Paxton Moore's Story

"Ah shit," Paxton hissed to herself as she awkwardly squatted over a prickly pear plant. A handful of the plants spines poked out of her arm. She ignored them and carried on breaking off the harder to reach fruits. With a proud smile she put the fruit into an already half full shopping bag at her feet. She took the gardening gloves off and sat down to pull the spines out of her arm. There weren't many but they left a few deep spots of blood down the length of her forearm. Paxton took a pocket knife from another leather bag she had sat behind here and beginning cutting open the prickly pear. She held the small plump fruit in the tip of her fingers and took one clean cut down the fruit's length. Deep purple juice bled out of the fruit making Paxton salivate and squeal with joy. She took the two halves of the small fruit in the palm of her hand. She licked the juice off the knife and begin eating the seeds and then the flesh of the fruit, letting out small satisfied moans. She hadn't eaten for ages and this plant was goldmine.

She polished off a few more pieces before she heard a low, deep rumble in the distance. A hazy motorway was a while off but she could just make out a black blur slowly moving across at quite a speed. From the sound and speed she presumed it must be a motor bike. Her eyes moved across the landscape where she saw the black dot moving towards what was either rocks or a small town. Her thoughts of chasing the survivor and attempting to join them were quickly squashed by the though of the jewels of fruit in her hands.

Her fingertips were stained with the fruit's juices. She sliced another one open and ate it, but now with less of the feral speed as before but now for the pure enjoyment of eating. With her other hand she took a thick book from her leather side bag. "The Medicinal Uses of Common Plants by Earl Cooke". It was yellowing and smelled old. Her fingertips left faint purple marks on the page. Her stomach let out a loud a gurgle. The sudden noise made Paxton laugh as she read through the books index where she found "Prickly Pear - Opuntia". A delicate etching of a prickly pear sat in the middle of the page with a basic description of the plant and she began reading through the plants benefits: If applied directly to a wound or scratch; the juice of a prickly pear is known to help aid in the healing, to this Paxton raised her eyebrows in surprise and moved onto the other half of the fruit she was eating ... prevents inflammation ... alleviates the effects of alcohol ... a natural laxative. She let the seeds fall from her mouth. Her stomach made another gurgle.

"Are you serious?" Paxton threw the skin of the fruit aside and poked the book, "You could have mentioned that before, Earl!"

She doubled over her stomach, "Oh god ... I thought we friends Early. Seriously."
The fruits previously unknown properties of the Prickly Pear take full affect and Paxton forgets all about the motorbike and the town and possible other survivors. Unless zombies could ride motorbikes now.

Paxton stood up and dusted the sand from her trousers. She slung her bag on and scooped up her bag of fruit. The sun was beating down and she just wanted to get into the shade. It took a while of painful, slow walking towards the haze in the distance.

As she neared and was finally close enough to see a town. Her jaw dropped and she lost the fruit she was running through her fingers. A small, town which she would have pre-zombie say was "dead" but was very much alive. There were gas pumps. There were buildings. There was a bar. She even saw a women slowly making her way across the town into a bar.

Paxton carried on walking with a mixture of excitement and fear. She just saw another person, an actual living person. She had come across others but they were never too friendly. They kept clear of each other or would be amiable for a meal before it being made obvious she should move on. Paxton had wanted to attach herself to group, even when she was still with her dad. It seemed impossible to "meet new people" with dead wandering about.

Her feet were sweaty and she could feel a blister forming. She was now within the town. Parked just outside what seemed to be the local bar was a black motorbike, probably the one she had seen earlier. However she was still awhile away and moving slowly but cautiously. The women she spotted earlier could be the one with the motorbike. Paxton imagined the typical "biker" or maybe an elderly cutesy grandad type. Just as the thought crossed her mind she saw a sullen looking large, biker style man leave the bar. Another person poked out from the bar - this time another women, dressed incredibly sexy for a zombie apocalypse but she had to admit she was beautiful. Three survivors. Maybe they're group and the biker and the women had a bit of an argument and he's about to storm off. Now, Paxton had stopped walking and she was just watching. She faintly made out her shouting but only caught the word "car".

Paxton edged forwards hoping neither of them would notice her but rather hoping to simply figure them out before even thinking of approaching them.
Paxton could now hear the women, "I'm a damsel in distress!"
She watched on as the biker ignored her just continuing on with his bike.
"It would be very unchivalrous of you not to help," Paxton moved forwards to get a better look,"I'm sure your Mama taught you better."

