Surviving is just the Beginning (Kronas17)

Do you know how awesome you really are?

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With a swift backward jerk Liam yanked the blade from the man's head and wiped the blood that had stuck to the steel on his shirt. His jaw and left ribs ached from the blows, but he was rather pleased with how the encounter went overall. If the young man was being honest with himself, he loved to fight more than he really should have. An animalistic urge came over him when he mentally prepared himself for a brawl, and it was a feeling that was hard to shake off. Regardless of the cheese-ball nature Liam seemed to have plastered all over him most of the time, he was most alive when he was in this brutal element. If it weren't for the need to get Ryan back out of her hiding place in the room, he could have stayed down here, bouncing on his heels and jabbing at the other man all night, toying with his weaknesses until he finally got bored and put him out of his misery. 'Like poor Mo, here.' He thought with a satisfied look down at the body at his feet. He gave the man at least a parting grace by putting the blade through his head; not allowing him to every get back up again.

When he looked up, he saw Reyna take care of the last of the man and couldn't help the twinge of regret that he couldn't do it himself. Not that he wanted to kill the man, that was actually far from what he wanted to do, he just really wanted to spar and these days dangerous strangers with weapons were the only fights to be had. While Reyna searched the pockets of the three fallen raiders, Liam could hear the distant rumblings of the two slowly rising back up. He wasted no time in stopping the rise; walking over to the closest one with a white knuckle grip on his weapon, he slammed the knife through the skull to the handle and ripped it back out again, repeating the action with the second. Again, he wiped the butterfly knife clean on the raider's shirt before pocketing it and moving on.

It felt like she had been in there for at least an hour. Sitting in the dark, as far back into the corner away from the closet door as she could possibly get, a pink backpack strapped closely to her back and a bigger, black one clutched tightly to her chest, sat Ryan with wide eyes and open ears. She did her best to listen to any form of noise that might prove to provide a negative outcome. For a long time she heard nothing and she remained sitting in the dark of the closest, an old dingy white robe dangling in her face that she dare not move. The anxiety gradually built in her chest until it was about to bubble over and she began to wonder if they were ever going to come back. When she finally did hear something, it was the sound of the door opening to her room, but not a forced entry. A burst of relief flooded the child and she emerged from her hiding place. The moment of relief was just that, a moment. Blood covered Liam's hands, Reyna was cleaning up his face and Mekai was turning a machete over in his hands like it was a new toy he had to figure out how to use. The black pack fell to the floor with a thud and she rush over to Liam.

"I'm alright," The adrenaline was finally beginning to settle down and his hands stopped shaking. The answer came to both of them in such a tone of certainty that Ryan was immediately convinced that whatever threat had been out there, wasn't there anymore. Liam pat the girl on the shoulder, "Just a bruised rib and a pretty sore jaw." He winked down at her and slumped down into the chair further. "Hell of a way to spend an afternoon, though." He ran his fingers though his hair, wincing at the stretching of muscles with the movement. The man may have had absolutely no trained skill in fighting, but he had obviously relied on brute strength all his life and it showed. It was going to be a week and a half easy before there would be no trace of the bruise at all, probably the same for his face. At the thought of the bruised jaw, he stood up and went to eh bathroom mirror. "Jesus Christ, the man had a damned bear paw for a hand." He leaned in close to the mirror and reached up to gently push on the already darkening blotch with his fingertips, wincing each time his fingers touch the spot. Next, he shifted to lift his shirt and examine the swelling around the lower section of his ribs. Ryan was at his side, her own fingers rising to touch the tender skin, but thought better of it and instead spread her hand over the black and purple bruise, hovering just a couple inches over the skin. She frowned at the size of it; her hand barely covered the surface area of it. His fingertips found the bruising and he gently shook his head, "Goddamned bear claws."

He lowered the shirt and together they walked out of the bathroom. "I do think that if we are going to being staying in this lovely establishment we should probably go lock the front doors. I highly doubt the three stooges out there bothered." He took the bottle of water Ryan handed him and took a small drink. "With how they handled themselves, I think we'd be lucky if they even closed the doors, let alone lock them."
 
Reyna needed a few moments to catch her breath and then she placed the used contents that she cleaned Liam's face up with on the table and then rubbed her sore shoulder. The bruise was pretty bad on his cheek and she could only imagine what his side looked like but as long as he didn't over due it then the healing would go much quicker. She glanced at Ryan who had followed behind Liam into the bathroom to check his wound and then she walked over to the bed and plopped down on the edge pinching the bridge of her nose. Just for once she wanted to take shelter in a place and not have to worry about undead but sadly the only places that could garment that was high populated groups or if you got lucky some gated community that had been fortified down and Reyna and them hadn't come across that second option yet.

Mekai finally placed the machete down and then looked over at Reyna before placing a hand on her shoulder in means of comfort. He knew how tired and drained she was and it wasn't really physically that he was talking about but mentally. " Don't worry sooner or later were going to run into a place with some running water and cheap snacks" Mekai grinned and watched as Reyna returned a small smile, something that she rarely did. " Let's hope so" was all she said before laying her back against the softness of the bed and starred up at the ceiling. At the mention of locking the doors Reyna let a small breath escape her full lips before sitting back up and reaching for her blade. Of course those raiders left the door open, they were all brawn and no brains. undead had no destination but they wandered aimlessly and it would only be a matter of time before one wandered it's way into the hotel lobby.

" You're right, of course they'd leave the damn door open stupid". She hopped off the bed and clicked her tongue "Dejar que todos ellos en porque eso es tan inteligente - But no they just had to be stupid and -pedazo de mierda- Mekai interrupted her with a small fit of laughs and Reyna turned to look at him with a small frown on her face. " What?" Kai smirked and then reached for his new machete as he walked past her, " Nothing it's just funny when you switch to Spanish when your pissed. I'm glad I payed attention to some Spanish in school". Reyna rolled her eyes and then released her hair from the pony tail and then raked her slender fingers through it. " We'll go and lock the doors, Ryan look after Liam and make sure she doesn't get anymore bruises.

Mekai looked at an kid at an amusement park with that machete in his had and Reyna shook her head with a smile as she looked around the lobby floor that had begun to smell of decaying flesh. It was a smell she was all to familiar with since before the war and looking over at Mekai she knew he had grown used to the smell although the lingering face of disgust was there. Mekai locked up one door and then Reyna did the same. The undead couldn't wander in and anyone living would have to break the glass in order to get inside and if that happened Reyna and them would hear it. They were only gone for about fifteen minutes since Mekai wanted t double check the perimeter and swing around his machete some more.

" Doors are locked and the building his clear" Mekai walked into the room with a triumph smile like he had been some big shot but that was quickly lived when Reyna rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him aside. " Hey!" Mekai frowned at Reyna who simply shrugged, " you were blocking the door". Mekai flipped her off with a toothy grin that Reyna laughed at, a genuine laugh and then she sat down in one of the chairs and reached into her bag pulling out a book that she had grabbed from a bookstore a few days back.

