Creeping around in an alley by himself, was James. He was scared, that was for sure, as he peeked out the alley to see many walkers. "Why me?" He whispered, as he ducked back in to go back the way he came. "Why am I stuck by myself?" He whispered, climbing onto a dumpster to get over a fence. He landed on the ground with a grunt, and walked into a nearby door.

It appeared to be a small store, which was completely empty except from James' footsteps as he walked inside. As he explored one of the isles, he heard a groan coming from right next to him, and jumped back, his knife up and ready. The source of the noise appeared to be coming from a walker, who had managed to knock over a shelf onto itself and get trapped. James crouched down in front of it, and looked at the poor thing.Why? He thought. Why has this got too happen to us. Why can't I just wake up from this nightmare? James leaned forward a bit, and stabbed his knife into the head of the walker. Before he knew it, he was in tears. This was quite saddening for him. He got up, and strolled over to one of the windows of the store, sitting in the darkness and just staring outside.

He swept his gaze over the woman, eyeing her up and down for any bite marks or torn clothing that she might have been concealing, it never hurt to be sure, after all, and from experience he knew it really -did- hurt to not be sure. Even though she seemed friendly enough and honest about, that didn't mean tat he was just going to had her his trust on a silver platter, nor did he even know exactly why he had bothered to stop and talk to her in the first place. Merely rolling his eyes, he shook his head " Haven't met up with anyone worth teaming up with. Can trust only these two here." He patted the hilt of of his blades, first the left one, then the right one. [i]" This one's Lucretcia, and this one here I call Penellope." He announced, only afterwards realizing it may have sounded a little odd. His named blades were his only company for several months now, so it only seemed fitting to name them. All things considered, it might not be the worst idea to get some human interaction again.

"Found them in the loft of some rich fellow who seemed to have had a passion for Japan." He replied to her first question. It wasn't exactly the entire truth, but it was more than enough that she had to know for the time being, and it wasn't a lie either. "The name's Damian, I guess you could say I own this part of the city now." It had been a while since he bumped into any living person, he had all but assumed that this part was devoid of life and placed himself as the makeshift owner of the city, claiming what could be claimed from the houses and shops as if it was his home. It wasn't as if anyone had disputed his claim as of yet either.

His eyebrows arced downwards in a frown, his eyes narrowed when Holly looked away from him, not havng heard anyon talk from distance besides her, the walls muffling t sound of anyone talking below Holly. "What's down there?" He demanded, suddenly growing wary again, possibly she was consulting with one of her friends on how best to take Damian out. Vigilant, his right hand closed around the hilt of the sword protrudingfrom his left shoulder, drawing it out of its resting place slowly as an indication that he wasn't afraid to use them on living people.

The knife slipped cleanly into the back of man's skull, cutting off his sputtering and moaning. Shannon grunted as she pulled the knife free and pushed the corpse away from her. It fell into an empty convenience store rack, sending the whole thing crashing to the ground. Her adrenaline pumping, Shannon crouched over the corpse and gave it one more stab to the head. When she was satisfied, she let out a deep breath and stumbled backwards, attempting to wrap her head around what had just happened.

She could now only hear her own rapid breathing and the thumping of her heart inside the convenience store. She looked briefly around at all of the empty racks, the broken cash register on the floor, and the empty boxes of food. It all felt... strangely normal. This mess and disarray was the natural state of things now. Even the dead body on the floor.

Shakily, Shannon stepped toward the blood.

She fell to her knees before the body of another woman. Her name had been Lexi. Her brown curls and tanned skin were now stained with blood. The woman who had the body of an Olympic athlete still clutched a police baton in her hands. Like so many others before her, the woman had been caught unawares by a monster and no weapon or amount of physical fitness could top a fit of carelessness. How could someone let their guard down in this new world?

As the shock began to ebb from her body, Shannon could swear she heard the echo of laughter. It took her a moment to recall that had been her laughter from just a moment ago. It had been so rare for her to laugh nowadays, but Lexi had known just what to say to make her giggle. Shannon had found herself enjoying the other women's presence so immensely only after knowing her for a few weeks. Lexi had a talent for making others laugh that had somehow survived the apocalypse.

