Huddle

[Pippi]

Owen nodded his head.

"Yeah. So... anything we find that could be useful goes in the bags. I mean... better safe than sorry, right?"

Owen placed the bags on the floor, mind now beginning to wander, mostly centred around Ben. Aileen's theory sounded like the most reasonable explanation. If he was going to be returning, it might be wise to look for some more useful objects to use as weapons. A golf club and a table leg would only get them so far against a guy with a scythe, even if the latter had no idea how to wield it. Hopefully, though, they'd have plenty of time to get prepared for Ben's return. If, of course, it ever actually happened.

Aileen was now holding a purple garment out towards Owen, which had previously been hanging from a doorknob. Owen looked at it inquisitively as she spoke, before the smile began to return to his face.

"Well... I'm not exactly an expert on fashion. I mean..." Owen gestured down at the clothes he was wearing. Jeans, trainers, hoody and nerdy t-shirt. Fashion icon he was not. He shrugged, then moved his hand to touch the pullover.

"Well, for what my judgement's worth, I'm sure it'll look great. No harm on trying it on, is there?"

Owen wasn't quite feeling complacent; there were still too many things buzzing around in his head, keeping him alert, for that. But with the security he felt the shopping centre brought him, that alertness had dulled slightly.

[Riki]

Aileen's ensuing smile might even be called a light chuckle. No, a fashion icon he was definitely not. She dropped the pullover to the ground, before she quickly pulled off her dirty, sweat-stained top. Pretty sure that her mother would give Aileen a harsh gaze for revealing oneself like that in front of a man, but Aileen couldn't be bothered to seek a room for changing. Besides, Owen surely has seen more disturbing things than Aileen's questionable bra choices by now.

"Hm... a bit tight on the arms. Still, looks good."

She used her hands to get some of the dust away, then she lowered herself a bit to gently pet her left leg. Still hurt, but nothing terrible as long as Aileen moved carefully. Perhaps she could change the bandages, but she wasn't sure what she could use. Ben, in his most glorious hospitality, wasn't someone she considered to ask for medical supplies.

"I think we should develop some battle plans. In case somebody hostile enters the buildings, so that we can immediately react."

[Pippi]

Well. That was unexpected.

Sure, they had been wearing the same clothes for about seven days now, through the elements and whatever else the island had thrown at them. Owen couldn't deny that he too wanted a new set of clothes almost as much as he had wanted food. Sure, it still wasn't the strangest thing Owen had seen all week. Sure, maybe it was safer to stay here rather than wandering off alone to find some privacy.

Owen still hadn't expected Aileen to just up and take her top off like that.

He was certain his face was now a lovely bright shade of red, as Aileen replaced her top with the pullover. With a little difficulty, he attempted to focus on the task on hand, and what Aileen was saying. Battle plans, a way of stopping anyone from sneaking up on them. He also noticed her rubbing her leg. They should probably do something to alleviate the damage there, too.

"Um... ah, uh... y-yeah. Battle plans. Right. Uh... okay, so there are only a couple entrances to the lower floors, right? We could... possibly make tripwires or something? We could find a bunch of metallic stuff and attach them to it, make sure we hear if someone's attempting to come in. Maybe... maybe find a main shop to stay in as, like, a base... somewhere with a good vantage point."

Owen glanced at Aileen's leg, then back at her face.

"Um... and maybe it'd be for the best if we, uh... looked for some medical supplies. Some fresh bandages at the very least..."

There was definitely still a burning sensation in his cheeks.

[Riki]

Seeing Owen blush at the sight of a half-naked Aileen was definitely one of the best and most flattering compliments she has ever received, whether directly or indirectly. One week full of murder, despair and dirt. Still hot.

Okay okay, it was more about the person who was blushing, not the act itself, but that was just a bunch of semantics.

"Mhm... I saw strings somewhere around here. The empty food cans will probably help too. As for vantage point... well, I don't know. Something where we can flee from very easily."

Aileen noticed Owen glancing at her leg for a moment. He made another good point.

"Yeah... let's see whether we find anything."

[ViolentMedic]

((Joe Carrasco continued from Everybody Looking For Something.))

A shopping center would have a shovel, right?