It seemed liked they didn't know each other very well, or that they knew each other very well. Paxton was terrible at figuring people out. She waited for the biker to reply and found herself quite enjoying herself. Watching strangers talk was the closest she'd gotten to seeing a film or a television show and she sorely missed them.

Hal was stowing away a few odds and ends in his saddlebags when he heard the sultry voice of the fiery hell cat from the bar behind him.

"How about cars? You any good at fixing them?"

Winston arched an eyebrow as he looked over his shoulder at the sexy brunette strutting toward him, her guns strapped on her shapely legs.

"A bit..."

He replied with a grunt as he eyed her curiously. What was she playing at? Hal ran into a few sirens on the road. Pretty girls who ran with a gang that use their looks to lure men out into the wastelands only for her crew to descend on them and after putting a few bullets in them they'd loot you for supplies and leave you for the biters. This girl didn't seem like that. For one she didn't have the bruises that usually went along with being a siren. Those girls got passed around pretty regularly and bandits could get real rough. Two, she didn't carry herself like the kind of woman who'd allow a man to look at her wrong let alone use her like some kinda plaything. Myabe she'd try to kill him anyway, maybe she wouldn't but either way Hal literally had nothing better to do. If this woman ended his shitty excuse for a life then so be it, he was sick of it all anyway.

Hal turned away from her for a minute as he finsihed starpping his saddlebags down, she must have took it as a sign he may not have been interested. Her voice reached his ears again, this time the tone was considerably lighter and more playful.

"I'm a damsel in distress! It would be very unchivalrous of you not to help, I'm sure your Mama taught you better."

Hal hadn't laughed in a while but this girl did the impossible and got a chuckle out of the big man as he pulled on the final strap of his saddle bag.

"My moms dead. Has been for a while..."

He said gloomily. The blank stare he recieved from her as if she was thinking she just put her fut in her mouth almost brought a smile to his face.

"Relax, she died when I was eight. Cancer."

He said as he casually put his thumbs in his belt.

"So... what needs fixing?"

"Well, at least you knew her. That's more then some of us, right?" Rosie said darkly as she stepped out of the shadows and into the sun.

The heat hit her in thick waves she could actually feel and she suddenly realized, annoyed, that she'd given away apart of herself she'd never shared with anyone.

Fuck! This horrid weather was really getting to her. She hated any place where the sun dominated the seasons all year round.

Shading her eyes, Rosie moved forward, hoping he hadn't paid attention to her comment as she walked towards her Jeep. It was a complete wreck. The red paint had long started peeling, it was covered in dried mud all over and the head light on the right was shattered. All in all it looked quite ready for the scrap yard.

"This is my baby." Rosie smirked as she popped the hood open "Although I do believe baby is well and truly finished but one lives in hope."

Rosie watched the tall leather covered giant with a curious gaze as he walked over to where she leaned against the car with folded arms and he began investigating. She didn't get him, couldn't figure him out . . . Why was he so . . . nice?

It didn't seem right. Nobody could be that nice. It was beginning to irritate Rosie but she couldn't put her finger on the why part. Did she want to entice a reaction out of him? Was she that messed up that she couldn't simply accept a kind gesture without running her mouth?

Hmm . . . What strange food for thought . . .

Pouting, Rosie pulled out a Cigarette from the pack in her pocket and placed it between her lips. Gliding forward the slightest she dipped her fingers into the strangers trouser pocket and pulled out the lighter. Savoring his surprised reaction as he stiffened at her touch.

"I'm gonna keep this for a little while." Rosie said ignoring his scorching stare as she lit up.

Slipping the lighter in her pocket, she looked up with a wicked smile, noticing the not too happy look on his face.

If looks could kill . . . Thought Rosie with amusement.

"Don't worry, I'll give it back." She added with a wink as she took a drag "Maybe . . ." Rosie teased playfully with a chuckle as she began to move away.

Paxton watched as the biker and the sexy women now moved over to her jeep. Realizing she'd been stood still for quite a while she started to move towards them. No-one seemed to have noticed her yet and she was very thankful for that. Paxton gripped her bag's strap, took another fruit out the bag so she would have something to play with if conversation got awkward and began psyching herself up. She then readjusted her grip on the shopping bag and started walking towards them. Then she veered to the left. She was walking for the bar rather than them.

There was a sound of an engine further ahead. A bus was driving towards them. She was now outside the bar and stood under the shade of the roof. She didn't want to go inside but this small bit of shade was a welcome relief.

