Matthew Plains's Story

Matthew

Matthew jumped up out of the car, into the new city. He had just got all that stuff, and everyone else seemed to be sleeping. "Jin? Jin wake up!" Jin did a sort of half turn. He grunted, and Matthew rolled his eyes. "Hey? Sleeping Beauty? I'm going out looting. See ya in the morning." Jin rolled back over and Matthew started to run off into the city.

Radio

Radio looked down, as the boy left the group, his backpack on. "Move out my darklings. Bring me the boy." The men and woman ran out to the streets, ready to capture. Radio jumped down the small shed and landed in front of the boy. "Stop. You will not pass me. That is inevitable." The boy looked up and smiled. "Hey, Darth Vader, back off or I will shoot you!" The boy raised his shotgun towards Radio. "Bad decision, boy." Radio sliced the scythe down through the shotgun, cutting it in half. One of his, "darklings" came up behind the boy and grabbed him. "Let go of me!" The boy struggled, but it was no use. Radio looked at his darkling, and said "We have our hostage."

Four months. Four long, weary, harsh months had just passed and they still didn't bump into Darcy. Not even Natalie or Jin... or even Leo and the scrawny blonde kid. Not that the last two he felt like seeing anyway. But it would have been better than seeing the two same faces that he had seen all these four months, his arm in a cast. It had only been bitten by a dog and was fine until the crash, it had broken and Leon felt as if he had no reason to be living at the moment. Lilith was probably going to die if they didn't make anymore antidotes and Jake. Leon didn't know if Richard would handle the dog or just kill it. It was a sad thought to think about but it had to be thought by someone. Did Richard even have a reason to keep them alive anymore? They fought at times and sometimes it felt as if he was just going to blow his head off, literaly. With a gun. Richard was a trained killer so it could be possible. The only reason he kept going everyday, kept fighting was for Darcy. Well that was what Leon thought, he was sure he heard Richard mumble her name in his dreams sometimes. Leon usually talked, not much anymore. There was no joy. Nothing on his mind he could say without starting a fight. He grew tired of fights and just couldn't be bothered dealing with that shit. He was nearly out of supplies and a lot of his weapons were destroyed in the crash. Just a few swords and his crossbow, he was so thankful that he didn't lose the crossbow that day. It saved him in so many situations, as did his swords. Leon couldn't bare to look at the others, their face was probably imprinted in his mind, ecspecially Lilith's face, the only thing is that was her four months ago. When she wasn't a bright yellow colour. She changed brighter everyday and all Leon could think of was when she was going to turn. Her soul leaving the body only to be replaced with a demon. She was the quiet one, not always talking. Which was awesome since Richard just happened to say everything that they did wrong.

Leon seemed to be looking at his shoes most of the time, he always wore his torn shoes when they were walking from town to town, only wore his good shoes when there was a special occasion or when he wanted to be happy. He looked out the window of the car that they had taken from some cops. The infected ran the streets as well as some people who looked just like zombies, sad, miserable and no hope. Jake whined in a way that made Leon's heart feel quite unhappy.
"I know dude... I know."
He whispered to the dog and patted in on the head as it barked sorrowfully. They probably need to go someplace for Lilith, Richard hadn't said anything the whole car ride this time except for some smart remarks. Leon had a bad feeling about this place and he gripped the side of the car. He was so sick of Richard, Jake and Lilith. It was kind of sad for him to think this way but he just couldn't help it. He needed to socialise with someone else. Anyone else.

Matthew was getting used to this now. Living in cold dark rooms? Check. Being completely scared all the time? Check. He didn't know what to do. That weird hooded guy had took Matthew to a military bunker, and trapped him in what looked like a interrogation room. There was one table, two chairs, a door, no windows, and a completely cold, stone wall. Pretty much sounds like an interrogation room. Matthew looked down at the table, his eyes focusing on his hands. Once clean and fresh, now pale and bloody.
The door creaked open. The hooded man walked inside. "Hello. I need to talk to you. Now." The hooded man grabbed Matthew by the arm and laid him against the table, his hands pressed down. "Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing?!" Matthew said in protest. "You will see." The hooded man closed the door and took out a small pocketknife. "I found this in your pocket. Now, will it be your demise?" The hooded man quickly took the knife, and slid it under one of Matthew's fingernails. "Tell me, ho many people are in your group?" Matthew smiled again. "Like I'm telling an asshole like you." The hooded man simply ripped off the fingernail. "Oh my god! OH MY GOD!"
It was now the hooded man's turn to smile. "Do not worry. It will grow back. But maybe I need more effective measures of interrogation. Come with me." Matthew had no chance for a snarky comment back to him, because he grabbed Matthew by the neck and slung him out the door. Matthew hit the floor hard, and coughed up some blood. The man took his foot and pressed it against Matthew's chest.
"Bring the girl in." Two men came down the hallway, bringing a girl, no more than five. "What the hell is this?" Matthew looked at the hooded man, who brought up something like a scythe. "Now, which one of you should die? Hmmm? The girl, or the boy. It is the people's choice." The girl was crying for her mother, and Matthew knew the obvious choice. "Kill me. Do it. Just do it." The hooded man brought up the scythe. "Excellent choice. Do not worry, we will still find your group. Give them a very warm welcome."
Matthew looked down at the floor, waiting for what he knew was coming. He had made it this far just to be murdered. But at least he would save a girls life. A poor five year old girl, who's mother was probably still out there looking for her. His parents weren't. What did he really have to live for? Hope? Forget it. All you could do was die in this world. Matthew closed his eyes tighter. Think of something good, he told himself. Like this not happening, or being back down at the campsite,eating some more canned beans. Matthew opened his eyes. Except your fate with dignity. He looked up. The man looked down. "Any last words?" Matthew grinned one last time. "Fuck you asshole!" The man brought the scythe down, and blood splattered everywhere.


