let out a small shaking breath, her body starting to become overwhelmed with the chilly weather. She cleared her throat slightly and looked directly into Enrique's eyes. "The scouts work themselves to the bone for this community. It's saddening, but I understand that it's necessary. I sometimes wonder if that's what eventually did Reggie in, working tirelessly for a number of people who don't explicitly show their gratitude in return. Under those circumstances..."

She looked away now, toward the wall that stood before them. "I'm not condoning murder in any way, but I worry now that we'll make the same mistakes as before. You and Sylar need not sacrifice your sanity for us. If all it takes to avoid another incident is for me to take the time to speak with you, then I will gladly do so." She found herself frowning as she extended her right hand to catch a couple of rain drops. "I still remember that day in such detail... Poor Samantha, lying dead before me. I was knocked out quickly after I saw, but I'll never forget--"

She suddenly turned back around to face Enrique, adjusting the hand she was holding the umbrella with and placing her dry hand on the man's shoulder. "Just be careful. Someone can be so alive and vibrant one second, but then dead the next. That was always true, even before all of this." She smiled again and removed her hand. "Anyway, how's Amanda? She's been remarkable these last few weeks, especially after the loss of Arthur. I suppose we have you to thank for that."

[Roran Hawkins]

Alex Clark - New Orleans - Scouts/Danny/Cody

Rummaging through the abandoned house he flinched when he found a cracked photograph of a just married couple. They looked so happy together, as if nothing could ever go wrong. Most likely both of them were now both dead. It made him feel melancholic to see such clear and optimistic remnants of the the world as it used to be, but he was quickly shaken out of his pondering as Danny spoke up, mentioning the quickly deteriorating weather. For a moment Alex did not care, what was the worst that could happen? Lots of rain? He was used to that. But once he remembered he was in the US South-Eastern Coast again he remembered that extreme weather here meant hurricanes, and he quicjkly shot into action, packing up the few items he had found worth keeping. Putting his backpack on he nodded in response to Danny as he rushed towards the rest, and quickly hurried towards the car and Cody himself.

Once outside he was slapped in the face by the sudden gushing winds, making him protect his face with his arms as he was whipped by a cloud of dust and sand, the wind singing around him. He struggled his way towards the car to find it wobbling hence and forth on its suspension which looked about as funny as it was scary. He turned around before getting in to see how Rudy and the others were doing, when he saw their silhouettes. "Crawlers!" He yelled, but his voice was lost in the wind. A wild movement in the corner of his eye notified him of Danny and the others arriving from their house as the door flapped like a madman in the howling winds, when he heard Danny yell at him. He vaguely understood what the plan was, as he saw Chris run towards him while Danny and Jamie ran off in another direction. They'd try to divert the crawler's attention.

"Let's get going!" He yelled to Charlie once he was in earshot, and ran towards the car, but quickly noticed the crawlers following them. He could hardly lead those to the car right? He stopped and waved over to Danny that he was going to take a small detour and lure them away, not that he'd understand, but it was something. With the crawlers moving behind them he pressed himself through a withered bush, probably something that hadn't been meant to grow in this climate without human aid, and would try to run around the houses' backyards to lose the crawlers.

[Rithas]

Rob-Woods-STILL WINDY

It didn't take long to realize that Emma had apparently left when Rob wasn't paying attention. However he wasn't worried, they had supplies here. So they would come back probably, but until then. Rob had to make sure he survived, well....along with Finch. "Come one!" He shouted as he made sure the man was with him. "THIS IS STUPID ISN'T IT!" Rob shouted towards him, hoping he could hear him. A strong gust of wind nearly swept him off his feet, but in the end only made him stumble. "Their has to be better shelter somewhere, come on. We're sitting ducks here" He said to the man as he started to go in a direction. He didn't actually know where he was going.....but some direction.

Matt-Outpost

Matt watched everyone carefully as he walked around, I wished he could see what they think. He could make a pretty accurate estimate. He know things about these people. just in case. But, right now...He had questions to ask. To certain people. He shook his hair to get the water off it at least a little bit, it always seemed his hair sucked up the rain like a sponge. He could dry it all he wanted, but five hours later it would still be dripping slowly. That was always....annoying....but First off...

"Sarah...Can I talk with you for a second?" He asked her as he peeped into the door. He didn't know what she was doing at the moment, and frankly didn't care at this moment. Waiting until she came over, which everyone always did. "Um, Well a few things...And this is...Private discussion. But, ....well...Have...You ever noticed how Myriah seems moody...like, all the time?...Tsk...Nevermind, Look...Too be honest, not a lot to say, but...I'm doing check ups and also culling my boredom...So, anything....of note?" He leaned against a convenient wall.

Aiden-Group

Aiden had been walking in a circle while waiting for the group. Into the unknown, he trusted Floyd. He just didn't trust the group's look. Aiden sighed as it started to rain, and then grimaced and swore as it started to really rain. "Right right" He said to himself into the vehicle he was in before and locked the doors. "Sweet Jesus that was sudden" He said to his intent himself. He hadn't' actually looked to see if there was anyone else in the vehicles.

