Jake took a deep breath of the fresh air, delighting in the crisp spring air. The air below was clean, but in a recycled 100+ times kind of way; Any breath of air down there was guaranteed to have been breathed by at least a dozen others. Though the air up here might still be radiated, he was glad for the reprieve. He noticed that his father was already moving out, the other four members of the scouting party following close behind. Jake jogged to catch up, eyes squinting as the sun shone on him, much brighter than the artificial lighting he was accustomed to. He paid no mind to the rifle slapping his leg until his father gave him a stern look. “Take care of the rifle. They weren't made yesterday.” He sternly ordered, and Jake listened, obediently grabbing the rifle and holding it as if ready to shoot. The sleek machines were probably state of the art – ten years ago. Despite that, Jake felt slightly uneasy. Even though the marauders would undoubtedly be armed worse, who knows what the savages could do.

His hands clenched around the gun as he looked around. He wasn't sure how much of it was time, or the tornado that ripped through, but the city their shelter had been built in the center of was flattened. Rubble and building debris littered the ground. Luckily, that meant their vision was almost unhindered, except for one or two chunks of rubble that one could hide behind.

His father's booming voice caused him to jump “This is the scouting party of the Aegis. Show yourselves.” After a few tense moments, he saw a woman stand up from one of the large pieces of rubble. Immediately, he pegged her as one of the savages. She had a bow slung over one shoulder, and a pistol at her hip. Her tank top was stained and had more than a few holes. Her shorts were barely decent. Her outfit culminated with a pair of sturdy boots and a black cowboy hat, complete with stampede string. She walked up with a confident swagger, drawing most attention to her. And away from the girl that trailed behind. The lead woman barely flinched as a gun went off, hitting the ground near her feet, though the other girl hid behind her and Jake's father turned to yell at the man.

“I was beginning to think that them rumors weren't true.” She drawled, gaining his father's attention once more, both with her words and with how unconcerned she was “What rumors?” he asked warily, and the girl shrugged her tanned shoulders “That there were shelters under the cities. Big ones, more organized. Most others came up already.” His father frowned, offering a hand to shake “Name's Alan.” He told her, and she inclined her head slightly “M'names Bree. This is Allie.” She jerked her head to the girl following her, who shrunk behind her again. “She hasn't been around people much.” Bree explained, brushing a comforting hand over the girl's shoulder.

Jake frowned, thinking that she made the girl sound an awful lot like a dog. She didn't have the presence of her companion, but that didn't make her any lesser. “We weren't sure if things were safe.” Alan elaborated, making Bree snort “Things never were safe. You could go out after a couple months though.” Jake began to wonder how much education the girl had; surely she didn't think it dissipated after just that long, did she? “Just because the radiation didn't kill you outright doesn't mean it didn't still linger.” Alan told her, making the girl shrug “True, but give me a choice between starving and braving some radiation, and I know which one I'll choose.” Something in the way she said it made it obvious it wasn't a hypothetical question.

“I'd lay low if I was you though. Some rumors said that it was your people that caused this.” She told them, before turning to leave, barely touching the girl behind her to get her to move as well. Again, treating the other girl like a dog. Before he could say anything – not that he had anything in mind – a arrow came out of nowhere, hitting one of the scouting party in the leg. Immediately, Bree pulled Ally in front of her, as she turned to shield her. With her opposite hand, she drew her gun, firing off a round towards the archer.It was off target, more to prevent return fire than to score a blow. She righted her aim and was about to squeeze off another round, one that would draw more than a bit of blood if she hit her mark.

“Stand down Bree!” someone called, and she relaxed her hand, letting her gun drop “Our fight isn't with you; it's with them!” the person continued, and Bree took a deep breath before responding “Cut 'em some slack, Brandon! It's their first time out!” There was a tense pause, before Brandon barked “Leave Bree.” The girl looked to Alan and shrugged “He'll at least speak to you now.” With that, she turned to leave.

Jake was nearest the hit man, and he watched in horror as the man staggered before dropping to his knees, one hand clasped over the leg where he was hit. “Send forward an ambassador!” Brandon barked, and Alan strode forward with no hesitation, trusting his team to handle the wounded.

Bree barely cast a backwards glance as they quickly moved out. “Think they'll be all right?” Allie asked, biting her lip in worry. Bree made a dismissive noise “Yeah. Brandon won't kill them. Might try his darnedest to swindle them, but won't kill.” She noticed that Bree wasn't leading her back towards her shelter, and thought about speaking up “We can crash at my place for a bit. Make sure they aren't following.” Bree told her, before she spoke. Allie worried her lip again, tasting blood “My parents will worry.” she argued, making Bree shrug “Not as much as if we led paramilitants to their door.”

