Scouts - The Pub - Alex

Jamie had his face buried in his hands when Alex and Chris entered the kitchen. Hazel ran back and forth throughout, looking more busy then the few items on the stove would suggest. She sighed multiple times to herself, perhaps frazzled by the storm and all her sudden guests. When the scouts began speaking, she stood by the stove and tried not to appear too interested in what they were saying.

Jamie lifted his head slightly, one eye peering from over his hands to look at Alex and acknowledge that he was listening. When Alex finished, Jamie shook his head. "I don't know. It was where we all separated. We didn't get far before something almost ran over us. I don't know what it was, I guess the wind chucked it through the air, but it--"

"That's not important, Chris said impatiently. "When did you split up?"

Jamie looked up and glared, but he meekly looked down at the table when he remembered he was the problem here. "I... got hit or something. I kept moving, but I-I was disoriented. When I realised I was alone, Rudy... Rudy was gone." He let that sit for a moment and silence stretched out between them. The kettle on the stove began to whistle and Hazel hastily grabbed at it.

"Anyone want tea?" she asked. Her voice sounded shaky.

Chris almost laughed. "I think Jamie needs some." Jamie nodded his head in agreement and Hazel worked quickly to pour him a cup.

"I don't think Rudy could have gone far. He didn't... have a car like we did, after all." Jamie paused to blow at his steaming cup. "We have to find or, or... I'll feel awful."

He'd be feeling very awful, Chris thought. Once Enrique got a hold of him, anyway. "I have to agree," Chris said, turning to Alex. "He's probably holding out in one of the houses around there. A sturdy one."

---

Shannon - New Orleans - Danny

They'd managed to barricade the doors and windows on the first floor with furniture. It seemed this space had been used as a dentist's office before it was abandoned. There had been a waiting room for them to take from and a kitchen with large appliances. Of the dentistry equipment, neither Shannon or Danny had much idea what was useful and what was not. Danny packed away most of it anyway, saying that someone in Outpost could probably make use of it. There wasn't much food around, which had become far more important now that they were simply waiting for the storm to end. They sat in the waiting room-- now bare from their barricading-- and did what people had always done in waiting rooms by waiting away the minutes. They didn't know what to say to each other, which reminded Shannon of that day back in Haywood. In all her life, she had never thought her friendship with Danny would degrade into this awkward mess.

"So, who's the kid?" Danny eventually asked, almost making Shannon jump. She had been so lost in her thoughts that Danny's voice felt like a heavy drum in her ears. She turned to blink at him before she could interpret his question. James, who had been clinging to her for some time, finally spoke up. "I'm James," he said, practically scowling at Danny. Danny scowled back, an expression she remembered seeing often from him. "And I'm not really a kid. I'll be fifteen soon."

Danny laughed. "Great. Sorry, you're still a kid, kid."

James moved slightly to get out of Shannon's grip, but she held tightly on to his arms in retaliation. She wasn't sure why he was acting up all of a sudden. Perhaps everything was finally getting to him. "We've been taking care of each other," she said smoothly. "We've been together for a while now." Well, when she thought about it, a month or two nowadays felt almost like years. "You didn't meet him back in Haywood because things were so busy, but... he was there."

Danny's expression softened as he listened. He stared at James, who relaxed as well. They both only cared if she spoke, she realised. How very male of them. "You said you were on a supply run or something?" she asked, hoping to get Danny talking.

He nodded and took his sweet time responding. He eventually leaned his head back against the wall and said, "A routine supply run. They tend to go badly lately because everyone is on edge now. The old guys don't like working with the new guys, the new guys are afraid of Enrique, blah blah blah, some dumb sh--" He paused and looked at Shannon. She shook his head, knowing he was asking if he could swear or not around James.

"People are scared of Enrique?" James asked, unaware of the silent moment between them. "He was nice to me. He gave me chocolate."

"Yes, but he also killed a few people," Shannon said. "People are complicated sometimes, James."

"Er, wait..." Danny ran a hand through his dark hair. "You two have met him before?"

Shannon nodded. "It was a while ago... Before we even got to Haywood. He broke into...a garage a friend of ours owned." Daniel. "We didn't trust him much, so we had to leave him behind. When we ended up in Haywood, there was a group getting ready to attack Tyler's group, and I heard Enrique ran into them. They all thought he died during the fighting."

Danny nodded slowly, as if he was thinking on a tough subject. "So he went to attack Tyler, but ended up on his side. Hm..." He shook his head. "You really only ended in Haywood recently? Have you been wandering around for months?"

He said it Shannon, but James responded. "The longest I've been with anyone has been with Shannon." Then he went quiet. "... She was there when I... my parents..."

Shannon pulled him closer and he sniffled. "We saw James' parents, but they were already gone."

Danny nodded. He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I... miss mom and dad," he said.

He was talking about her mom and dad, she knew. Danny had hated his parents, but hers had always treated him like he was their own. He'd started calling them mom and dad long before the apocalypse came. Thinking about them was the last thing Shannon desired to do. She supposed she'd never find out what happened to them, even if she miraculously found herself back in NYC. She felt like crying with James all of a sudden, but she fought the urge. Instead, she only looked down, choosing to not respond to Danny. After a moment, he got the hint and turned away from them, allowing silence to take over once more.

Leah - Outside of town - The Road - Abram

Leah couldn't help but imagine crawling into an abandoned house where she could wrap herself in blankets for a good many hours. Each step burned and her clothes were soaked from the previous rain which allowed the cold to bite at her skin, turning her lips a slight shade of blue which contrasted against her dirty face. Everything ached, burned or felt sore and it was all she could do not to stop moving, worried that if she'd rest she might not be able to get herself up again. As her eyes kept sight of the incoming town, she allowed her hopes and dreams to lift her imagination for a moment, building a feeling inside her chest which helped to push her feet forwards. However it seemed fate had other ideas, as a man's voice spoke from behind, causing her to turn sharply on the spot as she raised her gun at the cause of the voice. She gripped the handgun in both her hands, her heart pounding inside her chest as she took a moment to take in what he'd said and what he was doing, the gun pointed straight at him. She was visibly weak from lack of sleep and rest, causing her hands to shake a little as she fought with her strength to keep it up and pointing towards the man. "W-who are you?" she asked with a slight hesitant stutter. She took note of the way he stood, which caused her to take a step back as she made a worried expression.

