Aly snapped her head towards the girl who began questioning her reasoning. She wiped off her tears, and clutched her fist up in a fist. "You know nothing about this!" She said trying to keep her voice at a leveled voice. She paused her a voice for a moment before she continued. "I-" She gulped," I wasn't positive at first." It seemed she was choking on each word. She should of said something early but now all that filled inside her was regret.

Why hadn't she had the confidence to confide the one who had striped her if everything? Taking a deep breath in she forced back a sob though a few tears dribbled down her face. "I-" She didn't know what to say, and the words didn't seem to form when she thought of them. "I didn't want to be wrong." She bit back her lip before she continued. "Don't act like you would do any better!"

She didn't even think of a trap. It should of been the first thing on her mind. Wait- it was one of them. But remember back to the few hours ago when they met she knew why she stopped thinking this. "He wouldn't of killed his own kind i-if it was a trap."

The words Jake said seemed to be poison. She had to make a desission out of those two options. She wanted to be apart of a group but how could she be in the same group of the one that haunts her nightmares. She stood up and looked at Jake. "If I stay, I don't want to be around him alone." She stated clearly.

Quinn nodded slowly but did not look up at her.
Instead, he went slowly over to his things, sure to keep his hands visible as possible. He placed his revolver and his machete on the table in the middle of the room, and slid them towards Jake.
He went back to his pack and adjusted it as best he could to make it halfway comfortable.
"I accept to having a guard on me, if that would make anybody feel better."
He lay his head down, turned away from the group, and pulled his poncho over him like a blanket. The day had been long, and frightfully violent. Tension had worn him down and he was finally ready to feel the depths of his exhaustion.
Let tomorrow come and sunlight shed some new perspective on this undeniably shitty situation.

Jake nodded and pointed to the road in front of him. "Alright. Tomorrow, we should push forward. There's a military base a few miles out, but we shouldn't try anything unless we're either sure no one in there or have enough firepower to take out any hostiles inside. Sound good?" He asked his group. He wasn't used to having the role as a "leader", if he was even considered a leader to them. He looked around at the group, trying to get a consensus on what everybody wanted to do. "Anybody else have another idea?"

Celty looked up and nodded. "Sounds like the best option we got. A base mean shelter from storms like this and perhaps emergency supplies." She felt stupid for not thinking that in the first place, but was happy he brought it up. Better chance of survival there, and no climbing trees. "Beats sleeping in trees, that's for sure." Celty added, hoping to give a little comic relief.

Elsewhere...

Dawn was coming, but the men were already awake and moving. Provisions were stowed, rifles were primed, slaves dragged from their ragged beds. The Blood Army unit were preparing to move out.
Looking out over the suburbs with his powerful binoculars, from his elevated vantage point, was a hulking goliath of a man. Close to seven feet tall and thickly muscled, he almost looked as though he shouldn't exist. He had a closely shaved buzzcut, thick stubble and scars running up and down his arms and presumably on other parts of his body. His eyes were like needles, sharp and piercing, and they perfectly complimented his perpetual scowl.
One of the men approached him.
"Colonel Vex, sir! Scouting team 3 have failed to report back in."
Colonel Elias Vex said nothing, just grunted as he continued to scan the suburbs below. The soldier said nothing, grew increasingly uncomfortable. After a long silence, he carried on.
"Scout team 1 returned from...from the explosion site across town. There were only a handful of survivors. They reported seeing at least four individuals. One with an assault rifle, a female, a sniper and...and a man with a bandaged face."
Vex lowered his binoculars and turned to the soldier, a vicious grin crossed his face. They had been searching for that deserting bastard for a long time.
"What became of the survivors?"
"They were taken care of, sir. They were not fit for continued duty."
Vex returned to his gazing, "Good."

************

Quinn awoke at the first rays of light. It had not been a restful sleep, and he felt stiff and sore, inside and out. The events of the night before flashed through his mind like bolts of lightning and he felt his guts tighten and twist.
That had done nothing else but complicate things, and remind Quinn just how fucked he really was. He got to his feet and went for his canteen of water.
It tasted brackish, but it was cool and it restored a little bit of vigor to him. Today was a new day, full of uncertainty and the potential for death. Only now it could come as a knife to the back or a bullet between the eyes.

