Alice Green's Story

Alice's hand was firmly wrapped around the kitchen knife as she proceeded along the perimeter of a dilapidated Western Union building. Boom! Shots rang through the air, causing Alice to release a startled scream. She ducked, throwing her hands above herself and cradling her head. From her low position, she examined the intersection in front of her and, seeing that the danger was not near her position, gingerly rose up.

"Keep it together, Alice!" She whispered inwardly. Alice did her best to move to a more defensible situation, but was impaired by a long jagged cut along the length of her leg, a momento from a run-in with a feral dog. With an awkward limp, she moved to a large garbage bin, and sat behind it, taking a moment to cleanse her wound with a bit of peroxide. Glancing at her dwindling supplies, Alice released a long and exhausted sigh. She didn't understand how a city that was once home to nearly a million people could be picked clean in a matter of months.

Her vision swirled with yellow and black dots, and she could feel the urge to sleep setting in. Alice tried her best to resist, but after 5 days of running from feral animals, searching for resources, and avoiding raiders, she couldn't help but allow herself to doze off, safely tucked behind the garbage bin.

Alleyway- Lower Manhattan

I didn't know if it was fate or not, but after turning into an alleyway I saw a woman. She was tucked gingerly behind a garbage bin, dozing safely with a spurt of blood leaking into the pavement. With that kind of injury, she'd be dead if it isn't wrapped up properly. I lower down, investigating for food I could take or more but at a reasonable distance. Bud would kill me for stealing from someone like this. Leave her something to utilize on that cut. Slipping the worn backpack from my shoulders, my hands meet a thin package of medicinal wrap taken from the two earlier. Slipping my knife into the bandage, I cut a reasonable piece and wrap it over her leg undetected... then take my leave.

About halfway across the alleyway was when my mind has a change of helping her out fully. Almost twelve feet above was the outer ledge to an apartment maintained by ladders and by the looks of it, safe. Lifting the woman over my shoulder, I use the straps of my backpack to tie over her waist, making our backs meet together. It won't hold for long, so I leap to the ladder above, feeling the immense weight of both myself and her dead weight starting to bring me down almost immediately. Nearing the top of the ladder I throw the remainder of my gear to the ledge and leave only her as 'weight.' It takes minutes, but a feeling of overwhelming greatness hits me after feeling the rusted ledge of the apartment between my fingers. The woman's breath is still and shallow, signifying that the wound does need proper care. Slipping her from my back and onto the floor, my breath comes in gasps from the amount of energy I'd just used. It was hard, but worth it after seeing this apartment. Judging by the looks nobody had been in use of it for well, a while.

Slipping the bandages from her leg, I truly see how gruesome the cut is. I had something similar, if not exactly like this. It is long and edgy, leaking blood like a faucet. Bud treated it with stitches after I'd gotten hurt, so I should do the same. The apartment is mostly bare with the exception of a kitchen, mattress, closed pantry, and few things that could come in use. The bathroom is stripped to the bone of supplies, so that's hopeless. Inside the closet was a baggy of needles, but no thread which makes me have to improvise.

I take the largest needle and search the woman of supplies. She has a bottle of peroxide, but it's mostly empty... and that'd be it. Taking the peroxide, I tear thread away from the worn sheets of the bed and sanitize them with finger drops of peroxide. I hope she won't mind.

Beginning work on her leg after sanitizing, the thread slips in and out easily. It doesn't phase me, the blood. I'd seen enough of it before the crash, but this woman doesn't look to be the type that would kill. In fact, for a survivor she'd looked pretty healthy minus the gash tearing down her leg. About halfway up the wound, the woman wakes from a slumber that had lasted only so long.

Alice had felt something... someone lift her up, but her exhaustion wouldn't let her rise out of her coma to examine the situation fully. A few times, her eyes had fluttered open to behold a grimy pair of boots, but she always slipped back into unconsciousness shortly afterwards. When she finally awoke, she was met with the face of a strange man. She tried to jump to her feet, but her leg gave a dull ache that reverberated through her entire body. She fell back with an even more painful thud as her head hit the floor. She glanced at her surroundings and saw they they appeared to be in some sort of room; an apartment maybe. Still, the man leaned over her. Frantically, she searched for a knife, or anything to defend herself with while screaming, "Stay away from me!" Alice hadn't seen another person in weeks, and she wasn't sure if the intentions of this man were pure.

