Adrian scowled when the man told him not to worry about barricading the door. He didnâ€™t like the strangerâ€™s tone. Where was the sense of â€˜better safe than sorryâ€™? Of course, whenever heâ€™d said that to Rainie, sheâ€™d given him a snooty look and said â€˜Work smarter, not harder.â€™ Damn cops.<br/><br/>Rainie, having hastily returned the Daewoo to its place on her back, looked from the shadow of the man to the shadow that was Adrian. Even she barricaded the front door when in doubt. She hoped sincerely that he had a plan that<span style="font-weight: bold">didnâ€™t</span>get her and her brother killed. She watched him turn on a light on the end of his shotgun, something the siblings had on their pistols but rarely used. She noticed he did not direct the beam at either of them. A smart choice, considering she probably would have shot him if he swung that barrel even an inch in her direction. He jammed a bar in place, then seemed to smile as he said, â€œThat should keep us safe for a while. Now come on, we can make a good barricade with a few of the bookcases upstairs.â€<br/><br/>At least it sounded like he was smiling. Not that that made a difference. Sheâ€™d known many a villain to smile at her and call her sweet names.<br/><br/>But she followed the manâ€™s instructions without comment. As Rainie hurried up the stairs, her foot slipped, and her hand shot out and caught the banister. Looking down, she noticed the stairs were wet. She hurried up the rest of the stairs, her pale hand skimming the banister. When the man ushered the two of them into the room upstairs ahead of him, Rainie went in first, Adrian behind her. They then spread out, standing on either side of the doorway to let the stranger through to lead them further in. Little did he know this was also a defensive strategy. With the two of them on either side, he had little chance of fighting back should they decide not to trust him any longer.<br/><br/>Adrian wasnâ€™t digging the audaciousness of this guy. He kind of hoped that heâ€™d give him some excuse to knock him in the head.<br/><br/>Rainie surveyed the room, taking a step inside. Her footstep sounded through the room wetly, and she glanced down at the floor. She took a quick breath through her nose, and her brow furrowed. The smell of decomposition was ten times worse up here. She looked around for the stranger, finding him jogging towards one of the bookcases. He hadnâ€™t left the water trail...<br/><br/>â€œCome on,â€ he said, â€œhelp me get this one over to th--â€<br/><br/>Several things happened at once. Rainie gasped, and tried to shout out a warning. A shape fell on their fellow survivor. Adrian cursed foully, clicking on the small light duty LED flashlight on his pistol before taking aim at the man and the shape on him while he kicked and flailed in its grasp.<br/><br/>It was wearing some kind of gas mask, and was heavy with the gear of a soldier. It gurgled and screamed and gnashed its teeth, unable to bite the man. Rainie threw herself forward, into the beam of Adrianâ€™s light. The hood of her windbreaker fell from her head, and her hair, having escaped from her braid, streamed blood red in the light as she rocketed forward. Adrian cursed again, moving to stop her. She slammed into the zombie, her arms latching around its torso. It released its grip from the stranger, screeching in defiance. The two of them hit the floor hard, and the breath in Rainieâ€™s lungs rushed out in a whoosh.<br/><br/>â€œDamn it, Rainie!â€ Adrianâ€™s enraged roar cut through the chaos.<br/><br/>Rainie rolled off the zombie, rolling to her feet and regaining her balance in a second, her hand groping for her gun. Adrian was suddenly in front of her, cutting off her view of it. A single shot was fired. An agonized, animalistic scream of pain resonated through the room. Another shot. Everything was silent.<br/><br/>Rainie gasped for breath, adrenaline zinging through her veins, leaving her with the shaky after-effects of the event. "Holy shit..." She gasped out. Adrian spun around, his hands landing on her shoulders as he looked her over quickly.<br/><br/>â€œAre you hurt?â€ He demanded, his eyes frantic.<br/><br/>She looked a little bewildered. â€œIâ€™m okay, Iâ€™m okay.â€ She reassured him.<br/><br/>Rainie looked over at the man, ducking from under Adrianâ€™s hands to go over to him. She couldnâ€™t tell if he had any wounds on him, or even the expression on his face. The dim light from the gun lights were indirect and, well, dim. â€œAre you alright?â€ She asked, even though she knew he wasnâ€™t completely<span style="font-style: italic">alright</span>, as an Infected had just jumped him in his own home. No one is exactly<span style="font-style: italic">alright</span>after that, but a girl can dream. At the moment, all she wanted to do was to hightail it home, or barricade the place so well it would be soundproof. But first came first. Make sure everyone was okay.