**Victoria - MEC - John/Farren & Dean/Buck** Victoria blushed red when Farren corrected her assumption. "Oh - I mean, I just assumed - gah. I'm gonna go now." She said. When she was in the hallway, she turned towards her room, but Buck blocked her way, just as Farren shut the door. The intimidating look in Buck's eyes prompted her to draw her pistol, pulling back the hammer. Her anger, sadness, and the rest of the her emotions all exploded at once. "First thing,**don't call me red.** Secondly, you're not as scary as you'd like to think." She couldn't explain why, but she instantly felt defensive when he made a comment about John. "Don't you ever talk about John. Always uptight? Hmm, maybe that's cause **dead people** are coming back to life!?" Her voice rose, though she didn't intend for it. "When all the doctors left this place and all the patients deserted, guess who stayed to protect me, a girl who could barely walk straight at the time, and a couple too old to fight off the walkers - John stayed! The old man in the next hallway is currently sleeping through nightmares of his dead wife, who was eaten alive by walkers barely, right in front of John's eyes barely **ten minutes ago!**" She shook her head incredulously. "So forgive us if John or myself seem _uptight_!" She breathed heavily, feeling slighter better after letting all of her frustration go. "Screw you." She pushed past him and marched to her room.

**Clayton Burrows - Bandera Pharmacy - Ada Cinet** "Well...Getting out of the city's about as easy as it's gonna get, 'till that alarm dies down, every sicko for a few miles is gonna hear it and come walking... May as well take advantage that we already smell like 'em, y'know? Clayton took a second to think about she's said. It's true that continuous sound of the car alarm will not die down till battery runs out; which shouldn't take long considering how worn out the vehicle is. So walkers from miles around will be roaming towards it. The smell may be a persisting little annoyance but it's Clayton's greatest shield till they found somewhere permanently safe for the night. "I vote heading east, running water'd be nice, but honestly I already got a couple bottles of water, I just need a towel and some new clothes..." Clayton thought that this was a fair enough idea. The best thing to be used would be a vehicle to get out of town. Walking would take longer considering the number of locals that they would have to dodge. They'd fall asleep before they even reach the edge of town. As far as he can remember, Boerne is the next town over; it's just outside the city of San Antonio. Clayton remembered this from a road-sign that he passed miles back. He decided to see if the pharmacy still had any scraps of painkillers left but it's highly unlikely. Ever since the beginning of the new world, painkillers were amongst the top sellers in greatly needed supplies. He'd be lucky to find even a pill. He started looking over at some of the shelves. It was still quite dark but he could make out some of the names. His experience working in a hospital has helped him to identify many medications across the years; even if he was just an electrician. Unfortunately though, a lot of them weren't of any use to him. He needed painkillers because he had started to run low. If his hip started to act up while on the lam, then he couldn't just simply stop to pop some pills. "This place is right next door to a hardware store and some sort of fucking chicken restaurant, so there might be a delivery van out back but I wouldn't pin our lucky stars on it." He then takes a bit of sigh and look towards Ada. "We may have to walk outta town." This was not a desirable idea, so Clayton hoped lady luck wouldn't act like a bitch towards him. "I'll take a look around the back for anything useful. You yourself can have a look around if you want but we're not staying here very long." He then moved forward into the pharmacy. He was moving more slowly and cautiously than usual but that's because he lost his torch after Ada threw it to distract the walkers. It may have been useful in the short term but now he needed it for the long term. They still didn't know what might jump out from the shadows. He walked right around the corner of the counter and quickly turned with great tension. Luckily though, it was empty. The cash register has been covered in a blanket of dust. It's most probably the most useless thing in the room but it still amazed Clayton. In the old world, tills were probably the most used machines in the world and now they're the least. It's funny how time changed things. He decided to have a look in the desk under the counter for anything important. Sometimes Pharmacists liked to keep guns under the counter, especially in the south. Pharmacy robberies were a lot common in the old world; Junkies would have done anything for a high. He reached under and started rummaging around. All he could feel were old papers and dust. Someone must've gotten the right idea and took the gun. He was about to pull out when he felt something jingly hit his hands. He then curiously pulled the item out from under the counter and was met with a grand surprise. It was small keyring with a car key attached. There was also a tiny football (_American_) key ring attached and some sort of multi-coloured, fuzzy ball key ring. How delightful, thought Clayton. He then looked towards Ada and winked victoriously. "Jackpot!" He then proceeded to walk through the doorway, under the broken fire exit sign. He gave a quick look towards Ada before exiting. "Come find me when you're ready." He walked down the tiny corridor that led to a couple of double doors with the words 'Import' on them. The doors on the side of the hallway seemed locked, so he should be safe from any sneak attacks. As he approached the double doors, he pressed his ear up against one of them to hear for any walkers that might be right outside. After a few minutes of intense listening, he heard nothing but still continued to open the door with great hesitation in case of a fatal jump. The more the door opened itself, the more he can see that there was nothing there but the feint sound of a car alarm and a herd of walkers coming from across the street on the other side of the building. There was a docking station that seemed to be shared by both of the stores adjacent to the pharmacy. Only two vehicles were in front of him. A giant truck with the words 'Bandera Hardware Store' on it and the other was a small and plain white van with no writing on the sides. Clayton just smiled and and obviously knew which vehicle the keys belonged to. However, he didn't want to risk clicking the button on the key and having a small temporary flash of light show him which vehicle it belonged to. The docking station may be empty but it wouldn't stay like that forever. He then approached the smaller vehicle with blissful ignorance. He placed the key in the van but it wouldn't stick. This came as quite a surprise to Clayton because it now meant that the keys belonged to the truck. He looked behind him at the truck and then yet again at the keys. What was a key, that belonged next door, doing in a pharmacy? He didn't have time to ponder the mystery of his new found luck. Any vehicle would have be good enough to get out of town. He then placed the keys inside the vehicle to make sure that it was the right one. Thankfully the door opened and placed his fears to rest. He then closed the door and decided to check the outside of the vehicle itself for any damages. He needed to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with it before setting off. The last thing he and Ada need was to be trapped inside a delivery truck. He continued to inspect the vehicle closer as he waited for Ada to be ready.

