The Walking Dead IC

[dutchrain]

Mathilda

The small blanket was almost finished.

Mathilda tasted the soup, scooped some tea out off the pot with her plastic mug and tasted that too. It could use a bit more honey, and the strawberry jam hadn't added much of a fruity taste, but it was very well drinkable.

Momma had cleaned out three of the baby food glasses and was working on the fourth. Suddenly Mathilda thought of Shadow, and took the last two glasses out off the cats' box.

She would bring them to Shadow to lick clean and tell everyone breakfast was ready.
To make sure the soup wouldn't burn when she was away she put the pot beside the tea before she left the room.

She couldn't see anyone outside. But she heard noises. She headed back and took her spear. Following the soft sounds she found quite some people digging holes behind the motel. The walkers were already dragged there and Nikki checked their pockets. One was even still wearing a bag slung over its shoulder, Matilda saw when she came closer.

"Breakfast is ready," she announced. "Stop what you are doing and come eat while the soup and the tea are hot. Nikki, these are for Shadow to lick clean, a small treat. I hope he likes," for the first time she looked at the labels, "cauliflower with minced meat and carrots with bacon."

 

[Scottykitty]

standing guard

Steven stood a top the motel looking out over the morning sky in the pleasure of seeing the bald eagle was a pleasant surprise. This made his day go better , well better then its been. He watched the group all so carefully making sure they were safe Matilda let the people know that breakfast was ready, as hungry as Steven was he felt the old military habbits kick in. Never leave your post til properly releaved. So he faught the hunger and ignored the growling stomach noises and studied the landscape. Spring time looked nice up here. Back home really wasn't much different except for the ocean. He missed going out on his boat and having a few drinks to release his stress by spending the day fishing. Steven enjoyed those days and would almost kill to get them back. Right now he's just happy to take another breath and see another sunrise.
Steven wondered about the group and if they would gel. He's been in a few battles with them and already thinking there's no better place to be with these guys. But he wondered if they would get along. Steven hated controversy and despised arguments over little things. He guess the laid back life style of the Florida beach bum was what made him the way he's become. It was nice back then to not have a care in the world. Well just think I'd be better off with people not afraid to defend themselves but at each others throats then a group that can't handle a little blood but get along. Maybe its the meanness that keeps us alive or is it just the strong will and hope to live another day.

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron was walking towards the gas station when he saw a woman leave, and overheard her telling Nikki, as he heard, that breakfast was ready and that she had some food jars for Shadow to lick clean. Mentally Aaron made sure to note the name, and continued towards the gas station. As he got close he came alongside the woman heading back towards the station, and looked across the way noticing Steven standing on top of the two story motel. As people began coming to the station to grab food Aaron kept outside, not wanting to grab food before anyone else considering he still had some beef jerky tucked in his pocket from this morning, before the chaos began. He smiled and introduced himself to anyone who asked, just stating his name and saying hello. Aaron figured there was no need to go in depth on things just yet, it seemed neither the time nor place yet considering many people woke up to chaos and probably hadn't eaten yet.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda

She handed Nikki the glasses, not before asking her to bring them back -the lids were screwed on on the glasses would serve quite a while to store food in, and as soon as they got un-tight one could store buttons and other stuff in them- and then she headed back to the gas station.

People started to troop in soon. Luckily someone had dropped off some spoons, plates and mugs while she was away and so Mathilda was busy with ladling soup into plates and mugs for a while and then sat down herself.

"We have to leave a portion for Steve, he is up on the roof, keeping watch I think. Or should we bring him a plate?" Mathilda pondered aloud before she put a spoonful in her mouth.

"And where is the other young man, the one who stayed in the motel all winter? What is his name? Doesn't he want breakfast?" She put another spoonful in her mouth. Nothing to chew, but a granola bar would take care of that in a while, she thought to herself.

"After breakfast, when I did the dishes, I would greatly appreciate it if someone would accompany me to a few gardens, to see if we can find some cabbages, potatoes, maybe apples still on a tree or other vegetables for lunch and dinner?"

 

[SimplyJessi]

"It's nice to meet you, Nikki. I'm Jessa," Jessa introduced herself and offered a friendly smile.

She had noticed the way that Nikki had looked at her, but wasn't sure if there was anything to it. Truth be told, Jessa was a complete novice when it came to not only sex (with either sex) but flirting as well. Before the dead began walking around, Jessa had only had one boyfriend, and that ended horribly. Not long after that, her mom had gotten sick and she didn't have time for any kind of personal life after that. Not that she didn't crave....certain things.. but who had time for them now? Though she did have to admit that Nikki was intriguing.

"Yeah, poor Shadow.." she said with a grimace, but then an idea hit her. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a bandana that she sometimes wore.

"It's important to keep the wound clean, maybe you could wrap this around his leg. That way he could walk around a little bit more without worrying about getting the stitches infected.. and to keep him from trying to lick them?" she said, offering the bandana to Nikki.

When Nikki said that she'd see Jessa at breakfast after rummaging for anything useful among the dead, Jessa nodded and was about to walk away. That's when she heard the other woman mention someone keeping watch needing a plate of food.

