Amber Lynn White's Story

Amber sighed sitting on the roof of a small supermarket with her legs dangling off the edge as she took a puff off her cigarette. "Moan and groan all you want." She said ashing her cigarette over the mass of zombies that were gathered around the building mindlessly pressing their bodies against the stone wall and reaching up to her with their disgusting rotting hands.

She sighed feeling the sting from the gash on her leg and she knew that it had reopened. She set her half finished cigarette down and pulled her leg up unwrapping the blood soaked bandages from it tossing them down to the horde below.

She twisted around and grabbed her backpack unzipping it and pulling out a role of paper towels, her last role of bandages, and a bottle of water. She frowned as she opened the bottle taking a sip and then pouring some over the large gash that spread up from her ankle to her knee. She knew she needed to find more supplies, which meant she would have to go back inside the infested market and find away to get in and out before the infected really noticed her. Bambi closed her eyes while folding up several paper towels into thick squares and placed them over the gash holding them in place with one hand while she wrapped the bandages around her leg.

Throwing her bag behind a pile of scrap metal she turned walking to the stairwell down into the employee only section of the market. Bambi grabbed her bow of the door knob and knocked an arrow before she slowly opened the door and made her way downstairs as quietly as she could. So far the coast was clear. She set her bow down on a table and check the door into the actual super market to make sure that it wasn't left to where it could be pushed open easily. All good she thought to herself as she turned and started going through all the cabinets in the office finding nothing but a simple cereal bar. "Would you look at that Mimmi, there's lunch." She said smiling as her mind was filled with Mimmi's laughter.

Mimmi was just one of the many voices that filled her head in times when she was alone. Time to move on Bambi. Mimmi said and Bambi gladly agreed picking her bow back up and walking to the door into the actual shopping area of the market. "Ready Mimmi?" She asked as she took a deep breath and opened the door quickly drawing her bow and scanning the area only letting the string slowly slide back into it's resting position when she knew the general area was clear. She breathed a quick sigh of relief and moved as silently through the market trying to find anything that she could use. Setting her bow down she quickly pulled her bag off her shoulder and opened it throwing cans of beans, vegetables, fruit, and soup into her bag. There wasn't much but there but she gathered anything that would help and then moved to the pharmacy section of the market. Bambi had never been on any medications for her mental disorders so not having any now didn't make a difference.

Your not going to find anything for the pain. Everything will be gone. Bambi frowned realizing Mimmi was right but then something caught her eye. The counter that held all the big medications behind it had been locked behind a large plexiglass window. The window was scratched and scuffed as if someone had tried to get inside by breaking the window to no avail. The office. There were keys in the office. Lexa's voice filled her head as Bambi looked around for any infected before making her way back to the office. She scrambled through the cabinets once again as the sound of a motorcycle racing down the street caught her attention. She rushed to the front of the market knowing there was a horde in the back of the building that heard it too. Across the street she could see three men holding someone hostage. Just leave her to die. Those words were all she could hear from Mimmi and for a second she wanted to listen, but she decided against it and held her bow tightly as she pushed the doors of the market open. The mens attention was all on the girl giving her a chance to slip around to the side of them where they couldn't see her. Bambi slowly crept up closer and pulled her bow string back and took aim. The man with the gun was her main focus, once he was down the rest would be easy to handle. Bambi took a breath and exhaled slowly letting go of the string letting the arrow fly through the air hitting the man dead in the neck. Once he was down she knocked another arrow and took aim at the other two. "Either of you move and I swear I'll drop you just as easily as I did him. Is that understood?" She asked watching the two men frozen in fear. "You alright?" She asked looking at the girl.







Jaime climbed up to the roof and looked at the man. "You know it's not smart to just sit out here. Though the hordes can't get up here there are ones that jump. I'm Jaime by the way." He said looking at him carefully. "Decided to find out if you'd want to tag along while I find somewhere new to hole up for a while." He said sitting down pulling a piece of bread out of his backpack looking around. There didn't seem to be many infected around, something somewhere else in the city must have their attention. He sighed and looked at him. "How long have you been up here?" He asked still not sure how the survivor would react.

Alana's heart filled with defeat as the man leered down at her, hand clasped tightly over her mouth, pushing her back, hard against the corner. She sunk to her knees, and their evil laughter filled her mind, making her wince. She hated giving up so easily, but there was nothing she could do. She was just too small.

Suddenly, something darted out behind the man from the shadows and let out a terrifying roar. It rammed into the man holding her, knocking him to the floor so fast, Lana had no time to react and dropped to her hands and knees. What the...? She thought, staring at the floor for a moment before she felt the hands of the other men. One grabbed her left arm in one hand, and the other her right. She cried out a little, in pain, as he squeezed hard on her wounded arm and yanked her into a standing position. They held her there, each with one hand on her, and one hand holding a gun, pointed towards the creature that was now savagely beating their comrade.

Lannie still couldn't tell what it was, but somehow she knew. It had to be one of those monsters. Her heart beat wildly, and she turned her face away from the awful display of violence. The men would kill the creature, then they would kill her. Loud shots fired, and Lana pinched her eyes shut tightly, and forced herself to breathe steadily.