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The bruises throbbed, pulsing with a gentle injection of pain every time his heart thumped with life and pumped blood through his veins. Liam flexed his jaw, opening and closing his mouth as if he were mimicking a chewing cow. Ryan slapped at his shoulder, "It's still there. Doing that isn't going to help." He stopped the motion, closing his mouth and smirked down at her. If the world wasn't totally dead, the kid would have been a good doctor or medical worker somewhere. He could imagine himself being an old man with failing health having Ryan as his doctor. She would be firm, but always gentle. He stopped his train of thought as it progressed down a dark path of 'we will nevers'.

When Reyna and Mekai left to check the doors, Liam stood and walked over to the window pane. The same urge taking over him as it had last night. His eyes narrowed their focus to a small area and proceeded to scan the landscape outside. He couldn't tell if it were due to left over anxiety from the lobby, or if intuition was pulling his vision in a particular direction. Regardless he wasn't going to ignore it any longer. It didn't take long before Ryan was mimicking him; hands on the glass, nose inches away from being pressed against the door. The girl really had no idea what Liam was doing, or what he may have been looking for, but her eyes rolled over the lawn anyways. She had quickly found that the best way of learning without getting underfoot or having direct lessons was to just mimic whatever Liam did. More often than not, if she was doing it wrong he took a moment to correct her before going back to what he was doing. Since he wasn't correcting her on anything yet, she figured he was just looking and glanced up at him from the corner of her eye. "What are we looking for?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, like she was afraid that breaking the silence would ruin whatever he may have been doing. He crossed his arms over his chest, "Looking." Ryan scrunched her face at the vague response and huffed.

It all looked relatively normal. As far as normal was concerned these days. Half rotted corpses meandered over the yellowing lawn of the hotel front. Some tripped over a raised walkway or over another fallen corpse that wasn't going to be getting back up. There wasn't an alarming amount of them that littered the view, but something just didn't seem right about it all. Reyna and Mekai's returned caused Ryan to jump a little in surprise, but she recovered quickly and spun around to look at the pair. "He just started staring out the window. I don't see anything, but…" She trailed off and shrugged. "I just have a feeling." His arms dropped to his sides and Liam backed away from the glass, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from the dismal scene below. When his eyes finally fell to the rest of the little group, a goofy grin was on his face again; the doors were now locked and they were in this room. They had to be okay for at least another day or two. He ignored the cringe that fought to break through the façade of positivity his brain was trying to weave for him.

Walking over and throwing himself onto the empty bed he and Ryan called theirs Liam let out a loud groan, immediately regretting the action. Doing shit like that was going to slow the healing process down on his rib and he cursed at himself under his breath for it. Ryan tisked him from across the room but said nothing more when he waved the noise off with his hand and wasted no time in falling asleep. She glanced over her shoulder, back out to the landscape below, but when she saw nothing out of the ordinary she turned away from it and sat next to Reyna softly. "What are you reading? I haven't been able to find any books in a long time." Her brown eyes glided over the words on the page Reyna had been on before shifting up to her face, curiosity was evident in her eyes.
 
Reyna glanced up from the book that she was reading to see Ryan hovering over her shoulder looking down at her with curiosity. Slightly closing the book so the younger girl could have a better look at the cover Reyna saved her page by turning in one of the pages where she was at and then looked back up at the girl. " A Thousand Splendid Suns, it's a really good book and I had read it back when I was in high school". There was a slight pause before she extended her arm and handed the small girl the book. " Here, I've read this thing for the hundredth time, take good care of it". Reyna read the book now just to past the time but she figured Ryan would have a much better time reading it. Mekai looked over at the two girls before resting both of his hands behind his head and then blowing out a breath.

As the sun went down Reyna and Mekai shared the rest of the water and a small portion of food and then placed the empty water bottle back in her bag. Reyna's eyes were heavy and this time instead of passing out on the chair in the most uncomfortable position Reyna plopped down on the softness of the comforter and let sleep consume her. The sun peeking in through the blinds woke Reyna as she groaned slightly and then lifted her head from the pillow to look around the semi dark room. Mekai was now sitting up next to her, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and throwing back on his shirt which she figured he had removed when he went to sleep. Reyna who was now standing, raked her fingers through her messy hair and she sighed desperately wanting to wash her brown mess of waves.

Although she would have loved to stay another night in the hotel room Reyna figured that they'd be better off moving forward to find some more food and materials that they had run out of. " Alright guys lets head out". Reyna spoke adjusting the bag on her back and then moved behind Mekai who already had the door open. The streets were empty when they made there way out the empty street. Shuddering against the morning cool air and looked around slightly she decided it was best for them to head forward. Mekai gripped his machete and kept his eyes alert as they took out stay undead and avoided small hordes. After taking a small break the group was waking their way through some open area downtown when the sound of guns clicking made Reyna freeze and she cursed under her breath.

She should have known they were walking into a own territory when they passed three blocks that was clear with undead. " Now now no need to reach for weapons, were a friendly group". The sound of a southern female voice made Reyna slowly turn and look up to see a female in her mid thirties with a rifle clasped in her hand while to guarded men stood to the other side, one of on the ledge with the woman and the other leaning against the wooden door. " We're just passing by, not looking for trouble" Reyna spoke through gritted teeth as she watched the woman's lip turn up into a warm smile. " Oh no worries were a friendly little group, we help passing civilians with hot food and water and some warm clothes". At the mention of working water Mekai glanced over at Reyna who still had a scowl on her face.

Reyna knew all to well what is was like being in a big group and people couldn't be trusted. " What's in it for you?" She spoke and watched as the mean who was on the ledge dropped down and then removed his cowboy hat from his head. " There is none miss, we just want everyone to have a better chance now that the world has gone to shit". He eyed the group before his gaze lingered on Reyna. " My names Duke and up there is my wife Carla, the younger fella by the door is our son Caleb". Reyna eyed the man still clutching her blade but she took in Liam and Ryan to the side of her. Everyone was in need of a bath and some food but something didn't sit right. There was hesitation in her eyes and Duke whistled before Caleb opened the door giving Reyna and them a peek inside.

" Everyone here is welcome, people come and go but the ones who have nowhere to go they settle up here and earn their stay by helping with walkers who try to some in and go out on runs with medium sized groups to gather more food or patrol". Mekai looked around at the people inside was surprised to see kids running about. " We could just stay for a bit right Rey?" Mekai question and he felt Reyna's hand on his shoulder. " Okay...just for a bit". Mekai grinned and Reya watched Duke's smile widen. " Welcome to Paradise". Taking small steps she eyed the guards in the corner and then the people full of smiles as they moved about. It was like a town in the mist of the city. Carla came down with her red hair up in a neat bun. " Ah you people look like you've been through hell, come follow me and I'll lead you to your rooms".

As they followed the plump woman Reyna somewhat relaxed but she kept glancing back towards the door that was now closed with two guards standing there. " Here we are, there's two free rooms I hope you don't mind and the bathroom area is to the left. We put some clean clothes on the bed that we figured would suit ya'll and when you guys are finished some out and eat with us". Reyna gave a stiff nod and watched as the woman before releasing a breath. " This place seems to good to be true but they have working water so lets get cleaned up".



