Kat spent a few days with Lex and Jim, enjoying the safety and comfort of a bed and food. Kat thought Lex was wonderful, she was fierce and rude and everything that a girl wasn't supposed to be. Except she was pretty and brave. Kat lay in her little nest of blankets, thinking about James, it had been a week since he had left, was he looking for her? Was he hurt? Kat decided that she would check in the last safe house that her and James had set, and if he wasn't there she would return to the forest to wait for him.

Suddenly Jim tapped her on her shoulder. He invited Kat for a walk and then climbed out the door onto the street. Kat quickly grabbed her satchel and rifle, and climbed up after him. Kat hung back slightly behind Jim as they walked in silence for a few minutes, both of them cautious and nervou of the mutants that could be lurking around.

"Sure! Thanks for inviting me."Emma said. She knew he didn't trust her. Emma suspected her cheerful demeanor made him suspicious but in all honesty she couldn't help feeling absolutely relieved to see people again. At this point, she didn't care if she got killed. There wasn't much to live for anyway. She just wanted some company after years of solitude. Her heart ached as memories of her family came back to haunt her. No. Emma didn't want to relive that moment again. She took a deep breath and pushed it out of her mind. It was then she realized she was wasting time standing around. Glancing behind her, it seemed she wasn't the only one with a heavy heart. She had looked in time to see Timothy wiping his eyes. She let him march past her, quietly singing an all too familiar song. Emma joined him and took his hand comfortingly. She gave him a faint smile, "You don't have to be ashamed of crying. I think everyone alive in this world has lost someone important to them. It doesn't make you any less stronger. " She let go and followed Dean up into his house. "You know my dad always used to sing that song. He was a big fan of it. Guess it never gets old, huh?"

When Emma grabbed Tim's hand he did not react so much in a physical way but in a way a little stunned at her openness and kindness. That once lost feeling of compassion or empathy. "You don't have to be ashamed of crying. I think everyone alive in this world has lost someone important to them. It doesn't make you any less stronger. " As Emma spoke those words it really showed she cared for others, a good trait in Tim's book. "Its not so much as losing someone important to them any more than just remembering the good times together with someone you held more dear and precious that without a hesitation you would have switched fates with them just to see them smile one last time." replied Tim. "Also You are My Sunshine was one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs, a classic song in anybodies book you know." Giving the best smile he could and a brief tightening of the hands and lets go once they enter the house Tim throws his stuff into a corner furthest away from him so he could not give off a hint of a threat he then proceeded to living area where everyone could meet up. Sitting Indian style on the floor he clears his throat and says in a jovial tone "So lets get this little pow wow started. I think first off we should reintroduce ourselves and tell a little about ourselves. Who wants to start?"

"Good, keep it just like that." Takiko told Ryan as she positioned herself on her knees, bent over James' head. She picked up the needle, disinfected it again, not because it was necessary, because when she had let go of it it had ended up on top of the clean bandages she had layn out for use next to them. She merely did it for her own sake. She was nervous about what she was doing even if she didn't show it and making sure needle and thread were the cleanest they could get helped her feel a little more confident about her ability to do this.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a few seconds, focusing on the task at hand and keeping absolutely calm,then she fixed her eyes on the wound and reached out, doing the first stitch.It felt weird, seeing and feeling that she was stitching his skin back together and it was definetly a feeling that would take a lot getting used to. Not that she planned on doing this again anytime soon. And she really hoped she wouldn't need to either. The stitching took some time. She was being extremely careful and thurough, placing them at the exact same distances and trying to do them neither too tightly nor too loose.

Making the last of the stitches she exhaled a rush of air as she sat up and put the needle away. She closed her eyes for a second, wiping her forehead with her sleeve, then using the heel of her hand to push her glasses back in place. Opening her eyes, she looked at Ryan and forced a smile. "I'll bandage it now and then we can get him upstairs." she briefly let him know, before taking off the second pair of gloves, still leaving the ones she'd been wearing ever since she'd had that little accident on the road on. The bandaids she'd put on her scratched up hands hat red stains already, that could be seen through the thin latex gloves. She'd need to change them when she had the time. Right now it didn't matter that much though.