**John Teller - Methodist Hospital - Victoria** After closing the door to room two-hundred and five, John walked away with the same two food trays from earlier. He sniffed and blinked a few times to hide the tears that were shedding down his cheeks just a couple of minutes ago. He didn't want to show any weakness to the others, so forced himself to reform his neutral stare. His posture returned to normal despite the memory of Mrs. Oswald still roaming his mind. Despite his damaged conscious, he was not going to let Tori be affected by his personal sorrows. So he started down the hall towards the rooms Tori had surely taken the new survivors to. He couldn't help but think he did the right thing letting them in, despite the giant's hostility. John hoped the man would come around and understand that nobody was just going to befriend another nowadays. Life wasn't as joyful as it once was, the meaning of 'living everyday to the fullest' and 'enjoy the little things' was defining the new world. It was a horror to live, but living was precious. Suddenly, John could hear Tori's voice in the distance. She spoke loudly which echoed through the halls with ease. John started to speed up his stepping, rushing towards the obvious argument. But just as he turned the hall, Victoria passed him up and headed directly to her room. The look on her face gave away just what she was feeling. John put the trays down and ran towards the girl, stopping her by grabbing her arm and tugging her around. He feared she had been injured so looked up and down her body. His eyes wide, making sure she was in perfect shape - which she was. She must have just had a verbal disagreement with none other than the damn giant. "What happened? Are you okay?" he rushed to ask. Now that whole 'being happy to let new survivors' thing sort of faded. He was second guessing his decision to let them in because one of the two was already causing problems. He was thinking to expel Buck and only allow Farren and her boy to stay, but if he did that, he was sure she wouldn't. Then again, they were only friends, nothing more. But friendship is sometimes stronger than love or family or anything. So he would have to play things right after calming Tori down. Whatever happened had to be fixed immediately, there can't be random bickering within the hospital, John would not allow it - especially from guest.

**Tori - MEC - John** Victoria turned as John pulled her around, a little too roughly. **"What happened? Are you okay?"** She sighed and rubbed her fingers to her temple. "I just- got into an argument with Buck..." She said, trying to settle him down and ease his worries. "Don't worry about Buck, he's just trying to protect Farren and Dean." She turned to walk away, but then looked him in the eye again. "No, John... I'm not okay... I just saw Mrs. Oswald lying dead on the floor." She shook, her head. "No... not really... Why would she do that to us?" She couldn't help it, but tears began to drip from her eyes, and her voice went high. "Why would she do that to us, John?" She hated crying, especially in front of John. It was embarrassing to cry... She just wasn't read for tonight. She'd seen her father preach at plenty of funerals - there had been plenty of elderly people in the church that passed away during her childhood and early teen years. Of course, they'd all died of old age and sicknesses... Mrs. Oswald had been *mauled* by an undead corpse. Victoria had *not* been ready in the least.

