《I Like To Survive》


 Chapter 1: Project Begins

    The apocalypse consumes all.


    The world was dying and nothing could be done. Only people surviving until the very end.


    A group in south Aremtu formed, consisting of


    Fenly Write, 22


    Ashley Bertam, 27


    Mockley Drew, 32


    Arama Gren, 41


    Tifa Riggpoll, 36


    Manny Woods, 20


    Angela Nimar, 25


    This group formed in a small village, they decided to stick together after being neighbours for so long. Their journey started in their small village named Mossfa - it only housed around 480 people, most of whom have now died.


    Their goal was to build an empire, away from the evils of the world. One where people can be free. And they knew they could only do that with the help of their friends and family. But to do that they would need to find an ideal place. One thats close to water but also close to mountains, a place where is on the colder side but not too cold.


    Mockley had a van they would use to gather supplies, but the fuel was slowly running out. So they decided to find their spot.


    They drove away from their village for the first time, a year after gathering together


    While on the road they heard screaming from a couple asking to help them. Mockley reluctantly stopped, him and Ashley left the van and went to help the couple. Before they could get to them, a man with a rifle ran out from the trees and shot Ashley. Panic went loose and Angela took the wheel of the van and drove at the man with the gun, he dodged and shot Mockley in the head.


    Angela Nimar crashed the van into a nearby tree - the man with the gun walked towards the back of the van and shot it 4 times in the backdoor, killing Arama instantly. He opens it and orders them to get out.


    They get out, he lines them up one by one and questions them about supplies. Then out of the corner of the mans eye, Mockley came charging at him with a knife. He wasnt dead after all!


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.Mockley leapt onto the man, inciting the others to leap out even tho their hands were tied. Mockley struggled with the man briefly, almost being shot multiple times. But Mockley remained triumphant and stabbed the man in the chest and throat multiple times. The others stand in awe.


    In this altercation two died, Ashley Bertam (28) and Arama Gren (42).


    The couple who was with the man had been tied up and thrown in the back, they were Dustin Toad (28) and Marand White (25).


    Mockley took the mans rifle for himself (which happened to be their first gun), and they kept their quest going.


    Another year goes by of searching later and they find the perfect spot - right next to a large river surrounded by hills. Altough great, it was tough to get to - especially on foot.


    Since that previous incident, both people involved joined the group - while also a woman named Rita Ghart (60) joined also.


    Using their new supplies, they started to chop trees. They decided they should start by building a temporary base before starting main construction. Couple days goes by and an accident happened, a tree fell and killed Fenly Write (24).


    A month later and they finally have a reasonable place to stay, a decently sized log cabin for the group.


    A month after the cabins completion, an altercation between Dustin Toad and Manny Woods began which ended in Dustin Road decapitating Manny Woods accidentally. They held the funeral that day for 22 year old Manny.


    Dustin was then imprisoned in a cage next to the cabin, he was fed daily by his wife.


    Dustin''s sentence was 12 years - manslaughter.


    Not long after Manny''s funeral, they encountered a young boy named Jimmy while scavenging town - Jimmy''s family had been killed by men not long ago.


    Months pass and theyve cleared a large chunk of the area, but they were runnin low on supplies, mainly food. So they thought to get a farm going.


    Before building the farm, Mockley and Angela scouted in the area to find any edible animals. They found a lot of rabbits lived not too far, along with cows.


    They headed back to the cabin but before they could they encountered a man on a horse wielding a sword. "Who are ye?" Mockley asked.


    The man then screamed profanities at the man and woman and charged them with his sword. "Gaaah" Angela screeched as Mockley was impaled by the sword. His guts hanging on the tip. "Tell Tifa, i love.... h-her." Mockley explained. Then was thrown off the sword and onto the grass.


    Angela fell on her rear, in utter shock she stared down the man on the horse. But he didnt even glance at her, and galloped away.


    Angela loses conciousness. 2 hours later she wakes up in the same spot she was just laying, but Mockley was nowhere to be seen...

