Tim Collins

Tim Collins is a young survivor who escaped from the city and the older brother of Corey James Collins.

## Backstory

Tim's family moved to the United States from England when he was still little. Tim was an ordinary schoolboy in Memphis before he was thrown into the apocalyptic wasteland with his younger brother, CJ. He found safety among a group of rugged but good-hearted survivors, who provided shelter and protection for the needy. While their operations grew, the 13-year-old was chosen as a runner/courier for the group, because of his light weight and his boyish agility at climbing and running. He travelled on rooftops and in air vents, moving supplies, medicine and important messages between their different locations in the city. Soon the army started killing everyone in a desperate attempt to control the spread of the virus, and Tim became recruited into the network of resistance fighters trying to fend off the military and protect the last strongholds for the weak and the old. The resistance was later defeated, but Tim and CJ were able to escape to the countryside with nothing more than a pistol, a flask of water and a can of food to send them off on their way.

## Hopewell

CJ becomes seriously ill while they are passing through a small town called Hopewell. With no way of helping his brother, Tim leaves him to rest in the upper storey of a post office building while he himself goes to look for medicine. At around the same time, the horde has been alerted by the tolling of the church bell farther down the street. Tim chains up the door from the inside and exited through the window to make sure nothing can get to CJ while he is out.

While searching for medicine for his brother (finding nothing since Owen Price and Harvey Williams have already looted from the pharmacy), Tim comes to the aid of a young boy named Robbie, who has been separated from his mother and group, and is being cornered by a few walkers. Tim manages to trap Robbie and himself inside a car on the side of the road, losing his shoe in the process. Robbie's childish protest, culminating in him sitting on the car horn, soon alert more walkers. They are ultimately rescued by a survivor named Weslen Walker.

Weslen, Tim and Robbie make their escape and meet up with another survivor, Hikari James. Hikari and Tim get off on the wrong foot after Tim's hesitation to leave the area causes her to berate his childishness. Tim later convinces Hikari and Weslen to return to the street, where he tells them that he has left his ailing brother at the post office.

Upon returning to the east side of Hopewell, the four encounter Isis McKinlay, Mark Hanson and Gus Milner, who have come back to town from Dorsey Farmstead in search of Robbie. The six-year-old, unhappy about how Tim coerced him to behave earlier, tells Isis that Tim, Weslen and Hikari are mean and dangerous. Tim overhears Isis mentioning 'cough medicine' to Robbie and decides to step forward, despite having a gun pointed at him. He pleads with Isis for help and told her about his sick brother. Although Gus thinks it is a bad idea for Isis to help these potentially dangerous strangers, Isis agrees to stray off the mission and to help the teenager while Gus and Mark return to Dorsey with Robbie. Tim leads the strangers back to the post office, but his nervousness about CJ's safety is interpreted by Isis as him lying about CJ's condition. Fearing the younger boy could have been infected, Isis checks his body before agreeing to take them both back to Dorsey Farmstead.

Tim helps CJ up on his feet and carries him down the stairs, getting no help from a reluctant Hikari. Once they got downstairs, Tim gets to work removing the chains from the door. With Isis leading the way, Weslen helped Tim carry his brother out into the storm. After safely leaving the town, the group stops for a small break under a tree on the side of the road and waits for the rain to die down a bit, where they also meet a stranger named Peter McCormick. Tim, divested of both his shoe and hoodie, develops a bad cough and symptoms of a cold. Worried about the condition of Tim's foot, Peter offers to carry Tim. Although Tim is embarrassed by the idea of being carried, he does not resist the man's help.

## Dorsey Farmstead

Arriving at the farmstead, Tim feels ashamed about being a burden to Peter and asks him to let him down. The group is eventually led inside, where the leader, Owen Price, tells everyone to give up their names and weapons. Unbeknownst to Tim, Peter has put Tim's backpack down on the floor in the living room. Peter then introduces both Tim and CJ to Price, leading Tim to forget to account for his own backpack and pistol, since he is too occupied with looking after his brother. After the boys have been taken upstairs to the attic, Price discovers Tim's pistol in the bag and incriminates Peter. Peter casually reminds Tim about the bag, and Tim quickly remembers about the gun. Peter goes downstairs to defuse the situation, telling Tim to stay put in the attic. Overwhelmed with guilt, Tim disobeys and secretly follows Peter to the stairs, eavesdropping on the male's conversation with Price from the balusters. The boy discovers that Peter is covering up for him and is taking full blame and responsibility for the gun.

