Albert sat on the ground, his legs crossed as May used a ripped strip of cloth from her blanket to wrap his injured head. It was still bleeding heavily and the fabric was soaked in minutes, but it was all she could do. She wasn't a doctor and she didn't have enough supplies for any better treatment. Maybe the mystery liquid in the glass jars could help?

"What's your name?"

The question caught her off guard, pausing just as she was about to get to her feet and start unloading the elevator platform. The man hadn't said anything to her since his little freak-out session earlier, after he'd screamed and wept. All he'd done was take her hand, follow her numbly to her little hide away on the edge of the forest, then sit on the ground and wait patiently as she tended to his bloody temple. Not a peep had left his mouth.

She stood there for a moment, thinking on whether or not she should trust this stranger. She'd just met him literally less than an hour ago. She didn't know anything about him. She didn't even know if he was dangerous or not, May was still on edge. Along the way back to her tree-platform, she'd snatched up her machete and slid the hilt into her belt loop, miraculously without the new guy noticing. And she still contemplated on whether or not she'd be able to kill him if the need rose.

The man was quiet as he watched the uncertainty flicker over her eyes, the caution, the fear. This young girl, no older than thirteen with her short height, messy blonde hair, serious expression and ragged clothes... There was something about her. What was going through her head? Poor Albert didn't know that she was considering putting him out of his misery. Before she could've grabbed her machete, she opened her mouth.

"May." She folded her arms over her chest as she stared down at the older man. "My name's May."

"Is that short for anything? Like Marie Curie? Possibly Marie Antoinette? Maybe the Virgin Mary from the Christian Bible?"

May just gave him a blank look and shook her head. She had no idea who the heck those people were.

"Are you going to tell me your name? Or do you not know it?" The young blonde asked him. It was his turn to give her a quizzical expression. Not know his name? May didn't know how stupid that question sounded until she'd said it out loud. From the message he was giving her with his eyes, he obviously knew his name. Lucky. "It's just that..." May started as she tried to explain herself. "...when I first got here, I didn't know my name. It was a full day until I finally got that piece of memory back...and even that was after I'd fallen and hit my head." She pointed to the side of her temple.

"You've been here? All alone?" He asked her, his voice concerned and full of sympathy. May didn't say anything. Instead, she just sighed and looked over at the horizon. The sun was still new, still rising in the East. It wasn't even noon yet. She'd still have time to unload the elevator if she was quick. 

"Stay here. Lifting things right now probably isn't good for your head."

And then she ran off from the safety of the woods and into the open meadow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

There was a pen and paper in the corner of the platform, just like on the first elevator. And just like before, May used the piece of parchment and writing utensil to take inventory.

2 blankets
1 gardening hoe
2 caged chickens
3 plastic barrels of water
1 white container (Inside: 3 spools of thread, 2 needles, pills called Ibuprofen?)
1 metal bucket
2 loaves of bread
2 white large t-shirts
2 shovels
1 frying pan

The bread was definitely a good thing since all May ate before were those damn sun-flower seeds. It was a miracle she'd lived this long in the first place on nothing but squirrel food. And the chickens would help. She'd be able to harvest the eggs every morning for breakfast, maybe even start her own coop. If she built something to keep all the chickens in-

"How many times has this elevator come up?" May turned to face the voice, who was standing on the edge of the elevator shaft, head still wrapped in fabric. She cleared her throat and started placing things into the metal bucket. "I only ask because-"

"Twice." She cut him off. Her back was to him as she knelt down on the platform. First she put in the t-shirts, the white container, the blankets, then gripped the bucket's handle and lifted it from the ground. "This is the second time it's come up. The first time was when I was on it." Her voice was emotionless, her eyes even more so. 

"How long ago was that?" He wasn't being conceded, rude, or disrespectful. This new guy just didn't know what was going on, and she had all the answers. May climbed out of the elevator shaft and started walking back to base with Mr.Newbie following closely behind. 

"Well...If I've been counting correctly...Four weeks? Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Four weeks? Alone? How old are you exactly?" A shrug was the only answer he got as she climbed up the log-ladder to the tree platform above. He didn't follow her, he didn't want to intrude. And he wasn't sure that platform was strong enough to hold them both anyway. The sound of things being dumped from the bucket filled the silence.

"What was your name again?" May hollered from the treetops. 

"Albe-" 

He didn't get to finish as the sound of inhumane screaming echoed from outside the stone walls that surrounded them. Albert jumped and looked around. There was no possible way to describe it. The only word to even come close would be 'monstrous'. May wasn't fazed, she'd heard that sound plenty of times. The teen quickly scuttled down the wooden stairs and clapped Albert on the shoulder before jogging back to the elevator.

"Well, Alby, welcome to your new home."