 Chapter 2: The Cow

    Angela runs back to the cabin along with the bad news of Mockley''s disappearance.  Everyone was shocked and decided on forming a search party - though the caged Dustin was against the notion as he thought he was already long dead.


    But they decided against it. The group had become shattered, their leader gone, they lost traction with their goal.


    2 years later.


    The group has made little progress since, they''re still just a cabin with a small animal farm thats slowly dying. Tifa Riggpoll (40) had attempted to serve as the groups new leader but her efforts were no where near as good as Mockley''s. On the topic of Mockley, not long after his disappearance - his search was ultimately abandoned after they discovered scattered remains of a unknown male which was too disfigured to recognise. They had assumed it was Mockley and decided to move on.


    Dustin Toad, on his 3rd year sentenced after the accidental killing of Manny had taken up an acting leadership role within his cell when things got really bad. They never really had one true leader, it was always a struggle for them to decide on things. Also along the way, the group had become acquainted with a lone doctor (Mike Oor, 41)


    Current group:


    Tifa Riggpoll, 40


    Angela Nimar, 29


    Marand White, 28


    Dustin Toad, 31


    Rita Ghart, 62


    Mike Oor, 41


    Jimmy Any, 10


    Mockley Drew, 36 (presumed dead)


    Jimmy storms into the cabin as everyone ate around a table "B-B-Betty the cow... has collapsed." He cries, collapsing onto his knees. The group turns around in unison at the words they''ve just heard, the animals they''ve relied for these past 2 years have finally kicked the bucket. Why was the question. They were healthy for so many years until the last few weeks of their survival, they collapsed one by one. In the middle of a winter, leaving the area to look for more live stock would be suicide. They decided to have a discussion on the matter first thing next morning.


    (6:00am, next morning)


    Before the meeting Rita says to Mike while


    Preparing a fire. "Must''ve been the cold" Rita exclaimed, "Betty just didnt have enough sustenance to survive, its hardly surprising." A deep rumble erupts from Mike''s throat as he speaks - "could be, let''s hope her meats still good."


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.Rita - "I''m sure it is, it won''t rot so fast"


    Mike - "You don''t know that"


    As Rita manages to get the fire going, she falls onto a wodden chair followed by a sigh. "I''m too old to be doing this".


    "We gotta do what it takes to survive." Mike exclaims to her.


    A brief moment of silence envelops the cabin as Mike, Rita, Jimmy and Tifa sit around the fire waiting for the others to arrive. Tifa closes her eyes and holds her hands above the fire... "ahhhh".


    A door creak enters their ear drums, Marand White stands in the door frame with keys in hand. "I''m sorry, i had to."


    A hand from the shadows reaches out and grabs Marand''s shoulder "let me talk to ''em, my lady."


    A large in stature man with an oversized beard steps out from the morning''s darkness, it was Dustin Toad.


    Rita immediately jumps up, pushing Marand against the wall. "What do you think you''re doing. Who gave you permission to take THAT." She furiously proclaimed, "husband or not, he is a criminal and a fiend. I will not let you dishonor neither Manny OR Mockley in such a way!" She says while staring deep into Marand''s soul. "Get off me!" Marand shouts at Tifa, trying her hardest to push Tifa off her.


    "You''re lucky we didn''t execute you on the spot back then along with your boyfriend after what you pulled. And now you do THIS shit?" Tifa''s hold on Marand tightened, then she felt a hand grab her arm. Dustin squeezed her and pulled her to the side, away from Marand, "pretending to act like a leader now won''t do you any good. Youre in disarray and Mockley ISN''T coming back."


    He raises his voice at Tifa.


    "Get off me", she slaps his hand away and proclaimed. "As long as I''m here, your sentence is NOT done". She says while walking out the cabin.


    Dustin''s presence drenched the room in fright - the only person able to stand up to Dustin back then had only been Mockley.


    Following the comotion, Mike resumed his duties as a doctor - swiftly marching to his chambers with a calm look in his eyes.