Joe wasn't sure. Maybe the terrorists would have taken them away. But if there were shovels, and he knew there was at least one out there because those two strangers he'd met had buried Jason using one, there would probably be one here.

But instead, upon starting to poke around the bottom floor of the shopping centre, Joe had found barricades blocking the entrances to one of the stores. Chairs and tables and such.

Joe peered at the barricade, curious and kind of impressed. He hadn't really considered making shelter or setting up a base, but it was certainly a lot smarter than running around.

"See, if you were really trying to be smart, Travis, you would have done something like this. Not gone around robbing people," Joe muttered under his breath. His temper was getting shorter with every moment he shared with Travis, particularly now that Travis had started whining about his hedge trimmer being heavy amongst everything else. Joe may have made a few snippy comments right back, mostly about how he should just drop the stupid thing rather than whining about it. Shouldn't have it anyway.

Joe pondered the barricade for a moment, then knocked on the door.

"Hello? Do you have a shovel in there?" he called out.

[Delroy†]

((Travis Webster continued from Everybody Looking For Something... ))

What Travis had been saying about the hedge trimmer was true. The week on the island had taken its toll on him, and he was growing weaker by the moment. The bloodied, clumsy thing together with several packs had become too much for him to carry.

Of course, he struggled on as they came closer to the shopping center. As much as Travis didn't want to waste time, there was something about giving Chuck a proper burial that made him feel... warm inside. It was a nice change of pace compared to the otherwise morally dubious thoughts going around in his head. He wanted to find that shovel just as much as Joe.

When they arrived at the mall, they stumbled on a most peculiar sight. A barricade. Someone had fortified the mall! Joe pointed out the tactical advantage, and it was not lost on him.

"Pfft, giving me tips on how to play now?", he muttered under his breath.

He clumsily threw his bags and trimmer down on the floor and sat down. The truth was that Joe was right, of course. This idea would've been much smarter to perform, at least for the first week or so. But at least his first week had made him tougher and ready for what was to come, if that was any consolation. He yawned. His energy was still severely lacking. He hadn't slept properly for far too long.

[Pippi]

"Yeah, I don't think string should be too hard to find. Good point on the food cans, too. Means we don't have to go scrounging about too far." Owen scratched his chin, eager to get to work as soon as possible. The quicker they managed to fix up some trip wires and find a main store to hole up in, the safer they would be. On top of that, Owen had kind of been inspired by Aileen's sudden... changing to grab himself some new clothes himself. That could wait, for a moment, though. Aileen's leg and the tripwires for the doors were their main priority.

"Alright then. Let's go look for stuff... hopefully the, uh, string and medical stuff won't be too far apart..."

Again, Owen had managed to form some sort of plan, some sort of idea for what they were to do next. Again, fate seemed determined to block him at every step. Owen was about to head off on his search when he heard a loud knocking from the barricaded entrance. He spun round to look back towards the doors, not that he could see who it was that was attempting to get in.

Owen gazed at the doors for a second more, before looking at Aileen, a slightly nervous look on his face. He hadn't expected anyone to attempt entry so soon after they had taken over the place. Stupid, honestly. Stupid to think no-one would be walking past the shopping centre. The gears in Owen's head were rapidly turning. Whoever was wanting to get inside had, at least, knocked, rather than attempted to break through the barricade. That suggested they had a rather more peaceful or placid nature. Owen leaned in closer to Aileen.

"We should probably respond..." He whispered. "Else whoever it is might, I dunno... assume no-one's here... and try break in anyway..."

God, he hoped he was right. God, he hoped it wasn't somebody hostile outside. Owen tried to keep the nerves out of his voice as he spoke up.

"W-who... who is this?"

[Riki]

Ah, so they already got some visitors. Given they knocked, they didn't appear to be hostile. Actually, that voice was familar. Owen suggested that they better responded, or else whoever might be out there would just break in. Deciding that she would need a closer look, Aileen fetched her walking stick and went towards the main entrance, where she looked through a tiny hole in the barricade.

"It's Joe," she called back to Owen.

"Hey Joe, it's Aileen. Wait a moment and I'll open a spot for you."