"I'll take a plate to him, and see if he'd like a break." She told the woman even though she hadn't been talking to her.

After giving Nikki another smile and a nod, she walked off to make her a plate of food and a plate for the guy who was keeping watch. Once that was done, she made her way to the top of the hotel.. which was not an easy feat considering that the food was soup and soup spilled very easily. But thankfully there was still quite a bit by the time she arrived at her destination.

She spotted the guy looking out into the distance and was about to go over to him when the nervousness that use to always come over her when dealing with new people swept in. She mentally cursed herself and forced herself to go on.

"Um hi.. thought you'd be hungry so I brought you something to eat. The lady who cooked this works magic." She said and offered him a plate. "I can take over for you if you want to go down there and mingle with people."

 

[Scottykitty]

"Um hi.. thought you'd be hungry so I brought you something to eat. The lady who cooked this works magic." She said and offered him a plate. "I can take over for you if you want to go down there and mingle with people."[/QUOTE]

"Oh my god!!!!" As Steven was in a trance and scared half to death. Turning around startled seeing the girl carrying the breakfast in her hands Steven was stuttering Ans blushing as she asked to take over. " I um I um , yeah that's a great idea,thank you so much young lady" he received the meal which he hasn't had one in days. At least not a real meal, he's survived with trap kills which usually consist of squirrel or rabbits. But the soup was better than nothing. Steven was very thankful for the young lady to take over and offer the meal. "Well I'm so blessed, thank you so much. " he took the meal like it was s delicate egg and started to head back down. " oh such a Dumbass " thinking to himself " as she took. A spot up on the roof. " I didn't catch your name ?" I'm Steven and its a great pleasure to have you do this for me. I am truly greatfull. Thinking again hmmp did I already mentioned that. Steven was nervous from the young ladies presence, it has been so long that he's talked with a woman even longer for one so young and kind. This made him smile briefly. " well thank you again and if you want ill come back or send someone to relieve you if you want. Saying in such a nervous manner.

Steven listened for her response and then headed down to see if he could mingle and get to know the others.

 

[SimplyJessi]

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she said when she had spooked the guy. The nervousness left for a moment as she let out a little chuckle. But the nervousness soon returned when he blushed, which caused her to blush too.

"Don't worry about it, you'd actually be doing me a favor.. I mean, it's not often you get to enjoy a scene like this." She said, nodding toward the sky and the town/woods around them.
She offered another smile when he introduced himself.

"I'm Jessa, nice to meet you. Now go on before your soup gets cold. I hope you get to enjoy it before someone puts you back to work." She said, almost playfully. She watched as Steve made his way down off the roof.

Once he was gone, Jessa made herself slightly more comfortable and ate her own soup while keeping an eye out. She let her eyes travel down to the others, walking around and sometimes even interacting with each other. Doing this was almost like being back at the mall where she use to go and people watch. Who would have thought she'd ever miss going to the mall?!?

She saw the guy who had saved her earlier and told herself that she'd need to go talk to him when she had the chance. She didn't really get the chance to thank him properly. She nodded to herself, as if agreeing thats what she needed to do, she then turned her attention back toward the woods and the rest of the world that led toward the gas station and hotel.

 

[Wyld52771]

After the young woman left after starting to introduce herself, Nick had looked around to survey the damage. Aside from the wounded dog, which the others were looking after, it seemed there were no casualties or injuries to be found among the rest of the survivors.

"We got lucky," Nick thought to himself, "it could have been a lot worse."

Nick was suddenly startled, hearing a clicking noise at his feet. When he looked down, was horrified to see the severed head of the first walker he'd attacked was still moving, its jaws gnashing, teeth clicking together as if still wanting to find flesh and blood. In revulsion, Nick raised his hatchet yet again, and ended the mutilated creature's existence.

There were times this still all felt surreal, like a nightmare, and he sometimes thought that he'd wake up at home in bed, with Laura beside him, hearing the kids playing downstairs. Then reality made itself known again.

"Will this ever end?" he whispered to himself, his voice trembling with emotion, placing his foot on the now motionless skull, and with a creaking scrape of metal on bone, he yanked his hatchet free.

Before being awakened by battle, he'd dreamed of his family, and for the first time in a long time, the dream wasn't a nightmare of how they'd died, but a dream of how they'd once lived. They had been happy. They had loved one another. In the dream, they'd said goodbye to him.

When he'd awoke, due to the chaos, he hadn't had time to think about the dream. Remembering it now, he found himself even more sure. It had given him comfort, making him feel that his decision to become one with the group was the correct one.

After wiping off the hatchet and placing it back in his makeshift belt loop, he glanced over to the rest of the group. They had mostly finished cleaning up the rest of the dead, and he could smell something cooking in the general direction that the group was gathered at. His eyes met the gaze of the woman he'd helped, and she briefly smiled at him, before warily looking around again.

It was something all the survivors unconsciously did without even realizing it...constantly scanning their surroundings for danger. A year fighting to stay alive made everyone skittish about perceived or hidden threats.

