Jonathan had dosed off when the rest of the group had arrived back at school. He lay still in his chair in one of the classrooms with his feet up on the teachers desk leaning back. it had been a good nap. he was now more refreshed than he was earlier that morning. He sat up straight and yawned, while stretching his arms out wide. Jon scratched his neck as he stood up, clasping his replica Longclaw sword that hung from his belt. I wonder if the scavenging group have returned yet he thought to himself as he exited the class room. He heard voices coming from Nikkis room, he thought maybe now was the chance that he could properly commit himself to the group and help defend their settlement.

He knocked on the door and spoke quickly without entering. "Lady Hyatt, could i have a word with you if you are available to speak?" He continued to talk in that British accent of his, while still trying to sound like the man he was still dressed as. Jon Snow. He thought that in dire times like this it would be more positive if he played the part of he who he was dressed as to atleast show that the old world was still alive in a few of them.

Nikki had awakened to Jenna with a glass of water and more ibuprofen. She had to admit the girl was attentive. Nikki was sore all over and she was pretty sure she looked worse than she felt. She could have sworn she was dreaming when she heard "Lady Hyatt, could I have a word with you if you are available to speak?"

Nikki raised up on her elbows and looked at the man in the doorway. "How hard did that guy hit me?" She opened her eyes and looked at the man, who was obviously dressed for comic con sporting his Jon Snow cosplay outfit, complete with long claw sword. Nikki sat up slowly and took some deep breaths then decided to stretch a little before attempting to get up.

"So, who are you, when did you get here and who let you in?" After she stretched good she raised herself up onto two hands and it was obvious she was in a lot of pain but she didn't pull out of the position for at least 20 seconds. When she did she all but collapsed in on herself. Her ribs had taken a deep bruising if not a fracture or two.

"Come on." She breathed heavily. "Let's go see what is going on today."




Jenna was in the cafeteria getting things set for the day. She had started keeping an inventory so she could be organized and keep track of things for scavenging trips. She had made bacon and eggs this morning. She knew it was likely the last time they would get eggs unless they found a way to get some hens and raise them.

She used the PA system to announce breakfast is served and she listed what it was. This meant that the cafeteria filled up quickly with avid bacon lovers. Nikki and the cosplayer arrived too. Jenna looked for Felix and Vincent and the Clara/Erin girl and Kat and the baby. She liked Matt and James and Zach too.

Jenna had never been so valuable in a real way. Being a model doesn't really afford you much value if you wake up with acne. The photographers looked at you like you were trying to mess them up on purpose. Jenna was appreciated more for cooking and helping to doctor the injured than she had ever been for any other thing in her entire life and she was enjoying being valued for something real.

Jenna watched them as they all started to come in. Matt came by and tried to flirt his way into extra bacon but it didn't work. When she shot him down he pretended to collapse. Jenna waved him off and laughed at him. Nikki, poor girl, looked like she had battled a battalion of guerrilla fighters. Her face was bruised up. She had a black eye and one that was less blackened but was still painful. Her arms were turning into darker bruises. She could only imagine how badly the rest of her was bruised.

@Darcs@Dark Light@Rumikoohara@Belle@thehangedman@lpfan@demonic angel@kurai assassin

"My name is Jonathan Carter. I came in a few days ago, i brought the comic con bunch my lady. I did not get the guards name unfortunately." He paused for a moment before drawing his sword and placing it tip down against the floor. "Lady Hyatt i wish to pledge myself to your group and if you agree to let me, i wish to man the barriers my lady. It seems only fitting for he who is dressed as the Lord Commander of the Nights Watch to take that job." He stood again, sheathing his sword and placing his hands behind his back awaiting the answer of the groups apparent leader.

9:30am Day 10


Nikki looked at John Carter and took a bite of her breakfast. So John I see you were at Comic con when the shit hit the fan. Was it a little confusing with the zombies and the newly dead?

Jenna walked up to the table and sat down. "Hey John, I see you met Nikki." Nikki looked up from her bacon. "This is perfect bacon Jenna. Do you know who let this guy in here?" Jenna took a bite from her own food. "mhmm I did. He came last night while you were out on the 8pm trip." Nikki looked at John. "Cool. Could be fun with an actor running around in here."

