...Yuri entered the facility.

Yuri walked in when Serene was talking to Wayne. During that moment, Yuri checked the people who arrived.
When Serene finished her last sentence, Yuri formed his hand into a fist and put it in front of his mouth, coughing twice.

*Cough* *Cough*

"Sorry to interrupt, but hello! My name is Lakeev, Yuri. I believe that you are from the highway just like me. I think that I might be the last one to come. The mob you mentioned... Those undead cannibals... They are still at the roadblock. Well, most of them are. Ea... Those poor bastards. We still have some time, but, as you mentioned, not much.
Is there a janitors or a maintenance room around here? They could have something we could use."

Yuri tried to be as polite as possible, as the first impression was always the most important. Especially when you need to rely on your new allies.

Charlie listened to the girl speak, a pleasant look on her face as she spoke. Even though she hadn't only known the girl for less than an hour, She felt that the girl was a close friend. She would need a close friend if she were going to survive. Once Denny had finished speaking, Charlie looked over at her a half smiled.

"There's not much to tell. I had a normal family, went to a normal school, had a normal life." She shrugged her shoulders. Slowly a smirk began to form on her lips. "Of course I was kicked out of school many times for starting fights and all that shit." Charlie laughed and straightened out her hat, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Music is my passion. I've played the piano and guitar for as long as I can remember." Charlotte smiled and glanced at Danielle, gently budging her elbow. "I've seen you come in the music store many times. You must enjoy music too I assume?" Charlie asked, looking at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

No sooner had Wayne shook Serena's hand had she dropped a bombshell of bad news, followed by an even older person sneaking-up from behind confirming his suspicioun that she was actually trying to break it to him gently... or at least more gently than this new old fellow.

"Nah. This is an unattended rest-stop. All cleaning supplies are kept with the cleaning-staff." He stated matter-o-factly. Being previously of said 'cleaning staff' ensured he knew this. "Imagine how much your taxes would have skyrocketed if a closet full of tools and cleaning supplies was left in a tiny room protected by a cardboard door with the cheapest lock ever invented at every run-down rest-stop, ever."

After a brief pause, he raised an eyebrow at the man: "What sort of supplies were you hoping to find, anyways?"

"Enjoy it? Ha!" She laid back in the seat and looked blankly ahead, as if the memories were being presented like a movie, "It's... my life." Can that be your life anymore? You've seen how easy it is to die... How do you know-- She shook the though from her mind and expanded, "I was the same way as you; Dad was the doctor, Mom was... a lawyer? A business executive? Still not really sure. Anyway, perfect life. Except I was never good at anything but... music. I love melody and lyricism and cadence, I figured, 'I already know what I want to do, so why am I in school?' So like, I dropped out."

"Of course, my parents weren't too happy about that, and they kicked me out. So I just..." Denny gave a little shrug, "Kept making music. I DJed, I sung, I played with bands, I wrote songs, helped produce some beats... Hell, I even did a little battle rapping at one point." She gave a dry chuckle, "I'd say it worked out in the end, but we're driving in a stolen truck to keep away from weird... sick... weirdos..." She rolled her eyes, allowing herself to peer at the passing corpses one more, it was all they had passed, no other cars were on the road.

A though popped into her head and she opened up the glove box, "I could never learn the guitar," she rummaged around looking for something, "I mostly work with digital software, but I took singing lessons, and piano lessons... and taught myself a lot of percussion... But I never got the guitar." She closed the glove box, visibly disappointed, "I was hoping they had a map..."

Not receiving any response from the people within (probably thinks I'm a deader banging on this side door like this), Miykael opened the doors cautiously and found quite a little crowd of people inside... They didnt seem to notice me so I snuck over to a nearby bench and sat down in plain view of them, listening to them talk back and forth... They seemed to be interesting people...

Aki slowed down as she neared the rest stop. She had abandoned her car off the side of the road a mile ago. All she had with her was a duffel bag and a knife. She had little time to grab anything before she ran but she important stuff, including her laptop and solor laptop charger. She quietly walked into the rest-stop trying to keep her gasp for breath quiet. She had flat out sprinted the full mile there and she was out of breath.

