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Chapter 39
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Clara
I wiped the tears from my cheeks and followed Jake out onto the landing. He was right, there was work to do. I hadn't known Wheeler all that well but still my heart hurt knowing that I wouldn't get to see him again, and my heart hurt for Jake too, the look on his face when Porter screamed just about ripped me in two, he had been close with the team leader I knew that, hell he was close with all his team mates. He pushed his back straight and walked across the landing towards a guy I didn't recognise, he hadn't been with us earlier.
A glance around the room let me know that the fighting here was over, the dead were nothing more than heaped bodies on the ground and the first floor landing was filled with soldiers. I spotted the chief across the landing and I sighed, at least he wasn't harmed, the last thing we needed right now was for one of our leaders to fall. Which briefly had me thinking about the other leaders and w
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ClaraThe corridors around E block were packed to capacity with dead who were trying to gain access to the living and the sight made me shudder as we came up behind them, it was like deja vu again only this time we had more men and better weapons.Three bombs were thrown into the midst taking out almost half off the dead before they even knew we were there. Then the fight was on. They raced at us, their bodies moving in strange ways and I opened fire on those closest to me. Five down. Another bomb and more firing. Slowly but surely we edged closer. The other hallways I knew were filled with soldiers fighting their own battles and a team were firing from behind the barricade in E block but still half an hour of fighting, of throwing bottles filled with a strange looking chemical mixture and shooting anything in our path and we still hadn't made it to the entrance. Porter Jake Bubble and Rigs fought along side me, none of us w
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Clara. The next few days at the compound were the busiest I had ever seen it, all army personnel were working overtime, patrolling the prison, searching through every room before declaring it clear. Cleaning out the bodies of the dead and filling the massive whole that now resided in D blocks shower room. The funerals started on the third day after the attack. It turned out that a lot more than just Wheeler had died, although his death was the one I felt the hardest. Thirty two people lost their lives in the attack. It would be a while before any raids were organised, too much needed to be done at the compound but the leaders were already planning to send teams out to collapse the tunnels that ran under the prison. Our team had been inseparable since the attack, maybe it was losing Wheeler, maybe it was fear of the unknown but almost every waking moment we spent side by side, only going our separate ways of a night. Jak
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Jake.I pulled the jeep into its usual spot in the large makeshift garage and kept the engine running while I waited for the guards on duty to pull the exterior doors closed, keeping an eye on the rear-view mirror for any signs of trouble. I didn’t expect any, the last three hours of our drive back had been eerily quiet with no signs of movement, even the rats were absent. It was strange not to encounter something, but my brain was too tired to puzzle it out with any seriousness.Three weeks we had been gone, and all we had to show for it were a few boxes of supplies, some new entries in the log and a very tired team. I scrubbed my hand over my eyes and forced them to open wide. I had never really mastered the art of sleeping on the move, so after a solid three-day drive back to the compound I was exhausted. We all were.“Home sweet home. My beds never looked as good as it does now.” Ca
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Clara.I watched Jake and his unit disappear around the corner before slowing my pace and heading in the direction of the rec room where my best friend would be. I grumbled to myself as I let our conversation play back through my head. Not that it was much of a conversation. The guy barely acknowledged that I existed.I hated that I was crazy about a guy who didn't feel the same way, even more than that, I hated the fact that everyone seemed to know about it, not that there was any chance of keeping something like that secret when we all lived in each others pockets. Everyone knew everything about everyone else, it was just the way of the world for those who called the Compound home.I groaned aloud as my thoughts turned back to Jake, I don't know exactly what it is about him that makes me lose my cool but somehow I couldn't manage one simple sentence without coming across as a love sick puppy. I was sur
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ClaraI sat waiting for around ten minutes until the original guy came back and sat back at his desk without saying a word. Minutes later with a foreboding looking man entered the room, eyeing me for a while before speaking and I had to fight the urge to squirm in my seat while under his stare.“Miss West?” The newcomer questioned, holding out his hand for me to shake.“Yes.” I smiled slightly.“I'm commander Hicks, I hear you want to sign up?”“Yes sir.”“Okay then, come with me.” He stated before leading the way through the old guards room and down a corridor I hadn't seen before.He stopped at a large room filled with metal equipment that looked like it could be used for torture. “This is one of our training rooms. Have a seat for a moment.” He said and took the second chair in the room so that he was facing me.
