Somewhere to hide...

[Pride]

It was getting dark. The sky turning from blue to orange, and dissolving into a deep navy. It wasn't safe out here, where...they could find you. He needed to find somewhere to sleep tonight, even though he loved resting underneath the stars. It wasn't safe doing that anymore, unless you could sleep with one eye open. He was beginning to lose hope when he spotted it. An old abandoned looking barn. It looked like the perfect place to hide, there didn't seem to be any movement around it. But he wasn't too sure what he would find inside.

Silently he moved closer, using the hunting techniques learned in his tribe. He was as silent as a shadow as he crept to the side of the barn. Slowly he rested his ear against the old peeling wood and listened. Nothing. But that didn't mean there wasn't anything in there. He took a deep breath and moved around to the front. One of the large barn doors was open, and without making a sound he peered in. It was dark, the only light coming from a hole in the roof that let moonlight in. The ground was covered in soft looking hay, and there were a few old empty horse stalls. He stepped inside and stood still, still on guard. He waited a few minutes, until he realized he was alone. He sighed in relief, and approached a ladder that led up to a small loft above. He climbed to the top, and sat down on a pile of hay. It would be much safer up here, then on the ground floor.

He set his spear, and backpack to the side. It felt nice to relax for once. Smiling he leaned back, and layed down on his side. He was in for some much needed rest. Suddenly he heard the creeking of the barn door opening and his jade eyes shot open. He sat up quickly and peered over the loft and down below.

"Hello?" he paused. "Whose there...?"

[Kelsey]

Kelsey sat hidden in the grass as she heard the boy moving around. She didn't know who he was, and as a rule she trusted nothing and no one. He looked like a native American, with the war paint and everything. He was kind of tall and held a spear in one hand and a backpack slung over his shoulder. In the back of her mind, Kelsey considered him slightly attractive. But - he was going to her barn. That had been her hideout for a long time.

Slowly and quietly, Kelsey starting sneaking up behind him as he entered the barn. As he closed the door behind him, she walked up and placed her hand on the door, staying dead still. He wasn't infected. She could tell. There was no stench of rotting flesh around him, and she had seen his eyes. They were green - not white. She closed her eyes; she could hear him jump up to the loft and a smirk played at her lips. A smart one, this one was.

Slowly, she pushed the door open just enough for her lithe body to fit through. But, she had forgotten how it creaked and she heard a rustle as the Indian boy jumped up and inquired who was there. 'Hm, maybe not as intelligent as I thought. Or maybe he knows that I'm not infected...' She thought silently, quickly filing through the opening she had made with the door, closing it behind her quickly.

"Hello there." She spoke innocently, twirling her hair with her finger idly. "Don't worry, little ol' me is no threat; As I'm sure is obvious to you." She threw her bag onto the loft a little ways from the boy and pulled herself up and sat next to it, crossing her legs and looking at the boy with a grin playing at her lips. She knew how she must look to him, with her tight black jeans, tight Run-DMC shirt, and light blue plaid jacket and her black converse. She probably looked extremely innocent and not very threatening. Her smile widened, that's how she planned to stay if he didn't provoke her.

[Pride]

Pride stayed frozen, his eyes scanning the floor for any movement. His teeth clenched as he saw movement. Why had he said anything, he was such an idiot. But the moves were quiet, not loud and reckless like a zombie. He tilted his head, his green eyes confused as he peered into the darkness. Suddenly he heard someone coming up the ladder, and he rested a hand on his spear, ready just in case. To his surprise it was only a girl, looking about the same age as him. He calmed down slightly, still on guard. You couldn't be sure about people these days, they could turn on you at any second.

He stayed quiet as she spoke. Taking in her body language, and making sure she wasn't going to attack him. She looked innocent, but he wasn't sure. She must have been a city girl. He had lived in his tribe village all his life, so he had never really encountered city people, unless they were brining shipments of food in. He tilted his head, moving his tangled black hair from his face. He must look odd to her, with all his tribal markings, clothing, and even the feathers in his hair. Maybe she knew of his tribe, but most likely not.

