Jake Prescott walked outside of a half destroyed apartment complex. He had boarded off most of it, making the entrance tricky to get to. He moved the metal scrap in front of the hole in the wall to cover the hole. He had all of his gear and walked towards the streets with skeletons of cars and buildings. He took a deep breath, holding it for a bit before slowly blowing it out. He sat on top of a rusted taxi cab and looked at a crumbling parking structure. A large circle with the letters B.A. inside was sloppily sprayed onto a wall. Great...the Blood Army is nearby..., Jake thought to himself. He got off the taxi cab and walked towards a small building, climbing up to get a good vantage point of this downtown area. Jake failed to check if anyone was nearby, leaving him wide open.

It felt like everything hurt today. His feet had long since stopped developing blisters, but they seemed to ache with fatigue twice as much to compensate. The scar tissue over his left eye socket itched like crazy, and sweat developed uncomfortably on the tender, burned flesh of his cheek and forehead.
He kept a hand draped lazily on the butt of his revolver, holstered on his hip. It made him feel a little better. He always walked on the left side of the road, so if anything tried to cross from the right he wouldn't be blind to it. He had come to take due caution when passing alleyways, always slowing down to turn his head an survey. One of the perks of being half-blind.

Quinn had been following the signs cautiously. He knew what to look for, and there was no doubt in his mind that the Blood Army were nearby. As hot as his contempt for them burned, he knew it was folly to engage them. At least not until he knew how many were there.
A sudden scrape, as though someone walking across rusted steel, jolted him from his concentration. He cursed silently as he ducked behind some debris for cover.
A figure, some three hundred metres down the road hopped off the roof of a car, made it's way to a small building.
He didn't look like Blood Army, but chances meant certain death if they were taken.

Quinn made his own climb, and carefully began traversing rooftops to close the gap between him and the mystery figure.
He had the drop on him, he could put a bullet in his skull right now and then flee.
Damn it to hell! I ain't like that anymore!
He screamed internally. He had done all he could to shed his violence, but once you crossed the line there was no going back.
He took a slow, steadying breath and held his revolver up with both hands.
In a quiet, yet firm voice he said, "Simple question. Are you Blood Army?" He awaited the response with a trembling trigger finger.

Jake was startled, but kept calm. His heart was racing as he knew his cover was blown. The voice was unfamiliar and Jake had no idea who else lived out here beside him. Jake slowly raised his hands to surrender and took a deep breath. "No. I'm just a wanderer." Jake answered. He hoped the guy wouldn't rob him. Or even worse...end his life. Jake slowly turned to see the man behind the voice, curious to see what this man looked like. He was surely in for a surprise.

Upon turning around, Jake almost jumped in shock at the sight of the man's face. He held the urge in, mainly because a gun was pointed at him. "Listen, man. I'm friendly. No need to shoot. Just lower the gun and we can both leave here, no problems. Sound good?" He asked, hoping he'd be set free. He couldn't lie, he wanted to just bolt off now since he realized this guy only had one good eye. He gently moved a foot, ready to dart if the man was belligerent.

@Gelatinous Cube

Quinn narrowed his eye at the man and held his gun on him for a few seconds.
Eventually he let out his breath and lowered the weapon. He believed he wasn't Blood Army, but wasn't convinced he wasn't dangerous. Any man who carried an assault rifle had to be capable of violence. The spiked bat was another thing entirely.
"Good enough," Quinn muttered, "Blood army in there. You see?" He pointed towards the parking structure, where the red symbol had been left for all to see. The Blood Army rarely needed to use stealth, they were predators through and through and more often than not the sight of that symbol was enough to keep anyone away.

Chris clambered out of the ruined car he'd taken refuge in. He checked about himself and found all his possessions were still present. As he got of the car he hoisted his pack onto his shoulders and resettled his tactical vest, the various magazines clacked metallically against one another as he got up.

He resumed walking, he'd been trudging through the ruined urban landscape for days. He checked the tourist guidebook that he'd scavenged from a shop on the edge of town. It's slightly blackened pages were completely unreadable in some places, but there was enough for Chris to navigate with.