    Rita looks on at the back of Mike''s head, "whats up with him" she thought.


    Jimmy runs up to the giant and attempts to punch his stomach - but he is met with a swipe of the hand, intercepting Jimmy''s attack. "Hahaha. Boy''s quick on his feet eh.." He laughs at the boys attempt to attack. "DONT laugh at me" Jimmy shouts as tears flow down his cheek. "this is for the better boy, Tifa won''t do nothin'' but lead the group down to hell. Hah. If you believe in them stories that is."


    "They''re NOT stories. When Mockley comes back, he''ll show you what hell''s really like!" Jimmy shouts at the beast of a man and runs off up the stairs. Dustin scoffs and walks out the door, gesturing to Rita.


    Rita looks at the man confused, "why would he want me of all people." She thought to herself.


    Rita follows Dustin to the cage he was kept in, "i need you to do me a favour".

 Chapter 3: Gas Station Altercation

    On a hill, overlooking the groups cabin; Tifa sits by Mockley''s (supposed) grave, drinking an unknown dark grey liquid and stares out at Dustin and group. She pulls herself up, walks up to a tree and stashes the bottle in a dug-out hole. She stands over the tree, her head resting over her arm - she stares blankly into her burried glass. Thoughts wander inside her cranium "love?" "Pffft" - she laughs to herself thinking about what Angela had told her after returning from their trip. "He decides to waste his last breath to mutter that... hahah. What a fool"


    She resumes staring blankly for a moment until she''s met with movement down the hill behind the tree. It was Angela, seemingly scavenging supplies. Tifa looks out at her, confused. "On her own?" Tifa thinks. "I better get down there and help her out." - Tifa steps carefully around the tree, making sure not to trample her hiding hole and begins making her way down the mountain.


    On this side of the mountain laid a small town, abandoned. They had largely scavenged the town apart from a few buildings - it was completely opposite from where the group had built their base so getting to it would serve as a challenge. Upon getting to the floor level, Tifa hears faint mumbling coming from Angela''s direction. She sneaks closer and closer, the words slowly grew clearer. The noises were coming from the gas station, Tifa could make out 3 voices - inching closer she heard "come on, we dont have time. They''ll be here any moment. Come on, come on" coming from the gas station.


    "Huh..? Is that Angela''s voice"


    She got a little closer and could peer into a window from a distance, Angela''s bright red hair stood out through the glass - it was her. Talking to 2 men unfamiliar to Tifa - they appeared friendly toward her, not ill-intent but a face of worry. Tifa was going to get even closer, try and eavesdrop on their conversation - before she was about to move to the vehicle closest to the window she could hear foreign footsteps coming from the opposite direction of the voices. And before she could see who it was---BWOAHKWH. An explosion occured in the gas station. Causing Tifa''s ears to ring inside her head and push her to the ground. "What... the.... Fuck" she said under her breath. The ringing in her head made it difficult for her to stand but after a few seconds, she regained stability. ''I hope Angela''s alright'' - Tifa thought to herself as she peaked around the building. The gas pump appears to have went up in flames, a giant roaring fire had engulfed a nearby car and the front of the station. Tifa inched closer and noticed a man in a black SWAT outfit weilding a rocket launcher walk toward the gas station - he was cautiously walking, trying to see through the carnage he caused.


    "Who the fuck!" Tifa explained to herself. "Weilding an RPG?!" The man walked behind an abondoned semi truck, reloading in the process. He then gestures in the sky, doing a circular motion with his fingers - followed by a peace sign with his 2 middle fingers. Shortly after, a group of 4 men on horses galloped out of the nearby woods. They stopped next to the RPG-Man and 2 closest to him dismounted their horses.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "Horses....?" Tifa thought to herself. "Who are these people". They wore cowboy hats, and pitch black helmets - black boots, gloves and leather jackets. It was a weird mix of SWAT and cowboy wear. The man closest to the RPG weilder, walked up to him exchanging words which Tifa couldn''t make out. "I need to do something, i need to inform the group..." she thought, "but not now..."


