Jonah took quick steps towards the duo by the strangely well-maintained house. Quietly and quickly, he came close enough to overhear a conversation. The duo he could see were talking to someone inside, and Jonah wasn't rude enough to disturb the conversation. Someone more cultured might shoot him for jumping in! Although he was incredibly hungry and thirsty, he still wouldn't let the end of the world get him down. And as he saw a fantastic opportunity to get more food and water, he waited with patience, knowing that it was too early to ask them for assistance.

Even in a calm moment, Jonah concentrated intensely, thinking about what his next steps would be. To begin with, he'd need to attempt negotiation with those inside after those waiting to get in entered. It would mean that he would explain, very bluntly, how much he trusted those inside, how independent he would be of their assistance, and finally how great of a contributor he would make to the emerging group. Suddenly, after hearing the sound of shuffling behind him, Jonah span around, seeing yet another one of the awful creatures that roamed the earth. Like he quickly planned, knocking the poorly balanced creature to the ground before smashing it with his thick, leather boots went quickly, but the sound of a skull getting crushed was quite a bit louder in this instance than it usually is. He quickly looked at those waiting outside, hoping that they didn't notice him eavesdropping. His mind was blank.

Hunter would stop his thoughts when he heard the boy mention the thought of eating people. "You are going to want to rethink what you just said boy, Because that's a step that once you go to, you don't come back." He would turn and face him. "You got it?"

Irene pinched the bridge of her nose. Well this was just great, wasn't it? There was a frustrated grunt from her. How could she say no? It wasn't exactly a tall request because a can opener had been the first thing she'd looked for when she'd moved in, and of course there had been one. Seething a little at the situation in general, she pointed to the gate. "Come in. I've got a can opener and some water. But not much--" that was a lie-- "so don't guzzle it!"

James clapped his hands together, "awesome, you rock lady," he said, smiling broadly. "Come on Mary, things are looking up!"

He looked over at the soldier, and considered trolling hi-

There was a sudden crunching noise, and James looked around. "Huh?" He couldn't see anyone. "You guys hear that?"

He reached down and picked up his tyre iron. You could never be too careful, and though what he heard was probably nothing, it was worth checking out. He advanced around the cacti, looking this way and that. It could have been a dead man, but they usually made racket when they were advancing - all groans and moans. He didn't hear any.

"Anyone there? Come out. We wont hurt you," he paused to give the soldier a quick glance. "Well, I wont hurt you."

Hunter would glare. "I'm not a murderous monster, ass hole. But I noticed the look you gave me when you got here, So I don't trust you." Hunter would pump the shotgun. "Though, people hiding are hard to trust as well." Hunter would walk to the cacti as well.

Mary stayed silent as James talked. She stared at the woman coming out of the house. The man with the gun called her Irene, and Mary was comforted by the fact that she was a woman. She glanced worried between James and the limp National Guard as they bickered. This was going the wrong way. She gently poked her elbow into the ribs of James to make him shut up. The guard obviously didn't appropriate his humor.

She got scared of the seemingly trigger-happy limp guard as he waved around his gun as if it was nothing serious. Though her mood lifted as Irene told them they could come in. She smiled widely and let out an excited yelp as she made her way into the guard, her arm getting poked by a part of the hedge. She held the wound on her arm and stepped into the yard, waiting for James to follow. They could now see her whole body, including her gun. But she wasn't trigger happy and hadn't even used it once, so she hoped they wouldn't see harm in it.

Mary was just about to thank Irene for her kindness when she too heard the rustle. She looked in the way James was looking, still holding her stinging arm. She walked towards Irene, her eyes still focused on James and mister trigger happy who approached the cacti, not wanting to be in their way.

These people are going to be like dogs. If I let them in and feed them, they'll come to expect it.
The thought was not a welcome one, but Irene let it pass. She'd kick them out after a day, and if they refused to leave, she supposed she would have to figure out a clever way to murder them in their sleep or something. As necessary as it might become, however, she still didn't find it a pleasant thought to kill people who weren't brain-dead bloodthirsty zombies.

She crossed her arms and scanned the cacti with her eyes. Whoever was hiding in there, in the event that it was yet another person and not an injured animal that would probably go well with butter and salt, they would likely be cut up pretty nicely upon leaving the depths of the natural fence.

"Excuse me!"

Jonah made sure that his first two words were loud and clear. He corrected his posture, standing straight up, then took slow steps towards the group. The air was silent for a few seconds, before Jonah knew precisely what to say. Now, he concentrated intensely on speaking. He stared blankly at the group, using all his mind to focus on the task.

"My name is Jonah Smith, and I'm not quite sick of the new world yet. I want you to know that I want nothing more than to explore this brave new world, see all that it has to offer, and return to the old world we loved so much. But there are many tings standing in my way, in our way. We have to think of the future, and I can see that it's great. Because, we humans will stay together, support each other, explore our world, and go from being powerless bugs to becoming rulers of the earth! Certainly, that will happen if you want it to! We can win over this terrible world!"

Jonah relaxed his view. He caught his breath, looking at everyone, and waited for the response. I won't be able to take them, but they're armed and uncomfortable. If this goes poorly, I think I'll be able to kill them with minimal damage to myself.

Mary blinked two times as she looked towards James, mister trigger happy and the new guy. What a day. She glanced up to Irene, now standing besides her, and noticed she was not quite happy about this. When the new guy spoke Mary raised an eyebrow and dropped her hands to her hips. "He's insane.." she mumbled, as he went on about support and exploring. She didn't know if he was serious or not, but he made her feel uncomfortable about being here. Maybe she and James shouldn't have come. She didn't feel safe.