The bus drove up and stopped a few metres away from her and the bar. Sat in the bus were two men. A soldier sat in the passenger seat and a plump, cheery looking man in the driver's. She watched as they had a brief conversation and the cheery man left the bus. He went straight towards the biker and women.

Paxton muttered under her breath - an unfortunate habit she picked up from being alone for so long - as she watched him walk straight up and cheerily talk to them. She looked back to the soldier who didn't seem to see her yet, he had now left the bus and walked into the bar.

She tried to get her pocket knife out so she could eat some more of her fruit, the shopping bag was getting in her way and so she tried to swing into on to her shoulder. Instead of getting it on her shoulder it swung upside down, hit the bar and the bag emptied. Plump red fruit bounced down and scattering themselves across the dry floor. A few even rolled to the bus and a few just short of the motorbike. She completely froze up. Her face went red and she groaned. She began picking up nearby fruit and stuffing them into the bag trying her best to not see if anyone noticed and hoping that she hadn't wasted hours squatting over some cactus.

Jillian strode along the road, walking as fast as she had since her trailer a mile behind her. Her daughter Summer clung uneasily to her mother who balanced her on her hip, holding her roughly with one arm. Her son Lyle trailed several yards behind kicking stones relentlessly in the dust as he went along.

The bar was finally in view. Jillian entered with the little girl, not waiting for her son who was still trudging yards behind. She went straight up to the bar, not minding any of the strange men who gawked at her. She used to know everyone who came to the bar, now it was filled with nomads.

"Billy!" She called once she reached the bar.

The bar tender who had temporarily abandoned his post to fetch more whiskey from the back, came out.

"Jill..Summer. It's good to see you both." He greeted. There was a certain tone in his voice that said otherwise though.

"Hi uncle Billy!" Summer replied sweetly and unnecessarily loud.

Jillian placed her little girl down on the stool beside her, who began to stare at the strangers with a shot glass to her eye like a kaleidoscope.

"Billy, I have something to ask of you." Jillian began.

"I can't give you anymore food." Billy said abruptly before Jill could even utter another syllable. He looked away as he said it, that was one consolation.

Jillian tried not to feel hurt by his words and leaned forward on the bar.

"Then let me state something. I'm leaving. For good.She told him in a lowered voice, almost threatening.

Billy's demeanor changed from grief to disbelief in an instant. He'd heard this many times before from her, since she was nothing but a young thing with big dreams. She would come to him, in varying degrees of bloodied condition and exclaim that it was the last straw she had with her husband. He would calm her down and convince her to stay, saying that Richard needed a good woman like her and that her children needed a father. He mostly did this because Richard was his brother. However, Richard wasn't here anymore.

"You can't do that Jillian." He scoffed, "where will you go? What about your kids?"

"They're coming with me." She said tersely, "There's nothing for us here, not even you can help us anymore. We're finding a ride and getting out of here. There are plenty of people who pass through here on their way to other places."

She perked up at the rumbling sound of a large vehicle pulling up outside.

"Speaking of.. I'm going to check out what just pulled up. Sounds promising."

"You're gonna get you and your children killed. You've never gotten so far as the county line!"

Jillian ignored his negative comment and began to stride towards the door, and accidentally bumped shoulders with the soldier who had just entered the bar. Billy snatched the shot glass from Summer who remained propped on the bar stool and cleaned it vigorously with a rag.

"Oh! Excuse me sir." She apologized, then paused for a moment. He had just walked in, she wondered if he had been the one who parked outside, "Hey, where are you coming from? I suppose this isn't your last stop is it? Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Jillian. I don't mean to bombard you with questions, but I'm looking for a ride to get of here. Today."

---------

Lyle finally made it to the bar not long after his mother entered. He waited outside for her in the shade against the wall. He chewed on a piece of grass lazily like a cow chewing cud as his green eyes stared into infinity. His head was in a fog from not having a decent meal in days, the grass even tasted good to him. They had been eating dog food the past three days, having exhausted their supply of non-perishable human food. He had a hard time stomaching it unlike his younger sister who was tricked into enjoying it by pretending she was a dog while she ate the food from a bowl on the floor.

He observed the strangers gathering outside the bar. A woman and a biker, then a bus pulled up. He hadn't seen so many strangers roll through town in his life. The beginning of the plague had changed the town dramatically. While the number of locals dwindled from the plague the population of nomads increased. They would soon be nomads too.

