Mark ran into the alleyway, avoiding the debris and dead bodies, avoiding to trip over, but it was too damn dark. He was still thirsty, his throat in utter drought. Rachel paced behind him, the horde approached slowly, but it wasn't their speed that was Mark's greatest concern- it was their number. The walkers kept groaning and dragging their broken feet, their rotting hands, and what is left of their decapitated limbs on the dark concrete. It was dark, Mark was struggling to catch breath, thirsty.

Mark wasn't a big believer in signs, or in miracles. He was a good and kind person before the apocalypse, the kind that'd give his neighbor and expect nothing. He do so out of his own drive for righteousness and goodwill, never in the name of religion- or God. But once the nearby restaurant's neon lights fired up like a Christmas tree amidst the barren dark alley, Mark took it as a good enough of a miracle. The illumination was followed soon by human noises, and a young voice tearing through the bleak night,

"You two! Come help us!"

Mark took a quick look backwards, the horde was closing in, they were slow, but eventually they would be where he stood. Rachel was there, looking at him, he looked back at her. "We stick together now." He comforted her, he comforted himself. He grabbed her hand, "let's go." He approached the broken window of the restaurant, the neon light briefly blinding his sight, he could make two silhouettes, one was close by. The horde still marching towards them.

Mark gestured Rachel to climb the window, he assisted her, carrying her and hiving her support as she climbed over. He followed soon after.

"Run Run Run!" The girl said running right behind Mark, well they were right next to eachother running in the same pace. Rachel looked at the alleyway, it was getting darker outside too. "Oh shit, Mark. We have to go somewhere inside!" she said a little nervous, also a bit thirsty because she hasn't drank shit today. Rachel looked up seeing a nearby restaurant's neon lights going up, she looked at Mark but he was already thinking what she was thinking!

"You two! Come help us!" yelled some boy, it was like a young guy's voice too. Rachel looked back seeing the Horde still after us, BUT they were slow like they usually are, but still close... so this was a life and death situtation. "We stick together now." Mark told Rachel, she nodded giving him a smile, as he grabbed her hand, as Rachel climbed up the window and helped Mark climbing up as well. Seriously, they were like Chris and Sheva from the Resident evil 5 game.

The girl inhaled and exhaled looking at Mark. "Are you alright...?" she asked him. As soon as he said that they will stick together now, she thought .. maybe she did find a friend? The question was though... where the hell are they?! Yeah in a restaurant but who was that guy who was yelling? "Who do you think was yelling though..?"

"Over here!" Jason shouted, one hand waving while the other tugged at the table, with the help of Graham. He tried to get the attention of the two new survivors, as the table itself only budged little by little. Day after day of spilt food and drink in this restaurant caused the floor to be somewhat sticky, along with the rest of the grime that comes along with the apocalypse. Coupled with the sheer weight of the table itself, this would've been incredibly difficult to pull off, if it weren't for Mark and Rachel.

When the two would arrive to help, they would all begin to pull the table towards the stairs as they move backwards into them. Once they reach the stairs, Jason would tip the table over, creating a barricade. Not enough to stop them completely, but just enough to slow them down. He would then go upstairs with the other survivors and begin taking smaller tables from the upstairs dining area and start shoving them down the stairs, hoping to block off that section entirely. As he did so, he looked at the others, expecting them to do the same.

After Mark and Rachel climbed over the window they paused for a moment, Rachel asked Mark If he was okay, he nodded. He looked back at the alley, the horde was still coming- this way. Suddenly a figure that was dimly lit waived, "Over here!".

He was a fine young guy, he looked handsome, and troubled. Mark hated what this world took from the young ones, and what it spar back into them. Mark gestured Rachel to help with barricading the stairs. The lot were too busy throwing and stacking every chair and table they got to block off the stairs. They didn't even have time to introduce themselves. Mark helped the young guy with the heavy table, they pushed it together against the greasy and hard floor and into the main door, blocking it off.