**Ada - Bandera Pharmacy - Clayton** Ada was lackadaisically shoving any bottle of pills with an interesting name into her bag, she was only half focused on the task however, and found herself more interested in what Clayton was doing-- this being Texas, she figured there was certainly a gun under the counter at one point, but that it must have been long gone, what he found, however, did surprise her. Clayton held up the keys, winking at Ada, "Jackpot!" Ada herself couldn't hep but return a look that was part astonishment and part excitement, whether he could tell how surprised she was depended on his own vision in the low visibility of the dark pharmacy. He proceeded to walk through the doorway, under the broken fire exit sign. He gave a quick look back before exiting. "Come find me when you're ready." Ada gave Clayton a quick nod, glancing around the emptied and storefront. *--Wait, did he say there was a hardware store next door?* **Ada - Bandera Hardware Store** Ada knew hardware stores were some of the most scavenged areas after the End, just like any place with medicine, they had things people needed, weapons, supplies, the like. She didn't expect to find everything she could ever want to survive in the store, but at the same time, Bandera didn't seem to have many actual survivors... Granted, it'd be smart of them to hide the car alarm out. Still, Ada stepped into the small hardware store, and it's atmosphere of stale, rotting wood, with high hopes. The overturned shelves and broken supplies told her all she wanted to know about what happened here immediately after the End. Anything that could've been used as a weapon; shovels, crowbars, even saws, they were gone. That wasn't surprising. She stepped lightly over the rotting 2x4s, the broken shelves, the trampled supplies. She wasn't particularly afraid of the sick, she had their scent and they'd blindly shamble toward the noise of the alarm, even from the back of this store. She was careful because part of her felt as if she was invading on some relic-- some perfectly preserved moment from the moment society was changed. Her eyes went loud as the sound of an empty can being kicked came from where she had stepped. Looking under the shelf it slid under, she squinted. A tired smile came across her face in the darkness. She had found what she hoped was still here. **Ada - Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, Cowboy Capital of the World branch** After shaking the can of recently scavenged reflective spray paint, she painted an 'X' on the door of the hardware store. A message to anyone else looking to scavenge there-- or anywhere Ada would go from now on. She had developed the habit on her supply run for the Reservation, but after that failed... she just... stopped. Clayton reminded her there were other people here. Under the 'X' she wrote 'NOTHING BUT DUST' Fitting the spray paint into one of her bag's pockets, she made her way left of the hardware store and pharmacy to the... she shone her new flashlight above the door of the supposed chicken place... *Roscoe's? The have those here!?* She quickly turned off the light and glanced around, hoping she hadn't attracted the wrong type of attention. After determining the coast was clear, she entered the restaurant mildly confused at it's presence. Apparently it had been fairly new, at least, according to the 'Grand Opening' banner that had drooped to cover the words 'Roscoe's' and 'Waffles.' Her time spent scavenging was expedited by the fact that she knew she was keeping Clayton waiting. Ada made her way to the kitchen, and pocketed a couple bottle of stale soda and a few cans of pie filler. She was starting to reach the limit of things she could carry without the book bag's straps digging into her shoulders and becoming painful. However, something else caught her eye-- a Roscoe's Shoulder Delivery Satchel. *Roscoe's delivers?* Ada couldn't help herself. She put the cans, both recently scavenged and from earlier in her day, into the satchel and hurried out, figuring she had kept Clayton waiting long enough. She stopped only to quickly paint 'FOOD IN BACK' on the door of the Roscoe's and '??? PILLS' on the door of the pharmacy, before rushing back to the back of the pharmacy in the direction Clayton had gone. Going as fast as the weight of the two bags and the soreness of her legs would allow her. **Ada - Docking Station - Clayton** Ada climbed into the passenger seat of the truck, more impressed at his luck than cautious of how many sick the noise of the truck would attract. "I hope you figured out a way to disable the alarm," She said half-heartedly with a dry chuckle, placing her bags under the glove compartment. She didn't mind that the seat were becoming stained with the damp blood and gore on her body, and she squirmed to make herself comfortable. "Oh--" She reached into her satchel and pulled out the sodas, offering one to Clayton, "Want some stale coke?"

**Buck Bradley - Methodist Emergency Medical Center - Farren/Jonathan/Victoria ** Buck put his hands up. “Hey! Ok!” He backed away and let Victoria pass him. “What is it with people pullin’ guns on people in this place. You’re all lucky you’ve lasted as long as you did!” He listened, though, to her explanation about what John had done. It was highly unlikely that she could make all of that up on the spot. If what she said was true, maybe he should ease up a bit. He called after her as she left. “Wasn’t tryin’ to upset you kid. Just curious about the type of characters we’re holed up here with.” He watched until she was out of sight. He smiled. The kid had spunk. He liked that. Took a lot of guts to stand up to him like that. Gun or no gun. He couldn’t help but notice Farren and Dean had closed him out of the room. He went close to the door and could hear the baby crying inside. He knocked softly and spoke, “Farren, I’m going to track down our hosts. Think I owe some people an apology.” Say what you want about Buck, he was never afraid to admit when he was wrong or being a jerk. “I’ll be back as soon as I’m done with them,” he reassured through the door. He left and wandered off in the direction Victoria had went. It didn’t take him long before he heard two people conversing. He recognized the voices as belonging to John and Victoria. He slowed his pace, listening for a minute. He overheard them talking about the woman they had lost and then Victoria started crying. Buck decided any apologies he had to make could wait for the morning. He didn’t want to intrude on this private moment. Making his way back to where he had left Farren and Dean he realized that he actually hadn’t been shown to a room of his own. He wasn’t really keen on walking in on someone else’s by accident either. He sighed. At least he had a roof over his head. And a little more space to stretch his legs than in the shed he had started the evening in. He quietly leaned against Farren’s door and let himself slide to the floor. No one was getting in or out without him knowing. He told himself he’d rest his eyes for a few minutes. Within seconds he was asleep.