Then, suddenly, the creature barreled into the man squeezing her injured arm, and knocked him to the floor. Alana watched as he beat the man viciously over and over again, and couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. Though as soon as she thought it, she shook it off. They were going to kill her after all.

Once the second man was also dead, the third turned on his heel and sprinted away, down the loft stairs. Alana was free. Well, still in the loft of the house, with an infected between her and, both the stairs and her knife, but free from those men at least.

Slowly, she lowered herself, to pull a pocket knife out of each of her boots before rising again, gaze locked on the zombie before her, waiting for him to make the first move. But he didn't. In fact, the rage seemed to slip right out of him as he turned to her and crawled slowly towards her. She bit her lip and pressed her back tightly into the corner, when he stopped, pointed at her pocket, and said "Bug." He scooted closer and said it again, and Alana realized that that's where she'd put Lulu. She bit her lip even harder, drawing blood, as her hands shook. He could talk? They weren't supposed to be able to talk. She watched the zombie, but he didn't move any further. Didn't attack. Didn't have that glassy stare, that most did. Only a gentle curiosity.

Then a girl appeared on the loft steps, and Alana held her arms out straight, a pocket knife in each hand, one pointed towards the strange zombie, the other pointed towards the girl, gaze switching back and forth between them, hands shaking ever so slightly. “Will, back up a little; you’ll scare Bug.” Will? He had a name? Her eyes switched to the zombie briefly, before back to the girl, arms still not moving, no matter how harmless they seemed. “Um… Hi? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” The girl asked, and Alana merely nodded, shrugging her injured arm. She spotted her knife on the floor. If they decided to attack, could she make a lunge for it in time? Could she even bring herself to kill a living person? “Please don’t be scared, he’s really quiet harmless. I’m Suzie, and this is my brother Will. He’s okay.” She looked at the zombie, sensing the harmlessness in his eyes, and sighed, before looking at the girl, slowly lowering her arms and slipping the knives back into her boots.

Still without a word, she walked around the zombie, carefully giving him a wide circle, picked up her kitchen knife, and went back to her spot in the corner, watching them with cautious blue eyes, as she held her knife down by her side. Not in a threatening way, but still close so she could use it if she had to. A moment of contemplation passed before she looked at the zombie, gesturing towards Lulu, hidden in her pocket.

Slowly, as if she didn't want to alarm him, she lifted the kitten out of her hiding place and set her on the floor, crouching, and watching, holding her breath as her only companion padded softly over to the zombie boy, and rubbed herself along his leg, purring happily. She watched the boy carefully. It was a test. If he hurt Lulu, she knew he was a threat, and not to be trusted. She glanced at the girl. "I'm Alana. Thanks. For the help." She said, speaking for the first time sense they'd found her, and turning her gaze back on the boy.

---

Suddenly, there was a whirring sound Shay recognized, even with her back turned to it. The sound of an arrow slicing through the air. In the same instant, the man's hands holding her loosened, as he fell away, hitting the ground with a solid thump. "Either of you move and I swear I'll drop you just as easily as I did him. Is that understood?" She heard a girls voice behind her. "You alright?" Directed towards her.

Shay turned to see a girl standing there, with lavender hair, and bow in her hand. Shay smirked. She herself was quite good with a bow, and it was interesting to see someone else who preferred the weapon to more common weapons like guns and baseball bats. "Yeah." She shrugged, looking at the three big men. "I'm good." She walked over and picked up her gun, looking at the men, frozen in fear of the girls bow. She raised her gun to the middle one's head. Just above, and between the eyebrows. "What do you say, I stop this right here?" She hissed at him. "Keep you from trapping anymore helpless survivors in your little 'survivors paradise' hm?" Her finger twitched on the trigger, eyes holding his, before she squeezed, bullet lodging itself in his head with nothing more than a little pft of air, due to her nifty silencer.

She looked at the other two. "Now get the fuck out of here before I kill you too." She threatened, raising her gun to them, but there was no need. They were already taking off running. She smiled and slipped her gun into her belt, before walking to her supplies bag on the ground by the pump, doing a quick inventory check to make sure nothing was stolen before standing up and slinging the huge duffel onto her shoulder, pushing her sunglasses up her nose a little, looking at the lavender-haired girl. She was short and small, but it's not like Shay was all that surprised. She herself, was incredibly small. She sighed, looking the girl over from behind her sunglasses as she pulled her long black hair from her braid, letting it hang loose. "I'm Shayla. Thanks for the help." She said, gesturing to the area around them.

Shay glanced up the street, wondering how long it would be until Stalker showed up. Her faithful dog. She'd been riding a motorcycle, so clearly, he couldn't ride with her, but no matter how far behind she left him, he always seemed to find her again.

As if on cue, a shape became visible up the street, sauntering towards them at a steady speed. A monster of a dog. He came up beside Shay and licked her face, the top of his head level with her shoulder. She smiled and patted him. "How ya doin' Stalker?" She asked, looking his smooth silver coat over to make sure there were no marks. He did not seem amused to have been left behind yet again, but that hadn't stopped him from finding her. She sighed, and looked back at the girl. "You got a name?" She asked, wondering weather or not she should trust the girl.