## Inventory

Click expand to view inventory:

BackpackGrey hoodieJeansBrown beanieShoes (1 missing)CrowbarGlock 19Pocket knifeWater bottleCanned peachesCan openerFlashlight9mm rounds (12)MatchboxRags

## References

2. ↑ The young male watched one the walkers as it smeared its rotten face against his window and kept clawing and trying to come inside. He massaged his pale foot a little before slowly slipping the sock back on, the sore on his ankle made him wince a little. He turned his eyes back at the younger of them just in time to catch his high-pitched response. The boy must have gotten separated from his mother... and chances are she was dead. Before he could say anything in response to that, he saw the little kid trying to stand up awkwardly in the car. Now that hyperactive child was rubbing against the window and making squeaky scrubbing noises. "Hey watch it-" the young lad didn't get a chance to complete his sentence before a walker slammed its head against the window, sending Robbie falling backwards into his seat. The older tried to catch younger as he fell like he was playing trust fall. Robbie could have easily landed on the gear if he didn't catch him. Soon enough he noticed the little boy had wet himself, and the stench of pee filled the air, or whatever oxygen was left in this sealed car. Robbie was now full of protest.
3. ↑ This was a nightmare come true. How was he supposed to deal with this.. child? What was the kid doing now even, taking off his pants? The teenager rested his face in his palm for a second, and then rubbed the tip of his own nose. The smell of pee irritated him so much, and the lack of air in the car made him feel quite faint. When he looked back up again, the kid was already suggesting that he helped him out with his.. situation. What was he supposed to do!? There wasn't a change of clothes here. After a bit of thought the male took off his backpack which he was leaning against and propped it up on his lap, looking for some water for the younger boy to clean himself with. But when he got the bottle out the boy had already starated his climb into the backseats. "Hey, don't-!" The teen turned around and saw the clumsy boy trying to move around in the back. It gave him a headache just to look at him. Then the boy started screaming. "Shh- stop!" the teen tried to hiss at him but the boy's screaming only got louder, piercing his ears. Around them he could hear the walkers groaning. The teen quickly put his bag down in the legroom and turned around. He then pushed himself up from his seat and tried to squeeze his way into the back seat as well, which wasn't too difficult since his body wasn't big. He put his shoeless foot on the console box to spring himself forward, and then tumbled onto the empty seat next to the boy. "Hey, shh, it's alright," he said, trying to comfort the boy, putting an arm around him. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm gonna help you find your mommy." He awkwardly ruffled the boy's blonde hair. The walkers were all around them, clawing at the windows. He tried to keep the boy's head down so he wouldn't see the walking corpses around them. "What's your name?"
4. ↑ The young teenager tried to stop Robbie's arms from threshing and flailing all over the place. He instinctively grabbed onto the boy's hands, but he was surprised to find them wet and slippery... until he realised what it was. Disgusting! The teenager wiped the sweat off his own forehead with his wrist - definitely not with his hands. He didn't know what to do with the kid, and sort of had his own hands cluelessly suspended in the air for a second. Worse, he wasn't expecting the child to sit and plop himself on his lap. The chubby kid smelt like pee, and now there was pee all over his pants, too. The older boy knew he couldn't just push him aside, so he tried to deal with the situation as best he could, not getting impatient. The last thing he needed was the kid screaming again. They had attracted enough of the walkers' attention already. The teenager got over the fact that his hands were dirty, and held the pathetic creature as it buried its face into his chest. At first he thought he was consoling the kid, but little did he know what the little devil was up to. He felt the child's nose rubbing against his shirt, and when he looked down, there was snot all over the place!! The child blew his nose all over his shirt, so much so his chest felt damp. The snot even managed to transfer onto his jacket, which wasn't zipped up along the middle. It was all over the place. Instead of freaking out, the teenager remained calm, grimacing and wincing a little. At least the kid was quiet, that was all that was important. "OK, Robbie," he said, after learning the child's name. "I'm Tim." The teenager looked around and saw the walkers still smudging their rotten faces against the windows. "I know they're mean but... I bet they'll get bored real soon, and then they'll leave us alone." He paused. "But we gotta stay quiet, or they'll think we want to play with them." The older kid took his own sleeve and helped wipe the boy's nose. Might as well go all the way seeing his clothes were all covered in snot now. "Once they leave I'll help you find your mommy, OK?"
