Survivors - (Tsuki, Shadowfax and AmyMarie)

[Tsuki]

(Yeh. Didn't make it to the Zoo. Up all night and feel poop today )

Gabriel smiled as Ash explained about the gang wanting revenge and how they may harm them to get to her.

"I think I can handle a few thugs." he said with a sort of all knowing look, "Besides, someone has to take care of the kid and seeing as you don't like them I guess that job lies with me."

He chuckled slightly and his eyes lay on the gun again as Ash refused to disarm herself.

"Look. I know you're scared. We all are. But we need to work together. You saw what just happened. That mug could have been me or Sam. I, personally, don't feel safe with you armed. Though I promise you, if anyone else turns up you can have your gun back. But for now, please cast it aside."

[Shadowfax]

"You could barely hold a gun to me without being disarmed, so do you honestly think you can pull one over on the gangs out there? Their smart, and their animals.." She said seriously, but not unkindly.

She looked at Sam for a moment when Gabriel mentioned him. She didn't want the burden of a child hanging over her, but what worried her more was harm coming to him. Either of them for that matter. Trouble seemed to follow Ashelin like a lost puppy and she was fed up of putting people in danger. Soon, her attention was back on her handgun though. She pulled the gun out it's holster and flicked the safety on.

"The safety is on now. I doubt i'd be able to turn it off and then shoot whilst im asleep" she said, re-holstering it stubbornly.

[Tsuki]

Gabriel smiled at Ash's response.

"I knew you didn't have the virus. Hence why I didn't shoot. I could have killed you easilly if I wanted to back then. But why must it always be about violence?"

Gabriel watched as Ash pulled the gun out of the holster and he tensed slightly. He then heard a clicking sound as the safety was put on. He sighed slightly.

"I suppose that's the best I'm going to get." he smiled weakly and turned to look at the fire. The embers were almost out.

"Are you still hungry? I can cook again if you like."

As he said this, he placed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a tissue. He stood up and placed the tissue over his mouth as he started coughing. Once the coughing was over, he wandered over to the paper pin, dropped the tissue inside and then wandered over to the sink where he washed he began washing his hands.

"Sorry about that." he muttered.

[Shadowfax]

"You could of tried" Ashelin said darkly when Gabriel told her he could have shot her. She even smirked at that.

When he mentioned food though, Ash shook her head. She'd not eaten alot recently, so her stomach was smaller than it had been. Sam however was still starving.

"I'll have some more.. If there is any spare" He said timidly, but his timidness turned to fear when Gabriel started coughing once again.

"A...Are you ok?" Sam asked, placing a hand on his arm.

[Tsuki]

Gabriel chuckled as he heard Sam mention that he was still hungry. He nodded over to his uneaten cup.

"There. You can finish mine."

But when he asked if he was Ok, Gabriel shrugged his shoulders in a sort of uncaring manner.

"I'll live. Besides I have two guests to accomodate."

He smiled weakly before wandering over to the fire and prodding it with a stick to get the embers going again.

[Shadowfax]

"I'll be fine, you just take care of yourself" Ashelin said, getting to her feet and shakily wandering over to the table so sit up properly.

As she stood, the blood rushed to her head and she grabbed it with her right hand to steady herself. For a moment, she stood on the spot trying to focus and regain her sight as the blood rush blurred her vision for a few seconds. Sam watched her out of the corner of his eye, but knew she wouldn't like that so turned back to Gabriel.

"You said you'd tell us about your cough when Ash was awake.." He reminded him.

[Tsuki]

Gabriel looked over at Sam and smiled weakly.

"You're right. I did."

He looked over at Ash who seemed to sway slightly on the spot and the sides of his mouth twitched.

"But that all depends on whether Ash is fit enough to listen. As I said before, I don't like repeating myself."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sam's bag rustle again and he raised an eyebrow. He definately didn't imagine it this time. But he decided not to enquire about it. It was no business of his anyway.

[Shadowfax]

Ash raised an eyebrow as if she'd been insulted for anyone even thinking about suggesting to her that she may pass out. With a sigh she took a long gulp of water and sat up straight with her arms folded.

"No, I am fine. Do tell us your story" She said with a hint of sarcasm.

When his bag moved again, Sam laughed and pulled it off his shoulders. He placed it on the table and opened the top. A small head appeared and leapt out onto Sam's shoulder.

"Meet Lightning. My pet rat" He said as the blue rat began to groom his hair.

[Tsuki]

Gabriel frowned at Ash's response.

So much for gratitude. If she passes out again she can sort herself out

Gabriel was about to begin when he noticed a small creature leap onto Sam's shoulder. He smiled at the rat and wandered over to Sam and Lightning before giving Lightning a quick stroke.

"Cute. I knew there was something going on. I don't mind rats. I just hope I'm not allergic to her."

He smiled weakly before turning back to Ash.

"Yes. My story. Well there isn't really a lot to tell. Though I can assure you that I what I have you will not catch."

He wandered over to the table and picked up a mug. He stared at the contents inside and sighed.

"I'm not sure how long I have been in this place. But it started around three years ago. I worked on a ranch with horses. I've always loved animals ever since I was little and I had always wanted to horse ride. I was fine for a while until I started to develop this cough. Only this cough got worse and I started wheezing and getting pains in my chest. It got so bad that I couldn't move without wheezing."

The sides of his mouth twitched.

"They took me to the hospistal and found that part of my lung had stopped working due to a fungal infection I had caught while working with horses. I was transfered here and they performed major surgery. They had to remove that part of the lung."

He closed his eyes as if the memory pained him.

"I was in ICU for a while. Not really understanding what was going on but remembering the pain and the confusion. It took a while for me to adjust with only one and 3/4 lungs. But I still have the fungal infection in my lungs. They kept me here to give me treatment to try and get rid of it. But no matter how many drugs they give me, it still remains. It's like my dark passenger. A Parasite."

He was quiet for a while and continued to stare into the cup.

"When the virus broke out I stayed here for fear of catching it and it making me worse. My parents left me to the doctors and nurses believing I was in safe hands. But as you can see, the virus hit here as well. But so far I have avoided it. And I guess I had better keep avoiding it. If it were to come in contact with my fungal infection....the God only knows what would happen."

[Shadowfax]

Ashelin listened to Gabriel's story with interest and felt a pang of sympathy for the man. But being her, she couldn't show it so she said nothing for a while. Sam however looked mortified and placed Lightning back in his backpack. He was about to say something, maybe some words of sympathy, maybe offer some sort of comfort, but Ash got there first.

"That's quite a tale. But, the virus would have got you long ago if you were going to catch it. Your immune system must be pretty strong so the virus probably won't harm you now, therefore you can't catch it... Unless it mutates.. then we are all in trouble" Ash said thoughtfully.

"You know alot about this virus Ash..." Sam said.

"No I don't. It's just logical" Ashelin said quickly.