World at war.

Sandra: Alright. Yea, we have maps. We'll stop into a shop on the way back.

Sandra leads Zero back the way they came. She stops in to a stop and gets Zero a map. The two them make their way back to Zeroes house just in time for Strider having dinner ready for the two. Sandra and Zero stands right outside the door. She passes over the map still cheerful.

Sandra: It was great meeting you and showing you around. If you want to hang out or have any concerns, why not drop by.

Sandra unfolds the map to point out where she's staying. She wanted to make the newcomers feel welcomes and hopefully make them feel they had a friend to turn to if needed.

Sandra: Don't be strangers alright.

Serena and Reina made their way back to the south gate and they get let through. They head through the woods near the gate, using stealth to remain undetected by animals. Suddenly Serena spots something in the distance.

Serena (whispering): This way.

Serena leads Reina to a closer spot in the woods. There they see a family of deer.

Reina (whispering): There are 3 of them. We don't want to kill the child.
Serena (whispering): Good, you are learning. Now, the buck has more meat but the doe would be easier to kill.
Reina (whispering): However, there are more bucks than does so we take out the buck.

----

Back with Zeik, he has left his house. He is taking a walk while thinking.

Zeik: I wonder if the others got captured. It's not likely given the nature of those mutants but, there is a chance. We need to find out but I'm the only one capable of doing so right now.

Sandra and Zero said their farewells and Sandra left the house. As she walked up the street she seen Zeik, then remembered he was the one she was originally looking for. She called out Ziek's name and waved, running over to him.

Sandra: Hey what's up Zeik. Say was you the one that ran in through town earlier as a wolf? I tried to follow but couldn't keep up. However I figured a normal wolf would of attacked someone or stayed away from town. It's not like they run down the street for the fun of it. I was wondering what was going on?

Zeik didn't want to lie so he decided he would only tell part of what happened to keep morale up.

Zeik: Victor sent me back here to help train you guys. He also wanted an extra set of hands to guard the place.

---

Back with Reina and Serena, Reina shot one arrow and it instantly killed the buck.

Reina: Do we need any other meat?
Serena: No. A couple of older chickens aren't laying any eggs so we will kill them for their meat tomorrow.
Reina: Alright. Let's get out of here.

Serena and Reina walk up to the buck. However, it is heavier than expected to they lift it with a little trouble.

Serena: We could have used an extra set of hands but no changing it now. Let's go.

Zero: I'm back.
Strider: Nice. Now let's eat.

They sit down and begin eating.

Strider: So how does it look?
Zero: Good. Thankfully, I have a map as well.
Strider: Perfect. We'll do some exploring of our own then. After we eat that is.
Zero: Yes. Oh and don't worry, I didn't tell them anything about our powers yet.
Strider: I'm sure they'll find out soon enough, one way or another.

After they eat, the two of them head out together.

Sandra: Oh, nice. I would like that, maybe if I pass the training sessions I can start helping you guys out some. I want to get out around and do my part to help and protect these people to.

Part of Sandra's drive to want to help stems from her past and the losses of her family. She's found a home here, a friendly place with good people. She wanted to do all she can to make sure history doesn't repeat itself.

........

Meanwhile Troy headed upstairs. Walking down a hall he seen a door slightly cracked open. He pushed the door open, seeing nothing.

Troy: Huh, disappointing.

We look to see what the characters can't. Inside a crawl space between the walls lay a bloody body, a slice across the throat and a knife stabbed into his skull. Troy, not seeing anything, just shrugged and walked away.

Troy: Maybe she's more hype then action.

Zeik: That will happen another day.

As Zeik and Sandra are talking, Serena and Reina come back from hunting. They are clearly moving slow and Zeik heads over to help. Serena is clearly the more exhausted one.

Zeik: Take a break, Serena. I'll handle it.

Zeik lifts up Serena's half of the buck with no problem. Zeik, Serena and Reina start to walk to the butcher's shop.

Zeik: You could have asked me to come.
Serena: We didn't expect such a heavy buck, we were expecting to get a doe.

Sandra followed the group, she was in no rush to get back home right away.

Sandra: Maybe I can help and use my telekinesis to carry the buck. It'd give me a chance to see how far I've come at maintaining focus while still moving. And it'd give you guys a break.

She hoped Zeik didn't mind her tagging along with him, Serena, and Reina.

Zeik: We don't need help moving the buck, thanks.
Serena: Are you sure you want to tag along? It gets pretty gory in there.