Abram - The Road - Leah

Abram stepped back as she brought the handgun into view. He lifted up his hand, as to ease the girl and calm her down. "Here, I'll put my rifle down, and you can put your gun down. Then we can talk like friendly people." He said, sliding his rifle from his shoulder and setting it on the ground." He observed her movement, and she could see that she looked exhausted, her energy depleted by both the cold and her wounds. He could see a soiled bandage wrapped around her thigh.

W-Who are you?" She asked, her English dialect sounded frightended and cautious. Abram raised an eyebrow; he'd not expected another English person so near New Orleans. He wondered if this girl was in anyway related to the Amelia girl that lived in Haywood - Apparently she'd been Daniel's second in command.

"My name's Abram Chamberlin." He gave her small smile. "Don't worry, kid. I was a soldier. I'm a good guy. I have a friend down the road, she's got a baby with her... You can come with us if you want..." He glanced down at her wound.

"That looks pretty Nasty." He observed. "I can take a look at it. I've got some medical supplies in my bag and I'm a certified field medic."

Leah - The Road - Abram

Leah watched as he put his rifle down, disarming himself as he told her he was friendly. She was unsure if she could trust him, even if he did disarm himself by placing his rifle on the ground. However when he mentioned medical supplies and that he could take a look at her leg, she knew she couldn't decline the offer. She could only do so much with her leg and though she's gotten by on it, she knew it would be a matter of time before it got her killed. She lowered her handgun, keeping it in her right hand by her side, just in case. She'd ran into trouble a few times with other people and had made some narrow escapes, because of this she was struggling to trust people lately. She looked past the man who introduced himself as Abram to see another figure down the road, confirming his honestly which allowed her to relax a little. Although it wasn't entirely impossible, people with babies didn't tend to be the kind to kill and rob you. "Ok..." she said softly, "My name is Leah".

DeSean - Road - Heather/Jennifer/Group

Throughout the malice events, the rain continued to pour unbelievably. It seemed to be getting stronger and stronger, non-stop. A loud thunderclap arose from the distance, as though the storm was just now passing by. Fortunately for them, lighting was not an issue, just pouring and loud bangs of echoing noise. So the situation was already heated with the weather alone.

But once Heather decided to stand up for Seth, DeSean's worried condition changed. When she shoved him aside, the man snapped. "Don't you fucking touch me bitch!" he yelled over the strong winds. In all honesty, he never liked Heather - for the sole purpose that she broke Hank. Though it might have been the other way around, DeSean believed Heather was the reason for the breakup. He could tell Hank had been hurt by it - the man had never truly gotten over it, still hasn't. And DeSean blames Heather for it all.

But right now was not the time to become aggravated by the past, there were more important matters at hand. Hank was out there in the midst of the storm, doing who knows what. And here stood Heather ordering DeSean to stay and leave him out there. When she spoke of the events that had happened, DeSean was still so clouded he did not take them to accord. He didn't even listen to her actually, he could only think of one thing. "That's my brother out there, I ain't leaving him!" he stated, shoving his way passed her with his rifle in hand.

Suddenly, Jennifer exited the vehicle and ran towards DeSean. "D! D! What are you doing?!" she called out, covering herself with a blanket. "She's right, you can't go out there!" she added, yelling over the sound of raindrops and thunder. "He's out there Jen! He needs my help! He's family!" DeSean returned. He gripped his rifle tighter. "Just go back to the vehicle! Lock the doors! I'll be back soon!" he added, running towards the town completely soaked.

Jennifer then turned back towards the lined up vehicles. He looked towards Heather without a clue. She didn't know what to do now, it was to believe none of them did. DeSean and Hank were the leaders and now they were both gone. The group never discussed who would be in charge if something like this were to happen. They were all just frozen in confusion.

---------------

Alex Clark - The Pub - Scouts

"Anyone want tea?" she asked. Her voice sounded shaky.

Chris almost laughed. "I think Jamie needs some." Jamie nodded his head in agreement and Hazel worked quickly to pour him a cup.

"I don't think Rudy could have gone far. He didn't... have a car like we did, after all." Jamie paused to blow at his steaming cup. "We have to find or, or... I'll feel awful."

He'd be feeling very awful, Chris thought. Once Enrique got a hold of him, anyway. "I have to agree," Chris said, turning to Alex. "He's probably holding out in one of the houses around there. A sturdy one."

"Thanks for the tea ... eh ..."
"Hazel, my name's Hazel. If you guys need anything...?" She replied quickly, eyeing them all briefly.
"No, we'll be fine for now." Alex replied after looking at the other two guys. He took the steaming hot cup of tea and warmed his hands on it for a moment. He never really liked tea, nor coffee, but a hot drink was more than welcome now. If anything the 'apocalypse' learned him to stop being picky about both food and drinks. He sipped, burned his lips and swallowed a curse along with some way too hot tea, and continued following the conversation.

"Yeah. Once this bloody storm is gone, we'll go look for Danny." He concluded their thoughts, stopping them from pondering about the what-if's. Instead, he turned the conversation in a new direction. "Now Jamie, if we drive back there tomorrow, or whenever the weather's calm again, do you think you'll be able to find the place where you lost him? That'd be a good reference point to start looking. After that, it's just a matter of finding all nearby places that we'd consider safe for the storm and if we've got any luck, Danny'll be there somewhere."

Heather - Road - 'He left us'

Heather stood there, mouth open, as DeSean shoved her aside and walked away.
He left them.

She watched as he disappeared into the rain.
He left them.

If Seth or Jennifer tried to speak to her she didn't hear them. Her entire body was soaked to the bone, even through Floyd's jacket. She started to shiver. It was so cold...

It was so cold...

"He left us..." she murmured.
In the midst of cannibals and walkers and God knew what else out there, he had left them alone, with no protection.

Part of her wanted to sink down to the ground, to wallow in her own fear and misery, to give up.
But that was not Heather. That was not the kind of person she was. DeSean was right, she was a bitch. A bitch who knew how to deal, to push aside whatever was happening and do what needed to be done.

