Carter remained where he was but kept his eyes on Ryan as Clover collected his things. She'd placed them on the hood of their truck and began rummaging through the pack, pulling out items as she found them. Within a few minutes she had before her two bottles of seemingly clean water and a couple cans of food. Other than that and some stray lint, it was all she could find.

"You out here alone? Travelling a little light." Carter asked concerned. He knew a lack of supplies could mean one of two things: The man in front of him hadn't caught a break. He'd been stumbling through Washington in desperate need of a resupply and was in fact surviving on his own. Or, he wasn't alone. Travelling light could mean he was a scout for a much larger group which in it's own way could be good or bad depending. It was over caution at it's finest but it'd manage to keep the both of them alive till now.

Ryan raised an eyebrow, looking at Carter. "Yeah, I'm out here alone... Otherwise I wouldn't have taken a chance when approaching two random people... Especially without a gun." He looked to Clover now, "See? I told you I barely have anything... I was going to search these cars for stuff that people left during all the confusion, but then I saw you guys." He looked back to Carter, "Can I have my stuff back yet? At least one of the bottles of water..." As he said that he pointed at the bottles of water, he figured that this man was going to ask him a couple questions, and conserving his water meant he was pretty thirsty when he got here, and didn't plan on talking for a while like that. Most of the time he didn't have to worry about it, barely wanting to speak, let alone doing so within the past year.

James felt like a right idiot. A little bit of luck, two fucking cans of food was all it took to put him in a good mood. It made him feel lucky. Like things were going well, and would continue to look up. He had been just a tiny bit careless, he had fucked up. He had left the store thoughtlessly, not even bothering to glance out through the peep hole he had made or wait at the door and listen for a little while. He had chosen to simply leave, as if things were as safe as they used to be. His stupidity had earned him the full force of a baseball bat to the gut. He just knew he would be pissing blood later, if these robbers left him alive that is.

He had been lucky that they hadn't just blown his brains out, he imagined that meant one of two things. Either these people hadn't developed into completely cold blooded killers yet, or they didn't have any ammo. That didn't mean they couldn't use the baseball bat to bash his brains in though. When he finally managed to roll onto his side he caught a look at his attackers. One was an elder man, probably somewhere in his fifties. He looked dirty, even by apocalyptic standards. The other was young woman, probably around his own age but it was hard to tell.

“Don't even fucking think about going for that rifle son. I guarantee I could bring this bat down on your head before you even get a chance to aim and fire that thing.”

James believed the man, with the position the weapon was in there was no way he could get it into a safe position to fire. Instead he chose to simply grip his stomach in pain and try to get over the worst winding of his life as the woman apparently around his age dug into his duffel bag and began pulling stuff out.

“Fucking bandits.” He coughed, spluttering.

“We're not bandits. We are survivors!” The man yelled, apparently angry at the accusation.

“You're robbing me. You've injured me. Without provocation. You're a fucking bandit.” James spat angrily.

“Bandits kill those they rob. You want us to be bandits? Keep talking.” The man spoke, silencing James. He wasn't about to die. No, but these people would. He would find them. He would kill them. After a minute the woman seemed to be done looting his bag, getting up and backing off behind the man.

“Now, I'm going to need you to slowly eject that rifles magazine. Can't have you shooting us in the back now can we.”

James didn't see any point in arguing. It would likely just end with his head being bashed in. He complied and slowly went through the motions of ejecting the magazine, letting it fall to the floor afterwards.

“Okay, now slide it toward me.”

He complied, sliding the magazine over.

“Now, I'm not a savage, so I'm gonna let you keep your knife and what's left of that rifle. Not that it'll be much good without any bullets. I'm fairly certain your not hiding a handgun, girl here made sure of that. Now, you have yourself a fine day friend, and don't even try to follow us. Wouldn't want to kill you using your own bullets.” The man chuckled, tapping the AK-47 he slid from behind his back. “Good type of gun, eh?” He chuckled again, slowly backing away before eventually turning his back and rounding a corner.

As soon as they turned the corner James gathered his strength and dragged himself to his feet. The dumb bastard had forgotten to check the rifles chamber, a stupid mistake that was going to cost him his life.

"Approaching us without a gun doesn't mean you're not alone." Clover began, tossing Ryan one of the bottles of water. "So because I don't trust you, you'll have to be a little more convincing. You can start by telling us your name and why you're alone out here... and try to give me a reason not to kill you." She finished stuffing the rest of the food and water back into the pack and slung it over her shoulder.

Nero was on his guard, the gun was in his hand as he looked around the rest station, he had heard something and the bad thing was it had come from near him inside the rest station itself. It had only been mere minute since he had heard it, Nero had been dozing off again when he heard the distinctive noises of a Walker, an from the volume it was close to him. But that was not possible was it, this place was empty and there was no second floor, not even an attic, yet it sounded as if it was in here with him. Slowly moving forward Nero moved silently re-checking his corners and even the broken toilet for any sign of Walkers, but to his surprise it was empty and completely silent, Nero shook his head walking back to the couch near the now dieing fire. Sitting back down he placed the gun beside him as he leaned back, was he hearing things now, was he going insane like the many who have already lost their minds? This had not been the first time that Nero thought he was losing his mind, the last time being months ago when he watched a young boy get eaten alive, he had tried to save him but it had been too late and himself too far away. It effected him beyond words to see that young boy die, and for a couple days he could hardly eat anything, hell he didn't even want to smoke which was a big thing. Nero was no lightweight when it came to people dieing adult or child a like, his short time in the Italian Military was no walk in the Vienna woods by any means.

