The town seemed no bigger than a trade outpost. There were a handful of houses along the main road, a gas station and a small store that also doubled as a chemist. Roman had sometimes wondered how places as tiny as this ever managed to sustain themselves so far removed from larger hubs of civilisation. Unlike the last stop the small village was in shambles and more in line with the neglected and abandoned fashion they were more used to seeing. Although just because it looked like it was slowly falling apart didn't make it any less of a potential danger.
The patrol car pulled to a stop in front of the nearest bowser and the trio climbed out of the car, each being careful about the amount of noise they made. Roman checked the pumps hoping to get lucky, while AJ procured one of the knives that he and Jane had managed to take from their captors and began to head for the service station. She froze momentarily as a small bell that had been screwed into the door jingled, keenly scanning the interior for any movement, but once it was clear she was alone she moved forward. It wasn't quite as dark as she had expected it to be, a large skylight in the centre letting in a good part of the sunshine. A small stack of shopping baskets sat to her right, so taking one she cautiously began a trip down the isles to see what she could find.
It was surprisingly well stocked for such a small place for what it had, mainly basic things for car maintenance such as oil, radiator coolant, basic tools and the like, along with a selection of camping and outdoor goods. Maybe there was a lake or something nearby that had been a good pull for a bit of summer tourist cash. Wandering down the few isles she found some fishing gear and took it, maybe they could get a break somewhere and be able to use it. A few cheap, disposable ponchos, a torch and a few packets of batteries, some packets of cheap glow sticks, a box of fire lighters and a small portable burner. She was behind the counter when the bell chimed again and AJ shot up to find the strange man picking through the snacks on the other side.
"Juicyfruit?" he offered idly after opening the box and held it out.
She reached over the counter and carefully took one, watching him warily as if he might try something. He appeared oblivious to her tension though, pulling the box back and casually chewing on a few of the confections as he continued to rifle through the junk food on display and picking out what were clearly his favourites.
"So," she began slowly, almost abandoning the attempt to talk to him when piercing blue eyes focused solely on her. Despite his casual demeanour, something about this guy screamed at her that he was dangerous. "What's your name?"
"Ambrose." He replied almost as if he was bored and wandered over to a magazine display, the once glossy covers beginning to gather a thin film of dust.
"You have a first name?"
"Dean."
He picked one up and flicked through the pages before putting it back, opting to have a few more pieces of candy. She was nervous, that was easy enough to spot, so for the mean time he'd have to play it cool and be as non threatening as possible. He wasn't in the best shape to take on the big guy outside if he needed to, but now that he wasn't being beaten to hell and back everyday that wouldn't be a permanent problem. He had spent too much time in that damnable cage and his superiors had probably written him off already, but he had to get back to prove that he was very much alive and so too was someone else of deep interest to them; Keira Murphy.
And if this pair were to be believed, suffering from a rather problematic case of amnesia.
While he had never met her personally, having been recruited by the organisation Section Nine barely two years a go, he had heard the stories. Section Nine was one of those top secret arms of the government and she and her partner, Mitch Carter, were the best of the best. They were given the hardest assignments because the Chief knew they could get the job done every time. However when both had failed to even turn up from their last mission it had sent the higher ups into a frenzy. Everyone had been pulled off their assignments and re-tasked with the sole directive of finding the missing agents and the package they had been sent to retrieve.
Dean believed he had been close before the riots started and had been forced to evacuate the city he had been searching. He had spent the better part of a couple of days hacking into the local and state police databases searching for anything out of the ordinary when he was positive he had stumbled across a lead. There had been a high speed chase along the freeway involving an SUV and an Impala with gunfire exchanged between the two. The reports of the aftermath had been what had caught his attention however. Two of the three men had been shot in the head, the third having been shot in the back in the initial fire fight, clearly they had both been executions. A woman had also been found with gun shot injuries but surprisingly was still alive when emergency services got to the scene.
He was positive the survivor had been Murphy, so decided to stake out the hospital. The police presence had been heavy though, which was understandable, and he had a hard time trying to find a way to get close. For them she was the only source of answers they had for such a reckless and dangerous display. When he had finally had an opening to get some answers of his own chaos had erupted all over the country. Forced to give up his position he had tried to get back to HQ, whatever was going on seemed like something they would have a finger on the pulse of.
