Heading Out (OPEN to ALL)

The soft pitter-patter of Shade's footsteps sounded lightly against the brittle ground. It hadn't rained in days and the cold had made the earth hard. Shade headed farther and farther out west into the forest, her plan was to head to the main road and once there she'd start north until the road curved left, than head back into the woods until reaching the destination she required. It was a lot of work for an uncertain amount of supplies, but it was high demand in such times as these. Hunger was a great motivator and right now it continued forcing Shade to press on. Shade knew there would come a day where she wouldn't have to try so hard just to find the simple things as food and water. But for now she was set in survival-mode, and it was best for both her survival and others to find the necessities needed to live in this harsh world. At least until it got better.

Clutching her knife she continued onward, feeling uneasy as if something would burst out of bushes at any given second. Her fingertips twitched and tapped lightly against the wooden handle of her buck knife. She still preferred the treetops over this, because now she wasn't safe. Anything could happen and she'd have nothing but her knife and her wits to defend herself. Shade just prayed nothing would happen, the last thing she needed was walkers to slow her down.

The hazel eyes of Shade, carefully peaked out from some undergrowth as she went on her way. Pushing onward through the growth, clutching the buck knife tightly in her fingertips. Her ears pricked for any indication of danger. She softly recited a bit of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens to keep herself keen and calm. Her words were indecisive from afar and couldn't be heard by the regular human ear.

The slightest cracking of leafs and twigs caught her attention. She froze in place and looked around wildly, "God fucking dammit...already!?" She muttered and half-crouched like a frightened animal cowering and waiting to be captured it the claws of a predator.

A middle-aged male corpse came wandering out of the brush, sending Shade lower to the barren ground. It had not yet noticed her and if she was lucky she'd avoid it all together. The walker was wearing a yellow flannel t-shirt and a pair of tattered black trousers. An odd combination but right now the zombies fashion sense wasn't her greatest concern. It sniffed the air like a blood-hound, cocking it's head and animalistically grinding it's teeth together. The slow unnerving sound of canines grinding painfully against one another, pierced Shade's ears. Making her bite her lip and cower closer to the ground.

She waited with a lump in her throat as the dead wandered dangerously close towards her. Hunger shown on every pore on it's disfigured face.

Shade jumped at the sound of gunfire, scrambling up onto her feet as the walker fell forward. The corpse collapsed just inches away from her shoes, she stared up at the trees squinting slightly. She gawked at Robert as he leapt down from the arms of the Giant-Oak. She was greatly relieved to have Robert there with her now and truthfully couldn't be happier to see him. "I hope this doesn't sound weird, but I fucking love you right now." She took a deep breath and stared at the limp corpse. It hadn't occurred to her until now that the sound would draw attention.

"I was on my way into town for suppli-" Shade paused pursing her cupid shaped lips, staring at Robert's extra baggage. "Holy shit, did you rob a fucking grocery store? Damn!" The concern coming to her attention she shook her head,

"Sorry, sorry..off track...I need to head into town for more supplies for myself. I'll catch up with you later if I have too." Shay bent down picking up her knife and turned to dash off in the opposite direction as Robert. Unless if he was to stop her, which probably wouldn't do any good. She completely forgot to even utter a thank you but that would have to wait. Time was not something spared lightly in this kind of world. No, not at all.

Shade slightly cocked her head to look at Robert. "I'm perfectly capable of going out by myself. You may not believe this, but I've been on my own longer than you think. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate some company though." Shade gave a half-assed smile and continued onward. Her hair slid over her left shoulder, bouncing lightly with each careful step. She tried her best not to make any excessive noise, for it might bring some unwelcomed party guests.

Walking with Robert reminded her of hiking with her father and brother when she was younger. While around Robert she often found herself drifting off, for a trip into the past. Shade supposed that was because Robert reminded her of her dad. Of course Robert had better hair than her dad but it wasn't a competition. It almost made her sad to even look at him. But some things are just utterly unavoidable, like this situation for instance. She for now, needed Roberts expertise and in a way he needed her as well. That's just how things worked nowadays.

Or maybe that's just how it always worked, it could be she supposedly just hadn't noticed until now.

Shade and Robert walked in silence for the longest time listening to nothing but the chirping of birds and the gentle ruffling of leaves in the breeze. That continued for about five minutes until she finally broke the tranquility. "I-I know your probably thinking it but...I'm...not...pissed at you Robert. I'm sorry I snapped at you." Silence always was uncomfortable for her, she hated being alone with nothing but her thoughts keeping her company. That's the only reason she'd even bothered speaking up. Sadly even she had a hard-time admitting her fear of silence. It was hard admitting anything these days.

"I'm not use to having people around. And the people I have come across...well their either dead and hungry or alive and desperate." She left another awkward-silence filled gap before opening her mouth again to speak.

"People say, It's the living you should fear, not the dead. But truthfully... I think both deserve an even chance to inflict an equal amount of pain." The tone of Shade's voice weakened saying that last part. The crackle in her voice sounded almost painful, as if she was remembering something horrible. Clearing her throat she quickly changed the subject not giving him a chance to reply.



"Uh anyway, there's no point in not socializing if your going to be tagging along." Giving Robert a slight smile she turned her attention back forward, listening to the peaceful sounds of the forest.

Listening to such could almost make one forget about all that's happened. But not completely, because some things...just can't be forgotten.

Shade failed to restrain a smile, she had ignored his replies until the last comment. Knowing it probably wasn't a subject she'd want to fuck with too much. Stretching her leg outward she stepped over a log, the heel of her shoe crunching over some leaves. "Well...yeah I haven't picked over it yet but I was out hunting the other day and I stumbled up on it. It seemed abandoned except for a few walkers wandering about." As for a few, she really meant at least a dozen. But shade had her ways of getting past that kind of obstacle.

 "I saw a big fuckin library, and uh...heh...it might sound stupid and childish but it also had a sweets-store. I haven't had one fucking chocolate bar since before the apocalypse. I'd kill for a chocolate bar right bout now." Her expression withheld longing. Shade herself knew it wasn't just the taste of the delicacy she wanted. But the memory held within it, countless times she'd begged her father to stop by the candy-store and pickup a bag of sour-jellies. The memory made her mouth water and her heart yearn for the olden-days.

"Plus, we might find some food, clothes, hell maybe even guns. I know that the clerk at the Candy-Shop back home kept a pistol under the counter-

 "I was also thinkin of bringing something back for Mia and the others. I know it doesn't matter either way but...maybe it'll put smiles on their faces."