But he could deny that seeing that boy die, that he was human and that even he the man who lives by logic, can not weather this death and decay forever. Hell he could be thirty again, a time when nothing bothered him and his emotions were non-existent from day to day, and he would probably still be where he is now. It was funny how some believed that they could survive something like this and still keep their sanity, but the truth was he used to be one of those people, and now he was teetering on the edge of not knowing if he was losing his mind or not. There was a truth to face here, and that is simply that no one is indestructible, no one is immortal or so strong they can forever walk this valley of shadow and death and not feel fear, for the first time in life Nero felt vulnerable and the feeling was frightening. Sighing Nero raised his leg and stretched it before placing it back on the ground with a thump. In the next moment there was a loud cracking of wood, in front of Nero the floor had been broken from underneath and a grey bloody hand reached through and grabbed his ankle. Nero out of instinct let out a yell of surprise as he yanked his leg away, flinging back the couch tipped with him and he for a second watched the world spin before his head smacked the ground behind him. Nero was seeing nothing but blackness for a split second before his sight returned to him, blinking twice all he saw was a big blur, when his eyes adjusted a Walker was on the prowl crawling towards him.

"Shit!"

Nero quickly backed away back but smacked the wall behind him, the Walker lunged and grabbed onto Nero's leg with the intent to chomp onto it, with his other foot he kicked the walker straight in the face breaking its nose clean, not that it cared or felt the impact. Nero kicked out again and caught the walker straight in the jaw this time, there was a sickening crack before Nero kicked again, this time knocking the walker back a peg, Nero quickly bolted sideways but felt the hand grab his ankle before he fully got to his feet, falling forward he smacked the ground again this time on his stomach. Feeling the Walker trying to climb up to him Nero quickly turned freeing his ankle from the Walkers grip, now on his back the walker came forward with a lunge, Nero caught it by the head as it's milky eye's were not set on his neck. With both hands on either side of the walkers head he kept it from advancing, bloody drool was drizzling onto Nero's arm, it was time to end this once and for all. Changing the position of his hands on the Walkers head Nero quickly in an opposite motion with each hand pulled the walkers head, there was a loud crack as the Walkers neck was broken in two, feeling its weight on top of him now limp, Nero let the head go as he pushed the body off of top of himself. Slowly getting to his feet Nero felt dizzy again, reaching his hand to the back of his head he checked for blood, but there was none, he had just been knocked for a loop.

Slowly making way back to the couch Nero tripped over his own feet, but caught himself on the arm of the sofa, slowly reaching forward he grabbed his machete by the handle. Gripping it he pulled it forward and unclasped the strap on it and pulled it out of the nylon sheath. Turning he gripped the blade tightly as he glared at the Walker, in an angry swipe he brought the machete down and slammed it into the Walkers head, deep enough that it got stuck, tugging hard Nero brought the machete out of the skull, seeing the brain matter and blade on the machete Nero felt a surge of instant hatred and anger towards the obviously dead Walker. Bringing the blade down again he slammed into the Walkers head again and ripped it out, after that Nero kept bringing the machete down on the Walker as blood was going everywhere, keeping at it was for a minute straight the Walkers head was a bloody mess, in one last swipe Nero sliced the neck clean and decapitated the head. Picking it up Nero threw it as hard as he could, the head broke straight through the window near him disappearing to the snowy landscape outside. Nero exhausted fell backwards his back hitting the wall, sliding down to the ground he let the machete fall beside him. Putting his hands to his face Nero let out a loud scream as he shook his head closing his eye's so tight it hurt, he didn't care who could hear him Walkers or not.

Keeping his eye's closed he grit his teeth as the tears, the frustration, and the hopelessness he had kept in for so long came pouring out of him. It was like a volcano erupting as Nero let it all seep out, after a few moments he was sitting silently again the wall of the rest station, he was breathing hard now his eye's still closed. After a couple more minutes passed Nero slowly got to his feet as he let his eye's open. Slowly reaching back into his pocket he pulled out the picture of his son, and looked at it, swallowing hard he spoke lowly and shakily.



"I'm so sorry my son, I am sorry that I never gave the time that you deserved, and now at the end of all things you are gone from me. I've run so far to escape my guilt, but I can't keep running anymore, I have to face my guilt and my fears. We all have a price to pay to God, an if I find you I hope that you alive, but if you are not... then I don't deserve to live anymore. It took all this hell to show me that I left you alone, I did not protect you like a father should, I didn't love you like I should have, like I should have loved your mother. I swear I will find you so I can tell you all these things, because the world maybe over, but I will tell you the things you deserved to hear from me. I hope you can forgive me, wherever you are."

Looking up from the picture, the interior of the rest station was now coated in droplets of dark maroon blood, the hacked carcass of the Walker was nearby, in a puddle of its own blood. Avoiding the mess of a Walker Nero collected his items including his Beretta near the far wall, his sheath and his pack, attaching his personal affects back to his body he secured his items. He started to walk away towards the entrance to the rest station but then turned around, walking back to the fire place he grabbed a piece of burning wood and walked to the remains of the wool carpet, bending down he placed the log on the carpet and set it ablaze almost immediately. Tossing the burning log to the ground he turned as the wood of the floor started to catch with the carpet, walking to the door Nero brought his leg down and broke the weak wooden chair into pieces before exiting the rest station. An as the entire place started to set ablaze old dry wood starting to smolder and crack, Nero turned with the picture of his son, sighing he threw the picture into the flames that were now licking the interior of the rest station. Turning away the flames burned the picture and the last words Nero spoke were:

"I'll find you my son"

Ryan took a drink from the water bottle, listening to the little girl speak. He put the lid back onto the water bottle as he nodded to her and put the water bottle on the ground. "All right, well, my name is Ryan, I'm out here alone because everyone I would have joined up with would try to eat me, and because everyone that doesn't want to eat me, wants to kill me anyway." He scratched the back of his neck before pointing at the cars, "I was here specifically, because I was hoping someone forgot something in their car when they ran from this crash." He then looked between the two, "And we all know there's a lot of reasons not to kill me... I can be helpful, whenever this all ends, if it does, the more humans the better, and you two look like you might need some help..." He then looked between the two "Also, I can help find more cans of food and water like I have in there, I just find it's easier to know where everything is, and travel light than to walk around with too much weight to run and find yourself in a situation you wish you could run."