As he made his way down a street he heard raised voices. He dropped down into a crouch rifle at the ready. The majority of people he'd come across were civilians, most of them were armed but they weren't trained, they didn't have any combat experience to speak of.

Chris looked down the scope of his rifle, he saw two figures, seemingly arguing. One gestured towards a parking building. Chris kept the rifle trained on them, he decided to watch and see what they were doing before he did anything rash.

Jake let out a sigh of relief as he saw this man lower his weapon. He looked to the parking structure and nodded. Jake didn't know too much about the Blood Army, but he's seen what they were capable of doing. He shrugged and pointed to the structure. "I know they have good supplies in there. I've seen them bring in tons of ammo, food, meds. Everything. Taking over this spot would be better for the general public, too." Jake said, smiling a bit. His smile then faded. "But we'd need a goddamn army to take over anything like this..." He said. Jake looked back at the scarred man and held a hand out for him to shake. "The name's Jake." He said calmly, not letting this encounter get to him. As his hand was held out, he heard rustling in the the distance, but dismissed it.

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Quinn glanced down at the man's hand a few times. "Quinn," he muttered without taking Jake's hand.
"Blood Army too dangerous. Even if there's only a few...worth a lot more. Suicide to go in there."
As he spoke, he heard a rustling sound and he tensed, looking around for the source but could see nothing. At least, not until he saw the glint of sunlight come from the street.
He dropped down, "Street. Man with rifle. Pointed at us."
Quinn could go days without meeting anyone, but today he'd really stepped in the shit. An unconfirmed amount of Blood Army and two unconfirmed renegades.
He thought his best bet would be to bail and leave them to their fate, but that would entirely contradict what he had set out to do with the rest of his miserable life.
"Best we move on. Too much risk here."

Jake pursed his lips as Quinn ignored the handshake. Jake put his unshaken hand down and nodded. "I see." He said. Jake saw the glint of sunlight too, immediately dropping after Quinn. Jake had never had an encounter like this. Of course he'd been in a few shootouts as a cop, but there was no police out here. No one to support you. It was one man all for himself.
"Agreed." Jake said, crawling on the ground away from the edge of the building. He pointed to the opposite side of the building. "I'm not sure if you've ever been around these parts, but over there will lead you to a library. It's empty. For now." Jake informed. He didn't know why he was given this information. It's not like this man would care. It was the police officer inside of him kicking in probably.
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"Probably not Blood Army. Don't usually move on their own." Quinn recalled how if any Blood Army split from the main group, they at least went with one other. A spotter, so to speak. Another person to watch their backs.
"Lead him to the library. Things go bad...we can shoot him...and then, run."
Quinn began to follow Jake down, he would follow him at least to the library. His plan was to resume his traveling as soon as possible, though he was dismayed that he would lose his chance to take out the Blood Army soldiers. Still, it was too dangerous. Even if he managed to take them down, one or two of them would get enough of a shot in that he probably wouldn't make it.
He had promised himself he would never live with them again, and that sure as hell meant he would never die among them.

Once on the ground, Quinn began to follow Jake, leaving obvious hints at where they were going to the mysterious man with the rifle. Though he moved very carefully, always putting himself in a position to either evade ambush or to set one up.

Jake nodded and slid down the building. He crept to the library, making noise by kicking metal in an attempt to draw the man out. He looked at Quinn then back outside as he waited for the man to follow. "If he isn't coming around this corner in ten minutes, you wanna go around and get him?" Jake asked. As a police officer, a part of Jake wanted to reason with the man outside. He knew everyone killed to survive, but maybe he was just defending himself.

@Gelatinous Cube@Karos

"If he isn't around that corner in ten minutes, we dodged a bullet," Quinn said bluntly.
He'd learned the hard way not to go looking for a fight. Nothing good ever came from baiting anyone. Not when there was nothing left to stand between a man and murder.
"Not about to get between Blood Army and a renegade. You seem decent enough. If he shows himself and tries anything, I'll back you up. But then I'm going on my way."