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Ryan reached out and took the book with gentle hands. It was like receiving a gift that was worth more in meaning that it was in actual material value. Ryan wasted no time in carefully peeling back the cover, settling into a spot on the floor next to the window, getting as much sun as she could before nightfall, and dove right into reading the first few pages. She wasn't able to read very much before the sun failed her and she was forced to put the book away and crawl into bed next to Liam. She curled up next to him, pulling the sheets up to her chin and sunk deep into sleep. The night passed quietly through the room and when the morning came, the group began to rise one by one. Ryan was up before Liam and she eagerly wanted to continue reading the book. Just as she began to make her way to it after to small morning ritual, Liam rose like the dead with a yawn, stretch and a yelp. "Fucking bear claws…" She heard him curse in a whisper to himself, thinking better than to scold his language after such a rough night and rough rise.

At Reyna's mention at becoming mobile again, Ryan's age almost kicked in. She wanted to badly to read that book, these days books were better than the nonexistent cartoons she used to watch with her siblings. Reyna was right, however, and Ryan knew it. So instead of bickering like the child she wasn't anymore, she proceeded to pack away the things that had been left out overnight. By the time all four were out of the room and making their way towards the exit, Ryan caught herself looking back over her shoulder and missing the hotel room. It was so plush and clean. In an attempt at distraction Liam instructed the girl to take out her weapon and prepare herself to go back out into the streets, giving a quick rundown of how she was to hold the knife properly while he had the chance.

Most of the morning passed without too much concern, but when gunshots rang out Liam took a step closer to Ryan and allowed his brain to switch to defensive mode. Why would they run into positive luck more than once? Those raiders back in the hotel were easy enough, being only three meatheads. Even the hotel itself was a huge piece of luck. He should have expected some sort of evil to rear its head out from the shadows. 'They could be good people,' He was doing his best to see the glass as half full, but his conscious knew better. The few blocks that had been totally clear of anything should have been a clear sign they were walking into something. The more the old woman spoke the more his stomach turned sour. Her voice seemed too sweet, too inviting, and no one sounded like that anymore unless they knew something you didn't. No one offered hot food, water and clean clothes anymore, either. Liam's eyes slid from Reyna to the old woman and her guards and back again. With a free hand he reached behind his back and pulled Ryan closer to him, centering her to place himself between her and the group emerging from the wooden doors.

Duke let out a whistle that could have called every damn walker in the half mile radius to their door and Caleb let those damned doors swing open. The small speech Duke gave seemed too rehearsed but there were no obvious signs of malice; however, it did seem like he was all too willing to lay out the rules of the land before actually examining Liam and his newly formed group. How did this new compound know that Liam wasn't harboring a gun or Ryan was a deceiving devil child that had no problems shooting a man between the eyes or Reyna and Mekai weren't bloodthirsty killers just taking a brief blood-break? Liam was pulled away from his train of thought when kids ran by the opening of the doors from inside the compound. Children; they had fucking children. Mekai's words somewhat shocked Liam, but he didn't say anything when Reyna reluctantly agreed. He looked down at Ryan, her big brown eyes already looking back up at him, fear so obvious it pained him to look at her. Even the kid knew something wasn't right here. "I know, Peanut." His voice was soft and full of a reassurance he couldn't feel himself.

Liam followed behind Carla at a distance, Ryan's little hand clasped in his, and neither of them said a word the entire trip to the provided rooms. During the walk, Liam did his best to absorb as much of the surroundings as he could. Duke was right; this place was a hidden Paradise that was full of people and their families. He couldn't shake off the feeling something was amiss, but nothing stood out right away to provoke it. He waited patiently until Carla was out of sight and earshot before quickly opening the door to one of the rooms, and stepping inside, pulling all three of them inside with him. When he spoke, suspicion dripped from his words like battery acid. "Please tell me none of this feels right to you guys either. They are way too welcoming." His eyes shot to the door every few seconds, as if he anticipated the cowboy family to burst through the door at being had. "Maybe they really are this nice and want to help us?" Ryan did her best to appear optimistic, but she knew the lie was evident in her voice.
 
" Of course not, this whole welcoming thing is too "homey", and there's no way they are just willingly giving out free food and water with how scarce it is to find some". Reyna pinched the bridge of her nose as Mekai leaned against the wall with an unreadable face. While she and Liam sensed something was up, Mekai and Ryan were hesitant to see where they stood but it was understandable. They were much younger than them and at the sight of seeing children and other kids their age she knew that Mekai and Ryan were more than happy to give this place a shot. " Well they have three people guarding the door right now but if we wait till it gets dark we might have a chance of figuring a way out of here but for now we just have to play along and let them believe that we have our guard down".

After a moment Reyna opened the door that connected to the room they were in and then gently tugged on Ryan's arm. " Lets take the wash room in here and let the boys clean up in here okay?". She knew the girl was close to Ryan but she figured it would be more appropriate for the girl to stay with her and Mekai with Liam. Once in the room Reyna looked over the clothes carefully and then the ones that were laid out for Ryan. " I know you think these people are out to help us but they aren't. There's this saying that my parents taught me a long time ago: Nothing in life is free". Giving Ryan a weak smile she grabbed the change of clothes and then headed into the washroom. It felt amazing to finally wash off all the gunk and filth off her body and hair but she didn't want to take too long so after her shower she scrubbed her clothes and then hung them on the side to try.

While Ryan took her turn Reyna looked around the room and under the bed to see if she could find anything suspicious but it was clean, a little too clean. She knew that if they tried to leave now Duke and his family would take it as an insult and most likely come up with a handful of lies to make them stay longer. If they pretended then Duke and the guards wouldn't feel the need to keep a close eye on them and they could sneak out unnoticed. When Ryan was finished and cleaned her old clothes Reyna threw her backpack back on and handed Ryan's hers. " Let's not leave our bags in here, keep it on you at all times, they might just take it for "safety measures" ". Reyna air quoted before knocking on the door to Liam and Mekai to make sure they were decent before coming in.

" Guys make sure to keep your stuff on you-" Her words came to a halt at the sound of the door knocking. " Dinner's ready, were waiting for you guys so you can meet the rest of us" Clara called out from the other side and Reyna sighed. " Coming". After looking at Mekai, Liam, and Ryan she opened the door and then moved out and back near the front where a long table had been placed. Duke and Carla sat at the end while Caleb sat next to a young woman they hadn't seen before and then the rest were men woman, and children. " Let's welcome our new guests while they pass through our little establishment" Duke spoke raising his cup and then everyone did the same, lightly cheering with warm smiles on there faces and Reyna frowned starring right into Dukes eyes but forced a smile just to seem like she bought his crap.

" Eat up" Carla spoke as she rubbed her hands together and then dug into her plate and her husband the same and Mekai and Reyna glanced at each other before eyeing the rest of the people on the table who had done the same. Tentatively picking up her fork she took a bite into the food and it wasn't half bad. Cooked pork and beams and quick mash potatoes fit right at home in her belly and once the food was gone Reyna eyed the guards who seemed to be switching with someone. They wore light gear almost similar to the ones that they had taken off the raiders from the hotel but there's were a different color, like they spray painted it. When dinner was over people got up to leave while some helped clear off the table and Reyna shifted feeling Caleb's gaze burn into her skin.

