The Walking Dead - Julie Skywalker & Shadowfax

[Shadowfax]

Ash looked from Sam, to Laurence, to the town around them. She pondered on his question for a moment however when she learnt that he hadn't raided the town. This could be beneficial for both of them for an extra pair of eyes was always handy these days and checking out unknown territory was always a risk factor. And the boy obviously knew a bit about survival for he was still alive after being alone out here all this time. So, why had he suddenly now decided he wanted to team up with them? Perhaps he would just use them until the town was clear then let them leave. Ashelin was always over suspicious of people, but there was some something 'different' about Laurence she felt.

"Sure, but we won't be staying around long. Nowhere is safe these days, not even after you've cleared it" Ash said putting a downer on the situation.

Sam suddenly leapt aside as a walker rounded the corner snarling and snapping it's jaws in anticipation. Ash as if it were second nature, leapt forward and slashed the walkers head clean off it's shoulders unintentionally covering herself, Sam and Laurence in blood.

[Carl]

Laurence shuddered, trying not to wretch at the sight and the additional blood that had splattered onto his clothing and skin. He wanted to ask if he could go with them when they left, but after the latest roamer had crept up, he decided that more discussion had best wait until later. There wasn't much daylight left, and it would be smartest to get into the building and see if they could fortify it soon, so that they could at least rest (perhaps even take shifts protecting one another?), and actually he may be able to sleep more than a couple hours at a time with these two around. He'd have to get their names inside, too, especially if they did end up allowing him to come with them.

"You're telling me," he responded after a moment, "It's probably a bit safer for the tribes, but out here alone, or just a couple of people? There's always danger everywhere. That's why I suggest we fortify the house as quickly as possible so we'll have some amount of shelter, at least. There may not be any more roamers inside."

[Shadowfax]

Ash looked around them for potential places to stay that night. Just like Laurence, she had seen the advantage of having an extra pair of eyes that night. Sam wasn't too trust worthy to stay awake, or alert her soon enough so Ash hadn't had a decent nights sleep in ages. She used to sleep in trees with a rope tied around her waist, but the last time she had done that she woke to a large group of walkers at the foot of the tree. For some reason they could smell her and feel her presence, so ended up staying around for a day or two until they eventually departed, thankfully not spotting her.

She looked back at Laurence when he reffered to the creatures as 'roamers'.

"Never heard anyone call them that before" Ash said thoughtfully as she tried to look for a place to hide that night however nowhere really looked as safe as the house next to them. "Well, I guess if we can find something to board up that window, here looks to be the safest house in this town from here atleast. I don't particularly fancy gallivanting off further into the town myself to find an alternative... what about you?" She asked the teen.

[Carl]

"It definitely looks safer than the other buildings I've been in, and I know the locks work, at least," he murmured. Taking her response as agreement, he turned back to the window and peered inside, seeing only the dead one laying there slumped against the wall. He shuddered, glancing back and forth to see what he could of the inside of the house. This was a kitchen, stained with blood, and in one place there were some rather rotted gut remnants in a pile. He fought once again to hold back the bile in his throat and kept looking around, but he couldn't see anything outside of the one room other than darkness. Carefully, he hefted his bat and cleared the shattered glass the rest of the way out of the frame, dropping the bat to the floor inside once he'd completed this task.

"If I can get through here, I'll go around and unlock the door for you guys," he explained as he grabbed the windowsill carefully and raised himself upwards, preparing to enter through the window. From this height, he had a better angle, but it didn't improve visibility at all. Slowly and cautiously he raised his legs up and used his forearms to gain the leverage he needed to pull himself up enough to swing his legs through the window and drop to a sitting position on the sill. Grimacing at his proximity to the dead roamer, he kicked at the limp form, pushing it further away, and slid to the floor on the inside, retrieving his bat from the creature's lap as he did so. He reminded himself that he'd need to thank the woman once this place was fortified because he couldn't have gotten in at all if she hadn't taken care of the roamer.

[Shadowfax]

Ash watched as Laurence disappeared into the house, hoping that he wouldn't be too long for they were out in the open and in the far distance she could hear a few Walkers snarling. If they saw or caught wind of them taking shelter in the house, they would linger outside the door and draw more towards the place if they thought a potential meal was inside.

"What are we going to do?" Sam suddenly asked Ash when he knew Laurence had got into the house safely.

"Stay here the night and see if there are any decent supplies inside I guess" Ash replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I mean, about him. We can't just leave him out here alone" Sam said in a quieter voice so as Laurence would hopefully not hear him.

Ash raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Nor can we force him to come with us. Anyway, who knows yet if he's even trustworthy. Remember what I taught you? Always keep your guard up. Living or dead" Ash reminded Sam who merely nodded. "What is taking him so long?" Ash said aloud after a while.