With that, she snapped out of the shock she was in. She grabbed the ends of the jacket and tied them around her midrif. She went back to one of the cars and opened the glove compartment, grabbing a rubber band to tie back her hair.

"Seth!" she shouted and pulled out the two guns and little ammo that DeSean had left them. "If DeSean's not going to man up, then I will," she said and handed a gun to him. "Take this to Jennifer. Tell her to stay in the car, no matter what. She is our last line of defense. Tell her about the cannibals, about what you saw. About everything you saw. Make sure she knows that there may be more out there, as well as walkers. And you, I want you to be my eyes. Get on top of one of the cars and keep a look out as far as you can. I will stay out here with the other gun."

Giving him half the ammo and keeping the other half for herself, she loaded the gun and peered out into the rain, trying to distinguish forms. They could see some walkers moving about slowly, but they never came close to the cars. The sound of the rain must mess with their senses was all that Heather could figure. Maybe they would make it after all.

As they watched Heather tried to keep from thinking about what had happened, with the cannibals, with Hank and with DeSean. The cold bastard didn't even care about what had happened to her. If it didn't happen to himself, Jennifer or Hank he didn't give a damn. He had his little world all built and no one else was allowed in it. Not Seth, not Floyd and sure as hell not her.
She told herself she didn't care but it still hurt. To have someone dismiss something that was so devestating to you. Just thinking about what might have happened to her, to Hank. It was enough to make her want to scream or punch something. Preferably DeSean.

She was brought from that happy thought by what looked like people walking through the rain. Heather squinted, trying to make out what they were. Was it Hank? Floyd? DeSean deciding to come back and protect them? Or was it walkers?

Her eyes widened and her blood turned to ice.
"Jennifer!" she shouted. "Lock the doors! Keep them locked! Seth! Lay flat on top of the car! Those aren't walkers!"
She cocked the gun and aimed, ready to fire at the three men coming towards them with what looked like baseball bats and crowbars. As they suddenly started to run towards them Heather fired, the sound echoing through the rain.

Imogen and Aaliyah - Road group

The rain was beating down hard as the group was sat there stuck in the their little convoy of vehicles, The majority of the group was sat there exposed really under the leadership of DeSean while Hank lead a team of Floyd, Seth and Heather to see if there was a way forward after being stopped by road blockage. Aaliyah was impressed with Seth stepping up but didn't want him doing anything silly, the same went for the rest of them, She wanted them to be careful while she was close to going herself with the group feeling Heathers expertise would be good at the convoy should need her experience, But Heather was right and ended up taking her place for the very same reason. But she did briefly speak to Seth just before they left telling him to be careful and come back.

Imogen pretty much remained in the SUV once it was all sorted, She didn't have a problem with that as she was more than happy to protect her family that was staying behind with the vehicles and of course she was good with her crossbow, Yes she remembered well that prior to the Hank group leaving to scout ahead that Imogen refused to relinquish her weapon to Floyd, She still didn't trust the guy just yet and had not warmed up to him, It was probably why she took the longest to fit in. Maybe Hank would think less of her for her action but only hoped he understood her reasons to, something she debated a lot while sitting in the SUV alone as the two people she was sharing with being Hank and Floyd left with the scout group.

Time had passed for the group as the rain still thundered down, still unaware of what was going on with the scout group. Eventually some silhouettes slowly came into the view, At least two people that Imogen could make out, was it the first problem for the group? were they hostile? Those thoughts were laid to rest quickly as it was Seth and Heather, Imogen knew straight away something was not right because Hank and Floyd were not with them, She immediately thought and hoped the later had anything to do with it and not hurt her family. By this point the rest of the group saw as the other got out there cars and them boom, literally out of no where DeSean snapped at seth and was overly aggressive to the poor kid slamming him against the SUV, The poor kid tried to avoid it but couldn't and was being forced back to his feet, the poor kid had braved the rain and brought Heather back what more could he do? Imogen was already getting out of the truck she was in getting her weapons and putting her jacket on, She was not impressed.

Aaliyah was furious at DeSean, his actions were uncalled for and a fellow member of the family, especially as Seth was with the group from the beginning even before she joined them, She saw the state of both Seth and Heather and she was concerned for both of them naturally and of course unaware of what really happened to Heather but feeling guilty and wishing that she took her place instead. Aaliyah immediately went to Seth's aid while Heather was with DeSean, Jen and Imogen. Rushing over to him she could see he was in his own world and not even registering her there trying to help him as he moped over to the car, She could only imagine how he felt right now and wished she could help him get it out of his system. Taking her jacket of as right now she didn't cared getting soaked and put her coat around the young Asian lad and assisted him to the rear of the car where she opened the trunk to the estate car to provide some cover from the heavy rain.

Placing her hands on either side of his face trying to get him to snap out of his trance he was in, she was being gentle with his face {b]"Seth! It's okay I am here for you, Talk to me please"[/b] She pleaded to him but got no response really. She went about quickly checking the back of his head before removing the jacket she placed over him and removed his, She then lifted up the back of his top to look at his back, there was no real damage but will more than likely get some bruising. Aaliyah rummaged around Seth looking for a dry top and when she found one for him she took his wet one of dried him up a little and put the dry top on him before putting a blanket around him.

Imogen had been fuming inside but listened to everything that went on, Heather and hell even Jennifer pleaded with the out of Control DeSean, he was acting like a complete idiot and not thinking things through properly. Imogen was very protective of the group of course and she would be one of the first to go out of her way to save them or get them back if they were lost even if it meant her life, Well for a s long as it was quick and not being torn apart by walkers. it feared turning into one of those things and hurting her family. Quickly she got those thoughts out of her head, She saw the state of Heather when her coat was opened and listened to everything she said about them hurting her and Hank. If DeSean was still adamant to go and wanted Imogen to go with him she would flat out refuse and stay.