The Apartment- Lower Manhattan

This woman was acting wild as soon as she'd woken up, batting her arms and acting insane. "Shh," I say, repeating it dozens of times before she'd finally hunkered down. "Jesus Christ, I'm not trying to hurt you. But there are bad people around Manhattan, so you need to be quiet for me. I swear you won't get hurt, just try and stay still while I work on your leg... pretty grizzly cut for being one at that." Giving a final loop through her leg, I utilize my knife once more and gently cut the thread away. The bandages lying beside her are partially soaked, but good enough for usage still. After being wrapped, the bandage covers a good portion of the gash which has now stopped bleeding...but the woman watches with strange eyes as if I'm a raider.

Be kind to her, Bud would do the same. "Your leg is sanitized so I'd suggest not walking on it for a while... are you hungry?" After asking this, I recline on the kitchen counter and ready my shotgun at the window just in case of intruders.

The Apartment - Lower Manhattan

Alice eyed the man suspiciously as he spoke in a soothing tone, shushing her like a child. "Your leg is sanitized so I'd suggest not walking on it for a while." He said, and after a brief pause he added, "Are you hungry?" The mere mention of food sent Alice's saliva glands into overdrive. She had to concentrate to make sure she didn't slobber and make herself look like a fool. She hadn't eaten for 2 days, and the only thing she could muster was a meek, "Yes, please."

The man was leaning on the kitchen counter, shotgun in hand. Alice couldn't stand how helpless she was feeling right now, but decided that her only choice was to trust this man. Besides, if he'd wanted her dead, she imagined that she would be so. She looked down at her leg and was grateful to see that the man had sewn up her wound and put a few bandages on it as well.

"Thank you." Alice said quietly.

The Apartment- Lower Manhattan

She had given a weak response, probably cause she's too out of it. As I open the pantry to look for food, cobwebs resurface and have to be brushed out of the way. Inside the pantry are two packages of rice, a bottle of liquor and sprung rat traps. The packages of rice would need some water, which I'd run out of in my canteen. There's no chance the faucets could possibly work, the supply had run dry for a while now. As it came back to me, in the corner of the bathroom sat a bucket which I could use for water. It was risky, but part of Chinatown had been flooded pretty bad a while back...

Flinging my backpack over both shoulders, I turn and walk to the woman awkwardly. "I'm getting supplies for food. Stay safe and hide if you hear any noises, but don't try to move." After saying this, I go through the shattered door and begin the journey downward and north for water with a shotgun at the ready and my bucket in one hand.

Near Chinatown- Southern NYC

The weather doesn't look too great, which means I'll have to hurry with the water. Bud always taught me how to clean water, so as far as we were on that it would be fine. Sand bags are most likely at the flood to try and block it off... like that had worked. And then I need some charcoal. I hope that both will be there...

The foliage covers most of Chinatown now, as I walk through the side streets most of what was left seems to be covered in bushes and more. Vines dangle from banners covered in Chinese and lanterns strung over my head. Flies are everywhere, covering burnt vendors and rotted corpses laying in the streets every so often. I duck down almost instantly after hearing voices feet in front of me mixed with laughter and screaming. Up ahead a group of people are literally mauling some guy getting slapped, punched... stabbed. To put him out of his misery, what looks like the main person of the group shoots him through the head as they laugh at a now twinging corpse. Taking on all of them is suicide. God damn it. Why is it after I finally reach the flood everything I need is right in front of me but has some kind of trouble? Looking closer I can see all of them are drunk, waving around with ferocious laughter that annoys even me.

Only one has a gun, the other two holding what looks like a bow and the third a huge knife. Not that mine wouldn't put up any contest, because I handle it pretty well. But the thought of running into there with my shotgun at the ready is suicide like I said... so there has to be a way around. As they all turn to face the floodwater I run hastily to the right side of the street and duck into a restaurant. The interior is badly burnt, so I scavenge what I can carry of charcoal in my backpack. As for the sand, it looks to be in use by the drunkards and a dead body. This will take longer than expected.

The Apartment - Lower Manhattan

The stranger didn't respond to her gratitude, but rather walked towards the cupboards and began looking for something to eat. Or at least that is what Alice imagined he was doing. After a while he turned to her and said, "I'm getting supplies for food. Stay safe and hide if you hear any noises, but don't try to move." The man slid his backpack on and simply waltzed out the door.

This was the first person that wasn't trying to kill her that Alice had seen in almost two months, and when he walked away--despite not knowing him at all--a huge void opened in her stomach and she felt the loneliness flood in once again. The urge to beg him not to leave was strong, but her pride wouldn't let her behave in such a way. Instead, she watched as the man disappeared down the hall, not knowing if he would even return.

