A few nights ago, things were going as intended, he was sleeping soundly. Then a soldier awakened him and said for him to stand by. He and Mary talked a bit, and then the alarms went off.
Many things happened out of nowhere. Monsters started appearing in the base, Cain killing them and some rising from the morgue. How could these things happen inside a military base? The monsters had not been cleared by the time they got to the base. "Those things are insidious."
In the end, Cain wasn't the cause of the problem, for once. He even helped clear the monsters he went to check with the doctor to see if the tests were done. She even vouched for him.
Despite the days being calmer, he has been feeling tired more often, maybe because of the lack of action. Or he just hasn't adapted to live here yet? 'Maybe I should get some calmants to help me relax a bit…'
What strange things for him to not be on the trouble-making side… "What are you thinking, K.J?" Mary calls his attention. They started to talk more after the scare. While hard to explain to Spencer and the others, it was quite enjoyable and gave some insights into a soldier's life.
Not that he absorbed anything important (yet). "Just what happened a few nights ago. Thinking of why those decided to appear when they did. It got me thinking." Better yet, it got everyone thinking. Even James appeared out of nowhere to jump into the fray and help them.
It was just a few steps away from becoming a clusterfuck. "Yeah, things got a bit heated, but it happens. Those freaks started to appear out of nowhere, it is preposterous to think they wouldn't appear here too. At least it served to make us more alert."
"True, but it doesn't change the bitter taste they left." What if someone got hurt? A civilian without powers? There are no safe places left, more so after the internet stops working. How did it stop working in the first place?
There is no way to know, not right now anyway. "Life is made by victory and losses, we have to shoulder them. Anyway, how are your friends? I heard the redhead giant is helping across the base."
Spencer had been in the dorm, playing with his electric powers, Cain doing his newfound specialty: vanishing to God knows where. "They are doing okay, better than I expected when we first arrived."
Their first day in the base was overly heated for no reason besides stress. Musing, Mary seems to remember something. "And the girl who always sticks by you? How is she doing?" A fair question, Lily seems to like to hang out with him, and surprisingly, Spencer and James, a lot.
More than the other children in the base, although this is reasonable. They are all hurt in many ways by what happened to them when the "apocalypse" started. "She is getting her eye checked. She will never see again with one of her eyes." Unconsciously, more emotions flow into the words than the norm, hurt, regret… sorrow for not being fast enough to save her and her friend—
"Alright, champion. You saved here, no? In consideration of what was going on in the cities, you did the best you could, if she doesn't hold you accountable for what happened, then just go on."
For some reason, she always seems to know the right words to speak… maybe it is the elf power, more perception, or just more wisdom. There still are many things to learn… "And you, Mary? Shouldn't you be with the other soldiers or something?"
Despite the "calmer" times, they still needed to work to ensure order and see if no monsters appeared out of nowhere. "I'm on my "free day". Alright, it won't be free anymore if I am called to work, same for you. So I am just enjoying my free day. You never know when the next one will appear."
"If it appears", going unsaid. Fair, they are still people, people with power, but still people. "Do you know Konrad? Despite being on the "we kill monsters together" unit, I barely talk with him. You guys must spend more time with him, no?"
Even if they "work together", K.J barely seeks him. He was never good at forming new friendships, his group of friends being a miracle of fate, Lily a fruit of desperation, and Mary sought him first. 'If it falls on me to make the first move, we won't be bonding any time soon…'
"Nah, Major Anthony may know. I heard he is a relative of a friend of his." Bonding with Konrad may wait. Seeking Anthony in his free time is not on the plans, being read as a book sucks.
'This makes me wonder, how is the lieutenant colonel doing?' After the meeting went wrong, they never talked again. In all fairness, the lieutenant colonel must be a busy person and without time to talk with civilians with privileges like them.
If they weren't called back to talk with him, then things must not be so grim as he and the others thought. 'Maybe going back to how things once were may be possible.' In the following years, things will be hard and a lot of rebuilding will be needed, new laws too, but life will go back to normal.
Mary giggles, clearly enjoying something. "Hey, your hair dye is fading." All emotions run through his mind. Already? It shouldn't be possible. There is a hair salon in the base? "Hey, it is just a bit of hair dye. You will recover—"
"I won't recover. Red hair is part of my style and personality. I won't be able to dye them. Shit, fuck." The soldier covers her mouth, to try and suppress laughter. "Hey, it is no laughing matter. I like my hair red!"
"Alright, alright. Why do you dye your hair then, Miss Universe?" The question people always ask when he dyes his hair. The same question they always ask. it does get boring after the first couple of times.
"I just dislike my hair black. Reminds me of someone I dislike. No big deal." Mary seems to want to speak something but quickly stops, not wanting to pursue the issue further. Things always go this way when his hair is involved.
"You know, the way you care about your hair and your face. Are you into THAT type of thing? Like, fem—"
He cuts off the phrase without a second thought. What a disrespectful thing to suggest. "No. I am not. Don't say anything like that ever again. I'm not into that type of stuff, thank you very much."
Staying silent, she eats her food silently, as if contemplating something. Both stay quiet for a few minutes, not muttering a word at all. Maybe the topics went south too fast? Or they failed to handle the talking better.
"You know, you are strange. Not in a bad way, but you tend to go from zero to one hundred in the drop of a second about the strangest stuff." A strange laugh leaves her lips. "It is quite refreshing to see someone worry about mundane stuff like hair instead of wondering if they will survive the next day or not.."
"You think? I think I'm fairly normal, there are weirder people out there… No, there are weirder people even here." While he is not one fit to talk about his friends, Cain is way stranger than him, ever since all this mess started.
'Survival. Yeah, after I got here I stopped to wonder about that…' The first day was filled with chaos, worried if he or his friends would survive or not or whether they were alive or not. He even doubted he would survive at the start of it all…
To think a safe place was the only thing needed to ward off those thoughts… 'I wonder if Tyler, L.L, and Elliot are okay.' It wasn't far-fetched to think that Elliot was all they needed to survive.
To say he was the most prepared of them regarding disasters wasn't a hyperbole. His mind was built differently. 'I think their group is way more cohesive than ours. Tyler and Elliot are too much of a good party.'
Tyler with his wit and charisma, Elliot with his odd skills and quick thinking. In a way, those three probably will face fewer fights than them. 'Spencer and I are too hard-headed most of the time…'
They got along and putting aside their differences was a miracle. Before that, they would keep bickering for weeks before choosing to forget what happened. Now, the soldiers should be faring much better in that regard. "How are your coworkers? Besides Anthony."
Mary seems lost about it, surprised. "Well, we are coworkers. Sometimes we bicker, there are people we dislike, but it is about it. We have to swallow down these types of things to do our jobs. Can't choose who your boss contracts to work with you."
'I never worked before, but Elliot liked to say working for a company was like school, but with adults and money involved, and way more serious too.' People secrete themselves in groups that think like them, or close enough to their thinking, and don't like interacting with rival groups, even screwing them too if it favors them.
The game doesn't change, only the rules get more complex. "Guess one day I will have to meet them if we continue to "work" together. Just hope for things to go smoothly."