Dean couldn't help but feel at least a little better knowing there are still people in the world who aren't only interested in protecting themselves, but such a pleasant thought only lasted for a moment. He was in this survival state of mind and right now everything felt somewhat hopeless. With the girls support Dean was forced to walk past all of the supplies and equipment he spent almost a year accumulating, he was more worried than upset, pessimistic thoughts were running through his brain. Even if we do make it out of here, we have nowhere to go, we'll end up starving or something. He didn't give up though, the other two were trying their best to save him, he wasn't going to let it be in vain.

"Christ" Dean said at the sight of the amount of creatures that had been making their way towards the three. Not even a grenade or something would be enough take the group out. Some were even swimming through the lake to get to the group. The sight made him dizzy, or maybe it was all the blood loss. Either way he felt like fainting and wanted to get to the van as soon as possible. The thought of a nice, comfortable bed inhabited his mind, but he tried his best to ignore those thoughts, it would only make the pain worse.

The area surrounding the lake was somewhat clear of the tall trees but as the group progressed forward more and more trees began to surround them, which was probably a good thing because it reduced the line of sight between them and the creatures. Dean realized even though he was weak and practically limping he was leading the girl into the forest, but he had no idea where he was going or where the van is. He placed his hand on a tree for further support and stopped momentarily, which was most likely a foolish thing to do at the moment, but he had to catch his breath. The lack of sleep, dizziness, blood loss, it was starting to become too much for the young man, he felt like fainting. At this point his breathing turned to panting, he turned his head towards the girl with a worried look, "I don't know where i'm going" the words practically slipped from his mouth, it looked as if it was difficult for him to speak.

They moved further and further into the trees, finally leaving the crowd of creatures behind, or at least out of sight. Seeing so much of them at once really creeped Takiko out. The thought of all of those dead-but-then-again-obviously-not-really things being there to tear up their flesh and gorge themselves on it gave her a violent shiver down the spine and made her seriusly ill. So she probably shouldn't think about it. Not at that moment, when their had to do their damnest to get away and probably actually not ever. Knowing everything she did about the human body, just looking at them grossed her out thuroughly. Blood and broken bones and even real corpses she could handle, but this..

Forcing her thoughts away, she noticed she had been letting the injured guy lead them through the forest and while they were not going the wrong way, he seemed to be getting even paler by the minute. She noticed him placing a hand on the next tree trunk and stopped as well when he halted. She let him catch his breath, but they were all aware they had to move on or the creatures would catch up with them. When he turned, panting heavily, which just added to her worry about him, and told her he didn't know where he was going she opened her mouth to answer, but then stopped herself when she noticed how much difficulty he had in speaking coherently. Now, one couldn't say wether the blood loss was getting to him and he was too tired to function properly, or whether this was his concussion, which he definetly had, showing in a most worrisome way. He was not going to like it, but she would ahve to keep him awake for the rest of the day. Without any reliable method to actually find out how bad his concussion was, she could not risk him losing consciousness. He might just never regain it.

Putting those thoughts away as well, Takiko gave him a small, reasuring smile. Something she was pretty good at, due to lots of experience in hiding what one was thinking from people who would simply freak if they heard the truth. "It's the right direction." she told him calmly, then turned to look at their knight and catch his eye, to make sure he would be listening to her next words as well. "It's not too far anymore. We just have to keep heading this way, soon we'll get to a dirt-road, and that's where my van's parked." she looked and gestured into the direction she had been talking of. Then heard rustling and twigs snapping and heavy loud breathing and startled to attention, grabbing onto her patient and securely steadying him again. "Let's hurry."

Emma began quickly checking the gas containers for anything left. She shook the last one she found with despair. They were all empty. She regretted not assuming that in the first place. She glanced over her shoulder to find the creature clawing down a pole to the road with ferocious strength. Hastily, she ran inside the connecting market, the creature's roar making the ground quake beneath her as she moved. She quickly began looking through the sections for something flammable when finally she came across a small container of vegetable oil. It would do. The sound of glass shattering made her jump and give a cry of surprise. It was struggling through the broken windows and into the store. Emma bolted for the back door and outside. She quickly climbed up a ladder to the roof and took out a match. She lit it with some struggle and gazed down at the concrete beneath her in panic as the creature jumped outside, breaking the wall loudly as it did. She quickly dumped the vegetable oil on it, making it screech angrily. He jumped up and rounded his big claw right at Emma's face. She cried out in pain and flung the match at the beast, lighting it on fire. Immediately, the creature's body was consumed by the fury of the flames, thrashing and stumbling around, roaring out in pain. Emma watched with wide eyes as it finally keeled over on its side, unmoving.