    A few moments pass and the man conversing with the RPG weilder walks back to the main group and pulls out a rifle, the 2nd man followed along. While the other 2 reached down and pulled out long swords. "Wait... swords?" Tifa thinks.


    The two sword weilders circled around the sides of the gas station - presumably to pick off any escapees - if any are left alive that is. The two with rifles run toward the fire, making sure to step around it.


    Tifa began to clench her fist, clench it so hard it began to bleed.


    The man with the RPG climbs on top of the knocked over semi truck and readies his rocket launcher.


    For a moment, all that could be heard was the raging fire and the 2 men''s footsteps. For a moment, thats all that there was for the ones unfortunate enough to be in this situation.


    "I have to get out of here." Tifa thought, she began to take the long way round toward the cabin - making sure to stay close behind buildings and cars.


    She made good distance before looking back again, checking where the men were - their position had shifted to the inside, Tifa could no longer see the 2 rifle-wielding men but the cowboys kept their guard surrounding the gas station.


    She took another step forward and a singular rifle round is fired inside the gas station. Tifa''s body begins to shake uncontrollably, ''has she been found?'' She pondered to herself. But she had no choice but to go forward, there was no way for her to combat 5 heavily armed men with only a knife.


    So she kept making her way forward... 15 minutes later the cabin was close. She had to take the long way round, around the back of the mountain to avoid detection. While trying to hike up the mountain another rifle shot was heard, Tifa upped her pace even more, a few seconds go by and another shot. And another... Tifa stared at the ground, clenching dirt in her hand, furling her eyebrows.


    Moments later another shot is heard, but by that point Tifa had already reached the cabin. She ran over to the clearing they''ve made and it was oddly quiet.. she ran up to the cabin screaming "hello! This is an emergency! It''s Angela!" But no one replied.


    She barges into the cabin, the door swinging open violently into the the outer wall. Panting, her eyes dart around the room looking for any recognisable figure. "Where has everyone gone?!" She exclaimed to herself.


    "To town"


    She had not noticed but Jimmy had been there the whole time, curled up by the fire. "What? What do you mean?" She shouted at him.


    "Dustin, Rita and Mike" he said calmly.


    "They''re going hunting."


    "Huh? Hunting? Tell me, where are they right now. And what about Marand?" She told Jimmy.


    "Dustin took Mockley''s rifle, Rita let him" Jimmy explained to Tifa.


    "What... what is wrong with everyone. How can they..." she turns around mid sentence, before she could finish she was interrupted by Dustin''s gargantuan size knocking into her.


    "My bad." Dustin proclaimed, stepping beside her - he held an unconcious Angela on his right shoulder and a rifle on his left.

 Chapter 4: Dustin

    Dustin stomped on through the cabin, stopping by at Mike''s room. He gently lays her down onto the bed, making sure to lay her head down slowly. A whole pack of footsteps followed behind the man, peeking over his shoulder. "What happened? Where were you?" Rita tries to ask Dustin - he ignores her and says "Mike! Get over here" he shouts at the doctor.


    "Hey I''m talking to you, you''re NOT our leader." Tifa tells Dustin into his ear. "Not now. If you want to have a discussion, do it when you''ve calmed yourself." He speaks to her.


    Tifa scoffs at him and walks back to the main area of the cabin, she sits down on a random chair. For a few minutes, chatter filled the cabin, people came and went trying to help Angela''s wounds - but Tifa stayed put, the commotion did not disturb her thoughts. The thoughts which had been ricocheting inside her mind since what happened were much louder than what is currently going on, all she could do was take it in, absorbing what her mind was telling her. She had went into a sort of trance for a moment, before a sudden quietness erupted in the cabin. She opened an eye and looked on to the far side of the cabin, trying to peer at whatever''s just happened.


    "Hey" Rita calmly utters at Tifa, placing her hand on her forearm. Her arm slightly jumps, turning her head at Rita she said "ahh.. its you.. im sorry.."