3 hours later
Running. Running. That man had killed that poor girl. And then he had ran. Matthew. Had. Ran. Through the halls. Out the window. Into the sunshine. Running. Coward. There. Over there. The campsite. The weird girl and the woman. They were there. Matthew rushed over. And fell over in a heap and cried.
(OOC: Sorry that part is so weird. Just so you guys'll understand, no, Matthew is not dead. I just like to screw with people!:D )

Matthew looked up from his small tantrum. There was nobody there. "What? Hello? Natalie? Leo? Jin? Weird girl?" Where were they? He thought he had just saw them. But nobody was there. "I-I-I'm hallucinating." Matthew looked around some more. Nope. Nobody was going to jump out, 'You just got punk'd!' It wasn't going to happen. Nobody was there. They had ditched him. "No...no....no... Motherfuckers!" Matthew ran back into the city.

1 hour later
Matthew walked around the city, kicking rocks around. "I hate them. Never should have trusted those fuckers. I'll find them. Then I'll-" Matthew was then cut off by voices. Matthew jumped behind a dumpster, looking at the two people talking. One was a man, with some frizzy blond hair. Welcome to the club, Matthew thought. And the other was...."Leo?" Matthew suddenly jolted up. What if this guy was trying to kill Leo? "Hey man, if you were gonna kill him, don't do it. There's a pistol in my pocket, and don't move or I'll kill you."
Matthew reached into his pocket. It was empty. What a bluff.

Leo was about to yell at the guy, he wasnt ten! But suddenly he heard a voice that sounded familiar to him,
"Leo? The voice said.

Leo looked up, wondering who had said his name, and then he saw Matthew.
He wasnt the first person Leo wanted to see, but atleast he knew him.
Matthew rambled on to the other guy, and apparently he had a gun, but when he reached into his pocket to get it,
Leo could tell that he didnt.
If you're the reason why this guy shoots us...
He thought, rolling his eyes.
Still, Leo was glad to see someone he recognized.

OOC: Sorry for the short post, im using my phone at the moment and I don't want to write a whole lot on a tiny keyboard :P

Alex looked at the other guy in surprise, then back at Kiddo, who's name was suddenly Leo according to the other guy.
"I have a pistol in my pocket, and don't move or i'll shoot you!" The other guy warned, a serious expression on his face.
Alex raised an eyebrow, "Interesting." He said, then began tossing his gun back and forth in his hands,
"I have one too." He said with a smile, then pointed it at the guy.
He wasn't going to shoot him, Alex didn't shoot living people unless he had a good reason to, he just wanted to scare him a bit.
Kiddo/Leo remained silent, and Alex wondered if he actually knew Person#2 or not.
"Are you two brothers or something?" He asked, his eyes darting back and forth between them.
Most likely not.
They looked somewhat similar in looks and close enough age though, but Alex had thought a fifteen yearold had been ten, he had no clue how old Person#2 could be.
And Kiddo/Leo had a darker hair color than Person#2, he was also a fair bit shorter and from what Alex could see, he had different colored eyes.
So they hardly shared any resemblance to each other. Alright then.
If they were brothers, then they must have a different mom or dad or something.
Whatever, it didn't matter if they were related or not, Alex didn't know who the fuck they were.
Kiddo/Leo and Person#2 were complete strangers who randomly showed up in a town that had been mostly abandoned for months.
Nothing suspicious about that. Alex thought, narrowing his eyes.

