Sophie slumped in one of the comfort chairs, she hadn't slept all night as images of cranks plagued her dreams. She was safe here she new that, but the Cranks were always out there waiting and that thought weighed heavily on her mind. She rubbed her temples slowly trying to relieve the slowly brewing headache, she knew they had some paracetamol in stock at the infirmary but she didn't like to waste supplies, best they make it last then send more people out to scavenge.

Thinking of the infirmary she should be getting back, luckily there is no major sickness or wounds to be tended which is rare, the quietness of it all made her nervous. She curled her legs up on the chair and hugged them to her chest tightly as she tried to banish the thoughts from her head, she had to stay positive if not for herself but for the others, if she showed her emotions then it would only make them worry too. Closing her eyes she tried to think of more pleasant times.

Holding the smallest child in my arms I stood up to lead the children away. "Come on guys, time to go back to our room." I ushered them away. The older ones ran while younger ones staid next to me. When I entered the empty room, next to the main entrance and across from the social area, I was happy to see the children immediately start playing. I was the only carer but I didn't mind. I wasn't very social with people my age and didn't look foreword to having a co-worker, only tiny adorable bosses. They may be tiny but they are a bundle of joy. They burst with imagination and I didn't mind being the dragon holding the young princess, smallest child, captive.

I know I am not supposed to pick favorites but I did have a favorite. Hey if one of your bosses was your little brother you would too. I loved him to death. He was one of the older children and enjoyed having me around all day. I enjoyed being around all day. Before we found this place I was always with him no matter what, I couldn't bare to separate from him. He even sleeps in my bed at night.

Jack knew many languages, but, he couldn't speak, so his lingual dexterity was pretty much useless. He couldn't sleep the night before, since he had been bombarded by the sight of his grandfather, dead. He wasn't afraid of the cranks, but, instead he was afraid of what he didn't know they could do. Could they still read? Could they still operate guns and bombs? If so, how much time until the group's little oasis was invaded? They couldn't stay here forever, could they?

He was in the second red chair, next to Sophie. His hair was neat and in it's usual design. He rarely needed to comb his hair, since it usually conformed to the shape it was used to. Jack was usually the one teaching the young children how to do jobs. He had taught one child about computers, and that child could now do more than Jack could. Jack had been working on a project lately, but, he told no one about it. He worked on it in the room designated to be his and Sophie's, so she could have seen him working on it. He had been drawing out schematics for a generator, and grabbing books from locations around the mall pertaining to energy. He couldn't rely on the power in the mall to be on forever, so he would need to create his own source of energy. Perhaps solar panels would work, but it would be a pain getting them onto the roof and setting up the power system.

Jack carried his laptop with him everywhere, in case he needed to note things around the mall. He kept a list of the supplies the "RMK", or as he dubbed the mall, had every week. "RMK" stood for "Redbrook Mall Kids". He opened up a new document on his laptop and began typing something quickly, looking over at Sophie while writing this. He hadn't told anyone about his being mute, since he had thought that his condition was a normality. However, it became more apparent that he was different from others from the day he's first been at the mall. Might as well tell someone about this. Who better to tell about his condition than the head nurse and his roommate? Hee noticed that she appeared to be in distress, so he opened another document and began typing furiously fast. His revelation could wait, this was more important. The new document read "Excuse me, but do you need help?" He hated not being able to voice his question. He stood from his chair and carried his laptop with him. He then went to the girl, tapping her shoulder lightly when he approached. He pointed the laptop's screen towards her. He had a worried expression on his face. She seemed like a nice enough girl, but he rarely spoke to people.

Sweat dripped down Snow's forehead as he ran on the treadmill. His legs burned deliciously and his heart rate increased. His breathing was ragged while his mind was hazed in exhaustion and determination. He increased the speed of the machine, forcing his legs to move faster. His body was aching, but he welcomed the pain, knowing that this hard work would pay off in the end. As his body endured its workout, Snow began to think. Running was something that he could count on, it gave him a chance to sort through his memories and figure out what was reality and what was his imagination.

His mind drifted to the only memory that truly mattered: his first day.