Will continued to watch the girl, seemingly unphased when she pulled a knife from her boot. He wasn't worried at the moment; he was more curious with what was in her pocket and besides, she didn't strike him as a bad person like the men before had. The wait to know what she was hiding in her pocket was almost too much for his short attention span and he sat up to scoot even closer until his sister made an appearance on the steps. Immediately he began grunting in an excited manner and pointing at Alana as she wielded her pocket knives at them but Suzie only told him to back away because he was scaring her. Giving her a look of pure confusion he backed up a few paces and once again flopped down onto the floor. She was scared of him? He didn't do anything mean to her though; why would she be scared? He mulled this over in his mottled brain, trying to put together why she would be afraid of him when the girl moved towards and around him. The movement snapped his attention back and he remembered he was quite curious about the girl and her moving, mewing pocket so his eyes followed her as she picked up her knife. Still he didn't sense a threat from her, even as she picked up the blade and when she gestured towards her pocket all of Will's pent up energy broke loose.

He began bouncing on his arms like a monkey at the zoo then twirled in a circle as she slowly revealed what was in her pocket. The sight of what had been hidden inside caused him to instantly freeze, his eyes widening as he watched the little kitten fumble over to him and rub along his leg. It seemed to take a moment for his joy at the fuzzy creature to compile and bubble up to the surface but when it did his arm snaked out and grabbed Suzie's wrist. He tugged at his sister and pointed to the kitten like a small child showing their parent their latest science project. "Bug! Bug, bug!" He babbled so quickly the words barely made it out of his mouth and he finally freed his sister of his iron grip to gently scoop Lulu up in his hands and hold her against his chest. Sitting back and crossing his legs indian style, he rumbled happily at the kitten as he rubbed its soft fur and pressed his forehead against its small head to return its nuzzles. Of course he wasn't aware that he was getting poor Lulu quite filthy with the gore on his hands from his early attacks but it was an innocent mistake.

After a few moments of loving on the kitten he opened his chest pocket and placed her gingerly inside then crawled over towards Alana and promptly began to look through her other pockets. "Bug?" Of course he had to make sure that she wasn't hiding any other fuzzy, fun animals from him. After he was satisfied that there were no other kittens hidden on her person he sat himself down beside Alana, probably too close for her comfort, but he'd already decided that he liked kitty girl and she would stay with them.

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



Beck honestly didn't like coming to the city, it was overrun with zombies and desperate people willing to do anything to get a few supplies but at the moment he was kind of one of those desperate people. No, he wouldn't randomly go beat up someone for a scrap of food but he was desperate enough to travel back into New York which is the last place he wanted to be. Normally he stuck to the outskirts or more precisely the nature parks outside of the crowded and dangerous city area. The parks were relatively unpopulated and if you knew what to look for and where to hide then it was a wonderful haven. Problem was that nature is a cruel mistress and recently he'd been running low on fresh water since the rain had been sparse so back to the city to find a few bottles it was.

The debri crunched under his feet but despite the dreary atmosphere he still hummed a happy showtune to himself. It reminded him of better days and well, he just liked to sing, made him feel more calm. If he wasn't humming then he'd just be having a conversation with himself or an inanimate object because despite the undead walking around what he hated the most was utter silence. If he weighed humming and talking to a rock though then there was less of a chance of him looking crazy if he was humming. Why was he worried about looking crazy you ask? Well, because despite the fact he lived in seclusion, the safest choice, he truly missed socialization and always had an eye out for other survivors and even in a zombie apocalypse first impressions matter. So, with that said, he would hum instead of talk to a rock.

His humming was interrupted by what he could swear sounded like the soft rumble of an engine in the distance. It wasn't very loud by any means but it was there. Was he finally going crazy and making up noises? "Nah, if you were going crazy then you'd have made an imaginary friend to talk to by now." A pause. "Ah crap, answering the questions in my head is never a good sign." He shut his eyes tightly and shook his head but still he headed towards where he believed the sound to have come from. Hope was a strong thing and right now it pulled him towards the possibility of other survivors.

Once again he heard the rumble of an engine, a bit later he saw the distance figures of men retreating. Yes! Other survivors! He almost called out to them but remembered a few ill fated attempts at connecting with others that had started that way and thought better of it. Maybe he'd just quietly follow them to see where they go then talk with them? As he made his way in their direction, the soft sound of other voices grabbed his attention and he turned to see a gas station. Through the windows he could see a distinct shade of purple bobbing around and his face scrunched in confusion at the sight. "I'm seeing dancing grapes? Maybe I am going crazy."

Slowly he approached the gas station and peered through a window where he could now see that it was two women and one very, very big dog. There were also two bodies on the ground which didn't bode well for him. Still, the lure of others and being able to simply talk to another human being was too strong so quietly he made his way around the station. Before he made his appearance through the door, he put his hands in the air and then turned the corner. "Hey, uh, did I miss the party?" He asked as his head nodded slightly to the corpses on the ground. "I was just passing through and heard the noise. Need any help or should I just go before I end up chumming around with the corpses down there?" He swore to God if these chicks killed him then he would haunt the shit out of them.

