((A:N: Weeee I'm back, alright, so the winning descion with 4 out of 6 votes I believe was giving Trucy the knife. Ah, yes, remember, though, all actions, do indeed, have consequences.))

"..." I shoved the knife case towards Trucy. "You can have the knife." I leaned forward a bit, careful to not let Jòse hear. "I... Don't want him to hurt himself." Trucy nodded as she opened the case, taking the knife and sheath out.

*You gave Trucy the knife

I felt a slight tug on my arm, and I looked down to see Jòse tugging on it. "Space Man... Where we go..?"

"..." I walked over to the backpacks Trucy packed, and grabbed two of them. "We should head towards the city. I think we all have family there we want to check up on..." I walked back towards Jòse, and handed the boy a small backpack. Trucy, finally done with placing the knife on her belt, picked up the last backpack. "I know a place on the edge of town. My Dad's office..."

(Apollo could be there... But I also want to check on my father..!)

"Trucy, maybe we should decide once we get to the edge of the town?" Trucy narrowed her eyes at me as she walked towards the front door. "Really now? Where else would we go?" I picked up Jòse as we walked over the man's body, watching it, just to make sure it didn't jump up again. "All I'm saying is, there could be other places we could go..."

Jòse dug his face in my shoulder the whole time, making it hard to understand the muffled words he was saying. Trucy walked over to us, the door wide open. "What is it Jòse?" Jòse looked up, red trails going down his face from his eyes, probably from tears. "Please... Don't fight like Mama and Papa... Scary... Like bad man..."

I stared in shock at the little boy in my arms, Trucy's mouth dropped open in shock. I gently pushed Jòse's head into my shoulder before talking to Trucy in quick whispers. "Did you know this?" She shook her head, fingering the belt at her side. "No! He's always so happy... Well, he does space out and jumps when I call him... My god..." She sighed as she placed her face into her hands. "Why does it feel like this isn't going to be the only awful thing that happens?"

I walked towards the door, opening it before nodding towards the body. "Maybe because the Walkers want to eat us?"

"Walkers?" Trucy gave me a confused look as she walked outside. "Is that what you're going to call a moving corpse?" I shrugged as I followed her outside, still carrying the boy. "Well, they don't run. And walking is just intimidating enough as it is for them. Why? Any better ideas?"

Trucy tilted her head to the side in thought, humming as she stared at the lush forest life around her. "... Nah, I think Walkers are a good name."

I was about to set Jòse down when a low growl sounded. I hugged Jòse close as I looked around. "... Trucy, you hear that?" She nodded, nervously looking around. "It sounded like it came from the gate... Did any follow you here?"

(... Damnit, it did! One saw me!)

"... Yes, only one saw me though. I thought I lost it in the woods." Trucy narrowed her eyes at me before running to the left. "Hey!" I ran off after her, making sure not to trip over anything. "Where are you going?"

"Do you know how to drive?" I blanked out, faltering a bit before I continued running. "Why are you-?" I finally saw the shed she was running towards, a truck could be seen in front of the open door. "... You want me to drive? Right?" She nodded as she unsheathed the knife, now walking slowly towards the front of the garage. "Stay behind me with Jòse, I don't want us to get jumped..."

(It feels as if roles have been reversed here...)

She flicked the knife a bit before quickly turning the corner. I could see her sigh in relief before waving at me. "The coast is clear, come on!" I nodded, watching as she ran towards the truck, opening the driver's side before jumping in, sliding to the passenger side from there. I quickly followed, ignoring the moans behind me. I threw Jòse in the car, before quickly jumping in myself, shutting the door behind me. I fingered the ignition, before turning to Trucy. "Did you grab the key?"

"... It's not here?" I gave her a blank look, my eyes narrowed slightly. "No, it's not." Trucy opened the dash, digging through it. "They said the key would be in here..!" I looked in front of us, and gulped. "T-Trucy, i-it w-would be nice if you f-found the keys now..."

She looked up at me, before slowly turning towards the direction I was looking. "What is..? Oh..." I gulped again, covering Jòse's mouth with my hand to keep him from screaming as the dead taxi driver walked around in front of us. "... Everyone... Remain... C-calm... Trucy, k-keep looking for th-the keys...""

(Wow, good job me, maybe I should stutter more next time.)

Trucy nodded slowly before continuing her search, a bit slower this time to keep quiet. I looked down at the boy, who was looking at the undead man, his eyes wide in fear. He looked up at me, almost seeming on the verge of tears. I sighed, before removing my hand from Jòse's mouth. "He... He monster..? Like bad man turn into..?" I looked back over towards the taxi driver, running a mental checklist of the similarities between him and the Walker earlier.

