"Nope. Not at all." He inched a bit closer to her as she asked him to not tell the people of Omega her past, prompting a nod from Justin.
"Of course. Besides, people in Omega...or what's left of them anyway, they don't care about your past. One of the beliefs that Ryken has tried to beat into everyone of us is that we all make mistakes, we all slip up. We don't need our mistakes thrown in our faces every five seconds because that doesn't build anything. Just tears down." He fiddled with the hem of his undershirt, which was sticking out from underneath the thin navy blue pullover that served as his only layer of protection between the flimsy undershirt and the rest of his upper body. 
"I uh...I really think you were brave." His gaze drifted to her, continuing:
"What they did to you was messed up. I'm glad you got the guy. I would've helped you cover it up, to be honest. I've found so many bodies out there. Girls, women, all uncovered and in the most terrible looking positions. What bothers me the most is that they're just left out there, you know? Like you would the carcass of an animal. They're freakin human, you know?" He swallowed hard, his gaze leaving hers as he stared straight ahead. 
"So much jacked up stuff here. So much. It makes me want to believe in the Second coming that Ryken keeps talking about." He laughed slightly.
"It's in the Bible. Talks about Christ, this Divine figure, coming back and wiping the world clean. Fresh food, clean water, people giving a flip about each other. Sounds out of reach, but hey, I can dream, right?" The sun began to peek over the horizon, illuminating the desolate stretch of freeway just outside the station. He stood up, grabbing his pack and slinging it over his back as he squinted, gazing out at the urban wilderness. A few beats of silence passed, Justin's breath coming in deep, slow efforts. He then turned around, extending a hand to Cameron.
"We live in the present. So far as I'm concerned, you're Cameron, the girl who can throw knives and has the most gorgeous hair I've ever seen in the world." He blushed slightly as he quickly added:
"I've kinda...thought that. For a while. Since I met you. Ok, maybe I'll stop talking and we can start walking, huh?" A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he mentally berated himself for the slip up. Hopefully he wouldn't have too many of those...

_____

The daylight was a welcome addition to their hike, seeing as now Justin didn't have to constantly check every couple of feet for traps, small objects or chunks of debris that could easily be obscured by the darkness. They were moving at a faster pace than last night, but Justin was painfully aware that sleep had been an activity he hadn't gotten to participate in almost thirty six hours. He had done stretches like this before, but he knew that he was going to have to take a nap at noon or else he would-

His eyes fell upon a chestpiece to the right of a husk of an eighteen wheeler that had familiar markings...
"Cameron." He brought her over to the armor, picking it up and examining it in the light. It was a silvery grey with white and blue markings on the side.
"Same exact armor as the guys who attacked Omega." He flipped it around, noting the straps that wrapped around the wearer's waist and upper back. 
"Why would..." Justin looked to the side of the road and saw the wearer of the armor with arrows jutting out of his neck and body, eyes missing from his head. There were blood smears across his stomach and a dab of white paint on the belly button. 
"Marking territory..." He put the piece of armor down as he inched forward, peeking around the rusted semi and saw that the road ahead curved into a heavily forested area. 
"Crap."