The rain was harder than ever and was nothing compared to the sudden Thunderclap which made Aaliyah jump as she did not expect it. But that in comparison to what was going on at the front end of the convoy as DeSean completely snapped at Heather being abusive and swearing at her and even going as far to called her a fucking bitch, That did not sit well with Imogen what so ever and the urge to smack him one so high right now that she was trying extremely hard to refrain herself. She often spoke her mind to and stood by Heather, she had explained so much of the events and what happened to her hank, It made right now that Heather was Imogen's first priority, She was horrified to hear what happened, It would probably destroy Aaliyah knowing that she wanted to take Heather's place and felt guilty before hand without even knowing what happened to her. How would of Aaliyah handle it if that happened to her instead of Heather Imogen wouldn't know.

DeSean shoved past Heather, he simply didn't care about anything here and was determined to abandon the group, This made Imogen furious and bit her lip to remain silent a little longer, But it wasn't easy. Suddenly Jennifer got involved and even told DeSean that Heather was right and took her side but he still wouldn't listen to his own partner! In Imogens eyes DeSean was now a liability to the group and would tell Hank that to his face at a later time, She knew Hank was out there still riding out the storm and will be back, this group.. This family meant everything to him. DeSean simply told Jennifer to get in their vehicle and with gun in hand and without a single thought of the woman, Seth and Aiden he left them behind without a second thought. In Fact Imogen stood their in shock and silence also along with the other two girls. DeSean shouting was overheard by Aaliyah who was coming over, her heart sank.

Despite the shock tension were still high even after DeSean was gone, they all just stood their in the soaking rain. Aaliyah turned up by Heather seeing her shivering and trying to cover herself up with her soaked jacket as she spoke up, he just left them. Aaliyah spoke softly to Heather she wanted to keep calm. She was about to put the blanket around her friend, She loved Heather to bits but as soon as the was silence from the group Heather stepped up and took lead, Imogen looked like she was going to do the same thing but she was not quick enough to react like Heather and maybe it was better for her to take lead as she was one of the originals of the family. Heather went of to Hanks car getting what look like guns out of it. Leaving Imogen with Jennifer as Aaliyah went with her friend trying to get her to wear the blanket and keep warm. "You know your boyfriend is an asshole" Imogen snapped a little to Jennifer. "You best sort him out when he gets back Or I will, He is a liability" She spoke her mind, Jennifer was her friend, they often sat together at the camp-fire when DeSean was not cuddling up to his misses. She sighed, She didn't mean to snap at Jennifer, She really cared about her.

Heather put everything into action and the group became a flurry of activity, Aaliyah failed to get a blanket onto Heather but went of to secure the car with Aiden, ask him to assist her in sorting out the car before getting in the drivers seat and locking the doors once they were securely inside as she watched Seth hoping he would be okay. Imogen was already in protective mode and she didn't leave Heathers side she was ready to do what was needed and protect the group, crossbow ready in hand and use her pistol if needed, Soon it was clear they were not walkers but men, three of them, They must of felt they hit a gold mine with all these woman here for the taking. Imogen immediately took aim as the men ran at them, She hesitate at first, She never killed a living person before but her family was in danger, focusing she took aim at one of the men and fired her crossbow at one of the men's leg hitting him and making him fall down, it was best to keep them at distance, she starting reloading quickly before taking aim once more.

Turisa Saunders - Driving - The Road.

She was leaving this hell hole and that was it, Turisa had gone through absolute mental hell and torture her mind thinking over and over of everything she had learned and discovered in the time she was in New Orleans, First she lost sight of the girl with the Asthma, She searched for days and couldn't find her. Eventually the Latina got the courage to go to her house, the place she would never get to life a normal life with a family now, Turisa had been using scavenging supplies as a reason not to go there sooner in her mind fearing what she may of found. Of course she remembered when she arrived at the place, It certainly had seen better days, people of course had to of stayed there at one point or another, hope was slim as it was and the sight was not over great.

Turisa took many precautions before entering the her house. like checking the perimeter and course making sure the whole place was not taken, fortunately it was vacated other than the few dead walkers she saw, Her emotions where running high, she wanted to them to be here alive, Waiting for her, but it never happened the place was empty, Surprisingly in her search her child's room was the most cleanest... Like some one actually went out of there way to tidy it up. Her heart sank when she could not find her child and her fiancé, she must of sat there for hours upon hours wondering what to do with herself as she looked a pictures of her family, Sadly though Turisa was a cop and it was times like this she hated it, The cop in her had wanted to find out why her sons room was the only one clean and the rest of the house a state, she searched everywhere high and lo for anything that would give her a clue.

She searched for ages to the point of nearly giving up until eventually she found the very thing that no mother should of seen, Turisa had found the materials used to clear up her son's room, blood was all over it and immediately it set the Latina of as burst into tears collapsing on the floor and screaming not wanting to accept it, it was one of the cruellest fates. Days had past back then and she was sat in up stairs on the hallway floor just string at the bedroom door, motionless... Emotionless, She must of had been crying to for for her face looked a mess and her were a little red and sore, she had not eating or had a drink, She held her gun in her hand, she stared at it several times contemplating weather to go through with it, several times she point that thing at herself, at the forehead, in the mouth, under the chin, she kept on coming close but could never do it.

She heard a noise that some what caught her attention, despite not really caring about anything over the last few days she decided to check it out, she needed to focus on something, Her heart crushed but she was still here alive and breathing because she did not have balls to take the easy way out. cautiously going down the stairs she checked out the ground floor, Apparently It was raining and pretty dam hard to boot, what a downpour, The noise was the door moving from the wind to which she Sighed. she walked over to a side placing the gun go looking in a mirror, Wiping her eyes for a moment she decided to tidy herself up a bit starting with her hair tying it back up, Looking at herself in the mirror still Turisa was like staring into space through the mirror she was still showing no real emotion as she blocked it out the best she could, Was she now just a shell of her former self?

Turisa picked up and holstered her gun, glancing at the mirror one more time she took a deep breath and sighed before making her way round the house for any sort of supplies left, She hated this now and could not bear to be in it any more she was leaving New Orleans and not coming back. Realising the place has pretty much been ransacked, She collected some spare clothing for her self from her wardrobe and took some pictures she the officer took a few moments to look at slowly running her hand over one. before taking them out of their respective frames and putting them inside her jacket. taking what she could Turisa went out the front door stopping in the porch looking back one last time and swallowing hard, Was she so heartless to leave? What else could she do?