Takiko grabbed the iodine ointment once more, putting it on the gauze, then plazed the latter on the wound before wrapping it all securely with a bandage, which was a little difficult to do with James lying face down, but she managed alright. To her amazement her hands only started shaking after she was done and sat back on her heels to get a look at her work. She clutched them together,trying to keep them still, not wanting Ryan to see her reaction. She took a deep breath to compose herself then looked up at the other guy. "You can stop with the flashlight now." she told him, then added: "Thanks." before she got up and collected all the things she'd used, putting them back together and into her bag. She glanced at the creature in the corner and noticed her gun a few meters besides it, lying on the floor. She went over to grab it, putting the safety back in and putting it in the back of her jeans again, safely resting against her spine, and pulled her hoodie overneath, getting it out of view before turning back to Ryan. "I will get my things later, let's just get him somewhere dry and warm for now, okay?" she asked, noticing she had used a rather commanding town with him until now, something she wasn't used to and now, felt a little embarrassed about.

The brightness of the sky was burning Jim’s dry eyes. It was the worst part about not being exposed to natural light for a few days and then all of a sudden jumping right back out into it.

When they got out of the alley, Jim was able to get a better look around the open streets in case any of the Brutes were lurking. He scratched his head determining that the surrounding area seemed to be clear. “So, Kat, do you know where your brother was headed? And over by the cave, is that where he told you to wait?” Jim still couldn’t wrap his mind around Kat’s little scenario. It didn’t seem right. Perhaps maybe the brother deemed Kat as a burden and he decided to trick her into thinking he was coming back. But that couldn’t be right either. The little girl didn’t seem to be a burden. The girl was brave considering her age, and smart. She’d even probably be more well off out here than he was.

Kat squinted in the light, silently watching the road around her. Jim seemed to deem it safe, and asked her about James. Even though Jim thought it was safe, Kat spoke in a hushed voice as she replied, "I haven't seen my brother in 7 days, he left our home to get food. I am looking for him.". She glanced a worried look at Jim, unsure how he would respond, he might hurt her if he knew she was alone. "I didn't know there was a cave here, I came here to rest, and you were here." Kat watched Jim carefully, he seemed old and saggy, she would be able to outrun him if he wanted to steal her things or hurt her. Something about growing up while the world was ending had made Kat paranoid, probably a good trait in these times. Kat went quiet for a moment, thinking about her brother, and how many days he had been missing.

Suddenly she looked up at Jim, "Its my Birthday in 8 days, I have to find him before then. Or he'll be upset that he missed my birthday. Last year we had our own little party." Kat smiled at the memory of the stale cake picnic they had shared, James had found a frozen christmas cake in someones freezer, and saved it for her birthday.

Kat suddenly noticed a faint smoke smell, the air was still clear, but the smell was slowly growing stronger. "Jim, I smell burning." She looked out towards the street hunting for the source of the smell.

Even though Ryan's task wasn't the most challenging, he tried to make the best out of it by carefully paying attention how Takiko was doing her work. Medical knowledge can be very important especially in these days, as their current situation shows it as well. So far, he handled blood surprisingly well, only shaking for a few seconds every now and then, but he always kept that flashlight steady.

The operation took plenty of time, both of them stayed silent during it. Finally, after she has closed all the wounds, she turned to Ryan announcing that after she bandages the man, they can take him upstairs, to a more ideal enviroment for a knocked out person after an operation. The bandaging was rather quick comparing it to the rest of the process and it could be seen that Takiko felt a massive relief after she had finished with everything. Of course, she most probably saved a life. Although she hid it as much as she could, Ryan could still see that she was a little exhausted, but unyielding after all that happened. Impressive, he thought. The girl finally looked up to him, asking him to turn off the flashlight.

"Okay, there we go. Amazing work, but we're still not done yet, are we?" he said, not even waiting for an answer. Using "we" was a little unsettling to him as the only thing he did was holding that flashlight. But, after all, she was the one with the expertise, him interfering would've just caused problems. Seeing that Takiko started packing up, he quickly threw down and checked through his own backpack, which, fortunately, still had everything. He was surprised to see that she didn't plan to bring her own stuff just yet, but all she wanted to bring the man up.

"Fine for me, let's do it."

Takiko nodded at him recognizing his praise, she might start feeling proud when they had time to rest. Then she looked at James and back at Ryan again, trying to think of the best way to carry the guy up the stairs. Ryan was more the nerdy type, it seemed. She normally wouldn't care, but now they needed to lift practically dead.weight up two sets of stairs. It actually looked like she was the stronger one. And she was smaller, so they'd be a bit more balanced when headed up the stairs. "I'll take the shoulder, you take the feet?" she asked him, already heading over to squatting down by James and reaching for his shoulders.