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Clara.I was over the moon as I left A block. I already had orders, something to actively do, granted it was only moving my stuff into my newly assigned room with the other recruits but it was something, a step in the right direction.I forced my body towards the rec room, hoping that Matt would be there, it was still lunch time, so classes were out for a while yet and I couldn't wait to tell him.Every one of my muscles ached and my legs felt like jelly as I forced them to carry me along the familiar corridors but as tired as my body was, my mind was on over drive. This was it. My career. I was in the army. I smiled again, unable to keep it to myself any longer I picked up my pace.Matt was sat on one of the sofas in the rec room, what had once been a staff room, with his arm around Maddie and a smile of his own on his face. He saw me and excused himself, coming to my side just inside the rooms e
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Clara.The minutes ticket by slowly and I tensed every time I heard footsteps echoing through the block while I waited to see if Mum was home.“Are you sure you are okay Clara? You’re worrying me sweetheart.” Dad asked from his seat on the other sofa. His face was lined with worry as he watched me, and I couldn’t really say I blamed him. I was sure that by now I was green, and God only knows what my face had looked like while my mind had been turning with thoughts of how to even start this conversation.“I’m fine Dad. I promise.”“You’re not pregnant, are you?” He asked and I just about chocked at the thought.“God no! Why would you think that?”“Well, your getting older, and you and Matt are very close these days.” He stated with a shrug of his shoulders and a pink tinge to his cheeks.It took a moment for his words to t
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ClaraDays turned into weeks and they all blurred together as my training took hold. The commander hadn't been wrong when he said I was being thrown into the deep end, I was definitely out of my depth the first couple of days, but a week in and I had gotten the hang of things, even if I did go to bed each night feeling as though I had been run over.It took a few days for my fellow recruits to accept me, they had expected me to lag behind and I did in the beginning, but I wasn't one to quit, or one to accept being second best. I pushed myself, harder than I ever had before. I cried, I sweat, I bled, I ate, I slept and I did it all over again.It was three weeks before I saw Matt again, the longest I had ever gone without him and I swear I was starting to have withdrawals, he too seemed overly eager to spend time with me, but we both knew and accepted that that wouldn't really be possible for a while, he had his traini
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Clara. The next few days at the compound were the busiest I had ever seen it, all army personnel were working overtime, patrolling the prison, searching through every room before declaring it clear. Cleaning out the bodies of the dead and filling the massive whole that now resided in D blocks shower room. The funerals started on the third day after the attack. It turned out that a lot more than just Wheeler had died, although his death was the one I felt the hardest. Thirty two people lost their lives in the attack. It would be a while before any raids were organised, too much needed to be done at the compound but the leaders were already planning to send teams out to collapse the tunnels that ran under the prison. Our team had been inseparable since the attack, maybe it was losing Wheeler, maybe it was fear of the unknown but almost every waking moment we spent side by side, only going our separate ways of a night. Jak
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ClaraThe corridors around E block were packed to capacity with dead who were trying to gain access to the living and the sight made me shudder as we came up behind them, it was like deja vu again only this time we had more men and better weapons.Three bombs were thrown into the midst taking out almost half off the dead before they even knew we were there. Then the fight was on. They raced at us, their bodies moving in strange ways and I opened fire on those closest to me. Five down. Another bomb and more firing. Slowly but surely we edged closer. The other hallways I knew were filled with soldiers fighting their own battles and a team were firing from behind the barricade in E block but still half an hour of fighting, of throwing bottles filled with a strange looking chemical mixture and shooting anything in our path and we still hadn't made it to the entrance. Porter Jake Bubble and Rigs fought along side me, none of us w
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ClaraI wiped the tears from my cheeks and followed Jake out onto the landing. He was right, there was work to do. I hadn't known Wheeler all that well but still my heart hurt knowing that I wouldn't get to see him again, and my heart hurt for Jake too, the look on his face when Porter screamed just about ripped me in two, he had been close with the team leader I knew that, hell he was close with all his team mates. He pushed his back straight and walked across the landing towards a guy I didn't recognise, he hadn't been with us earlier.A glance around the room let me know that the fighting here was over, the dead were nothing more than heaped bodies on the ground and the first floor landing was filled with soldiers. I spotted the chief across the landing and I sighed, at least he wasn't harmed, the last thing we needed right now was for one of our leaders to fall. Which briefly had me thinking about the other leaders and w