As Mark was laboring, he noticed a second older man, this one seemed gritty and experienced. Which meant he was dangerous. He exchanged somewhat bitter eye contact with him (Graham). But it was too dark anyway. The horde was approaching, Mark called Rachel and asked her, "Can you help me block off these windows? ". Mark started pulling chairs and stacking them under the windows, stacking them so they would block off the entrance. A walker could easily push the chairs and climb over, but so far Walkers never showed ability to climb over ledges, they simply walked and growled when they hit an obstacle, where they would just bang it with their hands.

There was a couple windows in the ground floor, Mark and Rachel managed to block them off, and with the main door braced by the heavy table it was safe for the night. The walkers would keep banging against the the main door, but none would come in. The two strangers were stacking chairs and tables from the second floor. So there was no way up for the walkers should they somehow break in. Mark pointed at a small service elevator that could fit a human being, "It's mechanical, they use it to deliver food to the second floor. You go first," he instructed Rachel. As she got in he looked at her and smiled, "you will be alright."

Mark walked over to the stacked chairs at the stairs and called out, "Kid, try to pull up the service elevator, Rachel will be coming up. I'm going next."

As he threw down the tables and chairs, Jason half expected the guy and the girl to have followed Graham and himself up the stairs, but as he saw from the upper balcony, they were set on barricading the outer walls. He thought to himself, why didn't I think of that, as he usually paid close attention to details. Perhaps it was because he was panicking at the sheer amount of shamblers that were closing in on the place. Up until now, Jason stayed out of major cities, because of tales he heard from passing survivors; as well as the fact that logically there should be many shamblers there. The hope that his brother would be here was what brought him here in the first place, but seeing this reminded him too much of how he lost his previous group, and he instantly regretted his decision. Nevertheless, gripping fear or not, he had to snap out of it and strive to survive.

As the man mentioned the service elevator, Jason instantly knew what he was talking about. He had noted that down earlier, thinking he could've used it to make looting easier. "Graham, keep throwing down shit!" He stopped what he was doing, and ran across to the service elevator. He glanced over the complicated diagrams attached to the wall next to the hatch, and pressed the buttons which he believed best corresponded with "up". It worked. He kept looking back towards the main window and watched as more of the undead began to congregate. The makeshift barricade the two had built began to strain, as well as the windows. He had never seen this many in one place, and the looming darkness made it all the more terrifying. He listened to the slow whirring of the girl approaching in the elevator, and unconsciously rapped quickly on the wall as if it would make it come faster. This was far too slow to bear! The girl finally arrived, and he pulled her out of it as quickly as he could, hugging her as he did. He set her aside and pressed the "down" button, and watched as it moved at a snail's pace back down the hatch. He looked on at the barricade and hoped that it would last. He then yelled out into the restaurant. "It's on the way down! Holler when you need it up!"
He looked back at the girl. "Sorry we had to meet like this. I'm Jason." He stuck out his hand, expecting a handshake.

Rachel was pulled up through the service elevator, it took some time to return as the elevator moved at quite a slow pace. Mark tried to look around for water until the elevator was back again. The place was scavenged and dirty. The walkers kept the lot entertained with fear, still banging on the door and windows.

Mark finally looked below the counter and found a small bottle of water, half full. He smiled in relief and took it, tugging it in his jacket, alongside the expired milk he found in the gas station. The elevator arrived. He quickly tried to fit himself into the container, but he was a bit too bulky to fit in. He examined the shaft, it was bigger than the container and it could fit him. Pulling out the elevator using his wrench to unscrew the bolts, Mark quickly pulled off the elevator and cut the rope from the wheel mechanism.

Mark stepped into the damp shaft and pulled the rope a few times, making sure it can carry his weight, but he realized it was on a pulley system so someone had to catch it from above. One of the walkers pushed off a chair, and now one of the windows was exposed. Mark quickly let go of the rope and climbed through the shaft by resting his back on one end and pulling himself up with his legs. Not the most comfortable ascend.

Mark finally reached the second floor, he stepped out of the shaft, Rachel was talking to the guy. Mark initially avoided them and walked over to the older man and sat against the wall. Exhaling in relief.