The chill of the night was what woke him from his deep slumber. It was dark when Snow opened his bright eyes, save for the light of the flickering street light. He blinked with confusion evident in his face as he slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position. He leaned against that cold brick wall, fear building up inside of him like thick smothering smoke. Panic. He stared at his hands, seeing the cuts there along with the tattered clothes that barely hung on his body. His head was pounding, throbbing in time with his beating heart.

"God," he muttered hoarsely. "Where...am I?"

It was at that moment that he heard it: the sound of footsteps, creeping towards him. He turned his head, facing the other side of the alley. A woman was inching towards him with blood covering her clothes and her dark hair caked with dirt. Her eyes were locked onto him before a crazed smile stretched onto her face. She then sped towards him as she screamed like a banshee, her eyes were demanding blood.

Snow snapped back into reality, his legs moving at the speed of light on the treadmill. He turned it off before slowing to a stop. His breathing was labored and sweat drenched his body. He walked over to his bottled water and towel, taking a hardy gulp then wiping his forehead and bare chest of sweat. He sat down on the floor, catching his breath while staring at the wall blankly. That was all he remembered. Not his name. Not his family. Just the fact that a crazed bitch tried to kill him. That was all he needed to know...that was all he needed to survive.

Sophie was roused from her daydreaming and opened her eyes to find her room mate Jack before her. Since sharing a room together Jack hadn't spoke a word to her, at first she thought maybe he didn't like her but she soon realized it wasn't just her, he wouldn't speak to anyone. Her latest theory was that before he found this place something traumatic had happened to him , most likely to do with the cranks, and that this was just his way of dealing with it. Maybe she was right, maybe she was wrong, either way she couldn't ask him, everyone needed their privacy and she wasn't going to be so rude as to invade his.

He's smart though. She knew that right away, she didn't need him to tell her that. He like her seems to have trouble sleeping, and sometimes she catches him drawing up designs that mean nothing more than scribbles to her. She mostly leaves him to it not wanting to disturbs his concentration and instead goes for a walk to clear her mind.

She looked up from the chair still hugging her legs tight. He was holding his faithful laptop that never left his side, he had typed something "Excuse me, but do you need help?". He must have seen her musing through her worried thoughts, her expression giving way to what she was thinking. She smiled up at the boy, his expression portraying that of hers only a few moments ago. "I'm fine, just a bit of a headache coming that's all, probably just need to get some rest"

Jack had a varied amount of skills, but he wasn't particularly skilled in one skill. He could fix machinery, but it would take him longer to fix it than it would an expert engineer. The plans he wrote out every night were simply backups, since most of his work was stored on his laptop's memory. He didn't want to accidentally break his laptop and have to redo all his work. He planned on passing on his work to someone more skilled in machinery than him, so said person could advance his work.

He was not used to having to do stuff on his own, since his grandfather usually guided Jack. He expected to be told what to do from the day he came here, but, he just slipped into the job of Oddjob Leader. Ironic, isn't it? Having a mute as a leader. At first, he had no idea what to do, but he eventually started doing his own things, helping out when needed. He managed to get by being a leader by simply using hand gestures and sign language to those who could understand him. When confronted with a task he didn't know how to do, he would try figuring out how to do said task by learning from a master or from a book.

He looked at her face once she looked up, hoping to not see a tear-streaked face. His laptop was mildly heavy, but, he was strong. He felt relieved that she was smiling, but, he quickly noticed that she could just be hiding her emotions. "I'm fine, just a bit of a headache coming that's all, probably just need to get some rest." She said "probably" which probably meant she knew that rest wouldn't help get rid of a headache's cause. Sure sleep could get rid of the headache itself, but rarely could it get rid of the cause of the headache. Acupuncture could work, but honestly, he would kill her if he tried doing a thing like that. He had many skills, but acupuncture just wasn't one of them.

He erased what he typed earlier and began typing again, with the same speed but not as much haste. "Do you know what's causing your headache? Migraines? Stress?" He could probably figure out how to help, probably. He had some experience in the medical field, but it was mostly physical wounds that could be healed in one or two hours. He wasn't licensed, so he could end up making a condition worse than it originally would have been. And, he doubted surgery would be of much use. His grandfather used to have migraines, but there were usually pills to help.