Zipping up her Jacket Turisa ran through the rain to her truck and open the trunk to put what little bits she had inside before closing it and running round to the driver side door and climbed in, At least the truck looked cleaner but not that she really cared. Once settled in the seat Turisa took out the pictures from her pocket looking through them before taking one and placing it on the dash behind the steering wheel, it didn't matter if it covered up the rev dial, It was a picture of herself with her little baby boy and her fiancé. she safely places the other in the glove compartment, it looked like she still had a heart left although a broken one. She had a bottle of water and drunk pretty much all of it, her throat was so dry up until the point.. Putting on her seat belt Turisa started up her black Ford Explorer and drove off.

And that was where we are now, Turisa was on a road aiming to leave New Orleans behind, the place brought to many painful memories for her now and had to leave it had long since stopped raining but blimey did it come down some and thunderclaps to boot, Turisa didn't care as she drove up the road going a little bit to fast for the conditions, It was not like anyone was around and a speeding ticket meant shit in this horrid world, It was still gloomy and cold and the roads were still drenched as the woman kept on speeding along and despite looking ahead but her mind was elsewhere like she was staring into space once more.

Scouts - The Pub - Alex

"I... guess I could." Jamie sounded unsure, but he set his face into a look of grim determination. "But we'll find him. I know we will."

Hazel sat at the table next to Jamie and frowned at his wound. "You guys sure you want to bring him?" she asked. "I think he should rest."

Chris laid his palms face down on the table and examined Jamie's wound himself. It looked pretty nasty. Cody must have had no time to bandage it with the other guy in such critical condition. Whether his wound looked bad or not, Chris didn't really want him to come with them, though he wasn't sure if that was what Alex wanted. "... I think he should decide if he's well enough to go."

Jamie nodded, slowly. He stared ahead momentarily. "I... want to go. But can someone clean my head up first? Cody's probably... really busy..."

Chris raised his hands in in a surrendering motion. He had no idea about treating wounds. Thankfully, Hazel offered to try and pulled Jamie out of the kitchen. Left with Alex, Chris walked to the window of the kitchen, squinting at the rain flying at the window in bursts. "It's slowing down," he said. "I think. If it dies down within the next hour, we'll have about an hour or two to look for Rudy." That was cutting it close a bit, considering the drive through the woods took longer than walking. They were lucky Outpost was once a camp of sorts so that they could even drive vehicles in there at all.

"So, I think we just wait, man." He turned to face Alex and shrugged. There was little else to do, except maybe pray. Though Chris was far from a religious man...

***

As predicted, the storm did die down within the next fourty-five minutes. The wind slowed to a crawl and the thunder became only distant growls. Though it was still raining, it could only be considered a slight drizzle. Jamie still complained. "Couldn't we have waited for the rain to stop?" he asked, his right hand hovering over his bandages. "It'll ruin all of Hazel's hard work."

Chris found himself laughing. "Right, all of her hard work. I think you're overselling her just a bit, Jamie."

Jamie pouted. "Well... she tried, okay?" He then got into the back seat of the car, knowing he had no right sitting up front.

Placing his hand on the hood of the car, Chris turned to Alex. "Do you want to drive? I could do it, but I was never much for driving in bad weather."

Baton Rouge, Jacob - Tyler,Katie, Liam, George

Tyler asked Jacob to lead the way so he did. "Right this way guys." He said and lead them into the street. He avoided main roads instead sticking towards alleyways and backyards, there was so many twists and turns and so much back tracking it was surprising how he remembered it all, eventually after what seemed to be a good time of walking a motel six came into view the building was shaped into a U with a swimming pool in the center, the hotel managers glass door had been broken out like someone had tried to escape instead of enter.

Jacob slid up next to Tyler and quietly spoke to him "I guess now would be a bad time to tell you I didn't explore this building in depth, and it seems to be in the same way I found it, but just in case i would keep Katie and a weapon close." After he said what he had to say he entered into the office through the broken glass door and went behind the counter grabbing motel room keys any sound had him on edge and he was constantly watching his back.

Abram - The Road - Leah/Jessalyn/Turisa

Abram nodded as the girl complied. The man extended an arm point down the road to Jess. "Well, Leah, I'll introduce you to my friend and then we can take a look at your leg." Abram helped the girl keep herself upright as they made their way back to Jess. "Jessalyn, this is Leah." He announced. "Leah, these are my friends, Jessalyn and Benjamin." The man helped Leah to the guard rail on the side of the road to so she could sit down.

He slid his backpack from his shoulders, dropping it to the ground. He gingerly unraveled the soiled bandage that was wrapped around her thigh. Abram grimaced as he saw the wound on the girl's leg. "My, Leah, you've messed up your leg pretty bad..." The man dropped the bandage on the ground, opening his own backpack. He produced a dwindling gauze roll and a near empty bottle of rubbing alcohol. He'd picked up the bottle of alcohol from an abandoned car a few days back. With Benjamin exposed to the world, the smallest scratch could kill him if allowed to get infected. Leah's leg was also a worthy use of the medicine, however.

Abram produced a relatively clean t-shirt from the bottom of the bag. He had planned to use it, but he decided it was fine to sacrifice it. He poured a little bit of alcohol on the t-shirt and carefully applied it to Leah's wound. "This is gonna sting just a bit." He said, as he cleaned away the dried blood. He took the clean gauze and tightly wrapped the roll around Leah's leg. "What exactly did you do to get yourself hurt?"

He said, but before Leah could respond, Abram's head snapped to the road. He could barely make out the shape of a large vehicle. "Car! We've got to get off the road!" He said, grabbing his pack and sling it over his shoulder. He quickly helped Leah across the road to the woods, and motioned for Jess to hide. He dropped to the ground, his right arm over Leah's shoulder. He positioned his body so that he covered her, but enough to see out onto the road. He didn't want to get into a firefight right now...

