To A Meet Up With Her Scavenging Team

You picked up your pack and slung it over your shoulder; you knew you should be feeling concerned, maybe even scared that this was all a trap and you could be robbed or killed. Yet, your mind didn't seem to care, being alone in this hell for months had taken its toll, the very fact that you were talking to another person made the risk worth it. Hannah waited patiently by the door while you gave the store a final once-over when you finally did return to the entrance she smiled and asked, "All good to go?"

"I think so; there wasn't much to find." You replied while following her out of the store,

"Yeah, places like that are usually tapped out. They were easy spots to loot early on; now it's all about figuring out where the looters stashed the stuff they took." Hannah replied while carefully scanning the streets, "What's your name, by the way?"

"Garrett." You replied after a moment, the feeling of a simple introduction felt foreign to you now,

"You got a last name?" Hannah asked with a glance and a smirk,

"Right, yeah, of course, West." You quickly replied an awkward haze coming over you,

"Okay Garrett, try and keep up with me because we need to move fast if we want to make the meetup," Hannah explained while picking up her pace,

"Meetup? I thought you were taking me somewhere safe?" You said while a nervous pit formed in your stomach,

"I am, but first I need to catch up with my scavenging team. From there we'll grab a car and drive back to our little home." Hannah replied, "Now let's go, and stay quiet, the streets may be empty now but who knows how long that will last."

"I..." You murmured out weakly,

"Listen Garrett, I know I'm asking a lot of trust, but if you don't follow me now, you may never get another chance." Hannah interrupted while slowing up, "So you need to tell me right now, are you coming?" You stared back at her before giving her a silent nod, "Good, now c'mon let's go."

Despite your , you took off, following Hannah down the streets. Minutes passed as you both ran down street after street, ducking behind husks of cars and piles of rubble. "Okay, Come on Devin where are you and Ellie..."

"Who are Devin and Ellie?" You whispered out,

"My friends, they should be right around here," Hannah replied while scanning the buildings,

"This place you're taking me, is it close? Or is it one of the evacuation zones, last I heard the Town Hall was still-" You asked,

Hannah let out a scoff, "Let me stop you there, those evacuation zones lasted all of one week before things started to go wrong. The Town Hall did last the longest, but just like all the others it got overrun, so no I'm not taking you there. I don't hate you that much." She finished with a short laugh,

"Oh, thanks, I guess...so where are you taking-" You started to ask again only for Hannah to jump back up to her feet,

"There they are!" Hannah exclaimed as a young black man, and a short blonde woman came walking out of a hardware store, "Devin, Ellie, over here!"

"Didn't you just say to keep quiet." You dryly pointed out,

Your sarcastic response seemed to go over Hannah's head as she jogged forward and met up with Devin and Ellie. You followed her over, a few steps behind, "Hannah, about time you showed up, we were starting to get worried." Devin said with a wide smile,

Hannah reached out and took hold of his hand before swinging her other arm around him and giving him a quick hug, "Thanks, got a little hung up on something, or someone." She said while glancing over at you,

"Who's this?" Ellie asked with a raised brow,

"This is Garrett; I found him rummaging around in a convenient store. He seems like an alright guy, and I think we should bring him back with us." Hannah explained with a smile towards you,

You gave a small wave to them both only to see them grimace slightly, "You know Andy's not gonna like this." Ellie whispered out,

"That's nothing to what Eli will say, you know that guys got a short fuse," Devin added on,

"Guys, relax, I don't care what either of those pricks think, Garrett is a living breathing person, and he can help us. The more people we have, the safer we'll all be, so he's coming with us, case closed." Hannah said in a stern tone that surprised you,

Devin let out a slow sigh and nodded, "She's right," He took a few steps towards you and stuck out his hand, "Name's Devin my man, happy to met you."

You took the hand and gave it a shake, "Nice to meet you too, thanks for, well, having me."

Devin smiled and nodded before taking a step back, Ellie took a step forward and lifted her hand to wave, "Hey, I'm Ellie. I don't know how well this will sit with everyone back at camp, but I'm happy to meet another friendly face. Those have been in short supply."

"Too true." Devin agreed while you gave her a nod,

"Great we all know each other, now let's move, I don't want us out here anymore. No telling what or who could find us." Hannah said while moving towards a battered jeep, "Hop in." She said with a final glance to you.