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Jake.“Wont be long guys, make sure your shots count.” I spoke up loud enough for my voice to carry across the landing to the other soldiers waiting for our nod. My finger itched as I let it rest against the trigger of my gun, I had spent way too long being inactive and it was making me nervous, well the nerves probably had something to do with the hundreds of dead that were clawing at the walls beneath our feet trying to find their next meal, their next target.I took a deep breath, Clara was ready at my side, her gun clenched in her hand, her eyes roaming the masses below us. I still couldn't get over how well she had been handling herself. Joining the army was a huge adjustment under normal circumstances and this was far from normal.“Okay coming up to B block, corridors are mostly clear.” Wheelers voice sounded through my earpiece and my shoulders tensed. “Okay guys w
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Clara.The noise in D block had settled considerably since the residents had calmed down, Peters Trundle and I spent close to an hour answering questions as best we could before they gave up and settled into their temporary housing, my parents were sharing a cell with an elderly woman by the name Bridie when I finally got around to speaking with them.“I cant believe that you are okay with that, with dealing with that every day.” Mum muttered glancing out the cell door towards the ground where the dead were still making a racket as they tried in vain to climb towards the higher levels.“It's my job Mum.” I state not knowing what else to say, this job, my job wasn't for everyone, I had known that before I signed up but more so now that I was an active soldier and had been out in the world, I still saw visions of my fist kill behind my closed eyelids, dreamt about the horrors in the world. I hid
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ClaraBy the time they reached me my hands were shaking and tears had built in my eyes.“You okay baby?” Jake asked, pulling me into his arms and kissing the side of my head. Our moment only lasted a minute but it was enough for me to pull myself together, he was okay, he was alive. I let my eyes run over him from head to toe checking for damage before looking him in the eye.“I love you.” I stated figuring that it could be now or never, I could have lost him then and if anything were to happen to me, I needed him to know how I felt.His answering smile was breathtaking. “I love you too.” He whispered back before attaching his lips to mine in a short hard kiss.“Come on you two.” Bubble stated pulling our attention and I nodded letting Jake grab my hand and pull me towards the other side of the landing where no one had taken up posts yet. They had finished
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ClaraThe room hummed with nervous energy while we waited for Jake to return with the Leaders everyone once again on high alert now that we knew there actually was a way for the infected to breach our walls, the impenetrable compound no longer seemed so safe.A shuffling of bodies shifted to reveal the grim faces of our leaders, each one looking tired and haggard, as though none of them had slept in a week and I contemplated that just maybe they hadn't.“Mr Jones said that you found something?” Jade questioned.“Yes, there are sewer tunnels running directly under the compound, the closest point of impact would be D block showers, none of the other tunnels are large enough to fit bodies. The tunnels run in either direction and fork off to four surrounding towns then carry on to the towns after that. They could literally enter these tunnels from anywhere and sneak up on us at any moment and we w
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Clara.The days passed in a blur, every hour consumed by one action, one task. The compound had been on lock down for almost a week, and everyone was starting to feel the strain of it, but we were no closer to answers than we had been in the beginning.I had barely seen my parents since that first day and I had seen Matt even less. My days were filled with all things security, working six hour shifts on protection detail of one area or another my off hours were spent brainstorming with my team members and other members of the army, catching up on sleep, eating or spending hours wrapped up with Jake losing ourselves in our own bubble of happiness.Everything between us was great, we hadn't had any profound conversations about our relationship but neither of us was in a rush, instead just happy to enjoy the time we had together.It was Wednesday when a commotion on the main floor of A block had us all sprin
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Clara. The rest of our shift guarding D block had been exhausting, emotionally more than physically as we spent hour after hour answering the same questions but not really having an answer to give. The team refrained from idle chit chat, barely speaking at all unless it was to try and calm the fears of one resident or another but Jakes silent presence by my side was more reassuring than any words could have been, he was my rock, my shoulder to lean on and that fact had a small smile building inside me, even given the circumstances.I had resigned myself to the fact that this would never happen, that we would never share comforting looks or the slight brush of a hand on my back, that I would never get to see him relaxed and carefree but the reality of our relationship was better than anything I had imagined.We had escorted the kitchen staff to their work posts after change over in D block and left for our six hours o
