It was a hot and sunny day in Georgia. The group of six, having just come from Monticello, an overrun town, made their way to Milledgeville with what little gas they had left. They make a few stops along the way at cars to get gas from them but it's all just a little bit too risky. With everyone just a little bit too anxious to get somewhere safe, someone spots a building that appears fairly vacant. Jack takes a quick look and makes the call, after looking to everyone for approval. Not all were comfortable with the stop but the consensus was to stop and check it out.

When they get to the spot to pull in, they read the worn and dated sign.



They may not know it at first, but this building could very well be a home for them if they treat it right. Not all of the walls are still up and it might need some repairs, but since the building was abandoned before the outbreak, no one died inside, no walkers, and no humans either.

[[The group will figure out this last paragraph as they inspect the building. I just wanted everyone to be on the same page about this place. Feel free to google Central State if you'd like just to see just what I mean.]]

Debriah rode behind the car on her motorcycle, as she noticed that they were about to make a stop.
The car didn't had room for 6, and she wasn't mad about it. She knew some of them rather saw her leave than stay, while there also were those who wanted her to stay.
As she drove past the car towards the building, she stopped at the old sign saying this was a hospital.
She took a glance back at the others and stopped the motor. As she took of the helmet and placed it on the steeringwheel, she pushed the motor forward untill she reached the building.
As she placed the motor on it's holder, she then went trough her hair because of the helmet that had made it look as if she just came out of bed.
With a quick look at the entrance, she already smiled. It seemed safe for the time being.
"Hey Lucy, wanne check out the inside? The others can search the surrounding area for goods. Who knows what could be hidden here!"

Debriah looked over her shoulder to the group, as she then glanced at Lucy before walking inside the hospital.
As she entered the main hall, her eyes scanned the area. No blood, no bodies and it even seemed as if nobody had been here for years.
As she kept her hand on her katana, she slowly moved forward. If a walker or human would ambush her, she would atleast be ready for them.

They'd been out riding for a while and considering they'd only taken two vehicles, Deb's motorcycle and the RV they'd stolen, it was a bit of a cramped ride. Lacy was in the back bedroom of the RV, sitting on the bed talking to Riley, Jack was driving with Hunter sitting next to him, probably trying to tell Jack where to go or something, Edward was sitting at the table, reading a book, and Deb was riding behind us.

"Hey, even if this place isn't good for us, maybe we should at least take a pit stop..." Jack recommended, pointing over at the hospital. With the general consensus at a yes, he pulled over into the parking lot, Deb right behind him.

Lacy put a smile on her face and looked over at Riley. "Come on, let's go look." She told her excitedly. The best part about all of this was that Lacy got to see a lot of different places she'd never seen before. Though, the one place she wanted to be wasn't anywhere close... Not that Jack would let them go there.

As Lacy stepped out of the RV, she heard Deb call out to her. "Hey Lucy, wanne check out the inside? The others can search the surrounding area for goods. Who knows what could be hidden here!"

"Deb, my name is Lacy. Though, I can't say Lucy is a first. Sure, I'd love to come in with you!" Lacy called out as she began racing down the steps towards Deb.

"Nope." Jack called out sharply, grabbing Lacy's hand. "Hunter, you and Riley go with Deb. Edward, Lacy and I will scout the perimeter. We'll call on the radio if we need help." He explained, tossing Hunter the second radio. "And god-forbid Hunter, don't lose it." He sighed, walking back into the RV to grab his weapons.

Lacy let out a sharp sigh and looked over at Deb apologetically. "Sorry. I guess I'd better go with him." She called out to Deb before running inside with her brother.

"That was a bit uncalled for."

"You're not leaving my sight, Lace. Just... Trust me, okay?"

Jack turned around from his bag with a shot gun in hand and a large knife hooked to his belt, not that he really knew how to use it. He walked past Lacy and placed his hand on her head. "We'll get this scoped out and then you can go inside and do all the explorin' you want." He explained.

"You said it. Don't go takin' it back now." She told him with a smile and then turned to Edward. "Come on, why don't you put down that book and help Jack and I look around the outside of the building. Maybe we'll find buried treasure!" She spoke, her voice excited but not too terribly loud. She chuckled to herself at her own poor joke and walked over to the bag to pull out her belt with all of her weapons attached to it. She just had a simple hand gun and a few knives plus whatever medical supplies she kept with her at all time. The medical pouch sort of looked like a fanny pack but she didn't mind if it meant she could be of help. Though... Jack still didn't like it. He thought it might get her trapped one day with all the junk hangin' on her belt.