**John Teller - MEC - Veronica/Buck** As the girl started to break down, John felt the exact same pain she was feeling, but reacted differently. If he broke down with her, she couldn't be relying on him for moral support or protection. Instead, John held himself physically strong despite his inner person cracking under the pressure. He stepped forward, slowly wrapping his hands around her shoulders and pulling her in. He let her cry on him, holding her tightly so she knew she was safe now. "I am truly sorry" he whispered into her ear as he let her continue to release all her sorrows. Her doing this was very unexpected, John hadn't really seen her this way in a long time. The guy always thought her as independent and strong, but sometimes he forgets that she's still a young girl that has to spend what's supposed to be the best years of her life in this trashy world. "It's okay to cry Tori" he whispered again, trying to reassure her that he would never judge her for her actions. But still, they had to move on because holding onto the past would only cause more issues within the newly formed group. Slowly John pulled away, gently bringing his hands to her face. With his thumbs he wiped away at her tears, crouching a little to be face to face with her. "I promise it wont happen again okay? I wont let it. Mr. Oswald, you, me, these new people, I'm going to keep all of you safe you hear me? But I need you Tori. I need you" he repeated, making sure his message got across. He hands moved down to each side of her shoulders. "Now go ahead and check on Robert for me then head to bed. I'm going to drop by this food for them and I'll check up on you in a second" he said before letting her go, watching her walk away slowly. But before she got too far he called out to her again. "Tori!" he said, making her turn. "I love you like family" he finished, smiling widely. John then took the liberty to pick up the food trays and go to where he was supposed to already be. Turning the hall, he say the giant sitting in front of a room's door, automatically knowing the woman and the child must be inside. At first he frowned at the man, but took a breath and reached him, putting the food trays next to his body, trying to remain quiet noticing as he was sleeping. He unlocked the next room's door and pushed it open, just in case the grump woke up and needed a bed. The ground didn't seem to comfortable. Afterwards, he started back towards his room, stopping before Tori's first and making sure she had fallen asleep. He blew out the candles near the entrance to her room and headed to bed. ---------------------------- **Next Morning at the MEC...** John woke up around six in the morning due to the beeping of his watch. Fortunately, the battery wasn't dead yet and it wasn't too difficult to find batteries for it in stores near them. Because they only leaved the hospital for necessary materials, they never ran into other humans. The group didn't even know others were still alive, everything came down so fast that when all the hospital personnel and patients left, that was the last sight of other humans since. The small group was more concerned with their own survival that they didn't take the chance to search for more. But anyway, John woke up early like always to make sure everything was okay. He returned to the entrance to find a couple of walkers roaming around the premise. He noticed that the front doors and windows had some cracks on them - probably from walkers that saw the lights the night before. Sooner or later he'd have to board up the doors with wood or something, maybe just cover them with drapes - yeah, that'd work well. Because they usually used the backdoor to get out, they never really had to encounter many walkers. But being upfront brought memories of Mrs. Oswald's painful death. John moved to the room in which he put the bodies and opened the door. The smell was terrible, striking his nose like a quick jab. "Good lord" he said, covering his nose and mouth with his hand. "Ugh" he said, going into the room with no other choice. He dragged the body bags though the ground, taking them out of the room. From another room he used the roller beds to move the bodies one by one. He took them to the morgue. It took him nearly thirty minutes to do it alone, but he managed to do so without anyone seeing him or waking. Before returning upstairs he just sat there in an empty hall, bringing his hands to his face and wiping his eyes vigorously. John was just tired and dealing with more than he believed he could handle at the moment. Too much for a single day.

**Farren North – MEC – Buck** Farren woke up the next morning to Dean trying to stick his finger up her nose, and then twisting his fingers in her hair and involuntarily ripping out a few strands. “Ow…” she mumbled, frowning with her eyes still closed. But since she’d made a face and noise, Dean smiled and grabbed her cheeks, pulling on them. “Wake up, momma,” he said cheerily. Farren smirked and opened one eyelid, taking in the sight of her son before smiling. “You need a bath, monster,” she said tiredly. “Yay!” he said happily, always loving baths before he tried to climb over the railing of the hospital bed. “Wait!” Farren said, her son suddenly forcing her awake as she caught him before he tumbled to the tile floor. Sighing heavily, she carried him with her arms under his towards the bathroom, the boy smiling all the way with no idea she’d just saved him from busting his head open. They went ahead and took a shower together, killing two birds with one stone, but getting Dean dressed again was always a nightmare. Farren just let him run around the room naked while she dug through their bag. She pulled out all the clothes and found the least used ones, setting them out to wear while she went back in the bathroom and began scrubbing the old ones, throwing them over the shower door, bathtub, and any handle she could find to dry. She came back and Dean ran up to her. “There’s a big man,” he said simple, pointing at the closed door. In the time she’d spent messing with their clothes, her son had scooted items in the room in front of the door and created a precarious tower he’d obviously climbed to look out a small round window near the top of the door. Farren’s heart raced but all she could do is shake her head and sigh. “Yes, honey, that’s Buck. We met him last night. He’s nice, don’t worry. But we’ll get to meet him again after we get dressed okay? It’s impolite to say good morning naked,” she teased him, grabbing him and the cleanest clothes, setting him on the bed and helping dress him in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve polo shirt that was yellow and blue. She managed to get socks on his feet but not shoes before he was dashing off. “Wait! Mommy has to get dressed, right?” Dean sighed, hand on the door handle while Farren put on some flared jeans and tucked in a loose white button up shirt with a light brown cardigan over that. She hadn’t put on shoes or socks yet when Dean opened the door behind Buck and yelled “GOOD MORNING!” happily. Farren smirked and sighed, already exhausted again in a way before just letting the shoe thing go and following up behind her son.