Karlis had arrived in Washington only a few days before, but he was already doging bullets of untrained idiots with military gear... If there was one thing he was afraid other than Lurkers, it was pepole who couldn't even shoot straight. He gripped his 5.7 USG tightly and waited for the moment when he would hear the *clang*.
*Clang*... *Clang*...
*Bang* *Bang*
"And lock n' load!"
He saw two men: one seemed like a chief, other student, both had AR-15's. Cheif was dead (headshot), but the student was alive (for a moment)...
"WHY DID YOU ATTACK ME??!" - Karlis yelled.
"Dad..." - Student replied.
"WHAT?!!" - Karlis yelled again.
"Dad..." - Student said to himself.
He understood: Father and son wanted to feed the rest of their family, even if it costed them their humanity. How tragic. Now the kid wanted more sand for his fathers hourglass, Karlis wasn't giving any.
*Bang*
He had ran into enought clusterf*cks to stop caring about whom he kills, if they didn't have "friendly" written on their faces, bullet to the head - thats the least he could do.
Gunfire was like dinner bell for lurkers, bad thing was the ammount of gunfire each day made Bagdad seem like Helsinki. He checked his car, it was full of bullet holes. He then checked himself for wounds, he was fine, but the backpack took the shots. Everything was ruined: food, medicine and electronics . He dropped the backpack, took the chiefs empty AR (improvised bat) and went into an alley climbing up an fire ladder. He broke into an apartament checking it for any biters, it was clear. It was cold outside and he decided to spend the night there. He pushed the sofa in front of the front door and then checked the window.
((Best picture i could get))
3 more minutes and he would have became a walking dead, he tried not to think about it. He layed on the bed hoping his luck wouldn't make anymore jokes.
((Summary:
2 bandits killed.
Clothing: Long sleeve running shirt, police kevlar vest, army styled cargo pants, waterproof silent sneakers.
Equipment: Pants: Pocket multi-tool, compass, waterproof pocket LED flaslight, disposable lighter, laser pointer.
Kevlar vest: 20rnd. Five-seveN magazine (2x), 50rnd. box of FNH 5.7x28mm SR (2x).
Weapons: FN Five-seveN USG (18 rnds. left), AR-15 (empty) ))

Clover tossed the pack to Ryan but the crowbar remained grasp tightly in her hand. She still didn't trust the man. There been too many times where her trust had been misplaced and she didn't want to repeat bad habits. She continued to eye the man from head to toe for a few silent seconds before finally speaking up.

"I'll keep this for now..." Her head tilted slightly to the left. "...You sure you have nothing else on you?"

"He's fine." Carter cut in, pulling his empty hand from the bed of the truck and taking a few steps toward Ryan. He switched his cane to his left and held his right hand out to the man. "We can trust him" There was no expression on his face but his eyes were like fire and he was sure he'd get the message across: Carter wasn't one for disappointment. "Ryan, I'm Carter and that's Clover."

Ryan, slightly surprised, hesitated a brief moment before reaching to catch the pack. He barely caught it, and put it back on his shoulder before looking between the two. "Thanks." He picked up his water bottle again, taking a drink from it and then pushing it into the pack, closing it, and putting it on the other shoulder as well. He raised an eyebrow at her, about to speak before Carter had spoke up. He shook the man's hand, nodding as he said their names. "Glad to meet you Carter." He then looked towards and nodded to Clover, "As well as you, Clover." He let go of the man's hand and looked between him and Clover. "I do have another weapon on me... A small knife. But I need something to protect myself with, if you take both my weapons, it's similar to shooting me outright and walking away, so you have the choice of me having a small knife, or a crowbar, but I need at least one."

After a few minutes of simply sitting and thinking to himself, Jack finally grew anxious and, after hiding his supplies and slinging his Remington 887 shotgun over his shoulder, proceeded out the door. The crisp Washington air blew through his hair as soon as he opened the door, and, for the first time in a long time, he smelled the smells of nature, not of death and decay. He left the cabin at a brisk hiking pace, passing the beat up old Toyota truck that had gotten him this far. Jack took care to watch the ground for tracks, and tried desperately to remember everything he learned during the two or three hunting trips attended with his grandfather as a kid. He pulled the shotgun down from the sling on his back, and checked to make sure it was loaded and ready.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a swift movement deeper into the forest. As he looked, Jack spotted the tail end of a thin deer make a beeline away from him. He gave an initial chase, before slowing down so as not to alert the deer again. Following the tracks cautiously, he kept the Remington poised to shoot when he saw the opportunity. Finally, he found the deer at a small clearing - the animal hadn't spotted him yet. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Jack leveled the shotgun at the upper chest, and pulled the trigger. The loud bang forced all the birds from the trees, as the shot connected with a thud and the deer went down in a heap. Upon closer inspection, Jack found the animal to be a buck, but close to starvation. The former congressman figured that either his food source had been impacted by the outbreak somehow, or the deer population was facing severe overpopulation due to the lack of people hunting them. If it was the latter, Jack figured that Cougar Rock may even be a pretty good place to stay, if he didn't mind having venison almost exclusively. Kneeling beside the animal, he set the shotgun down beside him and, knife in hand, attempted to decide how to proceed.

A viscous groan behind him interrupted his thoughts - Jack knew exactly what the source was. He was back on his feet in an instant, and spun around to face the corpse of an older, bearded man in a tattered plaid shirt. The walker was about two yards away, and closing quickly. Jack's knife was too small to guarantee a clean kill, and he knew that, instead opting to drop the knife at his feet and unholster his Smith & Wesson. With the walker now only three feet away, Jack unloaded three rounds into the remains of the man - the first one hitting and shattering the jaw, and the last two blowing apart the brain with a sickening shower of blood and skull fragments. Slumping down beside the dead deer, Jack took a moment to catch his breath. He wasn't expecting that, not at all. As he turned his attentions back to the deer and getting it back to camp, he made a mental note to secure the cabin when he got back, now that he knew that he wasn't alone in the area.

James was hurt. That was true enough. He had only just managed to get his breath back after the violent attack to his gut. He wasn't hurt enough to let the pieces of shit who had stolen his supplies get away however. He was plenty healthy enough to track and end them. The only problem was he only had one bullet and a blade. The bullet would be enough to take down the man, luckily the rifle he carried held a calibre that was designed to kill, not just maim. Unfortunately the man now had at least thirty nine of the rounds more than him. If he missed his shot, he was dead. He would think about that later though, for now he just had to stalk them without being seen. It would be reasonably easy, he had become great at sneaking around, especially in towns and other urban areas.

