And Whatever Days May Come -IC- "What'cha think? Zombie kill of the week?"

"Take it!" she shouted at him, she'd been holding the gun out to him for a while now. Before she became vulnerable in the same pose, she handed him the gun with an attitude. Two zombies stumbled towards Samantha. One was a pale man with half his face chewed off, blood coating his face. His eyes were a scummy blue and flies swarmed his bloodstained face. The other was a woman who had a huge hole in her neck, probably a bite from another Shambler. Samantha thought nothing of it, not fear, not pleasure, just an instinct to kill it. She took the katana in hand and swiftly struck through both heads within one strike and the both of the zombies fell over. She turned to the girl on the horse and the man.

"Don't just stand around! Move! That stupid gunfire is drawing hundreds in as we speak! Go!"

He rolled her yeys. Did she really think that it was still drawing them....

" Not to be mean, but at this piont it's the simple fact they know food is here. But yes lets move. Somewhere up high preferably. I think I saw a Water tower when i was riding up. Up to the North a bit. anyone see it?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You know that a gunshot can be heard from miles around right? I'm pretty sure an entire army of Shamblers is heading this way. Keep moving and keep away from the city. A water tower would just be thicker in town, that would be even more dangerous. Unless it was in the woods or something, but honestly we just need to get out of here. Look!" she said pointing at a large group of zombies slowly mumbling and making their way towards them.

He looked over where the zombie were. Sure enought there were quite a few. More than they could probably handle. But then He just bolted in the opposite direction without saying a word.

"Idiot" Samantha grumbled and decided to follow Rachel. This girl would hopefully be more sensible than that man. She didn't want to take her chances following Keeper. In her mind, the odds were she'd get herself killed following him.

"Hey, can I follow you?" she asked Rachel.

"Sure, we're both heading for the same place, anyway. I'll keep Major at a slower pace so you can keep up. He's barefoot, so he can't run all day, to begin with." With this, Rachel glanced at her compass, at pointed at the far wall of trees. "North's in this direction." She said. With this, she kicked her horse into a slow trot and headed towards the forest, Corbin following close behind, looking at the zombies and seeming embarrassed, as well as alarmed. Rachel was careful to make sure that the dog was not the only one following her. If she left the strange girl behind, she knew she wouldn't be able to come back without a high risk to her own safety.

He'd been running for some time. he didn't stop till he was well away from the girls. he knew they handy followed him. and he honestly didn't care. what was he doing anyway? trying to impress some girl? he was better off alone. he'd hadn't been around people much lately so he knew that he'd likely gotten a bit rusty with talking to others. but now the problem was that now he had no food, no supplies, and no tranportation. so in a word he was screwed. and all because he had to go and try to team up with that girl. oh well. at least he had a better idea of where to go with the map he found. he,d simply keep going the way he was headed, but ray off the interstate. he,d parallel it on local roads instead from here. maybe find some Bolt somewhere.

From behind Keeper there came the sound of horse hooves, an entire herd, it seemed, for at least five beasts could be distinguished from sound alone. Closer investigation revealed a band of riders on each horse, all in either their mid-twenties or thirties, in attire that seemed not too different from the traditional impression of a cowboy. However, unlike a cowboy, these men were armed with weapons other than pistols. Some of them carried clubs, and others carried modern tools such as axes or even large crowbars. All of them rode astride powerful warmblood breeds, Hanoverians and Westphalians amongst their number, in various colors, most bearing brands on their hindquarters, proof of their fine breeding.

However, ahead of the four riders, the fifth stood out the most. Unlike the others, the horse he rode was sleek and fast, an Akhal-Teke with a palomino coloration, its pelt cream, and its mane and tail pure white. The rider on the mare's back was perhaps the oldest in the group, and the most terrifying, as well. His face grown into a short black beard, with close-cropped wavy hair, his blue eyes, intense, peered past the hat he wore. "Hold it right there!" One man from behind the leader called, running ahead with a makeshift bola in one hand. If Keeper did not stop, he would run the risk of being tangled in the bola, as the riders would surely throw it at him if he fled.

He heard a shout from behind. He spun around to see who was hollering at him. Whoever it was better have a good reAson for bothering his or they'd be getting a piece of his mind. When he did turn around he saw a very threatening groupe of men. Keeper honestly didn't know what to do spo he did as they'd asked and stopped.

The riders circled around Keeper and surrounded him, preventing any chance of escape. "Well, this is the first one who's had any common sense in quite some time." One muttered under his breath, shifting on his horse's back. "What're you doin' out here, sir? Don't you know it ain't safe wanderin' around in the same area as a bunch of Walkers?" Another man with a pot belly called out, before letting out a bellowing laugh. "Oh, hush up, Hugh! You know it ain't right to tease someone like that." A third snapped. "Quiet, all of you!" The leader commanded, his deep voice stern, and demanding immediate obedience. The men stopped talking and watched him, apologetic looks on their faces. The stranger rode close to Keeper, his gaze never straying to anything else, completely focused on the man. "I am aware what Hugh said was not quite polite, although I think there is plenty of reason in his question." He began, keeping his voice at a normal volume. "Do you care to explain the little spectacle we witnessed a little while ago with the two young ladies? I have already sent some of my men to go fetch them, so they will be joining us shortly." Although threatening, the stranger seemed surprisingly civil.

" Nothing much. I was just planning on chrashing in on a little rendevous between one of the ladies and someone else. So I came out here to see what was up. Then everything wnet to CENSORED really fast. I got fed up with the loadmouth on and took off. I was planning on finding a way back to my hog and going somewhere, but i guess that plan is dead."

