Farm House

- Mercy -

Mercy felt discomfort settle in her stomach as Cat answered her question, the last part was what troubled her the most as she wondered how many died by Cat's hands...she wasn't entirely sure she even wanted to know."You sound like you only saw the worst of it..." she commented quietly "Not everyone lost it, as fast as people were coming apart others were coming together..." she trailed off rather than continuing on with her sentence, realising halfway through Cat probably wouldn't acknowledge her attempt to point out the meek selection of 'good' things that had happened "...never mind...".

She had been expecting more of a reaction from Cat, so she was silently grateful when he simply questioned her motives in a calm manner. Though the cold reality that accompanied his words caused her heart to thump a little harder in her chest, strangely enough she could deal with the inevitable loss of the group but the idea of them dying was...painful. "To some extent that situation is inevitable, I doubt I'll be in this group for long but I don't know what I'd do if that circumstance occured" Mercy didn't stutter when she answered him this time, though she seemed uncomfortable with what he had said, she hadn't been in that kind of situation before...she'd always been a leaning post for the people around her. Even though people rarely leant on her for long there was always someone else to fill the gap for some reason. If your reason's taken away it'll be replaced with something else...these things have a strange way of working themselves out She shakily assured herself in the short time between answering his question and asking another of her own.

The blonde thought over Cat's swift answer to her returned question, she wasn't sure whether his answer was simply terrifying or strangely philosophical. She concluded that it was probably a bit of both considering Cat's nature, she pondered this some more as she set about clearing her medical supplies away. "What about Dog? Doesn't he influence your reason at all?" She asked cautiously, she wasn't sure how the two had stayed together, in the brief time she'd known them she had made the assumption that the pair appeared to be polar opposites.

When her probing question didn't receive a lightning fast response as the others had she thought she'd gone to far with him, she pulled her first aid kit onto her lap and reached over to scoop up the needle and wipes. She was about to make her excuses and leave when Cat's cold voice split the air, inadvertently making her physically flinch in surprise. Punishment? Her brow furrowed into a frown as she listened to the rest of Cat's answer, trying to hide the naïve horror she felt about what she had heard. It was naïve to believe that the people that had done such a thing to Cat didn't exist in the old world or the new one for that instance, she sat in silence for a few moments before the hand clutching her first aid kit moved up to grasp her necklace.

Mercy's previous confidence abandoned her and she nervously dropped her gaze to her lap. "I...see" She responded in a small voice, what she failed to say was that she didn't agree with what he'd either been told or concluded himself. She didn't expect such a small answer would assure him she understood but on some level deep down she did. She watched him flex his arm noting that his movement didn't seem hindered by her handiwork, her eyebrows rose marginally as she received a gruff 'thank you' she hadn't expected it at all. "You're welcome" She murmured, as she grabbed her first aid kit again and slowly got to her feet, without a solid reason to stay any longer she figured it was time for her to retreat from his company. "Well...if there is nothing else I'll...erm...leave you to it then" She decided taking a few hesitant steps towards the door, if he didn't say anything she would have slid out of the room closing the door behind her and hurried back to her own room, if he did she compliantly remained where she was to hear him out.

Fuel Run

-Bulldog, Hank, Shade and Guy.-

-En route to Fuel Run location-

"Bang! That's 4" Hank shouted as he decapitated one of the shambling corpses that lurched at the 4x4 as it shot down the street. The burly man was happily entertaining himself by hanging out of one of the back windows of the vehicle and whacking any of the zombie like creatures within his reach. He didn't seem concerned for his personal safety at all, in fact he rather enjoyed the mindless violence as he drove the back of his axe down towards another unsuspecting creature. He was met with a satisfying squelch as his weapon came into contact with the zombies skull, it was a hefty blow that sent the horrid creature face first into the tarmac. "Ha! Make that 5!" He chuckled happily pounding his chest with his fist proudly as if he'd won a competition...unfortunately for Hank the other 3 men in the truck didn't appear the slightest bit interested in what he was doing.

On the other side of the back seat his silent companion shook his head, allowing disapproval to seep into his expression, his brow furrowed as his sharp hazel eyes inspected the desolate buildings as they passed them. They could have been hiding anything behind their lifeless grey walls, supplies, survivors or other monsters. Shade leant his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together, resting his knuckles against his mouth and grinding his teeth as Hank released another noisy cheer.

