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Chapter 2:

Cedar finally caught up with Rudy as he stood in front of the double doors of what used to be an expensive, high end hotel complex.

Holding her crowbar in one hand and easing the door open with the other, Cedar and Rudy quietly entered the eerily empty lobby.

The teen crossed over to the little waiting area and stuck her hand up the vending machine to snag a chocolate bar and Pepsi for herself and a bag of popcorn that would have to suffice for Rudy.

Since there weren't any zombies nearby the teen (albeit foolishly) placed the crowbar on her belt loop and was content to explore the building as she chowed on the first bit of decent food she'd eaten in over four days.

After the food and drink had been eaten she simply tossed the wrappers onto the dirty carpeted floor as she found the indoor pool room.

She swiftly ducked into the humid room and stripped off her ragged clothing before easing herself to sit down on the steps of the pool, dipping her toes in the tepid water.

As Cedar cracked open her bottle of shampoo and was scrubbing her hair, Rudy took that as the perfect time to dive into the water after his clearly disgruntled owner.

"Seriously?". Cedar grumbled, though she couldn't help but grin as the pup happily swam around her in circles.

Once she was properly clean Cedar grabbed one of the only towels left on the nearby bench and dried herself off. She walked over to a full length mirror and grimaced at her bare reflection.

She could easily count all the ribs on either side of her body and both her eyes had deep bags and shadows, courtesy of her inability to sleep for more than five minutes.

Little lacerations and cuts littered her legs and emaciated belly, whether they were from zombies or getting into altercations with rival gangs Cedar had no idea.

The worst wound was deep scarring that covered her entire right cheek and up into the side of her forehead and hairline.

She'd been trying to hot-wire an old car last year when the damn thing blew up on the spot, all she remembered after was flying back and smacking her head against a sharp piece of rock.

When she awoke, half her face was melted off from the flames, she was pretty damn fortunate that she could still see out of her right eye.

Coming back to herself, Cedar and Rudy left the pool room and padded further down the hallway until they came across a room with the door opened a bit.

Retrieving her crowbar, the teen winced as the door creaked loudly as she eased it open, once she walked into the room she was met with the end of a pistol.

She gasped as she looked at the man behind the pistol, he had light brown hair and wore an eye patch over his left eye socket. His brown right eye shined with anger as he held the gun on the teen.

"Who the hell are you?". He demanded, he was British judging by the sound of his accent.

"Cedar Blake, who the hell are you?". Cedar demanded, her tone unwavering as she put her hands up in surrender.

Without moving the gun, the unnamed man gestured towards the rolling chair by the little desk in the corner of the room. "Sit down".

Cedar did as told, Rudy obediently following her as the one eyed man shut the door before putting his pistol at his hip.

"Boone Baker, sorry about all that". The man now known as Boone said as Cedar hesitantly shook his hand and sat down in the desk chair that was in the corner of the room. "You on your own?".

"Yep, Everyone in my family is dead". Cedar confirmed, watching as Boone put out a hand for Rudy to sniff at. "Except for Rudy".

"Cool name". Boone muttered, a shadow of a grin forming on his lips as Rudy licked his fingers.

"So uh, how long have you been here?". Cedar asked curiously, looking around the room.

Boon shrugged. "Little over six months I think".

"I'm assuming that's why there's no walkers around". Cedar stated more than asked.

Boone nodded. "Yep, I got rid of most of them quickly, keeping the doors shut helps".

"What about raiders and stuff?". Cedar asked.

"They don't bother places like this, It's the grocery stores and pharmacies there after". Boone replied, now rummaging through his mini fridge. "You hungry?".

Despite having just eaten less than an hour ago, Cedar nodded as Boone placed five energy bars, a bottle of water and Pepsi on the desk.

"It's not the healthiest but I think a little thing like yourself can handle it". Boone joked.

"Very funny". Cedar replied with a roll of her eyes as she munched on an energy bar.

Boone huffed a laugh of his own before speaking again. "How'd you get that scar?".

"I tried hot wiring a car and it exploded, what's up with the eye patch?". Cedar explained, then asked without missing a beat.

"I kinda don't have an eye anymore". Boone replied, now picking at the bed sheet nervously.

"Yeah I kinda figured that out myself". Cedar sassed. "What happened?".

"It's a pretty stupid story". Boone shrugged, clearly trying to shrug off Cedar's curiosity.

"I'm all ears". Cedar replied, sitting up in her chair and crossing her arms as Boone sighed in defeat and recounted his tale to her.

Author Note: Boone Is Portrayed By Simon Pegg.