The huge metal doors of the safe-house open outward. Once they are partially open, they stop and humans with guns march out. I try to keep track of what they all doing, in case they decide to point there guns my way. They file out in two lines and surround our group. The humans in our group look uncomfortable. Collin is sweating quite a bit, and Daisy looks like she is about to run. I can't tell if she wants to run away or into the building. I don't like how strange she is acting.

Once all of the humans carrying guns are done running around us, someone else steps out of the building. He is very tall and muscular. His dark brown hair is cut short and he has a tidy beard and mustache. His clothes are all dark colors and he is wearing sturdy, black military boots. Even his skin is a dark brown. I would say he looks frightening if not for the tears running down his face.

He takes a deep wavering breath. “Daisy...” The man walks up to Daisy, who is now shaking. Tears are running down her face as well. He kneels down, and pulls her into a hug.

Daisy hugs him back and her hands grasp the back of his shirt tightly. “Daddy!” That one word releases all of Daisy's pent up emotions and she starts balling. They stay in their embrace, crying for what seems like forever. Daisy clings to him like her life depends on it. He keeps reassuring her she is safe and that everything is okay now

Daisy sniffs and finally looks up at her Dad. “Where... *hhhh*... Where's Dominic?”

“Right here.”

I spin around in surprise. I hadn't noticed anyone walk up behind me, but there he was. A teenager, who looks very similar to Daisy's Daddy without his beard, is standing an arm's length away from me. He is smiling, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes.

Daisy's father stands up, but keeps an arm around Daisy's shoulder. He would probably have to pry Daisy's hands off his own, if he wanted to do anything different. “Dominic-”

“Where's Mom.” Dominic doesn't even let is Dad finish what he was about to say.

At his words, Daisy starts to shake. Her eyes go wide, and she looks terrified. Her hands drop from her fathers and she looks down and away. In a hollow voice barely above a whisper she says. “Rebecca Streiner, ID number 0008. Deceased.”

Daisy's Dad looks down at her with a complicated expression.

Dominic face darkens “What the hell it that! She's our mother, not some damn number!” He walks up to Daisy and glares down down at her.

“Hey, Dominic, your sister has already been through a lot. You should...” Dominic punches his father in the face.

“Shut the hell up old man! It all your fault she acts like that! Like some sort of 3rd world child soldier!” Dominic points down to Daisy. “She got bullied at school for talking about battle tactics and survival procedures! She's 10! She should be playing make believe with her dolls not using them to reenacting historical battles! She shouldn't have to know twenty ways to kill a man with your bare hands! You should have spent more time being a normal father while you still could. Now you will never be able to. The damn world actually ended! I hope your happy!” Dominic stands glaring up at his father.

Daisy's Daddy doesn't say anything. He looks surprised though. After an awkward silence, everyone is ushered into the safe-house, which we are told to call the HQ. HQ stands for Headquarters, apparently.

The inside of the HQ is lit with bright lights. It has both an upstairs and an underground shelter. Someone explains the layout to our group, but I only partial listen. I am too distracted by the realization that I now have access to electricity, and also I'm worried about Daisy. She was taken away by her brother and father.

I am about to go look for her, when her father comes out of a room to talk with us. He has a black eye and looks tired.

“Hello everyone. My name is Byron Streiner. I am the leader of this group. You have all been through a lot and I am sure you are tired and hungry. So, I'll get right to the point. The whole world has gone to shit. Before communications went out, we received reports of monster sightings from all over the world.” All the humans in our group, except Andy, start freaking out. It's a bit chaotic and really annoying.

The Byron's people calm them down. “Everyone please remain calm and don't interrupt until I am finished speaking. We will do our best to answer any questions you have afterwards. Now, as I was saying, the whole world has gone to shit. That means we should not be expecting anyone to rescue us. That also means this is probably one of the safest places in the city. However, everyone here at HQ has something to contribute. We are not military, though some of us do have training. We have been building this stronghold up for the last twenty years. We will not be throwing any of you out, but we are not running a democracy here. If you want to stay here, you will have to work and be useful. You will be required to train everyday and will get an ID number and uniform.” Everyone is murmuring worriedly

Someone ignoring Byron's comment about questions asks. “What about our families?” The humans start yelling about how they want to see their family and that Byron's group should help. I don't understand why everyone is so worried about other people. I look around for something interesting. I try not to go too far because Byron's people are watching me.

Byron calms everyone down again. “We don't have the luxury of thinking anyone else out there is alive. And even if we knew for a fact someone was out there who needed help, we still wouldn't go. We are currently safe, but the moment we step out of those doors, we have no way of knowing what will happen to us. Also, we are currently fighting some goblin-like creatures over the surrounding warehouses. For the time being, the only time we will be leaving HQ is when our enemies get to close and we need to repel them, or to scout out where we will be acquiring future supplies...” He keeps talking about stuff, but I am more interested in the stuff around me.

I noticed that one of the standing lights has a cord attached. I follow it to the wall where it is attached to some sort of plastic rectangle thing. It's a power outlet I suppose. I wonder if I can get someone here to teach me about electricity. For what Daisy said about it, there seem to be many uses for it.

I search around the room, but quickly get bored. I play with my toys a bit, but I want to find something new to play with. Maybe I should go search for Daisy...