Over the horizon, there came a whistle, as three more men appeared, surrounding Rachel, who was riding on Major. Corbin walked alongside the group, his tail low between his legs. The captured trio looked extremely sad, but none of them appeared to be badly hurt. However, nobody could be sure where the second girl had gone. Hugh looked up from his horse, "Well, you got the one with the animal companions, where's the second one?" He asked as the three men rode up, making sure to watch their new prisoner. "She got away, Howard and Walter are still after her." one man said. "That girl's a she-demon, I'm positive." a second muttered. This prompted a lot of teasing.

While the men started to bicker, Rachel looked down from Major's back and gave a somewhat sheepish smile, "Hello, again." She said, addressing Keeper. It was understandable, she had been unable to keep her horse from panicking when the bandits had shown up. "Well, it looks like one got away, but we'll catch her, only a matter of time." The man said. "Well, what now, Keith?" one man asked the leader. Keith just examined Rachel closely, and it was everything she could do to avoid flinching. "Well, then, it seems we have another friend of the animals. What do you call your companions, girl?" He asked. Rachel started, "My h-horse's name is Ebon M-Major, and my p-poodle is C-Corbin." She stammered. "Well, no need to panic, we ain't gonna harm you and your friend. We're quite civil, well, I am, at any rate, some of these boys are a bit rowdy at times, too much for their own good." Keith turned around and glared at few of the chuckling men, and the stopped.

So they got the nice one. Well if he had to be stuck with one of them it least it was her. Though he hardly knew her. Less than that loudmouth. And why was he calling her that? Oh yeah! Cuz she never shut up about what he was doing wrong. And all because of the gun. Well she might be a melee expert, but he wasn't. Anyways These guys didn't seem to be too bad. Could've been worse. They could've shot him on sight.

"Nice to see you too agian Ma'am. Never did get your Name though. I think wewere too busy runnig at the time. At least the other one got away thught"

"Name's Rachel, although I can't say that the other girl got away, and she's on foot. She's being chased by two men on well-conditioned warmbloods. Unless she's really good at outsmarting them, or an Olympian runner, she doesn't have a lot of chance escaping." She said, looking warily at the men around her. "So, can someone please explain why we're being held hostage like this?" She asked, nervous. "Well, glad that someone asked, rather than forcing me to bring up the topic myself. You see, we're bandits, although I suppose that much was obvious." Keith answered her question. "Unfortunately, this means that we would normally be robbing you of any valuables you have, that is, unless you two have skills that make you worth something. If you have any worthwhile abilities, then we might not rob you, and simply ask you to join us. If you say no, you get robbed, either way, but we are always looking for new skills." Keith's mare hopped giddily between her hooves and whinnied at Major, who snorted a response. It seemed the horses were introducing themselves. Corbin just tilted his head to one side and looked at Keith, before lowering it, as though ashamed.

Damn. he didn't have any good skills. All he could do was check invitory and balance a checkbook. What good would that do them? Well he did know how to shoot a gun but that was about it.

"Sorry fellas, but the only thing I can do is shoot. Either My 9 mm or my crossbow. Running a resturaunt really doesn't prepare you for the end of the world. Can even cook to be honest though. Kinda sad."

Keith seemed to think for a moment, "As you can see, none of us are armed with guns, but a crossbow shot is actually somewhat uncommon. That is actually a very worthwhile skill, and any kind of cook is better than nothing." He said. He then turned to Rachel, "And what can you do?" He asked. "I can catch fish, and I know standards for most kinds of animal care, horses being one of them." She said. "Another valuable skill, and a well-trained dog, might I add. He can keep his mouth shut." He noted. He then turned to face the young man again, "You can both join, we aren't exactly as violent as some, but if you want in, you're going to have to learn how to ride a horse, although luckily most of us are good horsemen. Something tells me, though, that this young lady here knows more than us about fine breeding and tack." Rachel lowered her head and blushed, "I was just lucky, but Major has been a really good horse, despite being green." She said. She looked back at him, as Keith noted, "Please note it's only an invitation, horses don't make much noise if they're trained, but you'd still have to get one."

So his Crossbowis useful after all. Knew it. Silent and deadly. And it had a lot less recoil than a gun. And they wanted his mediocer cooking skills. Guess they'll have to make do with Raman. Well his cooking wasn't that bad, but it wasn't all that great. Better than it use to be. He'd picked up a few things here and there from the folks he'd highered.
Too bad he didn't know how to ride a horse that well. He did ride some when he was a kid, but it'd been years.

"Well if gonna stick with y'all I'll need to get a few things. Like some Bolts for my crossbow. I used most of them up excaping my hometown. Zombies were really thick around there. And I home you like Raman and noodles. Can't cook much more than that."

"Any sort of cooking is fine with us." Keith said, before looking over his shoulder, "Hugh, John, you remember that abandoned Wal-Mart we passed a little while ago? Most of those have hunting gear sections. I want you two to go and find crossbow bolts, don't mess around, be back soon." He then looked back at Keeper, "For you, we're going to get you a horse, there's a small pasture a little ways from here. Considering that your type doesn't appear to ride much, Rachel here is going to help you get one with good breeding standards, and fit it with proper tack. A horse isn't just a mode of transportation, it's a live animal, so they can have defects that only a trained eye can spot. Considering this girl says her horse is green, she probably picked him out herself." Rachel blushed again, and it was obvious she wasn't used to compliments. Keith continued, "My boys will come and meet with us when they get the bolts, and by that point you should have your horse figured out. Once we're done with that, we'll show you some basic riding techniques. Even if you're skilled at it, most horses haven't been ridden in a year, and the trained ones in the stalls died from lack of care, so I doubt your own skill level will matter."