Tobias was that guy who always ended up taking the jobs no one else wanted to do. Fortunately he always got paid well and could always keep himself and his sister fed. He was well-liked and also well-known for being in town one day and gone the next. He would disappear for sometimes weeks at a time and come back again. Tobias had even worked with Joel and Tess on some occasions and they were on good terms. He had been using the same exit for a while now and the military hadn't yet to caught on to it. He wouldn't be surprised if it was already found out by the time he got back. They had been cracking down at the time before he left. His runs usually went well but this far one was really screwing him over. Robert cut him a deal to make his way all the way to Pittsburgh to drop off a couple of guns and retrieve something he wanted. A guy named Darryl was supposed to know what it was. From the moment he heard Pittsburgh, he thought suicide. However, the pay was just too much good equipment to say no. He could have been there a good week ago. Traveling alone was a real hassle especially with an assortment of infected raging the streets and military trying to gun him down. He was surprised he even made it this far. 

Tobias climbed over a fence and hopped down on a patch of dead, wilted grass. He wiped sweat and dirt from his forehead and looked ahead. It couldn't be more than a couple of miles away now. He wiped his hands on his jeans and kept his way on the dirt path, the outlines of buildings finally coming into view against the blue sky. He kept his hand on his gun. He was sick and tired of walking and also of infected. Dim voices reached his ear as he moved uphill. He stopped and knelt down on the hillside. A couple of men were up ahead, outside a little shack. They had horses. Toby never felt the least bit guilty stealing anymore. The world was literally a game of survival of the fittest now. Men had resorted to becoming as animalistic as the infected that put them in this situation. Morals were of least concern to anyone. 

~~

Terraline bit into an apple as she made her way down the none-too-quiet streets of Boston. She was a fairly pretty, young girl with her hair was in a messy braid with loose strands hanging around her face. She had just got off the ration line, having just stuffed food in her backpack. Every day one of the men would greet her as "Berry Terry" and ask her if she wanted some berries. She would fake a laugh and pretend like it wasn't the stupidest thing he's ever said. It was becoming a daily routine and she hated being stuck in this place. Her favorite was the daily " Attention, harboring or aiding wanted criminals is punishable by death. Do not place yourself at risk. Report any suspicious activity immediately." She could recite it over and over if she wanted to. Her brother Tobias and her used to mock and make fun of the lady all the time.

She jumped at a sudden voice. She hadn't been paying attention to where she was walking. “Emma Jane Crowe!”
The name wasn't unfamiliar to her. She was a girl only a year younger than her who she had talked to on more than one occasion. The voice wasn't unfamiliar either. Terry glanced in the direction and slowed her walk to watch Mercer spit out his usual idiocy. She wondered why he bothered talking. "Freak."She muttered under her breath and kept going. She considered greeting Emma but she couldn't waste too much time idly talking. Terry for once had plans. With her aunt dead, there really was nothing to stay here for. She needed to find her brother and she needed a smuggler to get her out of here. He had been gone for weeks and she was tired of people telling her he was dead and gone. There was no way for them to possibly know that. Terry needed to see it to believe it. She knew he'd come after her if she was gone this long. Nonetheless, she threw Emma a smile and decided to let her approach her if she was in a talking mood. The girl had stated she wanted to go home after all.