Nikki grabbed her now empty plate and took it back to the kitchen and put it by the sink. Next Nikki headed to the gym turned on the music and pulled a bandanna off of her wrist and blindfolded her eyes. She went into a ballet routine designed to build strength. After she finished that one she went into self defense moves that included some acrobatics. She went to her knees in pain when she pulled too hard on the chest muscles that were spasming across the ribs. She lay there for a few moments taking deep breaths. She undid the bandana and looked at where she was.

@kurai assassin@lpfanHEAVILY EDITTED ENTRY

"I'll be the first to admit, you certainly attract all kinds, 'my lady'," Felix's voice resounded through the empty gym. He stood leaning on the entrance, a large and bulky back pack hanging off his shoulder. He'd been gone for near the whole week, and it was only now he returned. "Though I admittedly, he's the first one to be so openly mental. The rest of us are more low-key about it."

With the same easy going grin, the young man strode towards her, lifting the backpack like it was nothing. "Sorry I didn't greet you a week ago, there with Jenna, I was busy sorting a few things out. Anyway, while you were out, I did some scavenging of my own. Nothing to impressive, mostly food and water, though I did get a hand on a couple of flashlights in working condition. I've got stuff that's actually impressive, but I've kept those in reserve, hope you don't mind."

He set the bag down to the side and sat down next to her.

"You know, I wouldn't recommend pushing yourself too hard after just barely recovering," he said eyeing her discarded bandages. "It's a lot easier to hurt yourself, after all."

Felix waited for a moment, letting her catch her breath. He needed to discuss something with her, something important. The group was getting bigger, to the point that calling it a group was an understatement. Slowly but surely they were becoming a community, and that meant the rules of the game changed. With Nikki's recent additions, it became clear to him that it was time to underline these rules.

"I wonder if you realize it yet, but for most of us here, you're the leader," he began. "They've put their lives into your hands. So I've got to wonder: do you have an overall goal? Things can't stay the way they are, not with how fast our group is growing, and if you want to keep us all in line, we're going to need a goal."

Well, to specific, they were going to need a goal. Felix was enjoying his role as an observer, and occasional participant, but he was not a solid part of their group. In a way, he was like Vincent, only . . .

Felix got up and stretched. He shot Nikki a wide grin, before saying: "Ah, but to hell with it, I trust you'll know what to do."

As walked out the door, he gave her one last piece of advice.

"Be careful around Vincent and his group. They're hiding some very nasty skeletons in the closest."

They weren't aware, but he was there as a witness. Since the first day he had suspected Vincent to have a hand in the underworld. It was in his attitude; Felix used to be an assassin, he knew someone who was part of the Game, someone as involved as Vincent was could barely hide it, and barely wasn't good enough to escape Felix. Remaining hidden while he spied on their little reunion was also child's-play, so at last, he had something to confirm his suspicions.

So he knew. He knew who he killed and why, and he knew where the body was. But as of now, they've done nothing, and as the leader it was Nikki's job to keep them in line. He wanted to see how well she did by it.

Anyway, on to the next order of business . . .

"Hey Jenna, just the girl I wanted to see," he called over with a friendly wave.


@Kurai Assassin-@Wick

10am Day 10


"Felix! Where have you been? I was beginning to think you had gotten yourself bitten." Jenna hugged him fiercely. "Please don't do that to me. You are the closest friend I have here and I would hate to lose you." She blushed and turned to the kitchen. "I do the cooking but the other girls do the cleanup. Do you want some breakfast?"

Jenna started making him a plate and gave him extra bacon. Matt saw and gave her a funny look and turned away laughing. Jenna waved him off and turned back to Felix as she handed him his plate and she found something even more rare. She had found some orange juice and she put it in a solid cup so not everyone would know what it was. "Shh" she signalled as she put the top on his cup.

"So how bad is it out there? Are things starting to calm down a little? I know that sounds terrible to say but I am hoping enough people got to safety that it won't be a species killer."