The group slowly made their way through the forest. Ryan kept reasonable distance between him and the others, in an attempt to draw creatures closer to him and away from them while he took them out one by one. As he expected, the sound of his hunting rifle in itself attracted more and more creatures with each shot, making the whole situation a ticking time bomb. They needed to reach the girl's van before they became overwhelmed. The enviroment was against them as well, as it was harder for Ryan to spot incoming monsters from behind the bushes and trees. After a while, he gave up trying to snipe them through the flora and started aiming at the closest ones, making sure they never reach biting distance.

Occasionally he looked back at the two, checking if they were still all right. It was vital that they don't stop moving, as allowing the creatures to catch up to them would be suicidical. Even though they progressed slowly, steadiness was more important. The vehicle shouldn't be far either, Ryan thought. His thoughts were finally confirmed as the girl announced that there's only a dirt road standing between them and freedom. "I assume this is it!" he said when they - at last - got out of the forest and onto the aforementioned road. He felt relieved, seeing that all of them made it relatively unharmed, but the final rush was still ahead of them and he couldn't celebrate just yet.

He changed formation, sticking closer to the pair, making him able to cover them from all directions, something which was more essential now that the creatures can attack from sideways too. Fortunately, the road wasn't very long and they soon reached the lone car standing at the end of the dirt path. Two stationary creatures were "guarding" it, easy targets for Ryan. After putting them down, he rushed ahead, making sure the van itself wasn't occupied by them. The vehicle was secured and the two finally arrived as well. All right, here we are, we made it! he said excitedly. However, he knew they still had to put the injured guy into a comfortable position inside, which takes time as well. Also, he couldn't drive, essentially forcing the girl to do it while she still had to care for her "patient".

Finally, they were there. The guy in her arms was getting heavier with every step and Takiko had been afraid if they had taken any longer to arrive at her van, they might not have made it after all. She was pretty strong, but there were limits to a womans body, especially after the kind of diet she'd been forced on for a long time now. She almost smiled when they crossed the dirt road and took a turn to head for the van. She had forced herself not to look back once, but the rifle their knight was using was so loud, she was sure for every creature he killed, two new ones arrived. Looking ahead she sighed in relieve at the sight of her car not too far away now, and scowled the next second at seeing two creatures standing, if you could call it that, besides it. As if they were waiting for the owner to get back. A sign of intelligence? the scientific part of her mind spoke up, but she forced it back. This was so not the time to be starting to analyze those creatures now.

Their knight had noticed as well and in a matter of seconds took care of the two by the car. Then they arrived and fished the car keys out of her pocket, quickly unlocking the back door. She opened the door and made sure her patient could hold onto something to stay upright, before she let go of him, through both their bags inside and then climbed in herself, turning to help him up. She glanced at their knight for a moment. He looked young. She would actually put him somewhere around eighteen, considering his appearance, his height and the length of his limbs, as well as the finer details of his face. Generally, she was pretty good, or had been, at evaluating peoples age. But she hadn't had any practice for a while now. If you met someone out here, another survivor, it didn't usually matter how old he or she is. Now, it was different though. If he was around eighteen, then the chances of him being able to drive were slim. Noone was there to teach him, so it was not his fault. But she'd much rather take care of her patient than drive. "I assume I'll have to drive?" she asked him, just to make sure.

Dean wanted to give a sigh of relief at the sight of the van but even such a thing as that was difficult for him to do. The daylight that shone on the group as they exited the trees and walked onto the dirt road was blinding too him, things felt as if they were in slow motion and for a moment he mistakes the two creatures 'guarding' the van for four instead. Dean hadn't turned around for what seemed like an hour and he wasn't sure if the other one that had come to his aid was still with them. The gunshots sounded miles away, he was relieved at the sight of the two creatures falling to the likes of their knights rifle.