Ben had moved the heavy kiosks in front of the main entrance, which meant that Aileen would not be able to move them. However, the gaps have been filled with more mobile chairs and other objects, which Aileen easily could pull aside.

Then, after she placed her stick next to the door and managed to remove some obstacles, she also managed to get a better view on Joe and... his companion. For a moment, Aileen hestitated. However, she eventually figured that Travis shouldn't be too much of a bother as long as Joe was there.

She opened the door for Joe. And Travis, she guessed.

"...come in."

[ViolentMedic]

"Never too late for you to stop being such a... a..." Joe had been struggling to find a word when a voice replied. One he knew. "Aileen?"

Hearing his temporary traveling companion calling back was both a relief, since she still wasn't dead or a killer, and simultaneously terrifying because of who was following him. Even back at school, Travis and Aileen hadn't got along at all. Joe hadn't witnessed the arguments, but Travis' little tirade afterwards, during which he'd called Aileen a number of unflattering names, had painted a clear, though vulgar, picture.

A mass of scraping followed, and Joe saw that Aileen was opening the barricade. ...Wait.

"You don't have to let us--"

Already cleared by the time Joe had realised properly what she was doing.

"Um... no, no, it's okay, he doesn't--uh, we don't need to come in, I was just looking for a shovel and thought you might--what happened to your leg?" Joe changed focus immediately on seeing the hole in Aileen's pants and the brown bandages underneath. The wave of nausea in his stomach was less than that which happened whenever he passed a body, but still... she would have changed the bandages if she had any.

Joe shifted a little on the spot, looking between Aileen and Travis. The risk of infection and the risk of Travis potentially murdering someone. But he could stop Travis if he had to. He couldn't stop infection if it happened here.

"...Hey, Travis, you... you have to have some medkits, given... given what you... hey, she needs one."

[Delroy†]

Travis didn't much care about Joe's mumbling. Once he was tentatively sure that whoever was in there wasn't out for their heads, he stopping following the situation. Aileen was a bitch and all, but she seemed friendly enough with Joe. And he was tired. His head was throbbing and his neck ached. He might be getting a fever. He closed his eyes and massaged his temples while taking long, heavy breaths.

He didn't react until Joe said his name. Travis opened his eyes slowly and peered towards Joe and Aileen. He looked annoyed.

"Look, Joe, I'm fine with your fucking pacifism shit. But this isn't a fucking charity."

He felt that he was harsher than he ought to be. But right now, he only wanted sleep. He didn't want to help people, he didn't want to walk anymore, and he didn't give a damn about burying anyone, not even his old friend. Chuck was dead anyway. Why would he care? Unlike him, Travis was alive. But he wouldn't be if he kept moving around so much.

He shook his head, tired and irritated.

"I'm not giving her a fucking medpack, man. We might need it."

He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall again.

[Riki]

"I don't need your stuff."

The cold way she replied to Travis' refusal to lend any of his stuff was a testament to how relatively good Aileen felt. She managed to resist saying that, yes, Travis would certainly need a med kit soon. Because as good as Aileen had it right at that moment, she still had to be very careful about which fights to pick.

"Now, please enter. I don't want to leave this door open for too long. ...you can stay and rest all you want as long as you don't make any mess."

She tried to be warm and friendly. She honestly tried to welcome Joe with as much warmth as she could muster, but seeing Travis shifted her attention to the difficult act of 'not strangling him here and now'. An ugly issue, which made her voice feel harsh.

[Pippi]

Joe, huh? What a small world they lived in. It had been only a few days since he had seen the guy. Only a few days since he'd been reunited with Aileen, a few days since he'd heard Amy's name on the announcement, a few days since the incident with Hansel. Maybe it wasn't fair to let all of that cloud his feelings towards the guy, but Owen couldn't help but feel cautious when Aileen revealed who was at the door.

On the other hand, Joe hadn't tried to attack them back then. He had seemed honestly remorseful of whatever had happened with Jason, and most importantly, he had looked after Aileen for the whole time Owen had been separated from her. Of all the people on the island who could have wanted entrance to the shopping centre, Joe was one of the most preferable.

It wasn't as if Owen had a choice in the matter anyway, given that Aileen was already tearing a hole in their barricade.