@thehangedman

Erin’s eye fluttered open as she awakened. Her eye sight was greeted by the neon green colored room, which tossed and churned her stomach, until the young woman can’t handle looking at it anymore. The worst part was that the color was covering the whole room making the teenager miss her pitch black painted walls inside the comfortable basement inside Vivian’s home. She slowly got up and quickly got dressed, not wanting to stay there for another second. Today’s outfit was more gothic than normal yet it just felt right considering the whole doom and gloom of this new world. The intercom squeaked to life as a voice listed off what was for breakfast today. Breakfast was a meal in which the lighter half was not looking forward. Strange looks and people running the other way because they were scared she could handle, but not when it was clearly displayed in a person’s eyes and actions, something the person couldn’t truly hide completely.

At first the girl just wrapped inside the blankets that Haru found inside a storage closet only to hear her stomach growl. As if it was showing that staying up inside this room was no longer a choice or that her mind was already made up.” Go figure. The one time I want to stay hidden my stomach wants to go for the food.” the teenager thought to herself. Erin arose from the make shift bed and opened the door. There were two objects taped on the door. One was a reminder to repaint the room completely black along of another request for matching bed sheets and such. A mush needed change to a bright room that the girl herself couldn’t stand to be in more than a few seconds at a time. The other was some sort of cardboard sign with duck tape around it. Erin’s and Clara’s Room. was written upon it with very dark themed pictures around the rest of the board. A light smile crossed her lips while looking at it. A very good start in the young woman’s mind.

The teenager moved away from the door, dragging her feet almost all of the way, before finally arriving to a set of stairs. Beside the staircase was a number three with a drawn map to help the survivors around. Erin didn’t quite remember how or why she was on the third floor considering her room was on the second. Granted it was good to get away from the overprotective older siblings, which would seem to constantly yell and scream at each other. Her head turned toward the clock and groaned at the time. 9’oclock am was too early to get up in her opinion but then again she was used to a semi-normal life. The girl stretched her arms then continued down toward the ground floor. Once there she continued toward the cafeteria making sure to keep quiet and her head down as she grabbed a plate. The one time the lighter half did look up she saw how batted and bruised Nikki was at the moment before the older woman left the room. Still she tried to keep a low profile while sitting down at a table for one person to eat.

Haru Sento

Haru’s noise was stuck in an old algebra book with a piece of paper when static filled the air. This was the sound he missed along with his twin brother practically screaming in his ear for a pencil, which would end up in some girl’s hands. Two different people they were yet they were determined to drive the other to mad just for fun. A chuckle passed the young man’s lips as a voice sounded into the speakers. He assumed it was an update for the other people inside along with a breakfast menu for the day. In a way it seemed as if the woman was trying to help show that they could go back to the way things used to be yet that was just a dream in which everyone here most likely wished they could do. Awaken from this torture and claim it as a strange dream hat just felt real and everyone would return to their normal lives. This was most likely what the teenager felt.

The male teenager stood up and stretched deciding that it was best to do before heading to get a shower. He walked out of the library then turned to walk toward his room, noting that the twins were talking in a corner, while walking straight ahead rather quickly. Once the young man arrived at his room he gather a cameo t-shirt and blue jeans to wear for the day. Last time everyone knew there were still clean towels left but he grabbed an old t-shirt then headed to the gym. Haru was at the doorway when he saw Nikki. She was beaten up which concerned him due to seeming to be the group’s doctor yet he didn’t say a word. One reason was that way the woman didn’t kick his ass. The other was that it would have sounded rather sexist, which he was far from. A nodded head was all she would receive if she looked toward the teenager. Not one of anger or despise but one of respect considering all of what she had done for them.

Haru took a while in the showers before walking out and drying his hair at the same time. He felt really better now as well as hungry. The guy walked toward the cafeteria for breakfast just to be greeted by the lovely smell of bacon and eggs. A meal in which his step father was really good at burning to a crisp, granted that the man’s intention was innocent in itself. The young man walked up and grabbed a plate, licking his chops, before looking for a place to sit down. His eyes looked around the room causing the teenager to notice that Erin was sitting by herself and a couple of other people away from her. It seemed that everyone was scared of the two halves the co-existed in this nightmare, which was not by choice, which made him disappointed in the adults. Vincent seemed convinced on making the girl whole once more. Maybe the oldest sibling would succeed but then again maybe not. Only time could tell. The young man thought to himself as he sat down next to Jenna and Felix.