It wasn't until a young woman walked up to the bar that the boy reacted to anything going on in front of him. He had spotted her yards away. He spat the piece of grass out of his mouth and waited with anticipation. He vaguely listened to what she said to the other travelers when she finally got to the bar. She was kind of cute in a grungy sort of way and her comments were sharp but he was more interested in the bag she was carrying.

When she dumped the bag of fruit, he immediately jumped on his opportunity. Food and an introduction. He knelt down and began handing the fruit to her without a word, all words caught in his dry throat.. His hand gently brushed over hers as he reached for the same fruit. He looked at her. She was even cuter up close, or maybe it was the starvation that made everything so appealing. He wondered if she was older than himself. His face broke out into a smile, his lucid green eyes holding hers. He didn't let his delirious thoughts distract him and slipped a fruit in his other hand into the bag at his waist as he held her gaze.

"'Scuse me..." He said, he went for another fruit and held it out to her, "I just thought you needed some help. What's with all the fruit? You shouldn't eat too much of this you know. It has some serious effects."

He spoke from experience, having eaten a bunch himself when he was child and ended up with uncontrollable bowel movements for days. It didn't hurt in little amounts though. People in his town used it for medicinal purposes.

Paxton jumped as she felt something brush her hand - a wrist with leather and braided bracelets picked up some of the stray fruit. The hand picked up others for a moment while both were silent. She looked up and it was what looked like another teenager! They seemed to be the age group having the most trouble surviving the apocalypse. He smiled and she couldn't help but smile back. Maybe she should throw food around more often, at least that way she won't have to start talking first.

"'Scuse me..." he said whilst handing her another fruit "I just thought you needed some help. What's with all the fruit? You shouldn't eat too much of this you know. It has some serious effects."

Paxton just laughed a little and looked around her where she could see the other fruits rolling further away.

"Yeah, I already found that out," she stood up and stumbled a little. Her vision blacked out for a second as the sudden movement made her dizzy,"I've kind of started hoarding things since ...the dead people."

Paxton blinked a few times more and suddenly noticed a child sat in the bar. She shifted slightly to the side looking around the boy stood in front of her.

"That's a child," the words were out of her mouth before she realised how ridiculous she must sound.

The empty glass that had once held water hit the counter. Jo had quickly grown tired of the mass of people congregating at the bar and decided it was about high time she leave.

She got up to leave, and was dumbstruck by what had now faced her. There in the seat next to her sat a real,living, breathing child. She hadn't seen child since First Night. She wanted to touch her, just to check and make sure this wasn't some strange hallucination brought on by the intense heat, but the woman who had come in with the child seemed to be her mother and she didn't want to anger her.

Jo decided to put all this past her. She didn't need friends or a group of people to survive. She had been doing just fine on her own. With that, she got up from her seat at the counter. As she bent down to grab her bag from the floor, a loud sound was heard outside as if a diesel engine had pulled up. Her curiosity was peaked by this new sound. Who in this new world had the gas to haul such a thing around? And why would they?

She straightened up and walked toward the door behind the woman with the child. As she followed, a soldier walked in and the woman bumped into him muttering an apology and then bombarding the young man with questions. Jo edged her way around the woman and man and proceeded out the door.

A piece if fruit rolled it's way under her foot and she nearly fell but caught herself at the last second. She picked the fruit from underfoot and contemplated eating it but soon saw the owner of the juicy morsel. She handed it to the young woman with a burlap sack in hand and walked past to investigate the bus that now sat in a parking spot.

Her former bar companions were standing by the hood of a very rough looking red jeep and was contemplating what seemed to be wrong with it. A rather heavyset man had walked up to them inquiring about where he could get some gas. She was more interested in his mode of transportation and went to it, circling it and checking it out. It was a vehicle meant for defense and longevity and she wondered briefly if he would take any passengers.

Lyle stood with the girl and looked over where his little sister was amongst the burly men at the bar. She was around 6, with brown hair and light brown eyes. She wore an oversized fluorescent green cotton shirt with flowers on it and jeans that made her appear even tinier than she actually was. Currently she was leaning precariously to reach a bowl of peanuts in front of another patron.

"Oh, that's my little sister, Summer." He stated nonchalantly, as if such a sight was common. He pointed to his mother, a woman who appeared young enough to be his sister. "That's my mom, Jillian." Then he pointed to himself, "And I'm Lyle."

