@Ayemdar

"It's not my house," Cameron called back, laughing "I don't care how many stays decide to shack up here."

He ejected the magazine from his pistol and shoved a fresh one into place. We're getting low again, Cam..., he thought. That would need to be dealt with sooner than later.

"Get in here before more come. I've had more than enough excitement tonight."

Rose quickly hurried into the place. She put her weapons in her backpack and pulled out her canteen. She drank half of the water, saving a little bit for tomorrow if need be.

She didn't want to anger these people, she didn't know them and they didn't know her, so she just waited for someone to greet her. She was lucky to be alive and didn't want another run in with death so soon.

Cameron could feel the anxiety radiating off of her like heat from a boiler. He was quite familiar with the sight, he had been stuck out in the shit long before the world had decided to end. These kids deserved better than this. They weren't warriors, and they didn't ask to be. All sense of choice and decency had been stripped from them for no reason. None that they could possibly comprehend, anyway.

It made his stomach churn.

"What's your name?" he asked softly, hoping to set her mind at ease, however little was possible.

X ran down from his room. "Nope. Nuh-uh. Nada. Sorry, room's full, oh what a shame. Well, have a nice life!" He slung his rifle over his shoulder and started to walk away, humming. "Come on, Cam."

Rose softened a little because of Cam's tone of voice. "I'm Rose. It's nice to meet you...?" She ended that with a question, probing for the man's name. Before he could answer a kid ran into the room. She couldn't go back out there. She'd die. Everything she'd done thus far to survive would have been a waste. There were things she did to survive that she wasn't proud of, and she can only justify them if she continues to survive.

"Please let me stay, just for the night. I can pay you guys." She paused, thinking about what she would offer and then continued "Not in money, of course, money is useless now. I can give each of you a can of food, it might not seem like much, but that saves you a day of scavenging and putting your life at risk. Just give me one night, please." Rose couldn't believe she had to beg a kid younger than her, but she did so without shame. Survival was all Rose cared about, and she'd do what she can to accomplish that.

Cupid, got up and walked over to Rose, sat down and looked up at her with a look of curiosity and expectations. As it looked up at her it let its mouth hang open as it looked at her. Like it wanted something.

He slung his rifle over his shoulder. "If you plot anything, I'll kill you. Now come on, you don't have to pay me. You'll have to sleep on the floor tonight though." He took off his gear and collapsed onto the bed. He opened his book, and decided to read.

@Ayemdar

"You can go ahead and ignore Xavier." Cam told her, casting the boy a rather nasty look. "He's got this condition where his mouth will open and garbage will fall out. Take pity, the poor kid can't help it." Smiling, he introduced himself, "My name is Cameron. You can relax, nobody is going to go back out there tonight."

"So, about yourself." he said, voice turning suddenly business like. "We're you traveling with anyone else before I found you? There were signs of a pretty rough struggle out there, but I couldn't find any human bodies. I doubt it, but its possible someone else could have survived. What can you tell me?"

Rose sighed with relief. She knew she couldn't go back out tonight. She reflected on how the boy threatened to kill her. If only he knew how dangerous she could be, especially once threatened. Rose wouldn't let someone come in between her and her goal to survive. She pushed it aside for now though.

Rose giggled slightly at how Cam was talking about Xavier. Having some humor for once was a nice relief and she appreciated it. "I was alone tonight. I got separated from last group about 2 days ago; ferals ripped through our camp. So I was out scavenging and just couldn't find a good place to settle at for the night, when I heard some screams. I sprinted in the direction of it but found nothing. I think I was too far from them. But that's what brought me here. "