Bad news. [Open]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Huff. Huff. Huff. Huff

He was almost completely out of breath, running down the street. Daylight no longer brought as much light, probably because of the constant haze that shrouded the world these days. Though there was little real light, the silhouettes in the distance of lumbering corpses were vivid enough to keep the young man on his toes, and at an ever-quickening pace. Casting the odd glance behind him, he could tell they were on his trail. His magazine was half-empty, and the Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot that bounced by it's sling on his back was far too valuable a resource to waste on this group on undead, even though the situation would probably direly need it's explosive power if he should get surrounded. This was something he would not let happen. Lahad made his way as quickly as he could down the rubble-peppered street. Dirt covered most of the old pavement, but patches were still visible to him whenever he cast a glance infront of him to see if there were any of the undead in his path. He swung the assault rifle from left to right as he made long strides, with a wad of Khat in his lip, he was given the energy to keep this increasing pace. The black headband with the white Arabic inscription 'la ilaha illallah, Muhammadur rasulullah' had strands that trailed behind him as he made his way fast down the street, breathing heavily, and spitting where he could the juices of the Khat to the ground. The groans and painful moans of the dead were audible behind Lahad, and he did not dare to cast another glance behind him as he took a sharp turn down an alleyway that was still clear of rubble.

On the other side, he could see salvation, a building with it's windows boarded up. He just hoped there would not be the walking dead on either side of the street he would come out onto. As he burst out of the alleyway, it was not quite as he feared, there were still undead, but only sparse numbers previously unaware of Lahad, until he came to the street in a huff. The few, five that Lahad counted, turned their attention to him, their slow reaction would be their downfall. "In the name of god... You will return to rest." Lahad murmured, trying not to expend too much energy that he needed to run on speaking. He took a kneeling stance just outside of the alleyway, bringing the shortened rifle to his shoulder, and using five bullets with utmost precision, dropped all five of the dead that stood in his way to salvation in quick succession. It was good to do god's work, in Lahad's opinion, and he quickly got up from his kneeling stance, sprinting for the doors of the dessicated but seemingly safe building. He swung his rifle vigorously in his grip with each stride, his RPG bouncing on it's sling with intensity on his back, causing him some discomfort. Lahad slammed into the main doors, and they swung open into a dark cone of vision. Lahad turned on his heels as he broke through and slammed the doors shut behind him. He held them for a moment, breathing heavily, sweat dripping from his brow. Lahad let the wad of Khat fall from his mouth to the floor infront of the doors along with the few drops of sweat from his brow. He took a moment, and only just a moment, to breathe, before scanning the darkness with his eyes to barricade the door. A thick wood board was conveniently resting up against the door frame of the main entrance, and Lahad picked it up only to stuff it into the rusted rungs that served as handles on the double-door. Safe... for now, Lahad crouched down and breathed, but something was amiss, something was not right. As he took his breather, he scanned the darkness of the building, allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and hoping there were no undead in here for him to deal with.

[Tawny Ambrose]

Damn it. She should have known there would be nothing useful left, that all the good stuff would have already been picked over. She groaned, tilting her head back in despair. This sucked! She was hungry. She hadn’t eaten in god knows how long. All she had managed to find was an old soup can, one that had been hidden under one of the shelves, probably full of crap. The can was all rusty, and she really wasn’t sure if it was still edible. She was starving, but she didn’t want to eat it if it’d poison her. She’d survived the zombies and scavengers this long, and she didn’t want a bad can of soup to kill her. She sighed to herself, tossing it between her hands. She supposed it was better than nothing though. She’d rather die of food poisoning than starve to death. It sounded less painful.

The blonde-haired girl inspected the can she'd found closer, weighing her options, brown eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Her growling stomach was starting to win over when suddenly the air was filled with gunshots, the silence shattered. There were five of them, all in a row. Boom boom boom boom boom. Tawny froze, dropping the old soup can she had been holding. Shit. Someone was out there. She stood where she was for a moment, waiting, but then very slowly inched over to the boarded up window. She pulled a piece of loose wood back, peering outside, just enough so she could see what was taking place out there. At first she didn’t see anything, but then, out of nowhere, a boy appeared, and he was running right toward her. Tawny gasped, stumbling back. Crap! Someone was coming!

The doors flew open with a loud burst, and Tawny quickly ducked behind one of the shelves, hiding herself from view. She stayed there for a few moments, holding her breath, and then she slowly rose up again, peering at the newcomer from behind her hiding place. She saw a boy there. It was hard to tell if he was infected or not because of the lighting. She watched him intently, squinting into the darkness. She saw him pick up a wooden board, using it to barricade the door, and she quickly dismissed him as a zombie. The undead weren’t smart enough to do that. Their brains would never even think of doing it. So, that meant that he had to be a human, right? A living breathing functioning human? That’s what she wanted to believe. She knew she had to be cautious though, because even humans could be dangerous in this day and age. There were few allies, everyone constantly fighting each other for food. He better not be one of those scavenger types. Tawny really hated them. She was probably no better than one herself, but she still hated them. All they did was steal. They never played fair. They just picked on people weaker than them, leeching their supplies and leaving them to die. Though, she supposed that in war nothing was fair, was it? Oh well. Whatever the case, he wasn’t going to take her supplies. She’d make sure of that much.

