@Oliver

"I'm positive. Things always end up for the better" Charles said, the latter half of what he said he did not believe but the boy needed comfort and some sort of hope to hold onto in these darks times, Charles would not be the one to extinguish that light.

"Thank you." Ivan said. It had been a damn long time since he'd heard that phrase, 'things always end up for the better.' He sighed, quivering a bit as tears welled up in his eyes. he couldn't wipe them away with the mask he was wearing, so he just let them slide down his cheeks. The heat inside the mask was making him tired, so he leaned back against the wall, trying to take a few deep breaths.

@Vortex

Aaron shouted over his own gunfire. "We just have to pull through until morning!" He kept firing at the strange humanoids. He assumed that the virus has impacted them, but the virus usually just killed the victim. Had it mutated? He continued to execute the monsters as he pondered. Slowly, the sun began to rise, and they started to retreat. He stopped. He still had ammo left, but he couldn't do this every night. They needed a better fortification system. "All right, we need to make sure this place is as well barricaded as possible!" He jumped down from his perch and began to push an empty shelf against the doorway.
@MissCapnCrunch@Oliver@LordofthePies@Vortex

The night had been long, tiring, and eventful. Last night the siblings had took on the horde alone. Their company safe in the vault. Without hesitation Audrey began helping Aaron move the empty shelves against the doorways and anywhere else there could be entrances. However, the exhaustion in her eyes was clear sign of the trouble they had encountered last night. "I'll get the boys." Audrey said, nodding her head and walking towards the Vault. She hoped they had done well through the night, she was sure that they had been nervous and unsure of the outcome of everything. Opening the door with the key that was hanging on a hook from the outside, she peeked her head in to see Charles, Gabriel, and Ivan. "Good morning." she cooed, her voice a bit softened and slow due to the lack of energy. "Come help Aaron, we need all the hands we can get after last night. I'll make some breakfast for afterwards." she stated, propping the door wide open as she began walking down the aisles for something to make them for a good start to the day.

Isaac drove his hijacked Honda down a side road to a farm. As he pulled closer, he noticed how quiet everything was. The only thing he heard apart from the engine was the occasional bird and the faint breeze in his ear. As he parked next to the farmhouse - angled so he could make a quick escape if need be - he took another look around to make sure there wasn't anything around him. Raiders had found his camp a few days back, and he still wasn't sure that he had lost them. After convincing himself nothing was following him, he headed inside the house and started to prepare it for the night.

A few hours later, all that he could remember was hearing a footstep behind him and then a flash of pain in the back of his head. When he came to, he realized it was already afternoon, the sky outside a deep orange. "Shit, I didn't finish fixing up the room," he thought to himself. One of the raiders noticed he had come to and walked over.

"Hey, he's finally awake!" The raider got down in his face. "You know that tripwire you set up? You killed my brother. He was a good kid, didn't do anything wrong, and you had to go and kill him." He brought a fist down on Isaac's cheekbone, sending Isaac crashing into the floor.

As he fell, he noticed that the other raiders hadn't put any masks on, only Big Brother here was smart enough to keep his on. "They must think I finished making the room safe," and if that was the case, then this would be a lot easier than he thought. Big Bro picked him up from the floor and got him into a standing position. "Alright Mr. Smarty-Pants, lets head outside. I've got some business to settle with ya."

None of the others made any attempt to follow Big Bro as he took Isaac outside, probably because they thought their leader would be fine. Big Bro cut the ziptie that was keeping Isaac's hands bound and got in a fighting stance. "Come on tough guy, let's see how you handle an actual fight!" With a roar, he charged. Isaac dived out of the way and ran towards his car, fumbling for his keys and thanking whoever was watching above that the raiders had been too dumb to clear his pockets.

An unlock of the car later, Isaac pulled his baseball bat out of the back seat and turned to face Big Bro, a determined, yet calm look on his face.



The Honda hadn't made it to Salisbury. Isaac had walked two and a half miles to make it to the town, and after a day without water, it wasn't an easy walk. He finally made it though, and even though it was too close to evening to explore, he entered a corner store that sold clothes, and he grabbed a decently warm parka. As he shuddered into it, he noticed that most of the windows had been sealed from the outside. It only took him twenty minutes to finish sealing one window and cover the door. A lantern in the corner gave off a dim light, and he decided to set up there for the night. "Just a few minutes of sleep. Just a few..."



The last few hours had been full of gunfire and guttural noises. As he noticed the sunlight come up, all the noises faded away. Reluctantly, Isaac got up and peeked out of the main window facing the street. The only thing worth noting were the windows of a grocery store were broken inward. With an inward sigh, and hoping both that no one had gotten hurt and, if they had, there were still things to take he could use to survive. He grabbed his empty shotgun to look intimidating and began walking toward the grocery store.

@DriveEMOut

Ivan was knocked out asleep on the floor, curled up with his head in Charles' lap. He didn't wake up when Audrey opened the vault door. He'd always been a heavy sleeper, which wasn't good considering his nightmare situation. But for the moment, he seemed peacefully asleep. Either way, he definitely needed the rest. Yesterday had been a bit hard on him.

@Vortex @MissCapnCrunch

@Vortex@Oliver@DriveEMOut@MissCapnCrunch

By morning, both of Sarah's adopted parents were dead, their throats torn out. Sarah laid down between them and she closed her eyes, feeling for the first time in years tears welling up in her eyes as the gravity of her situation hit her hard like a slug to the gut. She took a shower to get the blood off her and then went outside, beginning to dig a large enough hole for the both of them.