Unfortunately the couple didn't stay in the town for too long, before James knew it he was hiding just off the road following the two walk out to who knows where. All the indication he had was a rather large mountain in the distance. After an hour or two they finally came to a turning into what seemed to be some sort of camp ground. This was confirmed when James finally saw a sign. Cougar Rock Camp Ground. He had never been there before, but he thought it smart to stay there. It couldn't have had too many walkers and there would be plenty of food to hunt and water to drink. The bandits weren't so dumb after all. It did mean he would have to follow them until they stopped however. He didn't know whether it was just them or if they had a big group. He couldn't risk firing a shot and attracting a dozen more bandits if his luck was terrible. Instead he resolved to simply keep to the tree line and follow the oblivious thieves to wherever they would rest their heads.

It took quite a while but eventually they stopped at a couple of tents around a dim fire. There was another man there that he could see, so that made three people he would have to kill, and even then he couldn't see inside the tents. It was possible that there could be even more people. He would have to be extremely careful at how he went about taking them all out.

1 day ago

"Get off the bike kids." The voice was cold and very monotone. Chris and his sister Claire had been riding on a motorcycle they'd found in a garage a few days ago in Oregon, a white Italian Ducati with black trim to be exact. They had just pulled into Ashford and stopped to grab some more supplies, and if they were lucky some more gas for the bike when the man had blind sided them. Chris slowly got off the bike and smiled casually. "If you say so, Mr...?" He was hinting for the mans name. He had made it a note to learn peoples names. That way he could either make a good friend, or know the name of everyone he had killed.

Claire on the other hand got off and hid behind her brother which hid her body and the knives from the mans sight while hopefully he would think of her as just a frightened girl. The man was about 5'9 with a nice tan that didn't match that mess of a beard, though if he shaved it the long straight brown hair would have gone perfectly. His shirt was torn, and definitely unwashed, and his shoes...well they didn't have the front anymore and Claire wouldn't be surprised to see holes in the bottom as well.

Chris noticed the man had a colt 1911 pointed at them, which was more than a match for his revolver. Chris cursed himself for trying to be nice to the groups they'd ran away from after stealing supplies. IF he'd taken some of the guns then he wouldn't be putting his sister in so much danger, but he would have felt bad for taking the groups only means of survival...at least at the time he would've. In this world you either survive, or you die. You can't have regrets, and that was finally dawning on him the last few months. From now on he was going to do whatever it took to protect Claire, even sell his soul to the devil if that's what it took. He had three bullets left, and he would have to be careful of how he handled this situation.

The man spoke a little more harshly now making sure Chris knew that this wasn't a pleasantry. "Drop the backpacks, and that little six shooter of yours." Chris kept up his smile. "Whatever you say boss." Chris and Claire both took off their packs and placed them on the motorcycle and back up. The mans eyes grew angrier. "You forgot that gun of yours kid..." Chris looked down at his side, and laughed. "So I did." He slowly took out his gun with two fingers and laid it on the bike as well.

"The girl have any weapons?" Chris looked behind him to his sister, making sure to keep his body in front of hers to hide the throwing knives. "She has some knives that her father gave her, but nothing that she can shoot you with, and I'm going to have to ask you to let us keep those so we at least have something to defend ourselves with out here." The man just scowled at them pondering if it could hurt. "Fine..." The man motioned for them to back up so he could grab their supplies and started to back away after grabbing the bags and placing the revolver in the back of Claire's pack. After he backed away a good 12 yards he turned and started to run.

Chris turned to Claire who nodded and took out one of her knives. "Hey Mr. You forgot something!" As the man stopped and turned Chris ducked behind the bike as Claire threw her knife aiming for the mans neck. The knife dropped a little more than she had expected though and nailed the man in the stomach as she hit the ground slightly on top of Chris as they both hoped that the man wouldn't be alive long enough to get to them and kill them. They sat there praying and praying, but then Chris realized something. He continued to hear a clicking noise.

Chris stood up slowly and looked at the man. He was pointing the gun at him and was pulling the trigger, but nothing happened. The look of shock and terror in the mans face made Chris realize that the mans gun was empty and his eyes widened. Claire had stood up as Chris started to move around the bike slowly walking towards the man as he fell to his knees, blood soaking through his shirt and watched as the gun dropped from the mans hand clattering as it hit the ground. This had worked several times before for them...but normally they were avoiding bullets. This was the first time they'd killed someone who couldn't truly fight back.

Claire covered her mouth realizing what she'd done. Unlike her big brother, she still wanted to be kind to people, but she had just murdered a man who was just desperate to survive. She fell to her knees as tears began to form in her eyes. She hadn't had a choice of course, but she couldn't grasp why the man couldn't have just tried to be friends. Why were people so twisted in this world? It didn't make any sense to her! She watched as her brother pulled the knife from the mans gut, a slight groan escaped the mans lips, then Chris kicked the man over and stabbed the knife through the mans skull. Claire closed her eyes right before he drove the knife in, but she still heard the noise and vomited on the ground.

Currently

After Chris and Claire had found the mans vehicle they used his own equipment to retrieve the gas for their bike and had headed out, Claire was so shaken up from the incident they didn't stick around to scavenge anything else. They just kept driving. They went through a town called Longmire, but only stopped for the night only finding a small of food which they ate for dinner instead of dipping into their supply. Chris figured that since Cougar Rock was near he could take her there and if it was nice enough they could just relax for a couple of days to help ease her mind.

