"It's like a ghost town."

Claire looked around the neighborhood before turning around to close the door to the house. Not bothering to lock the door, she stepped onto the cement path leading to the road in front.

Even though it wasn't a new site, her eyes still wandered over to the abandoned cars littering the street, each one moved to the side. "I still wonder why the military never bothered to move the cars away. Are they just planning on leaving those things on the road?" She shook her head at how ridiculous it all was.

Across the street were other homes, some of them having clothes hanging out to dry. It was the only thing acting as a reminder that people still lived inside of the base, due to the lack of people.

"Everyone is inside the labs, trying to figure out a method to end this nightmare with the modified humans," Claire tried to ignore the feeling of loneliness and hopelessness of their situation. "Though, I don't feel like we'll be able to find a solution to this. I get the feeling I'm living in the last age of humanity. Those mindless creatures will be the only thing left after they kill us all."

Making her way down the street, there were no sounds of children playing in the yards or people happily talking with their families as they made their way to work. The majority of the houses in the neighborhood were empty. There not being enough people to fill them up.

"You'd think being a military base, there would be more people living in this place. My parents keep telling me this place was designed to handle a catastrophic event. The problem is they always avoid explaining why there are barely any people living here." Claire shook her head in confusion.

She chuckled at how the grass was still maintained even though hardly any people lived inside of the base.

Ahead of her, Claire saw the bus stop that became the meeting place when Claire and Hannah would go to when hanging out. The bench next to the sign was convenient for the person who arrived first and had to wait for the other party.

Thinking about where Hannah and her family lived, "I don't get why they couldn't just put us near one another." Claire looked in the direction Hannah lived, which was a considerable distance. The distance made the bus stop a convenient meeting place since they wouldn't be able to communicate with the other after leaving the house.

Reaching the bus stop, she took a seat on the bench. The metal was warm to the touch. It was a beautiful day, though it felt strange considering it should've begun to snow a long time ago.

"It still feels like summer," Claire felt depressed, thinking about the start of the summer when they were making plans to hang out with everyone.

Off in the distance, she could see the protective wall that surrounded the residential area of the base. It indeed was a fortress. The walls acted to comfort her mind, allowing her to not be frightened to leave the house.

On top of the wall, strategically placed throughout the top of the wall, were small structures where soldiers could monitor the outside world. When getting close to the wall, she'd sometimes be able to see soldiers inside as they went about their duty.

"Claire!" A voice called out to her.

Turning to look, Claire smiled upon seeing her friend. "Took you long enough!" she laughed.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Hannah stuck out her tongue before giggling.

"Aside from the PX, is there anything else you want to do?" Claire asked, trying to think about how to spend their day. She got up and moved towards Hannah.

As soon as Claire reached her, Hannah grabbed Claire's arm and hung onto her friend. "We could see if Chelsea is finished with her shift?"

Claire's eyes brightened at the mention of their new friend, Chelsea. "Do you think she'll be able to get us into the training areas?"

"I hope so, considering the lack of things to do. Most of the recreational stuff, like the movie theaters, is closed with the lack of people to operate them." Hannah groaned.

They continued to talk about what they could do as they walked past the empty houses, making their way to the PX.

Due to the lack of public transportation, the trip to the PX took several hours. Claire's eyes caught the familiar sign of the store. It had windows covering the front, with old promotions that were long expired. No one had thought to tear down the signs.

Close to the PX was an administrative building still in use. It helped to assist families with various needs, such as getting information for child care or paying fines. The main building was located near the area designated for purely military usage. Still, the various smaller locations helped families deal with their problems in a more convenient manner.

"We should stop by and see if Chelsea is finished with her shift," Hannah grinned as she made her way towards the desolate building.

Next to the door was a sign with the words "Administrative Building - Site C" to indicate which satellite building it was. Claire walked up to the door and opened it. The interior was an open area, rows of benches available for those waiting for their turn. At the back were booths for the family of service people to talk to a representative.

"What are you guys up to?" A man with a Military Police armband asked them, sitting at a desk near the side walls.

Hannah grinned, "Just trying to find something to do in this boring place. Did Chelsea finish her shift?"

"Chelsea?" The man tilted his head, trying to remember. He pointed at the back area, "I think she's putting away her sidearm and clocking out."

"How was it today? Get a lot of people, Sean?" Claire asked as she turned her head to look at the central area devoid of people.

Sean chuckled, "As you can see, it's been like this all day. I don't remember when the last time someone showed up, especially with the other sites still functioning." He made a face as though thinking the idea to be ridiculous.

Claire raised a hand to her mouth, laughing at the comment. "It is pretty silly." As she regained her composure, she smiled, "Though I admit it's nice knowing that you guys are always here."

Hannah nodded in agreement, "Definitely. Even if the base is empty like this, I'm happy to know that there are people stationed in the various buildings to provide security. The periodic patrols even at night are more comforting, even if in the past, I would feel the extra noise as distracting before all of this."

"I'm happy to hear that," Sean grinned. "Though there aren't many people living inside of this base, I think all us are glad to hear that you and the other civilians are appreciative of our efforts."

There was a sound of a door opening, and a red-haired woman with her hair made into a bun walked out. "When did you, two, get here?"

"Chelsea!" Hannah ran towards the woman and gave the surprised woman a hug. "Save us from the boredom!"

Chelsea smiled at Hannah, hugging her back.

"Yeah, Chelsea. We're hoping you'll be able to sneak us into the training area, so we can do something instead of sitting at home bored." Claire added, glad to see her friend.

Rolling her eyes at Claire's comment, "You know I can't just keep bringing you guys back there. It's not a playground."

"Don't be a poor sport," Sean teased. "Claire's a better shot than a lot of the guys." He gave Claire a wink.

Claire secretly gave a thumbs up to Sean for the assist.

Pointing at Sean, "You stay out of this!"

"But, we're bored!" Hannah looked up at Chelsea, begging the woman.

"And!" Claire began to say, "In case something happens, we need to be properly trained so we can handle something going wrong in the base." She tried to put on a severe face.

Sean covered his mouth, failing to hide his laughter at Claire's blatant lie.

Still hugging Hannah, Chelsea raised an eyebrow and stared at Claire. "I'm pretty sure if something goes wrong in this place, just a few training sessions isn't going to do shit." Taking a deep breath, she tilted her head back. "Fine! I'll take you guys to the back where we train."

Claire, Hannah, and Sean cheered at the news, happy to see the ordinarily strict Chelsea being pulled along their shenanigans.