Cameron’s concern for Justin’s wellbeing was reaching a boiling point – she would have asked them to set up camp – when they reached the destination they had led them to. Her now paranoid disposition caused her eyes to mindlessly and repeatedly scan the landscape around them, in case an escape was necessary or an attack was made. Both had become regularities,. Nothing was abnormal about the settlement they entered; if anything, it reminded Cameron of Chesapeake. But, one thing caught her eye that caused adrenaline to course from her. Plants. Plants with [i]food growing on them.[/i] She involuntarily gasped as she she saw the small gardens scattered about. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as they were led to the room they would be staying in. Although not much too it, a bed and a roof over their heads was surely a luxury. “Besides needing a week long shower, I think I’ll be fine,” she smiled back to him as he lifted his shirt. Instead of sitting around to observe him undress, she immediately moved to the cabinet, which had an assortment of different sized canteens marked “filtered,” and a few marked “unfiltered” as well. She searched the cabinet to find… what was that? Fruit. “Jesus Christ,” she whispered as she took out a tray. “Look at this, Justin.” Bananas. Grapes. Blueberries. Apples. “I’ve only ever heard of this before.” She set the tray down on the table that separated their beds and immediately began to pick at the blueberries, groaning as soon as she was able to taste them. “Wow.” Her eyes closed as if it would enhance the flavor even more. She tossed Justin a canteen before making her way back to the cabinet to remove the bottle of unfiltered water. “Sorry.” A warning shot. Cameron faced away from him and removed the white shirt, stained with blood, dirt, and sweat, leaving her in her sports bra, jeans, and boots. She took her hair down from the linen strip it was tangled in, and poured the water over the top of her head, sighing in relief, then poured some on her punched up shirt and wiped her face, noting the dirt that appeared, along with dried blood from her lip. “Why didn’t you tell me I had something on my face?” she joked, making herself laugh. After tossing the shirt into the corner with Justin’s, he eventually plopped back down on the bed across from Justin and began to unlace the combat boots. “They seem to be a bit more accommodating than our lasts hosts, huh?” Cameron looked up to him and smiled. “I’m not very excited about our presentation, though.” She maneuvered the boots off of her feet, then the socks, and did her best to remove all the dirt that had accumulated in them before tucking them under the bed and laying down on it. It was soft enough for comfort and wasn’t lumpy like hers back home. The pillow, however, was fairly flat, so it was folder over before being stuck under her wet, black hair. A single lantern hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room, illuminating it in short and rapid bursts. Cameron faced him as she wiggled her body into a comfortable position so she could face him. “Hopefully they deem us acceptable enough to help out Omega. I’m sorry my affiliations with Chesapeake took us from guest to prisoner status earlier. I’ll keep my mouth shut this time.” She smirked to let him know she wasn’t offended. Out here, with no rules or laws in place, it was probably best that she listened instead of spoke, or at least, until she learned more from Justin. “Get some rest. Good night, Justin.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They were awoken by to familiar faces standing in front of the bright light of the sun blasting through the door way. “Start getting ready.” They tossed a single change of clothes for both Justin and Cameron. “We’ll come back in ten.” Cameron woke up slowly and reached over to the closed they had tossed at her. A gray shirt, a bit too large for her, a pair of olive green cargo pants, tailored to the ankle, and a white pair of socks. She remained sitting as she worked the jeans off her legs and replaced them with the clean pair, standing up to shimmy them up to their rightful place at her hips. She slid the tee shirt over her head quickly and began to try to work her fingers through some of the knots that had formed on their journey. She stood up abruptly as the door swung back open. “Let’s go.” They were led to an indoor meeting area, a dozen chairs making a semicircle around a wooden podium. Eight of the seats had already been filled, mainly by older leaders, but there were one or two who looked to be her age. As they were brought to the podium, the empty seats in front of them were filled, and they all rose to greet the pair. “This,” the muscular man that had saved them the night before addressed the group, “is Justin and Cameron. They are from Omega.” A woman with silvery hair remained standing as the rest took a seat. “Hello, Justin. Hello, Cameron. My name is Avery, and welcome to our settlement. Who will be speaking on your behalf?”