Aoife-Scouting group

It had been rough, again. Too many times, even the weather was out for them it seemed. Perhaps she should just stop...

The wind got her attention, the rather strong wind with the loud rain and such. The other group probably had the same problem. "Shit....We need to find strong shelter....or perhaps get back"

[QT]

Hank - Building - Cannibals/Heather

"Meow! Meow!" Billy continued as he took a quit firm step forth and kicked Heather in the gut. He laughed profusely as he did it, enjoying the sight of her suffering. He watched closely as tears ran down her cheeks, staining the wooden floor underneath her. "Look at the kitty weep, Hahaha!" he laughed, urging his partner to come join him. "Let's get this stuff off of her" he told John meanwhile taking a handful of her shirt. He started tugging and pulling, ripping off her top as John stepped on her arms so she couldn't do anything. "Oh look at those! Haven't seen a pair of boobs in a long.....long time!!" Billy said excitedly. He turned back to the others licking his lips yet again. "Were first" he stated, bumping shoulders with John as if everything was for laughs.

Before continuing their lustful fantasy, John gave Heather one last kick. He then knelt beside her holding up her head by her hair. "You best not scream bitch" he threatened, letting go of her head to fall against the cold floor.

Suddenly, a loud yell came from behind the two animals. "STOP IT!!!" Hank called out trying to stand. He was met with a fist to the face as he almost gained his balance, but with a glass-shattering punch he fell back down. That didn't stop him from trying again though. Hank used his fist to get to his knees when a kick crashed against his side - similar to Heather's torture. "Shut up fool" the large man stated, kicking him yet again. It seemed like dejavu, just that the victim was Hank at this point. The one they called captain then joined the larger man and also started to kick Hank.

To Hank, the kicks were coming in slow motion. He was far off from Heather, but he reached his hand out for her as his abdomen and gut were being scourged. His eyes were wide open as he watched the animals strip her of her upper undergarment. Though she wasn't looking back at him, he felt she was. He felt she was wondering why he wasn't helping, why he wasn't doing anything. He couldn't even speak, just wondrously in a void of his own. It was all quiet, dark and gloomy. He felt powerless, as though his leadership, his manhood, everything was taken from him.

As John held onto Heather's wrist, Billy started to kiss her above her chest, near the clavicle area. He made his way down as the woman struggled for mercy. He reached her chest and played with her helpless body. "LET HER GO GOD DAMMIT!!!" Hank cursed as loud as he could. Then suddenly, a shot rang out.

"Good, you shut him up for Christ sake" Billy said, getting up to see Hank's body. But what he found was not what he thought he would. "Oh shi-"

"BANG!!" another shot rang, piercing Billy's skull, splattering blood all over Heather, John, and the back wall. "Oh fuck~!" John stated, trying to wipe away all the blood from his face as he attempted to run away. "Seth!" Floyd called, urging Seth to give him the knife. Seth quickly removed the knife from the Captain's neck and tossed it to Floyd. With a quick fix, Floyd took the knife by the tip of the blade and tossed it forward, stabbing the runner in his center back. John fell immediately to the ground, his legs giving up underneath him. Quickly Floyd ran towards him, retracted the knife from the guy's back, then re-inserted it in his head.

---

Floyd and Seth - Before the save

"I'm sure they went into that building" Floyd stated, looking out from the window. Seth had started sweating from fear alone. "What if Hank and Heather are in there? We have to save them!" the Asian young man urged Floyd. He took the redneck by the shoulder and forced the man to look at him. "We have to!" he stated again. Floyd shoved Seth back into the wall and quickly followed him, placing his forehead against Seth's. Even more fear arose in Seth's chest, he though Floyd was going to kill him. "Touch me again and I'll kick your ass" the redneck pointed out. Floyd then handed Seth his knife.

He looked out the window one more time before deciding. "Let's go" he said while opening the from door and heading into the rain. Of course, Seth followed without question, holding that knife for dear life. The two men approached slowly and quietly until they head Hank's yell. Floyd then paused and attempted to look through the rain, but couldn't. He looked back at Seth, seeing the kid frightened for not only his own life, but that of his people. He wasn't going to be able to do anything, not with that form of fear. Without communication, he took his knife back by force. He then rushed towards the other building to hear yet another scream from Hank before entering.

He ran straight through the entrance without even knowing the situation. As he ran inside through the open double doors, he noticed the two man fighting the defenseless Hank. Floyd reacted before the two men even had a chance to take anything in. He jammed his knife into the Captain's neck, then rose his rifle and fired a round int he head of the yet larger man.

He then killed the other two monsters. At that point, Floyd couldn't help but recall everything he had already endured in the past and how that led him to this point. In the meantime, Seth had helped Hank back to his feet. Floyd had taken the opportunity to go help Heather. He found her covering her upper body with her arms. Quickly he removed his own jacket and gave it to her, looking away afterwards as he walked back towards the doors. Once Seth helped Hank to Heather, even after the situation had passed, he was still speechless. He didn't know what to say nor how to say it. He felt as though he should apologize, but not even that would do anything. If he did apologize, he didn't know how she would take it. He moved away from Seth and attempted to help Heather up by reaching out for her with his right hand. His other hand lay on his stomach from the intense pain. He didn't know what else to do.