Together, they started lifting James upstairs. The first set of stairs proved difficult, but going slowly, without being too slow, they made it into the hallway, whre they had to set him down for a bit, taking a short break. Takiko wiped her forehead with her sleeve again, feeling the strong need of a good long bath to get all the dirt and sweat out of her pores. She had managed a quick wash the day before, but nothing compared to soaking in hot water for an hour. SHe couldn't remember the last time she had actually felt absolutely clean.

Wtih a sigh, she untied her hair, letting it fall over her shoulders. It almost reached to her hips now. After untangling it a bit with her fingers she proceeded to pile it on the back of her head again and fix it in a bun again. She used to love wearing it open but these days it was mostly in the way. Her eyes fell on Ryan and she nodded her head towards the second flight of stairs. "Let's get it over with?" she asked, while taking position again. Once uptairs, she directed them into one of the rooms to their right and, as she had remembered, there was a wide bed inside. It was issing any sheets or pillows, of course, but they were lucky it was one of the few pieces of furniture that had been put or left in the otherwise empty house.

Carefully and under, from second to second worse, aching muscles, they placed the still uncoscoius James on the bed. RId of the weight, Takiko slumped down, breathing hard, arms, back and legs burning from the exhaustion. She took deep, even breaths for a while before getting up again and sitting by James' side, finger feeling for his puls, which was reassuringly growing stronger, before she placed her hand on his forehead. Warm, but not yet anything to worry about. She sighed in relief and looked at Ryan. "I'll go get my things, look after him for a bit?" She didn't wait for an answer, instead hurried out the door and into the basement with wobbly, aching legs, afraod they might not hold her anymore if she waited even one second longer. It took her no time at all to be back upstairs in the room. She nodded at Ryan for thanks and then proceeded to take off her hoodie, balling it up and carefully placing it under James head, then unfolded her jacket to cover him with it, though her rather small jacket barely managed to cover his borad shoulders. The basement had been cold and night would be coming soon, she couldn't risk him getting too cold, though it left her her jeans and black tanktop. With a small sigh, she sat down, leaning her back against the bed and proceeded to free her hands of gloves and patches, taking a look at the several small and big scratched covering her skin, before starting to treat them, though it was kind of hard to do so for herself.

Emma sat down the same way, setting her backpack by her side, holding on to it tightly. She didn't necessarily trust them. It was very hard to make her trust someone. However she felt comfortable with them at least. "I'll say a little."She replied. She swallowed hard. There wasn't one time when she had ever told anyone anything about herself or her life. " My name's Emma. I've been on my own since I was around nine or ten. Umm... I have some experience with the infected monster-things but I can't hold my own with the REALLY huge ones that well and I usually run for it instead of trying to fight it. I did kill one once though! I haven't talked to people in at least two years except for a couple of guys chasing me down the street for some reason I don't even know. My birthday's in a couple of days and I really like tomato soup with crackers." Emma scratched her head after that little explanation. Maybe she wasn't the best story teller. If it was a life story he wanted, it was not what he was going to get. She tried not to think about life with her parents and brother. It had been very traumatizing watching them die and she did not want to talk about it.

"Oh! I forgot to mention."She wasn't sure telling them this was such a good idea. Emma hoped they truly weren't malicious people. "I have asthma."She pulled over her blue, dirt-stained backpack and rummaged through it. She took out an inhaler. "It hasn't been giving me problems lately but I guess you never know. I took whatever medicine I had left and I've been using it sparingly. I have quite enough right now but I find any more of it so there's a chance my days are numbered if I happen to run out of medicine and have an attack. "She explained. "I haven't had one in years but can't say it's impossible."