Once they finally reached the grounds Chris saw the check-in cabi. It was as good as any for a place to start. He scanned the area as he slowed down. He didn't see anything which was a good sign and pulled up to the front door and parked. Claire got off slowly still looking really upset. She'd been crying for a long time during the ride, and had been holding Chris tighter than usual. He didn't mind of course, he wsa glad he could help her in any way. He walked up and opened the front door and looked back as his sister went in. Then he grabbed her shoulder before she walked in too much, and too incautiously. He hadn't thought much of the Toyota truck he'd seen when pulling in, but it didn't look like most trucks that were just sitting around un useable. He'd learned that if it looked like it could be useed, you best check to make sure it's safe, then take it because it's probably gonna be someones. Of course this wasn't the case on highways and such, but in a low population area without hardly a single biter, that's definitely when you want to check.

He pointed out the truck and then pulled out his revolver and went in to clear the building. Claire pulled out a knife and stood watch. The building was clear, but Chris was hesitant to say it was safe. Suddenly he heard a loud bang outside and rushed out to check on Claire. Yeah the shot was distant but he didn't take any chances. He got outside and saw that Claire was safe and then she pointed as she spoke. "it came from that direction." Chris nodded. "We can wait here...We'll have to ambush them to make sure it's not another bandit." Claire nodded as three more shots resonated through the air. Chris hadn't realized how many birds were still around till he'd looked at the sky. A smile touched his lips as the two went inside.

Claire waited just insight of the door and sat on the ground and pretended she was hurt holding her outer leg on the side that wasn't viewable from the door, and set her back pack next to her. Taking off her knives and putting them in the pack but holding on to one which was also hidden from the view of the door. Mean while Chris hid where the door would would open and hide him but also stayed out of the way so if they kicked open the door it wouldn't hit him. pulling out the revolver and pulling back the hammer. And then they were left to wait.

At the mention of a knife, Clover's expression remained unchanged but Carter managed a small smile.

"It would have been more surprising if you said the crowbar was really the only weapon on you. We know better than to think otherwise." Carter stepped toward the wreck in the middle of the highway, moving for the closest car. "I'm still surprised you don't have a gun." Peeking his head in through the blasted windows of a long abandoned vehicle revealed that it was nothing more than an empty dusted shell. Whatever might have been worth looting was now long gone. He figured the rest strewn along the road to be the same. A year into the apocalypse and it was apparent that pickings were becoming slim everywhere.

Clover tossed the crowbar directly at Ryan leaving it up to him to catch it before it collided with his chest. She wasn't fond of liars even if she knew they were common. There was no one left to trust in the world now. However their new found friend revealing his knife when he could have continued to lie about it said a lot to her. For now, she was okay with his company but as always, she'd keep her eyes on him.

"Anyways, if you really think you'll find something worth taking, you can check these cars while Clover finishes our refuel. After, you're welcome to tag along as we head further East. We're planning to hit a few of the smaller towns, avoid the larger ones, see if we can stock up a bit. Maybe we can find you a gun and get you on your way again."

((Tried making this one better that the first one.))

Karlis woke up in the morning, he did not want to get out of the sofa. He understood what he and the rest of the human population had become, he hated it, he faced it.

When the news of cannibalism had spread Karlis called in sick. He called his friends and family in Europe to find how was the situation in their countries. He went out to wallmart and bought supplies to make a Bug-out bag. When sh*t hit the fan he decided to group up with some survivors, that's when his marksmanship skills had come in hand.

They heard news of a city reforming 52 Miles from their location and decided to head there. Woodbury was a safe city with friendly faces, that helped when needed. They had warm showers, gardens, large library in town hall and the city was powered by solar panels. At the night they also hosted fighting shows that if he remembered correctly were acted, but he was not against it at the time since entertainment was a luxury that they needed to afford. Everything turned wrong when they started using real Lurkers as background. They had captured them for scientific purposes, at first they used the word "zombie", but understood how silly that sounded. (The term "zombie" originated with the Haitian practice of voodoo and refers to a person who is reanimated as a slave in thrall of another person. Those zombies are still clinically alive and can be restored.) They learned many facts like: it takes 7 to 10 hours for a bitten person to die and 4 to 20 minutes for a dead body to resurrect. If the ability to eat is taken (teeth knocked out and limbs cut off), they lose interest in attacking. With that said it seemed like they could starve, but it took too long to be used a strategy. (lurkers lost body fat, but were still alive after months.)

One night he snuck out taking better clothing and his weapons with him. Not long later he found a brown 2010 GMC Sierra 1500 Crew cab that was left by its old owners. Driving north he tried to make there with little to no stops at all. He went for Washington because his guts told him to. Then after 3 days he was ambushed by two raiders and... Well you know the rest.

After getting out of the sofa he looked for something to eat, Karlis found instant noodles and an opened water bottle. The owner knew the priorities, judging by the pictures on the walls ,he seemed to be an business man that had a hobby of hunting and hiking. Kinda reminded Karlis of himself, both had their heads over the top in their hobbies. (Karlis bought an overpriced handgun with shitload of overpriced ammo, but the guy had a collection of survival items that costed a fortune.) He looked for better clothing and a bag taking the following: worn leather jacket, navy V-neck army sweater, 5.11 khaki cargo pants, Timberland hiking boots and a 5.11 tactical sling pack. He changed into the new clothes, but decided to leave the kevlar since it wasn't useful and weighted too much. Then he went looking for weapons and supplies, the apartment was stripped clean, Karlis only found a couple of kitchen knives and some duct tape. He glued the knife on the AR to create a makeshift bayonet.

After he was ready he looked outside of the window looking for biters, area was clean, he than went down the fire ladder looking for an abandoned car. Karlis found a red 2007 Ford Shelby Mustang GT500 SVT, he opened the door looking inside, it had the key inside the ignition. He got in hoping that it would work, it worked. He decided to head to the nearest supermarket, so he could check for supplies where no ordinary man would check: the storage facility.

((Summary:
Clothing: Worn brown biker jacket, navy military styled V-neck sweater, khaki 5.11 cargo pants, black Timberland hiking boots, 5.11 tactical sling pack (w.a. pistol pouch).
Equipment:
Pants: Pocket multi-tool, compass, waterproof pocket LED flaslight, disposable lighter, laser pointer.
5.11 Sling pack gun pouch: FN Five-seveN USG, 20rnd. Five-seveN magazine (2x).
5.11 Sling pack outside: 500ml. water bottle (1/3 full).
5.11 Sling pack front row: (empty).
5.11 Sling pack second row: 50rnd. box of FNH 5.7x28mm SR (2x), Duct tape, kitchen knives (x3).
5.11 Sling pack third row: (empty).
Weapons: FN Five-seveN USG (18 rnds.), AR-15 (Empty, w.a. bayonet).))