The RV was okay, though it had a smell too it. Six people living inside the thing for who knows how long, unable too stop and clean it because it's too risky, it sucks. Hunter sat up front attempting too read the edited map, the map was old as it was, but the fact that many roads they have tried to take were blocked or destroyed they were not an option. The map was covered with marks showing these points. Then when the RV pulled over in front of the hospital Hunter didn't know what too think. "...If it wasn't for the fact we are living a horror movie I'd say this was a bad idea."

They all got out of the RV, the place was beaten to hell, but seemed empty. Could be something, though a few more stable walls would be nice. But the lack of dead things was a big plus. Jack gave the orders despite what Lacy wanted too do, He understood where jack was coming from, but more then likely the only walker they'd find inside would be the one or two things that wondered in sometime over the last few months. "Alrighty then Jack, Place should be fine. This will be me of what areas we can still use inside." Hunter caught the radio as it was thrown to him. Jack made it very clear not too lose this one. It's not like he had much choice in losing the last one, they were in a bad situation and he needed the parts from the current radio. Plus he figured it would be easy to replace by now. Wrong.

Hunter went over to the RV storage and grabbed a shotgun. Then he looked at the ammo. "Hmm, Not a lot of ammo left eh?" talking to no one in particular. He grabbed a box of Twelve Gauge and loaded his gun, then he put the spare shells in a satchel that was over his shoulder. He really didn't think he would need the extra rounds, but he didn't want to get stuck with only Seven shots if things got really bad. "Alright then, Riley, Deb? Make sure you guys are ready. Not expecting anything inside really but there is always a chance that someone else already had the same idea we are having now. So I want to be safe rather then sorry." He grabbed a hatchet from the storage compartment, he wasn't the best with Melee weapons, but this was something that he could carry with out getting in the way and still be effective.

Hunter walked up to the front door with the gun in his hands. He turned on the flashlight that was built into the gun and walked in. Debriah was already inside with her katana drawn."Ya planning on going all bad ass on anything that tries to come at us?" he smiled as he said it. He had respect for her skill with that thing, he still preferred a firearm but if he knew how to handle something like that he thought it would be pretty damn cool. "We just need too find an area that is livable, and make sure that no one else got the same idea and decided to take shelter here. Dead or alive they could be a problem." The main room was well fairly well lit, though the hall ways scared the shit out of Hunter, they were all dark as hell. It wasn't the fact that Hunter was scared of the dark. It was the fact he was scared of what he learned Hid in the dark.

Riley sat at the back of the RV right next to Lacey, she would occasionally look out the window she wasn't sure about the area that Jack had suggested that they go but she had gotten close to the group from the short time she knew them. When Jack finally stopped the RV in front of a very old looking and abandoned hospital. Hearing Lacy she smiled and stood up, having been in the RV for the past several hours made Riley want to get up and stretch.

Going over towards her own stash of weapons which she kept in a duffle bag that was hidden under the bed of the RV. Riley went for the recurve bow that she found off of a dead hunter when this all started preferring that over a gun or rifle that caused a lot of noise and attracted walkers like a moth to a flame. She also grabbed her hunting knife for close quarters, when Debriah said to Lacey she could go inside with her and check things out and then Jack interrupting her. "I know he means well Lacey, i'll talk to him later if you want me to."

Watching her friend turning and walking along with her brother Riley quickly followed behind Hunter and Debriah with her bow drawn and an arrow notched ready to pull back the string if any walkers or any survivors tried to jump them.

There was calm here. Not the type of calm that most people associate the word with - more like the calm that comes between raging storms. There was a tense atmosphere here, it was everywhere. Everywhere you looked, everything you heard, saw, felt, or tasted. Emptiness, overstrung fretfulness...Fear.

But this was one of those times where Edward felt he could lose himself: reading. Even as a child, books brought him a sense of comfort, allowed him to be who he wasn't, if only for a few hours, he was free. And yet, the words that hung from this page seemed to mock him almost, remind him that...this time there was no escape. Only pain.



Edward read the phrase over and over again for what seemed like forever before closing the book and sighing sharply, eyeing the cover as though it had offended him in some way.

"Of Mice and Men". People would have considered the novel a classic, if there were people alive who cared anymore. Edward always had a certain respect, a fascination towards classics. Books that could remain relevant even decades after being written. Words resonated like that, left an impression deeper than almost anything else in the world.