Nick walked over to the group...he still felt uncertain, but pushed this away. It was time to be apart of whatever this was to become.

Aside from Steven, who had went up on the roof, most of the others he'd met last night seemed to have come together in order to partake in whatever was cooking. Nick's appearance had changed drastically since last night when he'd gotten cleaned up, and he saw in the faces of the others as he approached that it was a welcome change from the dirty, crazed looking wild man he'd resembled the evening before.

"Good morning, everyone...quite the eventful morning, hmm?"

Aside from the young woman he'd met this morning, there were the two people from last night who'd come in after the rest of them, and another man he hadn't seen before gathered near the rest.

"Hi there," he said, "my name is Nick Hartner. Nice to meet you all."

He looked down at the soup Mathilda had made, and meeting her eyes, he smiled.

"That smells wonderful...may I?" he asked, motioning questioningly with his head to one of the nearby bowls.

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron stood by, watching as everyone started coming together. He noticed Jessa heading to the roof with a plate of food, before seeing Steven come back munching on his plate of food as he walked. Aaron smiled as Steven walked by and went in to get warm. Before long another man came up, and Aaron followed him in as he seemed to be the last person to come in for food.

"Good morning, everyone...quite the eventful morning, hmm?"

"Hi there, my name is Nick Hartner. Nice to meet you all."

Aaron looked around as a plate of food was offered to him, making sure he was the last one to have food before having a bite, including Nick as he grabbed a bowl of soup for himself. As he felt the hot soup flowing down his throat he smiled, it was more delicious than anything he'd had in months.

"Ma'am, I don't know what all you threw together, but this is tasty." Aaron looked as he noticed he was being looked at by a few people. "By the way, my name is Aaron, it's nice to meet you all. I was holed up in the motel throughout the winter. I have some leftover supplies, water, canned food, beef jerky. If you all will allow me to be a part of this group, I would gladly hand them over for everyone to share."

 

[anonymity90]

Fleur - alone in the woods

She hadn't meant for that to happen. That poor dog!

Fleur was out foraging for wild mushrooms when she heard the commotion. She deftly picked up her pace and made her way closer to the motel. Before she had any time to react, a walker was behind her. It caught her so off guard that she tripped and the walker was on top of her. Then, surprisingly, she had heard a bark. The dog started attacking the walker, giving Fleur enough time to pull out her homemade Indian war club and bash him on the skull.

Too late, the dog had been injured and had limped off. She heard a woman's voice in the distance "NO!". She knew the pain that voice; she knew it must be the dog's owner. Ashamed that she hadn't been able to help him, she scrambled up and ran back into the woods to her camp of the last few days. Only to realise that she had left her weapon on the ground, thankfully she had a few more.

She knew she had to find a way to thank that dog. She just didn't know if she could trust the owner, or the people she was with. Fleur decided to spy on them for a day. She wasn't sure if she was ready to trust anyone so fast, but she did owe that dog her life and she missed the company of other people.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda

"Ma'am, I don't know what all you threw together, but this is tasty." The young man from the motel said to Mathilda, and told them all his name, and what supplies he had left.

"Thank you, Aaron. My name is Mathilda. I always loved to cook, and circumstances learned me how to improvise. Being able to think outside the box has helped a lot with preparing tasty meals. I really appreciate your offer, and I'll gladly use some of your supplies to spruce up lunch. I really think we should use as less of the durables as possible though. Since you have been here all winter, have you noticed in which gardens there are vegetable plots and fruit trees? And do you know if there is a bakery here, any kind of flour would be great. I could make pancakes for breakfast tomorrow. There would be no milk in the dough, and no eggs, unless someone finds a bird-nest with fresh eggs, it is the time of the year for that, but they taste nice all the same."

Satisfied everyone seemed to like the soup and the tea, Mathilda took a granola bar.

 

[JadeKnight]

Jack gave a nod for a moment at Nikki's answer about his suggestion of getting everyone together. He really hadn't planned on turning this into some sort of military operation, but someone needed to step up and take charge. That would something that should happen either immediately, or gradually. He wasn't sure which would be the best method. Well, he felt it would be time to test the waters.

"That's true Nikki, but I really wasn't thinking of bringing military into this. However, most groups do need a leader of some sort. Our little one would be no exception."

He gave a nod when she excused herself, watching her head off towards her dog. His stomach growled at the smell of food, but he just leaned back against the truck, watching the others. He watched the others interact around him, not knowing who the new people were. He smiled to Jessa for a moment as she grabbed the food for Steven, taking it towards the hotel. Hearing Mathilda ask for help with garden searching, he looked over in her direction.

"I'll be happy to help you go searching for more stuff. Need to take a look around the place anyways."

He picked up a bowl of soup, eating it slowly as Nick came over to the gas station, shortly followed by Aaron. Nick cleaned up nicely from the wild look he had, but then Jack figured he really hadn't needed to keep himself clean after being by himself. He gave a nod to Aaron.

"Nice to meet you Aaron. The name's Jack. The more the merrier."

He gave a chuckle for a moment before looking towards Nick.