Very slowly, cautiously, Tawny stepped out from behind the shelf. In her hand she held a small pistol, aiming it at the boy by the door. “You,” she hissed, voice echoing through the room. “What’re you doing here?” Her voice rang out suspiciously, tone demanding. She waited for an answer, eyes never leaving the boy, as if she expected that any second he would jump to his feet and attack her. She didn’t trust anyone. That was how she had survived so long. She didn’t trust anyone, she didn’t help anyone, she just flew it solo. That was the key to surviving. Being in groups with others just brought you down. Either your friends betrayed you or they’d drag you down with them. Either way, you ended up dead, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to die. No. She was going to be a survivor. She’d make it to the end. “You aren’t one of them right? ‘Cause if you are I’m going to have to shoot you.” Her gun was still aimed at the boy as she spoke, finger on the trigger. She didn’t want to hurt him, she really didn’t, but she was ready, and if he gave her a reason to fire…she would.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Lahad took his moments of rest as if they would be his last. Breathing heavily and deeply to calm his heart rate. The Khat in his system acted like both an amphetamine, and a hunger suppressant. He was both amazingly aware, but more than likely hungry and weak, but the Khat kept him from feeling it, it kept him going no matter what. The few semi-fresh leaves he still had were hidden in an inner pouch of his fatigue shirt. Lahad took some out, cautiously, he felt uneasy about his new surroundings; if undead were lurking they would have come out by now, but it still gave him an uneasy feeling. Scavengers were the worst sort, the type of people who would kill without hesitation, another human being, when human life was so sacred in this time. It sickened Lahad, but he could sympathize, he was trained originally to take human lives, though the virus and the Qur'an gave him a new light on the situation at hand. That god had chosen him to survive, to keep humanity alive, and exterminate the dead one by one. However difficult that may prove with a magazine holding only ten rounds now, and a single high explosive warhead, he would press on. The title of Mujahideen was sacred to him, and he would do his best to fill the gigantic shoes of the title. Lahad stuck the Khat leaf in his mouth and began to chew, when a voice caught him completely off guard. "You" the voice hissed at him, Lahad's shortened assault rifle hung between his legs as he crouched infront of the main double-doors. He had been scanning the darkness infront of him when he should have been looking to his flanks. His brown eyes caught a shadowy silhouette of a female body, standing, holding out what looked to be a pistol. His weapons were out of reach, and she had the drop on him. Lahad slowly continued chewing the leaf, his eyes wide to catch as much ambient light as possible. "What're you doing here?" she questioned, Lahad would have liked to answer, but he was puzzled by the idea himself. Why was he here? The only real reason was that he needed a place to evade the masses of dead that nearly made a meal of him. As Lahad's eyes adjusted, he could make out her face, and blonde hair, but mostly her brown eyes; the same as his, staring into his own. Lahad stayed quiet, instead of answering to the young lady who had a pistol pointed at his forehead from a distance, he slowly raised both his hands in a surrender.

Lahad did not like the idea of taking the precious life this young lady had, and he would not. The notion of reaching for his assault rifle was out of his mind, he would not fire, and pray in his mind of god that she would not shoot him. "You aren't one of them, right? 'Cause if you are I'm going to have to shoot you". Lahad could see in her eyes that she was all too serious about pulling the trigger if he made one false move, or said one wrong thing. He kept quiet, thinking for a moment before answering.

"No... I not one of... them.. as you say..." Lahad spoke as softly as he could, his broken English in a middle-eastern accent he hoped would be enough to calm her. He was very much human, and did not pose any thread. Bullets were far to expensive a commodity to be wasting on people unless absolutely necessary, and even then, not for killing but merely wounding in Lahad's opinion. "What I do here you ask? I here because of dead... chasing me..." Lahad continued in his hushed arabic-accented English dialect. It was enough, he hoped, to get the message across and not be shot by the young lady. He slowly put a hand on his now soaked black headband, scratching at it gently, waiting for the young lady's response.

[Tawny Ambrose]

“No... I not one of... them.. as you say...”

He had a strange accent, one that Tawny hadn’t heard before. She listened to his words, dark eyes studying him carefully, watching his every move. As she watched, the boy slowly raised his hands, a sign of surrender. She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment, irises full of suspicion, but then she lowered her weapon slightly. Yeah, he didn’t look like he was one of the zombies. Tawny was certain of that now. Zombies wouldn’t think to barricade doors, nor would they know to lift their hands in surrender. So, unless the rotting corpses had somehow evolved and gotten smarter over the past few days, she was pretty sure he wasn’t one of them. He could still be a scavenger though, so she didn’t fully drop her guard. Scavengers were more dangerous anyway. Well, to her at least, someone who was immune to the saliva of the undead.

“Just checking,” she told him, eyes still studying him. She took a few brave steps closer, looking him over, making sure he hadn’t been bitten or anything. It didn’t look like he had, so that was a relief. She hated killing people, even if they were supposedly dead. Whenever she pulled the trigger she wondered who they’d been before they got the disease, what kind life they’d led, what kind of person they were. Before her thought process could progress any further, the boy spoke again, his quiet voice filling the room.

“What I do here you ask? I here because of dead... chasing me...”

What?! The zombies were after him? Oh great. That might mean there was a whole horde of them headed right to the broken down store, right to her temporary hideout. She bit her lip, worried by this thought. She didn’t think her pistol had many bullets left. She had a few spares that she could load into the weapon, but not many. It would be out soon, and she would need to find more, which was always a difficult task. So, with this in mind,Tawny ran over to the front window again, peering out the little crack between the boards. Her brown eyes darted from side to side, quickly scanning over the street. Luckily, for the moment, it seemed to be empty. She breathed a sigh of relief. If the corpses were tracking this guy, they hadn’t found him. Well, at least not yet. Yet. Yes, that was an important word here.