Vincent James McGarth

Vincent was awake since about 6:30 am even though he wasn't quite used to this time zone. The guy just walked the halls until others seemed to stir awake before he ruffled his hair and walked toward his room. By the time the man had arrived Raven was up and rubbing her eyes. Her bed hair caused him to chuckle while she gave him a pouting face with a tongue sticking out." Ready for a run?" the older brother asked. Once again the girl just shifted to curl up in a ball and sleep before the intercom sounded off causing her to fall toward the floor.

"That's what you get when you sleep on the teacher's desk. Why don't you sleep on the floor?" Vincent asked while Raven walked toward the closet. His eyes shifted through the room as he noticed something was completely off. Erin's corner was completely empty which made him both angry and upset. This meant the Clara never came back into the room last night so he went to go look for her.

After a while of yelling, screaming, and pointless debate they decided to go get something to eat. He made sure to stand by the door, showing that he knew the boundaries to Nikki, not that she really set any. When his younger sister walked out with the food they headed back to the room and quickly eat. After that they headed back toward the cafeteria. The man waited outside humming the familiar lullaby while the woman washed both plates.

11:30am Day 10


Nikki went into the ladies locker room and undressed and took a shower. Mostly a cold one and it felt so good on her skin. She noticed that most of her bruises were going away. There were a couple though that were still dark even though it had been a week. As she washed her face she closed her eyes and she saw the images of the neighbor eating her mom and of the car accident victim lunging at her. Next she pictured Nolan as one of them and then her dad. By this time tears were streaming down her face. This was the first time since that first day she had cried.

After she was done with her shower she went back to her room and put her head phones on and started to dance. She could see across the hall that Grace was asleep in the porta crib they had gotten from the storage units. The addition of normal furniture to the school was very appreciated. There were some beds, a few lazy boy chairs and table and chair sets throughout the school. They were trying to make it as homey as they could. Nikki pretty much was still doing the same things, security, supplies and dancing and fighting/self defense. She went into the splits standing up and flexed her foot tight. She had to make sure she stayed in the same shape and conditioning was going to be of utmost importance. Nikki started to think a training partner might not be a bad idea.

Some of Felix's words were making her think. It was true though people did look at her as the leader and to a point they should but she was not sure how many more people she could handle on her own. The reason it was working now was because Matt and James had been helping her out with security and maintenance. She began to worry about what they would do when the inevitable happened and the power went out or there was not any water what would she do if the school occupants were to start fighting each other.

@thehangedman @garth@lpfan

A black SUV pulled up in front of the school building. Eric jumped out of the driver's seat. He wore black military-style pants and a black tank top. The tank top showed off his muscular arms. Strapped to each hip was a 9 mm pistol. One pistol has been his from before the break out. The second one belonged to the driver of his team. The driver wouldn't need it any longer...Also hanging from his pistol belt was a 8" combat knife.

Eric was tired. He's been on the move since the out break. Right after the outbreak he lived in his armored car. He made himself a bed with the bags of money. However, it was like living inside of an oven. Also the armored car used too much gas. He was always having to look for a source of gas. Finally he found this SUV and ditched the armored car. He needed someplace to hold up and rest. Having human company again too would be nice.

Eric took off his sun glass as he jogged up the few steps to the main doors of the school. He tried to open the doors but they were locked. He pounded on the doors. He didn't want to attract attention of any of the infected outside of the school. But he need to see if anybody inside of the school was still alive or if it was only infected inside. He found a large rock and used that as a knocker as he pounded on the doors. Looking around to make sure no infected were close by he called out towards the doors. "Hello?! Hello? Anybody alive inside? Heeeeellllllloooooo?"

2pm Day 10


Nikki had just walked out of her room and was not too far from the front doors when someone started banging on the door hard. She pulled her 45 out of the back of her pants and ran to the door. She saw only one person and no walkers within sight. She was a little aggravated when she heard Grace start screaming. "Damn it all man, do you have to be so loud? You woke the baby!" Grace was heard still crying and she glanced over as Kat ran back to her room to sooth the baby. "Are you alone?" She looked out past him and brought him in. He nodded.