"Hey Nick, I was thinking you might get a little search party together. I know it's still early and we just met, but I have a feeling we might be here a few days and knowing the lay of the land would be a good idea."

 

[WebbedHawk]

Aaron smiled and nodded, listening to Mathilda's request, and then Jacks mention of a scouting mission.

"Well, honestly I didn't need to venture too far from her for my winter supplies, and I didn't have to do much running in the snow. There is a church up the block where I got most of my supplies from, they had some dry and canned food stock so I used a good bit of that. There are a few houses between here and there as well, but most of them were picked pretty clean of food when I checked them out. There may be clothes and bedding though, I didn't go scrounging for more than I needed. Another block up from the church is the main street for this little town. Couple of gas stations, bar, small grocery store, hardware store and a couple of restaurants. The gas stations around here had plastic totes, the kind they used to get their supplies shipped to them in, I filled a few up and tucked them in where they wouldn't be readily found, in case of emergency. I didn't take much off the shelves though because I wasn't planning to be here this long, but its hard to not get a little complacent when you are alone with a decent place to survive in."

Setting his now empty bowl aside Aaron continued.

"I'm not saying all these supplies will still be there, even if I didn't see anyone come through it would not surprise me to know a few wandering people went through the area and took what they could. Maybe even found my little stockpiles and had a field day. I can help you recover whats there. I didn't venture farther than main street, so there may be more in this small town, but that means there may also be more dead heads. Besides that, I don't know what the plan is with you guys. Whether you mean to stay here for a bit or move on. I know Shadow is hurt." Aaron looked over towards Nikki. "I'm sure he may need a day or two to heal up and rest his leg. In the meantime I'll help with whatever I can. I suggest if we stay we try and keep to the rooms on the second floor, it gives some good sight lines and at least provides an added benefit of the dead heads possibly stumbling their way up the stairs."

Aaron looked back towards Mathilda, then raised his brows as he remembered what she asked.

"Damn, and before I forget, I think the church had a garden, but I don't know how much the wildlife may have gotten too, considering the proximity to the woods. I think there were a couple of small gardens in the houses around here, mostly tomatoes and peppers. This town seems a bit like my hometown though, and there may be some farms farther out we could venture to on our way through, or on a scavenging run."

 

[Scottykitty]

soup

Steven ate the soup fast, it was hot and delicious. He couldn't believe he had eaten it so fast. Steven usually wasn't one for soup.but beggers can't be choosers. They say. As he walked back to where the group was, Steven looked up at Jessa on the roof smiled and waved. He don't think she saw him and looked around to see if others saw the stupid waving. Putting down his hand feeling like a fool. But it was good to feel happy for once even if it was self induced with wishful thinking, he felt better than he has in weeks. As he made his way over to the guys greeting the group and shaking hands with Nick. Aaron and I think Jack.."hey guys good morning and great breakfast huh " as he slurped down the last of the soup. "Tell the chef awesome! !!" He chuckled as a serious face took over. I heard y'all talk of scouting the area, well I'd like to tag along but I think ill just stay behind this time I wanted to mention I have set several traps around the hotel I put small little flags around the trip device so any one of us could see it. They are made for walkers not so much for the living. Just be aware. Plus the girl Jessa on the roof will need a relief at some point so I may do that.besides I owe her one smiling to himself. Inside joke.but seriously we should start getting the rotation going for standing watches. Just an idea

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda

"I'll be happy to help you go searching for more stuff. Need to take a look around the place anyways." Mathilda smiled gratefully at Jack and nodded.

"After I did the dishes," she reminded him, pouring water in the big pot after she ladled the last soup in two bowls for whoever wanted more. As she put the pot on the now only glowing fire, she cursed softly.

"Darn! I should have brought the pot to Shadow first. He could have licked it clean." Looking at some startled faces, she blushed slightly. "I would have washed it afterwards! It is just a shame to spill the last bit in the washing water. I'll scoop a bit of the water out, when it is hot and rinse the bowls in it before I wash them. Shadow can drink it and still get a little bit of calories."

Matilda gasped when Aaron told them about the food he had hidden. She hoped at least one of his stashes hadn't been found. Eight people needed a lot of food. But since he hadn't seen anyone during the winter, she allowed herself to be optimistic.

"Would you check today?" she asked him. "If we stay a day or two, we need quite some food."

A room on the second floor of the motel for each of them would mean they would occupy almost the entire floor, this thought made Mathilda chuckle. She had never been with a group that occupied a whole floor in a hotel.

"If we move to the motel, I'd like a room where I can set up a kitchen. It'll be a chore to carry up all the water we need. We need a laundry too. Not only my clothes need to be washed. And a lot of you have ill-fitting clothes and tears which needs mending. I'd rather mend clean clothes though. Not the dirty rags some of you are still wearing. So we need soap. Any kind of soap. And a lot."

She poured a little bit of the warming water in her bowl and sloshed it around, then poured it in another bowl, which she also carefully swing around.

"The church had a garden? Great! Even if we only find mint and old apples it would be wonderful. I could make a nice applesauce then, and we would have something good to drink. If mint seeps a while in hot water it makes a fresh drink when cooled."