5. ↑ Robbie wants to play with the walking corpses? What was he supposed to say to that?! Tim tried to think what it would be like if he were five or six years old. Hmm, what would he want to hear in a situation like this? Hell, how was he supposed to know, 'I'm not five anymore, I'm thirteen!' Tim thought to himself. The last thing he needed was for this kid to get upset. The last time he got upset, he blew his nose all over Tim's jacket and peed himself. He managed to get all the snot and pee onto Tim's clothes as well. If Robbie yelled anymore they were going to get in trouble. "Uhm.. yeah, we can play with them but.. not yet, though. Cos.. if we played with them now, we'll be late to find mommy, right?" Tim pronounced mommy the American way just so he could relate to the kid better, even though he was used to saying it the English way himself. "She'd be worried sick." Although Tim tried to keep a happy tone when talking to the kid, he was starting to feel the danger of being trapped in a car and being surrounded by at least five of the undead. "W..we can play a game if you likes," he said, pretending to be enthusiastic about it, "I mean, you and I, while we wait for them to go away." The fact was Tim wanted more than to get out of this car and get some fresh air. If he was alone, he might be able to try it, but with the kid there, it was way too dangerous to pull a stunt like that.
6. ↑ Tim felt the weight removed from his lap and winced a little at the ache on his legs. He didn't quite register at first what Robbie meant by wanting to 'play with the walkers now'. It wasn't long before he realised what the little devil was up to. When he saw the chubby kid trying to fumble with the door handle, he instinctively tried to pull him away from it. He was almost too late and the door almost went flying open, which would mean a certain death for them. "No! Robbie! You can't play with them right now!" the older boy interjected, holding Robbie back as firmly as he could. The walkers around them seemed agitated as they were doing their best to find a way in. "Oi, stop it!" Robbie obviously didn't like the way Tim was trying to stop him from playing with the walkers. He protested by trying to climb over to the front seat away from the older kid. Tim's grasp on the kid slipped, causing Robbie to tumble forward like a ball and to land with his butt on the steering wheel. "Robbie sto-" A loud blaring noise erupted and echoed up and down the street. Robbie was sitting on the horn! Tim tried to reach for Robbie to get him off the horn, but being the bigger kid he couldn't climb back to the front seat that easily. "Get off the wheel!!!" He tried to grab the kid's arm to pull him off to no avail. The longer Robbie was sitting there the more walkers they were attracting from all directions.
7. ↑ Tim mustered all his strength and pushed the chubby boy off the steering wheel. TheIt might have hurt the kid a little but it had to be done, and he might hate him afterwards, but Tim knew what had to be done. The noise was drawing all the walkers from around them and the danger didn't end just there. The thirteen-year-old had other things to worry about other than this fat kid, and if they didn't find a way out of here the window was going to break and they were going to be eaten alive. It was a gruesome thought and if the walkers got through, Tim was going to put a bullet in the kid's head so he wouldn't have to suffer. Would he have the time to fire a second bullet at himself? Or the courage to do it? Now the horn had gone silent, but the damage had already been done. Tim heaved uneasily, not sure what to do next. The walkers continued to claw at the window, until suddenly, as if a miracle, a small blade could be seen penetrating through its head, blood splattering across the window as it was pulled out. The walker's bloodied face smeared against the window before it fell limp to the ground. Whoever did that was now drawing the walkers away, and Tim saw an golden opportunity that he couldn't turn down. "We gotta go," he said, without waiting for the kid's response he climbed over the chubby kid and pulled the door handle, kicking the door open with his shoed foot. A gush of wind rushed into the car as Tim narrowly climbed out. He didn't get a clear view of the stranger who came to their aid. Tim quickly turned and faced Robbie, "Come on!" offering his hand. Behind him a walker had noticed them get out of the car and was headed directly for them.
8. ↑ Tim squinted his eyes as a blade slipped into the walker's head in front of him. He couldn't believe his luck and took a quick second to observe the person who came to his aid: an older kid with short black hair and a slender build. With the walker now on the ground, Tim quickly turned back to face Robbie, seeing the stranger trying to pull him out. Maybe the older kid would have better luck getting Robbie out of that stupid car that they should never have got inside in the first place. The stranger's bellow sounded commanding enough but it had no effect on Robbie other than scare him even more. He was worried that Robbie was never going to cooperate, and more walkers were headed their way. The stranger must have realised the urgency too which was why he was resorting to brute force trying to get Robbie out. He, being bigger and stronger than Tim, was able to get the chubby boy out eventually, to his relief. Tim grabbed onto Robbie's arm as he was brought over to him in the middle of the street, panting and nodding at what the older boy was saying. He found himself too nervous to say anything and he tried his best to pull Robbie along as the stranger took the lead. Hobbling after the older kid, he could see a few walkers already lumbering out of the alleyways around them. Their groans grew louder with each passing second. The three boys had to be quick if they were going to make it out of here alive.