Serena knew what happens in the butcher shop as she would be the person to chop the meat. Zeik knew eating meat was a key part of survival, even though he never did it before the earthquakes as he had other sources of protein readily available. However he refused to kill or chop up animals, or even watch what happened.

Sandra: I probably won't hang around for the chopping part. Like most people I've cut a steak before or stuff like that, I've never had the em... pleasure? If you want to call it that, of dissecting a whole animal.

Sandra wanted to learn new things for sure, however she wasn't sure she'd quite have the stomach to stick around for that. However she did consider it, after all if she was ever with a team in battle and something happened, it's not like she'd be able to shy away at the sight of blood.

Serena: With a proper technique, it's not as bad as it can be. It's a long process but somebody has to do it.

The group makes it to the butcher shop and Zeik lets Serena take over again.

Zeik: You know I'm not going in.

Zeik hands Serena some money.

Zeik: Deliver my meat to my house, I can't stand going in butcher shops.

Serena and Reina head into the butcher shop. Zeik walks away and almost bumps into Zero as he turns around.

Zeik: Sorry about that. I don't think we met, I'm Zeik.

----

In the butcher shop, the girls put the buck on a large metal operating table. They head outside to a hand pump and get some buckets of water. They wash their hands and begin to prep the buck by removing the skin.

Reina: Why do we always end up doing the dirty work?
Serena: Because apparently the guys here have weak stomachs.
Reina: Well Zeik makes sense given his power but the others...
Serena: It doesn't matter in the end, at least we get meat.

As the girls begin to work, they soon hear a knock near the entrance way to the back where the buck is being cut. They look back to see Sandra had come in after all, although not seeming to be to happy to be there.

Sandra: Hey em, can I come in and observe? I figure in a survival situation, where better to learn how to prep a animal for cooking then here.

Although Sandra was interested in learn how to prep fresh game. She largely changed her mind and decided to stay so not to show weakness. She felt she was still trying to prove herself around town.

Serena: I'm sorry but you would probably get in the way with this one. There is a lot of meat to prepare and we have to work fast so it doesn't go bad.

The girls were working very fast, already done removing the skin. It is clear that they have indeed been the only people prepping fresh game in the butcher shop. However Serena and Reina didn't notice that Sandra was pretty much standing in the doorway. The girls do slow down to remove the organs and intestines, being careful not to ruin the meat.

---

Back with Victor, he is seen doing push ups. He is sweating a lot.

Victor: 48...49...50. All done.

Victor sits back on his bunk (the one on the left side of the cell).

Victor: Haven't had a cellmate yet, kind of boring exercising on my own. Did my 25 sit ups and 50 push ups today though.

Sandra was in a position to see. It didn't seem to be as bad seeing the skinned meat, but when Serena and Reina started removing the organs and intestines, that and the smell was making Sandra feel like she was going to be sick. She was to far away to see exactly where Serena and Reina was making the cuts, so she wasn't learning a lot anyway. Sandra decided to leave before she got in the way.

Exited the shop Sandra looked a little paler as she walked past Zeik and Zero who was still talking.

The brothers look at Zeik and then Zero speaks.

Zero: I'm Zero, this is my brother, Strider. We're new around here.
Strider: We just moved in.

Sandra continues down the road toward the north exit. Out in the fresh air she quickly feels better, however she also feels disappointed in herself as well. For wanting to prove herself as being strong, it seemed like a pretty clear fail there. She decided to just take a walk to help get over it and move on to something else.

Zeik didn't fail to notice that Sandra seemed upset with herself as she ran by, looking ready to faint.

Zeik: Do you guys need anything?

----

In the butcher shop, the girls have removed the organs. They save the liver, heart and brain while throwing everything else in the trash.

Serena: Alright, I'll handle the cutting from here. Just make sure you put the meat in the freezer box (note: pretty much a large metal box that is kept cold by the ice/snow and meat inside) as it gets cut.
Reina: Right.

Reina and Serena wash their hands then get back to work.

Strider: No, we're just exploring a little. Getting the feel for the town's layout on our own.
Zero: That's right.

Sandra kept walking till she reached the edge of town. She don't know why she came out, she just didn't feel like going directly home. She thought about going further, there is a swap shop at a intersection a little ways out. Usually about half way between towns there are meeting spots where people can exchange goods to help the other town out. There was no currency system in this part of the country, so everyone pitched in to help anyone else. It works out well, and usually there isn't much trouble. Sometimes there are a few strangers that live outside the towns in the woods. They sometimes try to rob people at the meeting places, but they are generally nothing that can't be handled easily.

