Survival of the fittest - AmyMarie and Shadowfax

[Shadowfax]

Sam nodded and resumed putting more sweets into the nearly full bag. He wasn't sure when they were next stopping so he made sure not to be stingy. He watched Aimee put more chocolate into the basket.

"Shall I get another basket for us?" He asked seeing as they were taking quite alot now.

Ashelin's eyes lit up as George passed her the keys and she took them off him and began to look for the biggest of them all.

"Lucky for us they left a spare set in the draw. This one here, this is the safe key. So.. let's see what they've got here" She said going over to the safe and kneeling down.

It was an old looking thing, but it also looked rather secure. It had papers spread all over the top and odd bits of rust forming on the edges. She put the key into the lock and turned. The door creaked open and Ashelin threw out the now worthless bags of money with a clatter. She noticed a box at the back and pulled it out. Inside was a small handgun and she smirked as she looked up at George as if to say 'I told you so'. Ashelin stood up and walked over to him. She grabbed his wrist and opened the palm of his hand. Gently she placed the gun in his hand.

"I'll make sure I find one for the other two soon enough. This one will be yours though" She said.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee smiled cheerily, she skipped down the aisle to go to the crisps and biscuits.
"Yeah, go ahead!" she called back to Sam when he asked about another basket. She turned down the aisle and began to throw in various packets of biscuits in the almost over flowing basket. As she turned and began to walk further, there was a clicking noise. She gave out an agonizing yelp and dropped the the floor. Letting go of the basket before she hit the ground.

"No, not now" she groaned, thinking the worse. As Aimee looked at her leg it became clear to her what had happened. Her leg had locked again. It was bent, and in an awkward position. She tried to shuffle to get it out from under the other leg, but it simply hurt to much to move. "Sam" she croaked, hands supporting her as she tried to ignore the tingling sensation mixed with throbbing pain in her leg. She needed George. He had dealt with this before.

George was fairly surprised at the fact there was a gun. More surprisingly, when Ashelin handed it to him. He felt powerful with it in his hand. George didn't know whether that was good feeling or not.
"Well, thanks...I guess" he replied, finally gripped his hand around it and putting it into his jean pocket, rather than his jacket.

[Shadowfax]

Sam grabbed hold of a basket and winced when he heard the clattering of another. For a moment he thought there was someone else in the center and was about to dart for cover. But then he heard Aimee call his name. The boy rushed over to the sweet aisle and saw her lying on the floor.

"What happened? Are you alright?!" He asked, sounding rather alarmed.

Ashelin nodded as George took the gun. She was pleased he didn't put up a fight. She then respectfully closed the door of the safe and folded her arms, resting against the safe. She watched George closely for a moment before speaking.

"Guns are useful and they protect you. There may be times when we have to kill people in this new world. Know this. Those you kill have to deserve it. If you take a life, you have to be able to justify it. That man you killed back in the station, he deserved to die. He would have killed you, then me, then your sister. Don't carry the weight of the dead on your shoulders once you've taken a life though. Control your emotions. If you wanna survive, you forget about sympathy" She said, straightening up.

She sighed and remembered back to when she first took a life. At the time it bothered her, but she soon learnt to control her emotions and took many lives after that. Her memories flicked back to her army days for a moment and her face saddened for an instant, but she soon came back to reality and looked back at George.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

George listened, for he was geninuely interested in what Ashelin had to say. He ran a hand through his dark curls. 'If you wanna survive, you forget about sympathy'. The young man raised a brow and thought to himself "Easier said than done".
"Thanks for the words of advice" he replied, without a smile though. It was a serious thing to talk about to him. Murder. Of course, he wasn't going to be trigger happy, George wasn't like that.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" he said after a few moments. "How did you learn to use a gun?"

Aimee was crippling over in pain, every time she moved the pain shot up her leg and shook her to her core. She had been through this all before, but now definitely wasn't a good time. In the middle of a service station during a crumble in society. Her eyes brightened when she saw Sam.
"Leg...it locked" she said, knowing it wouldn't make sense to him. "G-Get George...he's out back with Ash".

[Shadowfax]

Ashelin pondered on the question for a few moments. She raised a hand to her head and swept her fringe out of her face before letting her hand rest on the hilt of the gun in it's holster. She then looked up at Sam.

"I was a corporal in the armed forces for a good few years. Alot of training was done in that time" She said, gently squeezing the handle of the gun.

She then snapped her head round as Sam came skidding into the staff room. He looked out of breath and worried about something.

"G-George.. come quick.. .Aimee, h-her leg" The boy said between breaths.