Rachel looked at Mark putting her in some kind of Elevator as someone pulled her up, as soon as she was all the way up. Rachel noticed some guy, grabbing her and hugging her taking her out of the elevator now, for some reason the girl blushed because it was all sudden and he looked cute too. Rachel looked up at Jason, giving him a small smile standing up straight now looking at him. "I..... ummmm.... my name is Rachel. It's nice to meet you too." Rachel looked at him, seeing his hand so she decided to shake his hand, still blushing as she cuffed a string of her red hair behind her ear. "Thanks for letting me and Mark come here." she smiled now turning to help out Mark but he avoided her to go join with the other guy. Rachel turned her head looking at Jason. "So. You guys been here for a while?" she asked raising an eyebrow crossing her arms close to her chest, smiling at him. Atleast they were safe....for now.

He helped Mark out of the shaft with Rachel as soon as he saw him. Despite speaking to The very attractive young lady in front of him, he still paid attention to what was going on, and was slightly annoyed by the fact that Mark had removed the entire thing. He then leaned on the balcony, watching the barricade groan and strain under the pressure, but it seemed to have calmed down a little bit more than before. It would have to do. When he heard Rachel's question, he replied with, "Just about the same time as you guys, I guess. We watched you go into that gas station back there."

He walked back towards the rest of them, sitting on a booth that now did not have a table in front of it. His backpack was already in the corner of the room, which was now strangely empty. He had never really seen a fast food place like in this state before. He pulled out a notepad he had in his back pocket and took out the tiny pen that was within the ring binder. He opened it up, jotted down something and muttered to himself, "November 21st..."

He looked around and took a mental note of the windows and doors that could make a potential exit route, and pocketed the pen and notepad, leaning back against the seat; exhausted after such an eventful day. "I'll take first watch."

He wanted to be sure he could trust these people he literally just met.

Leah woke the next morning just as the sun began to creep through the breaks in the boarded up windows. She gave a small cough before sitting up, rubbing her eyes as she looked around, yesterdays events starting to come back to her slowly, reminding her she was no longer alone. It was both exciting but nerving in a way, a part of her worrying about getting too attached in case he decided to go off without her. Slowly she stretched her arms, getting herself up before gathering her weapons and the things she'd need for the day. For the first time in a long time she actually felt well rested, though she was slightly confused for why he hadn't woken her so she could take her turn keeping watch. Eventually she'd find him, moving up next to him before taking a seat, "Why didn't you wake me to keep watch? aren't you tired?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around her knees, looking away from him towards the sun which began to climb above the horizon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning has begun!

Florence awoke the next morning, her eyes fluttering open as the sun peeked over the rooftop and made a yellow screen on her face. She wished she could sleep more, put her hand over her eyes and turn over and return to her wonderful slumber - but knew it was out of the question. She now had another person to consider and they had made plans that needed to be executed.

Groggily sitting up and wiping her eyes, she fetched the rest of her canned beef and began eating as she stood to her feet and took a few steps over to Michael who was still sound asleep. Gently, she nudged him with the toe of her boot, hoping he was a light sleeper. "Time to wake up. If we want to catch up with those survivors, we better get a move on."

Travis had watched the night come and go, he saw the walkers coming in with the breeze and pass with it. Their silhouettes making the night seem darker and more sinister than anything Travis could conjure in his mind. But he had watched it all almost in a meditative trance, hypnotized by the night and the shapes that lurked within. Just as night must come it must also go and it seemed to pass away in a heart beat as the first rays of sunshine brought light through the cracks in the wooden planks.

It was Girl Scout who brought him out of his silent meditation and he was thankful because he didn't want to get to touchy feely with his damn emotions, she asked him why he didn't wake her so she could take a watch. "Because when was the last time you could say you got a full nights sleep?" He replied standing up from his position and stretching. He had almost forgotten about Girl Scout she had been so quite in the night that he had thought she was perhaps a figment of his imagination, something he made up in a state of loneliness "Even criminals got to have someone to talk too." He thought, he didn't linger on these thoughts for long he reached for the bag of bread and the peanut butter, he used up the last of the bread to make two peanut butter sandwiches, he offered one to Girl Scout. "Plenty of peanut butter, just no more bread." He chuckled and took a bite out of his own sandwich.

