The gardens - right. Alexis nodded and gripped her clipboard harder as she turned on heel and left. Her stomach whined in protest. Alexis bit her lip as if her lip would scold her stomach and tell it to just get over itself. She woke up late, she didn't get breakfast - that's how it was, and she just had to deal with it. She'd start at the first floor garden, she thought. There was no point going straight upstairs when she could do a job down here first - unless they really, really needed the medicine. She scolded herself, increasing the pressure on her lip and wincing when she accidentally drew blood. If they needed the medical inventory that urgently, someone would come down and get her. Efficiency. Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency.

Alexis pushed the door to the garden open. It had smelled a little chemical for as long as Alexis could remember: something cloying, like a faint memory of the smell whenever one of the janitors cleaned the bathrooms, but the plants still grew and she supposed that was the main thing. Still, Alexis wondered if anyone knew what exactly the smell was - she would have to ask one of the janitors later.

For now, Alexis had other things to ask. She could recognise the raspberries and the cabbages once they were grown, but she had no idea what anything else was. Digging her shoe into a cross-section of grimy garden-side tile, Alexis surveyed the garden.

"Anybody home?"
 
Maybe he shouldn't have approached them. He knew next to nothing about Marcus other than his occupation here and that he was said to be very hard to approach. That didn't stop Gabriel for some reason. And now he was mentally kicking himself for tactless idiot who can't read the mood to save his life. Not sure what he was expecting there, really. But whatever it was, it certainly wasn't Marcus telling him to have a seat. Now he can't just walk away now can he?

"Wait, really?" He sits down anyways before the other man can retract his invitation."Don't mind if I do..?"

At least the other person at the table was a lot more welcoming than Marcus. "Oh...you know, the usual...worrying about water. And.. uh.. Name's Gabriel. I don't know your name either, actually."
 
Walking around the final corner to the front of the Hotel, Xander was finishing up his patrol with Selene. The previous night had been a quiet one, cold and uneventful. However, Xander's morning was just getting started, hearing something coming from the street in front of the hotel he heard a noise. Raising one of this Ladies in his right hand, he signaled to his partner, "Hold up, do you hear that?" Moving quickly towards the street, not fully waiting for a response. Might be nothing, but not checking it out could be potentially harmful to the Settlement.

Getting closer to the noise reveals to be a man moaning, balled into a fetal position clutching their stomach. A trail of blood followed the body to its current location, ending up into a now small pool forming around the man. He seemed to be alive, if just barely. Xander was a fairly cautious person, he hated making any unnecessary mistakes. As cruel as it sounded, he had to make sure the body wasn't some trap laid before them. Upon getting closer to the body he took a quick look around, there didn't seem to be any other footprints or any other signs that the man was Brought there by anyone. The blood trail behind him would indicated that he was stumbling here by himself, there didn't appear to be drag marks. Xander was on edge, but he knew the man didn't have long. Slowly and carefully he picked up the bleeding man, only moaning more as he was being moved.

"Don't worry, I got you. Lets get that treated." Grunting as he hoisted the man into a firemens carry. As Selene soon came behind him, Xander was already starting his way back towards the compound.
 
Marcus eyed Gabriel the way a wolf might eye a poisonous snake. Wary, paranoid, cautious to the point of almost being hostile. But not quite there yet. "My name is Marcus," he'd put forward, though no one had asked. "But something tells me you knew that. Can we help you with anything or is this just an attempt to be...social?" There was a small amount of disgust in the last word, in the idea of being social. He didn't like it. He never had. Andrea was enough socialization for him outside of Security shifts and Scavenger runs. It wasn't...necessary.

Still. He knew Andrea would be upset with him if he chased this one off. He needed to calm down, just a little bit, try and actually engage in the conversation. "I don't see any point in worrying about the water anyhow. Dorian said it should be another couple days, tops. We've rationed off water for the gardens, and I for one saved up plenty of rain water for bathing and drinking. If other people didn't, thats their own problem. Not mine."

Marcus would silence himself with a bite of oatmeal, chewing almost angrily.

---------------------

Dorian would scoop his little girl up once Jason had integrated himself with the group. He didn't like the kid, and he certainly had nothing but negative feelings towards his she-bitch succubus of a mother. "Come on Em, time to go to the day care." The little girl would whine, but complied, letting his father pick her up and carry her off.