[Myst]

Heather - building - Cannibals, Hank, Floyd, Seth

Heather couldn't help the scream that tore from her throat when she was kicked. She coughed, tasting blood and bile in her mouth. The pain increased along with the panic as she was held down, her shirt ripped off. Tears of humilation poured down her face as she was fondled and gawked at. When she tried to fight she was kicked again. It would be a miracle if she came out of this without bruised ribs or other internal injuries.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard Hank yell for them to stop. She saw them beating him. "Stop!" she screamed at them. "Stop it!"
Even as two of them beat Hank the other two were focusing on her. Heather squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to believe this was happening. She was about to be raped by two psychos while listening to the sounds of Hank being beaten in the background. She heard Hank yell again just as a shot went off. The pervert assaulting her vanished along with the weight of the man holding her down. Heather opened her eyes in time to see one of the men get shot, blood spraying everywhere. As the other ran Heather struggled to cover herself. Her shirt was in tatters so it was useless.
She felt someone loom over her and flinched away, only to realize it was Floyd. He handed her his jacket and she took it gratefully. As she put it on she realized her hands were shaking. Her bottom lip quivered and her eyes burned with unshed tears.
No. She was stronger then this. This was nothing. She had been saved so there was no reason to cry now. She would just stand up, shake it off and move on.

That resolve lasted about two seconds. As soon as Hank approached her, reaching out his hand to help her up, she lost it.
With a strangled cry she threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest so he wouldn't see her cry. Heather shook violently. He had been hurt because he had tried to help her. She had been touched and molested, nearly raped in front of him. It killed her that he had seen her so weak and helpless, just as much as she was certain it had killed him to have been unable to help her. She wanted to tell him she wasn't angry at him, that it wasn't his fault, but she couldn't seem to get the words out. She could only hope that her actions showed him how she felt.

Even though the perverted monsters were dead she could still feel them on her, could feel them holding her down, feel their hands on her skin, their eyes raking over her exposed flesh. It made her skin crawl and she felt dirty.
She wished Floyd and Seth weren't here. Although she was grateful for the help, she didn't know how she would face them now. She was humiliated at what they had seen. She wanted to be somewhere safe and quiet, but it was still storming outside. They couldn't go back yet.
"Please," she gasped out to Hank, her throat sore from trying to control her emotions. "I need to get out of this room. I can't... be in here anymore. Please."
Even if they couldn't leave, she desperately wanted out of this nightmarish room.

As they left the room and went further into the building Heather stayed as close to Hank as possible. She glanced at Seth, then looked away at what she saw in his face. There was concern and pity, but also the look of a young man who had seen a woman's breasts for the first time. She knew he couldn't help it, but she didn't appreciate it at the same time.
Floyd on the other hand acted like he hadn't seen a thing. He wouldn't even glance her way. She wondered if he had experience with this sort of thing, knowing that she wouldn't want anyone looking at her for a while.
"Floyd?" she managed to get out before she could change her mind. "Thank you..."

Jessalyn - Storm - Abram

The storm came up so fast. First the clouds had come, then the wind, then suddenly the heavens opened and a torrential downpour descended on them.
"Abram!" she called, trying to cover Ben as much as possible. "We have to get out of this!"
A storm like this with a baby was enough to get him sick and they had no medical supplies to use on a sick baby. And if she got sick would she still be able to produce milk for him? She didn't want to find out.

Abram managed to find a crashed school bus not far from them. Some of the seats had been taken but there were still enough for Jess to sit down and cuddle Ben to her. Abram also pulled out an extra shirt from his backpack for her to dry the baby off with.

The thunder and lightning and pounding rain combined into too much noise and stimulation for the baby and he started to cry.
"Shh... shh..." Jess cooed, trying to calm him down. "Mommy is here... shh... you're alright..."
Nope, he wasn't buying it. Nothing was okay from his tiny standpoint. There was too much noise and flashes of light. He didn't understand it and wanted it to stop.

Not sure what to do, Jessalyn looked at Abram. "Maybe if I feed him he'll stop," she said apologetically. "Could you... please... not look for a bit?" she asked, blushing a bit.
When he turned his back she lifted her shirt enough for Ben to start nursing. She felt bad for Abram. This was embarressing for her, but she imagined it was far more so for him. It also put more on him as they traveled. She could provide the food for Ben, but only if she herself was supplied with food by Abram, who also had to provide for himself to stay strong enough to provide for her so she could provide for Ben.
Jessalyn felt ashamed for her earlier behavior and feelings of annoyance at Abram for insisting on coming with her to find Floyd. Really she wouldn't have lasted long out here without him. Once they found Floyd, she wondered if he would stay with them or move on by himself.

Ben ate until he was full and she burped him. Even after it was okay for Abram to look again he contiued to keep watch, for walkers or other threats.