Looking at Wayne, Yuri began naming off most things he could think in a moment:

"Uhh, Medical supplies. First aid kits must be in those by law. Hopefully some tools that could be used. Maybe duck tape, probably an magazine hid somewhere. I noticed that "those things" bite other people so that they turn into "them", so, maybe, if you taped magazines around your forehand you could stuff it inside their mouths to avoid getting bitten in unprotected areas. Have you ever tried biting thought a magazine?
что еще?

Maybe the cleaning supplies themselves could be used somehow..."

Yuri asked for Wayne's name and offered a handshake.

"As I mentioned, my name is Yuri. I heard hers, but not yours."

While Ishmael was scoping out the abandoned vehicles that sat in the rest stop parking lot, the young girls he had been following here had approached him. He'd almost forgotten about them. He stepped out his cigar before turning his attention to them. Looking at them now he was even more shocked at just how young they were. "Hi Alysia, Ferra. I'm Ishmael." He said with a smile. "You two run pretty fast, almost lost ya for a second." Definitely a good skill for the two of them to have with these sick freaks walking around.

"So are you two sisters? Are your parents in there?"

Tom caught up with Serena on the way to the rest stop. He felt less tired than before, but was still shaken from the way the dead acted. He learned it was worse when you're actually facing them already. He was glad they got to stay in here, even if just for a short time. When others started approaching, he took a little step behind Serena. For now, he was trying to get his thoughts together. He couldn't get himself to meet these people yet. But he listened quietly. He learned that the girl was called Serena. One of the men was Wayne. The older one was Yuri.

While the older group talked about supplies, Tom made an observation of the place. A few more people were already inside. His eyes went to a girl who just entered. She had bright reddish hair, and seemed older, around twenty. Then he found someone who looked familiar. Then he realized who the boy on the bench was, Miykael. He recognized the guy from the highway, the one with the swords. Tom wondered if he could approach him. He seemed a little more closer to his own age as well. But he wasn't so sure about him, considering he watched the guy put a blade through a man's head. Self-defense, maybe, but still. He just gave Miykael a nod, looking if he was noticed. After taking a glance at Serena and the two men, he walked away from them. He wondered if the people here could stick together for some time. It might be better if they had strength in numbers.

Instead of approaching Miykael, he inserted the golf stick in his bag although only half of it fit, and went towards Aki. Thanks to his old job, he became more comfortable with strangers. "Are the dead still far from here?" He decided to ask first. Then added, "Tomlin, by the way. Or Tom."

"I like you." Charlie turned her head to the side and smiled at Denny, giving her a nod of approval. "I've never met anyone who was as passionate about music as I was." She listened to the other girl talk about her school days and parents, quietly driving along the road. Charlie had once considered herself to drop out of high school, but she knew if her music career failed, at least graduating would be something to fall back on.

She glanced over and noticed the disappointed look on Danielle's face when she had said she never learned the guitar. Charlie let out a soft chuckle. "Hell, I'll teach ya'. I've been playing that damn guitar for ever. It may be hard at first, but you'll get the hang of it." She smiled sweetly and hummed softly. "We'll just have to find one later once we get settled somewhere." Charlie turned down a road and continued to drive with a smile on her face. The pain had subsided enough to allow her to smile as she pleased.

"So, tell me about your love life. There has to be someone special in your life huh?" She grinned with a small giggle. Charlie looked over, studied Denny's features.

"Don't know." Aki said, looking at the man. "I'm Akiiamai, but Aki for short." She said

*USBR only requires on-site staff-vehicles of public recreation-areas to have such things. Because in 'merricuh, it's just a roof with tables under it (I have yet to see a first-aid kit or working phone in one, and I'm in Wisconsin). I'd wager that it's worse in Colorado and South Dakota.

