Katie's Pov
"Ma'am, it's time to wake up," a soft voice whispered, stirring Katie from her slumber.
Katie opened her eyes slowly, greeting the warm glow of the bedside lamps illuminating her luxurious bedroom. The soft light cast a comforting ambiance, temporarily shielding her from the harsh realities outside.
She threw off the covers and approached the window, pushing aside the thick curtains. The fortified walls of her free city home rose, protecting its inhabitants from the dangers beyond. From the watch towers, manned by alert guards, that stood at regular intervals. Artillery, snipers and machine gun nests were positioned strategically along the walls, ready to defend against any threat, be it from the numerous raider groups or hordes of undead.
Guards patrolled the catwalks and battlements, their boots stumping on the stone. Below, maintenance workers and suppliers moved purposefully, keeping the city functioning.
Beyond the city walls, the desolate wasteland stretched out. Crumbling buildings, overgrown with vines and weeds, stood as skeletal reminders of the world's downfall. The sun cast a pale glow over the ruins, highlighting the devastation that the Zeron virus outbreak had caused.
Katie's gaze dropped to the city's internal streets. Free citizens went about their daily lives, some heading to work, others to the market. The scene was almost peaceful, a stark contrast to the dangers outside.
Ever since the old world fell decades ago, this has been the norm. The last of civilized humanity had retreated behind these walled cities which are called free cities. Her home, the free city X4 was one of the first and largest that had been established in the wake of the outbreak.
Politicians, celebrities, the rich and elite all of them flocked to X4 and many others in order to escape from the chaos of the outside world. According to her father, who was a high ranking general in her city's army, the council that now governed her home had tried to govern how the old world had been, but with the rapid spread of the virus and the continued decline of humanity, they had to adapt.
Hence, why each free city formed a council to govern each settlement, rules were put in place that determined the pecking order in the cities. The elite or members of the military or other skilled workers took top priority, while regular citizens were either classed as free or drones or, as some might have said in the old world, slaves.
At first, the regular citizens resisted and rebelled, thinking that all the benefits the free cities provided should be distributed equally to all citizens and a number of rebellions broke out in not only a few free cities but some of the supply colonies that had been established.
With this new threat to their authority, the death squads, an elite group of soldiers loyal only to the council, squashed the rebellions. As well as the secret police, who monitored and arrested anyone suspected of treason to the council, were quickly silenced.
Some might have said that the outbreak didn't just end civilization as we knew it, but it had killed what little humanity had remained. Turning from the window, Katie's eyes fell upon her two handmaidens. Their faces, pale and drawn, reflected the hardships they'd endured.
"Help me dress," Katie instructed, her tone firm but gentle. As the maids quickly moved to assist Katie, she sensed their quiet apprehension. Their eyes, once bright and full of life, now seemed dull and resigned.
"Thank you," Katie said softly, trying to convey some empathy. The maid's expressions remained neutral, but Katie detected a hint of gratitude.
With her dressing complete, Katie stood, her eyes locking onto the maids'. For a moment, they simply looked at each other, the silence heavy with unspoken thoughts.
"Is everything alright?" Katie asked, noticing a faint bruise on one of the maid's cheeks. The maid's exchanged a nervous glance before responding, "Yes, ma'am. Everything is in order." Katie's unease deepened, her thoughts drifting to a conversation she had heard from her father's office the night before.
But ignoring her unease, she picked up her identification card and her backpack for school before walking out the room, leaving the maids so they could continue working.
Walking through her family's living unit, she could see numerous maids and other workers going about their day. As she neared her father's office she could see two death squad operatives. Standing guarding his door.
Despite seeing them numerous times before, she was still intimidated by them. They wore complete black and red armor with the insignia of the free city on their left shoulder. Both of them held assault rifles at the ready while a plasma blade was strapped to their hips. Both wore black and red reflective helmets that left no clue about who was behind them.
These were her father's personal guards sure he had regular members of the army stationed there, but these two death squad operatives could eliminate them all without even breaking a sweat. They were that skilled but also feared. As they saw the general's daughter walking towards them, the one on the left silently opened the door while nodding to Katie.
Katie entered her father's office, the door closing softly behind her. The room was dimly lit, with only a few slivers of sunlight piercing through the blinds.
The office was adorned with the faint scent of old leather and polished wood. A large, wooden desk with a leather-bound blotter dominated the room, while two high-backed chairs upholstered in worn leather stood guard. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with worn volumes lined the walls, their leather bindings creaking softly.
On the desk, a small, framed photograph of Katie's mother sat beside a finely crafted, wooden cigar box. The humidor's lid was slightly ajar, releasing the faint aroma of cigars.
General Ethan Reigns stood by the window, his back to her, gazing out at the city. His stance was rigid, his shoulders squared, accentuating the medals and insignia on his crisp, tailored dark gray uniform.
This man was her father, but as he's told her more than once, he's more than that. He's the high commander of free cities X4 forces and a decorated war hero. He's saved this city more times than he can count. Be it from the undead or their cities' greatest enemies, and the largest and most feared raider group in Colorado, the death stalkers.
Her father was a tall and imposing man. With strong, handsome features and short gray hair that matched the gray of his uniform.
"Father?" Katie said, her voice barely above a whisper. General Reigns didn't turn around after his daughter spoke. He only continued to look out the window, seemingly lost in thought. " Katie, come in and take a seat."
His tone was distant, detached as it had always been ever since, her mother passed away from an infection a few months ago. Katie felt a familiar pang of disappointment. She approached the desk, her eyes fixed on her father's back.
" Your instructors tell me your training has been progressing relatively well". " Jonathan said that I'm progressing better than most of his other students" She said. The general nodded. " And your studies?" He asked. " They're going well" she said, and he nodded. " Good make sure you continue, your dismissed" he said simply.
Pushing down her disappointment, Katie immediately got up and turned to leave. But before she did. " Katie wait", she heard her father calling out to her, stopping her dead in her.
Turning around to look at him, she saw him looking at her. " I know you think I'm being hard on you because I don't love you, but the truth is I'm hard on you because I need to be to toughen you up, I won't be here to protect you forever, and you'll need to be ready for that day when you'll have to look after yourself" he said.
Katie nodded" I know dad" she said. Her father nods before he continues looking out the window, ending their heart-to-heart. Turning away from her father, Katie closed the door.
Once Katie was gone, the general soon slumped into his chair feeling weak. He began coughing and grabbing a handkerchief. He coughed into it once he was finished, he looked down at the blood staining it. Wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth, he grabbed a cigar before lighting it and began smoking.
Taking up his wife's picture, he stroked her face gently as he continued to smoke. Blowing out a steady stream of smoke, the general smiled.
" It looks like I'll be joining you soon, Mellisa". He sighed. " I just hope Katie will be ready for that day" he smiled sadly before he kissed his wife's picture before placing it back on the table and continued to smoke as he continued looking out the window.