Seeing that Summer was getting dangerously close to falling into the person's lap next to her to obtain the peanuts, Lyle quickly intervened.

"Summer, don't bother people." Lyle scolded, grabbing her off the bar stool from behind and placing her on the ground.

His uncle on the other side of the bar waved a crooked finger at him and tisked.

"Boy, you better keep your girls in line.. And talk some sense into that mother of yours."

Lyle simply nodded, "yessir." Like hell he was going to "talk sense" into his mother.For once they might actually get out of here. It didn't matter if it had to be with the shady strangers from a bar in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

He squeezed Summer's tiny hand firmly in his and made her follow him back over to his new acquaintance, avoiding further conversation with his uncle Billy. Summer scowled up at her older brother with fiery eyes for foiling her attempted peanut robbery. He ignored it. The girl hadn't smiled at him for three months straight.

"So what's your name? Where are you coming from?" He asked the teenage girl while his sister tried to pry herself free from the iron grip he had on her hand.

John was just about to get an answer from the folks he had asked about the gas station and location when a girl stood in the shade of the bar's entrance dropped a bag full of fruit, causing the food to go on a rolling spree around the area. John bent over and picked up one of the juicy things which had rolled to his feet and rolled it to where there was a young looking teenager with a child helping her pick up the fruits. Still waiting for an answer from either the biker or Lara Croft.

Dean had walked inside the bar and bumped into a middle aged looking woman, her green eyes luring him in as she asked a bundle of questions. "Okay Jill, slow down. You are looking for a ride?" He turned and pointed out of the door at John. "He is your man, y'see that huge armored bus? His, and he takes passengers. All you have to do is basically ask nicely." As he finished the explanation he carried on to the bar. Showed the silver and gold to the tender and asked how much he could get to go. The look on the barman's face shouted out that he was willing to let up quite a bit for the jewelry.

Not before long Dean had in his arms a few large boxes of alcohol, a range as well. Grabbing the keys off John who looked like he was pleased with the amount Dean lifted the boxes up and onto the bus, putting them with the food at the back. John knew to drink responsibly and so did Dean, these were just for one at a time, maybe semi-special occasions. You needed your wits with you in the apocalypse. Just about everything and everyone could have a reason to kill you. As Dean had fulfilled his objective he sat in the first passenger seat of the bus and waited for John.

"Oh, that's my little sister, Summer.That's my mom, Jillian." Then he pointed to himself, "And I'm Lyle."

Lyle turned to look back at his sister who seemed to be causing some trouble. He went off to the rescue. Another women was now walking out, she took a near stumble on a stray bit of fruit and Paxton reached out to help but quickly withdrew her hands as the women got her balance back and scooped up the fruit. The women handed the fruit back which surprised Paxton, she thought she would have just taken it.

"Thank you," Paxton called after her, but the women continued walking on seeming to take no notice as she walked towards the bus.

Lyle seemed to know the bar tender and after what looked like angry words between them he walked back towards Paxton but now dragging his sister with him.

"So what's your name? Where are you coming from?"

"My name's Paxton," she began reaching into her bag and pulled out her pocket knife,"Well three months ago we were in California --"

Paxton stopped talking for a moment. She was about to talk about her dad as though he was waiting in the car for her. She sliced open a fruit and held the halves out to Lyle and Summer.

"I meant I was in California, lost our -- my car a couple of months back been walking, and here I am ... wherever here is," she moved the fruit closer to them, " You can help yourself to the fruit in the parking lot. Food's hard to come by nowadays and I can't exactly eat too much of these."

Paxton peeled a fruit open for herself, wanting to change topic and maybe make some small chit chat rather than talk about her dad or the dead.

"You from here?" she scooped out the seeds with the knife and licked them off the knife.

Jillian's face beamed at the soldier's reply.

"Thank you!"

She made her way outside and over to the bus and broken down jeep where an attractive woman, a biker, and a young st. Nick were conversing. Jillian was quite oblivious to Hal and Rosie with the preoccupation of her mission. She walked straight up to John whom the soldier had told her she needed to talk to.

"Hello sir, I'm Jillian." She began timidly, tucking a strand of curly brown hair behind her ear, "I'm looking for a ride for my children and I. Would you happen to have room on your bus for three more passengers?.. If you take us, I have containers of gas at my trailer not far from here."