Celty opened an eye at the sound of movement, her hand firmly grasping her pocket knife. If the hell of the night before were to continue, she would at least be prepared. Sleeping in trees was actually more comfortable then leaning against a wall. Her back was stiff and ached. Seeing the movement was only Quinn, she opened both her eyes and stretched slightly, hoping to relieve some of the tension in her back.

"Morning, get any sleep?" Celty asked in a low voice not to wake the others who were still sleeping. She didn't like making enemies so she shot him a slight smile. "You're up pretty early. Always up before everyone else?" she added as she stood and stretched again. Her back popped and she sighed with relief. "Have to admit, tree was a bit more welcoming."

Quinn turned around to Celty. Her and Quinn had not had the chance for proper introductions, but he had a strong gut feeling that she had learnt enough about him.
Her attempt at conversation was appreciated, though he could tell how awkward and forced it was. Was she frightened of him? It was wise to treat anyone you met with a healthy dose of caution, but she had gotten a very quick and sudden trip through the looking glass when it came to the scarred man before her. It could very well be that one of those bullets in her rifle had his named on it.
For now at least, she was being civil and treating him like a human being, even if it was for the sake of her own hide.

Quinn nodded at her, keeping his face as neutral as possible.
"Always been an early riser. Guess I've just been that way all my life."
A flash of memory crossed his mind right then, of two little girls laughing and giggling as pancakes cooked in a frying pan, lovingly made by the most beautiful woman in the world. Fresh ground coffee, golden brown toast and a smile on every face.
Audrey...
Vanessa...
Simone...

Wife...
Children...
Family...

He suddenly realized how deep his frown had gotten and the silence he'd left hanging in the air and willed those hazy, blurred memories away. Too much pain, too much shame. They were never coming back, and he was never going to see them again.
Quinn desperately hoped Jake would wake up soon.
He wanted to go away from this moment, but he knew he'd just cause undue panic if he went on his own.

Jake woke up a little bit later, obviously having an uncomfortable slumber. He stood up and stretched, walking to where he heard Quinn and Celty talking.

"Good morning." He said groggily. Jake looked like it was hard to move, almost like he was hurt. In reality, he was sore, never having to run as much as he did yesterday. He was visibly dirty, dirt and dust collected on his gritty face. He had stubble growing in and looked rough. He leaned on a wall, clearing his throat as he looked at the two.

"Making friends, Quinn?" He asked in a joking tone, wanting to lighten the mood from the heat from last night. He was still internally conflicted, not knowing if keeping Quinn around was truly a good idea. He knew the group needed the manpower, but were Alyssa's emotions and her psyche more important than combat strength? He couldn't really make up his mind.

Despite himself, he managed the shadow of a smile, which he immediately hid by bowing his head.
"I could use one or two, I guess. Not as badly as I need to piss."
He felt very small and childish for having to ask, but it was easier for everybody than the alternative. From now until the unforeseeable future he was essentially a prisoner.
Can't risk letting him go, can't risk ignoring his past. He'd put them between a rock and an extremely hard place. The only way out was to prove he was a reformed man or die somewhere along the way.
Such was life.
"Do you mind?" He asked, pointing to the front door.

Celty smiled and looked over to Jake. "Morning, tough night too? Massages help, but then again there isn't any spas open nowadays." she joked a little. She knew how to give a good massage but didn't want to push her limits of her own trust. Didn't seem like the right time, just yet at least.

When Quinn asked to use the bathroom Celty hid a slight chuckle and sarcastically answered, "No. You have to piss yourself like a POW." she gave him a slight smirk and looked back at Jake. "If we're taking away freedoms, can I claim my right to pee in peace now?" she knew it probably wasn't the best time to joke, but she wanted to lighten up the mood. Making friends with these people may be ccrucial to her survival.

Like always she would keep one eye open at all times, but trust was something they partly earned when they let her in and didn't kill her in her sleep. That she was very greatful for.

Jake chuckled a bit. "You have no idea how bad I want a massage. And I guess you can have some freedom" He said, joking with Celty on his last sentence. He looked around, noticing how early it was. Jake knew it had to be at least seven or eight o'clock. He then turned to Quinn to answer his question. Jake was a bit confused as to why Quinn felt as if he needed permission to do things. He slowly nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead. No need to ask, man." Jake said with a small smile.