After listening to Emma's explanation of herself it did confuse Tim for a second but figured that people would still be a little guarded over some of the stuff about themselves. "No biggie" Tim thought. After a few moments of silence and no body to respond to that blurb Tim thought it would be best to speak up a little maybe ease the people around him. "Well first off the names Timothy Volk as I have already said. I am from South Dakota born and raised for the most part. I was traveling here with a few buds until we got attacked by some monsters outside of Duluth, Minnesota. We all split and ran from there and are all headed the same way to Portland, Maine where I know somebody who has a few decent size boats out that way where we would hitch a ride and go towards the equator and stay on a uninhabited island out that way. Ride out the shit there you know? No people and less chance of monsters. Anyway I am pretty decent with a sword and knife, talented in archery and one hell of a marksman with a firearm since I was a kid, you know hunting, skinning, living off the land, something you kind of live out in the north part of the Midwest. As for monsters been able to bring them down but I hate trying to fight them too much, but its the raiders and other people that are my bigger problem. Monsters usually don't have a pack mentality unless they mutated from an animal that already had that trait. But I have been stuck in Chicago here for the past couple of months down by the docks over by Inland Steel Opas. Knew a buddy down there that had a machine shop and also did blacksmithing on the side."

Tim took a long breath and choose his next words carefully "I have a project going on over that way that took more of my time than anything else kind of why I ran out of food and went out scavenging for more. Lastly thank you guys for not putting two rounds or a knife in me when I met ya. Good to know there are a few friendly people out this way."

Ryan and Takiko soon started taking the dead weight man upstairs. He held the feet, which meant that he had the easier job, because he did not have to look behind himself constantly. However, the weight was the same on both ends and he needed to muster all of his strength to even lift him up. Surprisingly, holding and taking him was slightly easier, but he knew he won't be able to hold on for too long. They moved slowly, but surely, step by step up the stairs. As he expected, the man felt heavier with every step they made and his arms started aching after the first set of stairs as well. Fortunately, they reached the hallway quick enough. They carefully put the guy down and took a short break. Ryan let out a relieved "Phew", even though he knew it wasn't over. While his companion was busy with her hair, he did a few swings with his arms to make sure they won't cramp nor ache too much when they get upstairs.

After two minutes or so, they continued the process and reached the ground floor, where Takiko said that the room to the right should suffice for the man. That was practically the only room in the house with a wide enough bed and even that was poorly equipped, he remembered. They slowly put down the guy on the bed, finally getting rid of the heavy "cargo". The girl quickly sat down on the bed looking very exhausted and Ryan was soon to follow. "Oh gosh...Finally." he sighed. He thought about the possibility of those creatures suddenly breaking in the house when they were the weakest and sure preys, but he quickly chased away these thoughts. Takiko suddenly stood up and went away saying she will grab her stuff, leaving him with the - still unconscious and unknown- man. He took a closer look and made sure he was still breathing and had a close-to-healthy pulse as well. After that he looked out on the window, just above the bed. He saw two creatures outside, but to his biggest relief, they were just walking around aimlessly and soon disappearing from sight.

Ryan had the quirk of staring seemingly purposelessly out in the infinite, getting deep in his thoughts and it was the case this time too, as he didn't even notice her coming back. When he finally came back to reality he noticed that she had several scrathes and wounds on herself as well. Healing someone else is one thing, but healing yourself is a lot harder and that's why he decided he will do something useful as well:

"This day is coming close to an end. I'll look through the house for some possibly useful supplies, okay? I saw a thing or two we might need when I first came here." he said as he grabbed his flashlight.

Dean sat on the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees as he observed the two enter the house and make themselves comfortable. He felt somewhat numb, but as Emma and Timothy talked about themselves in a calm, comfortable manner, it eased him and his mind, and he realized the situation he was currently in. Sitting in the living room with two actual people. Not bandits or monsters, actual people. It had been so long, but he had been in a similar situation once before. The pair were friendly, and good company. Dean could see himself opening up to the two, but he knew that could lead to developing some type of bond, and they would end up closer together. It would only hurt even more when these damn monsters took them away from him. He couldn't shake that mentality, that was the world they lived in, it was always a possibility. These two could be gone in the blink of an eye. It was going to be hard to get away from this mindset. Dean buried his face into his arms.

It was very impressive Emma could live on her own for so long, assuming nobody had ever bothered to help her, she hadn't really given a thorough explanation which made sense considering the fact Dean didn't even want to say anything. But even so, to live on her own was impressive, she was most likely quick on her feet, a very reliable talent to have nowadays. Timothy seemed very capable of taking care of himself, and it was no surprise he survived in a place like this, but it was inevitable he would eventually run out of food and supplies. When he talked of his marksmanship skills Dean considered giving him the rifle he found earlier today. He didn't use guns much and survived well enough without them, Tim would obviously put it to better use than he.