Alex - The Pub - Scouts

"Me, driving?" He replied somewhat surprised. "I must confess it's been a very long time since I last did, nevermind think about it." He replied with the faintest of smiles, before getting into the driver's seat. He had learned how to drive, once. Once everyone was inside he got the car into motion, and carefully made his way towards the spot where they lost Danny, trying to learn how the car reacted before he crashed into something again. He had some doubts about leaving Cody and the anonymous man they had hit on the way here back there just like that, but they had to look for him now the trail was still fresh.

---

Sub-urbs

After a little while they found themselves at the sub-urbs again without any incidents on the road. As the car stopped, and Alex looked around to see if it was safe, he realized howmuch damage the storm had done to the environment. Picket fences were lying about, doors ripped from their respective houses, and one tree had lost the fight against the wind and now was stuck in the roof of a house like a knife in a cake. Getting out of the car and grabbing his rifle he tried recognizing the street they had been scavenging in not even an hour and a half ago, and was taken aback by the power of the storm. It would make things, more difficult. At least, he thought, the crawlers seemed to have been blown away aswell, as none seemed to be around at a first glance.

Crossfire

Suddenly, over the echoes of a single gunshot, came two more. Then five, seven, twelve. It was the sound of two different firearms shooting in unison. From a distance, one could see three different figures or three different sizes running towards the vehicles. Those with hawk-eye vision would know it was DeSean, Hank and Floyd. DeSean had made it to the small town and luckily ran into Hank and Floyd as the two were making their way out.

But unfortunately, it wasn't all good news when a shot rang out from where the vehicles were. A level up uprising started in DeSean's head when that happened, hoping everyone would be alright when they returned. To make things worse, walkers heard that same gunshot, following the noise and following the three survivors when they caught vision of them.

Anyhow, once DeSean was close enough to see what was happening, he moved quicker than the others and was the first to shoot. He took out the guy who was already on the ground with an arrow stuck in him. But his rage caused him to shoot multiple times rather than once or twice. Unlike DeSean, Floyd took only one shot, taking out the last of the three humanoid monsters.

Once the cannibals were immobilized, DeSean quickly yelled out to the group. "Let's get rolling! Walkers are on their way!" not addressing anything else but that. He didn't help Hank to the car. He didn't even bother to pack the weapons back in the SUV's trunk. He was more concerned in the big picture - survival.

Without hesitating, DeSean jumped in the SUV's driver's seat and started the vehicle. He turned to Jennifer who seemed phased at the moment - DeSean not understanding why. Hank took the liberty to jump in his pickup truck with Floyd and Imogen. He started it while looking out his window to see Heather near Seth's car. He didn't stop staring until Floyd nudged him to get going. Everything was happening so fast it didn't give anyone time to think. Where would they go? What happens now? Were questions they should have answered before moving on, but they didn't have that luxury.

Instead, they had to retreat and head back towards the unknown. They would probably go back to the intersection they had passed up and take the other route - at least that's what DeSean had in mind as he made a one-eighty and raced down the wet road, windshield wipers at full capacity. Even in that dark episode, DeSean was grateful nobody got hurt during his absence. Though it was close, no harm came to any of his friends.

Hank on the other hand was still worried. He had a hard time forgetting all the events that he had encountered in the last couple hours. The one specific image of Heather was just not fading away. As he drove, he bit his bottom lip furiously. Floyd looked at Hank, but then turned to the rode as he decided to let the man breathe, rather than be on his back. Floyd had seen those eyes many times, over and over again. Men broken down to pieces by mere incidents - it was an awful feeling.

Seth in the other vehicle was experiencing the same thing. When Heather had given him a gun back there, he had just thrown in it in the car rather than hold onto it. He didn't want a damn weapon - he didn't think he knew how to use it properly. In fact, truth was he didn't want to use the gun, because he didn't think he had the manpower to do it. Like Hank, he felt weaker than everything, feeling sorry for himself and his incapability of saving the lives of his friends. Being the last vehicle in the line of retreat, Seth felt as though he deserved to be in the back of the line. He hadn't even acknowledged Aaliyah yet, not wanting her to reassure him at the moment. What he wanted was silence, nothing more.

Myriah - Outpost

She'd left Sylar and the others soon after Enrique "apologised" to her. She didn't trust his apology for one second. He was simply afraid she'd tell people what he said, oh she knew-- She knew! She also knew that the missing scouts were all her fault. Rudy was among them, her dear friend who she had decided to share her burden with. He knew the truth behind Matt... so she knew she wouldn't see Rudy again. Matt had pulled some strings to get Rudy killed, just like poor Samantha. If only he had left like she told him to! Damn that council for believing Matt's filthy lies!

But she couldn't start panicking. She had to keep her cool and think of some way of unwinding Matt's hands from around everyone's necks. It wasn't immediately apparent to her what the solution would be, but she had to think of something. When Rhonda approached her once she was inside the administrative building, Myriah practically fell at the woman's feet with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Rhonda," she moaned. "Rhonda, I'm-- I'm sorry."

Immediately concerned, as was so like her, Rhonda placed a comforting hand on Myriah's shoulder. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

Myriah took a moment to wipe at her eyes. She dramatically breathed in and out in an "effort" to compose herself. "We lost more scouts today," she whispered. She watched as Rhonda wordlessly pulled her into a hug. Myriah knew that if anyone loved her people more than herself, it was Rhonda. Myriah needed the compassionate woman. She needed her for what had to be done. "And-And I don't think it was an accident."

Rhonda pulled away suddenly. She stared into Myriah's eyes. "Like Samantha?"

Myriah nodded. "We have to talk."

---

The Scouts - Suburbs - Alex

Jamie slowly stepped out of the vehicle, his eyes widening at the sight before him. The street was like a war zone, practically unrecognisable since earlier that day. He briefly panicked, worried he wouldn't be able to pinpoint where he and Rudy had split up, but Chris came to his rescue. "Okay, I think all four of us split up just up the road here," he said. "I recognise that blue house." He pointed down the street and laughed. "It's even missing its door."

Jamie nodded and took a few shaky steps ahead of the car. His eyes lined the road ahead, stopping and staring at every piece of debris as if Rudy was hiding underneath some of it. He felt a chill run through his body and he held out his hand to catch drops of the rain. It was cold, he thought. Very cold. He realised he didn't want to be out here for one more minute, Rudy be damned.

