Sunfowers and Sunshine

Her hands resting on her rifle as it gingerly hung from the strap around her torso Kat spread her legs an equal distance apart once more after whispered to Kyle. Deciding to let him take the lead she watched the new faces with interest as Kyle asked his questions, Finishing up she soon heard as the man began providing answers. From the sounds of it he had been an EMT before the end, meaning he had expertise that would come in handy since Dr. Renolds hadn't made it from the looks of it. Listening further Kat heard as the new face continued to answer. Her gaze shifting from the man to the other two that were with him Kat let her gaze linger on the woman for a moment before down to the child who peeked out from behind her father. Catching the girls eye Kat saw as she quickly hid behind the two adults again. 'Poor thing, must be scared to all hell.' Kat thought turning her attention back to Jason.

Maintaining her silence while Jason began working his way through the questions Kyle had asked Kat breathed in slowly, her gaze fixed on the subtle movements of the three people before her she heard as Jason mentioned that they had come from the North, a vague answer she noted, but didn't fault them for being cautious. Hearing them list off a couple of weapons they were armed with Kat again didn't bat an eye, How else were they moving around in the open. When Kyle had asked if they could trust them however and Jason provided the retort that she was expecting Kat chuckled dryly and lowered her head. 'you should have seen that one coming there Kyle..' she thought to herself.

Letting the moment of humor she felt pass her by Kat's heart dropped when she heard Jason ask the question she knew was coming, Waiting for Kyle to answer the question Kat sighed. "Well, you found it. Or what's left of it anyway." She started. "Like Ky here just said, We were out on a run and came back to a fireball." Looking to the ground Kat shook her head and sighed heavily. "I'm going to assume the way you know we got kids is you were in the tree's when Z and the rest showed up. Guess there's no hiding that anymore." She said looking first to the man and then to the small set of eyes that were once again peeking out from behind the two adults. "And I see that's something we have in common, so you get why we being so cautious yea?" She said, forming it like a question even if it wasn't meant that way at all.

After a few more minutes of deliberation between her and Kyle the decision was made to give Jason and his family a chance, a decision that clearly didn't sit well with one of the guards. Biting her tongue while he and Kyle had a small fight Kat sighed, "Are we done children?" She asked with an annoyed tone to her voice. Looking first to Kyle then to the guard she closed the distance with the man and stared him down. "I said. Are we done children?" She repeated, this time her tone dark and commanding. "You don't want to play this game with me tonight." She finished.

"Jesus, Okay, Alright. Sorry Sarg." the guard answered, letting her rank slip. a mistake he instantly regretted as her eyes shot daggers into him. "I mean, Kat.."

Having decided early on that she'd keep the fact she'd served in the military for a couple of years before the end and that she'd been tasked with helping with the defense of Tampa before shit went to hell a secret she'd only let a number of people know thus far, one of them being the guards and Edward so they knew her skills, which was why she was placed where she was when she and Soley had arrived in Castillo. Shaking her head Kat sighed, looking around it seemed that no one had caught on to what the guard had said though, a fact she was immensely thankful for, she'd tell them on her own terms soon enough anyway, now however, was defiantly not the right time.

Taking point after straightening out the guards at the gate Kat led Kyle and the new faces up the stares of the tower and through the door into the medium sized interior. Seeing Soley look in her direction as she entered Kat smiled at her and chuckled when she saw Zoey still asleep on her lap. Stepping to the side allowing Kyle, Jason and the others to enter Kat looked to Jason.

"Well, For what's its worth. Sorry for all that. Anyway, Welcome. There's a few beds over there if you want to rest. Waters in the corner, one bottle per person for tonight till we figure out how much we have. Hope you understand." Kat explained. Feeling small eyes on her again Kat looked to Jason pretending not to notice his daughter looking out from behind his leg. Sliding her rifle onto her shoulder and crouching down in one swift motion Kat smiled to the young girl. Behind her she heard Soley waking Zoey up from her nap.

"Zoey, Wake. Friends come." Soley said shaking Zoey awake.

Groggy from her nap Zoey's eyes fluttered open, her vision adjusting she looked up to Soley from her lap. "F-Friends? Ed's back?" She asked.

Shaking her head Soley smiled. "No dear, But new friend. Look, there." She said pointing to the small figure peeking out from behind her fathers legs.

Getting to her feet Zoey quietly crossed the distance to join Kat, knowing that she'd protect her if the new faces were bad Zoey reached up and tugged on Kat's shirt letting her know she was there.