Sifter said Looking at Wayne, Yuri began naming off most things he could think in a moment:

"Uhh, Medical supplies. First aid kits must be in those by law*. Hopefully some tools that could be used. Maybe duck tape, probably an magazine hid somewhere. I noticed that "those things" bite other people before they turn into them, so, maybe if you tied the magazine around your forehand you could stuff it inside their mouth to avoid getting bitten. Have you ever tried biting thought a magazine?
что еще?

Maybe the cleaning supplies themselves could be used somehow..."

Yuri asked for Wayne's name and offered a handshake.

"As I mentioned, my name is Yuri. I heard hers, but not yours."

"First, only required for mass-gatherings; second, even then those are only stocked by volunteer-organizations; that's why the department of transportation stresses so strongly why every motorist should have a first-aid kit in their car... ALWAYS. And lastly..." He finished by pointing at a wall where emergency-supplies were usually kept, "those are obviously already looted."

"Anyways, my name is Wayne, Wayne Anderson. I'll see if I can find you something a bit more useful at stopping one of those things than a sullied morning-paper."

Well, these definitely were interesting people. One guy had just suggested using magazines to stop the deaders from biting us. While that'd make us a little more likely to slip, most human beings dont use the full force of their jaws. Dozens of muscles in the face accumulate a massive weight per square inch. Yuki's idea would work if it were normal people biting us, but these things were clearly running solely on instinct... At any rate, someone else put down the idea already. These seemed to be intelligent people. They could work out a plan on their own. I'll go along with whatever so long as its not completely ridiculous, so I'll let them decide what comes next and just listen...

((IGNORE!!!))

"I like you." Denny blushed at the comment, she attempted to regain her composure as Charlie looked over at her and continued, "I've never met anyone who was as passionate about music as I was."

Well that's lucky! City goes to hell and you find someone who at least understands your passion... Ironic that it took ALL THIS for you two to talk...

Idle chatter passed between the two for a few more minutes before Charlie asked another big question, "So, tell me about your love life. There has to be someone special in your life huh?"

Denny's eyes went wide as she blushed a bright pink, noticing Charlie's giggle, she stuttered a little, "Umm, w-well..." She glanced over to notice the appraising look in Charlie's eye, it was teasing, but it was still waiting for an answer, she was still smiling, despite the fresh wound.

...well, she was certainly direct

"N-not really anyone, no... not since high school, I had a few boyfriends and uhh... p-partners. But since then, it's mostly just been me and the music-- m-maybe something that, y'know, lasts a night or two... but no one special," She sunk into the truck seat with a sigh, "Not yet, at least..." a gentle smile appear on her face after a time, "...Here's hoping...!"

Charlie couldn't help but smile as she listened to Danielle talk. It made her smile even more to know she already knew she had someone who she could trust, even though they had been strangers only hours ago. Her thumbs lightly drummed on the steering wheel as she glanced over at Denny and smiled.

She had never really been an open-book. Not having many friends throughout high school left her to not have many to talk to. Charlie never felt to need to share anything about herself to anyone. Friends came and went with Charlie, she never knew which were true ones. But she felt Danielle wouldn't betray her like others had.

"Look, up the road." Charlotte spoke with a straight face as she raised an eyebrow. Down the road was a rest shop she had been familiar with. Because it was on the outskirts of town, maybe it wouldn't have been looted yet. "Should we stop and check it out?"

"I've never met anyone named Aki before," Tom said with a smile. "That's cool." It was true. He has heard a lot of unusual names when he worked in the coffee shop when he had to write them down, but her name was unique to him.

He paced around, then went to a window to check outside. From afar he could see a vehicle moving towards the rest stop, probably. Some dead ones were on the road, but they weren't too close to the stop. He dragged his fingers through his messy hair and then turned back to Aki. "A car's coming. Hope they're generous."

*I am pretty sure that we have set this to be a building type rest stop (Up ahead for those who are running there is pit stop, a rest station where no one has gone, likely safe for now. To meet up with other survivors. The horde moving to slow.)


