Walking back to the staircase, they go back right through the same hall and same reception room, where the lady could not be bothered with them again.
Outside, William follows Luke since he knows nothing better.
“Right, William. Although I am in charge of your, for the time being, I am quite a busy man so you will have to be figuring out life on your own.”
“No problem. I can get used to life Outside, so this is not a problem for me.”
“Bold words. Hopefully, you are right. I had to check on my man back in the barracks, so follow me and get this over with before the sunset.”
As Luke's words follow, William spends the next hour on constant walking and checks what Luke has to do. They walk and walk until the sun goes away from beneath the sight which shocks William to a core. There, the cloudy sky, with a mixture of azure, pink, and light orange. The sun is going down in a kind of way that is absolutely stunning.
Right at the section of the military base, behind a hill and wall that separates this section of The Federation, a city is standing there for 20 years. It is the first one, a section where the base was built all those years ago.
Unlike what he had seen in the past, this is one of a kind city. In pieces and with no destruction. Surrounding by rivers that flow from the ocean, bridges, and buildings, it resembles what he imagines in his mind to see a peaceful city of the past.
There are even skyscrapers hundreds of feet tall with a few dozen rows of floors. He looks up from the hill, a mile or two from a higher point of view, so the sight is very nice indeed.
“Surprised?” Luke's words wake the open mouth of William, which remains on his face for a couple of moments.
“Yea.”
“This is not even the Academy. Just a part of the archipelago of the whole federation what is built on top of that.” Luke tries to blow William's mind.
It worked.
“How big is this place? How in the world did they build this?”
“No idea. Never asked, never tried to find out.”
“We are in the middle of the ocean... This is impressive.”
“Are gonna marvel about this or do you want to eat and sleep in a warm place for once?” Luke asks as he continues his walk.
I had a warm place of my own... He thought as he walks on a nice pavement road with occasional people who jogs and move from the end of the day to the city. Military personnel, as well as regular citizens, are walking by. Obvious of any Walker, since this is a Federation, they all acknowledge it as their home. There are even people who have a good Ol night run to build up stamina or calm their heads.
“This particular region is called Central Island. The biggest and most populated amongst the places of the Federation.” Luke explains as William finally reaches his pace of walking. He falls short, as he tried to grasp the troposphere of the view.
“This feels like a guide.”
“It is. Understanding this place is the basics. See that building?” Luke points to the humongous buildings that protrude into the sky.
These were towers with light and windows everywhere. The orange light of the descending sun makes it quite a beautiful sight to behold.
“Obviously, I see them.”
“That is the prime research facility of the federation with 10 more buildings around it being part of it as well. The examination is going to be there.”
“I see...” William looks carefully far away. The city that would be his home is in front of his eyes for the foreseeable future. Nervousness overlaps his mind, but is weakened from the hunger and all-day long of travel, and going through the process of walking with Luke is quite exhausting. He is already reaching his limit.
Walking and walking, William looks at more buildings, rivers, bridges, and pedestrians alike.
So far, he really doesn't notice any obvious Walker, but he could guess they are all hiding for the sake of their regular lives. Away from the mess of the military or whatever else they are doing for humanity.
“Mister Luke?” William asks amidst the silence of a couple of dozen minutes.
“What? We will be in my place shortly.”
“How is the exact population of the Walkers within the Federation?” “Population? I don't know... If I have to guess, it would be around 1 in 5 people. Maybe less. I am factoring only the military department, so I guess the city has less for sure.”
“I guess it is for the economic pressure?”
“Oh? Have you already guessed that? You learned a thing or two before, did you not?”
“I did. It is to understand better the functioning world. Am I wrong?” William confirms that the little bits and pieces of the world that he learned through the madame Anderson shows some results.
Luke snorts from such a reply and keeps his answer to himself. “Do whatever the fuck you want, kid. We are just around the corner, so if you want to be a freaking astronaut or something, be my guess.” Luke bluntly says as they reach the insides of the city.
William, obvious to his words, remains silent for the rest of the journey.
Light from the lamps at the sides of the pavement roads illuminated the dark, as the sun had already disappeared. William notices a significant amount of people here, with all kinds of folks and races. It seems the whole world is focused on this place, and William does not mind it at all.
This is a lot different from seeing the sight of the city from that hill. The atmosphere and life here are completely different from the way William guessed. Lights of lamps glow and buildings stand around in a view of what could be called a city-life for sure.
The perspective of a city enters William's eyes, unlike the camp of Roshwell, where he spent the last two years of living.
He does not like it or dislikes it, per se.
It almost feels unreal when he thinks about it. A place in the middle of the ocean, with thousands of people, is what he sees with his sight alone.