[SheriffLlama]

Abram - The Storm/Bus - Jess

Abram nodded when Jess asked for him to give her privacy. He sat in one of the seats after closing the bus door and bolting it shut. He stared out the windshield, his rifle beside him and his pistol in his hand. He smiled to himself before speaking up. "I- uh... I remember when my girl, Zoe, was little... she'd- she'd sit awake in her crib, cryin' and cryin', so my wife would sit up and rock her while I watched ESPN highlights..." The old man laughed softly. "I remember how I used to get so aggravated with that little girl, but then I'd look at her and she'd give me that two-toothed smile, and all that frustration would go away."

"See, you're lucky, Jess. You don't need to be worryin' about if the girl your boy's gonna be with is some hussy in slinky clothes, or- or if she dresses well... Man when Zoe brought home her first boy..." Abram chuckled again. "I almost felt bad at how bad I scared the kid; showed 'em my rifle rack... I showed him my best targets... Then the two split... and- and she found herself another boy who followed her like a puppy.. and I showed him one of my deer heads mounted in my basement, an- and I said... 'Boy, you see that deer?' He nodded... I said, 'You see the empty plaque beside it?' Punk nodded again. 'You touch my little girl in any way that you wouldn't do right in front of my, I'll take ya head off and I'm 'a mount it beside my 10 point buck right here, understand me, son?' He nodded, but he went from blackskin to the color of a ghost, I'd been so hard on him." Abram shook his head, chuckling at the memories.

"I'm gonna see if I can't get this piece'a junk to run..."

[QT]

Hank/Floyd/Seth - The Way Back - Heather

Unexpectedly, Heather quickly came rushing to him. Hank didn't even have time to react to her motions for they were so fast. It was as though not even a second thought ran her mind at that time. That separation they once had, the distance seemed to have vanished. Her forehead lay on his chest. Her tears and sweat soaked his shirt, but he didn't feel the frigid water, instead, he felt heat. His chest burned rapidly as though his heart was bleeding out. His arms went numb so he couldn't assure her any form of safety. His eyes half-shut and his bottom lip hung loosely. He stared at the corner where Heather had been tortured. His eyes focused on the puddles of blood, the feet of the enemy, and could literally see the scene again and again, like a looping video.

He couldn't get the image out of his head, it was like a curse at that moment. At this point, Hank had entered that same void from earlier, spacing out completely. He had his focus on one thing and everything in the environment had just disappeared. Seth was gone, Floyd was gone, and Heather too. There was nothing but a past memory playing over and over right before his droopy eyes. Suddenly Seth tapped Hank on the shoulder. "Hank!" he called out. "Hey man, let's get out of here" he stated. Apparently, Seth had already called Hank's name like five times before tapping him on the shoulder. That shows Hank's mental status at the moment, it was not stable. He didn't even hear Heather plea to him to leave the area. He had become a mindless corpse, but one that didn't seem to walk.

As a second tap hit his shoulder, he seemed to react as though something had changed. "Let's go!" When Hank turned, he realized it wasn't Seth, but Floyd who had urged him to move. The redneck started walking down the hall after closing the front doors. "The exit's that way" he added, pointing at the exit sign on the ceiling. On their own, Hank's legs started to function, taking one step after the other like normal. Though movement began, his vision did not clear nor did his eyes change in any way. He was able to close his mouth and breathe normally, but other than necessary functions to get to the exit, there was nothing.

On the other hand, Seth and Floyd seemed to be normal. Floyd more than Seth of course, but the two were in decent mental and physical shape. But it was obvious how Seth felt about the situation, his stare revealed everything. From time to time, he would just stare at Heather, wondering if she was alright. In his mind, she had actually been raped - of course, he didn't know all the details after all. He couldn't help but feel bad for her. Also, Seth didn't realize that Hank was in the shape he was because of what happened to Heather, he just thought Hank had been beat up, nothing else.

Anyhow, as Heather approached Floyd and thanked him, the redneck just nodded. He continued to walk cautiously through the hall with the rifle in his hands. He had also took the opportunity to take everything he could from the men he had killed. He managed to get the weapons into his bag, a lighter, and a couple of mints. Either the men didn't have much, or everything else was at their camp somewhere. But right now, it wasn't the time to bring any of that up - they had to get back to the road.

As they finally approached the exit, Floyd slowly opened the backdoor, seeing the rain still coming down hard. "What do you wanna do?" he asked Hank, closing the door again as the man decided. Hank just stared at Floyd blankly, trying to figure out what the guy had just asked. Once he did, he attempted to respond. "Hub.........."

"I........I....don't.......know, I don't know" he responded, shaking his head side to side as he looked at the floor. Floyd bit his bottom lip at the answer, understanding there was nothing he could do right now to get him to snap out of it. Only he could escape that void, only him. "I say we just run for it" Seth stated for interpretation. "We can't stay here" he added while looking at Floyd for their next step.

Floyd waited a second, thinking of their options - and they really didn't have any but one. He opened the exit door and had everyone run into the rain. "Let's go!" he snarled, running through the rain and leading the group back towards the road. Suddenly, as expected, he saw something coming from his right. So he turned left and ran in another direction. Hank was the last in the line, following without reason - somehow he kept up.