He then thought to add something, "Would you rather I leave?" He knew that privacy could help, since most people didn't want to be seen in a weak state. He guessed that stress was the most probable reason for her headache, with the new virus and all. He didn't want to pry in her life, unless she particularly wished to talk about her own life. He had listened to the stories of many of the people in the mall, since he appeared as a humble person who wouldn't gossip.

Still holding herself together she watched as Jack spun his laptop around and started to type, his fingers hitting the keys becoming a blur."Do you know what's causing your headache? Migraines? Stress?" Sophie thought for a moment, she new it was from the lack of sleep and all the worrying shes being doing lately, but should she really tell him that? She was the lead nurse, she should be strong and positive for everyone, and she hated burdening others with her own problems. Sophie had always been a good listener, but when it came to her own problems its best to keep them in her head.One of her favorite quotes she ever read was 'When you talk you are repeating what you already know. But if you listen you may learn something new', she cant remember which of the many books she read it from, but it was a line that had always stuck with her.

Before she could even reply to Jack questions his hands dashed to the key board again working fast "Would you rather I leave?"He knew. She could see that he obviously understood that there was more than just a headache spinning around in her head, she really had never been good at acting. That was it, that was all it took. She could feel the pressure in her eyes threatening the spill her tears. She was over exaggerating, she was safe, she had supplies and friends around her, that's a lot more than most people these days.

She ran her hands through her hair ruffly avoided looking up at Jacks face. Quickly she reeled in her emotions, forced her tears not to spill, and lifted her face giving him her best attempt at a million dollar smile. "I'm fine seriously just hope I sleep better tonight, are you sleeping okay lately?' That's it she thought, talk about him. Listen to him.

Hazel was grateful for two things: chicken soup and baked beans since they practically had a lifetime supply. Her lips were pulled into a small crooked smile while she walked down the aisle, glancing at the shelves that contained the canned food. Her fingernails drummed against her clipboard as she absentmindedly chewed on the eraser of her pencil.

"Yup," she hummed satisfied. "There are enough cans of green beans and tomatoes to hold us over for about a month or two."

After taking a few more minutes to take inventory and jot some notes down on the clipboard, Hazel called it quits and closed up shop. She ran a hand through her full black curls and pulled down the hem of her green plaid shirt. She walked down the corridors of the mall, passing various stores, stands, and whatnot until she reached the daycare center. She had an undying love for children and considered being a caregiver, but she had a knack for food and felt the need to keep these people well fed. To her dismay, the children were gone, but what did she expect? It was getting late and the children were probably in their beds dreaming of a simpler life. Hazel sat on the floor, picking up a stray toy and just staring at it. Hazel wished that she were able to have children one day, but now her dream of a family was shattered. She couldn't bare to think about bringing a child into such a dangerous world. It wouldn't be right. She settled for loving the children that were unfortunate enough to be here, giving them extra snacks or making them fresh hot chocolate, anything to get a smile onto their adorable faces. Hazel sighed with a heavy heart. Children were gifts from God and didn't deserve to be burdened with such an epidemic.

"Poor babies," she frowned as she let her concern and her thoughts run wild.

Quincey Coyote
With an awfull sickness Quincey walked into the social area. The lack of proper food wasn't good for her pregnancy. Sure, there was enough food, but just not all the right things for someone carrying a baby. She knew that she couldn't do anything about it so she didn't really think about it. All she hoped was that the kid would be alright. She let out a sigh as she sat down. On the chair a few meters in front of her Sophie was sitting. You could clearly see that girl wasn't feeling too well. Quincy could catch a few words of her conversation with Jack. Enough to hear that she didn't really want to talk about it. So Quincey just left it.

She suddenly felt a hot flash coming up. Trying to cool down she waved with her hand in the direction of her face. The heath was starting to make her feel dizzy. She wanted to get some fresh air, but she knew that it wasn't possible. She'd be killed of immediately.

Jack didn't only listen to the response, he also paid attention to how long it took her to respond, the tone of her voice, and many other things indicating her current situation. He knew that she probably wouldn't come out and tell him what was causing her migraines. In all honesty, he probably wouldn't either. However, the mall couldn't have a head nurse who had emotional problems. He was still trying to decide between pushing harder or letting Sophie resolve her emotional problems on her own.