He realized he was being quiet for too long, and coughed uncomfortably. "Erm, hello..." he said scooting away from her slightly. "I'm-" he started but stopped. Was it really smart to give this girl his name, he knew nothing about her. But what could she do with it anyway? He cleared his throat and tried to smile. "I'm Pride...and you?"

[Kelsey]

The boy remained silent for a moment, looking at her; most likely taking in her appearance. He then coughed and muttered a greeting as he scooted away from her. He was cautious, and that was good. You could never be too careful these days. Her grin shortened to a smirk. She missed her horses and the joy of taking long walks without fearing for your life. A sigh escaped her pale lips; she wanted those days back. Her hand moved instinctively to her arm and clenched it tight. She obviously couldn't stay in this barn forever; but where would she go?

The Indian boy started to say something, but paused and look unsure of himself. She was about to tell him he had nothing to worry about before he spoke again. Pride... what a weird name. 'He must be from one of those native American tribes.' Kelsey concluded, brushing her bangs aside as her smile widened. Oh well, he seemed nice enough, just a bit too suspicious; but, who could blame him? Trust was too easily wasted nowadays.

"Pride..." She muttered, partly to show she heard him and partly to put a name to his face. "My name's Kelsey." She spoke more clearly now and grinned again.

They sat in silence for a moment before Kelsey suddenly remembered something, and her arm shot to her bag. She rummaged in it for a moment before she found what she was looking for; a ripe red apple. A rarity now, because there was no one to tend to the apple trees and, if there were, the Creatures usually destroyed the apples or killed the gardeners. She smiled at it - it had been at least three days since she last ate. Her gray eyes shot to the boy and she held the apple in front of her on her palm. "If you're hungry, we could split it." She said generously, keeping her gaze kind and even on him.

[Pride]

Pride waited silently as the girl seemed to think. She repeated his name, and he smiled, feeling a bit more relaxed. Kelsey, that was a nice name. He smiled softly and moved a bit closer. He was almost positive she wasn't going to turn on him, but he made sure to be on guard even if it was just a little bit. "Nice to meet you, Kelsey," he said softly and grinned. She seemed comfortable here...perhaps she lived near here before all this happened. He wasn't going to ask though, that was a personal matter.

He jumped slightly as she reached in her bag. He reached back to grab his spear, not knowing what she was about to pull out. Maybe it was a weapon, or poison or something. He wasn't sure what people would do these days. His eyes focused on an apple as she pulled it out, and he let out a sigh of relief. An apple. He had almost hacked her with is spear over an apple. He laughed inwardly to himself, and stayed silent studying her. He raised a dark eyebrow as she offered him half. That was surprising. His stomach growled quietly, and he smiled.

"We could do that, or..." He said reaching over and grabbing his bag. He fished around for a moment until he found it. After a few seconds he had a few carrots, yams, a tomato, and greenbeans set between them. "Or, we could split all this and have a feast." Before she could say something about saving food, he patted his bag. "I took a bunch of our crops when I left. We have enough here to last us a month if needed, so don't worry about it." He grabbed one of the carrots and bit the end off, munching happily.

[Kelsey]

Kelsey's eyes brightened as Pride seemed to relax and scooted closer to her. He jumped a bit as she reached for her apple, but that was expected as she had made a sudden movement. He spoke and began rummaging in his own bag. She looked at him uncertainly; what was he up to? Her muscles tensed slightly, instinctively. After a few seconds he had a few carrots, yams, a tomato, and greenbeans out and placed them between the two and offered the split them with her.

Kelsey looked at the Indian boy uncertainly. Wasting food didn't seem like a very good idea, specially not now. But - she was so hungry. It had to have been three days since her last bite. She bit her lip as her gray eyes shot up to him. He seemed determined to share the food, or so she told herself. So, she cautiously put her apple down in with his pile of food. "Very well." She said with a grin. "It's been at least three days since I've had anything to eat." She broke off a piece of her apple and nibbled at it a bit before taking a good bite of it and letting out a long, satisfied breath as she felt it roll down her throat. Anything would taste good at this point.