    "Don''t worry, Angela is going to be fine"  - Rita says.


    Tifa takes a deep breath through her nostrils and out her mouth "that''s good. That''s good. I''m glad".


    "It all happened so fast, you know i had to Tifa." Rita tells to the exausted Tifa.


    "Its.. fine. Ill talk to him, everything will sort itself." Tifa says, Rita pats Tifa on the shoulder and walks off to her room.


    Tifa raises her hand toward her face and it begins to shake. Shake uncontrollably. She attempts to hold her hand still but it isn''t enough, it vibrates her whole body. "I need to get away from here."


    A few hours later...


    Dustin and Rita walk into the main room, chatting amongst themselves. "Its one problem after another." Rita proclaims. "Yeah. The suppies are about finished. We won''t hold out much longer at this rate." Dustin answers. "And livestock is out of the question." Rita tells Dustin, face in her hand. "We''ll figure something out, we can''t have your skills be going to waste." Dustin says, looking at Rita - she exhales out her nostrils at the statement. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Mid conversation, Dustin looks out the window. Jimmy stood there glaring at him from afar with a stick in hand "whats up with the boy?" Dustin asks. "He still hasn''t accepted Mockley''s death i reckon, and he isnt the only one." Rita tells Dustin. "There will come a day where they''ll all have to."


    Moments later, Dustin tells her he needs a moment alone. He trudged on to his chambers, and sat down on the bed. He leans down, reaching for an object beneath his bed. He pulled it out by the tip of his fingers, a light bounces off the pointy silver edge. He had pulled a knife out from under his bed and started to play with it. Twirling it between his fingers, testing the sharpness and cutting his nails. He looks on at the knife, seeing his eyes reflection. He then sets the knife to his side and leans over to the drawer. opening it - inside were a few bottles, bandages, medication and some papers. Shuffling closer to the drawer, he pulls out a few items from within. Setting down a small unknown bottle on his pillow and a long stream of bandages. He takes the bandage, bunches it up and stuffs it into his mouth, and grabs ahold of the knife once again.


    A few calm breaths in and out "i have to." He whispers to himself, multiple times, Staring at the knifes edge.


    Lining the blade up at the base of his pinky finger - he slowly closes his eyes. And once again, breathe. He continues to breathe, the edge pushing into his skin. His breath begins to become all that he hears, not even the whistling of the wind can disrupt him. A few more seconds of breathing pass and- one swift motion. "Grghhhhhhhh" Dustin''s pinky floats down onto the wooden flooring - the continuous blood stream following along. He grits his teeth into one end of the bandage and watches as the blood from his body escapes him.


    Chuck the knife onto the far end of the bed and tends to his wound. Making sure to wrap it as best as possible - as to stop the bleeding. His panting breath and beating heart had slowly leveled and he still sat, holding his pinky-less hand. He exhales deeply again and leans down, reaching his hand out to his severed pinky. He brings it up to eye level and examines it, closely.


    "It''s done... its done... i can get used to this. Haha"

 Chapter 5: Suspicion And Inspection

    "Hey... you awake?" Rita whispers to the sleeping man. His eyes peer slightly through, his vision blurry - the man slowly lowers his eyelids back down and turns his head to the side "Get up, come on." Rita says slapping him on the shoulder. "Huh..? What you want." Dustin answers.


    "There''s something off about Betty''s body" she says to the man, making sure not to raise her voice.


    This phrase seemingly jolted Dustin into an awake state, he pulled his body out of the chair and they both left the cabin and walked on to the "farm".


    Rita had placed a black tarp over the cows body before alerting Dustin. The Cow''s volume had shrunk considerably since it''s collapse, it appeared as though the black tarp had sucked it of its life.


    "It reeks." Dustin says, plugging his nose.


    "Looks a lot worse than it smells." Rita relies, leaning over the wooden fence and pinching the top of the black tarp with her fingers - she was wearing a singular blue glove.