9. ↑ "Tim," said the older of the two as they hurried along. The fact that he was only wearing one shoe hindered his agility, but Tim managed to keep up with the older kid's pace while dragging the chubby kid along with him. Robbie didn't give the stranger an answer, he was still sniffling like the snot machine that he was, and in his eyes you could see how unhappy he still felt about being pushed off the steering wheel by Tim and then pulled out of the car by a stranger. "His name's Robbie," said Tim, coughing. "He said he got separated from his mum," Tim explained while avoiding some debris on the road. He had to be careful running without a shoe. Tim was a fast kid, but an injury to his foot could mean certain death in a world where everyone needed to rely on their speed to get away from the walkers.
10. ↑ Tim continued to hold onto Robbie's wrist tightly, making sure he wouldn't be allowed to run away. There was no telling what was going through Robbie's mind right now, and Tim felt sorry for him, and Robbie probably hated him now, but this was how it had to be for the little kid's own safety. Tim halted in his tracks as the male who saved them extended his arm to shield them from the female stranger in front of them. He felt safe with the male stranger looking out for them, even though they didn't know his name, but he had to be a good person if he helped them out of there, right? Tim listened to what the male was saying. "I can't!" he interrupted. "I can't go," he said firmly. "I mean, I gotta get back."
11. ↑ Tim felt nervous and quite uneasy as the female knelt down in front of him and practically told him to sod off if he wanted to, in a very cold and unfriendly tone. He didn't like how she said 'two kids your age' either, as if he was any way responsible for Robbie, because he wasn't. Tim didn't like how she implied he was helpless by himself, and he certainly didn't like being grouped with the little snot-face in the same sentence. Before Tim could say anything the walkers were already upon them. Tim didn't like it one bit, but he wasn't completely stupid. He knew he had a bad ankle, didn't have a shoe, and that there was no hope getting back to where he had to be at least until the walkers were gone. He had no choice but to stick with these people until they cleared the danger.
12. ↑ Tim made sure Robbie was keeping apace with them, while his own shoeless foot was starting to become a sore. As they trailed behind the older ones, Tim heard what the male was saying to the female, and was grateful he was defending him in a no-beating-around-the-bush kind of way. What the female said about losing her brother made him feel sorry for her, enough for him to stop holding any grudge against her. But Tim decided to stay quiet and not say anything. The last time he said anything he got an earful from the female, and although he didn't like being treated like a little kid, he was willing to play the part until they got out of this danger alive.
13. ↑ Tim was least expecting the female to toss him anything. The can hit the ground and rolled towards his bare foot. He stooped down slightly to pick it up. "T..thanks." He said avoiding eye contact with her, rubbing the bridge of his nose slightly before offering to open the can for Robbie. Robbie however didn't want to talk to Tim and turned away pouting. Tim ended up putting the can in his backpack for later. He never liked peaches but beggars can't be choosers. He walked over to the cave where the older male was and stood his distance for a while, contemplating whether he should approach him. In the end Tim walked up to the older kid, hands in his pockets and his head tilted downwards. "I gotta go back to town," he said. "I left my brother at the post office... and he's sick. I couldn't find any medicine for him... and now I've wasted a lot of time," he said pleading with the older kid, whose name he still did not know.
14. ↑ Tim was honestly hoping he would be able to get the male's help, but the way Tim read the situation, the stranger didn't seem very keen to go back to town with him. But the male was right. It wasn't the best idea to bring Robbie back to town. Not only was it dangerous for Robbie himself, he'd slow everyone down and possibly put others in danger like how he almost got him killed in that car. Tim shook his head sullenly, "I don't have it," he said, "I checked the pharmacy but everything useful is gone." Just about then they were interrupted by the female. It surprised him that she was offering to help, but Tim had his doubts. Still, what she said about her mum being a nurse made him feel hopeful. Instead of giving her an answer, Tim looked at the male and wondered if he approved. It wasn't necessarily that he was looking at the male for permission to leave, but he valued his opinion whether it was a good idea going with this girl. Tim knew the male didn't trust her either, but if he gave him the green light, he'd feel more comfortable about leading her straight to his ailing brother.