Shannon touched the dead woman's shoulder, suddenly knowing why she had died. In this new world, a talent like Lexi's didn't belong. The pair of them had been joking around when they entered the convenience store. They had been joking around, imagining things as somewhat normal. Lexi had a smile on her face right up until the monster bit into her neck from behind. Shannon had seen it too late and a shout of "Watch out!" had died on her lips. Lexi had been so surprised by the attack, the monster easily pushed her to the ground, where she hit her head and died. The monster had taken another bite out of the poor woman before Shannon could put an end to it.

Lexi was another name to add to the long list of people Shannon had been forced to part with. Just another name. A distant part of Shannon pained with sadness, but the girl who had seen too much in the last six months was growing numb. Lexi had reminded her of something important, something she couldn't forget again: Laughter had no place in this new world.

With a shake of her head, Shannon grabbed the dead woman's backpack and began to sort through it. She moved the little food and water the woman had to her own backpack. She considered looting the dead woman's clothing, but realized all she would be doing was amassing a bigger collection of dirty laundry. Besides, Shannon figured she was probably too skinny to fit into most of it now.

She began to methodically search the store, pushing aside boxes and garbage in an attempt to find something salvageable. She paused occasionally to rub at her eyes, trying to push away the incoming tears. It hadn't been fair for Lexi to die. Lexi, who had been a stronger woman than Shannon thought she could ever be. Nothing was fair anymore.

I can't do this much longer.

A rumbling from outside caused Shannon to stiffen. It was probably a motorcycle, she recognized. A sudden urge to go outside overtook her; Her father had loved motorcycles and Shannon missed seeing them. Hastily, she grabbed her backpack and pried the police baton from the dead woman's hands as she went out the doors.

As she stepped out into the urban jungle, Shannon found that the rumbling had stopped. It was gone now, probably too distant to hear any longer. Gone forever, probably. With a sigh, the girl moved across the street, eyeing the other stores she would have to check out. She wasn't eager to continue her search by herself, but she knew had no other choice. As she walked up to the doors of the closest store, she paused at the strange sight of a male teenager looking out the store window. He seemed to be looking past her, Shannon realized. It was odd to see someone... what? Relaxing? Yes, she supposed it looked like that. It was entirely possible he was just another monster. Unable to say a word or bring herself to enter the store, Shannon simply knocked on the window, trying to get the guy's attention.

Well at least Rob could now know this guy paid attention to his surroundings, that was a good trait to have. Unless you wanted to be eaten. Rob didn't really want to give away his position. Rob looked at the female stranger once again and shrugged.
"Well this is awkward" he muttered to himself, gripping his bat hard enough for his knuckles to whiten, Rob peaked out his head and gave a big grin. "Hey...."
This, he hoped was a good decision. Seeing as there was no where to immediately retreat without making a little noise. As well for the fact that if he said hello now the man might trust him just a little more, and that. As Rob knew, could make a huge difference.

He turned his head to the Female stranger, "Umm...Oh right! Hello, I guess there's no point in trying to be all quiet now....umm, if you wouldn't mind, what's your name?" He questioned her with a friendly tone, but yet had that feeling that he asked that to anyone for the point of his own advantage.

Fixing his eyes on the city looming overhead, Marcus stood on the lands that abut it; He remained in a hesitant manner. Fate. Fate drove me to this city, I reckon. Yet, I don't know what it has in store for me; may it be misfortune and death? He asked himself, debating either to enter or turn on his heels and leave. He drew his Glock 18 from his poorly made, makeshift holster. He then began to walk forward, towards the run-down city. No, I won't die, he reassured himself as the buildings began to tower over him. He kept telling himself that he wouldn't die, but he didn't know how he could be so certain.

His ascent was a slow and weary one. The ache of his legs hadn't settled in until now. After miles and miles of walking, he had felt nothing - or did he just not show it? He couldn't remember. All he knew now, was that he felt like he was going to collapse. Fear had never taken him on as hard as it had now, since the beginning. Even though he was from Detroit, he had it fixed in his mind that somehow this would be a worse area - and possibly more rich and profitable.