“Hey. How many of those corpses were after you? Do you know?” Tawny hissed, glancing over her shoulder at the boy. As she waited for his answer, she began scrounging around the room, searching for the can of soup she had dropped earlier. She watched the boy from the corner of her eye as she searched, making sure he didn’t try anything funny. Damn it. Where had the soup gone? Ugh. This was just great. Now she’d lost her only food source! This was just – Oh wait. There it was. Her fingers wrapped around the cold cylinder of the can, and she lifted it. Her pistol was lowered now, though she still held onto it tightly in case the need to protect herself arised.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Looking down breathing a deep sigh of relief when she lowered her weapon slightly at him, hearing her say "Just checking" This was a good sign, god was looking out for him, and he was getting somewhere with this young lady in the way of reason. One of many commodities besides food, water, ammunition, and sanity that had all but disappeared during these dark times. He munched on his Khat leaf, his eyes kept wide and his stomach kept from growling as he watched the young lady wearily. He seemed uneasy after he had told her he was being chased, as she darted around to one of the boarded windows, peeking out through a crack. "Hey. How many of those corpses were after you? Do you know?" she hissed at him. It seemed she was not happy with the idea of him leading a horde of the dead to this location, but Lahad felt safe enough lower his hands which had begun to shake. He wrapped one of his hands around the pistol grip of his shortened assault rifle, still letting it hang between his legs as he stayed crouched at the main double-doors. Lahad did not know exactly how many were following him, there was too many to count, and he kept a good distance between himself and them. The haze outdoors kept them generally veiled to Lahad's eyes unless they were close enough for him to have to engage. He pondered on how to answer that question as he watched her dart away from the window she was looking out of and start looking for something; her hand still gripping that pistol. She was searching for something, but all the while as he watcher her, she seemed to be watching Lahad back. Mistrust between the two of them seemed far too rampant, and Lahad did not like it. If they were going to hold this area off, or even work together at some point, he would have to clear the air. He spat some of the excess juice from the leaf to the ground, his eyes still on her as she picked up a rusted cylinder, a can of food. She seemed desperate for food, as were most people these days. Lahad had his own secret to keeping from getting too hungry, though his body was paying the price, and every now and again, no matter how much he chewed, he would need to eat something. This, luckily, was not one of those times, and Lahad stood, hand still on the pistol grip of his Assault rifle, but he did not raise it, he let it hang across his chest and made his way to the same window the young lady had looked out of. He peeked through the cracks as well, keeping a close eye on the alleyway he had come through to make sure they were not following him. He saw a straggling member of the dead slowly stumbling down the dirt-covered street, one single, solitary member of the dead. The five bodies he had taken out before he got here seemed to attract them, but not the horde, not just yet.

Lahad pulled away from the window and looked the young lady right in the eyes. "There were many following me, too much to count... I not see them right now, but we move soon, or they be upon us like fly on carcass of cow." Lahad said, again in his hushed Arabic-accented broken English. Lahad made his way past the young lady that stood there gripping her pistol and can of food, into the darkness of the building. He stopped in his tracks and turned to meet eyes with the young lady once again. "You know way around this place?" Lahad asked, feeling a little clueless. If he went into the darkness alone, he would surely get lost, he hoped she knew some kind of back entrance, or rooftop access that they could get to, and hopefully wait out the horde of undead who would be unceasingly hunting him and the young lady for their flesh.

[Tawny Ambrose]

“There were many following me, too much to count... I not see them right now, but we move soon, or they be upon us like fly on carcass of cow.”

Seriously? Too many to count?! Wow. Well wasn’t that just great! Tawny stared back into the boy’s brown eyes, holding his gaze a moment before looking away. “Great,” she muttered under her breath, sarcasm in her voice. She had been planning to sleep here for the night, use the building as a temporary shelter. Guess that wasn’t happening now! Nope. She’d be running from zombies like she was every other day. She sent the boy a slight glare, eyes narrowing a little, but then she just sighed. She knew she couldn’t really be angry with him. He was just a person like her at the end of the day. It wasn’t like he had been trying to lead the vicious flesh-eating corpses to her. He’d just been trying to survive like everyone else, like her.

Oh well. What was done was done, and the only thing to do was move forward. Tawny stuffed the can of soup into the pack she had slung over her shoulder, and then looked around the room. So, what now? They should probably leave, right? Tawny peeked back out the wooden boards and her heart sunk as she saw that there was already one zombie staggering down the street. Ugh. She knew they could easily shoot it down, they both had a gun of some sort, but where there was one zombie there would be more. Plus, this kid, whoever he was, he’d said there was a whole horde after him, too many to count, and she doubted either of them had enough bullets to take down that many. She didn’t know where the hell they’d go or what they’d do. She imagined they’d just go their separate ways, every man for himself. However, the boy seemed to have different ideas.

“You know way around this place?"

The boy had started to walk away, but then for some reason he turned back to look at Tawny. She stared back at him blankly, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. What? He thought she knew? “Um…I dunno,” Tawny mumbled. “I’ve never really been here before.” Where was he going anyway? The blonde seemed to consider this for a moment. He must be trying to find another escape… But was it really safe to walk back there in the darkness? Who knows how many zombies could be waiting back there! “It used to be a store, right? So they should have some sort of delivery room. Y’know, where the workers unload the supplies and stuff.” It made sense to her. She wasn’t sure exactly where this room would be, but she was pretty sure the store had one. If it didn’t have that, there would probably be a storage room n the attic, hopefully with an emergency exit.