Feeling Zoey tug on her shirt Kat chuckled. "Hey squirt." She said looking back to Zoey who stood a little taller than her in her current position. "When you get so big? I've only been gone for a few minutes." she teased. Looking back to Jason's daughter Kat let her smile return. "This is Zoey." She introduced.

Hearing her name Zoey waved to the little girl and smiled. "Hi."

Getting back to her feet Kat looked to Jason. "Sorry for all that ruckus at the gate." She apologized. Still cautious of the new faces for the time she watched their movement for a second before continuing. "Everyone's just a little on edge after seeing their homes burn down." Looking to the others Kat sighed and shook her head. Regaining her composure she looked back to Jason. "Any questions feel free to ask myself or Soley over there okay?" She added before retreating to a nearby chair. Hopefully more people from the old place would show up before daybreak, but only time would tell.

Kyle listen to the man as he spoke about handing him his tomahawk but not the handgun. Kyle at first didn't like it but he came to an understanding when the man mention about needing some insurance, after all they would have to try and trust one another. "Alright I agree to that." said Kyle to Jason. Once up the stairs Kyle sat near his wife and he held her hand as she looked at the man. "Who is he?" asked Anna in a whisper tone to Kyle. He looked to his wife and let out a soft sigh. "That's Jason our new doctor for now." said Kyle with a smirk to Anna who looked slightly confused as she didn't catch his joke. Kyle then turned his attention to Jason and his people. It looked like Kat was helping them out and a small smiled appeared on his face as it seemed that she was doing a good job at it. "He was an EMT before all this so he is looking over a few of our people for us." said Kyle deciding that he would leave out the part that he allowed the man to keep his handgun on him as he knew that would worry Anna.

"Anyway I'm going to go on watch if you need anything I'll be outside." said Kyle to his wife. The two of them shared a kiss and Kyle stood up grabbing his shotgun that was near him. He walked by Jason and his people giving them a nod before heading out. After two hours on watch and making sure people were going in rotations Kyle finally made his way back to Anna and got some rest for the night.

A few of the new faces from the tower had come and gone from their bunk, seeking the reassuring word of the former EMT that their cuts and pains weren't fractures, and/or hadn't become infected. Everyone checked out. More profound than the relatively minor cuts and pains was the psychological jarring one might expect to sustain from fleeing a burning home in a world overrun by the undead. But things had finally calmed, and yet Jason and his family weren't destined for sleep tonight.

He ruminated, as he often did, on the days and weeks prior. The mall and their first group's master plan to escape on the water. The group they'd traveled with out of Atlanta. The fairytales about the cure in DC. Sydney. Those thoughts were always present, and they were like a pair of strangling hands around the throat. "I have to see it," he thought silently to himself. "We're here. We came all the way to Florida, and I'm not f*cking jumping ship until I see for myself that it's gone."

"What's the play?" Jordan asked her brother silently, taking a seat next to him on the bunk. "I mean if they're playing it straight and Castillo's firewood... what's the move? If we could find a vehicle, it might not be too late catch up with the others heading for DC." She paused briefly and then continued. "I don't believe in their bullshit fairytale cure any more than you do. But at least we weren't alone."

He sighed, fatigued both physically and spiritually. His sister might be right. It might ultimately be their best move, but he wasn't ready just yet. "Let's see it first," he continued. "Let's see Castillo for ourselves. If it's gone, we'll reassess. Maybe going back north is the best play, but we didn't come all this way for nothing."

Jordan nodded in agreement. They both looked back to his daughter, sitting awake, silent in the bunk. She didn't seem afraid. Or tired. She seemed contemplative. Unusually so for an 11-year-old. But hell, that wasn't so surprising given the way things were. After a moment of silence they turned their focus back to each other. "They're waiting for people," he began, taking a quick glance around the room at huddled couples and children. "They've got people back at Castillo. At least, they hope they do. That means they'll want to go there and look for family. For friends. Before they leave it behind. I think our best move right now is to offer to help when they do." he explained. Jordan agreed with her brother.

"In the meantime," he spoke silently. "Just keep the safety off."

Having awoken early that morning, far before anyone else in the tower, Soley sat quietly for the time. Upon her lap rested Zoey, the young girl under her care who's mother had been lost to the chaos. Looking down at the sleeping child Soley gently brushed the hair out of her face. 'for your sake I pray your mother is still alive. But if she's not, know that I'll do my best to stand in her shoes.' she thought.