    Before she pulled the tarp up, a deep dark black mass oozes gracefully from under the tarp - Dustin could see it peek through.


    Rita glances around quickly checking the cabin''s windows - and then pulls the tarp.


    Upon seeing the image underneath, Dustin almost instinctually grasped at his bandaged hand. It was like from a nightmare, a disfugured cow''s remains - coated in a dark grime. It''s mass slowly sinking into the substance - its head or body no longer became recognisable, it was slowly turning into an amalgamation of flesh. Rita holds the tarp above the cow for a few moments, while dark blue mist bubbles up from the corpse. Its reach quickly stretches into the direction of Rita''s hand - making contact with her glove. Upon contact, a dark blue particle of unknown matter forms on the palm of Rita''s gloved hand. She immediately lets go of the tarp and jumps backwords, trying to waft her hand repeatedly. "Get this off me!" She shouts. But Dustin remained distant, Rita eventually grabbed the top of the glove and threw it on the ground.


    The glove emits a sizzling noise as the both of them looked on at it. "Why the hell didn''t you help" Rita asks Dustin.


    "I''m sorry Rita. i just froze up." He tells her.


    "Right. Losing your finger so clumsily  must''ve dulled your sense." She replies sarcastically.


    The brief commotion promted everyone to run out the cabin, Marand coming out first, followed shortly by Tifa.


    "What''s going on!?" Tifa questions. "It''s nothing..." Rita says under her breath.


    Tifa once again looks bewildered at what she''s been kept in the dark on. While talking to one another, Marand gives a unsuspecting scowl to Dustin. He looks at her, trying to go after her but she immediately turns herself back to the cabin. Dustin tries to keep going but he is stopped by Tifa''s speech. "Hey! Don''t you move. I need you to tell me what''s going on right now." Rita takes advantage of the attention away from her and moves her foot on top of the glove which had been laying on the ground.


    Dustin looks at Tifa confidently and says, "What''re you so mad for, Tiffy? Me and Rita were just going to go ahead and cut up Betty over here for tonight''s dinner. haha." He let''s out a deep laugh from his belly, clearly putting it on. "That''s right, we can''t be having Dustin losing another finger can we.." Rita interjects before Tifa could reply.


    Tifa looks at them "Your scheming ends as soon as Angela regains conciousness - Don''t think I''ve forgotten your sentence Dustin." She proclaims, walking out toward the hill which houses Mockley''s grave.


    Dustin and Rita let out a deep exhale and without looking at each other, Dustin walks a seperate way. Rita stays put for a few moments, unsure what to do - or when its safe to reach over for the glove. She remains still, carefully examining her surroundings - as soon as her eyes scanned the surrounding area, her hand leaped for the glove under her foot. Making sure to hide it inside her jacket pocket as quickly as possible. Rita then walks by the farm, holding the glove close to her body - she reaches a secluded area and pulls the glove out. Unravelling it slowly and carefully, "...huh?" She looks on at the glove - and through the hole which had been created, unbeknownst to her.


    Panic set into her eyes as she slowly turned her palm to face her. "N-no..." she says under her breath, bewildered. A wound laid on her hand, dark circle surrounding it. "But how?" She stared at the circular wound, confused and scared. ''I didn''t even feel any pain'' she pondered. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "You okay?" A high frequency voice reaches her ears. Rita scrambles nervously, trying to hide her hands inside her jacket. "Oh uh yeah.." she says nervously, her voice creaking.


    The person behind her runs up and taps her on the shoulder, "you need any help Rita?" Rita looks over her shoulder, her gaze did not meet another - until she lowered her eyes down and saw Jimmy standing there with his stick.


    "Ah its just you." Rita tells him, while turning around - still hiding her hands.


    "Just me? What are you hiding there?" He asks. "Oh nothing my hands are just cold" she tries to laugh but it comes out hollow, devoid of joy. "Anyway i got to go." She says to Jimmy and walks off - he looks on at her as she walks to the cabin.