**Clayton Burrows - On the Road - Ada Cinet** "I hope you figured out a way to disable the alarm." Clayton gave a single chuckle at the little joke. He actually did this while she was scavenging around the stores. All he had to do was disable the right cable. He's lucky he knew which one to disable because disconnecting the wrong wire would set the damn thing off and they'd be cornered into an early grave; early for Ada anyway, Clayton was getting on in his age. "Want some stale coke?" Clayton looked at the dusty coke can in Ada's hand and shook his head. "I'm alright...I'm more of a Pepsi kind a guy anyway." He then turned the key in the truck and felt the vibrations of the vehicle sing back to life. It sounded like it was in pretty good condition compared to the many other vehicles abandoned in this world. It seemed understandable though, a truck isn't the number one choice when a car is available. He then proceeded to push his foot down on the accelerator and drive through the town towards Highway 16, leading towards Boerne. Once he's helped Ada through the night, he'll be on his way down south. Ada's a good companion but he's never had any interest of traveling with a partner. He may seem friendly and leader-like but he had no interest in a forming a group. He acknowledged that he hides this way to we. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ **Clayton Burrows - On the Road (20-30 minutes later) - Ada Cinet** They've have driven for about 20-30 minutes since they left Bandera. In that short time, they past many rotten vehicles and walkers that laid down by the side of the road. The highway was littered with them but it wasn't out of the norm. Every other road in America is more or less the same: Junk being laid to die in the new world. Even with this common sight it still always struck him how the transition between the old and the new world can shred materialistic items that people thrived for and turn them into the most useless pieces of junk in the world. In some ways, he likes the new world. Absolute freedom makes him happy almost. He doesn't seem feel like there's any barriers around him and this almost makes him happy. Clayton sometimes think if he's just been given the illusion of happiness. Now there's a basement that's one floor to deep. He then shook his head a little and decided to focus on the road. He was coming up to a bendy, hilly road that led to the town of Boerne. He then slowly stopped before coming to a full halt altogether. He focused his eyes a little to see the odd flashing anomaly in the distance. It seemed to be a building of some sort that had its lights flashing on and off. There's no way it can be Morse code, that's the stupid man's way to communicate in this world; Communication needed to be subtle, not blatant. They couldn't just roll into town with those lights flashing like that. Walkers would be roaming around the place aimlessly, awakened by someone's inability to keep the light off. Clayton took a moment to think of his next step. He gave a small sigh and looked to his right, outside the truck's window. It was a little gate with the rusty words "Trespassers will be shot" on a partly low hanging metal sign. This is probably some rich southern's house up the driveway. It was either that or a farmer but both could act as sanctuary's for the night. They had to take the chance. A place to rest for the night, as well as a new change of clothes, then they can both part ways in the morning. To his mind, it sounded like a fine plan. He then looked towards Ada and opens the truck door at the same time. "Wait here a minute". He then proceeded to jump out onto the road below him. The gate was only a few metres away from the truck he still needed to act with caution. It was still quite dark out in the country, with only the dim headlights acting as his closest light source. He took a second to inspect the gate. It was already unlocked but was closed. All he had to do was push it away to allow the truck to drive on up to the estate or farmland; or whatever it is they'll find. The gate was extremely rusty and became very stiff to move but Clayton managed to endure the struggle. He then ran back to the truck, climbing onto the seat. He then turned it briskly and drove onto the small driveway. It was a mix of smooth and rough but nothing that made the driving uncomfortable. Clayton hoped that it was at least a half decent sanctuary. Lord knows, he's been screwed before. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ **Clayton Burrows - 5 minutes out from Boerne, by a big house in the country - Ada Cinet** He then raised his eye in surprise as their home for the night appeared in front as he drove closer and closer to the house. It was a very modern house and a big one. It looked like it had 4 or 5 bedrooms to it. It was one of those houses that you'd see advertise on TV for rich business me or either wanted to have a family in the country or some sexual liaisons. Just before pulling up before the house, he had a brief look of the windows and doors from the truck itself. Nothing seemed to forced or broken but it's best to have a closer look before making the important confirmation of safety. He came to a stop and placed the vehicle in neutral and pulled the handbrake up. The sound of the vehicle dying down as he took the key out left a sudden stillness in the seats for Clayton. He then looked towards house and continues to scan from the vehicle. "The house seems empty from here but I still wouldn't take any chances." He then turns his head towards Ada. "Make sure it's safe before you do anything else. I'm pretty sure your life is more important than a new set of threads." He opened his door to jump out the vehicle. "Let's hope the door's unlocked because if it isn't...then someone's home." He voice became little more ominous as he mentioned the last one. Walkers don't lock doors so another survivor could be a possible friend or a possible foe. Clayton hoped it's the latter As he made his way out of the vehicle and towards the door, he took his survival knife out at the ready and went to the front door. He placed his hand on the cold handle and gave a small sigh. Here goes, thought Clayton. He then pushed it down with force as the door opened itself to reveal that it's unlocked. Clayton knew that they struck out this time. He's been jumped before by other survivors and basic instinct can be a scary thing to stab in the stomach. As he opened the door, the first sight he see's is an extremely still hall with almost nothing out of place; except for the odd item or two. A strange feeling of nostalgia swept his mind as he looks down the hallway. It's like a scene from the old world trapped in a frozen picture frame. It was rare to see a house like the one he's in. Old and untouched. Whoever lived here must have left in a hurry to leave the door and the gate unlocked. They must have tried to reach one of the military's fake sanctuaries that provides the dangerous illusion of hope and safety. That did not end well for everyone. He proceeded into the quiet household with caution, every miniscule step making an echoing roar towards the rest of the house. It was eerie yet relaxing. A little bit in, he passes by a stair way with a similar look. He then looks back towards Ada who was not far behind him. "I'll look around downstairs and make sure that the doors and windows are sealed. The house seems empty but stay on your guard. Peace and quiet can be a sneaky bitch." He then continue onwards to what he assumes is the door to the kitchen. He hoped the former tenants did some shopping before abandoning their lovely home.