It took quite a bit of doing, but after twenty minutes of carrying and/or dragging the dead deer along with him, he finally made it back to the cabin. The first thing he noticed was the bike parked out front - it hadn't been there before. Jack set the dead deer down beside his Toyota, and went to inspect the bike. It was expensive - at least, was before the outbreak, and in fairly good condition. But he knew what this meant, and gave a sideways glance at the cabin. He was no longer alone. The bike meant that there were a maximum of two people inside the cabin, though he couldn't be sure if it was an individual or a pair - nor how well armed they were. More importantly, he needed to know if they were friendly. Jack could use all the help he could get.

He armed himself with his Remington, made sure it was fully loaded, and took a couple of cautious steps toward the cabin. He couldn't see any movement from here, but noted that he was exposed. Quickly he made a dash for the wall beside the door, and pressed his back against it, holding the shotgun at the ready.
"I know you're in there," he ventured, hoping that he was speaking to someone reasonable. "And I figure you knew I was coming because of the truck. Look, whoever you are, I'm not here to harm you. My name is Jack Marino, I'm just trying to survive, like you. There's no need for this to end violently." He tightened his grip on the gun, hoping he didn't have to use it, but just in case. He had met some pretty crazy psychopaths on his drive up to Washington.

Nero was silent as he had his back on the seat of the 4x4 Rover, a bead of sweat was slowly making its way down his head as he held several wires in his hand, the hood of the Rover was resting on the tie rod in the front. Nero had made an incredibly lucky break finding this vehicle here, his best guess was that it once upon a time belonged to the Park Rangers who worked here, but technicalities really did not make of a difference to him at this point. His only true care was trying to get it started and hoping the reason it was abandoned was not simply because it was either out of gas or broken. He was pretty sure that the two walkers from before must have used this vehicle, thinking back to it they both had worn the same blood tattered uniforms, and from the looks of this vehicle and the fact their uniforms were not as ragged as other walkers, they had not turned all that long ago. Which meant that they had died some how, but the question that popped into Nero's head was how they died in the first place. The engine in this vehicle was not old or unused, in fact at best it was damn near new which meant this vehicle had not been here long, which equally meant those rangers had not been here long. From what Nero knew Park Rangers were the rough and tough type of guys.

In fact they would know these trails and park better then anyone given it was their job, and the lack of Walkers made this place safer then most so what were the chances of them being bitten here? Then again this battery was damn near new, maybe they had been to town and got attacked or suffered some sort of long term injury that got infected and they didn't know it until the end. As likely as it seemed Nero's thoughts turned to them being attacked by something that was not a Walker, but what... or who would have been a more appropriate question. Looters and marauders were well know anywhere you went, but coming out this far was unlike most looters who chose to remain closer to the cities and wait for unsuspecting victims... then again this place would be perfect for an ambush. The terrain is open, there are places to hide and shoot from, there was also game here to eat even if they were emaciated from lack of food source. The thought being true was pretty thin because the fact of the matter was, Nero had not seen any footprints in the snow since he got here, unless they had passed through before a snow fall and the footprints erased away from sight. That was however either luck, or intentional, hiding and using mother nature to erase the fact you were here, it was a move used by experienced men and woman who knew to do it. Although perhaps Nero was over thinking this whole thing entirely.

However it was the distinct cocking of a gun that brought Nero out of his thoughts, completely freezing he dared not make a sudden movement, if the one who cocked that handgun was itchy it would be his last.

"You in the vehicle get out! Slowly and don't make no sudden movement or I assure you they will be your last!"

Nero could tell from the voice this person was young, perhaps even around sixteen in age or somewhere in the general age group, which meant this boy was probably on edge and being stupid right now was not a good idea. Ever so slowly Nero edged his way out of the Land Rover, letting his feet hit the ground first he kept his hands over his head as he lifted his upper body out and into the open. His hands in the air he got his first look at the assailant, he had been right he was a young man at best 17 at best by appearance alone, then again appearances said nothing but he was sure he wasn't all that old. Analyzing the boy with gazing eye's he was shakily holding a colt 45. handgun, he was about 5,4 with dirty blonde long scruffy hair, his eye's were green and also shaking a bit, it was obvious this kid was scared even though he hid behind a mask of toughness. The kid shaky as he was kept the Colt trained on Nero's chest it was obvious he was trained somewhat in using a gun, but from the looks of it he didn't want to, keeping his hands raised Nero walked forward but was stopped by a frantic and tough mixed voice.

"Stay where you are or I will kill you right now!"

Nero merely nodded his head as he kept his eye's neutral and non-violent, he did not want to provoke a twitchy kid with a gun, they were worse then grown men who had no real care if they took a life or not. Fear and the need to survive could make a monster out of anyone, children or teenagers alike were no different in that respect. The kid however didn't seem to know what to do, it seemed like he didn't believe he would make it this far and what his next step would be, he didn't see the duel Beretta's strapped to Nero's sides the coat hid them well, but the boy was definitively eying the machete attached to his hip. Nero started to reach down and the kid quickly jumped scared that he might be trying to do something and yelled:

"Don't move! Or else"

Nero sighed he knew this kid was inexperienced, in fact he did not seem to even be brave, he was just scared and did not know what to do now. So Nero raised his hands back up and spoke to him.

"I am not gonna hurt you kid, I have not fought through hell and back to harm someone who is merely scared and trying to survive."

"Who you calling kid and scared old man, last time I checked I am the one with the gun and you can't reach me with that machete I would shoot you dead."

"Your bravado is truly inspiring but I can see the fear in your eye's, your right you do have the gun right now and I am none the less at your mercy. However words can not mask the fact that this is probably the first time you have had to pull a gun on someone who was alive. You eyes shake, your breathing is elevated, your hands are shaky, your scared and its not something you can control just learn to live with."