Mark was exhausted to the last shred of energy left in his body. Once he rested against the wall, sat down, and extended his legs there was no way he would get up. If those two strangers would suddenly decided to attack him and Rachel he would have no power to fight back. If the doors were struck open and walkers climbed up to devour them he would just sit and wait for it. He was in all terms and meanings fatigued and tired. Still thirsty.

Mark set his wrench beside him, then he took out the expired skimmed milk and the small water bottle he found downstairs. He lines them up beside each other, then he took the water bottle and rank it all to the last drop. It wasn't even enough, but it was good to keep him alive and search for more. He could ask the strangers for water, but he was too tired to start a confrontation.

Mark left the expired milk cartoon on the ground and succumbed unto sleeping. At first he hesitated to shut his eyes around strangers, but he was too tired and his body shut down.

---

Mark was woken up by the rays of sunlight coming through the window screens, hitting his eyes as he slowly opened them. The walkers had stopped and little groans were heard. The milk carton was still there, the now empty water bottle too. He sighed and looked for Rachel. The second floor was dirty and in quite a mess.

Leah took the offered sandwich and smiled, "Maybe we'll get lucky and find more" she replied before taking a bite from it, enjoying the rich taste that was definitely much nicer than cold beans which she'd been living off over the previous days. She had to admit she'd never felt this well rested in a long time, though she was worried how this would effect his ability to act while they were out and about. As she thought about it more she decided to ask, "You know, if you want to get some sleep I could keep an eye out now?" she asked as she looked up at him. It would cost them most of the morning, but ultimately it would be down to Cowboy and whether he felt he could manage. The last thing she wanted would for one of them to get bitten or killed due to poor focus. Leah finished her sandwich and rubbed her hands on her legs before letting out a small yawn, adding in a little stretch as she prepared herself for the day ahead.

Awoken suddenly by the forbearing prod of Florence's boot, Michael immediately sat upright, seemingly in a somewhat somnolent state of confusion. He was about to reach for his hatchet before realising where he was. A slight aching pain registered in his back and shoulders, a painful parting gift from the rooftop. Michael never bothered with eating any breakfast - if you can call cold tomato soup or a chocolate bar breakfast - although he was hungry, he couldn't risk eating the last of what remained of his food supply on the chance the other group had no food with them to spare, or rather, none they would want to spare.

"Morning." he muttered sleepily to Florence while pushing himself off the ground. He bunched up the blanket and handed it back to her. Michael had little with him so he would only need to grab his hatchet, gun and bag, before waiting for Florence at the top of the fire escape. "Before we find those guys, I need to get some clothes that aren't covered in walker guts." he suggested, arms folded. "Come on, we're going shopping."

Jason had been the first to take watch during the night, which meant that once he woke someone else up to take over, his sleep was uninterrupted. Despite sleeping in the same room as random strangers he had just met the previous day, he felt relatively safe, and so this was the best sleep he had had in a week. He had gotten used to the tapping and groaning of shamblers overnight, and while on watch, he stopped being so terrified, as the sounds seemed to have died down as the shamblers became less interested. During his watch, he explored a little, finding a fire escape in the back of the room. Unfortunately, the door was locked, and it was made of metal so his axe would not be an option. The other way to escape would be out of the windows, but that would be quite dangerous, even if it was just the second floor. Perhaps downstairs would have a staff door the led to the alleyway? Jason did not go and check during the night, as the only way down would be through the tiny service elevator shaft, and he was too tired to bother with that at the time.

As Mark woke up, his shuffling woke Jason up. He slowly rose as he saw Mark walk across the room to look at two empty bottles on the floor. Jason had slept using his rucksack as a pillow, and when he sat up, he pulled his canteen out of it. He shook it. Half empty... He then drank a mouthful, and held it out towards Mark.

"Mark, was it? You look thirsty."

