When: April 22nd

Where: Scouting headquarters

Oscar knew Sada was expecting results, Emily's life hung in the balance, dependent on their success, and Zach was entangled in the mess right alongside him - their benevolent dictator making sure neither man ran with the same team. Not to mention Ash was locked away from wandering eyes and curious minds, undergoing god knew what under Sada's care. There was no way for him to make sure everyone he cared about was safe and it was eating away at him. So he did what he knew best - lost himself in his work, intent on finding their way out.

Almost every spot on the map was now crossed off, notated, and scavenged. The next team he took out would need to branch further out to deliver, leaving a lot of unknowns up in the air. Back turned to the door, he'd been engrossed in figuring out routes, exits, possible stash sites, and most of all, a way to more vaccines out of Sada's control. The presence of another body joinging him was hardly enough to pull him from his planning.

closed starter for @ashton-ryder

Zach leaned back in his favorite chair and crossed his legs on the table, waiting for Ashton to join him in the Scouting Headquarters. He stirred the muddy mix in his mug, watching it change and become slightly less mud-like and more like the chocolate protein pudding Eric had promised him. He still hadn't figured out where his brother's secret stack was, or how it had survived the winter, but he had to admit he was impressed.

5 minutes. Ash was 5 minutes late. It never happened, not when they were meeting here, not to his fellow workaholic.

He wouldn't have left Emily's side this morning if he knew their carefully chiseled rules were now dead and replaced by total anarchy.

"Where do you think you're going?" he told Doom when the dog stood up in his bed, clearly planning to jump onto the couch. "Go find Ashton, I'm serious."

Five fucking minutes, unbelievable...

But that's when the door opened and Doom wagged his tail lazily as he started to the couch. Here, he seemed to say. I found him. Now - nap.