[Carl]

In the darkness of the room, the teen gathered himself, stepping carefully around the gore that was spattered about, keeping his eyes peeled. There were two doorways off the kitchen, and he carefully stepped towards them, watching for movement in the shadows. Now that he was actually inside, he could see better, and he could get a better angle--the doorway to the right had some dim light streaming from down the hall, light that was probably coming from a window in a nearby room. Laurence carefully approached, making sure to glance toward the other doorway every so often as he did so. As he stepped through the doorway, he found himself in a living room decorated with a large fluffy sofa and not much else, an end table to its side and a very simple entertainment center adorned with a rather old tube-style TV. There weren't any roamers in this room, and cobwebs covered significant space.

At the other side of the room was a staircase, which he glanced up, but saw nothing. He'd check upstairs after letting the others in--the woman could help him. Seeing it was all clear in this area, he returned to the kitchen and took the other door, finding himself in a room where another corpse was leaned against the wall. This one had been almost entirely consumed, most likely by the roamer in the kitchen. There was a table and a few chairs in here, as well as a bookshelf and a small lamp. Across the room was the door to the outside. Laurence quickly made his way over to it, unlocked it, and pulled it open. He stepped outside, glanced around for roamers, and called out:

"Over here, it's open!"

[Shadowfax]

At her words, Laurence's voice called them to the door alerting them that it was open. Without a second thought, Ash grabbed Sam's hand and dragged the boy inside quickly and just in the nick of time by the sounds of it. A Walker had just rounded the corner and missed sight of Ash and Sam's disappearing bodies, however he was walking towards the door they had just entered.

Hearing the snarling, Ash just pushed the door too for now, hiding them and making sure the door looked as closed as possible. Sam's breathing was quick and raspy, so he had to hold his hand over his mouth after a glare from Ash. The seconds felt like hours as the three of them waited wearily behind the door for the walker to move on. Eventually, he moved away and Ash closed the door as quietly as possible.

"Good work kid" She said with a sigh of relief. She knew Laurence was old enough not to be called a kid, but she did wonder how he'd react to that.

[Carl]

"I cleared this floor, but I didn't check upstairs yet. I didn't want to keep you waiting," he responded simply, heading back through the house towards the stairwell, letting his bat drag the floor, though only just. As he neared the back room again, he went on, "It's kind of messy in here but I only found the one roamer you dealt with at the window. It should be safe enough for him to remain downstairs while we make sure there aren't any more of them up there." At this, he gestured to the second floor with a thumb.

Though he didn't acknowledge it, he had taken note of the fact that she'd referred to him as "kid." He didn't care much, although he knew the term could often be used derogatorily towards teens like himself. However, he knew that he needed to prove himself to this woman if he wanted to team up with her and the kid, and so he wasn't going to cause any trouble where trouble wasn't needed. After all, she had praised his success, so it didn't really seem to be meant as an offense. Waiting for her at the base of the stairs would, he hoped, show that he was willing to accept her leadership, all the while having done what he had so far and acknowledging that the upstairs needed to be checked out should make it clear that he was, indeed, capable of taking care of himself and thinking things through.

[Shadowfax]

Ash nodded when he told them he hadn't checked the upstairs yet. She wouldn't settle anywhere till she knew it was 100% clear of Walkers. The pair followed him into the house, stepping over the mess in their way.

"Sam, wait in the living room whilst we clear out upstairs" Ash told the boy, gesturing with her head to the room.

"I can help you clear out upstairs, i'm not afraid" The boy replied stubbornly.

"It's not about being brave. You'll just get in the way and it'll be quicker with just two of us" She said a little more harshly than she had meant to for the boy looked dishearten as he slunk away into the living room. With a sigh, Ash walked over to Laurence who was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs and took out her small sword.

"You go left at the top, i'll take the right" She told him as she began to silently climb the stairs.

[Carl]

"Right," Laurence answered, following behind her on soft feet. As they neared the top, they found themselves looking down a hallway, none of the creatures present immediately, and Laurence, as instructed, turned to the left. As he made his way towards another door on that side, he spoke again quietly, "So what have you been calling them then? I've never asked anyone else about that before." He had recalled her comment about his name for them, "roamers," and reverted the conversation now that he had a brief moment of quasi-peace. After all, if they found one, they'd take it out and then she could answer if she needed to.

Having reached the door, he pushed it open carefully, bat raised, and investigated the insides. It was a children's bedroom, decorated with cars and sports trophies. The teen was relieved to see that there wasn't a child in the room, since he hadn't seen a child's body downstairs, but then he remembered that a couple of the piles of gore he'd seen had been much too little to identify the age or anything of the human they'd once belonged to. Knowing this, he felt a bit queasy and unwell, assuming that the roamer from the window had been one of the child's parents---and had eaten the poor kid. As carefully, yet expediently, as possible, he checked under the bed and inside the closet, finding the room was clean, just covered in dust and cobwebs.

With the room cleared, he returned to the hallway.