Morningstar Coalition

"That looks like a very different group than who left a few weeks ago."

When Axel tried to look at who was speaking, the glaring lights blinded him. It was impossible to make out who was on top of the sentry post. Instead, he turned his gaze to Elena who stood confidently in front of the rest of the group.

"Only me, Dylan, and Angela are still alive from the original scouting group. Twenty-two of us died on the way to Boston, while another six of us died at Brookline. Eventually, after meeting two lone survivors, we decided to head back as almost all of our original supplies are gone."

Axel's eyes flickered with surprise. Most of what Elena just said was news to him. He didn't know that there were originally so many of them or that they were a scouting group.

"Lone survivors?" The man speaking, however, was much more interested in Axel and Rae. Axel could almost feel his eyes boring into him and his sister. Instinctively, he drew himself closer to Rae, partially blocking her from view.

"Yes, they saved us from being killed when we accidentally ran into a heavily-infested area. We lost the six before we met them," Elena said. Partial lie, but not entirely wrong. She painted Axel in a much better light than what actually occurred.

However, Elena's words were met with silence.

"I'll vouch for them," Elena said after a moment.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

The others could only watch the exchange silently. Dylan and Angela started to get anxious with being out in the open. On the other hand, Rae felt safe beside her big brother. But, in the short span of time they were out there, they could still hear faint gunshots shooting around them. If they turned their heads to the sides, they would be scared shit-less at the sight of hundreds of infected lurking in the shadows. For some reason, only a select few drew near the lights, but the rest wandered right outside.

"Open the gates!"

Elena breathed a silent sigh of relief, while Angela looked at her friend silently. Vouching for someone is a serious matter inside the coalitions. If the person that was vouched for commits any infraction, the person who vouched for them will suffer the same repercussions as they will.

In the next moment, the gates opened up as a guard inside motioned them to hurry inside. As soon as they started running forward, they heard the infected around the city screech and groan in tandem. Shivers ran down their spines as the collective infected in Albany seemed to notice the gate opening.

Immediately, they all sprinted inside with Axel picking up Rae along the way. By the time they got inside, the gate almost closed on top of Dylan, who was the last one to make it inside. When Axel looked around, he was greeted by dozens of armed soldiers. All of them eyed the group warily as one of them stepped out to greet Elena.

"Miss Elena. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Captain Bryant," he said.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Captain Bryant. May we go in now?"

"You know the procedure, Miss Elena. We must fully examine the two outsiders before they're allowed inside."

It was only then that Axel noticed that they were in the middle of a relatively open expanse. It seems as if the entrance area was what used to be a park. Peeking over the heads of the soldiers surrounding them, Axel could make out another wall that separated them from what he assumed to be the inner city. It seemed as if the space in between the two walls was the militarized area specifically designed for defense.

Elena glanced at Axel's shoulder inconspicuously before walking forward to the captain. The captain hurriedly calmed down his soldiers when he saw a few of them lift their guns to her. From Axel's eyes, Elena's demeanor was miles away from what he saw over the past few days. Gone was the kind, warm-hearted companion and in her place was a poised and confident women. It took him by surprise when he saw such a radical change.

Axel saw her step side-by-side to the captain and whisper something before he grimaced. Soon after, he raised his arm and motioned for all of the soldiers to stand aside. They parted to the side and left an opening for the group to pass. Axel and the others only reacted after Elena called out to them as she strode to the inner city.

"Elena, what the hell?! I didn't know you could do that! How'd you convince him to let them through?" Angela asked, her words coming out jumbled in her excitement.

Dylan also observed her curiously. His parents had substantial power in the city, but not even they could forego survivor protocol.

"It's nothing much. I just assured him that since I vouched for them, I'll take care of any problems that may arise." Elena said.

Although Dylan and Angela seemed somewhat convinced of her answer, Axel noticed that her body language was much more rigid and closed off than it was before.

"What are you going to do when someone finds out that he's infected?" Dylan pointed towards Axel. Immediately, Rae hugged Axel from his arms and glared at Dylan for the second time.

"He's not infected! He's all right, see?" Rae insisted, gesturing towards Axel with her chin. "Right, Axel?"

Axel gave her a soft smile before hesitating on what to say. Noticing his pause, Elena quickly diverted their attention to the gate in front of them.

"We're here. Welcome to the Morningstar Coalition," Elena interrupted, gesturing towards the opening gates.

At first, they only saw the guard that opened the gate. It was after a few seconds that Axel and Rae were left stunned at the sight before them. Bustling streets reminiscent of the pre-apocalyptic days welcomed the two siblings as electronics lit up the residential area through store signs and vehicles coursing through the streets. People filled the streets, interacting with one another as if the world outside was a thing of the past.

It was a sight that brought Axel to tears, confusing his little sister still in his arms. She wouldn't understand yet about how grateful he was to have found her someplace safe to stay. His efforts were not in vain. Gritting his teeth through all the pain and suffering yielded him a result that made him more emotional than anyone had seen him since the beginning of the whole disaster.

As the tears flooded his eyes, Axel felt all the punishment his body endured throughout the past few days reach a climax. Bright spots danced in his vision before he all he saw was black and all he felt was his stiff body slowly relax and drop to the ground.