Alice carefully dragged herself to the nearest sofa and hauled herself atop it. She took a good look at her surroundings and saw that she was in a most empty apartment. She looked down to the spot where she had been lying and saw that a sizable amount of blood had soaked into the carpet. Next to the dark maroon stain, her pack sat open, its contents strewn about the floor. She wondered what she could do, but what could she do? With this injury, the only thing to do was wait for the man to return, hopefully with some food.

(OOC: @The Soul One I'm not in Times Square...)

Chinatown- North of Apartment

Standing to lean against the charred wall of what had once been a food joint, the surroundings come into sight fully as I make a 'game plan' like Bud had always said. Taking my shotgun in hand and looping the bucket to my pack; I swiftly make way for a rusted-out taxi cab as shelter. The door is cracked open enough that I can slide in and have reasonable cover while shooting, but these kinds of cars weren't meant to be blasted with bullets. Even more to that, a rusted taxi. Raising my shotgun to the busted out window, I lean it against the door and take aim. First will come the man with the handgun, and I'll make do from there. Surely the guy with the bow doesn't have arrows strong enough to pierce even a rusted metal... or at least I hope so.

The first shot both partially skids off the knife-wielder but clearly hits the armed man from his feet. He cries out in pain, twitching and spewing blood as the bow-armed bandit races for me in my direction. The first arrow bounces from the taxi, twirling into the inch deep water below his feet. The second manages to miss mere centimeters away. I blast again, hitting his thigh as gore spews about with his cry echoing amazingly loud. Before he can continue, I exit the cab and draw my knife; putting him out of relentless torture with a brief stab to his throat.

With the bucket and shotgun in exchanged places yet again, I open my pack up and pour what remains of a busted sandbag into a pocket. Moving to the surface of the water, I exchange glances with myself on the surface as water fills in for our meal. It takes very few moments, but the bucket fills to what is able to be carried. A rope is tethered to stretch over both my shoulder and spine with the bucket flopping upwards and downwards while I head for the apartment, lucky enough to have survived the encounter.

The Apartment- Lower Manhattan

The sound of nature calls throughout the night sky as the apartment comes into sight. Notching the rope to the ladder, I make an oval-type shape to haul the water up. A man made lever as Bud had taught me to do, imagine that. With the remainder of my load in hand everything is thrown to the balcony for the woman to see. Eventually I myself am back in the somewhat-comfort of the apartment as I see her dozing in the night. Let's make this place more homely.

Part of the massive bundle of sheets is slid over the windows to serve as cover against anyone who thinks different, as well as block out my steady flame in the torn floorboards of our shelter. The shattered door is improvised into a functional door after I haul the second bedroom door and silently lean it to the balcony. After collecting a dust-strewn pot from the cabinets of the kitchen, it is set to the side of the flame for later.

While that start to heat up, I take the bucket and pour the water into the pot. Finishing this quickly, my mixture of charcoal and sand is put to use in the bucket which is now filled with tiny holes at the bottom from my knife. Taking a second, larger pot from the cabinets; I pour the contaminated water through my mixture and watch as clean water comes from the bottom.

After cleaning the water, I fill the pot and begin pouring rice in to start a boil. Any remaining water is slipped into both the woman's canteen and my own. It is fresh, satisfying water that I have not tasted for a long time. As the wounded survivor rests soundlessly on the mattress, I wake her up and gingerly slip water down her throat to drink. "I've got some food for us..." I say with a smile as her eyes flutter open.

The Apartment - Lower Manhattan

Getting to the bedroom of the apartment was no easy task, but one that Alice was happy she had decided to undertake. The mattress had proved to be much more comfortable than the sofa, and she must have slept for quite a while, because when she was waken by noises coming from the living room, it was nighttime. She sat, anxiety mounting in her stomach. Her mind began to run wild, playing out worst-case scenarios.

It could be a bear! Lots of wild animals had moved back into the city. Or raiders! But what would they want with this place? I thought I would be safe! Just then, the man burst into the bedroom, and Alice wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or even more scared. In any case, the man put a canteen to her mouth and she drank gratefully. The water tasted pure, although there was a slightly bitter aftertaste.

"I've got some food for us..." He told her with a smile widening across his face, and Alice accepted his assistance in moving her to the living room. Alice wrapped her arm over his neck, and limped along until he deposited her on the couch. Sheets were hung over each window, and the living room was exceptionally dim, aside from the moonlight that flooded in from the large bedroom window. There, in the torn floorboards of their shelter was a small fire pit which Alice presumed this man would use to prepare the food. Also, she saw that he had replaced the old dilapidated door of their apartment with the bedroom door, which was sturdy and oaken.