The young man seemed a bit off set by Nero's words as he slightly lowered the gun, as if he had not been expecting Nero to talk at all or even make sense to him. However he did not fully lower the gun to where Nero could really do anything, he would just have to talk the kid down until he could.

"What are you doing out here alone kid?"

"I am not a kid! An if you must know I... I got separated from my father and his brother when we were ambushed by a group of men with guns. They were Rangers in the park and we were living out here, they told me to run and they would find me later, that was a couple days ago."

It made sense now, the vehicle, the two Rangers who were walkers, the kid with the gun the pieces were finally starting to fall into place. It was obvious that they must have been living out here because of the solitude and the lack of many people. They must have been making runs into near by towns thus the newer battery in this Rover, this kid probably didn't even have much experience with people or Walkers given the distance and area around these mountains being unpopulated by anyone. It also meant he did not know that his father and uncle were dead, which was a bad position to be in, however that could work to subdue him.

"I don't like being the one to have to tell you this, but your father and uncle are both dead, I am sorry."

It was obvious the kid was not shocked, his widening eye's confirmed that much, and his shaking was now getting a lot more noticeable, it was not the way to tell him and Nero felt bad for it but he would find out sooner or later.

"You... you killed.. them?..."

The boy spoke in an unbelievable and hurt tone now as he raised the gun back up to chest level with the intent to kill now, however Nero spoke again calmly and precisely:

"No they were dead when I found them, it was the only logical conclusion though that they were the two men you spoke of."

"Lier!!!!!!!!!!"

The kid was really shaking now as the gun was wavering, his mind was not wrapping around this news all that well at all, the shock was setting in deep now and soon he would feel the same emotion any kid would feel at this news.

"I wish I was, no one deserves to receive such painful news, but I won't lie to you I am again sorry."

Nero slowly lowered his hands now, the kid however did not command him to raise them again, ever so slowly Nero started to walk forward, the kid kept the gun raised but it was obvious the news had taken its toll but he still managed to choke out some words.

"Don't come any closer..."

As his words choked out, the tears streaming down his cheeks now Nero made no move for his weapons as he continued to walk, the assertive manner was now out of the boys tone. As Nero came closer he made one last attempt to speak:

"Please..."

Nero reached the boy and slowly reached out his hand as put it on top of the pistol in the boys hands and the boy let go of it as he took it from him gently, falling to the ground the boy was now in tears, the bravado was now gone, and the pain was coming out in full lengths as he let himself fall to his side in the snow. Nero felt the boys pain all too well, he could have left him there now that the danger was over but Nero slowly sank down to one knee and leaned down, putting the colt aside he put his hand on the kids shoulder squeezing some, moving his thumb he made a circular motion on his shoulder to try and help calm him.

"Its okay Kid let it out, there is no good in keeping it in, I know it hurts I truly do."

Nero spoke in a soothing voice as the boy curled up in the snow, he was crying hard now, Nero sat beside him and kept his arm on his shoulder and remained with the kid for a short time. It took some time by the boy calmed down as the tears stopped and became quiet, but it was obvious he was now defeated, Nero slowly brought his other arm over and took the kids other shoulder and slowly moved him up into and up right position. As they meant eye's for a split second Nero saw his son Ciro's eyes, the boy quickly wrapped his arms around Nero and buried his head in his chest as his body shuddered. Nero brought his arm up and slowly put it on the kids head as he began to cry again, it was sad in a lot of ways that a kid should have to suffer so much, but that was an unavoidable consequence of this new world. As it began to gently snow Nero kept an arm around the young boy as he cried.

Matt laid on his stomach in the trees, watching the campground through his small pair of binoculars.
One conscription age male and female, one elderly man, both males carrying Kalashnikovs. Female appears armed with a handgun.
He thought silently, slipping into the same frame of mind as he had in Afghanistan when watching a suspicious village or camp.
"I don't see any kids."
He breathed to Shan, at his side.
"Can't tell what their deal is. I'm gonna' move closer, see if I can see anything else."
Placing the binoculars in his cargo pocket, he dragged his M16A4 into his arms and planted a kiss on top of Shan's head.
"Be safe."
He whispered, slowly starting down through the trees towards the campsite. The mossy ground was helpfully quiet under his boots as he crept up, kneeling silently in some thick brush within ear shot of their camp. He strained to hear over the crackling of the campfire but managed to make out a conversation about where they'd gotten their small haul of supplies for the day. From what he gleaned, they'd robbed a lone male survivor a while ago without any fatalities on either side. He felt a minor moral dilemma at this. On the one hand, they were bandits, scum that preyed on their fellow man. But on the other, they didn't kill needlessly, they weren't sadists. Even a fairly decent person wouldn't have a hard time executing a lone man. These people needed to eat too. But what of all the game and camping supplies in the area? Had they already used them up or were they just ignorant? He was now presented with a slew of questions and dilemmas. After some thought, he determined that he would likely end up robbing these people. What they had was stolen anyway, so he felt little remorse about it. Killing them might be excessive, he had enough blood on his conscience. Besides, the young woman and man reminded him of Shan and himself.

He knew though, that they'd never take their supplies without a fight and he wasn't about to risk Shan's safety. They couldn't afford to take chances nowadays. He turned and slithered back up the tiny incline in the trees, returning to Shan's side.
"There's only three of them, these guys are raiders. They robbed some guy literally minutes ago. They've probably cleaned out the rest of the campground too. No way we're getting anything without a fight."
He paused a moment, looking deep into her (comparatively) innocent eyes.
"We have to kill them. They're a threat to us and everyone else around here. I'll pull the trigger, I just want you to keep an eye on things and take out anyone that gets away. Okay?"
He asked, putting a hand on her tiny arm. Feeling how thin she'd become strengthened his resolve. Why should they have to starve while these thieves prospered?

