The man who greeted her was a stranger, and yet they were all strangers here. She stepped into the clearing with palms outstretched so this man could tell she was unarmed... and also that she remained human.

"There is. I'm truly sorry for the interruption. I seem to have lost my way. Would it be all right if I stopped here to rest?"

Though he was hunched over, he was still someone who hadn't yet lost himself to the monstrous sickness. And in this crazy, twisted world,that seemed reason enough to consider someone a friend.