Lex snatched Aurora's arm, stopping her outside an onyx silver door. The two had been wandering for a few hours, Aurora finally suggesting they headed to the lower floors once she realized Lex had no clear idea of where exactly the weapons cache was.

Stopping at a thick steel door, bolts keeping it firmly in place, Lex twirled the keycard in hand, silver eyes wandering to the keypad adjacent the door knob. This just might go off without a hitch... Swiping the card down through its opening, a green light went off into confirmation, the happiness that had come soon dimming at the required four digit password. "This I didn't foresee." Running a hand through his hair, he sighed, back to the wall.

Aurora, who had stayed unusually silent through the whole ordeal, spoke rather timidly...no, reserved, something on her mind. She stared down to the keypad with indifference as she spoke. "Lex...I know my...fair share about the station but...maybe things might have changed while I was away?" She sighed, refusing to look him in the eyes, her voice coming out strained. "Are you sure this is the only place we can get ammo? There's no other option? No other way?"

Banging his head lightly against the wall, he let his eyes linger to the dangling fluorescent lights decorating the ceiling. Nibbling on the same toothpick for the past half hour, he spit it out to speak. "I'm positive. Our last defense was behind that door," He held back a laugh. "But God hates us-"

"Not quite," interjected Aurora, her body rigid. She walked up to the panel, stretching out her left hand. Wiggling her fingers deftly, she began to input a set of commands into the computer, arriving at a screen full of binary code.

Somehow able to read it, she swiftly pressed in a few more numerals, arriving herself at a manual override screen. Satisfied, she entered in the password. Several beeps went off simultaneously, a steady green shine lighting each keypad on the countless doors surrounding them.

Lex stared in disbelief, soon shaking his head with a chuckle. He couldn't believe it. The katana thing...he'd accept. But if Little Miss green eyes could hack into a secure database in less than five minutes, if that was what had actually happened, he might actually consider paying her some form of respect.

Raising her brow at Lex's slightly open jaw, she rubbed her temples seriously. "Long story short, my...father use to work here, was the head of this place. I use to read his files for fun but I'm sorry...I really fucked up."

He started to question how, a hiss of steam interrupting him. Glancing back, he realized Aurora hadn't necessarily done a good thing. She had opened the door for him, sure. But with that came the opening of every other door that had once been on lock, the room's inhabitants stumbling.

Moans in unison filled the air, the undead choir singing their unearthly tune. Walking aimlessly, severed limbs dripping thick drops of blood into the once clean hall, the smell of raw decay choked the air, the duo severely outnumbered. And yet, despite that, Aurora's hand was subconsciously sliding down to her katana.

Snatching her wandering hand, Lex kicked open the steel door, swinging her forcefully inside the room. Firing at an incoming zombie, he jumped in after Aurora into the new room. Recovering from his throw, Aurora started to push in the door with a struggle, Lex joining in the effort and slamming the heavy door shut before any ravenous zombies could get a bite.

Back to the door, Aurora leaned her head back with a smile, that turning into broad grin, then a hysterical fit of laughter. Happy tears brimming her eyes, she held onto her chest. "Holy shit fuck me, too close for comfort and I was actually considering going all swordswoman up into that crowd!" She laughed some more, falling down onto the floor at the fact she was still alive.

Lex smirked at the giddy girl, eyes lit up as if Christmas had arrived. Up against the left was a small table with an accompanying old-fashioned typewriter, several sheets of paper lodged into the top. To the far right of the room was the only possible door they could exit through, that made up of a rich bronze. Aligning the wall directly opposite them was enough weapons to stall an armada, enough ammo to blow a hole in every citizen of the damned city. Snatching up as much as possible, he almost didn't catch Aurora's question.

"How long you think that door will hold 'em out?"

Not looking back, Lex shrugged, making sure to take twenty or so rounds of magazines for his beloved Desert Eagle. "Indefinitely. I mean, it's a six inch steel door and this is the equivalent to a panic room. If that doesn't keep 'em out, what will?" She mumbled what sounded to be an 'I thought so' beneath her breath.

Shortly after her comment, a weird clicking sound began to fill the silence of the room. The clicking soon turned into a small ding before starting again. Frowning, Lex readied his gun, glancing to Aurora. She was standing over the table, bag resting on the countertop. He walked over to her, peering over her shoulder curiously. It soon turned to heavy skepticism, his question coming out critical. "Aya...what the hell are you doing?"

Ink ribbon placed into the typewriter, Aurora began on her second sentence, eyes focused on the small black font. Mumbling, she typed rapidly, answering. "Term paper..."

"...term, TERM paper!" Lex barely managed to sputter out the last words, not believing what he was hearing. He pulled her from the typewriter from the back of her pony. Aurora unconsciously caught his arm, spinning around to face him. Getting the picture, he released her, grasping her shoulders instead. "Can I buy some pot from you?"

Searching a pocket, Aurora shook him off, sighing. "Sorry, don't have that on me," Turning back to the type-writer, she continued on her frenetic pace, Lex taking the opportunity to shout to her turned back.

"Are you out of your fucking mind! There are literally zombies pounding on the door, we're in the middle of an outbreak, and you're typing up a paper?" Seeing her make no response, he shouted her name quickly, she jumping from his tone. "What's more important? Your life or some paper that whoever probably won't even get the chance to read!"