He watched as Chris stepped in front of him, his large frame moving quickly to scan the line of houses. He ran into one and Jamie could hear his voice echoing from inside, calling out to Rudy. Then he was out in seconds, running to the next house. Chris bugged him, for reasons Jamie couldn't quite pinpoint. He was the kind of guy that Jamie would have once labelled a meat head and ignored at the bar. It was his type who seemed so confident with themselves, their good looks paving roads for them that their personalities would never have accomplished alone. It was his type with a small diminutive girl glued to his arm, the both of them looking at Jamie not with scorn, but with a look that simply asked "What are you doing here?".

Jamie had to wonder, what was he doing here? He was going to be chewed out by that asshole back at Outpost, no matter how this search went. Enrique, who Jamie believed favorited the few female scouts above the others. Amanda had become his girlfriend, after all. Enrique's priorities were obvious to anyone with two working eyes.

"Hey," Chris said, jogging back toward Jamie. "Jamie, you gonna move your legs any time soon? You're our guide here."

Jamie felt like telling him off. He was the one with a head wound here! Before he could say anything though, someone called out from behind the fence line. Jamie and Chris turned in time to find Rudy stepping out from behind a broken gap. Behind him was a girl and a teenage boy. He waved to the three of them. "I heard Chris shouting," he said. The girl and the teenager held back while Rudy stepped up to the three scouts. "Shit... What a mess this storm made, huh?"

Chris eyed the girl behind Rudy for an uncomfortable amount of time. Pretty typical, Jamie thought. "Well, we were looking for you," Chris said, finally looking Rudy's way. Rudy's subsequent pause was only momentary, but he seemed put off by Chris' gaze. No doubt the two were participating in some alpha male dick contest.

"Right, well..." Rudy turned to Alex. "I found shelter, but I was worried about you guys. Is Cody all right?" The scouts confirmed that he was back at The Pub, and Rudy nodded. "Okay... Great. Great... This is great, because I needed to tell you guys I won't coming back with you."

Chris crossed his thick arms. "Why not?"

Rudy shrugged and handed his bag of supplies to Chris. "It's something I want to do." He then turned to Alex. "You... Alex. I need you to tell Myriah that I've left. Willingly. I don't care who else you tell, but she needs to know, okay?"

Jamie felt like asking why it had to be Alex, but he didn't complain.

---

Tyler - Baton Rouge - Katie/Liam/George/Jacob

He glared at Jacob's back for a moment, irrationally angry that he had brought Katie to a dangerous place. Tyler couldn't possibly have expected anyone-- let alone this this guy-- to clear a place on their own, but still he found his blood boiling. Anger was not something Tyler had an issue with before, but months of living like an animal did terrible things to a man.

Tyler let George follow behind him, so that both adults were flanking him and his little girl. Wherever Liam decided to place himself was beyond Tyler's concern. "Each room one by one," he whispered. "Slowly." As if he needed to remind them of something so obvious-- Or at least Tyler hoped it was obvious, or his time with them would be rather short indeed.

Their arrival at the first room was met with a resounding THUD! from the other side, which Tyler couldn't help but feel immediately set the tone for the rest of their grim task. Opening the door revealed two walkers in relatively good condition. As the male and female pair spilled out of the room and fell face first to the ground, Tyler imagined that they had committed suicide together. A quick survey of the room after they had been dispatched revealed two empty bottles of pills and sheets stained with dry puke. It would have been much simpler if they had both shot a bullet into their brain.

The clean up continued to be a dull affair, though Tyler felt the rest of his group tense up with the reveal of every empty room. What few walkers that did appear gave them little trouble, though Tyler made sure he stayed between them and Katie at all times. He didn't even allow her to look at the dead ones for very long. Eventually, when their task was almost complete, an anomaly showed up out of the blue-- A 20something year old in a beanie.

He suddenly appeared from the next room ahead, banging the door against the wall and pointing his rifle in their direction. Tyler followed suit, aiming his weapon at the guy's head. Dark brown hair stuck out of his hat, long enough to cover his right eye. He looked in relatively good health, though his nose was oddly red and his eyes slightly bloodshot and looking a little too wide. "H-Holy shit!" the guy muttered, his gun moving slightly around to aim at everybody. "Kids! And-And a cat!"

Christ, Tyler knew this guy. "... Adam."

The guy named Adam looked at him like he was crazy. By the look of him, Tyler figured he was high. "... Thomas." Adam blinked a couple of times. "Wow! What the hell?"

He still had his gun trained on the group, unfortunately. Tyler felt like putting him down that very instant for simply spouting that name. Tyler wanted to be done with all the duplicity, but the universe loved to fuck him around. "Adam, lower the gun. You're aiming at children."

Adam seemed too out of to listen. "What are you doing here? I don't... I don't understand."

Tyler swallowed. He looked toward George and Jacob, hoping they had some way to fix this.

Alex Clark - Scouts - Sub-urbs -Rudy/Danny

Rolling his eyes as he saw and heard Chris and Jamie entering in the so-manieth bickering amongst the two, he silently cursed in the privacy of his own skull. He wanted to knock their heads together and keep their minds on the task at hand. They couldn't quite agree with eachother on most subjects it seemed, and they both just did not stop rubbing that in. A sound behind him made him train his gun or a silhouette appearing behind a broken fence, and he quickly lowered his gun when he realized it was Rudy. Or Danny, whichever it was. As the bickering pair stopped sending eachother silent stares as Rudy approached, followed by a girl and a younger lad, who seemed to be in his mid-teens.

He waited patiently for Rudy to finish talking to fire some questions in return, when Rudy casually asked him if he would notify Myriah that he would not be coming back. Not coming back? Telling Myriah? Wait what? He frowned in surprise and stepped forwards, letting the rifle hang over his shoulder, within quick reach, but not in his hands, to show that he meant no harm to the two strangers. "You're leaving just like that?" He asked rather agressively, and immediately toned down his voice a bit as he realized how he sounded. "I mean, why? Who are those two anyways, and how did you find them? I mean, come on, we lost you in a bloody shitstorm in the middle of a crawler herd, and now you've found two survivors and suddenly don't want to return anymore? What's going on... Rudy?" He then added on a reasonable and calm tone. He could accept Rudy not wanting to return, but the least he could do was explain why.