Collin walks over to where I am playing. I am using my teddy bear to attack my toy cars and soldiers. He gives me a funny look, but doesn't say anything about it. “Rain, they told us to go to the cafeteria. Everyone else is going to clean up and change. I told them I was fine with what I am wearing.”

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“Ok.” I pack up my things and follow Collin to the cafeteria.

Collin gets his food and waits for me to do the same.

“You know I don't eat right.”

“What the hell do you mean you don't eat!?”

I whip around in surprised. Standing right behind me is Daisy's brother, Dominic. He somehow snuck up behind me again. He is looking down at me in the same way Andy does. I glare back at him. “I don't need to eat. What else is there to mean?”

“What the hell kind of living creature doesn't need to eat.” He snorts at me and walks past us out of the cafeteria.

Collin coughs to clear his throat. “Well he's certainly friendly. Let's go sit down.” He is most certainly NOT friendly.

Collin eats in silence while I squirm from boredom. *aaaaaaaahhhhhhh* Collin laughs at me and puts down his spoon.

“Rain, do you want to talk about anything?”

Well at least that would be less boring. “Do you know anything about electricity and where did they take Daisy?”

“Well I don't know enough about electricity to teach you about it. I'm an English teacher. I also don't know where they took Daisy.” He gives me an apologetic smile and takes another bite of food.

Well I guess I shouldn't have expected anything more then that from him.

I must have shown my feelings on my face because Collin looks upset now. “Rain can't you locate Daisy yourself, with your powers?”

“Ah!” That's right. I search for Daisy and find that she is in an underground part of the HQ. It sounds like she is sleeping.

“Darn she is asleep.” I guess I'll have to rely on Collin for my entertainment. I won't set my expectations too high though.

Collin pauses his eating again. “Daisy must've been exhausted after all she's gone through. Poor kid probably passed out as soon as she hit the pillow.”

“Are you going to fall asleep soon too?” I'll be the only one left awake again.

“Well it is getting late, but I think I will be staying up for a while.”

“You're not tired like Daisy? Wait. Was Daisy acting weird because she was tired?” Getting tired sounds inconvenient.

Collin takes another bite before he answers. “Daisy is a kid, so I can see why she would act different if she was tired, but I don't think that's what happened earlier. Did you notice that she was talking less and less the closer we got to the HQ?” I nod me head. “Well I think she was excited to see her father and brother, but I think she was also afraid to see them.”

“Why?”

“Well I can't say for sure. She might have thought they would be dead like her mother, or she could have been afraid to tell them about her mother's death. The way she rattled off her mothers id number and said 'deceased' was a bit haunting. Though seeing how well this place is prepared for the apocalypse, I can understand why she's such a strange kid.”

“What do you mean 'strange'?”

“Oh right. Sorry, I guess you wouldn't know what is normal. Daisy doesn't act like someone her age should. When we first met, I thought, because she was so young, she didn't fully understand what was happening. That would explain why she could be so calm about everything. As I talked to her, I slowly came to realize that, not only was she fully aware of the situation, but that she was also analyzing the things around us and speculating what else might be out there and making plans for every possibility. Dispersed between her rants about superheros were real tactical plans. Though most of them required the use of superpowers. But the scariest part was when I realized everything she does and every choice she makes has some sort of underlying tactical planning behind it. Befriending you and telling you to be a superhero. Going to find her brother first instead of heading straight to the safe-house. Allowing us to come with you. Telling us so little about the safe-house. “

“Wait. You think Daisy only became my friend because I'm strong?”

“I didn't mean it like that.” Collin looks like he is unhappy with the way the conversation is going. He scoffs the rest of his food down and says he is going to go talk to the others. They are all already eating here in the cafeteria.

I get up and wonder around the HQ, but Armed guards follow me wherever I go. They won't let me into a lot of the rooms. When I asked them about stuff they ignore me. I eventually end up lying on the ground playing with my toys again.

Hours later, when almost everyone else is asleep, another man in uniform walks up to me. He leads me to “Conference Room”. When he opens the door, everyone inside turns to look at me. Both Andy and Dominic glare at me.

Byron stands up and smiles at me. “Hello, Rain. Please take a seat. We have lots of things to discuss with you.” He motions me to a chair at the head of a long table. I sit in it, but it is too low for me. After some smiles and giggles, the chair is raised so that I can at least place my arms on the table.

I look around the table. They are all staring at me; Andy, Dominic, Collin, and five other men and women I don't know. Well this is uncomfortable...

Byron sits down at the opposite end of the table. “Now Rain, we have a few problems to work out. Your presence inside HQ is making a lot of people nervous. Everyone is questioning my decision to let you in. Others have doubts about your usefulness and intentions. But, before we get to all that, let me ask you a question. Rain, do you want to stay here with us at HQ?”

I try to scoot up higher in my chair. “For how long? If I choose to stay here does that mean I can't leave? If I say no, can I not come back?”

Some people look surprised at me response. Byron, on the other hand, starts laughing. When he is done, he wipes a tear from his eye. “You sound just like my daughter!” He gives me a wide smile. “As long as you remain our ally, you will always be welcome back.”

I nod my head. “Then I will stay for a while to learn about electricity and stuff. After I get bored I will probably want to leave though.”

Byron smiles again. “Alright! Now that that's out of the way. Lets get down to business.” He leans back in his chair and crosses his arms across his chest. I have a feeling this is going to be annoying.