Amber watched the girl carefully with her bow still drawn as she took a shot off at one of the men sending the others running. She kept the poundage low enough that she could hold it for long periods of time but high enough that it would easily kill. Just kill her. Take everything. You wont live long with her. She heard Lexa's voice fill her head. "Shut it." She hissed and let down her bow. Bambi watched the girl still scanning every detail about her from her light build to her messy braid. "I'm Shayla. Thanks for the help." Bambi listened to her and simply nodded and began to check the bodies down for any weapons they were carrying quickly stashing them into her bag. "My advice is to grab what you can and get moving. " She said coldly.

Bambi grabbed a few things of food and snacks from the shelves and stuffed them into her bag and turning to Shayla stunned to see a gigantic silver dog come trotting up to her. "That thing isn't even a dog. That is a horse." She said as she returned to ransacking the gas station. You still have a chance to kill her before she kills you. Don't let her take everything! Just get rid of her! She heard Lexa speak again and this time she clenched her fist in anger. "Just do me a favor and shut up!" She growled and then turned to the girl as she started to speak. "You got a name?" Bambi could see the doubt in Shay's eyes and thought no less of her, you never knew who you can trust any more. "Names Amber. You can just call me Bambi though." She said holding her hand out to the girl. "Got the nickname from my dad and don't feel like losing it anytime soon." She said just as she spotted a guy coming around the corner with his hands in the air.

"Hey, uh, did I miss the party? I was just passing through and heard the noise. Need any help or should I just go before I end up chumming around with the corpses down there?" Bambi tensed and watched him carefully tightening her hold around the grip of her bow. Just great. Another sorry soul to join the party. Bambi you've grown to soft. Once again Bambi growled in agitation but shook it off once again watching the guy. "What's your name?" She asked coldly only loosening her grip on her weapon slightly. She didn't mind company, yet she didn't like having to watch her back around people she hardly knew, but to be fair she decided to give both Shay and the guy a chance to gain her trust.

Alana watched the zombie bounce around excitedly, changing Bug, over and over again, and silently, she wondered what it meant. Her eyes took him in, observing his body language, trying to get a read on him. Lannie was more of a watch-and-learn kind of girl. She rarely talked, preferring to observe, and when interaction was necessary, she used gestures to get her point across, unless it was either urgent or impossible. She talked so rarely, she'd had teachers and classmates in the past who'd thought she was mute or deaf. The only people she talked to regularly, were the people whom she'd let herself trust, after observing them for a while, and making sure they were safe, and this happened rarely. Especially in the apocalypse.

Alana watched Will's eyes widen in wonder, her big blue eyes searching his expertly for any form of aggression as he gestured wildly to his sister, trying to make her as excited as he was by the little bundle of fur affectionately rubbing his leg. With a gentleness that shocked Alana, he scooped Lulu up, and cuddled her close to his chest, sitting down Indian-style. She watched him stroke and nuzzle Lulu, in barely contained wonder. She hadn't thought the zombies were capable of anything other than aggression. Maybe he was different? Maybe there was still something human inside him? She sensed a harmlessness about him, despite the horrifying display she'd just seen, she discovered that she felt no fear of him. It seemed as though, as long as you were kind to him, he was kind back. In her head, she made a mental note never to make him angry, if she was going to stay with these two. Suddenly, she wondered if they would have her, because she all of a sudden, really just wanted human interaction again.

It would be unbelievably nice to have someone care whether she lived or died for once. To have support. She stood still as Will rummaged through her pockets, not minding in the least bit. It had been so long since she'd even been near another person that wasn't looking to kill her, and she wasn't about to do anything to jeopardize that, so she just stayed calm as he sat himself close to her as if he'd decided he liked her.

Lannie turned to the sister when she started apologizing for how Will was getting Lulu dirty, and she simply shrugged it off. She had water bottles to clean her later, and as long as Will liked Lulu, then she was safe. She didn't even mind that he hadn't given her back, and, instead, had plopped her in his pocket. She was much safer on the zombie, than on her. “No problem. I’m glad Will made it here in time. And if you want, I’ve got a first aid kit to fix up your arm here in a minute.” She said in her response to thanking them, and Alana shrugged again as if to say maybe later. She'd just taken a pain pill and changed the bandages. Plus, since she'd ransacked the hospital, she had more medical supplies than most survivors and didn't want to wast theirs. She even had meds for things that probably would never happen, but it seemed safe to grab anyway, like poison ivy ointment.

Alana watched her go to the window she'd covered up last night, so nothing on the street could see her light, and silently wondered if she saw anything.

"Uh, I'm sorry but... I heard a scream and... I'm Jesse, and my sister Parker is at the door... And, uh..." Lannie tensed as a voice interrupted her thoughts, and squeezed the handle of her knife, raising it to point at the guy that now stood at the loft steps, though not threateningly, just warning. Letting him know it was there. ”Are you two friends?” He glanced between her and Will, and Alana looked down at the zombie boy, then back at the human one, understanding his confusion. Well they'd saved her life so... Maybe they were friends? Lana certainly hoped so. If she had to go another day on her own, she'd be driven insane. She was the kind of person who craved human interaction and attention, despite the way she tended to keep quiet, she loved being around people. She preferred mental solitude, not physical solitude, and the last month had been extremely depressing.