15. ↑ Tim led the way back into town, and he seemed to know where he was going. He wasn't new to Hopewell and by the looks of it had the whole town memorised in his head. He knew which road was generally safe to take and which wasn't. The only thing that was slowing him down was the fact that he was missing a shoe and the longer he walked the sorer his foot became. Worse, Robbie acted like he was being held against his will all the way to their destination. Clearly the kid would rather be going out of town to find his mother, and he must have been growing quite tired given that he didn't sleep much at all being stranded alone last night. You could tell from the dark circles around his eyes that looked almost like puffy bruises. The fact that he was going around without his pants didn't help the situation and it made him feel very uncomfortable. Tim continued to lead them down a zig-zagged path to the post office. They were nearly there, just around the corner now till they got back at the car Robbie and he were trapped in earlier, he thought.
16. ↑ Tim raised his eyes to catch the first raindrops striking his cheeks. He could tell from the clouds ever since morning it was going to rain. His plan was to get medicine for his brother before it rained, and how badly he'd failed at that! Tim was grateful to have some company but he knew he could trust nobody, especially the female. Even though she apologised, it was too late to change his impression of her. Tim glanced at Robbie who was struggling to put one chubby foot in front of the other. As they got to the corner the male, whose name he still didn't know, asked where they were going. "To the post office," he said. Before he could give the older male a longer answer, about how he left his sick brother there, Robbie had already called out to the silhouettes whose presence Tim didn't notice until now. Shit, it was too late, they heard him. They were standing right in the middle of the road. What if those people were armed? Of course they were armed, who wasn't these days? Tim froze and held his ground as rain began to pour down over their heads. He tried to hold Robbie back but the kid seemed adamant to make his way over to the three in front of them.
17. ↑ Gus kept his eyes on everyone he didn't know and listened to what Robbie had to say about these people. That Robbie didn't like them and said they were mean should be a good sign that they were dangerous. What even could they have done to the poor kid? The eighteen-year-old tightened his grip on the pistol as he became more convinced that they shouldn't get friendly with these people if they wanted to get out of this town alive. Gus turned his attention to the male who was now speaking, saying how he saved Robbie. The story made sense, considering the dead walker corpses lying strewn around the vehicle. However, the kid wouldn't lie, right? He was six years old. He must have good reason to think these people were dangerous. Before Gus could say anything else the teenager who had been standing behind the older male stepped forward like he had a death wish. Gus had the gun pointed at him, "Stand back, kid," he said as he placed his finger on the trigger, "Don't do anything stupid." As he stepped forward in the rain, the teenager raised his hands slightly to show that he wasn't holding a weapon, and he turned to the female. "D..did you say you have medicine?" he asked her. Gus couldn't believe how stupid the kid had to be to keep walking forward after he told him to stop, especially as he had a gun pointed at him. If it wasn't a kid who looked as if he might have not even have hit puberty, Gus might have already shot him, but he wasn't going to shoot a stupid kid. Gus turned around and wondered how Isis was going to answer the kid's question.
18. ↑ Tim's eyes pleaded with the female with the axe but it was sure she meant business when she told him to stop. The male who stood next to her still had his gun pointed directly at his chest, and Tim knew he was being reckless but he needed the medicine. After failing to find anything in the pharmacy earlier this morning, the female's mention of there being cough medicine was the closest he ever got to finding a way to help his brother. The teenager kept his eyes on the female because he didn't want to make eye contact with the person who was pointing the gun at him, or Robbie who had managed to put a mark on his head. Tim stopped moving forward like the female asked, and felt his shoeless foot becoming damp and cold in the rain. There was a sore running up his leg from his unprotected heel and it didn't feel good. Tim also noticed that the male behind him had stepped up to stand next to him. He appreciated the gesture, because it told him that the older male was looking out for him even though they barely even knew each other. It was hard to find a person you could trust in a world like this. "My brother's very sick," Tim didn't beat around the bush when talking to the Scottish female, responding in his own English accent, "I really need to find medicine for him.. if you-" Tim stopped as if his senses had finally caught up with him. Why would these strangers even help him after what Robbie said? He'd be lucky not to get shot by the male with the gun, he thought.