They sat again in silence for a moment, as they ate; so Kelsey decided to start a conversation. "So; what tribe do you come from, Pride?" She asked idly, biting into another piece of her apple.

[Pride]

Pride smiled, watching as she finally gave in and began to eat. He continued to chomp on his carrot, savoring every bite. You never knew when your last meal would be. Your life could be over the next day, so it was best to enjoy every meal. He pushed the pile of food a bit closer to her. She seemed much more hungry than he was. If his village hadn't been destroyed yet, he could try and go back to get more crops. But it wasn't safe out there anymore, not now, and probably not ever again. Would this ever end? How could they kill them all? There was so many of them, too many. They were outnumbered.

Kelsey's voice broke through his thoughts and he looked up. His green eyes focusing once again. He stayed silent for a moment, letting her question sink in. Was it smart to share things with her? He didn't even know her that well. But what could it hurt? It wasn't like his tribe was together anymore. He sighed, grabbing another carrot, and taking a bite. He swallowed and gazed at her seriously. "I came from the Gaian tribe." He smiled and leaned back slightly. "We weren't that big of a tribe, but we still had alot of mouths to feed. It was a hard life, but I loved it. You have no idea what it's like to sleep under the stars every night. To be a part of nature, and feel centered with the earth." He felt his eyes watering slightly and he shook his head. "I miss feeling safe. I wish I could go back to my villiage and live my life. I would have become tribe leader one day, I had always looked forward to it. But now that's all over and I'm just a useless indian boy."

He finished, and dropped his eyes, not wanting to speak anymore. He turned his body away from her and continued to eat. Pride closed his eyes and imagined himself riding bare-back on his horse, Apollo. The wind blowing through his hair, and the birds singing in all the trees around him. But most of all, he imagined...freedom.

[Kelsey]

Kelsey looked confused as he pushed some of the food closer to her. Cautiously, she grabbed a carrot and bit the end of it. It tasted so good; she couldn't help but smile in silent laughter at herself. She remembered when she wouldn't touch food for fear of being fat. Those days were gone now. All her friends... Her family... Her horses. She mentally slapped herself, 'What is wrong with you?' She asked herself, rolling her eyes inwardly.

She looked up as he spoke, her gray eyes subconsciously brimming with empathy. She could almost relate. When he finished speaking, she remained quiet for a moment, choking up before she spoke when an uneven voice: "I can relate, sort of." She said quietly, "I grew up in this very barn, pretty much. I kept my horses here, and I would sometimes sleep on this loft when I was sad, or angry - Right there." She pointed to a spot where there was a hole in the roof that let starlight shine down.

A faint smile formed upon her pale lips as she spoke again. "And you're not a 'useless Indian boy.'" She said reassuringly, "With the tribal background, you probably have more a chance of surviving this than I do - A useless city girl." She said, letting out a light-hearted laugh.

[dana <3]

I walked carelessly inside, wearing a simple, clean, tank top- something most people don't wear nowadays. I brushed my blonde hair aside, scanning the area around me. In the corner, there were two other people- a girl and a boy, perhasps my age? I shrugged, pondering what I should do. Whatever, they're not a threat to me. I walked confidently over, trying to more information about those two. I've seen them before, on the run, not staying in one area too long; that's just how life went nowadays. One was named Kelsey, the other, Pride. They were harmless, at least, they were to me. What they thought of me? I wouldn't know. But seriously, a rather short, blonde girl with blue eyes? I was more on the less threatening side.

At least, that's what most people thought of me anyways. I used my small size and appearance to my advantage, however, people usually mistake me for a weak little girl- easy prey. What they don't know is that I'm a runner, and I'm fast too, and if I have to fight to the death- then I will. Memories flooded me of my sister- Audrey. Where was she? The one question that had been haunting me since day one. Was she one of them? Or was she still normal, like I was?