Tawny got a better grip on the small bag she was carrying, an item resembling a torn up backpack, and then she strode past the boy, walking into the dark hallway that lay ahead of them. She was still a little wary of him, but she did realize they both needed to find a way out. He hadn’t shot at her or anything…yet…and that was a good sign. They could go their separate ways once they got out of the building, but for now it seemed like they were stuck together, whether she liked it or not.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Spitting more of the excess leaf juice to the ground at his feet, but keeping his eyes trained on this young lady . She gave him a blank expression, as if she was confused at the question he had asked her. He really needed to brush up on his English, he wasn't even sure he had asked in a proper way, or even with the right words. Lahad brought his left hand, his right hand being busy grasping the pistol grip of the assault rifle the index finger held across the trigger guard and not on the trigger, and scratched at his black headband with time enough still to drop it to his side before she replied. "Um...I dunno," she mumbled, not seeming too sure of her surroundings. "I've never really been here before." the young lady continued. This explained alot to Lahad, he could understand English just fine, but his speaking of it left much to be desired. He nodded as she explained herself, using his left hand to hike up the olive sling for the RPG on his back higher on his shoulder. "It used to be a store, right? So they should have some sort of delivery room. Y’know, where the workers unload the supplies and stuff." Lahad nodded again, even though at this point he didn't really know what she was talking about. Modern stores and such were a little foreign to Lahad, who had grown up in the mountains. It still made some sense to him, though, a room farther back where workers would unload supplies sounded much like a back entrance or exit. Keeping a stoic demeanor he watched her as she passed him by, and now his eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness that he could tell what she was wearing; something reminiscent of a skirt and long-sleeved shirt, and a torn rucksack, obviously for her supplies. Lahad took merely a moment to look her up and down before following her into the darkness of the hallway leading further back into the store.

Lahad raised his rifle to his chest, both hands grasping tightly either the pistol grip or the horizontal forward grip. The barrel of his rifle tilted down so that he would not be pointing it directly at someone if it were to misfire, but enough so that be could bring it to bear quickly and end the horrific second life of a member of the undead if need-be. He moved with his back against the wall, the darkness like a thick soup engulfing them as they moved farther back into the store. Even with his eyes adjusted to the dark Lahad could only see one or two feet in front of him before it was completely dark. "Allaahumma salli 'alaa Muhammadin" He murmured under his breath, hoping a small prayer would keep them safe in this darkness, so that they may live on another day. In Lahad's mind, this helped keep him more calm, as the darkness would usually cause him much anxiety-- there was no way to tell what was lurking in the shadows for him, and with a calm and thinking mind, would be able to take swift and punctual action should it be required.

[Tawny Ambrose]

All was silent except for their footsteps, which scuffed quietly against the dirty floor of the shop. They were walking down a long dark hallway now, and honestly she had no idea where it led. All she could do was hope that there was a way out at the end of the tunnel, a light.

“Allaahumma salli 'alaa Muhammadin.”

Tawny glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the boy’s soft voice. “Huh?” Wait, what was he saying? She couldn’t tell if she had heard him wrong, or if he was speaking in a different language, though she was guessing it was the second. Yeah, that made sense. He had some kind of accent, and she could tell that he obviously wasn’t from around here. She was just going to keep quiet and keep walking, but as usual, her curiosity got the better of her, and she asked, “What’s that mean? What you said.” She kept walking, slowly moving her feet, picking her way over the debris from the shelves, empty food packaging, trash.

Suddenly, Tawny stopped walking, coming to an abrupt halt. What was that? She listened closing, straining her hearing. A quiet shuffling came from somewhere in the hallway. They weren’t alone. The blonde froze, muscles tensing, and lifted her gun quickly. Her finger got ready to pull the trigger, but then she stopped mid-motion. Wait… She watched carefully, eyes narrowed as she struggled to see through the dimly lit hallway, watching as a small black rat scurried across the floor, diving into a box that rested along the wall. She stared at the place it had been for a moment and then laughed, a nervous sound that echoed off the poorly painted walls. “Just a rat,” she told him, wondering if the sound had freaked him out as much as it had her. Ugh. How embarrassing… Stupid animal, making her look like a fool. It could have been a zombie though, right? I mean, it was dark, so, anyone could have made the mistake!

Tawny resumed walking after that, not mentioning it again. This time she kept a careful eye out for any rats. Hm…she wondered if they were edible? She thought about this for a moment, but then made a face. Blargh. They probably had a bunch of diseases. So, even if you hadn’t been killed off by the virus, you’d probably catch some nasty illness from their meat and die. Yeah, it was probably better not to eat them. Darn. She was so hungry! She tried to stop thinking about it, but there was nothing else to concentrate on, only silence. Silence and darkness. The darkness bothered her for some reason. Probably because she kept imagining zombies diving out of the depths and attacking them. She wasn’t sure why she was even afraid of the corpses, but she was. “It’s dark, huh?” Tawny wasn’t sure why she spoke. Maybe it was just to distract her from her thoughts, from the blackness that surrounded them, from the suffocating silence.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

Lahad could hear her footsteps follow close by him as he went through the dimly lit store. His eyes adjusted to the point that he realized it was not a wall he was up against, but a metal shelf. Probably explained why the wall felt like it was pressing into his back in such a strange way. He sighed, gulping deeply and hoping that his prayer had invoked something, a blessing or anything, that would help them continue on their way unabated by the undead, or anything else. He heard her say something to the effect of "Huh?" which caused him to stop dead in his tracks. Had she heard something that he wasn't aware of? Did she step in something? Lahad was curious, but he didn't turn to face her, he probably wouldn't see anything anyhow, it was far too dark for him. It seemed she hesitated for a moment, as if mulling over whether to speak or not, but in the end she did. "What’s that mean? What you said.” If she wanted to know, then he would tell her, and not deny her any new knowledge. It was a pillar of Islam, and he was bound to follow it. Lahad took a deep breath, and murmured to her, so that she would actually have to listen in order to understand his accent "O Allah, bless our Muhammad and the people of Muhammad... A prayer... In hopes we keep safe." Lahad nodded to himself, hearing her footfalls pass him, stepping over junk on the floor. Lahad continued right behind her, closing the small gap she had made between them until he was right beside her. His footsteps crunched down on old wrappers, or a plastic cup, either way it made a light crunch under his foot.