Strolling down an isle that displayed a few tools he came across a small crowbar and took it, the solid weight of the iron feeling comfortable in his grip. It was nice to have some sort of weapon by his side again, even if it was such a basic thing. Noticing that the girl had gone back to foraging behind the counter he headed back towards the front of the store, palming a travel map and slipping it between the pages of a puzzle book then went back outside.
"Any luck?" he nodded casually in the direction of the old bowser.
"A little," Roman replied, noticing the crow bar but opted to say nothing. "Not as much as I'd like, though."
"Better than nothing," Dean said with a shrug, then nodded his head in the direction of the store across the road. "I'm going to see what I can scrounge up in there."
The other man merely nodded before heading into the gas station, no doubt to check up on his little friend. Dean crossed the road and briefly took in the front of the store. A window to the right had been smashed and boarded up haphazardly. From what he could see the interior was a lot darker, more ominous than the gas station, and though he wasn't entirely positive there seemed to be a brief flicker of movement somewhere near the back. With a firm grip around his makeshift weapon he eased the door open and stepped inside.
It was quiet, the only sound the soft rustle of the wind through the trees outside bringing with it a cold chill which caused him to shiver a little. Heading down the isle to his left he found a display of children's items; toys, school gear and the like. Picking up a small backpack with a large picture of Iron Man printed on it he went further towards the back of the store, his goal being the prescriptions counter. He was almost there when he heard a brief shuffling noise and stopped in his tracks, ears and eyes straining in the gloom to pick out where it came from.
Nothing.
With a small huff of annoyance he climbed the few stairs eased up part of the bench that had been fitted with hinges. He heard the noise again, closer this time. Whatever was in here with him had to be amongst the shelves of medication. His steps silent, he left the pack on the counter top and went to investigate. With tension rising he rounded the first shelf to find nothing. Coming around the second left him empty handed as well, so did the third. Positive it had to be around the last one Dean raised the crow bar, ready to strike, but it too was clear of anything. His jaw clenched, the eerie atmosphere giving him unwanted reminders of how he got caught by those lunatics. That's when he heard it again, along with a ragged hiss.
It was behind him.
Ignoring his multitude of bruises and aches he spun, acting on instinct and ingrained training as the iron bar came up with startling speed. The flattened end of the metal bar tore through soft flesh under the jaw and lodged deep into the brain just as it had reached out, rotting fingers grasping feebly at his shirt while it twitched a moment then stilled. He held it there, suspended by the bar through its cranium, before shoving hit back brusquely with a boot. His lip curled slightly in disgust as he stared at it, as if he was offended that it had even had the nerve to try and attack him. When it was clear he was now alone he went and grabbed the bag and started going through the shelves, taking anything he thought would be even remotely helpful.
When Roman and AJ joined him, Dean had already had neat piles stacked on top of the front register and had gone in search of something to carry it all in. Picking up a large can of spaghetti Roman had the small comfort that at least they wouldn't go hungry for a while. The guy seemed to know what to look out for, much like Jane did, so perhaps it wasn't too bad to keep him around after all. Giving AJ the keys he wandered further into the store as she went back out to reverse the car closer to the door to make getting the haul of goods out of there easier.
Dean heard the sound of the engine and looked up as he came back from a quick look around the store room. It was still well stocked, so this town must have been hit hard and fast once the infection set in and it seemed rather out of the way, so they must have been the first to come across it since. Maybe they could clear out one of the houses and hole up here for a while. Then once he was back to full strength it would be time for him to get back to the job. But first he had to convince the other two it was a good idea, which he doubted would be difficult. They had obviously been on the move since they got out of wherever they came from, and the idea of just stopping to catch the proverbial breath should hold its own appeal.
"I was just thinking," he began as he gave Roman a hand to start loading things into the trunk of the car, "maybe we could stay here for a while, it seems off the beaten path enough that I don't think we'd have anyone else calling through any time soon."
"What do you have in mind, exactly?"