Continuing on the road into the city, he draw his pistol to a ready position, checking his surroundings. And to no avail; nothing he could see was of any threat. Sure, a walker or two was present. However, now that he would recall, he Did hear a rumbling sound not that long ago; may it be the dead just hadn't spread back out? He wasn't certain, but was at least relieved. His Glock dropped back down to his side. Might as well explore, he concluded.

Lynn narrowed her eyes. "Don't come any closer and don't touch the door," she ordered. No matter his words he was a stranger. She couldn't risk him getting near Jessayln.
Jess herself was listening fearfully, a protective hand on her stomach. "It's okay," she whispered to her unborn child. "Lynn would never let anyone hurt us."
From her position of the roof of the car Lynn could see some walkers stumbling around. If this guy really did just want shelter...
"I don't have any spare food," she told him. "I'm not just feeding myself. Jess," she called down into the car. "Hand me a water bottle."
Climbing up a little Jess handed her a bottle of water with shaking hands. She got a look at the man on the motorcycle and whimpered slightly, ducking her head back down in fear. With that skull on his head he looked like some kind of demon.
Lynn tossed the bottle down to the man and gestured to a nearby car. "You can use that for shelter for now, but the minute you try and open this one I will shoot you. Don't test me."
Since he hand weapons she climbed back down into the car and sat across from the door, watching it carefully.

"Lynn," Jess said after a few minutes. "I need to wash these clothes. Could we go to the river?"
"Not with him out there," Lynn replied.
"But I really need to wash these. It's not good for us to have dirty clothes," Jess insisted. "He said he just wanted shelter. If he had wanted to hurt us he would have tried to get in."
Lynn shook her head. "You think too much of people," she replied, but got up. "Fine, but if that bastard tries anything I put a bullet between his eyes."
Lynn took the lead opening the door and checking the area for walkers. Then she climbed down and turned to help Jessalyn down. The younger woman's stomach was swelled enough for anyone to tell that she was pregnant.
Jessalyn carried a box of dirty clothes to wash and Lynn had her gun in one hand and her knife in the other.

Grimm just shook his head at the naive lady who kept treating him as a dangerous person. Although he was one if they dared to attack him, but he wouldn't hurt them or kill them if they didn't try anything against him. At last, the precious bottle of water was handed to him, and he took it into his hands with relief. He opened his mouth and let the liquid flow inside him , hydrating him once again and preventing his death. Now he just needed food...and he could as well kill the girl...s....he had just met, but knew it was absolutely wrong. He just chuckled at her when she told him he could use one of the cars as a shelter. "What...do you think I am? A hobo? I can stay on my bike..." Right after that, he emptied the bottle of water and threw it aside. He looked around and could see one...maybe two walkers wandering around, probably smelling him, but they were still a few minutes away from him.

What surprised Grimm was when a younger girl came out, and it was really evident she was pregnant by the bulge on her belly. He had overheard their conversation, so when they started to walk away from him, he sighed. "Don't go to the river...it is completely polluted now...more corpses have fallen to it, and the water is so rotten and infected a single scratch on your skin would be enough to accelerate the infection process..." Grimm knew what he was saying, but still he needed to give them a solution. He hopped on his bike and turned it on, then looked at them. "Hop aboard, there is a laundry a somewhere in the city, and I can take you. Oh...and by the way....I'm not a dangerous person...At least I don't think so..." he added with a laugh.

After Damian told Holly the names and origin of his swords she started laughing. "You named them? Tch. I guess it's more normal than naming lurkers." She noticed how the man was actual attractive. Large muscles, and those swords of his made him look cool. Surviving is more important than love. Holly was unsure if his story about the swords was true or not but really didn't care all that much. Even if he did leave important information out such as killing the previous owners, that'd just mean he would be able to protect her.

"What's down there?" Damian demanded. Oops, I gave away that guy's position.

"No need for violence! There's just a different survivor there who I have no relation with! I'll put my things down if it makes you feel better!" Holly said putting down her bag.

"Umm...Oh right! Hello, I guess there's no point in trying to be all quiet now....umm, if you wouldn't mind, what's your name?"

"Holly... I think spooky ghosts prefer haunting to baseball."

"Just like that huh? You city folk fall for it all, how you gonna trust a skull bearing simple minded bastard just like that?" Floyd questioned himself. That girl and her pregnant friend just accepted a monster, whom one, they didn't know, and two, was surely a blood thirsty animal.