Jake didn't know the full story to Quinn. Did Quinn really do something terrible? He wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but everything told so far was slightly disturbing him. Jake was yet again deep in thought before shrugging it off. He then turned to Celty again and smiled.

Quinn excused himself with a frown, and stepped outside.
The cool morning air was a relief against his musty flesh, and he took a moment to savour it's gentle caress. He slipped his bandage off from around his face and let the breeze loosen up his scars a little. He could almost forget it all here and now, in this fleeting moment of peace.
You had to take them when they came, if you weren't paying attention those moments wouldn't stop and wait for you.
After about thirty seconds, he opened his eyes again and replaced his bandages, before relieving himself and going back inside.

"Sooner we make tracks, the better," he said to Jake, regaining some of yesterday's confidence. He couldn't change the past, but he could damn sure slam his fist down on the future and keep these motley bunch of misfits alive for as long as possible.
If he knew the Blood Army - and he considered himself something of an authority on them - then he knew they'd come looking for their missing scouts soon.
Quinn hoisted his pack onto one shoulder and awaited Jake's response.

Jess sat on the back of a tall light brown stallion, a thick coil of rope wrapped tightly about her throat; its end secured to a rather thick branch. Three men standing about the tree each armed with guns of their own, along with her silver plated revolvers; her hands bound behind her back by the wrists with rope as well a small two inch knife sliding across the rope slowly cutting into it. Her lips lifted up into an unworried smirk, a fourth unarmed man standing to the left of the large horse had his hands over his head being held at gunpoint by one of the three would be hangers; the leader of the tiny band raising his voice up while staring at Jess.

"You won't be getting away this time, any last words?"

She turned her head squinting softly into the suns setting rays, looking as if she was in deep thought; looking back towards the man to her left then at the leader of the group. Raising her own voice her southern accent obvious and well fitting her appearance, wearing simple steel toed boots, a pair of brown pants, a white button up dotted with muck and a leather sleeveless vest which buttoned in the center.

"Well shit, Jose I never was much of a poet."

The man unamused by her calm demeanor and lack of fear began to count down from three, his unoccupied second raising his hand just over the hind quarters of the horse ready to send it running off and Jess to a short drop and her death, but as soon as he got to three the man with the gun to his head suddenly burst into action. Grasping the barrel of the pistol against his head and twisting it towards the holder, his instinct to pull the trigger leading to his own death; exactly as she managed to slice through her bonds. The man to her left tossing the pistol quickly into her open hand, with a single pull of the trigger the leader of the group hit the ground; his blood spraying from the wound in a light mist. The final captor firing two rounds into Jess' accomplice the stallion bolting from beneath her causing the rope to constrict around her throat, body swinging wide straight into the final man; Jess rapidly wrapped her legs around his upper torso pressing the pistol into his skull and reliving him of his brain.

Her body of course still hung from the tree, dropping the gun and grasping at the extended rope trying to slice through the thick rope with the tiny blade; grunting and kicking her feet around in an attempt to catch the tree trunk, her motions getting slower and slower as her face went red. The knife slipping from her grasp as her arms dropped, head slouching as she lost consciousness; swinging slowly in the breeze before the rope gave way its fibers unable to hold her full weight as she had sliced almost half way through the rope. Jess' body hitting the ground with a solid thud, the noose still coiled around her throat though no longer choking her; her lungs expanding to welcome the air eyes bolting open as she sat up looking around at the bodies around her. Standing slowly, leaning against the tree as she pulled the rope off her neck its tightness having left rope burn all the way around her neck; Lily walked over to the former leader and pulled both her revolvers from his gun belt. The silver plating glinting in the sun as she tucked them under her arms, grasping her Winchester from where it balanced against the tree; sitting down with her back pressed to its thick trunk closing her eyes for a moment the rifle cradled in her arms.

Celty grabbed her rifle, popping the clip out first just so everyone would feel safer, and shouldered her gun. "He's right. We're sitting ducks if we stay here. No one was on my trail that I know of, but by the looks of it you guys had a bit of fun."

She gave a quick smirk then placed the clip back into her gun. "I'm ready. It's your call officer." Celty joked a little with a slight smile. Standing there she was the shortest of all three of them. It made her feel almost like a kid, so she stood on her toes for a moment. "Damn, you guys are tall."

