One month had passed in entirety since everything had changed. Everyone she had worked with, or even known were all dead and gone at this point. She hadn't seen another living person in almost a week, and even then... she wasn't sure what to call them exactly. She had been traveling on her own, her only form of defense being a handgun she had purchased years back because she didn't live in the best part of town. Her ammo was running low, but she was thankful to have narrowly escaped a few situations though none of her shots seemed to keep those things down. She wasn't the best shot, so eventually she learned to take out their movement so she could better escape.
But now? Down to what little ammunition she had, she was lacking the drive to get anywhere. What was the point if she was going to be alone? She had to talk to herself to try and keep her sanity, the silence was damn near deafening at times. But for some reason, a spark of hope ignited when her car began to clank once it began running out of gas and when it finally came to a rolling halt, across the road was a vacant parking lot and a mall she had visited once or twice with some friends from work. Before exiting her car, her eyes shifted around the area to be certain no dead was in sight before she'd tru and make the trek to get inside. She remembered that the building was two stories, and the only way to get upstairs was by elevator but she imagined a large building like that would have one hell of a generator. The lack of vacant vehicles in the parking lot gave her hope in the sense of their being little to no dead within. Or so she hoped. The cold air cut against her cheeks, causing her to shudder and clutch the handgun as she looked around cautiously. It was only a matter of time before it would snow, and she wondered if she could get into the mall if it would suffice as a stable shelter in months to come. She checked the main entrances, disappointed that all doors were locked and she took note to little stickers notifying that they were shatterproof (knowing it would defintely be safe if she could get in). She began to move along the building, looking for anyway in and in the distance she could see figures moving steadily towards where she was. "Shit." She muttered, throwing caution to the wind and picking up the pace as she looked for a way, anyway in. The groans and growls in the distance grew louder with every moment, making her hands shake and suddenly her eye caught site of a fire escape ladder that was dangling just out of reach. She shot a glance back to be sure she had enough time to pull herself up the ladder, especially with how weak she had felt as of late. she tucked her gun in her pants, pulling her sweatshirt down over it and reached for the ladder, realizing it was further out of reach then she thought. The groans closed in, and she glanced back seeing that the few things had noticed her and had began moving faster to get to her and she knew she had to muster up all the strength she had left. She took a deep breath and jumped, fingers barely grazing the rusted metal. "C'mon, Riv. Come on!" She said, taking another deep breath and jumping - this time her fingers curled around the bar and she pulled up with all her might, moving one hand up after the next to pull up until her feet to find the first bar. At that point the few dead growled and swatted at the bar, not being able to figure out how to pull themselves up. Once she had reached the safety of the cage, she jerked the ladder up and far out of reach for the few. She panted, trying to catch her breath and laughing when she realized she had actually made it up the ladder. When she had finally settled herself, she moved up the steps to get to the rough and sat atop the ledge for a moment, gazing out into the distance wondering if their was anyone out their. To her surprise, she her the familiar click of a gun being cocked behind her and the footsteps against the rubble. "Don't move a fuckin' muscle." A man said holding his own revolver upright and directly at the back of her head, out of instinct River lifted her hands up. "Please, I'm just looking for safety." She said, her voice shaking as she began to turn. "I said don't fuckin' move!! Eden! Get over here, we got a live one." He called and River froze, her body beginning to tremble more.