The first thing Mary actually registered was the smells around her. God, the smells hit her like a fucking train- it caused her to gag and cough, spitting up in the trash she was using as a bed. The smells of rotting food and god knows what underneath the plastic bags- it almost made her vomit. But, she preserved through it- instead heaving herself out of the trash, somehow. She felt so weak- so tired, she was surprised she could stand at all.

It was at this point she remembered what had happened. That's….that's right. She had gotten bitten. She remembers now- the yellow-tinged infection spreading on her arm reminded her. She had gotten bitten- and in a fit of hysteria, decided to try and stop herself from becoming a monster. Obviously, it didn't work- did it? She feels….hungry, yes, but not feral. Could you feel feral? Would you be aware of something like that?

Oh well- if she's here, and….thinking, then she must be alive. And still healthy. Ish. All she cared about now was finding something to curb this /aching/ hunger- for what, she couldn't place- and get some rest. Her body hurt to her very core, and as she stumbled into the destroyed street, she wondered why she had survived that. Maybe the movies didn't lie- landing in a dumpster full of trash really CAN break your fall. That still….didn't explain the bite, however. She glanced at it- the flesh looking ready to fall off- and wondered, 'God, how am I not dead?'. Her skin looked clammy and slimy and pale, but that was….normal, after a fall, right? Yeah. Definitely. A shaky sigh left her as she reassured herself- no, she's not infected yet. Yet. That echoed in her mind. She was still going to die, one way or another. She just wasn't ready to find out how painful this would be. She had to find a way out of this- but first, to find some kind of grocery store.

She looked around, mentally thanking god that this was a rare moment of peace. No visible infected- she'd learned long ago that they were always there, waiting, hiding- so she wouldn't have to hide. Or skirt around them. Taking a left out of the dirty alley, she started down the street. She was never good with directions, or remembering where things were- but, she's /pretty/ sure there's a store somewhere down this way. She thinks she remembers seeing it on the way here- but, she might be mistaken. Things were a blur nowadays- hardly a reason to keep track of things when you're always moving forward.

Thankfully, though, her assumptions were right. It wasn't a grocery store- a gas station, actually- but it had food. Not a lot- ransackers and scavengers made sure of that- but it was enough to curb this hunger. She pushed the door open with some difficulty- she must be weaker than she originally thought- but, she made it in. The smell in here was even worse, though. It was like a sugar factory- all she could smell was something /sickeningly/ sweet, making her think someone had a sugar rush in here. She held her nose closed, opting to instead breathe through her mouth, but it didn't give her much relief. Walking the isles, though, just made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't bare to think of eating any of this- for some reason, it just… seemed so disgusting to her. She chalked it up to it behind full of preservatives, and that she was probably wanting fruit, or vegetables, or SOMETHING with actual nutrients. Yeah, that was it. Maybe she just….needed something more organic.

By time she got to the hot dog machine, she had settled on forcing herself to eat the processed meat. It was still gross, and it tasted even funnier than usual, but, it was all she could stomach. Making a mental reminder to find actual food later, and after eating two more 'dogs, she set off. After getting something in her stomach, she felt better. Maybe now she can figure out what to do next, in a /rational/ manner.

Amidst her thinking, she didn't even hear the shuffling feet of the infected behind her.