“According to Will they are.” Suzie said before Alana even had time to really consider whether they were friends, and she looked at her, before back at Will, deciding. She stepped in front of him, so that her knife, and herself were between the two boys and nodded and shrugged.

“Look, I know this might be a bit rushed, but I think we might want to get out of here.” Suzie whispered to Alana, and Alana nodded, understanding, but also breathed a silent sigh of relief because she said we, including Alana. She was planning on taking her, not leaving her here alone. "You’re more than welcome to come with us.” She continued, offering the invitation to the boy too. “And you might want to get your sister upstairs, I think we've got company coming and at least one close by.”

Alana nodded, considering the boy. She hadn't really had time to get a read on him, and hadn't even seen his sister, but he hadn't outright attacked them like the other three survivors had, so maybe he was safe. Hopefully. Deciding that she didn't really have time to be picky, she dropped her knife by her side, though not putting it away. She never put it away. "I know a way out." She said very softly. She pointed with her knife to a T.V stand up against the opposite wall of the loft. The T.V was long gone, but the stand stood there, close to the corner, hiding the entrance to a back staircase that lead down to the back door, a glass sliding door that lead out into an alleyway. Seeing as the door was only glass, and it was easier to cover one entrance than two, Lana had used all of her strength to push the T.V stand over the door to the stairway so nothing could sneak up on her.

Hopefully the alley below was clear, and the people she'd suddenly decided to trust didn't turn out to be psychopaths.

---

Shay could see the battle raging inside the girl as she decided whether or not she should trust her, and she didn't blame her. So she just shrugged when the girl coldly pushed away her thanks and started rummaging through the bodies of the two dead men for supplies. If she was in her place, Shay knew she wouldn't trust herself. But that may be because Shay just never trusted anybody. Or no. She trusted everyone. It was the devil inside of them she refused to trust. That potential. Hell, this girl had just saved her life, and yet Shay was still wary of her because of the fact that she'd killed a man without even a stutter. She had the potential for murder, meaning she had the potential to kill Shay too, if she had to. And it's not like Shay blamed her. She herself was a murder. She'd killed that man when, in all honestly, she probably didn't have to.

So she ignored the girl's distrust. The feeling was mutual, and, completely reasonable. Especially nowadays. Maybe back before the apocalypse, it might be normal to immediately trust a person who'd just saved your life, but, as previously stated, the definition of normal had been shot to hell the day they first dropped the virus.

Shay busied herself grabbing snacks and such as well, not bothering to make conversation, figuring that once they were done ransacking, they'd go their separate ways. She'd make the decision for the girl, and go with not trust. Not because she didn't like the girl. She seemed perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and Shay admired that in a person. It would just be easier, and less risky to split up. Besides her sister, Shay'd been going it on her own her entire life, making it easy for her to adjust to the solitude of the apocalypse. She'd already been cold and untrusting before the whole thing began, so it wasn't a huge leap. Besides the loss of her sister. That had been a huge blow.

"That thing isn't even a dog. That is a horse." The girl said, just noticing Stalker, and Shay laughed lightly, liking the sound of it, despite the fact that she'd already decided not to trust the girl.

She patted Stalker, and smiled. "Yeah, but he makes a good bodyguard." She said, before returning to her ransacking. Stalker, however, did not seem amused. He just let out a loud huff of breath, and lay down, placing his enormous head on his crossed front paws as he watched Shay lazily with blue eyes. A rare color for a dog.

"Names Amber. You can just call me Bambi though." The girl said, and Shay nodded. "Got the nickname from my dad and don't feel like losing it anytime soon."

Shay shrugged. "Sounds cool. It's not like I'm going to try and force you to change it." She said, figuring she wasn't going to even need to know her nickname, seeing as, once she left, she'd probably never see her again.

"Hey, uh, did I miss the party? I was just passing through and heard the noise. Need any help or should I just go before I end up chumming around with the corpses down there?" Shay looked up from her ransacking, hearing a voice. She peered over the rim of her sunglasses at the boy standing in the doorway, hands in the air, as a gesture of peace.

"No." She said, plainly with a shrug. "You missed the funeral." She glanced at the dead bodies, then at Bambi, before back at the boy. He seemed harmless enough. Nothing she couldn't handle. But then again, nowadays, you never knew. She herself was living proof that you never underestimate based on appearance, because, on the outside, she appears small, harmless, and innocent, while that couldn't be further from the truth.