Turning away from the girl after mentally promising her that she'd take care of her if anything went wrong Soley turned her attention to the spot Kat had fallen asleep in the night before, unsurprisingly she found that it was empty. Recalling the previous night when Kat had told her that she would be taking the early morning guard shift Soley turned her attention to the exit, just visible through the window she could make out the black tuft of hair peaking out from behind the wooden boarder of the large glass portal. A gentle smile forming on her features she returned her attention to Zoey for the time, people weren't quiet waking yet and she didn't want to change that. Returning her hand to gently rubbing the girls back she sighed, the day was sure to be hard but they'd get through it together.

Leaning on the railing of the upper balcony of the tower Kat adjusted her rifle on her shoulder. Clasping her hands together she put her weight on the old,chipping wooden plank that served as the top of the rails, below her she could see the two gate guards on duty and behind her she could hear the soft snoring of her companions. They're day was sure to be long and hard so whatever sleep they could get they better get now she thought.

Pushing off the railing Kat stretched and groaned lightly with the movement, the stretch coming to an end she looked over to see Kyle making his way out of the tower and down the stairs, his presence peaking her interest she watched as he descended towards the guards at the bottom, deciding to speak to Rollins rather than Parker Kat turned her attention to what was being said, from her perch high above she listened as Kyle laid out a plan of having a small search party head out to look for Ed and the others, see if they were still alive and if they were bring them back. Hearing him mention that he was gonna bring Jason, the guy that had just arrived that previous night brought up the same apprehension that Rollins displayed, chuckling lightly she shook her head. 'Always gotta be my clone Roll..' she thought looking back to them.

The conversation between the guards and Kyle coming to an end Kat sighed, Rollins had held his tongue on their past like she had asked up until now but the truth was gonna come out sooner or later. Watching Kyle ascend the stairs of the tower Kat waited for him to get to the top before speaking.

"Hey K." She said getting his attention. Looking to him she saw him wave to her telling her to wait a minute before heading through the door.

Waiting patiently for him to return she tapped her finger on the wooden railing, glancing back into the tower she saw him speaking to his wife which brought a small smile to her face, turning towards Soley she could just make out the top of her head but she knew exactly what she was doing, at this very moment she was playing mom to the orphaned Zoey, was she really orphaned though? Kat hoped not.

Waiting for Kyle to return Kat sighed. "So there's something I should probably tell ya." She started, leaning back against the railing she continued. "Ed wanted to keep it on the down-low but now that shits hit the fan, again. I think you should know too. Rollins, Parker and I. Remember back when we first arrived you got a little peeved that we were given so much freedom with the guns? Well, the reason for that was this." Stopping short she pushed herself off the railing again and pulled out her dog tags. Presenting them to him she waited for how he would respond before continuing. "We were part of what was sent to try and defend Tampa, before it fell and everything went to shit at least."

It seemed as if Jason was going with him as was the woman and kid he came with yet Kyle didn't like the fact that they were taking a kid with them but he figured if he said anything that it could cause an argument maybe a little distrust and that was the last thing Kyle wanted. When Jason mentioned about grabbing spare packs he looked to the man with a smirk. "Alright have a few guys loading up the car as we speak." said Kyle to Jason. Once he stepped outside he talked with Kat who wanted to talk to him earlier and now she had his full attention. "What's up Kat?" asked Kyle to Kat and soon he began to find out a little bit about her as well. Seeing the dog tags and mentioning that she was stationed in Tampa when it all happened. He nodded and let out a light chuckle. "It all makes sense now." said Kyle to the military woman. "I just thought Ed had the hots for you back then." said Kyle jokingly. "Well if you want to join us I would be grateful for it." said Kyle to Kat. 




Once finally on ground level Kyle walked over to Rollins and his small group as they finished loading up the car. "Everything good?" asked Kyle to Rollins who nodded. "Of course. I threw three empty duffel-bags in there for ya. It's all we could spare." said Rollins to Kyle who nodded. He walked over to Jason as he heard him asking about a map so he could get a better understanding of the place. Kyle nodded and pulled out the map he had from yesterday on him of Castillo and the surround areas around it. He opened the map and laid it down flat on the hood of the car so he and Jason could look at it. Nearby him was Donnie who had his baseball bat in his hand. "Hey Donnie you got like a pen or something?" asked Kyle to Donnie as he always saw the young man chewing on a pen cap. The young man nodded and handed the pen to him. "Here ya go boss." said Donnie casually to Kyle. 