"Hank could you cut it out?! I think they can hear you in California" The driver barked into the back of the car as he swerved to avoid a trio of the flesh eaters. Guy released a shaky breath as he swung back into the center of the road, daring a quick glance over his shoulder as Hank begrudgingly pulled himself back into the truck. "Thank you..." Guy murmured, squeezing the steering wheel nervously, he was holding it so tight that his knuckles had turned white under the pressure. "Relax Guy, not only is this the last stop, it's the easiest stop. No-one has stumbled across it since it was abandoned...not even sure why we're still going there" Hank reached forward and roughly patted the nervous man's shoulder.

"There are two reasons why" The gentleman in the passenger seat finally spoke up. Jeff Anderson was a simple guy, he liked simple things and simple situations. However the situation he found himself in now was far from simple, even as he rested back against the comfortable passenger seat of his 4x4 with a pen in his hand and a crossword in his lap he couldn't find solace. "Reason 1, some idiot left something of mine here the last time we were here" He tapped his pen against the page of his crossword book as the color drained from Guy's cheeks. "Reason 2, I still think it's a valuable asset" he stated simply as his lip curled up into a smirk "Reason enough for you?" Hank nodded his head and murmured "Yeah" The man in the passenger seat seemed satisfied with his henchman's answer and returned to his crossword. "Hmm...7 across...medium-sized, heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose commonly referred to as a British-" the man murmured, realisation flickered across his face but before he could say the answer aloud he was rudely interrupted. "-Bulldog, we've got a problem" Guy interrupted as the car ground to a halt a few clicks away from a small herd of zombies wandering around the gateway between the city and the deserted petrol station.

Bulldog looked up from his crossword to inspect the street in front of them, he blew a puff of air through his nose before he glanced over his shoulder at the silent man in the back seat. "Shade, scout it out. If the traps empty retrieve my item and return to us" He instructed with a wave of his hand. Shade nodded his head before he quietly opened the door and slid from the car moving around behind it he reached over the back of the truck to retrieve his weapon before he disappeared down one of the dark side alleys. "What do we do if he doesn't come back?" Guy asked, glancing sideways at Bulldog who had returned to his puzzle. "He'll be back" He assured his follower without taking his eyes off of his crossword. "What's the plan if we've caught a live one?" Hank piped up, leaning forward between the two front seats, Bulldog sighed and looked at the pair of them. "We introduce ourselves, it'd be rude not to" He stated with an amused smile.

-Meanwhile-

- Tamashii -

Tamashii looked at Dog as he replied before Kaylah gave them an in depth account of what she was holding, the brunette narrowed her eyes marginally as she examined the box in Kaylah's hands from afar. She wasn't entirely convinced that the small contraption was capable of doing any of them harm but she did agree that attempting to open it where they were was too much of a risk...besides they had things to be doing. "Well either way, opening it later would probably be wise...we've got to stuff to get done right now anyway" She piped up just before she asked for the pairs insight on their surroundings.

Hearing Dog's answer Tamashii lifted her hand to her forehead before running it over her hair to rest on the back of her neck as she glanced around. She hadn't thought of it being a safe zone, the cars were spread about but there wasn't anything structurally sound about the area, except for a few man made barriers here and there. Perhaps it had been a safe zone in the beginning, a fuel depot at the entrance to a city the area could have been used to filter traffic in and out but after a while somewhere like this should have been overrun with those rotting creatures...unless... "Safe zone...they could be keeping this area fairly clear and these cars full of gas in case they need a quick exit..." Tamashii mused, though it seemed too logical to ignore, she was a cynic and felt herself leaning more towards the idea that the entire thing was a set up. Keeping her thoughts to herself she turned to listen to what Kaylah had to say.