Empty looking eyes? Check.

Looks either half eaten or was dead? I think you need your stomach inside you and not being exposed, so check.

Will most likely eat our faces off the second we give it a chance? Forced check, like hell I'm getting out of this car.

I nodded slowly as I ran a hand through the boy's pitch black hair. "Yes... But he won't get us if he tries getting here... He's pretty dumb." The boy looked at me in confusion, tilting his head to the side. "He dumb..? How he dumb..?"

"... Well, I don't think they can open doors..." Trucy snorted as she dug through the side pocket of her door. "Think it can't open doors..." I pouted, before poking her back. "Don't you have keys to be looking for?"

"... Keys..?" Jòse held up a shiny looking object in his hand. "Like these..?"

"..." I grabbed the small key, before placing it in the ignition. "Well... It seems you're right on this one Jòse... Okay..." I pointed towards the Walker in front of us. "Get ready, I'm either running him over, or leaving him... I'll start this car on the count of three. Ready? ... One..." I flinched at the sound of the clicking seatbelts as the two strapped themselves in, the Walker twitching. "... Two three!" I started the car, the start of the engine attracting the creature in front of us as it turned. I pressed the gas pedal, shooting the car forward, not caring about how fast we were going. I saw Jòse cover his face, placing his head into Trucy's side as I ran over the Walker, a yelp followed by a loud crunch following.

I sighed in slight relief as we drove on, the road in front of us not having any sort of forestry on it, making it easy to drive. "We... We made it..." I started laughing, dragging a strange stare from Trucy. "We made it..!"

"... So..."

I glanced over at Trucy, smiling slightly at the sight of the small child sleeping in her lap. "So..."

"... You knew... Know! Know Apollo, huh..?"

"..." I sighed, nodding my head as I looked back towards the road, the highway in front of me frighteningly empty of any sort of life. "Yeah... And I can tell you're worrying about him... Don't." I smiled slightly, leaning back a bit more into the seat. "He's one of the toughest guys I know..." Trucy laughed quietly, probably not to wake up the sleeping child in her lap. "I know just... He called me... And when he was talking he sounded so... Afraid, I heard Athena, another friend of ours, yelling... And then..." She tensed up, clutching the boy a bit tighter in a small hug. "Th-there were gunshots... Apollo screamed... And then the call ended..."

(... Holy shit Apollo, what did you get yourself into this time..?)

"... I'm sure he's fine!" I forced a smile on my face, using one hand to pat Trucy's shoulder as I stared at the road in front of us. "We just gotta focus on the now... Speaking of the now..." I slowed down as I drove near the front of the city, before completely stopping. Trucy gave me a strange look as I sighed, laying my head gently on the wheel. "... How far away did you say the agency was?"

"... I-I never said... It's not that far... B-But Clay! What about your father?"

"..." I forced a smile on my face as I looked at her, but from the frown on her face, it probably wasn't that believable. "I'm sure he's fine. I know he has some sort of gun in his room, he wouldn't die that easily... So where is the..? Don't give me that look, I'm driving the car and helping you here." Trucy quickly wiped the frown on her face, before looking down, running a hand through Jòse's hair. "... It's right there..." She nodded in the direction of a building right next to the car, not very noticable with it's gray coloring in the dreary weather. "... You sure?" Trucy nodded as she quietly opened the door, hopping out as she carried the child. "Never been so sure in my life..."

"So this is it, huh?" I pocketed the pistol I was holding earlier, placing my a hand to my hip as I pointed towards the door. "The famed 'Wright Anything Agency'?" Trucy smiled as she sheathed the knife she held, nodding towards Jòse, who woke up when they entered the building. "Yep, this is it. Right Jòse?" The boy nodded in glee as he walked towards the door ,opening it before walking inside. "Sì, Mama and Papa sometimes come to bigger house to talk to people below, I come up to talk." I laughed as I followed the boy in, running a hand through my hair as I did. "That's nice Jòse, that really is-"

I stopped, freezing up, to the sound of a growl. "... Did you guys hear that?" Jòse turned, looking up at me, not being able to see the hands coming out of the darkness to grab him. "See whAAAAAAA!" Arms with torn white and blue sleeves wrapped around the boy, growls and some moans coming from behind the boy as he struggled in the undead person's grip.

I drew the gun from my pocket, my hands slightly shaking in fear as I raised it, aiming towards the two.

(I might shoot Jòse though..!)