The young cop took the pen and began to circle the medical station. But before they could continue Jason asked about his tomahawk and Kyle nodded. "Of course. Hey Donnie you mind grabbing his weapon from last night?" asked Kyle to Donnie who rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah sure no problem." said Donnie slightly annoyed. Soon the young man came back and handed the new guy his weapon. Soon Donnie left and when he did Kyle continued on with what he was starting to say. "That's where we have antibiotics, gauze and other meds there. I say we take one maybe two of the duffel-bags in there grab a much as we can. The other duffel-bag we can use that to grab ammo and weapons. I gotta ask are you a good shot? What about you? I figured we could possibly spare you another gun" asked Kyle to Jason and then the woman who was with him as he didn't see a weapon on her.. Everything seemed good to go yet Kyle was still waiting to see who else would join them.

Now that was something he hadn't counted on. He was relieved enough that they managed to see their way clear to keeping the one gun they had on them when they made it to the tower. But bring offered another for the run? That was something. And if what he suspected was true and they were walking into the picked-over bones of an overrun community, they'd take all the firepower they could get their hands on. "I'm no marksman, but I get by," Jason replied after a short pause. "Anything we can get would help. Thank you." he nodded appreciatively at Kyle's offer. 

Jordan stepped forward, cautious, but curiously awaiting whatever weapon was on offer. They'd been shorthanded for a while now. After splitting with their last group headed for DC they'd managed to scrape up a bit more - a couple of handguns, even a 12 gauge pump at one point. But in this world, when the ammo ran dry it didn't make a lot of sense to carry around an empty gun for long. Get yourself into the right bind and that dead weight could make all the difference. Over the prior few weeks they'd shed most of theirs on the road to Castillo.

The partial bottle of Valium in his ruck bag was fixed on his mind at the moment. Not only for the fear of what they might be signing up for this morning, but for what might come after. The position he might be putting his kid in if things took a nose dive. It was all he could do not to make an excuse to steal away and get a quick Benzo fix. But he sweat it out. No pills. Not yet. As nagging as the temptation was, his family needed the best version of him.

Just across the way he and Jordan noticed Kat had descended the tower, gear in hand. It looked like they had more company on the run. In truth, despite that they'd only been familiar with the few new people from the tower for a single evening, it was somehow a relief to see that the ones they'd first met the night before would be joining them.

Ready to depart and get things underway, he, Jordan, and Kate approached a vehicle and got situated to roll out. "So how far is the place from here?" he inquired, prepared to move.

Taking the stairs two at a time Kat quickly made her way down to join the rest of the away team. Looking among them she began counting heads. Kyle, Parker, Jason, Jordan. Nodding lightly as her eyes shifted to each person in turn she then looked to the last member that would be joining them. Jason's kid. 'Wait, we're bringing the kid as well?' she questioned internally. Deciding not to voice those concerns Kat crossed the short distance, coming to stand next to Kyle she nodded a greeting "Mornin folks."

Looking among the members of the away team Kat began taking a mental note of what weapons everyone had, what gear they appeared to be carrying as well as who held them, having spent months around them as well as teaching a number of them herself she had been able to gauge their general prowess with weapons and how they handled themselves in the field. Happy with who they were taking for the most part there was still the matter of the kid coming along, to be frank she didn't like it. Even if the kid knew what she was doing she was still a kid, and in Kat's mind kids shouldn't have to deal with the sorts of things being out in the world brought, although, with current events it seemed like that was exactly what was going to happen. Sighing Kat shoot her head and took her seat in the vehicle.

Climbing in she maneuvered her way to the rear of the SUV, choosing to let the others take the forward seats and take up the rear she sat her rifle against the left inner wall, her pack landing next to it she leaned back in the seat and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Blowing air through her nose Kat glanced out of the window towards the rest of the group. "So we're bringing a kid. Okay, so, does she know what to do? are we going to have to have someone watch her?" She asked herself with another sigh before facing forwards again.

Soon enough the rest of the group began loading up and they were underway, as they began making their way through one street and the next Kat stayed to herself as she usually did before a mission. Still, quiet as she was she listened to what was going on around her, hearing Kyle ask his question on Jason's motives behind becoming an EMT her ears perked, it was something she was curious on as well. Interested to hear what the man had to say on the matter she waited, and listened.