---

---

Connors concern for Ana subsided slight when she responded to him, her struggle to undo her belt was met by the man leaning across and helping her remove it. "Are you ok to move? We cannot stay here." Connor looked around around as best he could but found the crumpled nature of the cars back end restrictive. "Try and get yourself focussed, i'm going to get some gear from the trunk and then we need to move."

Connor drew his pistol and left the car quickly, ensuring the shut his door behind him. With his pistol close to his chest he scanned the area and immediately spotted the culprit who had run them off the road. Across the road a car was flipped over on it's roof, in the driver seat was a motionless body of an extremely pale man. His complexion was clearly similar to that of the undead that he had encountered in the hospital. "Fucking prick..." he muttered to himself as he moved to the back of his car. Fortunately the shunt had forced the boot open rather than buckling it shut. Connor picked up his shotgun and grabbed the loose shells that were scattered around the trunk. In addition he was sure to grab whatever first aid supplies were available to him.

With his supplies stashed away in a bag over his shoulder and his shotgun over the other, he checked the surrounding once more. In the distance he could see a small group approaching from the main road, it was clear from their movement that they were no longer human. He hurried to the passenger door and grabbed the handle, but the door remained shut. "Shit!" he shouted. He continued to tug on the door, going as far as to use his foot on the cars body for additional leverage...but to no avail. He began to bang on car with the palm of his hand as he moved to the driver side, pulling the door wide open.

"You need to climb over her now! We have a small group of them on the way and your door is stuck." Connor spoke as calmly as he could, his tone having a strong air of authority about it. He reached out his hand to Ana, should she take it he fully intended on pulling her from the car in a somewhat forceful manner. He would need her to take the pistol so that they could split the duties of shooting any undead they came across.

Anastasia let out a panicked whimper before the male had reached over her and unbuckled the seatbelt, freeing her. She gave a small nod as he left the car, her attention focusing on the duffle bags she had, quickly reaching to grab them, a sigh of relief leaving her mouth once she found they were seemingly unharmed with nothing broken inside. Shaking her head a bit, Ana shifted and made sure to put them close to her so she would be able to easily get them as soon as she got out of the car.

Ana shifted, her hand reaching for the handle on the car door only to find the thing wouldn’t budge, she blinked in slight panic as Connor came to try and open the door as well but it wouldn’t open. Shaking her head, Ana shifted, banging on the window for a moment once Conner was out of sight. Did he leave her behind? What would she do if he did, but her attention redirected towards the driver side as the door flung open revealing Connor.

His words were calm but full of urgency as he spoke, she knew this was a risk he was taking by trying to save her, she knew he could have easily just left her behind as a lost cause but he didn’t, he was trying to save her. Nodding her head, the female looked to his hand before taking it firmly in her own hands, closing her eyes for a moment as he pulled her out, a loud gasp ripped from her mouth as she arched her back in pain.

Once she was pulled from the car, she quickly grabbed the duffle bags, only taking a moment to glance at her leg. She had hit her ankle pretty bad, probably managed to sprain it but nothing too serious. Looking around Ana had noticed a motel not far from where they currently were. Gently she nudged him and pointed to the motel. “There, we can hide out in one of the rooms until we can think of another plan.” She explained swiftly as she looked around awkwardly for a moment, her eyes landing on the small group of undead heading their way.

---

---

Ana's suggestion was spot on, they needed somewhere they could try and relax to lessen the adrenaline flooding their systems. They were in full survival mode and they needed to decide on a plan to get out of the city. The best way would be to clear their minds. "Great idea. You start making your there, I need to deal with these...can't risk them following us." Connor spun his pistol in his hand and passed it to Ana grip first. "Take this...i'll catch up." Without giving her a chance to respond Connor sprinted off towards the closing group of undead. As he moved he took his shotgun in his hands and cocked it, ready to unload it on the zombies who approached.

He hurriedly counted four as he closed the distance, eventually taking a position behind a parked car. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and slowed his breathing, You need to focus...calm down. As he opened his eyes he stood up he took aim with his shotgun, aiming over the roof of the car. With a pull of the trigger the explosive bang echoed through the street, followed by an audible thud of flesh on concrete. The recognisable sound of a shotgun being cocked filled Connor's ears as he cranked it back, quickly firing another shot. He continued the process until the four undead were nothing but bloodied, rotten corpses on the floor. He took the time to reload his shotgun before turning back towards the motel, Ana wasn't in sight so he could only assume she had made her way into the motel.

Connor broke into a sprint once more as he headed for the Motel, he ran with much more vigour than before. Ana being out of sight was a concern but she had proven herself tough up until down... She'll be fine...dont worry...

Ana gave a small nod, prepared to leave with him when he turned around and gave her his pistol, instructing her to go ahead and head out on her own, that he’d catch up with her. A small flutter of panic began to blossom in her stomach, she wanted desperately to tell him no, that she wanted to stay by his side but instead she gave a small nod, grabbing the pistol and turned away, making her way to the motel. Ana grimaced most of the time due to her ankle throbbing in protest to every step she took but she couldn’t risk stopping and tending to it, she could do that once they were both safe in one of the hotel rooms.

As she rushed into the main office, she walked inside to see that the place was practically abandoned. Quickly, the female went behind the counter, looking around for a few moments before she grabbed hold of a room key, taking the rest of the same room key to ensure no one would be able to just grab another one and enter the room they were going to hunker down in. She then glanced over to the vending machine that had been smashed in. With pursed lips, she quickly shuffled over taking whatever snacks and drinks remained and put them in the duffle bags, something she figured they would need.

