CHAPTER 12

I woke up with a start remembering the events of yesterday my head hurt from just the memories, I closed my eyes for a moment to just see the same memories of yesterday, all of the blood and all of the blood and disfigured bodies charging at us, it was a lucky thing that we even made it alive out of there.

Wait a minute! How did we get out of there? I racked my brains and only remembered passing out on that filthy floor. I looked around and saw that I was in a white room with white furniture to match all the eye-hurting white walls, there was a door with a covered window on the front wall the wall directly opposite my bed.

I got off my bed and looked at my clothes where I expected to be grimy, dirty T-shirt and a pair of tracks there was a warm, black hoodie with red lining and a regular pair of blue jeans. I went and knocked on the door to no response. I looked around the drab room it was empty and colourless except a bed on which I had slept.

I knocked on the door loudly again shouting, ���Hello is anyone there?"

The window on the door cleared and a strange man in a grey overall with a mask covering his face opened the window on the door and just stared at me, he was staring at me for a minute," What happened to your arm there? There was a scar over there."

I stared at the eyes of the man, "I got cut by a tree branch while escaping a horde."

He grunted, "That's not the same story that your brother said."

Albus, he was here. "Yeah? What did he tell you?"

"Oh, I'm not going to reveal that now am I," he said with a sinister smile, "you know what I think, I think that you are a liar who- "

"Graz!" came Carly's voice from somewhere, "Why are you interrogating him?"

"Ah private, he was being a smart mouth, might give the others some ideas."

"You old codger, he is not a prisoner he is just in quarantine which should also have gotten over an hour ago!"

"Yes, I am sorry ma'am." He said as he opened the door to my cell.

I walked out of the room and saw Carly stranding there in a camo outfit, a holster attached to her waist in which she was wielding a gun. I glared at the guard named 'Graz', who also shared the same look. Carly turned around and said, "Follow me now." As she started to walk in long strides towards the exit.

"What the hell is happening over here?"

"Welcome to the military fort KNOX."

I stared out of a window and my jaw dropped in surprise. There were people here, real working and alive people. Farms, barracks, living quarters and everything else. There was a wonderful aroma arising from somewhere. As I looked out of the windows, I noticed a huge fence for keeping the zeds out probably, but something was wrong there was an unusually large horde over there.

I asked Carly what was happening, and she knit her brows replying with only a single statement, "The Pirates."

"What do you mean the pirates?"

"The pirates are a ragtag group of bandits who have survived the apocalypse only because of their willingness and affinity to kill. Some of them used to be a part of the fort once, I guess that the bandits just had a greater appeal to them. Ever since we stopped to share the supplies and our ammo with them, they started to round up hordes and drop them at our gates."

"You know I've been meaning to ask you; how did the fort Knox guys know where we were?"

"Oh yeah I forgot to tell you I radioed them in, I figured that we are close enough and when I was closing all the windows, I just gave them my location."

"Also, where are gran and Albus?"

"It is about twelve so they must be in training."

"Training?" I scoffed, "Even gran?"

"Oh yeah she volunteered for the physical one even though she could have just given a test and started with the tactical classes."

Internally wondering what was happening over here with the Pirates and the training and gran offering to train.

"So, when do I start training?"

"Uh, to be honest I think that you can take this day off since there is no point in taking just half a day worth of training. Although you are free to accompany me if you like."

"Oh, I was hoping to go and hang with Al."

"Training."

"Right."

"So, what do you do around here."

"I just go around checking if anyone needs any guidance or any advice, just checking if everything is working smoothly."

I just accepted that, and I moved along with Carly. I had assumed when she said that she kept everything working smoothly it would be an easy job, it really wasn't she had to go and make quite major decisions at one point she had to go into the hunting cabin and check a deer for signs of damage and if they could use it for food.

Again, in the kitchen for a food related emergency, then in the armoury, then for something else then for a lecture in the training centre where I saw Albus, who luckily had a few minutes to spare.

I told Carly that I would be hanging out with Albus and that I'll catch up with her in some time. When she was out of earshot, I asked Albus, "So, how come you got put in training before quarantine ended?"

He looked at me puzzled and just said, "Oh,"

"Oh, what?"

"Oh, she didn't tell you, Liam you have been passed out since a day before yesterday."