Jake nodded, agreeing with his statement. Jake wasn't one for violence, but with this new lifestyle he couldn't take any chances. He even wondered if Quinn was going to kill him or rob him. "Agreed." He said, relaxing a bit. He listened as the man spoke.
"I see..." Jake said, realizing he'd be alone again.
Jake peeked out, not seeing anybody else nearby. The area in front of the library faced the back of the building the two were just on. It had a ruined car in the street in front of it and a steel barrel with remnants of a fire inside. Jake walked outside the library, scouting the area of any potential threats. After a few minutes he returned inside.

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Quinn took the time to sit down and rest his tired feet for a little while. His boots were made to last, but they had been around a long time. They weren't holding up too well after all the time and walking they'd been through. He took off his makeshift eye cover to let the scarred flesh underneath breathe. He didn't like the patch getting too moist from sweat. Infection wasn't something most people survived these days, not with the scarcity of antibiotics.

After a few minutes Jake returned. Quinn hastily reapplied his bandages, and looked at Jake.
"No sign of our friend?" he asked, already knowing the answer. That wasn't necessarily the best sign. If he was part of the Blood Army, he could be going back to let them know he'd seen people. They generally weren't the type to let that slide. People could be holding onto something valuable.
As for Quinn, the tools he carried with him were relatively free of rust. If he ever decided to pawn them, he'd find himself in a bit of money. Not that he ever would, mind.
"Perhaps we should go on our separate ways. Harder to track then."

Jake nodded. "He's gone." He said. Jake saw a table and walked to it, sitting his backpack on it before looking around the library. He looked at the shelves, finding some books that were still intact. He had no interest in them, but it would help pass time. Or perhaps he could use them for fuel and burn them in a fire. Jake smirked at the thought of having to burn books.

Jake turned to Quinn, listening to his suggestion. Although he agreed, he didn't want to. He would be a loner again. But it would be fore his own good. "Yeah...that'd be smart." He said, closing his backpack after putting a couple read worthy books in it. Jake looked around more, trying to find any salvageable items as he waited for Quinn's next move. He stayed alert in case Quinn tried to attack him. He didn't know him that well.
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The view was actually quite spectacular, what was once a packed metropolis now nothing more than a jungle of dilapidated buildings and the ghosts of the past. Numerous buildings towered high, exposed metal glimmering in the evening sun and the evidence of the bombs that killed everyone still quite clear. Perched atop what had once been the headquarters of some newspaper company the slim figure of a woman was hardly noticeable, her feet dangling off the edge as she sat scraping the last morsels from a tin of tuna, pausing occasionally to survey her surroundings as she considered the eerie beauty of the landscape before her.

She casually tossed the empty tin over the edge of the building, watching it plummet to the ground before she pulled a chipped canteen from her bag and took several deep swigs of water. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and she sat for a moment before pulling down her hood to reveal shoulder length dirty blonde hair that was slightly tangled. Her features were small and petite, though her deep emerald eyes had what could be called a feral glint in them as they darted around her surroundings. Her skin was marred with smears of dirt and it was clear that she had been through much. Her current expression was somewhat blank, her mind running with countless thoughts of what she should do next, where she should go. After several minutes the relative silence of the evening was suddenly shattered, the unmistakable sounds of distant gunfire reaching her ears as several flocks of birds shot into the air startled by the noise.

In a split second she had stood and once more her hair was hidden behind her hood and she was moving back towards the doorway that lead down into the building she had spent the last few hours searching - somewhat fruitlessly. Her mind now fixated on moving and finding somewhere less exposed, somewhere safe, somewhere she could sleep without fear of being discovered. She had a few little 'dens' littered around the city, but none were particularly close and her feet and legs already ached from all the walking she had done. Charlotte moved through the building silently and made her way to the street, pausing and listening every few minutes as she headed in the opposite direction to the gunshots she had heard. Her heart was pounding slightly and she moved quicker than she normally would have, she had an uneasy feeling and couldn't quite place why. Every now and then she broke into a little run and she dodged around the wreckage of what had been a fire truck, now a mangled gray skeleton laying somewhat across what had once been a huge large four lane road.