This gave Jason the opportunity to be a tad more...forward with the albino, drawing close enough to whisper to the smaller male, and press something, a key, into his hand. And then...Jason would leave. Just like that.
 
Holly was still trying to figure out what was going on with the sudden appearance of Sam but she looked to her best friend and snorted. "We'll see. Have fun... doing whatever it is you do." She half stood for their over-complicated, but totally cool handshake; it had taken them weeks to get the hang of it, but now it flowed effortlessly. Then the other girl was off and Holly had barely taken her seat again when she heard Jason's voice.

The brunette looked up at him and frowned, wanting to glare at the other teenager and his cheeky looks, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. So, instead, she ducked her head and shoved the last of her fruit chips into her mouth not caring about her teeth at the moment. "I gotta go," she muttered to no one in particular, shoving out of her chair wincing as she did so and nearly sprinting away, fueled by shame and anger.

At least she had her plans with Emily later; that was bound to cheer her up and it would get her out of the Hotel at the right time. She would not look back over her shoulder as she headed out of the dining room. She did, however, see two members of the security team coming in from their shift as two more headed out, but she was more interested in the guy who was somehow carrying another very tall dude. The one being carried look pale and sweaty and Holly didn't recognize his face, but the two security members were headed for stairs and she turned back into the dining room, eyes scanning for the familiar blonde head... Their leader was heading over to a table of three of four and the thin brunette was grateful to see she was headed toward the medic.

When the blonde woman looked up there was the usual distant look in her eyes, the near angry look but after a second of processing Sam managed almost a smile and tried not to look so... off-putting. "Some security team just brought in a strange guy from outside. He looked sick or injured? They were headed upstairs."

Sam immediately turned business-like which was somehow more comforting than her neutral face or the normal looking way she'd been earlier which just confused Holly. "Thanks, Holly." She turned to the table she had been heading to and pointed toward the medic whose name Holly didn't know. "Luseth," Sam directed. "Come with me, we might have an injury." Dorian she'd covered most of the morning assignments and those who didn't know what they were to be doing would find her or Dorian. To the teenager she directed, "Please go and get Alexis. I believe she had already headed to the garden." Holly nodded and rushed off again, once more wincing from the aches in her body.

She tried the first floor garden first and there was a woman there, examining the plants and looking for... one of the gardeners, Holly supposed. "Alexis?" She asked, it was the same woman who had been asking questions about new people just a few minutes ago at breakfast so, she was pretty sure that's who Sam wanted. The woman gave her affirmation that she was, indeed, Alexis. "Um. Samantha asked me to get with you. There's potentially going to be a new person staying with us... or someone staying for some time. I don't know. They're headed to medical room." She would accompany this Alexis woman (Holly really needed to start getting to know more people around here, apparently) up to the second floor but they would part ways once there; Alexis to the medical room and Holly to the other end of the hall for the room that was used as a daycare/school.

Most of the children were already there and their parents were saying their goodbyes. Diane, who is in charge of the lessons and, more or less, Holly's boss, was already there, too and she nodded to Holly who went straight away trying to disentangle the younger children from their parents.

Sam would arrive with the medic in tow just after the stranger had been put down on one of the cots they used for the injured.

----

An old acquaintance of Andrea's once said it best, "You talk a lot, but you don't say much." She was more than willing to hold a conversation with anyone. Talk about the weather, talk about her favorite color, talk about the last monster sighting, plans for whatever. But she didn't share; she was more than willing to listen than she was to share. She would hold the secret of a complete stranger, but it was unlikely that she would offer one up in return.

She appeared completely sociable and friendly, but she didn't really have close friends. The spikey-haired woman had carefully erected up walls to prevent growing attached to any one person. Right now Marcus was the closest thing she had to a friend, and even that was new and completely terrifying.

So, while Gabriel sat with them, she would be able to hold her side of the conversation without having to force much out of Marcus... but it was all surface level things. She did share her name, though, because he had shared his and it was weird to share a meal with someone and they not know your name. At the mention of lack of shower, her cheeks did turn a little pink because, "I... uh, actually will be one of the unprepared who will be without a shower for a few days." It was hardly the worst thing to happen; she'd gone much longer without a shower before, but it was a luxury that she had quickly grown accustomed to. She shrugged it off, though, because it was only a few days.