Her lips were chapped but she attempted a smile to show her friendliness. She realized the danger of being swindled, but was hoping based on appearance that he might take the offer and not try to steal the last valuable asset she had to barter with and leave them in the dust. They always had containers of gasoline for her husband's motorbikes, but they had no car. They had been using the gasoline as of late for making fires, either to cook since the electricity went out, or to burn the pile of undead corpses of neighbors that accumulated in the yard.

People in the town minded their own business and every matter was handled within families. The problem with this was when the plague broke out that no one would admit when one of their family members was infected. This made the outbreak worse. The family member would then bite their other family members or somehow escape the house and attack unsuspecting neighbors. Then their neighbors were forced to kill them. Lyle and Jillian took turns at night watching for undead neighbors, which seemed to be the most active time.

----

Lyle listened to Paxton, hanging on her every word. He noticed the mistaken "we" and "our", but perceived it was a slip of the tongue that was best not to pursue at the time. Everyone had things they had a hard time talking about. He grew up in a town where domestic problems were rampant but never spoken of, so he was used to being tight-lipped himself.

When she handed the two halves of fruit to him and his sister, he felt a wave of guilt for the fruit he had stolen into his bag. He mumbled a thank you as he received it. Summer finally pried her hands free of her brother's, took the fruit in both hands, and began to devour it.

"Summer. Say thank you." He ordered.

Summer paused, lifting her juice covered face for just enough time to say, "Thank you Ms.Paxton!" And eat the rest of the fruit that was gone in a matter of seconds.

Lyle took a bite of the fruit in his hand, but kept his eyes on Paxton who licked the blade of her pocket knife of seeds. He averted his gaze feeling his face warming up with embarrassment and wiped the juice off Summer's face with the purple bandana from his back pocket.

"Yeah. Been here my whole life. We're leaving though.. Soon. Today even." He laughed nervously, "we don't have a vehicle of our own so we're hoping to get a ride with someone."

Lyle felt bad for Paxton. She couldn't have been much older than himself and was all by herself, in one of the most destitute places in the country. Not to mention dangerous. He had robbed her blind just moments ago himself! Maybe he should offer to travel together. He was with his mom and little sister, there couldn't have been a safer group to travel with than them. Plus she had just licked a knife in front of him, innocently, and with a naïveté he knew would be taken advantage of out here. He had seen too damn much in his young life.

His little sister beat him to the punch.

"Ms. Paxton should come with us." Summer proclaimed, "can she come with us Lyle?"

"Ahh.. Only if she wants too." He said, for once happy his sister was as bold as she was. He looked at Paxton inquisitively, "well do you?"

Paxton smiled at Summer's enthusiasm but couldn't help to think they probably haven't seen food for a while. Summer completely devoured the fruit in seconds. Lyle looked away from Paxton, he seemed slightly red as he told here he came from here. It wasn't that bad if that's why he was getting embarrassed.

While Paxton ate the last bit of flesh in the fruit's skin she watched as Lyle's mum Summer practically ran towards the cheery man down by the broken jeep. Paxton would have thought Summer was Jillian's child but not Lyle. She was trying to figure out how old he was. She was guessing around fifteen at the oldest. Teen mum maybe?

"Ms. Paxton should come with us. Can she come with us Lyle?" Summer piped up.

"Ah... Only if she wants too, well do you?" Lyle seemed to look at Paxton hopefully.

This was exactly what she was hoping for! But, they didn't even have a ride yet. That was probably why the mum was talking to the cheery man. She looked over to the bus were the soldier was sat looking very bored.

"I'd love to - it's just," Paxton scratched her arm, the cuts on her arm from the cactus started to bleed a little but not enough to show through her hoodie, "If you can't get a lift because of me. No, yeah."

Paxton stopped herself and laughed, she was being an absolute moron. A single mum and her two children? What danger could they possibly be to her? Besides, if she went on by herself she was worried she would literally walk herself to death.

"Yes. Yeah. If you get a ride I'd love to come with, it'll be nice to be round people again! And to not have to walk."

Paxton was giddy and couldn't help but grin. What luck! They even asked her so it wasn't as though she was forcing herself into a group.

"Um, do you need to ask your mum? You can have the fruit - as a thank you!" Paxton pulled another shopping bag from her pocket and gave it to Lyle, "I'll grab some, you get the rest?"

Paxton span round and went towards the nearest fruit by the bus and said loudly to herself, "Your lucky day Paxton."

As she bent down and began picking up the fruit she realised that she didn't know where they were planning to go. She decided to just go with it for now and maybe try to convince them to help her find her mum later on. For now she just wanted to sit in a car again.