Dean had yet to speak, and was simply sitting on the floor lost in his thoughts, considering the situation. Normally three strangers sitting on the living room floor would be very awkward but being with company in times like this gave Dean a warm feeling, followed by more sadness as the thought that they were going to be taken from him by the monsters inhabiting the world filled his mind once more. Realizing it would be rude not to speak he lifted his face back up, and paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before talking in a tired, quiet tone. "I'm Dean. I've uh, been on my own for about a year, this is the 5th time i've been with actual people. I just setup in this house today and I was going to spend the next couple of weeks scavenging the neighborhood and building up supplies before continuing on my way to uh..." he stopped himself "Before just leaving and being on the road again y'know."

Dean realized that Emma and Volk were basically guests, and he didn't know how long they were going to stay or why, which was something he'd have to find out. As much as he was afraid of developing a bond, there was no doubt that the three could get a lot more done together. The people he'd encountered before usually went on their way and weren't interested in teamwork, but these two seemed friendly and willing to help. Dean had a months worth of food but if it were split up between the three it would last them about a week and a half. If they did decide to group up their first objective would be to up the food supplies, something that will be much easier to do with three people. He'd be a fool to pass up this opportunity.

"I don't mean to come off as rude or anything" he said, looking to the floor as he spoke, "But how long are you two planning to stay here? I have a reasonable amount of food and water and don't mind sharing, but um, if I did, it wouldn't be long before we had to go out and get more."

After Dean's explanation and also his little proposal Tim began wondering a few things. Its too early to trust somebody quite yet but Tim knew traveling alone might become difficult. The quote his dad once told him comes to mind "When your out in the field by yourself and you get injured there is nobody out there to find you and you will surely die. For you are the prey and they the enemy are the hunters. But when you travel in a pack or team you always have a few friends by your side." Tim knew he had to get these two to trust not only him but each other. Survival is the key to everything at this point and a team that can trust each other live much longer than big groups and loners. Plus the project of his is almost done and he is going to need a little help with the finishing touches. If he truly succeeds he gains companions and at worst they gather food and make on in their own way.

"Alright I am with you on this front. But may I make a suggestion? We gather all the supplies we can in this area as we can in a day, Maybe a day and a half, and then head to Emma's, Then we completely scavenge Emma's area in a day to a day and a half gather all our supplies there and then head to my place. From there I will show you what I am working on and you all can make a choice to come with me or you can part from there. I may not have food but I do have a few other things that may help you out. Or if you choose to come with me I will make sure you reach whatever destination you want as long as we are heading east. Not to be a dick but I rather further my goal, but I can always find something to keep you going into your direction if you want."

"I can walk." she handed the empty canteen to Willie and stretched, feeling a bit more energetic now.Carlee raised her brow when she heard a light shuffling. Her bad eye had given rise to a good sence of hearing on top of the good reflexes she had. She frowned and looked towards the bar across the street then back at Willie.

. "Alright. Lets clear it out. " she paused and looked at him. "Though, i would say not to use your gun as it might attract unwanted attention." She gripped her machete tightly and walked slowly towards the bar. "When was the last time you had contact with your brother? " she asked him quietly. She was sure there was always that fear in the back of someones mind that their loved ones could be in trouble, and she wanted to be reassured that there would be a man instead of a horde of beasts waiting for them then they arrived at the garage hopefully the next morning.

Jim had listened intently as Kat told her story, but when she stated that her brother had been missing for seven days, he felt sad. The probability of her brother still being alive was not likely, but then his previous thought had returned to him: It was still possible that he had abandoned her for his own sake.

This world could change anyone.

“Don’ worry, we’ll find ‘im,” Jim said with a calm smile, yet behind that smile he knew they never would. Noticing Kat’s change in demeanor, Jim’s automatic reflex was to examine their surroundings. Suddenly, the smell that Kat described finally reached him. “Me too,” he said. “Someone’ prob’ly got a fire goin’. Maybe you should go back.” Jim began walking down the street with slightly foggier air. He knew that following the smoke trail was a bad idea and had he been with Lex, she would have insisted they go the other way. But since Lex wasn’t here, Jim followed his curiosity, strongly hoping that it would be someone friendly at the end of the path.