Ashelin looked puzzled and raised an eyebrow before allowing her eyes to rest on George.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

George wasn't surprised. He was sure that there was some sort of armed forces background. His respect for her shot up, not that there hadn't been any before, but he did have a tremendous amount of respect for members of the armed force, navy, police, and anything like that.
"Well, a couple of my school friends went into the army as well-"

He stopped when Sam came rushing in. When he heard what he had to say, his face dropped.
"Oh god...not again" he murmured, saying a few curse words as he picked up his feet and began to run back to the supermarket. He almost slipped as he turned down various aisle before finding Aimee.
"George!" she called with relief as he knelt by her side. "Its happened again" she whispered. George looked more distressed than anything.

"Can you move it at all?" he asked, looking at the bent leg.
"Uhh" she mumbled, before attempting to straighten it out. Tears welled up in her eyes as she kept going. She gave up when the pain got unbearable. "I can't straighten it out". George clenched his fist out of worry, he couldn't make her straighten it out.
"When were you due a hospital appointment?"
"A few weeks time".

As George watched, he realised how much this could be a problem. He bit his bottom lip, and when Aimee looked at him for comfort, he couldn't give any. All her gave her was a concerned look.

[Shadowfax]

Ashelin watched Sam for a moment, then watched George's retreating back. He looked worried and she suddenly remembered what Aimee told her in the car about her leg. She sighed and took a few steps forward.

"You did the right thing, getting her brother" Ashelin told the boy as she passed him.

Sam blinked with confusion. All he ever got from Ashelin was scold or hurtful words. He took a while to process what she had just said, but he smiled and nodded. Wether Ashelin was less cranky now she'd eaten, or if she was trying to generally fit in she did not know herself. All she did know is that she was starting to want to protect these people and help them. They were good people and she needed people to keep her strong, not to mention the fact George had saved her life.

Still.. She too had saved all their lives, so surely they were even? Having been betrayed and used so much in her life, Ashelin was always cautious and had adapted the frame of mind of; Never get too attached and always know that no matter how close you are, you can be hurt by anyone. The woman sighed and folded her arms as all these thoughts and emotions ran through her. She was starting to form a bond with George and the others. She just needed to make sure they were genuine and not going to use her and abandon her like everyone she'd ever know.

"Ash.. Can you come and help? We might need you" Sam said timidly.

"Go. Lead the way" Ashelin replied bluntly.

She pushed the door open and began to walk towards the aisles. She saw Aimee lying there in pain and a panic stricken George. She approached them slowly and knelt down infront of the pair of them, her eyes calm.

"How did the doctor fix this when you went there?" She asked Aimee.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee's eyes darted from George to Ashelin as she came closer.
"He...well, he's never been present for one of my locks. He's useless to be honest" she said with a sigh, which turned into a pain filled groan. "The only way to get out of it is too straighten it but-". She didn't like to admit it but she was terrible when it came to pain. "But it just hurts to much".

Her brother looked at her position. She was lying awkwardly. Maybe if George could adjust her.
"Aimee? Can you get the leg out from underneath the other one?" Aimee looked at it, and then just managed to slide it out so that both legs were free from each other. "That makes things look a little better anyway..." he mumbled.

"George, I can't straighten it" Aimee repeated, looking a little desperate.
"You're going to have to, otherwise-"
"Can you just do it for me? Like, real quick". This wasn't the first time she had asked him to do that, last time it had actually made her worse.
"I don't know...".

[Shadowfax]

Ashelin listened to the siblings exchange words. She had seen wounded soldiers out in the field and had helped patch their wounds up, but Aimee's condition was new to her and she didn't know how to deal with this. Still she found herself kneeling down next to the teen and looking her dead in the eye.

"Aimee, listen to me" She said without thinking. "It's gonna hurt, I won't lie. But you can do this. You just need to focus. Pain is only temporary, once you get it over and done with you'll be fine. Focus your mind and breath steadily" Ashelin told her.

Sam knelt down next to Aimee and clutched at her hand gently.

"You can do it Aimee" He told her.

[UncoordinatedPisces]

Aimee stared straight back at Ashelin. She sounded like her mother when she began talking. Just the 'Aimee, listen to me'. That was enough to convince her about what the young woman was saying, she listened, and she took a deep breath. Sam holding her hand was comforting and Aimee smiled a little.
"Yeah...I'll do it". George looked away, there was something about the-

Crack. There was something about that noise he hated. Aimee let out a sharp cry, but at least she had done it. She wiped away a couple of tears that had managed to escape from the pain and George faced her again. He took her other hand and helped her up to her feet, and kept her steady. Her leg was shaking a little.

"You ok for me to let go?" he asked. She nodded and George stopped supporting her. Aimee stood up straight and then gave a little laugh, a nervous laugh more than anything. She picked up the basket again.
"C-Can we go now?" she asked in return. George nodded,
"Yeah. Looks like you've picked up plenty. Don't worry about bags". His sister then looked at Ashelin
"Thanks...for the words". Aimee smiled gratefully before beginning to walk slowly towards the exit alone.

George turned to Ashelin and put a hand on her shoulder. It must of been instinct, because he certainly didn't expect himself too.
"Thank you from me too. I'm not good in situations like that".