As they stood Reyna averted her gaze off of Caleb and his sinister smirk plastered on his lips and towards Duke who walked over. " I hope you enjoyed the meal and see that my little establishment is homey enough". Reyna eyed him and then smiled, " Yes the food was good thank you, and this place is nice". Duke nodded his head and then scratched his beard before placing his hands on his waist. " Well I'm glad you guys like it here and if your not in a hurry you can stay longer, my boy Caleb can show you guys around and the place could always a few more muscles" At the comment Duke looked over at Liam and then Mekai and Reyna slipped her fingers through Liam's hand and then with the other she tugged Mekai closer to her. " Well think about it" And with that she turned and walked away.

Once Reyna was sure they were out of ear range she stopped and looked at the three of them. " Guards change every hour and the two fat ones up there barley pay attention, we might be able to slip past them once everyone is asleep and they go back up for their second rounds".


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So badly Ryan wanted to stay here, get to know the kids that were playing outside, to be a part of this community. The book Reyna had given her lay forgotten but safe amongst the fabrics within her backpack. How quickly she managed to go from one intense want to another, obviously retaining some of the childish nature she had yet to completely outgrow. The more Reyna and Liam spoke amongst themselves the more her hopes of staying in a place like this were crushed. She remained quiet, eyes going to whoever happened to be speaking at the time. Everything they said made sense, places like this just weren't real, no matter how hard they tried to maintain the mirage. Before they were even showered and fed, the older pair was already pulling at strings to weave together a plan to escape.

Ryan followed Reyna into the adjacent room, thankful at the pause in talk of escape, but that thankfulness turned slightly bitter at the reality check. Nothing in life was free. She had heard that before, not many times but she was sure her dad or father used to say that. It rang in her head like a distant echo of a past life she could hardly remember anymore. Ryan nodded her agreement in the statement and returned Reyna's small smile with one of her own. She felt better around the woman, but she still couldn't get past the immense wall that only Liam seemed to collapse completely. The shower was more than nice, it was actually Paradise. That stupid cowboy Duke was right. Ryan was sure her eyes were closed the entire time, soaking in the barely warm water like she was gathering energy from it. When her brown eyes did open just before exiting the shower, she took notice at the amount of dirt that swirled down the drain from her skin and hair. She really was as dirty as she felt. Doing her best to at least be somewhat mindful, she washed her clothes in cold water and mimicked Reyna in hanging the wet clothes to dry; if the smell of mildew wouldn't have accumulated inside her bag, she would have put the wet clothes right back inside. Paranoia was growing inside Ryan like an over watered weed; planted by Liam and Reyna's overly in tuned sense to danger. Not even Liam's goofy nature was shining through here, and that scared Ryan more than the cowboy family. Rejoining Liam she nearly gasped, "You're a lot paler than I thought." Liam looked down at his clean skin and laughed at her comment, "What are you talking about? This is my summer color." Ryan giggled; small hands wrapped around the black backpack straps over her shoulders.

The knock on the door and the voice that followed made the goofy persona fall away like a pane of glass slipping from its frame and crashing to the ground. His eyes flew to the door, his hands grabbing his own pack. The woman's timing at the door was too coincidental to when the four of them finished cleaning themselves up and out of old habit from before the collapse of society, his eyes darted to each upper corner of the room, searching for tiny security cameras, but finding none. "You'd think one of them was lurking in the shadows." He whispered to Reyna while ushering Ryan in front of him, both hands on her shoulders in a protective grip.

The entire dinner scene was like a clip from a cheesy farm movie from back in the 2000's. Some of the faces that sat at the table had the same rehearsed smile Duke had, most were clean of any sort of dirt and grime, but all held the same eerie aura around them. The smell of the food wafted up to greet the group like probing fingers searching for something. Ryan took a deep inhale of the smell and went to her respective seat, Liam sitting beside her. She wasted no time in grabbing a utensil and stuffing her face full of the cooked meat and mashed potatoes. Liam opened his mouth to stop the girl, but stopped when it became obvious that everyone except for him had begun eating. Even Reyna had begun spooning small amounts of the food into her mouth, which seemed to convince Liam that if this community was going to harm them it wasn't going to be at dinner. His eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head the moment the meat touched his tongue. It was a real pig. The last piece of meat he remembered he and Ryan consuming was a squirrel they hoped had only been eating acorns and not walkers. Even the beans and potatoes seemed to be made of pure gold to him. It took great amounts of restraint to keep the fork in his hand and not just dump the entire plate down his throat in one swift and rather messy movement. He silently thanked his lost mother for the lessons on manners and ignored the need to find and hug her.

With the plates basically licked clean, they were removed from the table and taken away to be cleaned, leaving the opportunity for conversation to become apparent again. Anything that came from Duke's mouth made Liam's skin crawl, he was sure if he looked down at his arm while the man spoke he could see goosebumps; he almost wished he didn't finish the meal, Duke's voice made him slightly nauseous. Liam thought it best to continue letting Reyna take lead of the conversation and did his best impersonation of a thankful man wanting nothing more than to repay the act of kindness.

He was relieved when Reyna brought up an actual plan of escape, but somewhat shocked when her fingered laced themselves up with his. Liam took the lead and began the short journey back to the rooms that had been given to them before Caleb had a chance to make it around the table to them, pulling the woman along with him. "You don't think they are just going to let us leave in the morning?" Liam looked down at Ryan thoughtfully, "Somehow, I don't think the Cowboy Son, Caleb, had that in mind, Peanut. He seemed to have a bit of trouble hiding his malicious intentions from his face. Unlike the rest of them, he was doing a terrible job." He turned his focus to Reyna again, "I saw how he was looking at you. It solidified my decision the get the hell out of this creep-hole. That whole dinner felt like a bribe of some kind."

When everyone was inside the room Ryan quietly closed the door behind them and leaned against the wood, her backpack causing slight discomfort. "That Caleb guy is creepy." Ryan looked down at the floor, her palms pressed against the cold of the door. Liam released Reyna's hand, looking down at the space of his palm momentarily where hers had been. "The kid has a point. I think the idea to slip passed the tubby ones should work out fine. Ryan and Mekai should have all the gear, though, in case the guards decide to be productive tonight." While Liam's brain was processing every possible outcome, every possible scenario, Ryan's palms began to sweat, her heart started racing and her could feel the anxiety start to swell. They were here for less than five hours and already they were planning to leave. At the beginning of the dinner Ryan had the feeling something might be a tad off, but by the end of it she was sure something wasn't right and Caleb's sinister grin told the girl more than it intended to. "What do we do until then? We can stay in here?" She offered any piece of advice she thought would help, hoping it wasn't going to be cast aside as a useless tidbit of nonsense. Relief flooded her when Liam nodded to her with a smile.
 