With his conscious clouded, Floyd jumped out of his hiding spot pointing the tip of his arrow at all the survivors, one by one. "I don't think y'all want to head to the city. The streets were hoarded before I left." His only intention was to prevent the child bearer from getting injured. He could care less for the others. He was just tired of seeing the innocent fall to the malice if the world they lived in.

"You, skull man! How bout you just get steppin'. Your loud mouth is calling out walkers." Floyd already got a bad presence from this guy.

His teeth grinded together, he didn't partcularly enjoybeing mocked, even though he did admit to himself as well that naming his blades had ben a little odd to her most likely. He wasn't exactly sure if it wasn't odd to him as well either. It just occured to him that they were worthy of his respect, often enough, they had been the sole thing standing in between hm and certain, gruesome death. As much better conversation partners actual people were, he owed his blades a lot more than anyone on the face of the earth right now. The ones he might once have owed a great deal either dead or worse. he wasnt getting that good of a vibe from this woman, judging from her appearance and equipment she might be more trouble than she was worth, she looked alright, but that was hardly a genuine concern right now. Nowadays everything was either useful, worth protecting, or dead weight. He was still making up his mind which of these categories the woman fitted in, but obviously it wasn't the last one for the time being.

A sigh escaped from his lips, her puttigdown her bag seemed put put his mind at ease a little, but hardly diminished his vigilance or distrustfulness. He doubted that she'd have been stupid enough to have given away the location of one of her allies if they truly had been lying in wait to ambush him, and he still thought he'd be a difficult target as long as he was on top of the roof anyway. "I'm heading over." He called out, notbothering to wait for a reply or her permission. Readying himself, he sprinted towards the edge of the roof and leapt over it, his arms spread apart to gain the maximum amount of airtime before he managed to catch on to the ridge. As he swung himself on top of the roof, he was able to examine the woman closer, now on the same roof as hers. His sword was still out, ready for any unpleasant suprises that might still be in store for him.

"You've got many supplies?" He nodded briefly towards the bag she had just put on the ground as he made a half circle around her, keeping his distance before he'd be able to peer over te edge of the roof to whoever was down there as well. "Show yourself." His voice called out in a demanding tone, searchign the surroundings for the origin of the voice Holly had been talking to. Surprises nowadays were bad, he didn't care of they saw him as a rude, violent person, as long as he was certain he was safe.

"Oh who cares about him! He's not bothering anyone. If he really wanted to hurt us, he probably would have already." Holly said trying to calm Damian down. "I only have a bit of food and water. I planned on going to the river that's nearby and doing a bit of fishing, of course it's hard to be patient and sit still when walkers are all over the place. I could really use someone to guard me. Either of you boys interested? I'd be willing to do anything for you if you help me out." Holly looked towards the man who's name she still hadn't learned. "You can come up, were all 'friends' here!" Holly didn't have too many useful skills besides fishing. She used to do it a lot with her dad when she was younger. She knew what kinds of bait she could use and how to clean fish. She never liked the taste of fish ironically, but taste means nothing in this world now. "There wouldn't be much I could offer you besides some of the fish I cook and maybe... I don't know, a foot rub?"

That's fancy isn't it...that could be useful...tsk tsk tsk Rob watched the two talk, "Show yourself" I guess that's meant for me then. Rob sighed heavily as he backed away from the wall, making a quick check he wasn't walking into anything that would try to eat him. "Hello, My name is Rob..." Rob picked his words carefully.
"Hmm, Since I've...given my name I hope you could give yours, seeing also as....Holly, has given us the virtue of her name" Rob spoke slower, pausing for a bit as if he needed to remember Holly's name. "If you wouldn't mind of course"

Rob listened to Holly ramble on, "Well...Of course...Foot rubs would be nice...6 months of walking and running does tend to ruin the feet" He gave a small smirk. Holly seemed to be a bit naive...but..."I would like to get on the roof..." Well, he didn't really, but maybe it would show some type of trust if he came up?

INVOLVES MORTIMER & MYST.


