The sound of voices and the smell of food slowly becomes more apparent to Lily's senses. She opens her eyes and immediately gets crushed by a wave of uncertainty as to where she is. She quickly sits up and remembers the previous day. Looking around the room, she doesn't see Chris. It's an unusual feeling since the first thing she saw and heard when she woke up was him for so long.

She stands up and opens an already slightly open door leading to the main area of the complex. Everyone is awake, sitting and talking to each other at a table. Nicole notices her.

"Hey! There she is!"

Chris gets up from the table holding a mug in his hands.

"Here. Thought you might like this."

He hands her the mug full of coffee. It's made just the way she likes it.

"I thought we were getting up early today. Why didn't you guys wake me?"

"We decided to do it tomorrow. We've got time. For now, just lay low and chill while you can. We've got some breakfast for you on the counter."

"Oh... Thanks..."

She puts on a forced smile, picks up her plate, and sits closely to Chris. The conversation continues on. Nicole's eyes light up.

"You know, I'm really enjoying not being the shortest one around here anymore."

Isaac, the tallest of the bunch, speaks up in Lily's defense.

"Hey, I think Liliana's height is adorable."

"I'm just saying, sometimes it sucks being the shortest."

Lily drops her fork on her plate and stands up. Leaving her plate and mug behind, she returns to the sleeping quarters. She slides back into her sleeping bag, burying her head.

Chris slowly enters the room with the plate in hand.

"Lily?"

No response. He crouches next her.

"Hey... you've got to eat. Got to keep up your strength. We need you. We need all the help we can get. I don't like seeing you like this and I know you don't like feeling like this."

She still isn't talking.

"Come on, Lily. They're just playing around."

"Leave the plate and go."

"Okay. Here. It's right above your head."

He places the plate on the floor next to her head. Chris walks towards the door, suddenly stopping before he opens it.

"They've got a shower here. Hot water and everything. You're welcome to use it if you want. It's the door on the right in the back of the bigger room."

He leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hey guys. Keep the playing around on the safe side for a bit. She's not one to trust others real easy."

They all give Chris reassuring responses.

"You know, when I first met her, she was really hostile. She almost shot me a few times. There was a time a bullet was actually fired, too. I'm just lucky it was a warning shot. Just... let her get closer and feel more comfortable around you all."

Chris sits at the table again. A new conversation begins about the shows they used to watch on television before the spread of the infection.

Lily reluctantly and quietly exits the room. She heads over to the bathroom and closes the door.

She's in a room with a toilet and sink. Off in the corner is something rigged up to be the shower. It's not much, but it looks like it works. She gets undressed and steps into the running water.

The warm water hits her head and runs down her body. Her mind is instantly calmed and her body is soothed. It's been so long since she's had this kind of luxury. The sunlight peeking through a small window is the only source of light in the room at the moment. She feels peace from the solitude as she closes her eyes.

Her senses are suddenly overcome by thoughts. The sound of the shower is not heard anymore. Instead, she hears the muffled yelling of her parents through the door and the vibrations of her father's stomping. Lily's teeth are clenched as the heavy footsteps approach the door. There's a stinging pain on the back of her neck and wrists from where the rope was when she was strangled, and the welts produced by a whip on her back burn intensely. Her mother's screams echo in her ears as the door slams open to the room. The light through the doorway is mostly blocked by a tall, burly silhouette of a man. The only safety she could find is under the covers in her bed, but the comfort is soon thwarted by her father ripping the blanket from above. His face is full of rage as his hand extends toward her.

Shaken, she shuts off the water.

She breathes heavily as she falls to her knees. All is silent, her body feels numb and lifeless.

Stepping out of the shower, she grabs a towel and wraps it around herself. Lily turns around to find that she's staring at herself through a mirror.

She touches her face.

After a few moments, she lets out a sigh, looking away from her reflection. She grabs her only second set of clothes and begins to put them on.

Back in the main room, the group is still talking and laughing. Lily quietly opens the door from the bathroom and slides out. She feels ready to approach again.

"Hey...."