He had tried asking a different question, to better understand her situation. He was probably getting close to the source of headache, but then again, nothing was ever that simple. He probably should have stopped, since he wasn't completely sure of his mental state. She started ruffling her hair, a sign of nervousness. So his suspicion was correct, she did have some form of stress. "I'm fine seriously just hope I sleep better tonight, are you sleeping okay lately?" She seemed to be forcing a smile, but, he couldn't be sure. It was obvious to him that she was trying to advert his attention. This tatic would work on most people, since people were self-centered. However, he wasn't one to bother with self-pity and holding on to emotions, or at least that's what he told himself. He erased the previous text and began typing lighly, with a serene smile on his face. "Quite frankly, no, sleep is a pretty hard thing to get for anyone these days. However, I shouldn't be saddened by my condition, others have it much worse than I do. I'm lucky I managed to get here." He was finished. His fingers prepared to tell the girl about his grandfather, but he stopped and decided not to mention that. He shouldn't act as if he was a pitiful type of person.

He didn't notice the other female(Quincey) walking into the Social Area until he turned around and saw her fanning herself, seemingly tired. He thought that she was pregnant, but, it would be quite rude for him to ask. He quickly turned around the laptop so it faced him, then began typing. "Sorry to cut our meeting short, but I don't think that girl is too well." Jack put the laptop on the table next to Sophie and turned it towards her. He didn't care if she looked around his computer, since all of his private information was written in a code that only he knew how to decode.

He walked towards the other girl(Quincey), remembering that he would need another form of communication. He checked his pockets and brought out a sketchbook. He then brought out a pencil and began writing in the notebook. His handwriting was careful and fluid, but he didn't take too much time writing. "How can I help?" He decided not to bother asking what was happening, since that would be a waste of time. He could worry about questions later. His voice would have been calm and collected, that is, if he even had a voice.

Her tactic had seemed to work, "Quite frankly, no, sleep is a pretty hard thing to get for anyone these days. However, I shouldn't be saddened by my condition, others have it much worse than I do. I'm lucky I managed to get here." His thoughts reflected that of hers. They did have it better than most, and for that she should be thankful. She smiled now, not using it as a mask this was a genuine smile, a perfect portrayal of her actual emotions feeling slightly comforted by Jack words.

She sensed his fingers ready themselves to type more but he seemed to hold back. Strange, what did he want to say? Before she could ponder anymore about it she saw his attention was now focused somewhere else. Just as fast his fingers were hitting the keys at a rapid pace again, whilst swiftly moving to place the laptop next to her, "Sorry to cut our meeting short, but I don't think that girl is too well." She snapped her head up to see him walked towards Quin who was attempting to cool herself down.

She and Quin both worked in the infirmary and got on well. Sophie was getting more and more concerned with the pregnancy each day, no one here had ever delivered a baby and the only knowledge they had on it was from the books they had managed to find in the mall. The food and the living conditions here were far from ideal for a pregnant woman, Sophie never let Quin work too hard in the infirmary, giving her rests throughout the day to try and keep her strength up. Sophie sped out of the chair and reached her just as Jack showed her a message he had scribbled in his sketch pad.

Ashley made her way back to the mall. She hadn't gone far from her post, not that it would have mattered since she was in charge of security anyways. Though she relied on her second more than she probably should, but she had her reasons to. Thinking of her second, and also her roommate apparently, she remember that she still needed to assign the other person for night watch. Luckily she had already signed someone up for the first watch, and she was taking the second shift, but she still needed to ask someone to take the third. Each shift ran for about two and a half hours, unless someone was really tired or- like her -couldn't sleep at all and stayed longer than they were supposed too. Usually people had no problems taking the shift after hers, because she ended up not having to wake them at all.

She didn't really know when her insomnia started, she just knew that she couldn't sleep unless she was passed out from exhaustion. Her brother used to tease her about it too, because they would find her dead-asleep in the most random places. Like on the kitchen floor or even in school. It wasn't her fault though. While most people tended to be mono-thinkers, she considered herself a poly-thinker. Her mind never stopped going, and it completely prevented her from getting any sleep. This also caused her to have dark circles under her eyes and she had completely lost the playful bounce in her step that she used to possess. Not to mention that when she actually did get to sleep, she was usually awake a half hour later from nightmares. So she just kept herself up until she was so tired that she- well -dropped.