He parked the stolen wheels at the front door, as he got out he caught a glimpse of how many biters were inside. There were no walkers outside since the echo of other survivors made them form hordes and go to the sources, but he already saw more than a dozen inside the shop through the front windows.
"Bļad." - Said Karlis.
He got into the Shelby and drove around the shop looking for back entrance. He pulled the car next to the right door. He got out and walked up to the door, he hoping it would not be locked, it wasn't. His plan was to stay in the storage and avoid walking into the main hall. It smelled bad, rotten meat, milk products, vegetables... He felt like throwing up, that's where his plan went wrong, he did not want to look into all of this mess for pristine food... He did not fell into panic and went for the administrative office. He looked for the newest shipping manuscript, to look for the location of canned meat and vegetables. He felt something behind him. He did not want to take chances. He quickly spun 180* behind him hitting anything with the buttocks of his AR15.
It was a biter! Karlis immediately stabbed him in the head with the bayonet, breaking it. But how was he not silent enough, maybe someone lured it inside the office... Maybe the smell of the rotten food on Karlis attracted the undead. He took the dead lurker close to him and dragged him back to the storage room, to hide the smell. Then he opened his gun pouch taking out his 5.7 USG, flipping the safety off, he flipped the sling pack around taking some canned food and six water bottles.
He heard a gun cocking to his left. Looking to his left he saw some middle-aged bastard with a beretta.

"GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR STUFF!!" - The man screamed.

"Relax." - said Karlis.

"I SAID GIVE ME ALL OF YOUR STUFF!!!" -The man screamed again.

"This place has more than enough food for the both of us!" - said Karlis.

"THEN GIVE ME THE GUN AND THE RIFLE!!" - The man creamed.

Karlis was then pissed, he knew what the bastard was going to do. He was going to stall the guy until, he would think of a pla...

*BANG!*

Karlis stood still, was he shot? He didn't give a sh*t. If he were to die then he would kill the man who would kill him.

*BANG!*

*BANG!*

Karlis stood there in front of another body. "Did he miss me?" That's what Karlis thought about, not that hordes were going to swarm the place, that was just another day in the office. He dropped the rifle and picked up the bastards gun - it was a Taurus PT92, Brazilian brother of the Italian 92fs. He ran outside as fast as he could, if he couldn't make it to the mustang, at least he could give the biters a big John Woo.
The streets were clean. He got into the car backed up and drove out of there before any trouble would show up.
((Summary:
Clothing: Worn brown biker jacket, navy military styled V-neck sweater, khaki 5.11 cargo pants, black Timberland hiking boots, 5.11 tactical sling pack (w.a. pistol pouch).
Equipment:
Pants: Pocket multi-tool, compass, waterproof pocket LED flaslight, disposable lighter, laser pointer.
5.11 Sling pack gun pouch: FN Five-seveN USG, 20rnd. Five-seveN magazine (2x).
5.11 Sling pack outside: 500ml. water bottle (1/3 full).
5.11 Sling pack front row: (empty).
5.11 Sling pack second row: 50rnd. box of FNH 5.7x28mm SR (2x), Duct tape, kitchen knives (x3), Canned Tuna (5x), Canned Beef (7x), Canned beans (3x), Taurus PT92.
5.11 Sling pack third row: 500ml. Water bottles (6x).
Weapons: FN Five-seveN USG (16 rnds.), Taurus PT92 (16 rnds.).))

Chris looked to his sister Claire. They had formed this plan because people had always walked in guns raised without trying to negotiate. What was this guy thinking? Did he really want to be friends or was it just a set up...How could he play this out with minimum risk? Chris bit his lip trying to think of a solution. Claire was close enough to throw the knife into the man if he was in the door way...so perhaps they could try talking to the guy. She could back him up...but then again was her head in the right space? Ever since yesterday Chris wasn't sure if he should be putting her in this position, but they way they survived fully relied on each other. Teamwork was the key to their success.

Chris took a deep breath and then exhaled as he took one last look at Claire and slowly put the gun in the holster and shouted for the man to hear. "I am putting my gun in its holster, and will open the door slowly. If that's okay with you of course. But before I do that, give me one good reason that I should trust you?"

Claire knew that look in Chris's eyes. He was worried about her, but at the same time lost. This was a whole new situation and he didn't have a lot of time to think about it. All of their plans were from his thinking about how to handle the situations after they survived them. He could think up plans on the fly yes, but his after action thinking was 20x's better. He was one of the smartest people she knew. The thing about school was that Chris never applied himself, never did homework, but at the same time always aced his tests. She trusted him, and if this was his play then so be it. She would back him up...but even she was worried about herself. Could she kill another person now? She never felt as bad whenever it was someone that had actively tried or intended to kill them. This man she killed had appeared to as well, but the fact that she knew that he was actually harmless...She knew she would hesitate...She only prayed that she wouldn't get Chris killed with her mistakes.

The individual inside his cabin responded - he sounded pretty young, probably a teenager - and Jack relaxed a bit. He had dealt with hardened survivors before, men who killed for pleasure and who didn't care what got in their way. He had seen quite a bit of it in Oregon and Northern California. The entire territory seemed to have been reduced to armed gangs without the vaguest hint of morals. The boy inside didn't seem that way, but.. First impressions can be deceiving. His old group in California had taken in a couple of people who seemed alright, hard workers, and he supported their entry. But after two weeks with them, he awoke one night to gunshots. One of their own lied dead on the ground in the storage room - the two guys had been caught attempting to steal from them and run away. He remembered how his men forced the thieves to the ground and began kicking, pummeling them into the dirt. He stopped them, and, in one fluid motion, put a bullet in each of the thieves' brains. They deserved punishment, but not to suffer.

Jack remembered going back inside and throwing up right afterwards. Sure, he kept the facade of a tough leader, but the execution was too much for him. By then it was too late though, he knew there was something inside him. The ability to kill. But he also had something inside him that told him when it wasn't needed. And standing outside his temporary house and listening to the kid, he realized that this wasn't one of those times. With a sigh, he responded genuinely.
"My supplies are taped to the underside of the sink. There are a few days of food, some water, some other essentials. Now, you have everything I own in this world in there. Come outside. I got a deer, I'll make a fire and we can talk over dinner."