Aaron heard the crunch of gravel and climbed on the shelf he used as a barricade. He aimed his rifle at the man who was approaching. "Back the fuck away!" Aaron snarled. He had lost something the previous night, by killing those things. "Or I'll put some lead in your brain." His gas mask was still on, and his beanie remained perched on his head.
@The Critic

@DriveEMOut

Sarah looked up and heard Aaron yelling. She looked up from her digging and she frowned a little seeing him and another man interacting. She shrugged and went back to digging the hole for her adopted parents, the only ones who had ever bothered to care for her since she left her life as a noblewoman behind.

Isaac jumped at the unexpected threat and saw a man looking at him. More importantly, he was pointing a rifle at him and seemed to have every intention of using it. Isaac slowly put his hands in the air, holding his shotgun only in one hand.

"Hey man, I'm not trying to cause trouble. I was just resting down the street last night and heard all the commotion, wanted to make sure everyone was alright." He strained to hear some other noise from the building but couldn't make anything out. Maybe this guy was with a group of raiders that ransacked the place and were trying to keep other people away from their loot.

"If everything's alright man, I'll leave. Would you at least happen to know where I could find some water? I've been out for almost a day now, anything to help me get by would be appreciated."
@DriveEMOut

Aaron sighed. "Come in." He opened a makeshift gate he had made in and out of the shelves to the door. "We've got a chef. He can make you some food." He left the man to his own devices and ran to Sarah, who he had seen digging what looked to be a grave. "Need help?"
@The Critic@Nikki Moonlight

@DriveEMOut

Sarah jumped a little. "I've got the hole dug...I just need help dragging them..." She said softly, showing an emotion like sadness in her rose-colored eyes. She went inside, a heaviness in her step to where her parents were lying down. She took the arms of her adoptive mother and began dragging her out.

"Thank you," Isaac called as the stranger opened the gate and then left down the road. Isaac wasn't sure if he should close the gate all the way or not, so he shut it all the way but kept it unbarred, just to be on the safe side. He slid his shotgun into a little loop he had fashioned and walked cautiously into the store, away he could still be walking into a trap. "Screw it, I'm not going to get anywhere if I don't do anything." He sucked in a deep breath and, hoping he wasn't making a bad decision, called out.
"Hello? Anyone here? The guy out front said I could come in. Please don't shoot me, I'd rather not die if it's all the same."
@Oliver@MissCapnCrunch@Vortex

Aaron grabbed Sarah's father gently, keeping him off the ground. He carried him outside, where he then gently lowered the body into the hole and started to help Sarah. There was blood on his face, and he sighed softly. "I'm sorry. They were nice people." As soon as he finished he turned to Sarah. "Listen, do you think that you'd like to stay with my...group?" He laughed. "Wow, that's right. We're a group now. Regardless, would you?"
@Nikki Moonlight

Gabriel was in the middle of unwrapping a candy bar when he heard Isaac. He took a bite out of it before shuffling off to find him. He ended up walking behind Isaac. He didn't think he could be quiet, considering how much crinkling his candy was doing.

"Cześć," Gabe took a small bite out of the chocolate. "What can I help you with?"

@The Critic

Isaac had heard a crinkling, but someone speaking from behind him still startled him. He had assumed it was a mouse or something else messing with trash. As he turned, he spotted a younger kid, a lot younger than he was expecting.

"So, you guys aren't raiders after all, huh? That's a good sign."

Isaac almost stuck his hand out to shake, but thought better of it. "I still don't know exactly who these people are yet, better not get too comfortable." "Well, hi there. Uh, the other guy back there said I could come in, he ran down the street though. He said something about a chef being able to help? I haven't had any water or the like for a while."
@LordofthePies

Gabriel shoved the candy wrapper in his pocket before walking past Isaac.

"Follow me, please," he opened a door that went to the back room and wandered through the house, taking his time to get to the kitchens. He didn't know this guy and wasn't fully comfortable with letting him near all the important stuff. If Aaron says this guy is alright, I guess it would be ok. Gabriel tried to reassure himself, but it didn't really work. He brought Isaac to the kitchen and handed him a bottle of refrigerated water.

"Here you go. Would you like anything else?" Gabe almost whispered the last part.

@The Critic

The sight of the cold water gave Isaac a sense of relief that he hadn't felt since he had first gotten his car to work. He took it and downed a few gulps before he even thought it could've been a trap. If it was, at least he'd die hydrated.

"Thank you, you don't know how long it's been since I've had actual cold water." He nodded his head back the way they had come. "So, that guy that let me in, is he in charge around here? Or is there someone else I should speak to?"
@LordofthePies

"He's one of them, yes. His sister is also someone that should be listened to," Gabriel leaned against the counter, contemplating whether or not he felt like making lunch for six people. He decided he wanted to make sandwiches. Maybe grilled cheese. That is if he could find any bread that wasn't moldy.

"Hard rolls!" Gabe thought out loud, remembering that hard rolls had a longer shelf life than most things. "I could make hard rolls and cheese," he nearly forgot Isaac was in the same room as him. When he remembered, he turned pink with embarrassment.

He whispered a, "Sorry."

"Would you like to stay for lunch, maybe?" Gabriel would've felt bad if he hadn't offered.

@The Critic

Isaac almost choked on yet another gulp of water when the guy who gave him the water suddenly yelled out, "Hard rolls!" When the guy whispered a sorry, Isaac laughed. "It's alright, there's nothing to worry about." The thought of having a lunch with other people seemed too good to be true. So far, the only thing that had happened was he was let into a building of who knew how many people, given water for nothing, and was now being offered food. It almost seemed too good to be true.

"Thanks, but I've got some food in my-" He almost let it slip that he had a car. He wanted to wait and save getting comfortable until he could talk to someone in charge and figure out what this group's deal was. "In my, I guess it's my place. I stayed just down the street last night." Isaac stood up, feeling anxious to do something, even if it was just walk the town. "Is there anything that needs to be done? The least I could do for the water is help out a bit."
@LordofthePies