Luke continues with an unbothered expression after noticing William's curious look at everything.
He felt like this too, when he came here a long time ago, but at that time, this city was not that big like today. Regular folks who build them for the credit of the Federation finish new buildings every month.
It is a regular cycle of life, where protection is provided by the Federation, while regular people are the resources and working force to build more around the city. It is almost like the past human settlement, unlike the camps that are even older than that. Forgetting the Enginist, of course, and a few more advancements.
It is not slavery, unlike in some parts of the world. A lot of people would rather work for this than be stranded on the destroyed continents in fear for one's life against the Dark Age.
William would soon get to know a lot about this place, but that would have to wait until he gets familiar with this city. As they walk, Luke enters a street with rows and rows of buildings on each side of the well-kept street.
Residential building complexes with obvious simple, yet clean architecture enter William's eyes.
Luke enters one with the big number 47 above the main entrance. William goes after him and enters the complex which resembles the orphanage but is much better looking. Smooth stone surfaces and not a bit of wood are visible in the exteriors or interiors of the building.
Luke continues from the staircase towards the 3rd floor where he pulls a key chain and opens the door to his apartment.
“Wow. This looks quite nice.” William unwillingly lets out.
Luke's apartment looks like the pictures he had seen in the past. A smoothened wooden floor painted walls with pictures and decorations, and an open space with almost no walls. The kitchen, hallway, entrance, and living room are all part of a single open space, while the bathrooms and the sleeping area are in each closed room.
“Be my guest. What about some food?” Luke asks.
“I will eat anything.”
“Not sure if I even have something in the fridge. It has been a week since I've been here.”
“Week? You have this kind of apartment and live here so occasionally?”
“It is the missions, while this is not my place alone. You will get this.” Luke took off his jacket to a coat hook and with a shirt and trousers, goes to the kitchen.
William follows since he has nothing much from fabric trousers, a shirt, a hoodie, and a single pair of good shoes. He has some spare things in his bag that he keeps in hand, but they could not be considered as too much.
In the kitchen, there is a stove, fridge, and a wide countertop made of smooth stone. It does not look like a kitchen he has ever seen, but every appliance is equally good as the look of the whole apartment.
“How much is this all cost?” William openly asks, while looking at everything in detail. “Are you that curious about monetary values? I would expect something different from the orphan from the Outside.” Luke says as he opens the fridge. There, a wide variety of boxes are inside, with naming schemes and notes.
“For you and the boy.”
“Heh... hilarious.” Luke chuckles and takes two of the boxes to the table.
“It seems the food is taken care of,” Luke says and tosses the box to standing William, who caught it with some unexpectant moves.
“What is it?”
“Food.” Luke bluntly says as he opens the lid and reveals the food inside.
Thinly cut meat with sauce and rice is in the box. William opens his box, and the smell of food travels to his nose.
He ate it like nothing ever before, spoonfuls of rice with meat within every moment. It took only a few minutes as he finishes his meal.
“That was delicious.” William licks his lips as Luke barely started his meal.
“You bet. What do you plan now?” Luke asks.
“I just got here. What do you think I should be doing?”
“Not my responsibility. I have very little time to be in my apartment for a single day in a week, so you will have to be satisfied with my guest room, and figure out your life on this island. That is about it. Everyone has it like this.”
“I guess recruits are usually staying in the dorms, or military camps if it's a military choice they decided, right?”
“Correct. In 6 weeks, you will have to decide as well.” Luke says while enjoying his one-of-a-kind dinner, which he hasn't got in weeks.
Sighing, William stares around in this clean and luxurious apartment that could be simply described as too perfect for his own standards.
“You can get your own place like this if you became rank 4 Walker,” Luke explains as he quite obviously notices William's interest.
“What does it even mean to become a rank 4 Walker?”
“Missions, power, ability, and standing within this messed up world. That is my overview of it, while some could say something completely different. ”
“Sounds awful, to completely rely on such a system,” William says as he feels this to be the truth.
“I am not judging it. It is better than being outside in the camps, or fighting for any sort of survival.” Luke calmly argues as he finishes his meal as well.
“Learn whatever you want, be whatever you want. I already worked up and grew up with small opportunities to reach rank 6 and above. So don't feel angry about my words. I am already fed up with changing my life.”
“I've got it... Where is my room?” William no longer wants to argue with his words. Even if he agrees or disagrees, he has to figure out what he wants to do with his life on his own.
There is only one single truth that matters, and that is that fate is within one's hands. William is alone, and while the help of external factors could do so much, he has only himself to blame if he won't be good enough.
“That hall with the first door on your left.” Luke points to the hallway, which leads from the kitchen.