Leo's eyes widened as he saw the guy point his gun at Matthew right after he had threatened to shoot him.
Nice going, Matthew... you're an expert on trying to get yourself killed. Leo thought when he realized that Matthew didnt have a gun at all.

"Are you two brothers or something?" The guy asked, a doubtful but at the same time curious look on his face.
Now Leo wanted to punch him.
Did he really think that Leo was siblings with such an idiot?
They werent anything alike!
"No," Leo replied, "he's from a group of survivors I used to be with." He explained, and Leo realized for the first time that he was surprised that Matthew was there.
What happened to Jin and Natalie?
Were they alright?
Studying Matthews face, Leo didnt see any signs of grief, so they werent dead... unless he didnt care if the two others died or not, or he didnt know and he had been separated from them just like Leo had been...
Whatever it was, Leo wanted to know why they werent with him.

After about an hour of so of pacing back and forth in the living room, getting absolutely nothing accomplished, Aarti finally came to a decision.
It wasn't safe here. Well... obviously it wasn't safe, but Aarti had accepted the truth and she knew that she had to leave. Staying here any longer wasn't an option.
She grabbed two back packs from the closet and filled one with food, the other with a few outfits and the rest with medical supplied she had taken from the bathroom and first aid kits.
Unfortunately Aarti didn't own a single weapon besides the knives in the kitchen, so she grabbed a few of those and stuffed them in the bag as well.

She grabbed her snow jacket, boots, and hat from her bedroom then rushed back downstairs and picked up the bag packs.
Just before Aarti was about to open the door, her mind decided that now it would think about all the possibilities that could happen out there in what was left of the world.
I could be killed... Aarti thought, she knew what the zombies could do, she had seen them rip their teeth into her parents... she had witnessed the horrible things they were capable of... but somehow that Aarti's main worry.
I could die of hunger, or die of the cold, I could snap my neck or something, or be eaten by one of the monsters... I might not find any survivors... what if i'm the only living person left? Aarti fretted, biting her lip.
Okay, the last one probably wasn't even possible. Alex was out there somewhere, probably still in his house.
But other than him... there had to be other people.
Aarti hadn't seen any in the last few days, but she knew they were there... somewhere.
Trying to regain her courage, Aarti didn't give herself any more time to come up with any more ' what if?'s ' and opened the door.
"Alright..." She muttered, "Here I go... right...."
She'd check Alex's house first, to see if he was home or not, then she'd check the store incase he was there, and then if she still hadn't found him by then... Aarti didn't know what she would do.
"I'll just have to wing it," She growled, closing the door, "And hope I won't die... that's pretty important."

... A Little While Later ...

Aarti felt a bit odd when she had literally broke into Alexanders' house...in all honestly she hoped he wasn't home, too, or else she'd have to explain herself.
After quickly looking through a few rooms, Aarti left the house after carefully trying to put the front door back on its hinges(or atleast make it look like it) but after several attempts she gave up and descended down the road.
He's just at the store, Aarti thought, forcing a smile on her face.
She'd stand no chance at living if she didn't have Alex, she'd be killed within the first few days. He was really the only reason why she was still alive right now.
Aarti hated to admit it, but she was a coward when it came to zombies.
A full on absolute coward.
She couldn't fight them, there was something about the way they were... how they were alive yet dead, how a disease could take over someone's soul...
Aarti shivered, she didn't want to think about it.
She wasn't a fighter, that was Alex's job.
She was the girl who just sat back and pretended to actually be capable of doing anything useful.
Combat involving dead people wasn't her style.
It never would be.


After checking through every isle in the store, Aarti began to feel her stomach churning when she didn't see the person she wanted to see.
Dead bodies on the floor, they were there.
Fully-Dead zombies lying around here and there, yup.
Alex who seemed to be hiding from her today, nope.
Aarti barged out of the store and slumped down in a snow pile outside. Out of all the days Alex could choose to go wandering off somewhere, he chose today.
Was he just plain stupid or what?
Aarti wasn't paying attention to where she was walking anymore, and her first instinct was to freeze as soon as she heard faint voices up ahead.
They were distant, and for all Aarti knew they could be just the mumbling of zombies and she was hearing them wrong, but Aarti still felt the smallest bit of excitement.
"People," She breathed, "real people."

Aarti broke into a run, but the two two full back packs were the main things slowing her down... those and the boots.
Just as the voices sounded like there weren't too far away, Aarti suddenly stopped.
What was she thinking?
She couldn't just run up to complete strangers and expect them to welcome her.
That was crazy.
But suddenly the bag that was carrying all the cans of food slipped off her arm and made a rather loud noise as it hit the only part of the ground that wasn't covered in snow.
Just my luck, Aarti thought, a frustrated frown inching its way across her face, quickly she picked the bag up and began to retreat her steps.
She'd leave town without Alex... that was fine...