Her eyes narrowed as she heard the change in Kaylah's breathing, though she didn't mention it anything as she waited for the other woman to compose herself enough to continue on. "If we can get what we need here, I see no reason why we should carry on. The sooner we get back to the farm the better" She murmured folding her arms across her chest defensively as she looked over at the building again. She wasn't happy with Kaylah's suggestion to take Dog, had the woman in blue not seemed so anxious she wouldn't have batted an eyelash. She watched Kaylah move away from them to another car to begin siphoning off whatever fuel it had left, after a moment she shook her head and looked back at Dog. "You can come if you want or you can stay and keep an eye on her" She shrugged at him before simply turning away from the pair and carefully making her way over to the run down building.

What she failed to notice as she carefully approached the door on the right hand side of the building was the darkened outline of a man in one of the window panels on the far left of the building, the shadow was only there for a brief moment and could have easily passed as a figment of ones imagination. Whether Dog had accompanied her or not, Tamashii was extremely careful as she opened the door to the building, she had a hammer in her right hand with her side pressed against the wall next to the door as she reached over with her left hand. "Ok...here goes" She murmured to herself before she attempted to gently pull the handle down, her suspicion surfaced again as the door clicked open without an ounce of resistance. Whether she had company or was alone she went in first, checking the area was clear before either signalling for her companion to follow her inside or reappearing in the doorway to let the others know she was still ok before she disappeared inside again.

Chris paced from one side of her room to the other.

She still held her hand in some unnatural way that left him concerned, but every attempt Tony made at talking to her about it had been met with a stern look. She did that thing where her jaw clenched. There would be no discussing it any further. She had not stopped pacing since they returned to their room. Her uninjured hand gripped at her waist, itching to hold on to the baton that lay on the bed beside Tony. He confiscated her weapons with a promise to return them once Mercy came downstairs.

A response to Mercy's question had been hard to pull out of Chris. She didn't want to admit how scared she had been, nor how rash. It was Tony who spoke first, explaining that Cat merely wanted to hold him for warmth and perhaps didn't understand normal social conventions. He spoke about that maniac as if he were fascinating. Chris frowned for the duration of Tony's explanation, of course. When she eventually spoke, she simply told Mercy what she thought in the moment, that Cat had killed Tony, and her instincts took over.

Letting Mercy go up to the attic alone took almost all the self-control Chris possessed. She said nothing since having her hand examined and treated with some kind of splint made from a broken stick. She bit her tongue to keep herself from uttering a single word. Knowing most of the other survivors had already left for a fuel run made it all the worse. But a single look from Tony informed her to do nothing.

So she paced.

"No, it's not been too long," Tony said when he saw her open her mouth to ask the question. She glared at him and turned around. "You ought to sit down. You're wasting energy walking up and down like that." Only severe logic seemed to get through to her; she sat on the edge of her bed. Tony straightened, pride tipping his chin up. "If we're not leaving, then we need to decide what to do next. The others will bring back fuel, so I'm assuming they don't mean to stay here forever. Or, at least, until we are forced to leave."

Chris tapped her chin with her thumb. "We're still leaving."

"But it's safe here, Chris. We have food, water, and I think we can trust some of these people." She looked at him as if a second head sprouted from his shoulders. "You know it's true. Mercy and her friend are good people. We have a fence, too, it could certainly do with a bit of a fix-up, but you can tend to that. How do you suppose we are going to survive away from here?"

She groaned and rubbed at her temples. He could convince her of anything, she swore sometimes. But she didn't want to believe him, no matter how much sense it made. She didn't feel as safe as he did here, it set her nerves off in all sorts of ways. She stood up. "I'm going for a walk. Need some air." Chris marched from the room too soon for him to say another word, barely keeping herself from running until she was outside.

Listening to Mercy's words silently, he did not respond to her first statement of being too quick to judge. Sooner or later, this group would fall apart. It may take seconds or weeks, but everyone fell apart. It was just still too early for this girl to experience it. How long he wondered? Until their minds could no longer take it? When will there breaking point begin?

At the question about Dog, Cat simply looked to her. "I don't know. But I do not know if it's out of kinship or simply the instinct to stick with blood. I suppose my kin influences enough. I haven't killed any of you because of that Dog." he answered in a blunt manner before putting his shirt and jacket back on and standing up to his full height.

Indeed, if it wasn't for Dog and perhaps minor curiousity on how these people will handle there predictiment in a survival world, Cat probably would have just killed as many as he could by now. But, he promised to follow Dog's condition and so far he has not broken it. He wondered... Who would be the first if any to make him snap? What would he do? He didn't know.