19. ↑ Tim couldn't believe the female stranger had agreed to help, and in his enthusiasm he tried to jog ahead, forgetting about the state of his foot. It wasn't long before the sore on his ankle rendered him too weak to run, so he was plodding ahead with an amusing limp like he was a cripple. They got to the side of the post office but the front door was chained from the inside. There was an obvious reason why Tim chose to leave his brother in a post office. People didn't usually loot the post office since there wasn't really anything useful for them to get, no food, no weapons. Tim glanced up at the ladder at the side of the building and pointed up at the window on the upper floor. Adjusting his collar and the backpack on his back slightly, Tim started climbing up, his shoeless foot slipping on the rung of the ladder a couple of times before he managed to push himself up. The ladder was slippery and the rain was becoming more intense, making the climb quite dangerous. Once he got to the first landing at the ladder Tim pulled himself up to the window and tried to force it open. If he could pry it open slightly he would be able to gain some leverage, but his hands were too slippery to get the window to part with its frame. He was also trembling slightly from the cold which wasn't helping. Maybe the next person up the ladder could help him get it to open, he thought.
20. ↑ Tim stepped aside as the female nudged him, giving her space to access the window he was having trouble opening. He felt relieved that she had agreed to help him. The fact that she was with Robbie, and how tightly Robbie clung to her, made him feel she couldn't be all that bad or dangerous. The boy raised his arm to shield his eyes from the heavy rain while he waited. His other hand gripped the safety metal railings that boxed off the top of the ladder, and the cold rain and his anxiety about his brother was starting to break his composure. This wasn't helped by the fact that he wasn't wearing a shoe and his injured foot had gone numb and damp. In fact he could hardly stand still without trembling. Tim didn't want others to see that the cold and his foot was affecting him so much, because he didn't want to appear weak in the eyes of strangers. He didn't like to be treated as a kid, and certainly not as a useless kid. That was why when the older female finally got the window to open, Tim refused her hand to help him climb inside. "It's OK, I got it-" grunted the kid as he awkwardly fitted himself through the gap at the window, the straps of his backpack getting hopelessly stuck to the window frame. Tim shook to free himself and then landed on the dry floor. "I'm alright", he said running his hand through his wet hair, thinking the female must see him as a clumsy idiot right now. Water continued to drip from his soaked body onto the already mouldy carpet. It was very silent inside and Tim's heavy breathing could be heard, almost as if he was wheezing with asthma. There was a musty stench in the little corridor as the boy plodded forward, his wet shoe and sock making a weird rhythm where the carpet ended and the wooden floorboards began.
21. ↑ Tim noticed the female's disinterested look as he positioned himself in front of the door to the storage room. "I don't know, but he's in real bad shape," said the boy, wiping his brows and forehead rather nervously. He had a feeling her patience was running dry, and who could blame her? The way she responded so coldly and without emotion made him feel like she didn't want to be there much longer than she needed to be. "You have to help him, please," Tim said everything he could in the politest way he knew so that he could buy himself more time, as his hands fumbled to get the door open with the key he took out from his pocket. As he was doing this, he could sense the presence of two other people behind them. It was like their shadows were scrutinising his every action. Of course he was lucky to have their help, but he imagined no one really wanted to be there. He couldn't really expect anyone to be selfless in a world like this, and they'd be wise to put their interests before others. The last he tried to help someone, that kid Robbie, he almost got himself killed. That was pretty dumb, he thought. Tim wiped his forehead again as he couldn't find the right key in the chain to open the door. He tried another key. Nope, not this one either. He rubbed his damp hair and kept trying. He felt the pressure of three strangers watching his struggle, and even though the air was cold he was sweating profusely. Come on! He raised his arm and buried his face in it for a second as his sleeves soaked up all the sweat. Looking back at the keychain he realised his hands were shaking from stressing out, and his breathing got a little louder. Why couldn't the door just open!? It was like the universe was playing a joke on him!
22. ↑ Taking a few steps back, Tim watched with a bated breath as Isis landed a few strikes of the axe against the defiant door. The noise of the axe impacting the door was jarring. Vapour formed under Tim's nose as he wheezed. As he stood there sweating in the heat of his own body, it felt as if the cold had also numbed his face making it hard for him to breathe properly. It was a weird, mixed sensation and Tim didn't like it. While he waited for the door to give, Tim pressed his sweaty palms together, rubbing them almost unconsciously as his way of calming himself and generating some warmth. He didn't enjoy Isis's detached mannerisms. Her accent, which he wasn't very accustomed with since he left his country of birth a long time ago, made it even harder for him to relate with her or what she was saying. However, Tim didn't care to think too much of her, as long as his brother got the help he needed. He knew he couldn't turn down anyone's help, with