The second Chris turned the corner he was nearly knocked over by a small woman. He stumbled back a few steps and caught himself from falling. His arms wrapped around her, in a friendly way, as he smiled ear to ear. Kuza kept his distance. He wasn't the biggest fan of strangers, even if they were supposed friends of Chris'.

"Chrissy!" She squeaked, "How'd you find us? Oh my God, I can't believe you're okay! I thought for sure-"

"Hey, I'm a survivor. No one's going to kill me that easily. Not even world devouring ravishers. We actually found you on accident." He explained, "It's a long story, but first, some introductions."

While he was talking, the others looked over the small area they'd set up. It was impressive how they'd made a small home inside the wholesale club. They'd brought all the furniture into this area, using everything from blankets to shelves to create a fort of sorts. It may not have been as homey as the inn, but they had to be jealous of the resources they had.

On the couch sat the youngest of the tree. He was a thin boy, one that was rather shy they'd all noticed. Whereas the other man had no problem coming forward to greet their old friend. He was much taller and had to have been the fighter of the group. Even being barricaded up in here, they've had to have had Sullens attack here.

"This is Vinny, Devin, and my mate, Mike." Chris said as he pointed to each. The rather hyper woman jumped at Kuza with a hug. He stood there unamused and glaring at Chris to pry her away. He resisted a laugh as he gently guided her back, "Ash, Honey, he's not much of a hugger."

"Sorry." She replied, embarrassed, as she let go.

Kuza pressed out his shirt with his hands, "It's alright. I can understand your excitement. You probably haven't seen other people in a long ass time."

"Yeah," She sighed, "But that's okay. I've still got these weirdos. This is Nikki and Jeremy. Oh! And I'm Ash."

"Girl, how do you keep your hair so fluffy in this cold?" Devin fawned over her as she took in every inch of the pipsqueak.

"Oh, thank you," She beamed a smile, "And, well, we don't really leave here. So, my hair doesn't get out in the cold much. Plus we have like a lifetime supply of conditioner here."

She turned over towards Kuza, "Honestly, why didn't we think of taking over a place like this?"

"There's no Walmarts or Costcos in Philadelphia." He replied, monotone. All he wanted was sleep right now and everyone was on his fucking nerves.

"You guys came all the way from Philly?" Ash asked in awe.

"Devin and Mike walked Philly to Scranton and that's how we met them. Then we decided to go Scranton to Newfoundland. It'll take us a long ass time, but thankfully we have places like this we can stop." Chris said.

She smiled brightly, "You can stay with us as long as you'd like!"

"Thank you-"

"I don't mean to be rude," Kuza cut off his partner, "But I've been walking for nearly forty hours. Where can I sleep?"

She pointed back to the taller gentleman, "Nikki can show you a place."

"We should prolly get some sleep too, love." Vinny spoke as he snaked his arm around her waist.

"We've got plenty of room." Nikki replied, "Follow me."

Finally was all Kuza could think. He'd been stressed, depressed, and completely over the day. It didn't seem this hard when him and Devin were making their trip to Scranton. Maybe because he was so focused on survival that we didn't have time to whine about anyone's bullshit. He also didn't have a mate at the time, who he was in a love-hate relationship with.

Nikki directed them through a path of shelves and crates. They'd built up a kind of house here, in an odd way. There was a couch and a bed in the "room" he'd presented them with. Kuza fell face first into the couch with a groan. He was out a second later. Though his body was able to go this long without sleep, it wasn't used to it. He was completely drained.

"Thank you." Devin softly told their new friend.

"Yeah." He grinned, leaving them to their privacy.

Once he was gone, her and Vinny began to get themselves ready for sleep. She stripped off her long black dress and corset piece. As she climbed into the bed, a groan of exhaustion left her mouth. Her body relaxed into the sheets like butter melting. The feeling of reaching your bed after a long ass day was nearly better than sex.

For once, Vinny could care less about his girlfriend laid out in front of him in nothing more than a bra and thong. All he wanted was to join her in slumberland. He threw off his layers of jackets and disregarded his shirt. Then he pulled the blankets over her and got under them himself. All three were knocked out in a second.

How Chris could possibly stay awake was a wonder. He managed to just because he was so excited to see his old friends. He'd thought for sure they'd been goners. Then again, he'd thought the same for himself almost every other day. This life wasn't one that was easy to live. When there's barely anyone left, what's the point? He still had hope that he could turn it around. Seeing the happiness and determined joy inside Ashley really helped to keep that hope's light burning.