Silence falls over those at the table.
Lily puts on an embarrassed smirk and speaks softly.

"Just thought I'd join you all..."

She sits next to Chris again, but not as close as last time. The tension at the table is eased and Isaac starts the conversation again.

"So, we were just talking about how we all met each other. You see, I almost got shot by Nicole here."

Lily's heart skips a beat.

"Yeah, this was right in the beginning of the spread. I was with Charlie scavenging for ammo for his gun, and we came across a weapons shop. We knew there probably wouldn't be anything there, but we felt like we should check anyways. So, we sneaked in the door and stayed low. Only a few seconds in, we hear the sound of a gun cocking and someone yelling at us to stay where we are. When I looked up, I see Nicole pointing a big ass sniper rifle at us from behind the counter."

Nicole looks at her lap in an embarrassed manner.

"It took quite a bit of talking to convince her that we were on her side. She shot a few warning shots at me. Then, I guess I said something she didn't like and she actually aimed for me. Got down just in time. But once we got her to believe that all we needed was some rounds for Charlie, she lowered her weapon."

Nicole tries to redeem herself a bit.

"Hey, well, all I saw was a tall, beefy dude with a machete slowly creeping towards me. Resources were scarce. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Hah! I guess that would be a bit intimidating. Oh yeah, I'm more of a blunt weapon or blade kind of guy, but I do have a pistol ready when I need it."

Chris has gotten quite into this conversation.

"What about Charlie? How'd you meet him?"

"Oh! Well, we used to be in the same auto mechanics class in college. We were in the middle of a project when shit went down and reached the school. A guy actually turned into a Sleeper during class. His tongue just fell out of his mouth mid-sentence. I guess he got bitten two days before. Punk ass still went to school even when he was infected. He told us that he just had really bad allergies."

"Wow. What a punk."

A loud metallic bang comes from the garage.

Charlie gets up and heads towards the front of the room. He lifts a flap on the wall, which covered and blocked a window. Sleepers have discovered the headquarters.

"Sleepers! They've found us!"

Nicole immediately runs towards her stash of firearms and readies a quite powerful looking rifle. Chris begins sweating nervously. Lily quickly rushes for her bag in the sleeping quarters.

"Chris. I've finished fixing your Mosin Nagant!"

Chris dashes to Nicole, tripping over the chair next to him. Isaac slowly walks towards the window with a fire axe in his hands. Charlie is slipping on gloves with steel plated knuckles.

"Chris, pull yourself together!"

Chris gets up and grabs his rifle, aims towards the front of the room, and prepares for the worst. His hands are shaking, uncertain that his rifle will fire.

Isaac looks out the window and sees easily over 15 Sleepers wandering around the headquarters.

"Newbies, stay here."

Chris and Lily look at each other. Isaac is headed towards a room, closed off with double doors in the back left of the room.

"Remember when I told you there was another vehicle I was working on?"

He disappears into the room. The sound of an engine turning over is heard. The doorway barely fits this new vehicle that rolls out. Nicole's eyes light up.

"Holy shit. You're not serious!"

She moves away from her rifle, staring in awe of what she is about to finally use.

"Chris! Help me get my cache of firearms on the back of this thing!"

The two lay the guns in the back bed of a pickup truck fit with a mounted turret. Nicole jumps in the back and pets the giant gun connected to the vehicle. She is in heaven. Isaac revs the engine to keep it from stalling.

"Charlie, I'm going to need you to move the jeep out of the way."

Isaac looks at Lily and Chris with a grin on his face.

"It ain't completely ready, but what do you think? It's a collaboration between the three of us."

Chris gives a reassuring nod. Lily stands still, unsure of what she thinks.

Charlie starts the engine of the jeep.

"Isaac, get over here, once I open the door, we move. We move quick."

The serious vibe is restored among the group. The garage door is opened and Charlie charges out of the garage. Leaving the garage, Nicole has to duck below the top of the turret. The sound of the garage attracts the attention of the Sleepers. Charlie yells.

"Go go go!"