It was sudden that she stopped, as if this time, he had heard something that Lahad had not, though his ears picked it up just the same. Something shuffling in the inky blackness just ahead. Lahad's eyes took a moment to adjust further, squinting through the darkness so that he could at least try and get a better view. Lahad still had his rifle across his chest, the stock tucked safely against his shoulder, the barrel lowered but ready to be brought up at any moment. His eyes caught something black darting along the ground, and the young lady to his side seemed to relax. "Just a rat" she said, and Lahad relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. This was good, no enemies just yet, Lahad nodded and continued with her down the aisle of the store.

Lahad wondered as he followed beside her, wondered what this young lady's name was, why she was here besides looking for food. Why would anyone like her be out in this world? Wasn't there safe zones? Lahad was only out here because of his god-given mission to bring peace to this world with one bullet at a time. He swallowed again, before realizing that he still had a wad of khat in his lip, and spat out the chewed leaf to the side opposite of where the young lady was. The silence was so thick you could cut it with a knife, he could even make out the girl's stomach growling. She was obviously hungry, but it seemed that was the last thing she wanted to talk about. She decided to break the silence with some friendly banter, of which Lahad was happy to oblige. "It’s dark, huh?” Lahad made a throated 'mmhm' before replying. "Yes... I wish we had flashlight..." Lahad said, trying to make a joke. "... So, since you not want to shoot me anymore... What your name? If you not mind me asking." Lahad tryed to articulate his English a little better, but to little avail, it still left much to be desired.

[Tawny Ambrose]

“Yes... I wish we had flashlight...”

Okay, so Tawny had figured out that the guy probably wasn’t going to kill her. I mean, if that’s what he’d been planning he’d have done it by now, right? It was the perfect opportunity. They were in a dark hall where it’d be hard to see, and he was behind her. All he had to do was lift his gun and shoot. He’d had his chance and he had not acted. So, maybe he was just another survivor like her. Not that she trusted him or anything. She was still suspicious of him and his whereabouts. She had calmed down slightly though, and no longer thought he was going to shoot her. He hadn’t even tried to steal her supplies, not yet anyway. Unles he was just waiting. But…waiting for what? She wasn’t sure. Ugh. She was probably just being paranoid again. It was better to be safe than sorry though, right?

“... So, since you not want to shoot me anymore... What your name? If you not mind me asking.”

“My name? What’s it to you?” So he was trying to introduce himself, was he? Tawny didn’t get the point of names, especially in the current world. Names were pointless. The second you learned someone’s name they usually disappeared. You’d see them once and then never again, usually because they died, killed by the zombies. “You can call me Tawny. Last names don't matter,” she told him a little reluctantly. Her brown eyes darted around the hallway nervously as she walked, alert, watching for any signs of danger. Man. This was such a long hallway! Did it ever end? “I suppose I should ask you what your name is now, huh?” She knew how this worked. “So, who are you?” She didn’t really want to know, nor did she care. It didn’t matter. He was just a person, someone who would be gone soon. All he was doing was giving her one more unnecessary name to remember.

Tawny kept walking, waiting to hear the boy’s reply. Her fingers gripped her pistol tightly, finger ready to pull the trigger at the first sign of danger. She wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. She never did. She hated killing, she really did, but if it was her life or someone else’s, she knew which one she was going to choose. Hers. It was selfish, really it was, but in this world everyone was selfish. You had to be. It was survival of the fittest, every man for himself. She hated how it worked like that, but it was the only way to stay alive. Those that stopped to help others were always the first to die. It wasn’t a rule that Tawny had created, it was just a rule of life, a simple truth, as sad as it was.

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

"My name? What's it to you?" A strange reply, Lahad thought. A name to Lahad was something much more than merely a name. It was something someone could never take from you, like a possession that was forever yours. It identified you from the hordes of the dead, the now nameless dead. They maybe had a name before, sure, but it no longer registered to them, they no longer accepted it. It set them apart from merely beings to something more, something with consciousness, with feelings and free will. It made them human, and that was in short supply, even shorter supply than food, or ammunition, or any comforts that humanity may have possessed before this curse; Humanity was the scarcest commodity.

"You can call me Tawny. Last names don't matter." If she felt that way, then he would refer to her as 'Tawny' then, though Lahad felt differently, it was a matter of preference and she seemed reluctant to even give him that much information. What was this girl, Tawny, hiding? Lahad pondered. What could possibly make you so anti-social in a time when bonds in his opinion were the only thing that would keep humanity human, instead of falling to the death that was everywhere. The aisle seemed never ending, though it was probably the slow pace they made their way down it that was making it take nearly forever. "I suppose I should ask you what your name is now, huh? So, who are you?" She asked, seemingly uncaring, but if she asked in the first place, she must have wanted to know, at least a little. Lahad thought for a moment on how to reply, what should he say? For all he knew she had given him a false name, but a name nonetheless. Lahad felt obliged to give her his real name, though he would spruce it up a little.