Tom kept his aim steady, his eyes squinted.. focusing upon Mortimer's throat, looking for any sudden movements which would be considered agression; the slingshot that he used was at its max capacity for draw-length, the rubber stretched out far. He held the leather pouch firmly between his fingers which encased a steel ball bearing which would be used as his ammo if he needed to fire.. but he didn't.

Tom watched as the woman ontop of the boxcar exchanged words with the man, settling their differences it seemed from his quite far point of view. He gave a sigh of relief, feeling quite relaxed now that he knew he didn't have to take a persons life.. which probably would haunt him until the day he died. The boy rested backwards against the large tree, he closed his eyes.. shaking his head in disbelief that such actions had 'gone down'.

Tom stopped his rest, quickly standing to his feet; still behind the cover of the tree - he reached behind himself with his palms facing inwards, brushing off dirt and dust off the seat of his pants, aswell as his knees.. he started over back towards his belongings, placing his slingshot inside his rucksack oncemore, until he heard some footsteps.. and then a snap of a branch, he paid no mind to it; thinking that it might just be an animal, it is slightly wooded afterall.

Little did he know, it was one of the women who he had witnessed ontop of the boxcar, aswell as her sister.. he continued to pack things up, and he hitched his rucksack onto his shoulder - he heard some rushing water, thinking it was a river; he started towards the sound with careful steps - making sure that his footing was placed properly so he didn't risk the chance of falling and snapping his neck on a rock.

He took a knee next to the river, bending his head forward-.. he dipped his hands into the water, soaking them with the fresh water.. rubbing it across his face - washing it.. he slurped some which was trapped within his palms, feeling refreshed.

(Tom is currently at the river which the ladies were heading towards.)

Damian - Rooftop - Rob/Holly
His eyebrow arced upwards at Holly, not entirely certain if she was being funny or serious at the time being when she began about foot rubs. He figured it might even be some sort of subliminal message that she was willing to go to greater lengths to ensure that she'd get some protection by the way she had worded it. Regardless, it mattered little to Damian, what it meant was that she had little to offer in terms of survival, and that Damian would have to carry a lot of her weight and compensate by working harder to ensure her survival in addition to his own, regardless of the benefits she might have to offer. That was just something Damian didn't really have the inclination to do yet. Damian had to be practical after all, and look at the bigger picture. On the other hand, his human interactions had bee slim, and it might be best to make sure that his mental health remained just as good as his phsyical state. During his scavening hunt he had found a corpse with its brains blown out all over the appartment, he was certain that it wasn't the first, and didn't want to end up like him at all himself.

With no immediate threat, the sword slid back into its scabbard on his back, shoving it back into its resting spot, also as a sign of good will and trust towards the other two survivors. It wasn't exactly as if he genunely trusted them, it was more like a fact that he knew that neither of them would really be a threat to him for the time being, bt they didn't have to know that. If they trusted him while he still mistrusted them, it could only work to his benefit in the long run.

"It's Damian." He responded quick, and to the point to the one below. Before continueing though, he made sure to exaine Rob carefully as well, hoping to spot any injuries or bite marks that could be apparant to the eye. Without attempting to be tactful about the subject, he quickly called out: "You got any bites or scratches on you?" To rob below, not really wishing to let him on the roof before he ws certain that he wasn't just as likely to tear into Damian's jugular as he was to help him out. Eventually, he'd shurg, gesturing towards Holly to do as she pleased and bring up her ladder to allow Rob onto the roof if she so wished. It wasn't his ladder, so she was free to deny him still if she liked.

Rob-Rooftop/Street-Damian/Holly

"Well, Damian. No, no I don't. While I would guess you don't it wouldn't hurt to ask, some people who are serious try to hide the fact that they are going to become a walker" He gave a small sigh as he remembered a past experience. He gave Damian a smirk. "So...uh, yeah...could you let me up there, you known. good to be face to face with your...acquaintances." He could tell Damian didn't trust him or holly. He didn't trust Damian or holly. Holly....he couldn't exactly tell. "People can only get so far with a distance between them" Well that was a lie, but whatever.

Rob took another look and saw no walkers in the immediate area, but still. He wanted to feel somewhat safe. Or maybe feel more in danger. He felt sometimes like he didn't know himself anymore. Rob decided to end that thought there.