In all honestly, a large part of her was also excited to see Bree's place. The older girl had put off showing her for ages, it seemed like. Or maybe there just wasn't any good times for her to show off. Whichever it was, this would be the first time she would see it, despite knowing each other for the better part of four years. Though she was fairly sure the first two didn't count. Bree started up a hill, moving unerringly towards her dwelling of ten years. “Here we are.” she stated, gesturing to roughly elliptical opening. It looked narrow, and Bree pushing the vines out of the way did little to make it seem bigger. Ally looked to Bree hesitantly, who smiled encouragingly at her “It's bigger on the inside.” she assured her, tugging gently on her arm. Ally took a deep breath before following her in. Watch your step. It's a little slick.” Bree warned, letting Ally grab onto her arm as they slowly went down the inclined tunnel. Once if Bree was telling the truth, it sure didn't seem that way. The tunnel wasn't any wider than the entrance, and right before Ally was going to bail, it opened up. It was still pitch black though, and Ally's grip on Bree's arm didn't slacken until the girl struck a match and lit a lantern. “Well, here we are. Home sweet home.” Bree gestured, before flopping onto a lawn chair. Ally gingerly set herself down, looking around.

The cave wasn't much bigger than a normal bedroom, with a low ceiling that made it seem even smaller. Despite that, it was cozy. Bree had apparently ventured out early, as the room was filled with scavenged goods. Drawers, ammo cans, canned food and more filled a corner of the cave-room, with a pile of wood on the other side. A bed sat against one wall, next to a stack of books.

“It's nice.” Ally complimented, eyeing some hides that were hung to tan, everything from rabbit to deer. It was smaller than the bunker Ally lived in, but not by much. “so, how good are you at chess?” Bree asked with a sheepish smile, pulling out a rough-looking board and what looked like hand-made pieces. Ally's lips curled into a grin, even as she responded “I'm the worst.”

Ally looked towards the tunnel as she lost again, and saw how dim the light was “I need to get home.” she stated, feeling the dull edge of the familiar mix of anxiety and fear. “I'll walk you back.” Bree told her, putting the board away. She spoke before Ally could protest “The least I could do since you lost so graciously.” The anxiety abated a little bit, while the fear disappeared completely. “I'll even bring a peace offering.” Bree told her, smiling sardonically as she pulled out a package of jerky. Ally grinned slightly, though internally she wished Bree didn't feel the need to do so. A prompt booting was almost inevitable without it though; her parents would always kick up a fuss about food supplies otherwise. Though Allie had to admit they did have a point; nearly ten years had strained their food stores too much to entertain.

Stolen story; please report.

Bree blew out the lantern, using a flashlight to light the way to the tunnel. Ally went first, though Bree wasn't more than a half-step behind, chest brushing against her back with every step. It put Ally at ease though, the thought of Bree between her and the pitch-black cave, though rationally, she knew that Bree wouldn't tolerate anything else living in her cave. The beam of light that illuminated the path in front of her also put her at ease, though she knew that few enough raiders came in this far. “We'll have to go by moonlight once we get outside.” Bree murmured, and Ally nodded slightly, already knowing that.

It was still nerve-wracking for her though. Every breeze made her jump, every animal noise made her shrink towards Bree, who laughed slightly. “Just a coyote.” she told the jumpy girl, though that didn't make her relax. That was the difference between bunkers and marauders; one knew the sounds of the outdoors, one knew only the artificial quietness of their bunker. One was at ease wandering around outside, the other only inside the bunker. Ally tore her eyes away from the suspicious shadows to look at Bree. The moonlight didn't offer the best illumination, but it was enough to see some tawny hair peeking out from under her hat, and the way her eyes moved smoothly, taking in their surroundings without an ounce of fear. She wasn't relaxed, but her muscles weren't tense as she moved smoothly, exuding confidence. If it were anyone else, she'd think them foolhardy, feeling confident with just a handgun and a bow while others had assault rifles, but it was Bree. The girl that had survived for ten years all on her own where others had entire communities and couldn't make it.