"Tell the chef awesome!" Mathilda smiled at Steven and thanked him.

When his next words were about traps and a watch rotation schedule, her smile expanded.

"That would be marvelous, Steven. Back at the camp we always had guards. In the house during the winter too. Even when the bikers arrived, we had guards. It was one of the few things the Prez was adamant about. He once had one of his men punished when he found out he had fallen asleep in a way which made me lose breakfast."

 

[Wyld52771]

Nick replied to Jack, "Well, I know the area pretty well, although not this specific town. I grew up around this area, though. I used to go hunting on a piece of land about twenty or so miles north of here. I had cabin..."

A pained expression came over his face as he thought about the last time he was at the cabin, but he continued, "There's good hunting around here. A lot of white tail deer. I'd go hunting every year."

"Anyway, we're not too far from the Mississippi River...probably another thirty-five miles to the west. Largest city nearby would be La Crosse...it's right on the river. That's where I'm from, actually."

He paused a moment, thinking about the city, and then added, "There were around fifty thousand people living there before the outbreak...it was really bad when we left, to hide at the cabin...probably would be pretty overrun with the dead, and dangerous. We'd want to avoid it if we are able to...but if need be, it'd be a place to get supplies. There was a mall, a couple Wal-Marts, a few big grocery stores, sporting goods and electronics stores, car dealerships, a brewery..."

Nick hesitated for a moment, and then chuckled ruefully, as he added, "La Crosse was the home of the World's Largest Six Pack."

The group shared a laugh, and Nick continued, "Over the bridge, we'd be crossing over into Minnesota...a bunch of small towns again. If we headed east, we'd have the same thing until reaching Madison. That'd be a long haul, though."

"I'm thinking we would want to stay here as long as we're able. I can definitely scout around, but we'd need a few of us...probably travel in twos to guard each others' backs. Same rules we used to use for hunting trips."

 

[feistyphoenix]

That was one thing Rachel really disliked about the world these days, everything was so quiet. There were no cars, radios playing music, people walking about having conversations, kids laughing...it was just silence except for the low moans and haunting hissing of the dead as they wandered around trying to find flesh to eat.

The shouting in the distance woke her. She rubbed her grey blue eyes, and tilted her head up to look out the small window. She'd fallen asleep propped up in the corner of the treehouse with the large afghan wrapped about her shoulders. She'd found three skeins of yarn in a house she'd rummaged through. Whomever had rummaged around ahead of her had no use for it because they'd just left the dusty blue colored yarn in a huge pile in the middle of a bedroom. Rachel had always been crafty, always doing things with her hands, finding projects, and experimenting; it didn't take her long to recall how to knit a blanket with nothing but the yarn and her arms as the needles. Having a photographic memory was a blessing and a curse in times like this. This time, it came in handy as she recalled in perfect detail a tutorial she'd seen online years ago. The spring air was still very chilly at night this far north, unlike her hometown in the spring. The blanket was a welcome change.

She huddled down and waited for the noise to stop. Had they all been eaten? Should she help them? Could she make herself take the risk of trusting people again? It hadn't worked out very well last time she tried it.

She sighed softly, "now or never."

Rachel steeled her nerves, looked around very carefully at the street below her and then climbed down the steps of the little tree house with her pack on her back and the blanket folded over her arms. She made a mental note of the street signs on the corner so she could find her way back if need be. She mostly stuck to the edges of privacy fences, sneaking around quietly in her worn out hiking shoes. She barely made a sound.

She walked through the tall grass in a backyard and then hunched down by the back fence, a quick flick of her Swiss Army knife and a small peep hole was created. She just sat and watched them, they moved around like real people as far as she could tell. She heard their voices, real people...like the people she used to know. She muttered to herself softly, incoherently. They were eating food, her stomach growled at the realization. All she had left in her pack was a serving of roasted almonds and a minuscule portion of deer jerky.

She hadn't the nerve to creep closer.

 

[SimplyJessi]

Jessa was keeping watch over the area like she was suppose to. She hated the fact that she couldn't see too far into the woods. She made a mental note to suggest that they do regular walk throughs of the woods just to be sure that everything stayed safe.

When she looked back toward the people, she had just caught the last second of Steven wave. She waved back, but doubted that he saw it. She was beginning to think that being part of a group may not be such a bad idea after all. It would be nice to have someone watching her back.. and the one lady certainly knew how to cook better than her, even with the cooking classes.

But she also had to admit that having a little bit of time to herself up there on the roof of the hotel was nice too. It gave her time to clear her head. A little bit of alone time was good, but too much was bad.. too much allowed unwanted thoughts to creep in.

 

[anonymity90]

Fleur - Church/Vicarage with Mathilda and Jack

Fleur regained her thoughts when the grumble of her stomach reminded her that she hadn't completed her forage that morning. Last night, she had stumbled across a small house with remnants of a vegetable garden next to the church. She had found it too late, there were too many walkers to take on alone. In the daylight, she knew things would be easier. She couldn't spy hungry and all her dried goods were useless without something to cook them on and she had quickly discovered that carrying cookware wasn't worth the weight in a world full of abandoned homes.