She would chat with Gabriel and Marcus about the state of the growing fruits and vegetables but as the breakfast hour neared the end she stood, because there was work to be done in the ballroom. "Nice to officially meet you, Gabriel." She picked up her empty plate and the now empty coffee cup she had given to Marcus. The bony woman would pause and... shuffle her feet before saying, "I'll see you later." It was a general statement addressed to both Gabriel and Marcus, because she'd have to see them later, but she hoped that Marcus knew that she wanted to see him later.

----
William remembered the fight that had led to the stabbing. He remembered stumbling around, trying to get away, and wondering if this would be the way in which he died and he severely hoped not. He did not remember fainting and he did not remember being picked up by some random guy. So, when his eyes fluttered open and he was greeted with a strange face the lanky fellow tried fighting... until the deep pain struck him again and he let out a pained growl. Where the hell was he? Inside... somewhere. He looked around at the awful, ugly, peeling walls of the building and then... they were going up the stairs. Was this how he was going to die? At the hands of strangers while he was weak and injured. He could feel his tattered backpack still on his shoulders, though. It hadn't been stripped from him, yet. His empty pistol was still tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He hadn't been robbed... yet. But perhaps there was something far worse in store for him.

There was another voice... a female. And then they were entering into a hallway with more ugly wall paper and a room with... William's eyes danced around but he couldn't focus on too much. Supplies. Medical supplies. That much was clear before he passed out again, the last thing he would remember would be the sound of two more voices joining...
 
Alexis swivelled round as someone entered the garden - but it wasn't a gardener. It was Holly. Alexis furrowed her brow - Holly didn't usually come here. Alexis gave a few slow nods as Holly explained the situation and tried not to make her anxiety too obvious. She hadn't prepared for a newcomer today, and not one in medical, either. She balled her hand into a fist after parting ways with Holly on the second floor. This wasn't how she was supposed to respond. It was her job to take inventory of people, and sometimes people arrived unexpectedly. Alexis pushed open the door to the medical wing, nervously tapping against her leg with her clipboard.

Alexis could feel her tongue drying out like a piece of leather against her teeth. She wasn't good with this sort of thing. There was a skinny man on the bed, awfully pale - grey, even. Alexis wondered if he was going to die. She swallowed hard, trying to wet her mouth. "Holly said you needed me?"
 
"Once we get those barrels we should be a little better set for the gardens, however getting them back up is going to be the...." Micheal would pause in the middle of his conversation with JoJo for a second, briefly interrupted by a sudden voice. Mercy Allen was heading down the stairs towards them, some kitchen pots in each arm. She had helped with the pipes if he remembered correctly, well, tried to at least. As far as he knew she was a decent techy, but plumbing just didn't seem like her forte. "Ah, Mercy, good thinking. JoJo and myself were just going to the storage for a couple of barrels for that same reason." Micheal would breath out with smoke, then pausing to take another drag of his cigarette.

"We will be down in a bit, just need to get the key from Marcus or one of the storage people." He would give her a friendly enough smile, cigarette hanging off his lips. JoJo a few steps behind Micheal would glance around the other mans shoulder, staying silent. His hand nervously fidgeting with his small Torch, the smile on his mask the only semblance of a greeting. Still being fairly new to the Settlement, he didn't know many people outside of the Janitors and Marcus. He would leave all the talking for Micheal, he seemed to know his way around this place and its people.
 
A dip of her chin was given at first response to Michael's assurance that the pots would be useful. "Right-o, Micheal. Hopefully these with the barrels will all be enough, but if not, I'm willing to go scavenge more pots though these two were some of the largest I found." And most likely would need to be returned as soon as possible for the next meal because Mercy may or may not have asked permission to borrow them; however, truth be told she was not all that worried about it considering this was a pretty major emergency: water was key to survival.

She met his smile with a real one of her own before her hazel eyes, lightening to more of a green now that she was calming down from her frustration, swept over his shoulder to the man standing behind him. She offered a nod and smile his way but knowing the men were in a hurry to get the water stored instead of flooding, she decided to introduce herself later. "See you guys in a few."

Flattening herself against the wall, she let the men head up to do their business first before she hefted the increasingly heavy weights of the metal pots even going so far as to raise her right knee to adjust the larger pot to fit better in the crook of her elbow. Then she waddle-skipped down the rest of the stairs, feet splooshing in her old, frayed tennies uncomfortably when they sank into the water-logged carpet. Soon she was scooping water into the larger of the two pots, the legs of her khaki pants clinging to her shins like glue.
 