Alex nodded as Kiddo explained.
Kiddo had met Person#2 and a few other people awhile ago, Alex didn't know exactly how long ago, but judging how Kiddo looked Alex guessed he had been own his own for a bit.
Looking at Person#2, Alex noticed that he looked like he had been through rough times as well, maybe he had been traveling by himself too?
Kiddo's expression and tone of voice told Alex that he wasn't very happy to see the other kid, and Alex asking if he was brothers with Person#2 was obviously a bad choice.
Sorry about that, Alex thought, but really he was quite amused.
Already he could see that Kiddo had a bad temper, funny.

"Well, that sounds like quite an interesting story!" Alex laughed, "I'd like to hear it sometime." He continued, tucking his gun back in the hidden pocket in his jacket.
The two kids weren't a threat, that was certain.
"So... I guess you're hungry, huh? You both look like you are. I have some food... uh," Alex paused as he turned to point at the shopping cart behind him, "Right there. The amount of it looks pretty pathetic, but hey, at least i'm not letting you starve! Not that either of you would get to the point of starving, though... you should be thankful i'm nice and haven't killed you guys yet!" Alex cheered, a grin on his face.

Suddenly, his smile disappeared from his face as he heard a faint sound a few feet away.
That better not be a damn zombie... Alex thought, narrowing his eyes.
Looking back at Kiddo and Person#2, Alex forced the grin back, "We should get out of the snow, eh? Follow me."
He wasn't sure if the kids would trust him, a complete stranger, enough to follow him back to his house, but he didn't care.
They can freeze outside if they want to. I'm going home. He thought, already pushing the shopping cart down the street.

Alex didn't feel like waiting for Kiddo and Person#2 to answer, and even though he knew nothing about Kiddo/Leo and Person#2, something just didnt feel right about him leaving them outside, so he
grabbed them both by the arm with one hand, his shopping cart with the other, and started walking.
"My house is ten or so minutes way, which sucks for you, Kiddo, because you don't have a jacket and its like... really cold." Alex said even though he
didn't feel like talking.
For a second, Alex questioned why he was helping these two kids, anyway.
What did he get from it?
It wasn't like they had any money to pay him for being nice.
What was the point of it?
Zombies... Alex thought, If I left them here they'd obviously attract them because they're also obviously stupid. Alex
glanced back at Kiddo who looked pretty annoyed with him. Besides that, he looked hungry and weak, there was no way he'd be able to survive another
few days outside in the snow.
If he died, then zombies would probably smell the corpse and come to eat it.
That meant they'd be in the same area as Alex, and that wasn't good.
Alex looked at Person#2, he was in better shape than Kiddo, but he looked like he had been beaten recently, that would easily slow him down when it came to running away or fighting the zombies, and once they were finished with him, they'd be looking for more humans to eat.
That wasnt good either.
So.. what would he do?
It wasn't like Alex could babysit them forever, he had Aarti to look after, he had to make sure she wasn't the next person killed.
He could look after them for awhile, though.
But then what?
Ditch them?
A grin formed across Alex's face, that actually wasn't a bad idea. He'd feed them for a few days, make sure they could look after themselves, then he'd either send them packing or just flat out leave them.
Smart thinking, Alex. He thought to himself.

Leo would of argued when the guy, whatever his name was, took both him and Matthew by the arms and literally dragged them away.
...Heck, he would of done alot more than just argue.
Unfortunalty the thing that stopped him was that instead of words, Leo let out a few sharp, painful coughs.
Not again.. He thought, doing his best not to wince as he took in a deep breath.
"Its just the cold air." Leo explained quickly, not sure if that was really the truth or not.
He had been coughing like that for days, and Leo had figured that it was because of the cold and the fact that he had nothing suitable to wear, but Leo wasnt a docter, so he didnt know. Now his lungs were hurting, his throat felt dry, and to top it off he could feel a headache forming again.

Of course, im the one who has all the bad luck.
Okay... not all of it. There was people who were in alot worse situations than Leo... as in life or death.
It wasnt even close to fair to compare himself to them.
All I have is ... cold or flu symptoms or something, I wont die.