The image of Caleb's lingering malicious smile was now embedded in the back of Reyna's head. She knew that he had some sick twisted plans for her and he could only imagine what crazy ideas his parents had going on. The people's smiles at the tables would have been enough to convenience someone who didn't know any better but Reyna wasn't stupid and she was good at ready body language. The people's smile were empty and their eyes were void of anything that resembled happiness and she could only imagine what it was really like in this place. Sure they had little establishments and food and water but who was to to say that all the civilians got to some that? When the cool air hit the palm of her hand Reyna looked down and suddenly realized that she had been holding Liam's. " The good thing is that they didn't check us for our gear but that also means that they know we have gear on us and they won't hesitate to use firearms if we don't get out without causing a scene".

When Ryan spoke up about staying inside Reyna nodded her and and then looked out the blinds. " Yeah that would be wise. We can just sit tight and watch the guards shift as well as what they people actually do in here". Turning to look at Ryan she gave the girl a small smile, " And you have some time to continue reading that book" pointing at the book she had given her that was on top the bed. Mekai removed his backpack and placed it beside the bed before reaching inside and pulling out the batman comic that he had picked up when he and Reyna were at that bookstore way back. He figured that he could find more entertainment with reading a comment than having his eyes following along a story he may or may not like. Reyna released a sigh and she watched as half the people moved into their rooms while the other half walked around in quit voices. Yeah something wasn't right about this place.

Since the sun was already setting they wouldn't have to worry about finding means of entertainment. Reyna moved one of the small chairs from the corner of the room and then plopped it beside the corner of the window and continued to watch the scene outside. Carla and Duke walked down the block with their hands locked together, eyeing the people on the street and she caught sight of Carla pointing to a plump man in his mid forties and then Duke nodding his head with a crazy look in his eye before the two were out of sight. Raising an eyebrow she focused back on the guard who had now switched with two younger ones, a male and female and the fat ones moved out of sight. " We'll the switch began, next switch we wait a little and make our move".

Getting up from the chair Reyna moved into the next room and then felt out the clothes to see if they were dry. For the most part they were except the ends of her jacket but she didn't mind. After changing back into her clothes she folded up the ones that they had left out for her and placed them into her bag. When nigh time consumed the area Reyna nodded towards the others. " Let's get out of here". Slowly opening the door she looked around to see nobody in sigh just the hushed conversation of the guards to the left of her and then some commentary to the right. " You think Shelly is going to say anything when Robert don't come back?"
" It don't matter Carla we'll just tell her that Robert got bitten by one of those things out there and if she snoops around too much we'll just cook her up nice and good"
" What about the new ones honey"
" Not yet, let thing think this is paradise and when they finally get settled in we'll pick one off little by little".
The voices grew distant and Reyna had to fight the urge for the vile to not come up her throat.

" They- they're eating people" Reyna spoke in as much as a hushed tone that she could and her mind went back to the man that Carla had been pointing at, that was Robert and this place was their perfect heaven. Lure people in, let them think there home and then eat them. The need to leave was clearly evident and Reyna pushed forward and kept to the shadows until they reached the door. Short tubby guy was leaning against the door while the other was chatting away near the stairs that lead to the ledge Duke was on earlier. Reaching in her pocket for the small blade she looked down at the ground and blindly moved her fingers across until she found a rock and then handed it to Liam. " Beam it at the guy by the door, I got the one by the stairs. When she counted to three she waited half a second after Liam thew the rock at short tubby by the door before flinging her blade that it landed in the dudes neck.

Pushing forward she quickly moved the blade and then stepped over his body motioning them to the stairs " Come on". Once Mekai and then were right behind her they made their way up and then around the ledge until they were officially out of the compound. Looking down to make sure there were no walkers Reyna jumped down and then Mekai, Liam and Ryan. Once they were down a few blocks and had enough distance between them and the compound Reyna stopped to catch her breath. It felt like her heart was hammering inside her chest and the sickening feeling from before had come back.




​
 
The hours crawled by with an odd mixture of feelings. This place was warm, clean, zombie free and had people; all that filled Ryan with a sense of hope and promise, something even the young child could recognize within herself. On the other hand, those feelings were coupled with a sense of dread and foreboding; something was seriously off about the main family, enough so that it sent Liam nd Reyna into a protective frenzy. She found herself reading the same page more than once before moving on to the next, unable to focus on the meaning of the words, her mind drifting to the coming hours. 'What if we really weren't allowed to just leave? What if one of us were killed? What if I lost Liam?' Ryan gripped the book in her hands to stop them from shaking, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her mind was going a mile a minute, being consistently fed by the anxiety that made her hands sweat. Eventually she gave up on reading the book and retaining anything and put it away.

Liam strode over and joined Reyna at the window, standing by her chair with his arms crossed over his chest but safely hidden behind the blinds. He watched in silence for the most part, carefully taking in the actions of the lead couple as they made their way to what he could only suspect was their home. Taking note that the larger guards switched shifts at roughly the same time, his eyes narrowed on the thin pair that had taken the posts, sizing them up and working out the best way to get past them. Behind him Ryan collected the spare clothing and any blankets she could. With a tug on his shirt from Ryan, Liam tore his eyes away from the window and moved into action.

Poking her head out from the doorway and stepping out into the hall, there was no hiding the horror painted on Ryan's face. Liam seemed to age five years in an instant when his jaw steeled and his eyes darkened. He could feel her eyes fly up to his face, but he didn't dare look at her. He only took her small hand in his with a gentle but commanding grip and began in the direction of the closest exit. The odd gestures and looks at dinner fell into place. Liam's stomach flipped and he fought the sudden intense nausea as he began to wonder if the pork they had at dinner wasn't really just Peggy, the neighborhood baker. It felt like his teeth were about to crack under the pressure in which he was clenching his jaw. The had stumbled upon a cannibal compound; wonderful.

Flinging a rock and stabbing the guy right in the jugular of the neck seemed simple enough, and the simplicity of the plan actually seemed to work pretty efficiently. Liam might have thrown the rock a bit too hard, the spot on the man's head was already starting to swell by the time Reyna's blade found home. In a rush of silent motion, the group moved across the grounds, up and over the wall and were free of the compound. Ryan was quivering with fear and adrenaline, Liam constantly looking over his shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it, her hand refusing to let go of Liam's. He crouched down, his eyes leveling with hers, "We are okay. We will just keep moving until we are far from this place. By the time they even noticed we are gone we will be so far away they wont know where to look, even if they wanted to." His words came out in a rush, a flood of positivity created to try and wipe the consuming fear on her face. "I promise," he brushed the hair from her face and took her cheek in his hand. "They aren't winners and we aren't chicken dinners." He winked at her, causing the faintest of fake smiles, but it was going to have to do for now He straight up again, retaking Ryan's hand, and searched the dark for the best sense of direction. "We need to keep moving. I can't imagine they'd be happy about the guy we left behind." He cast one last look to the walls of the cannibalistic compound, repressed a shiver and allowed his feet to carry him away.