By now Dean hadn't realized he was fully relying on the girl's support to move. He practically fell into the back of the van and it took a moment for him to sit upright. The luxury of sitting down felt like bliss, as the girl questioned who would be driving Dean didn't hesitate to lay his head back and close his eyes at an attempt for rest.

Emma adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder. The large, deformed body lay on its side a couple of feet in front of her, engulfed in dwindling flames. She could really get a look at it now that it wasn't chasing her and she wasn't scared to death. Her heart was still beating against her ribcage painfully. There was some evidence of humanity inside its eyes but the skin seemed to have mutated to layer upon itself until it was a huge, slimey mess of a creature. The body was charring now and appeared like a heap of black coal. Her gaze fell back upon the market. It wasn't a bad place to scavenge for items at all.

She went inside, the little bell connected to the glass door jingling as she let it close noisily behind her. Emma regretted that move, knowing there could possibly be more nearby. She supposed there probably wasn't and took her time looking through the old, dusty shelves. She found a can of ravioli and a rag and tossed it in her bag. She made her way back outside only to find an old, beaten down truck engulfed in flames. Her eyes widened as she spotted a trail of the oil going from the monster to the truck, flames following the trail. Emma made a run for it, running upstreet toward a dirt road. She stopped once she reached it and turned to stare as the entire car blew up, along with some of the gas station. It made a loud boom that reverberated through the area. She watched as metal parts and debri flew into the air and scattered across the concrete

"My bad." Emma mumbled.

"Yeah...I'll try my best with our injured, just tell me what to do." Ryan replied, still trying to be helpful even though he couldn't drive. He sat down next to the guy, making sure to give him plenty of space in case he wants to lay down or anything. The rifle was still in his hand given that it didn't have a strap, making him unable to get it on his back. With the girl taking the driving seat as well, they were ready to get away from this heavily infested place. Not that they had much of a choice, as the creatures kept closing in on the van. After an unsuccessful first try - which gave each one of them the shivers - the vehicle finally started and the three shot out to the road, finally safe for now. Some of the quicker monsters started running after them, but thankfully the car was way faster.

"I'm not a ninja, nor a soldier...but I think I handled these creatures damn nicely." Ryan said, reclining his head, shortly after they got rid of the last one chasing. He was clearly satisfied of himself. Pretty amazed as well. He didn't think he was actually capable of holding back these horrifying creatures for so long, but it didn't matter now. All that mattered is that all three of them made it out alive, a feat impressive enough on its own. However, despite being extremely exhausted, he knew he still cannot falter, not until they finally got the injured guy sitting next to him somewhere where he could heal and recover. The probability of finding an operating hospital was slim and the girl has shown that she can help him on her own. There were many questions in Ryan's head regarding how will they actually survive with limited supply and lack of permanent shelter, but they didn't look so important to him at the moment - he could worry about them later.

Takiko nodded, having expected that and gestured to her backpack before climbing into the drivers seat. Takiko hesitated for a second, blinking when she heard a dull, booming sound in the distance. She glanced around, but the trees were still obscuring her view. SHe shook her head, concentrating on the matter at hand. As usual, she didn't bother outting on the seatbelt, just started up the car. Her feet on the pedals, she turned the key, the car coughed, then stopped doing anything. "No. NonononoNO.." he murmured, trying again with her eyes closed, praying for it to work. "C'mon now, don't let us down..." she went on and sighed in relief as the car came to live. Takiko glanced into the back and at the guys. "Let's get out of here." she said and floored the pedal, getting them the hell out of there.

From time to time, she glanced into the side-mirrors, noticing that they were quickly losing the creatures, even those that had trailed them, or tried. Once they were all out of sight, she saw a proper road coming up ahead and turned onto it, slowing down a little and glancing back at the others. "Okay. Knight, get the sleeping back from my backpack and spread it out somewhere. Help my patient lie down, he needs to rest." she told him, or, rather, ordered him. Well, she was apparently the oldest by at least a couple years. Though the guys might not realize, since she didn't actually look it. "Make sure his wounds are still tighly nadaged, he's lost more than enough blood already. And tell me if they're not. We've got to find some place secure soon, I have to treat him properly, stitch up the wounds, get him some antibiotics." she went on, partly just saying her thoughts out loud as she tried to get a hold of the situation and think things through.