"Uh...no I don't really need anything. I guess you could say I am trying to be...social?" The way the other man had spat out the word 'social' was really making Gabriel want to backtrack on this conversation..if you could even call it that at this point. "Yeah...I know, there really isn't a point worrying about water...but what if this lasts longer than we think?"

"Well...I don't think there's nothing wrong with not taking a shower for a few weeks or so.." Gabriel shrugs. Are showers necessary for survival? He didn't seem to think so.

Thankfully, Andrea was there. He didn't mind the conversation at all, even if it was nothing of depth. That was how he liked his conversations anyways - light and just something to pass the time. Something to make him feel like he had a life outside the gardens at least. The gardener appeared to ease up as the conversation turned to the topic of their crops. He didn't say much about his co-workers, only mentioning them briefly. It was mostly about the plants grown in the gardens and the way he'd talk about them he sounded almost strangely emotionally invested in them the same way one would be emotionally invested in another person.

Eventually, mealtime came to an end. "See you around then, Andrea." The gardener would down the rest of his now lukewarm coffee so he can make his leave before he has to sit even longer in what he assumed would be awkward silence with Marcus. And even if it wasn't silence, it would probably still be awkward at best.
 
Marcus would watch both of them leave, picking lazily at the remains of his breakfast, glad to be free of whatever that had just been. He'd wipe at his mouth with a bit of his cloak before discarding his trash and his food, throwing the leftovers into the community compost bin near the exit. He had a security shift to take over, and a squad to put together for the next run. Dorian had told him to take at least two others, but Marcus had a gut feeling that three would be better. And since they were going somewhere they hadn't gone before, there was a higher chance of finding both supplies, and danger. An extra gun and an extra pair of hands might make all the difference.

And he'd only be taking the "A-Team" on this on. The heavy hitters. He had one of them selected in his head, but the others...he was still struggling on. The lone wolf of the Hotel would glance around the lobby, observing the commotion that seemed to be happening near the entrance. There were a lot of people gathered over there, but none of them seemed to be...panicked. Not exactly calm, but it didn't seem like something that was his concern.

Besides, his shift didn't start for another thirty minutes. Just enough time for him to clean his side arm and his rifle, his sole goal as he moved towards the armory.

-----------------------------------------------

It was long after dropping Emilia off that one of the Security team trainees approached him. The fifteen year old was breathless, but had remembered what little instruction they had been given so far. Or rather, one rule at least;

If someone, an outsider, was brought into the Hotel due to an emergency, someone had to come find him as soon as possible. If Dorian had to be called, they better be bringing him his side-arm from his office. The young boy had not disappointed, and soon the pair were on their way to the medical ward, the younger officer falling in line behind the compound's Second In Command.
 
After Xander and Selene found the man and brought him to the medical area, they'd both be waiting along with him until Samantha arrived with the medic. The redhead didn't know the doctor very well, although she did know his brother better.
She couldn't help but wonder what this man could possibly be up to, the stranger. Hurt on their doorstep, and they hadn't seen him at any other point during the night. It screamed suspicious wherever you looked and made her feel uneasy. She remained close to Xander, they were friends after all.
 
Sam looked up from where she was leaning on the wall when Alexis entered the room, and nodded. "When he wakes up make sure you get his name. Dorian should get here soon and he'll deal with all the questions. You just make sure you write down everything he says. Name what happened, was he traveling alone, all of that information." The blonde leader turned to face the security team that had brought the stranger in, Xander and Selene.

"Spread the word that no one is to go out of the Hotel until it is determined if there is a threat or not. Don't cause panic, just inform everyone that there may be a nearby threat and everyone is to remain inside until that is cleared." They would probably have to go back outside to double up on the perimeter team until the threat was cleared, but she would leave that to Dorian's discretion. "Come find Dorian when you've finished that."

Her instructions had been given and she recognized the old man's voice in the hallway so she straightened up and prepared to leave. She would wait until he was actually in the room before leaving, for all she knew this man could be a threat rather than a victim and she didn't want to leave him alone with the doctor, asleep or not, until she knew for sure.