Not waiting for the woman to make a complaint or even attempt to stop him, Cat walked passed her and out the door, stepping down the steps. Despite being large, his steps were quiet. Always cautious... Always prepared to be silent in order to strike. By what he had seen, not too many of the people he had to concern with remained. Except that girl of course. Wouldn't it be interesting if she snapped again? Still, he was getting stir crazy up in that attic. It was probably preferred he'd stretch his legs a little in comparison to doing something drastic.

Brushing the thought aside for a moment, he walked to the bottom floor, the animals steering more clear from him. He wondered if he smelled of blood? Blue eyes glancing around the house, he blinked slowly. He didn't know why, but he had a gut feeling something was wrong or was going to be. Perhaps here, perhaps with Dog, perhaps just a passing feeling.

---



Dog listened to the two women, frowning a little as Kaylah seemed highly agitated but suggested he go with Ash. Ash also gave him the choice of staying with Kaylah or going with her. Though the dirty blonde wasn't so sure which would be better. It was a little worrying to leave the seemingly nervous Kaylah. But she at least had the other girl for now. Plus she didn't have to worry about dark corners to worry about some sort of ambush, yet she was in the open as well in case any visitors arrived.

As Ash left, he decided to go with her and watch her back, following her into the dark building. Looking around, he caught a glimpse of a shadow that seemed to just disappear as he blinked by a window. He was unsure if it was real or just his imagination playing tricks on him. Frowning a little, he looked over the dark corners, feeling the sense of unease as he followed Ash.

".....I have a bad feeling." he whispered softly, almost feeling like they should leave this place as soon as possible.

Farmhouse

- Mercy -

The blonde woman wasn't surprised that the dark haired twin didn't comment about her first statement. She was however pleased when he answered her question about Dog. It was a confusing answer rather ambiguous in nature, it caused confusion to leak into her expression though she didn't attempt to push the subject any further, what he had told her was enough for her to think over. A shiver ran down her spine however as she focused on his last sentence, she would have to thank Dog for that some how...providing his word was enough to influence his temperamental brother whilst he was away.

Before she had even had the chance to excuse herself, Cat moved first. She inhaled sharply, holding the air in her lungs as he swiftly passed her and disappeared out of the door without another word. Once he was gone she released a shaky breath and brought a hand up to her chest, resting it atop her breast as she took a few deep breaths. "That's quite enough 'excitement' for one day..." She murmured to herself, sarcasm present in her tone as she said excitement. With that said, she turned on her heel and exited the attic as well, nervously looking out for Cat as she descended the stairs before skittering into her room. She dropped her first aid kit back into her backpack on her way to the bathroom, grabbing the glass off of the side of the sink she tipped a portion of sterilisation fluid into it before dropping the needle in to it. A smile crossed her face as she washed her hands, having tended to Cat's wound as she had told Dog she would, she was now free to do as she pleased. Having spoken to Lloyd earlier she had a good idea what to do next.

Mercy was barely able to contain her excitement as she scooped up her bow and grabbed her quiver, though the distance between her and Tamashii weighed on her mind, sitting around worrying about it wasn't going to help. She hastily made for the door to her room, a few seconds later she was trotting down the stairs sliding past Cat silently if he was still near the staircase before she shot through the front door. As she hopped down onto the grass she took a deep breath, willing her heart to return to a steady beat now that she was safe...ish. Without a moments hesitation she made a beeline for the barn, a smile lit up her face as she was greeted by a friendly whicker from Bandit, whom was stood with his head over his door. Providing no-one was already in there, she rested her bow against the wall next to the door alongside her quiver before approaching the piebald, who nuzzled her hand eagerly as she stroked his neck with her other one. "I'm going to guess you'd like to spend a few hours out hmm? The inside fence is secure so it wouldn't hurt" She murmured to him, scratching his forehead before reaching for the head collar by his door.