Alex was a little irritated at Kiddo's constant coughing, he knew that was going to be a problem for the future... but hopefully Alex wouldn't be there when it became one.
Feed them, teach them a few basic fighting moves, leave them. That was the plan, simple and easy.
He was so focused on that one thought that Alex barley recognised his own house in front of him.
"Oh... we're here."
He pulled out his keys from his pocket and unlocked then opened the door, "You two can sit in the living room if you want, I don't care." Alex said then walked back over to the shopping cart and hauled it inside the house and closed the door once Kiddo and Person#2 had sat down.
"I'll make something to eat.. what do you guys want?" Alex asked, trying to break the silence in the room. On any other day he wouldn't of minded it, but today it bothered him.
"There's spaghetti, Kraft Dinner, uh... Hamburger Helper... "
Luckily the stove in the kitchen was still working, that was good.
When the kids didn't answer, Alex chose for them.
"Kraft Dinner it is."

Matthew
"Mac & Cheese? Sounds good to me." Matthew jumped up off the couch and walked off to where the man had left off to. The kitchen. "Hey, do you have any weapons with you? I know how to use them. Trust me. Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm useless. I saw that look in your eye. Your planning on leaving us. And, with the things I have been through, I am not going back out there. You could kill me before then." Matthew realized the Kraft was ready. He then began to rub where his fingernail USED to be. "Oh and, me and Leo over there, we are definitely NOT brothers, OK? My name's Matthew. Nice to meet ya."

Radio
Radio and his group drove down the road in their armored jeeps. A runner began to run towards them, and screeched as it's body bursted upon impact into of the lead jeep. They were leaving this horrid town finally. Radio jumped in the back where the thing was held up in chains. "Hello, there sweetheart." He than began to stroke it's head. It stayed calm. But the really weird part about this scene, was that there were two arms sticking out of the creatures back.

"Hey, do you have any weapons with you? I know how to use them. Trust me. Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm useless."
Person#2 said as he walked up to Alex.
Alex shook his head, "Only a gun, and you're not going to be the one using it." He replied flatly, turning off the stove.
"I saw that look in your eye. Your planning on leaving us. And, with the things I have been through, I am not going back out there. You could kill me before then." Person#2 continued as if he had ignored what Alex had said.
"Of course," Alex nodded to the part about him leaving them, then he opened one of the cabinets and took two bowls out.
"None of us want to go back out there, its dangerous and if anything its a runner up to being as bad as hell, there's even worse people in this world now then there was before, and to top it off there's monsters ready to rip your head off the first chance they get. And as much as i'd love to at the moment, I don't kill people, sorry." He said emotionlessly, scooping the Kraft Dinner into the two bowls then took two forks out of a drawer.
"And, me and Leo over there, we are definitely NOT brothers, OK? My name's Matthew. Nice to meet ya."

Alex regretted bringing Matthew and Leo with him, main reason number one is because Alex could tell that it'd be hard to get rid of them now, main reason number two is because Matthew was a chatterbox and Leo had a bad temper, if Alex couldn't leave the two, then he figured that he might consider breaking his no killing human beings rule.
However, simply shooting them in the arm or leg or something to get them to shut up was a possibility.
"Well, Matthew, im Alex. Here you go." Alex said, passing the bowl of Kraft Dinner to the kid.
Alex picked up the second bowl and walked back into the living room to give it to Leo, when that was done he sat in an armchair and glared at the two kids.
He had no idea what he was supposed to do with them now, he had never been a good babysitter.

After a few minutes of him not talking, Alex figured out what he would say.
"Listen, Matthew, Leo," He growled as he pointed at the two, but got their names mixed up and ended up calling Matthew Leo, and Leo Matthew.
They weren't too happy about that.
"Im planning to leave town and go to one of the cities with my friend Aarti, you two aren't part of that plan, got it?"
Alex stopped, he was going to kick them out, say that he was sure that they'd find some other group of people to join, but there was no guarantee that that would happen.
Matthew had told him that he didn't want to go back out there, and Leo looked as if he would of agreed if he'd been in the kitchen at the time.
For some reason, Alex actually felt bad for them.
"... But, I guess I can make a few changes to the original plan... if you two want, you can tag along with us."
For Alex that had been incredibly hard to say.
I can't believe im letting two kids come with me and Aarti to the city.

"Wait, which city are you actually talking about?" Matthew looked at Alex. "Because, wherever your wanting to go, I think I have a better idea." Matthew grinned. He pulled out the one thing the hooded man hadn't taken from him. A map of Atlanta. "So, while I was back in Atlanta, i'm pretty sure I heard that the CDC was working on a cure. So if we go there, we'll have no worries about being bitten, or getting sick. Only one problem." Matthew picked a pen up off the table. "There are runners, here." Matthew made a huge circle around the entire map.