Finding Snow in the gym wasn't a big surprise. Though, finding him without a shirt was a very nice surprise for Ash. Shaking her head, she silently scolded herself. They were in the middle of a- sort of -war. Approaching cautiously, she leaned down enough to gentle touch his shoulder before she dropped down next to him, folding her legs underneath her. "Hey S. You alright?", a single eyebrow was raised questioningly.

A high school level first aid course could only take you so far, but Adelaide was one of the very few people in the mall with any medical experience whatsoever so the usual limitations on her training didn't apply. For instance, Adelaide was proficient in CPR but had never practiced phlebotomy in her life, but now she was an expert due to the force of necessity. Medical professionals might have cringed at her amateurish skills, but compared to the other residents of Redbrooke mall, Adelaide was practically a fully qualified nurse. As such, her shifts in the Infirmary were long and exhausting but they were also time consuming and distracting, which was exactly what the girl needed in these times.

Glancing down at her cracked wristwatch, Adelaide exhaled loudly. She still had thirty five minutes to go before her shift ended, but there wasn't much left to do, thankfully. They had very limited medical supplies in the mall, and even less in terms of equipment, so it was ideal if they didn't have to deal with anyone at all... but all it took was one single cough and everyone would succumb to a potentially devastating cold due to the close proximity of the mall, so they had to be paranoid with every patient. No sniffle went unnoticed, and no sneeze escaped scrutiny; if there was one thing the mall didn't lack, it was alcohol, so they used it freely to rub down every surface to sterilize it against possible bacteria. The liquor store, therefore, was strictly off limits... but sometimes Adelaide wished she could have free access to it and drown her sorrows in a hundred bottles of beer. As it were, she kind of didn't have the option so she had to make the best of things.

"Ade? One of the children was reported to have been coughing last night. Could you check it out, please? It's little Hannah Morgan." Adelaide grinned, taking the offered stethoscope and first aid kit eagerly. She loved kids, and this was the best way to kill the rest of her shift. "Sure!" She yanked off her gloves, slipped out of the pale pink scrubs she was wearing--three sizes too big, but still necessary--and headed for the daycare center. It would be nice to see Desmea again, she figured, since their conflicting schedules hardly gave them time to talk much anymore.

Upon arriving at the caring area, Adelaide paused and blinked at the lack of children. "Where'd they go?" She wondered, poking her head through the doorway and frowning. Oh yeah--they were kids, of course they'd be in bed already. The poor things! She spotted Hazel sitting on the floor, surrounded by toys. "Reclaiming your lost childhood, Hazel?" She called out in greeting, stepping over abandoned knickknacks on her way over.

Elsy sighed and looked around. She was in the middle of the mall. She'd just been here for a week and she'd barely slept this week. Her nights were plagued with nightmares. She would imagine her mother's cries in her sleep. She saw a figure sometimes... She was never able to make out the face but she was certain it was the crank. Elsy idly shook until she came back to her senses. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and forced herself to move on.

Elsy walked down the hall and looked around. She didn't know what to do. She saw a group talking by the red chairs but didn't know if she should go talk... Elsy was shy... She bit her lip.

"C'mon Elsy! Go talk to them! Don't be a woos!" her inner voice told her.

Elsy started forward but couldn't get herself to continue on. She was nervous. She shook her head. She couldn't do it. She barely knew them... Elsy was too fragile... She couldn't approach people... She was just too nervous... To get a word out of her, you'd have to be the one to approach her. Elsy started to shake. She shook her head. "No!" she whispered and ran off. She ran past the gym and she glanced and saw a boy and a girl but she didn't dare slow down. She needed some alone time. She ran to the only place she knew she could be alone. She ran to the supply closet. She closed the door behind her and let herself slide down the wall into a sitting position. She looked down at her wrist. She stared longingly at the charm bracelet that had belonged to her mother once upon a time. She wiped a tear from her eye as she remembered that her mother was no longer with her. It was hard to believe some times but Elsy needed to get over it.