Once Dorian was inside she would brush past him leaving the situation in his capable hands, leaving her to set about making sure the Hotel continued running. This meant she would stop by most stations (the gardens, whatever project the janitors were working on, etc.) and make sure everything was running smoothly and there was nothing they would need. It also was not unusual for her to stop and help with whatever they had going on, though lately she'd been helping out with the janitors in the ballroom, especially since the situation with the burst pipe. As she was making her rounds, Sam saw Emily in the hallway and the teenager looked... traumatized. Grabbing her arm to stop her from passing by Sam would ask, "Are you okay?"

---

The hole in the stranger's stomach was about two inches in length, wide open, bleeding profusely, and incredibly deep. Other than the bleeding it didn't look like there were any other injuries, and if Lukias decided to take a look inside, there wouldn't appear to be any damage to any vital organs. If treated, the wound could be non-lethal, kind of like the method used by some raiders who use humans for monster bait or diversions.

The man would be in and out of consciousness, occasionally chocolate brown eyes would flutter open and try to focus on something, anything, but he was tired and dizzy and confused and ultimately his eyes would close again once more.

---

Holly had a small toddler on her hip when Dorian arrived with his daughter. The Second-in-Command was much more likeable in the teenager's opinion and she grinned at the father of the young girl. "Who knew Emilia could work such magic," The brunette would joke, the first real verbal acknowledgement of that very bizarre breakfast. She would take Emilia from her father's care and lead her away to the other children her age, but before releasing her hand she knelt down, a small smile forming on her lips. "I didn't know that Sam was your aunt. Her grumpiness doesn't scare you?" How was she supposed to pass up this opportunity to learn something about the woman who always seemed to have a giant stick up her... Well.

---

Andrea would spend the better part of her day tearing down rotting wall and squishing the bugs that came from it. She chatted, too, with a few of the other janitors about this, that, and nothing and when asked what Marcus was doing sitting with her at breakfast this morning, she rolled her eyes and would answer "Eating, dumb ass," refusing to elaborate further because whatever may or may not be going on between them was certainly no one's business but theirs.

The guy she'd called a dumb ass shoved her, hard to say if it was playful or not, and she knocked into a piece of the rotting wall, falling into it. A cockroach scuttled across her hand and she shuddered before climbing out from the wall. The guy was laughing and she glowered, sucker punching him in the stomach.

They simply returned to work, after that. Issue resolved.
 
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Xander would be lying if he said he wasn't on edge. Any tiredness he felt had melted, replaced with an anxiety ridden alertness. It Had to happen at Shift Change, his thoughts scattering for possible theories as to why. Selene hung close to him as they brought the wounded up the stairs, and Sam didn't seem to have time to deal with this. That was fine for Xander, Dorian wasn't far behind to get briefed. As Dorian walked through the door Xander stood towards attention, raising his hand in a sort of salute to the man.

"Mornin' Sir, We found a wounded stray. No clues as to where he came from, or how this happened." He paused to think of the morning clearly, "The trail of blood that came from the man indicated that he walked (or stumbled) here, no visible signs or dragging or placing by any outside forces. Still, i'm not one hundred percent sure that this isn't a bandit trap." Xander would slightly rock on his heels, his thoughts racing for answers. He hated not having a plan.

-------

As the commotion had begun upstairs, the two Janitors had just made it to the first level of the Hotel. Their cloths making it impossible to sneak by anyone, squishing and squashing with every step. Appearing from the West Stairs, the smells of the kitchen would hit them like a wall of smell. Their stomachs instinctually growling, they began their way across the hotel. It didn't take long for either one of them to spot Marcus, he was heading their way to the Armory. Most likely to clean his guns before the Run, Michael was the first one to speak up,

"Heyo Marcus, sorry to stop you sir. We were just wondering if we could get the key into storage? We wanted to get some barrels for collecting water from downstairs, Try to hold as much as we can for the time being."
 
After their leader, Samantha, went to fetch him to the table where he had been sitting in company of his brother, Matthew, and Felix, Lukias would follow her straight into the medical area and examine him. He had the man stripped of his clothes in no time to make sure he didn't have any other marks or wounds that had gone unnoticed before applying a sustance made with their pot marigold over the wound after cleaning it with clean rags.
After taking care of his wounds and applying some medicine for the bruises and smaller cuts to his body Lukias would wandage him and leave him to rest.

They didn't usually get emergencies like this... and he was curious as well as worried. Where had this man come from, where did he pretend to go like this?, who attacked him?. Too many questions for the doctors mind. They were running low on Echinacea, he'd have to ask some gardener if they had any more of it available just in case.
 