"Trucy, come here!" I shot the gun a few times, completely missing both the Walker and Jòse, the gun uncomfortable in my hands. Trucy dashed forward with a battle cry, slashing at the arms holding the small child. The thing howled in pain, letting go of the boy, who quickly ran to me, before walking towards Trucy. Black blood coated the Walker's arms, one of them hanging by a few nerves. I watched as shadows seemed to dance in the darkness, one undeniably quicker then the other. One nearly fell back on the couch, but not before the other dashed forward, holding something up, before stabbing it through the other's head.

The one who had been stabbed fell on the couch in a defeated heap, the object sticking out of their skull. "... Got'em..." One of the shadows ran over to me, before appearing in the light. I smiled slightly as the victor, Trucy, emerged, nearly covered in the black blood, out of breath. "... Yooouuuu..." She pointed at me, giving me a slight smirk. "Need to get a better aim." I laughed as I stood up, picking up Jòse, who had remained silent, still, the whole time. "At least I could fire it. Didn't want to hurt the big man here."

"... Wh-what..?" Trucy and I jumped, I looked around, looking for the source of the voice, before looking behind Trucy. A woman in a strange outfit stood there, her black hair in a mess, nearly the same shade as the black blood covering her whole body, nearly disguising what should have been a long, seemingly purple robe. Trucy gasped, covering her mouth with her right hand. "M-Maya!?"

"... T-Trucy..?" The woman gasped, taking a step back. "Y-you... You're okay..?" Trucy nodded as she stepped forward, nearly on the verge of tears. "Y-yes... M-Mr. Terran, C-Clay, helped g-get me a-and J-Jòse-"

I could feel my eyes widen slightly as the woman, Maya, took a step back, holding her hands out. "N-No... Don't come any closer..."

"..." I... I didn't want to admit it, but I wanted no part in this, I walked over towards the Walker, who was now dead, setting down Jòse next to me, before searching through the thing's pockets. "M-Maya... Maya what's-?"

"D-don't come any closer! I-I'm bit..!"

"... You're bit..?" I dug my hand through the Walker's pockets, not knowing whether to feel awful or truimphant as I withdrew a journal on my first little 'expidition'.

(... Okay that sounded wrong.)

"Y-yes... Th-that's h-how you turn into one of them..."

"... You mean those Walkers?" I opened the journal, now that my eyes were adjusted to the darkness a bit, I could make out a bit of the writing in the darkness.

"..!"

(... I didn't read that right... Please don't tell me..!)

"Y-yes..! Just like-"

"Just like what happened to Mr. Wright..?" I could feel both of the women's stares bore into me as I stared at the journal, refusing to look behind me. "... How did you know..?"

"... T-Trucy..." I held up the notebook, allowing the small child to grab it, giving it to the other. I took my backpack off, digging into it, before producing a small flashlight. I bit my lip as I took it out, aiming it towards the Walker. "... Please don't..." I turned the light on, dragging small gasps from the two behind me.

A man, his skin most likely unusually pale, his black hair slightly slicked back, but not all the way. The object Trucy stuck into his forehead, thr knife handle, shined in the light. The blue suit he wore had bite marks all over his shoulders and arms, with a single one in his neck. His eyes, which probably held life once, were pale, empty, devoid of anything.

"... Trucy, get out with Jòse." Trucy turned to me, I nearly sobbed right there, tears were cleary evident in her eyes, her mouth in a tight frown, trying to not cry at the sight in front of her. "B-but Daddy is..."

"... I know... We'll deal with this later, now get out with the boy."

"B-but-"

"Trucy, god dammit, I said do it!" I turned to her, enraged, pointing towards the door. She jumped, her eyes wide, before quickly picking up the boy, carrying him outside.

"..." I sighed as I rubbed my face with my hands, forgetting about the other woman briefly. "... What the hell was I thinking..? I'm gonna have to apologise later... I need to-"

"... Is that a gun?" I slowly turned towards the woman, Maya! I keep forgetting her name, Maya! She was staring at the gun in my pocket, hugging herself, exposing the bite marks on her arms. "... Yes, why do you ask?"

"I... I could..." She gulped, shutting her eyes, shaking. "Wh-when N-Nick saved me... When one of those things came in... I-I didn't know he would come back when he died... I-I watched a-as the light left his eyes... A-and when he started moving a-again, I thought he would still be in there, b-but after he bit me..."

"... I kn-knew he was g-gone..." She then opened her eyes, looking determined for once. "I don't want to have that... That fate... I don't want to become some mindless thing... Please... I could end this right now..." She held out her black, blood coated hand. "*You can either give me the gun, or don't. Your choice.*"

((A:N: Bet some of you didn't see that coming. Alright guys, this time, you can either have Clay give Maya the gun, or don't have him give Maya the gun, whatever happens, it will not be pretty. R&R, and remember, your flames warm my family!))