She felt nervous about James and trigger happy standing so close to the new man. Her hand went to her gun again, a habit she could not shake even though she wouldn't just shoot without thinking.

Irene glanced at the others to gauge their reactions to this guy, to figure out if they too were unsure if he was pulling their chain. He certainly sounded serious, and pretty genuinely insane. Out of instinct, she checked to make sure her knife was on her and relaxed only slightly when she found out it was. She fixed the most recent newcomer with narrowed eyes and a stony expression. The people around her had guns. She was fairly sure they could kick his scrawny ass if he tried anything, so she put her hands on her hips, and raised her voice, which she expected to lose by tomorrow at this rate.
"You want to explore the world? Then get going!" she barked. "No one's stopping you. Go on! Bye! Have fun!"

Jonah understands that his seemingly foolproof speech didn't say what he meant in the way he wanted to. Not thinking much about what he says, he tries again to explain what he wants to do.

"I won't leave alone, basically unarmed, unready, and with nowhere to go back. Aren't we all hungry, thirsty, tired, and afraid? Don't we live in a world where we can lose everything in a flash? Don't you want to make it better? Please, we need each other! You won't survive on your own... even if you'd want to. Because a life on your own, is a life without friends, love, or goals. That shouldn't even count as a life. If you have hope, want to survive, or fear loneliness, you don't live on your own. Am I a maniac? What's the madness in hope, that everyone else has given up completely?"

Jonah made it clear that he feared a hopeless world. He silently smiled at the group, hoping that they'd understand him better.

"Do you have hope? If not, what do you live for?"

Hunter would look over to Irene then at the others. "Irene we need to talk, alone...Inside." Hunter would walk over to Irene and guide her inside the house. "I know I am not the best person left on the planet, But I owe you my life. But these people, there is nothing stopping them from coming in and taking everything, They are armed and they hold the numbers advantage over us. SO unless you have some great amount of combat experience that I don't know about I don't think we can win a fight if we get into one here." Hunter would look out the window at the people. "If things go wrong I have three shots. I don't want to get into a fight, I really don't like the idea of getting into gunfights, especially after the refugee center."

It was a good point. Irene picked up the bucket of water and grabbed the can opener. For a moment she wanted to thank Hunter...but she was too prideful, and that won over. "I'll just give them what they wanted in the first place, then." With that she walked back outside with both items, placed the bucket on the ground, and stared the newcomer in the eyes.

"I have hope that you'll get your eyes scratched out by my cacti on the way out," she snarled. Her mood had been getting gradually worse.

Hunter fearing that they would leave he turns the safety off on the shotgun and walks outside, the primary handle in one hand and keeping his other hand open. "Once you have what you need it's best to move on. No need for things to get worse then they are."

Mary blinked away the small amount of tears settling on her lower lashes. Which was weird, because she hadn't really cried since this it all began. Now, things were going terribly wrong and she didn't understand why. Did they not want company? Or help? She glanced from James to Irene and the soldier, now heading inside together. It made her weary, and she stepped back towards the hedge she and James came from. Her eyes were darting around to see what would happen.

I seemed weird, but she had already imagined images of them all together. Her and Irene cooking, James and the soldier playing cards. But it seemed silly now. They wanted them gone. She didn't know if she should offer her help in in exchange for a place to stay. But she couldn't just leave James on the street. Even though she didn't know him, it didn't feel right.

When the soldier and Irene came back out again, she looked at them, seeing they really meant it. She shivered, it was getting cold.

"Speaking for myself, I don't need something. I need someone, and someplace, like this. Because this is well-fortified, and because you know very different things than I do. I don't think you know that I'm called Jonas. And now you do. I'm sure that you know many things I don't, that we'll need to survive. Key focus on we; I doubt anyone can survive on their own long-term."

Jonah improvised, making him sound uncertain. But he smiled again, hoping that they would be willing to form a group. Jonah doubted he could survive much longer, as his lack of information about survival really started biting him. Jonah could get nearly anything but food, which he really hoped someone here grew.

"Irene, is that your name? May I come in? I am weaker than you!"

Perhaps a more humorous tone would calm them down?

Hunter would sigh. "Grab what you Need, then get going we can't spare time for..." Hunter would get cut off by screams of the dead close by, and a lot by the sound. "...Dammit." Hunter would raise the shotgun and aim in the direction of the scream.

"Get inside," hissed Irene. "Go." The status of her house as an inn for displaced survivors could be discussed later, when the danger had passed. She held the front door open and motioned for everyone to be as quiet as possible. She glared at Hunter. The sound of a shotgun blast would draw the gross, rotting piles of mucus and festering flesh right to her door, and it was not an attractive thought. Do not shoot that thing, she mouthed.

Jonah didn't hesitate to get inside. He did it as stealthily as he could, and decided to explore Irene's house. He saw the kitchen, the farm and the many traps, but didn't see much in the way of luxuries inside.

"You have something incredibly valuable, and a fantastic foundation for a base. Thank you for letting us in. I will make sure that you won't regret this."

Jonah sat down in the couch, catching a breath after feeling safe for the first time in a long time. He concentrated on planning for the future, hoping to turn the old house into a safe haven for himself and the others, at the very least. It didn't take long before he started daydreaming...

Hunter would no to Irene, understanding what she was saying. Hunter wold set down the gun and draw his combat knife. He would do a sharp whistle getting the creatures attention, its head did a sharp turn and charged Hunter. When it got close Hunter wold kick out its knee and slice the side of its head with the knife. When it kept moving he would stab it in the back of the skull with the knife. he would draw the knife out and grab the gun and walk inside.