John could have been a little bit miffed of at the woman's comment, but as he always would he forgave and forgot. The apocalypse will do things to people the normal world never could, bring out the worst in the best, make even the calmest of people the most dangerous. Not John though, miraculously. There must have been reasons he was so kind at such a time, but nobody had ever stuck around long enough to hear them. Maybe that was about to change as Dean had moved into the picture.

Even though John had not got the answer he wanted he nodded and smiled, showing manners. "Sorry to be of disturbance mam." John turned and started walking back to the bus, he knew Dean was waiting to get going. As he turned he noticed the child and the two teenagers looking relatively happy, maybe hungry. The girl and boy were both sorting out the fruit that had been sprawled everywhere and the little girl was talking with the woman who had just blew him off. It was almost everything was normal for a second, seeing the girl and pair. Something about the way they were acting, their general attitude. It's things like that which keep the world spinning, there needs to be someone around to teach the next generation to rebuild.

As John neared the bus a woman stopped to talk, as John looked into her big green eyes he instantly saw a kind, caring woman whom was definitely no trouble. John smiled as she started to speak. "Hello sir, I'm Jillian. I'm looking for a ride for my children and I. Would you happen to have room on your bus for three more passengers?.. If you take us, I have containers of gas at my trailer not far from here." He could have jumped and whooped for joy but he didn't, John stood, taking little time to decide the answer. Quickly looking back to the bus he saw Dean watching him from a window, holding a thumb up to his friend. As John turned for a second anyone could have sworn he actually gave off a positive aura.

"Miss there is no question about it, you have a ride for your children and yourself. As soon as we fill my baby up we can get going, feel free to step on board and make yourself at home. I'll show you where the tins are, feel free to grab something for your children and of course yourself. You can point us in the direction of this trailer when you feel like leaving." As John felt there had been enough talking he stepped up and into the bus, the door already opened by Dean. He sat in the drivers seat and contemplated their next move, there had been rumors of a safe zone to the west but they were nothing to go by. John's thoughts shifted from the game plan to the new additions to the group, or temporary additions. The promise of fuel sounded good, maybe too good. No, there was no way a woman with children was out to deceive anyone, she had enough to worry about. Looking after her children in such a hostile environment.

Out of boredom and general nothing-to-do-ness Dean dragged a bag of weapons to his seat and started loading the unloaded weapons up, just in case of an emergency where you had to grab a gun and fast, the last thing you wanted to do was pick up an empty weapon. Quickly realizing he would look daunting, possibly menacing he dropped the bag on the floor and shifted it underneath his seat, out of the reach of children, the last thing anyone wanted was a young one picking up a loaded glock without thinking.

A strong hand reached out and wrapped around the wrist of the woman. The hold was tight enough to inflict pain but enough to hold her enthralled. The grip was that of iron, the gaze was that of ice. Hal stared into the eyes of the woman who'd thought it fun to pluck his lighter from his pocket as it was some piece of shit zippo. She had no idea what that thing was, how important it was to him. He turned her hand over, never taking his eyes off her and took the lighter from her hand before speaking.

"This stays with me..."

He growled before turning back to the jeep behind him. The two had gathered a small collection of other survivors now. A big man and a soldier in some heavily modified truck, a couple of kids, the works. Hal didn't like this, not one bit. Too many people, last time he was in a group it didn't go so well. It was better on his own, it had to be better. No loss, no pain, just the endless road and the promise of death. People brought attachments and attachments caused only suffering.

Winston tried to busy himself with work as the others all talked. Introductions, jokes, casual questions were tossed about as the biker worked under the hood. His hands were quickly becoming covered in black grime, not that they were all that clean to begin with. He began tinkering with a few odds and ends until he was what was out of place.

"Your oil pumps gone out on you. You might have noticed the check engine light on a few miles back. Your oil pump went and that stopped the circulation of oil to the cylinders in the engine. Engine started to heat up and a cylinder blew. You had to have heard the bang then you got a bunch of smoke and your jeep stopped dead."

Hal said as his eyes still critically scanned the engine while he took a step back and slid his thumbs into his belt buckle.

"I don't have the tools or parts to fix something like this. You're gunna need to find a new ride."

He said as he turned around to look at the woman, whose names he had still yet to learn.

Jillian felt happy at John's reply. Like him, she worried that she might be deceived. But when she looked into John's eyes she saw something genuinely kind and a kindred spirit. They both were people who reached out to others, even when their goodwill was not reciprocated.