Shay watched as Bambi's shoulders tensed up and she gripped her bow tightly. An obvious sign of distrust, and suspicion. While Shay was feeling the same things, but didn't seem to care. She stood relaxed, shifting through the things left on the shelves for something useful. As if he'd just walked in on nothing more than a couple of shoppers. As if this was her daily life. She hardly seemed to be paying attention to him, only half focused on his presence, the other half dedicated to her job of ransacking. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. That was only the outside. On the inside, she'd already noted all the escape routes, and looked him over for visible weapons, as well as places he could hide a weapon. On the inside, she was on high-alert. In response to his question, Shay merely shrugged, as if she didn't care what he did, though she knew she was going to decide against him, just as she had Bambi, and she figured Bambi would to. So she dropped her bag, crouched and started packing her things, paying him very little attention. "What's your name?"

Bambi's voice made her pause, and Shay looked up, halted in what she was doing, as she looked the girl over, watching her untense, obviously deciding, though with hesitation, to trust him. Shay raised an eyebrow and lowered her sunglasses to look at him over their rim. There was nothing exceptional about him that screamed trust me! Then again, for Shay, that never happened with anyone anyway. She could practically see Bambi's desicion to give her and the guy a shot, and Shay sighed, standing, she wiped her hands on her jeans and crossed her arms over her chest, considering him as she chewed on her cheek, eyes narrowed suspiciously behind dark shades.

"I'm Shay." She said with a shrug, deciding to maybe give them a shot. For the time being anyway.

Will Taylor

Will was content at the moment, sitting beside his and Suzie's new friend while he looked at the wriggling kitten in his pocket. Footsteps caused him to jerk his head towards the entrance to the loft and the sight of another man there caused the previously calm zombie to tense once more. His muscles bunched and a deep growl emanated from his throat. He put a hand over the chest pocket to protect Lulu and moved in front of Alana and Suzie, beginning to rise to his feet to protect them when Suzie grabbed his shirt collar. Will knew it was a signal to stay put so he sat back down on his haunches but still kept a wary eye on the man. Suddenly the small girl moved to stand between him and the stranger; holding her knife out protectively. Will cocked his head as he watched this display, recognizing the act as Suzie had done similar things many times before. Alana was acting like his sister too.

Will didn't have much longer to think this over as Suzie began talking about leaving, her voice sounded as if she was scared or worried which meant bad things. Once he actually listened he could hear the approaching groans of the undead and reaching back he pulled Suzie's hand away from his collar and crawled to the window to look out. He could see them and although they didn't mean danger for him, he knew it meant danger for Suzie and Alana. Moving quickly, he took Lulu out of his pocket and returned her to Alana before making his way to the attacker he'd bitten on the neck. He sniffed the man over like a predator looking over prey and realized he was still barely alive. Will then hefted the man over his shoulder, made his way to the window, shimmied out and onto the roof.

He watched for a few moments as the fairly large horde continued to draw near and despite the fact that Will wasn't the brightest bulb around he knew enough to realize that he needed to do something to distract the horde so the others could escape. Roughly he maneuvered the man over shoulder again and began to hop and climb his way over the roofs away from the house where Suzie and the others were. Once he was positioned near the back of the horde he dropped to the ground and dropped the man on the asphalt. The man sputtered and coughed which drew the attention of a few of the zombies but Will meant to get all of their focus. He let loose a terrifying shriek and in an instant the horde turned and began shuffling towards Will and the wounded man. This one person wouldn't hold them off for long, they'd have him devoured within minutes. Will backed up, watching as they began to feed and stuck near the horde to herd any stragglers away from the home.

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No. You missed the funeral. Beck grinned at the girl, slightly lowering his hands but still keeping them visible. "Jokes. Jokes are good." Well they hadn't killed him yet so this was going a lot better than he'd imagined it would. The girl with the purple hair still seemed tense, her hand even tightening around her weapon as she kept a wary eye on him but the other woman seemed to not give a shit he was there at all. He stayed put, not moving until the purple haired one asked his name and seemed to ease a bit. Beck then put his hands at his sides and let out a breath of relief. "Beck, my names Beck. It's real great to finally talk to another person I have to say. I was real close to snapping and marrying a pine cone called Tom." He laughed at his own joke and slowly moved into the store, stepping over the corpses as he made his way to the back where the bottled water would be kept. "So, what's your name purple hair? Which might I say I love that color on you." He turned his head to look at her over his shoulder and flashed her a grin before opening a door to a long dead cooler to retrieve water.

I'm Shay. Beck stopped stuffing his bag with water to look at the girl and give her a nod of greeting. "Well nice to meet ya Shay." He went back to placing bottles in his bag but stopped and seemed to give Shay a double take. "Jesus Christ your hair looks fabulous. How the hell do you keep it that way in the middle of an apocalypse? Ahem, sorry, so uh where were you two heading?" He bounced around the idea of just going ahead and inviting them out to his shelter in the woods but that might be jumping the gun a bit. Sure they didn't kill him on sight but that didn't mean they wouldn't off him in his sleep and take everything he had but thinking such things really wasn't in Beck's nature. Still though, if he could just convince them to let him tag along for a bit as he scavanged the city then he could see how they were and then, then he'd invite them to his shelter.

