Being the leader figure of the group was rough and admittedly it was not enjoyable. There were a lot of things going through Claireâ€™s mind at the moment and it wasnâ€™t anything pretty or optimistic either. She felt like shit abandoning those people, what if they had discovered something, but if she did go out searching for them and it had not been worth the risk all would be lost. Every day she was making tough decisions but the group always seemed to place their trust in her that she would pull them through another day. Maybe that was why she was so confident. Whenever she made a decision, they would back her up. Poor Adira was always a worrywart, and, honestly, that did not do much for her morale. She needed to keep the group strong even in times where they lost people. They could not let fallen comrades drag them down.<br/><br/>That was how it was, and it was how it had to be. At least until they got to the bottom of this mess and destroyed Excelleron once and for all, they had to keep moving forward. This would not be the first time they have lost people. It certainly wouldnâ€™t be the last either. She didnâ€™t want to think about losing people, but the reality of this was they were fighting a war against these monsters. People die in wars.<br/><br/>â€œThat is why weâ€™re heading back out again tomorrow, first thing when the sun peers over the skyline. I want everyone up around four-thirty for preparations, before we leave. Anyone who is not awake by five will be left behind.â€ Her voice came out stern as she explained her plan. She would have said more but then Tina, another member of their group, amazing woman she was, had spoken her mind. â€œThat sounds like a plan, Tina, go right ahead.â€ Electricity would be vital as well. It was good that they still had running water but if the electricity goes out their electric fences would be powerless to hold back these monsters. They seemed to have a bit of a weakness to electricity and fire, the weaker ones did anyway, but who knows how long it would be before they adapted again. They really were resilient little fuckers.<br/><br/>When Tina went upstairs, Adira had spoke again which honestly was pretty surprising and gave her a sense of dread. Adira did have a knack for giving bad news. A few others seemed to be worried but she quieted them down before Tina came back downstairs. Whether she realized it or not, Adira was a very valuable member of the group and has been since the beginning. She was one of the first people to suggest staying in the city and fighting against these things even if she has never been much of a fighter. In a way Claire was able to use her strategies and build off of them as if they were her own, which was something that she felt was needed more often. Every word that Adira spoke, Claire took in instantly and gave the map a good looking over to confirm she understood.<br/><br/>She had seen it but had not realized things were this bad.<br/><br/>â€œWeâ€™re being pushed back.â€ She stated with a nod, as if speaking for everyone in the room. Adira had a point in saying that when they first went out they were able to go pretty far into the heart of town. Now, they were fighting to keep what they had. Some safe zones had even fallen over the past few months despite their efforts to keep that ground. It was pretty frustrating and whatever plan was going though Adiraâ€™s mind, if she had a solution, would be worth considering. â€œYou might be on to something here. While we were out, I happened to see another today. It looked like one of the weaker ones, but I canâ€™t say for sure. I wanted to kill it to find out but I didnâ€™t want to raise an alarm. Not with as many risks as weâ€™ve had to take the past few weeks.â€<br/><br/>They really have been taking risks, far too many than Claire liked. She really was hoping and praying that the people she sent out came back alive, or were just being held up somewhere by those monsters and would come back in the morning. In a perfect world, that would be what would happen.<br/><br/>In a perfect world, but certainly not the world they were all living in currently. Unfortunately not everything was perfect and some day days it was a miracle that she was able to keep the group together. Sometimes she really felt that having a level head was more of a curse than a blessing. What would happen if she were to lose it one day? It had happened to the last person who took charge; there was a chance it may happen to her. One glance at one of those monsters after they have fully evolved or while they were mutating, and it was as if all your courage goes out the window. It was something she wished she never had to see again. More than once, she had faced that situation and would not have been able to get out of it if it had not been for her comrades.<br/><br/>â€œSo what are we going to do? Are we safe to stay here or do we need to move here again. Claire?â€ One of the men in the room spoke, glancing at Claire out the corner of his eye. In their little group there were more females than males. This fact probably dealt a blow to the menâ€™s egos as men seemed to have a natural desire to want to be in charge of everything. Deep in their subconscious they probably loathed the idea of women telling them what to do, the voice of reason in them was the only thing allowing them to support Claire and keep doing what the group has been doing.<br/><br/>Claire sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes, â€œAdiraâ€™s plan, not mine. Listen to her.â€ She was tired, after a long day all she wanted to do was get some sleep. â€œHowever, I for one know we shouldnâ€™t keep going on living like this. We have lost too much already; we are all we have left.â€<br/><br/>After having just come back from yet another outing where they might have lost more people that they really cold not afford to lose she was not in the mood to play leader. Did they not know the meaning of team work?  Or was this because they knew that Adiraâ€™s plan was not something they wanted to hear and hoped Claire would step in? Being the leader figure could get pretty irritating at times; all she wanted was a break here and there. Maybe Adiraâ€™s plan would lead them in the right direction, she was almost praying to whatever deity was watching over them anymore that something good would come out of this day.