Nikki looked him over and glanced out at his vehicle. It appeared to be a solid and sturdy SUV. "Alright, I can see you will be useful. There are between 10 and 20 people here including one fussing baby as you can hear. She is teething, and my niece." Nikki offered him her hand. "I'm Nikki Hyatt." Just then Matt came out of the nurse's office. "Hey Matt!" Matt looked up. "What's up sis? Who is this?" Nikki looked up and realized she hadn't gotten his name. She said, "Well I've been talking so much I don't think he actually got a chance to tell me his name."

@garth

Eric smiled at Nikki. Things are looking better and better ole boy. Eric still smiling at Nikki and then nodded to Matt. "Hi, Nikki...Matt. I'm Eric. Eric Torris. I've been on the move for days now. You're the first non infected people I've seen in days. I'm sorry about waking the baby. I had to know what was inside. You know? I'm glad to meet you. Don't stand too close to me. I've been living in cars the past few days.

"Come on. We'll get you settled." Matt noticed instantly that there were sparks between Eric and his sister. "See you later." Nikki said as she put the gun back in her jeans. "Here you go. This will be your room." There was an actual bed without a pillow but that was something Matt figured he could live with. The room was only two away from Nikki's. Matt grinned to himself. After losing Nolan she could use someone to divert her attention from all of her losses.

He took him from there to the showers which you had to go to the gym to get to. By the time they got in there Nikki was training hard. She was still trying to get those sore ribs to settle down. Matt snuck up on her and when he touched her shoulder she instinctively grabbed him over her shoulder and flipped him onto his back and had her foot on his throat. "DAMMIT Matt! You know better than that!" he looked up at Eric. "Now you see why I said not to worry too much about security here. She could beat up king kong."

Nikki pulled Matt to his feet and asked Eric, "You look like you work out. Care to do some training with me sometimes? I could use a partner who isn't also an idiot." She looked at her brother when she said idiot and he laughed at her. Matt left the gym and Nikki said "The men's showers are right through there. Just inside the door there is all you might find you need to clean up."

@garth

Eric was impressed by the high school gym. It was better than his school gym and that had a good gym. "It's been a long time since I've had a good work out. Even longer since I've worked out in a high school. But it might bring back my old football days. Right?"

Eric used to fantasize about working out in the gym with one of the sexy cheerleaders. "It looks like you've been working out and had some training too. I would love to work out with you. But not today. I need a shower. And then either some sleep in a real bed to some food that's not combat rations. I can't decide which sounds better right now. But first a shower..."

Just before pushing open the door to the locker room, Eric looked over his shoulder once more at Nikki.

A few minutes later Jenna entered the gym with a sheet of paper and walked over to Nikki. They spoke for a few minutes and Nikki nodded and entered the girls locker room again this time for a quick rinse off from her workout. When she left the room she was in blue jeans, tank top and sneakers. She jogged across the gym down the hall to her room and switched shoes put her gun in the front inside pocket of her trenchcoat loaded up her knives and grabbed her sword. As Nikki was going out the door she heard Matt, "Nik wait up!" She waited and said something Matt thought was funny and they walked out and Jenna locked back up. Nikki went to her car and looked at the gas tank. She turned around and said, "Let's take the Monster." Matt grinned and climbed up into the driver seat. Progress, he thought to himself.

They went to the usual warehouse. Stocking up had become easier every time they came here. There were fewer walkers every time and there was still so much. Nikki was so glad the refrigerators were still running. Nikki filled one cart with nothing but eggs. They needed to find some living chickens. Her guess was that was going to be really hard to find. Matt had one cart filled with toilet paper and Nikki found a stack in the back of the gardening section of seeds. They could plant a garden as big as the football field if they needed to. Nikki took everything she could fit. She knew the 'how' part would be found in the library. Nikki heard a walker and turned around and she stabbed him in the head as if it was a natural thing. Matt wondered what she would do if they were to ever run into their father.

They got the rest of the list pretty easily and headed out of there. Nikki got down out of the truck to open the gates so Matt could drive in and she closed it back killing the walkers that entered with one swing of her sword. She felt that her arms were stronger than before and she figured it was due to the strength training workouts she was doing.

When the got the truck unloaded Jenna was ecstatic about the eggs. Nikki looked at her. "There are no more there so you gotta make them last." Jenna understood the meaning behind that and nodded and started to plan breakfast a little differently. Less eggs and more cereals and oatmeals.