Takiko turned another corner, heading towards the Chicago suburbs. She blinked and gasped. "Hey! Do you see that?" she asked, pointing to the smoke billowing up into the sky, already fading out. And coming from an obviously recently blown up gas station down the street. There was debris and parts of metal spread widely around, littering the street. She hit the brakes, carefully, so as to not jostle her patient, and drove on slowly, checking out the area. She was pretty sure a gasstation wouldn't blow up on it's own, especially without any electricity working anymore. So someone had to be around. Another surivivor. And considering how loud that kind of thing must've been, there would be a lot of creatures budlting about the place soon. "So that was what I heard just now.." Takiko mumbled quietly to herself, her eyes searching their surroundings.

The chase was over and all attention was focused on the injured guy again, who was seemingly still fighting to stay conscious. The girl told Ryan to check on him and make sure the bandages and everything is still all right. They had to hold out until they reached a relatively secure place where she could help him further. But until that, it was up to Ryan, whose only medical knowledge lied in a first aid training he received years ago, to keep him safe during the travel. So he looked at the plasters the girl put up, all of them - fortunately -, held tight. With the danger of bleeding out minimized, the guy's survival chances were a lot higher, which relieved Ryan. He already cared about the two like they were his best friends, even though he didn't even know their names. All that despite being a suspicious person in normal circumstances.

"The bandages hold, everything looks fine." he declared. "Also, just call me Ryan." He also helped the guy getting a little more comfortable inside the van, giving him more space at his own comfort's expense. The situation seemed to be calm for now, also allowing Ryan to rest a bit. However, this idyll ended quickly and abruptly, as the sound of a massive explosion shook him up. The hell...? he thought to himself, surprised. He was not the only one to hear it, as the girl navigated the car closer to where the explosion came from, seemingly eager to see its cause. Soon enough, they reached the blown apart gas station.

"Well...something or someone surely made that station explode. Should we check it out?"

Emma had stared at the gas station a moment, watching smoke billow in the sky, the remaining flames crackling and dancing wildly in the wind. The sound of a running car filled her ears and then realization dawned on her. Of course every living thing was going to be attracted to the area now. A string of curses left her lips as she grappled through her mind for a fast get away. "Crap, crap, crap, crap...."She whispered as her eyes set on a tree. She quickly darted behind it and leaned back against it as the car arrived to the area.

Some part of her was glad to see people. She hadn't seen them in a long time nor had a conversation with anyone. Emma wasn't going to exactly trust them nonetheless.

Takiko glanced back at the guys, trying to make out how bad her patient was doing. The badages were holding, but she couldn't keep him like that forever, she needed to treat him and stitch the wounds as soon as possible. She sighed and looked back out onto the street. "I'll have a quick look, see whether someone needs help." she said and pulled the gun out of her waistband. "I'll be quick about it, then we'll head on and find a place to stay for a couple days." She opened the door, but leaned back to look at Ryan. "I'd rather have you stay and keep an eyes on him, I'll call if I need help." she told him, then slipped slowly out of the car and onto the street, looking around carefully before she moved away from the vehicle.

The sound of the explosion sure had alarmed all the creatures around, though most of them might still be back at the place in the woods where they'd left them. Or at least, Takiko hoped they were. She'd had enough of them for now, forever actually, but thinking that she'd ne ver have to see them again was a dream that she knew wouldn't come true no matter how badly she wished for it. And this was definetly not the place or time to get lost in thought. She raised her gun as she made her way throught the debris, searching for any sign of life while concentrating on any sounds that indicated the creatures were closing in already. It seems she still had some time left. She went on searching the metal parts that lay scattered across the concrete. It seemed that the explaoison had involved at least one car and almost half of the gas station. She was pretty sure that that kind of explosion didn't just happen on its own.

The girl pulled the car over to the gas station's remains. She hesitated a bit about going in, not wanting to leave her patient alone. Ryan was already taking his rifle into hand once again, ready to go should she decide to stay. However, to the surprise of him, she actually asked him to stay back and watch over the injured and she will be the one to check it out. Ryan, despite slighty disappointed, didn't want to start an argument in the current situation, so he just nodded one and let her get on the way. He made sure to keep an eye on her anyways, should the - surely alarmed - creatures attack again. However, as he promised, most of his attention went towards the guy next to him. He looked pale from the blood loss. He needed to make sure he stayed conscious.
"Are you all right?" he broke the longstanding silence between them.