Normally the gardener would have headed straight for the garden on the first floor but this time he start with the rooftop greenhouses today. Gotta check on the water rationed for the gardens first, since that's what he's most antsy about for now. Might as well take care of the plants of the greenhouse first then. On his way up to the rooftops though, he had noticed everything being a tad more active than it usually is. Was something happening? A new arrival? It didn't seem like an infestation or an attack though, so he figured it wasn't much.

Gabriel had a tendency to take his time with tending to the gardens. Especially when it comes to the one up on the rooftops because he couldn't help but play favourites sometimes. What else would he do with his time anyways? He didn't consider himself to be good with anything that isn't related to plants. Yes, without a garden to tend to he would be useless wouldn't he?
 
Jacob could hear the quiet chatter of the morning conversations even before he reached the area where breakfast was served. His partner walked beside him, having just finished their rounds and having been relieved not too long ago by the next team to take over walking the halls. The short man had dark circles around his eyes and wanted so much to eat swiftly and go back to bed for a few hours, but he knew he had several things to work on and they were slowly backing up. There were several orders for shirts to be mended and pants to be patched, as well a few odds and ends to be fixed. However glad he was he wasn't one of the ones down trying to fix the pipes, it would have provided him a better excuse of not having finished any of them in a short time period.

Sighing as he sat with his food, he grunted his usual greetings to the individuals around him, attempting to avoid eye contact with those who he knew would be breathing down his neck soon.
 
Alexis felt the tapping of her clipboard against her leg become lighter and faster. She thought it was probably only noticeable if someone was looking now: they wouldn't be able to hear it. It was just butterfly wings against her thigh keeping her grounded. She nodded slowly, and maybe with a little too much of her head as Sam gave orders to note everything down. Alexis hadn't been able to process much more than "everything" amid the man on the bed and the commotion, so she resolved herself to just write everything when the man woke up. Maybe she would get a moment to refine it all later - she didn't know. She hoped it would be good enough.

Her eyes fell on the man on the bed. It was strange how compelling it was. Like some kind of squirrel interrupted by a passer-by's litter whilst rummaging through the trash, Alexis couldn't keep her eyes off the man. Whenever the wound wasn't obscured by Lukias, Alexis found herself trying to peer into it. Occasionally, the man's eyes would flutter open and then closed, and Alexis would lift the clipboard slightly, falter, then tap her leg again. She wasn't sure she'd seen so much blood before. Realistically, she knew she must have, but every time someone was injured it was as if she was seeing blood for the first time again. It was a horrible feeling, like something sinking into the space between her diaphragm and her stomach.

She swallowed convulsively. Then, with wide eyes, she looked around the room. "What do we do if he's never able to answer the questions?"

She hadn't meant to say it. It had been pressing against her skull like snot in the sinuses, but she hadn't meant to say it. She felt like she'd wet herself: a momentary sense of relief, and then something in the very centre of her chest sinking and surging in waves of humiliation. She set her shoulders back, feeling her back arch like a cat's, but forward, in response.
 
Emilia would giggle madly as Holly brought up her Auntie. "Shes not reeeeally my Aunt. She and my Dadi aren't related~" The little girl would rock back and forth on her heels, her soft curls bouncing slightly. "But shes really nice to me. And lets me sit on her lap. And helps me make fun of Dadi. And she makes a funny face whenever she gets mad~." How such innocence could still exist in the world they inhabited was a mystery, but Emilia was a beacon of it, pure and simple.

----------------------------

Marcus would pause, just seconds from opening the door to what used to be a locker room of the Hotel. He hadn't expected any interruptions, not this early in the morning, and not from people who didn't even work under him. The frown he wore as he turned to the two, Michael and JoJo, was one that could curdle milk, if there was any milk to curdle. He had already had to deal with unwanted socialization this morning, and now here he was, being forced down the same path. Sometimes he hated this place. Hated all the people constantly bugging him. Hated being responsible for so many lives and so many rules. All the noise, the smells, the sheer presence of others.

...But it was better than being alone.

Without a word, the head of the scavengers would reach into his pocket and toss the keys to JoJo, not Michael, the frown deepening and the eyes narrowing behind his goggles. "I want those keys back before lunch. No excuses."