Back at the compound blood collected in a growing pool on the ground, surrounding the man's head. Air gurgled from the hole the blade had left, thick fingers spastically doing their best to cover the wound and stop the bleeding that he knew wouldn't. His eyes were so wide they looked like they were going to pop out from their sockets, mouth agape in a scream that was lost in the bubbling velvet curtain gushing from the side of his throat. The orbs searched the surrounding area for any sign of the partner he was keeping watch with. They found nothing and eventually his fingers were unable to continue their panicked movements and fell limp across his chest. His head fell back in a quiet thump, tiny droplets of blood popped up from the pool at the slight impact, falling not far from their origin, then slumped to the side as his eyes became glossy and his breathing finally stopped.

The entire process took less than three minutes. The man's life drained out into the pool beneath him. His heart stilled, the film over his eyes went from glossy to a milky hue, and after just a few moments his fingers began to twitch. The body made attempts to push itself up to its feet. Rolling over to its side, placing its weight onto the wrist and using the leverage to push itself up to a standing position, nearly breaking the small bones. Already the limbs were stiff and the skin was growing cold. It threw one leg out, then the other, its nose in the air and ears tuned to any sounds. The stumbles across the pavement were as quiet as the death the bloodied body carried with it. It approached the young woman, blood coated fingers reaching out in front of it, eager to grasp the warmth of the woman coming nearer. Her lively aroma filled the nostrils of the dead man's nose, driving him forward with an indescribable hunger. With unseeing eyes he could see her standing there, her back to him with a rifle slung across it; with numb hands he came up behind her and took her face into the palm of his hand, unintentionally muffling her shock. His other crimson hand wrapped around and clawed at her chest, dragging her to him with a strength that should have been lacking in the dead muscles. He brought her to his snapping jaws and ripped her face and head downwards, bringing them both struggling to the ground. Blood poured from her and into his mouth with the chunk of flesh, spilling down his chin and shirt and down the woman's back. He chewed with enthusiasm and groaned in-between bites and mouth rotations. She desperately clawed at his hands and face, her nails digging into his skin but causing no real damage, her feet kicking out and into the dirt wildly in her last efforts to push away from her dead friend.

It was over before she really even had a chance. It went from intense violence to a mild feeding site by the time the dead man's ears picked up a sound not far from where he gorged himself on the young woman. Dropping her face and leaving her behind, he rose to his feet and propelled himself forward with a new craving of fresh flesh. So quickly she had lost her fresh taste, and how easily he was distracted and swayed into searching for something new; someone better. It didn't take the woman long to rise from the ground herself, perked by whatever sound had caught her killer's attention, and steer herself in the same direction. Together the pair entered the closest building, the door being carelessly left ajar. The woman inside dropped the plate she held in her hands, a loud scream erupting from her lungs like a horn. The sounds of the plate shattering on the ground and the woman's vocalized fear drew the immediate attention of the two walkers. They stumbled and pushed their way to her while she stood, frozen, belting out her terror to the men upstairs. Two pairs of crimson hands searched for her and when they found her, it was too late to do anything for her.

"Carla!? Carla what's wrong?!" Duke's voice echoed from the upper level before his body made it down the stairs. Both heads of the intruders perked up from the fallen woman, seizing their carnage. She gurgled below them, struggling to cling to life, but did her best to remain silent in fear of catching their attention again. The sound of two men rushing and stomping down the hall towards the stairs, calling for Carla all the while, urged the dead to the first step leading to the upper level. The milky eyed woman elbowed a lit candle in her need to get to the men, the flame catching easily to the fabrics that had been carelessly placed nearby. In seconds flames covered the top of the counter and jumped across to the blinds of the windows. Smoke began to fill the space of the room and the fire spread to slowly chew through the walls.


ooc; This was starting to get kinda long so I left it here.
 
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Everything happened so fast. Duke had been sitting and chatting with his son about making some necessary changes in the group and then what to do with the new comers. Unlike the regular civilians that had come into their shelter with nothing and were so easy to manipulate they weren't. The hardness they wore on their faces had shown that they had been through hell and he remembered the girls cold eyes as she analyzed him from the beginning. She never believed a word he had said and then built guy she came with knew it too. He was planning to keeping them in the dark about things for a moment before sending them out on separate little tasks and then get them to join his group officially. Be like them and if not he had no problem killing them and eating them. His son of course wanted Reyna alive, he had particular taste in women and he wasn't going to say no, he was a grown man and in an undead world there were no laws. The shrill scream that came from below startled Duke and Caleb jumped up from where they were sitting and then moved towards the stairs.

The first thing Duke heard was the gurgled noise of walkers and his heart rate picked up. How in the hell did walkers get inside the gate? Grabbing his blade off the shelf he moved down with Caleb close behind eager to get to Carla and assist her in whatever way that they could. When the first walker made it's way up Duke cocked his arm back and then used his forced to knock the walkers head clean off his head and then kicked it's body backwards so that it stumbled into the walker that was behind it as the body fell down the flight of stairs. Duke hopped over the body to leave Caleb to finish the other one off but his body stilled when his eyes laid on Carla. Blood was pouring out her throat and mouth, eyes were empty as her lips twitched slightly. "Carla!, Carla baby stay with me okay". Duke rushed to her side and attempted to put pressure on her neck but it was too late. Carla let out a small whimper before her body went still and then nothing.

" Dad we gotta-" Duke whipped around to look at his son with red eyes as he tried to pull himself to together. " Dammit boy I know what needs to be done". Everything was going to shit and the fire behind them was spreading and fast. Caleb lifted his shirt to cover his nose and then moved into the side room and turned on the water and left it on, filling up three buckets he tossed into he fire hearing the sizzling sounds. Duke's breathing increased before he leaned down and pressed his lips to his wife's , tasting metal in his mouth from the blood he ignored it and continued to kiss her before mustering jumbled words and then reaching for his blade again he plunged it into her skull and then hovered over Carla's lifeless body. Caleb had come back after doing three quick rounds doing his best to still the fire and then Duke lips the blood on his lips and grabbed a bucket and headed out.

People were panicking as they ran to the gates and opened it before squeezing though, people were screaming and pushing others out the water and Duke attempted to stop the fire in the place he worked so hard to build. As the people got out of control Duke fired two shots into the air and watched as they stilled. " Close those damn doors, nobody is going anywhere". Two of the guards pushed before back and aimed the rifles at them. Duke walked over to the rooms that were now empty and anger spilled through out his body. His Carla was gone, gone because of that little bitch and her companions. Smoke filled the sky and Duke looked over at the small fire before ignoring it and passing through his people. " Grab those buckets and get to it, my work will now be ruined!". Caleb approached him with dark eyes " They are going to pay for what they did to mama, to our home. Let me go after them". Duke shook his head and when Caleb went to move past him he grabbed his boy by the throat and gave a deadly squeeze. " I can't loose you right now, we will wait until they think they've got the clear and then we get our revenge".