Leo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the map, where had Matthew gotten that?
"So, while I was back in Atlanta, i'm pretty sure I heard that the CDC was working on a cure. So if we go there, we'll have no worries about being bitten, or getting sick. Only one problem... There are runners, here." Matthew said, circling the entire map.
Leo's curiousity grew, How does he know all of that? He thought, wondering if Natalie or Jin had mentioned it before and Leo hadnt been listening at the time, or if Matthew had heard about it some other way while he was on an odd adventure of his...
Thats probably it... it sounded like something that would happen to Matthew

"How are we going to get to Atlanta?" Leo asked, looking up from the map and at Matthew, "We dont have a car," He said, then his eyes flickered to the other blonde haired guy, "Do we?"

Alex listened carefully to what Matthew was saying,
no, he didn't know which city he had been planning to go to, he just wanted to leave and figure things out later.
Atlanta wasnt bad, and if there was a possible cure in progress, it sounded like a good idea to go.
But Alex's thoughts shifted when Matthew said there was zombies pretty much everywhere.
Hopefully they'd be able to find some more weapons somewhere.

"How are we going to get to Atlanta?" Leo asked with a doubtful expression, "We don't have a car, do we?"
Alex nodded, "Sure we do," He said, not particulary liking all the 'we's '
It made it sound like they were a team, which Alex disagreed with. He was not a team player.
"I have a truck in the garage, it needs repairs, but it might make it to Atlanta if we're lucky." Alex offered.
He didn't know exactly what was wrong with it, he had never been a car person and Alex hadn't thought that he'd have to drive it again, but know he wished that he did.

-------------

Aarti ran as fast as she could in her attempt to get away from the monster/zombie/mutated thing behind her. She had only seen it twice, but that was enough for her to tell that the thing would easily be able to kill her if she stopped running. In her mind, she didn't stand a chance.
"Chase someone else!" Aarti shouted, momentarely wondering if it would be able to understand her. Aarti shook her head, whoever it used to be would of been able to tell what she was saying, but the monster it was now had no clue.
It wanted food, and it wanted food now.
"Nevermind, then." Aarti growled, struggling with one of the backpacks she was carrying. After a few moments of desperately trying not to let the bag fall, she gave up and dropped it only to realize that was the bag of food.
"Damn it!"

Leo smiled when he heard about the truck needing repairs, he wasnt entirely sure why, maybe it was because he could actually be useful for once?
And then Leo's smile faded when he realized that he had never made repairs to a car before, heck, he barley knew how to drive one, what made him think that he was suddenly some sort of mechanic?
Still, it was worth a shot.
But just as Leo opened his mouth to speak, and then shut it as he also realized just how stupid that idea was.
What were the chances of the blonde haired guy having what Leo needed in order to fix the truck?
I dont even know what I need. He thought, shaking his head slightly.
Idiot.

Leo replaced his original question for a better one,
"So, uh, where is this friend of yours?"

"So, were basically screwed now then aren't we? We have one measly pistol, a broken down truck, and a missing member of the group," Matthew did a quotation signal around the word group. "Versus one million zombies? Our odds aren't very good." Matthew frowned. "But, we could split up. If you know where any guns are."

Alex gave a cold smile,
"If I knew where any more weapons were, Matthew, don't you think i'd have them with me?" He asked, the tone of his voice signaling that he thought that should of been obvious.
Alex didn't include that even if he did know where any guns were, he wouldn't of revealed their location.
Too bad for him, though, he honestly didn't know where any were.
"Besides, all of us survived this long... getting to Atlanta should be a cake-walk!" Alex cheered, however he failed to sound enthusiastic.

Leo was starting to wonder if living was really worth it.
Matthew hadnt in the slightest way made it sound easy, he was right about the chances of surviving being slim, it would be a miracle if all three of them made it to Atlanta alive.
And then there was the missing person... Aarti or whatever the name was. No one knew where she was, either.
Dead. Was the first thing that Leo thought of when he wondered where she could be.
Even the blonde haired guy didnt look very hopeful... atleast he sure didnt sound like he was.
Suddenly Leo thought of his former home, Highgate, and all the people that had died there. He remembered his Aunt and how he had killed her...
And now in just a matter of time, he would probably die too.

No... Leo thought, narrowing his eyes.
Death wasnt part of the plan. It wasnt a solution. It wasnt an option.
There had to something they could do...
Leo just didnt know what.

Matthew brought his fork down on his Kraft. Stabbing it, lifting it up and chewing. He swallowed quickly and reached down for another bite. He stared down at his feet. The shoes were torn too shreds. His tooth was gone, he had various bruises down the side of his face. He wasn't doing to well anymore. But, he was doing better than that one girl back at the torture house. She had been slit through her face. All your fault Matthew. YOU killed that girl. You ran like a coward. It's your fault. He kept thinking about the life she used to have. She probably had friends, or family. Family that loved her. Unlike you. Why do you deserve to live? Your family hated you. Maybe better to not get that deep. He swallowed his last bite of Kraft and asked, "So, what's the plan?