Fuel Run

- Bulldog, Hank, Shade & Guy -

Shade had left the building before Dog and Tamashii had even made it through the door, as they edged inside he was jogging back down the alley towards Bulldog's truck. When he reached Bulldog's window he nodded his head at his boss before holding up 5 fingers for the other man to see, after a moment he curled 3 of his fingers in towards his palm pointing back over his shoulder. Using his hands he explained the position of the other survivors. Bulldog reached over and wheeled his window down as Hank begun to shift about in his seat clearly excited by what he had seen so far. "You're sure?" Bulldog questioned him, dropping his pencil in his lap he reached up and scratched at the stubble darkening his chin. Shade nodded his head once more, staring at Bulldog with a platonic expression. "Armed?" Bulldog asked, watching Shade as the man lifted his arm holding it horizontally he tilted it form side to side as if unsure. "Military grade or civilian?" Was Bulldogs next question. Shade held up two fingers as his answer, a grin spread across Bulldog's face before he noisily clapped his hands together rubbing them eagerly he turned to face the other two men in the car.

"Well, what's the plan?" Hank asked impatiently. "Alright boys sounds like we've got some recruiting to do! Guy drives us straight through those corpses keep this car between that group and whoever is in there, just in case they don't want to play nice. Then finish off those things whilst Hank and I...negotiate. Shade clear them out of that building, try not to damage them too much" Bulldog ordered, waving a dismissive hand at Shade who instantly headed back down the alley he had just come out of. Hank scooted across the back chairs jumping out of the back of the truck as Bulldog got out of the front seat. Both men went round to the back of the truck and hopped into the cargo bed at the tail end of the vehicle.

- Meanwhile -

- Tamashii & Shade -

Tamashii edged further into the building, it had been left in a complete mess unlike the outside. The front counter was covered in a thick layer of dirt, empty stands had been tossed behind it along with a broken cash register. Broken fridges lined the left wall, some with doors and some without, a lot of shelves had been pushed over and were leaning against each other blocking the aisles. Tamashii stepped forward carefully negotiating her way through the litter scattered across the floor, her eyes inspecting every possible hidey hole that she came across. She turned back to glance Dog as he whispered softly, though she had to admit the entire petrol station they were in, caused prickles of unease to crawl beneath her skin she wasn't getting any bad vibes from the building they were in.

"It'll be fine, this place looks pretty empty" She attempted to assure Dog as she became a little more confident and crossed the small shop floor, to the open door of a small office, she edged around the door frame, inspecting the room cautiously. One of the windows in the office had been completely removed but apart from that it was empty. "This place must have been ransacked...strange how it's messy in here but clean outside" She commented reappearing out of the office, though she was still visibly tensed she was more confident with her movements as she started to rummage through the filthy shelves.

"Well since you're here as well, help me look around, there may be something useful in here" She told Dog, glancing over at him as she spoke, sifting through a few empty containers on one of the shelves before she walked over to a pile of rubbish, something caught her attention and she swooped down to dig it out. Crouching next to the pile she brought a dirty vial of nail polish up, holding it so she could see it properly in the light filtering through the door. "Hmm, Mercy's favourite color..." She murmured to herself, standing up so she could tuck it into her jeans as she did this a tinny rattle echoed around the building as if someone had caught a can with their foot. Tamashii's eyes lifted to see where Dog was, though something told her the jovial twin hadn't caused the noise. As her hand dropped to her firearm, someone shot out of the shadows and seized the back of her shirt, hauling her back off of her feet, the man turned sharply and threw her into a row of shelves. The action rendered Tamashii severely disorientated as she lay splayed across the broken wooden shelves.

Shade didn't wait for the brunette to recover, knowing she was alive was enough, leaving her there he swiftly turned to find Dog. Unless Dog had run from the building it wouldn't have taken the hooded assailant long to track him down in the small shop. Shade approached Dog more carefully than he had Tamashii, though he noticeably left the other man a path towards the open door as he moved in closer. If Dog didn't take the generously offered escape route, Shade felt obliged to 'convince' him that he should. Shade slowly came to a stand still lifting one of his arms, he pointed at Dog before pointing at himself he curled his fingers into his palms and lifted his fists to chest level dancing from one foot to the other, a challenging smirk crossed his dark face, as the screeching of tires on tarmac filtered into the room and Bulldog's voice split the silence that followed.