Reyna knew that they couldn't stay out in the open and they couldn't stay to close to the area either. Two shots rung out and Reyna looked over her shoulder to where they had just came before all the adrenaline came back to her and she began moving, pulling Mekai with her, " Okay to the bookstore, we can hold up in the staff room for the rest of the night and in the morning we can figure out where to go to next. Her muscles ached and the feeling of bile wanting to come back up was more prominent than ever but she forced it back down. She would keep it together and she needed to push those thoughts out her head. At the sight of the bookstore Reyna sighed and then wiped the sweat from her forehead and then slowly opened the door and looked at the ground before moving inside. It was just like when they left it and Reyna lead them to the staff room. It wasn't a big room but it would do.

Mekai gave her hand a small squeeze and watched as Reyna forced a small smile on her face. " Get some rest Kai" he nodded and then placed his backpack down before finding a semi comfortable position and then closing his eyes. Reyna looked over at Ryan and Liam to see if they were okay and then quickly she pushed past them and out the storage room and out the side door as the bile finally came up and she let it. Catching her breath Reyna whipped her mouth and then slumped down and leaned her head against the class biting down on her lower lip. How the hell she managed to hold it together for so long was beyond her but she was beginning to break and that was not what she wanted.​
 
Kronas17-
Ooc; I'm so sorry this took so fucking long. I got really sick. I'm still kinda bleh, but I can look at a screen right now without feeling worse. I'm hoping the migraine doesn't come back and I'm forced to crawl back into a hole :|

Ryan had no desire to let go of Liam's hand, and so the girl didn't. She gripped onto this hand like they were glued together and stayed close as if they were held together by magnets. Fear still coursed through her like electricity and she was damn near shaking from the run away from the compound, her breathing coming in gasps. Ryan jumped at the sound of the duel gunshots that came from the direction they fled, her eyes flew up to him but he didn't look down at her, he just mimicked Reyna in his gaze to the compound and nodded his head at the new plan of action. The bookstore sounded good, but Ryan was afraid it may still be too close. Looking back at the compound she now noticed the black smoke billowing towards the night sky. She didn't remember setting any sort of fire on the escape out, but who knows what happened after they slipped over the gate.

They had escaped, but somehow Liam knew in his gut that the cowboy family wasn't done with them, and that chilled Liam to his bones. Caleb's lusty grin for Reyna flashed in his head, and Duke's speech played like background music before Liam gently shook his head and did his best to think of something other than cannibals. His heart still pumped a mile a minute, ignoring the fact that they had found shelter in the bookstore. If this were any other situation, he may have been slightly more relaxed given the choice of lodging for the night, surrounded by books and the ability to get lost in words that may never be read again. Instead, he forced Ryan to let go of his hand and he made extra attempts at making sure all the windows of the small building were secure. As he did so, he took notice of Reyna rushing passed him and go back outside. Thinking better than to send Ryan out after her, he walked out himself.

Seeing Reyna crouched down on the ground, he crouched next to her and held out one of the bottles of water they had found. "You okay there, Warrior Woman, all things given?" He tilted his head a fraction, almost like a pup, to get a better look at her face. He refrained from looking at the bile at her feet, but set the bottle down within reach of her. After a long minute, Liam looked away from her and out to the surrounding area bathed in dark, "You know, you don't have to play leader all the time now."
 
Everything was okay, everyone was fine and they had gotten away from Duke, his family, and that wretched compound for good. Her chest felt like it was going to jump out of her chest and Reyna hung her head slow and took in slow and deep breaths to calm her heart rate and she was grateful for the nice breeze that fell upon her face because all that walking and running had wore her out. This was world had completely and utterly gone to shit and the crazies roamed around with no sense of confinement and no one safe from people and undead alike. Her fingers moved back some of the stay dark brown waves that had dangled on the side of her face and once she was positive that no more bile was going to come up she leaned her head back against the window softly and starred up at the sky. There was some peace and quiet with the lightly sound of trees blowing that were nearby and the occasional soft moan from an undead that was ways away.

After a few moments Reyna opened her eyes to the sound of footsteps and she saw Liam crouch down so that they were eye level and offer her some water in which she gave a small smile and then shook her head. She could tell that he was taking her in by the way he peered up at her and she averted her brown eyes anywhere but his. She hated feeling like this, weak and broken down because she was so use to being the strong one and having everything together and it just felt to weird not to. " I'm fine I just needed to get some fresh air is all" Reyna nodded her head slightly before reaching for the bottled water and then taking a swish into her mouth and then moved it around before spitting it out to clean out her mouth. When Liam spoke up again Reyna watched him intently before releasing a small breath and re-adjusting her back against the bast of the building.

" I don't know any other way, I was trained to be a leader and to use my skills to my advantage..I've been in combat but I guess military and a Apocalypse were completely different" Reyna chuckled lightly before finally standing up and then taking a small gulp out of the water bottle. " I just want everyone to be safe and I feel like if I mess up or something goes wrong..." Her voice quivered and broke off as Reyna sucked in a breath and bit down on her bottom lip. " I just don't want to loose anyone else close to me, that's all".​
 
ooc; I'm sorry it's short. I'm a little brain-dead and really busy with Thanksgiving and all, but I wanted to give you some sort of reply today. So I figured a bit of conversation was a good way to go lol

Liam stood with her, putting his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "I'm about to lay down some harsh realities on you." he shrugged, "Although, I'm sure you know all about them." He looked up and met her eyes with his before continuing. "This isn't war. This is what life is now. You can't fight off what's out here anymore than a dying bug can fight off an opposing colony." A hardness that rarely surfaced began to encase Liam like a shell, the happy jokes receding into the creases of his personality like they were drawn in by strings, only out for show for Ryan. "People are going to die, that's just the way it is. No one is ever going to fault you for making a decision, not us anyway. Things need to be done and not everyone can do them." He made a silent mention to Ryan. "If you're taking blame for the cannibal cowboys back there, don't. There was no way you could have known what they really wanted." He couldn't bring himself to say they were safe, because he knew they weren't. Not really. Unless morality was instilled back into the minds of the lost and the undead were to be conquered completely, there was no safety anymore. "All we can do is just survive somehow. Getting the fuck out of that compound was a pretty damned good start." With a jerk of his head towards the door and a friendly smile that pulled at the strings that allowed the cheery nature to consume him again, Liam stepped back inside to give Reyna a moment of quiet to herself. "Come back inside when you're ready, but don't be out there too long."

Ryan sat silently, her knees drawn up to her chest, both arms wrapped around her legs, and her chin resting atop of her knees, eyes staring out the door waiting for anything to walk through it. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks as she thought about the compound. It was a never ending movie in her head of what if's and she couldn't press stop. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and did her best to force the images of people eating people to stop. When she reopened her eyes, she jumped slightly when it was Liam that strode through the door and not some other terror. If she weren't frozen in her seat Ryan would have gotten up and ran to Liam, but instead she waiting until he came and sat next to her, facing the open door. She wanted to say something, but what was she suppose to say? Anything that came to her mind seemed wrong, so she remained silent and leaned into Liam's side for an extra sense of security.
 