Snow didn't realize that he was zoning out until he felt the light touch on his sweaty shoulder. His heartbeat quickened a bit, seeing as he was still briefly trapped in his own mind. He didn't necessarily jump, but he did visibly shudder. He remembered how that Crank pinned him down by his shoulders, scratching at his face with its filth encrusted fingernails. He could see it, playing over and over in his mind's eye. It still rendered him speechless.

"Hey S. You alright?"

Those words sent him back to the present. His eyes darted to the dark haired leader of security with a bit of surprise. How long has she been there? He ran a hand through his wet hair before sighing. He needed to get a grip. The more he tried to remember who he was, the more he felt as though he were slipping into insanity. Snow wiped more sweat off his left breast where his 'name' resided.

"I could be better," he replied with a distant look on his face. "It's time for my shift? If so, just give me a minute to clean up."



A small grin spread onto Hazel's face at the sight Adelaide. She held the stuffed animal closer to her chest before speaking.

"Something like that..." She patted the spot next to her, signaling Ade to sit beside her. "So, you come here often?" She joked lightly. Hazel liked Adelaide, finding her rather endearing and fun to be around. It was a relief to have someone the lean on in the midst of all this madness; someone to be able to joke with despite the Cranks residing outside of these walls. Hazel continued to smile because if she didn't then who else will?

Ash frowned, feeling bad for startling Snow. She didn't dare apologize though, she wouldn't have wanted someone to even mention it if she was in his place. It was sort of how things were around here, unless you were a little kid. People didn't respond when you asked them questions, or would cry. Some just, would freak out or lock themselves in their rooms for days. You didn't say anything about it. Because the truth was, everyone here had gone through something terrible. And almost all of them had lost their families. It was a normality now, and you learned to live with it.

Slipping back to reality, she recalled his words and shook her head. "No... no. I just came to ask if you would mind taking the third night shift? I'm taking the second, so chances are you won't even be bothered..." she trailed off, looking down at her hands. It wasn't that she was shy, well at least she wasn't around people she knew. Once she became friends with someone, she had no qualms about being her awkward self. But she wasn't the best of friends with Snow. And he was cute. Sort of left her a little flustered. "I just need to make sure that I'll have someone to take over, in case I feel like I'm going to die or something," as soon as Snow had become part of Security, and her roommate, she had briefed him on her strange sleeping habits, just so he wouldn't question the darkness under her eyes or even why she stayed up, all night.

Adelaide toed aside a pile of Legos and sat down next to Hazel. There weren't that many kids in the Mall since they were too young to run away from the Cranks by themselves, but a lot of teenagers had brought their siblings when they'd escaped their afflicted families so the population of brats was steadily growing. Soon they would have a fully functional community on their hands, with no way to feed them. The thought was frightening so Adelaide pushed it aside, knowing that it probably haunted Hazel everyday since she was in charge of food. No one had a better idea than her friend about how limited their survival possibilities were... as soon as they all grew up and became adults, what were the chances that they wouldn't turn into cranks themselves?

Okay. She had to stop thinking about this. Come on, focus on the present, Ade...

"Someone heard Hanna coughing last night, so I came here to check her out and give her some lemon drops. Hopefully it's nothing, but you never know." She half-shrugged, crossing her legs comfortable and folding the stethoscope neatly in her lap. "How's it going with you?" Adelaide knew just how boring and redundant and stressful life was in this confinement, with entertainment far and few in between. "I feel like going to the old Blockbuster store downstairs and grabbing a DVD to watch. Something romantic, like Titanic. What do you say? Ready to cry a bucket of tears with me?" She grinned, nudging Hazel's shoulder.

Snow almost quirked a smile. Almost. He glanced at Ashley and leaned on his hands, studying her with his bright eyes. He could see the dark circles under her eyes and hear the exhaustion in her tone, though he didn't worry. She had already informed him of her sleeping habits, so he would be surprised if the circles magical disappeared. Honestly, he kind of liked them. He knew that was weird, but he liked that she had flaws. Perfect people disgusted him. If she were perfect then he wouldn't have bothered to share a room with her.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I've got it covered." He stretched his arms and winced. Perhaps, he worked out too hard. His legs were screaming bloody murder and his arms weren't feeling any better. "I need to lay off the treadmill for a while...help me up." He offered her his hand so that she could help him stand up.