Soon her panic subsided and she walked on for what must have been about half an hour before her ears prickled and a rather unfamiliar sound reached her ears. She paused and stood listening as intently as she could as she tried to place what she was hearing, the sound very slowly growing louder in the far distance. Suddenly it dawned on her, it was the deep rumbling sound of an engine, the sound of someone driving something that was getting steadily closer and closer. Breaking into a run Charlotte realised that she was walking along what had been the main interstate into the centre of the city, and that meant that it was quite likely that whoever it was would be coming this very way. Unfortunately there was no easy way to get off the road, not unless she wanted to drop several stories down onto the road below her and break both of her legs. As she ran her mind raced, frantically she tried to reach the exit road that would slope down into whatever neighbourhood she was over, she could just about see it from where she was and it was getting nearer and nearer.

As she got closer so did the approaching sound of a vehicle and she pushed herself to go faster and faster, her heart pounding as she panted in gulping deep breaths of air. Just as she reached the side road she swore as the unmistakable sight of headlights speeding towards her. Turning she sprinted down the exit road as fast as she could, though now thoroughly winded adrenaline surged through her as she pushed on. Halting for a brief moment she spared a glance behind her and her heart skipped a beat as she saw a truck swerving and heading directly towards her, the sound of loud music now mingled with the revving engine as she again ran as fast as she possibly could. Even though only a handful of seconds passed it felt like hours as she kept running and pushing herself, mingled shouts now reaching her ears as she glanced behind her again. The vehicle was definitely coming for her and she briefly saw that the hood had been spray painted with a large 'BA' and skull, a pickup truck that had several occupants, each of them eagerly jeering and pointing at her as one of the men in the rear aimed a rifle towards her and squeezed off a few shots.

She kept running as the gunfire narrowly missed her, flecks of debris shooting into the air as she leapt over a discarded pile of trash that several moments later the truck smashed through as it raced after her. She scrambled up the edged of an overturned bus and ran along its length as yet more bullets ricocheted past her. She got the distinct feeling that the man shooting at her was choosing not to hit her rather than simply missing and she tried to move even faster as she leapt from the end of the bus thudding into the road a little harder than she had planned and stumbling into the jagged edge of a rusted taxi as she did. She swore loudly as the metal cut into her thigh and pain shot through her leg, she swore again and pushed herself on, the truck briefly obscured from view as it swerved around the wreckage of the bus to reach her. She tried to keep sprinting, though couldn't suppress a cry as agony blossomed as she put her weight on her leg, she also felt thick warm blood seeping down pushing on regardless, her only thoughts being to somehow escape or hide. Her eyes shot around and fell upon the only piece of cover that was anywhere near her, what had once been a burger grill trailer sprawled in front of a large library. Not wasting anytime she hurled herself into the trailer and scrambled along the floor as she grabbed at her leg with one hand and pulled out her hunting knife with the other. The sound of screeching tires reached her ears as the truck with Blood Army thugs had evidently stopped now that she had suddenly vanished from sight, a few moments later the sound of voices and footsteps drifting over to her as she tried to suppress her heavy breathing and stay as silent as possible. Her mind raced as she tried to think about what she could do, it was only a matter of moments before they would surely find her. The only thing she knew is that she wouldn't be taken by them and she gripped tightly at the knife as she listened intently, preparing herself to strike the moment one of them would appear in the doorway. Each second felt like an eternity as she held her breath.

Quinn was about to make the suggestion to Jake that they meet up at the next settlement, but was hastily cut off by the sounds of gunfire. He peered out the entrance to the library.
He could see a woman, crouched behind a trailer in front of the building. She was bleeding, and badly.
"Not going to be so easy," Quinn sighed.
He moved quickly, coming out as three Blood Army men approached. He could see that familiar old gleam in their eyes. Thirst for blood, they wanted to devour the misery of ordinary folk. Sadist fucks had to be put down.
Quinn was a blur of deadly motion. He drew his revolver and with two well placed shots blew the brains out of two of the soldiers. As the third fumbled for his gun (his mind having been on his other gun), Quinn closed the distance between them and with a practiced motion, drew his machete and slit the soldier's throat.