Reyna knew that Liam was right, she couldn't protect everybody and with people dying left and right sometimes it was better to just accept the fact that there were things that she couldn't do and she wouldn't be able to save everyone. She nodded her head once again at his words and just to get all her thoughts put together. Her hands found her face as they rubbed against them, wiping her eyes with had a few small stagnant tears she blew out a shaky breath and then starred up at the sky. She was used to seeing people die even before the plaque and after watching her parents go, her older brother,and her lover one would think that she would have gotten immune to feelings and loosing people she traveled with. It worked for a few months but that was until she ran into Mekai, this quirky kid who was struggling to survive in this world, she had pushed the kid away countless times and he stuck by her and now Reyna couldn't see herself without him traveling with her, teasing jokes an all. He was like a little brother to her although she would never say that.

Heading back into the bookstore and the back room Reyna gently closed the door behind her nad looked over to see Ryan and Liam on the far left while Mekai was sleeping soundly, slumped against his backpack. A small smile formed on her lips before she walked over and ran her fingers gently through his curly hair and then slumped down beside him and leaned her head against the wall. " Tomorrow we'll push forward and see what we can scavenge along the way, the further we get from that place the better" Reyna spoke before finding a good position to get comfortable and then closing her eyes and letting sleep take over her body. The next morning she woke to Mekai gently shaking her awake and after her eyes fluttered opened Reyna rubbed the back of her semi stiff neck and then slowly gathered her things.

The streets were almost empty besides the few undead that lingered along the streets and sidewalk. Taking out her blade and gripping the end the group moved through the street taking out the walkers that were in the way and avoiding the ones that wern't. The first couple of stores were ransacked so the only good things they managed to find was a jacket for and hat for the coming cold. Most of the clothing stores still had a decent selection since when the outbreak hit people went to the food and medical supplies first. Reyna stopped once they reached a small corner store in search of some food for them and turned to Liam and the rest of the group while gently biting down on her lower lip. " Where do you think we should head from here? If we continue this way we'll be out the city, the other way seems kind of sketchy but I'm not sure what we should do".​
 
Ooc; Sorry about the month delay after I said a reply was coming. My grandmother passed away and it's been quite an ordeal for me. I promise I haven't disappeared on you.

The walk was listless. Void of anything but the vague need to move. Ryan fell back into her mute state and trailed just a half step behind Liam. It was painfully obvious the nearly fatal situation of the compound traumatized the young girl, causing her to be drawn back behind the silent shell she built for herself. It was hard for her to perk up even with the growing distance between them and the small town she could only assume was partially burned to the ground at this point, but when the clothing store manifested from the dead buildings around them the tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth. She had ended up choosing a rather warm and loose fitting outfit to prepare for the winter months that were beginning to threaten what tiny bit of help nature was willing to lend them – soon there wouldn't even be passing berries to pick and consume. Currently a bright pink beanie was snug over the mess of brown hair; messy waves spilled from underneath the edges but covered her tiny ears. Matching pink gloves were stuffed into her backpack along with an extra jacket and change of clothes. She had sacrificed the few unnecessary items in her pack to make room for the winter clothing, copying what Liam had done with a heavy hand. Liam had grabbed just about all black clothing, making Ryan do the same, only allowing the pink beanie and gloves after she put them on and refused to remove them. Her reasoning simply being she was a little girl and was entitled to a little bit of color. However, she did compromise and stashed a slightly too large pair of black gloves and an ugly camo patterned cap to change into if ever they needed to be hidden. Liam would be damned if she were put in danger due to being spotted in brink pink gear. Being a small ten year old girl was bad enough.

When they came to a stop outside the small store Liam studied both directions but quickly chose the route that led out of the city. "It's best to not even risk a sketchy path." He promptly turned his back to the path, not even willing to bother himself with the gruesome possibilities that could wait for them. With a bit of positivity in his voice that he hoped would instill a bit more confidence in Reyna and pull Ryan from her shell again he thought about the possible farm houses. "Maybe we can find a farm house down a few miles to hold up in for a little while. I could do with the extra space myself." He grinned down at Ryan, "The city is no place for me." He pat her head, Ryan returning the comment with a small smile of her own, and started down the clear path away from the decaying buildings.

It took about half the day before the small group came across the first abandoned home. Horse, cattle and other farm animals lay as if their skeletons would wake up from their nightly sleep and begin grazing again. With a gentle shake of his head, Liam cleared the image of skeleton animals , completely devoid of any flesh, roaming the weed infested pastures. The boards creaked beneath his weight as he cautiously rose up the steps and across the porch to the front door. Ignoring the shredded screen door that hung open on a single hinge, he took out one of the knives strapped to his waist and thumped the butt of the handle against the frame of the open door. When nothing immediately stumbled into view he waved to the rest of the group. "It seems clear," his voice just above a whisper implying he wasn't entirely sure but enough to corral them in the living room of the musty place.
 
As the small group began to move on from the bookstore Reyna let her mind wander. How could people be so sick and cruel? Those innocent people looked up to Duke and his family with ounces of hope only to have them be picked off one by one and eaten by the same people that preached their safety. This world was truly messed up. A part of her wondered why she had to be alive to witness the fall of mankind, why she couldn't have been an old women in her late seventies with nothing more to look forward to but a nice peaceful death but now she was spending the beautiful youthful years fighting for another day while watching mankind crumble right in front of her eyes. When the group came upon the fork on the road Reyna glanced around slowly before her brown eyes shot over to Liam and at his comment she gave a tight nod. " You're right, the last thing we need is to head back into the city and risk running into any more thugs or cannibals".

Reyna watched the city become nothing but distance between her and their next destination as they continued on, her slender hands zipped up her jacket now that the cold air was coming and she even moved over and placed the hoodie on top Mekai's head despite him saying that he wasn't cold. " You say that now and then a few days from now you'll have a cold". Mekai huffed but complied and kept the hood on giving Reyna a satisfied grin before she re focused her attention to the bones of cattle and other livestock. It was sad really seeing how things outside the city had become but it was even more sad when you thought about how things were before the pandemic. Yes Reyna had taken a lot of things for granted because she always told herself she'd figure it out later or there'd be another time to change but seeing as to what was going on now she found her self regretting many things.

She was quiet for the journey only talking when Mekai motioned towards her and then she'd just follow behind the group and glance back towards the way she came every so often. Reyna kept her eyes moving as she watched Liam open the door and stumble inside before slowly moving in with her hand on her blade. It was semi dark in the doom and she quickly adjusted her eyes before moving further in, her feet slightly creaking with each step as she peeked into the kitchen. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would, broken plates and cups were spattered on the ground but there wasn't traces of food. Moving into he bathroom Reyna slowly opened the door and then released a small breath before eyeing herself in the broken mirror. Her hair was in a loose ponytail and there were small bags under her eyes.

" Looks like the people who lived here left in a hurry, it's messy but there's no stench of death or bodies" her voice was quiet before she gave Mekai the clear to check the next room while she went out back just to make sure. Her foot connected with a lantern and it tipped over slightly before Reyna leaned down and picked it up, checking to see that it was still usable she brought it inside and rested it on the kitchen table before going through the drawers to find anything else that could be useful.

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