Yuri was not fazed. The guy knew what he was talking about, maybe had a profession connected to the topic OR simply searched for trivial things on the internet like Yuri himself.

"Cars usually have anti-theft systems on them to prevent theft and,well, they are mostly sound based. So I decided to look for the alternative, since the highway fiasco most likely started because of the sound that was made."

He kept on:

"Pleased to meet you too. And I'd be grateful if you would help me."

Yuri nodded his head.

After finishing the conversation, Yuri put his jacket and the kukri on the nearest table. Before greeting everyone else, he decided to make a quick check of the place.
...
The place was ransacked by the previous visitors. The only thing worth taking Yuri found was a highly detailed map of the El Paso County. After checking it, he spoke out:

"Maybe we should head for Fort Carson?"

Shortly afterwards, Tom noticed a car coming up.

Serena took a seat in the rest stop, deciding for now she would listen in on the conversation. Granted, she didn’t know what to do or what to say at this point but, well, she figured she could at least go use the little girl’s room, she’d just wait for a moment. They would have to leave soon though as the horde would be encroaching on them soon enough

---

Alysia looked over at Serena and then looked to Ferra before she walked over to Serene.

“Hello miss, you’ve got white hair, I noticed that, it makes you pop in a crowd,” Alysia stated.

Serena looked up and raised a brow before nodding then chuckling some.

“My name is Serena, what’s yours,” Serena asked.

“Name’s Alysia, pleasure to meet you… Seems like everyone is busy talking about supplies, but you’re just sitting here… Shouldn’t we be moving soon though? Those stiff-jaws aren’t going to hold forever, they’ll be here soon enough in due time,” Alysia stated.

“Oh I know… I don’t plan on staying here, though I want to break into a car, seems like people abandoned their cars here…” Serena said.

Denny shifted in her seat, not because of a lack of comfort, but because of an acute emotional whiplash. She wasn't used to receiving this kind of attention, this, contrasted with the context of the last few hours... days... created a sort of cognitive dissonance in Daniele's mind. On one hand, talking about this stuff felt good, it took her mind off the rioting and gunfire and... cannibalism of the immediate past. On the other, however, maybe she shouldn't be taking her mind off of it... maybe she shouldn't feel comfortable... the car ride wouldn't last forever, and she'd need to be ready to be able to face whatever somber reality waited once she got out.

Daniele let the thought fade into the background noise of her mind, she thoughtlessly fiddled with the radio-- she knew there would be no news or music, that stuff had gone a while ago, but she tried anyway... perhaps for foolish hope. Charlie's thumbs tapping against the steering wheel were the only music the pair was going to get. As Denny fiddled with the radio, she let her gaze wander over to Charlie-- every now and again, she'd glance over and smile at her. Denny gave a meek smile in return, admiring the girl's confident demeanor in the face of... The two had essentially met as strangers and stolen a truck, but Charlie was so, cool about it all... Denny allowed her gaze to linger a little more and took note of how her companion was dressed and sheepishly comparing it's practicality to her own slim black dress and knee socks.

Out of the two, Charlie was easily the better prepared for this, and her cheerful nature suggested she probably didn't even know it.

Denny was curious about Charlie, both in getting to know her and in asking if she knew anything about the... sickness... anything more than she did. Denny was flustered, she wanted to ask personal things, but had no clue how to approach the subject. She found herself resign to thought, looking at her reflection in the obsidian car window and occasionally risking a glance. That was, until she was pulled out of her thoughts.

"Look, up the road." Denny did as commanded, and found herself looking at dimly lit rest stop, the people she could begin to make out as they got closer didn't appear to... move... the same way the sick did. And they all looked civil enough, "Should we stop and check it out?"

Denny's mind flashed back to the city, the chaos of people afraid and uninhibited-- and the highway, where she had seen innocent people die.

Almost reflexively, she checked her bag to make sure the gun was still there, "Yeah. Wouldn't be much of a rest stop if we didn't rest or stop..." She gave a sigh of relief as she recovered the tiny firearm, "...But keep your bat ready... just... just in case."