**Buck Bradley - MEC - Farren/Dean ** Buck snorted. He had fallen asleep again! This was becoming a bad habit. A dangerous habit. He turned his head to the source of the loud “GOOD MORNING!” that had just been shouted in his ear. Dean stood there proud as could be, his mother close behind. Buck smiled. “Well good morning to you too, Champ,” he said as he rose. He stretched and ruffled the boy’s hair. “Did you and your mom have a good sleep?” He looked at Farren. “Well you clean up real nice, don’t you?” He noticed the food tray and open door across the hall. “Looks like someone was checking on us in the night.” He looked at Farren again. “Sorry if I made things uncomfortable for the two of you last night. I’ve learned you’ve got to be careful who you let yourself get close to. I’m just tryin’ to look out for you and the boy.” He sighed. “Didn’t get a chance last night, but I think I should apologize to our hosts. Reckon I should do that this mornin’. I don’t want to mess anything up for you guys.” He gestured towards the food on the tray. “You two take what you want. I’m sure I can find something else.” The three of them still hadn’t seen anybody. Buck looked up and down the halls. “What do you say? Want to come and help me find ‘em?”

**Farren North – MEC – Buck** Dean just grinned up at Buck when the large man said good morning back and ruffled his hair. He shrugged when asked about his sleep, looking back at his mom and reaching out his hand for her. Farren walked up and took it, looking at Buck and hesitating at his compliment. She blushed involuntarily, pushing some brown hair from her face as she looked down and then back up to him. “Thank you,” she said simply. In the light of day, Buck looked even gruffer than he had during the night. But beyond the unruly beard and bulkiness of his being, were kind eyes and a genuine smile that made her smile without thinking. She was pulled out of the room completely by her son until he saw the food tray Buck mentioned, running over to look over the goodies. “Momma, yogurt!” he shouted, sitting down and opening one with a picture of an apple on it. He picked up one of the plastic spoon and began eating, completely unaware of how just last night how close he was to death. At least, if it hadn’t been for his mother and Buck. Farren smirked with her arms crossed as she watched him. She turned her attention back to Buck when he mentioned last night, but Farren took a minute to remember. She’d been so tired she barely remembered the whole confrontation. But it came back as Buck spoke about apologizing, until she nodded, moving her crossed arms to her hips. “You didn’t make me uncomfortable, but I think everyone was just tense last night. I don’t think you need to apologize but if you want to I can come too. They should be right in those rooms. At least, I think that’s what the red headed girl said… Victoria,” she added, the name returning to her memory after a second. She walked up to 203 and 204, knocking on both but still keeping an eye on her son. “They’ll accept your apology. And see the giant… teddy bear I do,” she chuckled, smiling at Buck. “Done!” Dean announced, tossing his yogurt cup at the tray. He stared at the other two cups and hesitated before looking to his mom. “You can have another,” she smirked at him as the boy smiled and picked up one with a strawberry on it and began to eat some more.