“Something on my face?” Bree asked, eyebrow arching over green eyes. Ally turned away quickly, face heating with the embarrassment of getting caught. Bree grinned, but said nothing more as she followed Ally to her home. It was a little slower than Bree, as she zigzagged through the wreckage of multiple houses, looking for the markers. It made sense that she had difficulty though; the tornado had affected this area much,much more than Bree's hillside. Eventually though, she found it, and tugged the hatch up, and started climbing down. Bree waited a second before climbing down, pulling the hatch shut above her. She could hear Ally's parents welcoming her back, before the father groaned, “Please tell me that savage isn't climbing down now.” a soft whack, which was probably one of the females scolding him, before she hit the bottom. The mother smiled welcomingly at her, but the father was glaring at her “We can't afford to feed her, darling.” he told Ally exasperated, steadfastly ignoring her. Bree laughed slightly “Keep that up and I'll think I'm not wanted.” she commented dryly, dropping the container of jerky on his lap. He grunted in annoyance, but opened the butcher paper to peer inside. “rabbit again?” he asked, managing to inject scorn into his voice. “Mm, nope. Nice try.” she responded, with just as much scorn. A sharp glance from Ally had her adding “It's elk.” he looked at her, eyebrows raised in surprise “Did you waste the rest of it?” he asked, and she sighed, tiring of his jabs “No I didn't. You aren't the only people in this area. I traded some, gave some away. Have a friend holding some for me for later.” He looked at her with a frown “Others? You didn't tell them about us, did you?” Ally was surprised too; this was the first she'd heard of it. Bree shook her head “I told them there're others, but not where.” Bree turned to leave, but Ally grabbed her by her pants “Stay for dinner?” She asked, after looking to her mom for permission. “I don't feel like staying.” Bree stated deadpan, and Ally's face fell slightly, and her mother smiled, laying a hand on her arm “I'll keep Bill in line.”she assured Bree, who hesitated, before turning back around.

Bill, Bree and Ally sat at the table while Ally's mother made food for them. “How many others are in this area?” Bill asked, and Bree tapped her nails on the table, thinking “mmm... seven, plus Brandon's group.” Bill stilled, eyes narrowing “Brandon's group?” he asked flatly, and Bree nodded “Yeah. 40, maybe 50 people. Mostly focused on farming; got a pretty good seed bank.” There was a moment, where it wasn't clear if Bill was going to yell at her or not, before food was placed in front of them. “Thanks kindly, Dot.” Bree thanked her, with a wide smile. “Thank you. Must have been hard to take down an elk.” she responded, and the rest of the meal was spent with her giving a dramatic recounting of the tale. “It's not that hard. Animals have rebounded quick, especially without normal human depredation. I see at least two dozen deer a day. If we ever get back to how it was, I'll probably be rich.” Bree remarked, and Bill shot her a disproving look “You started out with just the shirt on your back.” Bree made a slight disagreeing noise, thinking of the equipment she had, but let him believe that “You only need to start out with a lot if you plan to spend a lot. I started out with, like you said, nothing. Now, I have a great deal more, as Ally can attest to.” She drained her cup before standing up with a sigh “Better be getting back. I found a hog wallow, and I'd like to hit it tonight.” She slid her hat back on, and ambled over to the ladder “Thanks for the meal, ma'am.” she inclined her head to Dot, who smiled slightly, before starting up the ladder.

The hatch was barely closed before Bill turned to Ally “What did she have?” he asked, making his wife sigh in exasperation. Ally thought about the room, wondering how she could do it jsutice. It was pure Bree from one wall to the other, but that wouldn't be enough of a descriptor. “She had a huge pile of blankets. Coats, too. Canned food. Some ammo cans. A couple guns, fishing rods. Looks like she made out pretty well.”. Of course she would, Ally thought; she was fearless and stronger than anyone she'd ever met. She worked hard and reaped the benefits.

Her father nodded, looking satisfied. “Do you think you could find it again, without her?” he asked, and Ally got a sinking feeling as she realized why he was so interested. “No.” she told him, honestly, and saw his face twist in frustration. “Make sure you can next time, and go for one of the ammo cans.” Ally looked to her mother, but saw she didn't hear, as she washed the dishes. Her father saw her look though, and grabbed her hand, squeezing it almost painfully “Look, Ally. She doesn't deserve any of it. She stole it! And you see how she looks down on me, because I'm like this.” He gestured to his useless legs, but Ally didn't look, eyes focused on a corner of the room. She was stoic, but inside, there was a struggle between yelling at him and bursting into tears. It was wrong of him, to use her to rob her friend. “She risked her life for those supplies though. More than I could say about you.” she retorted, doing a good job of keeping emotion out of her voice, though some of the disgust she felt leaked through. His face contorted in anger immediately, as he slammed his hands on the table “I will not have her teaching you her Ableist values! To your room!” he roared, and she didn't look to see her mother's reaction as she did so, lifting up the panel that served as her room's door and ceiling.

She remembered describing her room to Bree once, and the horrified face she got in return. She didn't think it was that bad, herself, though she readily admitted it could be ten years of having the same surroundings clouding her judgment. Her room was about four foot tall, as wide and long as a twin bed. A single light at the foot of the bed lit the area, along with the thin shelves that held her few belongings. She sat on the bed that was the floor of her room, and pulled out her needles and yarn. Bree had been amazed when Ally told her she could knit, confessing an ineptitude at it. The older girl had even regretfully recounted tales of mangled gloves and lopsided hats. She hadn't asked, but Ally was certain she would love the knit moccasins she was making for her. She certainly complained about walking around bare footed in the cave often enough. The thoughts of Bree brought her mind away from her current situation, making her smile.