"So, I see you have done a bit of home improvement." She said with a small chuckle.

The Apartment- Lower Manhattan

I look to her as she says this. "That I have..." I say with a slight smile, scavenging a slightly cracked bowl and set of silverware from the kitchen. Everything except for usable weapons such as knives were still here. Sliding the now rice-filled bowl in her direction, I nudge in the air as a notion. "You're clammy, so go ahead and eat first." Standing from the floor, my feet slip up onto the counter as I position both my backpack as a pillow and shotgun to the balcony like before. After she finishes eating a reasonable portion of the rice, my feet do the opposite as before while I scoop her from the floor onto the mattress and cover her in the few sheets that remain. "You need that leg of yours to fix up, so the counter is where my bed is tonight. Try and get some rest tonight, okay?" Finishing the statement awkwardly, I leave for the counter where I will both eat and watch for intruders the whole night.

The Next Morning

Waking up from the very uncomfortable position I slept in, the cracked bowl from my meal last night lay on my side and my shotgun at the floor barely touchable. Standing and stretching, my feet slump to the bathroom while my canteen drips as a light shower to wash my face as routine. Me and Bud never had the glory of a shower, only sometimes a bath at any shelter we could manage to stay in.

Entering the bedroom, the woman was laying silent as she was last night; still in the sun that came in from the windows. Gently tapping her shoulder to check on the progress of her leg and hunger, she sits up with a cracked smile. "How did you sleep? That leg doesn't seem to be bleeding much." I pat on her leg and sit on the side of the mattress, waiting for a response.

The Apartment - Lower Manhattan

The man's reply was shorter than what she would have hoped for. Now that she learned she could trust this man, she couldn't help but feel curious about him. Where was he from? What did he do before... this? What was his name for god's sake?! As questions swirled in Alice's mind he nudged the now full bowl of rice towards her, and she accepted it gratefully. She ate only what she believed to be a reasonable portion and left the rest for him.

"You need that leg of yours to fix up, so the counter is where my bed is tonight. Try and get some rest tonight, okay?" Said the man. Alice was going to try to converse with him a bit, but he had retreated to the counter before she even had a choice, so she settled for a prompt nod. After that, she headed back to bedroom and tried to make herself comfortable as she drifted off into her sea of dreams.

The Next Morning

Slanted rays of sunshine came in from the window; most likely giving her skin cancer since Alice was sure most of the ozone had been destroyed in the collapse. But, they felt comforting nonetheless. Comfort. She had almost forgotten the way that felt. The man entered the bedroom and tapped on her shoulder, causing Alice to sit up and give him a half-hearted smile. He patted her on the leg and sat there, on the side of the bed, smiling at her as if they had been friends forever. As if they weren't sitting in the middle of some decaying apartment building after the downfall of every nation on the Earth. And... well, Alice couldn't help but smile back.

"How did you sleep? That leg doesn't seem to be bleeding much." He questioned.

"I slept well." Alice said with a positive nod. "And, no. I think that it is starting to heal. I should be able to walk soon. Oh... And before I forget, my name is Alice... Alice Green."

The Apartment- Lower Manhattan

"My name is Alice... Alice Green." Alice. Not a common name, but nice. The name rang through my head like a bell. "It's a pleasure, Alice. Name's Grant Nolan." Sitting up from the bed, I leave but return moments later with another serving of partially warmed rice for her along with some sips of water I pour in her mouth. "I'll have to get some food for us today... we're fine on water for the next few days if it's used right. Not let me take a look at that cut." Slipping the sheets from her leg, I unwrap the bandage from the wound and look at my handiwork. "Seems to be pretty good Alice. A few swipes of peroxide should do the trick, but I wouldn't recommend you walk on it. Unless, well, you want to." I gingerly smooth peroxide over the dried blood and apply more bandage wrapping to it.

"Here Alice," I say aloud as I unzip my backpack and load a handgun with ammunition. "Six shooter to protect yourself with. After all, a knife is not gonna kill some thug with a gun. Use it wisely though." The gun slips from my hands into hers as if I trust her enough to use it. But I do. "So uh, you gonna come along to get some supplies? It's morning so we'll have enough time to scavenge, but not far." Awaiting a response, my canteen pops open as I go for another drink.

