Just as quickly as he fell asleep, Ray opened his eyes to the afternoon sun shining through the window. He'd wait until Crystal woke up before he would move at all. Ray looked down to see that she was tightly curled up and laying on her side while still resting on his stomach and chest. Her tail was draped over herself as well. Ray thought about Jenna while waiting out his Espeon. He had a ton of questions about the virus and how exactly she safely studied it in the first place. Ray would definitely ask and take in whatever useful information he could get.

"Jen… you can't just bring people over here, we've been safe for an entire month now!" Her older brother was upset that she'd brought Ray to the small city, and rightfully so. He did have a point. They were both inside of the house that he slept in every night.

"I know this, but he needed help-"

"I knew you'd say something like that… you can't trust anyone Jenna! I don't know how you're still so naive… I'm gonna go tell him to leave!" He threw on a shirt quickly, along with a hat to cover up his messy brown hair.

Jenna let out a sigh of defeat, being just one year younger than her twenty year old brother still put him at a higher authority. He also had a rougher personality and was fairly taller than she was at average height, so Jenna didn't have it in her to stand up to him, especially in a situation like this. "No… I'll go tell him." She replied calmly and exited the house. It didn't take her more than half of a minute to reach the next building. "Ugh." Jenna stood in front of the door to the home that she let Ray stay in. What would she even say to him? After all that happened yesterday, it'd be heartless to just let him off, and he knew very little about the virus when it came to survival at that. Jenna raised her right hand and lightly knocked on the door. "It's Jenna!"

The sound woke Crystal immediately; her ears perked as she slowly opened her tired eyes.

"Hold on sweetheart..." Ray set his espeon on the bed beside him and got up, then walked over to the door and opened it. "Hey." He greeted the female that stood in front of him; this time she was without her utility belt.

"Morning, come with me." If Jenna had to send him away, she'd at least give him the help he needed to live in such a harsh region. She led Ray to the house that she stayed in. There was something about him and his cute espeon that made her assume that he wasn't bad news. Maybe her brother was right, she could be stupid for holding any kind of trust for Ray, but Jenna would instead trust her own heart this time. "Inside." She entered through her front door, and Ray followed with Crystal trailing closely behind.

He also caught a glimpse of the Blastoise that saved him last night standing by the right side of the house right before walking into the house.

"My brother and I carved out a small basement in this house - a very cold one with an adjustable thermostat since we began studying the virus." She pulled up a hatch that was on the living room floor and motioned for him to follow as she went down the stairs. "Make sure you close it behind you!"

And Ray did, right after Crystal padded down the first few steps. Once he was down, the cold air hit him almost immediately. He could even see his breath in front of him. "Weak under cold temperatures… right?"

"Right." Jenna grinned and went over to a microscope that was on a counter by the wall. Other than a few counters, there were a few shelves and cabinets on and pushed up against the walls of the small room. "Over here, you can see one of the parasites I've been looking at recently. It's dormant under the current temperature though." Jenna stepped aside and welcomed him over.

Ray made his way over to her while shivering and leaned down to look inside of the scope. The parasite was completely still and transparent other than its black veins. It was a bit stringy in shape as well, but also held some weight to it. it looked harmless, but was capable of overtaking an entire body. "How come they weren't slowed at all while chasing me in the cold weather last night?" Ray stood up again and looked beside him at Jenna.

"The inside of a body helps keep them warm and secluded from any weather, and there were a ton of them inside on top of that. It would have taken much colder temperatures in order to freeze them." She giggled to herself after explaining. "Do I sound like a scientist at all? I'm not, I just remember what I found out about the virus."

"It's helpful for sure, I probably wouldn't have gotten that far at all myself." Ray smiled a bit and soon looked away from her, her green eyes were pure, and a bit mesmerizing.

Crystal had been watching from the stairs while lightly shivering, but suddenly looked up at the entrance to the basement because she heard footsteps.

"Wait…" Jenna stared up at the platform, and that's when it began to open. "Damn, I'm in for it now…" She mumbled.

"Jen, you down here?" Her brother asked, and that question was answered upon him seeing her once he got down the steps - along with Ray. "Jen… what is this?" Her older sibling exhaled deeply, seeming more disappointed than he was upset.

"Chris… l was going to send him away, b-but I wanted to-"

"I don't even want to hear it." Her brother then looked over at Ray and studied him for a good moment. He didn't seem to care much about Crystal, who was now sitting right beside Ray while eyeing her brother. "Who are you?" Chris asked Ray himself, and Ray would have to speak wisely. Not that he feared for his life or anything, but he didn't want a psybeam burned through Chris's chest if it could be avoided.

"I was being chased by a group of the infected last night, and Jenna happened to be there to save me. She brought me back here to where it was safe for the night." Ray made sure to come off as nicely as possible.

"Well, we don't take guests. I don't trust a soul anymore. You could be sick for all I know." Chris shook his head and shot a glare over at Jenna.

"I don't blame you for that, and I'll go…" Ray didn't want to cause any trouble within Jenna's life.

"Good, did you leave anything back where you slept?" Chris asked, and Ray was about to say no before Jenna answered for him.

"He did!" Jenna nearly blurted out, and Ray quickly nodded in agreement in order to play along with whatever she was up to.

"All right, go get your stuff… and leave."