As Mark was slowly walking about the second floor, the young man offered his canteen. Mark had smiles in his head for a brief moment, he walked over to Jason and gently took the canteen.

"That'd be the understatement of the year!" he chuckled lightly before drinking what little was left, he couldn't just drink it all in a go. He drank enough to quench his thirst then handed it back to the man, with little left in it.
Mark gasped, "-Thanks kid, you are a saver!" Mark leaned against a wall, facing Jason, "Say, I appreciate what you did last night. Good to know there is still good folks alive."

He didn't necessarily trust him, but if Jason and the older guy wanted to hurt him and Rachel he would have done it in their sleep. He sighed as he looked around, then asked, "Say, I never got your name..."

Travis finshed his sandwich and thought on her question before answering. "I'm not tired i had a good sleep yesterday, I've also done robberies on two days no sleep and still got away clean so i think we will be fine. But get ready we need to stop somewhere if we are to break into the mall and get some new threads." He said. He was already putting the jar of peanut butter away in the bag by the time he finished his sentence, he picked up the stacks of money he left out overnight and tossed those in the bag as well.

When the bag was packed, he picked up his rifle and looked it over. "We are going to be heading North-East, so which exit should we take?" He asked her looking around the house for the perfect way out.

Leah picked up her schoolbag, pulling it onto her back as he explained about his robberies. It was still kind of strange to be so close to a criminal, her father having raised her with a pretty strong moral compass. It was for this reason that stealing was something that was generally considered wrong to her, though lately stealing had become more of a necessity in recent times which sort of desensitized the concept to her. "The same way we came in" she replied simply, "We can go around the side of the house to get out into the front garden and continue on from there" she said as she began walking towards the exit to the back garden. Once the Cowboy was out she'd seal the place as she had done yesterday, closing the door till the latch clicked shut before pushing the create away from the door, leaving it just the way it was when they'd arrived the night before. "Come on, let's go... I'm actually looking forwards to clean clothes" she said, making a small attempt at humor.

Travis went out the way they came in, Girl Scout followed after him making sure everything was in place, she said something but Travis didn't answer. Instead he moved quietly around the house heading towards the old safe house. The walk was long and Travis had to back track a few times to get to where he was going but the destination was a large boarded up house that looked about ready to fall apart, there was even a condemnation notice on a hunk of wood where the door would be. "It looks prettier on the inside." He said and chuckled as he picked up a heart shaped rock in the yard and removed a key from it.

Checking behind him once more he removed the plywood that was blocking the door. "Used to be we would have to look like government workers coming in here or come in during the night." He said as he unlocked the front door as soon as Girl Scout was inside he closed the door. While the outside of the house looked like it was about to fall apart the inside of the house was brand new, brand new furniture and electronics freshly painted walls and freshly carpeted floors although there was a thin layer of dust on everything, this place would of been a paradise of electricity still worked or they had a generator. Every room in the house was open with the exception of the basement which had a heavy lock on it.

But Travis was only interested in one room, he made his way upstairs and into a bedroom that could be described as very plain. Just a bed and a picture of Travis and a blonde haired girl smiling and holding each other. But again Travis showed no interest in any of these things with the exception of the bed. He threw off the mattress revealing the bed frame, faintly if one really squinted they could see a slit cut into the frame. Travis reached his hand inside and pulled out a metal strongbox and tucked it in his backpack. "Ready to go mall shopping?" He asked.

Florence's lips cracked into a small grin that she couldn't help at Michael's remark. She wasn't sure what it was exactly but something about finally getting off the rooftop gave her more excitement rather than terror that she should be feeling. It had been a good two weeks, maybe more. She hadn't really explored much of the city, when she arrived she just made her way to the tallest structure and got to the top. Obviously she knew she couldn't stay on the rooftop forever, but she had been running for so long she just needed to rest. Now that she was well rested and her supply was running low, a good trip shopping was well needed.

After gathering all their items they started down the fire escape, Michael going first. As they descended, Florence could hear the violent screeches from the undead on the streets below. She knew as soon as they got to the ground, it was going to be like pushing through hell.