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she didn’t mind. All she could think about was peeling and then taking a big bite out of one of the juicy oranges. She didn’t remember liking oranges this much when everything was normal, but now it was like a dessert to her. Of course if there was still ice cream she would have preferred that.
                  As she made her way down one of the alleys, she was still thinking about the oranges when she ran into the back of Tiger.
                  “Tiger watch i-” she started, until she saw why the dog had stopped.
                  A man was sitting on the ground next to an old dumpster. His head was completely shaved and a thin layer of facial hair covered his face. He had on a ratty pair of shorts that only partially covered up his hairy legs, which were covered in dirt and grime. When he saw them, he looked up and gave a relaxed smile.
                  “Why hello, hello. Hope I’m not in your way.”
                  Ally took a step back. “You’re not, I just went down the wrong alley.”
                  The man gave himself a quick once-over. “Yeah I guess I look a little rough, sorry. Nice dog you have there, what is his name?”
                  “Tiger.” Ally answered as she put her hand in her pocket to make sure her small knife was in there. She would much rather have had her bow, but it would do if needed.
                  The man smirked. “You named your dog Tiger? Course I used to have a dog and I named him Murphy. I reckon that’s not a whole lot different than Tiger. You named yours off a cat and I named mine off a human.”
                  Ally took another step back.
                  “No need to go the long way, I’m not gonna bite. Tell you what I’ll go inside here if it’ll make you feel more comfortable.”
                  Ally thought about it for a second. The man seemed harmless but that didn’t mean he was. At the same time she didn’t want to go walking through the main part of the town.
                  “Alright, I’ll go inside. Last thing I need is thinking I caused a little girl to have to walk in this heat longer than she had to.”
                  “No,” Ally said. “You can stay there, I’ll go through.”
                  “Well alright then. My name’s Ethan.”
                  Ally began walking towards the man, making sure to keep Tiger between the two of them and keeping as much distance as possible. “I’m Ally.”
                  “Now I gotta say, Ally, is probably the most beautiful name I have heard in quite some time.”
                  Just as Ally was walking past, the man stood up, causing Ally to jump slightly and Tiger to growl.
                  “My bad. Didn’t mean to scare ya. You ever need anything Ally, you just let me know. This here is my place and if you knock, and I’m home, I’ll let ya on in. Matter fact, I have some ice cold water inside if your throat is parched. Want to come in and get a glass?”
                  Ally turned and walked as quickly as she could.
                  “Well, maybe next time then.”
    Tiger followed but glanced behind her several times. It wasn’t until they had made their way back to the woods and Ally had her bow in hand that her heart finally stopped racing. There had been something about the man’s eyes she had not liked. Ally glanced back down the hill at the town in the distance and didn’t see anyone near. She was alone again.

Ben
     
                  The jeep rumbled down the road towards their destination. Zima and Mason sat in the front while Ben sat in the back with Stevenson and Rook. The very back of the jeep was filled with gas containers and the rest of their supplies. The top of the jeep was down and Ben enjoyed the feeling of the wind