Another figure appeared to the left, and another. Walkers were coming out of the other buildings and strayed cars. "C'mon!" Floyd yelled, picking up speed. Seth followed right behind the redneck, making sure Heather followed behind him. But suddenly, he was forced to stop when he noticed Hank had stopped following them. He tried to look through the rain, but just couldn't find him. "Hank?! Where the hell is Hank?" he cried out. Floyd looked back and also lost the man. He growled and told Seth to run in a certain direction with Heather. Seth argued at first, but Floyd reassured him it was the only option. "GO! I'll get him!" he ordered. And with that, Seth and Heather were the ones going towards safety.

[HellHoundWoof]

Enrique-Outpost-Myriah

Enrique listened carefully, her words struck him but he let nothing show on his face. He had been through these things before. He let her finish speaking and cleared his own throat and began.

"I appreciate you coming out here to talk to me, and I assure you my sanity is in check." After this his voice turned cold and low, like wolfs growl. He stared into her eyes and made sure she knew he was serious.

"I have worked my hardest for this community, and while I recognize my fuck up at Haywood, and that I was once under the thumb of a madman I do believe threatening me is in no way in your best interest. I will not be kept under your thumb because you think you can threaten me with the life of the ones I love, because you know and I know if anything happens to her, and I snap."

He let out a sighing wince and shook his head.

"Nothing, and I mean nothing would stand in my path to keep me from burning this place to the ground and making you watch as I cut you open."

He cleared his throat once more and began again his tone changed to one more casual.

"I have worked for this community and will continue to work for this community not because of any threat but purely because it's out of the goodness and respect I have for these people. Just know I respond badly to threats, is there anything else you want to talk about while were out here?"

[PhoenixEye9]

Milo-Near Haywood-Walkers

Milo was running from the mass of walkers that came out of no where, thank god for the training he was doing before Hell came out. As he ran, he started thinking about the past, the torment becoming more and more unbearable. Then voices began going in his head, louder and louder they came driving Milo more and more mad. The fact that walkers could be anywhere near him he completely forgot as he just began shouting "GET OUT, GET OUT, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!" he just kept yelling getting louder and louder as he ran, tears beginning to flow down his face.

So far he was lucky no walker seemed to pop up, but that luck didn't last long as he neared haywood a few began springing up (approximately 5). In panic Milo looked around noticing a few figures that seemed to be walking instead of "shuffling" as the zeds seemed to, so he began running over to them the zeds following.

[Atomyk]

Danny/Scouts - New Orleans/Storm

They broke off from the other pair of scouts with the hope of leading the biters far enough away so that they all could make a break back to the vehicle. Jamie quickly fell behind Danny as they sprinted into the backyard of an unattended home. The fence to their left buckled under the wind's force for only a few seconds, but it was enough to send Jamie into a panic. He wildly grabbed for Danny's arm and forced him to a stop. "Rudy! We're going to die! We have to get inside!" Danny could only stare momentarily as the wind pushed against them, making them them stumble on their feet. Danny swore out loud. "We're so fucking close!" he cried. "So just come on!" He turned to see if the biters were still following. They weren't.

"Crap!" Danny grabbed Jamie by the arm and pulled him back in the other direction. He let go when they reached the road, where Danny spotted the biters crowding in the direction Alex and Chris went. Danny turned to tell Jamie his plan when something-- A wood plank, possibly, something that came off a house-- crashed between them. The sound of cracking wood erupted over the wind and splinters went flying. Danny jump away from the crash, but found himself falling over himself in the process. By the time he had gathered his senses and looked upward, a biter was standing over him. It dropped to the ground, gnashing its teeth and clawing for a piece of Danny. "Fuck off!" he yelled as he spun on the ground so that his foot could connect with the face of the monster. It was momentarily stunned, allowing Danny to climb to his feet. He rushed off in the direction of the vehicle, his feet slipping in the rain momentarily.

A new herd of biters had appeared at the end of the road, forcing Danny to turn around. It seemed that the thunder had brought them all out on to the street, as scary as the thought was. With biters crowding around him, Danny was forced to abandon the car altogether and make a break for it in the opposite direction. Jamie and the other scouts were nowhere in sight. He cut into an alley thinking that he'd be safe from the wind, but he found it stronger in the tunnel between the buildings, his breath cut short by the winds rushing at his face.

Pushing through the wind, Danny found himself at the next street. Though he was still in a suburban area, he could see a large brick building just down the street. Whatever it was used for, Danny knew it was his best chance for getting through the storm. His clothing and body completely drenched, Danny started toward the building, his hand raised to block the wind and rain. He realised he'd left his supply bag back on the next street, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. When he reached the parking lot of the brick building, he spotted biters beginning to make their way from the way he came. He cursed yet again and hurried inside, screaming out wordlessly as he pushed the door shut against the wind. A scuffling from behind him made him spin around and he found himself the target of someone with a gun. It was Shannon, one arm wrapped around a younger boy. All three started at each other for a moment before Danny shook his head and laughed.

"How does this keep fucking happening?"