Danny - Suburbs - Scouts/Alex

He was taken aback slightly by Alex's questioning. Danny eyed the scouts carefully, unsure if Alex was prying for underhanded reasons, but seeing Chris and Jamie brought Danny to his senses. All three scouts shared a look of confusion; They simply desired answers, as any human being would. "Okay," Danny said, nodding. "I'm sorry about all of this, guys, but... fuck." He looked down and placed his hands on his hips, letting out a deep breath. "In the last few months, Outpost has become... different. It's not the place I once knew."

Suddenly, Shannon stepped forward with a sigh. "We're not random survivors," she said. "I was friends with Danny before. Or, uhh, Rudy, I mean." She looked almost embarrassed.

Danny nodded. "They, uh... They need me more than Outpost does."

Chris seemed satisfied with that, but Jamie rolled his eyes. "You're just going to abandon us?"

His eyes narrowing, Danny stared at Jamie. "Outpost has been my goddamn home. If I thought it needed me, I wouldn't be going." Of course, there was more to it, but Danny was hesitant to let it all out. He couldn't be sure what kind of effect it would have. As far as he could tell, not rocking the boat was the best course of action. "And, well, the reason you need to tell Myriah this is because..." He paused, thinking, and his head shifting back and forth slightly. "... She's scared. A lot's happened, and it's hurt her a fuckton. She's scared, so she needs to know I'm okay, all right?" Danny quickly followed this up by stepping forward and offering his hand to Chris, who hesitated momentarily before clasping hands with Danny. Though Chris was smiling, Danny felt like the guy was trying to crush his hand.

"Just, thanks for working with me." He then shook hands with Jamie, who didn't mind it as much as Danny thought he would. Finally, he offered his hand to Alex. "And thanks for looking for me. That's... something Reggie would have done."

---

Rhonda - Outpost - Enrique

She had to admit, she didn't really know what she was trying to accomplish. She'd made the effort to walk up to Enrique's cabin, but now that she was staring at the front door, she wasn't sure what she was going to say to the man. She had to say something, certainly. It had certainly shaken her to see Myriah so upset. The woman usually kept her cool, even during those unfortunate days after Samantha's murder. Rhonda had known Myriah long enough to know the woman was a lot like her. She cared. She cared so much about each and every one of them. Outpost was her family, and the losses they had received were like punches to the poor woman's psyche. Rhonda was surprised Myriah was only now breaking down.

To think Myriah had also been threatened on top of all that, by a man that had only been with them for a relatively short time. Rhonda couldn't let that go. Myriah was scared of the man, believed that he had something to do with Samantha's murder. All things considered, Rhonda wasn't sure why they hadn't suspected the man sooner. Matt had assured the council that Enrique was a good man, but how could he possibly after all this...?

Letting out a deep breath, Rhonda knocked heavily on Enrique's cabin door.

Enrique-Outpost-Rhonda

Enrique sat upright in his bed his pistol aimed at the door, he let his pistol fall to his side and stood. Amanda still slept, so he made an effort to be quiet, he ran his hand through his hair and scratched where his beard would normally be but felt only tough skin, he moved his hand over his mouth and groomed his goatee down. He walked to the door and stood against the wall beside it, he slowly popped it open and noticed one of Myriahs compatriots, Rochelle or Rhonda or something. Enrique clicked in his mind that this was Rhonda and tucked his pistol into his pant line. He opened the door enough that he could stick his head out without letting too much sound get in. He looked around then back down at Rhonda, he gave a half hearted smile.

"Amanda is asleep, I can tell her what you need in the morning if you like, unless you're here to talk to me," his voice was calm and settling, he had every intention of appearing as a friend to this woman. He didn't know much about her, but he didn't know much about anyone really.

Alex Clark - Sub-urbs - Scouts - Danny/Rudy

Shaking hands with Rudy, or Danny, he took a good look at the guy, hoping to see why he wanted to stay somehow, which he didn't ofcourse, and then took a look at the two others. This Shannon-person seemed to know Rudy pretty well. The teeenager on the other hand followed the scene with big eyes as Rudy said his goodbyes to the group. What Rudy said to him, or rather them, though, was really hearthwarming for a reason. Despite Reggie's last month of paranoia, he had been a good man, and most certainly a good scout. "Rudy, or Danny, or whatever your bloody name is, you better take care of yourself and those two there. I want to talk about these days with you in a cafe over 10 years." He told the man, sincerely hoping that not only there would be 'one day' but also that Rudy'd be there with them. He hated leaving him behind here, but it was not his coice to make.

As Rudy moved over to Jamieto shake hands for a goodbye, the man started protesting again, upon which Alex placed a hand on his shoulder, and firmly shook no with his head. Jamie gave him an evil look, but Alex would not bulge untill the guy finally shook hands with Rudy and stepped back, cursing with passion but soft enough so noone would hear.

As the two groups left eachother and the three guys made their way back to the car the tension was almost tangible. It was clear that nobody liked this situation, and that none of the three scouts were convinced of the need of Rudy leaving them, but they all could understand his arguments to a certain degree, which only made it worse. Once inside the car they got on their way towards the Pub again, when Jamie broke the silence. "The fuck is he leaving us for like this, out here in walkerland." Alex who was driving the car again could almost feel Chris twitching and decided to be earlier than the other guy. "He is hardly abandoning us Jamie, he is doing what he believes is better for all of us, those two others included. Thereby, we can't stop him, can we now? If it's his choice to stay we have to respect that." He said, effectively ending the conversation untill they were back at the Pub. As they walked inside Cody could see on their faces that something went wrong, and immediately asked the inevitable question. "Is he ... dead?" Alex put down his gun on the table again and took a seat as he answered. "No, he's still alive and in good shape. He found two other survivors in that mess though, and he's sticking with them. Before you ask, I believe he must've known them from before the outbreak, and be honest, can we really stop him if it's his wish to stay?" He said, taking a swig from his canteen filled with water. "Anyway, we better get back soon, they'll be worrying about us. How is our roadkill doing?"