Hello, is anybody out there?

Denise walked towards the Walmart, eyes alert and glancing around, looking for the first sign of danger. I hope you're right about this... She thought to herself nervously as the abandoned super store grew closer. Everyone had heard about the store being home to the survivors of the first apocalypse. It was one of the greatest tourist attractions in the world. Denise had even went there when she was a child, so it seemed like a likely place survivors would make their home. And if not, at least she would have a kickass place to live instead of in a shadow infested house. Of course, she wouldn't mind clearing the home of shadows.

Nicholas stood just outside of the Wal-Mart sitting in the white snow that blanketed the ground. His thick hoodie and pants kept him plenty warm although it felt like his feet were going to fall off. Suddenly, he glanced up from the sound of crunching snow alerting him. The girl didn't look familiar so he didn't say anything. Instead, he studied her carefully.

Denise looked around again and froze when she saw another person, not far away, standing in front of the Walmart. All thoughts vanished in her mind, and she forgot what to do. The only thing that Denise could put together was that she wasn't alone. She stood there, gawking at the boy like an idiot.

As she stared at him, Nick began feeling slightly awkward. The large scar on his face seemed to gleam in his own vision but for now he ignored it. All he could think of was this strange girl. After a few minutes of just staring at her, he raised an eyebrow. "Hello?" he asked awkwardly.

Denise realized she was staring and resisted the urge to ask if this was just her imagination. "Hi." She greeted in a quiet voice, staring at him cautiously. Cut the crap, the dude's not a shadow. "Hello." She repeated louder this time. She didn't move, though, still staying alert.

After realizing that this girl wasn't going to move, Nick slowly stood up from his frozen place in the snow. He then grabbed his trident that was propped up on the side of the building. "What are you here for?" He asked her curiously.

Denise eyed the trident. "I thought there would be people at this Walmart." She smiled tentatively. "And I was right." She murmured, still looking at the trident. Without thinking, Denise slowly moved her hand to her katana tied to her belt.

Nick blinked at her before nodding and leaning against the wall he was standing next to. "They're all inside if you were looking for them, which obviously you are," He responded, leaning his head back against the wall as well and closing his eyes. "And for your sake, I'm not a shadow if you were wondering."

Denise actually laughed. "Thank God. Because I was getting scared." She replied sarcastically. After a moment, she peered behind him at the entrance.

Loki was asleep on his bench. He wasn't needed much, except for checking Noah. He opened one eye when he saw the girl, but said nothing.

He watched her closely until he saw her eyes leading somewhere else. Following her gaze, he looked behind him until his own eyes landed on the doors. Guessing at what she was thinking, he turned back to her. "Uh, if you want, you can go inside. I'm sure they'll welcome you. You might just have to yell a few times to get someone's attention."

Denise nodded slowly. "Alright. Thank you." She replied politely in a quiet voice. It was strange talking to people after so long. She walked towards the door and once they slide open, into the Walmart. Denise looked around, spotting sleeping bags, food, and other things that screamed someone people lived there. And by the look of it, quite a lot. "Hello?" She called.

"Hello." Loki singsonged back. "Welcome to the homeless shelter."

Denise was taken aback for a moment, but she just laughed. "It's quite a fancy homeless shelter you got here, sir." She answered back, looking around and spotting the speaker. She walked over to him slowly.

"The shelves and weapons really give it that 5 star feel." answered Loki with amusement.

Hope had been closer to the back of the Wal-Mart reading a book she had picked up when she heard Denise's unfamiliar voice. Curious as to who might have waltzed in here randomly, she got to her feet and walked over to where Loki was relaxing. Moving her hair back behind her ear, Hope turned to the new girl. "Oh, hello." She said with a small smile.

"Oh yes. And no penthouse suite could stand up to those sleeping bags." She replied before spinning around to face Hope. "Hi." She greeted back, not know what else to say.