Ivy City. The name was unfamiliar to Garrick, and he wanted to believe that he hadn't forgotten something quite so big as the identity of a major metropolitan area. A more convenient answer was that it had simply been "renamed", though he saw no recognizable landmarks and the lack of residents was made no less strange by the thought. There wasn't even evidence of a conflict - in fact, the whole place was unusually<span style="font-style: italic">pristine</span>, as though it had never been occupied to begin with. That should have been impossible, though; he could feel radio transmissions in the air, and the power was clearly still running. Something had to have built the city and it was still being maintained, even down to the flawless state of the streets.<br/><br/>Where the hell<span style="font-style: italic">was</span>he?<br/><br/>A small flash caught Garrick's attention as he stared at the buildings beneath him. It was distant and not especially bright, but with no other activity for as far as he could see, it was still hard to miss. Moreover, it was blinking on and off in a recognizable pattern. He set his backpack down and retrieved one of his rifle's sights from within, holding it up like a spyglass to take a closer look.<br/><br/>On a rooftop roughly a half-mile to the west, he could see some sort of bird-person shining a flashlight at him. Morse code, it looked like. He was a bit rusty at translating it, but at least he hadn't forgotten how.<br/><br/>"You aren't safe on your own in the open. We have food and safe shelter. If you understand, wave."<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Food? Food was a problem in this empty city?</span><br/><br/>He waved.<br/><br/>"Good. Proceed to street level, then head towards this building. I will cover you. We don't have long."<br/><br/>The bird carried a rifle, but just what he was expecting to use it on was less clear. Garrick didn't have enough information to trust him; unfortunately, he also didn't have enough information to trust his own judgment. Between following the order and simply walking away, the former promised a chance for him to learn something about his circumstances, but... it was dangerous. Then again, striking off alone was quite possibly worse. He needed to know more.<br/><br/>"Alright, feathers," he uttered to himself. "I'll play along for now."<br/><br/>Putting away the sight and lifting the heavy backpack onto his shoulders again, Garrick jogged back inside the building. The door at the bottom of the stairs led to the top of a winding stairwell, and a quick look revealed that the highest floor contained offices. That was unfortunate; he had hoped that he could find some sort of weapon other than the 30 kilo monster that he had been left with. A knife would have been nice, a pistol even better... but the best he was likely to find in there was a dull letter-opener. He decided against searching and merely rushed down the stairs as fast as he was able. More offices greeted him on his descent until he finally reached a spacious lobby on the ground floor. Like everywhere else, it was barren and unattended; the city seemed just as empty on the inside as it did on the out.<br/><br/>As the sniper stepped onto the streets, he put the thought out of his mind and tried to focus on the task at hand. It was a long hike to where he needed to be, and he wasn't exactly traveling light. With his hands clenching the straps hanging over his shoulders, he took off running.