With everything in control in town and Sandra not having the stomach to stick around for cutting the buck apart. She considered taking a walk out that way, see if there was anything she could help with.

Zeik: I'll be going on my way then.

Zeik starts to walk towards his house, which is on the way to the north exit. Suddenly, a female merchant runs past Sandra and to Zeik.

Scared Woman: H-help.
Zeik: What's going on?
Scared Woman: B-bandits. They came to the swap shop and asked for some guys Strider and Zero. When I said I never saw them, they stabbed my husband. They are coming!
Zeik: How man of them?
Scared Woman: About 20. They said something about Strider stealing gold and Zero giving their leader a concussion.
Zeik: Don't worry, I'll find a way to stop them. Not good...Why is this happening with a bunch of fighters missing?

---

About 30 minutes have passed since Sandra left and the girls are done with the meat. They wash up and leave the shop to see a crowd (mixed between humans and mutants, the humans being ones who survived the earthquakes and were already on blue island) around Zeik and the female merchant. While there was not a set currency system, most towns accepted gold coins as currency and others used cash. The bartering system is also accepted everywhere. The town Sandra is in is now known as "Bloomingdale" thanks to being revealed by the town map, uses both currencies. Serena pushes through the crowd to get to Zeik and find out what is happening.

Serena: What's going on?
Zeik: Bandits are coming. Who is fit to fight?
Serena: Me, you...possibly Reina, Strider and Zero.
Zeik: There are 20 bandits, is there anybody else?
Serena: Maybe Sandra can help.

Sandra had returned to Zeik when the girl ran past them. She already knew what was going on and looked at this as another opportunity. She didn't want bragging rights or nothing, she just wanted to be officially accepted into the team. She spoke up to Zeik and Serena.

Sandra: I want to come. I've wanted to play a bigger role around here for some time now. Let me help you guys out here please.

Up until this point she hadn't considered herself very respected by others, not to the point of being taken on any real dangerous missions. But she figured if she could earn a little here, it might help her changes of climbing the ranks a little.

Eventually, the brothers notice the commotion.

Strider: What did I tell you? Trouble already.
Zero: You think it could be them?
Strider: If they're smart enough to have tracked us, then sure.
Zero: In that case, let's beat them down again.
Strider: We'll make an entrance once we know it's them.

Serena: We need the extra hands, it's time to see what Reina and Sandra can do.
Zeik: Alright. I can't argue with that.

Serena waves Reina over, and Reina works her way through the crowd.

Serena: Reina, are you ready for your first real battle?
Reina: Of course. Let's defend our town.
Serena: That's what I expected to hear. Consider the hunting as practice, this will be like live game that fights back.
Reina: Got it.
Zeik: Sandra, are you good with any weapons?

Sandra: I haven't really needed to be. Throughout my travels getting here I've defended myself pretty well with my abilities.

In hindsight proper weapons training probably should of been something she undertook. But she wasn't going to let that deter her now. She was here to she could handle herself.

Sandra: I do know a few of the basics in fighting though, enough right now to get by.

Victor hears some commotion in the jail.

???: I WAS FUCKING FRAMED, why would I burn down my own library?
Guard: Don't ask me, look at the video footage.
???: I love books, I wouldn't destroy them. This is complete bullshit.

The guard walks the man down the hall and it turns out to be Bobby Powers. He gets thrown into the cell with Victor.

Bobby: This city fucking sucks now. It was so nice before the tyrants decided to get rid of rules.
Victor: I heard what happened, that sucks.
Bobby: Well anyway my name is Bobby, they blamed me for burning down my own library.
Victor: The name's Victor, I was ambushed in the Blue Lands. I have no clue where my friends are except one guy.
Bobby: And I thought I had it bad.

----

Back with the others, the bandits are getting closer to the town, practically at the northern gate.

Zeik: They most likely have weapons. Go to the church and ask for the light shield, the priest will let you borrow it if you explain the situation. Then you can at least defend yourself.
Serena: I need to grab my ax, I'll meet you in the north gate in a few minutes.
Zeik: Right. I already have my sword. Reina, are you ready?
Reina: Almost, I just need to switch to some metal arrows designed for fights.
Zeik: Go do it. I'll go buy us some time.

Zeik, Reina and Serena split off. Reina heads south to get to her house while Serena heads north-east, cutting through the center of town. The crowd was already gone as they heard the plan.