***

Cody had climbed into the car, his nerves shot from the wind and rain pushing the vehicle ever so lightly. He never once considered leaving without the others, even as he began to see walkers mingling at the end of the road. He wasn't a quitter, and beyond that, Cody had lost too many fellow friends and survivors to think so selfishly now. The scouts were all he had now, and his mind wandered toward Hazel as well. He knew then that he would wait until everyone was back and then head straight for The Pub. It would be shelter, and Cody would be able to see if the girl was all right.

Jamie suddenly emerged from behind the car, banging on the glass. Cody hurriedly unlocked the doors and let the boy in. He practically fell into the passenger seat, his breathing heavy and shaking. His body was drenched and Cody could see Jamie had suffered a head wound. "We have to go!" the boy yelled. "There are biters all around!"

Cody quickly shook his head. "We wait as long as possible. We're not abandoning anyone." Jamie leaned forward and looked about ready to get violent, but he slowly leaned back into his seat. "Just.. chill," Cody said. "Rest your head."

---

Myriah - Outpost - Enrique

She hadn't expected such a direct response. In fact, she hadn't even expected a response of that nature at all. Perhaps she had unconsciously made her words sound more like a threat than she realized, but all she had wanted was to prod some information. Now he was threatening to kill her and-

"I see." What else could she say? She had only merely suspected Enrique before, but she had no doubt he was the man who murdered Samantha now. Beyond that, he was certainly working with Matt, or at least had been at one point. "I'm sorry that I came off that way." She didn't want to engage with this man any further, but she knew a ticking time bomb had already been set. She couldn't waste time wringing her hands much longer. At least she knew the men on the wall could see them talking.

"You're already on thin ice. You murdered some of our men, even if you were being manipulated at the time. I, on the other hand, am in a very different position than you are. Nothing good would come from losing me, I can assure you of that." It was the truth. She had lost some of her standing in the last few weeks, but Myriah knew she was still beloved by most of Outpost. "And a threat against Outpost is not a threat against me, but a threat against everyone who lives within its walls. It's a threat against Matt, and a threat against the woman you love." Her heart was beating fast and faster. She was not used to speaking like this. She felt her voice take on the tone she usually adopted for speeches, though she couldn't push down the slight quiver behind her words. "Nothing will stand in my path of keeping this place standing."

She waited for only a second before she decided she couldn't handle this. She wanted to hear what he had to say, hoping he might show his hand, but she couldn't bring herself to stand there any longer. "Goodbye," she said curtly, before walking back toward Outpost's gates. It was hard for her not to break into a run.

---

Sarah - Outpost - Matt

She walked toward Matt with a smile on her face. She held her textbooks taken from the library close to her chest. "Myriah hasn't been speaking with me much lately, but I really don't blame her. A lot of violence went on, and she loves Outpost so much, it really can't be easy..." She trailed off and looked down. She listened to Matt continue and absent-mindedly touched at her long black hair. "Well my classes are doing great. Richard's are doing much better as well. People are showing up on time and seriously want to learn." She nodded happily and twirled a strand of her hair. "I really think we can start actually starting up a school by the summer. We have so many brilliant people here, when you think about it."

She waited a short moment before adding-- "Well, Derick was talking about the wall today, said he's lost too many builders to the scouts. I guess people are just angry enough to complain about the expansion but not enough to want to put the labor into it."

[SheriffLlama]

Sylar - Outpost

Sylar was impatient as the gates to outpost opened, the rain still berating the car and everything around it. The man pulled forward, spraying mud towards the guards at the gates. He didn't care, just kept driving into the community. He pulled to a halt beside the infirmary building. He climbed from the driver's seat, stepping down into the mud.

In the distance, he could see Enrique, trudging away from a baffled Mariah. He could tell the Enrique was slightly annoyed, but he didn't bother to figure out why. He really couldn't care what happened to that guy. Part of him wished he had finished him off during the Haywood attack. Pulling himself back to the present, he went around the car, opening Charlie's side door. He helped the girl out of the car, and put her arm over his shoulder so as to support some of her weight.

"Take it easy, kid." He ordered, as she winced when they took a step forward. They made their way to the infirmary, where Zane opened the door for them. Isaac appeared in the room, and directed them to the back room of the small building. He helped Charlie sit on the table, and stepped back. He noticed the Zane had a sizeable gash on his forhead. Zane dug around the medicine cabinet until he found some rubbing alcohol, and applied it to his forehead. "I believe that the good doctor's got it under control, so I'll go break the news to Myriah."

"What's the news?" Isaac inquired. Sylar breathed in.

"We lost Alan." He said grimly. Isaac nodded, sympathetically. Sylar exited the room without farewell and he took a quick stride into the rain. He pocketed the keys to the Yukon and pulled up the hood of his jacket. It was already soaked, but it made him feel slightly better.

He crossed the camp in a few minutes, approaching Myriah. "Myriah..." He announced himself to her. He sighed and cleared his throat. "We... uh... we lost Alan. There was a walker attack and we got away, but the storm knocked over a tree and the truck ran into it. Impact killed him."

"Charlie broke her leg, so we thought it would be best to come back instead of going on." He concluded.