'If only people wrote more,' Edward mused inwardly, 'would there be so much conflict?' It was one of those pressing times where Edward almost forgot there were others with him. Hunter Monroe, Jack and Lacey Carter, Dabriah Sauagius, Riley Vega. Survivors, like him, all different in background, personality, philosophies. Yet all bound together through that one encapsulating motive: survival. Were there different circumstances, any one of them could have been his enemy, could have been one of the Walkers that seemed to roam about, thinking nothing but of their eternal hunger.

The RV moved to a rumbling halt, lurching briefly before growing still. Edward lifted his bright blue eyes up a moment but said nothing, a quirk of his brow being all the reaction needed at the present time.

Content to simply return to reading and wait out another long night, Edward's plan was interrupted by the excited voice of Lacy, calling out to him:

"Come on, why don't you put down that book and help Jack and I look around the outside of the building. Maybe we'll find buried treasure!"

"I'll take a decent meal over buried treasure any day." Edward responded in his typical deadpan tone, taking a moment to stretch out before standing, fitting the book into his jacket pocket.

"Still, though...might find something interesting." He added with a rolling shrug of the shoulders, his way of conceding to the request.

He reached under the collar of his jacket, fingers latching onto the black balaclava he kept tucked underneath, pulling it up to cover the lower half of his face, giving him an 'urban-ninja' sort of look-- well....Debriah already held that title, being the only member of the team with a katana of all weapons.

Looking back to the table, Edward procured a single Luger model pistol (promptly tucked underneath his jacket) and a small assortment of knives, which he seemed to hide about his person.

Moving towards the still-open doors of the RV, Edward ran a hand through his mess of hair before turning towards Jack and Lacy with a bored expression.

"After you."

Hunter walked to one of the doorways. "We just need too do a basic sweep, make sure that nothing has been living here for a while. We will also need to see what is still savable that we can use, if any of these lights work still I can see what I can do to fix them later. What we really are in need of right now is shelter, so lets see what part of this building is still usable." Hunter started walking down the dark hallway, the flashlight on the gun lit. Hunter had gotten better at keeping a level head in tense situations, though he was still likely to pull the trigger if something was to jump out at him.

He made it down the hallways for a few moments before the battery in the flashlight started to die. "Dammit, not again. Someone remind me that we need to get more batteries, or find a more efficient way to recharge them." He kept walking, it was hard to see but still possible.

Lacy's eyes shot open as she whirled around to face Edward who continued talking as if he had not said what he'd just said. Her eye twitched slightly in anger as he said, 'After you.'

"My cooking is getting better. You'll see! Riley is helping me!" She shouted, glaring at the blonde haired man.

"Guys. This is no time to bicker, come on." Jack spoke in a calm tone, a bit irritated by his sister at this point. She needn't get so angry about it. It was bad to let her emotions get the better of her anyway.

"Ugh... Fine. But one day, you'll see Ed. I'll be a fine cook and you'll laugh!" Lacy inserted, turning her head sharply to walk towards the right side of the field around the building. It was a rather wide and open field, about 40 feet of land from the edge of the tree lines to the building. The nearest building next to it was nearly half a mile away.

On the right side of the building were a herd of about 10 walkers who all turned their heads at the sound of Lacy's voice and began to crawl and drag their way over towards them.

Lacy stopped on the right side of the building, her body suddenly tense. "W-Walkers!" She shouted, knowing that they'd already heard her.

"Alright, Lacy. Just relax. Stay there, Edward and I will take care of it. You just spot us, okay?" Jack told her, walking up to her to put a hand on her shoulder. She jumped and looked up at him and then to Edward. "Time to get to work, Edward." He finished, a sad expression on his face. He willed it away however, and sent a smile to Lacy and then at Edward.

"W-Wai-" She stopped the words in her mouth as they both walked off towards the walkers, aimed to get rid of them. Her heart still shaking, she still wasn't used to all of this, she pulled out her handgun and raised it at the walkers, ready to shoot should her brother and Edward need her to.

Debriah

Debriah glanced at Hunter as he walked forward into one of the hallways. He was right about the fact that we needed a good place to set up our camp, perhaps we could even find some things we could salvage and make sure everything is safe for us.
As Debriah noticed Hunter's flashlight started to die, she grinned for a moment before looked over her shoulder at Riley.

"Riley, keep close to us. We'll make asure you wont be harmed."
Although it was unclear what exactly walked trough these halls, or what they would find. They would atleast make sure it would be safe.
As Debriah followed after Hunter, she made sure that she catched up to him, still keeping her hand on the sheeted katana.
"Perhaps we'll find some in here, otherways you'll just have to trust your ears."