When Jim finally made it around the corner at the end of the street, there seemed to be multiple fires engulfing a smashed car, a knocked over table, and the side of a building. “That’s strange,” he muttered quietly to himself. His next step forwards seemed to be ridiculously loud in the quiet city, and that single step appeared to awaken something. Within a moment, piercing screams and gurgles erupted, smashing into the windows at the sides and causing Jim to fall back. Three brutes came booming down the sidewalks, their bodies all scorched and raw. One of the brutes two arms were morphed into one, same with their legs, and was crawling at a rapid pace. Jim didn’t have the chance to see the other two before he took off running behind him. Although distracted by the fear of getting killed, Jim couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to them.

James was running. His body ached and his lungs were burning but he kept running. Kathrine was curled up in his arms, her thin body was shaking, and her face was white and still. Suddenly a strangled roar erupted from right behind him, he could practically feel the beasts breath down the back of his shirt as he ran through a overgrown forest trail. He stumbled, the uneven path throwing James off balance.
Kat tumbled out of his arms to the ground. As his vision faded to black, all he heard was the disgusting sound of flesh being ripped from bone.
And the screams.

James gasped, his eyes suddenly snapping open. "Its was just a nightmare", he told himself quickly, "It isn't real." Suddenly James became aware that he wasn't in the military houses on the army base. He was in a dirty, dusty looking room, there was almost no furniture and patches of wall paper were ripped off the wall. With an aching pang, James remembered his injuries, and the asian girl who had found him in a basement. A blurry figure moved in the corner of his vision, he was in too much pain to move, and focused on speaking clearly. "Takiko?"

---

Kat walked cautiously behind Jim as he walked out into the street. The burning smell grew stronger and thicker as she walked slowly behind him. She checked over her shoulder every few steps, afraid of the exposure that walking down an open street gave her. She could barely see Jim through the increasing thick smoke as he walked ahead. Suddenly she spotted movement, and it only took her a single glance to determine that Jim was running, with something close behind. Somehow Kat managed to swing her rifle into her hands and blot away at the sametime. Maybe in another time she would have seen a man run like that to win a race, or while playing sports, but now the only reason people ran was when something was chasing.

Kat hadn't strayed too far from the entrance, and it only took her a few seconds to make it to the mouth of the alleyway. In an instant she realised that wherever Jim was running, those creatures would follow him. "Lex!" she called, barely above normal speaking volume, as she ran towards the down. Her small voice was shaking with fear. She heard scrabbling footsteps behind her, and in an moment of panic Kat hauled herself into the half empty dumpster bin, letting the lid slam on top of her. Somehow, amongst all the fear and terror, she was still able to be thankful she had landed in a cardboard recycling bin.

"Take care." she told Ryan earnestly as she watched him leave the room. He wouldn't find anything in this house, but if he was lucky he'd be able to collect some things from the other houses close by. She just hoped there weren't too many creatures around. She continued with tending to her hands, focusing on it, but making sure to keep an ear out for any sound downstairs.

Heavy breathing and murmured words snapped Takiko out of her, strangely calming, treatment of her hands. She turned her head to look at James, who was mumbing something about 'nightmare! and 'isn't real' to himself, and then noticed his eyes were opening slowly. She sighed deeply in relief. She'd been worried ever since he'd lost conciousness, with a headwound like that you never knew whether he'd wake up again. "Takiko", she heard him rasp, his voice full of pain. Hurriedly she finished patching up her hands and got up, sitting down on the bed next to him.

Carefully, she placed a hand on his shoulders, not wanting to startle him. He looked military and seemed to not be entirely awake yet, so she preferred being careful over alarming him. "Don't move." she told him soothingly, putting a bit of pressure on his shoulder for just a second. "I stitched you up the best I could and I think it went pretty well. How are you feeling?" she inquired, feeling a little helpless for being unable to do anything else for him. She glanced outside and noticed the sun was starting to set, then looked at the door, wondering when Ryan would be back. Or if her would be back at all. He had nothing to do with neither of them, there was no reason for him to risk himself by staying in this place for too long. Still, she hoped he'd return, not only because she could use his help with James, but also because she had the feeling they should stick together in these times and circumstances.

A shiver spread over her bare skin, giving her gossebumps. It was getting colder, she noticed and her eyes went back to James, who was lying with ehr hoodie under his head and her jacket spread over his torso, barely covering him, but better than nothing. Her eyes wandered to meet his and she gave him a small smile. "I know you likely don't have an appetite, but you should eat something, you lost a lot of blood. I think I've got some canned soup somewhere."