4:30pm Day 10

Nikki went back to her room to wind down. She took off her boots and put her sneakers back on and stretched her legs and feet. Next she hung her coat up. The sword she cleaned it up with a damp cloth, then she laid it on the desk that she had turned and moved over to the outer wall. She used it as a dresser/tv stand. There was a single bed shoved over in the corner. She hadn't lay down for ten minutes when there was a call over the PA for dinner in 15 minutes.

Nikki walked down the hall and saw Eric in his room. She smiled. "Hungry?"

@garth@thehangedman

After his shower, Eric spent most the early afternoon sleeping. He was tired of not sleeping much and not being to stretch out to sleep. He's been sleeping in the SUV the past few nights. He recently just gotten dressed and was tying his boots on. He smiled at Nikki. Things are getting much better now.

"I'm starving. Let's eat. Is the food good here? Who am I kidding, anything has to be better than what I've been eating."

5pm Day 10


Nikki smiled as Eric joined her and they headed to the cafeteria. She pointed out details of what was where along the way. When they got to the cafeteria Matt had Grace with him and so Nikki of course had to get some Auntie time in and gave her lots of hugs and kisses. When the baby started playing with Eric she knew he was ok.

"Jenna is a pretty good cook." Nikki said while making her plate. Eric was behind her in line and she grinned at his expression at the sight of all the food. Nikki went to the table where Matt and Grace were. Nikki crinkled her nose as a certain smell started to emanate from Grace's diaper and Matt grabbed her and his plate. "Let's go find Mama squirt." "Hey Matt! Daddies can change diapers too!" "nu uh!" He said as he rounded the corner. Nikki laughed and looked up at Eric as he sat down. "So think you'll stay a while?"

@Garth

10am, Day 10

Felix grinned, and returned her hug. Looks like he had gotten her worried. His mistake. Next time, if he was going to be gone long, he would probably tell her first. In the future, she wouldn't have to worry about him. Or maybe she would -- Felix was aware that no matter how invincible you portrayed yourself, people would still worry. It was human nature, and one he appreciated.

"Hey, sorry about that, I'll try not be gone for so long next time," he said, patting her head. "And breakfast would be welcome."

With a smile, he watched her turn back to the kitchen and sat down. Woah, bacon. And a lot of it. And . . .

When Jenna set down the glass, one sip inside and he was tempted to shoot her an incredelous look. Orange juice? Where'd she get her hands on this? He mouthed a silent 'thank you' so as not to get the others aware, and hoped she understood.

"Saying things have calmed down is . . . one way of putting it," he said, in between bites, "if by 'calm' you mean no one is panicking in the streets and looting stores, then, yeah, it's calm, but that's mostly because everything's been pretty much abandoned."

Jenna was a little somber. "And there is no rioting or fighting because they are all walking dead people." She sighed. "I can only believe that the reason that we are doing well enough is that most of us are staying busy and distracted. If we didn't there would be a lot of grief and tears. That is why I volunteered for cooking, so I wouldn't be thinking about everyone we have all lost.

"Where did you go? I don't mean to pry into your business or anything. I just thought we were becoming close friends and I was worried about you. I'm a bit worried about what we will do for food when our supplies start to get low. How far will they go out looking for food and supplies?"

"We'll make time for you to mourn, for all of us, to mourn," he leaned back, a relaxed but determined glint in his eyes. He had no one to mourn for, but they did, and sooner or later they had to or everyone would break, and he couldn't let that happen.

"I went out to find scavenging spots, and also . . ." he mulled about, deciding if he should tell her his other piece of business. "I was also looking for other settlments, other places like the school were survivors have settled down. And I found them. They're far enough that we don't have to worry about resource gathering areas interlapping, but some of them . . ."

He recalled what he saw: Cannibals, total tryanny, whole groups driven insane, keeping just enough of their reason to work together, somehow.

Shaking his head, he decided not to describe them to Jenna. There was no point. It was enough that she knew that not everyone they met was going to be friendly, or even capable of reason.

"Supplies are wearing thin everywhere. Soon, we're going to have to start generating our own source, which is why I'm going to need to talk to Nikki later," he said with a sigh. He was not going to enjoy that, and had a sinking feeling that Nikki was going to dislike it even more.