Isaac begins driving faster and Nicole opens fire, sending multiple rounds into the infected. Sleepers fall to the ground one by one. The ground is painted red with the blood of Sleepers and the air is filled with the sound of gunfire. Charlie steps out of the jeep, slips on a face mask, and rolls up his sleeves. He slowly finds his way to a smaller group of two Sleepers, tightening his gloves. He stops three feet from an infected, staring right at it.

"Come at me first. I'll let you get the first hit in. That is, if you can hit me."

The Sleeper approaches, attempting to grab him with it's left hand. Charlie quickly dodges further to the left, grabbing it's arm and smashing it's elbow backwards, breaking the Sleeper's arm. He then grabs the Sleeper's head and rams it's face into his knee, stunning it. Charlie takes this chance to deliver a strong right hook to the Sleeper's head. Quickly starting a pistol, he plants a bullet in the head of the infected.

All shooting has stopped.

The other infected in the vicinity has it's attention on Charlie by now. It sees what happened to it's comrade and cautiously approaches Charlie. The Sleeper puts his hands close to his face and makes them into loose fists. Charlie stands there, almost motionless. He realizes what the Sleeper has done and prepares for defense.

"You don't seem as easy, so let's make a deal. Melee only. No biting, no scratching. You can bite me when I'm unconscious. You hear me in there? Melee only!"

The Sleeper nods slightly, letting Charlie know he has accepted these conditions. Charlie detaches his gun holster and drops both the holster and the guns on the floor, muttering to himself.

"Let's see just how good you are..."

The two are strongly focused on each other. Charlie attempts a spinning back kick, but the Sleeper ducks out of the way. He counters the kick with a right hook, but Charlie dodges to the left.

A smirk appears on Charlie's face.
He jabs at the infected.

Left. Left. Right. Left. Right.

He lands four hits on the Sleeper, which retaliates with a few jabs himself. Charlie takes one hit to the face and another in his chest. He steps back. The two stare at one another, walking in a circle. Charlie fakes a right hook, making the Sleeper dodge to the left, which Charlie counters by swinging his shin into the right of it's head. The Sleeper stumbles to the side.

"It's like you're not even trying!"

Charlie continues with a few more punches and kicks. The Sleeper is in defense mode now, blocking and dodging everything thrown at him. Charlie tries the fake out again, but it sees past his ruse. The Sleeper grabs Charlie's leg. He flips backwards, ripping away the worn out pant leg. It reveals a metal plated shin guard.

"Alright! This is getting boring... Let's up the ante! I'll let you do whatever you want. No rules. Let the best man win!"

They both get ready once again and slowly approach one another. Punches are thrown at each other one by one. After a few minutes, they both step back, breathing heavily.

Charlie reaches for a small pocket on his left jacket sleeve, pulling out a blade. He rushes towards the Sleeper, but it grabs his right arm, the one with the knife. While still holding his arm, the sleeper steps on Charlie's left foot, sweeping the floor with his other leg attempting to trip him.

Charlie quickly reacts by releasing the knife and catching it with his other hand. He swipes at the sleeper, who jumps back. The Sleeper immediately springs forward towards Charlie. It ducks under another one of Charlie's attempt to cut him. Trying to get the knife out of his hand, the sleeper rolls forward and pushes off the ground with his hands. His feet brush past Charlie's hand with the knife. Upon landing, the sleeper spots the fence off to the side. He lures Charlie towards it and gets him to swing the knife at him once more. He catches the hand with the knife and slams it against the fence, making Charlie drop it.

Quickly, Charlie steps back. Without hesitation, he rushes back towards the Sleeper. He dodges the attack from the enemy by quickly stepping to the right, diving under his arms and coming up into a uppercut directly into the Sleeper's chin. Charlie continues with a successful roundhouse kick, knocking the Sleeper on the floor. As he tries to get up, Charlie slams it's head to the floor.

Charlie removes his mask and walks away from the unconscious Sleeper sprawled across the floor. Chris is amazed by the show Charlie put on.

"Hey, that's real smart with the metal shin guards and all."

No response from Charlie. Isaac pulls the truck up to the rest of the group.

"I guess we need to find a new place, huh?"