Fleur packed up her "camp", picked up her full skirt (her favourite keepsake from India - all flowy and mismatched patterns), checking her gardening machete was firmly in her holster, put in 1 earbud and started up her iPhone. She danced towards the visible crucifix.

The others' camp was so quiet. She wondered how often she had been in close proximity to others for the past 2 months without knowing. The other volunteer from the farm, Brett, had been the last person she was with - both physically and sexually. They had met at the end of her stay in Australia. They took different paths for a year (her New Zealand where he stayed home to help his dad's ranch) but he was excited to go with her to America. She felt so awful, he had left family and friends to be with her and then all hell broke loose. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his dad.

Fleur physically shook herself of the thoughts. She couldn't change the past, she just had to be careful who she let close to her. She wasn't prepared to kill a friend again, even if they had turned.

The thoughts had carried her to the church. Removing her earbud, she took a few moments to walk around the graveyard. It was less spooky now that this had happened. She mused on the morbid fact these people were lucky to have died before. She paid her respects as she skipped along to the other side of the grounds. Stopping once to pick up a big winter rose. After twirling it under her nose, Fleur wove it into her hair - it was silly, immature but she sometimes needed to feel pretty even if nobody else would see her. She followed the path around the cemetery to the little house from the day before.

Fleur slowed her pace, now creeping along the side of the wall on her tiptoes, machete out. Silence. Holding her breath, she turned the corner of the house and peered over the fence. Empty. Taking a wary glace at the house, door closed. She decided she would take the chance.

Finding the gate, she let herself into the garden. It was overrun with weeds and beans had climbed all over the ground. It looks like it needs a little TLC but nothing she and the start of spring couldn't repair. Surveying the scene, noting: 4 vegetable beds, 2 water butts (score!), a shed and the house. Small but cosy. It would make the ideal base for her.

Fleur decided to investigate the shed first. It would be nice to find some gardening staples - like a pair of gloves, pruning shears/scissors, a spade, and a water can. After digging out her headtorch from her bag and with machete in hand, she crept over to the shed. She held her breath, flipped the latch and pulled the door whilst jumping back. Just one walker. It was male and had been locked in for a long while - hungry, weak, slow. She led him back towards the cemetery because she was too small to drag a body his height and didn't want to live with the body in her new garden. She did what she usually had to do with her small stature, stab up through the jaw into the brain.

That's when she heard something behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and spied 2 people, staring at her. Knowing she had no place to run, Fleur admitted defeat. She raised her arm above her brow, squinting into the distance, she holstered her machete and broke into a big grin.

Walking over to them, she decided that friendliness would be the best route.

"Hi, I'm Fleur" she smiled with her English accent, she reached out her hand to the kind-looking woman. The woman had attractive features and Fleur was a little envious at how she could rock a short haircut.

She glanced at the man, making brief eye contact and trying to look as friendly as possible but feeling very nervous, knowing she could be overpowered easily. Trust, she thought to herself as she waited for someone to respond.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda

After the dishes were done and stacked on the counter beside the cash register -close to the few supplies people had put there- Mathilda got a few plastic bags from under the counter in the hope she could fill them. With nettles if she couldn't find anything else. Nettles were good in the spring. She could cook a great soup with them. She patted the breast pocket on her windbreaker. The small scissors were there. She would need them for nettles, since she didn't have gloves. Just for nettles she didn't need to got to a garden though, quite a lot grew on the border of the field beside and behind the motel.

Her spear in one hand she walked beside Jack towards the church.

"Looks like we got the walkers," she said softly because no were around, "it seems Aaron has cleaned up the place pretty well over the winter. And passing travelers might have got some too. The ones from last night and this morning came from out the woods."

Mathilda felt more secure. More at ease, knowing she wasn't on her own.

"I am starting to wonder how I made it from the hamlet I spent the winter to Halef's to here without getting in real danger until yesterday. I spent the nights in between on trees, or in the trunk of a car, or inside the restroom of a gas station. Two weeks I was "on the road"."

Entering the cemetery first, Mathilda noted a lot of nettles sprucing up around the tombstones.

"If we find nothing else, we'll harvest the tops of these," she pointed out to Jack. "If you keep the sacks open, I'll cut them off. I think the garden Aaron spook of is there, beside the vicarage, if that house is the vicarage. It is build -" Mathilda's voice died when she saw a petite-ish young woman coming out off the garden surrounding the house, a walker on her heels. Or on her toes, since she walked backwards.

Mathilda held her breath, dropped the bags and gripped her spear harder, lifting it ready to stab.

Amazed she watched the girl stab the walker through its jaw when they were on the cemetery. Mathilda's grip on the spear relaxed.

"Yet another new person," she whispered. "How many are there in this place?"

"Hi, I'm Fleur" she said confidently when she had walked over to Jack and Matilda, stretching out her hand as she approached.

Automatically Mathilda shook the outstretched hand.

"Hi, I am Mathilda, nice to meet you."