"So by generating you mean like growing our own food? She has already been looking into it. She brought back a ton of seeds today. She says we should rip up the football field and start planting there. We still need to look for the gardening tools in the school. I would imagine they are near the maintenance stuff."

That wasn't exactly what he wanted to talk about, but he was glad to hear about Nikki's foresight. He just wondered how far it extended.

"So how bad were the other camps? They couldn't all be as good as here." Jenna stated. "We got lucky that Nikki found this place when she did. It could have been so much worse for us. So when are we going to start training?"

At her question, Felix began grinning widely. "I'm glad you asked that, actually. When I was out, I also made sure to pick a few things to help with that. We can start after lunch, if you want."

In Nikki, he saw a natural leader, with the potential to be something more. Her, he could groom into a queen. Someone capable of creating more than just a safe haven amongst a desolated populace -- she could create a whole civilization to rise above the old ones. She just needed the right push -- and the right motivation.

For Jenna, she had potential, but in a different spectrum. Nikki was a leader, but Jenna could be something equal or greater; she could become an icon. A symbol, a rallying point. An ideal. And most of the time, ideals were so much more terrifying than the most charismatic leader.

The problem was that Jenna probably could see herself that way, and moreover, she didn't have the skills to become that version of her, skills that needed to be cultivated early in order to truly unleash their full capabilities. The image Felix had of a future Jenna was edging dangerously close to what most people would call a 'Fantasy'; nothing but hopeful fiction.

But Felix was not most people.

"If you're ready, just tell me. We can meet at the gym at say . . . two o'clock? Hopefully no one'll be using it at that time."

"Well, Nikki may be in there but she is likely the only one. And that is probably not a bad thing really. She has a lot of skills and I could use some self defense training too. I'm hoping you can both teach me stuff so that I have a chance."

He nodded in agreement. That would help the both of them. The more Nikki knew about teaching, the better her leadership skills would improve. Teaching involved knowing how to play strengths and shore up weaknesses. The more she understood how to do that, the easier she could detect them in others -- and herself.

"Alright, if she's there, we'll see if we can get her to help." And with that, Felix finished off the last of his breakfast. "Thanks for the meal, by the way."

2pm, Day 10

Jenna saw Nikki at two, she needed her to make a supply run and once she gave her the list she was off and running. Jenna had noticed the smiles between Nikki and the new guy Eric. Jenna was glad to see Nikki smile. She was always so focussed on the job at hand.

Jenna stretched while she waited for Felix.

He walked with an easy pace inside the gym, and waved at her. He was hefting a large bag that 'clunked' with every step.

"Hey, alright, ready to get started?" he asked. Dropping the bag to the side, Felix began wrapping his hands over and over, until they practically disappeared under the wraps.

Jenna watched and did whatever Felix showed her but the concentrated on speed and agility. Those would be the things she needed to work on. You can't get bitten if they can't catch you. Jenna smiled. It might sound like running but if something was going to eat you you run whether it's a cheetah or it's the former gym teacher .

"These are just the basics. For now, we need to make sure you have a solid foundation. Stamina is the most important thing for survival. Unless you've got that, you can screw everything else," he said. Despite all the running, he seemed practically fresh, asides from beads of sweat coming down his forehead. "Once we've got you a foundation, the real hell begins."

Oh he had plans. In italics for emphasis. Just in case that didn't get through: Plans

Jon was walking back from the outer fence stretching and yawning still being very tired. He had not slept properly since day zero of the apocalypse. Whether it was the constant growling of the zombies or the shitty sleeping situation or just the night terrors he was having, He still looked better than the now undead population of the USA. The air had a sharp chill in the air as it got colder. Winter was coming. He made his way back inside the school building and towards the gym. He knocked before entering knowing that at midday most people would be here. "Do any of you know if there is any food left from breakfast. The night watch have only just been relieved and most of us have had no food since yesterday." He walked forward a little clutching his sword tighter. "We also have more... concerning matters to attend to. Winter is coming. Im not sure if we can keep the heat on inside the building for the winter. We may have to leave when we get to winter. Go to someplace that has power. Go to someplace that is warmer. Its getting more and more dangerous to stay in one place."