Jake nodded and called for everyone to gather around him. After everyone was listening, he pointed behind him. Behind him was the unexplored area of the field that eventually led to the next city, the city's faint outline visible as daylight shined. Jake smiled a bit, trying to stay positive.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We need to get moving. I suggest we head to Gainsville and scavenge around and possibly stay the night there if it gets to that. Any objections or suggestions?" He asked, waiting for a response before looking to Quinn for his input.

Quinn nodded approval of the plan.
"If it gets to that. The key now is distance. We left a lot of bodies back in town. The blood army won't just let that go."
Gainsville wasn't a terribly large town, but it was close, if they could reach it before nightfall they would have to get indoors as quickly as possible. Otherwise they'd have to take their chances roughing it in the field. The night shamblers didn't really do much outside of the cities or other populated areas, which was something.
Quinn frowned, anxious for the group to be on their way. He knew they Blood Army would begin closing in soon, and he had no desire to see them again.

****

The squad of soldiers stood before the still burning ruins in the city. Colonel Vex stood expressionless as he gazed down at the shredded bodies of the dead. His troops stood passively behind him, tensely waiting for his next order.
In a sudden blur of motion, Vex charged forward with a roar, grabbing a mutilated cadaver with one hand and hurling it effortlessly into the rubble where it splattered sickeningly, and blood sizzled as it hit the fires.
"I'm not letting you get away again, Quinn!" He roared to the empty streets of the city.
He stomped away, back to their convoy, "Fall in! We're going hunting!"
The Blood Army soldiers piled into their vehicles and thundered through the city streets. Vex looked on ahead through a veil of crimson rage.

Celty looked at Quinn with a slight bit of surprise. "You guys actually ran into the Blood Army? I've only heard stories. By the sounds of it, I'm fortunate." she shook her head slightly thinking of the others she had been with who had run ins with the Blood Army. They didn't make the army sound fantastic at all. "They must be a real joy, huh?" Celty said sarcastically smirking slightly.

She had her back on her shoulder ready to go, already by the door, when everyone else was. She was anxious to get moving. Staying in one spot too long, or longer than a day, bugged her. She felt uneasy every time she did so. But it made her happy to be moving on from this place, with a group!

Being with other people did make her feel safer to an extent, but also made her more aware of her surroundings and who she was with. Getting to know the group would be a priority if she was going to stay with them.

Alyssa nodded as she herd the response though she didn't reply. She didn't know what to say exactly. After a few minutes, she slumped down into her original sitting position. She had so many thoughts going through her head that she couldn't seem to just shake them off. She laid her head against the side of the desk beside her. She promised herself that she wouldn't fall asleep in her mind, but her words soon contradicted themselves as her eyes closed on her.

(Her dream) The bare trees glowed a sure sign that winter was coming. Along with it coming the chilly, and soon the snow, but without knowing the next season that comes after- the day was perfection. Colorful leaves scattered around the ground, shining in the afternoon sun and hiding the plain grass that had been seen all summer and had now lost its interesting factors.

The brown haired girl stood on the sidewalk, pulling down the sleeve of her sweatshirt so it covered her hand as a gust of wind came along. Her hair that was left down danced in it, along with the leaves as they scurried down the empty road. She took a step forward, as she eyed around. In one of the yards that surrounded her there was a brother and a sister. The boy around nine and the girl around seven years old. They rolled around, and chased each other, there laughter and giggling filled the air. In the house across the street a old man sat on his swing drinking something. At another house there was a person raking there garden as there wife was inside cooking apple pie. On a bench in front of the neighborhood park sat a couple who were talking. At the park there were kids swinging and running around as there parents watched them.

She blinked and in a flash everything changed.

She looked around, but was blinded by the droplets falling from the sky- but they weren't clear, instead a bright red color. She held out her hand to touch one half expecting it to be acid, but instead it just rested on her hand. She eyed it surprised but at the same time wondering what in the world it was. She paused as she stared at her hand, till the thought of what it was somehow came to her mind. Blood.

She jumped back, and wiped it on her jeans. Instead of staining them, they dissipated into nothing. She looked around, the laughter disappeared and instead were replaced with lifeless moving less body's that seemed to surround her. There were hundreds of them that lied there motionless. Among them she saw her friends, and her family. She ran over to them, tried to shake them and felt there pulses, but again and again there was nothing. She fell onto her knees as tears flew out of her eyes.