He didn't revel in his victory for long, because he knew the other group would be drawn by the sound.
"Jake...the car," he said mechanically, as if he had just become someone else, almost the man he had been when he had followed the Blood Army, "Take whatever these bastards have and throw it in the back."
Quinn came around to where the woman had taken cover and held out a hand to her. He was aware of how he must look, scarred and unshaven. His calloused hand beckoned for hers as he said to her, "It's not safe here. Another group not far down the road. They'll come looking for us."

Jake heard the gunshots, going on immediate alert. He grabbed his gun and threw his backpack on. He looked to the the woman. He quickly realized the Blood Army members. He didn't know if he should take them out or tend to the woman. As he went to try and shoot at the Blood Army members, he saw Quinn take off of them. He watched as he quickly executed them. Without hesitation either. He then went to the lady, trying to calm her down and see where she was hit.

Jake looked at Quinn, nodding at the order to loot these guys. Jake was both impressed and a bit nervous. If Quinn could do this to three members with ease, he could do it to him. He looked at the corpses and rummaged through them, finding mostly bullets and a bit of money. He found a note, the letters messy and the paper stained with blood. "Hey, Quinn!" He called, trying to get his attention. "Got something you should see!" He added, turning towards him holding the note up.
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Kate watched from a rooftop, two survivors executed a group of Blood Army Mercenaries and tended to an injured woman. she pulled down her mask and quickly set up her sniper to cover the pair as they tended to her. She knew that the Blood Army would send more to check out the commotion and she had to be ready to pull the trigger as soon as they arrived to keep the people alive.

Charlotte hesitated as suddenly two more gunshots rang out in quick succession, but this time they sounded distinctly different and came from the other direction and she had the impression that someone had just killed the men who up until a few moments ago has been hot on her heels. She wondered if she should peak up over from where she was hiding and risk a glance out at whoever it was.

The sound of a male voice drifted over to her "Jake...the car" and she tried to determine if she should try to run or not.

"Take whatever these bastards have and throw it in the back."

Moments later the figure of the man who had spoken came into her view, briefly blocking the light from the sun that was slowly starting to sink in the sky.

Immediately her gaze was drawn to the left side of his face, a weird strip of material covering what looked like a pretty hideous burn and savage eye wound. She briefly held herself, resisting the initial urge to stab at him with the knife clutched in her hand even as he held his hand out to help her up.

"It's not safe here. Another group not far down the road. They'll come looking for us" he said as he gazed at her.

Her mind raced and in the split second that she met his view a vast array of thoughts ran through her head, considering what she should do. Everytime she had pictured a situation like this she had imagined fighting or running, but the only thing that grabbed her attention right now was what he had said about it not being safe here. She didn't know why but despite the man's somewhat cold appearance be seemed different from the psychopaths she had this far encountered. Hesitantly returning her blade to its sheath she gingerly took his hand and let him help her up, almost surprising herself as she did.

As she emerged from where she had been hidden she suddenly became aware again of how much the stillbleeding wound on her leg hurt, she stifled a cry as she put her weight on it. Looking over to the other man she watched as he was rifling through the pickets of the men that had been trying to kill her.

He called out to the first man and held up a note. Jake and Quinn, they seemed like they were unfamiliar with each other, but already she was rethinking her desire to get away from them as quickly as possible, even if that had been possible.

"Thanks" she murmured, her voice coming through slightly strained. She suddenly realised that she had hardly spoken a word over the last few months and found herself realising how much she had missed human contact.

Looking down to where the three survivors were now situated Kate started to look for entrances for the Blood army. A couple appeared from a building near the end of the road. Kate fired the first shot of the day, the bullet flying through the air for a few breath moments before entering the neck of the Blood Army Soldier. She waved down to the three survivors signalling them to run. She cocked the rifle and fired again hitting the Soldier behind him in the shoulder.