I knew that they didn't get to my parents, they killed themselves before that happened. My sister and I, we decided to run. We traveled for a few hours, but were eventually seperated. Living without her was a relief at first; we were too different. Me, with the blonde hair and blue eyes, always the popular, pretty, one who danced and acted. She, with the brunette hair and green eyes, was the sporty one who couldn't care less about her reputation. The only thing that we had in common was the ability to sing well and play guitar.

The funny thing was, after a while I started to miss her- a lot. Oh well, life's this way, ought to get used to being on my own.

"Hey," I said, smiling as I reached the two people. "I'm Dana."

They might have heard of me or seen me before, I was the one of the few people that people can't forget, the one people seem to talk about. And I'm tired of that. I want to be the wallpaper for once, to blend in. The main reason why most can't forget me? Because of my voice. Wherever I go, whoever I meet, wherever I am, I sing a few songs before moving on. When I run away from them, I sing. When I fight them, I sing. It's the only part of me that I can keep. My home's gone. My family's gone. My friends are gone. My boyfriend's gone. My sister's who knows where. My clothes are gone. And my guitar's gone. Singing is the only thing I can hold onto. It helps me cope, and I'm thankful for that.

I looked at them, smiled, waiting for their reply.

[/color][/size]

[Leon Fletcher]

Leon had been in the field for countless weeks working as a contractor. His last mission had him and a squad of operatives inserted deep in the city to conduct search and rescue operations for any survivors still trapped there. It was during the particular mission when the shit really hit the fan, he and his squad had been veterans of countless other SARs but this one really was fracked...

As soon as he and his squad touched down they were swarmed from all sides and barely escaped to a deserted gun store. They managed to survive for little over a week before food and water supplies ran out. In a move that is worthy of remembrance one of Leon's squadmates scarified himself to buy time for the rest of the squad. It was during the ensuring withdrawal they became disorganized, separated, and killed by the infected...

He even almost didn't make, it was way to close to for his liking. He managed to find an SUV and sped away out of town and back to more secure regions. He had been driving for endless hours when he came across the barn in the distant as it was night he felt it would provide better shelter for him then the car would and parked it some distance away.

He quickly jumped out of the driver's side and checked his gear before making the run to the barn: his black battle dress uniform was muddy and torn in places, his boots were caked in mud and blood, his weapons showed strains of countless usage, after making sure his gear was in order he caught a glimpse of himself in the car's mirror and ran a hand over his face feeling the bristling of a couple days worth of stubble, grinning he muttered to himself, "Man if my higher ups could see me now they would be throwing a huge fit." He chuckled as he grunted and ran up to the barn's door.

After closing the distant between the SUV and the barn Leon opened the barn door's slightly and crept in slowly and with tactical precision began clearing the bottom part of the barn. After realizing it was secured he took a seat on a bale of hay before hearing whispering overhead. After hearing this his training quickly reverted and and was up the ladder in a matter of seconds and was on the second just as quickly.

Gathering himself he pulled out his father's M1911 Colt .45 pistol and pulled himself up, he quickly identified three teenagers and trained the pistol over the group.

"So what do we have hear my little friends?" He barked out to the group, he then stood waiting for the replies.

[Kelsey]

THIS IS MY FOUR LEAVE CLOVER
i'm on the line, one open mind.

Kelsey jumped as she heard someone enter the barn. Silly - She knew that she was safe here. Just jumpy, that was all. Anyways, nothing to be scared about; it was just another girl. Kelsey smiled in amusement at herself for being scared. The girl that just entered introduced herself. Kelsey nodded as her smile brightened. "Hi." She said steadily, "I'm Kelsey, and this is Pride." She said, motioning to the Indian boy beside her. She guessed he didn't want to talk, and believed the company would make him uncomfortable as he had been when Kelsey walked in.