Alex frowned, his normal I don't give a shit attitude quivering.
The two kids weren't giving up already, were they? Sure, most likely a bunch of crappy things had happened to them in the past, Matthew looked like life for him recently had been pretty rough, and Leo looked the same.
But would they seriously quit so easily?

"I'll be honest," Alex said finally, surprised at his own words, "Matthew, I don't have the slightest outline for a good, stable plan. I don't know what the fuck is going to happen, I don't know if we can make it to Atlanta, I don't know where the hell Aarti is, either."
Alex stopped talking, he wanted to admit that he was terrified, but what what good would that do?
"I don't have a specific plan," He continued after a few minutes of thinking, "So how 'bout we all hope that we wont die on our road trip to Atlanta, 'kay? That usually works."

Leo stared down at the bowl of KD that was in his hands,
"Terrific," He said, "So we're just going to head towards Atlanta and rely on pure luck to get us there alive?"
That sounded like something his parents would of done... go in the direction that you want to go and hope for the best, or in Leo's case, hope that you dont die.
Its a lot easier said than done when theres a bunch of zombies ready to kill us.
Leo began to think of something his Mother or Father or Aunt would have said...

His Aunt would probably yell at him to stop thinking about his own death.
His Mother would of told him that everything would be fine even if it wouldnt.
And his Father would of made a joke out of the whole thing and somehow manage to convince Leo that a world full of mutated human eating monsters wasnt such a bad thing after all.
Leo frowned, he missed his parents... heck, he even missed his stupid Aunt, who had been nothing but a bother to him since he could remember.

Looking up at Matthew and the blonde haired guy, Leo managed a smile, "So, uh... when are we leaving?"

"I don't know, tomorrow?" Alex said, then wondered if they would be ready to leave in such short time. He still needed to find Aarti, wherever the hell she was, and they still needed to figure out a plan...
"Or in a few days... whatever works."

---

Aarti was running... she wasn't completely sure exactly for how long, but her main focus was to hopefully outrun the damn zombie that was chasing her, and maybe possibly meet up with some actual living people.
Once or twice she'd look back and nearly have a heart attack when she saw the face of the monster that would gladly kill her, and then she would mutter to herself to stop being such a wimp and fight the stupid thing.
But of course that never happened, and Aarti kept on running.
"Why is it," She hissed, "that im the unlucky one that seems to run into every fucking zombie out there?"
Because you're clumsy, have no clue what you're doing, and for the record, aren't that smart when it comes to avoiding the things that would love to see you dead. A little voice inside her head offered.
Aarti narrowed her eyes, "Right..."

"Hey it doesn't really matter to me. As long as we leave this hellhole." Matthew picked up his empty bowl and put it in the sink. He then started to return back. He glanced out the window, just a few zombies roaming around. Weren't hurting nobody no how. So just ignore them Matthew. Just ignore them. "Sorry to change the subject, but can I borrow your gun? I'm going to bash some of the infected's heads in outside. Just to lighten them up a little bit."

Narrowing his eyes, Alex thought about Matthews question.
Would he just take the weapon and leave him and Leo behind?
[i] No, [\i] Alex thought, [i] He wouldn't do that... [\i]
He didn't know much about the kid, but he was trusting him not to run off.
Standing up and walking over to the spot where he had left his gun, Alex nodded.
"Yeah, go ahead." He said, tossing the gun to Matthew. "Try not to get yourself killed."

---

"Ha! Well, would you look at that?" Aarti said with a smile when she spotted a house up ahead.
"... I hope someone's home." She added in a mumble... "Or at least that the door isn't locked."

Leo looked down at the floor when Matthew asked if he could borrow the blonde haired guys gun
so he could shoot some zombies, and the guy had let him.
Leo had never been a fan of killing, even if he had to do so to save his life. Even if whatever he needed to murder was a
disgusting, soul-less monster, Leo had a hard time pulling the trigger or stabbing the knife.
In his mind, it was just... wrong, something only the heartless did...
He himself tried to avoid killing, but over the months Leo found himself taking more lives -though they werent much of lives anymore- then he would of liked to.
But he had done so to survive... he had killed so he could live, and in the back of Leo's mind he knew that it wasn't such
a big deal, the zombies werent humans.
And yet, Leo felt like he was just as much of a monster.

"So, uh... I don't you've introduced yourself.." Leo said to the blonde haired guy suddenly, desperate to get the thoughts out of his head.

{I'M BACK!!!}

The car stopped and Tsu had gotten out, "thanks for the ride." she said before smiling a little, "But I'll walk from here." she said as she exited the area and started to run.

