When I got our rations, the moon was high in the sky. I was glad I ended up bringing a jacket; something told me it wasn't gonna be a quick and easy day. It rarely ever was in those parts. Ration tickets were getting harder to find, supplies were coming in slower, and the poorer folks in the QZ were starting to wait through cold nights to get their meals.

So I finally was headed home with a couple cans of foods and some matches; it was something like 1 in the morning. Tommy was probably hungry, I thought. He told me had some sort of business to do that day, so I didn't bring him along. Wouldn't have done him any good to come anyway.

Right when the thought of Tommy came to mind, I rounded a corner and froze. I never saw people down this alley, but yet two of them were there, talking to each other in hushed voices by a dumpster.

I got the feeling they didn't want anyone intruding. I quickly backed up against the corner, hoping they didn't get a chance to see me. By then I'd gotten used to sneaking around, after everything Tommy and I went through those months after the outbreak.

"What are you trying to say?"

The raised voice of one of the alley-dwellers caught me off guard, just as I was about to go find another route. It was a woman's voice…one that was strangely familiar. It was followed by the voice of a very nervous sounding man.

"Listen, Tess, these tickets aren't easy to get a hold of…there's been some problems getting the shipments through-"

"Walter. Me and you? We had a deal. And you're not gonna get out of this one."

I heard the shuffling of feet around the corner. Sounded like someone was backing up, scared. By then I was starting to get a feeling about who that woman's voice was. I couldn't forget that attitude, and the whole thing about the ration tickets…

"Okay, okay! Listen, you don't have to do this…I'll get you your ration tickets. I'm just sayin' maybe you should start asking for something a little easier."

Tess scoffed.

"Maybe you should give me easier jobs then."

In the end, I'm pretty sure she got her ration tickets. Tess didn't seem like the type who'd let someone go without getting what she wanted. Funny how I knew that already.

I waited for a bit after this, thinking about the conversation I just heard. I knew it was some underground business this Tess person was a part of, and it seemed to do pretty well for her. All those ration tickets…I thought to myself how Tommy and I would never starve if we had so much.

I was definitely curious, but a part of me knew this wasn't something I should get involved in…whatever "this" was. Suddenly anxious to start making my way home, I turned to find another alley that'd take me back, one where I wouldn't overhear some sort of secret business deal.

I'd only taken a few steps before I heard her.

"Don't move."

I felt something hard press against my back. It didn't take the smartest guy to know what it was. Or to figure out that I was in some deep shit.

"Now you're gonna tell me what you heard, or else this is gonna end real quick."

I looked over my shoulder at her. I'd never had a woman glare at me the way she did.

"Listen, I didn't hear a damn thing-"

"Oh yeah? You think I didn't see you before?"

Tess pressed the gun closer to me.

"You better start talking."

I let out a frustrated sigh. There was no point in trying now.

"Something about ration tickets. And a deal. That's it. You gonna put that gun down now?"

"Not until I know you're not some sort of NARC, or one of those other guys trying to steal my shit," She said cooly. "I saw you looking at me in the rations line. Who do you work for?"

"I'm just a carpenter, ma'am," I said uneasily. I was starting to feel like I wouldn't get out of this one. "And the only reason I was lookin' was because of all those ration tickets you had. Hell, I'm lucky if I got enough food for a damn week. You looked like you got enough to feed the city."

There was a moment of silence as Tess seemed to be running this through her mind, then I felt the pressure get off my back. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks."

"Yeah," Tess said, her tone a little lighter than it was before. "Don't mention it."

There was a slight pause between us, as if we both wanted to say something else. Finally, she spoke again.

"You know, this whole rations thing, it's…sort of what I do. I take jobs. I get tickets for it. It's not easy work but…it gets me by."

There was another pause. I still hadn't turned around, wasn't really sure why. When a woman pulls a gun on you, I guess it's hard to know what to do next. Tess took my silence as listening and kept on going.

"You seem like the desperate type. If you weren't, you would've just kept on walking."

This revelation rubbed me the wrong way. It gave me an excuse to turn around and face her head on.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

Tess smirked. I got to thinking she liked annoying the crap out of me.

"Don't take that the wrong way, big guy. Just hear me out for a second."

Giving in, I crossed my arms and waited. When she saw I was giving her my undivided attention, she took a deep breath and kept going.

"So, you need ration tickets," She said, clasping her hands together like she was saying something real official. "It just so happens I can get you some, maybe even more than that. If you help me out."

I looked over her for a moment, unamused.

"You think I'm gonna help someone out after they almost shoot me?"

Tess started doing that smirk of hers again and shrugged her shoulders.

"Like I said, you seem desperate."

She held her hand out for me to shake it. I looked down at it, then back at her, keeping the same ticked off look on my face.

Noticing I wasn't giving in, she pulled her hand back and slapped it on her knee. "Alright…so I guess I'm not convincing you right now. How about you give it some time and tell me tomorrow?"

I squinted my eyes at her. She wasn't letting up, and I felt like saying no wasn't really an option. Not after she let me go without a bullet in my back.

"Town square," I said with as much firmness as I could muster. "Come there at noon. I wanna hear why you need my help so damn bad, then I'll let you know how I'm feelin'."

Tess backed up and threw her arms up in the air in mock celebration.

"See, that's all I was asking for. You hear me out, and we see where this goes."

"Good. I'm leaving."

I turned and started walking away, feeling worn out after all of that. There was nothing I wanted more than to get home.

I felt like there was one more thing I needed to make sure of though, and I stopped and called to Tess over my shoulder.

"No guns, alright? If I see that you're packin', I'm leaving."

She gave me that smug little look again and nodded once.

"You've got it!" Tess called to my back as I kept on walking. "What's your name again?"

"It's Joel."

"Yeah? You've got it, Joel."

Walking home, all I could think about was if I made the right choice or not. She knew me now - the woman who carries a pistol and does her deals in the dark.