Emma - The Cabin

Upon finding the cabin, Emma had not been aware of lay inside. However, when she explored the small home, she found a closet in the back of the bedroom. To her surprise, she found, hidden in the top shelf of the closet, was a small .22 rifle. found that it was too high up for her to reach it, so she looked around for something to stand on.

She went into the main room, which served as a kitchen, a sitting area, and a dining room. Picking up a chair from the table, she carried it back into the bedroom. Carefully, she set it at the edge of the closet, cautiously standing on it. She reached up and gripped the rifle with her right hand, stablizing her hand. Behind the gun, she saw a box of ammunition. The girl pulled the weapon forward, angling it so she could pull it out of the the closet door. She carefully stepped down, gingerly laying the gun on the bed. She stepped back onto the chair and grabbed the box of ammo, disappointed when it felt rather light. She stepped down to the floor and opened the box. She counted a total of thirteen of what used to be a thirty round box.

Outside, she could still hear the rain pounding against the ceiling and windows. She decided it was best to wait until the rain subsided to return to the camp; and she felt safe in this house. She almost wanted to go get Rob, Shannon, James, and Marcus to come back with her and they could set up shop here. She decided that she would show them to the house when she went back, but for the time being, she sat on the bed and began to fill the rifle with ammunition.

[Roran Hawkins]

Alex Clark - Scouts - New Orleans - Storm

He dragged the crawler off of Charlie who was wildly flailing at the rotting thing, and then rammed his survival knife up from under the chin into the thing's skull, making it cease all of its agressive grabbing and biting at once. He was glad that when he outstretched his arm to help Charlie up that the wind, rain, cold and general circumstances of their rather panicked flight made the shaking of his hands invisible. He had thought of himself as prepared, he had grown confidence, but when facing the terror of mankind here in the field, that all seemed like a young child's claims. "We have to get going!" He yelled, and started running along the hedges of the suburb towards the car. How could they have known there was a crawler inside the bush. Thunder made the sky shake and both Alex and Charlie felt the instinctive need to dive for cover as lightning flashed way too close for their own comfort. The howling og the storm cut off any sounds except the streaming of his own blood and the rapid pounding of his own heart as they broke out of the hedges and made a run for the car. Slipping and sliding over the long and wet gras, they arrived at the vehicle, finding only Jamie and Cody inside. Alex knocked on the door and made a hurried gesture as he saw a crawler loom in the haze, and once Cody opened the door he quickly got inside.

"Shit turned into a bloody mess real quick. Where's Danny?" Alex asked between two hasty breaths, just before Cody could ask them the same question. He could see Cody's face adopt a worried frown, while Jamie's face distorted into a pained grimace. "Charlie? Where's Danny?" Alex repeated with a growing suspicion. Charlie slammed his fist against the seat and cursed out loud as they all realized that Danny was still out there or even worse, dead. "God-fucking-damnit Jamie? What happened to Danny?" Charlie erupted, while Alex was staring outside, hoping to find a trace of the guy. Nothing but the crawlers, slowly approaching. Soon they would have no more time.

[Roran Hawkins]

Double Post

[Atomyk]

Scouts - New Orleans - Alex

Jamie was leaning forward, his face buried in his hands. He didn't respond no matter how many times Chris or Alex asked where Danny was. He simply groaned and rubbed at his face. He looked too frustrated to speak, so Cody leant over the back of his seat to speak with the others more directly. "Glad you're alive," he said. Chris then took the opportunity to lash out against the seat, prompting Cody to follow Alex's gaze outside, toward the line of biters coming toward them. "We can wait a bit longer, then we--"

Jamie spoke up now, one hand grabbing for Cody's arm. "We can't! Two out of three is better than none!" Cody resisted the urge to punch Jamie over that. He did have a point, unfortunately. Waiting any longer would be a foolish and deadly risk.

Before Jamie could squeeze his arm any tight, Cody grunted and pulled his arm away. "Okay! Okay!" He set the car in drive and moved it forward, though it took a moment to move forward with the heavy amount of rainwater coating the road. The sound of the tires squealing was drowned out by the incessant thunder. Jamie reached forward and took hold of the dashboard as Cody tried to maneuver the car into a turn. "We'll drive around a bit and try to spot Rudy. Then we'll head for The Pub and wait this-" He began to lose control of the car. Cody cried out wordlessly and tried to even out, but the vehicle went off the road and came to a stop in an abandoned front yard. Everyone in the car breathed heavily while Cody reversed the car back on to the road.

"This is insane," Chris said. "We can't drive around in this. You have head for the hotel right now."

Jamie nodded dumbly. "He's right. Come the fuck on, man."

Cody stared straight ahead, annoyed. He wanted to argue, but all that would do was make everyone scared. Without responding, Cody proceeded to drive back on to Cleveland Avenue and head in the direction of Hazel's hotel. Though it was only a few minutes away, Cody was forced to drive agonizingly slow to avoid wiping out in the storm. Chris asked Jamie if his head was doing okay, probably to cut the tension inside the car. It might have worked, if Jamie had responded instead of staring blankly out the window. He let out something between a whimper and a yell when a new group of biters came into view. They were amassed in the middle of the road in the direction Cody had to go. "I'll go through slowly," he said. "We should be fine if we keep moving."

