They followed the woman into the concrete building, where they found multiple offices that had been repurposed into rooms.
“Here, you can stay in here for now,” she led them into a small side office, not much larger than a closet. “It’s a little tight, but at least there’s a roof over your head.”
“Oh, and my name is Edith. I’m in the Captain’s office if you need anything”, she said and turned to leave without looking back.
Rayne walked in first, followed by Julian. They barely had enough room to stand up side by side, but they smiled at each other, happy they had successfully integrated into a settlement.
Rayne looked around the dirty room and rolled up her sleeves. She wasn’t sure how long it would take Damien’s men to come find them, but she didn’t want to sleep in a dirty, dusty room if she could help it.
She took out a few cleaning supplies: Mops, dusters, brooms, rags, disinfectants, and a small trash bag.
Julian took the broom and began sweeping while Rayne held the pail and dumped the trash into the bag. They worked very quickly, and after a few minutes, the once dirty room turned sparkling clean.
Just as Rayne finished putting the cleaning supplies away, they heard a knock on the door.
“It’s me. I just wanted to let you know that we have a curfew. Once it gets dark, no one outside of those on duty is allowed outside. It’s for our safety, so please follow the rules,” said Edith.
Julian opened the door to greet her, “Sure, thanks for letting us know.”
Edith looked inside, noticing how spotless the room had become. She was just here a few minutes earlier and clearly saw how dirty the room originally was.
“You two sure work quickly. Good work”, she said before leaving.
Rayne looked out of the small window they had and noticed that it was already getting dark.
“Looks like the curfew will be in effect soon. Hopefully it’ll cool down soon. I’m feeling really hot”, she said with a slight frown.
Her original plan was to sneak out at night and take a shower using one of the RVs in her system, but that was no longer an option.
“You are really hot,” smiled Julian, teasingly.
Rayne blushed and looked at with with a ‘really?’ look.
“What? You are!” he laughed and walked over to place a kiss on her cheek.
She really loved his playful side and smiled. “So, what do you think we should do in terms of sleeping equipment? I reckon we can fit a twin-size mattress in here.”
Julian looked around the room. “It should fit, but I think we should use sleeping bags tonight. I don’t know if Edith or the others will somehow try to check in on us tonight, but we should be careful.”
Rayne nodded and opened her system panel to look for the most comfortable-looking sleeping bags she had.
The one she ended up choosing was made from a very thick brown fabric. She chose this one because it was the thickest and fluffiest of all the sleeping bags she had, making it more comfortable for them to sleep on.
After spreading the sleeping bags out, there was hardly any room for them to stand.
“Should we go out and mingle with the others?” asked Julian. He was starting to feel cramped in the small space.
“Sure, but let’s eat first. I’m starving from the long walk from earlier,” said Rayne.
Julian quickly agreed and sat down beside her, curiously waiting to see what dinner would consist of.
Rayne opened her system panel once more and looked through the food options.
“Let’s have some BLT sandwiches. I don’t want to eat anything too fragrant to avoid drawing attention,” she suggested and looked over at Julian for his opinion.
He nodded, “Sure! I love a good BLT.”
After getting his approval, she pulled out two beautifully wrapped sandwiches. They were made with freshly bakes bread and ripe tomatoes.
Rayne felt her mouth water just looking at it and didn’t delay before taking her first bite.
“Wow, these are really good. We should have this more often,” said Julian with astonished eyes. He didn’t think something as basic as a BLT could be so delicious!
While Julian continued eating his sandwich, Rayne pulled out two glasses with ice and poured freshly brewed tea into them.
The ice crackled, giving off a refreshing and satisfying sound while cooling off the tea.
“Iced tea in the heat of the summer is probably the best thing ever,” said Julian after taking a sip. He had many exquisite meals before the apocalypse, but none of them satisfied him quite like this one did.
After they finished eating, Rayne quickly cleaned up and handed Julian another wet napkin to clean his hands.
She also pulled out a large bag of trail mix that consisted of nuts, dried fruit, and bits of chocolate.
“I figured if we wanted to make friends quickly, we should offer them some sort of gift to show sincerity”, she said with a smile.
Julian nodded, “Good idea. Food is the highest form of sincerity in this new world.”
After ensuring that everything was in order, Rayne and Julian stepped out of their room and walked over to the large waiting room.
There were only a few people in there, all sitting in the generic waiting room chairs, minding their own business.
Most of them sat quietly, and only a few people were conversing. Rayne walked in and looked around, trying to determine which of these people would be the easiest to converse with.
In the corner of the room, she spotted a teenage boy. He was sitting alone, restringing the shoelaces on his sneakers.
Rayne walked over and flashed a bright smile. “Hello there. What are you up to?”
The teenage boy looked up at her with a deadpan face. He silently stared at her for a few moments, causing the atmosphere to turn very awkward.
Seeing that Rayne was still standing in front of him, he finally lifted his shoe up, showing her what he was doing.
“Oh, nice sneakers,” Rayne said, awkwardly. She wasn’t sure what else to say since he didn’t reply.
Seeing that Rayne was out of dialogue, a woman from the opposite side of the room shook her head.
“I don’t know who you are, Missy, but Sam doesn’t speak. He’s mute.”
Realization washed over Rayne as she looked at the boy apologetically. She quickly pulled out the large bag of trail mix and looked over at the boy.
“Sam, right? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you. My name is Rayne, and I’ve only just arrived here earlier today. Would you like some trail mix? It’s very good!”
He looked up at her, then at the bag of trail mix in her hands. The look in his eyes was obvious, he clearly wanted it.
He wasn’t the only one. As soon as Rayne pulled the bag out, everyone else in the room looked at it with hunger.
A moment later, Sam nodded. His eyes never left the bag, watching closely as Rayne opened the sealed bag.
“Here, cup your hands and I’ll pour some in. Oh, but before I do, you’re not allergic to nuts, are you?” she asked with a smile.
Sam quickly shook his head and lifted his hands up, ready to receive the trail mix. His look was so intense and longing, Rayne wasn’t sure if she felt that Sam was acting cute or sad.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed the others staring at the bag in her hands.
These people must be hungry. I haven’t seen anyone eat yet. They must be rationing food.
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