The Apartment - Lower Manhattan

The man told her that his name was Grant Nolan before walking out of the room. Alice was happy to put a name to a face, and he certainly did look like a 'Grant.' A few moments later, Grant re-entered the room, this time with a bowl of luke warm rice and water in hand. She happily ate her share, and then left the rest for him. Before he ate, he peeled the sheets away from her leg to examine her wound. It had made good progress over the night. Alice could tell, because it felt much better. Still though, he cleaned the wound with the last bit of peroxide, advising her to not walk on it unless she felt ready.

Alice was about to tell him that she felt as if she would be able to walk today, but then he reached into his pack and handed her a loaded handgun. Alice took the gun with a blank expression impressed upon her face. She had never held a gun of this caliber, or of any other caliber for that reason. It felt heavy in her hands and her fingers were a bit too short to reach all the way around, but she still took the firearm gratefully.

"So uh, you gonna come along to get some supplies? It's morning so we'll have enough time to scavenge, but not far." Grant asked her, opening his canteen to take a few sips.

In reply, Alice said, "Actually, I think I will join you." A bit stiffly, Alice swung her feet over the side of the bed and ever so slowly put weight on her leg. When she was confident that her limb would not falter, she walked to the living room, and gathered up a few items from her mostly empty pack. There was definitely a bit of discomfort in her leg, but as long as she took things slowly, Alice was sure that she would be able to keep up with Grant. "So where are we going?" She inquired Grant, who'd joined her in the living room.

Chinatown- Nearing SoHo

Being ankle deep in the streets had looked to be a tedious task for Alice by the looks of it. Many times before I offered to carry her, but she refused and said that it was fine. It had been slow and very short paced, but so far on our short trip to SoHo we'd collected a flashlight, batteries, ammunition (very little) a blanket, canned fruit, and minimal rubbing alcohol for use.

A smash of glass and rounds fired off instantly makes me alerted as I gently but quickly grab Alice and duck behind a hot dog stand. Her scream is brief but muffled by my hand as I notion silence and look over the stand. There are masked raiders firing throughout the environment, stirring up birds and other creatures for fun. "Alice, don't make a sound you hear? We're going to make our way past them but I need you to trust me and listen. See that building to your right?" I point in the direction until she nods in agreement. "I'm going to distract them while you run for the building and hide. Hide until it's all clear, do you understand?"

Alice trudged through the ankle-high waters of Chinatown, resisting the temptation to let Grant carry her. Her muscles ached and her feet began to feel like heavy blocks of lead, but she knew that she couldn't let Grant treat her like a child. As they slogged through the water, Alice and Grant were shocked when they heard the sound of smashing glass and the firing of a gun. Alice released an involuntary shriek, but it was cut short by the palm of Grant's hand. A bit more roughly than she would have liked, Grant swept Alice off her feet and took cover behind a rusty hot dog stand. A little ways down the street, a group of three--perhaps four--raiders stood in an inebriated circle, whooping loudly.

Grant instructed Alice not to make a sound. Pointing her towards a building to her right, he told Alice that he would distract the raiders while she dashed into the building and hid. Alice nodded, and Grant didn't waste any time bursting forth from his cover behind the stand. He clapped his hands together, yelled loudly, and then went dashing down an alleyway. The staggering group of raiders followed raggedly behind, and as soon as Alice found that it was safe, she ran for the safety of the building.

Alice's heart pounded like a hammer on cloth, but just before she reached the interior of the building she felt a rough hand seize her hair. "Ain't you a pretty thing?" Said a raspy voice, tightening his grip around Alice's dark tresses. She fought the raider for all that she was worth, but his strength outmatched hers, and she couldn't get loose from his iron-like grip.

"Grant! Grant he-" Alice's plea was strangled in her throat as the man wrapped his fingers around her neck.

"I'm gonna have some fun with you." He said, his putrid breath stinging the hairs on the back of Alice's neck.

SoHo- Southern Region

The muffled shout of Alice from behind shows our trick did not in fact work. Slipping the shotgun from my back, I fire few slugs into the armed men (there were two) and feel a blow from behind. We've been trapped. I react quickly with my knife digging through the person's knee behind me as blood spews from the wound into my already clammy palms. Two more men race for me daringly, teeth bared to a grin that was filled with malice (Bud taught me that word.) The stock of my shotgun swings for a blow to the face of one but I am not fast enough to hit the other. He tackles me like a rabid animal, snapping his teeth crazily as he unsheathes his knife. It is short and dull but enough to make the kill; and the raider reassures this as he brings the weapon down. It is only inches from my chest when I fight back and tear my arms away from his knees and grasp hold of the hilt as well, struggling to bend it back at him.