Jeremy poured out some tea for Chris, handing him the cup. He thanked him and downed the warm liquid. Despite the fact that he did like the cold, it was still refreshing. The energy of the liquid helped him to stay awake. That, and well, it was hard to get sleepy with a ball of sunshine like Ash around.

"Sooo," She prodded.

He set his cup down on the table in front of them, "Sooo?"

"Aren't you going to tell me about him? How'd you meet? How long have you been a thing?"

Chris couldn't help but smile at her cuteness, "He brought Devin to the inn looking for shelter. She was practically on her death bed by the time they reached us. Him and I were too, in a different way. We actually hated each other when we met but we forced ourselves to get along so we could mate. Neither of us had a whole lot of time left."

"He seems like a bit of a grump." She replied.

"He's just tired. And he doesn't like people. Once you get to know him though, he gets better. And even though he is a little tempered, I'm glad I have him. He's all I have left."

Jeremy frowned, his little voice murmuring, "...The others?"

"Angelo died awhile back. A hunter got to him. A few weeks ago a Sullen raven attacked and Ryan got fucked up pretty badly. He couldn't hold on anymore. After him and Ricky died, we knew it was time we found somewhere else to live. Mike has this crazy ass theory that there's a portal to another realm in Newfoundland. Josh and Ryan-Ashley are still alive but they decided to stay put at the inn."

"Do you really think he's right?" She asked, "About the other realm, I mean."

Chris sighed, "I don't know, but I sure fucking hope he is. It's a massive gamble but what the fuck else are we going to do? We can't stay here forever."

"We know," Nikki muttered, "We've discussed it several times. Eventually supplies are going to run out."

"And it keeps getting colder." Jeremy mumbled, taking a comforting drink of his tea.

The youngest was easily the most innocent of the trio. He kept his knees pressed up to his chest while he sat in the corner of the couch. Chris had yet to notice the temperature drop but it was believable. This world is dying and it has no hope of turning back. His need to escape, whether it be alive or dead, constantly became greater.

| | |

Kuza stirred a little, involuntarily waking up when he smelled the scent of his lover. Even in the Apocalypse, Chris managed to put off a sensual cologne musk. Some days it was great to fall asleep to. Others, Kuza was pissed at him for being so damn perfect. A bus could hit him and he'd still look hot. Those thoughts angered him. He was still mad at himself for how much he'd given in to his mate.

"Good morning, handsome." Chris charmed him, offering him a bowl, "I brought you some breakfast."

He sat up and took the offered food. It was real food, not shitty theater crap or soup. His stomach had shrunk so much from rarely eating that he most likely couldn't finish it but it was the thought that counted. Consuming the warm brown sugar oatmeal was like a dream come true. He didn't think that he'd ever be able to moan over something as simple as fucking oatmeal.

"I missed real food." He said.

"I know, right?" Chris delicately picked up his legs and moved them so he could sit down. "The others are around, somewhere, but we're alone if you wanted to talk."

"Chris," He sighed, annoyed, "I just woke up."

He paused for a moment to correct himself, "You're right. I'm sorry. I've just been thinking about it a lot, what you said about your past, and it's got me worried. I'm worried you don't trust me."

"Trust is a two way street." He grumbled.

Chris' face washed over with hurt, "I trust you! I... I thought you knew that. I mean, that night that we, you know, I opened up to you about Angelo. I wouldn't do that for just anyone."

"You also told me that night that I could wait to tell you about my past until I was ready, but I guess some things change."

"Mike, Baby," He gently ran his hand up and down his leg, "I promise I'll wait but I just don't like the feeling that you think I'm not worth the truth or something. I understand why you're scared. I've got a few things I'm scared to tell you."

"Like what?" He snapped, receiving silence, "Exactly. It's not so easy when you're the one that has to do the talking. I'll tell you when I want to tell you, but right here, in all this, this isn't the right place."

Chris resisted arguing anymore. He didn't like confrontation when it came to his relationships. "Okay." He murmured.

To make up for pushing Kuza's buttons, he decided to be sweet on him. Chris began to place soft kisses along his legs, of which were bent over his lap. The submissive wasn't in the mood at all. After a mild argument really isn't the time to try to fuck. He swung his legs off of Chris and got up, walking away from him.