 

[feistyphoenix]

Rachel

She watched two people walk away from the motel and she scrambled down from her perch to follow them. Rachel kept her distance, following along many yards behind them. The woman looked like a mother, approachable and nice. She seemed safe enough next to the well armed man. Rachel couldn't guess his age, she studied the way he walked instead. He was confident and alert to his surroundings, she adjusted her distance so he wouldn't notice her following.

Her internal debate raged on. Approaching these two seemed easier than just walking into a whole group of people. In her previous life Rachel never had social anxiety but the time alone had affected her. She was half desperate for friends and the protection of a group but terrified of falling in with the wrong kind of group. She'd seen survivors turn on each other before, it wasn't pretty.

She lurked around the stone wall of the church after they'd entered the grounds, she watched the girl join them. Now they were three and she was still one, maybe this wasn't a good idea.

 

[WebbedHawk]

As the group started to break away from the morning meal Aaron looked over to Nikki.

"Hold up one second if you could, if memory serves me I may have something here that Shadow might like."

Grabbing a ladder from the office area in the station he set it up and climbed to the top, popping up one of the ceiling tiles, which in turned revealed a hidden plastic tote, untouched. Pulling it down he set it on some nearby shelving before climbing down the ladder and pulling the tote down onto a flat surface and opened it up. Inside the tote was half full at best, but it did contain a box of granola bars, two or three candy bars, 4 cans of vegetables, a couple of cans of dog and cat food, as well as a small bag of dry dog food.

"There wasn't much in this station when I got to it, but I figured if I was hungry enough even pet food would do. I'm sure Shadow might appreciate it a little more, I just hope the canned stuff hasn't gone bad."

Aaron set the tote next to where Mathilda's cooking station was so she could use what she needed when she got back.

"Is there anything else you could use for Shadow, your horse, or yourself? I'm going to head into town a bit and see if I can bring back something I had stored, I have a few things written down as to what I had hidden so I may be able to target something specific if you need it."

 

[JadeKnight]

Jack gave a little nod as Mathilda said she would go after she did the dishes. He couldn't argue with her for wanting to clean up after everyone, since they didn't want wild animals invading their campsite. He finished his bowl of soup as Nick told everyone what he knew of the area.

"Sounds like you really know the area Nick. I'll be sure to try and lean on you for any questions I have. I'm not quite as versed in the area, but I know a thing or two to survive out here."

He chuckled softly for a moment.

"I can get us where we need to go by road, by we'll have to find a trailer for Nikki's horse, if she plans on coming with us anywhere. And traveling in twos is a vry good idea. We should try and find whistles or something to use as signalling devices."

Seeing Mathilda was ready to go, Jack gathered his things up. He grabbed his leather jacket, pulling it on for protection. He slung his silenced rifle over his right shoulder and shoved a full clip in his right jacket pocket. He strapped a combat knife on his belt before carrying his rifle at low ready.

Satified he had everything, he started off walking beside Mathilda towards the cemetary. He listened to her talk while he kept looking around them to make sure there were no surprises. After all, he didn't want a repeat of the morning's battle with only the two of them.

When they finally arrived at the cemetary, he looked towards the batch of nettles that she had pointed out. He nodded for a moment when she suggested for him to hold the bag. He was about to respond when he noticed her trail off mid-sentence. Jack raised an eyebrow when he looked to her before glancing in the direction she was looking.

It was a bit of a surprise to see young woman walking backwards through the cemetary, leading a sickly looking walker. However he also wasn't too surprised since they had not explored beyond the hotel and gas station yet, so there could be any number of survivors in hiding someplace.

He lifted the rifle up so that the barrel was pointed in the sky, whispering back to Mathilda.

"I'm not really sure."

The young woman was confident of herself, approaching and introducing herself so quickly. He gave a smile when Mathilda returned the handshake and introduced herself. He held his free hand out as well for a handshake also.

"It's nice to meet you Fluer, I'm Jack. We didn't really expect anyone else to be here."

 

[anonymity90]

Fleur - Church Graveyard with Jack and Mathilda

"Hi, I am Mathilda, nice to meet you." Mathilda replied almost immediately. Fleur's face flushed with relief as Mathilda took her hand.

"Thank God! I was scared there for a moment!" Fleur confessed to Mathilda, whilst pulling off her silly headlight. In doing so, she knocked out the rose in her hair. She picked it up and handed it to Mathilda.

Upon closer inspection, she noted that Mathilda had a very womanly figure. Wide hips, full breasts, a little extra weight on the stomach. All of which made Fleur assumed she must have been a mother, hence the approachable vibe she gave off. With the short almost platinum blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, ethereal looking skin and round face she could almost be mistaken as an elf, if it wasn't for her height. She was older, Fleur couldn't pinpoint how old. Late 30s? Early 40s? It didn't really matter.

Fleur turned to assess the man standing beside her. He's cute, she noticed. Tall, strong with short brown hair and holds himself well... almost like a soldier. However, she didn't see him as an interest because she had caught that smile on his lips when Mathilda introduced herself. He likes her, she thought.

"It's nice to meet you Fleur, I'm Jack. We didn't really expect anyone else to be here."