She glanced around for her son.

"Lyle! C'mon, we're leaving on the bus!"

She picked up Summer, who struggled against her mother to no avail. Once again her plans to obtain food had been foiled by her superiors. Jillian was about to take off, but paused a second to overhear what Winston had to say to Rosie.

"I don't have the tools or parts to fix this. You're gunna need to find a new ride."

Jillian took a few steps back and faced Rosie. She behaved as if she had heard nothing of what Winston said.

"It was nice to meet you Rosie.. Unless you and your boyfriend are going on the bus too?"

She glanced between Rosie and the tough biker man. A hint of skepticism was in her green eyes as she scanned over Winston. She recognized the type of tattoos he had as gang affiliated but looked away not to appear too interested. Her husband was in a motorcycle gang and she had spent plenty of time around bikers. Not that it mattered much anymore what gang someone was apart of, most of them must have fallen apart during the plague. And she had never been that intertwined with her husband's gang, only through virtue of her marriage was she affiliated. She had no tattoos to proclaim loyalty.

----

"Lyle! C'mon, we're leaving on the bus!" Lyle heard his mother say and waved over to her.

"Okay!"

That was easier than he thought it was going to be. What were the chances they would get here the same time a jolly man with a huge bus pulled up? Or that a girl close to his age might stroll into town? It must have been destiny, if one believed in such things.

The hot cole of hate that simmered in his stomach cooled down as he put the thoughts of his arrogant uncle aside. Things were looking better for them already.

He put the full burlap bag of fruit on his shoulder and went over to Paxton. She was leaning down to pick up a fruit so he tapped her on the shoulder.

"We got a ride on the bus. Wanna get on?" Lyle asked once he got her attention,"don't worry, I won't let them kick you off."

He patted her reassuringly on the back.

Paxton picked up the last fruit which has burst from the impact. She saw a tiny dot of blood on her hoodie's sleeve and thought this was a perfect chance to try out the healing properties of the prickly pear.

"We got a ride on the bus. Wanna get on? Don't worry, I won't let them kick you off," Lyle smiled and patted her on the back and she smiled up. Although she was a bit confused why he thought she looked worried.

" I won't let them kick me off," she laughed mostly to herself and stood up.

She looked over to the bus- properly this time. It was heavily modified and reinforced. The perfect machine to keep the corpses out. She watched the soldier in the passenger seat load a gun before quickly stowing it away.

"You know what," Paxton turned to Lyle,"I should really ask them myself. I mean thanks, you did find the bus after all but I'd feel pretty bad just tagging along."

She rearranged her bags again. Gripped her shoulder strap. Readjusted her grip on the fruit bag again. It was sort of becoming her routine to psyche herself up. "Let's do this" she muttered to herself. A heavy puff out and she walked straight to the bus's door. She knocked on the side of the bus. Once she had their attention she smiled and began speaking,

"Hey, I know that Jillian - the women just out their -," Paxton looked round the front of the bus and pointed her out," Asked for a lift and I was wondering could you take one more?"

As she spoke she saw a bag at the soldier's foot; the whole bag seemed to be filled with guns and her tiny personal armory seemed pretty pathetic in comparison. She felt dizzy for a moment and tried to hide it by leaning on the bus to keep her balance.

"I have some fruit and I'm pretty good, " she took a deep breath as she felt a bit light headed,"at finding stuff to eat in the desert. I won't be useless."

She smiled at both the cheery man and the soldier.

"Oh sorry - I'm Paxton," she put her hand up but realised they may be a bit far for them to reach," And you guys are?"

Jo was quiet throughtout everybody's exchange. She hadn't been very talkative to anybody she had meet since the Plague had begun. She wanted to join these people, she really did, but she was unsure of how to approach them. The mother and her two children had already scored a ride with them and Jo needed to hurry if she hoped to ever join them.

She approached the heavyset man who was speaking with the biker guy and the woman from before. "Excuse me, my name is Josephine or Jo for short. I was interested in perhaps joining the group you are forming. I have traveled from the east because I heard that there was a safezone in Oregon. I was a veteranarian before and have a great deal of medical training that should be useful."

As she made her request, another girl,the one with the fruit, went to the bus and asked the soldier for permission to join. Maybe Jo was asking the wrong person, maybe the soldier was the leader? Jo was apprehensive now thinking all these thoughts.