We both exchange huffs and our teeth remain bared for moments until the weapon is turned in my favor. My hand forms a palm behind the other as I wildly twist his wrist and shove the blade through his throat; his insides splashing against my face and neck while his limp body falls to the side motionless.

Standing from the now-turned bloodbath, the splash of my feet in the water surges as I race for the building I'd directed Alice to. She is pinned below a grizzly looking guy with an expression of hunger, his teeth foul and laughter insane. He hears me running and turns from her but is too late as I tackle the beast-like man and roll into the wall. My knife is dug through the meat of his back but he in turn tosses me against an office table. The smash of the wood beneath me is painful but not enough to keep me down, his hands are. The grip is iron tight and painful but I give a kick to his ribs and roll to the side with him winded. My knife lay outside of him, now crimson from the blood I'd needed to spill near the wall. Standing to my feet and pacing for the knife, the brute grabs me by the ankle but lets go after a deafening boom rocks the floor.

Alice stood fearfully with the gun shakily in hand, watching frightened at what she had done. She never seemed the type, and probably wasn't meant to kill. But she fought with me, and left the brute with only half a head remaining. After slipping my knife away I run for Alice and grab her in for a hug; burying her head into my shoulder as she began to cry. "It's alright girl, you did it. Thank you. Shh, it's okay..." Saying this many times, her tears eventually come to a choke as she looks at me awkwardly. "Did he hurt you?" After asking this, her tears begin to well again but I stop them with a finger.

Alice stood with her arms outstretched, stunned like a deer in the headlights. Did I just shoot a man? She asked herself. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and she collapsed to her knees. She felt Grant wrap his arms around her and she couldn't help but bury her head in his shoulder, ignoring the fact that it was soaked in blood. He cooed to her softly, eventually making her tears vanish.

Then he asked her, "Did he hurt you?" Alice realized how scared she was, and the onslaught of her tears was renewed. After a few minutes she replied, "No. I am fine. Let's just keep going." She got to her feet and began to walk down the street, but then turned backed. "Thank you, Grant." She said.

The Apartment- Lower Manhattan

Tonight we were enjoying a meal of ravioli, leftover rice and beans for dinner. Alice sat legs-crossed eating happily as I put on a smile as well. Bud always said it was good to have a better appearance than what you really were sometimes.

Not much conversation is passed because of earlier but after moments of eating I decide to raise the word of appreciation to Alice. Clearing my throat, I set down the bowl we'd scavenged and look her directly in the eye. "Don't worry about a thing, Alice. Everything will be fine because you did what was necessary for us to live... I know you've never had to do that before. Thank you." I move in close to her and begin examining her wound, noticing the water did some damage to the bandage. Her stitches on the other hand kept up pretty well for being only thick string. "Your wound is patched up pretty good. In a little bit I'll be able to remove them depending on how well it keeps up."

I give her a pat on the shoulder as I stand up with another smile, noticing her meal is finished. "You get the bed tonight." Scooping her from the floor as I'd done the other night, she is laid on the bed and applied new bandages. "Sleep well Alice." With a nod, I glide from the bedroom to the couch and doze of lazily.

The Apartment - Lower Manhattan

Alice and Grant had a small dinner of raviolis, rice, and beans. They ate in complete silence, since Alice's mind was so far away from the small apartment in Lower Manhattan. That day had been one that Alice was sure would change her life. Before, despite the horrible things that had happened, Alice had always held a romantic view of the world, certain that just notions would always prevail. She couldn't help but feel as if she had morphed into a completely different being by shooting that man. Would she lose who she was before all of this? But what if losing the person she was had to be done? Her contemplation was interrupted when Grant spoke.

"Don't worry about a thing, Alice. Everything will be fine because you did what was necessary for us to live... I know you've never had to do that before. Thank you." Grant said.

Grant must have been able to sense that this whole situation was troubling her deeply, because his comforting words seemed to come just at the right time. Alice pushed the ravenous thoughts to the back of her mind, and tried to enjoy their meal.

After a few moments he added, "Your wound is patched up pretty good. In a little bit I'll be able to remove them depending on how well it keeps up." Grant bundled Alice up and carried her to the bed, depositing her gently into the comfortable sheets. He applied new bandages on her wound and bid her to sleep well.

Alice watched from a crack in the bedroom door as Grant laid down on the couch, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. With a smile, she did the same.