Owen jogged over towards the doors, ready to greet Joe. Talk had already swung to Aileen's leg. Joe surely had a first-aid kit still on him, after all. If he was willing to let them borrow some supplies from it, that would be much better than traipsing all over the mall to find something.

As soon as Owen saw Joe's travelling companion, however, he stopped dead in his tracks. There were all sorts of reasons that Owen didn't want a thing to do with Travis. He had stolen Naomi's weapon on the first day, apparently. He had stolen a bunch of Edgar's stuff. Right now, he was flat out denying Aileen a medical kit.

Most importantly, Travis had killed. Not just once, but several times. He'd killed Edgar a day or so after Owen had spoken to him. Owen gripped the table leg tighter as Aileen invited Joe and Travis inside. Aileen had managed to restrain herself and hide her feelings towards Travis. Owen simply couldn't find it inside of him.

"No..." Owen muttered, still loud enough for everyone to hear him.

"No, Joe can stay. Not Travis."

[ViolentMedic]

"'Pacifism shit?'" Joe's voice went a bit high when he said that, from effort of trying not to yell and make things worse. It wasn't helping much. "Wow, okay, so apparently I'm the moron for not wanting to slaughter people?"

He was about to continue on and say that who cared if they 'might' need one of the kits later. Aileen needed it now. But Aileen had said she didn't need it.

Which made no sense. Her bandages were brown. She needed replacements. Maybe it was principle. But it was a dumb principle.

Upon hearing Owen's demand, Joe stepped back.

"It's okay. We'll both go, we probably... I mean, I didn't mean to barge in, was just looking for a shovel and thought I'd ask... sorry."

[Delroy†]

Joe didn't see the bigger picture. Even though they probably could, he didn't really want to help this girl. He'd held a grudge ever since their fight at the gazebo, and he definitely wasn't interested in helping her out. Let her wound get infected for all he cared. One less person to worry about on the island.

"Shut the fuck up, Joe. We're not going on another fucking hike."

He sighed and opened his eyes again. No rest for the wicked. He stood up slowly. His muscles were tensed up and his eyes sharp. He cracked his neck slowly and methodically.

"Now... I'm tired. And hurt. I don't care if you say "yes" or "no". I would very much like some shelter."

He slowly walked up and stood next to Joe, closer to the entrance and the two guardians of the barricade. He smiled menacingly. He stared straight at Owen, and then at Aileen, and then back to Owen. He never blinked with his cold blue eyes.

"So... Let me in."

[Pippi]

Joe was trying to calm things down, trying to act as the peacemaker. Doing some sort of 'pacifism shit' as Travis had said. Maybe in some other situation, any other situation, that would have managed to calm Owen down. Right now, though? All it was doing was further aggravating him. He had just said that Joe was fine to stay with them. He didn't need to put his comfort in jeopardy for someone else's benefit.

Especially not when that person was Travis.

Travis said that he was tired, that he was hurt. Big fucking surprise, so was everyone else on the island. So was Aileen. If Travis wasn't willing to give her his first aid kit, then Owen wasn't willing to give him any shelter. Again, everything was a matter of circumstance. Maybe if Travis hadn't killed Matt and Edgar, Owen would be welcoming him in here with open arms.

But he had, and that was why he was currently staring Owen down, unblinking. He was trying to act intimidating, and, honestly, it was working. Owen assumed he still had Naomi's weapon, as well as the scalpel he himself had given to Edgar. All Owen had was a table leg, with a single, rusty, bent nail halfway down. Even the height and weight advantage Owen held over Travis was practically irrelevant, given that he had eaten for the first time in a while only today and any strength he might have had was practically gone.

Yet Owen stared straight back at Travis, stony-faced and unmoving. He was not prepared to let him inside the store. Maybe it was a little unreasonable, given that Aileen of all people was ready to grant him entry. But Owen simply could not trust Travis, what with everything he had done on the island. He wanted him out, now.

"There's p-plenty of shelter across the island" Owen said. "Can't be too hard to find somewhere else to stay, can it? So... no. Fuck off. You're not coming in."

Subconsciously, Owen raised the table leg a fraction.