"Jack and Mathilda. I'm awful with names, I'll do my best to remember them - promise! I wasn't really expecting company either. I've been travelling north for the past few weeks and happened upon this town last night. I saw the church and had a look round. I saw a gorgeous little house with a messy vegetable garden that I thought I could resurrect...oh, bad choice of word, sorry! But there were too many last night so I set up camp in the trees in the woods then I went searching for food this morning when I heard some people near the petrol... sorry 'gas' station yesterday, but that's the most I've seen in months. I went to have a closer look but I got attacked by one of those" She pointed to the walker she had just stabbed. "There was a dog too. He saved my life. I wanted to help him but I he ran off before I could. I feel really bad. I love animals. So, is it just you two?"

Fleur realised she was blabbering on like a nervous idiot and decided to shut up. She realised that it had been a long time since she had spoken to anyone but herself and that she had been very lonely. So she stood there grinning like a loon with two strangers staring between her and themselves, waiting for someone to respond.

 

[dutchrain]

Mathilda

"Thank God! I was scared there for a moment!"

Mathilda smiled as she listened to Fleur.

"Thank you!" she mumbled as Fleur handed her the rose. A moment she twirled it around in her fingers, appraising the beauty of the old fashioned rose. It smelled lovely, not like one of the modern hybrids which don't smell at all. Not knowing what to do with the rose -she couldn't keep it in her hand while foraging, and her hair was much too short to put in (and she just knew she would look silly if she did it anyway) she smelled it once more. Such a wonderful scent, it almost overpowered the lingering smell of rot, or made her conscious of the lingering smell of rot in the air between the buildings of the town.

It had entered her nose yesterday when she climbed out off the truck but then the challenge of entering the gas station had made her ignore it. Now, with the rose under her nose, she realized it had been there all the time. Which made her wish she could keep the rose under her nose forever, to not smell the stink. Mathilda's eyes lighted up when she thought of the little hole where the cord of her hood had been. She had pulled it out to secure the lid of the car trunk she spent a night in, and had to cut it to get out again in the morning.

Carefully she shove the stem of the rose in it. It was close to her nose now, as close as she could get it without binding it to her head. A grin crossed her face when she thought of how funny she would look if she did that.

"Jack and Mathilda. I'm awful with names, I'll do my best to remember them - promise! I wasn't really expecting company either. I've been travelling north for the past few weeks and happened upon this town last night. I saw the church and had a look round. I saw a gorgeous little house with a messy vegetable garden that I thought I could resurrect...oh, bad choice of word, sorry! But there were too many last night so I set up camp in the trees in the woods then I went searching for food this morning when I heard some people near the petrol... sorry 'gas' station yesterday, but that's the most I've seen in months. I went to have a closer look but I got attacked by one of those" She pointed to the walker she had just stabbed. "There was a dog too. He saved my life. I wanted to help him but I he ran off before I could. I feel really bad. I love animals. So, is it just you two?"


"You were there when Shadow got wounded?" Mathilda asked. "He is Nikki's dog, she has a horse too, Clip Clop. Shadow is a marvelous dog. Pat and his daughter patched him up. He'll be fine in a few days, I am sure. Which answers your question if it is just the two of us a bit. We are ten now in this town, eleven with you. Six of us met yesterday late afternoon on the highway," Mathilda shivered when she remembered the fight.

"We didn't know each other, we just happened to be somewhat in the same place when a herd of walkers came out off the woods. We helped each other to save our skins. Since it was getting quite late and there wasn't much shelter for a group around -unless we had piled in Jack's truck- we decided to stay together and move as a group to the nearest town. Which was this one. When we were setting up camp in the gas station, we heard fighting noises. Two people were fighting off walkers. Four of us helped them, Jack, Nikki, Jessa and Nick, and they stayed the night. Early this morning we got in the middle of two smaller herds and two more people appeared from out the motel and helped. Aaron, who has spent the winter there, and Jessa who had arrived shortly before us."

Mathilda suddenly realized she was babbling. She was a shy person, and still tended to 'overdo' it somewhat if she was nervous. Mathilda draw a deep breath. When neither jack or Fleur said anything, she decided to tell Fleur why they were in the cemetery.

"Since Shadow needs to heal, and we all need a rest, well, Aaron not so much, Jack and I are looking for fresh food and scouting the town. Aaron told us about the church garden, I suppose he meant the vicarage garden, and I suppose that," she pointed at the garden Fleur had came out off, "is the vicarage. I hoped to find some vegetables in the gardens, and these nettles here are a nice start for a soup or stew. Would you like to help us and join us for lunch? And dinner? We are going to stay at the motel, on the second floor. We'll be occupying almost the complete floor!"

Matilda blushed when she realized the excitement her voice and face showed at the last sentence, wasn't really called for.

"We'll have guards, Jessa is on the motel roof now, to keep watch," Mathilda said as if offering a treat. Which to her it was. Not having to sleep with one eye and one ear open, was something special. "We'll take turns. But now we'll really have to get some nettles and other stuff, otherwise lunch will become dinner, and dinner breakfast."