his brother's life hanging on a thread, and that he was lucky these people were helping him at all. Tim felt more at ease with the older male, since he already saved him (and Robbie) once already, and he just didn't have the same frustrated air about him like Isis did. As for the other girl? He didn't care much for her. She had dark hair, a rather lean, towering figure from his perspective, and she looked like she had some Japanese features as well. They didn't see eye to eye from the start, and it was probably his own fault for making a fuss about leaving town. Once the door was open, Tim shuffled straight to the small figure that was lying on the floor in the middle of the room, in the empty space between the storage and filing cabinets. Kneeling down beside his brother, Tim wiped his dirty and damp hands against his pants before reaching to feel the young boy's forehead and his temperature. "I'm here CJ, and I got you some help," he said while looking up searchingly at the female with the axe and the male, but not the third stranger. The boy on the floor looked unhealthily pale, his eyes bruised with fatigue. He moved a little to express his discomfort, and Tim felt helpless. The older boy looked at his brother and turned once again at the female as if expecting a miracle from her.
23. ↑ Tim seemed unfazed by the loud clap of thunder that shook the streets outside, or even unware that there was a storm brewing outside, perhaps because all his worry was reserved for his brother, whose condition had clearly worsened since he saw him last. Tim stuttered at the female's question. He glanced up and met her questioning stare, like he was being interrogated or accused of something wrong. It made him question even what he already knew, that CJ was neither bit nor scratched. Now even Tim seemed to have some doubts, and his doubts were written all over his boyish face for the female to see. "W...what? N..no -- he wasn't!" He quickly avoided the glare of her eccentric eyes. Even she had managed to convince him that he was guilty. Tim looked up at the other male at the window, hoping to plead his innocence to the older boy if the female wouldn't believe it, but that person was momentarily distracted by the rain outside. Tim looked back at his brother. Of course CJ wasn't bit... or what if he was and he'd somehow missed it. No, that wasn't possible. He seldom let the boy out of his sight. Plus, he'd checked earlier. If there was a scratch he'd notice it; he'd know if his brother was hurt, or if a walker ever laid a claw on him. But what if CJ \*was\* scratched and he hadn't told him? Was there a possibility at least? Tim moved his still trembling hand and placed it gently over CJ's sleeves, as if wanting to roll them up to check for scratches. But he soon paused, withdrawing his hand back to his own lap. It was like the boy was too afraid to find out for himself if what the female said was true.
24. ↑ Tim edged away from his brother and gave the female the space she needed to check CJ's body for injuries. As he watched her lifting the folds of the kid's shirt, Tim squinted his eyes, feeling a lump in his throat. What if she found that CJ was scratched? For a moment Tim really felt sick, nauseous even, at the thought of the worst possible outcome. The anticipation of something bad, the pain of not knowing, was just as frightening for him as if it were reality. To his relief, the female found nothing that could acquit CJ of being infected. This made the teenager more hopeful. It didn't mean that CJ was suddenly going to be alright. Whatever illness he had, it had drained the colour from his skin and the life from his eyes. The boy looked so feeble that Tim worried it was going to be impossible to get him to where he needed to be. As he turned his head slightly away from CJ, he saw the room light up in a flash due to the lightning outside. The rain was relentlessly crashing down on the roof, and the storm genuinely frightened the teen. Not because he was afraid of storms, he was too old for that - but because he realised how it was going to endanger his brother's life. Tim heard what the female said but for a moment was lost in his own thoughts. It wasn't only the rain that they would have to brave out there, but the walkers also. The storm would make everything so hard to see. CJ wouldn't be able to move so quickly if they got in danger. And Tim himself was missing a shoe. Nothing seemed right about what they were about to do, yet they had to do it. There was no other choice if he wanted his brother to live. Tim reached down hesitantly and helped CJ sit up properly, slipping an hand behind the younger boy's head to support it, and then propping his body up by putting his arm behind his back. He felt the neckbone under his brother's hair, like the boy hadn't eaten much and had lost so much weight his skeletal features had become prominent. How far were they going to get out there in the rain? They might get out of town, if they were lucky. But Tim had no idea where the female was planning to take them. Edging behind the boy, Tim slipped his arms under his brother's armpits and struggled to pull himself up on his feet, CJ's weight rooting them both to the floor like an anchor. CJ wasn't heavy by any means, but he was heavy for Tim, relatively speaking. The teen didn't seem to be managing on his own at first, but he finally got CJ up on his feet. "We're getting out of here CJ," he said softly into CJ's ears making sure his voice registered with the boy. He positioned CJ's arm around his own neck so he wouldn't fall over. They both swayed a little as Tim struggled to find his balance without his shoe. Grunting slightly Tim looked over to the female with the axe. "I'm ready," he said with a slight nod.