Good, he had the man's curiosity at least. This may be even easier than he had guessed. "We find the easiest house in this place to fortify, one with a good view of the road in both directions so we can spot any potential trouble long before it gets here, and use it to lay low for a while. I don't know about you, man, but I sure as hell could do with at least a few days rest from the road. Fairly sure your pretty little friend out there could use a time out to settle her nerves as well. And you, well... even a blind man could see that you're distracted enough as it is."
Roman refrained from trying to give too much away. He had been confident that he had been able to mask his worries enough from the other two, but this guy seemed more astute than he seemed. It wasn't like they would be left in a jam supply wise either, between the gas station and this little store there was loads of food and gear to keep them from going hungry for quite some time. The idea of stopping, even just for a short while, did sound appealing. Clocking up the hours upon hours of driving was starting to wear on him and he needed a rest. And maybe, just maybe, if they stayed in one spot instead of on the move Jane and Seth could possibly end up here as well.
Dean could see Roman quickly coming around to the idea and hid a satisfied smirk as he explained the idea to the girl and while reluctant, she also eventually agreed it was the best course of action. Everything was going exactly how he wanted it to...
It had been a couple of weeks and the idea to stay appeared to have been a good one. While there had been a few unwanted neighbours it hadn't taken Roman and Dean long to take care of them and they hadn't seen a single soul since. The house they had decided on was a small two storey affair. The weather-boards were a faded, pale blue and the roof corrugated iron. Each of them had their own rooms which were all on the top floor. They had parked the patrol car around the back and out of sight, packed full of gear and ready to go if they needed to get out in a pinch. For the first time in a long time AJ felt as if her nerves didn't have to be constantly balanced on the razor's edge of every single waking moment.
Winter had started to officially settle in that morning as a light snow began to fall as she went about a small routine she had established of keeping their new abode clean. The person who had previously occupied it hadn't been the most cleanliest of people, but with a bit of elbow grease she had it in a liveable condition in no time.
She was going through each of their rooms, rounding up any laundry that needed doing. The two men couldn't be more polar opposites in tidiness if they tried. Roman had a bad habit of just leaving things where they lay, whereas Dean kept things in such a neat and orderly fashion it seemed almost borderline OCD. Everything had its place and not a thing was out of line. It was all very... disciplined. It made her wonder if he had ever served in the military. However today was slightly different when she spotted a map on a nearby desk with circles, markings and notes scrawled all over it. There was a red circle around Cherryvale, just reading the name made her shudder involuntarily. Then there was another circle around the tiny place they were in now and a bunch of lines following the roads connecting the two with equations scribbled out to calculate the distance. Further down she had noticed the city they had escaped from had also been circled with two dates scribbled next to it, one being the day they had left. Further to the east was a large X with S9 tagged next to it, but there wasn't anything there of note that she could see, just empty space. Just what was he trying to piece together?
"Snooping isn't very nice, young lady."
She quickly spun around, feeling like a rabbit caught in a trap as he casually leaned against the frame of the door. His large physique filled the space around him as he looked at her with an odd little grin before he straightened out and crossed the room. AJ swallowed hard, it was just the two of them right now as Roman had gone out to do what had become his daily routine in the morning, a careful sweep outside to make sure no nasty surprises were lurking around.
"I didn't mean to pry," she stammered. It was so intimidating the way he was staring at her and impulsively she backed away a few steps.
Absently he ran a finger over one of his markings and chuckled lowly. "Oh, but you did. A good girl would have simply ignored it. But," he paused a moment as if considering something, or maybe purely for dramatic effect, before focusing on her again, "I guess you would have found out sooner or later. After all, I don't intend to stay here and play happy house mates with you and Fabio out there forever."
"What... what do you mean?" Wait, was he planning to kill them?
"Your friend. The one with the memory problem." Another pause, damn this guy was good at being a creepy bastard. "I know who she is. I know what she is."
She wasn't sure if she entirely believed him, but deep down a part of her desperately wanted to hear the answer to a question that had been plaguing them all since the boys had found her. "And just who is that?"
"Her name is Keira Murphy," he replied, "and she's a traitor to the good old US of A."