**Victoria - MEC - John*** Victoria woke with a sore back and a throbbing headache. She replayed the events of the previous night in her head. She felt a sudden urge to go apologize to Buck for her hostile behavior, but she decided to wait until she spoke to John. She slid out of her bed and pulled on her flannel shirt, and running a hand through her red mess of hair. She put on her socks and laced her boots, standing up. The sun peeked through her window, and a thermometer hanging on the blinds read *43 Degrees*. A rather cold morning. After making up her bed, she walked out of her room and went to John's door, rapping on it several times. "John?" She asked softly. When he didn't respond, she opened the door, but saw his bed was empty. She sighed, stepping into the room, and looking around. The room was relatively clean, but was far from perfection. She gave a small *tsk* and went to his bed. She pulled off his pillows and neatly made the bed. She nodded to herself when she was finished, and left the room. She heard a small voice in the hallway, which she assumed was Farren's son Dean. She allowed herself a small smile before continuing to the stairs and heading down a floor. She found John sitting against the wall in a lonely corridor, rubbing his hands across his face. "Morning, John." She said, smiling at him. She went beside him and slid down to the floor. "So... I was thinking about heading back out sometime before noon." She said. "I know... I know I just went out, but I've always been to scared to go anywhere far enough to have valuables... Now that Buck is here, I think it'd be worth asking him if he'd come with me. I-If that's alright with you, I mean."

**John Teller - MEC - Victoria** Once hearing a voice next to him, John pulled his hands off his face and onto his lap. He titled his head to the side to see the speaker - Victoria. Though in fact, he didn't need to see who it was, he already knew from the voice. It was like a sweet melody her natural speaking voice, made John smile every time he heard from her. He'd always wanted her to sing because he believed she had it in her, but she would never do it. But anyhow, with a faint smile on his face, John said good morning right back at her. She then came down and sat next to him. Then she started her request, which didn't sound acceptable to John. The thought of her going out there again at her emotional state was dangerous. And with emotional distress, there had to be some physical toll as well. But John didn't say anything and let her continue. She went on saying she'd already gone out the other night and how she feared heading out too far to get something worth bringing back. But what made John's eyes squint was her decision to take Buck with her. The giant was obviously not trust worthy, he'd done nothing to prove himself, so John didn't think it a good idea at all. "I don't want you near that guy Tori. He's nothing but bad news" John started, no longer tilting his head, but facing her. He had this look in his eyes of determination - wanting her to understand his decision. Thing was, he didn't want to restrain her from doing what she wanted. In this world it was the little things that were to be appreciated. "Look.." he started, taking one of her hands. "...I'm not here to tell you what to do. I know you see me as this leader Tori, but I'm just a guy trying to do right. I.....I don't think it's a good idea to be out there with this stranger. I think he's dangerous and hard headed. He doesn't listen nor tries to. I know were running short on supplies and now that they're here, we'll have to cut our portions, but........" he paused, looking into her eyes that had the same determination as his. He knew she wanted to help as much as she could, but he was still unsure if she was ready. "I took the bodies to the morgue. I put her in the seventeenth casket" he said, changing the subject a little to see her reaction to it all. He understood that it was wrong to bring up Mrs. Oswald's death, but he needed to make sure she was okay. "Here" he said, handing her a key to the morgue - something he'd always kept from her. He didn't want her in there because of the smell and the sight of all the death. John had already filled sixteen of the lockers with walkers, the seventeenth with a friend. "You can visit her if you want." "Now I want to make sure to get these glass doors covered with something, I don't want walkers to be able to see us anymore. Not sure why I didn't think of that before, but it is what it is now. I'm going to ask Buck to help and see what he's like before I make a decision. But even after I do, it's up to you to listen to me or not. I trust you to make the right decision Tori with all my heart. But I don't want you in danger, you have to understand" he smiled before standing up and helping her up too. "Okay, now let's go greet our guest with a Methodist Hospital morning!" he joked. ------------------------- **Robert Oswald - MEC - Farren and Buck** All the knocking from the next two rooms woke Mr. Oswald up. His old body was all curled up under the sheets and rather cold. He had a very bad headache as his eyes opened slightly, seeing the light come through the drapes. "Morning already" he whispered to himself, feeling the emptiness of the bed. He turned to see the bed's dent where his wife used to sleep. He missed her so very much, basically getting to cry at the thought of her. She was all he had in the world. His two children had moved out of state after high school and joining good colleges to make careers out of their education, so they were alone. Robert remembered how much he hated going to church with his wife, but loving the memory. As much as he didn't believe himself a religious man, his wife had made him one. By this time the old man was out of bed and had put his large robe over his tank top and pajama pants. He reached down for his slippers, put them on and started making his way to the front door, a little crouched because his back was not what it used to be. After opening the door, he peaked outward to see strangers. "Excuse me?" he asked silently from his old and rugged voice. "If they haven't answered, then they're probably not there young lady" he said with a smile, followed by a forced cough. Apparently he'd become a little sick overnight. Robert came out of his dorm and walked towards them, not even bothering to note them hostile. "I'm Robert Oswald, it's very nice to meet you" he introduced, sticking out his hand to shake Farren's, then Buck's. "I am going to safely assume John let you guys in?" he asked. He could see his wife in Farren, it was heart warming. She looked like a very young version of her.