To his great disappointment, Ryan didn't find anything useful except for a handy pocket knife in one of the drawers. What he did find though - personal stuff. Pictures, writings about the family that used to live here. Even though he did not know if they were alive or not, he respected their privacy and left the findings alone. That is, until he found one on the kitchen floor, blood stained. It had the whole family on it, all five of them. Two little kids as well. They all looked very happy, completely unaware about the lifechanging catastrophe that was about to hit humanity. "Life doesn't play fair..." he murmured to himself and shed a tear. He decided to put the picture in his bag, to keep their legacy alive, even though he didn't know anything about them. After that, he thought about his own family. Last time they spoke they just arrived to the safehouse without any problems. He hoped they don't worry too much about him and live peacefully.

Deeming this house completely out of useful things, he carefully went out on the backdoor to check the nearby ones as well. He scouted them when he first got here - they were all free of those creatures, fortunately. Still, he kept his katana out and his pistol close, just in case. The house to the right was smaller than theirs, but was a lot more stuffed. Unfortunately, most of them was useless junk. He found a few still eatable tin cans in the fridge and that was it. He proceeded to the next one. To his biggest surprise, he found what was treasure to him inside - a computer! Although it looked old, it still had all of its wires in place and every part of it ready to use. Maybe he could program it to send a signal or try to contact fellow survivors, but first, he had to turn it on, which was impossible without electricity. He left disappointed, but hopeful that they will be able to get it back to work in the future. Being tired, he decided to give up on the search for today and head back to their "headquarters" and check on Takiko.

Back in their temporary home, he was shocked to see that the man who had been unconscious this whole time, has waken up. His eyes were open and he was murmuring something to himself, while Takiko used her own jacket to cover him. Indeed, it was getting colder. Ryan approached silently, not wanting to shock the still unstable man and whispered a question into her ear:
"When did he wake up and how is he now?"

Jim had tried running as fast as he could, which wasn’t fast at all. Initially, he had been headed back towards the cave where he knew Lex and Kat would hopefully wait safely, but then he realized he would be leading the monster right to them. It was too late to turn away from the alley now, so Jim kept his pace and ran right over the door to the cave. Once he reached the end, he took an abrupt turn onto another street. With lack of food came lack of energy, and not only that but his bones were weak from age, causing the run to be a great struggle. Eventually he was limping and he knew that he couldn’t go much further. So, right after turning another quick corner around a building, he tossed himself through a door slamming it shut behind him. Jim’s shaking legs couldn’t hold him up anymore, so he slid down against a wall, almost immediately losing consciousness.

---

Lex had been asleep for almost thirty-two hours when she finally awoke to a loud bang right up above her door. At this point she realized that Jim and the little girl were missing, causing Lex’s heart to freeze. Without any hesitation, Lex jumped onto her feet and climbed the steps up to the wooden door leading out. She undid the latch and placed both hands above her and pushed. Lex communicated all her strength from her arms to the door, yet nothing seemed to budge.

“Jim?” She whispered as loudly as she could while still pushing with all her strength.

A few minutes later and the door still hadn’t opened. Lex had listened for any other noises, yet none seemed to present themselves. Lex was confused. She had no idea what happened and no idea where that loud sound had come from. If Jim was out there hurt, there was nothing she could do. She was stuck in the cave, helpless. A sense of claustrophobia came over Lex. She never realized how small their little sanctuary was.

Not until she was trapped in it.

James blinked, trying to clear the blurry image of Takikos face as she moved over to him. "I'm ok.. My head is... Really fucking sore." he rasped, his throat raw and dry. James began to gently pull himself up to a sitting position, disregarding Takikos advice to lie still. Even the small movement of sitting up made his head spin, James breathed deeply, trying to appear calm and controlled. Takiko started murmuring away about soup and blood, but James struggled just to avoid vomiting as the throbbing in his head increased as he leaned only very slightly more upright. He would be useless in this state, how long would recovery take?

Surrendering to his throbbing head, James delicately returned to the horizontal position he has begun in, closing his eyes and sighing in pain. After a few breaths he noticed his head was clearing rapidly, he felt more awake and aware the more he focused. A quiet murmur caught his attention, opening his eyelid even a small slit felt like lifting a weight for James. A young man stood next to Takiko, talking to her quietly. "Who the hell are you? ... And why the fuck do you have a sword?" James breathed. He felt helpless, lying on the ground, unable to move and barely able to speak. Although he still managed to waste his breath on cussing, a horrible habit he'd picked up in the army.