Debriah smiled at him, before passing him and walking forward. Although light would be nice in this situation, she only used her flashlight when needed. Her ears were the ones she mostly trusted in areas that were small. Larger areas needed more light or tight gaps.
As she passed a few doors, she stopped and turned around.
"Perhaps it's smart to check out those rooms, who knows what hides within them."

Riley looked over at Debriah and rolled her eyes slightly and smiled. "I can handle myself thank you very much." She said walking backwards just to make sure that there weren't any Walkers that would sneak up behind them. She held back the arrow as they passed through some of the opened doors. "I'm going to check this room out." Riley told them as she put away her bow and pulled out her flashlight as well as her hunting knife in a position where she could defend herself.

Then she heard a low groaning coming from the corner of the room, and spotted a Walker noticing that it's legs were broken. She took the time to make sure that there weren't any more before taking her knife as the Walker weakly moved its arms up to try and grab her. Riley then shoved the hunting knife into the back of the head where it would be the weakest part. Riley winced slightly as she heard the sickly popping sound as the knife severed the spinal cord and quickly pulled it out. She quickly ran out of the room to catch up to Hunter and Debriah. "Hunter catch!" Riley said tossing her flashlight over towards him.

Edward turned to face Lacy at her rather sudden outburst, though seemed completely unfazed, not even blinking, both eyes simply narrowed in a tired or disinterested fashion. Though his experience with women was rather short-lived, given the onset of the apocalypse, if there was one thing he did learn, it was that silence saved you more often than trying to correct yourself.

Interrupted from his thoughtfulness by Lacy's fateful cry of "Walkers!", Edward's gaze shifted, becoming very focused and intense. Drawing his pistol with one hand, and a dagger with the other, he spun the blade about between his dextrous fingers before latching onto the handle with a tight grip.

"Good. It was starting to get boring around here." Edward replied, his tone giving no leeway towards either excitement or fear. Simply....indifference.

Extending his arm, Edward took aim with the pistol, still finding its weight in his hand somewhat unwieldy. Closing a single eye, he squeezed on the trigger, the shockwave sending tingling ripples along the length of arm, buzzing all the way up to his shoulder.

Within an instant, the bullet found its way into one of the closer Walker's right eye socket, the monstrosity letting out one final gurgle before slumping to the ground like a puppet disconnected from its strings.

"One-Nothing." Edward said bluntly to Jack, deciding to keep score of their kills thus far. Despite the intended humor in his words, the only sign of amusement from Edward was a small, mischievous glint in his eye; the rest of his expression hidden by the black cloth that covered his mouth and nose.

Taking aim again, Edward fired once...then once more, the first bullet embedding itself in a Walker's right shoulder before the second one struck it in the forehead.

"Two-Nothing."

Debriah

As Riley replied to her, she just smiled for a moment. Perhaps she was right, but it was important to keep an eye on each other one way or another.
As Riley entered one of the rooms, Debriah herself walked forward. As she suddenly heard gunshots, she began to curse softly.
"What are those bastards doing out there?! Trying to lure them towards here or something?!"

As she looked back towards Riley and Hunter, she noticed that Riley had threw her flashlight to Hunter, and before she knew she heard groaning from behind her. DAMMIT! This was supposed to be an easy scouting and now they even had to fight to keep themselves safe...
"Hunter follow me, Riley keep our backs safe with your bow... It's going to be bloody! And for the sake of our lives Hunter, don't use your gun!"

Debriah smiled, before pulling out her katana and turning towards the groaning. As she grabbed her flashlight to shine into the darkness, she noticed the five walkers who were walking towards them. Who knew how many more there would be inside of here!

Walkers, damn fucking walkers. Hunter grabbed his hatchet and started hacking away at the dead, though they kept coming, and getting enough force to bust the skulls was getting harder and harder each hit. "We can't keep fighting in the hallway here, we'll get killed if we stay here" He told Debriah and Riley. Then soon after that he hit one of the walkers and the hatchet got stuck, he tried to pull out the blade but the dead body just fell back into the crowd. " Dammit, Dammit, Must be a small horde."

Hunter grabbed his shotgun and started bashing them with his stock. "We need to move! Now!" If he kept hitting them like this the gun would break, and if any walkers came up from behind them they would be trapped.

He started to run keeping the others in sight, he stopped once to fire two rounds into the small horde, 'There's too many' he thought.