"The Mujahid, Lahad." He said simply, but firmly, it made sense for him to refer to himself as a Mujahid, or Mujahideen, a Struggler as many of the people were in this time, though his struggle was one of more than merely trying to live. His mission was to restore some humanity to the human race, as well as to cleanse this world of the members of the dead, one bullet at a time. Lahad's inner thoughts and ponderings on his sacred mission were cut short when his foot kicked into a cooler he hadn't even seen infront of him. It was lucky he didn't walk into it, but it seemed they had made it to the end of the aisle; he hadn't even noticed the end of the shelf he was leading himself with. Strange how he got so wrapped up in his thoughts that reality almost disappeared. Maybe it was his way of escaping for a moment. Whatever the case, he looked around, the long cooler coming into focus through the dim light. It was long, probably the back-end dairy cooler, and where that was, there was usually the way to the back of the building; the loading bays.

"Tawny... Which way you think is way to back room?" He asked, turning around and pointing his rifle into the darkness to his right. The cooler seemed to go on forever, though in his vision he only saw it a few feet before it faded into blackness. He swallowed hard and glanced over his shoulder, it seemed he could still see her, gripping her pistol tightly. Lahad waited for her answer, she seemed to know more about this area than him anyhow, and he was happy to follow, as long as she didn't try anything that would have to make him break his most sacred promise to never have to harm a human being.

[Jun Matsumoto]

Jun was crouched in the dark, huddled away in a corner, bent double over an old set of cardboard boxes. Resting on his knees, he propped himself up with his conversed feet, balancing a little uneasily but ready to spring to life should his activities be interrupted. His hands, rough from the exertions of the scavenger, were working through the contents of each box, rough fingers brushing over different sets of cans, bottles and sealed meats, bringing them up to the light cast by a flashlight positioned a few feet away, resting on a shelf, casting a slight beam over him and the products he searched through.

Each one he pulled out he inspected carefully, reading the name of each, narrowing his eyes in concentration. He was remarkably picky, and most of the things he had found so far looked like barf, the innards supposedly chicken and curry, but instead were more akin to the diarrhoea of a cow. He refused flatly to eat anything that looked like excrement. Those things he didn't like he absent mindedly hurled over his shoulder, removing them from the box so he didn't stumble across them again, liking the metallic 'clang' they made when they reverberated off a far off structure.

“Corn beef...erm...nope! One more into the darkness of the store room. “Who the hell wants vegetable soup?!” Another disappeared. “Brussel sprouts?! Eck!” This final find caused Jun to make a fake vomiting sound, and he turned fully before throwing the disgusting food as far as he could over arm to get it away from him, never wishing to set eyes on such a travesty again. Who ate brussel sprouts?! Well...his mother did, and she'd always fed them to him as a child, and that was where his strong seated hatred of the food had come from. He refused, at the age of around 10, to never allow one of the little green balls to pass his lips again.

Slowly, casting a glare at the now invisible can of unsavoury vegetables, he turned back to the box to continue his work, shrugging into his jacket a little, liking the feel of the thick material and fluffy collar about his neck. The scent of home was trapped in the fabric, and it lightened his mood immensely, knowing he had somewhere to return to once his long scavenging trip was over. What he found next raised his spirits even further, as the next thing he pulled from storage was a set of tinned hot dogs, something he loved, something that would make a feast when he returned it to his mother, and with a little squeak of glee, he slipped it into his shoulder bag, resting at his side.

Much happier than he was before, vigour in his search renewed, Jun moved onto the next box, and began humming a tune that had special meaning to him, his joy causing him to become musical. Most of the song was hummed slowly, with over exaggerated notes, but every now and again he would add a line of lyrics, somewhat flatly, but with life and some hand or body actions to accompany them. Anyone listening could tell which ones were his favourite, as he sang them louder, less tunefully, and with a smile.

As cans once again began to fly, Jun reached, in his opinion, one of the best parts of the song, and had to sing the lyrics with all his heart. “Just turn off the lights and come to meeee. Girl, I want to give you a special treat, you're so sweeeet!” The final part was raised in a crescendo of sound, and as soon as he sounded the 't' of sweet, his soft hums returned, much quieter and much more gentle than the sound of his tuneless voice.

[Tawny Ambrose]

“The Mujahid, Lahad.”

Hm. It was an interesting name, and one she hadn’t heard before. She didn’t dare try repeating it back out loud though, as she was afraid she might mispronounce it. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, I guess,” she said to him. It wasn’t really that nice to meet him, but that’s what everyone said, wasn’t it? Besides, she had no idea what else to say. When it came to social situations, things like small talk, she was always awkward with it. She’d always been that way.

“Tawny... Which way you think is way to back room?”

The blonde-haired girl stopped for a moment, coming to a halt, seeming to think. Good question. This hallway seemed to go on literally forever, and it was starting to make her nervous. “Um, I really don’t know,” she admitted, biting her lip. It was just as she spoke that she heard a loud crashing sound. It sounded like someone had thrown a rock, or thrown a piece of metal. She froze, every muscle in her body tensing. She turned to the boy behind her. “You hear that?” she asked quietly. The sound came again, and then again, repeatedly. “I don’t think that’s rats.” And then, following her words, a loud voice echoed through the hallway, coming from a room to their right, down a narrow passage.

“Just turn off the lights and come to meeee. Girl, I want to give you a special treat, you're so sweeeet!”