---------------------------

Dorian was silent for a long time, but his body language clued everyone in that what was happening did not please him. The forty something year old man was intimidating when he wanted to be, downright frightening when he was furious. When he got into moods like this, it didn't take long for people to remember that he was a raider, had been one for close to twenty five years before meeting Sam and leaving that life behind. "You did fine, Xander. If you had left him to bleed out there, it might've attracted some crawlies."

Still, the old man really wished this wasn't happening. With winter getting closer and closer, every new mouth meant less food for the others. For the children. For his daughter. The man would live, probably, but the stomach wound would take a long time to heal. Even if this stranger wanted to leave, it could be weeks, maybe even months before he would be ready to. He'd turn to Alexis, scratching at his beard angrily. "I'm not too worried about questions. If he wakes up, I'll handle any interrogations. If he doesn't...we bury him. Its as simple as that. Can't have corpses stinking the place up. People will get sick."

He'd turned to the two defense guards who had found him. "Was there anything else? Was he carrying anything? Any markings on his clothes? Anything painted with blood around the area you found him?" Dorian knew what to look for. Different raider outfits had varying call signs. Some used simple shapes. Some used old religious symbols. The worst case scenario, they'd find something along the lines of downward triangle surrounded by eyes. In which case, Dorian and Sam would have to have a very long, serious talk...
 
Holly laughed, too. "I know she's not really your aunt, but you think of her as family?" It was kind of sweet. Sam had recently lost her sister a few months ago, and she recognized a difference in the blonde woman before and after the death of Olivia. It was good that Sam had someone she could consider family, even if the Community Leader does have a giant stick up her... "Alright, let's get you all set up for lessons." She nudged Emilia in the proper direction and then she headed to where she usually worked, with the smaller children who weren't quite reading for lessons, yet. The toddlers, the babies.

After lunch she would wait for Emily so that the two could go and explore for a bomb making factory! She hadn't yet heard that they weren't allowed to leave, so the plans were still in place for her.

---

William would toss and turn and groan in pain. He was nowhere near death, particularly since the bleeding had been stopped. There was no sign of infection, this had been a fairly recent wound.

It would be some time before he woke up, a few hours later, around lunch time. Between his arrival and then he'd vaguely been in and out but as his eyes fluttered open he was the most lucid he'd been since before passing out. He licked his dry lips and eyed his surroundings. There was very little light which meant he was either indoors or it was night time. Except he felt a soft surface beneath him. Inside, then.

Yes, he remembered seeing ugly walls...

As his eyes gazed around the room they landed an unfamiliar face; an older man, eyes hard and currently glaring at him. William offered only a confused look back. "Where am I?"

---

It would take a few hours, but Sam would track down Jacob with an armful of supplies and some ash. "Hey," she called for his attention when she finally found him. "We're running pretty low on soap. Do you think you could help make some more?" She knew he did a lot of the odds and ends of the hotel, Jacob had patched up her favorite jacket a few weeks ago, and she was fairly certain he was familiar with the process. Usually she did the soap making, but she hadn't had the time lately and so here she was, standing in front of him, ready to delegate. "If you don't mind," she added on, a little grumpily.

Still working on her promise to be more "approachable" but the effect was a little ruined by her tone, verbally putting distance between herself and anyone who might try and become a friend. She didn't smile or offer any niceties as she waited for his response. She didn't exactly glare, but she did have the usual hard look in her eyes, and the mostly neutral expression plastered upon her face.
 
Everything after the spider incident was a lot better. Sometimes, though, she had to flick a few spiders away that she found hiding in the creases of her clothing, or even in her hair. The rest of the time up until lunch she spent as something of a janitor-grade floater. Every so often when she was working on the big rooms on the second floor someone would come to ask for extra hands with the burst pipe, so she'd go down there and help out until she could head back up to the second floor. She was looking forward to lunch when it came; moving from the different floors had worked up a serious appetite in her.

She was pretty quick eating, and went out to meet Holly soon after. She beamed at her friend. "We're still good to go, yeah?" She asked though she was already starting to walk, hands falling into her pockets. She had done something that she probably shouldn't have done; right before lunch, even though she'd been starving, she'd gone up to her and her dad's room and nicked his switchblade. It was an old thing, all rusted and shitty looking, but it was still pretty damn sharp. Her hand closed around the cover over the blade, a tough leather that stopped her hands from getting cut to bits. Hopefully her dad wouldn't notice it was gone, or he'd be pissed.
 
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