She ran a pale hand through her dark hair, her colorless eyes becoming more pronounced when the hair fell back to her eyes. She straightened her shirt and took off her jacket. The gentle breeze felt good on her skin for once and she stretched before speaking again to the girl, who had introduced herself as 'Dana.' "What brings you here tonight?" She glanced at Pride as she spoke, a flirty grin still upon her lips.

Suddenly, a noise came from outside. Like something being slammed on the barn. Kelsey immediately jumped up on the alert. What was that? Or, who was it? She then heard another sound, like the shuffling of feet when out of nowhere a strange man entered the barn. Kelsey bit her lip. He was older than the three of them and honestly looked pretty scary. Subconsciously, she moved closer to Pride, her gray eyes suddenly hinting at fear.

The man stopped for a moment, allowing Kelsey to make out his features. He was dressed in what appeared to be a military-like uniform and he was raggedy and dirty, like someone who hasn't had any peace for quite some time. Then out came the pistol and again she inched closer to Pride without realizing it. Funny how in such a short amount of time she had grown to like the boy. She bit her lip as the man then spoke; his voice booming and overflowing with authority.

Kelsey, to speak for herself, was terrified. Was he going to shoot them? Three innocent teenagers? Didn't they share a common enemy - The Creatures? Maybe the outbreak drove the man insane. Kelsey gulped and her hand shot up to her throat, rubbing her neck nervously. She was choked up - Couldn't talk. She was going to answer that terrifying man, but she was literally paralyzed with fear.

After a moment, Kelsey took a deep breath and gathered the courage to speak to the man. "I... I don't q-quite know w-what you mean, s-sir." She said, her thick Irish accent shaking with fear.

[Leon Fletcher]

"I... I don't q-quite know w-what you mean, s-sir." Leon listened to the girl speak, she was terrified, he sighed and grunted. Since the infection hit he had been going 110% without any rest. He was physically and mentality exhausted from all over this. Looking at each teenager he again sighed and lowered the pistol and holstered it.

Oh how things change, he had just been moments ago pointing a locked and loaded Colt .45 pistol at these kids and had planned on shooting first and asking questions later if they had turned out to be the infected....

He slowly walked over to the girl and extended his hand, "My name is Leon Fletcher, I'm a private military contractor for what was once Blackwater USA. Who might you be and your little friends here?"

He asked with some authority, he then shook his head in disgust, "I'm sorry for frightening you, I've been in the field too long and after awhile shooting first and asking questions later becomes the norm. I apologize."

He could tell his voice had a mix of sympathy for the group and disgust in himself. He then took a sit with the rest of the group waiting on their responses.

[dana <3]

hi. i'm kelsey and this is pride. what brings you here tonight?

so what do we have here my little friends?

i'm not sure what you mean sir...

my name is leon fletcher, i'm a private military contractor for what was once blackwater usa. who might you be and your little friends here? i'm sorry for frightening you, i've been in the field too long and after awhile shooting first and asking questions later becomes the norm. i apologize.

this conversation is going way too fast for her. she smiled at kelsey first, just hanging around, the usual things. trying to have a somewhat normal life here. hey pride! she noticed the flirty grin on her face, and then turned back to the older man. she smiled sweetly at him, showing him that he was not frightened at all. she had experience with these kinds of things. fear is just something that shows your weakness to others.

hello mr. fletcher, i'm dana. this is kelsey and pride. she nodded at each person as she said their name. apology accepted, don't be too disgusted with yourself, it's perfectly normal and fine to have been acting the way you did. you have your own way of approaching strangers before knowing if they're one of them, we have our own. she rolled her eyes for a moment before continuing on, me, myself? i use the friendly way, and if they're not the people i like- then i beat their asses or get the hell away. she gave a small laugh before turning to everyone else.

so, what's your life stories?

[blagh. bad post, i'm sorry. i just got back from soccer and track. x.x][/size][/color]