He turned into the crowd, lightly bumping a few biters so that he could push through. Some of them lashed out and banged on the car, though Cody continued at his slow pace. A larger one managed to hit Jamie's car window hard enough to crack the glass. It was amazing to Cody how strong the monsters could be when uninhibited. Jamie freaked out as a result and pushed away from the car door, his body slamming into Cody. Cody swore as a response, prompting Jamie to wildly reach down with his foot to get at the gas pedal. "Go! Go faster!" Jamie managed to press it down, sending the car racing forward. They quickly cleared the group of biters but Cody was forced to wildly spin the wheel in order to make a turn.

"Jamie, stop!" Chris yelled, pulling Jamie away from Cody's side of the car. Cody quickly pumped the brakes, but still the car went flying around the corner, smashing into a post office box along the way. When Cody finally got the car straighten out, he spotted a person a few feet away from the front of the car. Everyone in the car cried out as Cody ran the person over, their body slamming into the windshield and falling back on to the road. Cody had managed to stop the car, his eyes staring straight ahead. "Jesus Christ," Chris whispered. "That was a person."

Cody looked over his seat, eyeing Chris and Alex. "Are we sure?" he asked. "We-We don't have time to stop."

Chris glared at Jamie before turning to Alex. "Come on, that was a person, right? We can't leave him like that, especially not in this."

---

Myriah - Outpost - Sylar

She let out a shaky breath, still frazzled by her talk with Enrique. She stared at Sylar, her eyes wide open at his news. "That- That is awful. You did the right thing to come back." She brought a hand to her face and sighed. Alan. Another casualty. Another name to add to the list. "What about... Is everyone else all right? Rudy? Chris? Alex?" Her head was spinning, unable to take any more bad news. When had her life become so anxious? It was weird, but she fondly a remembered a time in the apocalypse when she was happy. She'd lost all her old friends to the disease, but she had made new ones. She and her new friends had even managed to found a community-- a community she once thought was beautiful.

"Sylar, I don't think--" She stopped herself. She wasn't sure she wanted to get into this right now. Instead, she repeated her earlier question. "Just, tell me the rest are okay."

---

Tyler - Baton Rouge/Bingo Hall - Katie/Jacob/George

He helped the boy to his feet, though he was unable to answer Tyler's question. He was probably shy, Tyler imagined. He looked around himself to find that Katie hadn't followed him inside, so he asked the boy to follow him into the bingo hall. There he found Katie hiding under a table, looking absolutely frightened. God, he'd been an idiot again, hadn't he? Instead of lecturing her, Tyler only waited, his eyes watching the weak kitten in Katie's arms. When she finally spoke, Tyler let out a heavy sigh. "Katie, I'm not an expert on cats, but before everything went bad, we couldn't take in stray cats then either. Do you know why?" He waited for her to answer before continuing. "Look, the cat could be sick. It would normally need shots so that it can be healthy and so that it's safe for us to take care of. I mean, it's never been owned by a person before, so it might not even want to be with us."

He stared at the cat, realising it probably wasn't going to leave Katie's side if she'd already fed it. Besides, it looked too weak to go very far. "It's not like a dog. You'll have to carry it everywhere we go. You could let it try and find us if we had to move, but chances are that it won't. Imagine if something bad happened and you scared it. You could be holding it and it could lash out at you." He knew he was hurting Katie to say this, but it had to be said. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't care what he thought, no matter how many good points he brought up. She was still just a little girl, after all. "Katie... it's not likely to survive, no matter if we take it with us or not." And that was the harsh reality, one that Tyler would rather not put Katie though.

"So please understand where I'm coming from. I don't want you to get your hopes up. I don't want you to..." He didn't want to say it, but he had to. "... Get attached."

[DELETED324324]

Baton Rouge, Bingo hall, Jacob- Katie, Tyler,George
Jacob just sat there in stunned silence at seeing another human being, it had been a long time but the man helped him to his feet none the less "I got to go Grandma" He said into his phone and hung up. To the observant viewer his phone isn't even on it's long since died, Jacob followed the man and he saw a child hiding under a table she looked terrified, perhaps because Jacob was a stranger or maybe something else. The man gave the girl a lecture about a small cat she held it looked to be dead or barely even clinging to life "I'm no vet, but she could feed it with an oral syringe." He said obviously he couldn't pick up on the undertones of the conversation and that had always been his problem he had never been able to read a situation very well. And often times when things required him to be sincere or sympathetic he wasn't.

He stepped forward to stand next to Tyler "I'm sorry i interrupted, and even more sorry i didn't introduce myself back there, I'm Jacob" He said and slid his laptop bag off of his shoulder and set it gingerly down onto the ground like it would break he took in his surroundings it was a bingo hall alright, dull and a little colorless, but no one would expect people to hide in a bingo hall either, which is why Jacob tended to avoid this area. Nonetheless he sat down on the floor and looked to Tyler, Katie, and the little bundle in her hands, he was curious about these people. What were they doing here?, why were they in the city and most of all why hadn't they shot at him yet like he had seen so many other people do in the earlier days.