-Bulldog, Hank & Guy-

Having given Shade a few moments to 'flush' out the two survivors from the building, Bulldog couldn't wait any longer. He tapped the top of the trucks cab, signalling for Guy to accelerate. The nervous man obliged and slammed his foot down on the accelerator causing the truck to leap forward. The heavy revving seemed to reverberate around the surrounding buildings as the vehicle shot forward towards the corpse infested opening. Though the survivors moving between the cars would have already heard them it may have been a surprising sight as the truck suddenly rammed through the small group of walking corpses that had gathered in the entrance to the city. After mowing down two of the corpses, the truck screeched to a halt in the opening between the city and the petrol station, resting across the space at a diagonal angle. Bulldog was stood in the back of truck, leaning on the cab though he was ready to duck if any bullets flew at him, he had his shotgun rested on his shoulder and his eyes seemed to instantly seek out anyone who hadn't already ducked down or dove into cover. Hank stayed down, swinging one of his axes into one of the corpses skulls on the other side of the truck, watching as Guy skirted around the last two, working to finish them off quickly.

Hank hopped out of the back of the truck, walking round to the tailgate he swung one of his axes around as he came to stand in the survivors view, keeping half of his body behind the truck as he waited for their reactions. "Warriors...come out to play-i-ay" Bulldog taunted, raising his voice so it travelled across the large space in front of him. Despite the fact this man looked dangerous, his voice didn't sound it, there was an irritating squeakiness to it that almost seemed to offend ones ears. Hank cast his boss a look of disapproval, rolling his eyes before sweeping his gaze over the cars in front of them. "I know you're out there, how about we skip the game of hide and seek? I'll give you two options, option one you all come out now so we can have a nice friendly chat...or option two, stay where you are, though I can't promise we'll be gentle when we find you" He shouted out, trying to keep the amusement out of his tone as he did.

Chris kicked at a rock embedded in the dirt near the well. The stubborn thing held its own against her boot's tirade, only serving to strengthen her bad mood. She sat on the edge of the well, her good arm gripping the stone while the other rested in her lap. Her hand annoyed her too, a reminder of her stupidity and weakness. She avoided looking at it, instead focusing her gaze on the attic. Had Mercy left yet?

That didn't seem to help her mood either. She rolled her shoulders, huffing at the stiffness of her joints, and got up. Exercise always helped clear her mind before the apocalypse rolled around. Chris plotted her path from the well, turning on the spot, and set off at an easy jog. As the stable neared she picked up the pace, and again as she passed it, until she was sprinting.

The voice of her captain came back to her the more she ran, drilling the officers across the station. Memories followed; the image of the station still fresh in her thoughts as if she had been on duty yesterday. She swore she felt the weight of her gear then, and the echo of her boots on the station floor. Chris let herself become lost in the memory, vanquishing all other thought. The pain of her hand and the soreness of her knee seemed to disappear. Sweat began to bead on her forehead, and she smiled.

She ran laps of the farm until she saw someone leave the farmhouse, then began to slow. Chris came to a gradual stop outside the barn, the pain in her knee and hand returning but now only a dull ache. She hesitated to enter; at the sight of the bow and quiver she knew who it was. Scolding herself, she walked into the barn. "Mercy?" she called out softly. She found her near Bandit's stall. "I wanted to apologise. For my behaviour, earlier."


After she had torn from the room, Tony spent a good few minutes just sitting on his designated bed and staring at their half-packed bags opposite him. He wondered if anything he said made any kind of difference to Chris' choice. He wondered a long list of things, unanswered questions like embers threatening to come alight in his mind. The longer he thought about them, and the attic and the fuel run and the state of the world as it was, the more uncomfortable he became. So he rose from the bed and slipped quietly out of the room.

He walked along the hall as if he were sneaking out; making careful heel-to-toe steps and eyeing the doors on either side. When no one seemed to be disturbed by his manoeuvres, he allowed himself to be the slightest bit less cautious. The farmer's dog and cat scurried past him then, and he turned his head forward to see what frightened them. As he rounded the corner towards the front of the house, he spotted the cause of their fear; Cat had left the attic. Tony swallowed. "Hello," he whispered, the level of his voice betraying him. He cleared his throat and straightened his back. "Are you feeling better?"