"My paper..." responded Aurora calmly, up to the middle paragraph. Her face had grown apathetic as he shouted; she hated being yelled at and was having a time with not pushing him through the steel door. "I gave my word I'd finish it..."

He ran his hand down his face in disbelief. He had found a real, honest to life airhead. "Never in my life..." Spinning her around, he slammed her back into the metal door, glaring to her heavily. He spoke quietly but cold. "Aya, what is more important? Your word or some paper?"

Her green eyes bordered on psychotic. She had been able to keep calm but she had warned him earlier enough. Slapping away his arms hard, she only refrained herself from breaking his hand at knowing he was the only one capable of wielding a gun. Shouting, she said, "MY WORD! My," She sidled away from a snatching arm, back to the table. "Word is the only thing that matters! Without it, I'd be nothing and I would just be some petty waste of existence! Now!"

Aurora stabbed a finger into his chest, gritting her teeth. "I said I would have this god damn paper completed, finished, and either faxed or emailed by six o clock in the morning and I WILL have this FUCKING paper done by then. And not zombies, Lickers, HUNTERS, WHATEVER THE FUCK ELSE UMBRELLA THROWS AT US, NOTHING...outside of the will of GOD, HIS or HER self, are stopping ME!"

"THEN I SHOULD JUST LEAVE YOU HERE!" shouted Lex, unable to comprehend all he had heard.

Aurora jabbed him into the chest, he stumbling back slightly. Her eyes were aglow in her fury. "Then GO, Lex! Take your WEAPONS, take your SHIT, and leave me HERE!"

"NO, because you..." he drilled his fingers into the center of her forehead. "You are a COMPLETE and TOTAL idiot! You may have opened this door, but smarts doesn't mean common sense, and I," he laughed in between his shout. "I refuse to have YOU die leaving ME with the GUILTY CONSCIENCE!"

"THEN STAY!" Ordered Aurora, voice going sore.

"FINE!"

"FINE!" Finished Aurora, wasted more from her argument then with anything else.

Lex, in a small fit of anger, grabbed hold of a weapons rack and for a moment Aurora wondered if he was going to assault her. Instead, he knocked the rack over in front of the steel door as an added security, breathing heavily. Back to the bare wall, his eyes stayed to the bronze door at the end of the room. "Finish your god damn paper..." he muttered bitterly.

Surprised he had given up so easily and strangely relieved that the bastard didn't exit her company, she continued typing up her paper, making the occasional error in her rush. Within twenty minutes, two pages typed, Aurora finished with a smile, snatching her completed paper and carefully folding it into her bag.

Brooding against the wall, eyes closed in rest, Lex casually opened a sparkling silver eye at no longer hearing the clickety-clack of the typewriter. "Finished?"

"Yeah..." Swinging her backpack over her back, Aurora walked up to Lex, squeezing his cheek affectionately with a smile. "Umm...thanks for waiting on me. I may not have said it but it's...interesting to have the company."

For a second, a tinge of pink hit his cheeks, he unused to her being cordial. Swiping her hand away awkwardly, he folded his arms over her chest, not yet able to maintain eye contact. "Yeah...it's no biggie. I don't need the thanks."

"Heh, right," Heading over to the bronze door, Aurora shrugged. "I'm sorta figuring if the zombies don't kill us, we'll probably kill each other first," Pushing open the door into a mildew filled corridor, she became thoughtful. "Wanna bet on it?"

To her surprise, Lex unfurled a hundred from a roll concealed in his back pocket. Aurora took out three fifties from the stolen wallet, crumbling the cash into his hands. He smirked. "You got yourself a deal. Whoever goes crazy first loses the money...hope you said goodbye in advance to those fifties."

Snorting, she pocketed her portion of the bet money. "Nah, I just told 'em to expect a new friend by the name of Benjamin to keep them company..." She smiled, he smirked.

Turning a corner of the hall, Lex glanced to the mischievous eyed Aya in wonder. "So if you gave me your word over something...dire, crazy even, you'd keep it?"

"Not unless it was to suck your invisible dick, I don't see why not," She laughed at his eye roll. "What, should I come up with something?" He hesitated, then nodding. Aurora stared up, beginning to think. Solemn, she stared him into the eyes and said. "I give you my honest to goodness word that the both of us will get out of this hellhole together...and alive. From their, we'll go our separate ways and only time will be able to dictate our destiny."

Lex showed no surprise at her words, showed nothing over such a promise. He wasn't sure if anyone could keep something like that. He glanced away, then back to her. "What if you can't keep it?"

"Hey!" She smiled, walking backwards. "I'll keep my word or die trying, ya know? We may not be on the best of terms but screw it, I wanna be able to tell my grandkids, 'Fuck me, I survived an outbreak with a contact wearing jackass. Wonder how he's doin...' etc."

Laughing at her name calling, he shook his head after a minute. Aurora started to laugh to, stopping at cement she had stepped into. Scowling, she lifted her foot up. "Wasn't here before..." She stared to the ground. "Matter of fact, looks newly patched up."

Lex walked up to the spot, narrowing his eyes. "Wonder what it means," The two simultaneously stomped, feet slipping through, making them fall downward into the hidden abyss...