25. ↑ Tim adjusted his feet to accommodate his brother's weight before taking the first small steps towards the exit and into the corridor. It wouldn't give the female a good opinion of him if he were to lose his balance, and he could tell she was already scrutinising his every move. Tim tread along the corridor very cautiously, but he was careful not to tread on the girl's patience by being too slow. The boy spared a moment to glance at his feet, secretly wishing he still had the shoe he lost. It was funny that he had grown attached to his running shoes over the months, since they had helped him get out of many sticky situations. Who knew how long it was going to be before he got a new pair? The teen continued to lead his sick brother towards the stairs. When he got there Tim put one hand on the railing, holding CJ with the other. The younger boy didn't seem able to stand and remain upright on his own feet. The position didn't seem right, like they were ready to trip and fall over at any step. Tim was curious why the girl behind him hadn't offered to help, even though she was clearly looking at them and saw that they were struggling. Anyhow, the teen had already planned it in his head that if they were to lose their balance and fall down the stairs, CJ would land on him and not the other way round. That is if they both didn't land on the female in front of them. That was a sure way to get her to hate them. The stairs were very narrow and not so easy for them to descend side by side. But the narrowness helped them in a way, since there was a smaller chance for CJ to leave his side because there was a wall there for him to lean against. When they got to the bottom of the stairs Tim and CJ hobbled past the desks, careful not to trip over the clutter of mail and stationery on the floor. Tim moved to the door he had chained up and gave the female with the axe a nod as he slowly unwrapped CJ's arm from his own neck and propped him up against the female. The teen made sure she had a good hold of CJ before letting go completely and moving to undo the chains. Tim reached into his pockets while trying to ignore his own hands, which were still trembling from the effort it took to get CJ down the stairs. He pulled out a keychain and went through it until he found the key he needed. While unlocking the heavy chains Tim looked up and gazed through the glass door, seeing how terrifying the storm looked. In another moment they were all going to have to be out there, which made him almost want to delay removing the chains. But CJ needed to get out of here fast, even if it meant going through this god forsaken storm without a shoe and with a bunch of strangers. With the lock removed, Tim decided against keeping the chain since it was too heavy, and he was going to be personally responsible for CJ. The boy looked as if he was ready to collapse to the floor any moment if not for the female holding him in place. Tim felt a numbness come over his shoeless foot as he paced the cold floor. Once he got to his brother, the teen unbuttoned his own jacket with his with his nervous fingers and gave the jacket a quick flick in the air. Then Tim lifted the jacket over CJ's head hoping it would provide some protection for him in the rain, before taking CJ's arm around his neck again. "Let's go," he said to the female. Looking down at CJ he reassured him as best he could, "We're going to be alright."
26. ↑ Tim could barely see the street in front of him.
The storm had surrounded all five of them, and the teen squinted his
eyes, finding it difficult to keep them open with the torrents of rain
battering down on them. Tim was even more exposed to the storm than the
others without his jacket and shoe. He was now using that bit of
clothing to shield CJ's head and upper body from the rain. Occasionally
he heard a loud thunder which reminded him of the danger they were in
and the reality of it all. Tim was glad to get some help from the female
 with the axe, and later from the older male, who was now helping him
carry CJ along the wet pavement. With a bit less of CJ's weight bearing
on him, Tim found he could move slightly better now, even though his
shoeless foot had developed a crippling sore. He was always short of
breath as he walked, always coughing, although his own noise was
overwhelmed by the storm. Tim didn't know where they were headed, but he
 didn't have time to worry about their destination. All his energy was
focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and dragging his
brother beside him. Tim felt scared, of course, because if they made the
 slightest mistake, or if they got separated in the storm, there was no
way to help his brother out in the open like this. CJ was too weak to
move by himself, and the longer he was out here the more he feared for
CJ's life as well as his own. The puddles on the road were as deep as
his ankle, sometimes submerging his whole foot. At one point, Tim almost
 tripped over, but he managed to cling to his balance. It made him
afraid how vulnerable they were, and even though Tim tried to focus on
what he had to do, he was losing control of his own movements fast.