Unlike Snow, Ash actually did smile. It was completely out of character, she was always quiet and almost scarily serious, but you could probably blame it on the shyness- again. She acted strangely around new people, always blushing and stumbling when she tried to speak, almost like she couldn't form a full sentence without the help of someone else around her. When she got to know you though, all of those things sort of decreased, but you could still notice them. She would slip up and blush, or stumble when she wasn't paying attention. Though it didn't bother her much, it was the only thing that reminded her that she was still human.

Uncrossing her legs, she pushed herself off the floor. Taking his hand, she gave a gentle tug and then braced herself, so that he could stand up. "Aren't you supposed to be offering to help me up?" she teased. "I mean, at least that's how it is in every teen-romance novel I've ever read," she paused. "Which would be about... two." The other kids in school used to tease her for that too, because she chose to read gory stories like Jack The Ripper, instead of something silly like Twilight.

"Poor baby, I'll pray for her," Hazel sighed, feeling that pang in her heart that she couldn't ignore whenever the children were in any type of trouble, no matter how small. She wiped the sadness from her face in an instant, not wanting to ruin the bonding moment with Ade. "I just finished taking inventory on the food, and I think that we have some popcorn left. I can pop it up while you get the movie and I'll meet you there." She stood up and offered Ade her hand. "I think a dose of Leonardo DiCaprio can lift anyone's spirits." She stopped talking when a strange thought crossed her mind.

What if Leonardo DiCaprio was infected? What if he was no longer like Jack from Titanicor Frank from Catch Me If You Can? What if at this moment Leo was ripping someone's jaw open? It sickened her to her core.



Snow pulled himself up, causing a low hiss of pain to release itself through clenched teeth. He almost lost his balance, but he was glad that Ashley was there because he shoulder was his support. "Did you just run four miles?" He gave her a empty look then shook his head slowly. "Didn't think so."

Snow took a step forward gingerly, but not gingerly enough. He grunted as white hot pain shot up his right leg. "I'm fine," Snow said more to himself. He limped towards the door without complaining. He was a man that suffered in silence and although each step felt like his leg was going to fall off, he took it like a man and said nothing, only grunting and wincing on occasion.

This was nothing. Snow's had worse injuries...well, at least he thought he did. There was a large scar on his abs that he didn't remember getting, but it looked like it was a deep cut. There were bruises on his arms from his unknown past. He assumed that he was some sort of badass, judging by his various battle scars. Nevertheless, Snow was a trooper and an aching leg wasn't going to slow him down. He refused to let it hold him back. He limped his way to his and Ashley's room, so he could get some clean and non-sweaty clothes. After grabbing a pair of basket ball shorts and a plain white V-neck, Snow limped to the bathroom to ready himself for the night shift.

Ash wanted to offer help, badly. But she had already assumed he wouldn't allow her, so she kept her mouth shut and followed him out of the gym room. Once in the hallway, she moved to his side, close enough that if he needed, he could have used her for support. It made her feel bad to see him limping, then again she had always been a lot more sympathetic towards the male species- compared to the female. You could call it her being a bit biased though, since she had grown up without a mother, making it just her ex-military father, three older brothers, and a twin brother. All of them were dead now though, or at least her father was. Her brothers were Cranks, and that meant they were as good as dead to her.

Though she hadn't meant too, she followed Snow into their room. Seeing as it would be a bit rude, her just standing there and then suddenly walking out, she went over to her bed and sat down. It wasn't like she had anything else to do, her daytime shift had just ended and she didn't have to worry about going back outside for at least eight hours. Snow left to go to the bathroom, leaving her staring at the spot he had been standing. With a wistful sigh, she laid back on her pillow and stared at the ceiling.

Elsy sat in the storage room, trying to slow down the hiccups that came with crying... Elsy sighed and wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve. Elsy got up. It was time to face everybody else. She couldn't hide from everybody for long..... But again she didn't HAVE to talk, She patted her pants to get the dust off and walked out of the supply closet.

