Bryce Lawford's Story

:: The first thing Richard heard of was Dan Smith, seeming to smile a bit to himself when he heard him call himself an old man, oh it must of been a happy day for him. He listened carefully to the sounds of Dan heading in his little room to invent as usual, shaking his head lightly as he wondered if there wasn't anything Dan couldn't do with technology. Then he found Cassie sitting next to him, his head turning to look over at her as he smiled softly at her company, she was asking what was troubling him, oh if only he could rant about it all day. "Ah you know, the usual crud. I don't know how many more supplies we can take until we run out in this area, this is the only place those... things can't get us. If the entire world is our enemy now, where do we have to go? Ah well... It would be nice to rest in the arms of a pretty lady, don't you agree?" He asked her teasingly, this was meant to be a joke and not intentional flirting, although he couldn't say how she interpreted it.

Next he heard Lauren making her way to the living room, this brought a small smile on his face, she was getting better at the least and he always found himself worrying on whether she actually did her jobs or if she ran back home with her pants full of crap. That reminded him, how long would the machines they had last, the washer, the dryer, the fridge, the television, all that and more came rushing through his mind in a matter of seconds. The last thing he heard was actually two in one, loud knocking in which he began to roll his eyes and sigh as he got up on to his feet and pushed the chair back in. "I'll get it this ti --" He started, but then rudely heard the door burst open as he heard Bryce Lawford enter in, grumbling to himself as he saw the door still open. "What have I told you about leaving that thing open Bryce?! Jeez..." But as he walked to see it, he saw an unusual man beginning to enter, instinct kicking in as he quickly pulled out a pistol and aimed it at his forehead, making sure the red light came on to alert him.

"Close the damn door, stranger! Bryce, this is why I WARN first, so it doesn't happen!" Richard was obviously starting to panic, this man might already be infected, they had to check. "Cass, Lauren, Bryce, SOMEONE get a scanner on this guy and check if he's infected or not, move!" He could feel his arms shaking a bit, but he couldn't let it be seen. "Sir, do not move until we have made sure everything is alright with you... If you resist before this, I will not hesitate to shoot you on sight. Are we clear...?" He made sure not to speak through his teeth while doing this, he wanted to be understood by this man, if anything hostile came out of him he was sure to shoot his shoulder by accident, but he had to calm himself for now, this man wouldn't dare be hostile with a pistol being aimed at his head, he thought to himself. ::

Lauren pushed herself to her feet when she saw the door was left open. She raised her pickaxe, prepared to fight if need be, and slowly walked through to the hallway. Once the door had been closed, and she saw Bryce, Richard and someone else, who she didn't know.

"E-Excuse me, R-Richard? I-I thought we w-weren't supposed to bring n-new people in?" She squeaked, hiding behind him. She always thought she was safe with Richard, after all, it was him who carried him out of that building. That incident was unspoken, though. As, Richard made it clear it was just business.

She cuddled into Richard slightly, and put her Pickaxe onto her belt, so that it wouldn't hurt anyone.

::Richard looked back at Lauren as he sighed a bit, rolling his eyes when she wasn't looking as he held out an arm for her to come into if she wished so he could hold her to his side. "I'll protect you, just calm down... Calm down, alright? Now... Let's see if I can get this thing working." Putting his pistol away and turning off the red-dot light, he turned on the scanner and used it on the new man before them, once it was done the results showed up as negative. "Scanners show he looks fine, something's up with his leg though... He just needs a 'wash-over' and he'll be fine. Cass, do you mind looking outside to see if he was followed at all? You have my permission to clean out any undead spotted coming near this place. And make sure not to shoot Dan by accident, we don't need his wounds infected too. Bryce, take this man to clean him off, then we'll see what we'll do with him. I got to, uh, calm down Lauren here..." After that he would take her away from the others and sit down with her on the couch as he would rub her shoulder gently. "Just take deep breaths like I've told you, I don't want you having a panic attack, alright?" He kept telling her gently, trying to get her in a more calmer state, he felt like a parent half the time, but maybe that was bound to happen sooner or later. He remembered the first day he met her, out on a mission, not even knowing she would soon join his team. He remembered his first words he said to her after he had saved her. 'It's my job lady, if I didn't do this, who would?' In a way, he was kind of glad they were all a team, then again that was all it came back to, a team. Sure, he may be happy around them, sure he may act social with most of them, but inside he knew above all else that being a team was what was most important.::

::Richard found the strength somehow to stand up, looking at her as she told him what she had in mind. When no one was looking, he touched her arm gently, looking at her as he sighed and gave a weak smile at this. "Just be okay..." He said to her, after this he pulled away, feeling the warmth of her skin fade away from his palm, which made him confused. Did she like him? Did he like her? He tried not to give too much thought on it, but could she...? Did he? He couldn't tell, as he saw everyone begin to gather. "Alright, I want everyone to voice in what they think we should do with this guy. Personally I think letting him stay might give negative effects, but again, I could be entirely wrong on the issue. So, what's everyone thinking then?"::