**Buck Bradley - MEC - Farren/Dean and Robert** Buck smiled. For some reason it made him feel really good, very confident and assured when Farren told him he didn't need to apologize. He blushed when she called him a giant teddy bear. "Hey, keep it down with that kind of talk. I've got a reputation to uphold!" Off to the side Dean was still demolishing the yogurt. "Guess the little guy was hungry," he observed. Buck gave the boy a thumbs up when he made eye contact between gulps. He straightened up when the stranger approached, but seeing as how it was a relatively harmless looking old man, his tension quickly eased. He shook Robert's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Old Timer. My name's Buck. This here's Farren and her boy Dean." He stiffened a little bit again when Robert mentioned John. He wasn't quite over the first impression that guy had made yet. "Yeah, Johnny let us in last night. Appreciate you folks lettin' us in. It was sketchy out there for sure." He folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. "You folks been here a while, huh? Since the beginning?"

**Farren North - MEC - Buck/Robert** Farren half snorted when Buck said he had a reputation to uphold, grinning as she did though. It was fun teasing him. “But isn’t a reputation as a nice guy better?” she asked. Farren turned around when she heard the click of a room, but it wasn’t either of the ones she’d knocked on. Instead it was an older man in a robe and slippers. Farren flushed slightly, feeling bad that she had probably woken him up accidentally, and just nodding when he said the other two weren’t there. Hmm… early risers. “Nice to meet you too,” Farren smiled, shaking Robert’s hand after Buck had introduced them all. The old man’s smile was genuine and friendly, putting Farren at ease and she smiled back, nodding her agreement with Buck’s appreciation for the people letting them in. “Moooom” she heard from Dean, causing her to sigh. “Excuse me,” she said softly, smiling at the two men and turning to go over to Dean. “Yes honey?” she said, bending down and grabbing the banana yogurt cup before her son could swallow it, considering he was allergic and she was hungry herself. “Where are we?” he asked, licking the lid of the strawberry yogurt while sitting on the floor. “We’re at a hospital.” Dean’s eyes looked in alarm. “Don’t worry, none of us are sick, it’s just a safe place, okay?” she smiled. Dean still looked suspicious, but nodded, tossing aside the lid and trying to grab his mother’s. “No,” she said firmly, swallowing her yogurt like a vacuum before her son could get upset, picking him up, and bouncing him back to Buck and Robert. “Dean, this is Mr. Oswald, okay?” she said. Dean just stared at the old man, content as long as Farren was holding him.

**Robert Oswald - MEC - Farren/Buck/Dean** The 'old timer' put on a smile for the guest as they introduced themselves. He was happy to see newcomers in the facility they called home. It was a large place with many rooms and empty spaces - so guests were always allowed. Of course, they never had the pleasure of anybody coming around, so couldn't show hospitality to others. "It's a pleasure meeting you young man" the old man said, his eyes closed as he grinned at little Dean. Robert then tried to pull himself together before answering Buck's question. The death of his beloved still bothered him, but he was trying to hide his deep sorrow. He tightened his robe and told the group to follow him as he started down the stairs. "I don't remember when all this madness began, I was in a coma of some sort..." he started, holding onto the rail as he made his way down - he was taking them to John and Victoria who were probably doing their morning perimeter checks. "..My darling wife brought me here. Even though I was in a coma, I could hear her freaking out the entire ride, haha" Robert laughed, his eyes watering a little as he reached the final step down to the first floor. "But when I woke up, everyone was gone except for her. She didn't tell me what had happened, just sat next to me holding my hand and trying to make sure I was okay. Not too long after we met John, the hospital's security guard to looked after me and my wife for the next couple months. Met young Tori a couple hours after that. Apparently her family was unable to make it to the hospital, but we lost communication rather quickly as it all went down. We know about the monsters out there, what they do. We saw it on the television before all the power was cut out. We converted the generators to the air conditioning and coolers rather than the lights. John says light attracts the monsters. My wife passed away just yesterday, but it feels like it's been weeks" the old man said, looking side to side, but not seeing John nor Victoria. "Anyway, enough about us, our story is rather boring I know. How about the three of you? How long have y'all been out there?" he asked, happy to at least have someone to converse with. He was tired of being felt sorry for, but understood why the others did. They cared, it's the type of people they were. "Are y'all from around these parts?"

**Victoria - MEC - John/Robert/Buck/Farren** Tori listened as John presented his reasoning, clasping her fingers between his as he took her by the hand. She let out a small laugh when he denied being their leader. "John, I don't care what you say, you're our leader. No question about it." She smiled slightly. "I mean, from day one you helped me. From carrying me those first 2 days when I wasn't strong enough to walk yet - to teaching me to shoot this stupid gun. I mean- you're the reason I haven't died on one of my runs yet." She nodded when John ended the conversation, and she grabbed his hand as he pulled her up. When they found the newcomers, she recieved a warm smile from Robert. "Morning, Mr. Robert." She smiled back, stepping in and giving him a brief side-hug. "Good morning, Tori, John." He replied. "I was just speaking to our new friends here."