Holly - Rooftop - Damian and Rob

"Glad to see were all getting along now! So Damian, if this is your part of the city, do you have a shelter we could stay at? The roof is safe for walkers, but we can easily be spotted up here, and if we fall, were as good as dead." Holly dropped the ladder down to Rob. She had no reason to not trust these two. Sure they were two strong men that could easily over power her and force her to do anything for them, but they didn't seem that bad. Especially Rob. Holly took a quick moment to scan the area. No walkers were in the open. Most must have left to follow that motorcycle. Any others were probably stuck behind a fence or in a house. Holly grabbed some of her food and water from her bag and offered some to both boys. She could always get more.

James Feryana & Shannon Green - Random Store

James continued to stare out of the window, a few tears still coming from his eyes. It was quite peaceful outside, maybe he should just leave the shop and explore some houses. The funny thing was, he was practically daydreaming, and hadn't noticed that something had walked to the opposite side of the window and started to knock on it. James literally cowered backwards in fear from the window, pulling up his knife. Realizing that the woman at the window was not a walker, James walked up to the window, looked around quickly to make sure that there were no walkers, and then walked to the front door of the store, knife still in hand. The woman might rob me, or she might be friendly, I don't know anymore! He thought, as he walked near the woman, but not too close, put his knife on the ground and slid it slowly toward the woman to show that he was now unarmed. "I'm not armed anymore. Please don't hurt me, I'm on my own." James' voice came out sounding a little more like whimpering than words, and the boy was terrified. He looked terrified.

Rob-Rooftop-Damian/Holly

Rob smiled as she let the ladder down.He climbed up and gave an appreciative smile.His smile widened as she offered a bottle of water (Was that what she offered?) "Why thank you" He took a bottle. He seemed to look at it for a couple of seconds."I'll save that for later" He declared. Now that Rob could give a proper look at the two, he couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the three being in a band...Best not to think about before. Hmmm, shelter...is there really any such thing "Well...is this a group we find ourselves in?" While Rob wouldn't count out the fact that these two could slit his throat while he slept. Maybe for just one night. Also the fact that the part of his brain that still had some type of minor optimism really wanted a foot rub.

Shannon Greene & James Feryana - Random Store

Shannon found herself holding her breath as the teenager approached the door of the store. He was alive, at least, and he appeared to have tears in his eyes. A pang of sadness washed over Shannon, the image before her bringing back some unhappy memories. When the boy put the knife down and stepped back from the door, Shannon gingerly went inside. "I'm-I'm not going to hurt you." She practically whispered it, not wanting to upset him. She put down the police baton next to the knife and then pulled off her backpack. She then pulled out the gun she had tucked into her pants and placed it with the other weapons, saying, "Okay, now we're both unarmed."

Shannon continued to kneel on the ground. She would have offered him a smile, but honestly couldn't muster one up at the moment. "I'm alone too. My name's Shannon." She really wasn't sure what she was doing. The guy seemed like he needed help, but Shannon wasn't sure help was something she could offer.

Damian - rooftop- Rob/Holly
He briskly shook his head, holding up his hand towards Holly, kindly refusing the food that she was offering. It had been recent enough that he had eaten. What was more was that he didn't want to bein the woman's debt just yet. He was still undecided if teamig up with these two was actually a smart cours of action. Neither particularly truck him as determined survivors, but that might mean that they would be a lot less likely to stab him in the back when things came down to it. Despite his better judgement though, he did not abandon the pair on the spot, his need for human interaction currently overpowering the voice in the back of his head that said that he would have a better chance of survival alone. He turned away and gestured towards a chruch tower in the distance at the mention of shelter.

"I've made base in that belltower over there, I'm not certain if there'd be enough room for three, certianly not enough supplies though. I've cleared out several walkers in the streets around. It's no use though, more and more keep turning up." He turned back towards the pair, frowning suspiciously. "I'm not sure if we're a group or something yet, but I'm not going to risk my neck for someone who can't pull their weight or make him or herself useful in some way, so you'd best convince me that this is worth it sooner or later." There was a chance that they weren't eager to join a suspicious or harsh person like him after saying that, but he couldn't care less. If they didn't have the resolve to consent to hese terms, they weren't really worth teaming up with either.