Behind her a man with a gun stood. He held it to the girls head. " Look around, this is all your fault." She eyed the man that held the gun, a face she recognized but not the same voice. It was Quin. She stared at him but quickly looked back down. Instead of her family laying there it was the members of the group she was apart of, bullet wounds in each of their heads.

She heard a 'boom' and it ended.

She woke up, the morning sun in her face. She looked around. 'She wasn't on a street' she reminded herself taking a deep breath in. A couple of tears streamed down her face. ' Its not real, it can't be real.' She thought to herself. She had a dream similar to that multiple times but this time it was worst. She raised her elbow and wiped the droplets off her face. She didn't have time for this. She drove the dream in the back of her head and forced herself to stand up. She walked over to where Jake was calling everyone listening to the conversation. She nodded, but she didn't exactly know where the town Gainsville was. "Sounds good. " She stated.

Quinn swiveled around to look at Alyssa, before quickly deciding that might not be a great idea. He hadn't felt it before last night, but now that the truth had been revealed, whenever he looked at her he got violent flashes in his head.
Sweat. Blood. Tears. A knife. Begging. Pleading. Howling. Laughing. LeftHookRightHookThunderSilence....repeat...
He was sure of it now. He was sure it had been him. There was no denying it. The callous thing would be to deny it, claim ignorance, but that wouldn't be right. Rather, the right thing to do would be ignore it for now.
Deal with the very real, very present threat to the group and try not to reflect on the path that led him to them. Quinn had never much cared for the idea of a deeper meaning or a larger plan. He had always been a simple man with no need for those kind of ponderous musings.

Time and tragedy changes all. In an incredibly morbid twist, that was something he and Alyssa shared. That quiet revelation sent a chill shooting down his spine.
He turned instead to Celty.
"Fingers crossed your fortunes don't run out, and they cover all our asses. Don't count on them though. We'll encounter them sooner or later."

Charlotte silently made her way down into the kitchen, as usual the young woman hardly made a sound as she moved – it wasn’t intentional, but rather a practised habit. She stood in the doorway once for a few moments watching the others before she made her way in. Last night had been one of the most sound sleeps she could remember having and she felt better than she had in a long time. This morning she had even used some of the water to properly wash and clean the accumulated grime from herself. Her face and hair for the first time since she had met any of them were no longer hidden behind layers of dirt and she looked like a different person. Indeed her hair before had looked to be a dark brown or even black, but now its true blonde colour shined through. Her flat expression however had not changed, nor had her piercing gaze or the aura of general coldness that seemed to radiate from her expressions.

Without speaking she offered the others one of the cereal bars each that she’d been hording in her pack. She’d considered keeping them to herself, but after careful thought she’d decided it’d be better for everyone to eat something. She hadn’t decided whether her motives were selfish or if she cared about their wellbeing – it had been so long since she’d thought about anything other than her own survival.

She listened to the other’s conversation. Gainsville, so that’s where they’d be heading. It seemed like the tension from last night had receded once more below the surface, the group’s conversation casual enough. Charlotte was glad that they weren’t still talking about splitting up, especially if Quinn was right and they’d likely run into those Blood freaks again. She glanced down to her leg, which was again freshly bandaged. It was still sore as hell but at least she could walk on it easy enough, maybe even run if she really had to. Either way she knew that she wouldn’t be the one to hold the group up, that she wouldn’t be the weakest link. As she thought she absently nibbled on the breakfast bar, savouring the flavour as she did.

She eyed up Alyssa and wondered how she was holding up, if she still had doubts sticking around with the group. She felt like she should say something to her, maybe apologise even. After a few moments nothing appropriate came to mind and so she instead turned her attention to the others. Celty seemed like an interesting character, she seemed equipped too. Charlotte eyed the rather intimidating sniper rifle slung over her back. Even after being here for so long it still felt odd to her that such extreme weaponry was so readily available. She absently rested her hand on her hunting knife as she glanced at the array of various firearms that the others were carrying, it suddenly dawned on her that she might need to ask one of them to teach her how to use one if she was going to survive another encounter with the Blood Army.

As Jake and the others agreed it was time to head out she simply moved over to the door out of the house and waited for the others, her lack of objections was the only consent she gave to the plan.