Aaron looped the belt around a hand and began climbing as well. he had difficulty keeping up. He looked to the ground below and yelped a bit. Zeds had surrounded the building but there was one that made it's way around on all fours that freaked Aaron out "Crawler!" he exclaimed as he tried to pick up his pace as it started to climb up after them it's grotesquely thin spider like limbs aiding it's climb. It was a shock to the teen that the thing had once even been human.
Jer looked down. "Son of a-" He muttered, reaching into his bag with one hand while using the other to keep a grip. Thankfully he had a pretty good lead so it wasn't an issue of time. A "Hey, don't get in the way." from Jer was the only warning Aaron got before Jer shot the Crawler. He was lucky he had just gotten some new ammo.
Aaron let out a yelp as he heard the shot and quickened his pace to try to keep up with Jer. There didn't seem to be any other real threats to them at this point unless they fell.
Jer finally reached the top, hopping onto the flat of the building's roof and peering down. "Alrighty, should be safe." He took out his knife and stuck it into his bag. "So… Who are you?"
"A-Aaron Warren." he panted a bit as he started to put his weapon back into his bag carefully and offered his help a breakfast bar after he had clambered up to the roof as well "Thank you for the help."
Jer took the bar, opening it up and munching on it quietly. "It's not a problem. It's been too quiet around here anyways." Once he finished the bar, he put the wrapper into his bag. "I'm Jeremiah, you can just call me Jer." He didn't offer up a last name, it probably made him sound mysterious but honestly he just forgot.
"It's great to meet you Jer…it's been forever since I've seen anyone else among the living that hasn't threatened me." Aaron told Jer as he started going through his bag. Makeshift weapons, food, and a half filled water bottle were in the the backpack. He wiped the blood off his pencil and sharpened it with a little razor blade before taking a tattered notebook out and began to scrawl in it "How long you been out on your own?"
"Since this whole thing started. I lived on my own before that too.'' Jer shrugged, setting his bag down by his feet as he stood up from his crouched position. He began to stretch, he hadn't really been planing to run from Zeds today, so he hadn't done his regular morning stretches.
"Oh I'm…sorry to hear that…I mean unless you like being alone." Aaron said with a little frown as he sketched something in the notebook. "But just again thanks for distracting that guy…he'd been harassing me a couple of days now…at least he's gone now."
Jer shrugged, not looking bothered. "I've just been alone for a long time, was a gymnast before everything happened. Not really a team sport." He finished his stretching, moving to sit down by his bag again. "You should've tried to feed him to the Zeds the first time he bothered you."
"I…try not to kill people…Zeds do that enough for us." Aaron told Jer as he looked up from his notebook, then his gaze went back to the notebook "So was this all like you expected?…the Apocalypse?"
"I didn't expect anything, I was just in the middle of a competition when Zeds swarmed in. I climbed onto the silks and stayed up there till they forgot about me. I've just been going with it."Jer laid down on his back, looking up at the sky. "And killing people should be part of you now, it is for me. Only the strong survive or however it went."
"It shouldn't be a part of you…that's really sad to hear." Aaron told Jer as he finished up sketching in his notebook. "Why did you leave me? you could have stolen my stuff after that guy got killed by Zeds. He was way too loud."
"Didn't need to. I don't need extra supplies, I have enough to survive and even if I didn't, hunger keeps the mind sharp." Jer sighed, staring into space for a moment than shaking his head. "Also, you look like my late brother, so that's probably why I let you come with me. Before you ask, no, I will not go into detail."
Reminded of siblings seemed to tense him up a bit "I'm sorry to hear that and don't worry I won't pry." Aaron put away his notebook and took out his half filled bottle and took a tiny sip before putting it away "After those Zeds clear I'll be out of your hair…wouldn't want to slow you down or hold you back." Now that he was close by to Jer he could see clearer that Aaron had heavy bags under his eyes, showing that Aaron was defiantly not having a responsible sleep schedule. What was he to do though?
"You look like you're deteriorating." Jer stated bluntly, a small frown on his face. Damn it, the big brother instinct is kicking in, damn itttttt. "You're coming to my base. You look like shit."
"Look pal…I appreciate the concern but I'm fine. Yeah I'm tired but who isn't nowadays?" Aaron had truly been trying his best by himself. He always had to take the smart approach to things. He had to work a lot harder than Jer for he wasn't an athlete like him. He couldn't just go up to a Zed and slash with a knife for he…well he was too small for shit like that. He had to constantly update and change his survival approach. The thing he was most skilled at was creating things he could use to slay the dead. 'All those hours of Dead Rising paid off' he would sarcastically think to himself.
"You couldn't handle one person, I have no idea how you've managed to survive all this time. So yeah, you're coming to my base and I'm going to find you a less infested place where you have a better chance of survival." Jer raised an eyebrow, challenging the other to object.
Aaron's temper was quickly building "I'm fine here! Just cause that slimeball got a hold of me doesn't mean I was helpless. I…I had a plan." Why Aaron wanted to stay here was a mystery. Jer was right. It was quite dangerous here. For some reason the open, logical and calm side of Aaron was completely out the window…but why?
"And what, per say, was that plan?" Jer put his hand on his hip and huffed. "Throw yourself into a group of Zed's and other survivors? Because that is one hell of a stupid plan." He shook his head. "Does it really seem smart to stay here? It's one of the most Zed filled places in the state."
His anger would slowly drop as he realized that Her cared what happened to him, even if it was only because he looked like his dead brother "can…can I just do something before we go?…" His voice trembled a bit