“I wouldn't open that if I were you.”

Momo turned around and reached for Sana’s elbow to pull the confused girl behind her. She lifted her gun, pointing it at the stranger's head. The stranger in question was a girl, looking around their age, if not younger. She was small and looked delicate. A few strands of her shoulder-length black hair were sticking to her sweaty face and her dark eyes weren’t showing any kind of emotion. Momo’s gaze moved to the girl’s hands, which were bandaged and holding a rusty crowbar.

“Step back’’ warned Momo.

The stranger sighed. “Look, I mean you no harm…” She took a step closer, but Momo walked backwards, her left hand on Sana’s hip to make sure she stayed put. The blonde was holding her bat, ready for anything.

The short haired girl took another step forward but stopped in her tracks when Oakley stood in front of the girls, showing off all its teeth, the hair on its back standing up.

“Listen…” said the stranger in a low voice. She tried to sound as calm as possible, but Momo could tell she was nervous by the way her eyes kept glancing at the dog and her tightening grip on the crowbar, leaving her with white knuckles. “I’m gonna go, but take care. And don't go in there if you want to stay alive.”

The stranger then turned back and started walking. Momo kept looking at her, making sure she was really leaving. She suddenly felt her left hand move and before she could react, Sana walked in front of her and yelled.

“Hey! Wait a minute!”

“Sana!” Momo gritted between her teeth. “What the hell are you doing?”

But it was too late. The stranger had already turned around, a curious look on her face. Before she could leave, Sana motioned the girl to come back. Momo grabbed Sana’s wrist and started to walk away, but Sana swatted her hand away. She looked up at Momo with a frown on her face.

“Be nice, Momo” she said in a serious voice. Momo was shocked by Sana’s tone, but kept a straight face since Mina was getting closer to them and she didn't want the girl to think this was affecting her.

“It's so nice to meet you!” Sana perked up again. “I'm Sana and this grumpy person here is Momo” she added pointing to the girl on her right. Momo rolled her eyes once again but kept mum.

The short haired girl bowed a little. “It's nice to meet people that are actually...alive. I'm Mina.”

Her voice was soft and there was a slight blush on her cheeks.

“Are you staying around here?”

Mina shook her head. “No...I’m actually heading to a military base. I heard they’re trying to rebuild a community.”

“No way!” yelled Sana, jumping up and down. “That's where we're going too! This is so much fun you should totally join us!”

“Would you give us a second?” asked Momo with a fake smile before Mina could open . Without waiting for an answer, she pulled Sana by the elbow and walked where their whispers couldn't be heard.

“What the was that, Sana? You want a complete stranger to come with us?”

Sana’s smile didn't fade in the slightest. “Technically she's not a stranger. I mean...we know her name.”

Momo shot her a glare. She looked back at Mina and saw the girl was patiently waiting, balancing herself on the balls of her feet.

“Come on Momo, I was a stranger too and you let me stay with you!” Sana whined.

“Yeah and now I'm thinking about where I should leave you” she grumbled. “Sto- Hey, don't hit me!” she screamed before dodging to avoid the fist coming her way.

“Look...everyone needs friends. Why can't we be her friends? Plus you have a gun, don't you? What are you so scared of?”

Momo unfortunately couldn't argue with that logic and had to reluctantly agree with Sana.

________

The three girls were making their way out of the city, giving up temporarily on Momo's plan to find ammo. Mina and Sana were walking in front, chatting about something Momo didn't care about. The latter was walking a few feet behind them, Oakley close to her. Her eyes didn't leave Mina's back and she already had a hand on her gun, just in case. Sana seemed to get along well with the new addition to their group, throwing her head back to laugh at least five times in the last hour. Mina seemed...okay. She was being nice and answered every question Sana asked her. But there was something about her that Momo didn’t like. She couldn’t really figure out what was it about the girl, but Momo felt like she couldn’t trust her that easily.

A couple of hours passed, and the trio was now walking slower, visibly tired. They were now officially out of the city and were on a dirt road, surrounded by tall trees. The rain that started half an hour ago was now pouring down, making the dirt under their feet turn into slippery mud. The storm was finally coming after all these grey days and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

‘’I have to take a pee break’’ said Momo in a flat voice. She had to repeat herself before the girls stopped their conversation to look at her. Without adding anything, she walked slowly to the tree line, far enough so she could be somewhat hidden, bu