Chapter 2

When she exits the bathroom, she goes to look for the man she had saved; only to find him in her kitchen, rummaging through her cabinets. "Hey! The fuck you think you doing?!" She shouts from the archway. He jumps and turns to face her, shoving a candy bar into his pocket. He freezes like a deer in headlights, "Really? I save you, and this is how you repay me...?" He looks down at the floor and places the stolen loot onto the island counter between them. She pinches the bridge of her nose and rests a hand on her hip, "You wanna tell me why you were out there all alone, in my territory?" She glares up at him. The young man couldn't help but to look down at her and think of how short she was compared to him. It made him chuckle before he answered her question. "I was run out of town by that horde; I'm also looking for shelter, food if I'm lucky. I thought that I was the only survivor left in that town until I saw you." She cocks her head to the side, not believing him after hearing his follow up statement. "Oh, really? You expect me to believe that you've been alone all this time? It's been 8 months since the outbreak!" Becoming very skeptical, she places her hand on her hip holster, staying ready for anything. Her height may be underwhelming, but her eyes were cold, she meant business. "Prove it. prove that you aren't affiliated with anyone. Empty your pockets!" Her order caught him off guard, he wasn't expecting the situation to progress the way that it was. "Why? I'm not dangerous-" "DO IT! YOUR BAG TOO!" She says with a chill to her voice. He became a bit agitated at her tone, he didn't think he'd be getting robbed today. He turns his pockets inside out and throws his bag onto the island. She looks up at him like he's lost his mind. Unsheathing her gun, she points it at his head without hesitation, "YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME?!" Click, the sound of her gun being cocked shifts the air of the room. "Empty. It. Nice and slow..." she enunciates. He sucks his teeth, "Okay, okay, I'll do it." And he empties his bag onto the counter, item by item. He lays out; a blanket, an almost empty water bottle, 5 beef jerky sticks, some bullets, a book of matches, a box cutter, a dead smartphone, and a half-eaten chocolate bar.

"Is this enough proof?" he says a bit sarcastically. The woman rolls her eyes and takes his bag from him. She looks it over for herself, front and back, flipping it upside down, and shaking it. She does so with one hand, the other still holds the adolescent at gunpoint. A Polaroid photo falls out and drifts onto the table; a picture of the young man posing in front of two older people, most likely his parents. A snapshot of a better time, a better life. Her eyes soften as she feels a touch of guilt. She didn't find what she was checking for; lowering her gun, she sighed and began to repack his backpack. "I guess you're...not with them." her voice trailed off as she re-holsters her gun on her hip. The young man watches as she replaces all his items gently. He was relieved to not have her gun pointed at his face anymore.

"With who? I'm not with anyone, I was basically homeless in that ghost town...Who is 'them'?" He was hopeful to hear that there were other people besides the dead around. But her phrasing didn't make that fact sound like a good thing. He hoped that she would believe him that he wasn't affiliated with anyone, his eyes darted to his shotgun that rests beside a cabinet underneath the island counter. He had a feeling that this woman may become trigger happy if he said the wrong thing.

" 'They' are Limbo, that's the name of their community at least. Their people usually sport a tag or insignia on their bags and jackets. I had to make sure that you weren't with them, sorry for startling you." She hands him back his bag, being extra delicate with his photograph. Seeing his face contort slightly in discomfort, as if wincing in pain as his eyes land on the photo in her hand. He takes the photo first, tightly holding it in his hand for a moment, then he takes his bag back. "Well, as you can see, I ain't got nothin like that on me." He tosses his bag over his shoulder and sighs, staring down at the woman. He felt like she had just strip-searched him, making him feel away and a bit emasculated. She was so small compared to him; and yet, she had all the power in this situation. Despite these feelings, he understood her caution of him, now having the knowledge of a group that the woman didn't speak too kindly of. Wanting to fill the silence in the room, he speaks lightly, "I never caught your name, miss." She was snapped out of her thoughts by his low British, Cockney accent. "Oh, right, you can call me Mirin." The man holds back a chuckle, "Like the sauce?" "It's just what I go by." She rolls her eyes, feeling a grin creep across her cheeks. He lets out a laugh after seeing her return his amusement. "Well, Ms. Mirin; my name is Hobie. Thank you for saving my ass back there." His eyes wonder as he contemplates his next question. "I don't really have anywhere else to go back to, and you've got quite the fortress here. May I stay here with you, if it's not too much trouble?" He flashes a weary smile, hoping she'd obliged. A grin stands its ground on her lips, faint but warm under her mask. "You don't appear to be a threat to my home for now, so you may stay. But the moment you betray me, that ass is mine." "I read you loud and clear," he reassures, holding his hands up by his face, "I won't sully your trust."

Leaning up against a wall, he watches her as she stares out of the sliver of window that isn't barred up. Night had fallen as they had their little altercation. They watched as soft lights illuminated outside and filled the room gradually. Hobie's eyes widen at the spectacle, "You have electricity?!" He blurted out in awe, having come accustomed to the dark blanket of night that haunted his lonely nights. "Was that not apparent when you saw the stair mechanism?" She breathes out a chuckle at his amusement. "Yes, It's not much, but it's more than most have in these times, thanks to my generator and solar panel. The lights are set to turn on when the sun completely sets to conserve energy." "WOAH~ you're really out here doin the most!" He was so mesmerized to see lights again, so pretty and inviting. "I just assumed the ramp was on some sort of pulley system." "Anyway," Hobie begins, bringing his attention back to a question he was going to ask before bearing witness to such a pleasant surprise. "This Limbo group, do you not get along with them or something? You don't speak too highly of them." He clutches his shotgun to his chest, gauging the cabin's safety.

"Boy, you sure do ask a lot of questions." she says in a playful manner, glancing back at him. "Tell you what, I'll tell you my story, if you tell me yours first, how does that sound?" "Fair enough," he said, nodding his head. Mirin walks past him to the cabinet behind him. "Wonderful, you go sit on the couch over there, and wait for me while I get us some snacks." It was about 5pm at this point, and she felt peckish, so she figured that he must be too. It had been a while since she had company; and sitting by the fire, shooting the shit with a new guest sounded like a nice way to spend the cold winter night.