Elsy walked down the hallway passing the gym.. Elsy looked around. Maybe she'd go wander around since she'd only been here for a week. Elsy continued walking down the hall until she saw the food court at the far end. She looked around and spotted the weapon supply room. She looked around to see if anyone was looking and dashed over. She looked in the window because she was unsure if she should go in. She bent over and reached into her boot and pulled out one of her knives her friend had given her last summer. She looked at the worn blade and looked up. She saw knives, guns, crossbows and basically anything that would harm you. She saw shiny blades and wished she could have one badly... But she still didn't know how things worked around here. She took one last glance at her knife before putting it back in her boot.

Elsy figured she would love to do some target practice but she didn't know where to get a target... Well... Anything would work. Cardboard... A poster? Elsy looked around. Maybe she could ask? Elsy started for the food court.

After washing the sweat from his body, Snow dressed him and stared at himself in the mirror. He could see the the tattoo of his 'name' peeking from the V-neck. He leaned forward on the counter and leered at himself. "I need answers..." he said blandly. His gaze remained on the mirror. "Come on, think. Who am I?" He started to play various scenarios in his mind, thinking of the clues that would lead him to the truth. "I have scars...I can sing a bit...I have tattoos..." Was he in a band? Was he a player? Did he have a girlfriend?

Snow groaned in frustration, "Who am I?" He gave himself one more once over then left the bathroom. His legs were still killing him, but he sucked it up and made his way to his room. He spotted Ashley laying her bed, staring at the ceiling. He leaned against the doorway and just watched her for about a minute before finally speaking.

"Thinking?" He asked monotonously. His arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned to take some weight off of his leg. "Don't let me interrupt. I just came back for my weapons." He then limped to the other side of the room, picking up his metal baseball bat and placing his swiss army knife into his pocket. He was about to walk out, but he noticed the strange expression on Ash's face. "What are you thinking about?"

Without really thinking about it, Ash sat up and grabbed her guitar from where it sat next to the bed. At first she just stared at it in her hands, and then slowly set it down on her lap and strummed a few chords. Like that, everything came back to her. It was always like this though, she didn't really think she even knew how to play guitar. If you asked her what chord she was playing, or how she was doing what she was doing, she really had no answer for you. The music just came to her, and she played, and she was good. But when she actually started thinking about it, she couldn't play.

That was probably why she liked guitar so much. It was the only time when her mind wasn't racing, a thousand thoughts running rampant in her brain. And the headaches, those hammering-nails-in-my-head headaches, melted away when she played. Of course they returned directly after she put the guitar down though, and she could hardly ever play for more than an hour.

Like that, her thoughts came back and she sighed, setting the guitar back down and returning to staring at the ceiling. It was times like this that she wished she could make friends here, but at the same time she didn't want to have the responsibility of being a friend to someone. All she needed was her knives, her guitar, and occasionally Snow. Like he knew she was thinking about him, he suddenly reappeared in the doorway. Though this made her jump, she didn't shoot up and stare at him, just turned her head slightly to the side and mumbled, "Always." It was her own personal joke, that only some people actually got. With her being a poly-thinker and all that. She watched him gather his things, but she really wasn't paying attention to him, she had gotten stuck back in her thoughts. Until he interrupted again, that is.

"Everything," she sat up, crossing her legs and leaning forward slightly before giving a shrug. "You, me, my shift tonight, how tired I am, who I'm going to have to kill next." By the end, her voice had become void of any emotion. "Everything," she repeated.

Adelaide blinked in surprise. Popcorn? "We do?" She tried not to get too excited but a bit of thrill still leaked into her tone. "With butter and everything? Good God, girl, I think I love you!" She took the proffered hand and stood up with a grin. "It's a deal. Let me just put this stuff away and I'll meet you there with the tissues."

So thrilled was Ade with the sudden turn of events that she completely missed the flash of sorrow on Hazel's face. She was mentally listing all the things she would have to do to end her shift early--and that included bribing Jenny, the other girl on the same shift as her, to cover the remaining twenty minutes. She'd also have to leave a note for someone to check up on little Hannah Morgan when she woke up in the morning because she herself hadn't gotten around to it tonight, and then... "See you in a few!"