    A few moments later, Jimmy is seen playing around near some bushes as Dustin walks by him towards the cabin - he could be seen carrying something on his back. A long object, covered up by his hoodie. Walking by, Dustin notices Jimmy looking at him - "You curious about this thing?" He asks the child with an upward inflection. "I saw" Jimmy replies "I saw what you and Rita were doing."


    Dustin immediately walks toward Jimmy at a hightened pace - "what are you talking about, boy." Dustin grabs him by the arm.


    Jimmy turns his head away, "I''ll tell Marand... If you hurt me." Dustin''s hand loosened its grip on the boy - which caused him to free himself and run away down a hill.


    "He can''t know. That little runt. If he rats me out he''s dead."


    A few hours later....


    Mike and Rita stand around Angela''s body, staying by her side until she can awaken. "You''ve barely been with us and you''ve done so much already.. Thank you Mike,  we are grateful to have you." Rita explains to Mike - who was now sat beside Angela.


    "I have no choice. Or else I''d go insane." Mike answers blankly, staring at the wall opposite him. "Hah.. yeah.. everyone needs to do their part to stay sane." She answers, following a brief silence.


    Mike coughs into his hand "i think its about time you get going... I''m gonna need to - replace her bandage." He exclaims, making odd pauses in between words to cough. "You sure..? I won''t be a bother" Rita answers. "Please." Mike pleads.


    Without a word, Rita walks out Mike''s room. She then leaves the cabin and sneaks around the corner - she stands with her body pressed against the wood, trying to peek through the window of the room she was just in. ''I can''t leave this weird fuck alone in there with Angela - who knows what he''s been doing to her.'' She thinks to herself. The man inside did not seem to be changing Angela''s bandages as he claimed. He sat around for a moment, before patting himself down and pulling himself out of his chair. Rita leans in closer, her face almost pressing against the glass. Mike starts to rumage through his pockets - checking each one recklessly. His body freezes up for a moment ''what''s he doing...'' she keeps staring intensely at the man in the room.


    Until.. in one swift motion, Mike turns his head toward the glass window. Rita inhales deeply and turns her body just in the nick of time. ''Oh god that was close.'' She thinks to herself, eyes closed. She could feel her heart beat through her chest for a few seconds - she placed her hand on her chest feeling the hearts rhythm.


    "Hey." Tifa says to the shaken Rita. Which once again startles her, but she withheld her scream. "Don''t scare me like that" Rita says. "You''re the one creeping around, you''ll end up scaring someone yourself." Tifa replies. "Ah yeah. Sorry.." Rita answers, trying to walk away from the conversation.


    "Wait." Tifa grabs ahold of Rita''s arm, impeding her leave. "I''m going to check the gas station, want to come with me? I could use your expertise with a rifle" Tifa says, still holding her arm. "Why does everyone need me at all times, go alone Tifa" Rita replies, trying to breakout of her hold. Tifa looks her in the eyes and says, "I''m not your enemy Rita, i hope you know that."


    Rita takes a moment, no longer resisting Tifa''s hold. She takes her eyes off Tifa and toward the glass window she was peering through - "If you have to take someone with you - take Mike." Rita says, foregoing any residual defiance. "Mike?" Tifa questions. "Yes. He can''t be trusted. Especially not around Angela." Rita replies, giving Tifa a face of puzzlement.


    "I know it''s been hard.. I''m sorry for this weight thats been placed on you. It must be difficult" Rita says, looking saddened. "I know its been difficult." Rita corrects herself, she squeezes her hand while Tifa slowly lets go of her arm. "Right.. I''ll speak to him". Moments go by with Rita still by the window, she glances to and from her hands and to Mike''s room multiple times - Tifa could be seen talking to Mike for a few moments before walking back to the outside in fast motion.


    Rita stands outside, looking at the dark wound on her hand, she hears the cabin doors swing wide open smacking the wall. Her gaze immediately darts to the person standing at the doors. Its Tifa, her face lit up she says "It''s Angela, she''s awake".