About three hours later...

Tsu had noticed something, she was lost again. And now it started to snow and she ran faster into a small town and noticed a few walkers, she was lucky they didn't notice her. And she hid a bit and soon dealt with the walkers in a one-two-three manner cutting them open with her sword and kept moving twirling her blade to her the blood off it. Soon she started to slow down and noticed something, or someone. She had ducked behind a wall and peeked out, she noticed a tall blonde person whom looked about 19, a short brown haired boy whom she guessed was about 13 or 14, and a third that she noticed was blonde, but didn't much see the rest. She sat there waiting on what to do noticing the gun in the boy's hand.

"... I don't think you've introduced yourself.." Leo said out of nowhere, looking at Alex.
Alex looked back at him and realised that indeed he had only said his name to Matthew, Leo had no idea who he was.
"Right, sorry about that." He apologized with an edge to his voice, it bothered him that a complete stranger had to remind him what he forgot to do, "Im Alex-"
Out of the corner of his eye, Alex saw something.. wait, no, someone, to be correct, someone was outside.

A person.
An actual person that wasnt mutated or had flesh falling off its body.
A real human being.
For a short second Alex hoped that it was Aarti, but then his hopes fell when the person, whoever it was, quickly disappeared out of sight.
Looking back at Leo and Matthew, Alex put on a smile, "I'll be right back." He said, then headed for the door. It usually wasn't like him to just go looking for people, but with the possibilty of the person being Aarti... Alex couldnt risk not seeing who it was.
He had to find out.

Swinging open the door, Alex literally threw himself outside into the snow only to find that the person wasnt who he thought it was.
Narrowing his eyes, Alex glared at the girl standing by the window, pressed up against the wall of the house.
For a moment Alex thought she was pretty, long dark hair, light eyes, pale skin... she looked lady-like.
And then he saw the bloodstained blade in her hand, and Alex immediatly thought different.

"Who the hell are you?"

Tsu looked at the man whom now stands in front of her. He asked a question, 'who the hell are you?' She didn't respond she dreaded it. She didn't know if the man was friendly or not. To be exacet he scared the hellout of her with how quick yo the draw he was, she did though lower her blade and nodded showing that she was friendly for thre most part, "I... Won't... Hurt... You..." She said rather hesitantly as if talking to death incarnite. She removed herself from the wall she had pressed herself agianst and waited for the man to respond.

Looking scared out of her mind, the girl lowered her weapon and spoke the words, "I... Won't... Hurt... You..."
For a few seconds Alex didn't say anything, he just glared at her.
Who the fuck was this girl?
I meet three travelers in one day... huh. Alex thought, somewhat amused.
It was strange, and he wouldn't be surprised if suddenly Matthew, Leo, and the girl all pulled out a gun and shot him.

"What's your name?" Alex asked, trying to sound a bit friendlier then how he sounded before.

Curious, Leo stood up and followed Alex outside.
He wasnt sure what he was expecting... a hoard of zombies maybe, but it definitely wasnt what he saw.
A girl, probably around seventeen or eighteen years old... Maybe it was the friend Alex was expecting?

"Is that Aarti?" Leo asked, wondering why the girl looked frightened.
If she knew Alex, then why did she look so scared?

Tsu looked up and noticed another, she wasn't terrified, until she noticed his gun. Then she was a little more uneasy. Looking at this new person whom asked her name, "I- Its not polite to ask... A woman's name... Without introducing... Yourself..." she said with the most nervous tone. She despised this, and almost communicating in general with new people, She though, sheathed her sword in hopes she didn't come off as a jerk and almost instantly felt unprotected by doing so. She though did have her Fire Ax as her protection in case of an attack.

"Fine then, my name is Matthew. And now, who are you? Is there anybody with you?" Matthew held his gun up in the air, as a signal of peace. Then, heads turned when a loud bang, hit the back door. The door shuffled, and knees buckled. Matthew swallowed. Something was back there. Trying to get them. BANG BANG BANG! The door rocked and knocked again. A loud breathing could be heard outside, as if to say, "Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in!" Alex and Leo slowly rose up. Windows shattered, and a freak hooded man stood beside a four armed creature. "Shit."

"Im Leo-" Leo added a few seconds after Matthew spoke, but was interrupted by the knocking on the door.
He frowned, "... Are we having a party or something?"
The knocking continued, and then suddenly the windows shattered, glass spilled across the floor and Leo took a few steps back in attempt to get away from it.
At this point Leo was already wondering what the hell was going on, but when he saw the strange hooded man, that was when he began to get freaked out... and the four armed whatever that thing was only made it worse.

"Uh, hello there..."
This definitely was not a party...