"Well nice to meet ya Shay." He said, then did a double take, which kind of surprised her. What? Was she really that much of a mess? "Jesus Christ your hair looks fabulous. How the hell do you keep it that way in the middle of an apocalypse? Ahem, sorry, so uh where were you two heading?" Shay wiped the surprise off her face and smirked slightly. They were stuck in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and he was wondering how she kept her hair looking good? He was definitely gay. Either that, or joking. After all, she'd just hopped off a motorcycle. Her hair had to be a mess. Before she had a chance to say something sarcastic though, Bambi cut in.

"Listen here hot shot I wouldn't get too chummy with us or you just might end up sleeping with the corpses there." Shay raised an eyebrow and the corners of her lips twitched upwards, into an amused smirk. Clearly she thought he was hitting on them. She glanced up at Beck from where she was crouching before her bag. She'd immediately just figured he was gay. No one ever really hit on Shay. Well, not unless they had a death wish. The last guy that hit on her, she'd knocked out cold, and stolen his supplies. She glanced back at Bambi, at the way she stood, and the way she tapped her foot impatiently. It was clear that she was reconsidering her plan to trust them.

"I just keep moving until I find somewhere to hole up for a few days." She said as she slung her bag up onto her shoulder, an obvious sign that she was getting fed up. "Unless either of you have a better plan then I'll just be on my way." Shay stood from where she was crouching and watched as Bambi turned to go, but at the last second, turned back. "You guys are free to join me I guess." At this, Shay smiled, amused. She glanced at Beck, then at Bambi, who was knocking another arrow, as if she was ready to use it, and Shay wondered if it was a threat.

She sighed and pulled her own bow from her back, holding it at her side, in her right hand, just so Bambi could see it. "Well..." She said, glancing at Beck. "I usually stay clear of cities. Kind of jump around the small towns, ya know?" She turned back to Bambi, chewing the inside of her cheek. "However... Seeing as that dick took off with my ride, I guess I'll need someone around who knows the city." She glanced between the two of them, surprised to hear herself say the words. She hated people, and she hated groups. "But don't think I won't kill you if I have to." She said with a smirk as she slipped her bag, as well as her bow onto her shoulder, and bent over the body of the man she'd killed, picking up his baseball bat. "Where to first?"

"Listen here hot shot I wouldn't get to chummy with us or you just might end up sleeping with the corpses there." One of Beck's eyebrows shot up in confusion as he stood up and turned to look at Bambi. Chummy? Didn't women like compliments or did something drastic change during his time in the wilderness. Oh, OH! Oh, she thought he was making a pass at them! Dammit Beck you unleashed too much homosexual vibe on her; she misinterpreted it! Before he had a chance to explain himself she continued on to answer his next question of where they'd each been heading and explained she moved until she found somewhere to stay for a few days; even offered to let Shay and him join her. Despite the fact Bambi seemed tense at his and Shay's mere presence, Beck's spirits still lifted at the thought of traveling with others. It seemed Shay was, well, not to say eager but she was definitely chewing the thought over. She glanced at Beck, as if to get a last minute read on him in deciding if she'd travel with them or not before answering. "I usually stay clear of cities. Kind of jump around the small towns, ya know? However... Seeing as that dick took off with my ride, I guess I'll need someone around who knows the city." She paused and then added. "But don't think I won't kill you if I have to." Beck's eyebrows shot up to his forehead at that statement but he let his expression relax into a grin. "Sounds fair." Bending down he finished stuffing his bag, took his knife out of a pocket and secured it in his belt, removed the sledgehammer and attached it to the side of his pack, then slung his bag over his shoulders before coming over to the two girls. "Alright, so, who likes show tunes?" The sound of a faint boom in the distance caused the grin to wipe off of his face as his head jerked in the direction of the noise. "Did you guys hear that?" He stayed silent for a few moments as he tried to determine how far the blast had come from. "Shit, whatever that was is going to flush out any zombie around for miles to come investigate."

"Sounds fair." Beck said, collecting his things, and coming over to stand closer to her and the lavender haired girl. "Alright, so, who likes show tunes?" He joked, and Shay rolled her eyes.

"Remember when I said I'd kill you if I have to?" She said, chuckling softly under her breath. "Start singing. I dare you." She teased, before a faint boom sounded, causing Shay to glance around in confusion. Who was stupid enough to cause an explosion? They might as well serve themselves up with a side for the zombies.

"Did you guys hear that?" Beck asked, and Shay nodded as her eyes glanced at the glass door behind Bambi. Something flickered across her vision and she squinted slightly, only half-paying attention to Beck as she moved closer to the door, stepping around Bambi. "Shit, whatever that was is going to flush out any zombie around for miles to come investigate." There it was again. That flash of black at the corner of her vision. She nodded her agreement to Beck, abesentmindedly, just as a loud crash sounded, and something came hurtling through the door, right towards her.

Glass sprayed everywhere, lashing her arms and legs. A particularly, large piece lodged itself in her cheek. Whatever had hit her, had barreled into her at an angle that knocked her to the right, onto a pile of broken glass, away from the creature. The creature, however, kept moving, barreling straight into Bambi, knocking her to the ground. It took Shay a second to realize that the creature was a Pouncer, deadly fast. By the time she was standing, the thing already had Bambi pinned with it's knees, and was tearing at her abdomen with razor claws. Everything was happening so quickly, and adreneline pumped through Shay's veins, causing her to react swiftly, without hesitation.

