The darkness in the abandoned grocery store is a good sign.

The announcement system turning on with a screech is not.

Out of sheer surprise, Elesis ducks and swings her crowbar upwards, sighing as it comes in contact with nothing. "Ara, you still there?"

"Yeah," comes the whispered reply. "Who the hell still lives here? The entire town is empty!"

The P.A. System screeches again, and they hit the deck. "Greetings, visitors," says the voice from above. "We see you have breached our defences. Turn around, leave your food and water at the door, and do not return to this store. Or this town, for that matter. You have five minutes."

Elesis scans the store quickly. Despite the fact that it's dark, it's just a small store, most likely home owned considering how small this place is. "Ara, can you smoke this guy out?"

Ara scoffs. "You underestimate me, Ellie dear."

She shuffles into the darkness as the voice turns to the P.A. "Four minutes. I can hear you talking, y'know. Stop the chit chat and get going before we collapse the store on your lit- HEY!"

There's a scream, and then some hideous microphone feedback that makes Elesis nearly drop her crowbar and plug her ears in agony. "Ara's getting better at this," she muses, putting her weapon back into its (makeshift) holster and looking for the source of the sound.

She finds her girlfriend standing over some guy in a back room, foot planted on his chest and assault rifle aimed at his head. "Woah, woah, woah!" She yells, prompting Ara to lower her weapon. "Ara, what happened to "save as many people as we can"?"

Ara pouts, taking her foot off the guy's chest. "The "save as many people as we can" doesn't apply to stupid post-apocalypse cashiers who threaten customers."

"Hey!"

Elesis sighs, leans down and offers her hand to the white-haired guy on the floor. He looks a bit traumatized. "Bit of a rough start," she says, grinning. "You said you wanted food?"

Fifteen minutes later, they've moved their camp for the night into the grocery store, Ciel nearly burning himself while moving the propane stove. "The name's Edward," says the new guy, sipping his bowl of soup gingerly, "but you shitheads can call me Add."

Lu cocks an eyebrow. "Add."

"Yeah." Add scoops another bean out of his bowl and pops it in his mouth. "What's so bad about that?"

"Yeah, Lu, what's so bad about that?" Ain teases, earning a glare.

"Add. As in addition?" Lu ponders. "Or is it some sort of acronym for something? Or-"

"Lu," Ciel says sternly, and that's the end of that.

There's a beep, and then the glass doors shatter as Rose drives the Battering Ram right into the store, stopping just in front of the door. "Your door's not gonna work anymore," she announces as she steps out, "but hey, my car's in the way, so zombies shouldn't walk right in in the middle of the night."

Elesis nods. "We'll keep watch anyways," she says, hoping to assure Add (who is staring at the damage to his store). "Have you been here a long time?"

"I've lived here for most of my life," he confirms. "Survived the First Winter with my mom." His gaze drops. "She didn't make the First Summer. I've been alone here since."

Everyone murmurs in understanding. No one's gone without loss since the outbreak of the virus, some more than others.

"Do you want to come with us?" Elesis suggests. "We're just picking up survivors as we go. You're out of food. You won't survive on your own."

"There's a safe haven in the north that we might head to someday," Ain adds helpfully. "Most of the remaining survivors are flooding towards Elysion. We're also trying to find a cure."

"Then I'll come with you," Add decides, standing up before awkwardly sitting back down. "I do have food, but I'm never gonna eat it."

"Why not?" Ara asks, puzzled. She has the biggest appetite of their entire group, and tends to complain when it's not sated.

Add sighs. "There's a crate of oyster shooters in the back. I thought they were good, so I cracked open a can a few months ago. I was sick for days afterwards."

Ain runs some tests, and It turns out Add is allergic to seafood.

Lu laughs for a solid ten minutes before patting his back in solidarity. She's allergic to carrots. They bond over their hatred of their allergies, and their shared love of sweets.

Elesis wonders if the others fit into their team as quickly.

A/N: in the aftermath of the last batch of third job releases i'd like to say that i am SHOOK, code sariel has met all my expectations and surpassed them and i am a happy cbs main

as for job paths for this fic? imagine it to be a bit of a continuation of the classes from the Infernal Jukebox series, but with third jobs. don't worry, all will become clear soon. since this an AU, their jobs will mostly be cosmetic matters, but some personality traits and skills may carry over.

you'll notice that the chapters of this fic are differently formatted from my usual format, and that is because instead of being in told in strict chapters, When the Winter Ends is told in segments, kind of like on a variety show! there'll be other segments eventually when things get intense later.

also, a final warning: not every chapter will be happy like this one. after all, what's a zombie apocalypse without a few people dying?

~Marg