Finally Anastasia made it to the room in question, right in the front and one of the first ones. She used the keys and opened it up, placing the things inside as she set everything down on the ground. Once she had everything put down and gun gripped firmly in her hand, she went back to the door and opened it to stand there and look for Connor. With a nervous frown, Ana looked around the area, grateful she didn’t really see anyone dead or alive, figuring this particular area must have already been abandoned with hopes to evacuate.

As soon as she caught sight of the male, she lifted her arms waving him over to come to where she was. With sharp eyes, the female continued to look around to make sure there was no one else coming that could potentially harm him or her. As soon as he got into the room she closed the door quickly, locking the doors. Her breath was coming out raggedly as she slid down to her butt against the door, tears threatening to blur her vision. “New rule, we don’t leave each others side, ever.” She whimpered out sternly though her eyes were filled with relief, clearly happy he was unharmed.

---

---

Connor heard the door slam shut behind him with the various secondary locks and deadbolts not far behind. As he tried to regain his breath he turned to see Ana slide down the door with her back against it. As she came to on the floor the police officer could see the tears beginning to form in her eyes. “New rule, we don’t leave each others side, ever.” It then became apparent to Connor that he had been reckless, he wasn't with another officer. While she was a qualified doctor and likely skilled under pressure, she was still a civilian he had a duty to protect.

He walked over to her and squatted down, getting as close to her eye level as he could. He could see that the whites of her eyes had begun to redden ever so slightly, tugging at his conscience once more. "I'm really sorry. I didn't think." He glanced down at the floor for a moment as the shame became too much to keep looking at her. "I promise that I won't leave your side until we are out of this City...unless the rest of the world has gone to shit as well." That was a dark thought that he hoped wasn't true. His kids were in the next town over so if this thing hadn't been contained there was every chance that they would be going through what he was...or worse.

The mental image caused him to lose his legs beneath him, falling onto his posterior. They will be fine. They will be fine. He repeated that over and over again in his head for until he snapped back to reality. He looked over his shoulder at the double bed and back to Ana. "You can have the bed, i'll stick by the door." Gesturing with his head towards the likely bed bug ridden matress, Connor did his best to show her a smile. "I'll sit here and if anything comes knocking I won't need to go far."
[/color]

Anastasia couldn’t help the wave of emotion that was washing over her, she didn’t want to admit that in such a short amount of time she considered the officer a friend already. She sat there for a moment as she listened to him speak, her head shaking slightly as she looked down at her lap, ignoring the tears that now began to fall freely. “No, I know you were just trying to keep us protected, keep us safe and i understand that completely..” She murmured softly, her gaze lifting to look into his eyes for a moment.

“I really hope the rest of the world isn’t like this..” She murmured quietly, her body shifting before suddenly the female threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Her body had been shaking, too lightly to see, but enough to feel as she held onto him tightly. “Damnit..” She whimpered, clearly cursing herself for being so emotional, for being so scared and worried. She was better than this, she was stronger than this and yet she felt completely confused in these trying times.

For a few moments longer, Anastasia hugged the male and slowly let go of him, her arms falling from his neck as she pulled away, smiling up at him for another moment as she sighed. “No, I’ll sit here too, we can switch off if we need to and plus, we need to think of a plan.” She explained for a moment as she stood, wincing and stumbling to the side, biting her lip in pain. She had completely forgotten the injury she had obtained during the crash, her ankle already appearing to be bruising.

“L-Lets get you cleaned up, you have blood on your face..and i’ll bandage up your cuts, sit down and get comfortable, it’s going to be a long night.” She murmured softly, grabbing the duffle bags and setting them down next to him before going back to the bed, inspecting the pillows closely before bringing them over as well once she was sure they were bug free.

Anastasia looked back at the male in complete awe as he began to move the bed towards the door. Quickly she grabbed the duffle bags to keep them out of the way as Connor began to pile furniture against the door to ensure they would be safe should anyone try to enter the room they were residing in. She couldn’t help but feel a warmth spread over her chest as she watched him.

He was so determined to keep them safe despite having just met only earlier that day. It gave Ana hope that there are still decent people in the world..that is if they manage to survive this mess that has begun to spread nationwide. Her gaze watched him for a moment longer before his voice caused her to blink a few times in confusion. As she looked back at him standing by the bathroom door, a light blush dusted the woman’s cheeks as she gave a quick nod.

“R-Right of course..” She murmured, grabbing one of the duffle bags and making her way over to him and settled the bag on the counter. She gave a few hums before she looked to him then to the toilet, motioning for him to sit down so she could begin assessing his wounds. “With the shock and adrenaline from having gotten in an accident and then playing hunter, i’m sure you didn’t realize the blood was coming from a pretty large gash on your forehead..”

Her voice was scolding and concerned but also gentle and full of warmth as she turned to him, lifting a sanitary napkin, wiping it around the wound and along his face, cleaning the blood from it lightly. “You have a bruise on your right cheekbone as well, we have a few cold compresses that we just need to break to get it to freeze up, you’ll put one on that bruise..” She murmured as she continued to clean his face up.

With a small sigh, she turned back to the bag, grabbing peroxide and a large cotton cause patch. As she soaked the patch, she moved back to stand in front of him with an apologetic smile. “This is probably going to hurt a lot but please bare with me okay? I need to disinfect it before i bandage it up.” She explained lightly before sighing a bit and finally pressing the gauze to the gash on his forehead.