What the hell was that noise? Tawny glanced over her shoulder, exchanging an odd look with the boy behind her, Lahad, and then turned her gaze forward again. Was that a radio? No no, it couldn’t have been. It was way too out of tune to be anything someone would broadcast on the radio. It was a person, a boy. As she continued to listen to the words the voice sang, something in her mind clicked and sudden realization dawned on her face. No way… it couldn’t be him, could it? She thought back to the annoying kid she had met a few days ago, recalling the brief time they had spent together. No way. No way in hell. He was still alive? She’d thought for sure the second she left him on his own he would have been eaten alive. She didn’t want to believe it, but she knew it was true. It had to be… That voice was so familiar.

Tawny took a few steps forward, gesturing for Lahad to do the same. She cautiously turned down the hallway, walking down the passage that led to the sound. She passed a sign that said ‘storage room’ and she felt a little relief at that. Then again, they still had to get past whoever was in the room… Tawny lifted her pistol, aiming it carefully in front of her, and then crept forward and pushed through the double doors, moving them slowly, quietly. As she stepped into the room, the first thing she saw was a can flying at her face. Tawny didn’t even have time to react. It struck her square in the forehead, making her cry out in alarm. She was only upset for a moment though, because as she tilted her head down to see just what it was that had hit her, her eyes lit up. Was that…food?! She bent over, grabbing the can frantically, and holding it up to the dim light in the room. Sure enough, it was. It was food. Some type of canned vegetables. Oh god, this was her lucky day! She’d found two cans of food!

She didn’t have much time to think though, because a second later another can came flying in her direction. This time she managed to avoid getting hit by it, instead reaching up a hand and catching it midair. She stuffed them into her bag and then looked around the room to see what the hell was going on. Why were there flying cans of food?! Just as she thought this, her eyes rested on the back of a boy, still lost in the middle of his song. She’d recognize him anywhere, him and his fluffy jacket. Tawny’s brown eyes narrowed suspiciously, wondering what he was doing here. The answer quickly came to her though, for as she looked around she saw countless cans of food lying all over the ground, all seeming to have come from a big box in the center of the room. Her jaw dropped. He…He’d found a JACKPOT! But…why on earth was he throwing them all over the place? She tried to figure it out, but then gave up. He was a strange boy, and she had no idea how he managed to survive on these streets. That didn’t matter though. What mattered was there was food here, all over the ground.

“What are you doing, you fool?” Tawny demanded of the boy, the one called Jun. As she spoke, she lowered herself to her knees, starting to gather up some of the cans. “And what’s up with that weird song?” She stuffed a few cans into her bag greedily, not even realizing that she had a huge gash in the center of her forehead where the can had struck her. Blood dripped from the welt, running down her face. She turned briefly to Lahad, remembering he was still with her, and she gestured with her hand, showing him it was safe. “He won’t hurt us,” she told him confidently. “I don’t think he could if he tried.”

[/blockquote]

[Lahad Izz al-Din]

"Well, its' nice to meet you, I guess,"

He supposed it would be nice to meet anyone human out in these wastes, it wasn't very nice meeting up with a horde of undead, as he did. Lahad took in a deep breath, recalling the near-countless rotting faces, staring with white eyes, and hungrily chasing him through the streets. Shaking his head and bringing himself back to reality, he caught her nervous sounding reply. He'd heard that little waver in voices many times, including in his own.

"Um, I really don't know,"

Silence for a moment, as he pondered, and hoped she was doing the same, thinking of what their next move would be. It was to Lahad's surprise that their next movements would be dictated by an unexpected turn of events. A loud crashing sound broke the silence nearly as soon as they had finished bantering back and forth. She turned to him, as he was still looking over his shoulder to see what she was up to.

"You hear that?" she quietly asked him, and Lahad nodded in response. It was definitely coming from behind him, but from in front of her. He turned to face her back, rifle up and pointing over her shoulder, he didn't move any more than that, the shuffling of his feet making it hard to listen. The sound came again, and again, repeatedly the sound of metal being dropped. "I don't think that's rats." Lahad seconded that sentiment, though not out loud, because as soon as she had finished whispering to him, a voice echoed out from that direction.

"Just turn off the lights and come to meeee. Girl, I want to give you a special treat, you're so sweeeet!"

So off-key Lahad shuddered a little bit, he didn't mind to sing a nasheed once in a blue moon, but he would at least try. This voice sounded like none of the above, neither a song about struggle, or a hint of effort. Just someone trying to pass the time by making noise, and noise that would probably attract more once-human husks to this building than Lahad had just running in here. Lahad gave her an odd glance, as they seemed to exchange the same sentiment between the two of them. She turned away from him, and they waited a moment for silence to once again take hold of the building. He heard her take a few steps forward, and noticed her motion for him to follow. Lahad did so, keeping his rifle high and aimed into the darkness. They walked for a little while in darkness, he noticed only minor details about his surroundings, such as a sign they passed. His reading was not so good in the way of English, but he did make out 'Room' on the sign, which made sense, there were rooms in buildings, but what kind of room? Obviously a room that held some significance, because there was someone here, someone seemingly trying to attract attention to himself, or oblivious to the fact that there were others here. They would soon find out.