She leapt forward and swung her bat with everything she had, connecting with the shoulder. It wasn't enough to kill it, Shay was too small to put a huge ammount of strength into her swing, one of her biggest pet peeves, but it was enough to knock the thing that was, by now, sinking it's teeth into Bambi's neck, to the ground, off of her.

The brain. You have to puncture the brain. Something screamed in her head, while something else was telling her to go to Bambi. She glanced at Bambi briefly, before focusing on the Pouncer, squaring her shoulders, lining up her hit as the creature rolled it's shoulders, readying itself for another leap. If she didn't make this hit, she'd end up like Bambi. The zombie let out a terrifying shriek as it pushed off it's legs, leaping towards her inhumanly fast, and far. She swung, using all her willpower not to squeeze her eyes shut.

Crack! The zombie dropped like a rock, and Shay moved towards it. She'd managed to hit it right on the forehead, and it didn't seem to be moving. But she wasn't taking any chances. Hand shaking from her adrenaline rush, she whacked it twice over the head again, with two solid cracks, just to be sure, before letting the bat hang slack at her side, the fight shooting out of her as she relaxed her shoulders and looked down at the Pouncer, leaving, in it's place, a deep exhaustion.

With a sigh, she turned to look at Beck. Then remembered Bambi, lying on the floor, gasping. Shay walked over to her and dropped the bat next to her. She'd seen the Pouncer bite her, and her throat was a mess, proving her suspicions. Her abdomen was also torn apart, by the thing's claws. The question now, was whether Bambi was immune. "Bambi..." Shay was about to ask, when something started happening. The girl's wounds were closing slowly.

Well. That answered that.

The virus started out by healing you, making you healthier than you've ever felt before. Shayla had seen it first hand. Watched it run it's full cycle. In her little sister. Bambi was infected. The lavender-haired girl had stopped at the last second, before leaving, and changed her mind, deciding to give them a chance. And it had killed her. If she had kept going, she might have lived. Shay sighed and stood, taking out her silenced gun and aiming at the space between Bambi's eyebrows.

She had to do it now. Before the wounds healed enough to where the girl could talk her out of it.

But she hesitated. Instead of Bambi, Shay saw her sister, and her eyebrows came together in confusion and pain, reliving the moment. "Angela?" Shay whispered softly, frozen.

"Shay, what are you doing, can't you see I'm healing? Put the gun down." Bambi's voice brought her back, and she blinked to see that the girl was sitting up. Without hesitating, Shay pulled the trigger and killed her. She lowered her arm to her side to hide the shaking of her hand, and bent to pick up the bat again. Suddenly, she was really happy for her sunglasses. They prevented Beck from seeing the few tears that had managed to escape during her flashback.

Her muscles stiffened and she turned to the man, as if just remembering he was there. "Still want to travel with me?" She asked with a sad, but wicked smile as she placed her hand on Stalker's back and hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder.

Everything happened so quickly he barely had time to react, pay attention, you always have to pay attention! One moment he was listening to an explosion and the next one of those fucking jumping zombies was on top of Bambi. Shay was quick to react and had already knocked the thing away by the time Beck had yelled his first expletive, drew his knife and made his way over to crouch protectively over Bambi. He watched as Shay and the zombie stood off before it leapt once more, she hit it in the head and it was over just as quick as it had begun. Beck let out a loud huff of breath; he wasn’t sure himself if it was relief or not as he set his knife aside and directed his attention to Bambi. “Hey don’t worry kid, you’ll be alright.” His eyes skimmed her wounds as his mind began racing over what first aid he knew and then he noticed he wouldn’t have to do anything; her wounds were healing. “Ah, fuck.” He sat up on his knees and pushed a hand through his hair. Shay apparently had noticed the same thing and was already taking action.

Jesus Christ only a few minutes with them and already he had to watch one of them die. Bambi tried to plead with Shay for just a moment and it damn near broke his heart but Shay stayed strong and did what had to be done. Beck tightly closed his eyes, released a tense breath and opened them to see Shay as she put on a fake smile. ”Still want to travel with me? Beck nodded instantly, but silently, then grabbed his knife as he stood and began to make a quick exit to the door. “We need to get to higher ground for safety. We’ll be able to see danger better, at least until they thin out from investigating whatever that blast was. How’s that sound?” Democracy was the best policy in a group right? Damned if he knew, he was use to talking to rocks and pine cones for Christ sakes. He turned to look at Shay and noticed the sadness radiating from her. Well, obviously, she just had to kill someone; no one is made from stone. “You, uh, that was the right call. I would have done the same thing…or more like I have done the same thing. It’s tough.” He paused for a moment, not liking the sadness or seriousness in the least bit. “So where did you learn how to swing like that? Were you a pro-baseball player before all of this I mean holy crap that was a mean hit! Babe Ruth would have been proud!” He smiled widely at her as he began cautiously walking through the streets, his knife held tightly in his hand as he looked for a way to make it up to a high and safe area.