Lahad heard the sound of metal contacting something soft, as it muffled the sound, before it hit the ground. Hearing Tawny cry out, alarmed, made all the pieces to this little puzzle come together. It seemed she had been hit by this piece of metal, but in the darkness, he noticed the fact that she wasn't concerned so much that she was hit, rather she was concerned with what she was hit. He watched her bend down and frantically grab up what Lahad made out in the darkness to be another cylinder, a can of food to be precise. It wasn't long before another can was thrown through the darkness, Lahad knew this because it didn't hit Tawny this time, she had caught it. Lahad's eyes adjusted to the darkness, though it wasn't very dark anymore. The dim light combined with another light, a portable one, a flashlight, marked the place where this person was. Someone dressed in a fur-lined coat, Lahad trained his rifle on this person, he did not know whether they were hostile or not.

"What are you doing, you fool?" She demanded, though this time it wasn't directed at Lahad, but at the figure tossing around cans. His eyes were locked on the figure with the flashlight, though Lahad could hear Tawny greedily grabbing up the many cans strewn about on the ground and stuffing them into her pack. "And what's up with that weird song?" she continued to proddingly question of the person. He was ready for this person to jump up and start shooting, or surrender, he had planned both scenarios by now. Though, Lahad was to take the latter of the two scenarios, as he heard Tawny state that "He won't hurt us, I don't think he could if he tried." Strange that she sounded so confident in her observation, as if she knew this person. Lahad lowered his rifle, and let it hang on it's sling, but he still gripped the pistol grip, his index finger curled over the trigger in case he had to act like lightning, and incapacitate this person with a single bullet. He would never shoot to kill a human, but a bullet to the arm, shoulder, or lower leg would surely make someone stop and remind them of their mortality.

"What you think we do now?" Lahad asked, leaning over Tawny as she stuffed her pack full of cans of food. He didn't even know if this fellow was armed or not, but time would only tell.

[Jun Matsumoto]

As Jun searched, his humming only became louder. His voice echoed in his ears and it was all he could hear, the sweet sweet tune of 'Turn Off The Lights', chorusing with the clanking of cans scraping against each other as he lifted them from their card board resting place. Indeed, his humming had become so vigorous that he didn't hear people open the door behind him, nor did he hear them enter. He was too lost in his song to notice others moving behind him, too busy remembering how one of his favourite tunes went to know one of the cans he'd thrown had collided with a girls head; Tawny's head no less.

It was only when a females voice was directed at him that he realized he was no longer alone, and the words “What are you doing you fool?” caused him to start, springing to his feet, stopping his humming mid-note. Even though he spun around in one clean movement, as quickly as his body would allow him, he knew who the girl was as soon as he processed her voice. He'd know that sweet sound anywhere, the feisty tone tinged with what he thought was love and adoration. It was Tawny.

As his eyes scanned the darkness before him, he whipped his hand out, picked up his flash light and directed it toward where he was sure she was standing. Low and behold, the beam fell over his beloved, and he watched her with a longing gaze as she bent over and started picking up cans, putting them into a torn up back pack. That snapped him out of his momentary daze, and he felt the need to warn her that the food she was collecting was actually not worth eating. Reaching an arm forward, he held up his palm, fingers spread. “Hey! You don't want that stuff. It's all crap! Vegetables and...and sprouts and stuff. I already got the good food,” he gestured to his own bag proudly, “I could fix you some hotdawgs?”

He took another step towards the girl, still so transfixed by her that he hadn't noticed the man standing next to her, armed to the teeth with both gun and rocket launcher. “And what's up with that weird song?” As Tawny spoke, she turned her body towards Jun a little, and the flashlight caught her face, shining on her perfect features, her beautiful eyes and the huge gash in her forehead. Gasping, Jun's eyes widened and he started running toward the girl still gathering the cans about her, his features etched with genuine concern. “Tawny! Sweetie! You're hur-”

It was as he got closer that he noticed him. The torch beam caught another's features, and Jun skidded to a halt. Who was this man? Why was he standing so close to Tawny? Why did he have a gun aimed in his general direction?! The answer was clear. This man had stalked his love and meant to kill them both! Jun had to act fast.

Bending down he picked up one of the cans he had thrown earlier, some sort of broccoli, and aimed it at the new comer. Pulling back his arm, he readied himself to throw it...and then Tawny spoke to him. Jun was too startled to hear what exactly it was she said, but he caught the man's response as clear as day. “What you think we do now?” The man then leant over slightly, still ready to shoot at poor Jun, who was still stood standing in an over arm throwing pose.

“How about you point that gun somewhere else eh?!” Jun snapped, answering before anyone else could. Anger flowed through him. Who was this creep? Why was Tawny with him? Was this guy trying moves on his woman? Not on Jun's watch he wasn't! Forming his mouth into a pout, lower lip jutting out, he tossed the can in his hand at the man's gun half-heartedly, hoping to knock it from his grip. He then folded his free arms over his chest.

Inclining his head towards Tawny, he thumb-pointed idly at the gunman, and narrowed his eyebrows. “So who's this creeper? And why is he stalking you? And...why are you okay with this?” Turning back to look at the guy with the rifle, Jun wrinkled his nose and said in a matter of fact way, his voice a little hushed “My future wife there. Just doesn't think sometimes. Wanders the safe zone and lets crazies with rockets accompany her eh?” It was then Jun caught sight of the rocket on the man's back, and he raised his hands somewhat defensively. “No offence or anything.”

Finally, he remembered what had caused him to run in the first place. His girl had injured herself. Taking a few steps towards her, he knelt down in front of her and forcefully took her head in his hands, stroking her soft cheeks. His eyes fell upon her wound, and he gulped, then secretly glared at the armed one. “Are you okay? Did he do this to you? I swear I'll-” Alas, Jun couldn't think of any threat to offer, but he thought the first half of the sentence sufficed.